“What we have here is a new breed of rebels, IT guerrillas without a national base.”
Image via WikipediaAn exclusive rough-cut of WikiRebels — the first in-depth documentary dedicated to WikiLeaks and its principal members — has, rather aptly, leaked online, and is available above for your (hopefully permanent) viewing. Over several months a crew from Swedish Television has been following the secretive media network and its work behind the scenes. The result is a one hour feature documentary that tells the story behind the story.
Image by wallyg via FlickrThe bookstore is Shakespeare & Company, on Rue de la Brie in Paris. The old man is its recently retired American expatriate owner, George Whitman, now in his 90s. He opened the place in 1951 and inherited the name from Sylvia Beach's legendary shop from the 1920's. The store is open until midnight, the books are in English, and writers often use it as a hotel, in exchange for a little work. For more information, here's a good link. Originally aired: 2005 on the Sundance Channel.
I happened on the documentary, Double Dare on Hulu.com (available in the US only) The documentary looks at two stuntwomen: Jeannie Epper, who doubled for Lynda Carter during the Wonder Woman series and performed the famous mud slide scene in Romancing the Stone; and Zoe Bell, a New Zealand native and up and comer. Epper has been working in the business for 30 years and comes from a entire family of professional stunt people. Bell studied gymnastics, Taekwon-Do, scuba and dance. She began doing stunts for Hercules: The Legendary Journeys then Xena: Warrior Princess (both of which were filmed in New Zealand); by the fourth season of Xena, she was the stunt double for Lucy Lawless.
We get the background of each woman, a look at the difficulties that women face in the business, a lot of celebrity interviews, and some additional celebrity cameos that the filmakers shot while making the film.
Watching this, I was reminded of the quote by Ginger Rogers about doing everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in heels. Stuntmen can wear padding over usually loose clothing, but stuntwomen, especially Bell and Epper, usually in skimpy costumes, must do dives, flips, wall breaks and fight scenes with no padding. It's a rare look into gender roles, a very dangerous and underrated profession, sexism, ageism and Hollywood politics. Epper is facing the end of a long career and is dealing with being a mentor, grandmother, wife and how best to use her influence to raise the profiles of stuntwomen. Bell, just off the Xenia series, tearfully leaves home, makes Hollywood connections and lands her first feature roll as the double for Uma Thurman in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill. Enjoy.
After the Argentine government privatized nearly all aspects of life, including the street signs, there was a brief boom-time of rampant capitalism. Then the economy crashed, the President was exiled, and the Middle-Class disappeared.
With suburban Buenos Aires now looking like some Sci-fi dystopian city, thirty unemployed auto-parts workers decide to walk into their idle factory, roll out sleeping mats, and refuse to leave.
All they want is to re-start the silent machines. In this 2004 documentary, The Take, director Avi Lewis, one of Canada's most outspoken journalists, and writer Naomi Klein, author of the international bestseller No Logo, champion a radical economic manifesto for the 21st century. But what shines through in the film is the simple drama of workers' lives and their struggle: the demand for dignity and the searing injustice of dignity denied.
"Gates, the reserved one, has become an authoritative force who leads a church in the Cabrini area. He is married with four kids. Agee, a spirited charmer, doesn't have a regular job but is launching a line of "Hoop Dreams" apparel. He has five kids by five different women."
Who are the Taliban? What are their politics? How do they see the world. How, as a journalist covering the War do you trust your contacts when your as likely to be invited in for a drink and a joint as you are to be kidnapped.
One thing I have learned from reading and watching many books, articles, TV and WEB documentaries; there is no single portrait of who we are fighting in the Afghan War. As citizens of our respective countries, I believe we must have as much information as we can get. Journalist Graeme Smith of the Toronto Globe and Mail, posted unfiltered interviews with his sources and contacts in the Taliban. Watch, Learn, and Participate.
Understanding the insurgents is a basic part of reporting on the Afghan war, but it's a remarkably difficult task. I've had several meetings with individual Taliban since I started covering Afghanistan, but personal contacts with the insurgents are growing more dangerous because they have started kidnapping journalists.
Image via WikipediaAn exclusive rough-cut of WikiRebels — the first in-depth documentary dedicated to WikiLeaks and its principal members — has, rather aptly, leaked online, and is available above for your (hopefully permanent) viewing. Over several months a crew from Swedish Television has been following the secretive media network and its work behind the scenes. The result is a one hour feature documentary that tells the story behind the story.
After the Argentine government privatized nearly all aspects of life, including the street signs, there was a brief boom-time of rampant capitalism. Then the economy crashed, the President was exiled, and the Middle-Class disappeared. 
