Documentaries, Daily Right & Left Wing Irrationality Award

[Craig234]

b) ← Left Wing Irrationality Award = Philippine communist insurgents.

*Communist insurgents in the Philippines alleged that search engine firm Google had wiped out their email accounts at Washington’s behest as part of the U.S. government’s efforts to “deny space” for insurgent groups.

https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/philippine/philippine-communists-goodle-03232022130852.html

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What is wrong with people objecting to Google wiping out their e-mail accounts because Washington is trying to suppress them? The leader of the Philippines is a thug and should have opposition. If there's something wrong with them criticize that.

 

[Centrist]

and there's every reason for Biden to use his powers to do good things he has the power to do.

There are a lot of people who in the name of good decided to do things that ended up being the road to hell. The Trump voters said the same thing when he was signing executive orders at the beginning. "He wanted to do good".

That website has libertarian BIAS, I will give you that, they do tend to overexaggerate things for their audiences but I find them less hypocritical than the 2 main fractions that brainwash us daily.

You are welcome to drop by and defend your group. They will still be criticized daily (unless I post documentaries) like the right-wing spectrum circus.

 

[Craig234]

There are a lot of people who in the name of good decided to do things that ended up being the road to hell. The Trump voters said the same thing when he was signing executive orders at the beginning. "He wanted to do good".

If your argument is that there is no such thing as doing good things because some people mis-label things, that's not much of an argument. It fails to prove anything bad about these Democrats.

 

[Centrist]

Sunday, March 27 - 2022:

House of Saud Saudi Arabia Documentary - PBS Frontline (2004)
*Frontline offers an unflinching and compelling look at complex, vital, and often-controversial subjects. Each broadcast consists of a long-form news documentary.

A documentary that covers the deal between wahhabi clerics and the royal family in Saudi Arabia.

 

[Centrist]

Monday, March 28 - 2022:

Last week most of the stories covered were from the international stage.

I am coming back to the USA. “When you're born into this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show. If you're born in America you get a front-row seat.”

Today I am proposing another documentary from PBS Frontline released in 2020.

America's Great Divide
*FRONTLINE begins its 2020 election year coverage with a two-part, four-hour documentary series investigating America’s increasingly bitter, divided, and toxic politics.

From veteran FRONTLINE filmmaker Michael Kirk and his team, America’s Great Divide: From Obama to Trump draws on revelatory new interviews with key political and cultural figures, as well as an unparalleled archive of in-depth broadcast reporting across two presidential administrations, to offer a crucial context for the current moment.

Part One traces how Barack Obama’s promise of unity collapsed as increasing racial, cultural, and political divisions laid the groundwork for the rise of Donald Trump. Part Two examines how Trump’s campaign exploited the country’s divisions, how his presidency has unleashed anger on both sides of the divide, and what America’s polarization could mean for the country’s future.

Part 1:



Part 2:

 

[Centrist]

Tuesday, March 29 - 2022:

Today will be the Covid-19 awards day (*Videos are from last year).

a) Pro-mask fanatics:



b) Anti-mask fanatics:

 

[fireflygmf]

*The Experts Somehow Overlooked Authoritarians on the Left. Intriguingly, the researchers found some common traits between left-wing and right-wing authoritarians, including a “preference for social uniformity, prejudice towards different others, willingness to wield group authority to coerce behavior, cognitive rigidity, aggression and punitiveness towards perceived enemies, outsized concern for hierarchy, and moral absolutism.”

I've got to say, even though I align quite strongly with liberal ideals, I have noticed a strong authoritarian bent from the left in recent years. I think because of this past century's history people conflate right-wing with authoritarianism, and are quite unaware that matters of left-right are wholly unrelated to matters of tyranny and liberty. Two different axis. Think of it as up-down vs left-right.

The things we need to be most concerned with as far as our freedoms are concerned is the tendency toward authoritarianism vs liberty. Left right really is just a matter of public policy positions and is much less dangerous that people seem to think.

 

[Centrist]

Wednesday, March 30 - 2022:

a) → Right Wing Irrationality Award = Far Right in Germany.

*The Russian invasion of Ukraine has left Germany's neo-Nazis confused: Should they support the authoritarian Russian leader or far-right nationalists fighting on the Ukrainian side?

https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-far-right-split-by-russia-ukraine-war/a-61283065



b) ← Left Wing Irrationality Award = Vietnam’s communist government.

*In recent years, Vietnam’s communist government has stepped up arrests of those it considers its opponents, including independent journalists, religious figures, land rights activists and environmentalists.

https://www.rfa.org/english/commentaries/vietnam-dissent-03072022093858.html

 

[Craig234]

I've got to say, even though I align quite strongly with liberal ideals, I have noticed a strong authoritarian bent from the left in recent years. I think because of this past century's history people conflate right-wing with authoritarianism, and are quite unaware that matters of left-right are wholly unrelated to matters of tyranny and liberty. Two different axis. Think of it as up-down vs left-right.

The things we need to be most concerned with as far as our freedoms are concerned is the tendency toward authoritarianism vs liberty. Left right really is just a matter of public policy positions and is much less dangerous that people seem to think.

There's some truth in what you say, but it's mostly wrong. There certainly can be a danger from some who claim to be left becoming tyrannical, but they're not really 'left' generally. An interesting case would be the French revolution, when radical tyranny from the rich was met with radical revolution from the people. Not even remotely a situation in the US, though.

In the US, right and left aren't unrelated to authoritarianism - the right is far, far more about it, even while they whine that the left oppresses them, e.g., Michael Bloomberg's opposition to big sodas for public health. The right is much more inherently based on creating fear and hate to gain power, e.g., anti-gay and anti-transsexual messaging among many others.

 

[Craig234]

Wednesday, March 30 - 2022:

a) → Right Wing Irrationality Award = Far Right in Germany.

*The Russian invasion of Ukraine has left Germany's neo-Nazis confused: Should they support the authoritarian Russian leader or far-right nationalists fighting on the Ukrainian side?

https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-far-right-split-by-russia-ukraine-war/a-61283065

View attachment 67383060

b) ← Left Wing Irrationality Award = Vietnam’s communist government.

*In recent years, Vietnam’s communist government has stepped up arrests of those it considers its opponents, including independent journalists, religious figures, land rights activists and environmentalists.

https://www.rfa.org/english/commentaries/vietnam-dissent-03072022093858.html

View attachment 67383061

See what I said above about such forces claiming to be left not actually being left. Read your own comment: since when does the left oppose independent journalism, land right activism to help the poor, and environmentalism? When "communist" governments like North Korea, Vietnam, and China are tyrannical, they're totalitarian, not "left".

 

[Centrist]

See what I said above about such forces claiming to be left not actually being left.

More like theory is different than practical use.

I am sure it will be different this time.

Thanks for stopping by Craig! Always a pleasure!

 

[Craig234]

More like theory is different than practical use.

No, it's not. That's what I'd call an uninformed opinion, no offense, not understanding the issue reaching for an easy explanation.

 

[Centrist]

No, it's not. That's what I'd call an uninformed opinion, no offense, not understanding the issue reaching for an easy explanation.

Theory:
-> "a supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something, especially one based on general principles independent of the thing to be explained."

Practical:
-> "the practical aspects of something involve real situations and events, rather than just ideas and theories."

 

[Craig234]

Theory:
-> "a supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something, especially one based on general principles independent of the thing to be explained."

Practical:
-> "the practical aspects of something involve real situations and events, rather than just ideas and theories."

You're proving my comment correct. That you don't understand the issue and are grabbing for an easy answer.

 

[Centrist]

Thursday, March 31 - 2022:

a) → Right Wing Irrationality Award = Targeted Victory, Republican firm & Meta.

*Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms, is reportedly paying a notable GOP consulting firm to create public distrust around TikTok. The campaign, launched by Republican strategy firm Targeted Victory, placed op-eds and letters to the editor in various publications, accusing TikTok of being a danger to American children, along with other disparaging accusations.

https://www.theguardian.com/technol...tedly-paid-republican-firm-tiktok-real-threat



View attachment 67383060

b) ← Left Wing Irrationality Award = Jo Ann A. Hardesty, Portland City Commissioner

*The politician, which is with the Democratic party must pay a credit card company more than $16,000 in overdue debt and fees after she failed to show up in court to address the matter.

https://www.oregonlive.com/politics...0-judgment-over-unpaid-credit-card-bills.html

 

[Centrist]

Friday, April 1st - 2022:

a) → Right Wing Irrationality Award = Second award -> Hungarian minister Peter Szijjarto's paranoia.

* In a video on social media, Hungarian right-wing Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto claimed that there was “ongoing coordination between the Hungarian left and representatives of the Ukrainian government and that Ukraine was attempting to influence Hungary’s April 3 election in favor of a coalition of opposition parties."

His first award is in post #40.

https://abcnews.go.com/Internationa...kraine-interfering-upcoming-election-83761214



b) ← Left Wing Irrationality Award = Maoists in India (Article from September 2021)

* Rather than mobilizing discontents with the Indian state by projecting its weaknesses and ensuring inclusion and welfare, the Maoists have a privileged armed struggle, invited state repression, and sought to use this to recruit adherents. Such a strategy has led to some of India’s poorest people, the tribals in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand in particular, being caught up in endless violence, and also caused severe losses to the Maoists as well anti-insurgent security forces.

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/ed...al-on-left-wing-extremism/article36724675.ece

 

[HangLow]

Thursday, March 31 - 2022:
a) → Right Wing Irrationality Award = Targeted Victory, Republican firm & Meta.
*Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms,
is reportedly paying a notable GOP consulting firm to create public distrust around TikTok. The campaign, launched by Republican strategy firm Targeted Victory, placed op-eds and letters to the editor in various publications, accusing TikTok of being a danger to American children, along with other disparaging accusations.
https://www.theguardian.com/technol...tedly-paid-republican-firm-tiktok-real-threat

View attachment 67383212

View attachment 67383060​

b) ← Left Wing Irrationality Award = Jo Ann A. Hardesty, Portland City Commissioner
*The politician, which is with the Democratic party must pay a credit card company more than $16,000 in overdue debt and fees after she failed to show up in court to address the matter.
https://www.oregonlive.com/politics...0-judgment-over-unpaid-credit-card-bills.html

View attachment 67383213​

​

 

[Centrist]

Saturday, April 2nd - 2022:

The 50 Years War Israel And The Arabs Part 1
*Frontline offers an unflinching and compelling look at complex, vital, and often-controversial subjects. Each broadcast consists of a long-form news documentary.

Begins with the 1947 U.N. decision to partition Palestine and charts the ensuing half-century of enmity, warfare, mediation and negotiations. Includes interviews and news clips of heads of state and other military and intelligence leaders. Episodes on the first disc cover Israel's struggle for statehood, including the victories against Arab armies in 1948 and 1967, and the history of the Palestinian Liberation Organization. The concluding program looks at the Yom Kippur War in 1973, the Camp David peace accord in 1978, the start of the Palestinian "Intifada" uprising in 1987, the Oslo agreement in 1993, and the current attempts to consolidate a shaky reconciliation. Featured in this documentary are Shimon Peres, Benjamin Netanyahu and Yitzhak Shamir of Israel; King Hussein of Jordan; Yasir Arafat from the Palestine Authority; Hafez al-Assad of Syria; Jafaar Numeiry of Sudan; and American Presidents Bill Clinton, George Bush, and Jimmy Carter.

The 50 Years War: Israel and the Arabs follows a half-century of war, struggles, and negotiations.

 

[Centrist]

Sunday, April 3rd - 2022:

The 50 Years War Israel And The Arabs Part 2
*Frontline offers an unflinching and compelling look at complex, vital, and often-controversial subjects. Each broadcast consists of a long-form news documentary.

The concluding program looks at the Yom Kippur War in 1973, the Camp David peace accord in 1978, the start of the Palestinian "Intifada" uprising in 1987, the Oslo agreement in 1993, and the current attempts to consolidate a shaky reconciliation. Featured in this documentary are Shimon Peres, Benjamin Netanyahu and Yitzhak Shamir of Israel; King Hussein of Jordan; Yasir Arafat from the Palestine Authority; Hafez al-Assad of Syria; Jafaar Numeiry of Sudan; and American Presidents Bill Clinton, George Bush, and Jimmy Carter.

The 50 Years War: Israel and the Arabs follows a half-century of war, struggles, and negotiations.

 

[Centrist]

Today, I will like to present a documentary on the Aum Shinrikyo cult in Japan

ZERO HOUR is a unique documentary format - a ticking clock hour of television which transports the viewer into the gripping countdown to some of the most dramatic events in recent history.

Terror in Tokyo tells of the attack on 20 March 1995 on the Tokyo Subway using Sarin gas. In the attack members of the Aum Shinrikyo (Supreme Truth) cult carried six packages onto Tokyo subway trains and punctured the packages with umbrella tips, releasing deadly Sarin gas killing 12 persons and injuring more than 5,000. It was a planned and co-ordinated attack. Shoko Asahara, the leader of Aum had been tipped off about planned police raids on cult facilities by an insider, and ordered the attack in central Tokyo to divert attention away from the group.

The plan backfired, and the police conducted huge simultaneous raids on cult compounds across the country. Over the next week, the full scale of Aum's activities was revealed for the first time. At the cult's headquarters on the foot of Mount Fuji, police found explosives, chemical weapons and biological warfare agents, such as anthrax and Ebola cultures, and a Russian MIL Mi-17 military helicopter. There were stockpiles of chemicals which could be used for producing enough sarin to kill four million people. Police also found laboratories to manufacture drugs such as LSD, methamphetamines, and a crude form of truth serum, a safe containing millions of dollars worth in cash and gold, and cells, many still containing prisoners.—Anonymous.

 

[Centrist]

Saturday, April 9th - 2022:

a) The first documentary in on Myanmar’s Rohingya Genocide

Over half a million Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar have fled brutal ethnic violence carried out by their government. While unprecedented numbers of refugees have found safety across the border in Bangladesh, their fates are uncertain. The international community has been reluctant to take action against Myanmar, and plans are underway to return those who escaped.



b) The second documentary which is newer, Myanmar remains mired in chaos and turmoil. At least 1,400 people have been killed so far and over 10,000 have been arrested following the military's violent crackdown against pro-democracy movement.

Click here for the link

via CNA (an acronym of its (former) name, Channel NewsAsia) is a 24-hour multinational news television channel headquartered at the Mediacorp Campus in Queenstown, Singapore.

 

[Centrist]

Sunday, April 10th - 2022:|

Until We Take Control: The Story of the Failed Coup In Turkey

In 2016, the future of Turkey hung in the balance. An attempted coup took place in which more than 250 people were killed, parliament was bombed and bridges across the Bosphorus were seized. The Gulenist network, known as FETO in Turkey, has been held responsible by the authorities. We examine the evidence against some of the main suspects and reveal new information about the investigation. We also speak to ex-members of the network, those wrongly jailed as a result of its actions, and those who tried to bring it to justice.

Source: TRT = Turkish public broadcast service

 

[Centrist]

Monday, April 11th - 2022:

The Tank Man (full film) | FRONTLINE

On June 4, 1989, Chinese troops expelled thousands of demonstrators from Tiananmen Square, killing an unknown number. One day later, a lone protester stood his ground before a column of tanks.

The iconic image of the Tank Man, captured by Western photographers, was one China never wanted the world to see. In 2006, FRONTLINE investigated the mystery of the Tank Man — his identity, his fate, and his significance.



Source: PBS Frontline = USA

 

[Centrist]

Tuesday, April 12 - 2022:

a) → Right Wing Irrationality Award = Hindu nationalistic groups and foreign trolls

*Hate speech and death threats: Canadian academics harassed after criticizing Hindu nationalism in India. Academic receive online hate from local diaspora groups and foreign trolls.

The history professor at Carleton University in Ottawa said he received thousands of hateful emails like that over the past five years, along with abusive voicemails on his office phone. He said he has also been accosted in person by groups picketing his academic lectures because they disagree with his politics.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/academics-harassed-criticism-india-politics-1.6402486



b) ← Left Wing Irrationality Award = Group known as Adbusters

*A environmental group is suggesting to its followers that they let the air out of the tires of SUV's in an attempt to combat climate change.

The group known as Adbusters, which describes itself as 'a global network of artists, activists, writers, pranksters, students, educators and entrepreneurs who want to advance the new social activist movement of the information age,' tweeted instructions explaining step-by-step how to deflate the wheels of the gas-guzzling vehicles.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...SUVs-wealthy-areas-combat-climate-change.html

 

[Centrist]

Wednesday April 13th - 2022:

The collapse of the Soviet Union | DW Documentary

Russian President Vladimir Putin described the collapse of the Soviet Union as "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century." This documentary from 2021 shows the path Russian foreign policy has followed under Putin.

On December 25, 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed. Along with it came hope for the end of the Cold War, for independence and freedom for the former Soviet republics. But for many it also brought poverty and war. What remains of the dreams of that time? The documentary includes contemporary witnesses and politicians of the decisive years and shows what has become of the legacy of a world power.

via Deutsche Welle, sometimes abbreviated to DW, is a German public, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the German federal tax budget.