Official Trailer of Documentary-Film “Bottled Life – The Truth about Neslé’s Business with Water”. For more info visit website: www.bottledlifefilm.com
Do you know how to turn ordinary water into a billion-dollar business? In Switzerland there’s a company which has developed the art to perfection – Nestlé. This company dominates the global business in bottled water.
Swiss journalist Res Gehringer has investigated this money-making phenomena. Nestlé refused to cooperate, on the pretext that it was “the wrong film at the wrong time”. So Gehringer went on a journey of exploration, researching the story in the USA, Nigeria and Pakistan. His journey into the world of bottled water reveals the schemes and strategies of the most powerful food and beverage company on our planet.
3:09 During the first few years that Murdoch’s ownership of Fox’s DC affiliate, he had a hands-off approach to new content; partially due to their success. One day orders came from Murdoch’s offices that the network should cut away from their regularly scheduled program and broadcast the RNC’s fawning tribute to Reagan: “we were ordered, from the top, to carry propaganda; Republican, right-wing propaganda”. It foreshadowed what Fox News would later become.
6:30 Former Fox News reporters and bookers say that they are afraid to be seen “talking to the wrong people”. Working for Fox meant you were constantly being monitored. It created a culture of fear. If you challenged the heads of the network On ideological matters, you were history.
10:45 “Some People Say” – FOX uses the phrase “some people say” to mask opinion as news.
19:04 Fox News contributors are under paid contract for their appearance; if they deviate from the party lines, they might not get asked back onto shows.
21:22 Fox News went after Richard Clarke as soon as it was apparent that he was going to paint the Bush administration in a bad light. For Fox News, “mudding” arguments is almost as good as winning them. So, they didn’t need to definitely prove that Clarke, a former member of the Bush Administration, was angling for a position in a Kerry Whitehouse, they just had to make it look like a possibility.
22:28 They put weak-looking , lesser known liberals up against photogenic, self-assured conservatives.
26:29 Republicans accounted for 83% of the guests while Democrats accounted for 17% of guest on the network’s most prestigious show. Of those democrats, most were either centrist or conservative.
27:50 Stories they Cover…Stories they Ignore – Management set the tone for stories: Jesse Jackson was always to be painted in a negative light, as were immigrants. Culture war issues – abortion, affirmative action, gay marriage – were often covered while ignoring issues regarding the economy, health care, and the environment.
34:38 O’Reilly’s show is a good example of everything that is wrong with Fox News —
Stories are selected to prop-up the Republican party and their point of view; O’Reilly is very hostile to guest who disagrees with him; and he distorts and misrepresent things.
42:00 Many Fox News stories are meant to generate fear; for example, stories about what to do if there’s a “dirty bomb” attack. Fear is a great motivator and organizer; even when there is no real evidence for it. Terrorism is the ultimate fear-baiting; and when people are fearful, they are more likely to support military interventions. Talking about terrorism also means that you can avoid talking about other issues, like the economy.
46:29 Fox made the decision to present the Iraq war as a success. “The senior producer told the two or three writers for her news hour…’now, just keep in mind that it’s all good. This is such a fair and balance issue. Keep it positive. We got to emphasize all the good we are doing”.
48:43 Knowledge Networks Poll – It’s a simple survey about fact regarding current events. The more likely people were to watch Fox News, the more misinformed they were and the more likely they were to back the Bush Administration.
50:49 Fox News repeats and propagates the Republican Party platform. It was widely known that the Fox reporter covering the 2000 Bush campaign was married to a Bush campaigner. This wouldn’t have been allowed at CNN.
52:47 Election Night 2000 – The first guy to call the election for Bush was the head of Fox’s New’s election analyze division; Bush’s first cousin. He called it a clear win, when in fact it was too close too call.
59:16 The Republican send out “the message of the day” so that conservative talk radio, Fox News, and Republican elected officials will all be talking about the same issues, in the same way.
58:41 2004 Election; coverage of Bush was always glowing, while Kerry was shown in a negative light.
1:02:51 During the 2004 election, Fox News painted a very rosy picture of the American economy and by selecting statistics which showed just that. Of course, they credited Bush for the “good” economy. When the stock market had a bad day, they claimed it was because of fear over the prospect of a Kerry presidency.
1:05:28 Murdoch is foremost a politician and this is what makes him dangerous.
1:06:57 The Fox Effect – It made other news organization more conservative because they saw how well Fox did.
1:09:13 A Call to Action – Media control is a political issue. People need to demand accuracy.
War on Whistleblowers highlights recent cases where American government employees and contractors took to the media to expose fraud and abuse. In all cases the whistle-blowing was to the detriment of their professional and personal lives. SUBSCRIBE
With President Obama’s commitment to transparency and the passage of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act, there was hope that whistleblowers would finally have more protection and encouragement to speak up. But according to the film, times have never been worse for national security whistleblowers. Obama’s administration has attacked more whistleblowers under the Espionage Act than all previous administrations combined.
2:30 After the death of Major Megan McClung who was killed by an IED while riding in a Humvee, Franz Gayl asked himself, “If not me, then who? If not now then when?” Gayl blew the whistle on the Military Industry who were dragging their feet to provide MRAPS, a vehicle that could replace the Humvee and prevent unnecessary casualties amongst American Soldiers in Irag.
11:53 “Why didn’t they do the right thing?” , asks Gayl. It comes down to money and reputations. The Humvee, though not the safest choice for our soldiers, is backed by millions of dollars and powerful lobbying. Pete Sepp, Executive Vice President of the National taxpayers Union stresses the need for more accountability in our spending.
13:18 The more powerful our National Security State becomes, the greater the need for Whistle Blowers and as our need for Whistle Blowers has increased, so has the aggression towards and attacks on them via the Obama Administration.
“We talk about a National Security State that pretends it’s interested in our National Security when in fact it’s interested in the security of corporate interests, of agency interests, of politicians keeping their jobs…”
-Daniel Ellsberg, Pentagon Papers Whistleblower
16:24 Meet Thomas Drake, Former Senior Executive of the NSA. WhistleBlower.
18:23 Meet Michael Dekort, Former Lead Systems Engineer of the Deepwater Program. Whistleblower.
20:40 Meet Thomas Tamm, Former Attorney in the Department of Justice. WhistleBlower.
23:21 Hear how Drake, Dekort and Tamm arrived at their fateful decisions to brave the risk and blow the whistle.
“…we nickname whistleblowing the sound of professional suicide.”
Tom Devine, Legal Director, Government Accountability Project
32:26 Michael Dekort uses YouTube as a last resort tactic to be heard. It worked.
35:26 Drake recounts the day they came for him, the charges made against him and the severity of punishments he faced under the Espionage Act.
“I met the Chief prosecutor at a secret FBI facility in Maryland where the prosecutor threatened me with spending the rest of my life in prison…”
-Thomas Drake
39:55 The Obama administration began with promises of transparency and accountability to the American people, yet turned very quickly in to an administration that has cracked down on Whistleblowers harder than any other. Thomas Tamm also finds himself charged under the Espionage Act.
44:55 Jesselyn Radack writes an article in the L.A times on behalf of Thomas Drake calling attention to the differences between “leaking” and “whistleblowing”. The tide turns for Drake who begins to receive long overdue recognition for telling the truth.
47:10 Thomas Tamm recalls his moment to speak and be heard in the press.
51:12 It’s a bittersweet moment when Thomas Drake is vindicated.
52:49 The Obama administration prosecutes, prosecutes, prosecutes some more.
“Efforts to target me have continued under the Obama administration which has been aggressively investigating whistleblowers in a way that will have a chilling effect on the freedom of the press in the United States.”
-James Risen
55:07 The government uses selective leaking to release only the stories that cast them in a good light.
1:02 What kind of nation are we becoming? Edward Snowden encourages us to decide what kind of contribution we will make together, not just by saying, but by doing.
ABOUT BRAVE NEW FILMS
Robert Greenwald and Brave New Films are at the forefront of the fight to create a just America. Using new media and internet video campaigns, Brave New Films has created a quick-strike capability that informs the public, challenges corporate media with the truth, and motivates people to take action on social issues nationwide. Brave New Films’ investigative films have scrutinized the impact of U.S. drone strikes; the war on whistleblowers; and Wal Mart’s corporate practices. The company’s films have received more than 56 million views online.
The last time we exposed the Koch Brothers’ dealings to the world we here at Brave New Films wound up in their crosshairs. They produced online ad campaigns attacking us, but, it takes more than a banner ad to slow us down.
We’ve reissued Koch Brothers Exposed in an updated version, Koch Brothers Exposed: 2014 Edition, to shine a light on them. We’ve delved even deeper into where their money is going, who their money is hurting, and how much they are making during this whole process leading up to the 2014 Elections.
Two years ago when we made this film very few people knew who the Koch Brothers were or what the Koch Brothers were doing. But now, we so strongly believe that everyone should know what is happening that with your help and donations we are able to offer the film for free. We want to make sure everyone has an opportunity to see the truth.
(5:11) How the Koch Brothers use Citizens United to corrupt democracy
(7:11) The Koch plan to re-segregate public schools
In my latest book (print or e-book) “Atomic Cover-Up: Two U.S. Soldiers, Hiroshima & Nagasaki, and The Greatest Movie Never Made,” I probe a turning point in U.S. history: the suppression of film footage, for decades, shot by a U.S. Army unit in the atomic cities — a wrong turn with staggering consequences even today. This is a detective story, a profile of two remarkable military officers, and one of the last little-told stories of World War II. The cover-up even extended to MGM and Hollywood–and to President Truman. And there was no WikiLeaks to get the film aired.
As co-author of the classic “Hiroshima in America” and eleven other books, I’ve written about elements of this story for leading newspapers and magazines, but now I tell the full saga here, based on new research — from the Truman Library to Nagasaki.
Praise for my “Hiroshima in America” book: “A great book” — Los Angeles Times. “Compelling reading.”
Learn more about The Witness to an Extreme Century at http://books.simonandschuster.com/Wit… Author Robert Lifton recounts some of the moments in history he experienced in his work throughout the world.
Gernot Wagner, lead senior economist at the Environmental Defense Fund, and Martin Weitzman, economics professor at Harvard University, weigh in on the costs that would be incurred if climate change is left unaddressed and explain why today’s economic realities make passage of legislation to address the issue difficult. Gernot Wagner and Martin Weitzman speak at Harvard Book Store in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Judith Miller talks about her career as a journalist and her reporting on WMD leading up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq. She spoke at Poltics and Prose Bookstore in Washington, DC.
Welcome to Transition Studies. To prosper for very much longer on the changing Earth humankind will need to move beyond its current fossil-fueled civilization toward one that is sustained on recycled materials and renewable energy. This is not a trivial shift. It will require a major transition in all aspects of our lives.
This weblog explores the transition to a sustainable future on our finite planet. It provides links to current news, key documents from government sources and non-governmental organizations, as well as video documentaries about climate change, environmental ethics and environmental justice concerns.
The links are listed here to be used in whatever manner they may be helpful in public information campaigns, course preparation, teaching, letter-writing, lectures, class presentations, policy discussions, article writing, civic or Congressional hearings and citizen action campaigns, etc. For further information on this blog see: About this weblog. and How to use this weblog.
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