I was able to obtain the entire 4-VHS-tape set through WNET (the PBS in New York) in 2004. Since then, I watched the set a few times, and recommended it to friends and foes.
This expensive project was started by Ted Turner in the late '90s (1998, as I remember). A great deal of research had been made and a good deal of footage was prepared before 9/11/2001. However, after 9/11, the producers decided to 'start from scratch', and they came up with these 4 programs in 2003. To the credit of the producers, the series does not try to hide some of the criminal record of the US government. It also has a wide enough global reach (covering events in Japan, China, Russia, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka --among other places). In history, it goes as far back as Ancient Greece (when mentioning the first known use of 'biological weapons').
The 4 programs, running close to 8 hours, make a decent effort to demonstrate that the issues are global in nature. However, in the end, too little criticism is directed to nation-states and empires that are responsible for much of the existing human threat to humankind --directly and indirectly. At the end of each program (after about 90 minutes of highly-concentrated informative footage), a few 'experts' are interviewed by Frank Sesno. The vast majority of the 'experts' are, sadly, from the US. Few of these experts have the courage to express a need for supranational approaches to the problems.
This particular program (# 2 out of 4 in the series) shows a 'nuclear thief' who claims, after he was caught trying to sell nuclear material to undercover agents, that he was trying to build an animal shelter for the cats that he rescues! Sounds like a good enough excuse to blow up our planet, doesn't it?! Prime candidate for public execution, if they ask me! Despite the lack of courageous 'remedy proposals', the programs may be useful for most mortals on our planet. There is also a companion book to this documentary. Sadly, I have not seen that yet.
This expensive project was started by Ted Turner in the late '90s (1998, as I remember). A great deal of research had been made and a good deal of footage was prepared before 9/11/2001. However, after 9/11, the producers decided to 'start from scratch', and they came up with these 4 programs in 2003. To the credit of the producers, the series does not try to hide some of the criminal record of the US government. It also has a wide enough global reach (covering events in Japan, China, Russia, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka --among other places). In history, it goes as far back as Ancient Greece (when mentioning the first known use of 'biological weapons').
The 4 programs, running close to 8 hours, make a decent effort to demonstrate that the issues are global in nature. However, in the end, too little criticism is directed to nation-states and empires that are responsible for much of the existing human threat to humankind --directly and indirectly. At the end of each program (after about 90 minutes of highly-concentrated informative footage), a few 'experts' are interviewed by Frank Sesno. The vast majority of the 'experts' are, sadly, from the US. Few of these experts have the courage to express a need for supranational approaches to the problems.
This particular program (# 2 out of 4 in the series) shows a 'nuclear thief' who claims, after he was caught trying to sell nuclear material to undercover agents, that he was trying to build an animal shelter for the cats that he rescues! Sounds like a good enough excuse to blow up our planet, doesn't it?! Prime candidate for public execution, if they ask me! Despite the lack of courageous 'remedy proposals', the programs may be useful for most mortals on our planet. There is also a companion book to this documentary. Sadly, I have not seen that yet.
