15 July 2008 - Winter Soldier, Iraq and Afghanistan - Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupations: Winter Soldier featured testimony from U.S. veterans who served in the current occupations, giving an accurate account of what is really happening day in and day out, on the ground. This four-day event brought together veterans from across the country to testify about their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan - and present video and photographic evidence. In addition, panels of scholars, veterans, journalists, and other specialists gave context to the testimony. These panels covered everything from the history of the GI resistance movement to the fight for veterans' health benefits and support. Our program featured highlights of this testimony, and was hosted by Jim Rine, a Vietnam era Captain in the U.S. Army. He is currently the President of the Houston Chapter of Veterans for Peace.
20 May 2008 - Earthlings is a feature length documentary about humanity's absolute dependence on animals (for pets, food, clothing, entertainment, and scientific research) but also illustrates our complete disrespect for these so-called "non-human providers." The film is narrated by Academy Award nominee Joaquin Phoenix (GLADIATOR) and features music by the critically acclaimed platinum artist Moby. With an in-depth study into pet stores, puppy mills and animals shelters, as well as factory farms, the leather and fur trades, sports and entertainment industries, and finally the medical and scientific profession, EARTHLINGS uses hidden cameras and never before seen footage to chronicle the day-to-day practices of some of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely entirely on animals for profit. Powerful, informative and thought-provoking, EARTHLINGS is by far the most comprehensive documentary ever produced on the correlation between nature, animals, and human economic interests. There are many worthy animal rights films available, but this one transcends the setting. EARTHLINGS cries to be seen. Highly recommended! For more info, see http://www.isawearthlings.com/.
15 April 2008 - Ouch! The Temperature Is Rising!: Ron Hayden, Sierra Club (Houston Chapter) leader on Energy Policy and Global Warming shared some useful information with us. During the presentation Ron answered the questions, "What is global warming? What causes global warming? What can we do to solve the problem of global warming?" Ron helped us sift through the disinformation that often confuses the average person when making decisions about elected officials' actions, policy-making, and what an individual person can do to most effectively implement change. The verdict is in from the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC), the UN mandated panel of 2500 climate scientists working on this issue since 1990. Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions from human activity causes global warming.
18 march 2008 - Environmental Double Feature (BTW - both of these documentaries can be
viewed on-line simply by clicking on the link):
The Story of Stuff:
From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities
at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute,
fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of
Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us
together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you
laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.
Bogotá - Building
a sustainable city:
a look at how a major South American metropolis dealt with its serious problems, such as traffic
congenstion, high crime and population density. There are many huge cities in the less developed world that
have drawn masses of impoverished people from the surrounding countryside into high density shantytowns and slums.
Cities fitting this description exist on several continents. This documentary is a study on how one city of
7 million re-invented itself. After getting an estimate on what it would take to solve its gridlock in
transportation with expensive new infrastructure, it chose the opposite approach. It banned cars on
many streets, converting them to bike paths and walkways. The busses which clogged its streets (and
were owned by organized crime) were replaced with a new public transportation system. And during the
decade of the 90's, crime was reduced by 71%.
19 February 2008 - Uncounted: The New Math of American Elections This is an explosive new documentary that shows how the election fraud that changed the outcome of the 2004 election led to even greater fraud in 2006 - and now looms as an unbridled threat to the outcome of the 2008 election. This controversial feature length film by Emmy award-winning director David Earnhardt examines in factual, logical, and yet startling terms how easy it is to change election outcomes and undermine election integrity across the U.S. Noted computer programmers, statisticians, journalists, and experienced election officials provide the irrefutable proof.
15 January 2008 - School to Prison Pipeline: Maida Asofsky, Houston ACLU Regional Director, spoke on the subject of the "School to Prison Pipeline." A short video was viewed, and discussion centered on the subject of Zero Tolerance in schools, which tracks minority students into institutions that are anything but educational. This topic would be of interest to parents, teachers and school administrators, people working within the legal system and many concerned citizens. Bio: Maida Asofsky graduated from Smith College in 1964, earned a master's degree at Columbia University in biology in 1967. She graduated from Brooklyn Law School in 1979. From 1979 until 1990, she practiced as a trial attorney in the New York State Attorney General's office, from 1990-1992, in the City of Houston, Department of Law. She had a small private practice from 1992 until 2004 when she took her current position as Houston Regional Director for the ACLU of Texas. She is currently on the boards of the Houston Ballet, the Jewish Community Center, and the Friends of Women's Studies.
20 November 2007 - We - Featuring the words of Arundhati Roy: We is a fast-paced 64 minute documentary that covers the world politics of power, war, corporations, deception and exploitation. It visualizes the words of Arundhati Roy, specifically her famous Come September speech, where she spoke on such things as the war on terror, corporate globalization, justice and the growing civil unrest. It's witty, moving, alarming and quite a lesson in modern history. We is almost in the style of a continuous music video. The music used sets the pace and serves as wonderful background for the words of Ms. Roy and images of humanity in the world we live all in today.
16 October 2007 - Thirst - The Coming Worldwide Shortage of Fresh
Water:
The rush to privatize water is underway across the world. With an increasing population and a decreasing
supply (due to pollution), the onset of this crisis will be sudden. Wars will be fought as violently as
those over oil. Yet, international corporations are positioning themselves to profit from this scenario.
Free market? Hardly, not when monopoly access to all available sources (public and private, above and
below ground) are granted by governments and backed by police power. The documentary focuses on Stockton,
California (where grassroots opposition was mobilized and defeated), and the desert region of Rajistan,
India (where the price of water is now higher than milk).
18 September 2007 - Black Diamonds - Mountaintop Removal and the Fight for Coalfield Justice: Black Diamonds charts the escalating drama in Appalachia over the alarming increase in large mountaintop coal mines. These mammoth operations have covered 1200 miles of headwater streams with mining waste; demolished thousands of acres of hardwood forest; and flattened hundred of Appalachian mountain peaks. Citizen testimony and visual documentation interwoven with the perspectives of government officials, activists, and scientists create a riveting portrait of an American region fighting for its life -- caught between the grinding wheels of the national appetite for cheap energy and an enduring sense of Appalachian culture, pride, and natural beauty.
21 August 2007 - Sir! No Sir! - The Suppressed Story of the GI Movement to End the War in Vietnam: The Vietnam War has been the subject of hundreds of films, both fiction and non-fiction, but this story - the story of the rebellion of thousands of American soldiers against the war - has never been told in film.This is certainly not for lack of evidence. By the Pentagon’s own figures, 503,926 “incidents of desertion” occurred between 1966 and 1971; officers were being “fragged” (killed with fragmentation grenades by their own troops) at an alarming rate; and by 1971 entire units were refusing to go into battle in unprecedented numbers. In the course of a few short years, over 100 underground newspapers were published by soldiers around the world; local and national antiwar GI organizations were joined by thousands; thousands more demonstrated against the war at every major base in the world in 1970 and 1971, including in Vietnam itself; stockades and federal prisons were filling up with soldiers jailed for their opposition to the war and the military. If you missed this program, check the website for the availability of the DVD.
17 July 2007 - A Crude Awakening - the Oil Crash: OilCrash, produced and directed by award-winning European journalists and filmmakers Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack, tells the story of how our civilization’s addiction to oil puts it on a collision course with geology. Compelling, intelligent, and highly entertaining, the film visits with the world’s top experts and comes to a startling, but logical conclusion – our industrial society, built on cheap and readily available oil, must be completely re-imagined and overhauled.
19 June 2007 - While Others Were Silent (a movie about Dennis Kucinich: You were right. You knew that invading Iraq would damage our country's reputation and ruin our economy. You pleaded for our government to stop the war, to stop the funding, and to put a stop to the illegal quest for oil. It's been 5 years since your warnings were left unanswered. Our country is bleeding money and bleeding lives, yet our legislators continue to approve plans that string out occupation and continue to line the pockets of war profiteers. Many people of this country were blinded by the flash of fear brought on by 9-11. but their vision is returning and they see the damage that has been done, the loss of life, the loss of liberty, and the loss of the American Dream. You know this person. It could be a family member, a friend, a co-worker, the shop owner at the corner, or someone from the gym.
15 May 2007 - Money as Debt: "I have worked for a long time looking into monetary reform and after 10 years, finally someone has produced a DVD entitled "Money as Debt". It is a fabulous fun yet powerful introduction to the issue of monetary reform. It's the best over view I have seen so far; the best by far. ESSENTIAL! Everyone should watch it! The topic of DebtMoney is THE issue of our times. It forms the basis to every nation's areas of core material and spiritual concerns such as economic development, employment and environmental sustainability. If only government officials, civil society organizations, environmental groups, unions and well meaning international development strategists trying to eradicate poverty really understood this topic. The world would be a much better place. Only 47 minutes long, this DVD is ideal for public education in schools, colleges and universities, as well as individual or family viewing, with lots of juicy re-useable quotes from prominent bankers, economists and presidents." Elizabeth J. Kucinich. Use the link above to obtain this important economics lesson if you missed the meeting.
19 October 2006 - 911 Press for Truth: Tis the Season! The 5th anniversary of September 11th had just past, and with it the barrage of media coverage trumpeting the official version of the story and justification for war. Through it all, our “War President” was milking the tragedy for election year brownie points and a lame excuse to “stay the course”. There are a lot of 911 conspiracy documentaries, and the quality of the research varies. We have all heard the one about what hit the Pentagon, which is the first issue the media jumps all over when they want to discredit all inquiry into the events. For more on how the media discredits 911 research, click here. The documentary we screened is very different. There is no discussion at all about the physical evidence at the crash scenes, which is probably good since there are too many variables involved in getting this evidence into court. “911 Press for Truth” follows a research methodology more closely related to a criminal investigation. It uses the public record of statements made by government officials to prove that they are lying. This documentary does a good job at that, and clearly shows the link to Pakistan’s ISI in funding the attacks and protecting bin Laden (even during the Afghan War).
15 August 2006 - Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price: This is the documentary film sensation that's changing the largest company on earth. The film features the deeply personal stories and everyday lives of families and communities struggling to survive in a Wal-Mart world. It's an emotional journey that will challenge the way you think, feel... and shop. It hits hard at the retailer from many angles, showing how it uses government aid domestically, and takes advantage of oppressive dictatorships abroad. There is clandestine footage taken inside Wal-Mart affiliated factories in China which is especially revealing.
18 July 2006 - The Concept of Community Radio:
We viewed the documentary, "KPFA on the Air". This award-winning film followed the origin of
KPFA – the first listener-sponsored, commercial-free radio
station. There was live footage of Lew Hill (who originated the concept) and many historical audio moments
only available through the Pacifica Radio Archives. The film actually begins with footage of KPFT's Garland
Ganter, holding a megaphone to announce the arrest of everyone at KPFA. Those were dark days.
Programmer Testifies to Rigging Florida Voting Software:
We had time after the KPFA film to view the court testimony of
Clint Curtis, the Tallahassee computer programmer who was directed in 2000 by his supervisor, Republican
Speaker of the House Tom Feeney (now a U.S. Congressman) to rig voting machines in south Florida to
flip the vote. He says he can make ANY election come out 51% / 49% in favor of the Republican, and the
tampering would never be detected. He is currently running for Feeney's House seat, personally attesting
to the corruption he witnessed behind closed doors. You can click the
link now to view this testimony.
20 June 2006 - Nobelity: A stunning look at the world's most pressing problems through the eyes of Nobel Laureates, Nobelity follows Austin-based filmmaker Turk Pipkin's personal journey to find enlightening answers about the kind of world our children and grandchildren will know. Filmed across the U.S., and in France, England, India, and Africa, Nobelity combines the insights of nine distinguished Nobelists with a first-person view of world problems and the children who are most challenged by them.
16 May 2006 - Enron, Smartest Guys in the Room: This documentary is based on the best-selling book of the same name by Fortune reporters Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, a multidimensional study of one of the biggest business scandals in American history. The chronicle takes a look at one of the greatest corporate disasters in history, in which top executives from the 7th largest company in this country walked away with over one billion dollars, leaving investors and employees with nothing. The film features insider accounts and rare corporate audio and video tapes hat reveal colossal personal excesses of the Enron hierarchy and the utter moral vacuum that posed as corporate philosophy. The human drama that unfolds within Enron's walls resembles a Greek tragedy and produces a domino effect that could shape the face of our economy and ethical code for years to come.
21 March 2006 - Houston Climate Protection Alliance: Nan Hildreth gave a slide show entitled "The Emperor's New Clothes: What the authorities aren't saying about energy prices, climate disruption, and our future, but is obvious enough. Also, what you can do about it." The program was about rising gasoline prices, peak oil, transportation and land use, climate disruption, empire, how they are all connected. She talked about what you can do about it. Nan has been learning about peak oil with Texas oil professionals in Houston Peak Oil Progressives. She is a founding member of Houston Climate Protection Alliance.
21 Feb 2006 - Montgomery County Peace and Justice Network: Stever Harr is the founder of a new non-partisan group locally. They have already held two major events. The first featured Colonel Ann Wright, the high-ranking State Department diplomat who resigned her post in protest of Iraq war. The second event featured Cindy Sheehan. Both events were held at Montgomery College here in the Woodlands. The new group has a dedicated core of activists based in local churches, and holds a weekly Peace Vigil on the bridge over the lake on Lake Woodlands Parkway.
17 Jan 2006 - School of Assassins: A
documentary narrated by Susan Sarandon explores the School of the Americas
in Fort Benning, Georgia (renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute
for Security Cooperation). They train personnel as latin american proxies to extend America's influence in
Central and South American countries. Graduates have included many military leaders accused of human rights abuse
and death squad activity.
Fallujah - The
Hidden Massacre: A second documentary was shown at this meeting. It documented the use of chemical
weapons by American troops in Fallujah - especially White Phosphorus. The footage was very compelling and
disturbing. This video is in the public domain, and can be downloaded or viewed online by clicking on the
link.
20 Dec 2005 - The Good War, and those who
refused to fight it: 40,000 Americans refused to shoulder weapons in "the good war"
because their conscience would not allow them to kill another human
being. In the face of criticism and scorn, the men challenged the limits of
democracy in wartime. Many participated in the social movements that
transformed America in the generations that followed.
FEMA Camp Video: A 6 minute video was shown that was recorded from the parking lot of a FEMA
installation near Indianapolis. It convincingly shows that this installaion is intended for the
mass internment of civilians. Sound far-fetched? Click here for details.
18 Oct 2005 - The Education of Shelby Knox: Two photographers follow a high school girl, Shelby Knox, as she explores her school and extra-curricular environment in Lubbock, Texas. Despite differing personal opinions, Shelby's parents support their daughter's involvement in a student organization that advises the mayor's council. Her minister responds to probing questions on religious matters that affect students' lives. This movie provides an intimate study of parent-child relationships, the cultural and political aspects of sex-education in public schools and the impact of religion on secular society.
20 Sep 2005 - Beyond Treason: This documentary reports on the exposure of hundreds of thousands of troops to nuclear and biological hazards, experiments, and modern toxic weaponry (especially depleted uranium). This documentary is very well done, and shows that an unacceptable percentage of our troops end up permanently disabled as a result of their service.
16 Aug 2005 - Cultural Creatives- How Fifty Million Americans Could Change Our World: Our speaker was Nan Hildreth. Nan says, "It's not just you and a few friends who are concerned about our common future. A fourth of Americans are part of the emerging subculture named Cultural Creatives by demographer, Paul Ray." A short video of Ray was also be shown. To test if you are a Cultural Creative take this questionnaire: www.culturalcreatives.org/questionnaire.html.
19 Jul 2005 - You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train: Howard Zinn is inspiring a new generation. This documentary examined the amazing life of the renowned historian, activist and author. Following his early days as a shipyard labor organizer and bombardier in World War II, Zinn became an academic rebel and leader of civil disobedience in a time of institutionalized racism and war. His influential writings shine light on and bring voice to factory workers, immigrant laborers, African Americans, Native Americans and the working poor.
21 Jun 2005 - Did God Feng Shui America? Our speaker was Master Lam Quan. Why is America the most powerful country in the world? Aside from our political and military power, Feng Shui has another answer to this question. Our lands's natural positioning gave birth to a super country.
17 May 2005 - The Yes Men: The documentary "Yes Men" began as a parody website which lampooned the World Trade Organization. However, some banker types took it seriously and invited the leftist geeks to speak at major conferences of international bankers as WTO representatives. They accepted, and caught it all on video.
19 Apr 2005 - Training Session from Americans for Democracy: Learn how conservatives think and how to counter their arguments. Progressives need to go beyond using facts to argue their side; they need to "reframe" the debate. This session, led by a debate coach, helped us learn how to communicate effectively. (Based on the book, Don't Think of an Elephant, by George Lakoff.)
15 Mar 2005 - Mosquito Borne Diseases vs. Commonly Used Pesticides: Lynne Aldrich (Environmental Service Manger of Community Association of The Woodlands) explains the real risks. New, more environmentally safe efforts can change the way we control mosquitoes in Montgomery County. Grassroots support for this initiative is imperative because people are reluctant to give up their addiction to dangerous pesticides.
18 Jan 2005 - Post Election 2004: Dr. John Domino, professor of Political Science at Sam Houston State University was our featured speaker. His topic was "Strategies for Democrats, Moderates, and Grass Roots Groups. Idealism vs Realism and the hard fight ahead with the use of SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS."
21 Dec 2004 - The Perfect Storm for America's Economy? A confluence of problems is closing in on our country: Peak Oil, runaway budget and trade deficits, derivative bubble, housing bubble, export of our manufacturing base, and more. Our occupation in Iraq is doomed to fail, and would likely result in a loss of American influence throughout the middle east (where 70% of the world's remaining oil resides). Will our economy fall gently into recession, or will the shock be more sudden?
16 Nov 2004 - End of Suburbia: The world will consume the world's remaining oil supply within the lifetime of most Americans alive today. Our nation, economy and lifestyle is not only dependent on oil: it is dependent on CHEAP oil. The crisis will NOT commence when we use the last drop, but when world demand overruns production capacity. This is happening NOW. We currently consume a billion barrels every 11 1/2 days, and 5 barrels for every new one that is discovered in reserves. The documentary examines the consequences of "Peak Oil" - the point where production levels off and goes into permanent decline.
19 Oct 2004 - Conspiracy Night! Well, we screened 911 in Plane Site. It uses the actual TV converage of that day to point out some of the many anomalies that need an explanation. We followed with an audio clip by Michael C. Ruppert regarding the confluence of military exercises held on the morning of 9/11 (including a hijack drill), which had our air defenses deployed over the arctic and otherwise unprepared for a response to the attacks. He claims complicity.
21 Sep 2004 - OutFoxed - Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism: "Outfoxed" examines how media empires, led by Rupert Murdoch's Fox News, have been running a "race to the bottom" in television news. This film provides an in-depth look at Fox News and the dangers of ever-enlarging corporations taking control of the public's right to know. The film explores Murdoch's burgeoning kingdom and the impact on society when a broad swath of media is controlled by one person.
17 Aug 2004 - Clean Up Congress Without DeLay: Richard Morrison was the Democratic challenger against Tom DeLay in 2004, and came to speak before our group during campaign season. Turnout for this event was the largest of any meeting of Concerned Citizens, at about 95. It was standing room only. Morrison was very upbeat, and confident that an upset victory over DeLay was possible. Well, maybe in 2006.
15 Jun 2004 - Uncovered: The War on Iraq: Filmmaker Robert Greenwald chronicles the Bush Administration's determined quest to invade Iraq following the events of September 11, 2001. The film deconstructs the administration's case for war through interviews with U.S intelligence and defense officials, foreign service experts, and U.N. weapons inspectors -- including a former CIA director, a former ambassador to Saudi Arabia and even President Bush's Secretary of the Army. This was a groundbreaking documentary when we screened it. Now it is all old news.
18 May 2004 - Afghan Massacre - The Convoy of Death: This documentary tells of the horrific forced journey undertaken by thousands of prisoners who surrendered to America’s Afghan allies after the siege of Konduz. Eye witnesses tell of the disposal of the bodies in an operation controlled by American Special Forces. We screened this documentary prior to the start of the Iraq War. So much has happened since.
20 Apr 2004 - Computerized Vote Fraud: We were priviledged to have as our guest, Assistant Professor Dan S. Wallach of the Department of Computer Science at Rice University. His specialty is computer security, and he was on the team that examined the source code written for Diebold's new voting machines now widely installed throughout the country. His conclusion is that the software is poorly written and that elections can easily be hacked. More on this at www.blackboxvoting.org
16 Mar 2004 - Unprecedented - The 2000 Presidential Election: This documentary tells the riveting story about the battle for the Presidency in Florida and the undermining of democracy in America. Filmmakers Richard Ray Pérez and Joan Sekler examine modern America's most controversial political contest: the election of George W. Bush. What emerges is a disturbing picture of an election marred by suspicious irregularities, electoral injustices, and sinister voter purges in a state governed by the winning candidate's brother. George W. Bush stole the presidency of the United States, and got away with it. Discussion followed, and the meeting was hosted by Professor Jim Good and Attorney Linda Good. Of course, we now know that 2004 was much worse, with Bush stealing a minimum of 5 "battleground" states: Ohio, New Mexico, Nevada, Iowa, Florida and probably also Colorado. When a definitive documentary covering all the problems of this election is released, we will show it at Concerned Citizens.