September 3 marks the 85th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War

For those interested, here are some materials and documentaries related to the world’s worst war A New History of the Second World War Was Vichy France a Puppet Government or a Willing Nazi Collaborator? The Second World War Remember this lady. In memory of Irena Sendler Sophie Scholl and the White Rose Clara Zetkin: Fascism must be defeated (1932) Traute Lafrenz,… Read More September 3 marks the 85th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War

Israel, Gaza, and the ‘Merchants of Death’ / Israeli Film Festival Cancelled in Mumbai After Citizen Campaign

Ramin Mirfakhraie On July 24, 2024, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a speech to a joint session of the United States Congress, where nearly half of the House and Senate Democrats were not present. In his address, which was presented in terms of a binary opposition between barbarism (“Iran’s axis of terror”) and civilization (“America, Israel, and… Read More Israel, Gaza, and the ‘Merchants of Death’ / Israeli Film Festival Cancelled in Mumbai After Citizen Campaign

Alicia Vikander: ‘If you’re depicting an abusive relationship, you can’t shy away’

To get into the mindset of her latest character, Henry VIII’s sixth and final wife, Catherine Parr, Alicia Vikander would put in her AirPods between takes, alternating between classical music and “a lot” of techno. “It gave me a bit of physical stress,” she recalls. “Something that never stopped, like a heartbeat that always goes… Read More Alicia Vikander: ‘If you’re depicting an abusive relationship, you can’t shy away’

Dr Strangelove: how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb. Stanley Kubrick, 1963

NB: NATO, Russia, North Korea etc are all flexing nuclear muscles. The film referred to above was made sixty-one years ago, and is even more relevant, given the increase in the number of insane old men dreaming of mushroom clouds. And this is a link to the source of this article, the Cardiff University Philosophy… Read More Dr Strangelove: how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb. Stanley Kubrick, 1963

‘The big story of the 21st century.’ Is this the most shocking documentary of the year?

Six years in the making, jaw-dropping new film The Grab shows a secret scramble by governments and private firms to buy up global resources…‘There’s no doctrine for what we’re going through right now. It’s just capitalism’. : what oil was to the 20th century, food and water will be to the 21st – precious, geopolitically… Read More ‘The big story of the 21st century.’ Is this the most shocking documentary of the year?

Raphael: A Portrait review – lengthy but illuminating study of Renaissance master

 there’s something admirable about Burton’s diligence and essay-like style; there are no curatorial talking heads involved, still less swooping travelling shots inside well-appointed art galleries Andrew Pulver Source: Universal Images Here is a mammoth 148-minute documentary about the Renaissance painter Raphael, which in its sheer length and detail is an impressive achievement in itself by… Read More Raphael: A Portrait review – lengthy but illuminating study of Renaissance master

Documentary Details How Netanyahu Funded and Boosted Hamas

By Four Corners / ABC News (Larry’s List) Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas – but he enabled its development. Four Corners asked Israeli insiders how this happened in the new documentary, The Forever War *********************************************** The Gaza genocide as explicit policy: Michael Hudson names all names The End of Innocence The Palestine Exception to… Read More Documentary Details How Netanyahu Funded and Boosted Hamas

Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof sentenced to eight years in prison and flogging

NB: The Iranian regime is a tyrannical theocracy, which permits no criticism, no deviation from so-called divinely sanctioned modes of behaviour. To punish people with flogging and imprisonment for speaking truth about corruption is itself a criminal act. It should never be forgotten that the regime’s leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa for the execution… Read More Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof sentenced to eight years in prison and flogging