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Title: Renewed calls for constitutional change in Myanmar’s ‘military-state’
Description: "Constitutional change was a 2015 election campaign promise of Myanmar’s National League for Democracy (NLD) and Aung San Suu Kyi. As the 2020 elections loom large, they are now revisiting the proposal to recapture the attention and support of the people. Over the past three years, the NLD government has been busy dealing with a wide range of governance issues. The peace process has been particularly difficult and hit a number of obstacles. It is unlikely that it will be able to show progress in this area. The NLD is instead turning to amending the military-enacted constitution to stimulate electoral momentum. Reforms could potentially affect the military’s role in governance, and so the move is mired in controversy. To begin with, the NLD raised this legislative motion on the date of the commemoration of U Ko Ni — a lawyer and former advisor to the NLD — who was assassinated on 26 January 2017. Ko Ni was the country’s most vocal advocate for constitutional reform. His death has had a chilling effect on efforts to amend the Constitution. When the NLD proposed forming a committee to amend the Constitution in the national legislature, the military claimed that they had failed to follow the correct procedure. All of the military members of parliament refused to vote on the motion as a show of defiance. They have done this on a handful of other occasions, such as when the NLD proposed creating the Office of State Counsellor specifically for Aung San Suu Kyi. The military has also suggested they may not participate in the legislative committee..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "East Asia Forum" (Australia)
Date of publication: 2019-03-13
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 43.68 KB (4 pages)
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Title: Why GAD reform matters to Myanmar
Description: "With its ubiquitous presence, expansive mandate and long history within the military-led Ministry of Home Affairs, the General Administration Department (GAD) has been Myanmar’s paramount government agency, acting as the backbone of public administration. News of its removal from Home Affairs and placement into the Ministry of the Office of the Union Government last December shocked many — widespread belief prevailed that the reassignment of GAD was a red line that the military would not tolerate an elected government crossing. Removing a key department from a military-led ministry is notable, but there is more to be done. The National League for Democracy (NLD) government should think critically about how governance can be reformed to steer the country towards its goals of peace and full democracy. For the NLD government, the GAD’s transition represents the most important public sector reform since democratic transition began in 2011. For State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, the removal of the GAD from Home Affairs demonstrates that significant structural reform can be achieved under an NLD tenure, even reform that demilitarises the state apparatus by placing key departments under full civilian control. The GAD’s power within government derives from its role in convening, communicating and coordinating across ministries rather than through its own executive decision-making power. Essentially, it is the ‘process manager’ over a large swathe of the country’s public administration. With the GAD transfer, the Office of the Union Government now has full control of the country’s paramount agency of administration..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "East Asia Forum" (Australia)
Date of publication: 2019-08-24
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 37.34 KB (3 pages)
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Title: Proposal tabled for soldiers to vote outside of camps in Myanmar
Description: "CHANGES have been proposed to allow soldiers and their family members cast votes outside of military camps during elections in Myanmar. The proposal tabled by the Union Election Commission (UEC) would abolish military polling stations if passed by the Union Parliament, according to The Irrawaddy. The UEC sought polling stations to be set up outside military camps so that soldiers and their family members can cast votes with civilian voters. This aims to make the process more transparent as it allows for candidates, observers and party representatives to move freely and monitor at the polling stations. Concerns have been raised recently on election process in military camps, prompting the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) to oppose placing polling stations inside barracks ahead of the general election next year. Military spokesperson Major-General Tun Tun Nyi in response to the NLD’s objection had said members of the military and their families need to vote inside the barracks as they are busy to go outside. “We are on duty 24 hours per day. It is difficult for both military personnel and their family members to go vote outside,” he said in a military press conference in Naypyitaw last month. Since the 2010 general election, military personnel and their family members have voted in military compounds..."
Source/publisher: "New Straits Times" (Malaysia)
Date of publication: 2019-11-06
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Medic from Myanmar killed in shelling in Syria's northeast
Sub-title: American founder of the Free Burma Rangers blame the Free Syrian Army and Turkish troops for deadly shelling.
Description: "Shelling by Turkey-backed opposition fighters killed a medic from Myanmar and wounded another Iraqi member of the humanitarian team on Sunday in northeastern Syria, where fighting between Kurdish fighters and Turkey-backed gunmen continued, the humanitarian group said. David Eubank, a former member of US Army Special Forces and the founder of the Free Burma Rangers, said in a video that the attack occurred about 4km (three miles) from the northern town of Tal Tamr near the border with Turkey. Eubank said the medic, Zau Seng, was hit in the head by shrapnel from a mortar shell that struck nearby as he was filming a video of the fighting. "He died right away and we brought him here to Tal Tamr," Eubank said in the video, which also showed one of the aid group's armoured vehicles hit by shrapnel..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2019-11-04
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Global human rights and local politics
Topic: Aung San Suu Kyi, democracy, international relations, politics, Rohingya, diplomacy, tradition, culture
Sub-title: In countries undergoing a transition to democracy, deeply engrained social and intellectual tendencies are often at odds with idealistic international political norms.
Topic: Aung San Suu Kyi, democracy, international relations, politics, Rohingya, diplomacy, tradition, culture
Description: "“The mix within her of global human rights icon and steely Burmese politician is bound to be uneasy.” So wrote Mr William Burns, former deputy secretary of state in the Obama administration, of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in his contemporaneous notes on meeting her in Myanmar (The Back Channel: A Memoir of American Diplomacy and the Case for Its Renewal. NY: Random House, p. 270). This prescient conclusion captures the essence of Aung San Suu Kyi’s dilemma, and that of much of the Western world, in balancing international opinions and policies with Burmese political realities. She considers herself, as she has stated, a politician not an icon. She is, however, both. This unease has been dually fostered: in the West by Myanmar’s egregiously discriminatory and disastrous policy of ethnic cleansing (some claim genocide) against the Rohingya Muslim minority, but in Myanmar itself – where anti-Rohingya sentiment is virtually ubiquitous and repressive legislation against them enforced – by her administration’s lack of economic progress for those most in need. Among the urban and intellectual community, there is further disquiet because of the use of anti-democratic legislation, some of it dating from British colonial rule and continued under military autocracies. Although reports indicate her falling, if not failing, reputation, she remains relatively popular..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2019-11-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: United States will go on supporting Myanmar's democratic transition and economic transformation
Description: "The United States will go on supporting Myanmar's democratic transition and economic transformation, said Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, David R. Stilwell. The remarks of David R. Stilwell came from his meeting with Union Minister Kyaw Tin of the Ministry of International Cooperation in Nay Pyi Taw on October 29. In meeting with Union Minister Kyaw Tin, David R. Stilwell emphasized the United States will go on supporting Myanmar's democratic transition and economic transformation. The discussions outlined greater development in the role of Myanmar. Both sides frankly discussed bilateral relations between Myanmar and the U.S, the partnership meeting of Myanmar and the U.S, increased investment in education and trade, latest developments taking place in Rakhine State, economic cooperation of Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS), and continued cooperation with regional organizations including Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI). Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, David R. Stilwell called on State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi before meeting with Union Minister Kyaw Tin, according to the release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Eleven Media Group" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2019-10-31
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: In Myanmar, new parties challenge Suu Kyi's grip on power
Description: "New political groups are emerging to contest Myanmar’s next election in 2020, aiming to challenge the hegemony of national civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi after she has been weakened by escalating ethnic conflicts and slowing economic growth. Those factors were blamed by party officials for the poor performance of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) in by-elections in November, when it won only seven of the 13 seats up for grabs as regional and army-linked parties made gains. “Now that ethnic parties have allied with one another and prepared, we can’t fully rely on the power of the party. We must try harder than before to win the trust of the people,” said Dashi La Seng, an NLD lawmaker from the northern state of Kachin, where the party lost a seat in November. At stake is the future of Myanmar’s transition to democracy. The NLD swept to power in a landslide in 2015, winning a comfortable majority in parliament despite 25 percent of the seats being reserved for the army..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication: 2019-02-14
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Why Foreign Policy Matters to Myanmar’s Democratic Transition
Sub-title: In the best-case scenario, Myanmar would be rich like the East and democratic like the West.
Description: "Global media coverage has not been easy on Myanmar. The refugee crisis in northwestern Rakhine sparked a firestorm of international criticism that has only been intensified by allegations of ethnic cleansing. A barrage of punitive actions followed, though most were targeted at the Tatmadaw, the Myanmar military, and have not yet resulted in drastic, direct impact on the population at large. Still, serious contemplation was given to imposing broader economic restrictions, in particular the withdrawal of general scheme of preferences benefits by the European Union (EU). Myanmar’s tarnished images also brought about a decline in tourist arrivals, notably from Western countries. Foreign investors, fearing economic sanctions and reputational risk, have hesitated to bring in more capital. Coupled with public dissatisfaction over the pace of economic reforms and a period of exchange rate volatility, the country’s growth forecast has decreased to 6.2 percent in the 2018/2019 fiscal year, from the 6.8 percent growth experienced in the 2017/2018 fiscal year..."
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Source/publisher: "The Diplomat" (Japan)
Date of publication: 2019-10-22
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar: The Beginning of Reforms and the End of Sanctions
Sub-title: On 23 April 2012, the European Union (EU) suspended its sanctions against Burma/Myanmar in response to a series of domestic political reforms that have been enacted since Thein Sein became the new president in March 2011.
Description: "Since March 2011, Burma/Myanmar has witnessed a liberalization of the press, the release of political prisoners and the initiation of a political dialogue between the regime on the one hand and the opposition and ethnic groups on the other. The reforms culminated in by-elections on 1 April 2012, which in turn resulted in a landslide victory for Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD). Overall, political reforms in Burma/Myanmar are being initiated from “above.” They are elite-driven and stem from the president and progressive members of the military-dominated party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). Political reforms in Myanmar are a regime reaction to both internal and external factors. Internally, the military felt secure enough to embark on the slow liberalization of the political system. Externally, the growing economic presence of China seems to have worried the generals..."
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Source/publisher: "GIGA Institute of Asian Studies" (Germany)
Date of publication: 2012-04-23
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 313.43 KB
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Title: Political Education Programme for Junior Politicians in Myanmar
Description: "Junior politicians in Myanmar must navigate a rapidly changing political landscape. The establishment of the 2008 constitution has transformed the country’s form of government and left its mark on the nation’s core institutions, its civil society, and its media, as well as on the way these entities interact. Myanmar’s politicians have to address old challenges while coming up with solutions for new issues as they arise. This is a demanding task. The Political Education Programme for Junior Politicians (PEJP) is directed at young leaders who are engaged in party politics and wish to pursue a career as a politician or civil servant. The programme aims to introduce participants to new ways of thinking about key political ideas and practices while acquainting them with the skills necessary for a political career. The five-day intensive workshop will be held in Yangon from 5 to 9 November. It will engage participants on the topics of political institutions, campaigning tools, constituent relations, media analysis, and good governance. Participants are also invited to attend an academic conference on political parties in Myanmar, to be held in Yangon on the days following the workshop (10 and 11 November). Here participants will have the chance to learn from accomplished scholars from Myanmar and abroad..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "In cooperation with Initiative Austausch e.V. and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation"
Date of publication: 2018-11-09
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Shaping Past, Present, and Future: Political Parties and State Transformation in Myanmar
Description: "Political parties matter for political analysis, yet they have rarely been examined closely in relation to Myanmar’s trajectory in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Some parties, such as the AFPFL, the BSPP, the NLD, and the USDP, have shaped Myanmar at critical historical junctures or continue to exert a strong influence over its current development. But while we are aware of the important role political parties play, we know little beyond their history and political manifestos. Are traditional party types (elite party, mass party, catch-all party, cartel party, clientelist party, cleavage-based party) relevant in the context of Myanmar, or are we better off using novel categorisations? What kinds of party systems have existed in Myanmar and how have they influenced the current party system? How do party patronage networks work? What characterises the patterns of interparty competition in Myanmar, and what effect do parties have on Myanmar’s political transformation?..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "GIGA / Initiative Austausch e.V. / Friedrich Ebert Foundation" (Germany)
Date of publication: 2018-11-11
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Full extended interview: Arundhati Roy on Democracy Now!
Description: "Extended interview with Indian writer Arundhati Roy talking about her new novel "The Ministry of Utmost Happiness," Kashmir, Donald Trump’s upcoming meeting with Indian President Narendra Modi, and two of Roy’s biggest inspirations—Eduardo Galeano and John Berger"
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Democracy Now! via Youtube
Date of publication: 2017-06-23
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: An Hour with Noam Chomsky on Fascism, Nuclear Weapons, Climate Change, Julian Assange & More
Topic: Chomsky on Fascism, Nuclear Weapons, Climate Change, Julian Assange & More
Topic: Chomsky on Fascism, Nuclear Weapons, Climate Change, Julian Assange & More
Description: "In April, hundreds of people packed into the Old South Church in Boston to hear the world-renowned dissident and linguist Noam Chomsky speak. In this hour-long special, we air an excerpt of Chomsky’s speech and his on-stage interview with Amy Goodman"....includes transcript
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Democracy Now!
Date of publication: 2019-07-05
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: This Week in Parliament
Description: ''In the Lower House, military representative Major Zin Lin questioned the practicality of proposals approved by the national legislature, saying there was no way to measure their contributions to government projects because the government lacked a five-year plan for the term of the current administration...''
Source/publisher: The Irrawaddy
Date of publication: 2019-02-09
Date of entry/update: 2019-02-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez discusses Fahrenheit 11/9
Description: "Michael Moore's new film Fahrenheit 11/9 which explores Trump's rise to presidency has been considered a grim portrait of current affairs. Moore criticizes both left and right party while highlighting smaller grassroots movements including Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's political campaign. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won the Democratic primary in New York's 14th congressional district covering parts of the Bronx and Queens in New York City, defeating the incumbent Congressman, Democratic Caucus Chair Joe Crowley.
Creator/author: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Source/publisher: WGBH Forum Network
Date of publication: 2018-10-10
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Michael Moore v. Donald Trump in “Fahrenheit 11/9”: New Film Warns Our Democracy Is At Risk
Description: "https://democracynow.org - Fahrenheit 11/9—That’s the name of the new documentary premiering today by Oscar-winning filmmaker Michael Moore, a stunning retelling of the 2016 election and its aftermath. 11/9. That’s November 9th, the day Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election. In the film, Michael crosses the country, documenting not only the rise of Trumpism but also the teachers’ strikes sweeping the nation, the “blue wave” of progressive candidates in the 2018 primaries, the rise of student activism after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, and the water crisis in his hometown of Flint, Michigan. Moore spares no one in the wide-ranging documentary, which takes aim at the Democratic establishment, the New York Times and other mainstream media outlets, the electoral college, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and even himself. Michael Moore joins us in our studio to talk about the film and much more"
Creator/author: Amy Goodman, Michael Moore
Source/publisher: Democracy Now
Date of publication: 2018-09-21
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Michael Moore: Are We Going to Be Like the “Good Germans” Who Let Hitler Rise to Power?
Description: "https://democracynow.org - In his new documentary “Fahrenheit 11/9,” filmmaker Michael Moore interviews the last surviving Nuremberg prosecutor, Ben Ferencz, who describes President Trump’s policy of family separations at the U.S.-Mexico border and the large-scale detention of immigrant children as a “crime against humanity.” Moore also looks at the rise of Hitler in Nazi Germany and compares it to the rise of Trump in the United States."
Creator/author: Amy Goodman, Michael Moore
Source/publisher: Democracy Now!
Date of publication: 2018-09-21
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Farenheit 11/9
Description: Filmmaker Michael Moore examines the current state of American politics, particularly the rise of the Donald Trump presidency, gun violence, the Flint Water Crisis, the teachers’ strikes sweeping the nation and the power of grassroots democratic movements.
Creator/author: Michael Moore
Source/publisher: Dog Eat Dog Films
Date of publication: 2018-09-06
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: The Myth of the "Clash of Civilizations"
Description: "This is a wonderful lecture by Edward Said on Samuel Huntington?s idea about ?Clash of civilizations”. In this lecture Edward Said analyses in detail the arguments of Samuel Huntington in his paper on Clash of civilizations (with a question mark) that ultimately became his book (this time without a question mark!). Edward Said incisively analyzes Huntington?s notion that differences in culture between the ?West? and ?Islam? will lead to conflicts between the two civilizations. Arguing against monolithic understanding of cultures, Said makes a powerful case for multiculturalism. Edward Said is one of the most powerful speakers I have listened to off-late, and this dense lecture is worth every minute of it. The talk is approximately 40 minutes and is followed by questions."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Youtube
Date of publication: 1998-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2018-02-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: The Prince
Description: Introductory Note: NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI, one of the most brilliant and versatile intellects of the Italian Renaissance, was born at Florence, May 3, 1469. He entered the public service as a y oung man, and between 1500 and 1512 he was employed in a number of diplomatic missions to the other Italian cities, to France, and to Germany. When the Medici returned to pow er in Florence in 1512, Machiavelli lost his positions, and suffered imprisonment and torture. On his release in the following year, he retired to the country and devoted himself to study and the composition of his most famous work, ?The Prince.” Other writings followed; and in the last year of his life we find him again in active life, this time as a soldier . He died June 21, 1527. 1 A more detailed account of Machiavelli, by Lord Macaulay, will be found in the vol ume of ?English Essays” in the Harvard Classics. 2 Machiavelli?s aim in ?The Prince” has been very variously interpreted. His motive was probably mainly patriotic; but the exclusion of moral considerations in his treatmen t of politics led, even in his own century, to his name?s becoming a synonym for all that is diabolical in public and private policy. Whatever may be the relation of the methods expounded in ?The Prince” to his personal ideals, the book remains a most vivid and suggestive picture of political conditions in the Italy of the Renaissance. 3 Machiavelli?s ?Discourses on Livy?s Decades” deals on a larger scale with many of the topics of ?The Prince”; his ?Art of War” elaborates his views on the military side; and his ?History of Florence,” his ?Life of Castruccio Castracani,” and his comedy, ?Mandragola,” are characteristic products of an accomplished man of letters who one time was diplomat and soldier, at another historian, poet, and dramatist. Few men represe nt so thoroughly the extraordinary versatility of that wonderful age. 4 ?Of all Machiavelli?s writings,” says Garnett, ??The Prince? is the most famous, a nd deservedly, for it is the most characteristic. Few subjects of literary discussion h ave occasioned more controversy than the purpose of this celebrated book. Some have behe ld in it a manual for tyrants, like the memoirs of Tiberius, so diligently perused by D omitian; others have regarded it as a refined irony upon tyranny, on the sarcastic plan of Swi ft?s Directions to Servants, if so humble an analogy be permissible. From various points of view it might alternately pass for either, but its purpose is accurately conveyed by neither interpretation. Machiavelli was a sincere though too supple a republican, and by no means desired the universal prevalence of tyranny throughout Italy.... His aim probably was to show how to build up a principality capable of expelling the foreigner and restoring the independence of Italy. But this intention could not be safely expressed, and hence h is work seems repulsive, because the reason of state which he propounds as an apology f or infringing the moral code appears not patriotic, but purely selfish.... With all his fa ults and oversights, nothing can deprive Machiavelli of the glory of having been the mode rn Aristotle in politics, the first, or at least the first considerable writer who derived a practical philosophy from history, and exalted statecraft into science.”
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Source/publisher: The Harvard Classics. 1909?14.
Date of publication: 1513-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2018-02-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: All Governments Lie: Truth, Deception and the Spirit of I. F. Stone (video)
Description: "...a Canadian documentary film directed by Fred Peabody. It had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2016."..."Giant media conglomerates are increasingly reluctant to investigate or criticize government policies, particularly on defense, security and intelligence issues. They are ceding responsibility for holding governments and corporations accountable to the independent journalists and filmmakers who risk their careers, their freedom and their lives in war zones to expose the truth. With government deception rampant, independent voices are crucially important."
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Source/publisher: Whitepine Films via Yourube
Date of publication: 2016-09-09
Date of entry/update: 2018-02-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Amy and David Goodman talk at Google (video)
Description: "The award-winning sister-brother team of Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now!, and investigative journalist David Goodman traveled the country to detail the ways in which grassroots activists have taken politics out of the hands of politicians. "Standing up to the Madness" tells the stories of everyday citizens who have challenged the government and prevailed. Amy Goodman is an internationally acclaimed journalist and host of the daily grassroots global news hour Democracy Now!, which airs on more than 600 radio and TV stations around the world and on Democracynow.org. David Goodman is an award-winning independent journalist, the author of seven books, and a contributing writer to Mother Jones. Go to http://www.democracynow.org/ for more on the daily TV/radio news program Democracy Now!. This event took place on April 15, 2008, as a part of the Authors@Google series..."
Source/publisher: Youtube
Date of publication: 2008-04-15
Date of entry/update: 2018-01-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: "Society Against the State" (extract)
Description: "In this seminal, founding work of political anthropology, Pierre Clastres takes on some of the most abiding and essential questions of human civilization: What is power? What is society? How, among all the possible modes of political organization, did we come to choose the monolithic State model and its accompanying regimes of coercion? As Clastres shows, other and different regimes do indeed exist, and they existed long before ours — regimes in which power, though it manifests itself everywhere, is nonetheless noncoercive. In such societies, political culture, and cultural practices generally, are not only not submissive to the State model, but they actively avert it, rendering impossible the very conditions in which coercive power and the State could arise. How then could our own ?societies of the State” ever have arisen from these rich and complex stateless societies, and why? Clastres brilliantly and imaginatively addresses these questions, meditating on the peculiar shape and dynamics of so-called ?primitive societies,” and especially on the discourses with which ?civilized” (i.e., political, economic, literate) peoples have not ceased to reduce and contain them. He refutes outright the idea that the State is the ultimate and logical density of all societies. On the contrary, Clastres develops a whole alternate and always affirmative political technology based on values such as leisure, prestige, and generosity. Through individual essays he explores and deftly situates the anarchistic political and social roles of storytelling, homosexuality, jokes, ruinous gift-giving, and the torturous ritual marking of the body, placing them within an economy of power and desire very different from our own, one whose most fundamental goal is to celebrate life while rendering the rise of despotic power impossible. Though power itself is shown to be inseparable from the richest and most complex forms of social life, the State is seen as a specific but grotesque aberration peculiar only to certain societies, not least of which is our own."
Creator/author: Pierre Clastres
Source/publisher: "Society Against the State"
Date of publication: 1987-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2016-01-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: ALICE?S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND
Description: with fourty-two illustrations by John Tenniel...Contents: Poem. All in the golden afternoon... I Down the Rabbit-Hole... II The Pool of Tears... III A Caucus-Race and a Long Tale... IV The Rabbit Sends in a Little Bill... V Advice from a Caterpillar... VI Pig and Pepper VII A Mad Tea-Party... VIII The Queen?s Croquet-Ground... IX The Mock Turtle?s Story... X The Lobster Quadrille... XI Who Stole the Tarts?... XII Alice?s Evidence.
Creator/author: Lewis Carroll
Source/publisher: Lewis Carroll via pdfreebooks.org
Date of publication: 1865-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2015-11-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Noam Chomsky: Knowledge and Power - An in-depth look at the work and views of the man described as ?one of the greatest minds in human history?. (video)
Description: "Noam Chomsky is one of the world?s most-celebrated intellectuals, known for his writing on language and his views on US foreign policy, particularly in the Middle East. Now in his late eighties, the linguistics philosopher and Emeritus Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology near Boston is still working, writing, and speaking publicly. He?s a quite extraordinary human being in every respect - both intellectually and personally - and we?re not in the same category. Norman Finkelstein He first emerged through his pioneering work in linguistics in the 1950s but later became a political activist and a critic of US foreign policy in Vietnam, its neo-liberal capitalism, and mainstream media. He has been almost as prolific a writer as he has been controversial..." Keywords: Arts & Culture, Israel, Palestine, Literature, Politics
Creator/author: Noam Chomsky
Source/publisher: Al Jazeera
Date of publication: 2015-10-15
Date of entry/update: 2015-10-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: The Art of War
Description: "...The Art of War (Chinese: trad. 孫子兵法, simp. 孙子兵法, pinyin Sūnzǐ Bīngfǎ, lit. "Master Sun?s Rules for Army") was traditionally ascribed to Sun Tzu. It presents a philosophy of war for managing conflicts and winning battles. It is accepted as a masterpiece on strategy and is frequently cited and referred to by generals and theorists since it was first published, translated, and distributed internationally.[13] There are numerous theories concerning when the text was completed and concerning the identity of the author or authors, but archeological recoveries have proven that The Art of War had achieved roughly its current form by at least the early Han.[14] Because it is impossible to prove definitively when the Art of War was completed before this date, the differing theories concerning the work?s author or authors and date of completion are unlikely to ever be completely resolved.[15] Some modern scholars believe that it contains not only the thoughts of its original author but also commentary and clarifications from later military theorists, such as Li Quan and Du Mu. Of the military texts written before the unification of China and Shi Huangdi?s subsequent book burning in the second century BC, six major works have survived. During the much later Song dynasty, these six works were combined with a Tang text into a collection called the Seven Military Classics. As a central part of that compilation, The Art of War formed the foundations of orthodox military theory in early modern China. Illustrating this point, the book was required reading to pass the tests needed for imperial appointment to military positions.[16]..."
Creator/author: Sun Tsu
Source/publisher: Internet (Akasha)
Date of entry/update: 2015-03-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 99.16 KB 1.73 MB
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