A Sense of Outrage

This is a must read. A great piece by a great lady about an outstanding man. If it hadn't been for Holbrooke we never would have intevened in Bosnia. Clinton had to be dragged into it. If it had been solely left to him he would have done what he did in Rawanda. Nothing. And of course the cowardly Europeans stood by and did nothing. Par for the course. One of the greatest tragedies in our world today is the lack of a sense of outrage. Holbrooke had it and so does Ms. Amanpour. There are still a few left.

No danger from Wikileaks

Julian Assange claims, unequivocally, that no one's life has been put in danger by the release of all the transcripts. Okay, fine. I'm just very curious, how does he know this? I just assume that if he's certain of this he must have read all 250,000 plus transcripts. Or perhaps the private who gave him the transcripts read all of them and assured Assange that no one was put in danger. I would also assume that both of them are familiar with all the people mentioned and the particular work they do and again are quite certain that none of them have been put in danger. Just curious.

Cross-posted to Salon.com

The Eyes of Van Gogh

I am so pleased to announce that my film, The Eyes of Van Gogh, has been picked up by Unicorn Entertainment International LTD., in a 5-year distribution deal for Hong Kong. My thanks to Sales Agent Wonderphil Productions.

The Life and Legacy of Simon Wiesenthal

What can one man do to improve the human condition and to make a positive difference in the world? I urge anyone who has asked this question to see, 'I HAVE NEVER FORGOTTEN YOU' [ The life and legacy of Simon Weisenthal]. After viewing it, ask yourself what would have happened , or better, what wouldn't have happened, ...if this man had not survived the war.See More

The Passion of Joan of Arc

I cannot recommend this film from Theodore Dreyer too highly. It is a cinematic feast. You can watch it instantly on Netflix.

Nobel Peace Prize

I am so pleased to learn that Chinese prisoner of conscience Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Liu is a writer and human rights defender who was chosen by the Nobel Committee for "his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China."

It has been a long time since the committee honored someone for a profound commitment to individual liberty.

In whose world is this sane?

Just consider the implications of the last line in this quote from the article.

Meanwhile, those exploding budgets increasingly line the coffers of private firms who provide not only an arsenal of spy gadgets, but some 30 percent of the staff at the intelligence agencies. Assuming that private contracts continue to account for about 70 percent of the intelligence budget, the firms in the secret sector are competing for some $50 billion annually in tax money. (By way of comparison, the global movie industry pulled in a hair under $30 billion in 2009.)

I hope you'll read the article and pass it along.