A Conspiracy of Silence: The Killing Times of the Queensland Frontier

This is first systematic account of frontier violence in Queensland, Australia. Following in the tracks of the pastoralists as they moved into 'new' lands across the colony in the 19th Century, Dr Timothy Bottoms identifies massacres, poisonings and other incidents, including many that no-one has documented before.

Stealing Africa - Why Poverty?

Rüschlikon is a village in Switzerland with a very low tax rate and very wealthy residents. But it receives more tax revenue than it can use. This is largely thanks to one resident - Ivan Glasenberg, CEO of Glencore, whose copper mines in Zambia are not generating a large bounty tax revenue for the Zambians. Zambia has the 3rd largest copper reserves in the world, but 60% of the population live on less than $1 a day and 80% are unemployed. Based on original research into public documents, the film describes the tax system employed by multinational companies in Africa.

Director Christoffer Guldbrandsen
Producer Henrik Veileborg
Produced by Guld­brandsen Film

Being Human: Cure and Catagion (2010)

Originally broadcast in 2010, this is episode 1 of series 2 of the UK series Being Human (2008-2013). The series follows the lives and struggles of three characters, Annie, Mitchell and George. At first glance they seem to be three late maturers who share an old house in Bristol in the UK. They have lived, and loved, but now rely on each other in what first appears to be fairly average lives. But then the depth comes in; George is a werewolf, Mitchell a vampire and Annie is a ghost. They struggle with who they are as they put almighty effort into being human, or at least appearing to be so. But as they struggle they discover there is more to being human than wearing the right clothes and saying the right things. There are emotional currents, allegiances, ethics and morals, choices and the need for love.

This episode deals with some of the heaviest aspects of being human; love, desire, honesty, memory and purpose. It pits characters against each other in love and war as they gradually reveal and learn the truth about themselves and those around them. Consequence is also a major theme in the story, with the result of actions made in ignorance revealed and then made part of relationships. It even has a backdrop of power as a way to control people, but also being a status desired by many. In my opinion Being Human was one of the most riveting and well written series to emerge from television in the past decades. It takes up themes of Shakespearean proportions and delivers them in the language and imagery of the early 21st century. The acting is powerful and precise and characters appear as fully developed entities that draw us, the audience, into the depths of the human psyche. If you do not want to watch all 5 seasons then just watch this episode 1 of series 2, Cure and Catagion. It will change the way you understand your own life and what you do with it.

The episode begins with Mitchell and George encountering husband and wife vampires Ivan and Daisy, who warn them of the likely power struggle after chief vampire Herrick's death and their own vulnerability. Annie gets work in a pub and takes home customer Nathan, and Mitchell befriends new doctor Lucy. At the full moon, whilst the sinister Kemp destroys a captive werewolf in a pressure chamber, Nina is horrified to find that, accidentally scratched by George, she too transforms into a werewolf. George is pursued by the flirtatious Daisy who wants him to enjoy the dark side and has sex with him. Smelling Daisy's perfume on him increases Nina's anguish but they make up and the other housemates pledge to support Nina. Whilst they are all out, Kemp comes to the house with a psychic, testing for supernatural presences, and sensing triumph.

The episode ends with a sense of community, be it threatened by the selfishness of aggressive and wrathful religion. 

Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon - 'Fractals and Consciousness'

Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon - 'Fractals and Consciousness' - Interview by Iain McNay

Nigel is a film maker who made the films: 'The Colours Of Infinity', 'Is God A Number?' and 'Clouds Are Not Spheres'. He talks about his life and how he discovered Fractals. He raises the question, Is God A Mathematician?

Nigel was part of the central node of the counter culture movement that emerged in London in the mid-1960s. He lived at the famous 101 Cromwell Road house, sharing space with members of various rock groups, including Pink Floyd. He participated and led several famous Happenings at the time and was at the forefront of the psychedelic culture. Since the 1970s he has been a writer and film maker. 

MUSHROOMS (PSYCHEDELIC EXPERIENCE) - THE BIG LEZ SHOW

The mushroom Psilocybin mushrooms, also known as psychedelic mushrooms, are mushrooms that contain the psychedelic compounds psilocybin and psilocin. Common colloquial terms include magic mushrooms and shrooms. They are used mainly as an entheogen and recreational drug whose effects can include euphoria, altered thinking processes, closed and open-eye visuals, synesthesia, an altered sense of time and spiritual experiences. Biological genera containing psilocybin mushrooms include Copelandia, Galerina, Gymnopilus, Inocybe, Mycena, Panaeolus, Pholiotina, Pluteus, and Psilocybe. Over 100 species are classified in the genus Psilocybe. Extreme caution should be practiced when selecting mushrooms, as 50% of all mushroom poisonings are fatal. Do not consume a mushroom you have the slightest doubt about the genus of.

Paul Foot Speaks About the Revolutionary Shelley (1981)

In 1981, Paul Foot (1937-2004), the “finest campaigning journalist of his generation,” delivered an epic 90-minute speech on the subject of his hero, Percy Bysshe Shelley. Appearing at the London Marxism Conference, Foot’s speech was delivered extemporaneously from notes and has become legendary. Amazingly, it has never been published. We are fortunate that it was recorded and that an online copy of the speech exists. Using this recording, I have managed to transcribe what was said. The entire project involved over 200 hours of transcription and research. The transcription can be found here: http://www.grahamhenderson.ca/guest-contribution/paul-foot-speaks-speaks-the-revolutionary-percy-shelley

Paul Foot laboured long and passionately to recover the Radical Shelley, what he considered to be the real Percy Bysshe Shelley. He presents him to us both in his incisive, polemical and passionate book, The Red Shelley, and here in his speech. After his initial consideration of the development of Shelley’s reputation, Foot investigates Shelley's atheism and feminism. But he also reminds us that Shelley was by no means perfect, and he unflinchingly canvasses Shelley’s weaknesses. The portrait of Shelley that emerges is at once electrifying and sympathetic, and it tells us almost as much about Paul Foot as it does about Shelley.

 Foot’s objective is to reconnect the left with Shelley. He does so in a surprising and original manner which is altogether convincing. Foot ably and competently traces the evolution of the modern left and demonstrates how it became disconnected from “the masses,” from real people with real-world concerns and issues. He longs for the “enthusiasm” that Shelley brought to the table. If ever there was a convincing “call to arms” that involves educating one’s self in the philosophy of a poet dead for 200 years, this is it.