The Cannibal Warlords of Liberia (Doc. Review)

So, when I was assigned this... assignment... to watch a documentary, and share my thoughts through a review, I knew just where to go.

Vice is a channel on youtube filled with interesting and compelling documentaries. On their page, they have several categories of documentaries. The largest one, and the one with most views, and by far the most interesting topics, is the one labeled "Danger".

From dog shows on acid, to Japanese suicide forests, the horrifying yet enticing stories are enough to spend hours watching. I had already seen a few, but today I chose one titled "The Cannibal Warlords of Liberia", an hourlong documentary about civil disputes in Liberia.

The fine folks over at vice were interested in what was going on in Liberia, and had been in contact with a Canadian journalist living there. A man named Shane flew to Liberia with a camera man to check things out.

Right away it was apparent that Liberia was in a pretty effed up state.

Through archival footage, Vice explained Liberia's history. Originally created by the United States for freed slaves to go to if they decided to return to Africa. However, once there, the newly instated Africans enslaved the native people and instated the same plantain methods and systems used in America. Eventually, through revolution and war, a African born man, Samuel K. Doe was elected president and the slavery ceased.

Samuel K. Doe

Shortly after the election, however, American educated rebel Charles Taylor, and his companion Prince Johnson began calling for a revolution and an end to the leadership of Doe.

Johnson

Taylor

Through civil war and rampage they reached the presidential house where they tortured and killed Doe, all on camera, and it is said that afterwords they cut him up, and ate him.

Gruesome, I know.

Once Taylor was in power, Liberia began to see the rise of dozens of self appointed warlords, resulting in long, horrible civil war that would devastate the country. Which leads us to today.

Liberia is a post apocalyptic wasteland with a feel and appearance of hell on earth. Shane and his Journalist contact, spoke with several ex-warlords who are now community leaders, either through self change of the conversion to christ, these mass murderers have become leaders in their societies. They work on trying to rebuild and revitalize the villages, even with the presence of the United Nations, not much is getting done at all.

The U.N officials and soldiers instated there are actually making things worse. Besides being inactive in rebuilding efforts, they often abuse drugs and prostitutes in red light districts.

And not only that, but a large threat waits at bay in the dense jungles. Rebels are amassing forces, with child soldiers and powerful weapons. The only thing keeping them at bay is the U.N, but they plan on leaving Liberia in under a year, allowing the rebels to wage war on the poor Liberians and take complete control.

This whole thing really made me think.

A while ago, I was thinking what a great idea it would be to have a worldwide governing force to work for the good of the earth, only to realize we already have one. Or, the shell of one at least.

As we progress as a race, as a species, we need to come together on this small planet we were given. Our technologies and advancements have made it nearly impossible to coexist with all of our conflicting cultures and ways of life.

It will soon be time to face these worldwide problems as a species, as Earthlings, not as divided countries or states.

Think of how much further along to being a whole people if we had a successful and active world court and governing force to deal with conflicts of the utmost importance. We would be all that much closer to being equal. Until then, I think its time we started thinking of ourselves as one people and one planet. Otherwise, we might as well accept the end of all things.

Also here are the film aspects:

Filmed with a single handheld tape camera. The only lighting was from the one mounted on the camera. Mos questions were not scripted, and there were no sets or acting or anything like that. Lots of voiceover and interview.

power-c: The Elixir of Life

"And on the third day, God created power-c"

The year is 1364. Location, Paris, France. Nicholas Flamel is busy at work in his alchemy laboratory. Is he turning lead into gold? Creating an explosive powder or extreme power? No, he is furiously working to create the Elixir of Life, the potion that would grant him immortality at the hands of time. But what poor Nick did not know, was that the ambrosia of the gods would not come into the hands of mortals for hundreds and hundreds of years.

And now, here we are, present day, and what do I have on my desk next to me? A power-c. But I am no alchemist, I am no wizard (Well, maybe I'm a wizard), I am simply an everyday consumer. And yet, here, a mere 4 inches away from my grasp, is the potion life, the very nature of creation, and it is available to everyone! 

But how can I be sure of the mystical properties of this Vitamin Water product? Well, I'm not, but, as far as I know, I could be adding years to my life by drinking a power-c, after all, I have not yet lived long enough to find out. But what I do know, is that power-c has very powerful, magical properties. 

Some little known facts about power-c:

In Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, when Indy was poisoned by those Chinese guys, the contents of the vile that held the cure, was power-c.

In Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, the potion that Harry drank that allowed him to pass through the black fire unscathed, was power-c.

Now that I think about it, every single potion in Harry Potter with a positive effect, was actually power-c.

Those were just a few of the hundreds of examples that are evident in...history...

But as for altering my life, well, for now I must be patient, and even if it does not make me immortal. It tastes really freakin good.

Channel Review: minutephysics

So, recently, through some intense youtube exploration, I've decided to, every once and a while review a channel that I find particularly interesting or entertaining, so that you, the reader may also be able to find and discover new and interesting videos on the web.

Up first is minutephysics (Minute Physics).
Minute Physics is a channel located in Waterloo, Canada. As the name suggests, each video is only a couple minutes long. Each video takes on the task of trying to explain complex and mind boggling questions regarding physics. For example, one video attempts to accurately define "touch" on the most scientifically basic level.
Each video follows the same structure. First, an interesting question is proposed, and then explained through animations, drawings, and real life examples. The end result is an extremely interesting and effective manor of explaining complex ideas.

I have always been very interested in science and hard to answer questions, so I could spend hours on this channel watching all of its equally interesting videos.

There's a lot that can be learned, even in a couple minutes.

On the channel wall, there is a very fitting quote: "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough" (Rutherford via Einstein). And I think that the channel owner knows his information very well.