[I. OUR TIME (WEEK 1): ECONOMIC POLICIES OF THE 20TH CENTURY] A succinct introduction to the two competing economic theories of the 20th century (Keynes vs. Hayek/M. Friedman) and national economic policies based on these theories. Missing was Schumpeter who duly had doubts about the sagacity of FDR's unmethodical New Deal! (6 hours)

This is not a DVD but a book that deserves documentation on DVD for a wider circulation. Being a convinced supporter of 'free trade', yet I agree to much of what this "heretic" book points out regarding the adverse effects of the global economic system on developing countries, esp. due to the wrong-headed "Unholy Trinity" - World Bank, IMF and WTO.

[I. OUR TIME (WEEK 3b): More about WHY DIPLOMACY FAILS? - THE MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX] Dear President Eisenhower! In spite of your stern warnig, I had to witness the 'military-industrial complex' rearing its head in its ugliest form under the presidency of George Bush Jr. His cabinet itself seemed the incarnation of the 'military-industry complex', didn't it? (2 hours)

[I. OUR TIME (WEEKS 3d): WHY DIPLOMACY FAILS? - LESSONS OF HISTORY] It would not be easy to recollect facts of the past in their right perspective but it must be even harder to draw meaningful lessons from history. Here Robert McNamara gives his view of lessons to be drawn from the experiences of the Cuba Missile Crisis, Vietnam War... (2 hours)

[I. OUR TIME (WEEKS 4b,5): WHY DIPLOMACY FAILS?] This is an accusation by a journalist that, in a 'misguided' diplomacy, Western governments are not acting for, or rather going diadetrically against, the ideals of their peoples. (12 hours)

[I. OUR TIME (WEEK 9): WAR GAMES DURING WORLD WAR II] FDR's reputation is grossly exaggerated! He was a petty person extremely arrogant without basic intelligence to know who is a friend and who is a potential foe between Churchill and Stalin. New Deal? It was no more than a hodge-podge of measures based on populism. Even Hitler had pulled Germany out of recession ahead of the U.S.! (6 hours)

[II. NATIONS (WEEK 1): THE U.S.A. - The Presidents] An ideal material for a brief overview of the U.S. history as a whole as well as that of the U.S. Presidents. (8 hours)

[II. NATIONS (WEEK 7a): THE U.S.A. - The Presidents] Among the U.S. presidents, at least one deserves a separate study as a really great statesman transcending time and national border: Abraham Lincoln. By the way, who had framed the Union that Linclon struggled to save from breaking up? It was, above all, Alexander... (6 hours)

[II. NATIONS (WEEK 8): JAPAN] A history of Japan for about 300 years up to mid-19th century when the country was forced to open its doors. A supplementary version covering the period of 1850-2000 is desired. (3 hours)

[II. NATIONS (WEEK 10): CHINA - territory] Although basically about wildlife in China, this DVD also shows variety of the country's people and terrain. You cannot help falling in love with China after viewing this. (6 hours)

[II. NATIONS (WEEK 12a): Russia] In 3 hours it gives a good history of the Russian Empire (i.e. Romanov Dynasty), with biographies of Peter the Great, Ivan the Terrible and Rasputin in 3 additional hours. A similar touch on the history of several other countries is highly desired! (6 hours)

[II. NATIONS (WEEK 13a): HISTORY OF THE PERSECUTION OF THE JEWS] Suppose Joanne of Arc is revered or even deified by the British as God's only daughter and that they persecute the French for not showing the same attitude toward her. How would the French feel? That is exactly what the Jews have been going through, and that, for as long as 2 millennia! (3 hours)

[III. SCIENCES (WEEKS 1,2): HISTORY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY] Produced in the early 1970's (by BBC), still fascinatiing and enlightening, as if the last 3 decades did not have much to say about scientific development. [UK version in PAL sytem sells at much lower price but gives sharper pictures.] (13 hours)

[III. SCIENCES (WEEK 3b): GREATEST SCIENTISTS 2] Sir Isaac! You predicted the world comes to an end in 2060. I bet you envisage a cataclysmic shift of Earth's axis, caused by the magnetic force of the Halley's Comet. Actually, it will be in 2061 rather than 2060. We had such a catastrophe last about 12,500 years ago, didn't we? (1 hour)

[III. SCIENCES (WEEK 4): EARTH SCIENCE] This is by far the best DVD on earth science, but is available in UK format only. In my calculation, sea level has been going down by 1 cm every year for the past 12,500 years. Most of the precipitation on the Antarctica/Greenland is trapped there frozen, thus cannot flow back to the ocean, although global warming is reversing the trend. (8 hours)

[III. SCIENCES (WEEK 5b): DARWINISM vs. INTELLIGENT DESIGN] A good complement to the above "Judgment Day..." to get a more balanced view between Darwinism and Intelligent Design. No doubt "Judgment Day..." is excellent and enjoyable in itself, but I find these more appealing to my head. (4 hour)

[IV. ART (WEEK 3): ART AS A RELIGIOUS/POLITICAL TOOL] This DVD shows how much art affects the formation of the human mind-set and consequently how art has been utilized for religious/political manuevering of the public mind. (5 hours)

[IV. ART (WEEK 5,6): MASTERPIECE PAINTINGS] A fascinating introduction to the 'lives' of 22 paintings/sculptures, including Botticelli's PRIMAVERA, Leonardo's LAST SUPPER, Rembrandt's NIGHT WATCH and Michelangelo's DAVID. Hopefully this will set off a flood of new art lectures on DVD for the public! (22 hours)

[IV. ART (WEEK 8): DUTCH PAINTERS] In my simplistic view, the history of European art comprises three big groups of painters and the rest. The big three are: Italian Renaissance/Baroque masters, Flemish/Dutch school of 250 years(1425-1675) including the Spanish school at a later stage(Spain and the Netherlands were one country until 1581), and the French Impressionists. (6 hours)

[V. MUSIC (WEEKS 3,4): VERDI AND HIS OPERAS] "Thank you, Signor Antonio Barezzi! Without your support, would there have been the composer Verdi as we know of him?" The best film/documentary ever produced on the life of a composer! (10.5 hours)