“Countries that aren’t using the whole potential of their population in the future will fall behind. The global competition, the demand for hardworking and talented people, will be so high that if any country thinks they can afford to have their population participate at a far lower rate than the rest, they will lose out.” – Minister of Trade and Industry, Norway
For 300 years the Mongols ruled the largest continuous land empire in history: twice the size of the Caesar’s Roman Empire; longer lasting than Napolean’s; as world-shaking as Alexander the Great’s. They were the fury that rose like a storm out the steppes in the early 13th century; the Mongols pioneered a style of warfare unparalleled in cunning and cruelty, and so revolutionary, it still inspires military strategists today. Sweeping east and west, destroying everything in their path, they shatter the old world order and carve a new course of history.
Towards the end of 12th century, between the two cultures of Islam in Persia and central Asia and to the far east, the trio of kingdoms in China, stretch vast formidable grasslands, the Eurasian steppes. Nomadic tribes, the Tatars, the Mongols, and others eke out a grim life. In 1175 the Tatars renew a old feud with the Mongols. Caught up in their own struggles, they ignore their common enemy in China. A nine years old, the boy who became Genghis Khan’s father is poisoned by the Tatars. As a fatherless boy facing death on the barren steppes, he grows up with the goal of seeking revenge. With his training and the strength of his personality, in 1196 he unites his clan, and remains suspicious of all others, and begins to wreak vengeance on the Tatars, molding his army into the finest calvary the world has every seen. In 1206 Genghis Khan is acclaimed as universal leader of the steppe tribes, and stands poised to seal his reputation as the bloodiest of all barbarians.
This History Channel documentary series tells the fascinating stories of four of the most fabled groups of fighters in history, tracing 1,000 years of conquest and adventure through inspired scholarship and some of the most extensive reenactments ever filmed.
Genghis Khan
A story of the greatest conqueror ever in world history and his Mongol Empire that ruled the world a thousand years ago.
MONGOLIA
Mongolia until now has been one of the world’s best-kept secrets. Three times the size of France and with more horses than people; it is one Asia’s last unspoilt destinations. Nomadic herders still roam the steppe, as they have since the time of Chinggis Khaan. Watch Mongolia and prepare yourself for an invigorating experience. Immerse yourself in the staggering beauty and warm hospitality of Mongolia; Experience the vast epic landscapes and rich cultural and natural heritage of this wonderful country. You will be charmed by Lake Husvug, the Altai Mountains, the Gobi Desert, the Orgo volcano and Ulaanbaatar. You will be seduced by its welcoming nomads, their customs and traditions, spirituality and music. The spectacular Naddam Festival will have you packing your suitcase to discover this enchanting country yourself.
The Mongol Impact on World History
Edward Vajda, a professor with the Department of Modern and Classical Languages at Western Washington University, presents “The Mongol Impact on World History.” As part of celebrating Mongolia Day at WWU, Vajda discusses the spectacular consequences of the Mongol conquests begun in the 13th century by Chinggis Khan. The lecture explains how the medieval era ended and the modern world began in the wake of history’s most successful empire builder.
The poor may always have been with us, but attitudes towards them have changed. Beginning in the Neolithic Age, Ben Lewis’s film takes us through the changing world of poverty. You go to sleep, you dream, you become poor through the ages. And when you awake, what can you say about poverty now? There are still very poor people, to be sure, but the new poverty has more to do with inequality…
POOR US: An animated history
SPAIN: Who are the new poor?
Paco Pascual used to run one of Spain’s top refurbishment firms, a large family business he and his brothers made successful by winnning lucrative government contracts. But 50,000 small businesses have gone bust in Spain in the last year. And Paco’s is one of them: “My company is like a shark that is eating me” he says. The world used to be viewed in terms of the developed and the developing world. Has the global financial crisis changed this? Is it time to move on from a ‘them and us’ mentality?
GREECE: Is anyone safe from Poverty?
As the European dream fades, the economic crisis brings new poverty to the people of Athens. How will they survive as their society crumbles? A man’s life is destroyed by the crisis: “I don’t exist anymore” he says. But a small gift makes all the difference to him and his family…
USA/Kenya: Why are crops the best performing investments?
On one side of the world American star investor Jim Rogers arrives at his elegant offices and explains how large investments and movements of money affect prices. On the other side of the world market vendors in Kenya feel the effects.
Prices on global exchanges for maize and wheat have tripled in the last 5 years. Maize has been the best-performing investment since the financial crisis began. Global returns rose in the last 5 years by: 55% for oil; 144% for gold; 146% for maize. How can so much money be made from food speculation and a billion people still go hungry in the world?
GERMANY: Sleep well with Deutsche Bank?
Berlin’s Deutsche Bank building is impressive. On ground level, the cash machine is well protected and warm and on this night the rich have to step over the sleeping poor to draw money. It is a hassle.
UK: I’ve come about your car…
What would you do if someone knocked on your door and said they’d come to take away your car? Brian is a debt collector who repossesses cars from people with bad debts. But he’s also had money problems himself, so he knows how it feels from both sides. Britain has £1.5 trillion worth of personal debt. The film looks at what this means for people who have debts they can no longer afford.
UK: Imagine you’d never been on holiday
Poor families might not be starving in the UK, but in a culture where most people have more than you, being poor is isolating and shaming, “People look down on you for being poor.” This personal film looks at the huge difference just having a holiday can make to a family living in poverty. “They don’t want money, they just want their dignity back.”
STEALING AFRICA: How much profit is fair?
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.
PARK AVENUE: How much inequality is too much?
740 Park Ave, New York City, is home to some of the wealthiest Americans. Across the Harlem River, 10 minutes to the north, is the other Park Avenue in South Bronx, where more than half the population needs food stamps and children are 20 times more likely to be killed. In the last 30 years, inequality has rocketed in the US — the American Dream only applies to those with money to lobby politicians for friendly bills on Capitol Hill.
Brazil: a new way to fight homelessness.
There are 450,000 empty properties São Paulo. A new movement is reclaiming them for families. It’s a battle that pitches people’s rights to homes against the rights of home owners. If they are lucky enough to have homes, the poor of São Paulo live in cramped conditions, miles from amenities and work. But there are plenty of places to live in the centre of town and hundreds of families have taken over empty and abandoned buildings and founded new communities. But it’s an action that puts them against the police and the law, as they break in and settle down. “The fight will not be done for you. It will be done by you”.
LAND RUSH: How do you feed the world?
75% of Mali’s population are farmers, but rich, land-hungry nations like China and Saudi Arabia are leasing Mali’s land in order to turn large areas into agribusiness farms. Many Malian peasants do not welcome these efforts, seeing them as yet another manifestation of imperialism. As Mali experiences a military coup, the developers are scared off – but can Mali’s farmers combat food shortages and escape poverty on their own terms?
WELCOME TO THE WORLD: Is it worse to be born poor than to die poor?
130 million babies are born each year, and not one of them decides where they’ll be born or how they’ll live. In Cambodia, you’re likely to be born to a family living on less than $1/day. In Sierra Leone chances of surviving the first year are half those of the worldwide average.
Brian Hill takes a worldwide trip to meet the newest generation – In the US Starr’s new baby could well be one more of 1.6 million homeless children now living in the streets.
EDUCATION EDUCATION: What does an education get you?
In ancient times in China, education was the only way out of poverty — in recent times it has been the best way. China’s economic boom and talk of the merits of hard work have created an expectation that to study is to escape poverty. But these days China’s higher education system only leads to jobs for a few, educating a new generation to unemployment and despair.
MOLDOVA: love or money?
Would you leave your family behind to find work? Unemployment in some of Moldavia’s rural areas is as high as 80 percent. Anyone who can leave to work usually does. More than 1 million people have left to find to work abroad, often illegally and in lowly paid jobs.
Mothers and fathers can spend years away from their children – but the money they send home can buy them a much better life. It’s a hard choice to make.
SOLAR MAMAS: Are women better at getting out of poverty than men?
Rafea is the second wife of a Bedouin husband. She is selected to attend the Barefoot College in India that takes uneducated middle-aged women from poor communities and trains them to become solar engineers. The college’s 6-month programme brings together women from all over the world. Learning about electrical components and soldering without being able to read, write or understand English is the easy part. Witness Rafea’s heroic efforts to pull herself and her family out of poverty.
UGANDA: Who really benefits?
A family has been supporting a child in Uganda via a charity for three years. The father and small daughter travel from UK to Uganda to see if charity makes any difference: to them or to the child they are supporting.
RUSSIA: If you live in poverty, can you afford to dream?
An estimated five million people are homeless in Russia; one million of them are children.
This film takes an unflinching and yet poignant look at the lives of a group of children living on a rubbish dump outside of Moscow, showing the hardships they face and the dreams they hold on to.
This Debate is part of a global event hosted by the BBC and 50 other broadcasters around the world. The debate explores the causes of and cures for the enduring problem of severe poverty which still affects many people in the world.
It was recorded in front of a live audience in Johannesburg earlier this year. On the panel are Tony Blair, former UK Prime Minister; Oby Ezekwesili from the Open Society Foundation, Africa and a former Nigerian government minister; Moeltesi Mbeki, South African author and Chair of SA Institute of International Affairs; and Vandana Shiva, Indian activist, environmentalist and scientist. Chaired by Zeinab Badawi.
Do you wonder how we measure poverty?
Do you know how we do it, but have a hard time putting it into simple words?
Food prices
The spikes in food prices do not affect everyone equally. The most affected are those without means to cope with these shocks. This 4 minute video explains how impacts differ across different segments of the population. It also provides policy directions to protect the most vulnerable from falling into poverty due to food price increases.
The country formerly known as Burma is undergoing its most significant political change since military rule began in 1962. Find out the reasons behind the country’s dramatic turn
While the world has been transfixed by the astonishing economic growth in China and India, just out of the spotlight Brazil has been busily turning a once moribund economy into a juggernaut.
Not so long ago you could watch the inflation rate tick higher by the hour in Brazil, unemployment grew just as quickly and the nation was in the grip of a military dictatorship. Despite all this, Brazilians have remained optimistic. With momentum building, tens of millions are being winched out of poverty and into relative prosperity, and within a few years it’s estimated the nation’s middle class will number 150 million.”It’s the Brazilian moment! We’ve always said we’re going to be the country of the future…I think we’re there”, says Eduardo Paes, the Mayor of Rio. The economic rise has been fast and frenetic, but the economy is a bullet train and much of the country still runs on the old single gauge; many are worried that it is struggling to keep up with itself. “There are 16 million people still living under the poverty line with less than they need to have a daily meal”, says Father Fernandes. Nevertheless, many Brazilians believe the World Cup and the Olympics will be coming-of-age celebrations.”We always find something to celebrate. That’s why this country is so special: it’s full of passion”. Can they avoid a throbbing hangover?
Theo’s Adventure Capitalists – Brazil
BBC Documentary Series, recorded 22.05.2010
Theo Paphitis travels to Brazil to follow three intrepid British companies trying to succeed in one of the world’s most exciting markets. The Brazilian economy is still expanding, but what can Brits sell them that they haven’t already got?
Theo travels to Brazil’s business hub, Sao Paulo, to Bauru (in the heart of sugar cane country) and to the glamorous Rio De Janeiro to chart the fortunes of three British companies with very different aims and ambitions. There’s Sleek Make Up, an East London company specialising in cosmetics for darker-skinned women. Dreamaid, a website aimed at helping the world’s poorer artists sell their wares to richer customers around the world, and Cadbury trying to enter the Brazilian chocolate market, one of the fastest-growing in the world.
But there are dangers ahead. In the UK, Sleek relies on having its own dedicated stands, where you can try on the make-up yourself. So how are they going to sell make up in a country where the supermarkets just put it in bubble-wrap and sling it on the shelves, so you can’t test it? How does a global giant set about selling its Creme Eggs and Dairy Milk in a country where the taste in chocolate is very different to that of the British? And how can Dreamaid succeed in the hardest task that faces any internet start-up – to get people to visit your site?
The Brazilians are famously laid-back and easy going, but is doing business there going to be easy?
A 2002 American documentary film directed by Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering Kofman about the French philosopher Jacques Derrida. It premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival before being released theatrically on October 23, 2002.
The film utilizes several techniques to create a biographical portrait of Jacques Derrida. These include interviews shot by the filmmakers, footage of Derrida’s lectures and speaking engagements, and personal footage of Derrida at home with his friends and family. In several scenes, Ziering Kofman also reads excerpts from Derrida’s work or otherwise describes aspects of his life.
Derrida also focuses on Derrida’s thesis that scholars tend to ignore important biographical information when discussing philosophers’ lives.[1] In one scene, Derrida comments that he would be most interested in hearing about famous philosophers’ sex lives because this topic is seldom addressed in their writings. The filmmakers respond to many of these criticisms by probing Derrida on various aspects of his own personal life, though he usually refuses to directly answer questions about himself.
The film also follows Derrida during a trip to South Africa where he visits Nelson Mandela’s former prison cell and discusses forgiveness with university students. Derrida states that his own childhood experiences with anti-Semitism have heightened his sensitivity to racial issues.
THE FRAGILITY OF GOODNESS – Martha Nussbaum
HUMAN, ALL TOO HUMAN
A three-part 1999 documentary television series produced by the BBC. It follows the lives of three prominent European philosophers: Friedrich Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger, and Jean-Paul Sartre. The theme of this documentary revolves heavily around the school of philosophical thought known as existentialism, although the term had not been coined at the time of Nietzsche’s writing, and Heidegger declaimed the label. The documentary is named after the 1878 book written by Nietzsche, titled Human, All Too Human: A Book for Free Spirits.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Martin Heidegger
Jean-Paul Sartre
WHY BEAUTY MATTERS
A GUIDE TO HAPPINESS
A nice documentary inspired and hosted by Alain de Botton, based on his book The Consolations of Philosophy
Socrates on Self-Confidence
Montaigne on Self-Esteem
Nietzsche on Hardship
Schopenhauer on Love
Seneca on Anger
Epicurus on Happiness
A KINDER, GENTLER PHILOSOPHY OF SUCCESS
Alain de Botton examines our ideas of success and failure — and questions the assumptions underlying these two judgments. Is success always earned? Is failure? He makes an eloquent, witty case to move beyond snobbery to find true pleasure in our work.
STATUS ANXIETY
A thought provoking documentary by Alain de Botton on our quest for success.
“India” — With Cultural ties going back centuries, India & Britain have many things in common. But is doing business one of them? Theo Paphitis travels to India to see if three intrepid British companies can succeed in one of the fastest expanding economies in the world. With cultural ties going back centuries, India and Britain have many things in common. But is doing business one of them? Or are we worlds apart?
Theo travels to Mumbai, with its 14 million population, and central India to see how three very different British companies, with three very different products, try to make their dreams a reality. There’s luxury watch manufacturer Bremont, whose stainless steel watches cost up to six thousand pounds a pop. Regenatec, a company trying to find enough green oil to sell their diesel converter kit in the biggest diesel market in the world. And Marmite, the classic British breakfast spread. Will the Indians love it or hate it?
All three companies have got their work cut out. How will Bremont’s very expensive, highly-engineered but very understated stainless steel watches go down in a country which likes its watches to be made of gold? How will Marmite sell a very British product to a country that’s hardly short of strong flavours of its own? And how easy will Regenatec find it to locate large volumes of ethically produced pure plant oil, so as to take on dirty diesel, in a country whose biofuel industry is still in its infancy?
With its fiendishly complicated import duties, its very different bargaining culture and its sheer size, doing business in India is going to be anything but straightforward for our British companies. What sort of pitfalls will trip them up when they’re trying to do business in a very different culture?
the hague asia knowledge 