Hot Coffee and other documentaries
Aug. 13th, 2011 08:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
schneefinkEvery once in a while I watch truly eye-opening documentaries. (I should probably watch more documentaries…) "We Feed the World" was one of them, a documentary by Erwin Wagenhofer about the food industry; his second film, "Let's Make Money", was very good, too, but by then I was no longer surprised to hear about corporate corruption.
I also liked a German documentary about a businessman (Friedrich Karl Flick) who regularly bribed politicians, solely for the reason that before hearing about that case I had always thought that Austria was much more corrupt than Germany could ever be. In hindsight I realize that I just hear more about corruption in Austria, but it was still weirdly reassuring.
Another one that influenced me was "Enron: The smartest guys in the room." I was lucky enough to watch it before taking an accounting exam, and watching that film was all I needed for motivation. It convinced me that accounting was something interesting and very much worth knowing about. Also: more corruption! I had never heard of Enron before and it was fascinating to learn about. Just as I was fascinated when I first found out what really happened at Watergate. America is a big country, no wonder there's a lot of corruption, but the individual acts – the sheer audacity! – are still surprising.
Today I watched "Hot Coffee." Just as I was told I would be, I am now very sorry for ever making fun of the American "frivolous lawsuits." Bah, now I hate that term. (Although to be honest I'm still curious about the law forbidding sex with porcupines.)
This documentary is kind of scary. The judicial system is a pillar of our society, imo the most important one, and if it doesn't work properly… not a good thought. I know that documentaries are never impartial, but still.
Wikipedia tells me that Jamie Leigh Jones, the woman featured who had to fight six years for a court hearing instead of arbitration, who accused her co-workers of drugging and gang-raping her, recently lost the court case. The sex was "consensual". A spokesman of her ex-employer said that "We are deeply gratified that the justice system has worked." Ugh.
Judges are elected by the public in the U.S.? Is it the same way in other countries? I have no idea how exactly it is in Austria, but I will check. I think they just sort of get promoted? We don't have enough judges (and state adjudicators!) anyway. I never wondered about that. The way these elections are manipulated is frightening, but on the other hand, there is probably at least as much possibility of manipulation if the judges area appointed by politicians. The way American elections are influenced by TV ads and the influence TV apparently has in the U.S. is frightening in general.
I want to debate caps on damages in debate club. I think it would be interesting. (This last week where the Euros in Galway and the motions made it clear to me that there are way too many things I don't know enough about. On the other hand, that's what I always think before getting a motion.)
And I have always read the fine print on any contracts I sign (it really annoys the people at the bank, let me tell you, especially when you ask questions), but in the future I'm going to double-check. As an aside, I'm glad president Fischer finally heavily criticized Uwe Scheuch's disregard for the court sentence. How that party can stake a claim for government participation – which they already had once! – and potentially get almost a quarter of the votes is scary all in itself.
Next I want a documentary about internet freedom. Starring the British Prime minister, David Cameron, demanding that people who plot violent protests not be allowed online social media, the German politicians demanding the abolishment of anonymity on the internet, the regime in Turkey for installing mandatory statewide online filters - and that's just the politicians in Europe.
I also liked a German documentary about a businessman (Friedrich Karl Flick) who regularly bribed politicians, solely for the reason that before hearing about that case I had always thought that Austria was much more corrupt than Germany could ever be. In hindsight I realize that I just hear more about corruption in Austria, but it was still weirdly reassuring.
Another one that influenced me was "Enron: The smartest guys in the room." I was lucky enough to watch it before taking an accounting exam, and watching that film was all I needed for motivation. It convinced me that accounting was something interesting and very much worth knowing about. Also: more corruption! I had never heard of Enron before and it was fascinating to learn about. Just as I was fascinated when I first found out what really happened at Watergate. America is a big country, no wonder there's a lot of corruption, but the individual acts – the sheer audacity! – are still surprising.
Today I watched "Hot Coffee." Just as I was told I would be, I am now very sorry for ever making fun of the American "frivolous lawsuits." Bah, now I hate that term. (Although to be honest I'm still curious about the law forbidding sex with porcupines.)
This documentary is kind of scary. The judicial system is a pillar of our society, imo the most important one, and if it doesn't work properly… not a good thought. I know that documentaries are never impartial, but still.
Wikipedia tells me that Jamie Leigh Jones, the woman featured who had to fight six years for a court hearing instead of arbitration, who accused her co-workers of drugging and gang-raping her, recently lost the court case. The sex was "consensual". A spokesman of her ex-employer said that "We are deeply gratified that the justice system has worked." Ugh.
Judges are elected by the public in the U.S.? Is it the same way in other countries? I have no idea how exactly it is in Austria, but I will check. I think they just sort of get promoted? We don't have enough judges (and state adjudicators!) anyway. I never wondered about that. The way these elections are manipulated is frightening, but on the other hand, there is probably at least as much possibility of manipulation if the judges area appointed by politicians. The way American elections are influenced by TV ads and the influence TV apparently has in the U.S. is frightening in general.
I want to debate caps on damages in debate club. I think it would be interesting. (This last week where the Euros in Galway and the motions made it clear to me that there are way too many things I don't know enough about. On the other hand, that's what I always think before getting a motion.)
And I have always read the fine print on any contracts I sign (it really annoys the people at the bank, let me tell you, especially when you ask questions), but in the future I'm going to double-check. As an aside, I'm glad president Fischer finally heavily criticized Uwe Scheuch's disregard for the court sentence. How that party can stake a claim for government participation – which they already had once! – and potentially get almost a quarter of the votes is scary all in itself.
Next I want a documentary about internet freedom. Starring the British Prime minister, David Cameron, demanding that people who plot violent protests not be allowed online social media, the German politicians demanding the abolishment of anonymity on the internet, the regime in Turkey for installing mandatory statewide online filters - and that's just the politicians in Europe.
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no subject
Date: 2011-08-14 12:00 am (UTC)We're a huge, messy country.
I know what you mean about reading contracts, by the way; when I bought my first new car, I read every word of every page, and the sales agent was agog (and rather annoyed), observing that no one ever does that. Which was depressing, really.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-14 06:06 pm (UTC)