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Countdown To Zero
''Countdown to Zero'' is a 2010 documentary film by British filmmaker Lucy Walker. The film argues that the likelihood of the use of nuclear weapons has increased since the end of the Cold War due to terrorism, nuclear proliferation, theft of nuclear materials and weapons, and other factors. The film was set for theatrical release in the United States on July 9, 2010, but this was changed to July 23. Production The film features interviews with leading statesmen and experts, including Tony Blair, Jimmy Carter, Mikhail Gorbachev, Robert McNamara, Pervez Musharraf, and Valerie Plame. The film prologue was narrated by Gary Oldman. The musical score was composed by Peter Golub, and the rock band Pearl Jam contributed the song " The Fixer." It was developed, financed and executive produced by Participant Media together with the World Security Institute. The idea for the film first occurred to the producers when the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Al Gore after the success of his d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lucy Walker (director)
Lucy Walker is an English film director. She has directed the documentaries '' Devil's Playground'' (2002), ''Blindsight'' (2006), '' Waste Land'' (2010), ''Countdown to Zero'' (2010), and '' The Crash Reel'' (2013). She has also directed the short films '' The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom'' (2011) and '' The Lion's Mouth Opens'' (2014). Film career Walker's 2014 documentary '' The Lion's Mouth Opens'' focuses on filmmaker-actor Marianna Palka's attempt to discover if she has inherited Huntington's disease, the incurable degenerative disorder that took Palka's father. Nick Higgins worked with Walker as cinematographer for the documentary. Walker premiered ''The Lion's Mouth Opens'' at Sundance on 26 January 2014. Walker was inspired to make the 2013 documentary '' The Crash Reel'' when she met Kevin Pearce (snowboarder) at a retreat organized by David Mayer de Rothschild. '' The Crash Reel'' premiered at Sundance on 19 January 2013 as the Opening Night Gala film. The film ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Washington Times
''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout the District of Columbia and in parts of Maryland and Virginia. A weekly tabloid edition aimed at a national audience is also published. ''The Washington Times'' was one of the first American broadsheets to publish its front page in full color. ''The Washington Times'' was founded on May 17, 1982, by Unification movement leader Sun Myung Moon and owned until 2010 by News World Communications, an international media conglomerate founded by Moon. It is currently owned by Operations Holdings, which is a part of the Unification movement. Throughout its history, ''The Washington Times'' has been known for its conservative political stance, supporting the policies of Republican presidents Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
An Inconvenient Truth
''An Inconvenient Truth'' is a 2006 American documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim about former United States Vice President Al Gore's campaign to educate people about global warming. The film features a slide show that, by Gore's own estimate, he has presented over 1,000 times to audiences worldwide. The idea to document Gore's efforts came from producer Laurie David, who saw his presentation at a town hall meeting on global warming, which coincided with the opening of ''The Day After Tomorrow''. Laurie David was so inspired by his slide show that she, with producer Lawrence Bender, met with Guggenheim to adapt the presentation into a film. Premiering at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and opening in New York City and Los Angeles on May 24, 2006, the film was a critical and commercial success, winning two Academy Awards for Best Documentary Feature and Best Original Song. The film grossed $24 million in the U.S. and $26 million at the international box office, becomin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Global Warming
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to Earth's climate. The current rise in global average temperature is more rapid than previous changes, and is primarily caused by humans burning fossil fuels. Fossil fuel use, deforestation, and some agricultural and industrial practices increase greenhouse gases, notably carbon dioxide and methane. Greenhouse gases absorb some of the heat that the Earth radiates after it warms from sunlight. Larger amounts of these gases trap more heat in Earth's lower atmosphere, causing global warming. Due to climate change, deserts are expanding, while heat waves and wildfires are becoming more common. Increased warming in the Arctic has contributed to melting permafrost, glacial retreat and sea ice loss. Higher temperatures are also causing m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al Gore
Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic List of United States Democratic Party presidential tickets, nominee for the 2000 United States presidential election, 2000 presidential election, losing to George W. Bush in a very close race after a Florida recount. Gore was an elected official for 24 years. He was a United States House of Representatives, representative from Tennessee (1977–1985) and from 1985 to 1993 served as a United States Senate, senator from that state. He served as vice president during the Clinton administration from 1993 to 2001, defeating incumbents George H. W. Bush and Dan Quayle in 1992 United States presidential election, 1992, and Bob Dole and Jack Kemp in 1996 United States presidential election, 1996. The 2000 presidentia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Physics, Physics, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Physiology or Medicine and Nobel Prize in Literature, Literature. Since March 1901, it has been awarded annually (with some exceptions) to those who have "done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses". In accordance with Alfred Nobel's will, the recipient is selected by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, a five-member committee appointed by the Parliament of Norway. Since 2020 the prize is awarded in the University of Oslo Faculty of Law, Atrium of the University of Oslo, where it was also awarded 1947–1989; the Abel Prize is also awarded in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World Security Institute
The World Security Institute (WSI) was a Washington D.C.-based think tank committed to independent research and journalism on global affairs and security. Projects of WSI included the Center for Defense Information (CDI), Azimuth Media, the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, and Global Zero, among others. In the last several years of WSI's existence, Global Zero constituted more than 90% of WSI's operations. In 2012, many of WSI's projects became independent or merged with other organizations. Global Zero received its 501(c)(3) status effective in June 2012, and began operating independently in November 2012, although WSI remained its principal sponsor for a period afterward. WSI's CDI project merged with the Project On Government Oversight, (POGO) in 2012. The last WSI president was Bruce G. Blair, a nuclear weapons analyst and scholar formerly with the Brookings Institution, and co-founder of Global Zero. Divisions The Center for Defense Information (CDI) developed an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Fixer (song)
"The Fixer" is a song by the rock band Pearl Jam. Featuring lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music co-written by drummer Matt Cameron and guitarists Mike McCready and Stone Gossard, "The Fixer" was released on August 24, 2009, as the first single from the band's ninth studio album, ''Backspacer'' (2009). The song debuted and peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' Rock Songs chart and reached number three on the ''Billboard'' Alternative Songs chart. Origin and recording "The Fixer" features lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music co-written by drummer Matt Cameron and guitarists Mike McCready and Stone Gossard. Cameron wrote the majority of the song's music in 2008, while Gossard and McCready would end up writing the song's bridge. In an interview with ''Rolling Stone'' in February 2009, Vedder discussed a song matching the description of "The Fixer". Vedder stated, "That could have been a seven-minute, weird, sideways kind of artsy song with a cool gro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guitar), as well as Matt Cameron (drums), who joined in 1998. Keyboardist Boom Gaspar has also been a touring/session member with the band since 2002. Drummers Jack Irons, Dave Krusen, Matt Chamberlain, and Dave Abbruzzese are former members of the band. Pearl Jam outsold many of their contemporaries from the early 1990s, and are considered one of the most influential bands of the decade, being dubbed as "the most popular American rock & roll band of the '90s". Formed after the demise of Gossard and Ament's previous band, Mother Love Bone, Pearl Jam broke into the mainstream with their debut album, '' Ten'', in 1991. ''Ten'' stayed on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart for nearly five years, and has gone on to become one of the highest-selling rock r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valerie Plame
Valerie Elise Plame (born August 13, 1963) is an American writer, spy novelist, and former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer. As the subject of the 2003 Plame affair, also known as the CIA leak scandal, Plame's identity as a CIA officer was leaked to and subsequently published by Robert Novak of ''The Washington Post''. In the aftermath of the scandal, Richard Armitage in the U.S. Department of State was identified as one source of the information, and Scooter Libby, Chief of Staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, was convicted of lying to investigators. After a failed appeal, President George W. Bush commuted Libby's sentence and in 2018, President Donald Trump pardoned him. No one was formally charged with leaking the information. In collaboration with a ghostwriter, Plame wrote a memoir detailing her career and the events leading up to her resignation from the CIA. She has subsequently written and published at least two spy novels. A 2010 biographical feature film, ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pervez Musharraf
General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of the federal government in 1999. He also served as the 10th Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee from 1998 to 2001 and the 7th Chief of Army Staff from 1998 to 2007. Born in Delhi during the British Raj, Musharraf was raised in Karachi and Istanbul. He studied mathematics at Forman Christian College in Lahore and was also educated at the Royal College of Defence Studies in the United Kingdom. Musharraf entered the Pakistan Military Academy in 1961 and was commissioned to the Pakistan Army in 1964. Musharraf saw action during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 as a second lieutenant. By the 1980s, he was commanding an artillery brigade. In the 1990s, Musharraf was promoted to major general and assigned an infantry division, and later commanded ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert McNamara
Robert Strange McNamara (; June 9, 1916 – July 6, 2009) was an American business executive and the eighth United States Secretary of Defense, serving from 1961 to 1968 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He remains the List of United States Secretaries of Defense by time in office, longest serving Secretary of Defense, having remained in office over seven years. He played a major role in promoting the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War. McNamara was responsible for the institution of systems analysis in public policy, which developed into the discipline known today as policy analysis. He was born in San Francisco, California, graduated from University of California, Berkeley, UC Berkeley and Harvard Business School and served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. After the war, Henry Ford II hired McNamara and a group of other Army Air Force veterans to work for Ford Motor Company. These "Whiz Kids (Ford), Whiz Kids" helped re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
