10 Close Encounters Caught On Tape

Top 10 encounters with UFOs caught on tape.

From "Star Trek" to "Star Wars" - we've always been fascinated by the idea that -- just maybe -- we're not alone in this great big universe of ours.
But what if you actually had a "close encounter" with a UFO? You could reach out to the "Men in Black," but more likely you'd reach for your camera. After all, the camera, doesn't lie. Does it?
You be the judge as we count down the 10 most out-of-this-world '"close encounters" we could find -- from Texas to New Zealand, to the "Belgian Triangle."

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Footballs Fight Club, A two part documentary on football hooliganism

An interesting two part Channel Four documentary about football hooliganism. The first part explores the 70's and 80's and speaks to some of the leaders of the hooligan firms. How the old cheap football special trains increased away supporters at games,football fashion and also the hooligans own "code of conduct" Part 2 explores how the seeds were sown a year before the tragic Heysal Stadium disaster,shows the knock-on effect from Heysal and the major Government crackdown on the thugs. Alot of top firms leaders were jailed (fitted up by false police evidence in many cases which was later proven in court) With the thugs being squeezed out here,alot of them started causing chaos abroad with England with,for the first time,an England game over in Ireland actually getting abandoned. Contains some scenes of violence and a great soundtrack. Ripped from glorious VHS with all the Channel 4 adverts painstakingly removed! Use HJ-Split to join the files together.

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Frontline - Israel's Next War

As a new Palestinian leader signs a truce with the Israelis, there is hope that Middle East peace talks might resume after four years of fighting. This summer, Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon is planning to remove Jewish settlers from the disputed Gaza Strip and return it to Palestinian control. But Israel is bracing for a reaction from Jewish settlers in both Gaza and the West Bank. Israeli security forces are warning that extremists among those settlers could, with one major act of violence, raise the prospect of civil war in Israel or trigger a conflict with the wider Muslim world. As the possibility of peace once again seems real, Israel's Next War? examines the small group of Israelis threatening to derail it.

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PBS Frontline: The Madoff Affair,

In the mid-1960s, Bernard Madoff tapped money from Jewish businessmen at exclusive country clubs with the promise of steady guaranteed returns on their investments. He then set his sights on Europe and Latin America, brokering deals with powerful hedge fund managers and feeder funds from Buenos Aires to Geneva. Billions of dollars were channeled to Madoff’s investment firm, and his feeders became fabulously wealthy. The competition wondered how the man could produce such steady returns in good times and bad. There were allegations that Madoff was “front-running” or operating a Ponzi scheme, which the SEC investigated several times over the last two decades. Madoff remained untouched until December 11, 2008, when he admitted it was all “one big lie.” FRONTLINE producers Martin Smith and Marcela Gaviria unravel the story behind the world’s first truly global Ponzi scheme - a deception that lasted longer, reached wider and cut deeper than any other business scandal in history.

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American Experience - Eleanor Roosevelt

This lively documentary portrays one of the 20th century's most fascinating figures, a shy girl who would grow up to spend 30 years as the most powerful woman in America. Eleanor Roosevelt, who came to be both loved and hated by millions, grew up in a troubled home, losing both parents when she was young yet somehow developing a sense of compassion she would bring to a long career in public life. Her marriage to a young rising star of American politics, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was deeply troubled, and this documentary reveals the personal betrayal that was assiduously kept hidden from public view during their lifetimes. Standing by her husband, Eleanor became, in the assessment of historians who speak on camera, one of the most skillful politicians of her time. Using early archival photographs to illustrate her early life, and extensive newsreel footage to document her decades on the public stage, the role of Mrs. Roosevelt in pioneering causes and expanding the traditional duties of the First Lady is presented in a very entertaining and informative manner. Extensive interviews with descendants, friends, and scholars also contribute to an incisive look at the woman who inspired the nation during the depths of the Depression, comforted Americans during World War II, and, after President Roosevelt's death, played a pivotal role in America's prominence at the United Nations. --Robert J. McNamara

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Secret Space_What Is Nasa Hiding

This two-part Special Edition presents shocking facts about UFO sightings in direct view of NASA Astronauts, obtained through a private
independent study centered on monitoring and videotaping STRANGE activity seen from Space Shuttle cameras during orbital flights high
above the Earth, and features the research of Jeff Challender and Project P.R.O.V.E.
The results of this investigation are amazing! See stunning evidence of UFOs in outer space, as well as unexplained anomalies in Earth orbit.
Additionally, discover the details about NASA protocols designed to obscure observation and analysis of UFOs in space.
Contains two spellbinding programs featuring extraordinary NASA digital video footage of authentic space-based UFOs and strange anomalies
filmed during US Space Shuttle missions. Includes a detailed analysis by the best known, most credible NASA UFO authority in the world today.
This story, and the trail of scientific discovery that followed may provide positive proof that there is an UNKNOWN Alien presence in our skies.

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Earth Under Water

The possibility that climate change, melting ice caps and storms will cause severe floods in the future, with disastrous results for coastal areas.

Also examines the speculation that scientific predictions about the speed of climate change are woefully innacurate, and examines evidence to suggest that change will happen much faster in the future than previously thought.

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Time Shift - How to Win at Chess

Many people know the basic rules of chess, but few can play really well. This programme offers some essential tips on how to raise our game.

British grandmasters Dan King and Ray Keene go through a special demonstration game from opening gambit to checkmate, revealing the key moves that can lead to victory. They explain the opening, middle and end games, and how to outwit an opponent with techniques such as forks, pins and skewers.

Along the way the colourful and diverse world of British chess playing is celebrated, including speed chess and chess boxing, and useful advice is offered on how not to be humiliated by a child prodigy.

Also taking part are novelist Martin Amis, writer Dominic Lawson, Britain's youngest grandmaster David Howell and under-16 champion Sheila Dines.

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Discovery Channel - Ancient Chinese Inventions

 

A documentary which challenges the assumption that there is something essentially Western about science and technology.

The World is forever in debt to China for its innovations. Ancient China was extreme advanced, and many of it’s discoveries are still in use today. This is what Robert Temple, the author of ‘The Genius of China – 3000 years of science, discovery, and invention’. The book is based on 11 main parts of Chinese innovation. Within these 11 categories, there are 3 main parts that contain the most significant inventions. Robert Temple concentrates the bulk of his examples in these three categories, agriculture, domestic and industrial technology, and engineering. Temple’s examples were not limited to these fields of innovation. The Chinese excelled in many other areas, including mathematics, warfare, and transportation, to name a few. Although Temple wrote about eleven fields of invention, I feel that these three sections contain the greatest examples of Chinese innovation, and the debt that the modern world owes China. The first main area is the field of engineering. Within this chapter, the development of iron and steel is the greatest achievement. The development of iron and steel led to other advances. By at least the 4th century the Chinese have developed blast furnaces to obtain cast iron from iron ore. This was 1200 years before the first blast furnace showed up in Europe. The reasons that the author gave to explain the reasons why the Chinese developed this technology are simple. The Chinese had access to large amounts of clay, the key ingredient in making blast furnaces. The Chinese also figured out that by adding a substance they called ”Black Earth,” they could lower the melting point of iron.

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National Geographic - Earth Shocks: Mega Volcano

No one believed the claims of early scientists who said the world was round. Imagine the public's disbelief if they had been told about the existence of super floods and super volcanoes that shook the planet to its core. Scientists branded geologist J Harlen Bretz a heretic in the 1920s for his theory that the Scablands, an area in the North West corner of the US known for its 'dry falls' and craggy landscape, had been created overnight by a giant flood.

In the episode, Mega Flood, a team of maverick geologists hunt for clues to prove Bretz's theory to be true. Scattered across the terrain, they find one-hundred tonne granite boulders, giant potholes, 40-foot ripples carved into the landscape and scratch marks gouged into the bedrock. "In geology we are really looking for evidence of features in the rocks, on the landscape. It is very similar to what a detective does looking for clues at a crime scene. Those clues fit into a pattern and ultimately a culprit is associated with that crime scene," explains Geosciences Professor Vic Baker, from the University of Arizona.

In the Earth Shocks series, Mega Volcano, reveals how evidence found by climatologists studying changes to the atmosphere in Greenland kicked off an investigation into one of the world's largest volcanic eruptions. "The more I looked at the results, I knew we were looking at something that was just cataclysmic," recalls Greg Zielinski, one of the team that discovered the anomaly in ice dating back 75,000 years. Further clues located underwater, in rocks and buried under ash directed Zielinski and his fellow scientists to a startling discovery: the existence of a super volcano on the site of Lake Toba in Indonesia. Some scientists predict that when it erupted 75,000 years ago, it caused so much devastation that the world was pushed into an ice age lasting a millennium. More alarming is the possibility it could erupt again. "Well, a super volcanic eruption would affect all aspects of modern life and modern civilisation," says geologist Mike Rampino.

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BBC - Science and Islam

Episode 1: The Language of Science.
Physicist Jim Al-Khalili travels through Syria, Iran, Tunisia and Spain to tell the story of the great leap in scientific knowledge that took place in the Islamic world between the 8th and 14th centuries. Its legacy is tangible, with terms like algebra, algorithm and alkali being Arabic in origin and at the very heart of modern science. For Baghdad-born Al-Khalili this is also a personal journey and he uncovers a diverse, outward-looking culture, fascinated by learning and obsessed with science.

Episode 2: The Empire of Reason.
Physicist Jim Al-Khalili travels through Syria, Iran, Tunisia and Spain to tell the story of the great leap in scientific knowledge that took place in the Islamic world between the 8th and 14th centuries. He travels to Syria to discover how, a thousand years ago, the astronomer and mathematician Al-Biruni estimated the size of the earth to within a few hundred miles of the correct figure. In Cairo, he tells the story of the physicist Ibn al-Haytham, who helped establish the science of optics.

Episode 3: The Power of Doubt.
Physicist Jim Al-Khalili concludes his investigation into the relationship between science and Islam. He shows how the scientific revolution that took place in 16th and 17th century Europe had its roots in the world of medieval Islam. He travels across Iran, Syria and Egypt to discover the astronomical advances made by Islamic scholars through their obsession with accurate measurement. He then visits Italy to see how those ideas permeated into the West and helped shape the works of Copernicus.

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Hot Planet - Timely look at global warming ahead of the Copenhagen summit

Professors Iain Stewart and Professor Kathy Sykes take a timely look at global warming ahead of the Copenhagen summit, exploring the world's leading climate
scientists' vision of the planet's future.

Scientists predict that if global temperatures continue to rise at their current rate, Earth will be one degree warmer within 10 years, two degrees warmer within the next 40 years and three degrees or more warmer before the end of the century. If the Earth's temperature increases to three degrees warmer than the average pre-industrial temperature, the impact on the planet will be catastrophic. Across the Earth, ways of life could be lost forever as climate change accelerates out of control. This isn't inevitable, however: climate change is not yet irreversible.

Ingenious technology and science is currently being devised, advanced and tested around the world which could offer solutions for a sustainable future. The question that remains is, can the world embrace and implement them on a large enough scale within an effective timeline? If widespread damage to human societies and ecosystems is to be prevented, global temperature rise must be slowed and eventually reversed.

Hot Planet offers an accurate visual prediction of the planet's future, based on the findings of over 4,000 climate scientists.

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PBS - Rick Steves' Europe: France's Dordogne

The Dordogne River Valley — with its dramatic castles, evocative cave paintings, and prized cuisine — is an unforgettable blend of man-made and natural beauty. We'll take an idyllic canoe ride, and then visit a goose farm and savor the foie gras. We'll also wander through a lamp-lit castle, enjoy a country market, and visit the Sistine Chapel of the prehistoric world. Then we head south to Albi, home of Toulouse Lautrec, and the imposing fortress city of Carcassonne.

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Discovery Channel - Fantastic Festivals of the World: Boi Bumba Festival (Brazil)

In the town of Parintins in the Amazons, Brazil, a festival of folklore takes place called Boi Bumba, meaning, "Beat the bull". Boi is a style of music and dance that brings the region’s history and folkloric tales to life. The festival is a fierce competition between the two Boi groups, Garantido and Caprichoso, who wildly try to out-do each other with stunning displays of the dancing, singing, and band music that are unique to the region, as well as gigantic floats. Anticipation and excitement peaks on the third and final night as the performers prepare to hear the judges’ decision.

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National Geographic - Evolutions: The Walking Whale

15 million years ago a hungry land animal sought out a new source of food in the water, starting a spectacular evolutionary journey so that today it looks like a fish. How did a creature built for land become master of the ocean?

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National Geographic - The Human Family Tree

Scientists use the DNA from a random group of people to show that all humans share common ancestors. On a single day on a single street, with the DNA of just a couple of hundred random people, National Geographic Channel sets out to trace the ancestral footsteps of all humanity. Narrated by Kevin Bacon, The Human Family Tree travels to one of the most diverse corners of the world -- Queens, N.Y. -- to demonstrate how we all share common ancestors who embarked on very different journeys. Regardless of race, nationality or religion, all of us can trace our ancient origin back to the cradle of humanity, East Africa. What did our collective journey look like, and where did it take your specific ancestors? At what point in our past did we first cross paths with the supposed strangers living in our neighbourhood? Now, in The Human Family Tree, the people of this quintessential American melting pot find out that their connections go much deeper than a common ZIP code.

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PBS - American Experience:Last Stand at Little Big Horn

This episode of The American Experience investigates an event that has become American folklore - the Battle of the Little Bighorn. (I believe the currently preferred spelling is one word.) By carefully considering the evidence available from both white and Native American accounts, this documentary reaches conclusions that are more complex than those commonly held. Custer emerges neither as a fool nor a hero, but a competent commander who simply got more than he could handle. The loss of Custer's command was a national embarrassment and led to obfuscation that over time became accepted as fact. Anyone with an interest in the history of the American West, especially relations with Native peoples, will find this of value.

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America's Hardest Prisons- Convict Air

"Lock 'em up and throw away the key," Murderers, rapists, gangsters, terrorists - the American public can only be secure when these individuals are locked in the Big House, closed behind steel bars, barbed wire and thick walls. But in order for a convicted prisoner to begin his sentence…he has to get there. When a prisoner must be transported across town, across a state, or across the nation, it represents an extreme security risk and a huge logistical challenge, a challenge that led law enforcement to establish an air transportation system just for prisoners.

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Discovery Channel - China Rises

Combining the finest documentary talent of CBC, the New York Times and other broadcast partners, this special CBC co-production China Rises takes viewers inside this vibrant, fascinating nation during what may prove to be the most important period in its history. Airing over two nights, China Rises explores four themes, each of them featuring compelling first-hand accounts of the triumphs and disappointments of the people who make up China's diverse population. Visually stunning, China Rises is filmed entirely in High Definition, capturing rarely seen images of both rural and urban China.


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Storyville - Simon Mann's African Coup: Black Beach

A failed coup attempt ... a British mercenary in a grim African prison ... a dictator accused by the West of torture ... and beneath it all, a spectacular underwater oil reserve that the world's major powers would love to get their hands on.

It may sound like the latest John LeCarre bestseller, but it's the real-life intrigue behind Simon Mann's African Coup, Storyville's penetrating look at mysterious goings on in Equatorial Guinea, a tiny West African nation newly rich from oil and infamous for corruption. Filmed over eighteen months, with access to key players, the film offers a unique look inside a country that rarely allows in the foreign press.

The story proper begins in 2004, when a group of mercenaries, headed by Mann, is arrested in Zimbabwe. Equatorial Guinea's president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, accuses them of plotting a bloody coup d'etat to steal his country and its oil. When Mann is sentenced to 34 years in Equatorial Guinea's feared Black Beach jail, he claims to be only a part of a Western plot to grab the country's vast oil resources. This fast-paced thriller of a film travels the globe to unravel that plot, from South Africa to Spain, from London to Washington - promising to reveal the truth of what happened in the most controversial coup attempt in recent history.

But as this all plays out, another actor has its eye on Obiang's oil: China. The Chinese government showers the country with largesse. A new capital city rises from the jungle. Accused by the US of corruption and horrifying human rights abuses, President Obiang welcomes China as his new best friend. Simon Mann's African Coup sheds light on the uncomfortable realities of oil politics in the 21st century.

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National Geographic Channel - Everest 50 Years On The Mountain

In 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary & Tenzing Norgay made history as the first people to reach the top of Everest. Now, 50 years later, three sons of Everest's most celebrated climbers return to the mountain to challenge it again. Join their journey as they brave the elements and face death to climb 29,000 feet of wind-blasted rock and ice. And, relive the dramatic history of Everest from great triumphs to deadly tragedies, enduring rivalries and the unsung role of the Sherpa people - as National Geographic exposes the untold stories that lurk in the mountain's epic shadow and takes you on THE ultimate Everest experience.

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Discovery Channel - Swimming Lions

Botswana's Okavango Delta is a unique natural resource, one of the largest deltas in the world. Until 20,000 years ago the delta was a massive freshwater lake. Today it is an oasis teeming with an amazing cross-section of unexpected animal life. Fish, crocodiles, hippos and antelope coexist in the delta, and the lion rules this kingdom.

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BBC - The Scots Who Made The Modern World

From bank machines to the Bank of England, from telephones to television, the inventions and innovations of Scots have, for better or worse, defined globalisation and changed the way we communicate. From the forgotten 18th-century Scottish banker whose financial experiments caused the first credit crunch, to the eccentric genius behind the first television transmission, the programme examines the extraodrinary stories of Scottish pioneers of commerce and communication and their phenomenal legac…y. With contributions from Professor Tom Devine and John Logie Baird's grandson.

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The Nazis: A Warning from History

New light is shed on the rise of the Third Reich in Germany in this comprehensive series. Through archival footage and interviews with those who survived Hitler's reign, including unrepentant Nazis, the series reveals how the Nazi state compelled ordinary people to commit atrocities; the order and disorder within the German army; Hitler's lack of motivation and propensity for getting his minions to do his work; and many other enlightening facts.

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BBC - Attenborough Explores: Our Fragile World

The United Kingdom offers unique insights into the effects of climate change on our planet. It has a long history of nature observations - particularly the timing of seasonal events such as flowering and bird nesting. So, with the UK as his platform, Sir David Attenborough takes a look at the effect of global warming, both local and global.

His journey begins in the Cairngorms, the last wilderness of the UK. Its snow-encrusted summit is a rare arctic environment, but a third of this habitat has melted away over the last 30 years. The loss of arctic habitat in Britain is mirrored on a grand scale at the North Pole where the polar bear is its most iconic casualty.

Global warming doesn't just affect air temperatures - it impacts on our oceans too. Sir David examines the plight of British sea bird colonies and how important they are on a global scale. In the Shetlands, the warming oceans have resulted in a collapse of the main food source for some marine birds.

However, while some animals lose out, others benefit. Insects such as the emperor dragonfly have extended their range northwards in Europe, while bird species like the great tits have changed their breeding times so that they synchronise with the earlier arrival of the insects.


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PBS - NOVA What Are Dreams

What are dreams and why do we have them? NOVA joins leading dream researchers as they embark on a variety of neurological and psychological experiments to investigate the world of sleep and dreams. Delving deep into the thoughts and brains of a variety of dreamers, scientists are asking important questions about the purpose of this mysterious realm we escape to at night. Do dreams allow us to get a good night's sleep? Do they improve memory? Do they allow us to be more creative? Can they solve our problems or even help us survive the hazards of everyday life? NOVA follows a number of scientists, including Matthew Wilson of MIT, who is literally "eavesdropping" on the dreams of rats, and other investigators who are systematically analyzing the content of thousands of human dreams. From people who violently act out their dreams to those who can't stop their nightmares, from sleepwalking cats to the rare instances of individuals who don't seem to ever dream, each fascinating case study contains a vital clue to the age-old question: What Are Dreams?


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PBS - Rick Steves' Iran, Yesterday and Today

Join Rick as he explores the most surprising and fascinating land he's ever visited: Iran. In a one-hour, ground-breaking travel special on public television, you'll discover the splendid monuments of Iran's rich and glorious past, learn more about the 20th-century story of this perplexing nation, and experience Iranian life today in its historic capital and in a countryside village. Most important, you'll meet the people of this nation whose government so exasperates our own.

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National Geographics - Alaskan Killer Shark

Once a year, one of Nature’s great spectacles takes place on the northernmost coast of the Gulf of Alaska. It is a predestined collision of two massive migrations - a David and Goliath event - when thousands of ravenous salmon sharks gather to attack millions of Pacific salmon. The salmon are desperately trying to reach their spawning grounds in Prince William Sound. The sharks are there to gorge themselves. But sharks? In Alaska? Of the nearly 500 known sharks in the world, this is the only large, agile shark equipped to ply these icy waters. This shark is warm-blooded! In the end, the salmon run on an urgency born of their need to reproduce while the sharks run on…hunger. This one-hour spectacular travels with the salmon shark and the salmon in the most revealing portrait ever of this rarely filmed, little known shark: Alaska’s Icy Killer.

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Natural World - Highland Haven

This stunningly beautiful film reveals the unique wildlife of the Scottish Highlands, seen through the eyes of filmmaker Fergus Beeley.

Based for a year at Loch Maree and the surrounding hills in Scotland's far North West, Beeley presents his personal view of the shy animals whose lives are ruled by the rains. He follows the fortunes of rare black-throated divers and white-tailed sea eagles, which both breed there, while capturing the red deer and salmon whose lives also revolve around the loch.

With an evocative score provided by local musician Phil Cunningham, this enchanting film captures the magic of a very special place.

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Discovery Channel: Worlds Best Beaches 720p

Which is the best beach in the world to give a visit to? Watch this documentary and find out!

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Discovery Channel - Tea Road To The Skies

Winding more than 4,000 tortuous kilometres across 20 mountain chains and two desert plateau’s, spanning four great rivers, and cutting through the territory of 25 different ethnic groups – is the ancient Tea Road. ‘Tea Road to the Skies’ is a three-part epic series that follows in the footsteps of the caravans which for centuries hauled their baggage of tea along this road and across Asia to be dispersed to the entire world. This annual pilgrimage took 6 months and the path was so well used that the track is beaten deep into the rocks all the way from China to the giant tea market in Lhasa. Learn more about where one of the world’s favourite drinks comes from and revel in the stunning cinematography, all in striking high definition.

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BBC - China's Terracotta Army

Dan Snow follows the making of the British Museum's biggest exhibition in a generation and tells the story of its subject, the First Emperor of China. Qin
Shihuangdi is one of the most important but least well-known men in history. He founded the world's oldest political entity and created the spectacular
Terracotta Army to guard his vast tomb.

With exclusive access to the BM team for over a year, Dan follows the curator Jane Portal, and the design team, as they create a blockbuster exhibition in the historic Round Reading Room and he travels to China to see the original Great Wall, the sacred mountain Tai Shan, and the great necropolis at Xian with its
thousands of warriors.

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National Geographic - Nazi Art Theft

An epic story of the theft, destruction and miraculous survival of Europe’s art treasures during the Third Reich and World War II.

In a journey through seven countries, Nazi Art Theft will take you into the violent whirlwind of fanaticism, greed, and warfare that threatened to wipe out the artistic heritage of Europe. For twelve long years, the Nazis looted and destroyed art on a scale unprecedented in history. But heroic young art historians and curators from America and across Europe fought back with an extraordinary campaign to rescue and return the millions of lost, hidden and stolen treasures.

Now, more than sixty years later, the legacy of this tragic history continues to play out as families of looted collectors recover major works of art, conservators repair battle damage, and nations fight over the fate of ill-gotten spoils of war.

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Extraordinary People - The Real Rain Man

Fifty-four-year-old Kim Peek is arguably the world's most famous savant and the inspiration behind the Oscar-winning film, Rain Man. He was diagnosed as mentally retarded at birth by a neurologist who spared him five minutes on his way to a golf game, and his parents were advised to place him in an institution. But his father, Fran, refused to give up on him and under his care Kim has developed a memory that, without equal, has made him a household name in the USA.

Described as "a living Google", Kim is a confounding mix of disability and brilliance that has baffled neurosurgeons. Most savants have only one dominating interest, but Kim seems to soak up everything: from sport to politics and even the minutiae of the British monarchy.

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Secret Society (suppressed BBC series)

The Secret Society series caused a political furore in 1987. BBC Director General Alasdair Milne's support for this series was one of the key reasons he was sacked (and replaced by Michael Checkland, an accountant). This Journalistic Coup d'État was conducted by Lord Victor Rothschild, Margaret Thatcher and Marmaduke Hussey in 1986.
The production team behind the series was threatened with prosecution under the Official Secrets Act. Mr Campbell's front door was kicked down and his home searched. In 1987, Strathclyde Police raided the corporation's Scottish headquarters in Glasgow and seized the tapes from the offices of BBC Scotland where the series had been made. Mr Campbell's home was also raided, The tapes were later returned and the series broadcast on the BBC except for episode one. The BBC decided that the episode (one) about secret cabinet committees was too sensitive to show before the 1987 general election. The Thatcher government leaned on the BBC to prevent its damaging allegations being made public.

1. The Secret Constitution: Secret Cabinet Committees - about small, secret and influential Cabinet committees.
2. In Time Of Crisis: Government Emergency Powers - Since 1982, governments in every other NATO country have been preparing for the eventuality of war. In Britain, these preparations are kept secret. So what will happen when the balloon goes up?
3. A Gap In Our Defences - Bungling defence manufacturers and incompetent military planners have botched every new radar system that Britain has installed since World War Two. Why? And can we stop it happening again?
4. We're All Data Now: Secret Data Banks - The Data Protection Act is supposed to protect us from abuse, but it's already out of date and full of loopholes. So what kind of abuses should we worry about?
5. The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) - ACPO Making up their own law and policy. About the Association of Chief Police Officers and how Government policy and actions are determined in the fields of law and order.
6. Communications Zircon - About GCHQ with particular reference to a secret £500 million satellite. Reference to Zircon spy satellites which the public accounts committee were not told about.

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National Geographic - Guns, Germs, and Steel ,Complete Series

Based on Jared Diamond's Pulitzer Prize-winning book of the same name, Guns, Germs and Steel traces humanity's journey over the last 13,000 years from the dawn of farming at the end of the last Ice Age to the realities of life in the twenty-first century.The three one-hour programs were filmed across four continents on High Definition digital video, and combinied ambitious dramatic reconstruction with moving documentary footage and computer animation. They also include contributions from Diamond himself and a wealth of international historians, archeologists and scientists. Guns, Germs, and Steel is a thrilling ride through the elemental forces which have shaped our world and which continue to shape our future.
Part 1: Out Of Eden


Jared Diamond´s journey of discovery began on the island of Papua New Guinea. There, in 1974, a local named Yali asked Diamond a deceptively simple question: Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo, but we black people had little cargo of our own? Diamond realized that Yali´s question penetrated the heart of a great mystery of human history -- the roots of global inequality. To examine the reasons for European success, Jared realized he had to peel back the layers of history and begin his search at a time of equality a time when all the peoples of the world lived in exactly the same way.

Part 2: Conquest

On November 15th 1532, 168 Spanish conquistadors arrive in the holy city of Cajamarca, at the heart of the Inca Empire, in Peru. They are exhausted, outnumbered and terrified ? ahead of them are camped 80,000 Inca troops and the entourage of the Emperor himself. Yet, within just 24 hours, more than 7,000 Inca warriors lie slaughtered; the Emperor languishes in chains; and the victorious Europeans begin a reign of colonial terror which will sweep through the entire American continent. Why was the balance of power so unequal between the Old World, and the New?

Part 3: Into The Tropics

So far, Jared Diamond has demonstrated how geography favoured one group of people ? Europeans ? endowing them with agents of conquest ahead of their rivals around the world. Guns, germs and steel allowed Europeans to colonize vast tracts of the globe ? but what happened when this all-conquering package arrived in Africa, the birthplace of humanity?

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Brothers In Arms: Basra

Filmmakers travelled to the arid desert of Basra to join British forces on the ground. They watched as our 4000-strong Army rapidly diminished over the course of March to the end of May this year. Extraordinary stories of soldiers become real as they speak openly about the the ordeals, trials and emotional stress they endure while fighting. No soldier is untouched by their experiences in Iraq. What do they really feel? What is it like to be fighting every day for months and months at a time. Do they believe in what they are fighting for? These are the ever-present issues they are forced to question. In the frankest interviews to date, soldiers from regiments, 5 Rifles and B Company explain candidly what life is like on the front line and explain how they feel about how they are perceived by the British public at home.

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Naked Science : Triumph of the Tank

What is the deadliest tank ever built? What are tanks and where do they come from? We answer this using the best tank on the planet, the American made Abrams M1A2. This truly is a tank of today. It is fully integrated with computers, state of the art detection and communication systems. It can detect and kill its prey from miles away even in the dead of night. Despite its modern electronic technologies its design is based on ideas developed at the start of the last century - mobility, firepower and armor. These three features must be balanced, too much armor or too big a gun and it will be too heavy to move a round, too little and it will be mobile but vulnerable to enemy fire. We investigate what the design of the Abrams tank has learnt form WW2 tanks like the Russian T34 and how it has become the most deadly tank on the planet. But it still shares all its main features with its relatives of 90 years ago. It is designed on a principle established in WW1- the balance between: Mobility, Armor and Gun.

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BBC - The Big Bang Machine

Professor Brian Cox visits Geneva to take a look around Cern's Large Hadron Collider before this vast, 27km long machine is sealed-off and the experiment to create the simulation of a black hole begins.

When it's up and running, it will be capable of creating the conditions that existed just a billionth of a second after the Big Bang. Brian joins the scientists who hope that the LHC will change our understanding of the early universe and solve some of its mysteries.

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Discovery Channel - If we had no Moon, What would life on earth be like without the moon?

What would life on earth be like without the moon? Well, chances are, there wouldn't be any life on earth without the moon. Life – if it had started at all – would still be in the earliest stages of evolution.

Scientists use the latest computer simulations to show how an ancient rogue planet – Orpheus – collided with the earth millions of years ago, producing a sizable chunk of debris that eventually became our moon. If that collision had never occurred, we would live in a very different place. Imagine a moon-less weather report – blizzards over the Sahara, floodwaters swallowing the Pyramids, 90-degree temperatures in Antarctica. As the earth wobbles on its axis – unsecured by the moon's gravitational pull – the polar caps would grow and recede at frightening rates. And without the moon, our planet would spin much faster – meaning four-hour days and searing temperatures.

Worse yet, evidence reveals that we are in fact losing our grip on our lunar friend thanks to the ebb and flow of the oceans' tides. Experts reveal theories for salvaging the moon – including hijacking Europa from Jupiter – and demonstrate how we can prepare ourselves for our eventual life without it.

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BBC - To Mars By A-Bomb

Documentary telling the amazing true story of a top secret US government-backed attempt to build a spaceship the size of an ocean liner and send it to Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, propelled by thousands of miniature nuclear bombs. Awesome, fantastic and possibly crazy, Project Orion employed some of the best scientists in the world, including the brilliant British mathematician and physicist Freeman Dyson.

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PBS - A Death in Tehran,Neda Agha Soltan

At the height of the protests following Iran's controversial presidential election this summer, a young woman named Neda Agha Soltan was shot and killed on the streets of Tehran. Her death -- filmed on a camera phone, then uploaded to the Web -- quickly became an international outrage, and Soltan became the face of a powerful movement that threatened the hard-line government's hold on power.

In A Death in Tehran, FRONTLINE revisits the events of last summer, shedding new light on Neda's life and death and the movement she helped inspire.

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Orca Killer Whales

Observing the behavior of Orca “Killer Whales” off Vancouver Island
including the use of remote controlled cameras located on the sea floor.
The decline of the Orca, from ferocious predator to species at risk. Portrayed as a fearsome predator in popular culture, the killer whale suffers from a bit of an identity crisis. In fact, it's not a whale at all, but the largest of the dolphins. It is a highly inquisitive mammal, with the tightest family bonds of any animal on Earth. Sadly, this mighty predator is in grave danger of disappearing. It is among the most highly contaminated marine mammals in the world, a canary in a coal mine for the state of our oceans. Killer in Peril follows North America's top whale researchers on the Pacific coast as they unravel the complexities of killer whale culture and probe the causes of the orca's decline.

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BBC - Panorama - Save Our Steel

Panorama helps citizen journalists Steven, Belinda and Tony find out the future of the steel industry, which employs tens of thousands of people.

They research the Welsh industry's past and talk to experts about its chances of surviving the recession, travelling first to London to ask a minister why the government will not subsidise it, and then to Mumbai to tackle the MD of Indian parent company Tata.

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BBC - Mars A Horizon Guide

While the moon lies 240,000 miles away, Mars is at a distance of 50 million miles. Reaching the moon takes three days, but to land on Mars would take nearly eight months, and only two thirds of the missions to Mars have made it. The BBC has been there to analyse the highs and lows - including the ill-fated British attempt, the Beagle.

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PBS - Life Beyond Earth

The question of whether we are alone in the universe has intrigued humanity for centuries, and journalist Timothy Ferris presents an extensive look at the quandary in this fascinating and beautifully produced program from PBS. Ferris, as an engaging and inquisitive host, begins by discussing the development of life and the theory of evolution, as what we know about life on Earth could indicate whether it's possible for life to have developed elsewhere. Showing how scientists would expect life to exist elsewhere, Ferris then devotes his attention in a section entitled "Is Anybody Listening" to explain how radio telescopes are being used in hopes of making contact with intelligent beings beyond our own solar system. Throughout this documentary Ferris finds creative ways to make fairly complicated material easily understandable, and his offbeat approach to serious science is always entertaining and often fascinating. Experts such as scientist and bestselling author Stephen Jay Gould appear briefly in interviews to offer their insights, but for the most part the presentation is astoundingly visual. Ferris wisely opts to show something rather than merely talk about it, and the DVD is filled with startling and beautiful special effects as well as gorgeous footage shot both on Earth and in space. This is an excellent documentary that also happens to be a pleasure to watch.

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Naked Science: Vesuvius Countdown

Vesuvius is considered by many to be the world's most dangerous volcano. Just six miles from the bustling city of Naples, this restless giant could kill millions in a fraction of a second. The question is... when? Next toVesuvius lie the ruinous cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. They are haunting reminders of the volcano's past and potential wrath. Now, scientists are furiously trying to predict what it will do next... before it's too late. Using ancient artefacts and startling new scientific evidence, they are unravelling the secrets of Vesuvius.

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Discovery Channel - Jack The Ripper In America

The greatest serial killer in history has never been named. But what if we are looking in the wrong place? In the 1890s a series of murders took place across the United States, and incredible new evidence may reveal the true identity of Jack the Ripper.

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BBC - Merlin: The Legend

It was the little-known clergyman Geoffrey of Monmouth who first wrote about Merlin in the 12th century in his book The History of the Kings of Briton. Merlin is also a re-appearing figure in the famous Black Book of Carmarthen, which was written 750 years ago. In other medieval texts, it seems Merlin's character becomes more established and art historian Peter Lord says the reappearing character of an old, bearded man in a long gown makes him seem like a "medieval hoody".

Stories about Merlin have also been linked to the creation of Stonehenge

During the time of the Tudors, it is thought the character of Merlin and King Arthur were used to bring stability to the country after the wars of the Roses. This is demonstrated in Thomas Malory's epic Le Morte D'Arthur. Here Merlin is depicted as an advisor to his king and a stabilising influence from the old world in the tumultuous modern times.

In the 17th and 18th Centuries, a growing interest in ancient Britain led to Merlin being depicted as a druid and bardic figure in both literature and art.

And in the 19th Century, as the world went industrial, Merlin was depicted more as a romantic figure. He is overwhelmed by the seductive wiles of a woman in stories and art.

So, was there a real Merlin and how can we distinguish the man from the legend?
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BBC - Armistice

Professor David Reynolds takes a fresh look at the events and personalities that brought about the armistice of 1918, venturing beyond the familiar British account of Remembrance Day to unravel how the Germans plunged to total defeat in just a few months at the end of the war. He uncovers a story of wounded egos, mental illness and political brinkmanship as statesmen and generals haggled over the terms of peace, while, at the front, the soldiers fought on with sustained brutality.
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