FOREIGN CONFIDENTIAL

Film History: the French New Wave

2021-07-02T14:41:00.001-04:00

Nine Beautiful Places to Visit in Slovenia

2021-07-02T14:19:00.001-04:00

Top 10 European Islands to Visit

2021-07-02T14:00:00.002-04:00

Little Europe: the Amazing Microstates

2021-07-02T13:47:00.001-04:00

Chinese Virologist, MD, PhD, Says Coronavirus Made in Wuhan Lab

2020-09-15T14:05:00.000-04:00

Rebels and Spies: the [GREAT] Graphic Novels of Vittorio Giardino

2020-07-18T13:49:00.000-04:00

Deep in Red China ...

2020-07-05T22:23:00.001-04:00

Dack Dixon to The Rescue from publicaffairspublishing on Vimeo.

Preview Video Comic Strip Hero Battles Totalitarian China

2020-07-05T13:46:00.000-04:00

Dystopian Graphic Novel Depicts China as Nazi-Like Occupier of USA

2020-06-15T11:12:00.000-04:00

Coming Soon to Your Digital Device: Dack Dixon, Special Agent

2020-06-12T11:25:00.000-04:00

Dack Dixon from publicaffairspublishing on Vimeo.

The Coronavirus Shows America Needs to be More Self-Reliant

2020-05-19T18:06:00.001-04:00

By Nikki Haley

When American farmers sell soybeans and beef to China, it supports American jobs and families. When we buy t-shirts, light bulbs, and other consumer goods from China at lower prices, we save money that American families can then use for rent and groceries. Trade is a fundamental, and fundamentally beneficial, part of our economy.

But it has long been recognized that not all trade with all trading partners is the same. The father of capitalism, Adam Smith, wrote in The Wealth of Nations, that Great Britain’s interest in preserving naval supremacy was more important than free trade in the maritime sector. “Defense,” he wrote, “is of much more importance than opulence.”

America has long understood this truth. During the Cold War, our government crafted new policies and programs to check Soviet military technological progress. These included export control and trade promotion programs that served national security purposes.

Now it’s time to take a similar approach with Communist China. The coronavirus pandemic has shown just how dependent we are on that country for vital medical supplies, from specific drugs to much-needed personal protective equipment. This crisis is as dangerous as the coronavirus itself, and addressing it should be one of our top priorities.

The extent of our country’s reliance on China for medical supplies was clear from the early stages of this pandemic. As Americans rushed to purchase masks and gloves, and as hospitals tried to stock up on everything they needed, shortages quickly arose. China, which controls nearly half of all U.S.-imported personal protective equipment, was hoarding material for itself while banning companies from exporting their products. Beyond masks and ventilators, China produces 97% of U.S. antibiotics, 95% of ibuprofen, and the vast majority of many other medicines.

All of this leaves us less safe and jeopardizes American lives in a time of crisis. But it’s also part of the strategic plan of China’s communist rulers. Beijing has long had its sights on capturing the world’s most important supply chains to give it an edge over America and the free world. To accomplish this goal, the Chinese Communist Party has used its state-led economic model to manipulate the market to its advantage, often illegally. Among other things, China has subsidized competitors to U.S. companies and ordered the theft of their trade secrets and intellectual property.
Medical equipment may be the most urgent need right now, but in the near-term, China is especially focused on controlling the cutting-edge industries of 5G, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and robotics.

The Chinese communists envision an authoritarian world where they call the shots and command an unbeatable technological edge. They’re working overtime to make that vision a reality.

This is where America must respond — and lead. While Beijing has abused the free market in order to destroy it, America must harness the free market to protect our freedom and national security.

What would this look like? It starts by setting up stronger guardrails to prevent China from exploiting America’s economic openness and punish it for its predatory actions. It involves pushing back against Beijing’s manipulation of international forums like the World Trade Organization. It means ensuring that our most important security-related industries — from essential medicine to semiconductors — have American-friendly supply chains, instead of depending on an authoritarian rival state.

Americans have always understood that national security is the foundation of economic security. As we strive to come through the coronavirus crisis stronger and safer, we must courageously and creatively act to protect our people from Chinese communist duplicity and aggression.

Nikki Haley is a former South Carolina state legislator, a former governor of South Carolina, and a former United States ambassador to the United Nations.

Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis -- 1927 Cinematic Masterpiece

2020-05-09T13:44:00.000-04:00

Documentary: Death By China

2020-05-05T13:54:00.001-04:00

Forbidden Film: Planet of the Humans

2020-04-29T14:54:00.001-04:00

Drone Captures Deserted, Pandemic Prague

2020-04-10T12:53:00.001-04:00

China Accused of Profiting From Pandemic it Caused

2020-04-08T10:24:00.000-04:00

CCNY Declares "Year Of Film," Celebrates Hans Richter

2019-03-07T17:34:00.000-05:00

Hans Richter © Man Ray Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), 1928

The City College of New York (CCNY) has declared 2019 the “Year of Film” to celebrate Hans Richter and the legacy of arguably the oldest, continuous film program in the United States.

As early as 1934, student members of the aptly named Film and Sprockets Society were rolling out motion pictures at The City College of New York, establishing CCNY as one of the earliest film schools in the nation. In 1941, pioneering Dadaist and filmmaker Hans Richter took charge of the Institute of Film Techniques, CCNY’s first formal filmmaking program, founded by Irving Jacoby. Nearly eight decades later, CCNY has declared 2019 the “Year of Film” to celebrate Richter and the legacy of arguably the oldest, continuous film program in the U.S.

Highlights of the observance include:

Screenings of acclaimed films by City College faculty and alumni;
Film discussions;
A spotlight on award winning student films; and
A celebration, on June 20, of Richter and the social mission he imparted to CCNY’s film institute.

Forced out of Europe in 1940 by the Nazis, the German-born Richter was a major force in redefining art and film in the 20th century. He arrived in the U.S. and joined the Institute of Film Techniques, as it was known, at CCNY. It was the first documentary film school in the country and Richter served as director from 1941 to 1957.

His influence over generations of American filmmakers was immense. He opened their eyes to documentary, experimental and European films, the likes of which working-class students from New York City had never seen.

“Through his work at City College, Richter became a prophet of the concept of film as art, and he was the inspiration for what we now call the New American Cinema Movement,” said David Davidson, the award-winning CCNY filmmaker and director of the documentary, “HANS RICHTER: Everything Turns – Everything Revolves” (2013).

Rich Hollywood Legacy

In addition to Richter, CCNY’s rich film legacy includes numerous former students and alumni that went on to make their mark in Hollywood or on Broadway in different aspects of the two industries.

Among the earliest were Film and Sprockets Society members Bernard Gordon, Abraham Polonsky and Julian Zimet who went on to become acclaimed filmmakers in Hollywood.

The venerable list includes:

Woody Allen
Paddy Chayefsky
Tony Curtis
Ben Gazzara
Ira Gershwin
Yip Harburg
Judd Hirsch
Stanley Kubrick
Ernest Lehman
Zero Mostel
Mario Puzo
Edward G. Robinson
Albert S. Ruddy
Richard Schiff
Eli Wallach

City College President Vincent Boudreau hailed the school’s Year of Film declaration. “We’re delighted to commemorate CCNY’s sometimes forgotten legacy in film," he said. "Founded in the spirit of anti-fascist activism during World War II, the study and production of film at CCNY has consistently allowed CCNY students to frame visions of the world that are imbued with a critical social conscience."

Bourdreau continued: “We hope that anyone interested in the history of New York film will join us for this extraordinary review of CCNY’s role in it.”

In recent years, BFA in Film and Video and MFA Program in Film majors have kept CCNY’s lofty film tradition going. The college has garnered seven Student Oscars and three Student Emmy awards. CCNY has also had three Sundance Film selections and a Cannes Film Festival selection.

In another coup for film at CCNY, Zach Borst, MFA ’10, wrote, directed and edited the contest-winning commercial, “Happy Grad” that aired at Super Bowl XLVI.

About CCNY

Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its role at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.2% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. More than 16,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight professional schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself.

The preeeminent American political scientist, Hans J. Morgenthau (1904-1980), considered the father of modern, political realist international relations theory--whose work inspires Foreign Confidential coverage of international issues, trends and developments--taught honors seminars at CCNY in the 1970s while serving as a professor at the City University of New York.

Exploring Greenland

2019-01-10T00:17:00.000-05:00

Dominican Republic Facts That Make You Want to Travel

2019-01-10T00:12:00.000-05:00

Celebrating the Legacy of George F. Kennan, Containment's Father

2018-02-20T18:24:00.000-05:00

Appreciating One of America's Greatest Foreign Policy Minds

Was the Cold War Inevitable?

2018-02-20T18:18:00.001-05:00

Henry Kissinger Looks Back ...

Understanding the Realist View of International Relations

2018-02-20T17:52:00.003-05:00

Structural Realism

Classical Political Realism

Hans Morgenthau: Diplomacy Should Avoid the Crusading Spirit

Morgenthau's Six Principles

Once Upon a Time in America, Incredibly, Foreign Policy Was a Serious TV Topic: Vintage Video of Politcal Realist Hans Morgenthau

2018-02-15T22:52:00.000-05:00

Obviously, We Are Not Alone

2017-12-30T09:18:00.000-05:00

Fake Sex?

2017-11-01T16:57:00.001-04:00