TV Times - 6 -12 October 2007

Other documentaries examine US torture of suspects, the scapegoating of heroic Windscale workers and the execution of street children at the behest of Honduras' business community.

Pick of the Week :rb:
Mon 8 October - 9 - 10.50pm - Channel 4 - China's Stolen Children
This enlightening although tragic documentary was filmed undercover of necessity and describes the appalling consequences of China's One Child Policy. Approximately 70,000 children are kidnapped every year and traded on the black market. This is partly because, due to the lack of a welfare state or pension schemes in China, boys are at a premium as it is considered that a girl will most likely marry and move in to her husband's family home, thus leaving the parents poverty-stricken and uncared for in their own age. Rather than risk a heavy fine for producing a second child, also, some parents actually sell their own children for which there is a legal trade and a child "broker" who has sold his own child and girlfriend previously is interviewed here. The film-maker's also produced "The Dying Rooms" and as such are banned from China and had to go to great lengths to protect the mostly Chinese film-crew from the wrath of the authorities as a result of their commitment to reveal the truth.

Mon 8 October - 9 - 10.30pm - BBC2 - Windscale: Britain's Biggest Nuclear Disaster
50 years after the worst nuclear disaster in Britain's history, tape recordings of the inquiry into the disaster have now been revealed. This film demonstrates how political ambition fuelled the fire and then dictated that the heroes of Windscale - the workers who risked life and limb to quell the blaze - be made the scapegoats.

Mon 8 October - 11.20pm - 12.45am - BBC2 - Taxi to the Dark Side
As part of the Why Democracy season, Oscar-nominated director Alex Gibney investigates why a young Afghan man died just days after being arrested and questioned by US forces at Bagram airbase. Uncovering interrogation methods which some believe are torture, he traces the chain of command all the way to the White House.

Mon 8 October - 8 - 9pm - BBC4 - Campaign! The Kawasaki Candidate
This documentary tells the story of a puppet candidate with no political experience who has been chosen for his naivety to vie for a seat on the Kawasaki City Council as a member of the Liberal Democrat party.
A telling comment on Japan's democracy, he is told that he must remain loyal to the party forever.

Tue 9 October - 9 - 10.15pm - More 4 - True Stories: Czech Dream
Until 1989's Velvet Revolution, the Czechs were denied a Western shopping culture and now these shackles are off, perhaps unsurprisingly, they are enthusiastic for the new consumerism that has emerged. Here, two Czech film students examine this and the power of marketing by creating a fake hypermarket and then gauging the reactions of those who turn up for the "opening".

Tue 9 October - 10.30 - 11.30pm - BBC4 - Looking for the Revolution
This documentary examines Bolivian President Evo Morales's avowed efforts to overturn economic inequality via nationalising the country's oil industry and reforming land ownership.

Wed 10 October - 10 - 11pm - BBC4 - Dinner with the President
The film-maker of this documentary here attempts to discuss democracy with Pakistan's President Musharraf, who came to power in a coup in 1999. His assurances that he will renounce his military role if is presidential term is extended is here contrasted with inter-cut interviews from citizens questioning his legitimacy.

Fri 12 October - 7.35 - 8pm - Channel 4 - Unreported World: Honduras: War on Children
Here claims are investigated that in Honduras businessmen are financing death squads to execute hundreds of street children, whom they regard as vermin.