New Documentary Explores What America Could Learn from Its Former Enemies
BELFAST, ME, UNITED STATES, July 3, 2025 / EINPresswire.com / -- A documentary examining social programs in regions once considered adversaries to the United States has been selected for 21 international film festivals and received 13 awards. 'Saving Walden's World,' created by former military engineer Jim Merkel, recently screened in Burlington, Vermont, winning the Vermont Public Award for Best Documentary. The film was also selected for the Whistleblower Summit and Film Festival.
Merkel designed military equipment in the 1980s before his worldview changed during the Iran-Contra hearings in 1987. 'I was destabilizing countries, pumping up factions that were favorable to U.S. business interests,' Merkel said. The turning point came in 1989, while in Stockholm, marketing encryption devices used in the Iran-Contra affair. 'Something snapped,' Merkel recalls. 'I began questioning everything.'
Instead of examining Nordic countries typically studied for social programs, Merkel investigated places his former work had specifically targeted: Cuba, Kerala (a state in India), and Slovenia. The documentary explores how these regions provide comprehensive social services despite economic constraints.
In Cuba, even with a crippling US-imposed economic embargo, women hold 55.7% of parliament seats. Nearly 87% of women have their family planning needs met with modern methods. Recent partnerships have increased women's participation in cooperatives by 29% and their representation in leadership roles by 50%. Hosts of social programs and advances in gender equality have resulted in Cuba outperforming the USA in terms of infant mortality, literacy, and longevity.
Kerala's Kudumbashree program has established networks of women-led cooperatives that address poverty while fostering economic independence. These regions offer services including free college, healthcare, and childcare. Kerala's multidimensional poverty rate decreased to 0.55 percent in 2023, with the government aiming to reduce the poverty rate to zero by November of this year. The multifaceted poverty rate in the USA stands at 13 percent. Slovenia was named the European Green Capital in 2016 and committed to reducing its ecological footprint by 20% by 2030. Slovenia has also emphasized gender parity and a comprehensive social safety net, resulting in an infant mortality rate at just 1.5 deaths per 1000 live births. The USA rate at 5.6 deaths per 1,000 live births should alarm anyone who cares about the well-being of their children. Merkel states, 'With half the wealth per capita, Slovenia outperforms us.' If nothing else, it begs the question, what more could the USA be doing for its people?
The film began as an exploration of how to save the world for future generations; however, what was discovered was that powerful women reduce infant mortality, poverty, and family size, while increasing longevity. The documentary identifies women's empowerment as the common factor connecting the success stories of all the regions.
The documentary poses one question: 'Are there dividends to society from ensuring all have a decent life?' Merkel describes his film as 'an olive branch to the RED STATE/BLUE STATE divide.'
To capture this story, Academy Award-winning filmmaker Deborah Shaffer directed the Cuba segments. Producer and researcher Dr. Santhi Rajasekhar was key to the Kerala segments. The production team also included Emmy-winning cinematographers Robert Maraist and David Wright, who have collaborated with Morgan Spurlock and Barbara Kopple and have filmed around the globe.
The film recently traveled across America in an electric vehicle and is currently available for community and virtual screenings worldwide through savingwaldensworld.org.
Jim Merkel
Saving Walden's World
[email protected]
Visit us on social media:
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content 'as is' without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Wayne County Board of Elections named Ohio Board of the Year - here's how it happened
The Wayne County Board of Elections has been recognized as Ohio's Board of the Year, honoring its commitment to secure, transparent elections and service to local voters. The award was announced at Secretary of State Frank LaRose's annual elections conference, which brought together officials from 85 counties to focus on integrity, cybersecurity and voter confidence ahead of the November election. 'It means a great deal to be recognized by the state for what we do every day in serving the voters of Wayne County,' said Julie Leathers Stahl, director of the Wayne County Board of Elections. 'It's humbling, but it's a great honor.' More: BOE Deputy Director Bell details how candidates and issues get on the ballot Each year, the Secretary of State's office selects one board for the honor, recognizing excellence in meeting election reporting deadlines, ensuring security and compliance and providing innovative voter outreach. This year, Wayne County also was recognized for its voter and candidate academies, which help residents understand the election process and prepare for public office. The award is not based on nominations, but on a review by the Secretary of State's team. More: Take the mystery out of absentee and provisional voting; here are the differences 'They pick one every year based on how we serve voters and that we're doing all of our required things,' Leathers Stahl said. The recognition underscores the local board's role in maintaining voter trust while ensuring elections run smoothly and securely in a critical election year. 'I'm personally very proud of our team,' Leathers Stahl said. 'It's nice to be recognized for serving the voters of Wayne County.' This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Wayne County Board of Elections wins Ohio Board of the Year honor
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Filing period kicks off election season. Here's what to know about Cumberland County races
From the mayor's seat to small-town boards, voters in municipalities across Cumberland County will help decide the future of local governments this fall. But first, candidates have to make it official. Filing for municipal elections in Cumberland County begins noon July 7 and ends noon July 18, according to the Cumberland County Board of Elections. This year's ballot will include races in Fayetteville, Hope Mills, Spring Lake and Cumberland County's smaller municipalities. The primary Oct. 7 will be followed by the municipal general election on Nov. 4, if necessary. Early voting for the primary runs from Sept. 18 through Oct. 5. Early voting for the general election begins Oct. 16 and ends Nov. 1. Absentee voting by mail begins Sept. 5 for the primary and Oct. 3 for the general election. Ballot requests are due by Sept. 30 and Oct. 29, respectively. Completed ballots must be received by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day to be counted. In Fayetteville, all 10 seats on the City Council are up for grabs, including the mayor and nine district-based council seats. Each position carries a two-year term. Hope Mills voters will elect a mayor and all five members of the Board of Commissioners. Spring Lake voters will elect a mayor and five commissioners. Other municipalities with races on the ballot include Eastover, Falcon, Godwin, Linden, Stedman and Wade. The Eastover Sanitary District will also hold an election for a board member seat. There are no countywide races on the ballot for seats on the Board of Commissioners or Board of Education. Filing fees vary significantly depending on the office sought. In most Cumberland County municipalities, the filing fee is nominal — typically between $5 and $15. But in Fayetteville, the fee to run for mayor is $376.76, and the fee for a City Council seat is $206, according to the Board of Elections. That's because North Carolina law requires filing fees to equal 1% of the annual salary for the office. Fayetteville's elected officials receive higher compensation than their counterparts in smaller towns, resulting in substantially higher fees. The State Board of Elections maintains that the percentage-based system is applied uniformly across the state. To vote in the Oct. 7 primary, residents must register by Sept. 13. The registration deadline for the Nov. 4 general election is Oct. 11. Eligible voters can register online through the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles or by submitting a voter registration form to the county Board of Elections office. Same-day registration is also available during the early voting period with proof of residency. Voters can check their registration status, find their polling place and learn more at This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Filing opens July 7 for Fayetteville, Spring Lake, Hope Mills 2025 races
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump's ‘reciprocal' tariff pause is about to expire. Cue the confusion
The 90-day deadline President Donald Trump set for countries to make trade deals with the United States or risk substantially higher tariffs is just days away. What will happen after that's reached at 12:01 a.m. ET on July 9 is anyone's best guess. The stakes could not be higher, with the entire global economy on notice. On April 2, a date Trump dubbed 'Liberation Day,' he unveiled new, 'reciprocal' tariff rates for key US trading partners, with some levies as high as 50%. Collectively, the rates were the highest the US has charged on foreign goods in over a century. Economists quickly sounded alarms about a recession hitting not just certain countries, but rather the whole world. As the tariffs went into effect on April 9, they sparked a sell-off on Wall Street and the bond market rebelled, forcing Trump to announce a three-month pause to give countries more time to solidify deals with the US, saying investors 'were getting a little bit yippy, a little afraid.' Since then, almost all goods the US imports have been subject to a minimum 10% tariff. Stocks, meanwhile, have not only recovered all those losses but have set multiple new record highs. And inflation has barely budged. But if tariffs start to rise again and inflation roars back, those gains could quickly get erased all over again. After months of meeting with foreign government officials and countless claims that several trading partners were on the cusp of completing deals, only three have been announced. One of those, with Vietnam, has yet to be finalized and few details are known about it. Still, the Trump administration is advertising that a flurry of deals are forthcoming. At the same time, the president has threatened to send letters to countries that don't ink deals, telling them the rate at which their exports to the US will be taxed. Leading up to July 9, Trump administration officials threatened to simply return to April tariff rates, or possibly even higher levies. They also floated the possibility of extending the pause for countries 'negotiating in good faith,' without defining what that means or which it includes. It's not clear where Trump, who will get the ultimate say, stands. 'We can do whatever we want. We could extend it; we could make it shorter,' Trump recently said. 'I'd like to make it shorter. I'd like to just sent letters out to everybody, 'Congratulations, you're paying 25%.'' 'We'll look at how a country treats us — are they good, are they not so good — some countries we don't care, we'll just send a high number out,' Trump also recently said. On Friday, he said he'd begin sending letters over the coming days. 'They'll range in value from maybe 60% or 70% tariffs to 10% and 20% tariffs,' Trump said. For many countries, such rates would deal an even bigger economic blow compared to the levels Trump announced in April. But countries may have the opportunity to still negotiate, given Trump said most new rates won't take effect until August 1. The deal Trump announced on Wednesday with Vietnam, which calls for minimum tariffs of 20% on Vietnamese goods, double the rate throughout the three-month pause, has raised the possibility that countries may not be able to score lower rates even if they reach a trade agreement. But considering tariffs on Vietnam were set to rise to a minimum of 46% if the rates Trump announced in April held — which was among the highest Trump announced — 20% suddenly feels like a relief. That may be an intentional strategy on Trump's part, allowing him to stick to his major campaign promise of levying higher tariffs on other nations in an effort to raise revenues and bring manufacturing jobs back to the US. 'On balance, we take the US-Vietnam accord as a positive step toward more durable bilateral deals for the US and toward greater clarity for investors,' Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi, global head of equities at UBS Global Wealth Management, said in a note last week. 'Headline risks around trade may persist as negotiations continue, but we think the market impact should moderate as President Trump's negotiating tactics become increasingly familiar,' he said. 'Ultimately, we expect the US administration to prioritize economic stability over more maximalist tariffs, especially ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.' 擷取數據時發生錯誤 登入存取你的投資組合 擷取數據時發生錯誤 擷取數據時發生錯誤 擷取數據時發生錯誤 擷取數據時發生錯誤
