10 Reasons To Ban Moore's Film

But first a word of wisdom from the First Lady:

"But why should we hear about body bags, and deaths, and how many, what day it's gonna happen, and how many this or what do you suppose? Or, I mean, it's, it's not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that? And watch him suffer."
— Barbara Bush on "Good Morning America,"
March 18, 2003

By FRANK RICH: Michael Moore's Candid Camera
The New York Times
May 23, 2004
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/23/arts/23RICH.html?ei=1&en=9...

ummmm "not relevant"? our bravest dying, we shouldn't bother thinking about it?



10 REASONS BUSH WANTS TO BAN MOORE FILM
By Ryan Parry

A NEW film is sending shockwaves through the United States in general and the White House in particular - and it hasn't even been released yet.

Fahrenheit 9/11, which this week got the longest standing ovation in Cannes Film Festival history, tells what its director Michael Moore sees as the truth behind the war in Iraq and on terror.

It is said to be so powerful it could tip November's US presidential election against George W Bush. As Moore says: "We were able to get film crews embedded with American troops without them knowing it was Michael Moore. They are totally f***ed."

Disney has refused to distribute the film in the States, saying its content could upset the presidential elections. Moore says that's precisely why the public should see it.

These are the 10 killer questions the film poses.

1, AFTER the 9/11 attacks, why was the only plane to fly out of the US carrying 24 members of Osama bin Laden's family?

IN the wake of the attacks, the US became a no-fly zone. Moore asks: "Why did Bush allow a private Saudi jet to fly around the US in the days after September 11 to pick up members of the bin Laden family and fly them out of the country without a proper FBI investigation? Might it have been possible that at least one of the 24 bin Ladens would have known something?"

2, ARE the media covering up abuse of Iraqi prisoners and the disillusionment of American troops?

MOORE'S film shows soldiers hooding and mistreating Iraqi detainees, and even shows troops taking it in turns to sexually abuse a drunk elderly man.

He says: "This occurred outside the Abu Ghraib prison walls. The media is there every single day. Why haven't they seen this? I don't think we've heard American soldiers in the field talk as they do in this film about their disillusionment and their despair; about their questioning of what was going on."

3, IS Bush deliberately creating a culture of fear to get poor American youth to fight his war?

MOORE accuses the Bush administration of deliberately creating a climate of fear, particularly by the instigation of the Department of Homeland Security, to increase numbers signing up for the armed forces. He calls this "the immoral act of sending kids to war on the basis of a lie".

4, HOW deep does the connection between the Bush family and bin Laden family actually run?

MOORE exposes business links between the bin Ladens and the Bushes over the last 25 years. Bush Snr became a highly paid consultant for the Carlyle Group, one of the nation's largest defence contractors. One of the investors in Carlyle - to the tune of at least $2million (£1.2m) - was the bin Laden family.

The campaigner says: "The bin Laden family have extensive dealings with large companies in the US. They have donated $2m to Bush's alma mater, Harvard. They own property in Texas, Florida and Massachusetts. In short, they have their hands deep in our pants."

5, JUST how sinister was the White House's doctoring of Bush's military record?

MOORE suggests that, far from being simply an exercise in proving that Bush attended to his Texas Air National Guard duties, the White House version also sought to hide evidence that Bush and his associates had close ties with various Saudi oil companies. He also suggests that a former military pal of Bush's, James R Bath, once sold a plane to the bin Laden family.

6, DID Bush miss an opportunity to nail bin Laden during secret talks with the Taliban?

MOORE claims that while Bush was governor of Texas he built a relationship with the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan. They met in Texas to discuss a project to build a natural gas pipeline from Turkmenistan through Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and into Pakistan.

Representatives of the Bush administration met the Taliban in the summer of 2001. Moore says they ignored the bin Laden issue and were pre-occupied with oil. He asks: "Was Bush discussing their offer to hand over bin Laden? Was he threatening them with force? Was he discussing a new pipeline?"

7, WHY does the Bush family have a "special relationship" with the Saudi royal family?

"MORE than 1.5 million barrels of oil needed in the US daily from the Saudis could vanish on a royal whim, so we begin to see how not only Bush, but all of us, are dependent on the House of Saud," says Moore. "This can't be good for national security."

Moore also refers to Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi ambassador to the US, who is nicknamed Bandar Bush because of his close links with the president. Despite increasing evidence linking the September 11 atrocity to Saudi militants, Bush still met Prince Bandar for dinner two days later.

8, WAS Bush spending too much time on holiday to concentrate on terrorism?

BUSH was on holiday for 42 per cent of the eight months before September 11, letting his guard down, according to Moore. At a 9/11 commission hearing, CIA director George Tenet admitted he had known since August 2001 that Zacarias Moussaoui, the only man charged in connection with 9/11, had been taking lessons on how to fly a 747. Tenet claimed he didn't tell Bush because the president, "was on vacation".

9, DID Bush panic when he was told about the attack on the twin towers?

ON the morning of September 11, President Bush was posing for cameras at a children's literacy event in Florida.

Moore has previously unseen footage showing the rabbit-in-car-headlights expression on the president's face when he is told about the second plane hitting the twin towers.

A stopwatch appears in the corner of the screen, as the minutes tick by and the president keeps reading My Pet Goat, not knowing what to do without his advisers to tell him.

Moore says: "Was Bush thinking he should have taken reports the CIA had given him the month before more seriously? That he had been told al-Qaeda was planning attacks in the US and planes would possibly be used. Or was he scared witless?"

10, DID Bush manipulate the major US media companies to fix his 2000 election win?

BUSH'S cousin John Ellis, a Fox News executive, was instrumental in "calling it" for Bush/Cheney on election night and cowed the other networks into joining in. This confusion helped set the scene for the debacle that ended in his election despite Al Gore winning the popular majority.

At the start of Fahrenheit 9/11, the major players are seen smirking and preening themselves. "Here they are," Moore narrates, "the whole corrupt gang who fixed the 2000 election."
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnew...s-bush-wants-to-ban-moore-film-name_page.html

 

You bet:

"Bush Supports Islamic Religious Extremists

Bush`s Faustian Deal With the Taliban
By ROBERT SCHEER
The Los Angeles Times

Enslave your girls and women, harbor anti-U.S. terrorists, destroy every vestige of civilization in your homeland, and the Bush administration will embrace you. All that matters is that you line up as an ally in the drug war, the only international cause that this nation still takes seriously. That`s the message sent with the recent gift of $43 million to the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan, the most virulent anti-American violators of human rights in the world today. The gift, announced last Thursday by Secretary of State Colin Powell, in addition to other recent aid, makes the U.S. the main sponsor of the Taliban and rewards that "rogue regime" for declaring that opium growing is against the will of God. So, too, by the Taliban`s estimation, are most human activities, but it`s the ban on drugs that catches this administration`s attention.

Never mind that Osama bin Laden still operates the leading anti-American terror operation from his base in Afghanistan, from which, among other crimes, he launched two bloody attacks on American embassies in Africa in 1998. Sadly, the Bush administration is cozying up to the Taliban regime at a time when the United Nations, at U.S. insistence, imposes sanctions on Afghanistan because the Kabul government will not turn over Bin Laden. The war on drugs has become our own fanatics` obsession and easily trumps all other concerns. How else could we come to reward the Taliban, who has subjected the female half of the Afghan population to a continual reign of terror in a country once considered enlightened in its treatment of women?

At no point in modern history have women and girls been more systematically abused than in Afghanistan where, in the name of madness masquerading as Islam, the government in Kabul obliterates their fundamental human rights. Women may not appear in public without being covered from head to toe with the oppressive shroud called the burkha , and they may not leave the house without being accompanied by a male family member. They`ve not been permitted to attend school or be treated by male doctors, yet women have been banned from practicing medicine or any profession for that matter. The lot of males is better if they blindly accept the laws of an extreme religious theocracy that prescribes strict rules governing all behavior, from a ban on shaving to what crops may be grown. It is this last power that has captured the enthusiasm of the Bush White House.

The Taliban fanatics, economically and diplomatically isolated, are at the breaking point, and so, in return for a pittance of legitimacy and cash from the Bush administration, they have been willing to appear to reverse themselves on the growing of opium. That a totalitarian country can effectively crack down on its farmers is not surprising. But it is grotesque for a U.S. official, James P. Callahan, director of the State Department`s Asian anti-drug program, to describe the Taliban`s special methods in the language of representative democracy: "The Taliban used a system of consensus-building," Callahan said after a visit with the Taliban, adding that the Taliban justified the ban on drugs "in very religious terms." Of course, Callahan also reported, those who didn`t obey the theocratic edict would be sent to prison.

In a country where those who break minor rules are simply beaten on the spot by religious police and others are stoned to death, it`s understandable that the government`s "religious" argument might be compelling. Even if it means, as Callahan concedes, that most of the farmers who grew the poppies will now confront starvation. That`s because the Afghan economy has been ruined by the religious extremism of the Taliban, making the attraction of opium as a previously tolerated quick cash crop overwhelming. For that reason, the opium ban will not last unless the U.S. is willing to pour far larger amounts of money into underwriting the Afghan economy.

As the Drug Enforcement Administration`s Steven Casteel admitted, "The bad side of the ban is that it`s bringing their country--or certain regions of their country--to economic ruin." Nor did he hold out much hope for Afghan farmers growing other crops such as wheat, which require a vast infrastructure to supply water and fertilizer that no longer exists in that devastated country. There`s little doubt that the Taliban will turn once again to the easily taxed cash crop of opium in order to stay in power.

The Taliban may suddenly be the dream regime of our own drug war zealots, but in the end this alliance will prove a costly failure. Our long sad history of signing up dictators in the war on drugs demonstrates the futility of building a foreign policy on a domestic obsession."

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20010604&s=20010522

 

Thank you guys for these excellent and informative posts...

The war crimes of America are being noted with revulsion by the Civilized World... moreover, natural justice has a tendency to manifest itself when it is least expected...

It seems to me that the Civilized World has put America on a period of notice... America should expect ZERO sympathy from the Civilized World when America, in the goodness of time and with the full backing of inevitability, tastes the bitter fruit of the seeds that it has planted... it is highly probable that the Civilized World will stand aside (rather than shoulder to shoulder with the Americans) and let America shed its tears of self-pity when the inevitable occurs...

The Civilized World has truly lost patience with America...

 

Still wondering who this "Civilized World" is you keep talking about.

Presumably not the corrupt French or Russian governments who profited so much from all the money they pirated out of the UN's oil for food program for Iraq (to the detriment of the Iraqi peoples).

Or the German government who documents show looked the other way while key companies sold embargoed and contraband items to Saddam.

And presumably not Italy or Mexico or most of South America where government and judicial corruption run rampant.

Certainly wouldn't be China (planning take Taiwan by force if necessary), Korea (planning to "reunify" the south), or anywhere in Africa (almost an entire continent degenerated into feudal warlords, tribal warfare, raping and piliging and corruption).

Hmm - the "civilized world" must be Antarctica.

 

Moore Conspiracy Theories

Michael Moore has become a GM-sized conspiracy theory factory.

The fake-umentary maker recently suggested that Democrat donor Michael Eisner was conspiring with the Bush brothers to censor his latest film, "Fahrenheit 9/11."

In the movie, which recently took the Palme d'Or at Cannes, Moore presents a conspiracy theory that involves Osama bin Laden, al-Qaida, the Saudis and the Bush administration. He bases the crackpot thesis on the news reports that, in the days after 9/11, about 140 Saudis were airlifted back home, two dozen of whom were members of the bin Laden family.

Lost in Moore's mental machinations were the facts that Osama was estranged from his elephant-sized family and had had his Saudi citizenship revoked two decades ago.

If he's looking for real conspiracy fodder, Moore might try checking out some of the new folks that Miramax Films has hired to promote his flick. Howard Wolfson is the ex-campaign press secretary for Sen. Hillary Clinton. Michael Feldman is an adviser from Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign. Mark Fabiani and Chris Lehane are former Clinton White House advisers.

And then there's the Miramax spokesman who's been talking to the press about the story. He's Matthew Hiltzik, and he worked on Hillary's U.S. Senate campaign.

 

Anybody have a date on the release of this documentary?

 

1, AFTER the 9/11 attacks, why was the only plane to fly out of the US carrying 24 members of Osama bin Laden's family?

IN the wake of the attacks, the US became a no-fly zone. Moore asks: "Why did Bush allow a private Saudi jet to fly around the US in the days after September 11 to pick up members of the bin Laden family and fly them out of the country without a proper FBI investigation? Might it have been possible that at least one of the 24 bin Ladens would have known something?"




Anybody care to shed some light on this, I was unaware that this occured or did it?

 

Tampa Tribune
Phantom Flight From Florida
By KATHY STEELE ksteele@tampatrib.com
Published: Oct 5, 2001

TAMPA - The twin-engine Lear jet streaked into the afternoon sky, leaving Tampa behind but revealing a glimpse of international intrigue in the aftermath of terrorist attacks on America.
The federal government says the flight never took place.

But the two armed bodyguards hired to chaperon their clients out of the state recall the 100-minute trip Sept. 13 quite vividly.

In the end, the son of a Saudi Arabian prince who is the nation's defense minister and the son of a Saudi army commander made it to Kentucky for a waiting 747 and a trip to their homeland.

The hastily arranged flight out of Raytheon Airport Services, a private hangar on the outskirts of Tampa International Airport, was anything but ordinary. It lifted off the tarmac at a time when every private plane in the nation was grounded due to safety concerns after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Local and federal authorities will say little about the flight.

``It's not in our logs ... it didn't occur,'' said Chris White, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration's regional office in Atlanta.

For private investigators Dan Grossi and Manuel Perez, the bodyguards on the Lear, it was a trip they can't forget.


A Special Situation Grossi said Tampa police intelligence detectives called him about 11 a.m. Sept. 13, needing help with a special situation: They had been watching three young Saudi men - at least one a student at the University of Tampa - at their south Tampa apartment, and the trio was scared and wanted to go home.

Jim Harf, director of UT's international programs, confirmed one of them is the son of Prince Sultan, the defense minister.

University spokesman Grant Donaldson refused to provide details. Perez said he understood the men arrived in Tampa three weeks earlier to receive tutoring in English.

The Tampa detectives guarding the men were ordered to stay in Tampa by Police Chief Bennie Holder, so Grossi was offered the job of escorting the trio to Lexington, Ky., where the prince's relatives were buying race horses.

Lexington police Lt. Mark Barnard confirmed a Saudi relative had asked for help in getting protection for the men in Tampa. Two off-duty detectives were assigned. Tampa police records list Sultan bin Fahad as the one requesting the security detail.

But Tampa's official assistance ended at Raytheon's airport terminal.

``There was a perceived threat, and the family of the person wanted him home right away,'' said Tampa police Sgt. John Solomon. ``The job lasted about five hours. It was handled very quickly.''


`Out Of A Tom Clancy Movie' Meanwhile, Grossi had put Perez on alert and went home to wait. Both men provide security for the National Football League at Raymond James Stadium. Grossi, who retired from the Tampa Police Department in August, has worked in internal affairs and homicide. Perez, who has his own investigative company in St. Petersburg, worked for the FBI for more than 29 years and has experience in counterterrorism and as a bomb technician.

At 2:30 p.m., Grossi got the call from the police department.

``They said it was happening,'' Grossi said. ``This was out of a Tom Clancy movie.''

Grossi said he was told the clearance came from the White House after the prince's family pulled a favor from former President Bush. Prince Sultan, the Saudi defense minister, was part of the coalition that fought the Persian Gulf War in 1991.

To the United States, Saudi Arabia is a key component in the emerging coalition of nations in the war on terrorism.

The White House referred questions on the trip to the State Department, which denied involvement, and the National Security Council, which did not return messages.

At Raytheon airport, Grossi met with the Tampa detectives who had brought the young men. The Lear's pilot, who had flown in from Fort Lauderdale, introduced himself.

By 4:30 p.m., the twin-engine, eight-passenger jet lifted off.

``They [the trio] looked like typical college students with knapsacks,'' Perez said. ``I didn't realize the prince's son was onboard until we landed.''

Grossi and Perez recalled the strange feeling of flying in the near-empty sky, knowing of the ban on private flights.

``My first reaction to the pilot was, `We're not going to get shot down are we?' '' Perez said.

Grossi said he spoke only briefly to the prince's son.

``He wanted to leave,'' Grossi said. But he also said he would like to return, Grossi said.

In less than two hours, the Lear landed at the Blue Grass airport, where the passengers were met by Saudi security officials, Grossi said. He and Perez saw several private 747s parked on the tarmac with foreign flags on the tails and Arabic lettering on the sides.

Within the hour, the Lear took off again for Tampa with Grossi and Perez. Neither would say how much they were paid.

But the Lear was not headed back to Fort Lauderdale, Grossi said the pilot told him. It was bound for New Orleans to pick up someone who needed a ride to New York.

Grossi said he doesn't recall the name of the aircraft company providing the jet.

``Who knows who they really were,'' Grossi said. ``It was certainly somebody important to obtain clearance to fly.''


Reporter Kathy Steele can be reached at (813) 885-5437. Reporters Brenna Kelly and Elizabeth Lee Brown contributed to this report. They can be reached at (813) 885-5437.

http://web.archive.org/web/20011108145853/http://www.tampatrib.com/MGA3F78EFSC.html

 

NVS, you cannot be this gullible can you? The flight never took place. On 9/11 every airport was closed. Don't you think if there was some lear jet flying around the US and it was the only freaking jet in the sky, that there would have been, I don't know, witnesses? I mean come on. This jet was flying around picking people up and nobody saw it? It was invisible right? Or maybe it was a stealth jet, it made no noise and travelled at the speed of light. LOL. Seriously Nolan, you can do better then this. There should be at least 100,000 witnesses from all over the country that saw this jet and yet not one person have come forward and admitted to seeing a private jet flying overhead. I know you don't believe this stuff. No way. Your IQ cannot be that low or can it?

 

Vitruoso, more referenses;


Retired chief White House aide Richard Clarke revealed that top White House officials approved the evacuation of 140 influential Saudis, including relatives of Osama Bin Laden, days after the Sept. 11 attacks at a time when all commercial and private flights were grounded. We speak with Vanity Fair reporter Craig Unger who broke the story.
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Debunking Cheney: Part II of a Four-Part Special

Part I: Cheney Claims Again Iraq Tried To Acquire Uranium From Niger
Part III: Cheney Suggests Iraq Linked To ‘93 WTC Bombing Through Wanted Iraqi-American
Part IV: Cheney Reasserts Already Debunked Atta–Iraq Connection


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TRANSCRIPT
AMY GOODMAN: You are listening to Democracy Now! As we move to another excerpt from Vice President Dick Cheney's statement this week, some might call it Lie Number Two. Let's take a listen.


TIM RUSSERT: Vanity Fair Magazine reports that about 140 Saudis were allowed to leave the United States the day after the 11th, allowed to leave our air space and were never investigated by the F.B.I., and that departure was approved by high level administration. Do you know anything about that?

DICK CHENEY: I don't, but a lot of folks
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=03/09/16/1559208&tid=51