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Fahrenheit 9/11


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Here's my take on this crazy thread:

ExWay Daryl said Americans "owe it to themselves" to see F911. In the same way, they owe it to themselves to roll in dog crap. Why? Because dog crap is real man! And Republicans are sending the dogs to your neighborhood to crap all over them. They have secret poodle farms all over the mid-west.

It's time we experienced dog crap up close, or else how can we honestly discuss it?

Not really, but that is the only "debt" which might be compared to that of needing to see a Michael Moore production.

Mr P-Mosh said it was "pro-military." Really? It represented the military as a killing machine, a way that white guys use to get black guys to die for them, a blood-thirsty horde out to kill as many civilians as possible. Individual soldiers are represented as cold-blooded killers, hapless stooges, or misguided children (who can somehow be "enlisted" by their parents).

Zixar said "Moore won't get my money." Mine bought a ticket for "The Notebook" at the local multiplex. I saw F911 instead.

Mr P-Mosh said "If you don't see it and have no idea what it's really about, what will be the basis for your unfounded criticism of the film?" He also (later) said Christopher Hitchens was "wrong," indicating he could not possibly have read the article. Wrong about which of the many facts and conclusions? All? Tell us which.

Zixar said "His demonstrated lack of integrity in the past, coupled with his personal admission that the film is heavily biased." Well, yeah, but like, uh, so?? What does that have to do with anything?

Suz said, "I appreciated what he said and how he approached the information." Dishonestly, that is?

Wordwolf said, "I'm not a fan of either political side, but I resent attempts to lie or deceive, especially under the guise of "reporting the facts". Wordwolf, you're not very progressive, are you? We'll be watching you.

Suz said "you guys bicker on about what is true..., none of this moves me."

Apparently not.

"Green is good!" If you mean money, that's just what Moore is saying right now. If you mean politics, slogans like that are designed to short-circuit the thought process. Like in religious cults.

Long Gone obviates for the sake of the oblivious.

Mr P-Mosh quotes the only part of Snopes that appears to validate Moore's contention. Had any of the bin Ladin family been hurt or killed by vengeful vigilantes in the ensuing American outrage, Moore would be asking why these people weren't allowed to get out. After all, we have hundreds of billions in Saudi's US investments. That gives us a little leverage, right? Anyway, Snopes goes on to correct the Moore version. Worth reading.

niKa said, "Any American who isn't afraid of a good discussion" should see F911. I almost agree, but I hope a little fact-checking is done before attempting to discuss a "documentary" universally (UNIVERSALLY, folks) acknowledged to be propaganda. It's purpose is not to inform, but to SELL YOU SOMETHING.

Radar said you should see F911 "if, for no other reason than to get EVERYBODY OUT TO VOTE, for whoever they want to." Sure. Let a mercenary, political hatchet job help you make your choice. Good policy.

simonz made several observations. The most discerning, for my money, was where he said, "I got the feeling he was trying to win over the uninformed,rather than convert the 'other side.'" Exactly. By inference, the "other side" IS informed, and therefore harder to win over.

The other reason is to energize the Democrats' base. Looking around the theater, I got the impression certain people in the audience had transported certain others to the movie, with the hope of converting them into votes.

Mr. P-Mosh replies to simonz, "I would agree with you, but the cheap shots are the humor I think. I don't really recall anything funny that wasn't a cheap shot at someone." Yes, Moore does rely on "cheap shots" for humor. What does that tell you?

Well, at LEAST he isn't "smug" about it. Or, maybe he is. To be smug is: Exhibiting or feeling great or offensive satisfaction with oneself or with one's situation; self-righteously complacent. Seems to me the word describes Moore a lot better than Hitchins. Complacency would explain relying on cheap shots where facts might be preferable.

Mr P-Mosh goes on to re-iterate discredited statements from the Moore flick, including the "42%" time on vacation claim. Hitchins, and others, speak to that and so much more - "smug" or not.

suz said, "Guess I could have seen Dodgeball instead." For the record, Dodgeball is much more truthful and informative than Fahrenheit 9/11, even though it isn't a documentary and never mentions politics. You owe it to yourself as an American to go see Dodgeball, as much or more than seeing F911!

niKa said, "I also thought that it was very important that he showed the horrors that the Iraqi civilians are going through, however, in living color. We need to see what they are living with." Yes, and I respected how he showed all of those shiny, happy, carefree Iraqis laughing and flying their kites prior to the Coalition attack. 30 years of Baathist Stalinism is in the past, let's move on.

Zixar said, "Leni Riefenstahl made pretty convincing movies too, as did Sergey Eisenstein." They were far more convincing than Moore's movies, but they were trying to influence a more informed and intelligent audience. He also points out that when a political force relies on brazen and blatant propaganda, they have nothing to hide but the truth about themselves. Moore however doesn't really know what he stands for. He only knows what he hates. Primarily, himself, secondarily, anyone who makes him hate himself in the light of comparison, which is most of America.

Mr. P-Mosh answers Zixar by drawing a false dichotomy between mindless leftist sentimentality and mindless leftist lust for power. Leftists' primitive urges co-exist like fleas on a dog. Plenty of dog to go around, and flea brains detect neither irony nor contradiction.

Zixar answers P-Mosh, saying, "I couldn't find a single sentence in that reply that wasn't sadly-deluded bull****." I take great issue with this. There is nothing sad about it. "Happily" is the better word.

Radar said, "Well folks, we might just have the first "movie thread" to end up in the soap opera forum."

Let's not get the hen house into an uproar, Zixar. We need the eggs.

Mr P-Mosh gets frustrated when "GOP" types compare communist and Nazi tactics to Communism and Nazism. I see his point. That would be frustrating!

niKa arrived on the Mayflower, and thought Bush was crooked before seeing a crooked documentary calling him crooked. Just because Moore relies on lies doesn't mean he doesn't mean well, well does it? If the fox is guarding the hen house, one needs to speak out (as long as the hens don't quit laying, I might add).

ExWayDaryl returns to ask if Bush is as culpable for lying as Moore. This seems to justify Moore's lies, if any. Fascinating statistic about how many cops in NY versus how many soldiers in Afghanistan. Of course, one block in Manhattan is worth more than the entire Afghan infrastructure at the time we booted the Taliban. He is also disappointed in Zixar's reply, which expressed earnest disappointment in Mr. P-Mosh's reply.

Someone said, you shouldn't have had to look too far to find people against World War II, or even the Revolutionary War. Show scenes of war casualties and you're going to hate war. "War is hell," was not a cliche. But war is sometimes necessary.

Watered Garden plays the religion card - GWB is a Christian, and that's why people hate him so. I think it's because he's a Republican and he occupies the Whitehouse. So crucify me.

Mr P-Mosh quotes Zixar. Is ExWayDaryl equally disappointed?? We shall see.

He goes on to re-reiterate the discredited claims.

"Ignorance is bliss," they say. This would be our chance to find out. Who wants to ask?

1searcher offers the link to Hitchins' article. Get thee behind me!!

The Girl from Oz is easily frightened, apparently.

Mr P-Mosh says the Hitchens article makes no sense, and is wrong. Those of us who actually READ the article might scratch our heads and say, "WTF!??"

lindyhopper detects a personal hatred for Moore in Hitchens' words. Really? What about contempt for a slovenly opportunist whose dishonesty risks discrediting those on Hitchens' side of the political spectrum with "integrity?" I don't see hate. I do see contempt, well-earned, entirely justified, and (most importantly here) properly explained contempt. Doesn't sound the least bit smug to me, but he does sound like he belongs to an intellectual elite we rarely see in the US, at least on TV or in the movies.

Hope R. declares her disapproval of Hitchens' personality, and therefore she has no binding obligation to acknowledge any facts he may offer, however pertinent. Good one.

Thomas Heller disregards Hitchens. Possibly the smugness thing? Good call! Moore doesn't want to reveal or otherwise expose Bush. He wants to SMEAR him. Revealing and exposing are a job for facts. Smearing is the job of innuendo and "cheap shots." Let's be fair about it. Moore set the ground rules, and thereby defines his work.

Linda Z, finally, says, "Smug, oh yes very smug, yes indeed! Smug to a "T" he is. Don't like it. No sir, don't like it at all. He is smug. You betcha!" Well, not quite like that. It was the word "absolutely" that sort of translated well.

Hey ho, look at the time. I've got to be somewhere else and I'm already late, late, late.

XJW's have come to call at GS? I'll bet they're GAY too!! And probably trying to recruit ex-Ways to become ex-JW's, like them. Well, I'm getting out of here before they try to talk to me or something. If they can get in here, ex-Presbyterians can't be too far behind.

Regards...

PS Others have done some great work exposing Moore. I won't repeat their efforts. You don't have to look too far. Think for yourselves, those of you still willing.

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satori: Long time, no post. Good summation. You might want to mosey on over to the Political Forum and introduce yourself. I'm sure you'll find many fresh viewpoints to stimulate and challenge your debating skills.

Well, stimulate them, anyway.

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quote:
Originally posted by Mister P-Mosh:

quote:
Originally posted by satori001:

I'm going to spam the thread by interpreting what everyone else said then combine it into a really long thread for no reason.



This "quotation" is from the same source as so much of Michael Moore's information - out his lyin' foot.

When Pilate asked "What is truth?" he inadvertantly spoke for millions, and throughout the ages.

A person without sight might ask, "What is light?" Or without hearing, "What is music?" Or without the sense of touch, "What is real?"

Pilate asked, "What is truth?" So then, are some really born without this inner sense? Why sure, keeds! They are "truth-blind." To them, "truth" is no more than a prevailing opinion, which they may work feverishly to change.

Michael Moore is such a person. His true believers are such people too.

This mental/moral deformity is difficult to detect, because the truthless are often better at assessing circumstances around them then their truth-perceiving neighbors. They have to be, or, like bats, they might constantly be flying into unexpected impediments with a BIG splat!

To survive they become keen observers of human weakness, exploiting it to the fullest to stay ahead of the game.

How do these creatures escape immediate detection? Well, the better question is how to detect them at all. It ain't easy.

We can shut our eyes and experience blindness. We might stop our ears and understand deafness. But how do we separate ourselves from truth? The eyes of truth are always open. We could never relate to truth-blindness, so we may fail to believe it's even possible.

But it's not so hard to understand why we don't easily believe in it. Humanity produces examples of grisly and horrific behavior, and we may hear of it, but we cannot grasp it. Who can grasp Al Qaida's attack upon innocent civilians? Who can grasp suicide bombers' motivation? We know of them, yet we cannot know them.

Enter Michael Moore, and his seedling followers. We see a pattern emerge, a resolute defiance of all standards for integrity. "Surely they must be joking," we may think. "Nobody is that dishonest!"

No, not so much dishonest, as without truth. Honesty is not even in the picture for them, because without the perception of truth, honesty is meaningless.

So there's a rudimentary, metaphysical explanation of Mr. P-Mosh's reply, and of his (de-)mentor Michael Moore.

Regards...

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1searcher –

Hitchens is a stereotype of a jealous, brooding Hollywood loser. Not surprisingly, much of Hitchens’ piece is about how he (a rival, much less successful, film maker) hates Michael Moore.

Hitchens says that Richard Clarke has claimed responsibility for the Saudi flights out of the country. What he doesn’t mention is that Mr. Clarke has said that he gave the go-ahead after consulting with (his memory is foggy here but he thinks) White House Chief of Staff Card.

Hitchens whines because the film has the audacity to show innocent Iraqis enjoying life prior to the invasion but what Hitchens doesn’t mention is the 11,000+ Iraqi civilians who were killed in order to make their lives better.

Hitchens is lying when he says the movie says that Iraq never threatened America. The movie says that the Iraqi civilians never threatened America.

Hitchens misstates the movie’s claims about the Saudis. He says that movie claims that the Bush's and the Saudis “live in each other pockets” but the movie only claims that the Bush's live in the Saudis pockets.

Hitchens' claim that the movie has “bias against the work of the mind” is as artful as it is wrong.

satori001 on Hitchens:

quote:
Originally posted by satori001:

he does sound like he belongs to an intellectual elite we rarely see in the US, at least on TV or in the movies.


That's because he's British.

Here’s his take on the latest British import sweeping the nation – F-off Mania

A Very, Very Dirty Word -

The British Empire's second-greatest gift to the world

.

Edited by lovematters
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Hey Ala, thanks for the welcome back. Yall are hard to leave ya know. Looks like lots of new folks have come in the last near year I was away. But you knew I was peeking in now and then. Like I said yall are hard to leave. icon_wink.gif;)-->

That music thread was a bunch of fun wasn't it? This time around think I'll do less talking and more reading though.

Still taking my guitar lessons and I have some mighty fine calluses I'm proud of. And still on temporary assignment with the FBI. But one of the agents told me he was glad I was locked into the building with them rather than out on the street. What's up with that? icon_biggrin.gif:D-->

Sorry thread starter, I have a tendency to derail. And haven't seen the movie yet so ain't got anything to offer.

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quote:
Originally posted by lovematters:

1searcher –

Hitchens is a stereotype of a jealous, brooding Hollywood loser. Not surprisingly, much of Hitchens’ piece is about how he (a rival, much less successful, film maker) hates Michael Moore.

Whether or not "love matters'" ad hominem attack (echoing the rest, including Linda Z, Hope, etc) describes Hitchens' personality, his contempt for Moore is well justified. The ad hominem extends to Hitchens' motives by mischaracterizing contempt as "hate."

Hitchens says that Richard Clarke has claimed responsibility for the Saudi flights out of the country. What he doesn’t mention is that Mr. Clarke has said that he gave the go-ahead after consulting with (his memory is foggy here but he thinks) White House Chief of Staff Card.

"Foggy." Richard Clarke, man of the hour, defender of our shores, couldn't remember for certain who gave the okay, and raised no alarms about it, except to confirm with the FBI that they had what they needed.

Hitchens whines because the film has the audacity to show innocent Iraqis enjoying life prior to the invasion but what Hitchens doesn’t mention is the 11,000+ Iraqi civilians who were killed in order to make their lives better.

quote:
[from the Hitchens article]

In this peaceable kingdom, according to Moore's flabbergasting choice of film shots, children are flying little kites, shoppers are smiling in the sunshine, and the gentle rhythms of life are undisturbed. Then—wham! From the night sky come the terror weapons of American imperialism. Watching the clips Moore uses, and recalling them well, I can recognize various Saddam palaces and military and police centers getting the treatment. But these sites are not identified as such. In fact, I don't think Al Jazeera would, on a bad day, have transmitted anything so utterly propagandistic.


Doesn't sound like "whining" to me.

Hitchens is lying when he says the movie says that Iraq never threatened America. The movie says that the Iraqi civilians never threatened America.

This comment is just silly. Iraqi civilians couldn't wipe their @sses without permission from the regime.

Hitchens misstates the movie’s claims about the Saudis. He says that movie claims that the Bush's and the Saudis “live in each other pockets” but the movie only claims that the Bush's live in the Saudis pockets.

I don't think so. There was a strong inference of quid pro quo, but it doesn't really matter. Moore's phrasing was artful innuendo, as when he lumped the Bush family together with "friends and associates" in estimating the amount of commerce. The implication was that all the money went to Bush. Only earnest parsing and fact checking will reveal Moore's deceptive wording.

Hitchens' claim that the movie has “bias against the work of the mind” is as artful as it is wrong.

That was Hitchens' well-documented assessment, not a mere "claim," artful or not. I thought the phrasing was a little awkward but I cut him some slack because he's British.

satori001 on Hitchens:

quote:
Originally posted by satori001:

he does sound like he belongs to an intellectual elite we rarely see in the US, at least on TV or in the movies.


That's because he's British.

That was funny, though it was probably unintentional.

Here’s his take on the latest British import sweeping the nation – F-off Mania

http://slate.msn.com/id/2103467/

The British Empire's second-greatest gift to the world

I'm guessing this article is supposed to discredit Hitchens in some way? Maybe you didn't read it. It's on-the-mark social criticism, and (intentionally) funny too.

I saw the Politics thread. Your love affair with Michael Moore is almost... obsessive. You must have a lot more time on your hands since the midnight showing of Rocky Horror was discontinued at your local movie house. I'll admit, Moore is the closest thing around to a cross-dressing alien vampire, if you're looking for that kind of role model.


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satori001,

Thank you for your opinions about my post.

Your guess is wrong. I included the article because I thought it was a hoot and I thought you would enjoy it too.

Thank you for reviewing my dynamically insightful thread on the unfolding history of the award winning “Fahrenheit 9/11.”

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When he gave Mike the Palme d’Or at Cannes, Quentin Tarantino joked that this is the first movie ever made to justify an Oscar acceptance speech. It’s also probably the first with a list of sources.

How did Mike know that Bush went to sleep the night of September 10th in “a bed made of fine French linens?”

How can it be proven that Saudi Prince Bandar is nicknamed Bandar Bush?

The War Room (a source catalog of things “Fahrenheit 9/11”) has the answers.

The source listing begins in: The War Room – Section 1

The bottom of each page has a link to the next of the six sections.

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