Moore on 7 April: ...What I am most concerned about right now is that all of you -- the majority of Americans who did not support this war in the first place -- not go silent or be intimidated by what will be touted as some great military victory. Now, more than ever, the voices of peace and truth must be heard. I have received a lot of mail from people who are feeling a profound sense of despair and believe that their voices have been drowned out by the drums and bombs of false patriotism. Some are afraid of retaliation at work or at school or in their neighborhoods because they have been vocal proponents of peace. They have been told over and over that it is not "appropriate" to protest once the country is at war, and that your only duty now is to "support the troops." Can I share with you what it's been like for me since I used my time on the Oscar stage two weeks ago to speak out against Bush and this war? I hope that, in reading what I'm about to tell you, you'll feel a bit more emboldened to make your voice heard in whatever way or forum that is open to you... ...On the day after I criticized Bush and the war at the Academy Awards, attendance at "Bowling for Columbine" in theaters around the country went up 110% (sourceailyVariety/BoxOfficeMojo.com). The following weekend, the box office gross was up a whopping 73% (Variety). It is now the longest-running consecutive commercial release in America, 26 weeks in a row and still thriving. The number of theaters showing the film since the Oscars has INCREASED, and it has now bested the previous box office record for a documentary by nearly 300%. Yesterday (April 6), "Stupid White Men" shot back to 1 on the New York Times bestseller list. This is my book's 50th week on the list, 8 of them at number one, and this marks its fourth return to the top position, something that virtually never happens. In the week after the Oscars, my website was getting 10-20 million hits A DAY (one day we even got more hits than the White House!). The mail has been overwhelmingly positive and supportive (and the hate mail has been hilarious!). In the two days following the Oscars, more people pre-ordered the video for "Bowling for Columbine" on Amazon.com than the video for the Oscar winner for Best Picture, "Chicago"... ...Take the Dixie Chicks. I'm sure you've all heard by now that, because their lead singer mentioned how she was ashamed that Bush was from her home state of Texas, their record sales have "plummeted" and country stations are boycotting their music. The truth is that their sales are NOT down. This week, after all the attacks, their album is still at 1 on the Billboard country charts and, according to Entertainment Weekly, on the pop charts during all the brouhaha, they ROSE from 6 to 4. In the New York Times, Frank Rich reports that he tried to find a ticket to ANY of the Dixie Chicks' upcoming concerts but he couldn't because they were all sold out...Their song, "Travelin' Soldier" (a beautiful anti-war ballad) was the most requested song on the internet last week. They have not been hurt at all -- but that is not what the media would have you believe. Why is that? Because there is nothing more important now than to keep the voices of dissent -- and those who would dare to ask a question -- SILENT. And what better way than to try and take a few well-known entertainers down with a pack of lies so that the average Joe or Jane gets the message loud and clear: "Wow, if they would do that to the Dixie Chicks or Michael Moore, what would they do to little ol' me?" In other words, shut the f--- up. And that, my friends, is the real point of this film that I just got an Oscar for -- how those in charge use FEAR to manipulate the public into doing whatever they are told... More Moore here:
This is clearly newsworthy. I have an email from my Grandpa urging me to eat more greens because it will reduce the toxicity of my gas. Should I create a new thread to trumpet his wisdom? So Michael Moore will be able to eat more now that he babbled incoherently on stage at the Oscars. Who cares? I'm sure if OBL had a website or book, his hits and sales would have risen after Sept. 11. It's called GETTING YOUR NAME OUT, and Michael MooreIceCreamPlease has done a good job of it.
dear mister michael moore. this has nothing to do with your utterly rediculous display at the oscars, what it tells us all <especially those who have seen your work> is that 'bowling for colmbine' was an exceptional piece of work, that is certainly worth the time and effort to find a place that is showing it in their theaters. from, a fan of your work <just not that display at the oscars>
Dissent works at what? Selling some more tickets? A couple more albums shipped? Marginalizing your message and alienating the non-extremists you are presumably courting? Dissent works for a lot of things.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Still waiting for his documentary that exploits dead soldiers for a profit.
Thanks for posting that. It just confirms that Michael Moore has ZERO convictions and was simply interested in making his already fat wallet fatter. I can't wait for a REAL muckraker to make a Michael Moore "Man of the People" documentary with exclusive video of him beating his servants and driving a huge SUV while shooting homeless people for fun. You know he's got TONS of stuff hidden in his closet.
Wow. Moore has clearly lost it. The majority of Americans? Please. What's most striking about this piece is how Moore seems to believe everything is about him. This is the bit I find funny. He keeps changing the story. First, he said backstage that it was only five people booing him. Then, after I'm sure he watched his bloated self over and over again on tape, he switched his story so that "stagehands" were the ones booing him. And now this: Uh, yeah, dickhead. That's what happened.
Do you even know how to read? He addresses "the majority of Americans who did not support the war in the first place" not "the majority of Americans".
Far be it from me to get into a syntax discussion with someone who obviously has such a firm grasp on the language, but that makes no sense. So, he was addressing the majority of Americans who were against the war? Why not all Americans who were against the war? So some Americans who were against the war should go silent? Please, enlighten me, grammar wizard. EDIT: And just to be clear, Moore has thrown out this nugget of "the majority of Americans" don't support war on Iraq many, many times before. But thanks for playing.
who made who Yankee blue, hasn't bush already exploited enough soliders for his profit???? Funny, how your republican congress cut veterans benefits last week, it will be just like bush I, who touted the soliders then cut our (yes, our, i fought in the first war) benefits and pay raise....Moore is still a genius, and someone with balls to say what he means without fear.
Re: who made who And this would be how, exactly? Just curious. Yes, yes, noted High School graduate Michael Moore is a genius while noted Harvard MBA George Bush is a dope. It's all becoming so very clear now. And Moore may have "balls" only because it takes a set of huge ones to flat out lie a grossly as he does. Check out your genius here: http://www.hardylaw.net/Truth_About_Bowling.html
Re: Re: who made who Good thing Bush's GMAT score and undergraduate grades were so stellar; otherwise he might not have got into Harvard Business School
Wrong? In the sense that this was not a racist war for the control of oil that attempted to depose a dictator that for many years was largely supported, supplied and armed by the US (in the same way Bin Laden was supported in the '80s), whose worst crimes against his own people were supported, acquiesced, or otherwise hush-hushed, whose people were starngled by the unconscionable sanctions that denied even basic medicines that are available in any other hospital of in the world.. Oh, that's right, this is a war for "democracy", how could I forget. Like the actual "demoncracy" that exists in other "liberated" places, like Afghanistan and Kuwait. Excuse me while I laugh! "Democracy"..Yes, the Iranians know all about the American export of "democacy", having seen the CIA overthrow a democractically elected regime in 1953 and impose a brutal dictator who proceeded to terrorize them for decades until he was deposed in 1979... ..which, of course, saw, as a consequence, the support, arming of Sadaam Hussein by the US against the mullahs in Iran, which, of course, saw the beginning of a brutal eight year war leaving over a million dead. There's your "democracy" for you. I just saw a report the other day that over 3.3 million people have been killed in a brutal civil war in Congo over the past 5 years. Tell me, do you think that the US is going to spend, oh, about 70 billion dollars to invade the Congo..as you know,they care soooo much about things like "human rights" and "democracy" as a matter of principle, even when there's no oil involved.. Please...Actually, the Congo is an intertesting example--the US overthrew the democratically elected regime of Patrice Lamumba in 1961, imposing the brutal dictatorship of Mabuto which lasted for decades, creating a situation where the Congolese people have never stopped paying with their lives.. So much, then, for your "democracy". What a farce!!!! Looks like the same old "White Man's Burden" for me. Meet the New Boss..Same as the Old Boss!
Funny that some still wonder why the US is not loved, trusted, and shall not be supported in its global wars of prevention Isn't?
So your against the war in Iraq because we won't install a democracy and you believe the Iraqi people would have been better off with Saddam in power? We shouldn't have supported at the time Afghanistan against the Soviets, or Kuwait against Iraq? Obviously the US has made mistakes, no country or person is perfect. I have some issues with this war because I'm not sure it is in our best self interest. I have no doubt though that the Iraqi people will be better off in the future then they would have been with Saddam or one of his son's running the country. They have a better chance at democracy (though I'm skeptical that they will be able to have that not only functions, but provides moderate leadership) then they would have under Saddam and his boys.
ok, here we go again. The US is at fault for ALL the world's troubles. If this was is unjust, explain to me the Iraqis celebrating the ousting of Saddam and welcoming the American troops?
I'm sorry, you see only what you are allowed to see I would submit that most people in Iraq are not supporters of the Hussein and are happy to see the regime. On the other hand, like many people in Europe and most people in Asia, Africa, Latin America, et. al. (i.e., the overwelming majority of people on this planet,who happen to live in the so-called "Third World", which is littered with tyricannical regimes given direct, indirect or tacit support by the big powers and filled with people whom have a real sense of historical memory when they their people were reduced to being nothing else other than the colonized "noble savages", the "Wretched of the Earth"),there are a significant number of people in Iraq who know what's in store for them--and it sure an't no democracy. The second largest known oil reserves in the world?? Are you kidding me? The US has way too much at stake to allow anything remotely resembling real representative government. Look no further than the theocratic fiefdom of Kuwait! They want something they can control, that provides "security" for their geopolitical and economic interests. For many years, particularly during the Iran-Iraq war, these interests have dictated that the Baathist regime had to be, not only supported, but armed and supplied with weapons of mass desctruction! For most people in the world (including a handful of Americans, even), this point is basic A-B-C; really--do you REALLY think that the US government would spend 60 odd billion dollars of our money to "bring liberation to the Iraqi people"? In this respect, they are acting in the same way as the Germans and French--out of their strategic political and economic motivations. Nothing more, nothing less.
Here is another Iraqi viewpoint from an Iraqi activist: This email is from an Iraqi corresponding with Lorna, who was over there as part of the Mid Hudson Valley Peace Brigade. -Bram Moreinis ---------- Forwarded Message ----------- From Yassmin Dear Friends, Peace upon you all. Today is a sad day for all the people of Iraq.Baghdad has been raped. The singing and dancing in the streets .... is a terrible movie. I cannot put it in a better way than my husband, as he has said, "the American Army and the Bush administration have used lots of horrible weapons ... but the most lethal weapon of all ...is the savage people,that they have unleashed in the streets of Baghdad, calling them...the people of Iraq!" Those people that you see on the streets, are the people of "Althowra city" or as they call it sometimes "Saddam's city." Those people do not in any way resemble the people of Iraq. They resemble the community of criminals in Iraq. As you can see, they are not only dancing , but they are also looting, robbing stores, stealing cars, burning places, and trashing the streets! Those people whom you see dancing were the very same people who used to appear on TV, clapping for Saddam like crazy, when everyone else was against him. They are opportunists who have no principles at all. Always with the winner, ... and they sell very cheap. I don't think that it was a coincidence that the American army has decided to enter Baghdad from this city. Please...you can believe whatever you want, just don't call a bunch of looters and murderers the people of Iraq." The people of Iraq are not on the streets because they are afraid of those maniacs, who were unleashed into the streets, due to the absence of the authority. Since I was in Iraq, last February, the real people of Iraq were very afraid of what these savages were planning to do, when there was no government control, because the same thing has happened after war in 1991. We don't see people on the streets ... we only see a group of men who are trashing the place and act like idiots. The movie of "Baghdad Dancing" apparently was successful, because everyone believes it. And no one is asking about what is happening in the rest of Baghdad. A lethal weapon indeed. Now that there is no government, Baghdad is full of chaos. The reporters are afraid to move, but they've visited Al-Sinek area ... and there it was a different story. The streets looked dark and deserted...No one was dancing. There are places that have been bombed, and traces of bloodstains covered the road. There were families who are mourning the loss of loved ones ... the death of a father and three daughters. The reporters drove in different places in Baghdad ... the streets were empty. And there was a demonstration by the foreigners in Iraq, and a lady was saying, "this is all propaganda, many people I know are against any presence of American army in Iraq." Today, the American soldiers shot at an ambulance that was carrying some casualties, killing two and injuring three. In Basra, armed people robbed a bank. Others burned a grain storage ...when the soldiers were just observing and never attempted to stop it. They were the reason that there is no government in the first place. So it is their responsibility to keep the community safe ... they did come to "free us and take care of us," after all. The war has not ended in Baghdad, just because Saddam has disappeared ...because it was never about Saddam. It is about Iraq. Iraq is not State No. 51 ... and it never will be. For more than 200 years, and up until this day, People of America have been celebrating their independence from the British ... on the 4th of July. I would say it is the biggest day for Americans. Why does anyone expect us to celebrate our invasion? I leave you all in peace. Yasmin -- Bruce Frishkoff brucefrishkoff@fastmail.fm [This message sent using the IPPN Announce e-mail list. You can join this low-traffic email group on alternative politics by sending a blank email to: ippn-announce-subscribe@topica.com You can unsubscribe by writing ippn-announce-unsubscribe@topica.com To participate in a more active discussion of independent and third party politics, please send a blank email to: ippn-discuss-subscribe@topica.com
Wow, that changed my mind. The American propaganda machine has fooled me. I realize now that the end of Saddam's rule is a sad day for Baghdad. Somebody call the Fad King!