Michael Moore's Speech

[Appleyard]

What a legend. Kept smiling through the ungracious 'boo' and 'hiss' of the whores of the entertainment industry.

Cracked me up.

[Bresh]

Damn straight. May be biased as hell but he has more guts than any of those bandwagoners who were in the auditorium.

[The Milkman]

Originally posted by Guey_34
Damn straight. May be biased as hell but he has more guts than any of those bandwagoners who were in the auditorium.
Is that Ben Wallace in your Avatar?

[Bresh]

Indeed.

[knuckles]

Originally posted by Appleyard
What a legend. Kept smiling through the ungracious 'boo' and 'hiss' of the whores of the entertainment industry.

Cracked me up.

Funny that. Being an Oscars ceremony and all. Accused the wrong person of being ungracious I think. Same person who revels in matching wits with an 80+ year old with Alzheimers. Next movie, he'll show how strong he is by bashing kittens.

Anti-gun here.

[Kenny_01]

Originally posted by Appleyard
What a legend. Kept smiling through the ungracious 'boo' and 'hiss' of the whores of the entertainment industry.

Cracked me up.

Yep, I agree. Loved the speech.

[GOALden Hawk]

Was always on the cards, especially after Bush stole the 2000 election.

I don't agree with everything he says, but he is about the only left wing journo getting any say at all in the States at the moment.

If you doubt me watch Fox News is CNN - the propoganda is simply appalling.

[knuckles]

Originally posted by GOALden Hawk

If you doubt me watch Fox News is CNN - the propoganda is simply appalling.

Simply crud. Do you have specific examples rather than rhetoric and cliches? The CNN I watched last night had lively debates b/w pro and anti-war people. Interviews with Iraqi's pro-USA and ant-USA.

[Stealth bomber]

CNN is generally pretty even-handed, I think.

Not so Fox News, which is notoriously conservative.

[GOALden Hawk]

Originally posted by knuckles
Simply crud. Do you have specific examples rather than rhetoric and cliches? The CNN I watched last night had lively debates b/w pro and anti-war people. Interviews with Iraqi's pro-USA and ant-USA.

Fox News - shown on the end of last night's Media Watch, talking about the fearful times we live in and not trusting etc etc

CNN - Supposedly random letter from the public, just happened to be a Muslim calling Americans murderers, followed by a lengthy criticism of Muslims by some commentator (this was around two weeks before the war began).

[M29]

Absolute w@nk I thought. But it was funny.

[Wicked Lester]

I've said this on another post but looking around the auditorium while Moore spoke I was struck by one thing.

While some people were booing, there were some clapping (1 in 20) but the majority seemed to be sitting like stunned mullets. This included a large number of Hollywood stars, who until recently have been anti war.

So I suppose that either means:

1. Many thought it an inappropriate time and place.

or

2. While much of Hollywood may have agreed with every word he said they didn't want to risk their public image and risk damaging their market value. People of conviction these acting types.

Anyway it was quite amusing but was probably counter productive if it was trying to harness anti Bush support.

[knuckles]

Originally posted by GOALden Hawk
Fox News - shown on the end of last night's Media Watch, talking about the fearful times we live in and not trusting etc etc

CNN - Supposedly random letter from the public, just happened to be a Muslim calling Americans murderers, followed by a lengthy criticism of Muslims by some commentator (this was around two weeks before the war began).

You obviously haven't watched an Arab channel. I do regularly.

CNN is by no means propoganda. I've seen propoganda, CNN aint it.

Those examples are barely "appaling". Obviously close your eyes when all the balancing views are there also.
I don't get Fox.

[Squeak]

I'm pretty dure while they ere panning on the crwod during his speech, they focussed on Lou Gosset jr. just briefly.

He seemed to be smirking, so he possibly found it funny. Either that or he was stoked that he can still get an invite to the Oscars despite not making a film that hasn't appeared solely on Hallmark since 1987.

[Docker_Brat]

Originally posted by knuckles
Funny that. Being an Oscars ceremony and all. Accused the wrong person of being ungracious I think. Same person who revels in matching wits with an 80+ year old with Alzheimers. Next movie, he'll show how strong he is by bashing kittens.

Anti-gun here.

To be fair, he didn't know that when he took on Charlton Heston and later said had he known he wouldn't have included it in the doco.

[dj21]

I'm a fan of michael moores work but i don't think he has the right to speak for his 300 million compatriots (especially if many of them decided to boo him). He contributed nothing to the current situation and i'm pretty sure George Dubya could have guessed what Moores feelings on the subject were.
Let's see if he can back up his outrage with some actions otherwise he is just being a sh*tstirrer out for some notoriety/publicity just like other celeb fakes.

[wagstaff]

Originally posted by Squeak
I'm pretty dure while they ere panning on the crwod during his speech, they focussed on Lou Gosset jr. just briefly.

He seemed to be smirking, so he possibly found it funny. Either that or he was stoked that he can still get an invite to the Oscars despite not making a film that hasn't appeared solely on Hallmark since 1987.

Haha, classic. Though you've obviously forgotten that early 1990's masterpiece 'Toy Soldiers'.

Surely Louis Gosset jr. the only actor ever to win an Oscar and co-star in a film with Chuck Norris?

[SydneyBomber]

What a frigging star.

Read 'Stupid White Men'.
Now.

[wagstaff]

Just to further back up what I've been saying about the media's role in this war, here's an excerpt from a 4 Corners program last night looking at how the Australian military would like the media to report the war under.

http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2003/transcripts/s814963.htm

Quote:
JONATHAN HOLMES: Late last year, in the run-up to the war, Defence Force spokesman Brigadier Mike Hannan went to media organisations with a deal that could have seen them virtually surrender control over what they reported. This draft document was prepared with the assistance of law firm Clayton Utz. Before any journalist could be accredited, the Defence Minister had to be advised. Journalists would be required "not to disclose information "other than in accordance with operational security briefings "and the operational security guidance "provided by the Commonwealth". They would also "abide by all Force Public Information Centre rules "which will be given from time to time". The proposed deal appears to have been quietly dropped in the face of media resistance. Peter La Franchi is shocked it was even suggested.

PETER LA FRANCHI, DEFENCE JOURNALIST: But the clauses in that document, for example, would prevent an Australian journalist revealing something say, like, the My Lai massacre in Vietnam. It prohibits you are not allowed to identify operations people, anything that Defence says is what you must report. That's not freedom of the press at all. That is a dictatorship of the media.


And then, on last night's Media Watch, host David Marr pointed the comprmise in objectivity that can occur when journalists become 'embedded' in the troop movement, often coming across as one of the troops themselves, as well as the inevitable distortions in their news product.

http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s815040.ht


But embedding has its risks; risks to reporting. CNNs Martin Savidge is so embedded he seems to have joined the marines.

It was simply too much for this force to take on by itself so they had to call in air strikes and artillery to try to clear away. Now we'll try to push in on the main objective.
- Martin Savidge, CNN, Friday 21 March 2003


Reporters have to report not adopt the military point of view. When Savidge travelled with US troops to Safwan in Southern Iraq he reported a warm welcome from the locals.

Martin Savidge: First town we had to go through was Safwan there was a lot of interest as to how the American forces, Coalition forces would be received by the general population in Southern Iraq. That faded quickly after the advance units went through. White flags were hanging from buildings and homes there, and those people who were out on the streets were actually waving and giving the thumbs up to the American troops and convoys as they quickly sped through town.
- CNN, Friday 21 March 2003

ABC America had the same very welcome news.

Friendly Greeting
Iraqi Town Happy to See U.S. Marines
March 21 - Allied military forces couldn't have asked for a better welcome from the people of Safwan, in Southern Iraq.
- ABC News USA, Saturday 22 March 2003


But when another reporter from ABC America; one not embedded with the marines reached Safwan he found a very different story report.

Doubts and Questions
S A F W A N, Iraq, March 22
Rather than affection and appreciation, I saw a lot of hostility toward the coalition forces, the United States and President Bush.

Some were even directed towards the media. (It was the first time I heard somebody refer to me as a "Satan.")
- ABC News USA, Saturday 22 March 2003



These are just some of the reasons why the media coverage of the war has to be taken with a grain of salt.

[manmountain]

Most of the superficial simpleton's that make up Hollywood would have little or no idea about the reasons behind the war. To them the peace sign or anti-war badge or whatever they chose is simply a fashion accessory. Expect to see an ET report from the Oscars: "Black was very 'in' this year, as were strapless dresses, uninformed war protests, and silver jewellery".

I'd suggest 99% of the war opinions expressed at the Oscars (not so much the speeches but the peace signs, badges, etc) were done on the advice of publicists, and not the informed decisions of the Hollywood moron-brigade.

Perhaps I'm a bit cynical though.