"Liberals contend [gun violence is a result of] all the poverty we have here. But the unemployment rate in Canada is twice what we have here." By every measure of international comparison, though, Canada's poverty rate is significantly lower than that of the U.S., thanks to the generous social insurance programs that he repeatedly praises in the film.

Do I need to even say why this is hilarious to me? :-D

Moore contradicts his own thesis that foreign bombing leads to domestic gun violence when he approvingly notes that the United Kingdom, which played a leading role in bombing Yugoslavia with the U.S., had only 68 gun homicides the same year America had 11,127.

Doesn't GET better than this! GREAT article! Thanks!!! ;-)

Democrats stand in line to hiss Bush on the big screen
By Peter Thal Larsen
Published: June 19 2004 5:00 | Last Updated: June 19 2004 5:00

Michael Moore has proved that he can win over audiences in Cannes, Los Angeles and New York. But can the polemical film-maker influence the outcome of the US presidential election?

Mr Moore's new documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11, is not due to be released in cinemas until next Friday. But in the past few weeks Hollywood celebrities and members of the political and media elite have been flocking to private screenings of the film, a critical and caustic indictment of the presidency of George W. Bush.

At a screening in New York this week the well-heeled but partisan crowd - one member of the audience described them as "limousine liberals" - hissed whenever cabinet members such as Donald Rumsfeld and Condoleezza Rice appeared on screen, and applauded every suggestion that Mr Bush might not win re-election to the presidency in November.

Afterwards, Mr Moore made a half-hearted attempt to play down his influence. "A lot of people have asked me if this film will influence the election. I don't know," he shrugged. "It's just a movie."

However, he also expressed hope that it might help to motivate voters who have become fed up with the political process to take part in the election. "If this film convinces just one person to engage and participate and go and vote I'll be happy."

Mr Moore's new status as the darling of the Democratic party reveals the polarisation that has taken place in American politics since the last election, when he threw his support behind Ralph Nader, the consumer activist and Green party candidate.

Yet Mr Moore has ensured that Fahrenheit 9/11 will reach a much larger audience than most documentary makers could ever dream of. His well-timed public row with Walt Disney - which barred its Miramax division from releasing the film - and his victory in Cannes - where Fahrenheit 9/11 won the Palme d'Or - have ensured that many Americans were aware of the film well before the advertising campaign began.

(Not sure of Moore's opinion regarding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, but I would assume like most bed-wetting liberals he is pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel. This is relevant because there are some groups that boycott Disney for their support of Israel. In fact: "Walt Disneys Millennium exhibition at the Epcot Centre in Florida depects Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Jerusalem is an illegally occupied city according to international law (UN resolution 242, 237 & 405)and can never be the capital of Israel. Of the 8 million dollars cost to set up the exibition, Israel contributed 1.8 million and worked with Disney to develop its content. This is part of Israel's campaign to physically Judaise Jerusalem and mentally condition the world into accepting its claims over Jerusalem." From: www.inminds.co.uk/boycott-disney.html. Anywho ...)

Lion's Gate and IFC Films, which have taken over distribution from Miramax, are planning to show the film on 500-1,000 screens across America on its opening weekend, adding further cinemas in subsequent weekends. It is a much wider release than most documentaries could ever hope for. Even Bowling For Columbine, Mr Moore's Oscar-winning exploration of America's obsession with guns, never played on more than 248 screens at one time.

But if Mr Moore was hoping for political opponents to fuel further controversy he may be disappointed. So far, Mr Bush's allies appear to have decided that the best way to limit Mr Moore's influence is to ignore him, in the hope that the film will be seen only by people seeking to have their views confirmed. (I LOVE THIS!!!)

[snip]

Even so, Mr Moore last week acknowledged that it would take more than ridiculing Mr Bush to eject him from the White House. "There has to be a reason to come out. It can't just be that Bush is an idiot."

Nevertheless, he remained hopeful. "Maybe I'm crazy," he said. "But I'm very optimistic that our country will be in our hands in a very short time." (Dear GOD, let's hope not.)

Moore film title angers author Bradbury
By PAUL CHAVEZ
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

LOS ANGELES -- Ray Bradbury is demanding an apology from filmmaker Michael Moore for lifting the title from his classic science-fiction novel "Fahrenheit 451" without permission and wants the new documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" to be renamed.

"He didn't ask my permission," Bradbury, 83, told The Associated Press on Friday. "That's not his novel, that's not his title, so he shouldn't have done it."

The 1953 novel, widely considered Bradbury's masterpiece, portrays an ugly futuristic society in which firemen burn homes and libraries in order to destroy the books inside and keep people from thinking independently.

"Fahrenheit 451" takes its title from the temperature at which books burn. Moore has called "Fahrenheit 9/11" the "temperature at which freedom burns."

His film, which won top honors in May at the Cannes Film Festival, charges that the Bush administration acted ineptly before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, then played on the public's fear of future terrorism to gain support for the war against Iraq. It opens nationwide next Friday.

Bradbury, who hadn't seen the movie, said he called Moore's company six months ago to protest and was promised Moore would call back.

He finally got that call last Saturday, Bradbury said, adding Moore told him he was "embarrassed."

"He suddenly realized he's let too much time go by," the author said by phone from his home in Los Angeles' Cheviot Hills section.

seattlepi.nwsource.com/movies...ory.asp