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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bearcatbob who wrote (1371)	2/7/2005 6:00:53 PM
From: lorne	Respond to of 224904

Bin Laden’s film maker sues Michael Moore Nick Fielding February 06, 2005 timesonline.co.uk A FORMER close associate of Osama Bin Laden is to sue the film-maker Michael Moore for using his footage of the Al-Qaeda chief in the documentary Fahrenheit 9/11. Essam Deraz, an Egyptian, spent almost four years in Afghanistan filming Bin Laden at training camps and fighting, gaining unprecedented access to the terrorist leader. He was the only person to film Bin Laden during the late 1980s and has the only footage of the Saudi exile in battle in Afghanistan. Deraz has started legal action in Egypt and America to seek compensation for use of his footage in Fahrenheit 9/11, the biggest-grossing documentary in cinema history. Deraz claims he had not signed a distribution agreement with Moore or anyone else. “I was the only cameraman with the Arabs. All of those shots of Bin Laden talking in the cave, talking into his walkie-talkie, they were all my work. “I was there from 1986-89 and was in contact with Bin Laden on many occasions. I saw him in Peshawar in Pakistan and in Jalalabad in Afghanistan. The film clips in Fahrenheit 9/11 — five of them — were mostly shot in March and April 1989. “I was wounded twice and on one of those occasions Bin Laden arranged for me to be taken to hospital in his vehicle. These are the only film clips ever taken that show Bin Laden on the battlefield.” Film of the Arab mujaheddin fighting against the Russians in Afghanistan is rare because they did not take part in many large-scale engagements. The fighting around Jalalabad, shortly before the Russians withdrew, is one of the few occasions where Arab fighters were involved in large numbers. Deraz, who worked for the BBC in the 1970s and lived in London, said he had no sympathy with Al-Qaeda, which had not yet come into existence when the footage was shot. At the time it was Egyptian policy to support the uprising by Afghans against the Soviet forces that had invaded the country. Following his return to Egypt, he wrote a number of books about the anti-Soviet jihad and made three films. He said: “Now I find that Mr Moore’s film is being distributed in America and in other countries and I have received nothing.” He filed a petition with the Egyptian public attorney seeking his intellectual property rights and asking for the film to be confiscated until the financial issues are settled. He says the public attorney confirmed his rights after hearing from witnesses and experts. Moore’s film, which examines the actions of the Bush administration in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, has proved to be a massive hit. Released in June last year, the budget was a mere £3.2m. It has already taken more than £100m at the box office worldwide.

To: Bearcatbob who wrote (1371)	2/8/2005 6:32:28 PM
From: Richnorth	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 224904

What bull-shit are you trying to peddle? Stop shifting the blame on the Left. Every president since Reagan has had pledged to be the education president and to ensure the education system is up to snuff and standards raised. Being a non-resident in the States, I am understandably not up to snuff regarding who took over what in American schools. You chose to blame the Lefty unions. But surely, the buck ends with the president. Looks like all the presidents from Reagan on were negligent about education matters, eh? Maybe they deliberately chose to keep a blind eye as it would help in dumbing down folks who would otherwise give trouble sooner or later or even sooner than later! When I pointed out in the past that Americans were parochial in their outlook and their knowledge of the outside world leaves much to be desired, no one would believe me. But now the US Secretary of State herself --- Ms. Condoleezza Rice --- shows is aware of that very fact by handing out mini-atlases.......................................................... .