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WASHINGTON - Three campaign finance watchdog groups filed a complaint Tuesday accusing a group of Vietnam veterans of violating the campaign finance law by airing an ad that challenges Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry (news - web sites)'s military record. Democracy 21, the Center for Responsive Politics and the Campaign Legal Center argue that the ad by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth violates a federal ban on the use of unlimited donations, often referred to as "soft money," to influence federal elections. In the ad, the group accuses Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran, of lying about his war record and...

Conservative filmmakers launch their own version of the "Sundance Film Festival" in Dallas, TX.

by Kay Lucas / Crawford Peace House / Friends of Peace A very big THANK Y'ALL from Texas. This was such an incredible experience. We are all so grateful to Michael Moore and his staff for helping the Crawford Peace House facilitate freedom of speech in Central Texas. Many of us had been told by both 16 screen corporate movie theaters in Waco that they were absolutely not going to show 'Fahrenheit 9/11.' For three weeks after the original release, the closest theater showing the movie was Austin, an hour and a half away. So we began working on including...

Extra Drama at Unity: Kerry Knocks Bush for His 9/11'Seven Minute Gap' Extra Drama at Unity: Kerry Knocks Bush for His 9/11'Seven Minute Gap' By E&P Staff Published: August 05, 2004 NEW YORK Sen. John Kerry, appearing today at the Unity convention of minority journalists in Washington, D.C., criticized President Bush's performance on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, in the most explicit terms yet. Now the Bush campaign has hit back, accusing him of launching "flailing attacks." Referring to the moment, now immortalized in Michael Moore's film "Fahrenheit 9/11," when Bush chose not to leave a group of schoolchildren...

WARSAW, Poland - "Fahrenheit 9/11" opened Friday in Poland - a U.S. ally in Iraq - with some critics comparing director Michael Moore's style to totalitarian propaganda. But politicians who opposed Poland's decision to send troops to Iraq urged the public to see the film. Moore's movie portrays President Bush as inept and the war in Iraq as an illegitimate campaign waged to further business interests. A critic for Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland's largest daily newspaper, condemned the movie as a "foul pamphlet" too biased to be considered a documentary and said it reminded him of methods used by Nazi propaganda...

Poles Say 'Fahrenheit 9/11' Is Propaganda Fri Jul 23, 3:44 PM ET By VANESSA GERA, Associated Press Writer WARSAW, Poland - "Fahrenheit 9/11" opened Friday in Poland — a U.S. ally in Iraq (news - web sites) — with some critics comparing director Michael Moore's style to totalitarian propaganda. But politicians who opposed Poland's decision to send troops to Iraq urged the public to see the film. Moore's movie portrays President Bush (news - web sites) as inept and the war in Iraq as an illegitimate campaign waged to further business interests. A critic for Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland's largest daily...

Fahrenheit 911 was apparently shown last week on Fidel Castro's Cuban state run TV!According to Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences rules, a motion picture feature is disqualified for documentary Oscar if it airs on TV or over the Internet within nine months of its bigscreen run..

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A recent broadcast on Cuban television of Michael Moore's film "Fahrenheit 9/11" has raised questions about the Oscar eligibility of one of America's most talked-about and critically acclaimed movies of the year. Under Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (news - web sites) rules, films are disqualified from competing in the Oscar race for best documentary if shown on television or on the Internet within nine months of their theatrical release. However, an unauthorized or pirated display of a film would not render the movie ineligible, academy spokesman John Pavlik said on Tuesday. "If somebody...

Michael Moore's fakery fest "Fahrenheit 9/11" features in one of its scenes a newspaper headline that reads: "Latest Florida recount shows Gore won election." The words were apparently designed to perpetuate the myth that Bush "stole" the 2000 presidential election. A lawyer for the Pantagraph newspaper in Bloomington, Ill., sent a letter to Moore accusing him of misappropriating the headline from the Pantagraph's pages. The headline did appear in the Pantagraph, but only on the letters-to-the-editor page, and was intended only to reflect the letter writer's sentiments. According to the Pantagraph's Web site, the lawyer's letter also charges Moore with...

TOKYO — Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Monday branded Michael Moore's popular and controversial documentary film "Fahrenheit 9/11" as being politically biased. "I don't want to watch such a politically biased movie that much," Koizumi told reporters in saying he has no plans to go see the record-breaking documentary. "Criticizing Bush or criticizing Koizumi, it's no use just criticizing. Constructive discussions should take place rather than criticisms," he said. The film has made more than $100 million, the highest ever for a documentary, in about one month since it opened in late June in the United States. It takes a...

Moore film reaches Bush backyard Wed Jul 28,12:54 PM ET CRAWFORD, United States (AFP) - Michael Moore's controversial documentary "Farenheit 9/11" reaches US President George W. Bush ( - )'s backyard -- but the filmmaker has nixed plans to come to this one-stoplight town to officiate Word that Moore was coming to Crawford, a hamlet of 705 people, had drawn a dismissive response from the White House but sparked anger and worry among some locals, including one who left his message in cow manure. "To Michael Moore, from James Douglas, one pile of bullshit deserves another!!!" read a note atop...

USA Today is often dismissed by critics as the "McPaper"; it is apparently considered risible in some circles that, like McDonald's and unlike, say, the New York Times, a newspaper should serve up something that people across the country actually want. For those on the go, USA Today provides a concise and to-the-point approach to the news that its more prestigious competitors lack. (In last Friday's reports on the 9/11 panel, for example, USA Today got to the panel's most important recommendation, a new national intelligence director, in less than 80 words; it took the Times over 250.) So it's...

In the run up to the Afghan War of 2001 a conspiracy theory arose that George W. Bush attacked the Taliban at the behest of the energy company Unocal. Proponents of this theory allege the real reason for the war was to facilitate the building of a pipeline from Turkmenistan to Pakistan. Due to geography the pipeline had to transit Afghanistan. The pipeline theory was discussed and ridiculed by posters here at FreeRepublic. There were many valuable insights, including from one poster who actually worked with Unocal in Turkmenistan. The pipeline theory was bunk. I thought it was long dead...

PARIS -- When "Fahrenheit 9/11" was selected for the Cannes film festival, another documentary about George W. Bush was waiting in the wings in case Michael Moore's film wasn't ready in time. "The organizers were keen to include our film in the Official Selection but felt it was politically incorrect to have two anti-Bush documentaries at Cannes," says Jean-Francois Lepetit, whose Flach Film produced "Le Monde Selon Bush" (The World According to Bush). Directed by seasoned documentary maker William Karel, the 90-minute film could scarcely be more different to Moore's pamphlet that went on to win the Palme d'Or. Karel's...

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Republicans initially dismissed "Fahrenheit 9/11" as a cinematic screed that would play mostly to inveterate Bush bashers. Four weeks and $94 million later, the film is still pulling in moviegoers at 2,000 theaters around the country, making Republicans nervous as it settles into the American mainstream. "I'm not sure if it moves voters," GOP consultant Scott Reed said, "but if it moves 3 or 4 percent it's been a success." Two senior Republicans closely tied to the White House said the movie from director Michael Moore is seen as a political headache because it has...

Response to Michael Moore's, "Open Letter to Bill Timmins, President Aladdin Casino and Hotel" As you most likely know, Michael Moore posted the following letter: After the letter, you will find the response... Open Letter to Bill Timmins, President Aladdin Casino and Hotel http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=93 Bill Timmins President Aladdin Casino and Hotel Las Vegas, NV July 20, 2004 Dear Mr. Timmins: I understand from the news reports I've read that, after Linda Ronstadt, one of America's greatest singers, dedicated a song to me from your stage on Saturday night, you instructed your security guards to remove her from the Aladdin, which...

Australian government minister brands US moviemaker an ugly American Wed Jul 21, 4:24 PM ET Add Offbeat - AFP to My Yahoo! CANBERRA (AFP) - US filmmaker Michael Moore, whose anti-war documentary Fahrenheit 9/11, has been praised and savaged by critics around the world, was described by an Australian government minister Wednesday as "the quintessential ugly American." Moore's film, which won the top prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival (news - web sites), has attracted sell-out audiences in Australia where it has been viewed by some critics as a justified critique of US President George W. Bush (news -...

Scenes in Fahrenheit 911 of U.S. soldiers taunting and sexually humiliating Iraqi civilians following the successful invasion were shot by Urban Hamid, an embedded Swedish-Iraqi journalist who is presently a doctoral candidate at the University of Colorado, the university's student newspaper Camera disclosed today (Tuesday). Moore has declined to respond to questions from interviewers about whether he resorted to subterfuge in order to embed photographers among U.S. forces and has been criticized for not showing footage of the abuses to U.S. military authorities earlier. But Camera reported that the controversial footage by Hamid was actually shown at a theater in...

Controversial director Michael Moore claims Mel Gibson backed out of financing his hit documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 after Republican sources told the actor he would never be invited to the White House again. The explosive Palme D'Or-winning documentary, which examines American President George W Bush's decisions following the September 11 attacks and the run-up to the war in Iraq, was rejected by their original financier Icon, owned by Gibson. Moore says, "We were just starting the film when I got a call from my agent who said he'd spoken to someone at Icon who was wondering if there was a way...

Aladdin President Bill Timmins ordered security guards to escort pop diva Linda Ronstadt off the property following a concert Saturday night during which she expressed support for controversial documentary filmmaker Michael Moore. Timmins, who was among the almost 5,000 fans in the audience at the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts, had Ronstadt escorted to her tour bus and her belongings from her hotel room sent to her. Timmins also sent word to Ronstadt that she was no longer welcome at the property for future performances, according Aladdin spokeswoman Tyri Squyres. How much weight that carries is debatable, since the...