‘James R Bath’ OMITTED from Detroit Free Press ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ Review

[Octafish]

To bring down the BFEE, we need to raise awareness of the connections between international money laundering, drug-dealing and terrorism, crooked S&Ls, BCCI, petrodollars and the House of Bush. To do that, people need to know who James R Bath is.

The fact the “Fahrenheit 9/11” reviewer omitted Bath’s name may be an accident or intentional to avoid “legal issues” or happenstance. With all DU respect for the reviewer, leaving out Bath’s name is a critical omission.

Most people today will say, "Who?" Odds are, they don’t know the lowdown on Bush's Texas ANG buddy who went on to become the US business agent for the bin Mahfouz and bin Laden clans.

The guy is mentioned prominently in Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11” and Craig Unger’s “House of Bush, House of Saud.” They learned about it from Pete Brewton’s “The Mafia, CIA and George Bush,” “False Profits” by Peter Truell and Larry Gurwin, and “Spider’s Web” by Alan Friedman – and many other important (and under-appreciated) books that documented the BFEE in the 80s and 90s.

Gee. I wonder why the name of the link between George W Bush and the bin Laden and bin Mahfouz clans would be omitted? The people in Michigan, like the American people in general – most especially Chimpy’s supporters -- need to learn exactly how James R Bath helped sink Saudi money in Smirk’s HARKEN Energy. That was the beginning of a most hideous relationship.


MOORE, PLEASE: Snide, Bush-bashing 'Fahrenheit 9/11' stoops low and reveals little

June 25, 2004
BY TERRY LAWSON
FREE PRESS MOVIE CRITIC

EXCERPT...

The most interesting section of "Fahrenheit 9/11," whose title was appropriated without approval from Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451," a novel about a government that burns books to keep its citizenry in the dark, is the one exploring the long-standing relationship between the Bush family and the House of Saud, and the financial rewards to both father and son.

All of this was thoroughly documented in a book by Craig Unger, who is interviewed on camera. If your only news source is Fox and you were unaware of that -- or the accusation that Bush allowed members of bin Laden's family and other Saudis to fly out of the United States at a time U.S. citizens were grounded -- the movie should finally provoke a few questions.

But the only thing like a revelation is Moore's discovery that the other pilot in George W. Bush's National Guard who was forbidden to fly for failure to take a medical test ended up in the employ of the bin Laden family. What that might prove, however, is left unanswered.

The National Guard incident also allows Moore to take the film's cheapest shot: When Bush's failure to take the physical is cited, the instantly recognizable guitar riff of Eric Clapton's "Cocaine" is played on the soundtrack. Runner-up is a montage of footage showing dead children in Iraq, followed by a clip of Britney Spears saying she believes in the president and the course he's following. I'm guessing Spears would say the same thing if Kerry, or Jennifer Lopez, was the commander in chief.

CONTINUED...

http://www.freep.com/entertainment/movies/far25_20040625.htm

Disclosure: I am acquainted socially with the reviewer, who gave the film two stars. I don't believe he's jealous, I believe he wishes the film hit harder.

[gratuitous]

1. I don't disbelieve your disclosure

But a reviewer who spends more time on Ray Bradbury's bitter rantings than the identity of James Bath is probably not going to reach a "fair and balanced" perspective on this documentary.

[Octafish]

3. Yeah. I wondered if he was jealous of Michael Moore.

Then again, most of the "Establishment" media believe Bush is basically an honest, if somewhat dim, president. Lots of the scribes at Detroit's two main dailies were hired in the wake of a big newspaper strike that saw the professional journalists' union busted. To keep their jobs, they have to keep their wugs shut and their minds closed. So... yes, we have no journalists who aren't somewhat compromised today.

[Ann Arbor Dem]

7. Good point...

The JOA (joint operating agreement) changed the Free Press from a good liberal newspaper to a wimpy rag.

The Metro Times reviews are much better overall. Its writers don't have to worry about bowing to the right.

[AntiCoup2K4]

2. Isn't it ironic that a paper calling itself the "Free Press"

...seems to be favoring exactly the opposite?

[Octafish]

4. 'Irony' is a great word for it.

The Free Press has a rep as being the "liberal" paper in town. Odd how they seem to favor the likes of Calvin Thomas, Valerie Novak and Mona Chavez in their liberal op-ed pieces. Then again, I guess one should read the Detroit News editorial page for some real reactionary perspectives.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

5. The liberal Boston Phoenix was disappointed as well

they gave "Bowling for Columbine" four stars...

http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/movies/documents/03931494.asp

[Octafish]

8. That guy writes "maybe someone else will connect the dots."

That'd be wonderful. Perhaps a documentarian like Ken Burns will find a backer for a 20-part, 40 hour series. That would barely cover the major things we know about the BFEE.

For the script, all Burns'd need is the DU archives. There'd be a lot of credits that list "RationalRose." If we all pull together as a team mebbe we'll see them frog-marched out of the White House...



The Criminal "High Cabal"
The Reign of Lawlessness

     The American "High Cabal" adopted criminality as their primary strategy when they seized control of the United States in the first two decades of the twentieth century. 1

     In 1922, Secretary of Interior Albert B. Fall illegally leased out the rich Teapot Dome oilfields of Wyoming to Rockefeller's oil companies. President Warren G.Harding proclaimed Fall's innocence: "If Fall isn't an honest man, then I'm not fit to be President."

      Prophetic words for Warren Gamaliel when Fall couldn't explain how he was able to spend $170,000 for improvements on his ranch in New Mexico when his annual salary was only $12,000. On June 30, 1924, a federal grand jury indicted Fall and two major oil company executives, Harry Sinclair and Edward L. Doheny. On November 1, 1929, five years later, Fall received a mild slap on the wrist: a one year sentence and a fine of $100,000 for taking bribes.

SNIP...

     In an earlier article on war profiteering, we saw how on October 20, 1942, the U.S. government ordered the seizure of Nazi German banking operations in New York City that were being conducted by Prescott Bush, the father of former president George Herbert Walker Bush.

      A large number of American companies directly supported Adolph Hittler in his buildup of a German war machine: 3

* Chase National Bank (Rockefeller)
* National City Bank (Rockefeller)
* Standard Oil (Rockefeller)
* Texas Company
* Davis Oil Company
* SKF Industries
* General Aniline and Film
* Sterling Products
* Radio Corporation of America (RCA)
* Ford Motors
* General Motors
* International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT)
* Alcoa, the Mellon-Davis-Duke monopoly
* Hearst newspaper syndicate
* Readers Digest magazine
* Du Pont
* The Saturday Evening Post
* Sullivan and Cromwell law firm (Allen Dulles)

     Following World War II, the "High Cabal" made sure that its puppets resided in the White House and that its hirelings such as Allen Dulles were in positions of power where they could control important events.

      President Eisenhower proved less totally compliant than most and his parting speech warned against the military-industrial complex.


CONTINUED...

http://www.hermes-press.com/criminality.htm

[gratuitous]

6. What surprises me (and maybe it shouldn't)

Is how "surprised" media outlets are by the "disclosures" in F911. The startling facts revealed by Michael Moore are hardly "news." Moore is a latter day I.F. Stone, in my opinion, and he is suffering the exact same slings and arrows Stone did from the know-nothing crowd. Sometimes even from the same know-nothings.

[Octafish]

9. The know not because they don't read.

And that's where Moore is a genius. He edits and encapsulates the criminality of the BFEE in a form that can be digested by the general public. Perhaps a major percentage of viewers will be inspired to learn more about the subject. Lord knows the American press -- the only business mentioned by name in the US Constitution -- has failed in its duty of presenting the Truth.

Perhaps we on DU -- or our friends throughout the real world -- will use the movie as well as a springboard for more thorough attempts at documenting the criminality of the BFEE. If done properly, Part 20, hour 39 can show them all being frog-marched into Leavenworth and Gitmo.

[supernova]

10. The movie isn't news to anyone who's been paying attention

for the last few years. But you have to glean the info from a variety of sources. You have to look at the same story from several different publications and newsoutlets. I got most of mine overseas, for instance.

But if you only glance at CNN or on the networks every evening, then yes, this picture is shocking.

I found it both validating and liberating.

[Karenina]

11. Kick!

:kick:

[Octafish]

12. Thanks, Karenina! James R Bath was left out of a LOT of reviews.

That fact should have been emphasized in the original posting.

For those interested in learning about why Mr Bath matters:



The Complete Saudi Primer

Michael Moore's new movie, Farenheit 9/11, delves into the relationship between the Bush dynasty and the House of Saud. Follow along with this guide to everything you always wanted to know about the Bush-Saudi connection but were afraid to ask.

Under the Sand

SAUDI ARABIA
Under the Influence

SNIP...

BUSH'S PERSONAL FINANCIAL TIES TO SAUDIS RUN DEEP: According to various sources, Bush has been awash in Saudi money for years. Journalist/author Craig Unger in his new book "House of Bush, House of Saud" traced millions "in investments and contracts that went from the Saudis over the past 20 years to companies in which the Bushes and their allies have had prominent positions - Harken Energy, Halliburton, and the Carlyle Group among them." According to the Boston Herald, that includes a $1 million gift from Prince Bandar to the Bush Presidential Library in Texas.

THE BCCI-BUSH-SAUDI-TERRORIST NEXUS: The Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), which was investigated by Congress in the 1980s, appears to be at the nexus of the Bush-Saudi connection. It's principal was Khalid bin Mahfouz, a man USA Today reported was among Saudi businessmen who, even after the U.S.S. Cole attack, "continued to transfer tens of millions of dollars to bank accounts linked to indicted terrorist Osama bin Laden." Under Mahfouz (who was later indicted for his actions at BCCI), the Wall Street Journal noted in 1991 that there was a "mosaic of BCCI connections surrounding Harken Energy" and "number of BCCI-connected people who had dealings with Harken — all since George W. Bush came on board." And according to U.S. officials who investigated the bank in the 1980s, "BCCI was the mother and father of terrorist financing operations." A secret French intelligence report "identifies dozens of companies and individuals who were involved with BCCI and were found to be dealing with bin Laden after the bank collapsed. Many went on to work in banks and charities identified by the United States and others as supporting al Qaeda."

WAS BCCI'S INDICTED PRINCIPAL A BUSH BUSINESS BACKER?: Author Kevin Phillips, a top Republican strategist under President Nixon, reported in his new book, "Bush made his first connection in the late 1970s with James Bath, a Texas businessmen who served as the North American representative for two rich Saudis (and Osama bin Laden relatives) - billionaire Salem bin Laden and banker and BCCI insider Khalid bin Mahfouz. Bath put $50,000 into Bush's 1979 Arbusto oil partnership, probably using bin Laden-bin Mahfouz funds." Also of interest: Former CIA Director James Woolsey testified to the Senate on 9/3/98 that Mafouz's sister was married to Osama bin Laden. And according to the conservative American Spectator, "Bush has given conflicting statements about Bath's investment in Arbusto, finally admitting to the Wall Street Journal that he was aware that Bath represented Saudi investors."

BUSH CAMPAIGN TIES TO THE SAUDIS: A 12/11/01 Boston Herald report found that "a powerful Washington, D.C., law firm with unusually close ties to the White House has earned hefty fees representing controversial Saudi billionaires as well as a Texas-based Islamic charity fingered last week as a terrorist front." The influential law firm of Akin, Gump, whose partners "include one of President Bush's closest Texas friends, James C. Langdon, and Bush fundraiser George R. Salem," has represented three wealthy Saudi businessmen – BCCI's Mahfouz, Mohammed Hussein Al-Amoudi and Salah Idris – "who have been scrutinized by U.S. authorities for possible involvement in financing Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network."

CONTINUED to LOTS O' LINKS...

http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=99415

[Stephanie]

13. Egg-zackly!

Why does this guy think the Bath/bin Laden info is a new discovery by MM? That story's been widely known for years. It comes up again every time Bush's TANG records are mentioned.