Much like Michael Moore's films, the polemic style of the producer will be the conservative excuse for ignoring the painful truths it contains.

U.S. support for democracy is conditional, at best. Remember when the Palestinians freely and and openly elected Hamas? Condoleeza Rice's reaction was to treat it as illegitimate, then to behave as though it never happened.

John Pilger acts as if he's God - because he is God. I respect his resilience and determination to expose truth and amazingly break through the powerful mass complacency and legitimized LIES . Pilger is irrepressibly intelligent - a living legend- a trumpeting spokesperson for real justice and call for human dignity.

I think it is more honestly human to be emotional or polarized and polemic. Being a witness alone in a documentary is a delusion - those who try to pull it off are the ones who are trying to play God- impartiality is ultimately impossible - except for God. Therefore Pilger is just being human.

This site backs up everything that John Pilger says and much more too.

1. http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com

From the couple of clips on the Movie Show - there's also an entire five minute trailer on the ABC web site - it seems a very powerful movie indeed. Unfortunately, the message is diluted somewhat by Pilger himself - he has to have the most soporific delivery of anyone in the mainstream media.

There will undoubtedly be the usual outpouring of pre-judgements about its content and its message from both ends of the political spectrum. Personally, I have some reservations about the completeness of the stories Pilger tells - I have several of his books on my bookshelf - but overall he is thoroughly thought-provoking, and challenging to our conventional media-led understanding of what is happening in the world.

He tries. At least he tries. ( Pomeranz and Stratton gave him a fair review the other night, too ) . One of the few who bothers to bring unpalatable truths to lazy, cowardly and greedy people; he tries!
But he doesn't look "pretty" enough, or is "old fashioned" in his viewpoint and presentation of facts or ( how can a "fact" be "old fashioned": it's a fact or not, regardles of how the gutless slip and slide trying to avoid one. Torture cells are not "just so beige" for those actually wearing the trucheons them- they are horribly REAL!!).
Or he doesn't pull his punches or sanitise his case as to the USA, or is too "Green-Left", must therefore be a crafty subversive "terrist" supporter.
Or a thousand other cosmetic botoxed whines from the Chardonnay classes. Well, he is worth a million sell-out Tabloid liars, as far as this little black duck is concerned.

Have not viewed the movie, The War on Democracy, but not surprised that it contains too much Pilger, but what other way can the truth be out about Anglophile nations like Britain and America who have spoilt themselves with declared efforts to plant democracy in problem nations, but too much mixed with the greed and grab for contraband and hegemon.

Also not surprised that the criticisms against Pilger can exude from elitist groups, both educated and street-smart, who believe that the world can only become truly democratic with military capture followed by military order mixed with a smattering of Christian sympathy - but unfortunately with not much understanding.

To be sure Adam Smith was so right in his Wealth of Nations that our advancing nations could become so un-Christian in the chase for that wealth, as the Americans are doing right now with their talk about being in Iraq for a long time, just as Western Christianity did when it built great fortified castles in Palestine, but eventually were overcome by the Ottomans who themselves became Islamics.

The weakness of course, is that the US backed by foolish nations like today’s France and little Australia, is powerful enough to achieve its aims of dumbing the hearts and minds of all the Middle East Arabs just simply by means of even the threats of the shock and awe of nuclear barrage not only from the US of A but from little Israel.

Maybe Pilger might be better to be like the old Greek philosophers, just to give dire warnings like Socrates, letting the thoughts go deeper and more truthful, not just behind the eyes and ears as is happening too much in our electronic age.

Cheers - BB, WA.

Definitely sounds like a film worth missing.

I lived in Indonesia throughout the transition to democracy (1996-2004) and there was one foreign country over all others that played a pivotal role in assisting and supporting the Indonesian people in attaining that "worst of all possible forms of government" as Churchill once so eloquently once put it.

No, it wasn't Australia. It wasn't France. It wasn't the Philippines. It wasn't Russia. It wasn't even Canada. And it certainly wasn't Saudi Arabia.

I'll let you guess, Mr Pilger.

rogindon:

While I don't question the accuracy of your account, try and keep in mind that it is but one of many. The CIA has a long and *proven* history of toppling democratically elected leaders throughout South America and the Middle East. To back up an earlier post, I think 'conditional' is the best word to describe the USA's support of democracy over the last 60 years or so.

WHERE...was Pilger when the French News misreported the apparently staged "Killing of Mohammad" in Gaza ?

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1191257216490&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

"And yet France 2 refused to release Abu Rahmeh's full 27 minutes of raw footage. It did, however, agree to let three prominent French journalists view the footage. All three concluded that it comprised blatantly staged scenes of Palestinians being shot by Israeli forces, and that France 2's Jerusalem Bureau Chief Charles Enderlin had lied to conceal that fact."

Note... BLATANTLY STAGED SCENES... the only reference to material like this you would find in Pilger..would if he could somehow twist this into a CIA plot irrespective of how utterly remote such a thing might be.

If you doubt the credibility of the JPOST artcle.. seach it out on youtube.. for the French version.

PILGER.. = PROPOGANDA..and the cheap nasty kind at that

It's not only Americans that need to see this film. Many in the rich west, including Australia, have never been to a poor country, probably never will go, and would be agog if they did.

I agree with Gary Neat's comments.

Although we desperately need more John Pilgers and Noam Chomskys to publicise uncomfortable truths - in my view they both deserve a Nobel Peace Prize - I do feel they are sometimes on autopilot.

I've seen nearly all Pilger's films and read one of his books now, and his emotional monologues can be laborious and self important. This focus on himself can hinder rather than help his message. I prefer to experience his vision and interviews, and not have my opinion pre-digested.

With Mike Moore, Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart and others, we know that what we are getting is primarily entertainment. With Pilger, I expect more credible journalism. More balance (although he would probably argue that the mainstream is so biased the other way that he is a balancing force), and some hard data to backup his anectodal style would have more impact.

For example, hard macroeconomic data on income and wealth distribution, literacy, AIDS rates, and their change over time under the various regimes he shows, (or at least an attempt to obtain this information, it can be difficult), if simply presented, would add credibility to his panning vistas of suffering.