BBC2 Responds

So this is the email I got back in response to my complaint:

Thank you for your e-mail.

'The Path to 9/11', to be transmitted over September 10 & 11 is a drama based on real events and, as with any drama, the writer's perspective will be brought to bear on those events. A statement at the beginning of the programme is clear about the sources and methods which have been used:

"The following dramatization is based on the 9/11 Commission Report and other published sources and personal interviews. Composite and representative characters and incidents, and time compression have been used for dramatic purposes".

It is not our practice to engage in public debate about the contents of programmes before they've been transmitted, but what we will say is that this subject matter is always going to be politically controversial. Most of the events take place when the Clinton administration was in power so naturally it will feature heavily.

The programme has been reviewed by the Editorial Policy team and we are confident it lives up to high standards of fairness and accuracy.

With this in mind, we hope you will enjoy the drama.

Regards

BBC Information

FISA Round-Up

Anonymous Liberal summarizes what's at stake with the wiretapping issue:

Is it even possible to be any more disingenuous? The amendments to FISA contained in the Patriot Act were passed with the express purpose of giving the president the ability to listen in on any calls involving al Qaeda agents. Every single politician in the country is unambiguously in favor of listening in on al Qaeda's calls and to suggest otherwise is entirely dishonest.

Bush doesn't need any further Congressional authorization to intercept terrorist communications. What he wants is for Congress--via the Specter Bill--to do away with any requirement that the courts oversee what the executive branch is doing. He wants us to return to the pre-FISA era of unchecked executive power, where the J. Edgar Hoovers of the world could spy on whoever they wanted to without fear of being held accountable.

Thankfully, Republicans such as Heather Wilson understand the issue:

"You need checks and balances in place to make sure future administrations or even civil servants don't get out of line," said Rep. Heather A. Wilson (R-N.M.), sponsor of the main House surveillance bill. Unlike Specter's bill, she added, "my bill was not authorized by the White House."

I like that quote, because it reinforces how the Bush administration is so often short-sighted in the sense that it does things for the benefit of their administration. If GOP lawmakers look ahead to a time when they are no longer in control of the White House, do they really want the president to have unfettered surveillance powers? Of course not. It should never be the case. But because they are in power, every decision is calculated to give the president more power. If they have their way, I suspect the GOP will come to regret this one day. In other words, this shouldn't be a partisan issue, but rather a checks-and-balances issue.

NYT on Secret Prisons

It's refreshing when a newspaper points out that the president is lying. Not everything should be framed as a debate between two parties. Some things are simply true or not.

Coffee Break

Belgian doctors discover that some patients in persistent vegetative states are aware of their surroundings and able to understand instructions.

ABC might head back to the editing room.

A coalition of Senate Republicans, Democrats and military lawyers resist Bush's tribunal proposals.

Marion Jones is clear. Makes you wonder about Floyd Landis and Justin Gatlin.

Belgian police arrest neo-Nazis in alleged terror plot.

Israel ends naval blockade of Lebanon.

BBC2

Also, BBC2 is going to be showing Path to 9/11 over here as well. If you want to drop them a complaint, here's how. You might ask how buying programmes from the US Republican Party is the best use of license fee money.

ABC and 9/11

There's hope yet. Apparently ABC is being inundated with criticisms from viewers as well as lawyers from the Clinton cabinet.

What I think is most interesting is that conservatives aren't even pretending that The Path to 9/11 is fair or balanced. They just keep saying that they need to get Republicans rallied around this movie, and that Dems shouldn't complain since they had Fahrenheit 9/11. In other words, they're admitting it's a partisan piece.

As Jonah should note, there are huge differences. Michael Moore makes no pretenses of being nonpartisan, and he has been lambasted for dishonesty and disingenuousness by people on both ends of the spectrum, myself included. But supposedly, The Path to 9/11 is based on the 9/11 commission report and is a nonpartisan docudrama to commemorate the 5-year anniversary of the attacks. Now that it's been revealed to be a right-wing hit piece on the Clinton administration, ABC should feel compelled to pull it.

Seriousness of the Day

Unsurprisingly, from National Review:

Civil-liberties extremists have already decried the CIA program under which these terrorists have been held and the interrogation techniques used against them. But the simple fact is that they are crucial to saving lives. That’s why the White House has proposed legislation to ensure that they continue — giving voters a chance, before the midterm elections, to see how serious their senators and congressmen are about keeping them safe.

Seriousness of the Day

From Hugh Hewitt:

I’m especially uncomfortable with this controversy since it’s so unnecessary. The record of the Clinton administration on terrorism is an embarrassment and a disgrace. All serious studies of the matter have reached the same conclusion.

Politics of the Guantamo Move

Josh Marshall understands the simple politics of the Guantanamo 14. It's a clear challenge from Bush, who believes that engaging this issue before November will benefit the GOP politically. So now we have to pin our hopes on the integrity of 3 senators. Here's hoping they stand firm.

Coffee Break

Bush admits use of torture in secret CIA prisons.

When Glenn Greenwald and John Podhoretz both believe that Bush is now committed to military action against Iran, it's time to be concerned.

Tony Blair looks ready to cave to pressure and name a departure date.

GOP blocks Rumsfeld no-confidence vote.

Two are dead in a Russian nuclear sub fire.

ABC and the Path to 9/11

So, ABC is marketing this as a "dramatization...not a documentary," which contains "fictionalized scenes." They also claim that it's based on the 9/11 Commission report, although, as the Post notes, the ABC drama and the 9/11 report conflict with each other. Figures such as Richard Clarke, Madeline Albright, and Sandy Berger have disputed key events of the ABC drama. ABC has further inflamed matters by providing sneak previews to right-wing pundits and right-wing blogs, but not allowing former Clinton officials to see the same previews.

First off, why ABC thinks that the five-year anniversary of 9/11 warrants a fictionalized version of the build-up to the attack, rather than a documentary or non-fiction docudrama, is anybody's guess. Second, ABC has clearly betrayed their biases to the world on this. If they were attempting to tell the truth, they would be open to giving advance viewings to all interested and relevant parties, but they're not forthcoming in doing so. How deep in the GOP pockets are they?

ABC and 9/11

Digby asks the right questions: why would ABC choose far-right filmmakers to make a supposed documentary about 9/11? And does this illustrate a pattern of ABC caving to the far right in its programming decisions?

Via Greenwald, we're reminded of CBS caving to the wingers regarding an "insufficiently reverent" docudrama about Reagan. Why do the major networks lose their spine when the right-wing makes a little noise? They're willing to go as far as false historical revisionism to make the Republicans happy.

Seriousness of the Day

From Red State:

A note on this: the Democrats have taken it upon themselves to issue a critique of the President's policy before he gave his speech, which they archly call "Neo-'Con.'" Now I'm as big of a fan of a good pun as anyone, but there is a time and a place for such things. Even if you are awed by the cleverness of the genius who crafted this rapier word play on "conservative" and "confidence trick," you should probably resist the temptation to make a pun the title of your counter-terrorism policy, which you are issuing in an attempt to make voters believe you have a serious alternative to Mr. Bush's strategy to propose. Of course, the Democrats have no such thing.

Malkin Ahmadinejad

Andrew Sullivan finds out just how damningly similar Christianists and Islamists can be.

Homelife of a Justice

What exactly has Justice John Roberts been telling his kids?:

"Let me explain the government to you. There’s God, then there’s the president and then there’s my father.”

— Jack Roberts, 6-year-old son of Chief Justice John Roberts, overheard speaking to one of his young peers on the last day of summer camp

Scarily, Kathryn Lopez thinks that qualifies him as the smartest kid in the country.

Coffee Break

The final decision in the Mexican election should come today.

Kofi Annan will help mediate discussion between Israel and Hezbollah to free the kidnapped soldiers.

Summer break is over for Congress.

GOP puts immigration overhaul on hold in advance on the November elections.

Israel settles in.

Somehow, opium cultivation is up by 59% in Aghanistan.

In better Aghani news, some 200 Taliban fighters are killed.

The Fear of Mark Steyn

Steyn apparently has a problem with the Fox newsman and cameraman participating in a videotaped "conversion" to Islam in order to save their lives. The typically brilliant Glenn Greenwald dismantles Steyn here.

Appeasement

This is a great and much-needed discussion of appeasement. What with Rumsfeld and Cheney bringing out that bogeyman again and again recently, some historical perspective is in order. I particularly like the points about Lyndon Johnson becoming trapped in Vietnam because he didn't want to appear like another Neville Chamberlain and about Reagan making enemies in the 1980s for holding talks with the USSR rather than confronting them militarily. It's good to remember where the fear of appeasement can lead. Don't let Rumsfeld and Co. get away with using the same bogeyman in Iran that they used in the build-up to Iraq.

Seriousness of the Day

Jonah:

Alas, if you spend even a fraction of time reading the comments sections at even eggheady leftwing blogs (Tapped, for example) your faith in the good will and intellectual seriousness of the opposition will not be bolstered.

Now, for something serious: Community colleges.

Coffee Break

Steve Irwin, 'crocodile hunter', killed by a stingray.

The NYT gives a breakdown of the House seats up for grabs.

The Battle of Seattle is to get the Hollywood treatment.

More trouble at TNR.

Your Daily Doone.

Everyone ever arrested was was the No. 2 al-Qaeda man.

Europe attacks moon.