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Curiouser and curiouser. Probably valuable publicity for the film
and copy for journalists/bloggers for some time.<br>
<br>
How will the liberal media react? Circle the wagons around Lannan,
or try to find out why he did it?<br>
<br>
<br>
On 6/17/11 8:13 PM, David Johnson wrote:
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<div style="font: 10pt arial;">----- Original Message -----
<div style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(228, 228,
228);"><b>From:</b> <a moz-do-not-send="true"
title="Lvpsf@igc.org" href="mailto:Lvpsf@igc.org">Steve
Zeltzer</a> </div>
<div><b>To:</b> <a moz-do-not-send="true"
title="Undisclosed-recipients:"
href="mailto:Undisclosed-recipients:">Undisclosed-recipients:</a>
</div>
<div><b>Sent:</b> Friday, June 17, 2011 5:40 PM</div>
<div><b>Subject:</b> John Pilger Replies On Lannan Ban On His
Film</div>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:
arial,sans-serif;">
<p><font face="Times New Roman"><b><font size="6">Crude
Censorship</font></b><br>
<i><font size="6">John Pilger Replies On Lannan Ban On His
Film<br>
</font></i><br>
<b>By John Pilger</b><br>
<br>
<i><b>June 16 2011 "Information Clearing House" --</b> <b>An
open letter to Noam Chomsky and the general public.</b></i></font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman"><i><b><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28343.htm">http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28343.htm</a><br>
</b></i><br>
Dear Noam and friends<br>
<br>
Patrick Lannan has issued a statement breaking almost a
week`s silence since his sudden and unprecedented
cancellation of my visit to the Lannan Foundation in Santa
Fe for the US premiere of my film, The War You Don`t See.
See the statement at <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.lannan.org/">www.lannan.org</a> <br>
<br>
The reason that Lannan gives for the cancellation is that
too few seats were sold for the event on June 15 planned a
year ago, in which David Barsamian and I were to be in
conversation about the media, US foreign policy and freedom
of speech. "In our opinion," writes Lannan, "to have Mr.
Pilger travel thousands of miles from London to Santa Fe to
face such a low turn-out would have been embarrassing for
him."<br>
<br>
This is specious at best, absurd in reality. On 9 June,
Barbara Ventrello, Lannan`s Director of Cultural Freedom
Special Projects, with whom I had been in contact on almost
a daily basis in preparation for the event and the screening
of my film, emailed me:<br>
<br>
"Dear John<br>
<br>
I have just received a call from Patrick Lannan ...
Something has come up and he has asked me to cancel all
events next week. He did not go into details and so I have
no idea what this is about, and I apologize ... We thank you
for your understanding.<br>
<br>
with best regards<br>
<br>
Barbara"<br>
<br>
If Lannan was cancelling my event because of the low
turn-out, the principal organiser Barbara Ventrello would
have known. Instead she "has no idea what this is all
about".<br>
<br>
I replied to her and Patrick Lannan that this presented a
horrendous re-organisational situation as Lannan had
accepted my offer to stage the US premiere of my film in The
Screen cinema in Santa Fe. In his statement, Lannan distorts
this as a "request". There was no request. At the time, the
reply was that it would be an "honour" to show the film.<br>
I was later informed by the manager of the cinema that a
Lannan official had called to withdraw the advertising for
the film. The same official withdrew advertising from the
Santa Fe New Mexican and urged the paper to "pull" the major
feature it was running about the film.<br>
<br>
In my response, I asked that the film`s screening go ahead
as its national promotional campaign was linked to the
premiere in Santa Fe. This is the reply I received:<br>
<br>
"Dear John<br>
<br>
I am very sorry, but as stated in my email to you yesterday,
all events related to your visit to Santa Fe are canceled.
This includes the screening of your film.<br>
<br>
Regards<br>
<br>
Barbara"<br>
<br>
Again, no reason was given. Not one of my subsequent emails
and phone calls were returned, and no one called me. I have
not known anything like it. Like all of us, the cinema
management were shocked. I was informed by groups in Santa
Fe who have organised similar events that the idea that too
few tickets had been sold for the Pilger/Barsamnian event is
"near impossible". When I tried to buy the air ticket Lannan
had arranged for me, I was told by the travel agent: "I
don`t understand it. They won`t allow you to buy it, even
though this ticket, when cancelled, will be worthless. I
have never known anything like this."<br>
<br>
The truth is that there was not the slightest hint from
Lannan until virtually the eve of my departure that my
appearance would be anything but "very popular". I don`t
know why Patrick Lannan acted the way he did. At the very
least, he has demonstrated that his wealth and power give
him the capricious license to do what he wants to do when
and how he wants to do it and without explanation,
regardless of the consequences. Clearly, the tone and barely
credible explanation now offered is designed to humiliate
me. For him to now claim a self-regarding mantle as a patron
of dissenting writers and film-makers, like myself, is
disingenuous in the extreme and, again, absurd. Over 40
years an an investigative journalist and film-maker, I have
faced similar action in its various guises, and it reveals
itself whenever it happens. This is crude censorship however
inexplicable and regardless of reputation and patronage.<br>
<br>
Regards<br>
<br>
John Pilger</font></p>
<p><i><b>See also:</b></i> <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Opinion/Editorial-for-June-16--2011#disqus_thread">Lannan
credibility suffers self-injury</a></p>
</span>
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