August 30, 2011 > The War You Don't See The War You Don't See Submitted By Jane Bark The second Tri-City Documentary Saturday Series begins the fall season on September 10, 2011, with an offering from famed Australian journalist, John Pilger. "The War You Don't See" is an exceptionally powerful, insightful and timely investigation into the media's role in wars. One of its emphases is the dimensions of recent wars, especially the Iraq War, which the corporate mass media do not present. Appropriately enough, the focus falls upon US malfeasance and war crimes, especially the onslaughts on the City of Fallujah, where white phosphorus and an array of other weapons leveled 70 percent of the houses, killing or displacing tens of thousands of Iraqis. This film also analyzes how governments, especially those of Bush and Blair, sold the war to their publics. Early on, the viewer learns that "official truths are often powerful illusions." Pilger interviews journalists, politicians and military officials about their roles in the propaganda onslaughts that made the war possible. Without making excuses, Dan Rather points to the pressures, especially the fear of being thought "unpatriotic," that led so many journalists to self-censor. Others, however, are less forthright. Many try to invoke journalistic objectivity, claiming they report what politicians say and leave it to their audiences to determine what is true. Others hide behind excuses such as not being able to find spokespersons critical of official positions. Yet, as Pilger shows, officials such as former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter were both very available and quite well qualified to debunk the lies about Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction. While this film is certainly powerful in exposing the hidden crimes of war, it is most outstanding in exposing media myth-making and revealing the ways of press complicity with power. This free event will also celebrate the launch of Paul Rea's new book "Mounting Evidence, Why We Need a New Investigation into 9/11." Visit www.mountingevidence.org The War You Don't See Saturday, September 10 1:30 p.m. Niles Congregational Church 255 H Street @ 3rd, Fremont 510-797-0895 www.TriCityPerspectives.org Free admission