Let's follow the money. Who's paying for Path to 9/11?

[Poiuyt]

ABC is showing it with no commercials, so who's footing the bill? The fact that Scholastic Books is also sending this to schools with lesson plans makes it all sound very fishy. Do you think there's a chance that it is being underwritten by a rightwing consortium? Can Rush Limbaugh and his friends put enough money together to pull this off? Why else would they let Limbaugh preview the movie, but not Clinton and his people.

Somebody is behind this.

[Patsy Stone]

1. I was wondering the same thing in another forum.

I'm gonna check and see what I can find. ABC isn't giving away valuable airtime for "patriotic" reasons.

[Patsy Stone]

10. Here's the link from Variety

but it mentions that there are no sponsors. No sponsors at all. So, they spent $30 million to make it, and they're giving away almost six hours of prime time airtime for nothing? And, they apparently spent even more money filming filler commentary from Charlie Gibson since it will come in under the six hour mark due to lack of commercials? Wow. What does the administration really have over ABC and Disney?

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117949477?categoryid=14&cs=1&nid=2563

[Canuckistanian]

62. Not to mention the website and blog costs

And the cost of all this PR.

And this "lesson plan". Who was the author and how long did it take?

[EVDebs]

104. Heroin money from Afganistan is probably a likely source of $

The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade
http://www.druglibrary.org/SCHAFFER/heroin/McCoy2.htm

shows us that it's easy to fund unconstitutionally anything you want. Congressional campaigns, bribes, TV shows, movies, you name it.

[ClintonTyree]

23. I wonder if it could be this company........

that distributes it to different schools?

http://www.ignitelearning.com/index.shtml

Neil Bush's company. It wouldn't surprise me.

I know, let's play like the neo-cons play! :think:

"Some people say", Neil Bush's company is distributing this piece of crap to our schools. Isn't that the way they do it? :shrug: Throw out a perfectly ridiculous statement but within days it's accepted fact in America. It's the neo-con way! :puke:

[liberaldemocrat7]

65. Go after national ABC advertisers Wendy's, Red Lobster.

I imagine if ABC had commercials those two GOP contributors would run their commercials during the GOPaganda piece.


Wendy's restaurants [e-mail]

and Red Lobster [e-mail]

[Redstone]

2. They'd better not be showing it to MY son. There will be hell to pay

if they do.

I'm going to pay attention to the progression of this thread, though; you ask a VITAL question, and when you get some answers, I'm going into action.

And I hope other DUers do as well.

That "mocumentary" is beneath contempt.

Redstone

[Old and In the Way]

3. Good point. This came out of nowhere, too. Probably planned that way.

It is a very, high profile propaganda extravaganze. Well coordinated and financed. I, too, am interested in the financials....who funded this Republican fantasy?

[Viva_La_Revolution]

4. Brought to you by the fine folks at Hallmark...

just kidding. :evilgrin:



edit: sp

[Old and In the Way]

5. Kick...this deserves some exposure.....

[bluethruandthru]

6. In addition to all the talk of a Disney/ABC boycott

we need to look into the Scholastic component. Why are they allowed to distribute whatever they want in schools? It seems we may need to open up a second front in our attack!

[BuyingThyme]

7. Nothing new here. They did the same thing to promote the

invasion of Iraq.

Back then they just called it news. Now they call it a, umm, hmm... a scholafictionadoculiarmentaryism.

[blm]

22. They do the same thing with every RW book that hits NYT "bestseller" list

Fascist money is bottomless for their preferred propagandists.

"SOMEbody" pays and somehow gets his investment returned manyfold.

[bbgrunt]

71. maybe this is part of the "new propaganda" that taxpayers are footing.

[Cooley Hurd]

8. Scaife? He's got oodles of $$$, and not a single scruple...

I'd guess he might have some skin in the game...

[BrotherBuzz]

61. Scaife, Olin, Koch, Coors, Bradley, etc.

I guess the top 1% of all have skin in this wicked game.

[formercia]

89. CNP n/t

[H2O Man]

9. Great question.

I am wondering who is in a position to get the answer? It would seem to be one of the most important things that we should focus on.

[greenbriar]

11. Doesn't NEIL bush or Marvin bush own a school publishing place?

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMm

[greenbriar]

14. by george, I think I am on to something

hummmmmmmmm what do ya think"

[ClintonTyree]

25. This one........

http://www.ignitelearning.com/index.shtml

And I'm wondering if the got the contract too. This is going to take a little investigation.

[EFerrari]

31. Dija see my #26? n/t

[EVDebs]

105. ignitelearning.com as mentioned in a post above nt

[havocmom]

107. Don't forget Babs Bush donating $$ to Katrina Relief, earmarked

for Neil's company. Tax write off for money one of her businessmen sons needed to stay afloat. Nice.

Oh, and Queen Mother Bush is also an investor in that company of Neil's.

Very nice.

[EFerrari]

12. If they "donate" the work to schools, can they write it off their taxes?

I do taxes all the time, and I can't figure out how they'd do it.

[Anakin Skywalker]

15. The rich and powerful have ways of cheating

[EFerrari]

20. Well, I will certainly take your word for it, Sir.

:)

I wonder if the trick is to go through Scholastic. Maybe *they* have a non-profit.

[EFerrari]

26. Okay, one way they could do it is to donate to one of the non profits

Scholastic works with in the "Literacy Partners" program. And it would be perfectly legal for them to take a deduction. But, I'm afraid that's about as far as I get. Here's the link to that Scholastic program:

http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/literacypartners/partners.asp

[cyberpj]

98. Maybe Neil's company works with Literacy Partners too!

btw - just google scholastic and bush and you'll see a lot of connections as far as Bush family appearances, support and topics.

[cyberpj]

97. Here's a way they just created - They stuck it in a pension bill:

I think they give to the charity and the charity gives to the proper business.
They save it tax free,
they donate it tax free,
their BFEE businesses get it tax free.
Can't beat that.

I found the following info way down deep in this article in my local paper. People don't realize the little tricks they're pulling to make and keep money away from the rest of us. Neither does our darilng opposition party. If you look deep enough, I'll bet there's a fortune moving around this way, just another way to launder the money.

snip...
Earlier this month, President Bush signed a pension reform bill requiring donated clothing and household items to be in "good" condition in order to be eligible for tax deductions.

snip...
In addition to tightening the rules for deductions, the provisions also allow taxpayers 70 or older to withdraw up to $100,000 a year from an IRA without paying a tax if the money is donated to a charity. The break is temporary, though, and expires at the end of 2007. (hint: that's so he can use it but not the next guy.)

Bush. You just gotta hate him don't ya?

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060901/NEWS/609010362

[Marie26]

100. Money laundering

I'm starting to think this whole thing is a money laundering/tax write-off scam.

[havocmom]

108. Yep. It's what Barb bush did last year

Donated to Kartina Relief but stipulated the $$ went to Neil's company.

[Anakin Skywalker]

13. Dickhead Mellonhead Scaife?

Is one of the first name that popped to mind......

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

16. What have they told their shareholders? That's going to be the first

"follow the money" step.

The shareholders have a vested interest in knowing who funded this, if ABC did not. MKJ

[Avalux]

17. I absolutely believe it - mentioned it several times tonight.

And I for one am going to find out who is funding this trash and put a stop to it. I'm not nearly as bothered by the movie being shown on TV as I am by it being distributed to schools. There's something terribly sinister about it.

Let's go people - start digging! :patriot:

[bliss_eternal]

51. I agree...

but I'm also disturbed that they are showing it on television. Why? Because it's the network that stated they wanted to walk the fine line of not being partisan. Well, they have crossed that line, and I am calling them on it.

[WePurrsevere]

18. It's the same thing I've been wondering. Sure as heck ABC, Disney, etc is

NOT doing this out of generosity... not with that much money invested and then throwing away good advertising space? If there's not a RWer funding this I'd be extremely surprised. It's very important that we find out WHO it is... I just wish I knew where to start a search like this.

[notadmblnd]

28. Let's start with Scholastic

Founded in 1920 by M.R. “Robbie” Robinson, the father of the current Chairman and CEO, Richard Robinson, today, Scholastic has over $2 billion in revenues and is a global leader in children’s brands and distribution, with nearly 10,000 employees worldwide. Scholastic creates quality educational and entertaining materials and products for use in school and at home, including children's books, magazines, technology-based products, teacher materials, television programming, feature film, videos and toys. The Company distributes its products and services through a variety of channels, including proprietary school-based book clubs, school-based book fairs, and school-based and direct-to-home continuity programs; retail stores, schools, libraries and television networks; and the Company's Internet site, www.scholastic.com.

http://www.scholastic.com/aboutscholastic/people/index.htm

[SmokingJacket]

93. Apparently they have pulled the materials.

Some of it has already gone out, though -- this is according to firedoglake.

[Nordic65]

36. Here's a few starters...

It's produced by something called UHP Production Ltd.

Very little is know about them - unsurprisingly


The mini-series was called the "Untitled History Project" as late as sept. 2005.

Hope this get you going

[notadmblnd]

52. Untitled History Project = UHP Production Ltd?

this is the only thing I have found so far on this from IMDB.com, which claims to be the biggest movie databas on earth. They appear to be a fairly recent venture since the've only got one project beneath their production company.

UHP Productions Ltd.


IMDbPro.com offers company and employee contact details for over 10,000 companies in the entertainment industry, as well as representation listings for over 65,000 individuals, including actors, directors, and producers.
Click here for a free trial!

Filmography as: Production Company

Production Company - filmography

1. The Path to 9/11 (2006) (TV) ... Production Company

on edit: lookie here.....

Title: Untitled History Project
Type: Miniseries / ABC
Year Shot: 2005
Production Company: UHP Productions Ltd.
Place Represented: New York City (also Washington, D.C.)
Toronto Location(s): Café Brussel - Danforth Av, 777 Bay St, Forest Hill - Dunvegan Rd, Tre Mari Bakery - St Clair Av W, 90 Harbour St, Graphic Arts Bldg - Richmond St W, 50 Wade Av, The Docks - Polson St, 8 Unwin Av - The Cat Ferry, 69 Bloor St E.
US
http://www.toronto.ca/tfto/newy.htm

[Canuckistanian]

64. It was filmed in Toronto?

How convenient. Cheaper production and no questions asked by nosey American journalists.

And so many films are shot in Toronto, nobody gives it a second thought.

Somebody wanted this filming kept quiet until the very last minute.

[EVDebs]

106. Disney should show The Plot To Seize The White House

by Jules Archer. Now THAT would be penance for dropping this fiasco !

[ellenfl]

19. dumbya DID raise a bunch of money for campaigning. eom

[Jcrowley]

21. Very good question

Scholastic Books is massive in its global reach and it's numerous operations. Who funds that? I believe Scholastic Books is also connected to Univision. Just the term 'Univision' is rather eerie. This is a post-modern version of what Bradbury, Orwell, Huxley et al all warned us about. And so on the other side good questions as the ones you raised must be asked and spread around.


Article:
The ABC television network is using the fifth anniversary of 9/11 as an opportunity to rewrite history. On Sept. 10 and 11, ABC/Disney will broadcast "The Path to 9/11", a six-hour, two-part "docudrama" written and produced by conservative filmmakers who place a lion's share of the blame for the 9/11 terrorist attacks on alleged failures of the Clinton administration.

This is not the first time that Hollywood has used 9/11 as a pretext to air pro-Bush propaganda in the guise of a docudrama. On the second anniversary of the terrorist attack, the Showtime cable network broadcast "DC 9/11: Time of Crisis," written by conservative Republican Lionel Chetwynd. Dubbed "a reelection campaign movie" by Washington Post TV critic Tom Shales, the film starred actor Timothy Bottoms in the role of George W. Bush, depicting him as a leader of Churchillian stature who takes personal charge in the 9/11 aftermath while brushing off worries about his own safety with declarations such as, "If some tinhorn terrorist wants me, tell him to come on over and get me. I'll be home!" In reality, as opposed to the bizarro world of docudrama, Bush's safety on 9/11 was guaranteed by hustling him off to an undisclosed location, while Cheney went into hiding for months.

What makes "The Path to 9/11" somewhat different is its claim to be based on the report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (also known as the 9/11 Commission). Thomas Kean, the Republican co-chairman of the 9/11 commission, served as an advisor to the film, although Lee Hamilton, the commission's Democratic co-chair, did not. ABC Entertainment president Steve McPherson is claiming that its miniseries is a public service that goes beyond mere entertainment. "Some things you do for commerce and some things because they are the right thing to do," he told Variety magazine.

http://www.alternet.org/story/41288/

[JHB]

24. Is Scholastic still on board?

See my thread here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2066339

The discussion guide for "The Path to 911" has disappeared from Scholastic's site.

[Pryderi]

27. FREE PODCASTS! NO COMMERCIALS!

http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=...

Instead, ABC will air the two-part, $30 million "Path to 9/11" on Sunday, Sept. 10, and Monday, Sept. 11 without commercial interruption. Originally slated for two three-hour time slots, the missing commercial time will now require short-news programs to fill the gap.

McPherson also told Variety that ABC will make the program available for free on Apple's iTunes store, and it will be streamed for free via ABC.com. An audiocast of the miniseries will be available on XM Satellite Radio for its subscribers.

[Mr_Spock]

29. A truly easy to prove conspiracy to beat them with.

Thanks RW morons.

[Recursion]

30. What was the last prime-time feature presented without ads?

The only one I can think of is Schindler's List (which was also one of the first examples of full nudity on prime time TV).

[Patsy Stone]

44. It says Schindler's List was sponsored by Ford

"The first time ABC aired Saving Private Ryan, it did so sans commercials thanks to a sponsorship deal with Ford. The automaker struck a similar deal backing NBC's broadcast of Schindler's List." This is from the Variety article I posted above.

It also mentions in that article that the last time ABC did it was when they showed the Concert for 9/11. I don't know if that really counts because all the networks were doing that, weren't they?

[tridim]

32. Here's the whole cast and crew

Probably a good place to start.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0473404/fullcredits

Produced by
Zakaria Alaoui .... line producer
Bruce Dunn .... associate producer
Marc E. Platt .... executive producer
Marc E. Platt .... producer
Hans Proppe .... producer
Richard Luke Rothschild .... co-producer
Mark Winemaker .... producer

[NashVegas]

33. Here's the Info for UHP Productions

Company: UHP Productions Ltd
Producer: Hans Proppe, Mark Winemaker, Richard Luke Rothschild
Executive Producer: Marc E. Platt

FYI - "UHP" = "untitled history project," the working name of the movie while it was being filmed.

[Generic Other]

43. Mark Winemaker also produced Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story (2003)

Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story (2003) (TV) (producer)
... aka Rudy's Wars (New Zealand: English title)

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0934855/

[Name removed]

109. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[starroute]

57. Richard Luke Rothschild doesn't seem helpful

Here's his IMDB listing -- and nothing hits me right off. The Scorpion King. The Truman Show. Romy and Michele's High School Reunion. All very Hollywood.

http://imdb.com/name/nm0745304/


On edit: Hans Proppe doesn't seem very revealing either.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0698704/

Though I suppose the fact that they're using Hollywood people as opposed to documentary-makers might be significant in itself.


On second edit: And Marc E. Platt was behind Pretty Woman and Legally Blonde.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_E._Platt


There might be a Neocon-ish connection though. Wikipedia says Platt's children attened Sinai Akiba Academy -- described on its website as "a Solomon Schechter Conservative Jewish day school" (http://www.sinaiakiba.org/page.cfm?p=7) and Proppe was involved in a film about Anne Frank.


On third and hopefully final edit: No, that isn't particularly useful either -- none of this points to whatever money was behind the film, and that's the real question.

[spanone]

34. Kick & R

[Imagevision]

101. K&R

[young_at_heart]

35. I just asked this question on another thread

We must all be thinking the same thing!

[Avalux]

37. Film distributed by Touchstone Television - contact list ----

http://www.touchstonetvpress.com/hp/contact.shtml

They may be able to answer some questions.

[bliss_eternal]

38. Excellent...thank you!

:thumbsup:

We should flood their offices with phonecalls tomorrow. :mad:

[Avalux]

39. OMG - check out what they call the film -

"Untitled Commission Report Project" (from the contact list)

Erin Felentzer - Director
phone: [phone]
fax: [phone]
email: [e-mail]

• Lost
• Six Degrees
• What About Brian
• Untitled Commission Report Project

[bliss_eternal]

41. That's just wrong...can you start a new thread...?

...drawing attention to this and to Touchstone? They should be flooded with protest calls first thing in the morning.

:mad:
That's so disgusting.

[Avalux]

48. I started a thread. Thanks for the suggestion.

:hi:

[bliss_eternal]

53. ...anything to help!

:) :hi:

[Julius Civitatus]

83. Touchstone is a division of Disney

usually dedicated to produce more risqué films than the usual Disney family entertainment.

[razors edge]

40. hasn't the bush crime family

stolen enough to invest this much in covering their tracks? and sending to the schools is just an investment in their children's future, clean up the family name, divert scrutiny.

[bonito]

42. Very interesting topic, bookmarking after rec.

[EC]

45. So I wonder if the

Carlye Group figures in this?

[Triana]

46. I wondered the same when first I heard of it. (n/t)

[Nikki Stone 1]

47. kick and recommend

:kick:

[Gloria]

49. This should be preceded by the disclaimer: "A Paid Political Announcement"

[notadmblnd]

50. looking at schoastic site at board members

There's a John Davies listed as a private investor, so I googled John Davies. If this is the right guy he certainly sound like somene who could/would support this movie

snip: Current research, teaching and applied interests: These include:
1. Conflict and crisis prevention; conflict analysis and risk assessment; building response-oriented crisis early warning systems. He teaches courses and provides training in conflict and peace analysis and conflict and crisis prevention. He consults with the US Agency for International Development and US Department of Defense on development of their early warning and vulnerability assessment systems, and for the White-House-initiated State Failure and Genocide Early Warning Projects. With FEWER, he has worked to establish response-oriented early warning systems in the Former Soviet Union, including the Caucasus and Central Asia; West Africa; the African Great Lakes/Greater Horn; and South East Asia.
http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/people/jdavies.htm

also googled univision it appears that Univision is a spanish language television station

UNIVISION

Univision (in Spanish, Univisión), the largest Spanish language television network in the United States with more than 600 affiliates, has historical roots in Mexican broadcasting. Since 1992, Univision has been owned by a consortium headed by Jerry Perenchino, an entertainment financier who once owned a New Jersey Spanish language television station. Twenty-five% of the network is owned by Venevision, a Venezuelan media company, another 25% by the Mexican entertainment conglomerate, Televisa, the largest producer of Spanish language television programming in the world.
http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/U/htmlU/univision/univision.htm

which too me to MBC communications, but I found this interesting education link on their page.

Docufest

DocuFest incorporates the MBC Archives into classrooms by providing online access to select documentaries and matching lesson plans.

Our collection of radio and television documentaries features primary source material such as interviews, historical news footage, and dramatic reenactments that will help bring historical events to life.

Here, you will find standards-based lesson plans for Grades 9-12 and a selection of streamed documentaries that complement core curricular areas such as the Civil Rights Movement, World War II, Vietnam War, and the Performing Arts.
http://www.museum.tv/educationsection.php

here is their list of leading supporters
View the complete list of our supporters.

More than $12 million has been raised thus far from:

* Mr. & Mrs. Paul Harvey
* Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation
* State of Illinois
* Lee Phillip Bell
* CBS 2 Chicago
* DisneyHand and its Chicago partners: ABC 7 Chicago, WLS-AM (890), WZZN-FM (94.7), WMVP-AM (1000), and WRDZ-AM (1300)
* NBC Universal
* Institute of Museum and Library Services
* The John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
* Mr. & Mrs. Arthur C. Nielsen, Jr.
* Polk Bros. Foundation
* Mitch Rubin & Family
* Tawani Foundation
* TV Land
* Judd A. & Marjorie Weinberg Family Foundation
* The Oprah Winfrey Foundation
* The Bergen Foundation
* The Brinson Foundation
* The Chicago Community Trust
* Clear Channel Communications
* JM Family Enterprises
* Guild Family Foundation
* The Siragusa Foundation

I don't know if any of this helps anyone.. I really need to take a class on how to do research.

[cosmicdot]

70. Beneficial stock holders and Board bios

Scholastic proxy or annual report to shareholders for 2006

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/866729/000093041306006091/c43663-def14a.htm


Beneficial owners of 5% of Scholastic stock or more (see link above for specifics)

Richard Robinson
c/o Scholastic Corporation
557 Broadway
New York, NY 10012

Barbara Robinson Buckland
c/o Scholastic Corporation
557 Broadway
New York, NY 10012

Mary Sue Robinson Morrill
c/o Scholastic Corporation
557 Broadway
New York, NY 10012

William W. Robinson
c/o Scholastic Corporation
557 Broadway
New York, NY 10012


Trust under the Will of

Maurice R. Robinson
c/o Scholastic Corporation
557 Broadway
New York, NY 10012

Trust under the Will of

Florence L. Robinson
c/o Scholastic Corporation
557 Broadway
New York, NY 10012


T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.
100 E. Pratt Street
Baltimore, MD 21202


Board of Directors
``````````````````````

Richard Robinson. Mr. Robinson has served as Chairman of the Board of the Company and/or Scholastic Inc. since 1982, as Chief Executive Officer since 1975 and as President since 1974. He has held various executive management and editorial positions with the Company since joining in 1962.

Rebeca M. Barrera. Ms. Barrera is a national leader in Latino children’s education. She is an author, curriculum designer, national speaker and founder of the National Latino Children’s Institute. She also is the founder of Tres Rebecas, which provides consulting, design and development services throughout the United States.

Ramon C. Cortines. Mr. Cortines is an Education Consultant and was the Executive Director of the Pew Network for Standards-Based Reform at Stanford University from 1996 through 2001. Since 1956, Mr. Cortines has served six school districts, including as Superintendent of Schools for Pasadena (11 years), San Jose (2 years), New York City (2 years), San Francisco (6 years) and Los Angeles (6 months).

Andrew S. Hedden. Mr. Hedden is a partner of the law firm of Baker & McKenzie LLP, having previously been a partner with the law firm of Coudert Brothers LLP from 1975 to 2005.

Mae C. Jemison. Dr. Jemison is the president of BioSentient Corporation, a medical technology company she founded in 2001 that develops and markets ambulatory equipment to monitor the autonomic nervous system and to train people to respond favorably in stressful situations. She is also the President of The Jemison Group, a technology consulting company that focuses on the integration of science and technology into everyday life and social responsibility. Dr. Jemison was a professor of Environmental Studies at Dartmouth College from 1996-2002. She served as a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronaut from 1987 to 1993 and was a member of the Space Shuttle Endeavour Flight in September 1992. She is also a director and member of the audit committees of Kimberly-Clark Corporation and Valspar Corporation, a director of Gen-Probe, Inc. and a member of the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine.

Augustus K. Oliver. Mr. Oliver has been a Managing Member of Oliver Press Partners LLC, an investment advisor, since 2005. Mr. Oliver also has been a Senior Managing Director of WaterView Advisors LLC, a private equity investment firm, since 1999. Mr. Oliver is the grandson of a former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Scholastic Inc.

Richard M. Spaulding. Mr. Spaulding has held various executive management positions with the Company since joining in 1960, and served as Executive Vice President of the Company and/or Scholastic Inc. from 1974 to 2004.

John L. Davies. Mr. Davies is a private investor. In addition, he serves as a special advisor to General Atlantic Partners, a private equity investment firm. Mr. Davies retired from AOL in 2002, which he had joined in 1993 as Senior Vice President. In 1994, he founded AOL International, where he served as President until becoming Senior Advisor in 2000.

Peter M. Mayer. Mr. Mayer has been President of The Overlook Press/Peter Mayer Publishers, Inc. since 1997. Since 2003, Mr. Mayer has also been the President of Duckworth Publishers in the United Kingdom. From 1978 to 1996, he was Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Penguin Group Companies, overseeing its operations in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Holland and India. From 1976 to 1978, he was President and Publisher of Pocket Books. He has also served as Editor-in-Chief, Publisher and President of Avon Books.

John G. McDonald. Professor McDonald joined the faculty of Stanford University Graduate School of Business, where he is The Stanford Investors Professor of Finance, in 1968. Professor McDonald serves on the Boards of Directors of Varian, Inc., Plum Creek Timber Co., iStar Financial, Inc. and eight mutual funds managed by Capital Research and Management Co.


The Scholastic website list for Directors
`````````````````````````````````````````

Board of Directors

Richard Robinson - Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer, Scholastic Corporation
Rebeca Barrera - President, National Latino Children's Institute
Ramon Cortines - Education Consultant
John Davies - Private Investor
Charles Harris - Managing General Partner, Harris Capital Partners, L.P.
Andrew Hedden - Partner, Coudert Brothers LLP
Mae Jemison - Founder and President, BioSentient Corporation
Peter Mayer - President and Publisher, Overlook Press/Peter Mayer Publishers, Inc.
John McDonald - The IBJ Professor of Finance, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University
Augustus Oliver - Managing Director, Waterview Advisors LLC
Richard Spaulding - Executive Vice President, Marketing; Scholastic Corporation

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=85107&p=irol-Board

The execs make good money (see proxy)

[chat_noir]

54. Anybody looking for a connection to Walden Media?

Walden Media is owned by conservative billionaire Philip F. Anschutz. <1> Anschutz is known for his financial support of various causes central to the Christian right <2> including the Discovery Institute and its intelligent design campaign. The Discovery Institute cites the Christian apologetics of C.S. Lewis as its touchstone. Anschutz Film Group CEO David Weil, in a 2006 Entertainment Weekly article, claims that Anschutz's religious views did not affect their films.<3>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walden_Media

[brook]

58. an early link

"Madelon Rosenfeld, a former criminal lawyer now working as an independent producer in New York City, was on the phone to Wilshire Court Productions in Los Angeles just hours after the World Trade Center bombing. Her proposal: How about a TV movie based on the heroic deeds performed by everyday folks caught in the disaster? On Saturday, one day after the explosion, she started meeting with people: two Brooklyn teachers whose kindergarten students were caught in the blast; a telephone repairman who set up a triage area for the injured; a mechanic who led six people to safety from the bowels of the towers. "They were on it real quick," says Fred Ferby, the mechanic. "She had everything together. She gave me something in my hand I could have a lawyer look at." Within three days, NBC executives gave Wilshire Court the go-ahead, and the race was on."

From the Mar. 29, 1993 issue of TIME magazine

So NBC had the first option.
Wilshire Court is connected to Rothschild (one of the Producers). Marc E. Platt is a proud grad of and a major donator to Penn. Possible connection to Scaife?

[kitkat65]

88. And what about Sinclair? They run the local ABC here in Columbus Ohio

and Mark Hyman is a real conservative asshole.

[pointblank]

55. To answer the original post.....

GEE YA THINK SOMEONE GOP IS FUNDING THIS?




(I mean no disrespect to the OP, I just couldnt help the sarcasm)


It is time for a change.

[EFerrari]

56. You know, I don't. Those bastarads never fund anything.

They just finance it. WE fund it. Bet me. :)

[bbgrunt]

72. well said.

[Ignis]

111. Sad but true.

Who needs charity once you've got hold of the public purse-strings?

[Poiuyt]

59. The reason I asked was because most Americans will not question the

funding of a TV movie like this. They will probably be happy that it is being shown without commercial interruption. That's why this is so insidious. The rightwingers behind this movie will be spreading their lies to the American people without them knowing that they are being taken for a ride. I'm guessing that if were revealed who has put up the money, they will feel betrayed and insulted.

[Patsy Stone]

63. Also, in that Variety article

it says that since there are no commercials, it won't figure into the Nielsen ratings at all. The network's doing all this *and* taking a ratings hit for SIX hours of prime time? Such altruistism I've never seen in all my years of watching TV.

[CornField]

73. It prevents the public voice

The public is known for voicing its discontent to advertisers. By not having sponsors and/or advertisers, they are removing several layers of news as sponsors pull away due to public outrage.

Also, I'm not sure of the television ins-and-outs, but in print media when I did a big piece which required direct sponsorship, my work (at least in part) was vetted by those primary sponsors before they would stamp approval. That is, the sponsors would be pitched "a pull-out section on our town's past 50 years" and they'd give a tentative yes. The mark-up showing that it was a "legit" piece (one that didn't overtly piss of the town's movers and shakers) was needed for final approval.

[Kurovski]

60. Kick.(nt)

[Canuckistanian]

66. The Softwood Lumber Slush Fund?

Canadian lumber companies have been paying duties (illegally, under NAFTA) to the US government for about a decade.

$450 million dollars. Just in time for the midterms:

http://www.correntewire.com/450_million_slush_fund_for_bush_from_canadian_lumber_deal_just_in_time_for_the_mid_terms

And here:
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/06/12/white-house-slush-fund/

[pinto]

67. Minority opinion here, but I think a lot of Americans are ready

to put 9/11 behind us. The brouhaha is sure to get some viewers. I understand there's a big ad campaign on ABC, as well, but just in everyday life, people I talk with are prepared to live in the present. And I get the sense that most also see through the Clinton sleight of hand being talked about. Bush and the Republican Party has given the same speech for so long, America is getting numb to the shock treatment.

I'll skip the show.

[pinto]

96. On reading more, I've changed my opinion. The piece *will*

be seen, if aired, by enough people to influence public perception - already skewed by the Admin's re-write of their own history - and the fabricated slant seems blatantly intentional. Add me to those who have signed the petitions for a "no show".

[AZBlue]

68. Look at the ads prior to and right after the show.

They will be premium slots and cost big bucks. Someone's paying to catch viewers who turned their sets on early before the show and/or didn't change the channel yet after it's over.

[agincourt]

69. Same assholes who give us Rush, Ann Coulter, Cavuto,

and all that other shit. The corporate cronies of Bush who got tax cuts and gov't subsidies.

[krkaufman]

74. Gotta believe Sinclair Broadcast Group is involved.

This reeks of the anti-Kerry smear movie they aired prior to the 2004 election.

[w4rma]

75. They are probably going to sell DVDs. And right-wing conglomerates

will buy them in bulk as a pay off. Then they will practically give them away to "non-believers".

Oh and they probably plan on showing this thing every 911 from here until doomsday.

[notadmblnd]

76. morning kick

just in case some one has some free time to do some research today

[The Backlash Cometh]

77. Would not surprise me if we find the same people who were behind

the Clinton Witchhunt in the 90s.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

78. K & R. And, as I said earlier, what are they telling their shareholders?

MKJ

:kick:

[screembloodymurder]

79. How can you fight this crap?

The free press is gone and MSM is owned and operated by right-wing ideologues.

[Marie26]

80. UHP Productions Ltd.

is the production company behind the project. The weird thing is, I couldn't find any other movie/TV show that this company has produced, or even a website. I'll try looking into it a little more.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0473404/companycredits

ETA: This company appears to have been based in Canada. They filmed most of the miniseries in Toronto under the title of "Untitled History Project," although some parts were filmed in Ohio. I found a contact number for the company, but that number is now out of service. Doing a reverse phone search, the number was in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. However, when you search the Toronto Yellow Pages, there is absolutely no record of a "UHP Productions" in the area. And there's no record of any other TV series/movie that this company has been involved in. I'm almost convinced now that this is a front company, and a pretty thin one at that.


The writer, Cyrus Nowrasteh, is a big time conservative activist. He gave a speech at the Republican "Liberty Film Festival" called “Rebels With a Cause: How Conservatives Can Lead Hollywood’s Next Paradigm Shift,” & has given interviews to many right-wing magazines.

Sourcewatch - Cyrus Nowrasteh - http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Cyrus_Nowrasteh

Thnkprogress - "Writer of ABC’s 9/11 ‘Docudrama’ Is Avowed Conservative Activist" - http://thinkprogress.org/2006/09/01/nowrasteh-conservative-activist/http://thinkprogress.org/2006/09/01/nowrasteh-conservative-activist/

[notadmblnd]

82. I've been trying to find something on it since last night

Isn't the a way to find out if a company is registered to do business in the US? maybe an SEC
link or something? Searching last night, it looked like all information on UHP had been scrubbed from internet.

[Marie26]

99. It's a nothing

I got the corporate information from the Ontario Ministry of Government website. So, here's the board of directors & corporate address, for what it's worth:

UHP Productions, Ltd.

Corporate Number: 2067984

Incorporated: 3/23/2005

Status: Active

Type: Ontario Business Corp.

Address:
130 Bloor St.
Fifth Floor
Toronto, Ontario, CA M5S 1N5

Board of Directors:

Kevin Gordon - President
Robert Dobier - Vice-President
David Carter - Vice-President, Treasurer, & Registered Agent

The address is actually for something called the "Canada Film Capital LLP", a financial company that helps movie producers apply for Canadian tax credits (up to 30%). http://www.canadafilmcapital.com/ They promise to handle the government application & maximize the possible tax credits. The Directors of UHP are all CFC employees. So basically, CFC set up a shell corporation in Canada for the 9/11 film, and named itself as the Board of Directors. The real movie producers & financiers are hidden behind that shell corporation, & I don't know how to find out who they really are. It's a dead end.

[eShirl]

84. it's not that uncommon to incorporate for the production of a single movie

a filmmaker friend of mine does it

[Marie26]

92. There should be some record

If it incorporated in Canada, it should be listed under Canada's Registries of Corporations. And if it's doing business in the US, it should be registered as a foreign corporation in the US state that it's filming in.

I did a search in the Canadian Federal Corporations Data On-Line system & there's no record of this corporation. - http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/cgi-bin/sc_mrksv/corpdir/dataOnline/search.cgi?lang=e It seems like in Canada, corporations are either federal or provincial (state). Since this isn't federal, the corporation should be registered as a provincial corporation in Ottawa, Canada.

Beyond that, it seems odd to me that a completely new production company got this $30 million dollar project. I think it's a shell. It's also odd that this project went by so many pseudonyms before actually receiving a title. Why so much secrecy?

[notadmblnd]

81. Could Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal be behind funding ABC "9/11"Docu?

Thanks to KoKo01

Prince Alwaleed might very well have interests in backing a "9/11" movie that will blame Clinton instead of Bush because he's heavily invested in companies that have benefited from Bush and Repug Congress. City Bank, Disney, AOL/Time Warner, etc. It might be that he was repaying favors done for his many investments.


Here's a link to DU thread questioning who might be funding the ABC Docu-Drama since it will air without commercials with some other speculation:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

Here's what I found doing some searching last night for a Disney connection and the article is fascinating on American Educated Alwaleed's background and experience:

Disney seeks help from Saudi Prince
By Richard Verrier
Los Angeles Times

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Walt Disney Co. needs a real-life prince.

His name is Alwaleed bin Talal. His grandfather was Saudi Arabia's founding monarch. With huge stakes in companies ranging from Citigroup Inc. to the Four Seasons luxury hotel chain, he is one of the richest men on the planet.

That's why Disney needs him. The company's Paris resort is suffering severe losses. Alwaleed came to the rescue before and is being courted once again.]/b]

The relationship between Disney and the prince is one of the most unlikely in the corporate world. Disney is notoriously insular and fiercely protective of its brand and its image as America's premier family entertainment company. The prince is outspoken and ostentatious, and his nationality alone attracts controversy these days.

A month after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, he found himself at the center of a tabloid dust-up with then-New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. The mayor rejected Alwaleed's $10-million contribution to a victims' fund after the prince urged the United States to support the creation of a Palestinian state - something the Bush administration later would do.

But the coupling of Disney and Alwaleed is not about personalities or nationalities. As Disney Chairman Michael Eisner said recently, in a bit of understatement, Alwaleed ``has a pretty sophisticated understanding of capitalism.''

In the mid-1990s, the prince chipped in $300 million to help keep Euro Disney afloat. Now, Eisner would like another helping of his largess.

-snip-

Last year, Forbes magazine ranked Alwaleed the fifth-richest man in the world, with a net worth of nearly $18 billion.

His Kingdom Holding Co. spans four continents. He has held major stakes in companies such as Apple Computer Inc., AOL Time Warner Inc., News Corp. and Saks Inc., parent of retailer Saks Fifth Avenue.

-snip-

His office has eight television monitors, two of them tuned to CNN and CNBC. On the wall behind his desk are his ``hundred wives'' - plaques bearing the corporate logos of his various investments.

-snip-


In 1991, Alwaleed bought a $590-million stake in Citicorp, which later became Citigroup, effectively bailing out the financial services giant. The investment, he said, has increased in value sixteenfold.

``He's a good guy to have on your side,'' said Citigroup Chairman Sanford I. ``Sandy'' Weill, who has dealt extensively with Alwaleed.

Like other foreign investors, Alwaleed was drawn to the glamour and opportunities of the entertainment world. This led to some high-profile flops, including a $30-million investment in the Planet Hollywood restaurant chain and a movie production company with pop star Michael Jackson that never got off the ground.

Much more about his investments and connections here.....
http://216.239.51.104/search?q=cache:r0633QQ-9jQJ:www.bupipedream.com/012704/wire/w2.htm+Saudi+Investments+in+Disney&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=4



http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2069271

[Cleita]

85. Smells of swiftboaters to me. You might train your

bloodhounds in that direction.

[madmusic]

86. Clear Channel Communications supports Scholastic

The year 2004 was also the year Fox expanded its reach into radio, inking a deal with fellow conservative traveler Clear Channel Communications Inc., (http://www.bluelemur.com/index.php?p=442) the nation's largest radio station operator, to make Fox News Radio the primary source of national news for most of its news and talk stations. Fox will provide a five-minute top-of-the-hour newscast, a nightly news broadcast, and 24-hour national news coverage. The deal stands to jump start the radio presence of Fox News, which rolled out its service last year. The Clear Channel partnership will also give Fox's radio unit close to 300 stations, including 37 in the top 40 markets. Fox said that if all options are exercised, its service could have more than 500 affiliates by mid-2005.

http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=275638

The usual suspects.

[madmusic]

87. Disney, FoxNews, Clear Channel

BRANCACCIO: Tonight on NOW, an investigation into the new political reality, where a partisan agenda rules the newsroom.

snip


MOYERS: And just last week Fox News made a deal with Clear Channel, the colossus of radio. Clear Channel will carry Fox News Radio on most of its news/talk stations.

As for Walt Disney and ABC Radio, they reportedly have signed Sean Hannity to a 25 million dollar deal, assuring him of being around and heard for several elections to come.

MOYERS: All of this makes Richard Viguerie one happy warrior.

This profile of how you conservatives did come to power with alternative media. But if you did it after the election, you would have to add an epilogue that said, "We won."

VIGUERIE: Yes.

MOYERS: Right.

VIGUERIE: And as soon as I sell the copies that are in print right now, we'll update it.

http://www.pbs.org/now/transcript/transcript351_full.html

EDIT: This Bill Moyers "Now" transcript is a must read, and it explains why the wingnuts were so desperate to take control of PBS.

[madmusic]

90. Premiere Radio Networks

Radio host Glenn Beck "thinking about killing Michael Moore"

Clear Channel radio host Glenn Beck said he was "thinking about killing Michael Moore" and pondered whether "I could kill him myself, or if I would need to hire somebody to do it," before concluding: "No, I think I could. I think he could be looking me in the eye, you know, and I could just be choking the life out -- is this wrong?"

From the May 17 broadcast of The Glenn Beck Program:

BECK: Hang on, let me just tell you what I'm thinking. I'm thinking about killing Michael Moore, and I'm wondering if I could kill him myself, or if I would need to hire somebody to do it. No, I think I could. I think he could be looking me in the eye, you know, and I could just be choking the life out -- is this wrong? I stopped wearing my What Would Jesus -- band -- Do, and I've lost all sense of right and wrong now. I used to be able to say, "Yeah, I'd kill Michael Moore," and then I'd see the little band: What Would Jesus Do? And then I'd realize, "Oh, you wouldn't kill Michael Moore. Or at least you wouldn't choke him to death." And you know, well, I'm not sure.

Beck's program is syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks (owned by radio conglomerate Clear Channel Communications) on more than 160 radio stations across the country to an estimated audience of 6 million listeners. He has previously falsely accused Moore of "taking help and money from Hezbollah" and calledMichael Berg, who criticized the Bush administration after his son Nick was beheaded in Iraq, "despicable" and "a scumbag."

http://www.tedrall.com/2005_05_01_archive.html

[Beaverhausen]

91. Company Credits from the Internet Movie Database - IMDB

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0473404/companycredits

[npincus]

94. "UHP Productions"- produced ONE movie ("Path to BS")

[Joanne98]

95. Scholastic Books (Sourcewatch)

Scholastic
From SourceWatch
http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Scholastic

Scholastic is "the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books" as well as a range of other materials including "magazines, technology-based products, teacher materials, television programming, film, videos and toys." <1> (http://www.scholastic.com/aboutscholastic/news/press_11142005_CG.htm)

It has global revenues of approximately $2 billion. <2> (http://www.scholastic.com/aboutscholastic/index.htm)

Table of contents
1 Propaganda

2 Contact details

3 Related SourceWatch Resources

4 External Links

Propaganda
Scholastic initially provided online links to a Discussion Guide for the Class Room: "9/11 Discussion Guide for the ABC Miniseries" (http://content.scholastic.com/browse/lessonplan.jsp?id=415) "The Path to 9/11".

Available online as recently as September 6, 2006 (16:18 EST), the links were no longer available as of September 7, 2006 (06:25 EST). Richard Cranium noted (http://allspinzone.com/blog/index.php?itemid=3303) in The All Spin Zone Blog that on September 6, 2006, at 21:45:45 EST, the link " up to a blank search page."

"Thinking this was merely a site problem or something," Cranium "did a quick search of the Scholastic website. ... Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Bupkis."

Obviously, some time in the late afternoon/early evening of September 6, 2006, Scholastic pulled its linkage to the increasingly controversial docudrama.

At the time of Cranium's post, the PDF links were "still online, but are not linked anywhere on Scholastic's website. The main page is gone, as is the introduction, so perhaps the PDF's just haven't been scrubbed yet." The September 6, 2006, background article (http://mediamatters.org/items/200609060008) on the "Discussion Guide" by Media Matters for America linked to some then-active PDFs.

Judd Legum of Think Progress contacted (http://thinkprogress.org/2006/09/07/scholastic-911/) Scholastic the morning of September 7, 2006, and was told by "a Scholastic spokeswoman, the materials are 'temporarily down' but will 'be back up later.' She could not confirm whether any changes would be made."

Cranium also noted (http://allspinzone.com/blog/index.php?itemid=3303): "It was brought to my attention via email that Scholastic has also, in recent years and months, hooked up with such notable organizations" as the American Petroleum Institute and defense contractor Northrop Grumman "to catapult propaganda of other stripes."

Contact details
57 Broadway
New York, New York 10012
Phone: [phone]
Website: www.scholastic.com


Related SourceWatch Resources
"The Path to 9/11" (2006 Docudrama)
External Links
"ABC and Scholastic release skewed Path to 9/11 'Discussion Guide' for high school teachers to assign to students," (http://mediamatters.org/items/200609060008) Media Matters for America, September 6, 2006.
Richard Cranium, "BREAKING: Did Scholastic Yank 'Path to 9/11' Propaganda?" (http://allspinzone.com/blog/index.php?itemid=3311) The All Spin Zone Blog, September 6, 2006.
"ABC-Sponsored teaching materials falsely suggest Iraq had WMD, link War in Iraq to 9/11," (http://mediamatters.org/items/200609060005) Media Matters for America, September 6, 2006.
"Scholastic yanks Path to 9/11 teaching materials," (http://thinkprogress.org/2006/09/06/scholastic-yanks-path-to-911-teaching-materials/) Think Progress, September 6, 2006.
Eric Boehlert, "Scholastic and ABC Team Up To Spread Misinformation About 9/11 To Students Nationwide," (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-boehlert/scholastic-and-abc-team-u_b_28879.html) The Huffington Post, September 7, 2006.
"Readers' comments on Bush/Terror," (http://www.consortiumnews.com/2006/090706a.html) consortiumnews.com, September 7, 2006.
John Borowski, "Peddling 'The Path to 9/11' to Kids. Disney Teams with Scholastic," (http://www.counterpunch.org/borowski09072006.html) CounterPunch, September 7, 2006.
Judd Legum, "CONFIRMED: Scholastic Still Promoting Path To 9/11," (http://thinkprogress.org/2006/09/07/scholastic-911/) Think Progress, September 7, 2006.
"ABC, Scholastic injecting conservative misinformation into the classroom," (http://mediamatters.org/items/200609070001) Media Matters for America, September 7, 2006.

http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Scholastic

[Karenina]

102. Spot the lie.

Follow the MONEY...

[notadmblnd]

103. Here it is folks.... here's the answer.

thanks to new comer KeepCablue and cherry welcome too:hi:
Christian Fundies behind Path to 911 aim to "transform film & TV" industry

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2075140

Youth With a Mission (YWAM), a Christian fundamentalist organization, created an auxilliary branch, The Film Institute (TFI), with the goal of transforming the film and television industries "from the inside out."

This is from one of their member's websites, posted back in 2005 ( http://www.markandkrista.com/4559.html ):

So that's what we've decided to do. Starting in July <2005>, along with our 'normal' discipleship efforts in YWAM, we will officially join The Film Institute - a new auxiliary branch of Youth With A Mission focused on tranforming film and television from the inside out. TFI's first project is a doozy: simply being referred to as: The Untitled History Project, it is already being called the television event of the decade and not one second has been put to film yet. Talk about great expectations!

Our goal is to help filmmakers, actors, technicians, etc. realize their God given potential and purpose in perhaps the most influential sphere of modern culture - film and television.

And this from the same website ( http://www.markandkrista.com/30257.html ):

Our next big project is to assist in the development of the new YWAM auxiliary - The Film Institute (TFI). The Film Institute is dedicated to a Godly transformation and revolution TO and THROUGH the Film and Television industry;

TO it, by serving, living humbly with integrity in what is often a world driven by selfish ambition, power an money - transforming lives from within,

and THROUGH it, by creating relevant and evocative content which promotes Godly principles of Truth married with Love.

The Untitled History Project Begins Production July 25th. Please pray for the Executive Team, the Director's Team, Department Heads, Actors, Crew and Interns. Also please ask that the project would reach its target budget and schedule objectives. - and don't forget to pray for us!


OP's note: The "Untitled History Project" referred to is, in fact, the ABC mini-series, "Path to 9/11."

Related DU posts:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...



God, I love DU

[EVDebs]

110. Excellent research. Thanks ! nt

[elehhhhna]

112. A CHURCH sponsoring LIES? niiiiiiiiice

[Janice325]

113. I'm late in coming to DU today. It's my first chance to play

"catch up" on my news. I've only skimmed this thread, but Marc E. Platt was mentioned somewhere else on DU (yesterday or the day before) as a Repuke donor, I believe.
Anyhoo, I certainly won't be watching Path to 9/11. :puke: