How did she get the invite? Did Beinin run the committee for the Center for Jewish Life? The CNN network covered up atrocities in Iraq and in Palestine. I am for honoring Danny Pearl, but with Amanpour? Did anybody ask her why she works for a network with low standards? http://www.honestreporting.com/articles/critiques/Access_Through_Selective_Reporting.asp

The US media's primary failure has been to accept without question the official story of 9-11. Daniel Pearl was killed while investigating the links between Al Qaeda, the ISI, the terrorists, and the US government. Two of the best researchers in this area will be coming to Palo Alto on October 27th when the documentary- 9/11 Press for Truth premieres at Spangenberg Theater (at Gunn High School). Paul Thompson wrote the esteemed Terror Timeline (Harper Collins 2004), Peter Dale Scott wrote Drugs, Oil, and War- The United States in Afghanistan, Colombia, and Indochina (2003), edited (with David Ray Griffin) 9/11 and American Empire, and wrote The Road to 9/11: Wealth, Empire, and the Future of America (which will be published in 2007 by UC Berkeley Press).

The film is the story of how the grieving families forced a reluctant White House to agree to the 9-11 Commission, and how the Commission failed the families and the country by failing to address their major questions. The hero of the film is the independent researcher, Paul Thompson, a Stanford grad, who connects all the dots that the media finds, but never puts together, which raises more important questions on the role of the US government in sponsoring, supporting and protecting terrorists.

For the sake of truth, Daniel Pearl, deconstructing the "War on Terrorism" which seems more like the global domination project outlined by the Project for a New American Century, I would encourage everyone to see this film, which is free to students with ID, and Paul Thompson's amazing Complete 9-11 Timeline, and Peter Dale Scott's book and recent article- How the FBI protected Al Qaeda’s 9/11 Hijacking Trainer- New Revelations about Ali Mohamed.

She was chosen and invited primarily by Daniel Pearl's parents, Ruth and Judea, and the Daniel Pearl foundation. They believed she stood for the same journalistic principles of international understanding that Danny did. As for Joel Beinin, he is no way affiliated with Hillel and is considered by many to be an outcast among the Jewish community at Stanford.

How much was Amanpour paid to speak last night?

I think that yesterday's lecture by Christiane Amanpour was terrific. She is even a better public speaker than reporter.

That said, I don't agree with some of the points she made, especifically she failed to point to the lack of European involvement with Iraq, once the actual invasion of the country was completed, as one of the reasons why things didn't go as well as expected after Sadam was overthrown. I remember very well those days. Countries like Germany and France refused to collaborate with the rebuilding efforts, not to mention the coward position of the current Spanish government on the issue (which makes me feel ashamed of being a Spaniard these days). I wonder why those egoistic European coutries became suddenly picky with the UN resolutions with Iraq but they didn't care much about them when the it was time to intervene in Bosnia and Kosovo. Europe (and the European Union in particular) sucks. Long life to the USA!

Best,

Fernando

I don't know how much Amanpour was paid by Stanford to speak the other night, but having been in the business of booking speakers many years ago, I can tell you that people like her aren't free. At a minimum the university paid her travel expenses, but my guess is that she's the type of speaker who gets $25,000 a speech. People like Condi Rice and Colin Powell are in the 50K range. You're not going to get Bill Clinton for less than 100K.