Michael Moore Lawsuit
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Due to many meetings and holiday travel, I am still working on pieces about the incredible U.S. soldiers who took me on some dangerous missions in December. Also, my trip with Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, harvested important information. I can say this about Gates, as someone who will spend a lot of time on the battlefields this year, I am very happy that both President Bush and President-Elect Obama tapped Gates on the shoulder. Gates is a winner who is watching out for our service members as well as the United States. I also had a long and important meeting with General (ret.) Barry McCaffrey. His trip reports from Iraq and Afghanistan have been brutally honest. I have great respect for this American warrior. I had other important meetings in Washington with thought leaders such as David Kilcullen, Ph.D., and I met with Fred Kagan, Ph.D., in Bahrain. I saw Fred Kagan on an elevator and immediately asked for a meeting, which proved valuable to me. Over the past few weeks I’ve also talked with very high-ranking U.S. officers about Iraq and Afghanistan. My confidence on Iraq continues to grow. Still, there is much concern about Afghanistan-Pakistan.
During my trip to Washington, D.C., I had a chance to catch up on some matters neglected while I was overseas. My attorney may have to file a lawsuit against Mr. Michael Moore. In May we contacted Mr. Moore, through his counsel, about Mr. Moore’s unauthorized use of my work on his website. He did not respond. My attorney has written again. If Mr. Moore and his counsel continue to ignore our correspondence, we will proceed with a lawsuit.
This lawsuit, though, should not be a distraction from combat reporting; the proceedings should be easy and require almost zero hands-on work from me. But it will be potentially costly. I’ve never sued anyone in my life. Looks like Mr. Moore might be the first. I told one very important person recently about the possible upcoming lawsuit and he said something like, “Someone should drive a stake through that guy’s heart.” It won’t be that bad, but copyright cases are interesting and we have to deal with them often. If you want to help me as I both prepare to return overseas and take on this lawsuit with Mr. Michael Moore, please hit the PayPal button. This lawsuit could be expensive for Mr. Moore, as well. My attorney advises that our position is strong. It is senseless for Mr. Moore to ignore this matter.
Reader support is crucial to this mission. Weekly or monthly recurring ‘subscription’ based support is the best, though all are greatly appreciated. Recurring and one-time donations are available through PayPal or Authorize.net.
To send a check or money order:
Michael Yon
P O Box 5553
Winter Haven, FL 33880-5553
I will continue to do my part in telling the stories that are not being told. Readers must also do their part by keeping the cash flowing. Cash is essential .
Thank you!
Michael
Comments
There's a "Search" box to the left, should anyone need to use it.
I own a film/video Production Company located in New York for past 30 years.
NOT ALL members of the New York Media Elite are Left Wing Moore supporters.
I recommend you _not_ to sue Michael Moore over copyright. Call him personally (or write an open letter in form of a Blog-Post to him) and ask for a take-down of your unauthorized Photos or Text. He will have to comply. What you need is support from the Blogging-World. You need to let the the Blogging-World know, that Michael Moore is no Robin Hood but a Rip-Off-The-Blo gger kind of guy. Michael Moore wants to be seen as Robin Hood but as you seem to know by experience he is not. He is obviously more of a bad character then many think he is. Write one, two or three or more detailed Blog-Post about what Michael Moore did with your work and how he ripped you off! Write about it. Let the world know. It is cheaper and more efficient.
Really, save the money and_the_energy_ for your trips.
If Michael Moore sues you first, then you need a lawyer. Wait for that.
Best
Zeno
The best you can do is keep up your balanced, direct reporting - you can't argue with that.
http://www.michaelyon-online.com/michael-moores-crime.htm
You're the only place we can get the truth about what's going on over there. Thanks for all you do.
Watch your six
Rick Gordon
You are, in effect, suborning murder. A thoughtful person would have been repelled by this remark from the "very important person" you quoted. It's astonishing you would then find something resonant in it, much less then to reprint it in your journal. (But you sure have brought all the right-wing I-hate-that-lib eral-Michael-Mo ore bugs out from under their rocks.)
Whatever claim you may have against Mr. Moore, you have not done anything to invite sympathy for it by publishing street trash talk. I hope you will be wise and big enough to publish an apology to Mr. Moore and to your readers (except the sad ones who may have found it resonated with their own biases against the man, having nothing whatever to do with your claim against him).
If, in fact, Mr. Moore has violated your copyrights, you will have my support in pursuing him legally and by direct appeal. But for you to publish that obnoxious and vicious remark makes you certainly no better than the rabble who shoot presidents and otherwise claim their God-given right to take the law into their own hands. If you have a legitimate claim against Mr. Moore, by all means, go for it, but please take the high road. Stumbling through the dark alleys of dangerous and hate-filled rhetoric is anything but.
This is not trivial, Mr. Yon. You have stepped over a line, and you should take a breath and tell everyone you published that trash in a moment of heat and pique and that you shouldn't have done it. You can do that. We all say things we later wish we hadn't. The difference is we don't all publish them for all the world to see. It's time for you to step up. We will all think the better of you for it, and it will be behind you.
Michael, best of luck to you should this suit come about. Voltaire said 'I was never ruined but twice; once when I lost a lawsuit and once when I won one.'
Oh, and Noah, grow up. Quoting a guy as saying "someone should drive a stake through that guy's heart" is no more suborning murder than yelling "kill the umpire" at a Red Sox game. Geez louize what a priss.
Noah: Did you condemn Air America's Randi Rhodes for "suborning murder" when she would ask about Bush, "What can we do about this or that," and follow it with the sound of a gunshot? That was much less likely a metaphor than the incident Mr. Yon reported.
We've gone soft on the internal enemies of our nation
To Mr. Yon
If Mr. Moore took your photo off of his web site once you informed his staffers that he was not allowed to use it, then there is nothing you can do. If you are waiting on a letter of apology from either him or his lawyer then I think you will be waiting a long long time for that to come and it is sure not worth suing Mr Moore over just for an apology. Thatƒ??s just my two cents worth.
He needs to suffer for his support of al-qaeda, his anti-American Fakumentaries, his ridiculous assertion that saddams WMD and ties to al-qaeda posed no threat to the US and his description of al-qaeda as "freedom fighters". MM is a traitor with the blood of coalition troops on his hands. I hope Bushes victory in Iraq and the birth of a free democracy in that country haunts the slug till his death.
It is an extremely powerful tool when situations such as this occur where the copyright violation is so blaringly obvious.
You will have a direct complaint against the web host company, which has to be a more rational actor than the publicity hound and leech Mr. Moore.
If Moore switches web hosts to avoid your DMCA takedown notice, you then have further action that will provide you with the fodder to seriously pursue Mr. Moore's corporations for substantial liabilities as compared to what will end up a token sum in an y judgement if you win your lawsuit at this time without first pursuing the DMCA route.
Best of Luck to you in 2009 from a faithful reader of 4+ years,
I've read you since the beginning and so admire you and thank you for your irreplaceable work. Since 2003, I've supported (and made friends with), eight active-duty, in-theatre soldiers, through Soldiers Angels, Patti Patton Bader's wonderful group of volunteer penpals supporting our hereos. However, I'm going to turn some of my contributions and attention to you, and I offer a friendly challenge to all who read your dispatches to make Michael Yon their #1 contribution this year. Dear Readers, if your company will make a matching contribution, that's double the contribution to Michael. Thanks for all you do, Michael.
He is a left-wing two-faced narcissistic blowhard! This liberal sacred cow needs to "downsize" more than his over inflated ego! He loves to bash the rich, the powerful, the conservatives, the religious right, corporate America, and yet, he's the one making millions off of his books and movies! He attempts to be entertaining, hilarious and comical in his rantings, while making fun of the aforementioned folks, and yet he's the one laughing all the way to the bank! His rant against corporate America and the "rich fat cats" gets old, especially in light of the fact that he fails to mention he has become one himself! Sure, he would love for you to believe he's a regular working-class guy in a baseball cap, but that is hardly the case. His attacks are divisive and not conciliatory. Any of the legitimate points he has ever made have been overshadowed by his hatred of Conservatism, which is unfortunate. Many of his statements are often contradictory and always self-serving; he obviously does little-to-no fact-checking; he has a habit of launching personal - and even legal - attacks on those who dare to disagree with him. A great read for those who love to be enlightened is the book, "Michael Moore is a Big Fat Stupid White Man." It's unfortunate that so many leftists love his propaganda so much they'll believe anything he says.
Mr. Yon, I am more than happy to contribute to any legal expenses you incur regarding Michael Moore!
distorted and twisted hogwash. He is an opportunistic left wing vampire that sucks on the blood of socialistic bleeding hearts. I second the notion that someone should drive a stake through his blubberish heart. And yes, if this is spreading "intolerance" as the pious Noah suggests then so be it. Intolerance is the only thing that will save this country from completely going to the dark side as it leans too far left.
But then, are you actually a photojournalist ? Or an ex-pawn/now shill for a crumbling empire that has failed to win any major conflicts in the last 50 years, despite massive technical and financial superiority?
You are confused, Yons not a Soviet. Hes a Yank and since 1959 they have won wars in Nicaragua, Grenada, Panama and Kuwait, not to mention the cold war. Now they have added Iraq to thier list of wins. It hurts you I know, I hope you get over it.
I love all of your dispatches, I can't go and do it anymore, you stay right in the middle of it and your honesty is refreshing. Thank you.
The only thing noteworthy here is that a rightwing nutjob photographer sees a chance to go after a leftwing icon activist, and get cheers from the usual rightwing nutjobs.
Moore won't be involved personally in any little suit like this. A lawyer for his web company will reply, and at the most they'll end up having to send a check to the photographer, which is fine. But Moore won't even be involved. Yawn... What else is on Page Six this morning?
I assume you realize that the outpouring of sympathy has nothing to do with you and everything to do with striking at Michael Moore?
Thank you also for all you do with your blog.
You are trying to get Right Wing sympathy and money by suing Moore. That photo is everywhere.
Pathetic.
http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/archive/index.php/t-71609.html
Another thing, the people on the right are viewed by the liberals as "neocons" and "right wingers" and they see themselves as activists. Remember, the left believes in freedom of speech as long as you believe what they believe. Otherwise they have these nifty little labels for you.
If that guy is your lawyer and he did say that, he is a top asshole.
Who invaded that place and started it all, the Martians?
To save all the angst, sort out the problem and help lighten up the readers a bit, how about you challenge the Big Guy to a wrestle-off in Kandahar or some other exotic location?
Nice people you hang out with, Mr. Yon.
Since you are on a mission to tell the truth about our conflicts in the Middle East, and you convey to us that it's expensive and you would welcome contributions to help out, if you go ahead with this lawsuit you'll be spending lots of money that was given for the purpose of your mission. This money wasn't given with the idea of using it for retalitory litigation.
Please reconsider and rethink this lawsuit. Then cancel it.
Once you post the photo online, it's a fair use issue. All he has to do is give you credit for taking the photo.
Well that is a great deal for you...
Roger and Me: Call out General Motors for miss managing and eventually gutting the company of its very existence... um... anyone read a paper lately, only a 20 year warning
Bowling for Columbine: Thinks it's a bad thing for kids to bring guns to school... SO Controversial I mean what kind of wacko is this Michael Moore?
Fahrenheit 911: America goes into war under false pretenses.... hmmm... not much controversy there... WMDs? Anyone?
Sicko: Health Care system in America is Broken. The richest most miss managed health care system in the world, and no one can afford to go to the hospital
For all of these "Michael Moore Haters" out there. Maybe it's time to stop throwing rocks and actually watch one of his movies that you love to criticize, when it's so obvious you haven't seen one of them for yourself, you know, to form your own "EDUCATED" opinion. Instead of taking Bill O'Riellys bullshit, self serving, hypocritical word for it. Stop being sheep people. Moore's ability to increase the public's awareness is his best trait as a filmmaker, not his attempt to single handedly change the entire face of US and international business. It's funny how the guy who has OUR interests, is the guy who the Lemmings attack for pointing to the enemy and saying "Look at what is happening, there is a guy in a suit with his fist up your.... and all you have to say is... Put a stake in the heart of the guy who was trying to explain where this pain in my ass is coming from.
It's a known fact that Fatboy engages in creative editing, lies, and half-truths to push his wares. In my opinion, he's on the extreme end of Hollywood's "profit is greed, except for when we do it" meme.
Consider two instances.
In "Roger & Me", Moore did in fact interview Roger Smith, as part of this "documentary". However, actually interviewing Smith didn't fit the narrative, so the footage of Moore with Smith landed conveniently on the cutting room floor.
And in "Sicko", Moore (just as conveniently) omitted the little tidbit regarding the facilities he visited: those hospitals are only open for politicians and outsiders who can pay in US Dollars. If you peruse the Babalu Blog, you can see photos of "real" Cuban hospitals (where the locals go): the facilities are so run-down that they would have been condemned long ago if they had been located in any Western country. Roaches and other vermin are everywhere; windows are missing; and roofs and plumbing leak everywhere. There are so few doctors available that non-political citizens are hardly ever treated. Those who are treated must bring their own bed linens, clothing, and food. Moore aids and abets the castro regime by spreading the fiction that the "nice" facilities are available to everyone. They are not.
Moore, in my opinion, is nothing more than a bloviated whore for the political Left, and they scoop up every drop of his poison while he gets rich off of the misery of others.
As for Yon's pending lawsuit, Moore deserves it. He used copyrighted material from Yon's website repeatedly without permission, and Yon believes it violates the terms of "fair use". So it's Mike's right to defend his work. Moore can afford his own work, rather than poaching that of others...but then again, doing something for himself might be something of a novelty for Fatboy.
The filmmaker is being sued by a war veteran who claims that Moore used an interview he gave to NBC News out of context and portrayed his as anti-war, E! Online reports.
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Fredrick.William
attorney
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roger
attorney
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