In an excellent article in the New York Times PHILIP SHENON asserts that the claims of fact in "Fahrenheit 9/11" were very thoroughly checked and that, as far as he could tell from viewing the film, largely accurate. I wouldn't know. I haven't seen the film. I live in Italy and they are still trying to convert 9/11 into centigrade.

However Shenon does repeat an obviously false argument conflating international flights and airplane flights in general (he must not be a foreign affairs correspondent)

Mr. Moore may also be criticized for the way he portrays the evacuation of the extended bin Laden family from the United States after Sept. 11.
[snip]

while the film clearly suggests that the flights occurred at a time when all air traffic was grounded immediately after the attacks ("Even Ricky Martin couldn't fly," Mr. Moore says over video of the singer wandering in an airport lobby), the Sept. 11 commission said in a report this April that there was "no credible evidence that any chartered flights of Saudi Arabian nationals departed the United States before the reopening of national airspace"

The first chartered flights carrying Saudi's after 9/11 definitely did not depart the United States. The first such flights gathered well connected Saudis. As I said I didn't see the film, but Mr Shenon doesn't even assert that Mr Moore claimed that the flights which departed the United states took place at a time when "Even Ricky Martin couldn't fly." I'd say it is clear that Mr Shenon doesn't read blogs (or refuses to quote them) as this distinction has been stressed at length in the blogosphere. It is odd that Mr Moore doesn't note the distinction in his quoted response to Mr Shenon.

I would say a correction is in order the

The article"Michael Moore Is Ready for His Close-Up" By PHILIP SHENON Published: June 20, 2004 incorrectly characterised the fraction of airplane flights originating in the USA which depart the United States. Over the past two decades it has been 12 %"

The number is made up the the NY Times should be able to get some intern to find it. Or maybe

he article"Michael Moore Is Ready for His Close-Up" By PHILIP SHENON Published: June 20, 2004 incorrectly characterised the fraction of charter airplane flights originating in the USA in the two weeks following 9/11/01 which departed the United States. It was less than 40%"

By the way regular readers of this blog (if any) have noticed that, when it comes to spellling i dont do to gud. I just learned that "Fahrenheit" breaks the i before e except after c and when it says ay as in neghbor and weigh rule (unless it is pronounced "fair in hate" which seems appropriate for the film). Previously I had known only of words which appear in one of the two following sentences "neither leisured foreigner seized the weird heights" and "The sheik traded his caffeine for counterfeit protein" Clearly farenheit belongs in the second sentence as in "The sheik who was lampooned in 'Farenheit 9/11' traded his caffeine for counterfeit protein"