Please copy widely through Oct. 31, 2004: Iraq meeting and American empire film on TV Sunday! --------------------------------------------------- Chicago cable channel CANTV21 this Sunday, October 31, will present -- - 9:00 a.m., until 11:00 a.m. "A Pre-election Town Hall Meeting on the War in Iraq." Recorded last Sunday at the downtown event sponsored by Chicago Media Action (CMA). Special Note: The seventy-minute documentary "Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11, Fear, and the Selling of American Empire" which opened this event will be shown today at 5:00 p.m. on channel #21. See below. A distinguished panel of experts commented on "Hijacking Catastrophe." They included John Nichols, Salim Muwakkil, and Cliff Kelley. John Nichols is Washington correspondent for "The Nation" magazine, one of the lead commentators in the documentary "Outfoxed" and a co-founder of the media reform group Free Press. He is the author of "Jews for Buchanan", which examined the Florida recount debacle of 2000, and co-author of two books with Bob McChesney, "It's the Media, Stupid!" (2000) and "Our Media, Not Theirs" (2002). His new book on Dick Cheney, "Dick: The Man Who Is President" was released earlier this year. Salim Muwakkil is a Senior Editor of In These Times magazine, a writer for the Chicago Tribune and an Open Society Institute Criminal Justice Initiative fellow. Cliff Kelley, the panel moderator, has been active in Chicago's political arena for over 30 years. He is an attorney, political commentator and Chicago radio talk show host on WVON (1450 AM) and V103-FM. Following the panel discussion, a microphone was available for the audience to discuss and debate the evening's topic with the panelists. CMA urged the public (including the Chicagoland college student population) to come, speak their mind on this issue, and work on solutions to this ever-growing national crisis. - 5:00 p.m., until 7:00 p.m. "Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11, Fear, and the Selling of American Empire." followed by your call-in questions and comments for the film's director. Note: Immediately following the CANTV21 presentation of the 68-minute documentary, CMA will host a live call-in discussion with co-director, Sut Jhally. Chicago viewers are invited to call in with questions and comments. Call (312) 738-1060. "Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11" places the Bush administration’s false justifications for war in Iraq within the larger context of a two-decade struggle by neoconservatives to dramatically increase military spending in the wake of the cold war. The documentary examines how American power is globally expanded by means of military force while civil liberties and social programs are curtailed at home. Chicago Media Action (CMA) is a Chicago based group dedicated to monitoring and analyzing media in the Chicago area and to building Chicago's independent media. CAN TV provides coverage of events relevant to the local community and gives every Chicagoan a voice on cable television by providing video training, facilities, equipment, and channel time for Chicago residents and nonprofit groups. CAN TV’s five local, noncommercial cable channels CAN TV19, 21, 27, 36 and 42 reach more than one million viewers in the city of Chicago. For more information find the event flyer at www.chicagomediaaction.org or log on to www.cantv.org.