Krugman e os engodos do W. e da mídia americana

Vale ler o Paul Krugman no New York Times de hj. O colunista compara a administração baby Bush e a atuação da mídia americana ao roteiro do filme Wag the Dog, onde um governo americano exagera as ameaças terroristas do fundamentalismo islâmico e com o apoio da mídia coloca o país em clima de guerra acobertar escândalos envolvendo autoridades...

Although the movie's title has entered the language, I don't know how many people have watched it lately. Read the screenplay. If you don't think it bears a resemblance to recent events, you're in denial.

Além de detalhar os prováveis engodos envolvendo a armas de destruição em massa do Saddam, mostra a infuência da mídia na ignorância do público americano...

For the time being, the public doesn't seem to care ? or even want to know. A new poll by the Program on International Policy Attitudes finds that 41 percent of Americans either believe that W.M.D.'s have been found, or aren't sure. The program's director suggests that "some Americans may be avoiding having an experience of cognitive dissonance." And three-quarters of the public thinks that President Bush showed strong leadership on Iraq.
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A final note: Showtime is filming a docudrama about Sept. 11. The producer is a White House insider, working in close consultation with Karl Rove. The script shows Mr. Bush as decisive and eloquent. "In this movie," The Globe and Mail reports, "Mr. Bush delivers long, stirring speeches that immediately become policy." And we can be sure that the script doesn't mention the bogus story about a threat to Air Force One that the White House floated to explain Mr. Bush's movements on the day of the attack. Hey, it's show business.