propaganda

[Joe Smith]

The Post neglects to mention Viggo Mortensen, aka Aragorn in the Two 
Towers, who appeared on Charlie Rose wearing a t-shirt declaring "No 
More Blood For Oil."  Charlie Rose was visibly uncomfortable with 
Viggo's statement and, being Charlie Rose, ended up trying to argue the 
finer points of US policy with the actor.  Viggo stayed calm and 
collected and offered a surprisingly articulate critique not only of the 
Bush war drive but of the genocidal sanctions policy as well.  The 
exchange took up a large chunk of the program which also included Elijah 
Wood (Frodo) and the film's director [...] Jackson who himself looks 
much like a Hobbit.  Once again an evening of harmless pleasantries 
pleasantly derailed.  :)

On a side note, isn't it convenient how a government website does not 
fall under anti-propaganda law because it is not seen as "distributing" 
the information?  

joe

*************
Doug Henwood wrote:


> [No mention, of course, of U.S. support for the dictatorship in the DR 
> in the 1950s...]
>
> New York Post [Page Six] - December 30, 2002
>
> WHILE pompous peaceniks like Sean Penn, Warren Beatty and Barbra 
> Streisand babble their inarticulate opposition to a war with Iraq, the 
> federal government is turning to some of America's best writers to 
> tell the rest of world why the U.S. is the greatest.
>
> As part of a worldwide p.r. blitz to drown out the Hollywood 
> nay-sayers, the State Department's International Information Programs 
> is releasing a pamphlet called "Writers on America," in which such 
> literary stars as Pulitzer Prize-winning novelists Richard Ford and 
> Michael Chabon, veteran poet Robert Creeley and National Book 
> Award-winner Charles Johnson discuss the nation's strength, diversity, 
> and compassion.
>
> Federal anti-propaganda law makes it illegal for the government to 
> distribute the pamphlet in the U.S., but it is posted on the State 
> Department Web site.