US and the World

Moore Muzzled by Mickey Mouse!

The New York Times > National > Disney Forbidding Distribution of Film That Criticizes Bush

Michael Moore is trying to tell the story none of the big media want to admit exists - the Bush/Saudi relations and its connection to 9/11. Here's how the NYT sums up this movie:

Mr. Moore said the film describes financial connections between the Bush family and its associates and prominent Saudi Arabian families that go back three decades. He said it closely explores the government's role in the evacuation of relatives of Mr. bin Laden from the United States immediately after the 2001 attacks. The film includes comments from American soldiers on the ground in Iraq expressing disillusionment with the war, he said.

Disney is blocking it's release. A Disney subsidiary funded it, but the Mousekett\eer-in-Chief - one of the highest paid and least effective executives in today's business world - won't let them distribute it in the US.

Why? Disney says it will offend too many people. But the NYT puts the emphasis on another aspect of the story - Disney gets huge tax breaks for its theme parks and related businesses in Florida - where Jeb Bush is governor!

So the Mouse has his hand in the public till and doesn't want the president's brother biting it!

Hey, I still enjoy Disney World - but this company needs a change at the top - someone should remind it that being against free speech is anti-American. As for Michael Eisner, check out Forbes magazines reviews of the best and worst executives - over the past 10 years Eisner has received an avergae compensation of $121 million a year - while his company has done poorly. (Yes, Eisner has been kinda pushed aside - but not really. You can read the Forbest story here:

http://www.forbes.com/executivepay/forbes/2004/0510/108.html

They do a helluva a job. You have to become a "member" - but it's free and painless. Incidentally - the story above is about executive compensation being out of hand - and it most certainly is - but the latest Forbes story is about the rising compensation of board members, which is just as ridiculous given what they did - which in most cases seems to be damned little.