Killer ratings

This is a pretty remarkable story out of Brazil.  It’s not a place not famed for rigorous law enforcement, true, but a television presenter by day and drug kingpin by night who takes out hits on rivals and then scoops his own news team is an innovation in production that I last saw in the movie Running Man. (And hoped for more than a few reasons I wouldn’t see again.)

Money quote:

The authorities believe that Mr Souza commissioned at least five murders in order to get rid of drug trafficking rivals and to boost his programme ratings.

They say he wanted to prove his claims that the region he represented in the state of Amazonas was plagued with crime.

What’s that?  You heard right, he was also a state legislator!  (Amazonas seems from a cursory glance to be a little bit like Mississippi.  A really fucked up Mississippi.)  Whenever somebody in Tallahassee gets me down, I’ll think of this charming face and feel better.  Especially when I think of the fact that Souza

remains free because for the moment his political role gives him immunity.

I was going to say “Mark Burnett, eat your heart out,” but I fear Mr. Souza might take it literally.  And not even Survivor is that bad.

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