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Friday, April 12, 2019


 

Headlines for April 12, 2019




Click here to listen to this week's segment on Loud & Clear Radio. 
Headlines with an * are the ones we managed to fit in in our allotted time slot.

Worst, Most Misleading & Funniest Headlines for April 12, 2019


*Julian Assange’s Seven Strange Years in Self-Imposed Isolation
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/11/world/europe/julian-assange-ecuador-asylum.html
What an utterly despicable headline. Assange's 7 year isolation in the Ecuadorian Embassy were hardly "self-imposed"! It was imposed by the Swedish, Ecuadorian, UK & US governments.
Twitter responses: Shameless.
Oh my god I’m gonna scream I cannot handle this garbage.
I saw that and had to step away from the computer for a minute, I was so enraged.

*‘Checkout felt a bit rushed’: Julian Assange’s embassy stay, as an Airbnb review
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/04/12/checkout-felt-rushed-julian-assanges-embassy-stay-an-airbnb-review/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.5e43b6aaf1f2
It's all just a joke to the WaPo.Their journalists, sycophants to power, aren't threatened.

How a Russian-owned media outlet landed the first video of Julian Assange's arrest
‪‪https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/04/11/media/ruptly-rt-julian-assange/index.html‬
Pretty simple, really. They knew it would happen eventually and knew it was newsworthy. But ooooh, they’re “Russian-owned”. That must have something to do with it, right? Nope.‬ Remarkably, this story was the top story on Google News for several hours after Assange was arrested. Not an article about his arrest, but this.

*1 in 5 business leaders may have psychopathic tendencies—here's why, according to a psychology professor
https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2019/04/08/the-science-behind-why-so-many-successful-millionaires-are-psychopaths-and-why-it-doesnt-have-to-be-a-bad-thing.html
The article actually attempts to excuse psychopathy by confusing it with egotism/narcissism, an even more common trait of entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs or Elon Musk but not the same of psychopathy. And it makes no mention of capitalism whatsoever, and its intimate connection with psychopathy, e.g., tobacco companies concealing the cancer-causing nature of their product to protect their profits, or Boeing doing something similar with the Max 8. Ultimately it’s capitalism which makes psychopaths out of its leaders, or at least rewards them for psychopathic behavior.
Hedge-fund billionaire Ray Dalio says the state of capitalism poses 'an existential threat for the US'
https://www.businessinsider.com/ray-dalio-says-the-economy-poses-an-existential-threat-for-the-us-2019-4
Not a pitch for socialism, just the old FDR “fix capitalism in order to save it.” "income/wealth/opportunity gap and its manifestations pose existential threats to the US because these conditions weaken the US economically, threaten to bring about painful and counterproductive domestic conflict, and undermine the United States' strength relative to that of its global competitors."

*New lawsuit alleges that Boeing put profit over people with 737 Max
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/new-lawsuit-alleges-that-boeing-put-profit-over-people-with-737-max/2019/04/08/d93a7eba-5a36-11e9-a00e-050dc7b82693_story.html?utm_term=.eadb1e2f3a63
No, really? Say it ain’t so!

*'How about paying your taxes?'—Walmart responds to Amazon's challenge over pay
https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2019/04/11/walmart-responds-to-amazons-challenge-over-pay.html‬
When dinosaurs fight. Or the pot calling the kettle black.
Updated article:
Walmart responds to Bezos with tweet asking Amazon to pay taxes https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/11/reuters-america-update-2-walmart-responds-to-bezos-with-tweet-asking-amazon-to-pay-taxes.html
Amazon.com Inc Chief Executive Jeff Bezos on Thursday challenged retailers to hike their minimum wages to $16 an hour, prompting a comeback from Walmart Inc which asked its rivals to pay taxes.

*Cuba Has Hijacked Venezuela
Venezuelans are not victims of a single dictatorship, but of two.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/10/opinion/venezuela-julio-borges.html
NYT gives a platform to the second member of the Venezuelan opposition in a week. Last week it was Joanna Hausmann, whose father Richard was “appointed” by Guaidó to serve as his representative at the Inter-American Development Bank. This week it’s Julio Borges who was president of the National Assembly of Venezuela and is Juan Guaidó’s ambassador to the Lima Group. No allegation too inane. “at least 22,000 Cubans have infiltrated Venezuela’s government and its institutions.” 20,000 of those are medical personnel providing medical care to poor Venezuelans.

*The U.S. revoked the visa for the ICC prosecutor. That bodes poorly for international criminal justice.
If the U.S. doesn’t respect international law, why should other nations?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/04/08/us-revoked-visa-icc-prosecutor-that-bodes-poorly-international-criminal-justice/?utm_term=.646aa04261fd
“International criminal justice” is a misnamed concept aimed solely at the 3rd world. And the revocation of this visa is the *least* manifestation of US disregard/contempt for international law, not the first sign as the subhead implies.

Netanyahu sees a path to victory. Critics see apartheid.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/04/08/netanyahu-sees-path-victory-critics-see-apartheid/?utm_term=.9ef9972ee5c7
Israel is an apartheid state whether Netanyahu wins or not. It has been since its founding.

Rep. Ilhan Omar called Stephen Miller a ‘white nationalist.’ GOP critics accused her of anti-Semitism.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/04/09/rep-ilhan-omar-called-stephen-miller-white-nationalist-gop-critics-accused-her-anti-semitism/
A new low in criticism of Omar; not only can't you criticize Israel or AIPAC without being called an anti-Semite, now you can't even criticize someone who is Jewish. And make no mistake, the WaPo is equally complicit in this smear, running this story based on the fake outrage of people like Donald J. Trump, Jr. and other partisan Republicans.

*Trump said George Washington should have named Mount Vernon after himself so people would remember him
https://www.thisisinsider.com/trump-george-washington-mount-vernon-name-2019-4
George who?

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