Friday, November 02, 2018
Headlines for Nov. 2, 2018
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 11 minutes.
Worst, Most Misleading & Funniest Headlines (WMMFH) for Nov. 2, 2018
CANDIDATES FOR “WORST”/”MOST DISGUSTING”:
*DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen Says U.S. Has No Plans 'Right Now' to Shoot at Caravan
“Right now”?!!!! By the way this came before Trump's announcement that rock-throwers would be treated as if they had rifles.
*With North Korean Threats Looming, the U.S. Army Pursues Controversial Weapons
Looming threat? Remarkably, there isn’t a single word in the article to back up that headline (which presents the “looming threat” as simple fact), just a claim from the DoD that they need these “controversial” weapons because of this alleged threat. And what are these “controversial” weapons? Cluster bombs, banned by a treaty signed by 104 countries, not including the US.
*2 die in grocery store shooting; race might have played a role
“Might have”? “MIGHT HAVE”? The killer said to an armed white man “Don’t shoot me. I won’t shoot you. Whites don’t shoot whites.” And he tried to break into a Black church just before
*Mail bomb suspect made numerous references on Facebook to Russian associates and echoed pro-Kremlin views
His “Russian associates” are actual Russians he knows, and in addition to referring to his “Russian brothers”, he also refers to his “Italian brothers”…something you won’t learn until the 12th paragraph. And his “pro-Kremlin” views are simply his support for Russian and Syrian efforts to battle terrorists in Syria, a word the WaPo insists of putting in scare quotes, as if it isn’t a fact that both Al Qaeda and ISIS have had a major presence in Syria.
From the article: “Sayoc lived in an area of suburban Miami with a large Russian community, meaning the Russians described on the Facebook page may have been simply friends of that nationality.” Also: “The posts fit with Kremlin propaganda themes, portraying Russia and Syrian government forces favorably as they battled “terrorists” in what U.S. officials for years have portrayed as a legitimate uprising against the authoritarian government of President Bashar al-Assad.”
Russian disinformation on Facebook targeted Ukraine well before the 2016 U.S. election
What was this “target”? “Kremlin’s spreading of misinformation on the social network to foment distrust in his new administration and to promote support of Russia’s invasion and occupation of parts of Ukraine.” And what was the misinformation? “In Ukraine, Russian information warfare was in full swing on Facebook and a Russian social media network during the revolution in 2014, government officials say. There was a daily flood of fake news condemning the revolution and trying to legitimize the invasion by claiming Ukraine was an Islamic State safehaven, a hotbed for Chechen terrorists and led by Nazis.”
But here was the REAL outside influence: “Facebook…played an oversized role in Ukraine’s 2014 Maidan Revolution, helping communities orchestrate the delivery of medical care and supplies to the revolutionaries and the sharing of tactics for resisting police and troops.”
CANDIDATES FOR “MOST MISLEADING”:
The Trump tax cuts were supposed to set off an investment boom. They haven’t so far.
No, they were never supposed to do that. That was just the cover story. They did what they were supposed to do, which was to massively enrich the corporations and the 1%.
Explaining why he didn't cancel rally, Trump falsely says NYSE opened day after 9/11
A problem with limited headline length. You could be mistaken about whether the market was open Sept 12. But Trump didn’t leave it there. He made up an entire conversation with Dick Grasso: “He said what they had to do to open it you wouldn’t believe, we won’t even talk to you about it.”
CANDIDATES FOR “FUNNIEST”:
Choke it down, and vote for Menendez
“This year's U.S. Senate race presents the most depressing choice for New Jersey voters in a generation, with two awful candidates whose most convincing argument is that the other guy is unfit to serve.” Reminds me of the 2016 Presidential election.
Worth noting that Menendez had the support of the entirety of the Democratic establishment in NJ and DC, effectively preventing any opposition to his renomination.
Incidentally, my biggest problem with Menendez isn’t that he’s corrupt, it’s that he’s a fanatical member of the right-wing Cuban community in northern NJ, with its hatred of the Cuban Revolution. Going along with that are his right-wing views on the full range of military/surveillance/foreign policy issues (more on that here).
*Pence Reminds Celebrities That People Know Him
He thinks he’s competition for Oprah and Will Ferrell.
