Friday, January 18, 2019
Headlines for Jan. 18, 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 time slot.
Worst, Most Misleading & Funniest Headlines for Jan. 18, 2019
*North Korea’s Less-Known Military Threat: Biological Weapons
An utterly scurrilous, evidence-free article filled with speculation. DPRK has a biotech program (just like the U.S., Cuba, and dozens of other countries). It’s called “science”. Article even admits “Today, the North might well have no bioweapons at all” but then ominously adds “just research, prototypes, human testing, and the ability to rush into industrial production.” None of which is backed by actual evidence. It even admits “United States intelligence officials have not publicly endorsed those findings.” “Findings” which are not findings at all, just speculation. And, not coincidentally given the presence of John Bolton in the Administration (and potential upcoming ROC-DPRK and DPRK-USA summits), identical to the biological weapon charge hurled at Cuba during the Bush Administration, which was equally unfounded. He also accused the DPRK of the same thing at the same time.
And, just as in Cuba, where it was the U.S. that used biological weapons like dengue fever, there is also credible evidence that the U.S. used biological weapons against the DPRK during the Korean War:
*Facebook Identifies Russia-Linked Misinformation Campaign
Despite the use of the word "misinformation" in the headline & "disinformation" in the first sentence (and the term “Fake News” in my local paper, the Mercury News), there is not ONE example of any incorrect or even misleading information that was posted. Indeed, the only reference to content is "some presented negative views toward NATO and the treatment of ethnic Russians in Baltic countries." "Negative views toward NATO" are *opinions*, not mis- or disinformation. And in an irony alert, this: "Ben Nimmo, a research fellow at the Atlantic Council…said FB's decision to block Sputnik-linked accounts was significant because of the agency’s direct ties to the Kremlin." Not mentioned? The Atlantic Council’s ties to NATO! And, by the way, why are Russians not permitted to share their opinion of NATO as much as Americans, British, French, Italians, or anyone else?
*Jailed model who claimed she has dirt on Russian oligarch speaks out
Anastasia Vashukevich "spoke out" to say she can't wait to be released and is looking forward to a free life. Which provides a convenient excuse for CBS to rehash all the claims that she had dirt on Deripaska talking about Russian interference, without the slightest shred of credibility.
*Model who claimed U.S.-Russian collusion tape held in Moscow on prostitution charges
Just a way of keeping the word "collusion" in the headlines and in people's minds; when you get to the 4th paragraph, you read: "No evidence has emerged of the tape that Vashukevich claimed showed contacts between Trump campaign officials and Russians."
*Kamala Harris Is Hard to Define Politically. Maybe That’s the Point.
Really? She’s an utterly typical centrist Democrat, a more likeable version of Hillary Clinton.
*Pompeo Presses Saudi leader on War, Murder, and Rights Abuses
Says who? The original article contained not a word to support the use of the headline. But by the next day, the headline was changed to “Pompeo Says He Pressed Saudi Leader on War and Rights Abuses” and the first sentence of the article repeats that claim.
What if the Obstruction Was the Collusion? On the New York Times’s Latest Bombshell
This literally makes no sense. Why would you collude with Russia to obstruct an investigation into something that didn’t happen? And what did Russia do to aid the obstruction anyway?
*Iran nuclear weapons: How many nuclear weapons does Tehran have?
"Iran considers its space programme “a matter of national pride”, although an exact number of nuclear weapons is not known." Actually, it is known. It's a very small number. Zero.
As Maduro clashes with opposition, Washington engages in ‘careful little dance’ with Venezuela
The “careful little dance” consists entirely of not cutting off diplomatic relations. Outside of that it’s a full-on regime change effort.
The 1 giant question Donald Trump still hasn't answered on Russia
What is the "1 giant question"? Not "are you a Russian agent", but "why did you keep your meeting with Putin secret?" Does CNN's Chris Cillizza really think that if Trump spoke openly with Putin about how he was committing treason that Tillerson, who was at that meeting and is clearly no fan of Trump, wouldn't have talked?
*Rand Paul Heading To Canada, Land Of Universal Health Care, For Surgery
A widely reported attempt at a “gotcha” for the opponent of Obamacare, but totally misleading. The hospital he’s going to is a private hospital, world-renowned for hernia surgery and he’s paying out of pocket (an option most Americans and Canadians can’t even consider due to cost). So the implication that Paul’s action is somehow an endorsement of a single-payer system or any kind of socialized medicine is just nonsense.
