Friday, February 01, 2019
Headlines for Feb. 1, 2019
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Headlines with an * are the ones we managed to fit in in our allotted time slot.
Worst, Most Misleading & Funniest Headlines for Feb. 1, 2019
Donald Trump’s ‘Axis of Evil’: Pompeo, Bolton & Abrams
Headline of the week
The GOP has become the Soviet party
Media still can’t keep the distinction between the Soviet Union and Russia clear. The main thesis of the article is twofold — Trump and the GOP love Putin and Russia, and thanks to the shutdown workers are suffering. Minor details like the fact that Trump has done many things (weapons to Ukraine, trying to overthrow Maduro, expelling diplomats, withdrawing from arms treaty) counter to Russian interests, and that the USSR had universal health care, free education, and all sorts of things liberal champions like Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez are fighting for and the GOP opposes don’t seem to matter to the WaPo.
Trump and His Associates Had More Than 100 Contacts With Russians Before the Inauguration
The headline, which refers only to “Russians”, is a lie, over and above the fact that the reader is supposed to think that “Russians”=“Russian government”, which of course it doesn’t. “During the 2016 presidential campaign and transition, Donald J. Trump and at least 17 campaign officials and advisers had contacts with Russian nationals and WikiLeaks, or their intermediaries, a New York Times analysis has found. At least 10 other associates were told about interactions but did not have any themselves.” By the way, Agalarov, who the article calls a Russian, is actually Azerbaijani. Missing from the article — a count of contacts with Israelis or their intermediaries, or Saudis or their intermediaries. The basic “misdirect” is to make the reader think that Russia is the only country the Trump campaign had any contact with.
Rubio disputes that the United States would participate in a coup in Venezuela
Not the Onion
Roger Stone’s Arrest Was Appropriate, Not Heavy-Handed
Really? If that’s true, it’s appropriate to make every single arrest predawn with 12 armed cops. The article admits he has no criminal record and was charged with a white-collar crime. They make a big point that he threatened a witness in an email by saying “I am so ready. Let’s get it on. Prepare to die [expletive]” as if that should be taken seriously. In actual fact, he was such a danger and flight risk that he was released the same day on a signature bond, a fact the author of this article conveniently omits!
Two Nuclear Capable Russian Aircraft Entered American Airspace Before Being Intercepted By U.S., Canadian Fighter Jets
First sentence: “Two nuclear-capable Russian aircraft encroached close to American airspace on Friday.”
Venezuela crisis: White House 'will respond to threats against diplomats'
There have been no threats. That this is a quote from John Bolton doesn’t excuse using this as a headline, leading the reader to think there have been. More accurate headline: “Bolton threatens Venezuela”.
US special envoy for Venezuela has long, controversial history in Latin America
Controversial? How about “sordid”?
Proper headline from the Guardian:
US diplomat convicted over Iran-Contra appointed special envoy for Venezuela
Elliott Abrams, who was linked to failed coup against Chávez, to join Pompeo to urge security council to recognize Guaidó as head
Elliott Abrams, who was linked to failed coup against Chávez, to join Pompeo to urge security council to recognize Guaidó as head
On Venezuela, Rubio Assumes U.S. Role of Ouster in Chief
How very precious. Yes, overthrowing governments is now just a joke to the NYT.
Fight in Venezuela is against more than a strongman — it’s against what some call a criminal empire
Who is this "some" that calls it that? Basically the authors of the article, plus Antonio Ledezma, an exiled Venezuelan opposition leader, Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the Council of the Americas and the Americas Society, and the U.S. government, which has accused senior Maduro officials of narco-trafficking. None of this is backed by a shred of evidence.
Trump’s ‘America First’ policy could work in Venezuela
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/01/24/trumps-america-first-policy-could-work-venezuela/
“American pressure is also justified by our clear national interest. The regime has long been close to Communist Cuba. It has received tens of billions of dollars of crucial financial support from Russia and China over the past decade and a half. The Russian military has also conducted joint exercises with Venezuela, going so far as to send two bombers capable of bearing nuclear weapons to the country last December. Combating Russian influence in our backyard is at the core of our national interest.” How, exactly, does Russian and Chinese investment in Venezuela hurt Americans? Never explained.
Most deceptive sentence: “Venezuelans have tried to kick Maduro and his socialists out of power using the ballot box, but Maduro has used his control of the nation’s security apparatus to maintain control.” They tried, but failed, BECAUSE THEY LOST THE ELECTIONS, a fact omitted from this op-ed.
America Pushes Allies to Fight Huawei in New Arms Race With China
“Arms race”? This is about 5G technology.
