Ukraine / Russia

Good news about living next to a nuclear base is I won’t have to worry about the fallout. I’ll be lucky to see a bright flash if anything at all and that’ll be all she wrote. No sense worrying about it ultimately, we’ll all be lucky if a bit more inflation and $5/gallon gas is all that happens.
Not much point in wasting nukes on empty missile silos, is there?
 
My struggle is what is the "right" thing to do? I can't stand seeing kids harmed, and I thought everyone was in agreement that boundaries should be set. But I also don't want to start ww3 over putin, I mean he's like 70, death isn't that far off...
Well I guess you weren't paying attention to the last 20 some years of good ol' Uncle Sam bombing hospitals and killing women and children with high explosives. Ever hear of a miserable little country called Yemen?
 
"Alarmed by the rise of a group they saw as an Iranian proxy, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and seven other Arab states intervened in an attempt to restore the government."

Saudi Arabia led the Arab states opposition to Iran's mingling of Yemen.

U.S. France, and U.K. have sold the Saudi military munitions for many years. Still do.

On a general note however, events have occurred where innocent lives were killed during wars.
It's my belief U.S., France, Australia, and U.K. do not intentionally target innocent lives.
It's a WORLD of a difference from the indiscriminate WWII, free falling bombs of that era's technological capacity over Great Britain, Germany, and the incredible decsion of the U.S. as the only country to drop, not one but, two nuclear bombs for mass destruction intent - on Japan.
Seems a constant debate whether right or wrong decision. I'll not open that can of worms.
 
What is objective media nowadays?

I placed an Australian News clip of legitimate Biden Russian McGaffe and Harris kindergarten explanation of Ukraine / Russia issue as leaders of "the free world" are currently viewed by outside country populations

During a pm exchange between a respected HT friend, he felt the media outlet that aired McGaffe and Harris romper room description was right leaning - akin to FOX and he supported this basis due to an article from a left heavy cranked media outlet!

He wasnt peeved about the truth of Biden's blathering nor Harris A, B, C's... nor that it was aired by the other top media outlets in AU, it dealt with the selected media outlet used for the info I shared as embarrassing.

If the cart holds our opinions, media has trained us to be led by their propaganda.

Haha! Goes to show... our world, our future generations are built by our media.

And if our famous one (not the gent of our PM's referenced) opts to fashion this into a political slanted post, I'd say, check y'er boots... them long arse snouted beasts drop cow patties multiplied! 🤣

This is laced w/ humor and expressed irony related to our media based propaganda machines. Whether it's elephant or donkey crap, it'll stick to y'er boots. ;)
That's why I like to read a variety of sources. It's obvious when a media source is trying to steer you to a conclusion. I gain more from what the media sources leave out then what they put into a "news" segment.
 
What is objective media nowadays?

Fair question, though was media ever free from bias or were there just less sources and/or only one perspective provided by the media?

Generally speaking, I think we all have to be more discerning. Media isn’t going to change, but we can change how we interpret reports.

This doesn’t mean calling everything “fake news” it means reading an article like the NY Post, thinking about that outlet or authors agenda, looking for that story in other outlets, looking at the source docs, and using all of that to form an opinion.

I think when it comes to wildlife issues this group of folks does a real good job of that, we find something interesting or provocative and then look beyond the headline.
 
If you dig deep enough you’ll find corruption and misconduct in “every” story about “every” politician. When will we as people wake up to that. “They” are not on our side. I don’t care what their name is or what side of the aisle they sit on. We as regular people truly mean nothing to “them”. Once we as Americans figure that out, the better off we’ll be and maybe we can move to something more like being “self” governed like our forefathers wished for us.
"They" are we - do you think there aren't folks in your hometown who wouldn't sell you down the river for a few million? Humans are the problem. Thinking the "other" is the problem is a problem - it absolves us of our role and complicity in a society that is coming apart at the seams.

As for our forefathers - not sure they were huge fans of "us" being self-governed. Less than 25% of the adult humans in the United States in 1828 had a lawful right to vote. No women could vote. Most non-whites couldn't vote. Most states still had land-ownership requirements.

I am not taking shots at them, they were men of their time who did some remarkable things - but let's not give them a vision they did not have.

And paradoxically, many were the most liberal and progressive of their era. It is not at all clear that most of our founders, if raised today, would support today's backward-looking form of conservatism that so frequently invokes their names for support.
 
Fair question, though was media ever free from bias or were there just less sources and/or only one perspective provided by the media?

Generally speaking, I think we all have to be more discerning. Media isn’t going to change, but we can change how we interpret reports.

This doesn’t mean calling everything “fake news” it means reading an article like the NY Post, thinking about that outlet or authors agenda, looking for that story in other outlets, looking at the source docs, and using all of that to form an opinion.

I think when it comes to wildlife issues this group of folks does a real good job of that, we find something interesting or provocative and then look beyond the headline.
 
Agree. We need not look further than our Cartels just south of us to see the displays of torture publicly displayed. I believe America tunes it out after the first couple months.
This is happening in El Salvador. This is liberal NBC news....read the comments in favor of this. People are sick of it. We are definitely heading towards a more authoritarian world. That's not good either. World is getting close to a boiling point. No good answers from me.

 
“I will say that, as someone who grappled with the incursion into Crimea and the eastern portions of Ukraine, I have been encouraged by the European reaction. Because, in 2014, I often had to drag them kicking and screaming to respond in ways that we would’ve wanted to see, from those of us who describe ourselves as Western democracies,” the former president said.

 
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity
W.B. Yeats, The Second Coming
 
reading an article like the NY Post,
NY Post is a stretch for news. They take a real issue and sensationalized the hell out of it! Haha! NY Post, imo, is tabloid, paparazzi payday, designed for impulse purchase at the market checkstand.

I don't believe there is room for authentic "objective" journalism. I believe my search criteria is based on the least biased reporting.

AP News IMO, is one of the least biased media platforms. Though as w/ anything, YMMV. :)

Very challenging to find with the significant uptick of mass partisanship.
 
This is happening in El Salvador. This is liberal NBC news....read the comments in favor of this. People are sick of it. We are definitely heading towards a more authoritarian world. That's not good either. World is getting close to a boiling point. No good answers from me.

I'd like to nominate that El Salvadoran president, as the next mayor of Chicago please.
 
Proving BHRs point - folks seem to be liking authoritarian rule - I guess we have very short memories :(

let me be very clear before i say this, i want america to remain the amazing free place it is, even with all of its many many problems right now. I love this country.

but it's an interesting thought experiment that gives me goose bumps when i think about it - is democracy like ours sustainable? or will the fracture and division that the very freedom our society allows cause it to implode?

is forced unification better than fractured freedom and division that may slowly eat us alive?

it's just a thought experiment. i just often wonder if our freedom is sustainable or if it will indeed eat itself alive. in my most pessimistic moments sometimes i feel like it's the latter.

nations rise and fall, always have always will. just glad (edit: extraordinarily grateful, beyond belief, actually) i'm getting a decent slice of this pie while it's still warm.
 
The NY Post was correct on the laptop though; everyone else was wrong. Likely knew it was real, but didn't fit their narrative.

And while nothing is attributable to a single rhetorical argument (the world is a complex state), never underestimate the power of a news source.

Hearst's New York Journal may have been yellow sheet, but certainly played a role in inciting the Spanish American War. Whether the "You furnish the pictures and I'll furnish the war" quote is correct, or correctly attributed is arguable, but we did go to war over an unexplained explosion on the USS Maine.

And again over the Gulf of Tonkin incident; the first attack on the Maddox was real, the subsequent attacks on the Maddox and Turner Joy, maybe not so much. Still "justified" going to war. Not implying it was the only reason; domino theory, etc.

WMDs in Iraq...

Russia collusion hoax

Russian Bounties on American soldiers hoax

Lockdowns prevent spread of Covid

We'll run out of ventilators

Distance learning is great

MAGA supporters run rampant at 2am in Chicago, terrorizing sandwich shops

Women won't get a fair shake from KJB because she's not sure who is, in fact, a woman (admittedly, really bad answer).

And now, we must absolutely push to the brink, and maybe over the brink into war with Russia (even though they invaded first in 2014 and we sent blankets).

And if you don't want another war after being at war for 22 years with a 2 month break, you're an ally of Putin.

Seems like we never learn.

And I would like to know the number of pundits and legislators (maybe even HTs) who are pushing the rhetoric have kids who will be in harm's way if this blows up. I'm willing to bet not many.
 
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This is happening in El Salvador. This is liberal NBC news....read the comments in favor of this. People are sick of it. We are definitely heading towards a more authoritarian world. That's not good either. World is getting close to a boiling point. No good answers from me.


Just build a thunder-dome and let the problem take care of itself.
 
let me be very clear before i say this, i want america to remain the amazing free place it is, even with all of its many many problems right now. I love this country.

but it's an interesting thought experiment that gives me goose bumps when i think about it - is democracy like ours sustainable? or will the fracture and division that the very freedom our society allows cause it to implode?

is forced unification better than fractured freedom and division that may slowly eat us alive?

it's just a thought experiment. i just often wonder if our freedom is sustainable or if it will indeed eat itself alive. in my most pessimistic moments sometimes i feel like it's the latter.

nations rise and fall, always have always will. just glad (edit: extraordinarily grateful, beyond belief, actually) i'm getting a decent slice of this pie while it's still warm.
That is a good question. I've been reading a lot lately about topics related to sustainability of democracies and liberties. Hal Herring suggested a book to me and it was a fascinating read, albeit a long and deep read. I would strongly recommend it to anyone interested in these issues.

Link here - https://amzn.to/3KplZvm (because I travel so much I bought the Audible version and listened to it)

If you don't want to read/listen, the book summary is their in depth answer to your question:

I'll paraphrase many hundred pages - Societies with freedom and liberty sustain so long as the people demand their institutions are accountable to the people and not having people beholden to the institutions and the leaders holding the reins of power in those institutions. Whether it is our political parties, our legislative and executive bodies, our judiciary, our media, etc., if a powerful few within those institutions that make for the basics of a free society are able to take the reins and make people beholden to them, as we see in almost all of those institutions today, then liberties and a free society will likely disappear.

They provide so much historical example and context that even my skeptical mind finds a lot of undeniable truths in that book. My recent surge in purging free media and subscribing to quality media from all perspectives, my lack of participation on social media, my continual rants about how the parties are now in control of the people and not people in control of the parties, has been accelerated by listening to this book.

In my opinion, so long as the citizenry are willing to become players of the parties, soldiers to the political leaders, and too lazy to invest their time and money in better information, we are on an unsustainable path. Knowingly, or not, I feel we are starting on a path where our standard of life set in place by the work of those from 75 years ago is now be squandered by our immersion in social wars that distract from the basics tenets of democracy that have given us a free society.

Back to the purpose of this thread - Puck Futin!

Carry on ........
 
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