Society's ChildS


Propaganda

Oxford University's 'scholarly' RT hit piece has no room for the mundane reality of how the world's news organisations really work

Russia Today RT
© AFP/Yuri KADOBNOVFILE PHOTO: A picture taken on June 8, 2018 shows an unidentified anchor of the Russia Today (RT) TV company as he prepares to go on the air in their studio in Moscow.
The venerable Oxford University has entered the fray and churned out some RT bashing in the name of scholarship, and when the term 'disinformation' is in the very first line of the report, it's clear we're on familiar ground.

The Oxford Internet Institute's new study 'The Organizational Behavior of RT' makes the claim that it "advances the scholarship of news organizational behavior, information warfare, and international broadcasting." I will now make the claim that what it actually advances is the method of repeating the same old guff from anonymous sources and pretending it's research.

Let's get this on the record to start with: RT certainly does seek to represent a Russian view of the world and it does not hide that fact, and it is extremely critical of the West. As far as I know, RT makes no claims to have the monopoly on the truth, which is one way it certainly differentiates itself from Western organisations. It has made and does make mistakes, is not perfect, and, I'll be honest, the canteen is very disappointing. However, if you think it's some kind of homogenous organisation staffed by serfs spewing out the view of one person, well, then you've never met a Russian.

Comment: See also: The Nation editor: 'Registering RT as foreign agent is threat to press freedom'


Eye 2

Bojo channels Cromwell as he bans singing and dancing. What's happening to Britain?

Cromwell bojo
© Corbis via Getty Images/Photo by VCG Wilson(L) Boris Johnson Getty Images/Justin Tallis - WPA Pool; (R) Oliver Cromwell after Samuel Cooper 1656. Oil on canvas, feigned oval, 29 3/4 in. x 24 3/4 inches. Located in the National Portrait Gallery, London, England, UK.
Publicans are under strict orders to prevent singing, dancing and general merriment from taking place in their establishments, as the Tories turn Britain into Bomont, the town from Footloose.

If anyone had said during the last election that the Tory Party was going to ban casual sex, singing and dancing, I think even the most ardent Corbynista would have thought that was a tad hyperbolic. But fast forward nine months into Boris Johnson's tenure as PM, and that's exactly what they have done.

New restrictions applying to pubs say that landlords must take "all reasonable measures" to stop singing and dancing on their property. That is now officially the law in the UK. Not in some Middle Eastern Islamic theocracy, not in some dystopian realm in a Margaret Atwood novel, not in the 1980s classic movie, Footloose, but 2020 Britain.

Comment: Evidently the government has proven to itself that it can impose tyrannical new laws at a whim, even when they are so nonsensical that the PM Bojo himself doesn't understand them: Bojo apologises for getting new coronavirus rules wrong, citizens not following "confusing" rules face fines

See also: 'Illegal': Madrid's leaders REJECT Spanish government's orders to lockdown but will comply until rule overturned


Light Sabers

'Illegal': Madrid's leaders REJECT Spanish government's orders to lockdown but will comply until rule overturned

Madrid coronavirus
A waiter disinfects a table in downtown Madrid, Spain, Wednesday. Madrid is leading the resurgence of the virus in Spain and Europe
Spain's government has ordered tough new travel restrictions in Madrid to slow infections at the centre of the country's second wave - but local authorities are resisting the plan.

The new rules would see the city's borders closed to non-essential travel, with parks and playgrounds shut, gatherings limited to six people and bars and restaurants ordered to close at 11pm.

The measures ordered by the Spanish health ministry come as Madrid suffers one of the highest infection rates of any region in Europe, putting pressure on hospitals where more than 40 per cent of Madrid's ICU beds are filled by Covid-19 patients.

Comment: See also: And check out SOTT radio's:


Pistol

Suspect arrested in ambush shooting of two LASD deputies in Compton

ambush cops shooting
The suspect accused of shooting two Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies during an ambush in Compton has been arrested, authorities announced Wednesday.

Deonte Lee Murray, 36, of Compton, pleaded not guilty to two counts each of attempted murder of a peace officer and possession of a firearm by a felon in connection with the Sept. 12 attack on the deputies, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

No Entry

I got locked out of Twitter for having the 'wrong' opinion on Covid

Matt Hancock
© AFPMatt Hancock delivers more grim news in Parliament.
I woke yesterday morning to find that I had been locked out of Twitter for "violating our rules against abuse and harassment". I was dumbfounded. Which of my recent tweets had been abusive or harassed anyone? I glanced down the email to see something I had posted last week in response to yet another We're All Doomed! report on the BBC news. "How hard is it for people to understand? We WANT students to get the virus. They will speed us towards community immunity. It may not be very far off."

Whether you agree with my tweet or not, it accurately represents the opinion of a number of distinguished scientists, including Oxford's Prof Sunetra Gupta (whom I interviewed for the Planet Normal podcast) and Prof Michael Levitt, winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2013. Neither is a wacky Covid-denier. They just happen to agree that the worst-case scenario of 500,000 deaths arrived at back in March by Professor Neil Ferguson, which presumed (wrongly) that all age groups were equally susceptible to the virus, was possibly inflated by a factor of 10 or 12. They also reckon that the best strategy now is to shield the elderly and the vulnerable and allow the virus to infect the healthy population, notably the young, so we build up that terrific community immunity that seems to have served the Swedes so well.

Comment: See also:


Attention

Israel cracks down on protests under Covid-19 'emergency' pretext as country extends lockdown

Israeli police
© Reuters / Ronen ZvulunPolicemen detain a man during a demonstration against the Israeli government before parliament passed legislation restricting protests amid a nationwide lockdown, outside the Knesset in Jerusalem, September 29, 2020.
The Israeli Knesset has approved legislation that will ban citizens from protesting more than one kilometer away from their homes, backed by the government as a measure against Covid-19, but decried as draconian by opposition MKs.

Passed 46 to 38 in the early hours of Wednesday morning after a marathon debate in the Knesset, the bill will place sweeping restrictions on demonstrations of any kind, banning citizens from attending protests held more than one kilometer (0.6 miles) away from their residence. The legislation was approved along with a "special state of emergency," which will last for only a week before the ministerial cabinet will be required to re-approve the measures.

Standing with the opposition factions, two members of the Blue and White Party - part of the ruling coalition - also voted against the bill, MKs Miki Haimovich and Ram Shefa. The duo were cheered by opposition leader Yair Lapid, who asked in a tweet ahead of the vote: "What's the next step? Banning the opposition leader from addressing parliament?"

Lapid returned to head up the Yesh Atid Party after a brief stint as a senior Blue and White official last year. There, he worked closely with Benny Gantz, now Israel's defense chief and "alternative prime minister" under a power-sharing deal reached with PM Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this year.

Comment: Apparently the new restrictions didn't go over so well and triggered more mass demonstrations:






Blue Pill

Nicaragua - The country that didn't swallow the Covid blue pill

Tree of Life art installation, Managua Nicaragua
Tree of Life art installation, Managua Nicaragua
No curfews, no lockdowns, no "stay at home", no psychosis, no covid-calamities. There has been much talk about the Swedish corona strategy but the strategy of Nicaragua has been by far more successful, with many fewer deaths, no "economic rescue" for big banks and only limited damage to small and medium sized businesses.

In the midst of the worldwide economic debacle caused by covid hysteria, food self-sufficient, small business based, impoverished Nicaragua, has seen its exports grow over 10% the past 8 months because it did not shut down its economy.

Precisely because it sustained its economy, it has not had to take on huge loans in order to face the emergency.

Comment: It's quite likely that the low numbers of Covid mortality in Nicaragua has nothing to do with the disease being less widespread or less virulent. It's because they didn't lock down. Covid mortality statistics are a massive scam that pin deaths on a disease rather than the response to it. Note to self: Time to move to Nicaragua!

See also:


Family

BuzzFeed gaslights millennials that living with your parents forever is fine, as US creates a generation of docile perma-children

Millenials at home with parents
© Reuters/Nora Savosnick
Young Americans are being encouraged to lower their expectations and ditch their dreams of financial independence as the economy circles the drain. Is this just cushioning the blow of the collapse, or something more sinister?

Sandbagged out of the gate by the 2008 recession, young American adults have had the economic rug pulled out from under them yet again with the coronavirus shutdowns. As of July, the majority of US adults aged 18 to 29 are living with their parents - 52 percent - and they aren't the only ones.

Even 30- and 40-somethings are getting in on the homecoming. Buzzfeed wants you to know that this is not only totally normal, but that young Americans' dreams of financial independence and living on their own are woefully outdated.

Clipboard

Survey: President Trump treated most unfairly by media compared to Clinton, Obama & Bush

President Trumps
© MIH83/Pixabay
Does the mainstream media treat President Donald Trump unfairly? It's a question that Trump doesn't shy away from himself, often accusing the "fake news media" of unnecessarily coming after him. His insistence of a media bias dates back to the beginning of his term, but does the general public agree? A new StudyFinds poll asking that very question reveals that about 40% of Americans think Trump indeed receives unfair treatment by the press.
Trump Biden chart
© studyfinds.org
The poll of 764 adults over 18 from around the country comes just a few months ahead of the 2020 presidential election. When broken down by party affiliation, 38% of the respondents identify themselves as Democratic, with 30% indicating they're Republican. The remaining 31% did not identify with either.

When asked how the media treats the president, 39% feel he's given an unfair reception (18% "very unfairly" and 21% "unfairly). On the other hand, 39% believe Trump is treated "fairly," while 21% say "very fairly."

NPC

Brainwashed NYT readers rebel: 'Canceling subs' en masse after unfavorable Biden fact-check tweet

new yor times fact check biden debate
© REUTERS/Carlo Allegri, inset: TwitterThe New York Times has upset its subscribers by fact-checking Joe Biden.
The New York Times is under fire from its own readership after sharing a tweet to promote its fact-check coverage of Tuesday night's presidential debate that was unfavourable to Joe Biden.

The tweet contains a screenshot of its fact-checking coverage, which includes a debunked quote from Joe Biden. "We left him a booming economy. And he caused the recession."

The so-called paper of record unceremoniously analysed this claim under the title, "This is false," much to the chagrin of its loyal readers.

Comment: While libtards took the Times to task, right-wingers had CNN in their sights:
On Tuesday night, Trump defended his coronavirus response, which included travel bans on foreign nationals who had been to China, and reminded Biden that he once called the president xenophobic and racist for doing so.

"I closed it, and you said, 'He's xenophobic. He's a racist and he's xenophobic,' because you didn't think I should have closed our country," Trump said.

In its 'fact check' (a generous use of the term), CNN claims it's unclear whether Biden knew about Trump's travel restrictions targeting China at the time he called Trump xenophobic, as he never "explicitly linked the accusation of xenophobia" to any of the president's specific policies.

CNN cites "the campaign" - presumably meaning Biden's PR team - as saying Trump has a record of "hysterical xenophobia" and "fear mongering" but that Biden's January 31 accusation had nothing to do with the travel restrictions, aimed at stopping the spread of the coronavirus, which were announced that same day.

CNN added that Biden "never took an explicit position on the restrictions until his April declaration of support."

As expected, many online blasted the "most trusted name in news" for its blatant bias and lackluster fact check, which some deemed worthy of conservative satire site the Babylon Bee.



Some also used the opportunity to ridicule Biden's alleged cognitive decline. "In fairness to CNN, Biden may have already forgotten," one commenter quipped. The so-called 'ratio' of replies compared to retweets of CNN's post quickly told its own story, as the message racked up more than 1,200 replies and a mere 165 retweets.


The ratio is even more damning than when the article was published.


CNN fact check biden debate ration
© CNN/Twitter
Trump previously fended off Biden's accusations when speaking to Fox News's Sean Hannity on March 26, saying: "He called me a racist, because of the fact that he felt it was a racist thing to stop people from China coming in."