Society's Child

The curious timing of NYT takedown: Why has US liberal media turned on #MeToo darling Ronan Farrow now?

Jason O'Toole
RT
Wed, 20 May 2020 17:36 UTC

© Patrick McMullan via Getty Images / David Crotty
Ronan Farrow attends the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party at Wallis Annenberg Center in Beverly Hills, California. February 09, 2020

Woody Allen's son is a big name thanks to his award-winning coverage of Harvey Weinstein. He may be a fame-hungry celebrity who was simply in the right place at the right time, but there's more to this spat than meets the eye.

Mia Farrow and Woody Allen's (almost equally) famous son found himself trending on Twitter on Monday following the hullabaloo surrounding the attempted character assassination of him in the New York Times with their headline, 'Is Ronan Farrow Too Good To Be True?' I'm just surprised the so-called 'newspaper of record' went with an interrogation point in their headline, because it felt like a rhetorical question to me.

It's preposterous how this media celebrity is often hailed as "arguably the most famous investigative reporter in America" as a result his #MeToo reporting, because - sorry - when it comes to his journalism, he appears to be nothing more than a one-trick pony.

Comment: Taken together with this recent article it seems that the New York Times is attempting to dial back some of the vehemence created by the "Believe All Women" and the MeToo movement. Surely it's just pure coincidence that those things which were ignored or trampled upon - such as journalistic integrity, facts, due process, and so forth - when the accused was Trump and Kavanaugh are important now that the accused is their favorite candidate for the presidency.

RT covered some of the response to Matt Lauer's article about the dubious journalistic integrity of Ronan Farrow here:

On Tuesday, Mediaite published a lengthy article written by disgraced NBC journalist Matt Lauer, challenging how Farrow's book depicted him and titled 'Why Ronan Farrow Is Indeed Too Good to Be True'

The liberal journalist types that appear to be Mediaite's core audience would have absolutely none of it. In less than two hours, the tweet announcing Lauer's article was ratioed with over 1,600 replies to just 300 likes, with the vast majority savaging the former Today Show host for even daring to open his mouth on this subject, or any subject, ever.

More than one person brought up the claim that Lauer "had a remote door lock button on his office so he could have sex in the workplace with people who worked under him."

Others compared Lauer's complaint to Star Wars' Emperor Palpatine commenting on the rebellion, or Harvey Weinstein on rape laws.

There was also an obligatory reference to the villain from Harry Potter books.

"This is truly, truly shameful," said journalist Erin Biba, adding, "This is not journalism, this is blatant and outright support of sexual assault."

Farrow himself commented on the story, calling Lauer "just wrong" and saying that his book was "thoroughly reported and fact-checked, including with Matt Lauer himself."

Amid the overwhelming condemnation of Lauer's piece were a few voices, such as independent journalist Michael Tracey, urging people to actually read the article - setting aside how they felt about Lauer - and asking whether Farrow "exercised even basic journalistic fairness or circumspection before accusing him of rape."

Mediaite columnist John Ziegler also drew fire for agreeing with Lauer and calling his piece "a very legitimate story here about journalistic malfeasance on the part of someone to whom the news media has blindly given enormous power."

Lauer hosted the Today Show until he was fired in November 2017 over a "detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace," as NBC News chairman Andy Lack put it at the time. He does not question that his relationship was inappropriate, but denies Farrow's claim it was rape and cites evidence that contradicts 'Catch and Kill' in numerous places.

The liberal media establishment has soured on crusading against sexual assault in recent months, after a former staffer came out with accusations against Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. A number of prominent Democrats simply declared they didn't care and would vote for Biden anyway, while others suddenly argued that no one ever said all women should be believed when it came to these kinds of accusations.

Even Smith's criticism of Farrow's due diligence, however, never brought up a problematic article he co-authored against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, during whose confirmation the very same people told a very different story.

UK politicians who urged us all to 'follow the science' now turn on the scientists for being WRONG. But will the people buy it?

Norman Lewis
RT
Wed, 20 May 2020 20:26 UTC

Furious finger-pointing has broken out in the UK as experts and politicians try to distance themselves from the consequences of the government's calamitous Covid-19 lockdown strategy.

It's not often that one witnesses grown-ups playing pass the parcel in public. But this is what is happening in the UK: experts and politicians are rapidly passing the 'blame parcel' back and forth, driven by the mounting fear of ending up holding it when the music stops.

Sir Adrian Smith, a statistician and the incoming president of the Royal Society, this week demanded that the government should stop passing the buck and stop saying they "are simply doing what scientists tell us" over coronavirus. He insisted that they be more open about the advice they have received. His concern is that the scientists will be blamed for any shortfalls, especially when the devastating health and economic consequences of the lockdown become apparent.

'Atlantic' editor, promoter of erroneous conspiracy ginning up Iraq war, bemoans Arab 'propensity' to conspiracy thinking

Philip Weiss and James North
Mondoweiss
Wed, 20 May 2020 20:12 UTC

Jeffrey Goldberg editor atlantic magazine

Jeffrey Goldberg is very busy as editor of The Atlantic so it's understandable that he trots out old reporting in a piece denouncing Donald Trump as a peddler of conspiracy theory for questioning the official coronavirus death toll.

But look at the old reporting: Back in Cairo in 2001, an Islamist told Goldberg that Arabs didn't execute the strike on the World Trade Center. So Goldberg is back to his old beat, telling us what a scary neighborhood Israel is in.

The Middle East is a cauldron of conspiracy, a place where the most bizarre theories often have real policy consequences.

But credulity is hardly confined to the Middle East, and Goldberg doesn't have a right to lecture anyone on the topic. Famously, in the runup to the Iraq war, Goldberg's own credulity contributed to the rush to a bad judgment. He propagated a few conspiracy theories that turned out to be bogus, and disastrously so.

Comment: The Atlantic seems to have been a shill for every bad political idea in the last three decades:

UK government likely to keep schools closed after Labour-led local councils rebel against plan to reopen on June 1

RT
Wed, 20 May 2020 20:15 UTC

A revolt of mainly Labour-led local councils has pushed 10 Downing Street to admit it will not penalize some 1,500 primary schools in England who said they'd disobey its call for reopening from Covid-19 closures.

Schools across the UK were shuttered due to the pandemic on March 20, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government sought to open them back up on June 1, so the pupils would get at least a month's worth of classroom time before the summer holidays.

That plan is now looking highly unlikely, as eighteen local councils - including two led by the PM's own Conservatives - have openly rejected the plan, along with the opposition Labour party and the NASUWT teachers' union. Just five percent of NASUWT members believe it is safe to reopen the schools on June 1, the union said.

'Total fiasco': Dismay after UK minister admits government prioritized NHS over care homes during Covid-19 early stages

RT
Wed, 20 May 2020 20:03 UTC

UK hospitals were prioritized over social care homes during the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak, a government minister has admitted, prompting public anger in light of the huge amount of Covid-19 deaths among the elderly.

Justice Secretary Robert Buckland became the first UK government minister on Wednesday to ostensibly concede that they decided to direct the majority of resources toward the NHS at the detriment of care homes in terms of protection against the deadly Covid-19 disease.

It also appears to fly in the face of rhetoric peddled by Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who has insisted in recent days that they have "tried to throw a protective ring around" care homes "right from the start" of the outbreak.

Dangerous precedent: Refusing to unlock your phone? Jail. UK judge sentences activist under TERRORISM law

RT
Wed, 20 May 2020 19:55 UTC

The leader of the anti-immigrant group Britain First was fined and given a suspended sentence for refusing to unlock his phone and computer to police after returning from a trip to Russia last year, under UK anti-terrorism laws.

Paul Golding, 38, was ordered to pay a £21 ($26) surcharge and £750 ($918) in costs, and given a nine-month "conditional discharge" by Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot at the Westminster Magistrates' Court in London on Wednesday.

He was charged with "wilfully refusing to comply" under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act. Police testified that Golding had refused their demand to unlock his iPhone and Apple computer when they stopped him at Heathrow Airport on October 23 last year, as he returned from a trip to Moscow.

Data on missile specifications feared leaked in cyberattack on Japan's Mitsubishi Electric

The Mainichi
Wed, 20 May 2020 18:50 UTC

Data regarding the capability of a cutting-edge high-speed gliding missile may have leaked through a cyberattack on Mitsubishi Electric Corp., sources close to the matter said Wednesday.

The Defense Ministry is investigating the case in coordination with the major electronics company, one of the key players in Japan's defense and infrastructure industries.

The suspected leakage involves information about production of a prototype of the missile that the ministry requested during the bidding process, according to the sources.

Delusional SJW soccer star Megan Rapinoe calls President Trump a white nationalist, says she's not ruling out running for office

Jack Baer
Yahoo
Tue, 19 May 2020 18:40 UTC

Megan Rapinoe, star and co-captain of the United States women's national soccer team, took her criticism of President Donald Trump to a new level in videos published on Tuesday, calling him a white nationalist.

In a portion of an interview with Vice's Anand Giridharadas posted Tuesday, Rapinoe lambasted Trump's actions as president while praising immigration and equality as good for the economy.

Comment: With regards to equality being good, it would depend on Rapinoe's idea of equality. Equality of opportunity is good for people and business, while equality of outcome is a very dangerous idea:

Specifically, she said that Trump's "spewing of hate and 'othering' of the rest of the country" has only led to more despair, anxiety and fear in the country.

Johnson & Johnson to stop selling talc baby powder in U.S. and Canada

Carl O'Donnell, Lisa Girion
Reuters
Tue, 19 May 2020 17:33 UTC

Johnson & Johnson will stop selling its talc Baby Powder in the United States and Canada, it announced on Tuesday, saying demand had fallen in the wake of what it called "misinformation" about the product's safety amid a barrage of legal challenges.

J&J faces more than 19,000 lawsuits from consumers and their survivors claiming its talc products caused cancer due to contamination with asbestos, a known carcinogen. Many are pending before a U.S. district judge in New Jersey.

"I wish my mother could be here to see this day," said Crystal Deckard, whose mother Darlene Coker alleged Baby Powder caused her mesothelioma. She dropped the suit filed in 1999 after losing her fight to compel J&J to divulge internal records. Coker died of the cancer in 2009.

In its statement, J&J said it "remains steadfastly confident in the safety of talc-based Johnson's Baby Powder," citing "decades of scientific studies."

Comment: The billions in lawsuits is a drop in the bucket compared to the mass suffering caused by this criminal enterprise. Here's some additional reporting on the topic:

Lisa Kudrow is right - the Culture Police needs to leave Friends and the past alone

Andrew Dickens
RT
Mon, 18 May 2020 18:37 UTC

Friends star Lisa Kudrow has said the show, so often labelled 'problematic', should be seen as a time capsule. She's right. If revisionist Culture Police delete the past, we'll never move forward.

Let's get one thing straight: none of the main characters in Friends was likeable. A bunch of needy, self-centered sexual mercenaries who'd happily ditch their 'Friends' if they thought there was half a chance of someone having a fumble in their pants.

While we're at it, let's get another thing straight: Phoebe was the least likeable of the lot, spawning a generation of 'kooks' and almost certainly causing the ukulele plague of the 2010s.

However, the actor who played Phoebe, Lisa Kudrow, has said something I do like. Asked about revisionist critiques of the show and its all-white cast, she said, "It should be looked at as a time capsule, not for what they did wrong."

I once wore a kilt to elementary school but that was because it was part of my homemade Braveheart costume. I had shorts on underneath but pranked...

Animanarchy

She hopefully also knocked out a complete chronology of her situation and made it available to the press. God speed lady! Fight that good fight -...

Rowan Cocoan

.. .. Never go to Happy Hour when it's nurses night.. or, Let's go phizzer [Link]

Jibrish

But we're going into a mini 'ice age'! HAARP has nothing to do with this...

tekdude

Ehret an idiot beyond belief

smertzasmert

Society's Child

The curious timing of NYT takedown: Why has US liberal media turned on #MeToo darling Ronan Farrow now?

UK politicians who urged us all to 'follow the science' now turn on the scientists for being WRONG. But will the people buy it?

'Atlantic' editor, promoter of erroneous conspiracy ginning up Iraq war, bemoans Arab 'propensity' to conspiracy thinking

UK government likely to keep schools closed after Labour-led local councils rebel against plan to reopen on June 1

'Total fiasco': Dismay after UK minister admits government prioritized NHS over care homes during Covid-19 early stages

Dangerous precedent: Refusing to unlock your phone? Jail. UK judge sentences activist under TERRORISM law

Data on missile specifications feared leaked in cyberattack on Japan's Mitsubishi Electric

Delusional SJW soccer star Megan Rapinoe calls President Trump a white nationalist, says she's not ruling out running for office

Johnson & Johnson to stop selling talc baby powder in U.S. and Canada

Lisa Kudrow is right - the Culture Police needs to leave Friends and the past alone

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