All Purpose News and Politics Thread Part IV: The Center Cannot Hold

[Celgress]

Bear in mind that the percentage I gave includes /non-co2/ induced effects, which I would /believe/ covers that. Again: having an outsized impact is one thing, but on the whole, it remains a drop in the bucket compared to the coal fired power plants operating world wide. That's the scale of the problem.

The studies I've read show it has an extremely disproportionate impact on the environment. I do, however, agree coal-fired power plants are a huge problem. Anyone who has ever been to Shanghai or Mumbai in summer knows the impact coal has, damn air is gritty and yellow.

[Tendrin]

The studies I've read show it has an extremely disproportionate impact on the environment. I do, however, agree coal-fired power plants are a huge problem. Anyone who has ever been to Shanghai or Mumbai in summer knows the impact coal has, damn air is gritty and yellow.

I agree that its disproportionate, but something can have a disproportionate impact in and of itself while still also not being a huge impact overall. That's the case with air travel. This in no way means that the aviation industry shouldn't be doing something about that. It should, and any proper environmental approach would deal with that.

But... there's just /so much else/ to get to first.

[Tami]

The Growing Threat to Journalism Around the World

Our mission at The New York Times is to seek the truth and help people understand the world. That takes many forms, from investigations on sexual abuse that helped spark the global #MeToo movement; to expert reporting that reveals how technology is reshaping every facet of modern life; to important and hard-hitting cultural commentary, like when we proclaimed “the Aperol spritz is not a good drink.”

But at a moment when surging nationalism is leading people to retreat inward, one of the most important jobs of The Times is to shine a light outward.

The Times is privileged to be one of the few news organizations with the resources to cover the world in all its complexity. And with that comes a responsibility to go where the story is, no matter the danger or hardship.

Every year, we put reporters on the ground in more than 160 countries. We’re in Iraq and Afghanistan, covering the violence and instability wrought by decades of war. We’re in Venezuela and Yemen, reporting on how corruption and conflict have led to mass starvation. We’re in Myanmar and China, eluding government monitors to investigate the systematic persecution of the Rohingya and Uighurs.

Around the world, the threat journalists face is far more visceral. Last year was the most dangerous year on record to be a journalist, with dozens killed, hundreds imprisoned and untold thousands harassed and threatened. Those include Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered and dismembered by Saudi assassins, and Maksim Borodin, a Russian journalist who fell to his death from the balcony of his apartment after revealing the Kremlin’s covert operations in Syria.

The hard work of journalism has long carried risks, especially in countries without democratic safeguards. But what’s different today is that these brutal crackdowns are being passively accepted and perhaps even tacitly encouraged by the president of the United States.

When four of our journalists were beaten and held hostage by the Libyan military, the State Department played a critical role in securing their release. Interventions like this were often accompanied by a stern reminder to the offending government that the United States defends its journalists.

The current administration, however, has retreated from our country’s historical role as a defender of the free press. Seeing that, other countries are targeting journalists with a growing sense of impunity.

To give you a sense of what this retreat looks like on the ground, let me tell you a story I’ve never shared publicly before. Two years ago, we got a call from a United States government official warning us of the imminent arrest of a New York Times reporter based in Egypt named Declan Walsh. Though the news was alarming, the call was actually fairly standard. Over the years, we’ve received countless such warnings from American diplomats, military leaders and national security officials.

But this particular call took a surprising and distressing turn. We learned the official was passing along this warning without the knowledge or permission of the Trump administration. Rather than trying to stop the Egyptian government or assist the reporter, the official believed, the Trump administration intended to sit on the information and let the arrest be carried out. The official feared being punished for even alerting us to the danger.

Unable to count on our own government to prevent the arrest or help free Declan if he were imprisoned, we turned to his native country, Ireland, for help. Within an hour, Irish diplomats traveled to his house and safely escorted him to the airport before Egyptian forces could detain him.

[Celgress]

I agree that its disproportionate, but something can have a disproportionate impact in and of itself while still also not being a huge impact overall. That's the case with air travel. This in no way means that the aviation industry shouldn't be doing something about that. It should, and any proper environmental approach would deal with that.

But... there's just /so much else/ to get to first.

The particles take much longer to go away in the upper regions of the atmosphere because they bond with other particles creating chemical reactions that speed up the warming process, even more, that's the issue. Anyhow, I've made my pointing moving on.

[Tendrin]

A group of researchers from Villanova, Virginia Tech, and Penn State have this month released a new paper in the American Psychological Association’s peer-reviewed Pscyhology of Popular Media Culture journal that essentially explores the racial component at play when the video game blame card is applied to a public act of violence like school shootings. They conducted two studies: one a survey of over 200,000 articles and the language they used, and one a study of readers’ perceptions. According to the paper, both “confirmed the notion that racial stereotyping leads people to accept school shootings committed by Black perpetrators without seeking external explanations, but when school shootings are committed by White perpetrators, people often blame video games for the violent act,” suggesting that “racial stereotyping might be one reason some continue to blame video games for school shootings.

https://massivelyop.com/2019/09/21/f...n-video-games/

[Mister Mets]

Sort of like the Republican politicians who voted to destroy the ACA while enjoying the free platinum health coverage provided to them and their family members.

There's a bit of a difference in that one can believe that in order to get the best people possible to represent 747,000 people, it's better to offer decent benefits, including above-average insurance plans. Republicans will argue that they have no problems with companies offering employees top health-insurance plans or with people buying health-insurance plans on the free market.

What does this have to do with an alleged business deal regarding a gas plant in Ukraine and its possible impact on Obama Era foreign policy? That is the rumor I was referencing.

The portion that Tami bolded and that you responded to was "Biden's unqualified drug-addict son's" which led me to believe the controversial points in my comment were about whether Biden's son was unqualified for his post in Ukraine or drug-addicted.

That he has had substance abuse problems is easy to demonstrate.

As for whether he's unqualified, that comes down to whether you think a Hunter Smith who had no relatives in elected office and who had left the naval reserve after failing a drug test for cocaine would have been hired to be on the board of a Ukrainian national gas company.

I did refer to Hunter Biden having "dealings with Ukraine" but that's a fair description of a guy who worked for a Ukranian company run by a former Ukranian Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources. I've made no comments about whether this had any impact on Obama era foreign policy.

[Tami]

Trump claims Nobel Peace Prize is rigged against him

President Donald Trump on Monday revived his beef with the selection committee that awards the Nobel Peace Prize, claiming that the process is rigged against him.

Speaking to reporters before a bilateral meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Trump asserted that “I would get a Nobel Prize for a lot of things, if they give it out fairly, which they don't.”

Trump was discussing the latest developments in the disputed region of Kashmir, which is sandwiched between India and Pakistan and which India has clamped down control over for the last several months. After Trump advertised himself as “an extremely good arbitrator," a foreign reporter suggested that should Trump successfully broker peace, he would “very likely and definitely” receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

Trump then offered up former President Barack Obama as an example of the prize being unfairly awarded.

“They gave one to Obama immediately upon his ascent to the presidency and he had no idea why he got it,” Trump said, joking: “You know what? That was the only thing I agreed with him on.”

[Gray Lensman]

Trump claims Nobel Peace Prize is rigged against him

Well, it is rigged against him, in that one is supposed to actually advance the cause of peace in order to win it. Which disqualifies Trump from the outset, as the only things he has done to supposedly advance peace is give greater licence to warmongering despots.

There have been some people who arguably didn't deserve it, but I can't think of any who basically did the opposite of promote peace at the time they were awarded it - at least not to the knowledge of the Nobel committee. Even Yasser Arafat had worked out what seemed like the best chance for Middle Eastern peace at the time. He went back on that, but at the time things looked hopeful. Kissinger's double dealing wasn't public knowledge at the time either from what I remember of my history classes.

[Darkspellmaster]

Could someone explain to me what this whole tweet thing is about regarding Pelosi? Something about the word may in regard to impeachment.

[Mister Mets]

Trump claims Nobel Peace Prize is rigged against him

Recently, I checked out the predictons market Predictit, just to see where the smart money is on certain outcomes.

They're betting 39 cents on the dollar that there will be a recession before the next presidential inauguration.

https://www.predictit.org/markets/de...#39;s-1st-term

They're betting 11 cents on the dollar that a cabinet member will be impeached before the end of the year.

https://www.predictit.org/markets/de...eached-in-2019

They're betting 56 cents on the dollar that the Democratic vice-presidential nominee will come from a state Trump won.

https://www.predictit.org/markets/de...rump-won-state

Then there's this one.

https://www.predictit.org/markets/de...el-Peace-Prize

[Iron Maiden]

The Growing Threat to Journalism Around the World

This is truly a frightening and sobering article. Trumpism is a plague and a poison. He didn't give birth to this kind of conduct but the way it has gone virtually unchecked has emboldened certain factions to take it even further. How soon we forget his rallies where his zombies chant "Lock her up!" or "Lock them up"

[Tendrin]

This is truly a frightening and sobering article. Trumpism is a plague and a poison. He didn't give birth to this kind of conduct but the way it has gone virtually unchecked has emboldened certain factions to take it even further. How soon we forget his rallies where his zombies chant "Lock her up!" or "Lock them up"

We have coddled extremist right-wingers in this country for /way/ too long.

[Malvolio]

There's a bit of a difference in that one can believe that in order to get the best people possible to represent 747,000 people, it's better to offer decent benefits, including above-average insurance plans. Republicans will argue that they have no problems with companies offering employees top health-insurance plans or with people buying health-insurance plans on the free market.

That is such B.S. So you're saying that the only way to get the "best people" to represent us is to bribe them? You know, rather than say, appealing to their civic duty? And do you really think we have the "best people" currently representing us? Because if we don't, then that means that offering superior health benefits DOES NOT get us the "best people" for the job. No, I think that merely attracts people who don't want to pay for anything, but at the same time make a lot of money.

[jetengine]

I think people would care more about journalism if it hadnt allowed itself to be co-opted by a dozen billionaires who dictate what they can say and then be beaten by chumps on blogs leading to people legitimately believing in the dude in his basement more then a professional journalist.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Trump claims Nobel Peace Prize is rigged against him

Nothing more than petty jealousy because Obama received the Prize. Unfortunately, Trump will never stop whining about that.

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Trump Told Officials To Withhold Military Aid To Ukraine Days Before Call With President

Trump said he called for the aid delay because of corruption concerns and not as a tactic to pressure the Ukrainian leader to dig up dirt on Joe Biden. Yeah, right. Whatever you say, Donnie. Meanwhile....

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Senate Republicans Struggle To Answer For President Trump’s Ukraine Mess

They need more facts to say whether it’s OK for the president to solicit dirt from a foreign government against his political opponent. And then they'll obediently kiss Trump's ass as usual. Meanwhile....

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Bill Weld: Trump Is Guilty Of ‘Treason, Pure And Simple’

The president’s GOP rival said Trump’s phone call with Ukraine goes beyond “undermining democratic institutions.” No ****, Sherlock. And your fellow Republicans are perfectly fine with that. Lastly....

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Richard Painter: Democrats Must Impeach Trump Now Or They Will Lose In 2020

The former White House ethics attorney said Trump has “committed multiple high crimes and misdemeanors.” That, friends, is strong talk!

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In non-Ukraine news....

FBI Arrests U.S. Army Member Over Alleged Plot To Bomb News Network

The soldier allegedly discussed traveling to Ukraine to join an extremist group.

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Greta Thunberg To World Leaders At UN Climate Summit: ‘How Dare You!’

“You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words,” the 16-year-old told the United Nations gathering. Which led to this....

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Fox News Apologizes For Guest’s ‘Disgraceful’ Attack On Greta Thunberg

Michael Knowles of the Daily Wire repeatedly called the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist “mentally ill.” How much of a scumbag do you have to be in order for hosts on Faux News to distance themselves from you?

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Federal Prosecutors Launch Criminal Probe Into Juul Labs: Report

The e-cigarette maker is under increasing scrutiny as the death toll linked to vaping rises. But, no scrutiny of gun manufacturers whose products kill scores of people every damn day.