All purpose news and politics thread part VI: This Is Not The Time For Posing

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Belgian anti-vaxxer kickboxing champion known as The Undertaker who refused to acknowledge he had Covid and discharged himself from hospital to treat 'the little virus' at home with oxygen dies aged 41

Just like all the other ignorant anti-vaxxers who went all in on denying the deadly nature of COVID to their eternal detriment, this clown fucked around and found out. Thoughts and prayers, yo.

[Malvolio]

The Gospel of Donald Trump Jr.

The former president’s son told a crowd that the teachings of Jesus have “gotten us nothing.”

When exactly has he, or his father, ever turned the other cheek?

[Malvolio]

Belgian anti-vaxxer kickboxing champion known as The Undertaker who refused to acknowledge he had Covid and discharged himself from hospital to treat 'the little virus' at home with oxygen dies aged 41

As a certain, much more famous Undertaker would say:

[babyblob]

Belgian anti-vaxxer kickboxing champion known as The Undertaker who refused to acknowledge he had Covid and discharged himself from hospital to treat 'the little virus' at home with oxygen dies aged 41

This cat sure taught a lesson to those lying scientists and pesky government! Self own from the grave!

[CaptainEurope]

Russia has announced withdrawing more than 10,000 troops from the Ukrainian border. Sounds like good news for the world.

[thwhtGuardian]

Russia has announced withdrawing more than 10,000 troops from the Ukrainian border. Sounds like good news for the world.

I'm honestly surprised they're backing down.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

I'm honestly surprised they're backing down.

Same here. Didn’t think that would happen.

[Mister Mets]

If they are as liberal as those on the right seem to think, why report it at all? Just do like many right wing media sources do and ignore news that doesn't advance their narrative.

Looking at the most ridiculous things any conservatives have said about the media is a different goalpost than whether it is ridiculous to suggest that the media has a liberal bias.

The media has only a slight liberal bias, but a large sensationalist bias.

Covid is dragging on because of anti-Vaxxers supported by GOP crazies who want to weaponize the damage against Biden.

More than that, 50 Republicans are refusing to even consider Biden's BBB agenda, putting all the weight on the Democrats.

Yet who catches all the shade for it?

The focus on the two Senators can itself be an example of bias. Bernie Sanders will say on TV shows that it is outrageous that two Senators are holding up Biden's agenda without anyone correcting him that 52 Senators are holding up Biden's agenda.

The media always has a negativity bias. So with Trump driving the US towards fascism, their usual reporting did not feel unusual to casual viewers. The media is not wrong to see as its role criticizing those in power. But their hesitancy to call people in high positions liars and fascists means that their negatively biased reporting on Biden now makes it feel to viewers like nothing much has changed. When a lot has changed.

I certainly agree that the media's existing biases hurt its ability to highlight what made Trump uniquely flawed.

But it isn't just a negativity bias, although there is that as well.

Here I'd separate the mainstream media from avowedly conservative institutions like Fox News, The National Review and right-wing talk radio, as well as avowedly liberal institutions like MSNBC, Mother Jones and the Nation. I'll note that a company being openly liberal isn't necessarily an indication that they're not trustworthy. Mother Jones has a great reputation for factual accuracy.

If we look at institutions that purport to be neutral (CNN, broadcast evening news, The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR) the median reporter, cultural tastemaker and decision maker (I would distinguish an assistant producer from the electrician) is going to be the left of the median American voter. They're more likely to come from and live in left-wing milieus. The subjects that are considered taboo and result in anyone getting pushed out will tend to be those that piss off people on the left. They're going to treat fringe Democrats with more respect than they will fringe Republicans, and fringe left-wing positions with more respect than fringe right-wing positions. That's generally what people mean when they say that the media has a left-wing bias.

[The Cool Thatguy]

Same here. Didn’t think that would happen.

Fuel, hazard pay and all that other stuff is expensive. A throw down would have crippled them

[JB]

4th straight day of cancellations.

Travel nightmare: Another 2,500 flights canceled Monday
https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/27/busin...vid/index.html

More than 2,800 flights have been canceled Monday as Covid cases surge across the globe.

Of the more than 2,800 canceled flights, around 1,000 were within, into or out of the United States, according to FlightAware. Almost 11,000 flights are delayed.

Globally, airlines canceled more than 6,000 flights on Christmas Eve, Christmas and the day after Christmas. In the United States, more than 1,200 flights were canceled and more than 5,000 were delayed on Sunday alone as staff and crew call out sick.

The cancellations come at the busiest time of year for air travel. The US Transportation Security Administration said it screened millions of people each day over the holiday weekend, peaking at 2.19 million travelers on Thursday, December 23. On Wednesday, more people passed through TSA checkpoints than on the same day in 2019.

[Gray Lensman]

Russia has announced withdrawing more than 10,000 troops from the Ukrainian border. Sounds like good news for the world.

Out of how many? I trust Putin less than I can throw him, which isn't much at all - especially with the bodyguard detail he has.

[CaptainEurope]

Out of how many? I trust Putin less than I can throw him, which isn't much at all - especially with the bodyguard detail he has.

Oh, it is a minority of the troops there.

But it is a signal. And it's not one that says "I will let the this escalate no matter what."

[JB]

Significant change by the CDC just released.

CDC Updates and Shortens Recommended Isolation and Quarantine Period for General Population
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2...-guidance.html

Given what we currently know about COVID-19 and the Omicron variant, CDC is shortening the recommended time for isolation from 10 days for people with COVID-19 to 5 days, if asymptomatic, followed by 5 days of wearing a mask when around others. The change is motivated by science demonstrating that the majority of SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs early in the course of illness, generally in the 1-2 days prior to onset of symptoms and the 2-3 days after. Therefore, people who test positive should isolate for 5 days and, if asymptomatic at that time, they may leave isolation if they can continue to mask for 5 days to minimize the risk of infecting others.

[Malvolio]

Looking at the most ridiculous things any conservatives have said about the media is a different goalpost than whether it is ridiculous to suggest that the media has a liberal bias.

The focus on the two Senators can itself be an example of bias. Bernie Sanders will say on TV shows that it is outrageous that two Senators are holding up Biden's agenda without anyone correcting him that 52 Senators are holding up Biden's agenda.

I certainly agree that the media's existing biases hurt its ability to highlight what made Trump uniquely flawed.

But it isn't just a negativity bias, although there is that as well.

Here I'd separate the mainstream media from avowedly conservative institutions like Fox News, The National Review and right-wing talk radio, as well as avowedly liberal institutions like MSNBC, Mother Jones and the Nation. I'll note that a company being openly liberal isn't necessarily an indication that they're not trustworthy. Mother Jones has a great reputation for factual accuracy.

If we look at institutions that purport to be neutral (CNN, broadcast evening news, The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR) the median reporter, cultural tastemaker and decision maker (I would distinguish an assistant producer from the electrician) is going to be the left of the median American voter. They're more likely to come from and live in left-wing milieus. The subjects that are considered taboo and result in anyone getting pushed out will tend to be those that piss off people on the left. They're going to treat fringe Democrats with more respect than they will fringe Republicans, and fringe left-wing positions with more respect than fringe right-wing positions. That's generally what people mean when they say that the media has a left-wing bias.

So you're saying that journalism is a field that attracts liberals more than it does conservatives. I would make a similar argument that high finance is a field that attracts conservatives more than it does liberals, and therefore, banks and big businesses tend to have a conservative bias.

[Mister Mets]

So you're saying that journalism is a field that attracts liberals more than it does conservatives. I would make a similar argument that high finance is a field that attracts conservatives more than it does liberals, and therefore, banks and big businesses tend to have a conservative bias.

Oddly enough, I don't think I was saying in that post that journalism is a field that attracts more liberals, but I do believe it.

There are some implications in terms of worldview.

You could certainly make an argument that finance and other fields that attract conservatives will likely have some major blindspots because many of the decision-makers and the people implementing policies see things in a particular way and would not consider potential alternatives.

A point with media (which also applies to education, come to think of it) is that generally they value the idea that they're not biased, that they're presenting the audience with the necessary facts for the audience to come to their own conclusions.