Home » Nooze (Page 17)

Category Archives: Nooze

Journalism and other myths.

Be Not Afraid

Posted on by | 5 Comments

“Be not afraid.”
Saint John Paul II

It may be the start of the joyous holiday season, but it’s time realize a reckoning is upon us. Things are likely to get a whole lot worse.

It’s not about various predators being pushed into the light of day, although that can be unnerving as well. Politics is getting uglier and less predictable, especially with the increasingly crazy president. His eventual removal will bring a sense of relief, but the process is also going to increase tension and possibly even violence.

We are entering a time when we have to manage fear. The only way to manage it is to reject it.

Continue reading →

Taxing Times

Posted on by | 6 Comments

If you believe that tax cuts create jobs and growth, you’re not alone. Almost, but not quite. Even those who would benefit the most from the proposed tax bill aren’t willing to go that far.

This puts the Republicans in the Senate in a terrible bind. They can pass the tax bill which came over from the House, potentially angering their constituents, or they can stop it, angering their donors. They also have the choice between raising the deficit or having a record of getting just about nothing accomplished.

How bad is it for Republicans, already worried about 2018? It’s so bad it’s worse than the Tax Bill itself.

Continue reading →

Casualties of War

Posted on by | Leave a comment

“The first casualty when war comes is the truth.”
– Sen Hiram Johnson (R-CA) (1917)

As Barataria has noted before, the United States appears to be at war. This war, primarily with Putin’s Russia, is a new kind of war with weaponized disinformation and division.

It is important to note, however, that the US is far from the only target, nor is it entirely innocent. More critically there are actors within the US who are exploiting the war for their own benefit – a new kind of war profiteering for a new kind of war. It is easy to compare this to McCarthyism, but the implications are potentially more vast.

Continue reading →

Jenna Abrams. Who Knew?

Posted on by | 3 Comments

As the investigation into Russian activities leading up to the 2016 election digs deeper, more details are emerging. One of the more shocking finds is that a popular internet personality, “Jenna Abrams,” never really existed. “She” was the product of the Internet Research Agency, the large troll farm operating in St Petersburg, Russia.

Her popular twitter and facebook accounts were quickly deleted with the revelation, leaving us without valuable forensic information. How was it possible for us to be duped? It’s hard to say if we don’t have the text in front of us. But wordpress doesn’t have the same policy, leaving “her” blog up for us to see to this day. It shows us just how sophisticated the operation was and how reasonable it was for so many to be duped.

Continue reading →

America Under Attack

Posted on by | 5 Comments

America is under attack.

This is hardly a new revelation, but it should be substantially more obvious. Paul Manafort was charged with “conspiracy against the United States,” a charge which is easy to read too much into. Then again, it’s easy to take it far too lightly.

It’s not a conventional war with bombs bursting in air, so it’s very easy to deny that the attack has happened at all. Aren’t we all able to go on with our daily lives? And the answer is a simple “yes”. That’s why it is essential that we understand the nature of the attack and why it is happening, both of which are not very obvious.

Continue reading →