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Tuesday, October 08, 2019

Nec pluribus impar


"Democracy is a process by which the people are free to choose the man who will get the blame."



Government deregulation is delivering social cleansing and slums for the future  





FBI scouring US universities for evidence of China infiltration

The FBI is trying to stem what American authorities portray as the wholesale theft of technology and trade secrets by researchers tapped by China.





Louis XIV was both Kind of France and a global ruler with global ambitions. He founded colonies in America, Africa and India, tried to seize Siam (as Thailand was then known), sent missionaries and mathematicians to the Emperor of China and launched the struggle for France’s global markets which continues to this day.  The motto he adopted early in his reign, in 1662, expressed his hopes and desires: “Nec pluribus impar” (literally “Not unequal to more”), meaning “not incapable of ruling other dominions”, as well as “not unequal to many enemies”.
That is from the new Philip Mansel book King of the World: The Life of Louis XIV





 “The distrust persists even half a century after the [Great Chinese] Famine, has been transmitted to the subsequent generation, and has spilled over to a broad range of political attitudes unrelated to the Famine.”  Link here



The Indonesian woman who killed Kim’s brother with VX

Homo sapiens have a substance abuse problem, and the substance is corruption 

 

Rachel Carson’s ethic of wonder: "People everywhere are desperately eager for whatever will lift them out of themselves and allow them to believe in the future." in the  future  

 

Both Nixon and Clinton Defenders Cried ‘Coup’ Too New York Magazine


Trump, Republicans accuse top Dem of orchestrating whistleblower complaint NBC

 

 

 

It's a busy time to be a fact-checker


President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference Wednesday. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Angie Holan, editor of Poynter-owned PolitiFact, told me she has “never seen anything like this in my professional career.”
Every day, there’s something new to report about President Donald Trump and the impeachment inquiry. Check that. More like every hour.
“I think we news junkies are pretty riveted by the live news conferences and the meaty news coverage,” Holan said.
On Wednesday, the major story was Trump and a news conference in the Oval Office alongside Finnish President Sauli Niinisto. In a mere 17 minutes, Trump blasted Democrats, the whistleblower and the media during a question-and-answer session that looked more like something out of a movie than real life. He concluded by calling the media “corrupt" and saying it “truly is the enemy of the people.”
PolitiFact watched the news conference and went to work.
“We’re looking for the most important statements that are inaccurate or give the wrong impression,” Holan said. “We listen in real time and figure it out as we go, but it is very challenging when there are many questionable statements in a short time period.”
PolitiFact wrote about nine instances when the president was either wrong or misleading, including comments about the so-called transcript of the conversation with Ukraine’s president, what the whistleblower knew about the call and what Rep. Adam Schiff,  chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said about the call. 
In addition, PolitiFact’s Louis Jacobson takes a closer look at Trump’s accusations about Hunter Biden and a payoff to China. Also, Daniel Funke and Miriam Valverde have the inaccurate or unproven things Rudy Giuliani said about Ukraine on ABC’s “This Week.” And another: PunditFact’s Bill McCarthy answers the question: Could Trump run for a third term if an impeachment trial fails?
The stories seem never-ending.
“This story is so challenging,” Holan said, “and there are so many aspects to it that I ask myself over and over, what information do regular people — not news junkies — need to know right now?”

What now?

With impeachment looming, how should the media proceed? Washington Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan says the media needs to grow a spine. Sullivan writes that public opinion is an important factor and, because of that, journalists need to be prepared and ready to push back when conducting interviews. She gave recent examples of such work by Fox News’ Chris Wallace, Scott Pelley of “60 Minutes" and CNN’s Jake Tapper during recent contentious interviews with pro-Trump guests.
“Good to see,” Sullivan wrote. “And not nearly enough.”
Sullivan said she is not suggesting reporters should advocate for a particular outcome, but, “they must carry out their mission: to get to the truth so citizens can make wise decisions and not be bamboozled by lies and distractions.”
 

'I said whatever they wanted to hear'


Attorney Laura Nirider talking with Anthony Mason of “CBS This Morning."
Remember Brendan Dassey? He was one of the convicted killers featured in the Netflix series “Making a Murderer.” When he was 16, Dassey confessed to helping his uncle kill photographer Teresa Halbach. He’s now 29 and has spent more than 12 years in prison. But all along, his lawyers have claimed he was coerced into a false confession.
Now he is down to his last option, his attorney, Laura Nirider, explained on “CBS This Morning” on Wednesday.
“We’re filing a petition for executive clemency with Governor Tony Evers of Wisconsin," she said. "This is his best shot, and the moment is now. The moment is now for Brendan to come home."
In the latest episode of the podcast “Wrongful Conviction,” Dassey gave his first interview since going to prison, telling host Jason Flom, “I just wanted it all over with, so I said whatever they wanted to hear, you know?"

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