Fake news

By that I don't just mean what most of us have come to know--that much of what we read and hear about from the news media is inaccurate. 

I mean the news organizations themselves are fake (this is also probably obvious). They are not what they purport to be. They exert very little effort to seek out and provide real, truthful news. 

Capitalism loves destruction, and this monolithic industry is priming itself for disruption. 

And we are beginning to see that disruption in the form of Substack (disclaimer: I am hoping to move to Substack eventually, I just need time). 

I am still endeavoring to find non-partisan, credible, independent journalists who are not part of the establishment media (and are probably not grifting one side). I think Michael Tracy is one of those, at least for now.

So, to provide a data point or two in support of my obvious thesis, please read part 1 and part 2 on the NATO summit from Mr. Tracy. It's pretty sad we have a government and media perfectly fine with shit transparency about an actual and ongoing war in Europe, of which there are profound global consequences. Not to mention the lives, billions of dollars, and great risk involved for NATO members and the region. 

Speculation on Russia

I had a random thought that in hindsight, seems rather obvious and somehow lazy. But I think I'll make a note of it here in the chance there is something to it.

I think Russia (or Russian intelligence), has something very sensitive on the American ruling political class, including some significant Democrats. And quite possibly many other Western leaders. Something big, and something worth holding on to. 

That theory would explain a lot, including the sudden and alarming rise in Western jingoism propagated by our media in lockstep with our uncharacteristically united political factions.

Even if it were true, and even if the Russians cashed in such a claim, I'd imagine it would take many years, possibly decades to confirm, especially in the face of the immense and inevitable push back from pretty much every Western media outlet.

A pattern of escalation

If you've been paying attention, it's patently obvious foreign involvement in the Ukraine-Russia (Russia-Ukraine?) war is on the rise. Rhetoric, sympathy, financial and humanitarian aid is all well and laudable. But then there were the sanctions against Russia, then small arms and intelligence for Ukraine, then drones, then howitzers, then Western government boots on Ukrainian soil (for help "training" Ukrainian forces), then tanks. And as this is a war, it would be weird if there weren't other forms of aid we didn't know about. 

Maybe the West has Russia figured out. Maybe they know something Russia doesn't. But I do know this, nothing goes according to plan, especially in war; and leaders have a tendency to be dumber than they appear. The West is gambling in a dangerous game. I obviously don't have the whole picture, but there is a line and given this sustained escalation, at some point it will be crossed. 

I guess we're doing this

With the retards in charge, I don't see how it's avoidable. If Russia doesn't back down soon, doesn't kneel to the Western pressure in short order, it is going to get worse before it gets better, and better is likely a long ways off.

Russia was and is stupid for invading Ukraine. Whether or not you think it was justified, it was a costly miscalculation. That being said, there is plenty more room for stupid, and the United States fills that vacuum.

Michael Tracy has been one of the few journalistic presences offering some much needed skepticism in response to the Western/U.S./Biden admin/establishment messaging. He doesn't get it right all the time but the above tweet is a mostly accurate summary of the belligerent, faux bravado foolhardiness of our nearly octogenarian president (with increasingly credible and concerning problems).

I'll take a sexist with mean tweets any day over a halfwit loudmouth who taunts nuclear adversaries, to say nothing of the concomitant inflation, empty shelves, and an even worse outlook.

I don't know if I was being paranoid enough a while back. Fill your larders and prepare for hard times. If I'm wrong, great--just be sure to eat the food before it expires. If I'm right and the idiots do lead us into dystopia, we're screwed but at least you will be a little more ready for it.

Biological weapons or biological research?

After Wuhan, the distinction between research and weapons development, while important, is effectively moot. Operating on the (reliably & repeatedly proven) assumption that most state actors will break virtually any law/norm/good sense to further secure themselves, I am just going to assume Russia's claim the U.S. was developing biological weapons in Ukraine is basically true. 

As Politifact might say, this unproven claim is 100% false!*

*technically possible--anthrax, small pox, super death virus, and maxplaguespreader2000, etc. could theoretically be used as biological weapons in the wrong hands.

Or the "research" can be leaked from a lab by a moron or spy, all while governments point fingers, raise taxes, and invade other countries.

I believe Russia as far as I can throw it, but I wouldn't put it past our government. There is no effective difference between biological research (for very, very dangerous and communicable diseases) and biological weapons development except on paper, they know this, they rely on it, and they exploit it. How do I know? Because if I were a jealous superpower, I would do the same damn thing. It doesn't excuse it. If not Ukraine, then somewhere else, but probably too many somewhere elses including Ukraine.

I'm pessimistic any country will own up to their wrongs or take a hard turn towards benevolence any time soon.

I'm realistic that questionable, potentially dangerous, and probably dubious "research" is taking place all over the world.

But I'm optimistic we will (if slowly) change things for the better. 

[Postscript: I get that we need research on deadly viruses, if we want to have a chance to understand and protect ourselves against them. I don't think that means we need 1000s of labs across the world operating with alarmingly low levels of transparency and security.]

No adults

I don't think I will be warblogging. Part of me wants to quit my job and report, opine, and highlight various things in the world today, especially big things like Russia invading Ukraine. 

But as we've seen, there is a lot of propaganda/fake news coming out daily, specifically designed to manipulate you. That is nothing new, and perhaps one of the few good things about this is how fast and clearly the propaganda is being debunked and shown for what it is. That is new. It should really give one pause when thinking about how things are really going over there.

I am rooting for Ukraine, and all nations should have an unimpeded right of self-determination and generally not be invaded. But I also understand how Russia would be freaking out about having a potential NATO member on their doorstep. It's like the adults in the world are AWOL. Things should have never gotten this far.

But they have and way too many people think it's fine to escalate and do whatever it takes to shut down Russia. Where are the adults? Seriously, where the hell are the adults? I hope it doesn't turn into that. You don't fight an injured and nuclear-armed bear into a corner and expect it to behave.

Edited to add: I understand Russia has an aggressive and oppressive history, particularly with regard to Eastern Europe. Russia is definitely not a benevolent actor in geopolitics and deserves to be humbled. But that doesn't mean we need another world war right now.

Update: We must protect the fragile Biden admin at all costs:

Seriously -- is fact-checking dead? pic.twitter.com/l4YTf86850

— David Martosko 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦 (@dmartosko) March 1, 2022