[jenkstom]

Wow. Just wow. I remember early cyberpunks talking about how the internet would enable infinite lies to spread and for the truth to be completely buried in the noise. And here we are. Now our entire reality has been taken over by people living in a fantasy world. No end in sight. Maybe they weren't nearly pessimistic enough.

[BTCOG]

What we ended up with today was Huxley's Brave New World, rather than the more feared 1984.

[brodouevencode]

Ha my buddies and I have this debate. BNW to me is scarier for a couple of reasons: 1) it's more likely to happen 2) it will happen and you won't even realize it: there's no mustachioed man that is the antagonist.

[chopin]

I think we get (got?) both. You have your televisor already in the pocket. Here in Germany there are strong tendencies to use this for all-encompassing tracing to fight COVID (Luca-App).

[danielscrubs]

It’s not widely known but I know of telecoms that sell analytic platforms. It’s processed so it’s anonymous when sold, but your phone is always connected to the telecom provider so they where good at tracing you even before the tracing apps where made.

[koheripbal]

I find it odd when people deny the extremely obvious signs that foreign allies are buying influence in DC. I'm sure that happens on both sides of the aisle.

Hunter Biden had zero relevant experience to be a member of the board to a Ukrainian oil company during a conflict with Russia that had huge oil assets at risk. It seems obvious to me that they paid him to have access to his father (then VP to Obama).

The same was true when the Clinton Foundation received tens of millions in donations during the ramp-up to the Syrian civil war while Clinton was the Sec of State. Clinton emails released confirmed weekly meetings with the Saudi Foreign Minister at the same time. It seems obvious that the State Dept & CIA participation in arming rebel groups was facilitated through the conversations had.

...and I don't mean to pick on Democrats. John McCain was part of that effort. I'm sure if we look closely, we'll find a "core establishment" group that holds members of both parties.

...and, arguably, both cases above were in the interests of the US.

It's complicated. A world power with big adversaries cannot operate transparently, so I would not expect the public to be told everything. On the other hand, it would be reassuring if there were private mechanisms whereby this "deep-state club" self-regulates to ensure that these covert actions at least benefit the US, and do not simply enrich those politicians taking cash. ...or maybe that does exist in some form and we just are not aware?

[monkeydreams]

> I find it odd when people deny the extremely obvious signs that foreign allies are buying influence in DC. I'm sure that happens on both sides of the aisle.

That corruption exists on both sides - this is understood by pretty much everyone who isn't wildly partisan. That there is both legal (meaning that it does break specific laws but is instead privilege accessible by those in circles of power) and illegal corruption, likewise.

In the case of Hunter Biden, he is just reaping the benefits of being close to power. This isn't illegal - ex-presidents go on the talk circuit to tutor people in how to handle specific situations or to discuss events they have encountered. One would think that Hunter Biden would have received a masterclass in power politics through his father having been VP for 8 years. Her certainly would have met a lot of people over the years who could help him in the real world. This is not illegal, this is just one of the privileges of privilege.

Privilege is human nature. There is no mystery club - you are just either inside the tent or outside the tent. This does not mean we should not break it down, or tear it up, but it is also not illegal to hang out with people who are like you and who get you.

The problem with Greenwald's pieces are that he conflates this with obvious, illegal corruption. He claims it to be illegal - which is is not - and conflates it with actual corruption... but only on one side of politics. He seems to see himself as a maverick, a lone-wolf, but then whines that no one is there to support him, and all the legitimate papers decry or ignore him.

Greenwald is either unwell (and who isn't these days) or is trying to wedge himself into the role of the "reasonable" right-wing partisan. If it is the first, I hope he recovers, if the second, I hope he goes down in flames. The world needs fewer partisans.

[jerkstate]

>anyone who disagrees with my worldview is mentally ill

>the world needs fewer partisans

[monkeydreams]

> >anyone who disagrees with my worldview is mentally ill

No, but someone who invests so much anger in the idea that all journalists are corrupt because they do not buy into their fantasies of persecution and corruption is almost certainly either unwell or pretending to have an actual grievance.

It's like the Fox News, OAN, etc drama over the "poll observer" or the "Hunter Biden laptop" fiascos. The journalists wailed and moaned about how other press agencies were ignoring the stories, or dismissing them. This was all political theatre, in these cases, as none of them really seemed to believe the stories they were peddling and gave them up the moment that all political value was wrung out of them. Greenwald hasn't let these themes go - and he appears to hate the journalists who just won't buy into his fantasy.

[imwillofficial]

They can both be true

[offby37years]

Before the internet you could have two local newspapers in every town, each profitably reporting facts.

Then the internet came and commoditised facts. New facts are disseminated immediately across social media. Open Google News and you can find thousands of articles covering the same event.

Suddenly, just reporting facts was no longer a viable business. Being a newspaper of record was no longer economically viable. Only the news media that shifted to reporting opinions, outrage, and entertainment survived.

NYT was fading into irrelevance up until mid-2016, it is now more relevant than ever: https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/NYT/

This resurgence was driven by a conscious shift to peddle tribal propaganda: https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/media-great...