tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post1912380770079750856..comments2024-03-29T17:12:19.648+13:00Comments on Bowalley Road: Of American Geese And Russian Ganders.Chris Trotterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09081613281183460899noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-4223515989503689152022-03-21T09:21:08.532+13:002022-03-21T09:21:08.532+13:00To: Guerilla Surgeon:
I lost your comment to Chri...To: Guerilla Surgeon:<br /><br />I lost your comment to Chris Slater. (Chose the wrong option - senior moment!)<br /><br />Could you please send it again?<br /><br />Profuse apologies.Chris Trotterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09081613281183460899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-83514215386246100862022-03-18T22:08:23.371+13:002022-03-18T22:08:23.371+13:00Guerilla Surgeon – As the New Yorker puts it, “The...Guerilla Surgeon – As the New Yorker puts it, “The biggest story of the past fifty years in American politics has been the ascendancy of the right, and it’s a story of apostasy. At each stage of the conservative movement’s long march to power, crucial aid was provided by heretics from the left…The most common explanation is…’Any man who is not a socialist at age twenty has no heart. Any man who is still a socialist at age forty has no head.’” Present company excepted, I’m sure.<br /><br />But the number of public intellectuals who left the Left are so numerous that one should question what is about the Left that causes the intelligentsia to abandon its utopian dream. Losing heart over the demand for revolution, perhaps? Shining Path’s Guzman says a million people would have to die in a people’s war, an action reified manyfold in China, USSR, Vietnam, and Cambodia. Or the Left’s authoritarianism, the moral certainty of its doctrinaire purpose, its failure to consider the consequence of its actions, the greater good subservient to the greater goal, its refusal to compromise, the cost of cleaning up the mess it creates – the list goes on, so I won’t.<br />Chris Slaterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14124069845475644823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-20608682216034630322022-03-16T14:55:34.079+13:002022-03-16T14:55:34.079+13:00Well Tom, for once you have made a good point. Or ...Well Tom, for once you have made a good point. Or would have if pretty much every other fact checking/bias organisation didn't say much the same. Even Wikipedia says it leans libertarian.<br /><br />"But fans of the site include pop psychologist Jordan Peterson, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, psychology professors Steven Pinker of Harvard and Jonathan Haidt of New York University, and columnists like David Brooks, Meghan Daum and Andrew Sullivan.And you of course.<br /><br />Enough to put me off right from the start.Guerilla Surgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03427876447124021423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-8095982002552026792022-03-15T21:11:35.327+13:002022-03-15T21:11:35.327+13:00Overall, we rate Quillette Questionable based on t...<i>Overall, we rate Quillette Questionable based on the promotion of racial pseudoscience and the use of poor sources.</i><br /><br />Chuckle. And who is "mediabiasfactcheck.com" from which that unlinked quote comes? Well, let's see what <a href="https://www.politifactbias.com/2017/10/can-you-trust-what-media-biasfact-check.html" rel="nofollow">"Politifact Bias"</a> has to say about them:<br /><i>Media Bias/Fact Check bills itself as "The most comprehensive media bias resource." It's run by Dave Van Zandt, making it fair to say it's run by "some guy" ("Dave studied Communications in college" is his main claim to expertise).<br /><br />We have nothing against "some guy" possessing expertise despite a lack of qualifications, of course.</i><br /><br />"Some guy". I like that. They look at his "methods" of assessing political bias and have fun pointing out that none of the factors has any objective basis of assessment. Basically it's just Van Zandt's opinion:<br /><i>If the scale was worth something, researchers could put the rating system in the hands of any reasonable person and obtain comparable results. Systems with robust objective markers attached to each level of the scale can achieve that. Those lacking such markers will not.<br />...<br />Why is Van Zandt's rating objectively more valid than ours? Or yours?</i><br /><br />Good question, but not one that people putting up unlinked quotes want to discuss.<br /><br /><i>A rating scale that fails to base its ratings on quantifiable data is worthless. Van Zandt's ratings are worthless except to tell you his opinion.<br />...<br />Until Dave Van Zandt adds objective markers to the MB/FC rating scales and justifies every rating with real objective data, take the ratings with a boulder of salt. They're worthless without specific backing data.</i>Tom Hunterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17840988228699338463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-29813921325049267732022-03-15T17:16:14.327+13:002022-03-15T17:16:14.327+13:00A nod to Chris Rea:
Well, I'm standing at the...A nod to Chris Rea:<br /><br />Well, I'm standing at the border<br />Where understanding doesn't flow:<br />It boils with too many passions to think of.<br />And we're underneath the cameras<br />But the light of knowledge grows<br />Only in the fear of warfare's shadow<br /><br />And Government sponsored violence <br />Wipes the smile from every face<br />And Common Sense is ringing out the knell -<br /><br />"This ain't no diplomatical breakdown-<br />"THis ain't no sociological breakdown -<br />"This ain't no economical breakdown -<br />"This is the Road to Hell."<br /><br />And to the mainstream news media's discredit<br />There is nothing you can do;<br />It's all just platitudes and sound bites<br />dinning in to you.<br /><br />Oh, look out World, take a good look<br />You must learn this lesson and learn it well:<br /><br />"This ain't no highway to World Revolution -<br />"This ain't no highway to World Resolution -<br />"This ain't no highway to a real solution -<br />"This is the Road to Hell."<br /><br />Cheers,<br />Ion A. Dowman<br />Archduke Piccolohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15533325665451889661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-55640963988865128842022-03-15T16:26:14.438+13:002022-03-15T16:26:14.438+13:00Or is that just a "conspiracy theory" ?&...<br />Or is that just a "conspiracy theory" ?"<br /><br />Yes.Guerilla Surgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03427876447124021423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-82844508271832071972022-03-15T16:23:56.219+13:002022-03-15T16:23:56.219+13:00https://onlysky.media/jpearce/is-the-russia-ukrain...https://onlysky.media/jpearce/is-the-russia-ukraine-conflict-quite-so-clear-cut/<br /><br />Interesting opinion piece on Ukraine. A few things I hadn't considered before – but then it hasn't been a region I've taken a great deal of interest in. I mean who'd have thought – war in Europe? Between two countries with a McDonald's. Not that Russia has them anymore – neither do they have pornhub apparently. That latter must cut to the quick. :)<br /><br /><br />Unfortunately David your sources tend to be closer to the toothiologist than the dentist.<br /><br />Damn you AutoCorrect – couldn't sleep last night so not too good at proofreading.Guerilla Surgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03427876447124021423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-20592917988199269002022-03-15T13:40:34.024+13:002022-03-15T13:40:34.024+13:00Which road should Labour choose ?
Perhaps they sh...Which road should Labour choose ?<br /><br />Perhaps they should take heed of the words of Australian philosophers AC/DC<br /><br />"I'm on the Highway to Hell".Shane McDowallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09354384369518580573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-28701105150462603162022-03-15T12:16:56.560+13:002022-03-15T12:16:56.560+13:00Another thought.. New Zealand's $2m donation t...Another thought.. New Zealand's $2m donation to Ukraine is so pathetically miniscule that it looks more like (wink and a nod) a subtle message of support to Comrade Putin, from Comrade Ardern.<br />Or is that just a "conspiracy theory" ?Doug Longmirehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12008729336442910333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-5423355631636076632022-03-15T09:46:12.011+13:002022-03-15T09:46:12.011+13:00This comment has been removed by the author.Guerilla Surgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03427876447124021423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-56308261307171878302022-03-15T09:01:00.231+13:002022-03-15T09:01:00.231+13:00"A questionable source exhibits one or more o..."A questionable source exhibits one or more of the following: extreme bias, consistent promotion of propaganda/conspiracies, poor or no sourcing to credible information, a complete lack of transparency and/or is fake news. Fake News is the deliberate attempt to publish hoaxes and/or disinformation for the purpose of profit or influence (Learn More). Sources listed in the Questionable Category may be very untrustworthy and should be fact checked on a per article basis. Please note sources on this list are not considered fake news unless specifically written in the reasoning section for that source." <br /><br /> Overall, we rate Quillette Questionable based on the promotion of racial pseudoscience and the use of poor sources. <br />Guerilla Surgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03427876447124021423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-85891845061870760892022-03-15T07:36:49.867+13:002022-03-15T07:36:49.867+13:00"not everyone's opinions are equally vali..."not everyone's opinions are equally valid"<br />Well yes, obviously there's a lot of ill informed, sometimes deliberately misleading, opinion out there. A bottomless bucket of bullshit. So what to do, how to separate the good the bad and the ugly. Outsourcing your opinions to the media and the government; outfits that feel the need to insist they are "The One Source of Truth" might not be such a great idea. <br />A genuine attempt at balance rather than condescending contempt for the counter is a clue that you're reading the work of a propagandist. I recall an "effort" by Allison Mau a couple of years ago - Herald I think it was. You can excuse the poor writing I guess, though you would expect a lot better from our leading paper. The problem was the complete refusal to acknowledge, much less tackle, the obvious questions arising from the assertions made. Propaganda tends to be like that, narrow and predictable. On TV watch out for background music and the use of images designed to install an emotion. <br /><br />I'm an admirer of Mary Harrington (UnHerd); a beautiful choice of words and an exquisite turn of phrase but most of all the feeling you're on a journey, an adventure, that, like life itself, the end has not been decided at the beginning. Authenticity.<br /><br />I just read a lovely essay that's like that - and it's on topic, a writers journey through Ukraine:<br />https://quillette.com/2022/03/14/ukraine-on-the-fault-line-between-east-and-west/David Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04883628159193125307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-80947201017011281402022-03-14T22:56:18.184+13:002022-03-14T22:56:18.184+13:00It is said that the first casualty of war is truth...It is said that the first casualty of war is truth.<br />Why they would say this I do not know but I heard that in the Middle East they regard this Ukraine/ Russia war as another Christian crusade.Patriciahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01509686441858091630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-16724840570616947292022-03-14T18:29:02.207+13:002022-03-14T18:29:02.207+13:00Still the apologist for Russia Chris.Still the apologist for Russia Chris.Geoffnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-19163961454076163762022-03-14T14:22:16.529+13:002022-03-14T14:22:16.529+13:00In 1941, the world economy wasn't nearly as in...In 1941, the world economy wasn't nearly as integrated as it is now. To paraphrase Lyndon Johnson. "Never get involved in a land war with an integrated banking system."<br /><br /><br />As Dara says David, not everyone's opinions are equally valid.<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKZN-hBTBUEGuerilla Surgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03427876447124021423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-52792682972615173622022-03-14T13:42:38.753+13:002022-03-14T13:42:38.753+13:00That Thomas Mead report appeared to be about the d...That Thomas Mead report appeared to be about the discovery of social media content (fake?) showing New Zealanders supporting Russia and that content was designed to appeal to the conspiracy theorists seemingly abundant in godzone at this time.<br /><br />Social cohesion has taken a hit and little old NZ hasn't escaped.<br />People are crazy and times have changed.<br />Ask Bob: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9EKqQWPjyoKatnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-5595914101820034942022-03-14T13:29:09.523+13:002022-03-14T13:29:09.523+13:00"Those involved were described .... as “consp..."Those involved were described .... as “conspiracy theorists”, a term he appeared to be using as a synonym for “evil crazies”.<br /><br />"Demonising one’s fellow citizens for the “sin” of refusing "<br /><br />Now where have we heard those sorts of comments recently. I guess you need to read the media Chris, someone's got to do it, but they really are worse than useless at fulfilling their core role of presenting a complete picture. Are our media activists or objectivists, perhaps bought and paid for advocates or willfully blind ideologues or shameless populists?<br /><br />Why are there no alternatives offered to, say, the climate debate. Even excepting the validity of the basic theory there's the huge and fundamental question mark over the impact of CO2 - from mildly beneficial to panic: "the planet is burning.<br /><br />In that case the propaganda is developed and directed by an outfit called Covering Climate Now, all our major MSM are fully signed up “partners” committed to telling one side of the story and scaring the bejesus out of the dumb schmucks still listening to their BS .<br />Here is CCN’s hall of shame, you’ll notice our lot among them – RNZ, ODT, TVNZ, NZ Herald, Stuff etc. https://coveringclimatenow.org/partners/partner-list/<br /><br />David Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04883628159193125307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-47468805687673880172022-03-14T12:51:54.497+13:002022-03-14T12:51:54.497+13:00In 1941 the US Government tried to contain Japanes...In 1941 the US Government tried to contain Japanese aggression with economic sanctions. How did that work out ?<br /><br />Economic sanctions are about as effective as an ashtray on a motorcycle.<br />Shane McDowallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09354384369518580573noreply@blogger.com