World, Writing, Wealth discussion

Scout wrote: "I was thinking today that most people probably don't know that Trump was not in collusion with Russia. There were all those accusations, and then there was proof that none of it was true. But did t..."

Shortly before Rittenhouse was acquitted, I had a conversation with a coworker about the case. He thought that Rittenhouse had driven hours to Kenosha to murder black people.

I had to explain that Rittenhouse had shot three (3) white guys. He had only driven about half of an hour from the home, where he lived with his mother, to Kenosha, where his father, family, and friends lived and he had a job as a pool life guard. Then I had to tell him to watch the full video which shows him running from the mob until someone else fired a shot.

My coworker believed what he did because the news that he saw only said that Rittenhouse had shot three people at a Black Lives Matter "protest" after crossing state lines with an "assault weapon".

Why would the MSM apologize to Rittenhouse for their actions while they're getting top cover from the Dems and the Democrat president who called Rittenhouse a racist?

J. wrote: "Matt Taibbi testified before Congress about the Twitter Files. The Dems on the committee spent their time attacking Taibbi's status as a journalist and trying to smear Musk. This is ..."

Congress is dealing with an eccentric multi-billionaire. I doubt he cracks. It is going to get much uglier as time goes on.

Scout wrote: "I was thinking today that most people probably don't know that Trump was not in collusion with Russia. There were all those accusations, and then there was proof that none of it was true. But did t..."

Mueller's report got quite an exposure. Those interested couldn't have missed it

Actually, in this country, it's possible for people to miss a lot because mainstream media doesn't report about what's really happening. I know it's hard to believe, but most media outlets here are a propaganda machine for the liberals. If I didn't see it every day, I'd find it hard to believe, too. A free, unbiased press has always been an integral part of what makes our country great. We've lost that.

J., I saw part of Matt Taibbi's testimony and the way his integrity was attacked. Good for him the way he stood up to them. I find myself struggling to explain just how screwed up things are here.

Nik wrote: "Mueller's report got quite an exposure. Those interested couldn't have missed it"

This is a part of how the MSM just carried on after the Mueller Report was released.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=rdHhHHrnh...

Scout wrote: "Here's a story reported by Daily Mail about a policeman who ran over an Antifa protester recently in Tacoma, Washington:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-..."
I totally agree. The statement by O'Donnell should have had some context. It makes it sound like the officer simply ran over someone and leaves the reader with a bad impression. I see this in the news so often, as in most recently the gentleman in the Capitol who is now serving 4 years when he was actually being led around by the Capitol police. Why were we, or his attorneys given access to the complete videos? More transparency needed.

I follow the news daily to keep informed about what is happening on Planet Earth.

95% of my information is sourced directly from the Associated Press wires (Local - World - Political) accessed directly from the internet. I check first thing in the morning over a cup of coffee and again in the evening over a glass of single-malt Scotch.

I prefer the AP direct wires because there is no commentary, opinion, or biase. The reports are brief and to the point, with no entertaining commentary; just the basic facts.

If I do obtain news on television or the radio, I only listen to a Public Radio Station or watch a Public Broadcastjing Television Channel. They always invite participants whose opinions on the issue differ and allow them to present their case.

I find the standard commercial news shows to be a bit (or often more than a bit) prejudiced toward one side of a situation or the other. I prefer to evaluate the facts and arrive at my own conclusion or opinion.

Wanda wrote: "I see this in the news so often, as in most recently the gentleman in the Capitol who is now serving 4 years when he was actually being led around by the Capitol police. ..."

Before you exonerate this guy, he was asked to leave and warned he was breaking the law. Regardless of if he was led around the Capital, he refused to leave when ordered. That is not in dispute. Whether he should have received as harsh a sentence or not or whether he had evidence withheld in a Brady violation remains to be seen. I am not happy seeing the footage either and I suspect it will be a Brady violation. Yet, he did what he was accused.

Jim wrote: "I follow the news daily to keep informed about what is happening on Planet Earth.

95% of my information is sourced directly from the Associated Press wires (Local - World - Political) accessed di..."

The cable media channels are not really news, but news opinion. If you want unbiased news, watch the local channels. AP is a good source too. I do not avoid Public Radio, but they do tilt a bit left and always have. Not horribly, but it is there.

Since this thread is about news reporting, Papa, it's not so much about whether the guy is guilty, but that the public wasn't allowed at the time to see what really happened. I agree with Wanda that more transparency is needed.

As for Public Radio and TV, they have always slanted left, although they give the appearance of presenting both sides. You only have to listen to programs like Fresh Air to hear the liberal influence, but shows like Science Friday are apolitical. You also have to take into consideration that bias can influence what news is reported and what news is left out. Personally, I listen to NPR and enjoy it, but I take some things with a grain of salt.

Scout wrote: "Since this thread is about news reporting, Papa, it's not so much about whether the guy is guilty, but that the public wasn't allowed at the time to see what really happened. I agree with Wanda tha..."

There are two parts to this case. One the public was shown what it was shown and I noted that may be a Brady violation if it was withheld evidence by the prosecutors. Even if it is a Brady violation, he still did what he was accused of doing. That is not in dispute.

As for the transparency, it is a double edged sword. 41,000 hours were turned over to Tucker Carlson and he released very little too. He released what appears to having the horned guy led around and given a tour. Yet what was not shown by Tucker was him not leaving. That is a bias too. If the prosecutors are playing games, then they should be taken to the proverbial woodshed.

For me the big difference is that one is a legal standard for court and the other is entertainment. What it is absolutely not is news.

NPR cancels 4 podcasts amid major layoffs
https://www.npr.org/2023/03/23/116555...

When Rolling Stone did this story, I bought into it. I was wrong.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=r5K4delcS...

J. wrote: "When Rolling Stone did this story, I bought into it. I was wrong.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=r5K4delcS..."

I hope it is not true. Let it runs its course to find the truth.

A sad day for art
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-c...

So it seems

Papaphilly wrote: "J. wrote: "When Rolling Stone did this story, I bought into it. I was wrong.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=r5K4delcS..."

I hope it is not true. Let it runs its course to find the truth."

For the MSM, the truth is secondary to quarterly earnings.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=WxVt430fm...

Philip wrote: "A sad day for art
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-c..."

And one wonders why the world thinks Americans are ignorant.

Philip wrote: "A sad day for art
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-c..."

She was collateral damage in a culture war.

America has an intense puritanical streak which is normally held in check by the majority of Americans minding their own business. The override on that check is children. So, when the Intersectionalists started pushing their agenda in elementary schools, the parents lost their s***.

For now, the pearl clutchers and the Karens are riding a wave of outraged parents who think that kindergartners should be learning the alphabet, not the ins and outs of lesbianism.

J. wrote: "Philip wrote: "A sad day for art
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-c..."

She was collateral damage in a culture war.

America has an intense puritanical streak which is normally held ..."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-euro...

Apparently, Italian art experts don't read their own history.
https://medium.com/lessons-from-histo....

J. wrote: "Apparently, Italian art experts don't read their own history.
https://medium.com/lessons-from-histo......"

I hoped we might be more enlightened but I fear we are not

Philip wrote: "J. wrote: "Apparently, Italian art experts don't read their own history.
https://medium.com/lessons-from-histo......"

We're all sinners.

While the BBC is making Britain feel superior to their American cousins, this is a taste of the real problem with American schools.

23 Baltimore schools have zero students proficient in math, per state test results
https://foxbaltimore.com/news/project...

Funny, I am far more embarrassed by 23 schools in one of our cities not having a single student capable of doing arithmetic at grade level.

J. wrote: "Philip wrote: "J. wrote: "Apparently, Italian art experts don't read their own history.
https://medium.com/lessons-from-histo......"

So would I be - my daughter teaches elementary in NC, although planning to quit this summer
Not feeling superior and the BBC like to point out failing all over - it rarely publishes good stories. We have examples in UK of equal stupidity and equal failure in teaching - we also have teacher strikes at the moment

If you want to know what the BBC is worth, ask one question. "How long were they covering for Jimmy Savile?"

A new twist in the in the Twitter Files Saga:

Apparently, an IRS agent turned up at Matt Taibbi's home, while he was testifying before Congress.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=tzDUik0O4...

J. wrote: "If you want to know what the BBC is worth, ask one question. "How long were they covering for Jimmy Savile?""

OUCH!

Yeah, Biden weaponizing the IRS. Not unlike other presidents going after political opponents, but going after a private citizen isn't fair play. Right?

If anyone properly pays their taxes, the IRS should leave them alone, but I think it is fair to go after genuine tax evaders.

When you have aisles of tax law, who can really say that they are paying them properly?

That is the government's fault. You should know when you are breaking the law. That is one place where NZ is better - the tax law is actually fairly simple. Any expense made with the intention of earning income is deductible, but hardly anything else is. There are issues about classifying deductions, so it is not entirely simple, but I gather it is far simpler than US tax law, which I gather is a gift from heaven for tax lawyers with really rich guys as clients.

Ian wrote: "That is the government's fault. You should know when you are breaking the law. That is one place where NZ is better - the tax law is actually fairly simple. Any expense made with the intention of e..."

What you have to understand it is the tax code runs thousands of pages. It is not the problem of paying your taxes, but which taxes where? It should be simple, but it is anything else.

As I said, that is the government's fault. As you said, it should be simple, or at least reasonably simple.

Ian wrote: "If anyone properly pays their taxes, the IRS should leave them alone, but I think it is fair to go after genuine tax evaders."

The issue is the things they were looking at are always addressed with a letter. They've never sent an actual agent to someone's house over something like this.

In message 429 Scout claimed they are weaponizing the IRS. Does that mean explosive letters are in the post? :-)

Consider this: at the time our tax authority stats were - only 3% of annual tax reports, picked randomly, were ever checked by a tax(wo)man. Allowing for a proportion of superrich in the population- what are the chances of any of them ever getting on the radar, unless there is a specific intel (does IRS have an intel unit?) or change of policy ?

UK
https://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/news...
The High Net Worth Unit and Serious Fraud also feature in HMRC
So 25 Individuals investigated by 500 staff - doubt it's covering its costs

PS Forgot to mention that the unit features in one of my series

Sounds like too many chasing not much. Whys can't 500 investigators chase, say 250 individuals at then same time?

At least that OCW unit was established. It’s a starter. Agree that 500 (wo)manpower should be able to process a larger workload

Ian wrote: "In message 429 Scout claimed they are weaponizing the IRS. Does that mean explosive letters are in the post? :-)"

No, that means audits, massive fines, and potential prison time for an error when interpreting thousands of pages of laws which were written by lawyers and CPAs who hate the world.

I wonder how often IRS involvement results in suicide.

Ian wrote: "In message 429 Scout claimed they are weaponizing the IRS. Does that mean explosive letters are in the post? :-)"


I know you mean this to be humorous, but we are not laughing. The IRS is truly hated by the country. They are one of the few institutions that do not have good checks and balances and they are a law unto themselves. You start off guilty there and have to prove you are innocent. In the meantime, you can have your entire life ruined. A number of years ago Congress had hearings of the abuse the populace was involved over and what came out was truly scary. That was bipartisan hearings by the way.

That is bad, and makes me grateful for our IRD, who, by and large, while not exactly loved are at least accepted. When they do get into the news, the court case usually shows they were perfectly justified in going after someone who was clearly evading.

In my very limited experience as an author, to take advantage of the tax treaty I have to fill in a US tax form every three years, and what I have found is every time the procedure is nothing like the previous ones, and each time somehow or other the form seems to have all sorts of catches to ensure you can't succeed in your claim. They must have an army of guys just designing forms, despite the fact the previous ones were working well.

NPR LOSES IT after Elon labels 'State Media's
https://youtu.be/V4QpO7Vab_w

I watched the video, and I think they had a good point. Regardless of whatever government funds NPR receives, the reporting is biased toward the viewpoints of their mostly liberal audience.

And, Ian, funny comment about the IRS sending explosive letters in the post. But what they're actually doing, in the case of Matt Taibbi, is sending agents to the home of an individual to intimidate him because he has exposed the coercive actions of the current administration to censor social media. They're intimidating a private citizen at the behest of the government. What the hell? A government agency applying pressure to silence opposition.

Yes, Scout, I hoped my "explosive letters" might raise a smile in these dismal times.

And yes, I agree completely. Government agencies must not be used to intimidate opposition to the government. The first step by the IRS should have been to write and specifically ask him to explain whatever tax issue they have.

Biden went to Ireland and told some kids (not the press) that they could ask questions. Here's what happened, according to SkyNews Australia:

https://www.skynews.com.au/world-news...

Hunter had to step in and rescue his dad. Yes, that's right.

Who reported it? Australian news, FOX News, and the New York Post. That's it. When I searched, I found one other report by CNN, and they didn't mention the incident at all. Look:
https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/14/politi...

When I tell you guys that news reporting here is extremely biased and that major outlets protect Biden, this is a perfect example. People who watch only major news outlets never see the real Joe. I think that if they did, they'd be as disappointed and worried as I am.

Such situation necessitates watching rival camps media outlets to stay abreast, which approach would probably result in increasing feeling of two parallel realities

Definitely parallel realities here. The bias is in what's not reported.