monitoring Trump and relevant contemporary events

Al Qa'ida was the creation of the CIA during cold war games in Afghanistan.


Gross oversimplification

Toward the end of the Soviet military mission in Afghanistan, some foreign mujahideen wanted to expand their operations to include Islamist struggles in other parts of the world, such as Palestine and Kashmir. A number of overlapping and interrelated organizations were formed, to further those aspirations. One of these was the organization that would eventually be called al-Qaeda.

Some people disagreed with what Dixie Chicks said, where and when they said it.

"Just so you know, we're on the good side with y'all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we're ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas."

No serious person tried to bring suit that they shouldn't be allowed to criticize the president.

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Re: Setanta (Post 6505835)
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Trump says he wants a massive military parade down Pennsylvania Avenue on July 4

This is so disgusting. On so many levels.

there are lessons there to be learned about the worldwide arms trade

I think individuals have a right to block who they choose. Suit should be thrown out.

Neoconservative realpolitik.

re·al·po·li·tik
noun
a system of politics or principles based on practical rather than moral or ideological considerations.

The Dixie Chicks' speech rights were never imperiled. They were responded to, you know, with free speech.

Since then, I haven't hardly listened to country music at all in protest.

The Republican Governors Association has quietly launched an online publication that looks like a media outlet and is branded as such on social media. The Free Telegraph blares headlines about the virtues of GOP governors, while framing Democrats negatively. It asks readers to sign up for breaking news alerts. It launched in the summer bearing no acknowledgement that it was a product of an official party committee whose sole purpose is to get more Republicans elected.

Only after The Associated Press inquired about the site last week was a disclosure was added to The Free Telegraph’s pages identifying the publication’s partisan source.

The governors association describes the website as routine political communication. Critics, including some Republicans, say it pushes the limits of honest campaign tactics in an era of increasingly partisan media and a proliferation of “fake news” sites, including those whose material became part of an apparent Russian propaganda effort during the 2016 presidential campaign.

“It’s propaganda for sure, even if they have objective standards and all the reporting is 100 percent accurate,” said Republican communications veteran Rick Tyler, whose resume includes Ted Cruz’s 2016 presidential campaign.

If you swing by The Free Telegraph’s site right now, there is a disclosure notice at the very bottom that notes the outlet is “paid for by [the] Republican Governors Association.” But before anyone finds that impressive, it’s worth remembering that (a) the disclosure is in a small, gray font, against a gray background; and (b) that disclosure was only added to the site after the Associated Press started asking about it.

The Free Telegraph – not be confused with the Daily Telegraph, which is an actual newspaper published in the U.K. – has a Twitter feed that tells readers it’s “bringing you the political news that matters outside of Washington,” without mentioning its Republican ownership. The same is true of its Facebook account, which labels The Free Telegraph a “Media/News Company.”

“We don’t have to be tolerant of other people’s intolerance. That’s bullshit, frankly...”

...Quinn, who was known for speaking out about gender inequities in the gaming industry, became an avatar for everything the male-dominated gaming subculture detested or feared. “If I ever see you are doing a panel at an event I am going to, I will literally kill you,” said one of the early messages she received. “You are lower than **** and deserve to be hurt, maimed, killed, and finally, graced with my piss on your rotting corpse a thousand times over.”

I spoke to Quinn last week about why she chose to write a memoir right now and if she’s worried about exposing herself to more harassment. “I don't know if you can do anything visible enough and still have teeth to it that doesn't piss off somebody,” she told me. “At least the people who are pissed off at me are miserable, hateful little fuckers that I don't want to like me anyway.”