Politics

Banning Russia Today sets a dangerous precedent – The Post

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Banning Russia Today sets a dangerous precedent – The Post

We need to know what is going on in Russia. Having access to the unfiltered Moscow line is vital when trying to understand Putin’s next steps. A prematurely published article celebrating Russia’s ‘victory’ over Ukraine was available on state-owned RIA-Novosti news agency and Sputnik’s site before being removed — a piece of journalism that revealed the extent of the Russian state’s disregard for Ukrainian sovereignty. By labelling this as dangerous ‘misinformation’, Dorries, von der Leyen and Clegg are preventing European citizens from getting the full picture on the political machinations coming out of the Kremlin.

Perhaps more importantly, the precedent set by such bold action as banning foreign news sites should make us worried. Press freedom has taken a bashing recently; during the pandemic, YouTube and other sites censored TalkRadio?for alleged Covid ‘misinformation’, while a recent BBC Stephen Nolan podcast revealed the extent to which Ofcom was willing to silence gender-critical views labelled ‘hate speech’. When it comes to interpreting foreign conflicts, the British government has proved itself to be similarly light?on principle. While British citizens who left to fight against ISIS with the Kurds were labelled terrorists and prosecuted on return, the foreign secretary Liz Truss announced her support for British citizens to fight with the Ukrainians against Russia during a broadcast round this weekend.???

Why I check Russia Today 🇷🇺 for the news 📰

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Why I check Russia Today 🇷🇺 for the news 📰

For a long time I’ve been very interested in alternative perspectives not available on the mainstream media. I often think that sources like NPR are very one sided, too quick to dismiss other perspectives by calling them fake news and propaganda. But often alternative sources have good facts about what is happening on the ground, even if they have a different take on events based on alternative values.

People are quick to dismiss things that they disagree with as fake news. But when people and organizations are trying to censor things like Russia Today, then it’s all the more important to read up about them and learn their perspective and what parts of the conflict their highlighting. Russia Today is particularly good at highlighting the hypocrisy of the United States and the west when it comes to ideals of justice and fairness, even if they rarely look inwards to the problems of Russia. Just because they turn a blind eye to their country’s own problems or evils doesn’t mean they are fake.

By the same token, I also read the NY Post and Fox News not because I embrace all their pro police propaganda or sensationalist crime stories but because I like to be informed of the issues that concern conservative minded politicians. Not because I’m a right winger but because I like to hear the full spectrum of news and pick out stories and perspectives that make sense based on the evidence. Previously, I would read Inspire, the English translation of the recruiting magazine of Al Queda to be informed on how the Taliban saw the world.

My advice – visit RT.com regularly.

Reading the perspectives of the Russian government won’t brain wash you but will make you an informed citizen who is more understanding of the Russian society and culture. Understanding other cultures can help make you a voice for peace and an more informed person.

Adaptive Headlights Are Officially NHTSA-Approved

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Adaptive Headlights Are Officially NHTSA-Approved

The United States may be a land of freedom and opportunity, but it is also a place with some seriously dumb laws. Take Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108 for example, which legally prevents high-beam and low-beam headlight elements from operating at the same time. That may have seemed like an issue in 1967 when the rule arrived, but it has somehow managed to keep adaptive headlights out of the U.S. for nearly two decades. Now, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has finally come to terms with industry pressures. A new rule signed on February 1 will finally allow automakers to install adaptive headlights in the U.S.

Who’s “Cleaning” Our Voter Rolls? Soros Funded ERIC Is Now Used In 31 States

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Who’s “Cleaning” Our Voter Rolls? Soros Funded ERIC Is Now Used In 31 States

Been hearing a lot about ERIC on NPR lately. While they have been reporting a lot about conservative push back about ERIC, there hasn't been a lot of reporting on conservative concerns about it.

Not sure if they are legitimate concerns - seems like encouraging potential voters to register is a good thing, but their views are worth hearing. Plus it seems like they should be checking for duplicate voter registrations when people move out of state and if people are voting in multiple states.

But I also could see why conservatives might not like the system - a lot of emphasis is encouraging people to register to vote, with other purposes worthwhile but secondary. And it's been strongly pushed by liberal funders. But it seems like it's not a bad idea to keep voter rolls tidy and have a tool to investigate fraud the rare times it happens. 

Americans Aren’t As Polarized As The News Makes It Seem

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Americans Aren’t As Polarized As The News Makes It Seem 2/10/22

by FiveThirtyEight, 538, ABC News, Nate Silver

Web player: https://podcastaddict.com/episode/135307118 Episode: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.megaphone.fm/ESP9949263941.mp3?updated=1644525298

Political scientists Yanna Krupnikov and John Barry Ryan suggest that focusing only on the Left/Right divide in American politics is reductive. By doing so we are missing another important divide, one that may actually run counter to the idea that America is hopelessly conflicted between red and blue.

NPR

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Officials Fear A New Normal As Republicans Make Baseless California Fraud Claims : NPR

For years leading up to the 2020 election, then-President Donald Trump was clear: If he lost, it would be because of voter fraud.

Ahead of California's recall election Tuesday, for which ballots were mailed to all 22 million registered voters in the state, he made a similar baseless declaration.

"Does anybody really believe the California Recall Election isn't rigged?" Trump said in a statement Monday. "Millions and millions of Mail-In Ballots will make this just another giant Election Scam, no different, but less blatant, than the 2020 Presidential Election Scam!"

A Republican hasn't won a statewide race in California since 2006, and recent polling shows Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom favored to beat the recall and keep his office.

Still, Republicans are already setting the stage to blame a loss on voter fraud, and not on a declining base of support in a state that President Biden won by 5 million votes last year.