Biden vs. Trump: a reality check

Check your premises. Let’s examine the issues methodically, focusing on something simple, verifiable and straightforward, then considering the ramifications. I’m an outsider, living in Europe, and I believe looking at things from a distance may help. Scene from the last Presidential Debate: Biden shouts confidently: “I never said I oppose fracking.” Trump complains and says that’s on tape. Biden challenges him to show the alleged tape. After the debate, of course the Trump campaign obliges. Case closed, right? This reminds me of what David Wood says about Muslim apologists: they make up stuff that sounds ludicrous to anyone in the know, but their astounding confidence is the only thing that…

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The birth of Fake News

Have you ever wondered how the expression originated? I mean, in a wider sense the dissemination of fabricated stories, mostly for propaganda reasons, dates back at least to Ancient Greece, and that’s just because we have limited data from earlier civilizations. But why the sudden alarm for the spread of fake news? Not all TED conferences are created equal. Some even contain inconvenient truths. Sharyl Attkisson is a tough cookie: a investigative journalist who worked in the mainstream media, a respectable voice that can’t be silenced by pretending she comes from the unwashed fringe. Although of course she left CBS when her tough stance and pointed critique of Obama’s administration…

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