As IF Times

Source: When Silicon Valley Took Over the New Republic – The Atlantic

We seldom get to see the kind of naked honesty about the present state of journalism discussed in such candor as in the linked article.  Of course this will be a shock to those that have their worldview shaped by Facebook news or for that matter, many of the popular news outlets.  In the parlance of phone email services, the trends are all about push news, not pull news.  In other words, you don’t look for news; news is pushed onto you.

I have extensively pointed out the sinister creep of push news for years, starting with of course, my favorite, Climate Change, tactfully re- branded from Global Warming.  Given the recent inconvenient publicity that Al Gore has received once again by the supportive media, we are expected to believe that his discredited bleats are in the forefront of the average person’s consciousness.  The first fantasy movie that he produced was such a success, that apparently, people are waiting in rapt anticipation for his newly released sequel…well, at least those that didn’t sell everything and are hunkered in the mountains waiting for high tide Armageddon.

That Gore continues to attract the media spotlight is amazing until you consider all of the other annoying spam that gets media exposure…like a staph infection that won’t go away. I refer to regular revelations of the Kardashian Clan, the Jenners, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, etc etc.  On a too often basis, we get the most recent Michael Moore utterance.  If you believe the media, at this very moment, the life of Diana has suddenly attained must know status for people.  Diana.  She’s been dead for 20 years!  Yet the entire media are splashing headlines about her as if she just had breakfast.  You know the tabloids are running out of ideas if they revive a long dead story to get clicks.  Next in line; is JFK really dead?

Most people don’t even know that they are the victims of push news.  The effectiveness of modern push media is such that confirmation bias is rampant among much of the populace. If your peer group confirms the same worldview based on their sources of news, then an entire fake reality becomes real…without anyone knowing why.  They’ve become parrots who regurgitate what’s been repeatedly heard.  Let me say this: if climate change is really the number one concern among your peer group, you may have been co-opted by push news.  If you think transgender bathroom issues are at the top of society’s concerns, you may need to expand your news sources.  Do people really think Russia, Russia, Russia is a valid news thread?  The linked article confirms what many have known for years and perhaps many more are awakening to:  News is no longer news. It’s structured to get the most clicks.  It’s a business…with a world of unwitting customers.

Source: Russian 6th-generation fighter will employ powerful lasers to burn enemy missile seeker heads – Washington Times

We expect these types of developments from the military sectors of any society because throughout history, nations have always searched for any and all military advantage against possible enemies.  No one disputes this, since there is an evidence trail supporting this notion going back probably well over 5000 years.  Rocks and stones were usurped by bows and arrows, then catapults, then supplanted by guns, then by machine guns, to bombs to lasers, etc etc.

In the present day, China has been quite publicly showcasing their military might as has Russia and of course, North Korea, which fires off ICBM’s regularly as proof of their ability.  Sabre rattling and huffing and puffing to be sure, but that is the entire point; to intimidate your enemies.  Meanwhile, if the American popular media are to believed, the U.S. army is consumed with the idea of the eligibility of gender confused individuals being members of their armed forces.  This could in fact be a brilliant military ploy on the part of the Americans to render their enemies hapless through laughter.

Oddly, many today seem to forget the fundamental truth about military conflicts:  that they’re in it to win since losing likely means death.  If military conflict is seen to be the only resolution, then there should be no holds barred to achieve victory.  When soldiers sign up to an army of any nation, one of the first things that happens is that they become anonymous.   They become numbers and not individuals.  They are homogenized by haircut, by dress and by behavior. The individual is sublimated to create strength for the group.  No one should care about the next person’s peccadillos, nor should they command any special consideration of them.  There really is no room for the new age sensitivities that are in such vogue these days at newly effete corporations.  There is no inclusiveness, no micro-aggressions, no gluten free diets and no choice of hairstyles.

The media obsession of rooting out ‘injustices’ in all aspects of normal life really don’t apply to a community of people who are expected to kill or possibly be killed in the course of their duty.  There are no standard cappuccino and restroom breaks.  In fact, in theater, there may be no gender specified washrooms; unless you wanted to post a sign over a hole.

We may tolerate the effete sensitivity required in many of today’s PC businesses, but why not leave the serious business of killing people to those that aren’t going to be offended because of micro aggressions or hurtful name calling?  If the enemies ever found out how soft the military underbelly is, they’d give up developing weapons and just make their soldiers watch old Don Rickles videos.