I did not dismiss any such reporting. I criticized a particular kind of journalism that relies on coughing up connections that invite substance-less inferences about malfeasance. Journalism-by-insinuation is not a good way to get at the truth.
From what I've read, it seems like NSOGroup is worthy of a lot of criticism and/or examination. SKDK's decision to briefly do PR for them (ending in 2019) is also interesting. What was the PR? What did SKDK know about NSO's practices? Why did SKDK stop doing PR for them?
I'd be happy to see reporting on this. And I would not defend SKDK if they were aware of unethical business practices & engaged in PR to cover them up.
But I wasn't informed by @kenvogel's tweet about any of this. It was much more in the vein of throwing spaghetti at the wall.
Overall, I'm not defending NSOGroup or SKDK or anyone else. I am criticizing reporting that relies on inference rather than evidence. Such reporting is also amplified by ideological biases. Some people might see "Anita Dunn" & think VILLAIN and others might see it & think: "who?"
In today's hyper-partisan factionalized political environment, I think we should stick to the facts. Not to insinuations, whispers, substance-less inferences, etc.
And that is really all I ask.
Oh one more thing. As important as all this is, how does it connect to the hacking story in a meaningful way? Is there a reason to believe that SKDK's PR materially helped NSOGroup in a way that relates to the hacking? If so, I'd love to know about it.
First, abortion is not an infectious disease. Second, this precedent is actually not new. We've actually been rather lax about COVID restrictions compared to other infectious disease control. When I had TB, I would have gone to jail if I refused treatment or broke quarantine
Here's what I went through w/ TB: random check ups to ensure I was quarantined. Supervised medicine over the course of 7 months. Literally had pills delivered to me every day, unwrapped, counted, and popped in my mouth. I wasn't allowed to touch them unsupervised.
There is a lot of hardcore infectious disease control happening behind the scenes. People just didn't see it before COVID. It's why we don't have a big issue w/ TB anymore! You are legally mandated to be treated. Requiring a vaccine for employment is child's play compared to that
One reason why this is a big deal? It brings HIV prevention into line with other infectious disease prevention. The federal government is taking steps to do for HIV what they have done for diseases like COVID and Tuberculosis.
I've talked about my own experience with TB before. The government poured money into my treatment in order to prevent others from being infected. They have also, clearly, invested in COVID.
I feel like this misunderstands the American political atmosphere. Those who are highly tuned into this process are already partisan. FOX news will succeed at convincing their audience the process is bad no matter what. Non-partisans will either ignore it or tune in irregularly
And Democrats shouldn't change their behavior based on how the GOP will spin it. It would be the political equivalent planning all your behavior to counteract the future narrative of an increasingly fascistic cheshire cat. There's no way to actually succeed on this path.
Better for Democrats to accept that the propaganda is going to exist no matter what & to counteract it when it comes. When planning their own activities, they should just do what they think is right.
There is not a one-to-one mapping between economic systems & prioritizing profit over human/environmental needs. Countries with socialism, communism, or varying degrees of nationalization can also have profit motivations that lead to bad human & environmental outcomes.
The USSR was a notorious polluter & engaged in massive deforestation. Russia is currently warming at a faster pace than the rest of the planet. Part of Ukraine is still sealed off due to Chernobyl. Also unfair labor practices were widespread and human welfare was poor.
China is a massive polluter and also has unfair labor practices, including child labor. Venezuela is suffering from a lot of pollution due to oil production and, again, human welfare is poor. PEMEX, the Mexican oil company that caused the ocean fire, is state-owned.
I'd be a lot less irritated by this whole "private space" thing if Bezos used some of his unfathomable fortune to alleviate some Americans' medical debt and paid his damn taxes
People make a lot of exaggerated claims about how many problems billionaires could truly solve in a sustainable way. Also, the charity model stinks & we need a stronger welfare state
That said, surely Bezos could have made some kind of generous gesture w/ this giant pile of $$
My point here is that I really wouldn't have a problem with someone funding their own space travel as long as they did nice things for other people. If Warren Buffett or George Soros wanted to employ a bunch of engineers to launch them into space, I'd be like, "Okay, that's fine"
If you want to understand the dynamics of the CBC and Black candidates for Congress, maybe just try to do some factual reporting, instead of wish-casting your feelings in some kind of bizarre white-puppeteer act about Black people you like vs Black people you think are uncool.
The fact that Nina Turner is identified as Black in this tweet but Shontel Brown is not carries the implication that perhaps the CBC has some kind of lack of support for Black candidates. Which, again, sounds like white people playing puppeteer with Black people. Not your toys!