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Ben Norton @BenjaminNorton
, 5 tweets, 2 min read Read on Twitter
This is such a disgrace. US government-funded propaganda outlet Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty wrote "so-called" and used scare quotes around Armenia's Genocide Remembrance Day, casting doubt on the Armenian Genocide to appease NATO member Turkey
Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty is a US government-funded "news" outlet that was created by the CIA during the Cold War to spread anti-communist propaganda.

It notoriously whitewashed US-backed fascists like the Afghan Mujahideen and Nicaraguan Contras.
nytimes.com/2017/10/13/opi…
Just one day before he entered office, Obama declared, "The facts are undeniable. An official policy that calls on diplomats to distort the historical facts is an untenable policy... And as president I will recognize the Armenian Genocide."

He never did.
salon.com/2016/06/02/ger…
"Only a handful of people knew that NCFE was actually the public face of an innovative 'psychological warfare' project undertaken by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). That operation – which soon gave rise to Radio Free Europe..."
cia.gov/news-informati…
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(Movie Review Thread) I just saw Peter Jackson's new film They Shall Not Grow Old, a documentary on World War I. The film is technically breathtaking, but I was shocked to see a film on WWI that is completely apolitical. It's about political mass slaughter but it avoids politics!
They Shall Not Grow Old does not even try to explain why WWI was fought — let alone why it was an entirely preventable, pointless inter-imperialist bloodbath that led to the unnecessary deaths of tens of millions of (almost entirely poor) people!
Instead the whole point of the film is to humanize the soldiers fighting in WWI and show what day-to-day life was for them. And that's great; it's important to see the mind-boggling horrors of WWI and trench warfare. But that must be done *in historical and political context*.
Read 14 tweets
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I just saw @ViceMovie, and it's brilliant. The film shows how well-made narratives can capture the zeitgeist and politics of an era not only more captivatingly but even more accurately than documentaries. Because it's not just about the facts; it's about the tone and attitude.
.@GhostPanther masterfully captured the essence of Cheney and the Bush admin -- and the facts, yes, but more importantly the spirit.

Christian Bale and Amy Adams used their bodies as instruments, like musical virtuosi, to forge a sick world in which reactionary power intoxicates
Vice does much more than just retell the story of Cheney/Bush's crimes; it offers profound human insight into how right-wing aspiring autocrats think about and see the world, and their place in it

By humanizing blood-soaked Dick Cheney, it makes his crimes all the more monstrous
Read 6 tweets
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I interviewed peace activist @MedeaBenjamin of @CODEPINK, who stressed that US support for the Saudi monarchy must be fundamentally challenged.

Some US officials want a cosmetic change, simply replacing Crown Prince MBS, but the problem runs much deeper
.@MedeaBenjamin: "It's our job now to say this is not just about MBS... We have to use this time to re-evaluate the entire relationship. But it’s very difficult then, because there’s so much money that is involved in this."
therealnews.com/stories/the-re…
Back in early 2016, @CODEPINK organized the first-ever summit calling for an end to the "suicidal death pact between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia" salon.com/2016/03/10/ins…
Read 3 tweets

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Donna Strickland, one of this year's Nobel Laureates, was not considered "notable enough" for Wikipedia as late as this May—reported by a number of sites, including the Independent. I dug into this a little. Here's the data—
This is the first deletion, back in 2014. A bit hard to read between the lines, but the basic story that an admin had Stickland's page "speedy deleted"—i.e., deleted without debate. The method was something called Copyright Jujitsu.
In particular, the admin had the page deleted not because of notability, but because it included a photograph of Strickland that had ambiguous copyright status. This is a method that people developed to get rid of content they didn't want, but also didn't want to debate.
Read 21 tweets
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there's a major error in the first line of this story and we need to talk about it. @robferguson1 and @robertbenzie write that michael tibollo was called a racist for his absurd bulletproof vest stunt. yet the article doesn't cite anyone calling tibollo a racist
NDP leader andrea horwath and MPP kevin yarde both refer to tibollo's comments in the house as racist, but don't ascribe the word to him personally. it's inaccurate and confusing to suggest a phantom person is calling yarde a racist when the critiques dealt with his language
I'm intrigued by this because this error happens all the time. someone points out the racism of a statement or action, but the story gets told as "jim called john a racist." this seems to be what people hear or interpret, even when no one is saying it
Read 10 tweets
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Friendly reminder:

Too many journalists more interested in the 'game of politics' & 'sensational statements' of candidates' is why the US currently has Trump destroying their nation and shitting on all their respected "conventions" of Govt.

#Auspol should beware of same here.
This is a serious issue. As the US found, many of the 'conventions of Government' that Trump trashes are not rules, not part of the Constitution, just 'conventions' which all flavour of President had respected.

Riding roughshod over 'conventions' is a slippery slope.
It has taken reporters in the US quite a bit of time to call out the trashing of these 'conventions' by their President, but sadly, damage is now done.

In Australia, we have seen various Governments over the years try to skirt convention.
Read 48 tweets
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Hi, Megan. I am outside the house right now but I will be answering this at length later.
As promised, @asymmetricinfo, I am home now and prepared to walk you -- at length and in detail -- through my mental model of how Trump as the American Hitler deprives us of democracy.
First principles: I think we must start by recognizing that Hitler's model was "seize power by whatever means are available and necessary". The fascist will to power is not about checking off specific items on a list but doing whatever is necessary to check off the final items.
Read 35 tweets
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Most people think that "printing money" causes inflation while government "borrowing" does not. But they're wrong. They both can cause inflation, and by the same amount. Let's see why. (Thread)
People think this because "printing money" increases the money supply, while "borrowing" does not, it just shifts money around. But that's not really how prices work. Inflation happens when people try to buy more goods/services than the economy can produce. (2/)
If the car-makers can only produce 100 cars, but buyers are trying to purchase 1,000 cars...then they're going to raise the price. It's less about how much money there is, and more about what people are doing with their money. Not buying anything = no inflation. (3/)
Read 12 tweets
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Critically ill Russian national is 66yo Sergei Skripal, former intel colonel/double agent granted refuge in UK after a 2010 "spy swap" between US & Russia. He and a woman were apparently poisoned in/near Salisbury shopping center. bbc.in/2D2oj7X
Ex-Russian spy & daughter 'poisoned' in UK sparks fears of another Kremlin-backed hit. Investigators scrambling to identify the chemical used. Skripal feared for his life after his wife died in a car crash & his son was killed in a road incident.. thesun.co.uk/news/5733372/s…
UK warns Kremlin over poisoning of ex-spy Skripal & his daughter. Recalling Litvinenko murder, FM Johnson said UK was "in the lead across the world" in trying to counteract a "host of malign activity" by Russia.

Skripal's brother, son & wife have been killed in the last 2 year.
Read 76 tweets

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