General Discussions

[LP]

I know this is a bug bear of yours, but if you want to live longer, try this simple trick

It's a bug bear because I see it's impact on youth, it doesn't affect me at all, but young adults are harming themselves at higher than ever rates and the fakeness of the way the world is presented to them is a big contributing factor.

These organizations are run by adults who make deliberate choices to harm for profit, a different type of weapon but a weapon no doubt!

[Baggers]

These organizations are run by adults who make deliberate choices to harm for profit, a different type of weapon but a weapon no doubt!

I don't believe they harm for profit, but rather profit at any cost. An important distinction. Accountability, responsibility... Empathy, all fly out the window. Just get those 'clicks'. But I certainly am equally outraged by this profound, and harmful, lack of decency from too many commercial media enterprises. Some of the opinion writers for the HUN engage pure divisiveness. Perhaps as Denzel W said recently, "Don't watch the News and be uninformed, watch the News and be misinformed!"

However, K does have an extremely valid point re subjecting yourself to sh1tty information that actually brings you down. I am reminded of Stoicism (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy actually has a measure of its roots in Stoicism) and the principle of understanding what you can change and what you can't change. Getting 'up in Annie's room' over things you can't influence, impact or change is a recipe for unhappiness or worse. Though a letter or some communication to these purveyors of misery will satisfy a sense of having at least done something. Then just move on. That's the tack I choose. Apologies for any preachiness!

[Lods]

My Dad was a newspaper man.
Printer/Journalist/ Editor
The media bias has always existed in some form.
Your employment basically depended on aligning yourself with your publisher's views.
You could stretch it a little but go too far and 'goodbye job.'

The problem is that over the years the bias and influence of the folks that run the various form of media has drifted so far from the basic reporting of facts without an added biased opinion thrown in that it becomes impossible to get a fair opinion on anything without constant channel or newspaper changing... and naturally folks tend to gravitate to outlets that support their own views and bias, rejecting most information no matter how valid from alternate sources.

Now multiply all that stuff by a factor of 100 and you have the 'grubbiness' that is social media.
A kangaroo court of opinion that has folks  tried, judged and executed before they're even given an opportunity to defend a position.

[LP]

My Dad was a newspaper man.
Printer/Journalist/ Editor
The media bias has always existed in some form.
Your employment basically depended on aligning yourself with your publisher's views.
You could stretch it a little but go too far and 'goodbye job.'

@Lods‍ Sounds like I've walked a similar path to your dad, I've been through that industry spending more than a decade in it filling a range of rolls in both print media and broadcast radio. In the end I came to realise that I was wasting a good education, and exited to an engineering career after luckily reaping some of the rewards of a Murdoch led takeover bid.

As [member=61]Baggers[/member]‍ points out, my main issue is the modern lack of accountability. If we published back then what they publish now you would have got the sack. In the past no matter how you coloured the report, it still had to be based in defendable facts, that seems to no longer be a requirement. Probably the closest I came to modern media behaviour was working with Scotty Palmer on sport, but even then he only embellished and dramatized stuff that was otherwise true, now they just make it up and they do not care who they hurt in the process! I distinguish Palmer's sporting journalism from the The Truth's UFO policy! ;D

The recent argy bargy surrounding Sam McClure awards shows you they no longer have boundaries, they even stoop to eating their own!

[LP]

War is nothing to brag about, the media coverage is abhorrent!

There are segments of the media lauding the sinking of a Russian ship today, like it's something to brag about. But in the case of the Soviet navy those ships are full the children of fellow humans, I'm not sure how it works in Russia but it may well be the case that many on board are perhaps even conscripts or on national service.

Deaths on any side is abhorrent, the war lords of the world should target those tyrants that value life so little, but they don't because they know if they do it will be Quid Pro Quo. So they send the little people who they know have no hope of administering retribution against those who issue the orders! Minions against minions, sent to war like Lemmings.

Putin or whoever, are the gutless, they make war because they basically live in fear!

[capcom]

Provoking NATO to the point that emphasises the solidarity amongst all members to unify against Russia should really worry Putin.  If he can't even defeat Ukraine, and loses 5 generals, thousands of men and armaments in the process, he stands no chance.  Sum of all fears.

[Thryleon]

I understand that people are saying this is Russia vs NATO, but lets face up to something here.

Almost all of the wars in the last 100 years that have been fought, are the result of historic rise and fall of empires, problems to do with modern concepts of ownership and nationalism including national identify, and largely resources and land just like they always have been.

The USA's sphere of influence has been eroding for quite some time, and this is linked (not exclusively) to British Imperialism, the fall of Roman empire, Geopolitics, the fall of the Ottoman empire, modern nationalism creating issues, political ideological agenda, and for the most part, bloody mindedness.

The victims of all wars ever fought are innocent people who are involved whether they like it or not, and I think its over simplifying things to place 100% of the blame on one person, and more specifically one nation here.

The former USSR were a "united nation" and far longer than any unique national identity that exists currently in Ukraine, and considering Hitler elected to march on it, before he marched on Moscow, speaks for the importance of its locale for both resources, and tactical advantages.

Whilst I disagree with the very premise of going to war, because violence should be used exclusively for defense, not offense, its very difficult to know the full impact of all of these actions.

One thing I like to do is, view the conflicts that we have witnessed over the last 50 or so years and choose not to view them in isolation.  They are simply the continuation of historic conflicts that have occurred throughout human history.

Humanity has struggled over much of this region for thousands of years, because they do have strategic importance.  The populations of these places have been invaded, and reinvaded many times through history and in our modern viewpoint, we have understood a largely peaceful existence with humanity prospering in ways that previous generations could only dream of.

The real PROBLEM is global.  That era of prosperity we can see crumbling almost across the globe and COVID was but one sign of a new threat to our lives.  Resources are going to start becoming problematic, and as a result, we are going to see new wars fought over old territory more frequently.  The sooner the world appreciates this, (I am not saying don't fight on Ukraine's behalf here) the better off we will all be.

Without wanting to point out fault for any one person or nation here, in 1974 the Island of Cyprus was invaded by Turkey to the point where the Island nation now has a split and demilitarised zone through it.  In Israel the 6 day war was waged and the neighbours were defeated, the Korean war, The Vietnam war, the split of the former Yugoslav republic, the Bosnian Crisis, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, and yet all of a sudden I see a very different messaging surrounding this particular one, and the only reason I can see is that the aggressor in this case, is a different actor.

Anyone have any any reason why this is any different to the other issues we have witnessed through history?  Once upon a time, the war was divided along communist/capitalist lines.  This feels a bit different.

[Professer E]

Then there's the colonisation by stealth strategy.  The poms get panned for their history, but what agreement the Solomons have signed with China will end in tears too.

[LP]

Then there's the colonisation by stealth strategy.  The poms get panned for their history, but what agreement the Solomons have signed with China will end in tears too.

Unfortunately, the people of The Solomon Islands are probably ignorant of this event, it's happening because of corrupt politicians and China knows it. China does not care about the perceptions of the people, and the bulk of Solomon Islanders might not even know a deal has been done until they are kicked off their own land to build a factory, air or naval base!

It's all part of Belt and Road, and unlike here very few local Solomon Islanders will take notice. Strategically, both our State and Federal level our politicians were asleep at the wheel, if no deliberately complicit, many were happy to point the finger after they had the cheques in the bank!

[Gointocarlton]

I understand that people are saying this is Russia vs NATO, but lets face up to something here.

Almost all of the wars in the last 100 years that have been fought, are the result of historic rise and fall of empires, problems to do with modern concepts of ownership and nationalism including national identify, and largely resources and land just like they always have been.

The USA's sphere of influence has been eroding for quite some time, and this is linked (not exclusively) to British Imperialism, the fall of Roman empire, Geopolitics, the fall of the Ottoman empire, modern nationalism creating issues, political ideological agenda, and for the most part, bloody mindedness.

The victims of all wars ever fought are innocent people who are involved whether they like it or not, and I think its over simplifying things to place 100% of the blame on one person, and more specifically one nation here.

The former USSR were a "united nation" and far longer than any unique national identity that exists currently in Ukraine, and considering Hitler elected to march on it, before he marched on Moscow, speaks for the importance of its locale for both resources, and tactical advantages.

Whilst I disagree with the very premise of going to war, because violence should be used exclusively for defense, not offense, its very difficult to know the full impact of all of these actions.

One thing I like to do is, view the conflicts that we have witnessed over the last 50 or so years and choose not to view them in isolation.  They are simply the continuation of historic conflicts that have occurred throughout human history.

Humanity has struggled over much of this region for thousands of years, because they do have strategic importance.  The populations of these places have been invaded, and reinvaded many times through history and in our modern viewpoint, we have understood a largely peaceful existence with humanity prospering in ways that previous generations could only dream of.

The real PROBLEM is global.  That era of prosperity we can see crumbling almost across the globe and COVID was but one sign of a new threat to our lives.  Resources are going to start becoming problematic, and as a result, we are going to see new wars fought over old territory more frequently.  The sooner the world appreciates this, (I am not saying don't fight on Ukraine's behalf here) the better off we will all be.

Without wanting to point out fault for any one person or nation here, in 1974 the Island of Cyprus was invaded by Turkey to the point where the Island nation now has a split and demilitarised zone through it.  In Israel the 6 day war was waged and the neighbours were defeated, the Korean war, The Vietnam war, the split of the former Yugoslav republic, the Bosnian Crisis, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, and yet all of a sudden I see a very different messaging surrounding this particular one, and the only reason I can see is that the aggressor in this case, is a different actor.

Anyone have any any reason why this is any different to the other issues we have witnessed through history?  Once upon a time, the war was divided along communist/capitalist lines.  This feels a bit different.

Or, Putin is just a c@#$ of a human.