World is Falling Apart Thread (Locked forever)

[dsheinem]

Oh come on, mostly celeberties! Part of the Political Machine that needs fixed.

http://deadline.com/2016/11/presidentia ... 201855662/

President Barack Obama today unveiled 21 recipients for the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor presented to those “who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.” This list is loaded with Hollywood figures: Tom Hanks, Ellen DeGeneres, Robert De Niro, Lorne Michaels, Robert Redford, Diana Ross, Bruce Springsteen, Dodgers announcer Vin Scully and Cicely Tyson.

What's the problem? Those celebrities certainly seem to fit the criteria.

[Exhuminator]

Also, "clean coal" is a myth and a marketing term coined by a dying industry.

Whether it is or is not a myth, there's an even bigger problem right now:

“Ideally, in a democracy, everybody would agree that climate change is the consequence of man-made behavior, because that’s what ninety-nine per cent of scientists tell us,” he said. “And then we would have a debate about how to fix it. That’s how, in the seventies, eighties, and nineties, you had Republicans supporting the Clean Air Act and you had a market-based fix for acid rain rather than a command-and-control approach. So you’d argue about means, but there was a baseline of facts that we could all work off of. And now we just don’t have that." -Obama

He says this is why: https://www.inverse.com/article/24175-b ... ate-change

[prfsnl_gmr]

I know...I know...I am increasingly coming around to Mr. Popo's views on humanity...

[Exhuminator]

I know...I know...I am increasingly coming around to Mr. Popo's views on humanity...

"Obama and his political director, David Simas, were “talking obsessively” about a recent BuzzFeed article that revealed that many sites propagating fake news were actually created by Macedonian teens."

You got it, a Buzzfeed article about a bunch of Slavic teenagers from the middle of nowhere has our president riled up. That's the world we live in, ladies and gentlemen.

[ElkinFencer10]

I know...I know...I am increasingly coming around to Mr. Popo's views on humanity...

"Obama and his political director, David Simas, were “talking obsessively” about a recent BuzzFeed article that revealed that many sites propagating fake news were actually created by Macedonian teens."

You got it, a Buzzfeed article about a bunch of Slavic teenagers from the middle of nowhere has our president riled up. That's the world we live in, ladies and gentlemen.

It's sad when we're reduced to Buzzfeed for providing necessary whistleblowing about media bullshit. Buzzfeed should not be on the "more reliable" side of Internet news....

[Blu]

Also, "clean coal" is a myth and a marketing term coined by a dying industry.

Whether it is or is not a myth, there's an even bigger problem right now:

“Ideally, in a democracy, everybody would agree that climate change is the consequence of man-made behavior, because that’s what ninety-nine per cent of scientists tell us,” he said. “And then we would have a debate about how to fix it. That’s how, in the seventies, eighties, and nineties, you had Republicans supporting the Clean Air Act and you had a market-based fix for acid rain rather than a command-and-control approach. So you’d argue about means, but there was a baseline of facts that we could all work off of. And now we just don’t have that." -Obama

He says this is why: https://www.inverse.com/article/24175-b ... ate-change

Yes, but prfsnl_gmr's point is that that myth ties into your point around fake news and lobbying to spin it a certain way. Antarctica's ice sheet isn't expanding this year, given the extraordinary (rather, this is probably the new normal) warmth of this year. http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articl ... ecord-lows

It's amazing that in the 90's it was worries about acid rain, aerosol cans, and the ozone layer. Quite literally we are losing the ice sheets that reflect sunlight from entering. The ice leaving will slow the convection currents in our oceans, and contribute to additional instability in our ecosystem/world.

It's one thing to get riled up about the source, but how do you stave off where the misinformation comes from and realize it contributes to the misinformed narrative? It erodes that baseline of scientific fact that we are looking to give credibility to. It's how we end up with arguments from your crazy uncle like, "Global Warming isn't real, the scientific community is in disagreement."

[prfsnl_gmr]

That's the world we live in, ladies and gentlemen.

Indeed. People will believe pretty much anything they read on the internetif is consistent with their world view, and the journalistic ethics and standards that provided our society with reasonably accurate information for so many years (and that some of us learned something about in journalism courses) is only for the biased, "lamestream" media. Sad.

(I've said it once, and I'll say it again...Cognitive dissonance is the most powerful force on earth, and most people don't even know what it is.)

[Exhuminator]

It's one thing to get riled up about the source, but how do you stave off where the misinformation comes from and realize it contributes to the misinformed narrative? It erodes that baseline of scientific fact that we are looking to give credibility to. It's how we end up with arguments from your crazy uncle like, "Global Warming isn't real, the scientific community is in disagreement."

Rational people don't get their news off of Facebook. Unfortunately there are a lot more irrational people then there are rational. Sensationalist media makes more money selling sensationalist lies then they do inconvenient truths. You guys know all this. The planet is presently in a state of crisis because the vast majority of humans are greedy, lazy, and dumb. Nothing humanity is doing about it will change on a global scale, until humanity absolutely has too. As long as Joe American dipshit can drive his big pollution spewing V8 truck, eat his methane-building burger, and frack all day for a living, he's gonna do just that. And I'm well aware Trump won't fix this problem. I'm counting on the more enlightened European nations to come together and lead the way.

[J T]

...oh an linking breitbart? Bad idea, they went into the crapper once the namesake died.

I'm not even familiar with that site,

Breitbart News is the alt-right media business run by Steve Bannon, who I mentioned earlier and is now Trump's senior counselor. Check them out. They run stories of the highest journalistic integrity, with such headlines as...


“Birth Control Makes Women Unattractive and Crazy”

"Data: Young Muslims in the West are a Ticking Time Bomb, Increasingly Sympathizing with Radicals, Terror"

“There’s No Hiring Bias Against Women in Tech, They Just Suck at Interviews”

“Bill Kristol: Republican Spoiler, Renegade Jew”

“Does Feminism Make Women Ugly?”

"After the Pulse Club Massacre, it's Time for Gays to Come Home to Republican Party"

"Planned Parenthood's Body Count Under Cecile Richards is up to Half a Holocaust"

“The Solution to Online ‘Harassment’ Is Simple: Women Should Log Off”

"Hoist It High And Proud: The Confederate Flag Proclaims A Glorious Heritage"

"Lesbian Bridezillas Bully Bridal Shop Owner of Religious Beliefs"

"Donald Trump Would Be the Real First Black President"

and here's one for Exhuminator:
"EXCLUSIVE! Donald Trump Plans to Continue GOP Legacy of Leading on Women's, Civil Rights Against Racist, Sexist Democrats"

[MrPopo]

One final point, Trump is smart to bypass the media. Not because it is biased against him, but because it will keep him from having to answer questions about his administration and his policy proposals from anyone besides his most fawning supporters. Keep that in mind the next time he releases a YouTube video about how great he's doing.

This is why I like Trump's method of reaching the public. He is judged on what he puts out unedited. Any questions asked back to his Twitter or YouTube postings are from the public and not self serving media. Yes, he can decide to answer or not; a smart move on his part.

Yeah, isn't it great that Trump doesn't have to defend his positions from inquiry?