Showing posts with label media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label media. Show all posts

Sunday, October 14, 2012

How to Customize Google News

news.google.com is my preferred source of news every morning. I customized Google News to have a black background with white text, first of all, by using Panos' Black Google Style in conjunction with the Stylish add-on for Firefox. If you haven't visited userstyles.org yet, you really should, because it rescues the Internet from clueless geeks.

On Google News, I filter out propaganda by clicking on the Settings button and adjusting the desired frequency from various news sources, as you can observe below.


Disingenuous news sources have a frequency of zero, meaning they should never appear on my Google News page. That would include the so-called Post-Christian. Xinhua is nothing more than soft-peddled and poorly written propaganda to make the Chinese tyranny look moderate. Fox News is the propaganda arm of the Republican Party. The only people who like Fox News are Republicans and Jon Stewart of the Daily Show. I think Jon would run out of material if Fox News ever found a conscience.

I like most of all the Guardian and the Washington Post, but read many others and am open to new sources, as long as they aren't right-wing propaganda machines.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

The Cynicism of Gore Vidal

Anyone who scans the media without cynicism either isn't paying attention or isn't bright.

I think that Gore Vidal was spot on when he said that public opinion is molded by the few largely for the benefit of the few--those that already have their fortunes made for them. This was not unique, I think, only to the modern U.S., but is a global and eternal condition, as true a thousand years ago as today.

It is often that critics of Vidal misinterpret him through oversimplification of his message. My father wrote criticisms of Vidal throughout Vidal's book, "Virgin Islands." But I do not agree with his criticisms of the critic Vidal's criticisms. In many cases my father misinterpreted the meaning of individual words. For instance, to say that a man is unprincipled is not necessarily a bad thing. Principled men can be quite cruel and malicious. Being principled does not equate to being good or just. The word "unprincipled" figures in Vidal's criticism of both FDR and Clinton. My father, loyal to FDR, was unable to concede the smallest thing in his idol. Perhaps he would have conceded Clinton, however.

In reality, Gore Vidal was one of the most patriotic Americans that ever lived. He loved his country more than can be imagined. He was a man of ideas, interested in Right and Wrong, and desiring that Good prevail. I do not think Gore Vidal spared the smallest effort to apply his utmost powers of concentration, research and due diligence to the task of criticism, which is the art of distinguishing good from bad, or the better way from the worse.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

New Wrinkle in the Zimmerman Case

I read today that there is a new wrinkle in the Zimmerman Case: Zimmerman was badly beaten in the fight. I don't know why that important detail was not included, or was minimized, in media reports. It is also strange that the media displayed an old picture of Trayvon, and stressed the difference in weight between the two, in order to give the impression that Zimmerman was bigger than Trayvon. This seems like an embarrassment for the media. The media either failed to report these things or omitted them or minimized their significance. It definitely indicates a bias in the media or else a flair for the dramatic, something to press the 'anger' buttons in people. Usually the media seems fair. I think so many details about the case fit a certain narrative that Northern reporters are quick to accept about a supposed racial incident in a small, Southern town. In a way, the case was a perfect storm. It would take cold blood indeed to write a story that didn't fit the narrative. There does seem to be a failure in the intelligence of reporters. They are not being objective enough. Perhaps there was a failure in communication.

Monday, April 23, 2012

Marine Le Pen

The media keeps referring to Marine Le Pen as far-right, with little or no explanation, and that made me suspicious, so I looked her up on Wikipedia. Turns out that far-right in France has no relationship to the far-right in the U.S. She actually sounds pretty reasonable, at least on Wikipedia, and I could envision myself voting for her. The only thing I read that raised question marks was her opposition to euthanasia, but one never finds a politician that concurs with 100% of one's political and social views. The reason the media hates Le Pen is obvious. She's against free trade, and the rich boys make a whole lot of money manufacturing things via cheap labor overseas and selling it in the West, and they don't want anybody to mess with their cash cow. So every time that Le Pen is mentioned in print, she is condemned with the term "far-right" which evokes Nazis and fascists. She sounds to me like a moderate Democrat.

The media is controlled by those who steal money from the government and the people on a regular basis. To the media, "far right" can be translated as "a candidate opposed to stealing."

Saturday, February 11, 2012

I Knew It Before I Read It

When I saw the headline, "The Ten Most Dangerous Cities for Pedestrians in America," I knew already which region of the U.S. those cities would be in--the South.

Of course, any list of the ten worst cities in any category under the Sun would tend to cluster around the South. But I know from experience that in any given neighborhood in the South, there is likely to be no sidewalks, narrow and poorly maintained roads, erroneous or absent road signs, and little regard shown for pedestrians.
by igor 04:20 8 replies by igor 09:32 6 comments

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

The Media Obsession with Violent Crime

The media's obsession with violent crime, suicide, and sexual crimes, does encourage the perpetuation of such crimes. Weak-minded young people have large amounts of energy, but not much internal direction, and these types will go whichever way the wind blows, and the media passes wind.
by igor 04:20 8 replies by igor 09:32 6 comments

Sunday, February 5, 2012

The Case Against War with Iran

The Guardian makes a persuasive case against war with Iran.

Even so, I favor bombing Iran, because Iran is the embodiment of evil in the world. It is far better and far cheaper to reduce Iran now, before it gathers nuclear weapons. Any delay merely postpones the inevitable bill that will come due. Iran is completely focused and completely determined to have a war with the United States at some future point in time.

The strongest argument against bombing Iran is the poor state of the U.S. economy. We are not prepared for another war from an economic standpoint, and war with Iran might cause another Great Depression. For this reason, it may be better to stay cheap and simply rely upon M.A.D. (Mutual Assured Destruction) to deter nuclear aggression.

I think the decision confronting American and Israeli leaders is very difficult, and I don't envy them. I expect that they will not bomb, simply because of political considerations, and that is perfectly understandable. No one wants to go down in history as the aggressor or war-monger, no one that is except for Iran. Perhaps it is better from an ethical standpoint to permit Iran to make the first strike blunder, which will then morally justify comprehensive and terminal retaliation. Iran will also be held directly accountable, along with Pakistan and North Korea, for any and all nuclear attacks waged by independent terrorist groups.
by igor 04:20 8 replies by igor 09:32 6 comments

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

I Give a Darn

I like this editorial from Petula Dvorak (what a name!).

I like to think that I would have intervened on behalf of the victim. At the very least, I would have dialed 911, but I suspect I would have walked over to at least assess the situation and determine whether the attacker had a firearm.

I give a darn. If you die, you die, but everybody's going to die, anyway. Better to save a life if possible, even at the risk of one's own. Who knows, you might make a friend for life, if you save someone's life.

I don't have a high opinion of Apple iJunk or any other iJunk. When out and about, one should focus upon one's surroundings, not on an interior world of internet, email and texting. It is impractical to venture out into the world without making full use of one's ears and eyes. Computers should be left at home.
by igor 04:20 8 replies by igor 09:32 6 comments

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

NBC

"A van containing President Obama's teleprompter and podium were stolen from a Virginia hotel parking lot on Monday, according to NBC12 in Richmond." - NBC

The people who work for NBC do not understand grammar. I suppose they feel grammar is an unnecessary, outdated knowledge. Perhaps that is why I had so much difficulty getting a job after graduating with highest honors in English Lit. No one in the business community gives a damn if you can write in a competent manner. Journalists in the mainstream media seem to have dropped out of school around grade five.
by igor 04:20 8 replies by igor 09:32 6 comments

Friday, September 23, 2011

AMD

I read the guy in charge of AMD's Products Group is leaving. I don't know anything more about that than what the article states.

But as far as AMD's products go, I feel AMD missed the boat on low-power processors. The wave of the future, or actually of today, is energy efficiency and a small footprint. I feel that AMD does not offer enough, today, in the 45 watt and below segment of the cpu market, whereas Intel has some of the latest Sandy Bridge processors that only consume 35 watts.

Otherwise, I'm definitely an AMD fan, although not a stock fan (not referring to shares, but cpu cooling--oh, never mind).
by igor 04:20 8 replies by igor 09:32 6 comments

Right On

Good editorial from an unexpected source. Irish Central?

Every once in a while, I encounter the unexpected, reason and logic.
by igor 04:20 8 replies by igor 09:32 6 comments

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Al-Jazeera

As far as Al-Jazeera is concerned, the West is wrong all the time. They expect free intervention with no payoff for Western countries that provided military assistance to the Libyan rebels. Well, I'm sorry, but there ain't so such thing as a free lunch. Instead of obsessing over Israel, Al-Jazeerists should read a couple of the best novels by R. A. Heinlein.

The writer of this Al-Jazeera editorial quite obviously hates everything about the West. So, go to live in Iran, where you can join the morality police and beat up couples that kiss in public.

Sometimes I read Al-Jazeera and have the impression it's reasonable. Other times, I read it and come away thinking it is the mouthpiece of Iran's regime. I think that the editors need to remove the rancid pistachio nuts from the fruit salad.
by igor 04:20 8 replies by igor 09:32 6 comments

Monday, August 1, 2011

New York Times Needs a Proofreader

I was surprised today to see a goof in The New York Times:
In analyzing these polls in the United States, I see clearly that voters feel ever more estranged from government — and that they associate Democrats with government. If Democrats are going to be encumbered by that link, they need to change voters’ feelings about government.

The writer meant to write "unencumbered," although that's not the best word to use. There's no need for a hyphen, either. Also, feelings in a group or an individual can be influenced, but cannot be changed by an outside entity. The entire paragraph is flawed.

Many elections that Republicans win are the result of a weak candidate or a candidate that was so far to the right, he might as well have been a Republican. I don't think the Democrats need to change anything except, in some cases, their delivery and salesmanship. The practice in which candidates are selected based upon their connections must be ended. Democratic candidates should be more combative and angry, in tune with the zeitgeist. Democrats need to move further to the left and own it. The people don't care which label is used. They will listen to any catchy tune.

End the overseas interventions, end the drug war, end foreign aid, cut out welfare for the rich, cut back outdated farm and factory subsidies, invest in America's working class, invest in American manufacturing, build new power plants, build mass transit in all American cities, slap tariffs on goods from slave nations, put America back to work, offer inexpensive health care and college education, and invest in scientific research.

This is all obvious. It isn't rocket science. The problem with some our leaders (not all) is that they have never created or fixed anything. They're not engineers. They don't understand how things work or how to make them work. And the only thing the Republicans care about is scoring political points. As far as the G.O.P. is concerned, America could burn, and that's fine as long as the G.O.P. gets to bite the ankle of Obama.
by igor 04:20 8 replies by igor 09:32 6 comments

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Online Anonymity

I do agree with this perceptive article in PC World.

The crusaders against anonymity really need to think things through a bit more than they have. I think the CEO's are only concerned about maximizing profit. From their point of view, anonymity is not helpful. From the point of view of anyone else, anonymity can be an essential tool. It has its place. One cedes credibility by going anonymous, but gains a huge measure of protection from everyone except Johnny Law.

I can see both sides of the argument, though. A solid case has been made in The Guardian that anonymity tempts weak-minded people to misbehave, to indulge their Id, regressing to childish behavior patterns. On a web site that I admin, that was exactly what happened. The posters behaved as though they were in grade school, despite being senior citizens in many cases. They complained to the "teacher," bullied, insulted, threatened, and generally played the fool until we pulled the plug. Perhaps the hotheads will attempt to run their own forum somewhere. Good riddance. Karma will school them. I don't ever want to host another tribe of truculent trolls. When I think about how much time I spent customizing and improving the forum, I'm embarrassed by my generosity.
by igor 04:20 8 replies by igor 09:32 6 comments

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Sen. Bernie Sanders: Absolutely Brilliant

I saw Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (the April 27th, 2011 episode), and he was absolutely brilliant and absolutely right. Sanders represents what is good and right in America.
by igor 04:20 4 replies by igor 09:32 0 comments

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Too Many Spaces to Criminal Cases

Criminal cases seize too many spaces in the media. The audience has a morbid interest, but is it good? The easiest way for a nobody to be somebody is to kill somebody. This is well-known among nutcases, from what I've read. There's something wrong with that. The media should make an attempt not to dwell upon trivia and negativity. They do exert an influence upon the reader's opinions and beliefs. On my blog, I try to avoid discussing criminal cases and sex scandals. Such topics receive more than adequate exposure on other blogs.

Many conservatives I have spoken with express a cynical view of human nature. They assume that everyone is motivated only by selfish interests. They are reluctant to accept benevolent motives in others, because it conflicts with their theory of human nature. They have a pronounced fear of crime. They purchase handguns for their personal protection. They believe that people will do evil whenever they can get away with it. The creators of South Park express such a view. I believe that the media encourages their point of view by dwelling upon crime and other negative and unpleasant matters.

The millions who live in a decent manner, work hard and do what's right are not reported, but live their lives in anonymity. Why are they worth any less verbiage? They should be reported too, upheld as examples for others to follow. In fact, the coverage ratio of decent people versus psychos should be 10,000:1, or equal to their actual representation in the general population. Today, the ratio almost seems to favor psychos.

I think human nature is open to amelioration and that is why I am a liberal. With education, progress, and successive generations, it was possible for Europe to evolve from the Dark Ages to what it is today, which is grand and splendid, the envy of everyone throughout the world. But I spend more time reading about history and science than I do reading the media.
by igor 04:20 4 replies by igor 09:32 0 comments

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Fox News has a Nasty English Cousin

Looks like one of Murdoch's properties has been sullied by unethical behavior, this more shocking than anything in recent memory.

Am I surprised? Not in the slightest. The incident confirms my opinion of News Corpse.
by igor 04:20 4 replies by igor 09:32 0 comments

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Proofreading Obsolete?

Corporations today seem to assume that editors and proofreaders are obsolete. After all, Microsoft Word has built-in spell checking, as do many other apps. Who needs an employee with writing ability?

I found this whopper on ABC News without even trying. It confused me at first until I realized that the journalist goofed.

In the picture caption, it is claimed, "The longer the ring finger compared to the index finger, the longer the penis, Korean researchers say."

The first line of the article reads, "The longer a man's index finger when compared with his ring finger, the longer the length of his penis, according to Korean researchers."

Either the Korean researchers need to make up their minds, or ABC News needs to hire a proofreader.

I'm sure the glaring mistake will be corrected by somebody at ABC News, but not before thousands of people have already read it.

Downsize at your peril, corporate America. Not every job can be farmed overseas or replaced by technology.

There is an urgency to being the first on top of a story. I know all too well that is not possible to achieve perfection in a short amount of time on a consistent basis. Only with reflection, which requires time, is it possible to detect and correct mistakes and oversights, and even then there is always something that seems amiss. Humans are by nature pragmatic and imperfect creatures who create things that work, but are not necessarily elegant or without flaws in their first version. That is why new versions must be generated all the time.

I am sure the journalist in question would have preferred a seven-day grace period in which he could examine his articles prior to their publication. But is it possible in a high-turnover, high-pressure media company? If the answer is no, then such a company had better hire a team of proofreaders and editors for the sake of quality control.
by igor 04:20 4 replies by igor 09:32 0 comments
techlorebyigor is my personal journal for ideas & opinions