Hey Thomas,
It was just the whole 'Putin invaded Ukraine, Assad did gas attacks' narrative that got to me. I know the first ones a lie and suspect the second to a lie be too. I swear the media these days should instead be called the "Ministry of Propaganda".

Bit busy this morning with things to do but I'll check out your links a later.
You post some pretty good stuff.

or the "Ministry of Opinionated Gullible Idiots" ?

I was thinking about what you said/raised for a while last night. I'll try to capture my take away notion - what I am sick of are 'journalists' and non-journalists these days who have been made into celebrities and 'players' in the great game of politics/govt (aka the Palace Court in the olden days)

Journalists used to REPORT THE NEWS - they were messengers passing along the known FACTS. More knowledgeable than most others they would tell their readers not just there as murder or a war, but locate that place on a map for you so you knew where it was happening, and maybe what language they spoke.

They would report verbatim what the 'president/PM' said verbatim, without comment.

Now they are mainly like opinionated ideological gas bags who just HAVE to tell the audience what they should THINK about xyz, not only that xyz happened last week.

Therefore they very much treat their readers like children or uneducated African slaves on a plantation in Louisiana.

The non-journalist OPINIONATORS are even worse. Blathering nitwits pushing their own version of their personal RELIGIOUSLY HELD WORLD VIEW couched in political or economic terms.

Then on shows like Q&A and Bolt and the DRUM and FOX and SKY and Insiders you get these "journos" who imagine they are as important, and knowledgeable, and qualified to judge wtf goes on in Canberra or whatever, AS IF they are "Insiders" when really they are more like puffed Rats who get whatever crumbs the Pollies choose to tell them

- and they are played like mice by the Pied Piper while imagining they are critically important people - able to JUDGE and PRONOUNCE SENTENCES on all and sundry.

Man, I am sick of it. It's not just about SHILLS from Think tanks spriuking their wares, it's pseudo-journos colouring everything they say and how they say it according to their 'own political convictions' and personal values/beliefs.

-

And it doesn't matter which NEWS anyone watches the exact same "video clips" are shown ... so get to hear Obama or Turnbull or whoever say the same two sentences a thousand times in 24-48 hours and you get NOTHING ELSE.

In this include venues like this and some many most of those who write articles here - it isn't about whether i agree or disagree it's the METHOD and the intentional Sophistry (aka Propaganda Public Relations techniques, same thing) and lack of true factual reporting that gripes my cookie most.

Then some are more "holier than thou" than others ... Opinion Makers? Not worth tuppence.

It's crap. They are crap (incompetent, lazy or sellouts, I don;t care why.)

TV newspapers online news the guardian, crikey right wing left wing doesn't matter they are ALL crap and a waste of space and time.

People should ignore them all and stop wasting their time and money. Sitting in front of a poker machine is more productive and better value for money than listening to the stuff that masquerades as news and in depth reporting these days.

cheers,

my vent for the day - you touched a nerve and a long term disgust in our polity - LOL

Oh gas attacks and what a REAL Journalist looks like and sounds like and is supposed to do.

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v36/n08/seymour-m-hersh/the-red-line-and-the-rat-line

That's 5870 words that actually means something of real value!

I'd pay for that any day. But even our highly 'skilled' overpaid Politicians nor their 5-10-50 staff would have damned clue about this information.

Or the Signals Directorate ... the useless twits.

The subject of narcissism has crept into the conversation.

My... second revised edition, “Dictionary of Psychology” J.P. Chaplin, Ph. D.
page 295. narcissism; marcism: 1. self-love; exaggerated concern with the self; 2. (Psychoan.) an early stage of human development characterized by extreme concern for the self and lack of concern for others. Narcissism may persist into adulthood as a fixation.

I have known a man who has been on Centrelink Pension support for mental depression for more than 20 years. Diagnosed with mental depression, he told me in year 2000, he consumes the strongest anti-depressant drugs his psychiatrist could prescribed.

He shows an extreme unwillingness to lose an argument. When he was married over 25 years ago, his wife was constantly unhappy with him, his wife was constantly calling him a “bighead”. He would constantly criticise his born in a country town wife as though she was stupid, laughing as he walked away. After his wife told him to go, her having found a new boyfriend. The man I know was very distort.
The man I know, his narcissism, separation, mentally depressed from his wife emotional sadness, drove him into doctor's prescribed medication. 2 years later he was unemployed aided by Keating's “recession Australia had to have”.

In 1999, Radio National Life Matters morning quest speaker, brought to my attention, as part of gaining my confidence, I assume in order to eventually persuade listeners to do unwise behaviours. Guest speaker said, school eduction was a main cause of mental illness. I soon questioned the mentioned man about his school days. The man was very proud of his time spent in school.
I would not have questioned the man about his school days if not for the Life Matters guest speaker prompts.

Endorphins are compared to morphine. Morphine is addictive, morphine has withdrawal problems, which are often solved by taking more morphine. My accusations are that children suffering from school classroom mental stress, intelligent brains, induce endorphins into the brain using physical hyperactivity (which is why humans like sports) developing ADHD, and quick delusional assumptions creating an irrational belief of their increased intelligence fuelled by child-like self-programming chemical rewarding which I believe are brain induced endorphins. Because of classroom: boredom; mental stressing work tasks; overly morphine withdrawal addiction, increasing inducing endorphins (morphine) self-medicating. Please read below Wikipedia analysis.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endorphins

Look down to the Wikipedia website page to:
Depersonalisation Disorder:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depersonalization_disorder

I had told the man before his wife asked him to go, his wife was very angry with him. He told me he could not help himself. When his wife told him to leave, he at first knew he was responsible for his marriage break-up. Soon after I could hear him questioning himself, believing he was a nice guy, wondering why did his wife told him to go. He had convinced himself, his marriage break-up was all her fault.
In 1999, the media had mentioned how educated people changed their ideas of reality.

The mentioned man has almost no desire to start conversations; as I start conversations the man has few desires to continue conversations. My continued questioning found: Most all his incentives are about self-esteem: he wants to “feel good now”, he doesn't want to merely feel normal. To him, feeling normal is a constant buzz in his head.
He had realised he had a gambling problem: he tells me, he feels he is very intelligent when he wins, when he loses, losing is bad luck, not his fault. No telling me this statement, he laughs.

The mentioned man has pride in his ability to spell words; has good speaking English skills as though he was an A grade student, which he states he was an A grade class student.