A One Day Quick Blogroll About "Who Ya Gonna Believe"?

    It is my observation that in any online discussion of politics, a discussion which is usually more narrowly about a particular facet of politics such as international diplomacy, an important factor in that discussion is always that of the credibility of the sources of information that one person or another chooses in order to form and then defend their position. It comes down to , "Who ya gonna believe"? I am aware of how 'confirmation bias' affects that judgment. I don't claim to be immune.

    Any reader may believe that U.S citizens are subjected to a great deal of effective propaganda, or they may believe that we get fair and balanced news aimed at exposing the truth, or they might believe somewhere in the middle of those two extremes. They might also believe that the nature of what they are hearing falls in different points along that spectrum depending on the issue. What a person believes comes down largely to who they believe and confirmation bias sometimes develops, I believe, over time with understandable reason rather than being a pre-existing condition carried to the subject at hand.
     Following are some links to articles dealing with ongoing issues of great importance.

    Time Warped: Repeated Rhetoric of Urgency from Israel to Iran.

    This can be a very quick read. Merely scroll down the list of headlines noting the dates.

    http://muftah.org/time-warped-repeated-rhetoric-of-urgency-from-israel-t...

    Next: ‘Time is running out’: The peace process and the fierce urgency of never.
    http://mondoweiss.net/2013/12/running-process-urgency.html
     The same method can be used here. No real need to read the introduction. I think the point of it can again be seen by merely scrolling the headlines listed in chronological order and even if you have some confirmation bias one way or the other regarding Max Blumenthal.

    http://mondoweiss.net/2013/12/running-process-urgency.html

    Next: Missile Experts: White House Made False Claims Over Syrian WMD
    A fair analysis of this article might actually require a close reading. I would suggest also reading the comments. They offer more links for anyone actually interested.

    http://www.moonofalabama.org/2014/01/missile-experts-white-house-made-fa...

     Some of us based a great deal of our support of Obama on a combination of belief and hope that he would be less likely to wage or continue "dumb wars". Nick Turse discusses how that is playing out at TomDispatch.

    Tomgram: Nick Turse, Secret Wars and Black Ops Blowback

    http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175794/tomgram%3A_nick_turse%2C_secret_w...

    And now that I have mentioned one of Obama's campaign positions, how about his promise to run a much more open Presidency, a much less secretive Presidency.

    Edward Snowden isn't the only truth teller who deserves clemency

    http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jan/15/edward-snowden-chel...

    Comments

    N.S.A. Devises Radio Pathway Into Computers

    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/15/us/nsa-effort-pries-open-computers-not...

     Is there anyone, especially among appointed officials, still employed by the NSA whose word we can have confidence in?


    Richard Clarke objects to offensive use of electronic attacks and thinks we should only focus on defending our networks.  There have been hacks in the US by China and Syria. Is it possible that knowing that the US has the capability to strike targets in a China and Syria serve as a deterrent for a large scale attack in the US by a foreign entity?


    Just want to point out something I think that many are missing about this particular story. It isn't really very representative of expansion of electronic surveillance because, from the article (my bold):

    transmitted from tiny circuit boards and USB cards inserted surreptitiously into the computers.

    In that, it is no different from spycraft practiced for thousands of years, whether it was a person hidden inside a closet or a hidden microphone that someone had to plant.


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