The term "no fly zone" needs to be changed to "attack Russia." That should clear up a whole lot of ignorance for most people. The Press? Not so much. Their willful ignorance in order to create drama is unforgiveable and incurable.
Malcom Nance, an expert in military intelligence, said this week that a No Fly Zone is not even what Ukraine needs. Currently Russia is targeting Ukrainian targets with missiles not bombing with aircraft. According to the Pentagon, Russian jets are not entering Ukraine airspace for fear of being shot down. Point is that NATO jet fighters would not be much of a deterrent for Russian missiles anyway. This No Fly Zone rallying cry is just another "Let's make Biden Look Bad" talking point that the media has glommed on to. It also ignores the fact that the US is not acting alone, that NATO is working together to force Russia's hand. And while I sit here writing this, what do I hear in the background on my TV tuned to CNN? "Why not a No Fly Zone?". WTF? Does the media long for World War III? The MSM Is totally irresponsible. Remember when they banged the drums of war before we went into Iraq? How'd that turn out?
The reference to the media's obligation to educate and contextualize is a reminder of how the vaunted 4th Estate is neglecting its prime directive - create (and maintain) an informed electorate. Polls consistently show that Americans are in the dark on the true state of the economy (inflation inflation inflation!! gets hammered while the unemployment and job creation rates are ignored); politics (the Ohio diner patrons are not asked why the election riggers forgot to make sure the GOP lost every race); and now war (Biden is Chamberlain!). One would think that the media doers and shakers would notice when news consumers believe up is down.
Maybe the paradigm example of how harmful -- not inept but literally harmful -- the mainstream* have been in their no fly coverage in the wretched excess of Ukraine coverage. (*Same mainstream who still refuse to report that the GOP's response to Covid have been literally deadly since Day 1 or find much of concern with GOP subverting of the right to vote for two issues.)
The elite stenographers of the Beltway media are not going to stop playing gotcha until they achieve their goal. A Republican sweep in 2022 and the restoration of the glorious Trump regime in 2024. They want the circus back. When they can report on the circus, they don't have to wrestle with complex issues like the impact of a "no-fly zone/attack on Russia". But let's get real, do they think that the Republicans and especially Trump would be handling this crisis better than Biden? Are they really that naïve ... or deep in bed with the GOP?
Since the beginning of the invasion—which many journalists doubted would happen because they didn't believe the Biden administration's warnings—the media has over identified with the suffering that is happening in Ukraine. Yes, Russia is evil and what Ukrainians are enduring is needless and horrible. But American journalists and pundits couch their stories and discussions in the most emotional and personal language, such as: "how do you make the choice to say goodbye to the love of your life, the father of your children?" (one of many comments on MSNBC). Definitely not "stay calm and carry on."
It's absolutely infuriating and heartbreaking to watch the destruction and wanton loss of life caused by Putin. But that emotion is what is driving the relentless "no fly zone" harangue, just as it did the reporting on the Afghanistan withdrawal. When reporters/pundits do mention that the admin and allies consider implementing a NFZ an escalation, they dismiss these concerns as weakness—without reporting either the possible consequences or what setting up and maintaining a NFZ would entail. Oh, and don't forget the "give them the damn planes" mantra. Of course if anything were to go terribly wrong, the criticism and attacks on Biden would be as deafening as the charges of "chaos" and "incompetence" we still hear over Afghanistan.
Coupled with this unceasing fixation is the limited reporting on what the US IS and HAS BEEN doing to help Ukraine—and not only the $800 million this week, which has been framed as a response to Zelensky after his address to Congress rather than ongoing support. Wrongheaded as it is, the MM coverage echoes Hannity: "Biden has to get off his ass." It's also head banging that MM journalists echo GOP talking points, repeat GOP criticisms of Biden, yet fail to bring up that many of these same GOP Senators and House members voted against the aid packages, previously visited/worked with Russia to ease sanctions, and have touted Russian propaganda.
With a no-fly zone, Richard Engel would get to wear his coat longer and Ali Velshi can keep standing in Budapest wearing a baseball cap. I like Velshi, but I've been to Budapest, and I think he's there for the chicken paprika.
Instead of reporting on what they can observe, our media seems to create these narratives and then craft questions around why we haven’t yet implemented their plan! It’s endlessly frustrating and very reckless of them. And if their constant pounding has negative repercussions... oops... they have no accountability, they do t even apologize, they just move to their next thing they ain’t thought through and isn’t their job!! It’s insane.
I’m not an armchair general, and I know nothing of tactics and strategies for winning wars, and I have always been the first out when playing Risk.
But I do know that domestically wars are “won” on perception, and our Failed Political Press ™ is waging a war of their own (and winning?) by declaring that there is something more that the US should/could/would do if only President Biden would lead. No one knows what that is, however.
What I do recall from the wars following 911 was that our press had spectacular profits, tons of clicks, and millions of eyeballs riveted on themselves. I don’t think we have to struggle much to know what the motivation is here; the Press is even covering with credulous eyes TFG claiming that Russia would not have dared invade Ukraine if he was still president, despite all the records showing that he was a useful, cowering idiot for Putin.
Possibly President Zelenskyy has tried to use popular sentiment among Americans in his arguments for a free-fly zone as well. He also doesn't seem to grasp the situation, that this would lead to our going to direct war against Russia.
I mostly skim over the war articles I see, because they've seemed so weirdly off-kilter in that they're written with more enthusiasm than the press has shown since they became obsessed with blaming Biden for inflation. They show this same willingness to pile on over the war, regardless of the fact that the US is working in concert with NATO in forming and implementing strategies against Putin, who has revealed himself to be more like Donald Trump than we ever realized.
Something else the media doesn’t report — for years Ukrainians were not in favor or were ambiguous at best about joining NATO even before they elected the pro-Putin Yanukovitch in 2010:
“ Yanukovich's bid to end the pursuit of military alliances such as NATO may represent an abrupt departure from his predecessor Viktor Yushchenko's pro-Western policies, but Gallup surveys suggest it may be more in line with what Ukrainians may have wanted for some time.”
Popular support for NATO membership is required before joining. I think most people are getting the impression from the media that NATO stiffed Ukraine on membership which makes no sense given that countries like Poland, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia joined in 1999 and the Balkan countries in 2004. Only in recent years, since the disaster of Yuschenko’s presidency, has support for NATO membership grown in Ukraine.
I don’t think NATO should just leave Ukraine on its own to stand up to Putin but that the media should be making it clear that NATO is not to blame for Ukraine not being a member any more than NATO is to blame for Finland or Sweden not being members.
For Putin, trump is the gift that keeps on giving. The uneducated (on specific critical points and context) seen to line up nearly perfectly with the maga crowd and their CNN-OAN-hate Biden fellows. They are willfully ignorant that their alliance is actually to Putin and not in the interest of the US and the rest of the world. These are the same people who refuse to wear masks, won't get vaccinated (because it limits their 'freedom', the rest of you be damned), play with their phones while driving and have no interest in anyone but themselves, just like their fraudulent hero. The press, in order to survive as a free press better recognize this and get its act together.
Should they survive the initial blast, I ask only that the advocates for a "no-fly zone" not take up needed space in fallout shelters, but rather reserve such resources for those people who did not advocate for war.
I think he’s using it to negotiate everything else he needs shy of that, using it as pressure - see Germany - and apparently we and NATO are giving whatever Ukraine needs to defend itself. My guess is we have no idea what goes on behind the scenes. It’s hard for me to believe Zelenskyy doesn’t understand the risks. Ukraine would be blown to pieces along with the rest of us, no?
I have no issue if the media wants to “just ask the question,” but it would be nice if they also actually informed the public what that response meant or, in this specific case, asked the interviewee if they understood what a NFZ means.
And we just know that if the Biden administration went with a NFZ and it expanded the conflict, the media would be right there it criticize. Imagine if a US jet got shot down and the Russians showed a dead US pilot, the media would crucify the administration. On the Today show, Guthrie would interview another minor member of the Ukrainian parliament, only this time to tell us all how they were disappointed in the Biden administration getting militarily involved in the conflict. Something like, “we were in peace negotiations, now the US has widened the conflict and we may be the front line of WWIII.”
The media's reckless "no-fly zone" coverage
The term "no fly zone" needs to be changed to "attack Russia." That should clear up a whole lot of ignorance for most people. The Press? Not so much. Their willful ignorance in order to create drama is unforgiveable and incurable.
Malcom Nance, an expert in military intelligence, said this week that a No Fly Zone is not even what Ukraine needs. Currently Russia is targeting Ukrainian targets with missiles not bombing with aircraft. According to the Pentagon, Russian jets are not entering Ukraine airspace for fear of being shot down. Point is that NATO jet fighters would not be much of a deterrent for Russian missiles anyway. This No Fly Zone rallying cry is just another "Let's make Biden Look Bad" talking point that the media has glommed on to. It also ignores the fact that the US is not acting alone, that NATO is working together to force Russia's hand. And while I sit here writing this, what do I hear in the background on my TV tuned to CNN? "Why not a No Fly Zone?". WTF? Does the media long for World War III? The MSM Is totally irresponsible. Remember when they banged the drums of war before we went into Iraq? How'd that turn out?
The reference to the media's obligation to educate and contextualize is a reminder of how the vaunted 4th Estate is neglecting its prime directive - create (and maintain) an informed electorate. Polls consistently show that Americans are in the dark on the true state of the economy (inflation inflation inflation!! gets hammered while the unemployment and job creation rates are ignored); politics (the Ohio diner patrons are not asked why the election riggers forgot to make sure the GOP lost every race); and now war (Biden is Chamberlain!). One would think that the media doers and shakers would notice when news consumers believe up is down.
Maybe the paradigm example of how harmful -- not inept but literally harmful -- the mainstream* have been in their no fly coverage in the wretched excess of Ukraine coverage. (*Same mainstream who still refuse to report that the GOP's response to Covid have been literally deadly since Day 1 or find much of concern with GOP subverting of the right to vote for two issues.)
The elite stenographers of the Beltway media are not going to stop playing gotcha until they achieve their goal. A Republican sweep in 2022 and the restoration of the glorious Trump regime in 2024. They want the circus back. When they can report on the circus, they don't have to wrestle with complex issues like the impact of a "no-fly zone/attack on Russia". But let's get real, do they think that the Republicans and especially Trump would be handling this crisis better than Biden? Are they really that naïve ... or deep in bed with the GOP?
Since the beginning of the invasion—which many journalists doubted would happen because they didn't believe the Biden administration's warnings—the media has over identified with the suffering that is happening in Ukraine. Yes, Russia is evil and what Ukrainians are enduring is needless and horrible. But American journalists and pundits couch their stories and discussions in the most emotional and personal language, such as: "how do you make the choice to say goodbye to the love of your life, the father of your children?" (one of many comments on MSNBC). Definitely not "stay calm and carry on."
It's absolutely infuriating and heartbreaking to watch the destruction and wanton loss of life caused by Putin. But that emotion is what is driving the relentless "no fly zone" harangue, just as it did the reporting on the Afghanistan withdrawal. When reporters/pundits do mention that the admin and allies consider implementing a NFZ an escalation, they dismiss these concerns as weakness—without reporting either the possible consequences or what setting up and maintaining a NFZ would entail. Oh, and don't forget the "give them the damn planes" mantra. Of course if anything were to go terribly wrong, the criticism and attacks on Biden would be as deafening as the charges of "chaos" and "incompetence" we still hear over Afghanistan.
Coupled with this unceasing fixation is the limited reporting on what the US IS and HAS BEEN doing to help Ukraine—and not only the $800 million this week, which has been framed as a response to Zelensky after his address to Congress rather than ongoing support. Wrongheaded as it is, the MM coverage echoes Hannity: "Biden has to get off his ass." It's also head banging that MM journalists echo GOP talking points, repeat GOP criticisms of Biden, yet fail to bring up that many of these same GOP Senators and House members voted against the aid packages, previously visited/worked with Russia to ease sanctions, and have touted Russian propaganda.
It's despairing.
But that isn't stopping Dean Baquet from chasing Hunter Biden's laptop!
With a no-fly zone, Richard Engel would get to wear his coat longer and Ali Velshi can keep standing in Budapest wearing a baseball cap. I like Velshi, but I've been to Budapest, and I think he's there for the chicken paprika.
Instead of reporting on what they can observe, our media seems to create these narratives and then craft questions around why we haven’t yet implemented their plan! It’s endlessly frustrating and very reckless of them. And if their constant pounding has negative repercussions... oops... they have no accountability, they do t even apologize, they just move to their next thing they ain’t thought through and isn’t their job!! It’s insane.
I’m not an armchair general, and I know nothing of tactics and strategies for winning wars, and I have always been the first out when playing Risk.
But I do know that domestically wars are “won” on perception, and our Failed Political Press ™ is waging a war of their own (and winning?) by declaring that there is something more that the US should/could/would do if only President Biden would lead. No one knows what that is, however.
What I do recall from the wars following 911 was that our press had spectacular profits, tons of clicks, and millions of eyeballs riveted on themselves. I don’t think we have to struggle much to know what the motivation is here; the Press is even covering with credulous eyes TFG claiming that Russia would not have dared invade Ukraine if he was still president, despite all the records showing that he was a useful, cowering idiot for Putin.
Possibly President Zelenskyy has tried to use popular sentiment among Americans in his arguments for a free-fly zone as well. He also doesn't seem to grasp the situation, that this would lead to our going to direct war against Russia.
I mostly skim over the war articles I see, because they've seemed so weirdly off-kilter in that they're written with more enthusiasm than the press has shown since they became obsessed with blaming Biden for inflation. They show this same willingness to pile on over the war, regardless of the fact that the US is working in concert with NATO in forming and implementing strategies against Putin, who has revealed himself to be more like Donald Trump than we ever realized.
Something else the media doesn’t report — for years Ukrainians were not in favor or were ambiguous at best about joining NATO even before they elected the pro-Putin Yanukovitch in 2010:
“ Yanukovich's bid to end the pursuit of military alliances such as NATO may represent an abrupt departure from his predecessor Viktor Yushchenko's pro-Western policies, but Gallup surveys suggest it may be more in line with what Ukrainians may have wanted for some time.”
https://news.gallup.com/poll/127094/ukrainians-likely-support-move-away-nato.aspx
Popular support for NATO membership is required before joining. I think most people are getting the impression from the media that NATO stiffed Ukraine on membership which makes no sense given that countries like Poland, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia joined in 1999 and the Balkan countries in 2004. Only in recent years, since the disaster of Yuschenko’s presidency, has support for NATO membership grown in Ukraine.
I don’t think NATO should just leave Ukraine on its own to stand up to Putin but that the media should be making it clear that NATO is not to blame for Ukraine not being a member any more than NATO is to blame for Finland or Sweden not being members.
For Putin, trump is the gift that keeps on giving. The uneducated (on specific critical points and context) seen to line up nearly perfectly with the maga crowd and their CNN-OAN-hate Biden fellows. They are willfully ignorant that their alliance is actually to Putin and not in the interest of the US and the rest of the world. These are the same people who refuse to wear masks, won't get vaccinated (because it limits their 'freedom', the rest of you be damned), play with their phones while driving and have no interest in anyone but themselves, just like their fraudulent hero. The press, in order to survive as a free press better recognize this and get its act together.
Should they survive the initial blast, I ask only that the advocates for a "no-fly zone" not take up needed space in fallout shelters, but rather reserve such resources for those people who did not advocate for war.
I think he’s using it to negotiate everything else he needs shy of that, using it as pressure - see Germany - and apparently we and NATO are giving whatever Ukraine needs to defend itself. My guess is we have no idea what goes on behind the scenes. It’s hard for me to believe Zelenskyy doesn’t understand the risks. Ukraine would be blown to pieces along with the rest of us, no?
I have no issue if the media wants to “just ask the question,” but it would be nice if they also actually informed the public what that response meant or, in this specific case, asked the interviewee if they understood what a NFZ means.
And we just know that if the Biden administration went with a NFZ and it expanded the conflict, the media would be right there it criticize. Imagine if a US jet got shot down and the Russians showed a dead US pilot, the media would crucify the administration. On the Today show, Guthrie would interview another minor member of the Ukrainian parliament, only this time to tell us all how they were disappointed in the Biden administration getting militarily involved in the conflict. Something like, “we were in peace negotiations, now the US has widened the conflict and we may be the front line of WWIII.”