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KNB186's avatar

These people are U.S.-centric to the core. They think that the U.S. alone can start or end every conflict on the planet. Therefore, the Russian invasion of Ukraine is in reality a U.S. invasion of Russia.

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Ben's avatar

David Corn of Mother Jones tried to engage Greenwald/Taibbi on apologizing for authoritarian regimes. It went about as you'd expect. I guess, as a journalist, Corn feels he can't write 'They're bad faith actors'.

https://link.motherjones.com/public/35592388

The psychology of true-believer neotankies is bonkers. But the psycho-drama surrounding neotank media figures... is InfoWars-level bonkers. Matt Taibbi, Glenn Greenwald, Aaron Maté, Max Blumenthal, all the hangers-on at The Grayzone, etc... taken together, they deserve a podcast like Knowledge Fight.

The Nicaraguan-bus-ride Blumenthal-Ben Norton catfight about Patreon earnings? Glenn Greenwald's fawning interview of "disturbingly handsome... soulful" Alex Jones about Jones' Sandy Hook "mistakes"? Blumenthal's early career where he 'spoke truth to power' to his own employers? He resigned from the Al-Akhbar newspaper for their pro-Assad stance. He lost a lot of opportunites w/left-leaning but somewhat-pro-Israel media in the US after publishing 'Goliath'. And then made an amazing about-face after his paid gig at RT's 10th Anniversary shindig. Taibbi's 'Me Too' blowback experience that seemed to trash an amazing writing career... but put him in position to become the 'access journalist' he used to despise: "Once you start getting handed things... you've lost. They have you..."

Are these guys Arendt's totalitarian/authoritarian educators "The aim of totalitarian education has never been to instill convictions but to destroy the capacity to form any"?

Or businessmen who've found a way to monetize grievances?

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