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[guido]

Breaking news: Embarrassingly outdated bike 'works just fine', 'still shreds' | CyclingTips

[Dallas Tex]

Breaking news: Embarrassingly outdated bike 'works just fine', 'still shreds' | CyclingTips

Apparently journalism is alive and well. Now this is some factual truth right there.

[guido]

Apparently journalism is alive and well. Now this is some factual truth right there.

But as to that other piece, you are completely down with that list of behaviors being appropriate for the President? Nothing to see here move on? The sort of example we'd want set for our kids?

[Dallas Tex]

But as to that other piece, you are completely down with that list of behaviors being appropriate for the President? Nothing to see here move on? The sort of example we'd want set for our kids?

What I’m definitely not down with is an opinion piece being presented as facts (‘....just the facts...)

Has the term facts also been redefined in this new age ?

My comment was about journalism, or the lack thereof in today’s world. This seems to be a thread about journalism. I don’t want to be redirected by you to a position of defending trumps every bowel movement or kavanaugh’s third-grade valentines day kiss.

[guido]

What I’m definitely not down with is an opinion piece being presented as facts (‘....just the facts...)

Has the term facts also been redefined in this new age ?

My comment was about journalism, or the lack thereof in today’s world. This seems to be a thread about journalism. I don’t want to be redirected by you to a position of defending trumps every bowel movement or kavanaugh’s third-grade valentines day kiss.

The piece in question was clearly labeled "Opinion".

Tell us Glenn, what is your reference standard for good journalism?

[Dallas Tex]

The piece in question was clearly labeled "Opinion".

Tell us Glenn, what is your reference standard for good journalism?

NYT 20 years ago. Gold Standard. The paper of record. The best of the best in an arena that no longer exists.

[guido]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/video...e02_video.html

[72gmc]

I also take issue with that NYT "Just the facts" piece, because the author didn't demonstrate enough self control. It was in the opinion section, but there was no need to add opinion, and doing so only opens questions about what the author added that is not, in fact, fact. For instance, the president has ridiculed various independent sources of information and expertise, this is certain. Neither we nor the author, however, can know if the president ridicules "any" source of information. It weakens the author's argument to claim absolutes.

Each of those sentences presents one or more things that are either known to be true, or can be verified as true or not. Those things say enough all by themselves.

[thollandpe]

NYT 20 years ago. Gold Standard. The paper of record. The best of the best in an arena that no longer exists.

The old gray lady is still doing some amazing work. Case in point, 18 months of investigation by three very talented reporters.

Trump Engaged in Suspect Tax Schemes as He Reaped Riches From His Father
Trump Engaged in Suspect Tax Schemes as He Reaped Riches From His Father - The New York Times

11 Takeaways From The Times’s Investigation Into Trump’s Wealth
11 Takeaways From The Times’s Investigation Into Trump’s Wealth - The New York Times

4 Ways Fred Tump Made Donald Trump and His Siblings Rich
4 Ways Fred Trump Made Donald Trump and His Siblings Rich - The New York Times

New York Regulators Examine the Trump Family’s Tax Schemes
New York Regulators Examine the Trump Family’s Tax Schemes - The New York Times

As the Trumps Dodged Taxes, Their Tenants Paid a Price
As the Trumps Dodged Taxes, Their Tenants Paid a Price - The New York Times

Important work by David Barstow, Susanne Craig and Russ Buettner of The New York Times.

[theflashunc]

NYT 20 years ago. Gold Standard. The paper of record. The best of the best in an arena that no longer exists.

In 1999 the New York Times employed both Judith Miller and Jayson Blair. Howell Raines would become Executive Editor not long after in 2001.

That was far from a Gold Standard era for the paper.

Dean Baquet has made some odd moves as Executive Editor -- namely keeping Bret Stephens employed -- but they've done far more interesting work today than they did back then.

[Dallas Tex]

The old gray lady is still doing some amazing work. Case in point, 18 months of investigation by three very talented reporters.

Trump Engaged in Suspect Tax Schemes as He Reaped Riches From His Father
Trump Engaged in Suspect Tax Schemes as He Reaped Riches From His Father - The New York Times

11 Takeaways From The Times’s Investigation Into Trump’s Wealth
11 Takeaways From The Times’s Investigation Into Trump’s Wealth - The New York Times

4 Ways Fred Tump Made Donald Trump and His Siblings Rich
4 Ways Fred Trump Made Donald Trump and His Siblings Rich - The New York Times

New York Regulators Examine the Trump Family’s Tax Schemes
New York Regulators Examine the Trump Family’s Tax Schemes - The New York Times

As the Trumps Dodged Taxes, Their Tenants Paid a Price
As the Trumps Dodged Taxes, Their Tenants Paid a Price - The New York Times

Important work by David Barstow, Susanne Craig and Russ Buettner of The New York Times.

The sarcasm of your post may be missed by some.

[guido]

Trump’s Ukraine Defense Is the Same One He’s Used for Years: I Did It. So What? | The New Yorker

[guido]

“How Has This Bastard Not Been Impeached Yet?” Nixon Asks in Hell | The New Yorker

[guido]

https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily...es-impeachment

[guido]

Deportations Reduce Crime? That’s Not What the Evidence Shows - The New York Times

[guido]

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/25/u...gtype=Homepage

[ericpmoss]

I was really excited by Elizabeth Warren's campaign, but... first she takes $ from mega-donors and pretends to be refusing it during the primary, and now this. Bleah.

[Doug Fattic]

Trump Asks Ukraine’s Leader to ‘Do Us a Favor’ and Also Urges Inquiry of Biden - The New York Times

Ukraine is now big time in the news thanks to Trump pressuring their president to find dirt on Biden’s son Hunter who was a member of some energy board. I’ve been to Ukraine a lot in the last 19 years because we do a charity bicycle project there. It is an interesting place whose culture has been partly shaped by its Russian Orthodox and communist past. Outside of the big cities it is really a poor country. I’ve done various bike rides there and in the small villages in the countryside you get water in a well by the road and use outhouses for bathrooms. The typical person makes less than $200 a month. There are also a lot of wealthy people. Around the college where are bike/frame shop is located are these magnificent new houses much grander than anything in my hometown of Niles, Michigan.

In 2014 Putin wanted to create a land bridge from Russia to his newly acquired Crimea. It is a militarily strategic peninsula for submarines in the Black Sea (as well as a favorite resort area). Not caring at all what the effects of his land grab would be on the people in eastern Ukraine, he started taking it by force destroying the businesses and houses in his way driving people away. This was happening about 500 km from where I was located. So steaming on campus was all these refugees looking for food and clothing being provided by relief agencies. My young translator would go every day to their equivalent of a Walmart to get supplies. She wasn’t allowed to buy treats for the kids so of course she begged me for money so she could. The video company just across the pond from our shop went to document the damage and it was horrifying to watch their video of the destruction. Around our shop at the back of campus were these supply trucks coming and going to bring relief. To actually see the effects on people the damage Putin was creating really had an affect on me personally. How could someone be so terrible to do this to innocent people inconveniently in his way of his national goals? That is my backdrop for loathing Putin.

Our president Trump has never said a bad word about Putin. When congress allocated money to help Ukraine he delayed sending it. And then he had this “conversation” with Ukraine’s president asking for dirt on Hunter Biden but of course did not link that to the delayed payment they desperately needed. No, not at all. Neither are we to believe the 20+ some women that claimed Trump sexually assaulted them. They are all lying. Sure Donald. My contempt for him has no limits.

Here is an example of what is necessary for business money to sometimes exchange hands in Ukraine. The XB3 bicycle company located in the city of Kharkov near the Russian border was dying when I checked to see if they could make the bicycles we needed. At one time they had an output of a million units a year but by 2000 it was down to a few hundred units and the workers were all laid off until they could get more work (vacation they call it). We ordered a bunch and had to pay a substantial down payment so the city would agree to turn the electricity back on. The frames were okay but the parts were 50’s technology. So they could hardly compete with Taiwanese bicycles. To help save the company I convinced Shimano to visit them and see if a deal could be struck so they could equip their bicycles with Shimano parts. That meeting was the most interesting meeting I have ever attended (starting with the fact that the president of XB3 wondered who Shimano was). One of the questions the sales manager asked the Shimano guys was how much they needed to pay under the table to get OEM prices. The answer was none but that exchange helps explain their business culture. I’m pretty confident the president of Ukraine clearly understood the relationship between getting the money that Trump was holding up and doing what Trump was demanding. Ukraine is fighting a bigger wealthier country so that is a lot of leverage Trump has. The Ukrainian president comes from a culture that sees these kinds of requests as quid pro quo whether it was clearly stated or not.

Whether or not Hunter Bidon actually did something illegal (it doesn’t appear that he broke some laws) it still shows a kind of corruption where a family member of a prominent politician was paid handsomely to be a member of a corporation. What valuable knowledge did he bring? It is how the country works to get people with possible influence on your side. Remember that a huge pipe of natural gas goes through Ukraine on its way to Western Europe. Ukrainians like to help themselves on its journey. A political ally to counter Russia’s irritation over how much gas enters and exits the pipeline in Ukraine can be very useful.

[guido]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...ter-lawyer-up/

[guido]

“Do Us a Favor”: The Forty-eight Hours That Sealed Trump’s Impeachment | The New Yorker