While every one was freaking out over the Northam news du jour,

[912gdm]

We, the US, withdrew from a Nuclear arms treaty that was in effect since the 80's.

After a bombshell week of Stone crap and Trump being trump, a year book page is dropped and every Democrat loses their shit and this is the main topic.


We are soooooooooo being manipulated.

[triron]

1. Correctomundo! Our traitor-in-chief just gave another gift to Putin.

Get this fucker the hell out of office! Not Northam either.

[Honeycombe8]

7. Trump isn't the one who withdrew from the arms deal, is my understanding.

Congress is the one that has put its foot down and withdrawn from the treaty because Russia is not holding up its end of the bargain.

But I didn't know they had gone through with it. Does that mean Trump signed it? Because we know he wouldn't want to anger Putin. Hmmm.

[triron]

23. That's not what I am reading. Do you have a source for that?

Pelosi doesn't support it.

[Honeycombe8]

40. Don't know which members in Congress. I thought I read that it was Congress....

Senators, I guess.

Maybe I misread it. I'll look.

Update: I couldn't find that. So I guess I misread it. It's the administration (Trump, Pompeo), supported by NATO. WaPo implies this was pushed by John Bolton. And supported by Lindsey Graham, of course, and other Senate Repubs.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-to-withdraw-from-nuclear-arms-control-treaty-with-russia-says-russian-violations-render-the-cold-war-agreement-moot/2019/02/01/84dc0db6-261f-11e9-ad53-824486280311_story.html?utm_term=.db983869fcbb

I probably read statements by Repub Senators and thought they were the ones doing it. But they were reacting.

[VMA131Marine]

27. Incorrect

The Senate ratifies treaties, but the Executive Branch I'd in charge of foreign policy and can choose to withdraw the country from them at will.

[RockRaven]

2. It is almost like the CORPORATE media does not have the well-being of Americans, or even humankind,

as a priority. Strange, isn't it?

[triron]

3. We live in a real episode of "The Twilight Zone".

[912gdm]

4. sorry

I can't take your sarcasm seriously until Morning Joe on Monday morning until I see the on again off again love fest.





/s

[Honeycombe8]

8. It's not the media. It just reports what's happening.

What's happening is Kamala Harris and other political leaders are calling for Northam to resign. That's news, when reps & senators call for a governor to resign.

The media that you love when it is saying what you want it to say, is the same media that is reporting on something you're not interested in. But the media just reports. It doesn't let Trump or anyone else tell it what is news and what the facts are.

[RockRaven]

9. The idea that the media merely reports what is happening is utterly fallacious.

Any media outlet, even a slobbering lunatic franticly hammering a keyboard to blast out tweet after tweet, has a bandwidth. They can only output so much material in so much time. ALL media must make choices about what to report and what not to report. Those choices ARE CHOICES.

And corporate media makes choices based on certain priorities. Their priorities. Not yours. Not mine. Not 7 or 8 billion other peoples' priorities. Just their own.

Why don't you ask yourself why they allocate their limited airtime/bandwidth the way they do, instead of insinuating I am merely objecting to hearing something I don't like?

[Honeycombe8]

10. Correct. They are not your priorities, or mine. That's how it should be. The free press.

They are not all the same. If you don't like one, read or watch another. There are hundreds, in and outside the U.S.

We don't want a media that doesn't do stories because someone doesn't like it. That's what Trump wants.

BTW, you ARE complaining because you don't like what they're reporting, contrary to your statement. That's what your post is about.

[RockRaven]

15. Not at all. My post is addressing the OP's issue of what they are NOT reporting.

I have no criticism that they covered what they did cover. Where did I say that?

The criticism, insofar as there is one, is that they choose their content with self-interest in mind instead of the high-minded ideals which they hide behind whenever criticized.

I am only addressing the insipid fantasy that corporate media serves a public interest, as opposed to their own self-interest.

[Ferrets are Cool]

54. Thank you!!

[greymattermom]

30. So she should also call for Mitch McConnell to resign

for his smily in front of a confederate flag picture, also taken as an adult.

[CrispyQ]

37. The media is only as liberal as the conservative corporations that own it. bumper sticker

The media does not just report. It chooses what to report on & what to focus on. They care about ratings more than anything, but they also have an agenda & it's not to the benefit of The People.

[Honeycombe8]

43. Not true. But if you think you can do better, I"m sure there are job openings...

get a job where you have to produce content 24/7, and let's see what content you produce. Will you fail to report the news that a Governor in the U S is trying to be ousted by his own party? If not, you would be derelict in reporting the news. It's a big story. This rarely happens, and it affects the entire country.

Let me know when your Youtube news channel is up and running, so we can judge your content.

[smirkymonkey]

46. Do you really think so?

if that is needed.

[pazzyanne]

5. I worry about this, too.

Whenever there is a "bomb" dropped followed by a horrible presidential decision these days, my mind goes immediately to trying to decide whether or not Stephen Miller is behind it. He is the true evil in the White House, in my opinion. We need to get tRump out of the White House, but Stephen Miller needs to go ASAP. We have to find a way for that to happen.

[McCamy Taylor]

6. Agree.

[EffieBlack]

11. Or just MAYBE, some people need to better understand that to black people and many of our allies,

a governor who paraded around in blackface or a Klan robe and hood IS A BIG EFFING DEAL and we don't appreciate being told the amount of attention we should pay to it or that if we give it more weight than some people - most of whom the racism and insult embodied in that behavior were not directed at and who don't have a painful, ugly history of such entities and imagery actually posing an existential threat to them - think it should have, we are being "manipulated."

MAYBE your lecture about what we should and shouldn't pay attention to would be better left ungiven.

[brandnewday2009]

16. Agree 100%

[qanda]

17. Thank you, Effie

Unbelievable that people think they get to lecture us on what should hold the most importance in what we care about. BTW, I can care about more than one thing at a time.

[cwydro]

18. +1000

[jrthin]

29. +1000. Let me echo you, being in a kkk robe or blackface in 1984

IS A BIG EFFING DEAL.

[yodermon]

49. Of course it's a big deal. Wish it had come out during the campaign.

The meta discussion of who timed the release of this for NOW, of all times, is still worth having.

[djacq]

12. Historical Institutionalize Racism in this country is REAL!

Watched MSNBC for most of the night and both topics was given equal attention.

[procon]

13. I said the same thing.

Lessons yet to be learned, yeah? Doesn't bode well for 2020.

[Kaleva]

14. Why did you allow youself to be manipulated?

[jodymarie aimee]

19. this deserves

greatest post of the day...

[EffieBlack]

20. Why?

[UTUSN]

21. K&R

[nini]

22. There is also manipulation in expecting people to react a certain way to racism in this country.

We tend to discuss racism because it is a huge problem that affects us in our faces ever day in this country. Don't tell people they're not focusing on the right things.

We can multitask and be aware of all the carp going on.

[GoCubsGo]

24. "We are soooooooooo being manipulated."

Yes. THIS. Not to mention that this is the latest tactic to take out Democrats. If you can't beat them at the ballot box, find dirt on them, and let that dirt out, because the the Dems eat them alive, without them even having to say a word. It's pretty sick. They did it to Al Franken. They're doing it to Northam. Meanwhile, their rapists, racists, and mobsters hold the highest offices in the country, and sit on our Supreme Courty...

[MineralMan]

25. Well, we know that news, too.

Some of us can think about two or even three things at once.

[Heartstrings]

28. I call that

multi-thinking, MM....

[MineralMan]

33. Well, I've been doing it for decades.

It's never just one thing that's going on. Never.

[Heartstrings]

34. Absolutely.......

eyes and mind wide open at all times. There are never just doors #1, 2, or 3....

[samnsara]

26. and the shultz story got back paged...

...Next shiny thing step forward please!

[WhiskeyGrinder]

31. Actually, the withdrawal happened before the photo disclosure. WHERE WERE YOU.

[dewsgirl]

32. Someone sat on this, for the perfect time.

[MaryMagdaline]

35. We have s right to freak out about Northam

As well as pulling out of Arms Treaty. Many things are important all at once

[triron]

36. knr

[muriel_volestrangler]

38. The withdrawal from the treaty isn't that controversial - NATO supported, for instance

NATO allies “fully support” the United States’ pending withdrawal notice from the INF nuclear missile pact over Russia’s actions, a statement by the alliance said.

“The United States is taking this action in response to the significant risks to Euro-Atlantic security posed by Russia’s covert testing, production, and fielding of 9M729 ground-launched cruise missile systems,” it said.

“Allies fully support this action.”

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-nuclear-russia-nato-idUSKCN1PQ4WX

[triron]

41. That is unclear. It is only after the fact that NATO "supported it".

https://www.vox.com/2019/2/1/18206619/inf-treaty-usa-russia-pompeo-trump

"But it seems Trump made the announcement that he would be pulling the US out of the treaty before consulting with America’s European friends — and they’re not happy about the decision. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas last October called it a “regrettable” move, saying that the treaty is “an important pillar of our European security architecture” and that the US decision “raises difficult questions for us and Europe.”

Experts also point out that leaving the agreement will do little to make Russia want to abide by it. “Punching out isn’t going to bring them into compliance, and now lets them justify a buildup even more while painting us as the bad guys,” said Vipin Narang, a nuclear expert at MIT.

These are legitimate worries. It’s possible Russia could have been even more brazen in its development of ground-based cruise missiles, and that remaining a signatory in the agreement somewhat curbed Moscow’s ambitions. But if the US tears up the deal, Russia could openly and more quickly build up its arsenal — all while claiming the US made it okay to do so.

That could kick-start a new arms race between the two countries, where each side would try to one-up the other with better weaponry. Washington and Moscow would grow their arsenals of ground-launched cruise missiles. That, along with other issues in the relationship, could potentially put both countries on the path to war, many worry."

[muriel_volestrangler]

44. No, I think that's clear. That article points out many say pulling out was a reasonable thing to do

and the "have they consulted" objection was 3 months ago. So it wasn't a surprise now. Pretty much everyone agrees Russia was breaking the treaty rules.

It is not a news item that needs attention diverting from it. Hell, you can look at the DU recs in LBN, and find that we didn't give a shit about it.

[MFGsunny]

48. NATO's own Press Release Statement of Feb 1, 2019 ...

... is a very helpful read for overall context.

https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_162996.htm

[lindysalsagal]

39. Distractions. Serously. Irrellevant. He can be un-elected next time. Done.

[WeekiWater]

42. Like DNC emails being dropped within hours of...

The “Grab them by the pussy” tape being released.

[GeorgeGist]

45. Like pulling strings...

on a puppet.

[EX500rider]

47. If the Russians don't stay in compliance, what's the point of staying in the treaty?

Not so much "if" they are violating it either:

The Americans say they have powerful evidence that, over several years, Russia has developed and now fielded a missile that falls within the range that is banned by the INF Treaty.
This, by the way, is not a new idea raised by the Trump administration. President Barack Obama too was concerned about what the Russians were doing.
The evidence has been put to Washington's Nato allies and they have all backed the US case.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46510957


Keeping our hands tied why the Russian's cheat seems silly to me.
Plus the Chinese are not signers and have a lot of IRBM's.

Also Russian military journals have had some disturbing articles, hypothetical plans to use tactical nukes on NATO forces during a war with the theory that that we can not reply in kind as we would have no tactical nukes and would not want to go to strategic nukes (ie, fire ICMB's at Russia) and would therefore have to withdraw/surrender.

[oberliner]

50. That is a John Bolton move if I ever saw one

[democratisphere]

51. Yep.

You said it! Enough said!

[njhoneybadger]

52. You think we didn't know about withdraw

Yes Rethugs let Northam win so they could manipulate us for a few days a year later.

[sarcasmo]

55. I'm betting the Nuclear Arms Treaty was discussed at the G20 meeting between Vlad and Dolt 45.