A Little Normality

Last night was the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. It’s an annual tradition that lets the sitting president attempt a little levity and be on the receiving end as well. Maybe it’s time for a little break from serious and remind ourselves that poking fun at ourselves is a time honored American tradition. Hopefully it always will be.

President Biden:

Colin Jost:

Attack

On March 22, 2024 a concert hall near Moscow was attacked by gunmen who opened fire on concert goers and set fire to the venue, destroying it. As of this writing 137 people have died as a result of the attack. As an American who vividly remembers 9/11 I can sympathize with the Russian civilians who were at that concert and the population that grieves for them.

Russia has played an instrumental role in curtailing ISIS activities in various countries and as such has been a target of their wrath. From all accounts there have been warnings of ISIS activity in Russia both by Russian intelligence and US intelligence. The US went so far as to post on our embassy’s website in Russia warnings to US citizens in Russia to avoid large gatherings. While this was March 7 and the 48 hour warning had expired, that doesn’t make it any less prescient. The US also warned Russia, although the Russians seem to be denying that. Although at the time Putin tried to score propaganda points by dissing the warning. So to deny it ever happened now is rather weird.

What is rather odd as well is Putin’s effort to somehow try to connect Ukraine to this attack. ISIS has claimed responsibility and also posted video of the attack on their media channel. Yet Putin is intent on dragging Ukraine into the mix. That seems to me to be a rather dangerous move on the part of Putin. It will not make Russia any safer.

BBC Report:

ISIS in Russia:

Given the earlier warnings I would have to question what the Russian government knew about ISIS activity in the country. I would also question whether or not the Russian government can, or wants to, keep its citizens safe.

NAVALNY

Russian prison authorities reported the death of Alexei Navalny on Feb. 16, 2024. He was just 47 years old. If you don’t know who he was, he was the thorn in Putin’s side. He was the opposition leader who had the audacity to fight against the corruption that is systemic in Russia. He had the courage to stand up against Putin, calling out the invasion of Ukraine as the Russian war of aggression it is. He was the man who, after being poisoned, went back to Russia. For that he was jailed and slowly encouraged to die by Putin and the system he created.

I put his name in capital letters because he will always stand 10 feet taller than Putin or any of those who try to smother democracy and the freedom of people to live their lives. I have to admit I always thought he was foolish to go back to Russia, because I knew that eventually Putin would have him killed, just like he has so many others. But it was what he wanted and like all of us he had the right of free choice.

My condolences go out to his family and the people of Russia. They lost a good man at the hands of a bad one. A very poor trade.

A Russian voice:

An American voice:

There are still people out here who will not give up the fight.  

Media Literacy

When I was in junior high I loved the tabloids. You could pick one up at the checkout line in the supermarket anywhere. They had so many flashy, and really not very factual, articles. You can still find them, although they usually revolve around celebrities and not alien landings. Today, of course, young people get their information from the internet. But the one thing tabloids had in common with today’s internet is that facts were not always present. Facts did not sell papers, shock value did. Today it’s how do you get someone to click on your page? The solution? Clickbait, make the headline as extreme as you can. Back then it was a more innocent time where tabloids couldn’t do much harm. Today, however, we are seeing disinformation proliferate on social media platforms to the point where people are unsure of what is real and what isn’t. It can cause real world consequences that impact our lives and our future. Propagandists, both foreign and domestic, are using these platforms to further their own agendas, not ours. I don’t know about you, but I prefer to make up my own mind about things, not let someone else do it for me.


So how to counter this? I was very pleased to see that there are actually people who are trying. See the article and included video below:

How to counter disinformation

This librarian is right, it doesn’t matter what beliefs you may have. What is important is basing those beliefs on facts. It may take some double checking but in the end finding the truth is like finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Someone once said, knowledge is power. They were right. Because knowledge will prevent a person from being used by those seeking power. In this ever more complex and dangerous world we need to be more aware of what is real and what isn’t.