I was just reading the “CNN is no longer journalism” thread. Is EastUmpqua a troll or just really, really stupid? His (her?) apparent inability to understand the difference between CBC and TASS, despite having it explained repeatedly, suggests troll…
And it can’t be both really, really stupid and troll because?
LOL! Point taken…
Perhaps the latter: really stupid. I’ve been following that thread, and EastUmpqua is just repeating something I’ve heard from many American friends, acquaintances, and business associates. They simply cannot believe that a government-funded media source (such as the CBC and the BBC) can provide unbiased news, including that in which the government of the day is portrayed in an unflattering light. The government funds it, so it has to portray the government and its policies in a good light, right?
Well, no. Unlike TASS and the DPRK News Service, both CBC and BBC have competition. In the CBC’s case, that comes from CTV and Global, both private networks; in addition to the Canadian Press wire service, and private reporting from newspapers. If the CBC says (and this is totally fictional), “A Brighter Future Awaits as a Result of Government Budget,” its competition would likely respond with, “Your wallet will take a hit: higher taxes now.” In other words, the CBC must report news fairly, because its private competition will make it look like an untrustworthy jackass if it doesn’t.
That’s why I’m saying that EastUmpqua is really stupid. He or she cannot realize this, clings to his or her belief that “government-funded” equates to “government-run,” and does not take into account that private competition can demolish any pro-government argument if a government-funded news outlet tries to “adjust” the news to the government’s taste. TASS and the DPRK News Service have no such competition.
Anyone else getting a whiff of something off CasteltonSnob1?
Because I think it’s kind of dubious to imagine its two most recent threads (both in IMHO) were started in good faith, particularly given their have very close parallels to a couple of ongoing pit threads:
@What_Exit then proceeding into mod-mode, cautioning members to try and keep “on topic,” only furthers my suspicion that there’s some low-intensity trolling involved. Because honestly, WTF did the OP think would happen?
I see what you mean.
Along the same lines - add KennyT to the watch list? Usual signs - recent join, high number of threads started vs posts, “controversial”.
j
Definitely. In fact two of its last three threads have been locked, having started out as utter trainwrecks and not made it very far. Somehow, he hasn’t even gotten a warning yet…
I read that mod direction as “do not feed this troll”.
I was talking about Octo, not CasteltonSnob1 though. Octo once again appears to have tried to hijack a thread onto his own agenda. I wasn’t allowing it. The discussion started by CasteltonSnob1 seems fine to me.
Recent join, 21 topics, 22 posts. It’s a warning sign.
j
That’s bullshit. I was answering a question. Perhaps the question was off topic but I didn’t initiate that and my first post in that thread was an answer to the OP.
Not bullshit. You have a habit of hijacking threads with your bullshit. I called you on that one. And you were the first to go off subject. By the time I got there you had several more posters following off the topic.
It is bullshit. I answered the question posed by the OP and I answered the other question. If you judge the other question to be off topic so be it. If you read the rest of that thread there is far more commentary than my comment on post modern philosophy being a problem in the US. The question was open to a relatively broad answer and has had some relatively broad answers which you say nothing about because they align with your biases.
And how! Just saw the childbearing thread… yeesh.
(Interesting subject, though. Kinda wish it wouldn’t have been such an inflammatory OP.)
Though as the mod said, if anyone wants to discuss the topic feel free to start a non-poisoned thread.
What you talking about, fool? No one said anything about repression. Talking about poor reading comprehension is all.
It’s called “sarcasm”, fool.
Who are you replying to, @Skywatcher? All I see is a pink blob.
I guess it’s the Blob, then. 
