Certified Legendary Thread Corona, Jamaica ooh I wanna take ya (COVID-19 Information & Discussion Here)

[Bone71]

No they're not but you're not honestly trying to say anything comes close to the CCP sponsored media surely?

I think its more obvious in China, which possibly makes its less dangerous.

I take with a grain salt what appears in the mainstream media in this country, the US and UK. Do you honestly think western media is not agenda driven and report accordingly?

 

[Mutineer]

I think its more obvious in China, which possibly makes its less dangerous.

I take with a grain salt what appears in the mainstream media in this country, the US and UK. Do you honestly think western media is not agenda driven and report accordingly?

Of course they are on both sides of Politics but nothing comes close to the State/CCP run Chinese media which is most of it. It's not an accident that China is way out in front of the World with journalists in incarceration.

That's the ones that don't disappear in mysterious circumstances of course.

 

[cleanhands]

Agreed, 100%

I don't recall that happening - but it may have.

I don't remember a lot of that going on. There was one person posting a tin foil hat conspiracy theory about the virus originating in the USA and being taken to China by soldiers participating in military exercises near Wuhan. That was straight from the CCP propaganda book, and they were called on it immediately. It wasn't Dandy who posted it.

Agree 100%. China are responsible for 350,000 deaths and counting (world wide). The Orange Hobgoblin is responsible for around 1/3 of the USA's death tally, through his government's incompetent handling of the crisis.

It could have been me that posted the soldier theory, as my wife was getting told this from her family in China, I had to explain to her the propaganda they would be getting fed

 

[Bender20]

How so? Looks like police & protestors in peaceful agreement, about the horrible situation in the USA. You do understand the significance of the policemen taking the knee?

What's the significance ?

 

[Bone71]

Of course they are on both sides of Politics but nothing comes close to the State/CCP run Chinese media which is most of it. It's not an accident that China is way out in front of the World with journalists in incarceration.

That's the ones that don't disappear in mysterious circumstances of course.

I would argue whilst the methods are different the result is the same - a woefully uninformed population typically fed whatever those with the power to determine content choose.

 

[SaltPeter]

Compare all of that shit going at the moment to this .. comedy gold .. **** I love Australia at times like this

'Get off the grass': PM cops a blast on the campaign trail

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his entourage have been ordered to "get off the grass" by an unhappy home owner in Eden-Monaro.

thenewdaily.com.au

 

[rocket18]

Of all the images coming out of these "protests", this is, in its own way, possibly one of the most sickening....

View attachment 886685

This is not a good look, its what started this round of "protests", a cop taking a knee on a blokes neck for 8 minutes.

 

[Jinglebells32]

It could have been me that posted the soldier theory, as my wife was getting told this from her family in China, I had to explain to her the propaganda they would be getting fed

It was me actually, after you had mentioned it, I went further into detail.

 

[rocket18]

Does western media = balanced, independent reporting?

Taken as a whole, pretty much so. Far right media, Far left media, little bit right, little bit left and then some that are straight and narrow.

I think its more obvious in China, which possibly makes its less dangerous.

I take with a grain salt what appears in the mainstream media in this country, the US and UK. Do you honestly think western media is not agenda driven and report accordingly?

As above, yes most of the western media is agenda driven - but you can get multiple points of view.

I would argue whilst the methods are different the result is the same - a woefully uninformed population typically fed whatever those with the power to determine content choose.

The result is not the same, as others have mentioned do you think the average Chinese citizen get access to a different point of view - that is their reality, the information they are fed.

Western population has the choice of which bias (& how biased) they get their information from. Majority would see both sides.

Just the extremes on both sides would be too blinkered to "that's all they see"

 

[cleanhands]

It was me actually, after you had mentioned it, I went further into detail.

I know my wife’s family were telling her the same story and thought I may have mentioned it on here,so the CCP were pushing it

 

[cleanhands]

Compare all of that shit going at the moment to this .. comedy gold .. fu** I love Australia at times like this

'Get off the grass': PM cops a blast on the campaign trail

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his entourage have been ordered to "get off the grass" by an unhappy home owner in Eden-Monaro.

thenewdaily.com.au

Hey I take pride in my grass as well

 

[SaltPeter]

Hey I take pride in my grass as well

I love the fact he came of the house in his tracks daks to tell them to get off of the lawn. ScoMo handled it well and took a few steps backwards and told the journo's to get off the lawn. Tracky dak man and ScoMo sign off with a 'thumbs up'

 

[cleanhands]

I love the fact he came of the house in his tracks daks to tell them to get off of the lawn. ScoMo handled it well and took a few steps backwards and told the journo's to get off the lawn. Tracky dak man and ScoMo sign off with a 'thumbs up'

Proud as punch,we have no shame

 

[Bone71]

Taken as a whole, pretty much so. Far right media, Far left media, little bit right, little bit left and then some that are straight and narrow.



As above, yes most of the western media is agenda driven - but you can get multiple points of view.



The result is not the same, as others have mentioned do you think the average Chinese citizen get access to a different point of view - that is their reality, the information they are fed.

Western population has the choice of which bias (& how biased) they get their information from. Majority would see both sides.

Just the extremes on both sides would be too blinkered to "that's all they see"

We may have more access to different points of view but that does not mean we are better informed or that narratives are not controlled by a few.

My main objection is that there seems to be an assumption here that what we are told by our media is correct and other sources are completely wrong unless it agrees with the approved narrative.

Do I think state controlled media in China tells lies - of course I do. Do I think that mainstream media in the western world controls the narrative and therefore serve their own agenda - absolutely. Both end up with populations with, at best, a skewed idea of what is actually going.

 

[Vader]

It's not their job to show "peaceful agreement" with anyone in a crowd that they are supposed to be controlling, regardless of how they personally (or their commanders) might feel about the issue in question. Least of all by taking a submissive posture.


The symbolism is that the police place a higher priority on virtue signalling, than doing their job of protecting (whatever it is they're standing in front of, I know it's happened outside Downing Street). Or maybe it's an attempt at appeasement. Which, of course, never works with angry mobs.

I don't see anyone trying to push down the barriers, or do anything illegal. The cops are doing a great job of keeping the situation calm.

Mind you, it's pretty much impossible to understand what's really going on a still photo without knowing more about the context of what we're seeing.

On SM-G930F using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Mutineer]

We may have more access to different points of view but that does not mean we are better informed or that narratives are not controlled by a few.

My main objection is that there seems to be an assumption here that what we are told by our media is correct and other sources are completely wrong unless it agrees with the approved narrative.

Do I think state controlled media in China tells lies - of course I do. Do I think that mainstream media in the western world controls the narrative and therefore serve their own agenda - absolutely. Both end up with populations with, at best, a skewed idea of what is actually going.

Can't agree with you there, think you're selling most Australians way too short, they're smart enough to sort the wheat from the chaff most of the time. If we don't like the way the country's being governed we have the option of voting with our feet at the ballot box.....the Chinese people don't have that luxury.

 

[Vader]

What's the significance ?

Colin Kaepernick's protest during the national anthem before NFL games. He took the knee, rather than stand, as a Black Lives Matter protest.

 

[Vader]

This is not a good look, its what started this round of "protests", a cop taking a knee on a blokes neck for 8 minutes.

That's not what the police are doing in that photo.

On SM-G930F using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[mattymac]

 

[spenze]

Compare all of that shit going at the moment to this .. comedy gold .. fu** I love Australia at times like this

'Get off the grass': PM cops a blast on the campaign trail

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his entourage have been ordered to "get off the grass" by an unhappy home owner in Eden-Monaro.

thenewdaily.com.au

That is one of my favourite political images in the last few years. For a man who builds his image on being an "everyman" he did it no harm at all today

 

[Bone71]

Can't agree with you there, think you're selling most Australians way too short, they're smart enough to sort the wheat from the chaff most of the time. If we don't like the way the country's being governed we have the option of voting with our feet at the ballot box.....the Chinese people don't have that luxury.

Maybe but if the information we get is skewed, misleading or confusing we arent really making an informed decision are we. There is precious little fact based reporting these days its mostly interpretation or opinion based.

Btw I never said our governments control the narrative, they try but ultimately the media choose what is and how it is covered

 

[Dandy_GO]

Isn't quoting their media pushing their propaganda or do you think China media = balanced, independent reporting.

Taken as a whole, pretty much so. Far right media, Far left media, little bit right, little bit left and then some that are straight and narrow.



As above, yes most of the western media is agenda driven - but you can get multiple points of view.



The result is not the same, as others have mentioned do you think the average Chinese citizen get access to a different point of view - that is their reality, the information they are fed.

Western population has the choice of which bias (& how biased) they get their information from. Majority would see both sides.

Just the extremes on both sides would be too blinkered to "that's all they see"

I think you've made a couple of big assumptions here. Firstly, I don't think I've cited Chinese state media once here. I do read some of it, but I tend to try and read it in Chinese (to work on my reading skills) so I wouldn't link to something most people here wouldn't be able to read. At one point I DID say I thought it was likely true was that China's strict post-Spring Festival virus containment measures had probably flattened the curve of COVID here (and I made a point to say I wasn't for a moment suggesting the total numbers were accurate). I've yet to see any evidence from within the country that I was incorrect about that.

Secondly, I try to be very critical about what I read in the media here (though of course plenty here don't, just how certain Australian posters believed say, the Greens were responsible for the bushfires because Peta Credlin said it on Sky News...), but I think it's a stretch to say there isn't useful information and perspectives you can find in the Chinese media/social media. I think a lot of people do overestimate the level of censorship (not that it isn't massive, just that it isn't a complete and absolute suppression of thought and discussion). Some very sweeping statements are made about the access to information that Chinese people have which are often true in a general sense, but really fail paint the whole picture. An outpouring of anger over the treatment of Dr. Li Wenliang (the persecuted doctor that died of Coronavirus after) was EVERYWHERE, for example - both in print media and especially social media. Yes, the media is very tightly controlled (and lately getting even tighter), but that doesn't mean there's only a single perspective to be found.

Gen X and Gen Y people especially tend to have far more varied and informed opinions about the world as both grew up in eras of less strict media control, with access to somewhat more free discussion on the internet. The Great Firewall was nowhere near as tall back in the 90s/early 2000s. At one point the most widely read blog in the world was a Chinese guy who often discussed social issues in a very critical way. Today, there's a whole fluid language used on message boards to discuss social/political issues without triggering the censors. Plenty of people have VPNs etc too.

Heck, I've even had very open discussions about some pretty dicey issues, such as the legitimacy of removing presidential term limits, with a few ranking party officials who were very keen to hear and discuss my own perspective over a few cups of baijiu.

If you're interested, I'd recommend a book called Wish Lanterns, which follows 6 different Gen Y residents of Beijing, and gives some pretty good insights about how politics and social issues are approached by young people. One of the subjects is a political science student (and daughter of a party official) who studies both at Peking University (the top uni in China) and also in America doing a master's before coming back to China to do a PhD (and marrying a Taiwanese man). The book does a great job of tracking her changes in political leanings and influences over time. While she's obviously quite academically exceptional, plenty of people, particularly of that generation, have political and social values that have been shaped by more than just the state media and their public school educations. Most people, however, are happier just getting on with their lives without giving politics a second thought, to be fair...

While Chinese media is certainly hugely biased and limited in massive ways (and obviously a lot of really really important reporting about China does come from the Western press) there's also a hell of a lot of massively unbalanced material I see posted by a few people here that is just about equally far from the truth (or based entirely on assumptions/no evidence whatsoever).

Finally, I really, really resent being called a mouthpiece for the party, or "Comrade Dandy" or all the other crap thrown my way. I'm not a communist (and the commune system was well on its way out here starting in 1979 anyway, before I was even born). I don't work for the CCP and, as I've said in several posts (well before the current situation in the U.S.) I see Western nations becoming less democratic and moving towards populist, authoritarian leadership. As someone who tries hard to understand China, that terrifies me.

 

[Dandy_GO]

Sorry - a few people complain about my posts being too long. I like to include my reasoning, rather than just posting claims and assertions, but I know that makes them a little wordy for a footy message board.

 

[Dandy_GO]

His accounts of life there has been very interesting and from a unique perspective.

People can go hard at Trump without letting China off the hook. We can have both.

Thanks

And I agree with the second part. But, as a Westerner, I want our countries to be the best possible model of democracy and egalitarianism. I want us to influence the people of the world who don't enjoy the freedoms Australians do (and I want us to retain those freedoms, rather than letting Peter Dutton do what he likes with your search history etc). From that perspective I probably do have more of a problem when I see my own country facilitating the disgusting exploitation of places like PNG and East Timor and then covering it up in the media, than I do when China does something equally bad. I want us to be better than that, because when we fail at this, it does damage the credibility of democratic systems in the eyes of those who don't live in them (or live in utterly corrupt ones). And democracy is measurably on the decline globally, just as China, with a model of trading-off individual rights for stability, economic growth and prosperity, is rising.

So when Trump tries to deflect blame for his own complete failings as a leader by pointing at China, I absolutely hope people aren't convinced, because that prick needs to be booted out ASAP. The negative influence he has on the spread of free democracy globally is just massive.

 

[mistylake]

Of all the images coming out of these "protests", this is, in its own way, possibly one of the most sickening....

View attachment 886685

I can only assume this is instructional of how you kneel on someone’s neck.
I can’t see how this is helpful under these circumstances.