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Tl;dr Mainstream media caught outright lying and completely distorting facts to fit a narrative, we only found out because social media exists and gives a voice to people who were actually there and know the facts. I don't believe they only started doing this when the Internet came along.

If you've not followed it, Owen Jones summarises what we know here:

I don't claim to be an expert on Pravda but would welcome any evidence you have of anything they did that was this dishonest.

Well neither am I, but Pravda was the official state media of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1920-1990 or thereabouts. Just for the period prior to 1953, consider how they reported on the 800k executions, 1.7m deaths in the Gulags, or the 6m or so in the famine of the 1930s?

Comparing a bit of lazy reporting / politically biased spin about football violence seems jejune at best. Call it out for what it is, there's plenty of ammunition to criticize western institutions, media and otherwise, without making specious parallels.

and again.

https://newrepublic.com/post/188197/trump-media-information-landscape-fox

Good article, I tend to agree that the Democrats didn't do too much wrong with their policy or campaign but massively misread the media prism through which a significant element of the population views them. The whole post truth / alternate reality thing.

https://www.offmessage.net/p/democrats-please-try-to-fix-this-problem

There are some really exciting offerings from China these days - the KOVE 450 Rally is a bundle of bike for the cash.

NYT is Pravda? FT is Pravda? WSJ (Murdoch owned) is Pravda? That's ridiculous. Propagandizing on the opinion side is one thing, wholesale manufacturing of alternate reality on the news side is something completely different.

Do you think that Facebook disseminating news without any fact checking or recourse, with algorithms designed to enrage people is a better place? Is Joe Rogan (14.5m listeners) hosting JD Vance without a scintilla of fact checking or pushback on any of his view / positions an improvement?

I don't see it - Unless social media is held to the same standards as traditional media it will continue to eat trad media's face, engaging in only what is most profitable and advantageous to its owners. That's why I think the alliance of big tech and an autocratically minded administration is so corrosive.

Good article. Oddly enough, I thought he'd win in 2016 but Harris would squeak it this time. Mencken proved forever right...

I think this is probably the first post-truth election. There is a substantial portion of the population that is entirely siloed in a Fox, alt-right, Facebook, X, right-wing podcast ecosystem. Taking out the genuine bad actors, I get there's an expectation that they should be able to believe what they're told. Mainstream media has told some whoppers over the years but it's hardly Pravda...Now we have a fully developed alternate universe. It's hard to see going forward how you beat the alliance of an autocratically minded incumbent, and the billionaire media gods. You can extrapolate a parallel with Russia, post the election of Putin in 2000. Billionaires were only protected and allowed to thrive as long as they supported Vlad, the others experienced misfunctioning windows. The idea this admin will be constrained by law is insane, given track record and the supreme courts immunity decision. Wonder how long it will be before they punt the filibuster to get unpopular policies through the Senate? Depressing all around.

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/trump-is-america-not-a-fluke/

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/trump-is-america-not-a-fluke/

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/trump-is-america-not-a-fluke/

I see the logic in building something at a lower price - that seems to be a segment doing better these days. I think KTM and their ilk are going to run into a wall with highly priced, race rep off road models sooner or later - especially with rates where they are.

I guess it's logical they made it how they did but I wish it was more RMX450 with a 6 speed.
I'm an enormous fan of the old DRZ400 (and Suzuki dirtbikes in general) but if it needed anything, it was a 30lb weight loss and an extra gear.

Currently radiusing the ends of the fork brace mount for the Triumph. I love my little mill but the arc of history bends faster than these bloody radii….

Yeah, moving them isn't much fun. I think mine weighs about 900lbs which is still a good chunk less than that Colchester weighs...

I've struggled a lot more with surface finish than threading. Took quite a bit of time, and reading on different tool / insert geometry and how they interact with speed and feed to get satisfactory. Great when you get it right though - perfect chips and that shiny mirror finish in free machining or 4140.

I think my old man was a member of SMEE.

There's so many variables for accuracy / repeatability, from machine condition, set up, tooling and material, it's way more complicated that I was expecting. I only started getting decent results by going very slowly through everything before I start an operation.

Nice shop! I’ve got a little set up in my garage and make stuff for my motorbikes. Recutting cylinder heads, porting and making two stroke exhaust pipes. I’ve made a swingarm and some other stuff too. I like the logical thinking for machining but the process can be a ball ache, especially without some instruction. Took me ages to get my lathe working properly. Get some charts made up with speeds and feeds for different materials. It’s a total money saver though - I’m just making a fork brace for an old Triumph - 275 to buy, 28 bucks in Aluminium from the remnant pile and a pre bent tube to make.

YouTube is great for instruction - check out Blondiehacks and Thisoldtony.

Yeah - it’s still a blast! Beach races look absolutely brutal, though wet sand is incredible to ride on. The desert is mega here the day after it rains.

I remember watching the leader at le Touquet years ago get clobbered by a CRS baton as he got a bit too close when lapping the field!

I’ve done LA-Barstow-Vegas. I had a roll book and GPS and still got lost from time to time.

Try and get some practice in loose sand, otherwise you’ll possibly hate the first day or so until you get used to it. Very different sensation and technique.

Get comfortable with miles of whoops. Comes with the desert territory!

I’m pretty sure Harris will win, maybe even beat Biden’s 2020 tally.

My little pal.

Even my (kickstart only) triumph won't start with a flat battery. Nice to see they're consistent.

After a couple of months hiatus, I've been doing a bit of work on my Triumph. Serviced it, with new tranny and engine oil, checked the valves and cleaned the carbs again and it's now a one kick wonder. I machined up some billet tank mounts, which were a bit overkill but work fine. I've got a little electrical work to do, fit a rear mudguard and light of some sort then swap out the clutch springs for lighter ones.
Finally, I want to make a fork brace.

Probably going to do something like this, looks a nice piece but $250 seems a little salty. I've bought a 180 degree loop of 1" 16ga Stainless tubing (for 15 bucks!) and will make similar 6061 billet clamps from the remnant pile. Shouldn't be too much work.

Not like you need an MOT on a 55 bike anyway….

Can I phone it in from here? No hard luggage but I do still have a VFR. Doesn’t get much more Middle Aged than that….

That's mega! Hope you have a window of good weather left before the gloom sets in....

I so want this picture with Daleks coming out of it.

https://www.threads.net/@karaswisher/post/DA-LegSu4GW

That Penthouse in Covent Garden was surprisingly good value.

Penthouse in Covent Garden for 6 weeks £20,437
Loan of a house in Swansea for three nights for four people £3,000

I'd absolutely take a free offer of a flat, but then I'm not PM and didn't campaign (partly) on taking the grift out of politics. Making a distinction between a rich friend paying for a suite at the Dorchester and offering an empty property seems like sophistry to me - they're both receiving something of value. Where do you draw the line?

Responding to an question or accusation with a counter accusation is whataboutery, right? I'll stipulate that Johnson was as picture perfect example of corruption as it's possible to find in UK politics, but that does nowt to address the issue of Starmer accepting hospitality.