Monday, July 21, 2014
ABC Thinks You're An Idiot
So I just finished watching ABC World News [sic] Tonight, where they lead with a piece in which they asserted that Russia has claimed that a Ukrainian fighter jet, which we covered in a previous post, was responsible for shooting down the MH17 plane. The problem of course, is that no such claim was made. ABC News [sic] showed a website, which we are to presume represents "official" Russian declarations that none of the ABC News[sic] Watchers are expected to be able to read because the vast majority of the viewership cannot read Russian.
There was an "expert" who said that any fighter pilot would be laughing at the suggestion that a fighter jet would down a civilian airplane. First thing: Why? Is it technically not possible? Is this like RoboCop where the planes are unable to shoot at "red targets"?
Of course this isn't the case. It's a red herring. The point of concern is not whether the planes would or would not shoot at a commercial jet. The point of concern is that Ukrainian fighter jets would be in a war zone close to a commercial jet, thereby placing it in danger.
Oh. Who's laughing now?
Next is the website thing. I'm certain there are conspiracies out there. I noted that RT went with the "mistook for Putin's plane" report before removing it (which is why I now do screenshots). I'm not trying to hide anything. But to report on rumors and theories by partisans on either side is not reporting. It is gossip. How about we base our reports on US policy by referring to Alex Jones? Maybe The Onion. Oh right, The Onion has fooled reporters in the past.
As for video or pictures of a truck driving off with the weapon "across to Russia". Maybe it is. I don't know. I could go outside and take a picture of a truck on a road and claim it's going to NYC. Does that prove it was indeed going there? But Kiev says it is!
Kiev claimed that rebels were handing out leaflets to jews to report themselves to the government. That turned out to be false. They had pictures and everything.
Oh.