NYT rolls out mammoth report on ‘Russian interference’ that fails to tell allegations from facts

A new take on the ‘Russia hacked the US election’ story by the Gray Lady herself may make some in the journalistic community cringe. It’s usually not considered correct to report allegations as facts, you see.

On Thursday the New York Times published a 10,000-word special report titled ‘A Plot to Subvert an Election: Unravelling the Russia Story So Far’. Written in a way that would make the late Tom Clancy proud, it summarizes the many aspects about alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

The report has all the hallmarks of standard Russia scoop. Intellectuals will be pleased to see the name of Aleksandr Dugin in the section explaining why Russian President Vladimir Putin hates America and its freedom. The less-read are told about how he called the fall of the USSR the greatest geopolitical disaster of the previous century.

There is a lot of action montage going on. Here are “keyboard warriors granted the unusual privilege of real-world travel” to the US to lay the groundwork for a “virtual invasion”. In the next paragraph we read about Putin raging about Panama Papers exposing his personal friend as a secret billionaire. Next scene: Trump wistfully tweeting about becoming BFFs with Putin in the run up to The Miss Universe Pageant in Moscow.

https://www.rt.com/usa/439076-nyt-russiagate-grand-expose/

Mexico - AMLO Refuses To Use Presidential Plane, Leaving Him Stuck For 4 Hours

Mr. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, known locally as AMLO, was elected as new Mexican president on a platform promising austerity and thus he selected yesterday to sit out the 4-hour delay on a commercial flight rather than to opt using the presidential plane.

His flight from the southern state of Oaxaca to Mexico City was delayed because of heavy rain and some on social media posted pictures of the president-elect patiently waiting till he could depart.

Commenting from his aircraft seat, Mr. Obrador said: "I won't get on the presidential plane."

His comments came as Mr. Obrador, together with other passengers spent nearly three hours on the grounded plane until they were asked to go back to the terminal, where they waited another hour before the flight was finally able to leave.

The left-wing leader won the presidential election earlier this year by a landslide and has vowed to rein in corruption and put an end to outrageous spending.

Related coverage: Mexico - New President Instantly Slashes Own Salary 60%.

Mexico has a presidential jet, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner which cost the country some $218.7m (it was delivered two years ago after former President Felipe Calderón ordered it back in 2012). Mr. Obrador has vowed it will be sold, stating it was ludicrous in this day and age and that "not even Donald Trump has one like it."

The president-elect explained to other passengers that he would be "embarrassed" to board "a luxurious plane in a country where there is so much poverty".

"I'm not going to change my mind because of this. Enough with this tomfoolery, it's over, it's over, any politician who acts arrogantly won't last."

http://www.thegoldwater.com/news/37604-Mexico-AMLO-Refuses-To-Use-Presidential-Plane-Leaving-Him-Stuck-For-4-Hours