Category: Shared News

SHARED NEWS: W.Va. journalist let go after reporting on abuse allegations

The Associated Press

The Associated PressFollow

W.Va. journalist let go after reporting on abuse allegations

Story by By LEAH WILLINGHAM, Associated Press • 5h ago

8748899 Comments

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia journalist lost her job last month after she reported about alleged abuse of people with disabilities within the state agency that runs West Virginia’s foster care and psychiatric facilities.

This undated photo shows former West Virginia Public Broadcasting reporter Amelia Ferrell Knisely. Knisely was let go from her job at WVPB on Dec. 20, 2022, after she wrote about the alleged abuse of people with disabilities at the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Services. (Amelia Ferrell Knisely via AP)© Provided by The Associated Press

Amelia Ferrell Knisely, a reporter at West Virginia Public Broadcasting, said she was told to stop reporting on the Department of Health and Human Resources after leaders of the embattled agency “threatened to discredit” the publicly funded television and radio network. She later learned her part-time position was being eliminated.

In a statement, Knisely said her news director told her the order came from WVPB Executive Director Butch Antolini, former communications director for Republican Gov. Jim Justice. Antolini has served as executive director since 2021, when his predecessor was ousted after Justice overhauled the agency’s governing board.

Justice has tried unsuccessfully to eliminate state funding for WVPB in the past and was accused of appointing partisan operatives to the board. WVPB receives around $4 million a year in state funding.

Antolini declined to comment, but other officials denied any effort to influence coverage. West Virginia Educational Broadcasting Authority chairman William H. File III said Antolini told the board “he was not coerced or pressured by anyone.”

File said in a statement that Knisely was never fired and remains on the WVPB payroll, though she said her door key and email were deactivated.

Knisely’s departure comes during a tumultuous time for West Virginia media. Days before she left WVPB, three reporters for the Pulitzer Prize-winning Charleston Gazette-Mail said they were fired after publicly criticizing an editorial decision by their company president Doug Skaff, who is minority leader in the state House of Delegates. Skaff approved and led a video interview with Don Blankenship, a coal company executive convicted of safety violations connected to one of the worst coal mining disasters in recent U.S. history.

The departures leave a diminished capitol press corps to cover the upcoming legislative session, which begins Jan. 11.

Knisely’s stories detailed alleged mistreatment of people with disabilities under state care. The department cares for some of the most vulnerable residents in one of the poorest U.S. states.

After Knisely’s departure from WVPB was first reported by The Parkersburg News and Sentinel last week, both Republican Senate President Craig Blair and Democratic Party Chair Mike Pushkin called the circumstances around her departure “disturbing.”

Pushkin said Knisely’s coverage of “the glaring issues at DHHR” was “detailed, in depth, and most importantly true.”

“There’s a very clear difference between not liking what the media reports and actively working to silence them,” Blair wrote on Twitter Dec. 29.

Knisely was hired as a part-time reporter at WVPB in September. In November, she was copied on an email from then-DHHR Secretary Bill Crouch alleging inaccuracies in a story and asking for a “complete retraction.”

That never happened, but in early December, Knisely said she was told by WVPB news director Eric Douglas that she could no longer cover DHHR because of threats by state officials to discredit WVPB.

A week later, amid mounting criticism, Crouch announced he was resigning.

Douglas confirmed to The Associated Press that he was instructed to tell Knisely she would no longer be reporting on DHHR, and that Antolini directed him to do so.

As for threats from DHHR officials about discrediting WVPB, he said: “I’d rather not comment on that.”

On Dec. 15, Knisely filed a human resources complaint about interference with her reporting.

Things came to a head later that same day over Knisely’s press credentials for the 2023 legislative session, according to emails obtained by the AP and first reported by The Parkersburg News and Sentinel.

Douglas initially informed legislative staffers that Knisely would “serve a vital role” in WVPB’s 2023 legislative coverage. But then the station’s chief operating officer left him off an email saying she wouldn’t need credentials after all.

That troubled Senate spokesperson Jacque Bland, who emailed Douglas to ask about it.

“It feels kind of gross and shady to me that someone else would dip in and say that one of your reporters won’t have any assignments related to the session,” she wrote.

She added: “I definitely wanted you to be aware that Butch and Pals were trying to stick their fingers in the pie.”

Responding the next day, Douglas said he had been pulled into Antolini’s office and told “things had changed with Amelia.” He said he didn’t appreciate WVPB leadership going behind his back, “but for now it is out of my hands.”

“And you’re right, it does feel gross and shady,” he wrote.

Knisely said she was informed Dec. 20 that part-time positions were being eliminated. Her email and key card were deactivated around that time.

This week, Knisely announced on Twitter she was hired by the Beckley-based newspaper The Register-Herald to report on West Virginia’s upcoming legislative session. Her coverage will include developments with the state Department of Health and Human Resources, she said.

SHARED NEWS:

Marijuana’s black market is undercutting legal businesses

PUBLISHED FRI, DEC 23 20227:30 AM ESTUPDATED 6 HOURS AGO

Stefan Sykes@THESTEFANSYKES

I’m not going to lie, I’m printing this as a sort of “told you so”. If I, a person that can’t figure out a fingerprint lock, the instructions didn’t say you had to use the same finger every time, that was a long 20 minutes, saw this coming then….. actually it might have been a little hard to tell. Anyone that reads my blarticles, all 10 of you, might have read my article on why legalizing marijuana might not bring the tax windfall you might think. This was one of the reasons I said. All you are doing is getting people hooked, they’ll start not being able to afford the dispensaries, the local corner guy will have more customers, lol, they might be the same sellers. It’s a pretty simple formula. I do have an idea about solar powered blenders and electric mailboxes if you are looking to make money, yeah…no… ok. It was just a thought.

If I knew how to hyperlink the right way I would know how to use a fingerprint lock, both of those things are still a mystery to me. This is my previous article. Check it out, it has a few decent laughs in it. I’m not as funny as I used to be. Damn.

Why being broke is better. Put Down The Dubious Dooby Law! (copy and paste or search my blog for it)

SHARED NEWS: THREE OFFICERS LOOK ON AS HOMELESS MAN DROWNS reported by numerous outlets

A homeless man drowns while the police look on.

I’m not going to go into the whole story but unless they pushed him in, there is very little they could have done to save him. Lifeguards go through some intense training to learn how to to do water rescues and sometimes they get drowned, it hasn’t happened in a long time, by the people they are trying to save. Not any one person, in their right mind, unless they were trained in water rescue had a good chance of saving him. I understand the human aspect of this story and that people sometimes think that police officers are something else other than human, that they should be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but they can’t. I get the sympathetic feelings that overwhelm you just thinking about this poor guy drowning and that somebody should have helped, but that’s not realistic. Chances are, the officer would have drowned with him. I also get the possible accountability feature of that story, but there is no there ..there for what happened here. A man, for whatever reason, lost his life when he felt like going for a swim. I feel bad for his family and the loss they must feel. The officers are not responsible for that. Police officers are there to prevent crimes and to make arrests when a crime occurs, not to save people from themselves.

ELON….

For a immensely smart guy, he made one mistake… he let his intentions about how he was leaning politically be known way to soon. Politics is very tricky to navigate. They, the politicians, are very paranoid, thin skinned and most lack a sense of humor….. (most lack a sense of humor, the ones that don’t usually are outliers, not to be mistaken for lying out loud, and they are usually considered the best Presidents we had, i.e. Lincoln, heard he was a real hoot, Clinton, Obama, both Roosevelts and Ike. They didn’t necessarily have to be George Carlin, just watched his biopic on HBO, would not have made a great President but he knew that, that’s what made him great, but they could take a joke, while some could deliver them) given that our current political system resembles something like Ukraine, a battlefield, then a consortium for compromise ……so, imagine my surprise, when the most influential man in America voices his opinion on politics, this early. Now, I’m not passing judgement on their morality, the politicians, just on how politics and its political warfare that coincides with reputation ruining repudiation, if you piss off the wrong people, can get under your skin. (That’s a shitload of commas, more to come)

It took no time whatsoever to try and reduce how influential Elon is (he should think about going to the one name like Prince and Madonna and … is it Ye). Politics is extremely divisive….. The story that leaked seems and feels like a lot of bullshit, $250K from a multibillionaire… something is not right about that. I read the story and it’s kinda funny because I always get my massages with my underwear on and they ask me to take them off, could be because those brown stains that came with the underwear. I don’t know. That timing of the leaked story is a doozy. When Elon, or EF Musk or maybe Elon Hutton, you get it, speaks… people listen, not his fault, but with great twitter accounts comes great responsibility, who knows why. It shouldn’t be but it is and, well, this is where we’re at now in history.

Reputations are a lot like my stained underwear, that’s it…no clever quote behind it. Alright, maybe I should finish it, no one person’s is clean. And here’s a quote from another smart guy, lol, driving these atheists crazy, let that one person who has never had a stained underwear throw out the first stone. Something like that. In other words, and back to what I think of Elon’s situation, maybe it’s true but I’ll bet my last clean pair of fruit of looms that it ain’t, at least not the way they’re portraying it.

SHARED NEWS: MIKE TYSON PUNCHES MAN ON FLIGHT

Reports of former Heavyweight champion getting into an altercation on a flight have gone viral. With the video attached to the disruption, it didn’t look pretty. After watching the video, I did notice a couple of things. The person filming the video seems to be egging his drunk friend on. The intoxicated guy was being a little belligerent according to on lookers. There was mention of money on the recording. And the video cuts out and comes back, being careful not to show too much of the drunk person’s behavior. Finally, the person filming ends with a quote saying all he wanted was an autograph, most likely meaning that the intoxicated individual was not leaving Tyson alone when asked. It looks like an attempt to entice a person of wealth into a confrontation for an eventual payout. Lucky for that guy that Tyson was a boxer and not some crazy guy. Most people make a big deal about people that are trained in boxing and MMA. The fact is that the more dangerous people are the drunk guys that don’t know how to fight because they start throwing objects and start using more deadlier items. Tyson punched the guy and by all accounts it seems like it might have been self defense, but he only used his hands and not in a lethal way. It’s people that use weapons like knives and guns because they won’t use their fists when necessary that create the bigger problem.

SHARED NEWS:

‘You can’t help but notice’: World Series showcases dearth of Black players By Curtis Bunn

A very interesting article…. It was very insightful except for one little error….

“As the World Series plays out this weekend between the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros, the glaring lack of Black players on both teams, and MLB in general, is not lost on Grissom. The Braves and Astros each have one Black player on their World Series roster: Terrance Gore of Atlanta and Michael Brantley of Houston. Most MLB teams had two or fewer Black players, and three had none at the start of the season. About 50 percent of the league, meanwhile, is made up of Latin players”

Let me help you out a little….

“As the World Series plays out this weekend between the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros, the glaring lack of Black players on both teams, and MLB in general, is not lost on Grissom. The Braves and Astros each have one Black player on their World Series roster: Terrance Gore of Atlanta and Michael Brantley of Houston. Most MLB teams had two or fewer Black players, and three had none at the start of the season. About 50 percent of the league, meanwhile, is made up of Latin players“

An unnecessary statistic. It gives the allusion that they are somehow being favorited or that the owners are of Hispanic descent and the players are not there because of their talent, otherwise the article was great.

SHARED NEWS:US State Department defends handling of ‘Havana Syndrome’ BY REUTERS

The State Department has come to the conclusion that it was crickets that give you these headaches and memory loss and forever headaches/migraines. Their determinations are either made from not wanting to pay people money even though they put their lives at risk or because the U.S. does the same thing and applying or placing a law in the books might prove costly. It’s no secret that high energy weapons exist. Microwaves coupled with electromagnetic devices and/or whatever the hell their advanced tech weapons department, I’m guessing at the name, has come up with. It would be crazy for people to think that China or Russia have one upped us in this department. Those countries are playing catch up. To place something into law and then … say someone, in the U.S. tries to say that those symptoms are something they are experiencing, would be embarrassing and might circumvent any national security law if there is a law that states that these weapons exist. It’s a catch 22. They want to help, I’m sure of it, but they can’t state that the reasons for their ailments exist, at least not under any law. Maybe 50 to 100 years for now when people just say enough is enough. I don’t expect that lawmakers are going to convince the Executive branch to change their determination for now.

SHARED NEWS: WILL YOU FALL INTO THE CONSPIRACY THEORY RABBIT HOLE? – THE WASHINGTON POST BY DAVID BYLER AND YAN WU

Who believes in conspiracy theories? Statistically speaking: almost everyone.

A team of researchers recently showed several thousand Americans a list of 20 common conspiracy theories and asked if they believed them. These included false conspiracy theories about the John F. Kennedy assassination, 5G cellular wireless technology, Barack Obama’s birth certificate, covid-19 and climate change. The result: Nine in 10 Americans believed in at least one conspiracy theory.

The study — led by Adam Enders of the University of Louisville and Joseph Uscinski of the University of Miami — surveyed a representative sample of 2,023 Americans in March 2020 and 2,015 more in October 2020. This article uses questions from their surveys to test your knowledge — and your credulity.

So, can you tell fact from fiction, or will you fall down the rabbit hole? Scroll down to find out.

1/6Let’s get started: Which of the statements below is true?

Jeffrey Epstein, the billionaire accused of running an elite sex trafficking ring, was murdered to cover up the activities of his criminal network.

President John F. Kennedy was killed by a conspiracy rather than by a lone gunman.

The FBI kept tabs on civil rights leaders such as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., attempting to find compromising information and damage his reputation.

Regardless of who is officially in charge of the government and other organizations, there is a single group of people who secretly control events and rule the world together.

2/6Partisanship plays a role in what people believe: Both Republicans and Democrats are prone to believe conspiracy theories that make the other party look bad. Can you pick the true statement — or will you be blinded by party loyalty?

Republicans cheated their way to win the 2000, 2004 and 2016 presidential elections.

Hillary Clinton conspired to provide Russia with nuclear materials.

During Ronald Reagan’s presidency, government officials secretly and illegally sold weapons to Iran, and used the money to fund Nicaraguan revolutionaries.

Barack Obama faked his citizenship to become president.

Conspiracy theories follow a simple formula

Powerful people + Use deceitful or shadowy means + Benefit themselves or harm the public

Barack Obama  faked his citizenship  to become president.

Donald Trump  faked having covid-19  to help his chances at reelection.

Hillary Clinton  conspired  to give Russia access to nuclear materials.

Real-world events sometimes follow this formula as well. Example: The Reagan administration acted secretly and illegally in the Iran-contra affair, and the FBI did spy on King. But the key difference is that these real incidents are backed up by evidence, facts and witnesses.

Conspiracy theories are different. They’re just theories. Most have no evidence to support them. They often connect unrelated facts to create an impression of plausibility.

Yet almost everyone believes at least one. According to Enders, “One thing I notice a lot in talking to colleagues, journalists and students — people don’t realize that a lot of people just believe weird stuff. A lot of this commotion about conspiracy theories, especially in the last four or five years, is fueled by this complete misunderstanding of the basic contours of public opinion.”Story continues below advertisement

3/6Conspiracy theorists commonly seize on subjects that most people have little expertise in, such as health and science, and therefore cannot easily be debunked. Half of Americans believe one of the claims in the list below, but only one is backed by evidence. Which of these is true?

The dangers of genetically modified foods are being hidden from the public.

The U.S. government secretly dosed Americans with LSD in an attempt to develop mind control technology.

The AIDS virus was created and spread around the world on purpose by a secret organization.

The coronavirus was purposely created and released by powerful people as part of a conspiracy.

4/6Some conspiracy theories are like astrology — entertaining nonsense that ultimately doesn’t hurt anyone. But some are bizarre, sinister or downright offensive. Which of these statements, if any, is correct?

School shootings, such as those in Newtown, Conn., and Parkland, Fla., are “false flag” attacks perpetrated by the government.

The number of Jews killed by the Nazis during World War II has been exaggerated on purpose.

Satanic sex traffickers control the government.

None of the above

Some of these theories are transparently absurd: The Holocaust was not exaggerated, mass shootings were not faked, and Satan worshippers don’t control the government.

But the least believable conspiracy theories can have the biggest consequences. Holocaust deniers and believers in “false flag” theories often support political violence and exhibit sociopathic personality traits. Many of the rioters involved in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol showed some allegiance to QAnon — a belief system built on conspiracy theories about Satanists.

Most Americans aren’t drawn to these dark ideas — instead, they more casually rely on false theories to explain tragedies including terrorist attacks or presidential deaths; or they enjoy nasty rumors about their political opponents. The belief in one false theory does not necessarily mean the belief in an alternate reality. But it sometimes can.

As Enders told us: “The political and psychological and social motivations that fuel beliefs in conspiracy theories are shared among all people.”Story continues below advertisement

5/6Let’s try another one: Which of the three statements below is true?

The U.S. government knew hundreds of Black men in Alabama had syphilis, but told them they had “bad blood” and withheld treatment as part of a medical experiment.

President Donald Trump faked having covid-19 in order to help his chances at reelection.

Donald Trump colluded with Russians to steal the presidency in 2016.

6/6Conspiracy theories often help powerful people — sometimes by putting other powerful people in the crosshairs, or by playing on prejudices. Which of these statements is correct?

A powerful family, the Rothschilds, through their wealth, controls governments, wars and many countries’ economies.

There is a “deep state” embedded in the government that operates in secret and without oversight.

Fossil fuel companies like Exxon knew about climate change for decades, but spread misinformation about the issue to deflect blame and influence environmental policies.

Even reasonable people fall for conspiracy theories. During George W. Bush’s presidency, half of Democrats said Bush let the 9/11 attacks happen so he could start wars. Two-thirds of Republicans believe the “big lie” — that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump.

These theories have consequences. Since the 2020 election, Republicans have pursued election “audits” — recounts aimed at casting doubt on Joe Biden’s win. Other conspiracy theories, such as anti-vaccine narratives, threaten public health.

Eventually, you’ll run into a conspiracy theory that appeals to you politically or psychologically. So be careful and double-check your sources — or you could fall down the rabbit hole, too.

mannys-blog excerpt:

While I could probably get in a little trouble for copying their whole article, I just found it so interesting I wanted to share it. I took the test and I’m proud to say I aced it. I urge you to take the test and find out how freaking funny the answers are, or maybe scary funny, that kind of nervous laughter that makes you wonder, well, WTF…… Click on WTF to find out the WTF. It will take you to the test and answers.