The Readings You Consume

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www.twelvebooks.com

This week is dragging a little long, or so it seems. I finally finished reading "Russian Roulette" by Michael Isikoff and David Corn, and had immediately jumped into "Collusion", by Luke Harding. This would be my fourth book on the topic and my fourth book of the year. It's also curious, but after reading Russian Roulette, I feel more prepared emotionally to face the series of harrowing revelations included in this other book.

It's hard to explain what was I exactly expecting from my readings - maybe something more political and abstract - but facing texts writing about the crude manner in which Russia has apparently attacked another country's political and democratic construction has been horrifying, to say the least. Yes, of course, it is an "eye opener" and "this is how the world works" and so on, BUT I still find it deeply objectionable that anyone would think it's justifyable to toy and manipulate people into making them believe a false narrative in order to make them behave in a way that's contrary to their own objectives and best interest. Because say all you want, but what's happening to the United States, Great Britain and Europe is not, in the least, in the best interest of the population. Is it in the best interest of Russia? Honestly, I wouldn't say so. It is in the best interest of a handful of people, but not of any country or any larger, significant population on the planet.

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Penguin Random House

The book by Luke Harding reads so far more like a novel with romantic tones to it. I don't mean that it reads like a romance book, but more like a dreamy, rose-tinted story of a guy who finds himself in the middle of a huge, awful conspiracy, led by a deranged leader aparently trapped in the web of nearly steampunkish pipe dreams. It gives less a sense of helplessness, and more a novel-like recount of a story that's dirtier and more horrifying than what it lets the reader perceive.

So far, as I read it, it certainly feels like this book is the perfect grounding text I needed after my soul was filled with dread from Isikoff's brutal revelations.

Through the readings, though, I've also learned about RT and Sputnik, two Russian news media outlets used to pump Russian propaganda and the Russian agenda into the world. This suddenly got me thinking because I had at that point RT and Sputnik in my timeline. Except that I had clicked on them as a source for German news in German. Yes, I found the name "Sputnik" strange (I made my search with "Der Spiegel"), but the articles it brought were short and easy to read - which is a big plus for me (in spite of being about to enter the C1 level, so I should have a better German than what I currently command). After Isikoff's book, I decided I didn't want anything to do with either of those news outlets, so I clicked them off. The articles I clicked on seemed mostly harmless (again, my management of the language doesn't allow me to read extensively and in depth about politics and economics), but I started getting suspicious about what could be being fed to me, or even what could be getting planted in my computer. It might say they are "cookies" but you never know about those.

Then, in a local digital newspaper I saw the journalist refering to something about this country that had been mentioned in RT International. Well, that got me totally paranoid. How come a Russian State sponsored/controled news outlet writes about what happens in little-ole Costa Rica? Why are they even here? Are they targeting us too? What for?

My dad has discovered Facebook some months ago, and has gotten hooked on it. I've noticed that he has begun consuming large amounts of fake or adulterated news and actually believe them. He's taking sides upon reading, without practicing a minimum of cross-checking with other sources. I know, that's hard to do, but it's worth it. It might take a bit of time, but I urge you all to take everything you read with a grain of salt. Cross check, make sure other, more reliable news sources also cover the same events and pay attention to what they say. Look at the evidence by yourself and draw your own conclusions.

I'm still reading books on collusion and the Russian interference with the United States. I know no hackers, but there are things that do get me thinking, like the surge of so many anti-virus programs made in Russia, and how they are so good... but don't seem to fix things (I know, I have one). The politics now reigning in Russian, among them the medieval view about the LGTBI community. The large amount of poisonings of Russian disidents, the non-answers one hears from top government executives in the news, the Crimea thing. Things add up and not look good.

This are hard time, and we all yearn for stability and trustworthiness, but lets not let our desires be the tool with which the wool is pulled over our eyes.