My Take | The real news Washington does not want you to know about

A stray Chinese spy balloon, a train wreck involving deadly chemicals, and an act of state-sponsored sabotage or terrorism – which events do you think have a greater impact on the actual safety of American citizens and their relations with the rest of the world?

Your answer is as good as mine. So well, naturally, major American media groups have focused exclusively on the giant “airship” with 24/7 saturation coverage. Meanwhile, they have all downplayed the dangers from the Ohio train derailment that has been described by locals as “a mini-Chernobyl”. And most simply ignored an explosive report by famed investigative journalist Seymour Hersh on the undersea bombing of the Nord Stream pipelines, which he claimed was ordered by the White House itself.

Was the balloon justifiably the focus of US national security or just one big distraction from what actually threatens American lives and their future?

Distracting as ever, The New York Times ran a story on Thursday complaining that “for many influencers across the political spectrum, claims about the environmental effects of the train derailment have gone far beyond known facts”.

Jeez, it’s not like the Times and many of its media peers have not routinely run stories that depart “far beyond known facts” when it comes to other countries. The story reinforces the authorities’ claims that amount to saying – “move on now, nothing to see here”.