Open Thread

Open Thread #397: Clown World/Politics/Economics

Aaron "Sleazy" Elias

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33 thoughts on “Open Thread #397: Clown World/Politics/Economics”

  1. It seems footage has surfaced of Biden stumbling around on the beach, nearly faceplanting several times, while DOCTOR* Jill sits by without offering a word of concern, let alone a helping hand. I wonder when she ditches him to go live the Eat, Pray, Fuck lifestyle, now that he’s no longer a useful vehicle for her aggrandizement.

    Reply

    1. Joe Biden at times comes across as little more than a puppet of “Doctor” Jill Biden, who holds a doctorate in education, a field infamous for the low IQ of the people teaching it. It is quite likely that the professor teaching a course in this program is the dumbest person in the room.

    3. https://nitter.poast.org/AOC/status/1858275868336152645
      “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @AOC Nov 17
      If people want to talk about members of Congress being overly influenced by a special interest group pushing a wildly unpopular agenda that pushes voters away from Democrats then they should be discussing AIPAC”

      One difference between the left and right is that when a leftist speaks the truth, the right will admit it (Boomercucks, from whom AOC’s comment will ironically draw the hottest fire, do not count.) I wish AOC well in her journey of awakening.

  2. In yet another sign of the cultural shift, we scored a major win yesterday when Walmart, the world’s largest company by revenue, and the world’s largest private sector employer (over 2M employees!), announced that it was rolling back its DEI initiatives:

    https://edition.cnn.com/2024/11/25/business/walmart-dei-rollback/index.html

    The title of the article is “Walmart rolls back DEI programs after right-wing backlash.” For years, the left has had companies rolling over for it, no matter how silly its demands. Let’s see how they like it when the shoe is on the other foot (and our requests are actually reasonable, making them harder to criticize in a logical manner).

    Reply

    1. On that note, Apple has rediscovered that wypipo buy their products. Their latest ad even shows a white family:

    2. Walmart discarding DEI is an enormous win. In another comment I pointed out Apple putting out an ad with a white family. Apple is one of the most valuable companies in the world, in terms of market capitalization. The big hitters are dropping DEI and sooner or latter, the rest will follow. The CEOs of big companies are close to politics. It even seems that they sometimes get orders, be it from the Democrats or Klaus Schwab. Well, there is a new guy calling the shots now. While I am critical of Donald Trump, at least he is not Biden or Kamala.

    3. Wow, that is a great ad! The relationships seem healthy, the woman and daughter don’t show any disrespect for the father, he and the daughter clearly love each other, and he shows emotion without being a little b-tch about it. It even shows the joy of having a child without including something about what a great “sacrifice” it is. 🙂

    4. I see an interracial couple in a Geico ad, White Man Asian Woman. Not sure that counts for DEI here.

    5. WM/AF pairings are definitely not pushed by DEI initiatives. Normally, there is not even a white man in the picture, having been replaced by an urban gentleman. I think I have seen many more WM/AF pairings in real life than in mainstream media.

    6. There is something similar going on in the automotive industry. While Jaguar is pushing debauchery, Volvo just put out the most moving, pro-family, pro-life car ad of all time:

    7. There are still two elements of wokeness in it: The guy says, “she may be the reason we are going to tie the knot”, i.e. he believes he is going to have a daughter, and the newborn child may be a reason to get married. A more traditional view would obviously be if they had been married all along. Also, as he reflects on the future life of his daughter, there are somehow no additional children in the picture. Of course, one child is better than none, but it is still below replacement.

      EDIT: At 2:22 we see the daughter being romantically involved with a sophisticated urban gentleman.

    1. Heh, I like the part that says that “refugees’ cognitive abilities are about (5 to) 10 IQ points higher than the average abilities of people in their home countries (measured by student assessments or intelligence tests and compiled by various research groups), but 12 (to 15) IQ points below the German average.”

      So we are actually getting the cream of the crop… It’s just that the cream is sour. 😀

      (Of course we do get some truly intelligent ones as well, but those tend to qualify as regular immigrants, and not come as refugees.)

  5. It would be racist not to allow a little black girl to wreak havoc in a supermarket:
    https://archive.ph/CzwJv
    I am glad that we live in a tolerant society that does not default to baseless accusations or even outlandish claims about supposed intellectual and behavioral differences between blacks and whites:

    Reply

    1. Hahaha, nice! 😀

      Normally I try not to laugh at other people’s misfortune, but I can’t stand those kinds of smug videos, and the vegan crap didn’t exactly make me more favorably disposed.

    2. I wonder what is going on at companies like SAP. The people in PR or HR, or any of the other female-dominated job functions seem to have completely lost touch with reality. First, the video was posted on an official SAP social media account and, second, the women in this video come across as incredibly unlikable. Third, the content is highly problematic. These bitches are gloating about their easy jobs and perks. Who is supposed to not be put off by this?

    3. I think they’ve been living in an echo chamber for too long. They go to left-wing schools, talk to their left-wing friends, follow left-wing personalities on social media, and post to left-wing discussion boards.

      It honestly wouldn’t surprise me if they genuinely believed that this is something most people would like and appreciate. Some of them really are that far out of touch with reality.

  7. Sometimes the current zeitgeist upsets me so much that I just want to see the world burn. Am I the only one who feels this way? I’m aware that it’s a destructive and unhealthy attitude, but sometimes this feeling just gets to me.

    Reply

    1. You are surely not the only one. Interestingly, it seems that this sentiment is shared across the political spectrum. The people behind fiery-but-peaceful protests even want to literally see the world burn.

    1. This is excellent news! 🙂 I hadn’t even heard of this rule before. Thanks for sharing this!

      Do you have any idea when the Nasdaq board diversity rule was originally adopted, Aaron? I tried finding out, but the closest I came was this amendment which Nasdaq filed on December 14, 2022:
      https://www.sec.gov/files/rules/sro/nasdaq/2022/34-96500.pdf

      That file says “Nasdaq filed an amendment to the proposal on February 26,
      2021,” and gives a link to it, but the link is broken, so the trail ends there for me.

      Anyway, the original proposal was at least filed before February 26, 2021. I was happy to see that – it would have been concerning if they had filed this proposed rule in the last year or so, as that would be quite an important organization bucking the trend of the cultural shift. But since it was filed several years ago (likely at least four), it kind of fit with those crazy times.

    2. I did a bit of research. From what I gather, that amendment was approved by the SEC on 6 August 2021. This is what Nasdaq had enforced for three long years:

      On August 6, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved Nasdaq listing rules implementing new board diversity disclosure requirements that will apply to most Nasdaq-listed companies (Nasdaq Board Diversity Rules). The Nasdaq Board Diversity Rules will generally require Nasdaq-listed companies to:

      – have, or publicly disclose why they do not have, at least two diverse directors (including at least one self-identified female director and at least one director who self-identifies as an “underrepresented minority” or LGBTQ+, each as defined below); and
      – publicly disclose board diversity statistics using a standardized format on an annual basis.

    3. Thanks, Aaron! 🙂

      It seems they only began enforcement at the end of last year (December 31, 2023):
      https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/assets/Board%20Diversity%20Disclosure%20Five%20Things.pdf

      It seems there was an easy out to the requirement:
      “A company that does not meet the board diversity objective can satisfy the board diversity objective by providing an explanation along with its Matrix in its proxy statement, information statement, or on the company’s website. Nasdaq will verify that a company that does not meet the diverse director objective has provided an explanation, but Nasdaq will not assess the merits of the explanation.”
      (same source)

      Makes me think that the people at Nasdaq didn’t really care about the issue, and just wanted to “keep up with the times” during the DEI heydays. Which is comforting in itself (or perhaps I’m being overoptimistic).

      —

      When you think about it, this rule kind of contradicts sacred left-wing beliefs. The notion that you choose to disclose or not disclose your sexuality, and that it’s nobody else’s business, has long been a sacred left-wing cow. To out someone without their approval has long been considered a serious “sin.”

      Referring to trans people’s previous gender, or claiming that they are in any way different from real (biological) members of their chosen gender, has also been a very serious offense to them.

      Yet this rule required self-identification from serving directors of both any potential trans status, as well as their sexuality!

      I’m not sure if directors could refuse to self-identify for these purposes, but if not, then they would have to either out themselves, or lie.

      If they weren’t required to disclose, then the whole rule requirement becomes pointless: “Here’s our explanation as to why our company board does not fulfill the requirements: our directors refuse to identify their sexuality or gender, as they consider that personal information, and will not be compelled to out themselves publicly in writing for the whole world.”

  11. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been voted out of confidence by the German Parliament. President Steinmeier can now order a new election which will take place in February. That’s what happens when you prioritize financing wars instead of improving your people’s welfare. And sending all of your money to Ukraine.

    https://www.euronews.com/2024/12/16/scholz-loses-no-confidence-vote-against-him-triggering-early-elections

    https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/aktuelles/abstimmung-vertrauensfrage-2325612

    Reply

    1. This was about time. That government has been absolutely disastrous for Germany, but I am sure that its US-based handlers have been very pleased with their work, such as dismantling nuclear power plants, pushing gender madness, and causing mass unemployment. There have not just been layoffs. A lot of businesses shut down completely or moved parts of their production abroad. The car industry, which is a big part of German industry, has been hit particularly hard.

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