Correction, Charlie--as of a couple of days ago, the world's richest man became Bernard Arnault, CEO and majority owner of LVMH....seems Elon's Tesla stock is tanking.
It used to be that men pretended to be grown ups (some were). Now no matter how smart or dumb or rich, the pose for men these days is the image of the out of control frat boy. Not a good look guys, acceptable to only other frat boys. When they were in college they were probably the nerds who got bullied by the frat boys so now it's their turn to get even. But they are all just a bunch mean silly boys.
This was also in my in-box this morning, from Post Carbon Institute, and since it applies to the topic overall, I thought you all might appreciate it too (despite it being another fundraising email):
I'm Chuck Collins, a board member of the Post Carbon Institute. Like you, I'm worried about the converging crises we're facing right now: extreme weather, energy shocks, political upheaval, species extinction, rising poverty rates, and overconsumption of natural resources.
At PCI, we call this the Great Unraveling. One aspect of the Great Unraveling that I particularly worry about is the extreme concentration of wealth and power that's happening in our society.
All those billionaires that our broken system is creating aren't going to solve the Great Unraveling—and they're not going to fund the Post Carbon Institute either.
Twitter (and what happens on it) was never really news in any substantive sense. It is basically reporting on gossip and hearsay (at best).
It seems to me the height of laziness on the part of journalists that it was used so heavily and relied upon so heavily. Saved a lot of travel and actual investigative work, I guess--and allowed "news" organizations to cut staff and funding.
But people have a fascination with gossip and celebrity and the antics of celebrity... and so I think we were destined to turn Twitter and Facebook and their ilk into news. We are wired to find all this interesting and entertaining.
And the modern digital human is ALL about being entertained. Just look at the performative nature of our politics... and NOW, you too can be a celebrity is you shitpost often enough, hard enough, and extreme enough.
There are lessons to be learned here... but I doubt that many are learning them.
Twitter: to chatter, giggle, titter, tremulously, or tremble with agitation.
The only thing less attractive as an actual communication tool (or media outlet) is a Twitter run by a Chief Twit.
Twit: a foolishly annoying person
So, sorry, but nothing called Twitter is going to be ultimately trustworthy or useful for communication of reality or in-depth journalism for instance and the only thing worse is a Twitter headed by a Twit with no accountability or redeeming social value.
The world got along just FINE without a Twitter. Journalism got along much better before Twitter, imho. As did politics. And in general the arts of conversation and communication.
Move on, folks! Twitter is best left to the ash heap of history -- and/or the twits who love it.
"Still sampling the wines of Bordeaux," you say? Man after my own heart. Happy Holidays, Charlie. Wishing all the wonders of the world here on God's green earth to you and yours.
They are making it up on the fly. Elon is now the chief content moderator at Twitter, when he doesn't decide to run a poll to let a bunch of mouthbreathers decide the moderation policy.
Its no wonder he doesn't have time to run Tesla into the ground further.. too busy running Twitter into the ground with questionable moderation.
He's got a long way to go to surpass the bestest business genius ever. Trump has run a bunch of companies into the ground, Elon's still working on destroying his first.
Most of Trump's companies weren't actually companies, but scams. Scams run out at some point.
Even the "real" companies that Trump runs/ran often seem more scam than actual business. You need to be more than a malignant narcissist in order to run a business, which largely leaves Trump unqualified to run pretty much anything. elon seems to be driving hard to reach that status... with visible results.
Hot take: the same RW'ers bitching and moaning about Griner coming home either didn't care or didn't know who Paul Whelan was before her release. So they can kindly STFU
If Biden had not gotten her released they would have complained how he let an American girl rot in a Russian gulag. Joe can't win for losin' among the silly Republican trolls.
It's not about whether he's a choir boy or not, it's about their outrage being entirely performative. All the more so because Whelan has been there since 2018
Since when did the US government, or any government, have a problem with arms dealers? They are all buyers and sellers of arms. Oh, right. Selling arms to the wrong people.
It's not a particularly informed view, but as everyone harps about Victor Bout I keep thinking back to final scene of the Nick Cage movie "Lord of War".
My only concern is that releasing Bout not only gave Putin another huge win in a long line of huge wins against the USA but that it also is going to get a lot more Americans and others killed in return for saving one American sports celebrity. Not a good trade, really. Necessary perhaps. But not good.
Most of Viktor's network was in Africa, and most of those connections are either dead or moved on to other suppliers. Is Viktor a vile individual? Absolutely, which was my big takeaway after 5 years. Most of his cash washers were in Seychelles & Liechtenstein--the Seychelles connection no longer exists, and the Liechtenstein operations went on the EU radar years ago, and do not want to risk raising an eyebrow in Brussels. Why Moscow wanted him back is odd because the people who could possibly supply him (Beijing) have never done business with him & have refused to ever consider the option. Other than some weird symbolism, he has no great strategic value. American cable news outlets do not mention any of this because they no longer do detail and sadly, most Americans are FAR too stupid to pay any sort of attention beyond screaming cable anchors doing sound bites.
I heard it suggested that Bout at this point has more limited value. He's been out of the game for quite a while and every law enforcement agency on the planet has every bit of his biometrics.
That's not to say that he can't cause problems, but will they be any more than what would have been created without him? It isn't like one more or less drug kingpin in jail makes a serious difference in the drug trade, are weapons going to be that much different?
I heard that too. He's already joined a far right nationalist group in Russia so I think he will murder many more if given the chance. This was not an easy choice and I'm not sure I would have made it. Griner showed pretty bad judgment, imho, going to Russia as Russia was invading Ukraine. This is one weakness of celebrities: hubris. Not unlike politicians. But obviously mine is an uninformed view and Pres Biden had as much info as could be given. And it's done and some are happy and perhaps she has learned something useful to her world. I appreciate your optimism.
True, but it was still bad judgement to go there when it was obvious to anyone who wasn't blind that Russia was soon going to be invading Ukraine, and with a US State Department Level 4 - Do Not Travel warning in place for Russia. Playing basketball is hardly an essential job, and sometimes when it comes to nonessential work the smart thing to do is to tell your boss you're not coming in.
It's so easy to squawk about somebody not getting everything desired in a negotiation. Another example is Obama not getting Iran to commit to all-around refraining from state terrorism in the nuclear deal.
My thought on Whelen is, if this guy isn't a spy, who is? That's not to say we should not trade a Russian spy for him.
Charlie, I really am interested in your take on chatGPT. It is simple to use, probably easier to sign up for than Twitter, Facebook, or the NYT. Hope you can try it and give your evaluation.
Wouldn’t it be hilarious if the US govt cancelled SpaceX contracts because its owner had lost his Security Clearance?
Correction, Charlie--as of a couple of days ago, the world's richest man became Bernard Arnault, CEO and majority owner of LVMH....seems Elon's Tesla stock is tanking.
It used to be that men pretended to be grown ups (some were). Now no matter how smart or dumb or rich, the pose for men these days is the image of the out of control frat boy. Not a good look guys, acceptable to only other frat boys. When they were in college they were probably the nerds who got bullied by the frat boys so now it's their turn to get even. But they are all just a bunch mean silly boys.
achieving stale and brittle at the same time was the big breakthru.
Yeah, when that stuff broke, you could cut glass with it.
This was also in my in-box this morning, from Post Carbon Institute, and since it applies to the topic overall, I thought you all might appreciate it too (despite it being another fundraising email):
I'm Chuck Collins, a board member of the Post Carbon Institute. Like you, I'm worried about the converging crises we're facing right now: extreme weather, energy shocks, political upheaval, species extinction, rising poverty rates, and overconsumption of natural resources.
At PCI, we call this the Great Unraveling. One aspect of the Great Unraveling that I particularly worry about is the extreme concentration of wealth and power that's happening in our society.
All those billionaires that our broken system is creating aren't going to solve the Great Unraveling—and they're not going to fund the Post Carbon Institute either.
Twitter (and what happens on it) was never really news in any substantive sense. It is basically reporting on gossip and hearsay (at best).
It seems to me the height of laziness on the part of journalists that it was used so heavily and relied upon so heavily. Saved a lot of travel and actual investigative work, I guess--and allowed "news" organizations to cut staff and funding.
But people have a fascination with gossip and celebrity and the antics of celebrity... and so I think we were destined to turn Twitter and Facebook and their ilk into news. We are wired to find all this interesting and entertaining.
And the modern digital human is ALL about being entertained. Just look at the performative nature of our politics... and NOW, you too can be a celebrity is you shitpost often enough, hard enough, and extreme enough.
There are lessons to be learned here... but I doubt that many are learning them.
If you want to find out who/what a person is, make them wealthy beyond dreams of avarice and they will show you.
We REALLY need to do away with billionaires... and with money as speech. These are things that will destroy us in the end.
We especially need to do away with allowing inherited wealth of that magnitude. I think it frequently leads to antisocial behavior.
Twitter: to chatter, giggle, titter, tremulously, or tremble with agitation.
The only thing less attractive as an actual communication tool (or media outlet) is a Twitter run by a Chief Twit.
Twit: a foolishly annoying person
So, sorry, but nothing called Twitter is going to be ultimately trustworthy or useful for communication of reality or in-depth journalism for instance and the only thing worse is a Twitter headed by a Twit with no accountability or redeeming social value.
The world got along just FINE without a Twitter. Journalism got along much better before Twitter, imho. As did politics. And in general the arts of conversation and communication.
Move on, folks! Twitter is best left to the ash heap of history -- and/or the twits who love it.
"Still sampling the wines of Bordeaux," you say? Man after my own heart. Happy Holidays, Charlie. Wishing all the wonders of the world here on God's green earth to you and yours.
QUESTION: Will the new Twitter “doxxing” ban kill the Santa tracker? …or will they make a carve out for St. Nick?🎅
The only thing I know is that Twitter gave me an early lump of coal.
My main account was suspended last night for posting a screenshot that was > 6 hours old showing Elmo’s plane departing Austin, TX.
Apparently “doxxing” now includes talking about where someone is NOT located, even though the new ToS say otherwise.
It’s almost like they’re making this 🤬 up on the fly
Twitter is just the world’s largest dial-up BBS now, complete with a God-complex mod.
They are making it up on the fly. Elon is now the chief content moderator at Twitter, when he doesn't decide to run a poll to let a bunch of mouthbreathers decide the moderation policy.
Its no wonder he doesn't have time to run Tesla into the ground further.. too busy running Twitter into the ground with questionable moderation.
What a loser.
Billionaires truly need to be subject to a billionaire income tax!
Republicans should never have been allowed to bring us to this state!
Controlled by the Uncontrolled on the basis of their possibly-unearned wealth!
He's got a long way to go to surpass the bestest business genius ever. Trump has run a bunch of companies into the ground, Elon's still working on destroying his first.
Most of Trump's companies weren't actually companies, but scams. Scams run out at some point.
Even the "real" companies that Trump runs/ran often seem more scam than actual business. You need to be more than a malignant narcissist in order to run a business, which largely leaves Trump unqualified to run pretty much anything. elon seems to be driving hard to reach that status... with visible results.
Musk may no longer be the world's richest man (by his own fault), but he is still the world's richest spoiled brat.
I am so sad that the trading cards aren't real. I really liked flat stale chewing gum as a kid.
Flat, stale and brittle, too.
Coming soon! Real trading cards $199 each. Seems like the natural progression and he'd simply be caving in to demand.
LOL. Free shipping to Russian addresses only.
Hot take: the same RW'ers bitching and moaning about Griner coming home either didn't care or didn't know who Paul Whelan was before her release. So they can kindly STFU
If Biden had not gotten her released they would have complained how he let an American girl rot in a Russian gulag. Joe can't win for losin' among the silly Republican trolls.
Thank you! So utterly exhausted by revisionist so-called historians, as though Whelan was a choir boy.
It's not about whether he's a choir boy or not, it's about their outrage being entirely performative. All the more so because Whelan has been there since 2018
And Trump turned down a chance to bring him home.
I agree.
Since when did the US government, or any government, have a problem with arms dealers? They are all buyers and sellers of arms. Oh, right. Selling arms to the wrong people.
It's not a particularly informed view, but as everyone harps about Victor Bout I keep thinking back to final scene of the Nick Cage movie "Lord of War".
At least his release amounted to someting.
With regard to the Griner brouhaha:
Most Americans are glad that an American has been released.
Most Americans don't care who was traded to get the American home.
It's all a tempest in the Twitter teapot.
My only concern is that releasing Bout not only gave Putin another huge win in a long line of huge wins against the USA but that it also is going to get a lot more Americans and others killed in return for saving one American sports celebrity. Not a good trade, really. Necessary perhaps. But not good.
Most of Viktor's network was in Africa, and most of those connections are either dead or moved on to other suppliers. Is Viktor a vile individual? Absolutely, which was my big takeaway after 5 years. Most of his cash washers were in Seychelles & Liechtenstein--the Seychelles connection no longer exists, and the Liechtenstein operations went on the EU radar years ago, and do not want to risk raising an eyebrow in Brussels. Why Moscow wanted him back is odd because the people who could possibly supply him (Beijing) have never done business with him & have refused to ever consider the option. Other than some weird symbolism, he has no great strategic value. American cable news outlets do not mention any of this because they no longer do detail and sadly, most Americans are FAR too stupid to pay any sort of attention beyond screaming cable anchors doing sound bites.
I heard it suggested that Bout at this point has more limited value. He's been out of the game for quite a while and every law enforcement agency on the planet has every bit of his biometrics.
That's not to say that he can't cause problems, but will they be any more than what would have been created without him? It isn't like one more or less drug kingpin in jail makes a serious difference in the drug trade, are weapons going to be that much different?
I heard that too. He's already joined a far right nationalist group in Russia so I think he will murder many more if given the chance. This was not an easy choice and I'm not sure I would have made it. Griner showed pretty bad judgment, imho, going to Russia as Russia was invading Ukraine. This is one weakness of celebrities: hubris. Not unlike politicians. But obviously mine is an uninformed view and Pres Biden had as much info as could be given. And it's done and some are happy and perhaps she has learned something useful to her world. I appreciate your optimism.
Griner's job was playing on their professional basketball team. She was going to work.
True, but it was still bad judgement to go there when it was obvious to anyone who wasn't blind that Russia was soon going to be invading Ukraine, and with a US State Department Level 4 - Do Not Travel warning in place for Russia. Playing basketball is hardly an essential job, and sometimes when it comes to nonessential work the smart thing to do is to tell your boss you're not coming in.
It's so easy to squawk about somebody not getting everything desired in a negotiation. Another example is Obama not getting Iran to commit to all-around refraining from state terrorism in the nuclear deal.
My thought on Whelen is, if this guy isn't a spy, who is? That's not to say we should not trade a Russian spy for him.
But we don't know who he was spying for (if indeed he is a spy)
PS: He did get thrown out of the military for something like fraud or kiting checks.
True. But can *all* of these people be innocent? Do the Russians never pull off a righteous bust?
It used to be standard procedure to trade captured spies.
Charlie, I really am interested in your take on chatGPT. It is simple to use, probably easier to sign up for than Twitter, Facebook, or the NYT. Hope you can try it and give your evaluation.
In all helpfulness and no snark, Charlie's on vacation and probably not looking at his comments (at least not as much).
FWIW, i got excellent suggestions for a charcuterie board ... . I plan to go back and ask if the HAL death scene in 2001 makes it sad.