The unimportant news thread

[Todd]

maybe it is just some evolutionary reason?

I'm not up on evolutionary psychology.  It could just be virtue signaling. 

The most troublesome thing, though, with the culture war, is how you could be unassociated with any political party and still be a target if you voice any opinion that "sounds bad-" and it could be coming at a completely different angle than what people are expecting, but they just don't get it because they aren't willing to actually bother to listen. If the tribe could interpret it also as "sounding bad," then you could just be a target for their desired social credit.

Again, virtue signaling.

[Todd]

More relevant to people living in the western US:

The US Forest Service Planned to Increase Burning to Prevent Wildfires. Will a Pause on Prescribed Fire Instead Bring More Delays?

Experts say the nation is already dangerously behind setting "good fires," but a prescribed burn that turned into an epic wildfire in New Mexico this year led the Forest Service to temporarily stop even more of them.

And as I head outside today, the PM2.5 concentration is currently 6.7 times the WHO annual air quality guideline value.

[greg]

I'm not up on evolutionary psychology.  It could just be virtue signaling. 


Again, virtue signaling.

I mean, yeah, but it's like, why do people even feel the need to virtue signal in the first place? I can't just stop there, I need to know why, I need to dig deeper until there is nothing left to dig. 

(since it probably is related to evolutionary psychology, then yeah, probably a bit out of your scope. Though if anyone reading knows about the subject, your input is welcome.) 

[Todd]

I mean, yeah, but it's like, why do people even feel the need to virtue signal in the first place?

Practicing psychologists or psychiatrists would need to answer. 

[Todd]

Kanye West agrees to buy conservative social media platform Parler, company says

Musk still wants to buy Twitter.  Ye wants to buy Parler.  (Press outlets really ought to report facts; Ye is his legal name now.) 

Time said there was nothing to see earlier this year: Billionaires Have Always Owned the Media. Musk Is No Great Threat  (This reads strikingly like "We have always been at war with Eastasia.")

The Graun has reservations: 'Extra level of power': billionaires who have bought up the media

[greg]

G4 Is Being Shut Down Less Than a Year After It Launched

https://www.ign.com/articles/g4-is-being-shut-down-less-than-a-year-after-it-launched


Was excited when they made their comeback...
however, the main reason for their downfall was just that nowadays it's hard to compete against a million youtube gaming channels.

But the wokeness accelerated it- news about Adam Sessler's vile tweets against Republicans, and also the huge controversy with this new lesbian lady, Frosk, who told viewers that watch the show for the pretty girls (Morgan Webb, Olivia Munn) to just not bother watching it, which turned away a lot of viewers.




So back in my high school days (~16-17 years ago) I used to watch G4TV on comcast, loved it- X-Play is one my favorite shows ever, and one of my favorite characters ever is this guy, Johnny Extreme:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YU32eQlqouY

TO THE EXTREME!
(smashes beer bottle against crotch) 

Musk still wants to buy Twitter.  Ye wants to buy Parler.  (Press outlets really ought to report facts; Ye is his legal name now.) 

This, I'm interested to see how it plays out.

[Todd]

U.S., Mexico call for Haiti security mission to confront gangs

[Todd]

Americans' Trust In Media Remains Near Record Low

Just 7% of Americans have "a great deal" of trust and confidence in the media, and 27% have "a fair amount." Meanwhile, 28% of U.S. adults say they do not have very much confidence and 38% have none at all in newspapers, TV and radio. Notably, this is the first time that the percentage of Americans with no trust at all in the media is higher than the percentage with a great deal or a fair amount combined.

[Todd]

Colombian President Accuses US of "Ruining" World Economies

Sayeth El Presidente: "The United States is practically ruining all the economies of the world." 

He's a lefty economist with falling poll numbers in Latin America, so what else is he gonna say?  I mean, particularly for developing countries, he's not wrong, but oh well.  Will he give up Uncle Sugar's Sam's money and walk away from the NATO "partnership"?  I should think not, but maybe he will surprise the world.

[Todd]

Macron Confronts Growing Unrest

[Todd]

Heritage Foundation Releases 2023 Index of U.S. Military Strength, Gives U.S. Military First-Ever 'Weak' Overall Rating

Oh crap.  The US military is weak.  Now what? 

[Todd]

From WaPo: U.S. urges Mexico not to buy Chinese scanners for the border

The scanners clearly pose a peril.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Barilla, marketed as 'Italy's No. 1 brand of pasta,' sued over their products being made in the USA.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2022/10/19/barilla-lawsuit-pasta-not-made-italy/10544234002/

[Todd]

China's Xi Jinping wins third term as leader of ruling Communist Party

It was a close-run thing.  Support from Xinjiang made all the difference.

[LKB]

China's Xi Jinping wins third term as leader of ruling Communist Party

It was a close-run thing.  Support from Xinjiang made all the difference.

Seriously, that was funny... +1

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

CNN opinion article by the U.S.A. President Joe Biden: In 14 days, the American people face a choice.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/25/opinions/american-people-face-a-choice-joe-biden/index.html

[Todd]

CNN opinion article by the U.S.A. President Joe Biden: In 14 days, the American people face a choice.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/25/opinions/american-people-face-a-choice-joe-biden/index.html

I wouldn't have thought a US President would need his staff written op-ed linked here. 

FiveThirtyEight shows Republicans are favored to take the House while the Senate is a toss-up, the same as several months ago.  If this occurs, then the Republicans will underperform in historical terms.  They should be favored to win both houses at this point. 

[Todd]

3 Florida men arrested in multimillion-dollar theft ring of stolen meat across Midwest, authorities say

[Florestan]

3 Florida men arrested in multimillion-dollar theft ring of stolen meat across Midwest, authorities say

They probably heard about UN Secretary General's recommending that people eat crickets and other insects instead of meat and thought (not completely unreasonable) than a recommendation might become an obligation when it comes to saving the planet, so they wanted to have a good stock of meat to survive on for a few months. 

[Todd]

They probably heard about UN Secretary General's recommending that people eat crickets and other insects instead of meat and thought (not completely unreasonable) than a recommendation might become an obligation when it comes to saving the planet, so they wanted to have a good stock of meat to survive on for a few months. 

Huh?