Elon Musk is like Trump 2.0

[Update: there are conflicting reports that Musk may or may not have donated to the WFP]

Musk has got that cutting, audacious honesty about him (maybe not in all things), combined with loads of F-you money, that he just doesn't give a flying f**k about the status quo and its delicate balance of corruption. 

When he ventures into the swamplands, it's as if the murky waters recede and the miserable creatures hiss and snarl at his presence. He's younger and a bit less prone to making absurd comments, but still has that anti-swamp, screw-the-establishment essence to him like a certain former president.

Disclaimer: I own a tiny sliver of $TSLA stock (less than 1 share), mainly because it was a stupid, but slightly profitable FOMO decision. I'm not a TSLA fanboy and think the cars have serious QA issues, but I do respect Musk and really like where SpaceX is headed (compare SpaceX's goals to any other private space company--it's Star Trek vs the Love Boat in space! All other space companies are a joke). 

Anyway, this happened:

Since it's a day ending in Y, a bureaucrat decides to shame the world's billionaires for not doing enough. CNN gladly obliged in spreading the word (and unsurprisingly managed to screw it up). As you can see, Musk puts the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) on blast, calls their bluff, and puts his money on the table. 

Unfortunately for the WFP, open source accounting is one of Musk's conditions. But corrupt bureaucrats get hungry too! 

So I read the CNN article and watched the video. Nobody said 2% of Musk's wealth could solve world hunger. The headline is a bald-faced lie--in that respect, WFP Chief David Beasley is right that the headline is not accurate. Great job CNN!

As in the article, Beasley says that $6B could help save millions this year. But what happened here indeed?

CHILDREN as young as nine traded oral sex for food from UN peacekeepers in warzones while officials looked the other way, a shocking new report has claimed.

Memos about the sexual abuse in the Central African Republic were "passed from desk to desk, inbox to inbox, across multiple UN offices, with no one willing to take responsibility", the report found.

It added: "The welfare of the victims and the accountability of the perpetrators appeared to be an afterthought, if considered at all."

I suppose no international institution is perfect. But still, that's pretty damn bad. I think most reasonable people would like to avoid giving money to the pedophile fund if at all possible. 

I guess the money is still on the table. All the WFP has to do is publicly reveal a $6B plan for saving millions with open source accounting. Shouldn't be too hard for an organization whose job is LITERALLY TO DO EXACTLY THAT.

Can't be done. They'll open their books anywhere--Earth or space--as long as they're meeting privately. It's all above board they assure us, but our little minds would explode if plans and numbers were tweeted out. Bless their considerate souls.

I'm not sorry. I am desensitized and my humor so dark and I find this sad state of affairs predictably pathetic--that it has been made so public is damn funny. That's how I read these sorts of things. 

The WFP would rather publicly turn down $6 billion (and probably much more from like-minded people if they accepted Musk's reasonable conditions) than be transparent.

The shame game works both ways if your opponent has the balls to punch back. It's refreshing, it's funny, the corrupt are scared to death of it, and it's what made Trump so popular. 

---

Meanwhile...

Border insanity

I get that the images of mounted border patrol agents trying to prevent further entry of illegal immigrants is anachronistic; in some contexts it is shocking, especially if you think they are using the reins as whips. 

I have not seen any video, I've only seen the images circling. And only after a brief analysis, it's obvious the worst thing photographed is an agent grabbing an immigrant by the shirt, which is hardly damning since their job is to literally stop illegal crossings. I suppose reins could have been used as whips, but it's impossible to determine that from still photos--which is why I suspect we will never see video--because it likely provides contra-narrative context.

Mounted officers corralling humans IS anachronistic, whether or not it was done as humanely as possible--but so is having a humanitarian crisis right outside our borders because thousands of desperate people are under the impression they have a good chance of walking in and starting a new life.

Both of these facts lend support to a border wall. A wall is not just a physical barrier, it is a symbolic and psychological barrier as well. With a massive wall there would be less need for mounted border patrol agents chasing down and/or corralling immigrants, it would prevent (or at least hinder) illegal crossings, and would visibly and psychologically serve as a deterrent. I think a wall is morally and ethically ugly, but still way better than humanitarian crises and mounted agents corralling humans. If we had better immigration policy and rhetoric we wouldn't need a wall.

We need a realistic immigration policy and sane immigration rhetoric from both parties. Somewhere between open borders and amnesty for millions (or some Orwellian synonym for "amnesty"), and total isolation is probably where it needs to be. I would even support allowing hundreds of thousands of skilled AND unskilled immigrants from virtually all countries if they pass reasonable background checks, but that has to come with better security, better rhetoric, stability and predictability--we can't just significantly change the law every other year or we'll continue to have humanitarian/immigration crises.

The previous paragraph is fantasy. You know that right? I will continue to support such a policy or one close enough to it, but the big ugly wall is more realistic. Build the wall.

Bait, instigate, entrap, arrest, theatrical hysterics, and oppression

The more-or-less six-step guide to bringing down popular unrest.

Are people sick and tired of the establishment's garbage? Are they protesting and causing problems? The legitimacy of the left's and deep state's power (excuse the redundancy) must never be questioned.

So they just help set up a new protest.

First, install dozens or hundreds (the more the better) of your own agents who will help organize the event, and then both instigate and escalate any and all untoward mayhem--thus making the movement look bad--proceed to arrest everyone in sight (sans friendly media), taking out any potentially ideologically problematic persons. Notify your friends in congress who will work hand in glove with the media to put on a big show of how scary, terrible, unprecedented, treasonous, and evil the protesters rioters insurrectionists terrorists really are (and by extension, all of their ideological allies). They must be stopped! If possible, pass a bunch of really bad laws cementing your power quickly after.

Problem solved.

Except they forgot something. The government is incompetent and leftists are stupid.

click to enlarge

Original image from Kaitain:

From the “rally”. Can these fedbois be more obvious? pic.twitter.com/cOgJSexToH

— Kaitain 🇺🇸 (@Kaitain_US) September 18, 2021

Daily Mud's Razor

Never ascribe to coincidence that which is adequately explained by government incompetence.

 

It appears Anthony Fauci did lie about coronavirus gain-of-function research at, and the United States taxpayer funds that went to the Wuhan lab in China.

I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that the Covid-19 virus originated in that Wuhan lab. Similar to Occam and Hanlon's razors, I think the more probable and obvious explanation is government incompetence. Not only is this China's major fuckup, but the United States helped pay for it. Two 21st century superpowers and they can't even keep a virus contained. 

Who's genius idea was it to not only experiment on/create new deadly viruses, but to do so in a massive population center? I bet this person happens to be very wealthy too.

If it weren't for individuals' resilience and resourcefulness, and humankind's uncanny ability to fail upwards, I would say the world is doomed.

"NEWLY RELEASED documents provide details of US-funded research on..coronaviruses at the Wuhan Institute of Virology..The Intercept has obtained more than 900 pages of documents detailing..work of..EcoHealth Alliance..at the Chinese lab.."https://t.co/n3OkFAq3kM

— Richard H. Ebright (@R_H_Ebright) September 7, 2021