Not to mention that whoever is financing the Twitter acquisition (you can bet that Musk wasn't using his own money) was likely to have had some words with Musk about how this was making them nervous.
If so, then the pertinent question is Why? How tf did we, or anyone(!), get to this place where 'being insulted' (not to mention 'offended', ffs) is to be taken so seriously? If 'The Elites' are behind this whole culture war nonsense...WTF are they getting out of it? WHAT is being gained?
Theodore Dalrymple's take makes the most sense to me:
"Political correctness is communist propaganda writ small. In my study of communist societies, I came to the conclusion that the purpose of communist propaganda was not to persuade or convince, not to inform, but to humiliate; and therefore, the less it corresponded to reality the better. When people are forced to remain silent when they are being told the most obvious lies, or even worse when they are forced to repeat the lies themselves, they lose once and for all their sense of probity. To assent to obvious lies is in some small way to become evil oneself. One's standing to resist anything is thus eroded, and even destroyed. A society of emasculated liars is easy to control. I think if you examine political correctness, it has the same effect and is intended to."
I'll qualify my endorsement of the quote slightly. To say it's "communist propaganda writ small" suggests that it's primarily a communist product. I'm not sure at all about that; a lot of players - not all of them communists - have an interest in controlling people, and an effective tool is an effective tool regardless of who is wielding it.
A lot of people scoff at the idea of spiritual warfare. I have no idea if you do or not, but I certainly take it seriously. To offer another quote, this time from Wendell Berry, "If the devil doesn't exist... how do you explain that some people are a lot worse than they're smart enough to be?тАЭ
That being said, I suspect that the diabolical puppet masters have the same goal they always have; i.e. the damnation of individual souls. I also suspect that their human puppets have imagined for themselves all sorts of mutually incompatible goals. Not being of demonic intelligence myself, I can only guess that the puppet masters find the resulting chaos a bonus.
I should have mentioned that the quote is from Berry's novel, "Jayber Crow". If you haven't read it, I'd highly recommend it. If you *have* read it, I don't *need* to recommend it. Anthony Esolen has seen in it a modern analogy or retelling of Dante's love for Beatrice.
Well...combine the facts that civilization (western/classical liberal) is very fragile, ethereal, really, and the human heart is basically evil, and you have the outcome - a very psychologically ugly segment of the population desiring evil to triumph over good. Evil celebrates power in a way that (human) good does not.
Going forward any transactions that do not adhere to the Big Brother alternate reality should be done using cash or when not possible money orders or traveler's checks.
The eventual destination is Indonesia in the 1960s or Cambodia in the 1970s. That's not anyone's "goal", per se, and we have ample opportunity left to avoid it. However, if we allow the rich bastards to continue to rule with no input from the rest of us, we'll get there eventually. For more recent efforts, look at Libya, which formerly was the most prosperous nation on its continent.
As has been suggested countless times, we seem to be following Rome's playbook to a "T", as they descended into oblivion. The similarities are countless and eery in their likeness.
Definitely there are similarities, but dwelling on this comparison just fuels the Stupid War Machine because the war marketers start seeing Visigoths and Lombards under every rock.
No they see Russians under every rock. And under every bed.
Empires are authoritarian by nature, controlling speech, punishing political enemies, stealing their assets, is more efficient (no mater how misguided, unethical or even illegal) than having an exchange in the marketplace of ideas.
What if "wrongthink" wins out?? People would have to die.
Hey, listen to this from a Wikipedia humorist summarizing, in a glorious nub of dismissal, Teddy Dalrymple's opinion of anybody to the left of Reagan or Thatcher, cough, cough.
"...In his writing, Daniels [Dalrymple] frequently argues that the leftist views prevalent within Western intellectual circles minimise the responsibility of individuals for their own actions and undermine traditional mores, contributing to the formation within prosperous countries of an underclass afflicted by endemic violence, criminality, sexually transmitted diseases, welfare dependency, and drug abuse. Much of Dalrymple's writing is based on his experience of working with criminals and the mentally ill."
"Leftist views" as death rays from outer space, or sewer CHUDS making their way out of the nation's sewer pipes.
Too bad that right-wingers don't buy into global warming---they could write off the climate as just another "traditional more" done in by "leftist views."
Here's a thought. What if it's all about keeping everyone's eye off the real ball? The real ball being: economic growth of staggering proportions amongst the few at the very top, death of democracy, economic stagnation for the masses, increasing home/hopelessness, the shrinking of permissible thought, non-stop wars, increased likelihood of nuclear Armageddon, no real action on climate change and biodiversity loss, acceleration of technology takeover of everyday life, etc.
I see "political correctness" as a kind of ideological, one might even say theological contest for power and status. Many of those involved, either as perpetrators or victims, do not seem humiliated at all; they _believe_ in what they are doing. Contests for power are open to people of all classes, cultures, and ideologies -- even to radical egalitarians. ("All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.")
Strange mix of confidence and uncertainty you have.
Have you not noticed how you and the middle class are plundered? Governments constantly scalp off of everything you and I touch with a myriad of taxes - and of course currency debasement - and waste it on destructive wars (literal wars and drug wars), bailouts and subsidies and benefits for the well connected, bureaucracies, etc. etc. etc.
Now wouldn't it be nice for politics to be consumed with other relatively trivial issues so this racket can be kept in the background as much as possible? Follow the incentives. It may not explain everything but it will explain a lot.
Most Americans canтАЩt name one SCOTUS justice, living or dead. They are either uninterested or just dumb about issues, and so are easily distracted by Dancing With the Stars and occasional D-R disagreement about spending. And while they are distracted, money continues to flow toward the rich, and fewer and fewer opportunities will be available to dissent. Camps wonтАЩt be necessary, as long as the bad entertainment and silly arguments (e.g., debt ceiling) continue.
One such silly argument is the one Matt Walsh makes. True, the professor was a bit touchy, but why TF would Walsh, me, or anyone else care who identifies as a woman? Or a man? Walsh may be scientifically correct, but who gives a fuck? And if continuing to harp on the issue causes hurt or anxiety in other people, why do Walsh, etc. keep doing it?
Twitter should make it available. The problem is that only true believers will watch it, just like Fox and MSNBC viewers.
This is a manufactured controversy by the propaganda arm of the right-wing grievance complex---you realize this I assume? To argue about it with someone who believes it's a real issue is no different from engaging the crazy lady down the street, the one with too much rouge, distracting hand gestures, and an obsession with fresh plums that she claims she turns into wine daily.
No one can enlighten anyone. We gain enlightenment directly or not at all. I canтАЩt give you my understanding because its the result of my experiences and searching. We are talking about subjects reducible to a one or two word response. We are talking about human nature and dynamics of power! ThatтАЩs why I pointed in the direction that would let you discover something pertinent to your question: Latin American history, specifically what spurred BolivarтАЩs revolution, experientially. What was life like, for the colonizers and the colonized? What motivated both and how did they accomplish their ends? What happened through his his campaign for freedom? What forces came together toward the end of his тАЬvictoryтАЭ, that was heroic and miraculous? WhyтАЩd his life end how it did? What happened to his legacy? What core dynamics and dialectical struggle are evident in this story?
Bolivar did not believe the American Revolution would translate to the LA population. He understood they, the Latin Americans, did not grasp the ideas of British Common Law, to their detriment.
Do i have this wrong?
I truly dont understand what your pointing to here. Fill me in pls
Matthew thinks you have a "strange mix of confidence and uncertainty". Maybe being confident in your uncertainty is strange for a comment board on the web, where most people seem to be confident and CERTAIN.
(BTW, please don't read the longer reply I made to you on this thread as being confident and certain; I wouldn't want to be seen as a hypocrite. Your questions just touch on a thesis I have been forming and hope to flesh out or abandon over time--mental and physical health permitting.)
How else should I read statements like "Whats going on? " and "If 'The Elites' are behind this whole culture war nonsense...WTF are they getting out of it? WHAT is being gained? " while at the same time the commenter turns around and says about the same question "I dont buy that for even a fraction of a second."
FWIW, I read TWC's statements as TWC having questions and not being convinced by the answers received so far. TWC remains certain of his/her uncertainty.
The population has been conditioned to be distracted and indoctrinated at the same time. Radio, TV, sports, movies, media, gadgets. Whatever the heart desires. Meanwhile, the agency of the individual is being limited and eventually even your thoughts will be controlled.
The globalist agenda is to have everyone controlled by 2030. The unknown is who will be at the top? Europe's elites, Russia, China?? It won't by the US because it has always been the target, mainly from within over the past 100 years.
It's part of an information war being waged against us by Marxists and by their unlikely bedfellows, the elites. They perceive freedom, the middle class, and Western Civilization in general, as obstacles to power. See: "Cultural Marxism". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6rk1mYiOAw&t=1384s
Odd...just rewatched Lindsays speech earlier today. We've ALL known this for years now. Decades even (Bush and the NWO, et al).. But, again...to what end? A few dozen Oligarchs rule the world? And?
Throw in a party of visiting Martians and thousands of periodic carnivorous underground dwellers and the screenplay pretty much writes itself from there.
Put a question like this out to an ideologically mixed-bag audience like Matt draws, and you'll get all sorts of answers, all probably too simplistic. Who gains from culture wars? You'll get answers that: It's the Oligarchs (meaning big business and financial interests); it's the Communists; it's the Marxists; it's the Russians; it's the Chinese; it's the Jews; it's the Deep State; it's the Democrats; it's the Republicans; etc., etc.
In general, culture wars, political wars, and their occasional kinetic war manifestations are all reflections of human nature. People feeling they don't or can't get a "fair shake" from producing things valued by others that they can trade for things valued by themselves, so they seek other means of obtaining what they consider their due. One common way is to take a side in a group in a societal conflict (a culture war).
People get an emotional satisfaction out of feeling that they are part of a group that they see exercising power (over others), and in many cases there may be some financial benefits (from small to very large) among members of groups that are able to exercise power.
I don't think there's a single monolithic group of "Elites" controlling culture wars for their benefit, but there are many people who can accumulate moderate to large amounts of power for themselves by deftly maneuvering in and through culture wars. Also, those who just want to live their lives following some passion--which includes engaging in commercial activities--still have to address the culture wars going on around them.
Breitbart was wrong when he said politics is downstream from culture. Culture is a product of invention. and intervention from those with power, be it financial, hereditary, military... They have a cult, a kinship that uses the weak-minded successfully. Their roadblock has always been the minds of those that know the Highest Power, and its not them.
I think it is about achieving ever greater power and control. Calling it communism or another rubric doesnt help. Power over others is an end in itself.
Aside form a large portion Tesla stock being put up as collateral, I was under the impression a large chunk of the guarantors were middle eastern, so it's hard to fathom them putting much pressure behind this move?
100% I said back when Musk purchased beware the silent partner(s) which I strongly suspect is DoD... they seem not be be able to account for $3 trillion... and counting. That buys a hella bouquet of influence.
You know you can answer you own questions through the use of one of the several search engines available on the World Wide Web. At no cost. They're real handy!
And If you're still in a wagering mood I'll take that bet on whether or not Musk is coughing up any of his moolah in his acquisition of twitter. The financial picture is a bit muddled, Musk being both a disingenuous cad and congenital liar.
I threw in a humorous piece for you from The Verge, link below, that has Musk in full Captain Hornblower mode as it relates to the subject of both his Tesla and Twitter "financing," which is also tangentially related to his securities fraud trial. Hard to keep up with the man.
He signed a contract he hadn't vetted on a lark, and then only followed through under duress. If TPTB really didn't want the Musk experience, they could have saved a lot of annoyance. Of course, we wouldn't have had The Twitter FilesтДв, so I'm glad...
What surprised me was that the government allowed the transaction to go forward in the first place.
I figured that, at a minimum, Musk would get a Serious Talking To, along with the suggestion that he might not want to consummate this particular deal.
*Maybe* that Serious Talking To happened after New Twitter and The Twitter Files broke?
Fast forward less than 24 hours later, and TwitterтАЩs executive responsible for that decision has resigned as a result of her differences with Musk over that decision. See below:
So yeah, Musk has not been тАЬbrought quickly around.тАЭ That was a knee-jerk take on a thread full of knee-jerk takes on an unusually knee-jerk-ish article for this site.
Musk has done some weird shit and is occasionally hypocritical about his тАЬfree-speech absolutismтАЭтАФnot denying that. But letтАЩs also not assume he was made a creature of the machine overnight just because an executiveтАЩs department censored, Musk criticized it for censoring, and the executive resigned.
Okay. ThatтАЩs what this article is about, so I assumed that was the basis of your comment. And тАЬbrought quickly aroundтАЭ makes it sound like he serving the Establishment right now, when clearly, based on the resignation of a second head of trust and safety, he is continuing to buck the Establishment, at least to some degree.
People who financed Musk's acquisition of Twitter and thus are owners and stockholders of Twitter took a look at the balance sheet and the precipitously declining ad revenue at Twitter-Elon and told Uncle Elon to cut the shit and start manufacturing some scratch...or else.
Newsflash - people of influence and authority don't like New Twitter.
So Musk was quickly brought around.
Not to mention that whoever is financing the Twitter acquisition (you can bet that Musk wasn't using his own money) was likely to have had some words with Musk about how this was making them nervous.
If so, then the pertinent question is Why? How tf did we, or anyone(!), get to this place where 'being insulted' (not to mention 'offended', ffs) is to be taken so seriously? If 'The Elites' are behind this whole culture war nonsense...WTF are they getting out of it? WHAT is being gained?
Theodore Dalrymple's take makes the most sense to me:
"Political correctness is communist propaganda writ small. In my study of communist societies, I came to the conclusion that the purpose of communist propaganda was not to persuade or convince, not to inform, but to humiliate; and therefore, the less it corresponded to reality the better. When people are forced to remain silent when they are being told the most obvious lies, or even worse when they are forced to repeat the lies themselves, they lose once and for all their sense of probity. To assent to obvious lies is in some small way to become evil oneself. One's standing to resist anything is thus eroded, and even destroyed. A society of emasculated liars is easy to control. I think if you examine political correctness, it has the same effect and is intended to."
I'll qualify my endorsement of the quote slightly. To say it's "communist propaganda writ small" suggests that it's primarily a communist product. I'm not sure at all about that; a lot of players - not all of them communists - have an interest in controlling people, and an effective tool is an effective tool regardless of who is wielding it.
And then what? Is the goal to have a Western version of the CCP or something?
A lot of people scoff at the idea of spiritual warfare. I have no idea if you do or not, but I certainly take it seriously. To offer another quote, this time from Wendell Berry, "If the devil doesn't exist... how do you explain that some people are a lot worse than they're smart enough to be?тАЭ
That being said, I suspect that the diabolical puppet masters have the same goal they always have; i.e. the damnation of individual souls. I also suspect that their human puppets have imagined for themselves all sorts of mutually incompatible goals. Not being of demonic intelligence myself, I can only guess that the puppet masters find the resulting chaos a bonus.
We Catholics do not scoff at the idea of Spiritual Warfare, in part for the reason Wendell Berry suggests.
I should have mentioned that the quote is from Berry's novel, "Jayber Crow". If you haven't read it, I'd highly recommend it. If you *have* read it, I don't *need* to recommend it. Anthony Esolen has seen in it a modern analogy or retelling of Dante's love for Beatrice.
"...That being said, I suspect that the diabolical puppet masters have the same goal they always have; i.e. the damnation of individual souls..."
Always important---especially these days---to not conflate real life with a "Game of Thrones" scenario.
Well...combine the facts that civilization (western/classical liberal) is very fragile, ethereal, really, and the human heart is basically evil, and you have the outcome - a very psychologically ugly segment of the population desiring evil to triumph over good. Evil celebrates power in a way that (human) good does not.
The left covets China's system of social credit, and this is how they are going about accomplishing it.
Contribute to a disfavored candidate? Say good by to your bank account.
Going forward any transactions that do not adhere to the Big Brother alternate reality should be done using cash or when not possible money orders or traveler's checks.
The left wants to eliminate cash, hence the push for a central bank digital currency.
The eventual destination is Indonesia in the 1960s or Cambodia in the 1970s. That's not anyone's "goal", per se, and we have ample opportunity left to avoid it. However, if we allow the rich bastards to continue to rule with no input from the rest of us, we'll get there eventually. For more recent efforts, look at Libya, which formerly was the most prosperous nation on its continent.
As has been suggested countless times, we seem to be following Rome's playbook to a "T", as they descended into oblivion. The similarities are countless and eery in their likeness.
Definitely there are similarities, but dwelling on this comparison just fuels the Stupid War Machine because the war marketers start seeing Visigoths and Lombards under every rock.
No they see Russians under every rock. And under every bed.
Empires are authoritarian by nature, controlling speech, punishing political enemies, stealing their assets, is more efficient (no mater how misguided, unethical or even illegal) than having an exchange in the marketplace of ideas.
What if "wrongthink" wins out?? People would have to die.
Hey, listen to this from a Wikipedia humorist summarizing, in a glorious nub of dismissal, Teddy Dalrymple's opinion of anybody to the left of Reagan or Thatcher, cough, cough.
"...In his writing, Daniels [Dalrymple] frequently argues that the leftist views prevalent within Western intellectual circles minimise the responsibility of individuals for their own actions and undermine traditional mores, contributing to the formation within prosperous countries of an underclass afflicted by endemic violence, criminality, sexually transmitted diseases, welfare dependency, and drug abuse. Much of Dalrymple's writing is based on his experience of working with criminals and the mentally ill."
"Leftist views" as death rays from outer space, or sewer CHUDS making their way out of the nation's sewer pipes.
Too bad that right-wingers don't buy into global warming---they could write off the climate as just another "traditional more" done in by "leftist views."
I thought is was now climate change because the warming part hasn't panned out?
Daniels is right.
Where I live it's panned out plenty.
Here's a thought. What if it's all about keeping everyone's eye off the real ball? The real ball being: economic growth of staggering proportions amongst the few at the very top, death of democracy, economic stagnation for the masses, increasing home/hopelessness, the shrinking of permissible thought, non-stop wars, increased likelihood of nuclear Armageddon, no real action on climate change and biodiversity loss, acceleration of technology takeover of everyday life, etc.
Distracting the population while they are plundered
Bingo!!!
I dont buy that for even a fraction of a second.
lol ok, what do you buy re: elites motivation driving divisive culture war agendas
I see "political correctness" as a kind of ideological, one might even say theological contest for power and status. Many of those involved, either as perpetrators or victims, do not seem humiliated at all; they _believe_ in what they are doing. Contests for power are open to people of all classes, cultures, and ideologies -- even to radical egalitarians. ("All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.")
Thats my point, man! Whats going on?
Distracting/dividing the public...wtf is that gonna do? (nvm thats not anything new for centuries!).
So we are distracted, etc...and 'plundered' as a result. Ok...then what? The Elites put us all in camps while they play their fiddles?
Cmon man....
"Let's you and him fight" is a pretty old strategy.
Strange mix of confidence and uncertainty you have.
Have you not noticed how you and the middle class are plundered? Governments constantly scalp off of everything you and I touch with a myriad of taxes - and of course currency debasement - and waste it on destructive wars (literal wars and drug wars), bailouts and subsidies and benefits for the well connected, bureaucracies, etc. etc. etc.
Now wouldn't it be nice for politics to be consumed with other relatively trivial issues so this racket can be kept in the background as much as possible? Follow the incentives. It may not explain everything but it will explain a lot.
I think itтАЩs a way of staying at the top, by preventing meaningful challengers. Once you have all the wealth, the goal is maintaining power.
Most Americans canтАЩt name one SCOTUS justice, living or dead. They are either uninterested or just dumb about issues, and so are easily distracted by Dancing With the Stars and occasional D-R disagreement about spending. And while they are distracted, money continues to flow toward the rich, and fewer and fewer opportunities will be available to dissent. Camps wonтАЩt be necessary, as long as the bad entertainment and silly arguments (e.g., debt ceiling) continue.
One such silly argument is the one Matt Walsh makes. True, the professor was a bit touchy, but why TF would Walsh, me, or anyone else care who identifies as a woman? Or a man? Walsh may be scientifically correct, but who gives a fuck? And if continuing to harp on the issue causes hurt or anxiety in other people, why do Walsh, etc. keep doing it?
Twitter should make it available. The problem is that only true believers will watch it, just like Fox and MSNBC viewers.
This is a manufactured controversy by the propaganda arm of the right-wing grievance complex---you realize this I assume? To argue about it with someone who believes it's a real issue is no different from engaging the crazy lady down the street, the one with too much rouge, distracting hand gestures, and an obsession with fresh plums that she claims she turns into wine daily.
More or less...
You need to do a deep dive into the history of colonial times, especially in Latin America. The answer to your question is obvious.
Pls enlighten me
No one can enlighten anyone. We gain enlightenment directly or not at all. I canтАЩt give you my understanding because its the result of my experiences and searching. We are talking about subjects reducible to a one or two word response. We are talking about human nature and dynamics of power! ThatтАЩs why I pointed in the direction that would let you discover something pertinent to your question: Latin American history, specifically what spurred BolivarтАЩs revolution, experientially. What was life like, for the colonizers and the colonized? What motivated both and how did they accomplish their ends? What happened through his his campaign for freedom? What forces came together toward the end of his тАЬvictoryтАЭ, that was heroic and miraculous? WhyтАЩd his life end how it did? What happened to his legacy? What core dynamics and dialectical struggle are evident in this story?
Bolivar did not believe the American Revolution would translate to the LA population. He understood they, the Latin Americans, did not grasp the ideas of British Common Law, to their detriment.
Do i have this wrong?
I truly dont understand what your pointing to here. Fill me in pls
Matthew thinks you have a "strange mix of confidence and uncertainty". Maybe being confident in your uncertainty is strange for a comment board on the web, where most people seem to be confident and CERTAIN.
(BTW, please don't read the longer reply I made to you on this thread as being confident and certain; I wouldn't want to be seen as a hypocrite. Your questions just touch on a thesis I have been forming and hope to flesh out or abandon over time--mental and physical health permitting.)
How else should I read statements like "Whats going on? " and "If 'The Elites' are behind this whole culture war nonsense...WTF are they getting out of it? WHAT is being gained? " while at the same time the commenter turns around and says about the same question "I dont buy that for even a fraction of a second."
Theres no 'turning around'.. the 'distract the masses/ divide & conquer' answer is just woefully inadequate.
FWIW, I read TWC's statements as TWC having questions and not being convinced by the answers received so far. TWC remains certain of his/her uncertainty.
Bingo. Pretty much.
Maybe more down the lines of plundering an easily distracted population.
The population has been conditioned to be distracted and indoctrinated at the same time. Radio, TV, sports, movies, media, gadgets. Whatever the heart desires. Meanwhile, the agency of the individual is being limited and eventually even your thoughts will be controlled.
The globalist agenda is to have everyone controlled by 2030. The unknown is who will be at the top? Europe's elites, Russia, China?? It won't by the US because it has always been the target, mainly from within over the past 100 years.
The plundering part has already happened. Yet somehow still distracted.
It's part of an information war being waged against us by Marxists and by their unlikely bedfellows, the elites. They perceive freedom, the middle class, and Western Civilization in general, as obstacles to power. See: "Cultural Marxism". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6rk1mYiOAw&t=1384s
So youтАЩre saying this is a Marxist/ communist plot? BrezhnevтАЩs not is office anymore.
Real cute. This is why it can happen and has been happening. Too many deniers.
I take it you've never heard of China then?
Yeah, but everyone knows that Marxist/Communist plots come out of Moscow.
That's the best explanation I've found. (See TWC's original question ^^^) Do you have a better one?
Odd...just rewatched Lindsays speech earlier today. We've ALL known this for years now. Decades even (Bush and the NWO, et al).. But, again...to what end? A few dozen Oligarchs rule the world? And?
Yes, exactly. However, their world has a max of 1 billion people according to them.
Georgia Guidestones and all that. Took some joy in those being blown up and subsequently demolished rather quickly.
World socialism.
Throw in a party of visiting Martians and thousands of periodic carnivorous underground dwellers and the screenplay pretty much writes itself from there.
Put a question like this out to an ideologically mixed-bag audience like Matt draws, and you'll get all sorts of answers, all probably too simplistic. Who gains from culture wars? You'll get answers that: It's the Oligarchs (meaning big business and financial interests); it's the Communists; it's the Marxists; it's the Russians; it's the Chinese; it's the Jews; it's the Deep State; it's the Democrats; it's the Republicans; etc., etc.
In general, culture wars, political wars, and their occasional kinetic war manifestations are all reflections of human nature. People feeling they don't or can't get a "fair shake" from producing things valued by others that they can trade for things valued by themselves, so they seek other means of obtaining what they consider their due. One common way is to take a side in a group in a societal conflict (a culture war).
People get an emotional satisfaction out of feeling that they are part of a group that they see exercising power (over others), and in many cases there may be some financial benefits (from small to very large) among members of groups that are able to exercise power.
I don't think there's a single monolithic group of "Elites" controlling culture wars for their benefit, but there are many people who can accumulate moderate to large amounts of power for themselves by deftly maneuvering in and through culture wars. Also, those who just want to live their lives following some passion--which includes engaging in commercial activities--still have to address the culture wars going on around them.
Breitbart was wrong when he said politics is downstream from culture. Culture is a product of invention. and intervention from those with power, be it financial, hereditary, military... They have a cult, a kinship that uses the weak-minded successfully. Their roadblock has always been the minds of those that know the Highest Power, and its not them.
My SWAG is that New Twitter is likely not performing financially as projected, and the departure of big names is giving creditors the willies.
IIRC, one of the market makers recently valued it at about a third of what was paid.
Who here really thinks Musk is worried about othersтАЩ opinions about his purchase value?
What do you mean by "market makers"? As in the formal securities market sense?
Yes. One of the Wall Street firms. Should have had a link handy.
Not that he cares, read his net worth has gone up 40b or so recently.
I think it is about achieving ever greater power and control. Calling it communism or another rubric doesnt help. Power over others is an end in itself.
Unrest and conflict.
Gee, just like a real business.
Aside form a large portion Tesla stock being put up as collateral, I was under the impression a large chunk of the guarantors were middle eastern, so it's hard to fathom them putting much pressure behind this move?
Interesting and a good question. Guarantors or investors? What terms?
Still, middle easterners hire people to watch their money, too.
Ha!
As Michael Jordan once famously said after getting backlash for not taking a partisan stance, "Republicans buy shoes too".
Banks put up more than half of the equity for twitter's purchase.
Does anyone know a bookmaker whoтАЩll take a bet on the money coming from the DoD? $3 trillion buys a lot of stuff and people.
100% I said back when Musk purchased beware the silent partner(s) which I strongly suspect is DoD... they seem not be be able to account for $3 trillion... and counting. That buys a hella bouquet of influence.
The Saudis are investors it public record.
You know you can answer you own questions through the use of one of the several search engines available on the World Wide Web. At no cost. They're real handy!
And If you're still in a wagering mood I'll take that bet on whether or not Musk is coughing up any of his moolah in his acquisition of twitter. The financial picture is a bit muddled, Musk being both a disingenuous cad and congenital liar.
I threw in a humorous piece for you from The Verge, link below, that has Musk in full Captain Hornblower mode as it relates to the subject of both his Tesla and Twitter "financing," which is also tangentially related to his securities fraud trial. Hard to keep up with the man.
Cheers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acquisition_of_Twitter_by_Elon_Musk
https://www.cnbctv18.com/business/who-is-funding-elon-musk-in-44-billion-twitter-acquisition-15036371.htm
https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/25/23571568/elon-musk-twitter-loan-financing
He signed a contract he hadn't vetted on a lark, and then only followed through under duress. If TPTB really didn't want the Musk experience, they could have saved a lot of annoyance. Of course, we wouldn't have had The Twitter FilesтДв, so I'm glad...
What surprised me was that the government allowed the transaction to go forward in the first place.
I figured that, at a minimum, Musk would get a Serious Talking To, along with the suggestion that he might not want to consummate this particular deal.
*Maybe* that Serious Talking To happened after New Twitter and The Twitter Files broke?
It's live right now...
https://twitter.com/robbystarbuck/status/1664439456886038528
Fast forward less than 24 hours later, and TwitterтАЩs executive responsible for that decision has resigned as a result of her differences with Musk over that decision. See below:
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1664617261557055490?s=46&t=v0VS2wm3l98uciy7ez7i2A
So yeah, Musk has not been тАЬbrought quickly around.тАЭ That was a knee-jerk take on a thread full of knee-jerk takes on an unusually knee-jerk-ish article for this site.
Musk has done some weird shit and is occasionally hypocritical about his тАЬfree-speech absolutismтАЭтАФnot denying that. But letтАЩs also not assume he was made a creature of the machine overnight just because an executiveтАЩs department censored, Musk criticized it for censoring, and the executive resigned.
I'm not so concerned about the film itself.
Okay. ThatтАЩs what this article is about, so I assumed that was the basis of your comment. And тАЬbrought quickly aroundтАЭ makes it sound like he serving the Establishment right now, when clearly, based on the resignation of a second head of trust and safety, he is continuing to buck the Establishment, at least to some degree.
I was making a more general remark on the direction of New Twitter.
For that matter, Musk doesn't have to be a willing or enthusiastic participant.
Fair nough
People who financed Musk's acquisition of Twitter and thus are owners and stockholders of Twitter took a look at the balance sheet and the precipitously declining ad revenue at Twitter-Elon and told Uncle Elon to cut the shit and start manufacturing some scratch...or else.
Shockingly, it turns out his decision making is driven by money and not some set of lofty ideals. Who could have known.