Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I did not have this on my fuck 2022 bingo card.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

This fight is for everything.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

All your base are belong to Tunch.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

Come on, man.

Why did Dr. Oz lose? well, according to the exit polls, it’s because Fetterman won.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Late Night Open Thread: He Can’t Buy Friends, But He Can Rent Serfs

Late Night Open Thread: He Can’t Buy Friends, But He Can Rent Serfs

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Apart from general abuse on social media, this particular desperate quest for ‘friends’ has gotten Musk dubbed Bad Boss of the Year by a prominent personal-finance columnist, and drawn adverse attention from the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection. But at least he can snuggle down in the knowledge that he’s making his employees as miserable as he is…

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75Comments

  3. 3.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    Power is out again here in Brookings, OR. I still have internet because I have Spectrum business at home and they seem to stay alive better than the residential network. The house is running on APC backup units (lots of beeping!) so I still have power for a while (about two hours). I had just checked the CCEC outage site and it showed that we were all back up (north end of town has been out since about 2 PM).

    Storm is lashing us good, lots of rain which is good as we need it.

  6. 6.

    hervevillechaizelounge

    Obligatory: this comment is 12 hours late—I’m BJ’s man out of time (the high heel I used to be has been ground down;)

    Here are two starter sources on disgraced ex-Marine Paul Whelan:

    SOURCE #1

    SOURCE #2

    I’ve been obsessed with him since his arrest; how does someone convicted of theft become head of global security for a major corporation?  Who has 4 citizenships? Is Whelan a spook, a wannabe, or a closeted homosexual with a kink for vatniks? (FWIW, at this point I’m pretty sure the answer is numero tres but I’d love some other opinions on the matter.)

    Since I’m monologuing, I’d also like to address the commenter who implied my inclination  to let Whelan rot in gulag is uncharitable. Fuck Paul Whelan and fuck you. This may be unhip, but I love America in all her faults and glory.  We were magnanimous enough to grant this ungrateful shitbag citizenship and he stole from us.

    Let some country he didn’t steal from bargain for his release. Better yet, cancel his US citizenship and give it to a Dreamer or undocumented person or any other motherfucker who HASN’T stolen from our military.

  8. 8.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    Actually lost the internets for a few and then the power came back up with the internets following within minutes. The APC units are taking a hit tonight, which is better than having the electronics they protect getting beat up. Lots of quick ups & downs, with voltage sags hitting as low as 85 volts. With all of the howling of the storm our biggest weather scaredy cat, Stewie, is actually getting used to the noise and coming out for treats. The other two cats are oblivious to all of the noise which is good as one big baby is enough!

    Shits probably gonna change as were still getting hammered and the electric company outage site says that 8,368 of 9,068 customers in Brookings are currently without power. Lucky us, for the moment. It also says that half of Gold Beach is without power plus scattered outages up to Bandon.

    Blech…

  16. 16.

    Anne Laurie

    @hervevillechaizelounge: I’ve been obsessed with him since his arrest; how does someone convicted of theft become head of global security for a major corporation? Who has 4 citizenships? Is Whelan a spook, a wannabe, or a closeted homosexual with a kink for vatniks?

    Maybe dial it down a hair.  Every military, going back to the Romans, has a narrative about That One Troop who — for good or evil — made a cushy business out of providing ‘whatever is most desired’ to those who would pay his price.  He might be an ‘guardian angel’ like M*A*S*H‘s Radar O’Reilly, a foil like Blackadder‘s Baldrick,  an ambiguous figure like Charlie Madison in The Americanization of Emily, or a monster like Catch-22‘s Milo Minderbinder.

    These Business-Minded Guys are everywhere, determined to turn someone else’s dime into their dollar, but the military gives them a reach and a role that makes them stand out against the brown noise of all the other (not always totally intentional) grifters.

    Of course, they aren’t always allowed to stay in the military, for reasons.  I’ve assumed since his imprisonment was first announced that Whelan, given the sketchy details around his trip, was another one of Those Guys, who tragically overestimated his own talents and the Russian oligarchy’s tolerance for such shenanigans.  And the published reactions from his family would seem to confirm this theory — they’re saddened, but not surprised at what’s happened to him.

  18. 18.

    Major Major Major Major

    @Anne Laurie: it is…

    doesn’t hurt so bad now that they found a good position for him.

    Guy in the next stall took an edible and had a panic attack, lol. Poor guy.

    this is the chilliest ER I’ve ever been in though. Upper east side, very wealthy, no real nightlife or whatever nearby. Forgot to check if it was in network I guess 😬

  20. 20.

    Mai Naem mobile

     

     

    @Major Major Major Major: wow, sounds painful. We have family friends whose kid fell and broke both arms while she was attending college. Mom had to go there and accompany her everywhere for a couple of months during recovery.

  22. 22.

    Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg

    @hervevillechaizelounge:

    I’m with you. He’s a resume fluffing grifter, and “corporate security” is rife with them.

    Wife was recently telling me about some jackass from her corporate parent who was babbling on about global threats and exfil policies at a corporate event recently. I pegged him as a pathetic dork who uses this kind of talk to boost his resume and get laid.

  23. 23.

    Martin

    @Mai Naem mobile: My grandmother was a ship nurse on Semester at Sea and once accompanied a student who fractured her pelvis while in India back to the US. Parents had to buy a row of seats on the 747 back to the US so she could lay across the row and a seat for my grandmother.

    That’s the part of study abroad people aren’t prepared for. Evacuating our students from Japan after the tsunami, other parts of the world when shit goes sideways. Those same-day international flights really hit the credit card hard.

  25. 25.

    Mai Naem mobile

    @Martin: i used to watch House Hunters International pre-covid and wonder what happens when something goes wrong. There was an episode with a couple who had bought a place and turned it  into an b&b in Ecuador. On their blog they said things were pretty bad after the earthquake but they were recovering. But later I believe they moved back to the US because one of them was having health issues.

  27. 27.

    OzarkHillbilly

    From ‘Only 100 metres apart’: Ukrainians and Russians face off in Donetsk:

    For many of the soldiers down on this front, the Russian determination to take Bakhmut is baffling, despite the fact it is a railway junction. Even if the Russians take the city, the soldiers point out that the terrain beyond is even tougher to attack, and well-defended.

    As Nazar waits for the next mission, he reflects on the fact that in the village that they left so recently the Russians have not attacked for the last three days.

    In another three days it will be his birthday. “I’ll be 20. Our next mission could come on my birthday.” He pauses for a moment. “Or it could come today.”

    I hope he is able to share a happy and peaceful birthday with his fellow soldiers.

  31. 31.

    Argiope

    @Major Major Major Major: the ER on a Friday night is never ever fun.  Are they recommending a bone density scan?  Seems like a reasonable step for a pretty unlikely injury.  Later, not now.  Obvs the goal now is getting home to bed.  Hope it’s soon!

  35. 35.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    A pretty boy, usually in terms of a gay relationship.  Short, slim, boyish or girlish.  With many things possibly implied by that.

    To be honest, it’s usually a term used and obsessed with by women who think gay male relationships are hot.  Definitely not exclusive to that context, though.

    EDIT – No clue what relevance it has here.

    EDIT EDIT – No snark implied there, Duke.  The joke just went over my head.

  37. 37.

    The Thin Black Duke

    Courtesy of Urban Dictionary: A “twink” is usually considered a homosexual male with attractive, boyish qualities. Typically from the ages of 18-25, and often thought as a young, white, fashionable male.

  38. 38.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Frankensteinbeck: Thanx.

    @raven: Of course you do, you are so hip to today’s yutes, while I am a dinosaur whose earliest memories are of the first dirt.

    On the slightly more serious side, Luddite that I am, I am way out of tune with all things in popular culture, this place here is my only connection with it. How sad is that?

    eta: @The Thin Black Duke: and thanx to you too.

  41. 41.

    Rusty

    @hervevillechaizelounge: The right wing response to the return of Brittney Grinder has been particularly nasty, but let’s not respond in kind.  Whatever he has done or said, he is a US citizen being held hostage by a brutal regime.  I want him back, he is one of ours and our government is and should be working hard for his return.  In the end I want a government led by either party to make every effort to get back anyone who is a US citizen, no matter their political views or behavior.  We are all Americans and that should be enough.

  42. 42.

    prostratedragon

    @Major Major Major Major: ​ Upper east side, very wealthy, no real nightlife or whatever nearby. Mt. Sinai?
    I can imagine how one could get a “spiral fracture” from armwrestling, but I really don’t want to. Hope he can stay in that position for a while.

  45. 45.

    Rusty

    @Rusty: Here was a statement from Whelon’s brother on Griner’s release.

    “Whelan commended the Biden administration for making the deal to free Griner, however, and acknowledged that the family had been given a heads up.

    “I am so glad that Brittney Griner is on her way home. As the family member of a Russian hostage, I can literally only imagine the joy she will have, being reunited with her loved ones, and in time for the holidays,”

    “The Biden administration made the right decision to bring Ms. Griner home, and to make the deal that was possible, rather than waiting for one that wasn’t going to happen,” he said. ”

    We should all be so gracious.

  49. 49.

    OzarkHillbilly

    ‘The police came because of the sea of red gore’: unseen photos from the set of The Shining

    Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining has legions of admirers the world over – not the least Lee Unkrich, director of Pixar classics including Toy Story 3 and Coco. Unkrich spent years collecting pictures, artefacts and stories about the making of the film, uncovering deleted scenes and getting to grips with its most obscure details. Here are a collection of unseen photographs from his forthcoming book about the 1980 horror classic

    “Stanley was extremely nervous,” said Leon Vitali, actor and personal assistant to Kubrick, of the infamous blood elevator shoot. “We didn’t know if it was going to work. It was a one-off. We had thousands of gallons of this stuff that was going to be coming out of those elevator doors and it had to work … It was so beautiful you wanted to hug [him].” To the horror of nearby residents, a good deal of the blood allegedly escaped from the studio into the surrounding areas, and police were called to address the sea of red gore running through town.

    I like the stories behind the pics better than the pics themselves.

  50. 50.

    lowtechcyclist

    @hervevillechaizelounge: ​
     

    Who has 4 citizenships?

    This is the part that gets me. I can understand dual citizenship, more or less: we adopted the kiddo from Russia, so he has a Russian passport as well as American citizenship. (When he turns 18, it’ll be up to him to figure out whether he wants to keep dual citizenship or be strictly American.)

    But more than two? I just don’t see why the need for that would ever arise. I’d be all for capping it at dual citizenship: if you want to officially retain two other nationalities besides the U.S., you’ll have to give up your U.S. citizenship to do so.

    Certainly the handful of cases I’ve ever heard of, of someone having 3 or more nationalities, has certainly suggested something illicit, usually tax evasion.

  53. 53.

    Asparagus Aspersions

    @lowtechcyclist: My kid has three citizenships, no tax evasion or illicit activities that I know of (he’s in elementary school). We live overseas.  his dad is a dual citizen (non-US) so he has those two, plus my American citizenship. We’ve only gotten around to getting him 2 passports though, for the moment.

  54. 54.

    Gvg

    @hervevillechaizelounge: I think we should just chill on the outrage. I decided this years ago. Americans are not better than other nationalities. We have our bad citizens. But with all it’s flaws, I still think our justice system is better than most, especially Russia, and all arrests of Americans by Russia tend to have political implications. That means lies. Even a thief can be framed, and all Russian penalties IMO are excessive, even compared to our own uneven excessive punishment. So years ago I just decided that all Americans needed to be brought home and aid think that is the official US position. Well except for under Trump.

    Now that does not really apply to say England or the EU or quite a bit of the world. And some of it depends on the crime they are accused of. The whole Middle East I don’t trust for any accusation, etc. This guy is being used for political purposes of the Russian regime. I don’t believe what they claim just because they are the ones claiming it. I don’t choose to let them manifest me. I want the US to stay cold blooded negotiators and yet try to get all Americans home.

    I do think the state department has recommended US citizens avoid Russia since the Ukraine war got hot and sanctions were imposed. It might be worth getting some news reporters to point out how easy it is for Russia to make up an excuse to take you hostage/arrest you to get through to some of the more oblivious business people.

  57. 57.

    Bryn

    All of this for the extremely impactful work of figuring out how to better deliver an ad, or charge for a subscription.

  59. 59.

    Lacuna Synecdoche

    James Clayton via Anne Laurie @ Top:

    The BBC has obtained pictures of inside Twitter – rooms that have been converted into bedrooms – for staff to sleep in.

    Y’know, Elmo, at least the Chinese build dorms for their worker-serfs.

    This guy wants to be Foxconn without construction costs.

  60. 60.

    Starfish

    The idea of people sleeping there is worse when you learn that he fired the janitors yesterday.

    But if you need an office chair and live in San Francisco, here is where you can bid on the stuff from the Twitter office.

  61. 61.

    Lacuna Synecdoche

    @Major Major Major Major: ​

    this is the chilliest ER I’ve ever been in though. Upper east side, very wealthy, no real nightlife or whatever nearby.

    Sounds like Lenox Hill. Or maybe Columbia Presbyterian, but they tend to be a bit busier, IIRC. Yeah, fellow Manhattanite here.

    Anyway, best wishes for your husband to heal quickly and get the good pain meds.

  62. 62.

    Miss Bianca

    @Frankensteinbeck: I have a very, very pretty gay male friend who referred to himself as a “twink”. First time I’d ever heard the word. Not one I would ever use myself except in fun.

  63. 63.

    Lacuna Synecdoche

    @Rusty: ​

    I want him back, he is one of ours …

    Yes, Whelan is one ours … and Canada’s … and Britain’s … and Ireland’s …

    The guy has four citizenships and four passports.

    … and our government is and should be working hard for his return.

    Whelan was born in Canada and, personally, I think they should be taking the lead on extracting him from Russia. That said, I suppose Russia is more likely to take us seriously, he served in our military (albeit dishonorably discharged), and Russia is accusing him of spying for us, so I get why we’re taking the lead on it instead.

    So yeah, I think we should be working on getting him out of Russia – but don’t ask us to think it should be our top priority, or to have any patience with right-wing pro-Putin assholes acting like the dishonorably discharged Whelan is an American hero whose continued Russian captivity indicts Democrats as feckless un-American weaklings.

    Because that’s complete bullshit.

  64. 64.

    Starfish

    @Miss Bianca: Wait, when did you hear this?

    The twinks I knew were the pretty gay boys that I attended high school with about 25 years ago. One of them was definitely into the frat bro type college boys. Though they can be gay forever, and they can work to stay thin, no one can stay young forever.

  65. 65.

    James E Powell

    @Cameron:

    I believe this is the official US policy in such events:

    As always, should you or any of your IM Force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions

  67. 67.

    Miss Bianca

    @Starfish: Just a few years ago. Yes, I’m behind the times. You know I live in Ruritania, CO, right? I’m not always hep to all you hepcats and kitties’ lingo, you dig? ; )

  68. 68.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @OzarkHillbilly: ​You do realize “Tesla” is an anagram for steal…? (Also for stale and slate, if you’re shuffling the Scrabble rack, but far less trenchant IMHO…)

  69. 69.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Martin: ​That’s the part of study abroad people aren’t prepared for. Evacuating our students from Japan after the tsunami, other parts of the world when shit goes sideways. Those same-day international flights really hit the credit card hard.

    Which is why at the tender age of 70+ I intend to seriously explore travel insurance that includes repatriation before my next journey overseas – which is likely to land me only a couple of small states away from the current unpleasantness…

  70. 70.

    Starfish

    @Miss Bianca: I was 16 knowing twinks in a reasonably sized town in Mississippi. I have no clue why my high school class had an unusually high number of gay men, but it was nearly 10% of the class.

    Some were out for as long as I knew them, and some came out after we left high school.

  71. 71.

    frosty

    @raven: You have SO MANY pictures! I really regret setting my camera aside all through the 70s and most of the 80s.

    I may have to repost this on a non-dead thread LOL.

  72. 72.

    J R in WV

    @Major Major Major Major: ​
     

    spiral fracture of the humerus, wtf

    Send the bill to the twink, who obviously do not know how to arm wrestle, which should be an injury free competition. Sorry to hear it, sounds like surgery upcoming.

  73. 73.

    Jager

    @Mai Naem mobile:

    A kid who lived next door fell out of a tree and broke both his arms when he was about 12. He had to have bathroom help holding and wiping. His mom worked during the day and his older brother wouldn’t help him…whew, what a mess.

  75. 75.

    Ruckus

    @Mai Naem mobile:

    I’ve had both hands in what is called a navicular cast. That’s where your hand is bent 90 deg, the hard way, opposite the easy way. Now luckily it wasn’t at the same time and for different reasons. 6 weeks each time. It’s not bad if it’s your off hand. Very difficult to write with your hand bent that way though. I could make an X for my signature though…..

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