@Mik said in The marketplace is changing: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/millennials-refuse-to-buy-these-items-and-the-economy-is-feeling-it/ss-AA1VlcH0 @Mik said in The marketplace is changing: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/millennials-refuse-to-buy-these-items-and-the-economy-is-feeling-it/ss-AA1VlcH0 Diamonds… I call BS. Except for marriage rings, 20s and 30 something’s aren’t generally diamond buyers, anyway. It’s always been the 40+ crowd that start having more disposable income. Karla and I are looking at an anniversary band for our 25th, and frankly, we don’t really care as much about whether it’s lab grown or not. That’s a prevalent attitude among most of my peers, though the top percentage, does place some emphasis on real… But it’s the GenX and Boomers driving the slowdown, not millennials. Paper Napkins… Millenials eat out like 3 times as much as prior generations. Of course they’re buying fewer paper napkins. It’s mostly driven by them actually being less environmentally conscious and fiscal savings because eating out or door dash is costing them a lot more on both. Cable TV - I’m not a millennial, and I cut cable years ago. As have most of my friends. It’s disappearing because new technologies and greater consumer choice are available. Not because some particular age group is different. Stocks - Bullshit, again. They are much heavier in the markets than their parents and grandparents were at the same age. That’s the criteria. And the whole thing about being more focused on ESG investing is bull, too. The biggest increase was because the various fund managers made ESG investing a thing, so most companies made it a point of creating high profile CSRs. This is the tail wagging the dog, not some foundational movement. The rest of the article is pretty similar. Some millennial deciding to create content for other millennials to smugly pat themselves on the back. Hell, it was probably AI written.

@jon-nyc said in And now, the corruption.: Rod Dreher (founder of the American Conservative) learns Trump is corrupt. Surely it can't be long before Hitler finally learns the truth....

We have some smart people here!!!!

I thought it was interesting that they took the lungs out so nothing there for a couple of days to let his body recover. Medicine is amazing. But I am sure they were saying that back in 1926 and look how far it has come since them. eople in 2126 will look back at 2026 in the same way probably.

I want to get on that text chain. I’ll protest.

A couple more of those "predictable" developments ... https://newrepublic.com/post/206049/ice-agents-whine-massive-bonuses New hires at Immigration and Customs Enforcement are complaining that they haven’t yet received the massive bonuses promised to them for agreeing to brutally arrest immigrants. https://newrepublic.com/post/206029/ice-arrests-right-wing-influencer-trump-immigration-crackdown “A Brazilian influencer who openly backed President Trump’s hard-line immigration policies was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Saturday. // Junior Pena, whose Instagram account boasts almost half a million followers, was detained in New Jersey after missing a court hearing related to his own immigration status, ...

I don't even want electronic door locks on my home. A key is fine.

@Mik said in The stupidest controversy ever: These people need to get a job. Wasn't it the Worlds Greatest President Ever bar none who started the controversy?

Dr Peter Attia in the files some 1600 times.

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/nancy-mace-is-not-okay.html She has faded from the spotlight pretty fast. Though I dont know personally, Probably some truth to the article. South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace used to make her staffers go on late-night booze runs, clean her house, and boost her on forums discussing the “hottest women in Congress”—and that was all before things got really bad. and Former staffers said Mace treated them like maids after she arrived in Congress in January 2021, ordering them to clean the multiple properties she was renting out on Airbnb, including her Washington townhouse. Ahead of election night in 2022, Mace instructed her staffers to spiff up her $3.9 million home in Isle of Palms, South Carolina, for a watch party, a former staffer with direct knowledge told New York magazine. Mace also started dispatching staffers on late-night runs for alcohol to keep parties going at her home. “Look, when I worked for her, our poor scheduler was getting calls at two o’clock in the morning to come bring her bottles of tequila,” one former staffer told New York magazine. Members of Congress are explicitly barred from instructing their staffers to run personal errands, and they are not permitted to purchase alcohol for their boss’s personal consumption. One staffer alleged Mace’s excessive drinking and marijuana use became an issue. “She would definitely do it excessively,” the staffer said of the congresswoman’s drinking and marijuana usage. “And again, not to say that most members don’t or most staff don’t, but it got to the point where it was an issue.”

Thanks for sharing. I just recorded the Discovery Channel documentary about what happened but haven't watched it yet. I am looking forward to hearing some details and insights not already known. Living in that area for a while, I would watch the planes and helicopters daily. The routes were...well, routine. Of course in hindsight, a route that crosses the landing path for airplanes (at night) should've been treated with so much more risk appreciation than "do you see that jet out there?" and "yeah I see it" (wrong jet, most likely).

https://www.asiaone.com/asia/cambodian-scam-compound-yields-trove-fraud-evidence-thai-military-says The Thai military said on Monday (Feb 2) it had recovered a trove of evidence of transnational fraud from a Cambodian scam compound seized during clashes last year between the two countries along their disputed border. Briefing reporters and foreign delegates in Surin province, senior Thai military officials said the O'Smach complex had housed thousands of people, many of them victims of human trafficking who were forced to scam strangers or face punishment. Soldiers later showed reporters around one of several buildings in the complex that were bombed and occupied by the Thai military late last year. The six‑storey building was strewn with documents, including long lists of what appeared to be potential targets and their contact details, as well as scripts for scam dialogues. But wait!!!!! https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/cambodia-raids-scam-compound-crackdown-china-pressure-5900121 Cambodia has carried out a massive raid on scammer gangs, detaining more than 2,000 people amid pressure from China to crack down on its online fraud industry. Nearly 1,800 Chinese nationals were among those held, according to the Cambodian interior ministry. A ministry statement said that Cambodian police had conducted a large-scale enforcement operation on Saturday (Jan 31) morning at an online fraud compound in Bavet, the largest city in the southeastern province of Svay Rieng, which borders Vietnam. A total of 2,044 foreigners were detained, of whom 1,792 were from mainland China, five from Taiwan, and 177 from Vietnam. Cambodia has been getting a lot of pressure from China on this issue. The above raid (I think) is only for publicity and after things die down, it will be back to normal. The Chinese gangs make some huge payoffs to Cambodian government officials to be allowed to operate.

Drinks are on Jon!!!!

Sad. Very pretty girl. Looks like she has teeth problems which (I think) is probably due to drug use.

Article is interesting, but I think that @89th makes some good (and funny) points.

Hey @mik, here's another good one! https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/trump-republicans-nationalize-elections-rcna257098 President Donald Trump on Monday said Republicans should nationalize elections and take them over from the states as he repeated his disproven claims of voter fraud. “The Republicans should say, 'We want to take over. We should take over the voting in at least — many, 15 places.' The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting,” Trump said during an appearance on former Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino’s podcast.

Normally I doubt there would much appetite for a Western megapower but nowadays…who knows? Perhaps certain a region like Chukotka for purely strategic reasons but nothing much else. Russian far east though is definitely a desirable backyard sandbox for the Chinese.

@Axtremus said in The Iran Nuclear Program thread: @Mik said in The Iran Nuclear Program thread: It worked a lot longer than we thought it would. Did that ever worry you? Classy.