Culture Wars

[Ivanhoe]

Somebody or something pulled his lanyard, that's for sure. 

 

[Ivanhoe]

Every once in a while, Anton Daniels has a really insightful take on social/economic issues. Which is why the blue-hair crowd hates him. 

 

[urbanoid]

Quite an interview with Uncle Jared, don't let the Dutch words scare you, they speak English there, from the 11th minute.

 

[Murph]

1 hour ago, Ivanhoe said:

Call me cynical, but I am assuming they actually have quite a bit of useful video, but the video they have will lead to correct identification of race/gender/age. 

 

I suspect it will one of the preferred groups, so the police, prosecutors, and media will make it vanish.

[Ivanhoe]

So the Brown U. campus police have been incredibly forthcoming about a suspect they claim to have in custody.

The possible perp is described as a man in his 20s. 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/12/14/suspect-brown-university-mass-shooting/87762010007/

Quote

A person of interest is in custody after a gunman opened fire at Brown University over the weekend, killing at least two people and wounding nine others, officials announced.

 

Quote

 

Providence Mayor Brett Smiley later told reporters that of the nine people shot, one has been discharged, one remained in critical condition and the other seven victims were in stable condition.

Officials have not yet released the names of those who were killed. Smiley also said that not all of the victims' families have been notified as of early Sunday afternoon.

 

So, parsing the language in the USA Today article, two victims died but were not shot, 9 were shot but not killed. Journalists sure are geniuses. 

Despite being a weekend, it sounds like the shootings happened in the Barus & Holley building where students were taking final exams. Thus the presence of at least one faculty member. 

https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-news/who-is-benjamin-erickson-brown-university-providence-ri-shooting-suspect-identified-as-24yearold-101765746781953.html

Quote

Brown University shooting suspect was identified as 24-year-old Benjamin Erickson, now in custody after being arrested at a Rhode Island hotel early Sunday.

 

Quote

NBC News reported that sources tell them that Benjamin Erikson may have had a history of mental illness, which is now being investigated by the police. "Authorities are looking into what might be an extensive mental health history for Erickson, the sources said," the NBC News report noted.

 

Quote

Meanwhile, the Washington Post reported that Erickson is a resident of Wisconsin.

 

 

[Ivanhoe]

 

Quote

Brown University mass shooter Benjamin Erickson served in the 201st Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade.

 

 

[Ivanhoe]

https://xcancel.com/chiIIum/status/2000314154012598742#m

So he would apparently be a 17 series if his LinkedIn profile is honest.

Barring some unknown connection to Brown, seems like its going to be one of those "aliens told me to do it" things. 

 

[Ivanhoe]

As expected, the weirdness coefficient has not subsided any;

Registered to vote in DC, but was in Wisconsin (where he went to college), drove to Rhode Island, did the shooting. 

This news article claims he was an infantryman;

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/crime/person-of-interest-brown-university-shooting-dc-ties/65-4ee3fc5a-b4d4-47c6-93b0-520f7ee8a94f

Claim now is that he left the Army as an E4. 

And some claims that the police have released him due to lack of evidence.

 

[Ivanhoe]

Some claims on social media about one of the victims being Ella Cook, VP of the Republican Club at Brown. 

Seems unlikely that a guy from Wisconsin would know who she was. 

[Ivanhoe]

Hmmm;

 

[Stargrunt6]

The Brown shooting will get buried.  I promise you.

 

 

[urbanoid]

https://x.com/VojtaRocek/status/2000243307927019980

 

[rmgill]

10 hours ago, Ivanhoe said:

Some claims on social media about one of the victims being Ella Cook, VP of the Republican Club at Brown. 

Seems unlikely that a guy from Wisconsin would know who she was. 

Released apparently. 

[Sinistar]

6 hours ago, urbanoid said:

https://x.com/VojtaRocek/status/2000243307927019980

 

 

it is as if the whole thing is one connected system then from that perspective it is a feature and not a bug

as disturbing as all of this looks at times

 

the species has become over-evolved and neurotic where cheap and abundant resources and technology short circuits generations of 'natural selection' and the 'natural' culling process- it is speeding up with population collapse where these behaviors are no longer necessary to keep the species afloat but excessive energy and idle hands

 

you see even obesity among some of the poorest communities in developed nations and delaying or putting off the stages from childhood to adulthood

so under this hypothesis the system without any particular 'intelligence' is nevertheless behaving 'inteiligently' flowing like water taking the path of least resistance even if it means a race to the bottom 

 

you see similarities where some members of the population take a look at all of this and elect to bow out 

 

This Old Experiment With Mice Led to Bleak Predictions for Humanity’s Future

 

[Mr King]

The Chinese billionaires having dozens of US.-born babies via surrogate

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/the-chinese-billionaires-having-dozens-of-us-born-babies-via-surrogate/ar-AA1Siy0B

Surrogacy is the new human trafficking. Homosexuals, billionaires, and others should not be able to buy children. 

[Sinistar]

they cannot tell a woman what to do with her womb

if she wants to sell it to the highest bidder that is her right

 

whether anyone thinks women should or should not i began to slowly realize over time just how much feminism figures into policy or into behaviors at the society wide scale

 

the gender which is the more self regarding and self centered and self entitled is the one having such impact in this way and you see it in the way from access to public money, since most public services and resources go towards women and / or children

 

if prostitution for example becomes legalized it is mostly from the perspective that women need an income

or there is to protect women from predatory behaviors 

 

with illegal immigration you see much of the same thing play out since the arguments over what to do with women and children and the strategy to send women and children to cross in or to gain citizenship since they will more likely have more permissions or sympathy to access public services or leverage their residency status

 

it follows a similar pattern even from the roman empire: whether someone is born a slave or free citizen comes from the maternal line rather than paternal- a person takes the status of the mother rather than the father

 

it probably has something to do with the fact that childbearing is innately regarded as a female exclusive phenomenon with almost no input from the sperm donor required other than the exchange of DNA

in modern welfare states you see where that goes because the father is reduced or diminished and if women decide to have children the state- which is to say the taxpayer- fills the role of breadwinner provider father

 

and when you see that all the other behaviors make sense including why prostitution is virtually a female only profession or if not trans-males appearing to be female

 

 

 

 

Edited December 16, 2025 by Sinistar

[17thfabn]

3 hours ago, Mr King said:

The Chinese billionaires having dozens of US.-born babies via surrogate

This sounds like a Dr. Evil type move.

[Sinistar]

these issues where beginning to appear in the 1990s as the technology was starting to come online

though it was not much in the public discussion in academia and in legal and medical journals where it was mostly found because you had debates whether it was ethical or not

some against proposed arguments that it would prey on low income or low status women who were the ones most likely to do it in order to get income from high income parties

 

as you see in these cases like this it creates problems for citizenship and immigration policy since these children are now us citizens in addition to the cases where donor mothers later end up changing their minds and sue in court or whatever and then you have legal battles over which party the child really belongs to or which country and so on

 

so the genie has been let out apparently

 

[Ivanhoe]

She gives a simple, clear explanation of the whole ESG/DEI thing in corporate America/Europe;

 

 

[rmgill]

More harsh than the What Ever podcast. 

[urbanoid]

13 hours ago, Mr King said:

The Chinese billionaires having dozens of US.-born babies via surrogate

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/the-chinese-billionaires-having-dozens-of-us-born-babies-via-surrogate/ar-AA1Siy0B

Surrogacy is the new human trafficking. Homosexuals, billionaires, and others should not be able to buy children. 

https://x.com/DVanLangenhove/status/2000865245800116576

 

[Murph]

Proof that all "Modern" Art is crap:

 

 

[Murph]

Ford (Fix or Repair Daily) admits it took a 19.5 Billion soak trying to force Americans into electric cars.  

https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2025/12/16/ford-admits-defeat-after-trying-to-force-americans-into-electric-cars-and-trucks/

Ford said Monday it expected to take about $19.5 billion in charges as it retreats from the electric vehicle business, a massive hit as the automaker pivots to traditional gas vehicles along with hybrid and plug-in hybrid models in place of EVs.

The Wall Street Journal reports that in a stunning blow to the U.S. auto industry’s ambitious EV plans, Ford Motor announced on Monday that it expects to incur approximately $19.5 billion in charges, primarily due to its struggling electric vehicle business. The staggering write-down marks the largest impairment taken by a company in Detroit’s history and underscores the challenges faced by automakers as they grapple with lackluster demand for EVs.

Faced with mounting losses totaling $13 billion in its EV division since 2023, Ford has decided to shift its strategy, focusing on bolstering its lineup of gas-powered vehicles while transitioning to hybrid and extended-range electric models that incorporate onboard gasoline engines. The move aims to pull back from loss-making assets and redirect capital to more profitable models.

Ford CEO Jim Farley acknowledged the necessity of the pivot, stating, “Instead of plowing billions into the future knowing these large EVs will never make money, we are pivoting. We now know enough about the U.S. market where we have a lot more certainty in this second inning of reduced-emissions powertrains.”

Under Farley’s leadership, Ford aggressively pursued the EV market. This was in part driven by the economics of EVs, which automakers thought would be much more profitable than traditional gas-powered cars. Breitbart News previously reported on Farley bragging about how much less an EV would cost the company to build:

“Half the fixtures, half the work stations, half the welds, 20% less fasteners. We designed it, because it’s such a simple product, to radically change the manufacturability,” said Farley.

Farley stated that in an effort to compete during the incoming price war, Ford is ready to cut distribution costs and advertising.

As part of its revised strategy, Ford will halt production of the all-electric version of its flagship F-150 pickup truck, known as the Lightning. Instead, the company will focus on an extended-range version of the truck. Ford remains committed to producing a $30,000 EV pickup by 2027, which it says will be the cornerstone of its new low-cost EV lineup.

 

[Ivanhoe]

Yeah, I was going to post that story in the Garage thread. 

Somebody at Ford should be shot for ramming the Lightning down dealers' throats. 

I briefly looked at the hybrid F-150, and if the OEM performance stats were to be believed, could have been very practical. Too pricy for me, but a decent deal for a lot of folks*. But Ford killed it in favor of the Lightning, which illustrates how corporate executives with impressive resumes tend to be dolts. 

* As with most hybrids, super effective for urban dwellers who spend a lot of time idling on highways in bumper-to-bumper. 

[Ivanhoe]

Our culture still fails to hold people accountable;