This and that

[missouriboy]

Some good one-liners in this.

www.zerohedge.com/markets/2023-goodbye-all

[Sigurdur]

x.com/ArmchairAtty/status/1738622921558438364?s=20

[ratty]

Dec 23, 2023 23:13:24 GMT missouriboy said:

Some good one-liners in this.

www.zerohedge.com/markets/2023-goodbye-all

I particularly liked this one:

“For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled.” – Richard Feynman

[Sigurdur]

www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/scientist-reckons-climate-grief-rcna129981

[missouriboy]

Dec 25, 2023 17:57:11 GMT Sigurdur said:

www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/scientist-reckons-climate-grief-rcna129981

He has met the enemy ... and it is who he wants it to be.

[ratty]

Dec 25, 2023 17:57:11 GMT Sigurdur said:

www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/scientist-reckons-climate-grief-rcna129981

This is what slanted education systems are doing to young people worldwide.

[ratty]

More non-productive imposts on business which achieve very little ....

ESG, DEI, and the Rise of Fake Reporting

We know that the modern West has developed a jaw-dropping degree of totalitarianism, wherein the bureaucracies of the state and the corporate sector coordinate together to cripple humans outside their power networks and media channels. But what are the mechanics of this coordination? To understand one of the games they play, consider the rise of measures and standards associated with DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) – both occupants of a highly abstract thought dimension and the latter an especially incomprehensible word salad.

ESG as a phrase was coined in a 2006 United Nations report, gradually gaining adoption by private companies like BlackRock via the production of annual ESG reports. Governments then started supporting these voluntary efforts, and eventually began making them mandatory. Since early 2023, corporations in the EU have been compelled to report on ESG. Many US companies with subsidiaries in the EU must observe both US and European rules, and those in the Asia-Pacific region too are starting to follow the ESG reporting pantomime.

In brief, ESG originated at the level of the international and intellectual stratosphere and then grew, unchecked by tedious real-world constraints like scarcity and tradeoffs, as a kind of malignant joint venture between large government bureaucracies and large corporations.

This JV is a serious industry, offering lucrative money-making opportunities for consulting companies, fund managers, and assorted professionals who ‘help’ companies comply. Bahar Gidwani, co-founder of a company called CSRHub, a compiler and provider of ESG company ratings, estimates that the collection of ESG data alone is already costing companies $20 billion worldwide.

It is an expanding industry too, since the reporting requirements keep increasing: according to recent reports, the head of the US Securities and Exchange Commission estimates that the cost of ESG reporting by the companies it oversees could quadruple to $8.4 billion this year, primarily due to the introduction of more ESG requirements. And that’s just in the US.

Large reporting costs are easier for large companies to bear, which offers a clue to why they’re interested: this sort of burden, particularly when made compulsory by the state, helps them dominate their smaller competitors.

DEI is the younger brother of ESG. At present, DEI reporting is not yet compulsory, but about 16% of the biggest US firms have open DEI reports, and the DEI fad is growing, perhaps eventually to eclipse ESG. Just as with ESG, DEI originates from the grandiose world of fluffy abstractions, big corporations, and governments. Despite efforts to make it appear otherwise, it is not grassroots at all.

Etc, etc ....

[Sigurdur]

x.com/johnbergen4/status/1740776737464877479?s=20

[code]

Dec 30, 2023 1:25:52 GMT Sigurdur said:

x.com/johnbergen4/status/1740776737464877479?s=20

take off the stuff after the number 9 

?s=20

and it should post in full

[Sigurdur]

x.com/Culture_Crit/status/1741137246256775332

[Sigurdur]

For the soccer fans.

x.com/MustangMan_TX/status/1741539957548728469?s=20

[ratty]

" The Democrat Whitehouse has dispensed with the concept of democracy. "

[missouriboy]

Model Citizen performs Flying Menendez on judge.

[ratty]

They're dropping like flies! First Ryan O'Neal ....

UK-based actor and singer David Soul, best known for his role in the popular 1970s crime television series Starsky & Hutch, has died aged 80.
"David Soul - beloved husband, father, grandfather and brother - died yesterday (January 4) after a valiant battle for life in the loving company of family," his wife Helen Snell wrote in a statement.

[ratty]

A bit of nostalgia .... and a little different to some other compilations: