RationalWiki talk:What is going on in the world?/Archive39

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, (new)(back)

Liberals want only white landowners able to not pay taxes and have the sole right to vote (govern undemocratically) on the basis of “corporate personhood”? (Reedy Creek)

Simple logic is not respected on either side of the political aisle. 2600:387:F:4215:0:0:0:8 (talk) 17:48, 23 April 2022 (UTC)

Jake Daniels

I fixed the WIGO. Remember boys: girls play football too! LondonGrump (talk) 15:38, 17 May 2022 (UTC)

shawnee city council

im missing something. ive read and reread the article in question in part to get my head round the idea that is it is talking about flatmates and flat sharing and not some specific practice and unusual practice, just common or garden flat sharing, not something new, in part because despite its unanimous vote to to ban, it gives no indication of the purpose of the ban or its scope - public housing only? private renters too? a specific sector? there is an argument to regulate having lodgers from protecting rights of renters from unscrupulous landlords cramming in people into into rooms too small for the numbers involved, for general safety of occupants in the events of fire or emergency it is known how many people are offically in building before sending in fireman looking for trapped tenants, it can effect the benefits someone gets for housing if they have someone helping living with them to help with the rent. or the lodger is getting room and board rent free from their mate, but getting paid housing benefit anyway paid straight into their wallet. there are probably plenty of dubious scrooge like reasons to ban it too but dont know either way, the article is quiet on that front. should i be outraged or should i should i think it was about time, or should i just think someone is preaching to me via wigo but not given any of the meat of the story to weigh up its merits. AMassiveGay (talk) 23:13, 29 April 2022 (UTC)

I had a similar experience when I encountered this link on imgur earlier today. The linked article doesn't go into much detail. This one goes into a lot more - it basically just seems like there are some homes being bought and converted into multiple bedroom properties that are being rented out on a room-by-room basis and, for some reason, the locals don't like it. Hard to get a full read on exactly why, but this line seemed pretty revealing: "Tracy Thomas, a former member of the Shawnee City Council, was one of the residents concerned about the housing trend moving into Shawnee. She and others were concerned it could lead to a dramatic influx in renters, more people parking on the street, and shifts in home values." Here's the actual thing itself, if you want a read. X Stickman (talk) 01:25, 30 April 2022 (UTC)

George Bush on Ukraine and Iraq

Probably not WIGO-worthy, but this gaffe is pretty funny. --RWRW (talk) 09:27, 19 May 2022 (UTC)

Buffalo supermarket shooting

I feel like that deserves to be in a WIGO of some kind, 'nuff said. 149.19.40.48 (talk) 17:10, 23 May 2022 (UTC)Bumpf

Would have made one but can't figure out UI. Can someone link me to the "make page" page? Zodenticz Nexian (talk) 18:19, 24 May 2022 (UTC) Zodenticz Nexian

You're a little late, that was last week's mass shooting news. Today's mass shooting news is some dweeb who killed (report so far) 14 little kids and a teacher in an elementary school in rural Texas. Mass shootings are now "ordinary" events in America. The only question is whether Alex Jones or some other equivalent shithead hooked on the Russia NRA propaganda will call this particular shooting a "false flag". Gotta protect the profits you get from the dumb paranoid style crowd after all... Meh (talk) 23:00, 24 May 2022 (UTC)

They seem to have settled on the idea that the gunman was trans and entered the country illegally at a young age (both false). You know, they often talk about Democrat politicians putting politics in tragedies "this is no time for politics", yet it seems even the most "political" response they have is in-line responses the world over in how to respond to a mass shooting, proposing solutions that includes issues about limiting guns. Meanwhile, the "not doing political stuff" conservatives often try to go after the shooter's identity often in an attempt to say, these "others" are the problem, not guns or white supremacy. This is especially prevalent when shooters are, I'll fucking say the full line, cis hetero conservative christian (or "looks christian") white supremacist native-born white guys since they have to come up with a narrative where they can jump around those classifications in order to not allow the conversation to not go to "uncomfortable" places for them and their audience (which will lead to outrage against them by accusing the speaker of "blaming whites, conservatives, Christians, and gun owners"). That's the reason they're obsessed with playing up mental illness (the easiest one to hone in on to look more "neutral"), mixed-race heritage, non-cisgender, non-citizenship, or any "anomaly" to make them an "other". One example from both, The Buffalo shooter was not a "white supremacist" because he happened to shoot two white guys while deliberately ignoring the context and his blatantly stated motivations (and acting like having more than one type of victim in the minority is proof he didn't have a primary target in mind). Meanwhile, the Uvdale shooter had conservatives try to go after his heritage as well as using a couple of "goth makeup" pics to decide he was transgender, blatantly saying, "being transgender/non-citizen were what made him a mass shooter" (you'll notice a pattern that pointing out features that the fox news/twitter right approve is "targeting us", whereas them doing it to someone else is "pointing out the problems that the MSM don't want to talk about"). The other alternative is to deny the problem (which can be done to deny the shooter's identity or to change the conversation to their comfort zone) and claim it's a false flag to ban guns even though that hasn't happened. The point is essentially to do nothing, keep conservatives angry and loyal, and continue to divide and conquer our country.Ryan1257 (talk) 18:09, 27 May 2022 (UTC)

Morbid tangent, but if I were doing "false flag" mass shootings to change gun laws towards "gun control", I wouldn't be hitting schools (I mean other places as well, but schools are the oneswe think of mostly), I'd do what any good conspiracy does, hitting those who can influence such policy, like police and police chiefs, sherrifs, judges, lawmakers and similar officials, lobbyist groups, and other people and organizations that could effect the debate more . And don't give me "soft targets" bullshit, I'm a conspiracy, remember, I'd have the resources to target such individuals even if they're hard targets in hard targets. Why attack schools? Sure they may be "soft-targets", but kids, teachers, administrators, and parents don't have a lot of sway on gun policies. And lately, let's be honest, children dying outside the womb is something the public cares about for at most 7 news cycles, so it'd be a waste of time and resources.Ryan1257 (talk) 18:09, 27 May 2022 (UTC)

Food banks in BT(EE)

It just boggles the mind. This should be a cause of national embarrassment, but it has become so normalised it barely warrants an article in the national press. Cardinal Chang (talk) 21:09, 23 June 2022 (UTC)

its a damning indictment of british budgeting and cooking skills.

i couldnt find an article for the cunt who was proud that we have food banks. tory mp of course i forget which one. gove maybe, but im just guessing. AMassiveGay (talk) 21:34, 23 June 2022 (UTC)

if not gove, hes still a cunt. and, as should always be noted, a fucking weasel. AMassiveGay (talk) 21:38, 23 June 2022 (UTC)

Don't forget he's a massive islamophobe too. As in fanatical hatred. And it's well documented re: Baroness warsei https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/michael-gove-donald-trump-baroness-warsi-anti-muslim-crazy-tory-chairwoman-a7649411.html Cardinal Chang (talk) 22:54, 23 June 2022 (UTC)

So cute to see the stuff people get mad about in normal countries. Chef Moosolini’s Ristorante Italiano^{Make a Reservation} 15:43, 24 June 2022 (UTC)

Yeah so “cute” to see people getting mad at over-privileged toffs telling people who are struggling to feed themselves and their families in a wealthy country that this is just due to the plebs not having their shit together. Meanwhile other toffs see people handing food out as charity as a great example at how gracious their country is, rather than a stark indictment of how these toffs have (mis)ruled the country for decades. Oh, did I mention that these toffs also decided to throw the country into political and economic chaos for narrow, internal party political reasons after they had already fucked it over with one of the harshest austerity regimes outside of Greece? Or that they have instituted GOP style voter suppression? Or tightened rules to allow police to crack down more easily on demonstrations? Or that they don’t seem to think that they have to abide by international treaties and other agreements they have signed? So “cute” indeed; a veritable case of Hello Kitty, I’d say… ScepticWombat (talk) 19:37, 24 June 2022 (UTC)

Roe v Wade

Tell me, how are we all fucked? Is the rulings of SCOTUS binding on the entire world now? Do hyperbole if you wish, but at least make it accurate hyperbole. KarmaPolice (talk) 18:16, 24 June 2022 (UTC)

Go fuck yourself. First of all, this is devastating news to US residents. Don't make light of it. And if you don't think reactionary politics in one of the most powerful nations on the planet won't echo in the rest of the world you haven't been paying attention-Hastur! (talk) 18:25, 24 June 2022 (UTC)

get over yourself and get some perspective AMassiveGay (talk) 18:29, 24 June 2022 (UTC)

What, pointing out the fact that 'US is not the world' is 'making light of it'? I think your parochialism is showing. And Gay & I have to put up with Boris Johnson on a daily basis (aka 'if Trump went to Eton') so don't hector me about reactionary politics either.

Plus, did you really expect otherwise? We all knew this would come up the day Trump got two SCOTUS picks through, and for sure one he snagged the third. So it might be an anvil, but hardly an unexpected one. Esp after the judgement leak. KarmaPolice (talk) 18:48, 24 June 2022 (UTC)

I would pay good money to see you go to a working class neighborhood in Texas (or a similar state) and see what happens when you tell those silly women they are just overreacting. Millions of women losing rights? Hyperbole! Let them eat cake!-Flandres (talk) 19:13, 24 June 2022 (UTC)

"But both parties are the same lol" -- morons Chef Moosolini’s Ristorante Italiano^{Make a Reservation} 19:26, 24 June 2022 (UTC)

But for real though, British people have such tiny problems compared to the absolute collapse of the republic we're experiencing in the US. Chef Moosolini’s Ristorante Italiano^{Make a Reservation} 19:27, 24 June 2022 (UTC)

yeh of course because brexit isnt heading to a break up of the union or anything AMassiveGay (talk) 19:29, 24 June 2022 (UTC)

You’ll still have human rights in those new countries. We’re taking the accelerating path to right wing totalitarianism Chef Moosolini’s Ristorante Italiano^{Make a Reservation} 19:39, 24 June 2022 (UTC)

its clear you have no clue as to british politics and to johnsons plan for human rights. how very american of you. AMassiveGay (talk) 19:56, 24 June 2022 (UTC)

"Johnson's plan for human rights" *looks at SCOTUS* *looks at biggest British story being about food banks* *looks into camera* Chef Moosolini’s Ristorante Italiano^{Make a Reservation} 20:05, 24 June 2022 (UTC)

i repeat - no clue AMassiveGay (talk) 20:24, 24 June 2022 (UTC)

This isn't a competition... though things on the HMS UK really ain't pretty right now (one slightly fluffy day does not make a narrative, Duce). The best thing going for us is the same reason I objected to the hyperbole (more the parochialism actually) - we are generally kinda phlegmatic by nature. Trying to make angry mobs of Brits is a bit like trying to set fire to a pile of damp leaves.

Anyway, I've got relatives in both halves of Ireland. They only got abortion rights in 2018/2021. So don't you play the 'you don't know/understand' card with me; I am more aware than you presume.

(Lastly, did the working-class women of Texas have decent access to such services as of yesterday? The GOP has done wonders chipping away said 'rights' to almost a theoretical level in many states over the last couple of decades.) KarmaPolice (talk)

Now isn't the time for oppression olympics, guys. BumblingBuffoon (talk) 20:32, 24 June 2022 (UTC)

I'm just reacting to all the British people telling us Americans to get over ourselves. Chef Moosolini’s Ristorante Italiano^{Make a Reservation} 20:34, 24 June 2022 (UTC)

well thats not whats been happening, but thanks for playing AMassiveGay (talk) 20:38, 24 June 2022 (UTC)

"get over yourself and get some perspective" Chef Moosolini’s Ristorante Italiano^{Make a Reservation} 20:39, 24 June 2022 (UTC)

did you look at the comment i was responding to? honestly, fuck off AMassiveGay (talk) 20:48, 24 June 2022 (UTC)

and we only need look at the preceding thread to see folk mocking the concerns of others about about the state of their country. AMassiveGay (talk) 20:51, 24 June 2022 (UTC)

(EC)Hastur didn't make any inaccurate claims though. This is horrible for millions of Americans (a quick look at news will suffice to prove that) and we do know the far-right movements of other countries are willing to take note from the GOP.-Flandres (talk) 20:53, 24 June 2022 (UTC)

hastur is claiming the whole world should be quaking in its boots. so yes, perspective is something that is required. AMassiveGay (talk) 08:51, 25 June 2022 (UTC)

The SCOTUS decision to repeal Roe and similar are functionally declaration of war on marginalized groups in America and abroad. You're either with the marginalized groups or you're against them. The time for compromise and middle ground is over and done. 2600:1700:C5E0:D60:97D:795D:F119:40FD (talk) 22:05, 24 June 2022 (UTC)

No, just be accurate. 'America is screwed' is perfectly fine (though I still personally a bit of an exaggeration, as laid out in the Bar. But that's a subjective not an objective point). KarmaPolice (talk) 05:17, 25 June 2022 (UTC)

This is the equivalent of saying "All lives matter" you huge tool-Hastur! (talk) 17:01, 25 June 2022 (UTC)

you know this whole spat could have been avoided if you werent such a wangsty prick AMassiveGay (talk) 19:19, 25 June 2022 (UTC)

Unnnnnd the miranda rights and gun control looks endangered on the same day. What now? 2600:387:9:9:0:0:0:15 (talk) 18:17, 25 June 2022 (UTC)

I've been thinking about that. There is actually a start of groundswell of worry from lawyers and judges that SCOTUS is torching many major precidents for little real legal reason (which is the only good reason in their definition). Case law can be overturned by them, yes - but not on a whim, or for political reasons. A few more 'whim-y' results like this and it could seriously destabilise the whole law-cart.

And Hastur, quit it. I've made it fucking clear repeatedly my only real gripe was with the 'US is the world' language. KarmaPolice (talk) 05:14, 26 June 2022 (UTC)

Abortion law in Germany

The news bit on §219 is incorrect in that it ignores the difference between advertising and informing. Abortions were in practice legal to get on the condition of a short educational appointment. Now, medical professionals are also allowed to advertise their services. This issue is widely misrepresented in public and legislative discourse. -181.214.173.9 (talk) 19:55, 4 July 2022 (UTC)

it took a story in the guardian...

...to get an 8 month old child a visa to be with their british mother. 'established life'. that right there is absolute dogshit and the home office is a fucking disgrace. im only surprised Mo farah isnt being deported to Rwanda AMassiveGay (talk) 07:48, 14 July 2022 (UTC)

yonks --> eons? doesn't really matter but something else please

As a Yank and an IP, I had to google what yonks were, and can't change the entry itself to something I understand. Someone please do that thanks 71.191.132.162 (talk) 20:23, 27 July 2022 (UTC)Bumpf

Hee! Serves you right for living on the wrong side of the pond. Scream!! (talk) 20:34, 27 July 2022 (UTC)

I"m a yank. I like the term. Keep it. --It's-a me, LeftyGreenMario! 00:22, 28 July 2022 (UTC)

Alex Jones Trial

Jone's lawyer sent all the documents he was trying to hide from the court to Plaintiff's Counsel lmao https://twitter.com/oneunderscore__/status/1554864067508060160 173.79.12.32 (talk) 21:22, 3 August 2022 (UTC)

Uri Geller's island nation

If it can get in the EU, I'll sign up... London Grump OBE (talk) 17:29, 7 August 2022 (UTC)

Reference: Flag Codes

Here. KarmaPolice (talk) 00:50, 27 September 2022 (UTC)

"MyPillow guy"

Not sure why this is here, or why we're using a vaguely dismissive tone about this when it's a CEO being sued for making objectively false claims about election fraud, or why we're referring to him as "MyPillow guy" instead of only "Mike Lindell." Not newsworthy imho ---Ozzyboo (talk) 21:21, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

I'd counter that quite a lot of folks do know him as the 'MyPillow Guy'. Though I'd have also included his real name, so put it as Mike 'MyPillow' Lindell. Not gonna argue about the newsworthyness of the thing itself, though. KarmaPolice (talk) 11:54, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

hes a prominent conspiracy theorist so he'e rationalwiki's bread and butter. the whole election was stolen thing is a pretty big deal in america as i understand it. proponents of it getting their comeuppance is pretty newsworthy imho, especially when it involves the supreme court. if its dismissive of the guy its because he is major promoter of this dumb theory, keeping it alive and contributing to the divisiveness in american life. and hes a prick. it is newsworthy, in the world of us politics, even if it wouldnt make the front pages of a national paper. but really, wigo is representative of what it RWs editors find of interest. if want to see more 'actual' newsworthy news you can watch the news on the telly or a decent news site. i'd recommend the bbc personally. AMassiveGay (talk) 15:38, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

I'll add that another big part of RW's bread and butter is authoritarianism, which is exactly what peddlers of the Big Lie of the Orange Jeezus are promoting. Lindell is a very prominent promoter of this. He no longer makes major headlines because his bullshit is so nakedly laughably wrong, but he ticks off a lot of boxes on the type of things found on this site. Stories on laughable clowns like Lindell aside, authoritarian creep is still a major ongoing concern regarding the Republican party (and way too many citizens here who call themselves "conservatives"). 35.140.177.2 (talk) 16:35, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

World Bigot Convention

Perhaps that's a suitable name? Also, wouldn't this fit in more properly with WIGO:Clogs? Vee (talk) 21:13, 9 October 2022 (UTC)

No, it's an actual news item, of an actual event. And not some mad screed, hammered out by a lunatic on a keyboard with a marginal grasp of reality. Yes, they are all regular occupants of the clogs, but this is a news worthy item. These horrendous individuals with their slavering fanbase are gaining in numbers. And ignoring them will not make them go away. Cardinal Chang (talk) 21:44, 9 October 2022 (UTC)

Westminster Pinball

Some mention of the constant changes perhaps? Anna Livia (talk) 19:11, 19 October 2022 (UTC)

Considering the events just one day after your request, it may require more than one person, and possibly a lot of gin. Cardinal Chang (talk) 19:54, 20 October 2022 (UTC)

" Nancy Pelosi’s husband, David has been ..."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Pelosi

Pelosi spouse's first name is Paul - David is apparently name of the attacker. Can someone correct this, pls? -2A00:1028:83BE:91A2:90B0:9A3A:9F9C:4D9F (talk) 10:10, 29 October 2022 (UTC)

Fixed. Cardinal Chang (talk) 10:37, 29 October 2022 (UTC)

"Party chef"

I misread "party chief" as "party chef" for a second lmao. Vee (talk) 00:19, 6 November 2022 (UTC)

”chef” means “leader” in French, so it’s not entirely wrong to call the chief a “chef”. Oh, and the words “chief” and “chef” are actually borrowings from the same French word. The relationship between English and French is interesting. LongStylus (talk) 00:34, 6 November 2022 (UTC)

Naomi Osaka upset in third-round Olympic stunner

Osaka lost to Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-4. ^{— Unsigned, by: 2001:8003:DDB1:C600:5D83:52C2:AC31:6AAF / talk}

Almost Nuclear Winter

Y'all forgot to add a big hitter. One of the two Nuclear Powers in South Asia just threw a missile by accident into the other's boder ^{— Unsigned, by: 47.55.222.143 / talk / contribs}

What's with all the downvotes lately?

I kinda get the downvotes on the ones that are just a link to a YouTube video or Twitter tweet, but lately I've noticed a lot of the headlines are getting heavily downvoted. What's up with that? Blitz (Complaints Box) 01:19, 30 November 2022 (UTC)

Possibly people are downvoting what they consider bad news, rather than posts they think don't belong on WIGO. Looking at the downvoted ones (workers' strike blocked, far-right politician appointed, anti-fascist accounts banned, not wearing OneLove armbands, Trump's twitter account reinstated) there's a pretty clear political theme. Then again, the upvoted ones include "Taliban whipping people", "tax filing websites sharing data with Facebook", and "El Salvador's president still obsessed with Bitcoin", which don't seem to fit my hypothesis very well. 𝒮𝑒𝓇𝑒𝓃𝑒 ^talk 01:39, 30 November 2022 (UTC)

It fits perfectly well. A big subset of both the internet and the wiki's userbase gets madder about politics than they do about anything else. Chef Moosolini’s Ristorante Italiano^{Make a Reservation} 02:31, 30 November 2022 (UTC)

It's pretty obvious that those stories just got downvoted because they're bad news. (I even wrote "Sadly" in the "OneLove" armbands headline I wrote to make it clear I thought it was bad news too. That's guaranteed upvotes in the past.) Newcomers obviously don't know that stories are meant to be upvoted if they're relevant to RatWiki and downvoted if they're not. I think there should be a notice about that on the WIGO page, like there used to be. Spud (talk) 03:25, 30 November 2022 (UTC)

i don't know why that notice was taken down in the first place. if my memory serves me right, there was a notice that said to only include "rw-ish" stories in the feed. and in the source code, there was a notice that specifically instructed people how not to screw with the votes. now that those notices are gone, all the newbies keep changing the game not knowing what the hell they're doing. The G (talk) 18:38, 30 November 2022 (UTC)

That Kanye Hitler story

should’ve been in the Clogs I think. Chef Moosolini’s Ristorante Italiano^{Make a Reservation} 00:41, 2 December 2022 (UTC)

Yeah, I'd've switched it over but then I'd look like a massive hypocrite after what I told Idiocrat. Vee (talk) 00:45, 2 December 2022 (UTC)

is it too late to comment it out and move it to clogs? The G (talk) 06:32, 4 December 2022 (UTC)

@G Man I don't think so, no. Vee (talk) 21:41, 7 December 2022 (UTC)

The Iran Morality Police aren't abolished

Sadly, the headline as it is in WIGO is misleading. They aren't "abolished" or "disbanded", they clearly say in the story that they're "suspended" which means they are still a unit. Unless the situation changes, I think we should just say "suspended".-Ryan1257 (talk) 17:41, 5 December 2022 (UTC)

i updated the headline and added context. if it's still wrong, feel free to correct it. The G (talk) 21:39, 7 December 2022 (UTC)

'Liver King' Notability

To be honest, I don't think the 'outing' of Brian Johnson aka 'the Liver King' as a pretty heavy user of gear is that notable. It's basically an open secret in the whole bodybuilding / physical training community that the majority of 'pro' levels of such are either on the juice or have made use of it in the past (unless they can't, such as sports folks). So he's not 'natty'? Le shock! You'll be telling me that wrestling isn't real next. The 'scam' elements of this - him saying it's his diet/lifestyle which did just did that is also pretty common; 'roided out hulks saying X legal product (anything from creatine to herbal test 'supports' like ginger) was the reason for it and not gear happens all the time too - as any search in bodybuilders in Instagram pushing stuff like protein powders etc shall testify.

It's these which is why this news simply hasn't produced any ripples in the 'community', as far as I can tell.

Lastly, HGH is not a steroid. If you'd like to be technically correct. KarmaPolice (talk) 10:18, 8 December 2022 (UTC)

if the folk on tiktok or instagram were pushing protein powders or creatine, then at least they would be selling stuff that has legitmate utility. probably wont get as big or get as big as quickly as the juiced up meat heads that flog some of these supplements, but will get results all the same. these people probably wouldnt make a lot of money from them though. if you are motivated enough to supplement as part of your fitness regime, you probably already taking or are aware of these. they dont need endorsements and dubious claims. its the snake oil that needs endorsements and testimonials. its all the fat burners, and testosterone boosters and BCAAs what they are selling in products where the active ingredients are at less than effective doses and/or not supported by any science and are effectively expensive energy drinks. its not just a common scam, its pretty much the norm that fitness influencers will be selling snake oil, even if they are not juiced up. shredded sports science, among some others, on youtube takes apart the more prominent offenders with reference to actual science. AMassiveGay (talk) 12:47, 12 December 2022 (UTC)

" pretty heavy user of gear " has to be a cultural thing, over here in Ireland, "gear" as in "on the gear" refers to heroin. Might put a different focus on those weights they're lifting.Cardinal Chang (talk) 22:00, 12 December 2022 (UTC)

Eh, I called it 'a scam' and not 'the norm' because there's enough of a minority of folks who are pushing stuff (as you say) which do have some proven utility; influencers have brand management too and some will try to avoid shilling for obvious, known shite. Or making excessive claims on otherwise okay stuff (like say protein powders and bars, which we all end up consuming occasionally). Or they simply have some basic self-respect.

I do think you're missing one aspect of this, though - the target market. The folks who are 'properly' into fitness don't buy this shite because... well, they know it's shite. It's in fact for the wannabies with Dunning-Kruger who've been groomed by capitalism to think you can buy your way to success and are either too scared and/or unable to source 'the real deal'. Or the truly saddest cases of all... they're so ignorant they think fitness is impossible without all that shite. KarmaPolice (talk) 02:52, 13 December 2022 (UTC)

It's not actually possible anymore to get to the pro level of bodybuilding without doing steroids, HGH, diuretics, and weight loss drugs. The pros are called 'freaks' within the industry because they have bodies that are essentially unattainable without such drugs.[1] Bongolian (talk) 04:09, 13 December 2022 (UTC)

Getting a look like this "Liver King" guy has is, from what I've glimpsed at net sites devoted to this type of thing, a lot of work. Even the "gear" is not exactly a "pop a pill and wham! you're He-Man" type of thing, its ouchie needles x times a week and there's often some sort of defined cycling scheme. On top of that, you're basically weightlifting all the time (since the "gear" allows you to recover fast, you can lift almost every day) and have a rather controlled "bulking" / "cutting" diet, the later where your goal is ridiculously low levels of body fat. I don't really consider this sort of bodybuilding "proper fitness" to be honest, it's almost a body-mod lifestyle that really isn't that great for your health in the long run. Maintaining a "toned" type of body is a lot easier (regular exercise with weights / cardio / etc., good food portions, don't eat *too* much junk, etc.) and probably healthier in the end.

It's right though that the gym-bro shit is sort of a scam like alternative medicine is, it's for people who want quick solutions. I guess some people want to look like a roid-freak (why? but I digress...) but don't really want to hear that you need to devote a significant portion of your life to this task, in addition to spending lots of money on gear, gym, and clean protein. BobJohnson (talk) 04:40, 13 December 2022 (UTC)

Heh, that reminds me of a story I got told by an old squaddie who did 'foreign forces training' back in the day; he said the amount of times the ones being trained were clearly pissed at his dogmatic insisting that 'lots of physical/personal training makes you good' - his theory was that they actually believed they (UK Forces) had some kind of magic pills which did it but weren't telling them what they were. And your suspicion is correct, Bob; I know enough to know that to end up looking like LiverKing you're looking at a wholesale dedication of your whole life to it (even before considering chemicals) - time, finances, effort, willpower. And most importantly of all - a fair bit of genetic luck; to have a body which isn't inclined to shove on fat but is inclined to pack on visible muscle (that's a lot less common than you'd think).

You're also right about putting bodybuilding much more into the 'body mod' category than actual fitness, in the respects that it's only focused on looks, not either health or performance. In this respect, it's rather like say, the fad diets. However, what has happened is that bodybuilding has infected the wider fitness community, esp for guys - sometimes to the point that any basic 'fitness' regimen almost by default is more a bodybuilding one (and for the gals, the assumption is weight loss regimen). However, this works well because one of the main drivers of the general 'fitness industry' is for us to look better naked but we've been conditioned by society to think such vanity is bad.

Lastly, bigger pecs / lost weight etc easy to spot and be commented on by others. The fact I'm now capable of running a 3k in 21 mins and cycle 20ks in a half-hour is not noted by anyone. Visible achievement and actual achievement are two different things... KarmaPolice (talk) 06:07, 13 December 2022 (UTC)

Same WIGO entry posted twice

The WIGO entry about 55 Tufton Street was posted twice, FYI. Vee (talk) 12:00, 23 December 2022 (UTC)

my bad Chillpilled (talk) 12:10, 23 December 2022 (UTC)

"Degeneracy grows"

This "observation" that as one ages one becomes more conservative is a methodological error. It assumes that overarching trends for one generation will hold true for the next, ignoring fundamentally why, say, the Boomers became more conservative as they aged (it has nothing to do with age and everything to do with fundamental privilege, and to some extent, the perceived "failures" of the New Left counterculture). Due to a difference in conditions, what holds true for one generation won't hold true for the next. Vee (talk) 03:20, 8 January 2023 (UTC)

I also question the original assumption - that 'you grow more conservative as you age'. I actually suspect that generally speaking, a person's views are relatively static but the wider society changes.

That a Boomer now celebrating their 70th would have had their key 'forming years' between around 1965 and 1980. What would have been really rad progressive causes in 70s America? 'Gay rights', ending overt racism in business/govt, seeing Native Americans as actual citizens, rollout of basic reproductive rights re: contraception etc. In 2023, all of these ideas are banal and 'commonsense', only a complete reactionary now would advocate [for example] the re-criminalisation of 'miscegenation'. Yet... in the 70s, there would have been older, 'conservative' folks who had been raised in the 10s/20s and held that very view [which had been common enough in that era... for 'conservative' in the 1910s may have been a hankering for overt slavery, which elderly Southerners would still remember first-hand]. KarmaPolice (talk) 07:11, 24 January 2023 (UTC)

polish gerrymandering

there is no gerrymandering involved in the polish government proposals designed to get people in rural areas to vote. the opposition are not claiming there is any gerrymandering taking place, they say that the proposals are an attempt to get likely PIS supporters out to vote. that is not gerrymandering. gerrymandering is manipulating electoral boundaries to favour one party over the other. adding more polling stations and providing transport if needed to reach them is not gerrymandering. AMassiveGay (talk) 10:27, 28 December 2022 (UTC)

I also didn't like the headline. "It is more democratic, but people will vote for a party I dislike, so it's bad". GeeJayK^{Where all evil dwells} _{Where every lie is true} 13:03, 28 December 2022 (UTC)

The G (talk) 18:20, 31 January 2023 (UTC)

Rishi Sunak and right to withdraw labour

That's an awful lot of downvotes. Is it due to not liking the news? Or are people doubtful that the UK have been trying to undermine the right to withdraw labour? Cardinal Chang (talk) 12:58, 6 January 2023 (UTC)

Downvotes are like magnets, nobody knows how they work exactly.--Tuxer (talk) 00:28, 16 January 2023 (UTC)

whatever it is, it's probably for the same reason a lot of people are downvoting my bolsonaro visa article. The G (talk) 18:20, 31 January 2023 (UTC)

A small note at the top explaining what the voting buttons are for might alleviate confusion. I am under the assumption that the voting buttons are for whether or not content belongs in WIGO. ^{— Unsigned, by: 2A0D:6E80:10:115:3934:8A68:7F88:689A / talk / contribs}

looks like the trump trans story is also receiving a lot of downvotes. i'm pretty sure that article is missional. at this point, i think many downvotes come from whether users like the news story that was posted. i guess it all depends on who's reading the pages at the time the entries are added. The G (talk) 16:36, 2 February 2023 (UTC)

keir starmer

i removed the the wigo because it did not remotely reflect the article in anyway whats so ever, no mention at all of the gender recognition bill, and it is difficult to see how the wigo rlated to article at all. it was flatout bullshit AMassiveGay (talk) 16:45, 15 January 2023 (UTC)

greta thunberg posed with police

so what? AMassiveGay (talk) 01:15, 18 January 2023 (UTC)

I dunno, I didn't get it either. I guess it means the cops arrested her despite getting along with her beforehand? But that's hardly unusual. Chef Moosolini’s Ristorante Italiano^{Make a Reservation} 01:18, 18 January 2023 (UTC)

People online are claiming the whole thing was staged. It's not an absurd suggestion that it might've been just a photo-op, especially since it'd seem a bit odd they'd have 4 officers carrying her in the air. CorruptUser 01:57, 18 January 2023 (UTC)

they carried her because she was refusing leave the area. they stopped for a photo it seemed, probably at the prompting from all the press you see in the swarming around her you see in the videos of the event which was an opportunity for a photo op. so what? the one photo was was staged in the sense they stopped for the press to take a picture. what do you mean the 'whole thing was staged'? the twitter link had some cretin assert the whole protest was staged. yes it was. they are staging a protest. are they saying they are not really protesting? or are the people online just saying words? AMassiveGay (talk) 03:36, 18 January 2023 (UTC)

and she wasnt arrested. she was detained briefly. AMassiveGay (talk) 03:38, 18 January 2023 (UTC)

that's why i edited the headline with a new article. i'm pretty sure tweets from discount journalists (current or former) from the daily caller are not reliable sources. The G (talk) 18:19, 31 January 2023 (UTC)

Trump and Gender-Affirming Care

Can we please convince Trump to include breast implants, lip injections, butt enhancements, etc etc in the list of gender-affirming care that is banned? Something tells me that the guy that porks fake-titted porn stars and marries surgical abominations isn't actually against gender-affirming surgeries... CorruptUser 16:27, 1 February 2023 (UTC)

Note that up/down votes are about entry/article quality, not about whether you like the event.

There was some talk about adding this as a note to the page again. What ever happened to that? People are clearly downvoting the abortion pill entry because they don't like that it's happening, but there have been quite a few examples other than that as well since and prior to that discussion. Chillpilled (talk) 07:30, 5 March 2023 (UTC) Now that I look it over a bit closer, I think the most elegant way to do this would be to edit the text at Template:WIGOW to add a brief note in it, though I can't immediately think of what to change it to. And possibly the blogs, clogs, and elections templates for the same reasons. Chillpilled (talk) 07:40, 5 March 2023 (UTC)

It is good to see a note finally added about this, but it is easy to ignore the text box. For emphasis, I suggest that the text be bolded or even taken out of the box and put directly under the header in big bold text.--172.56.24.53 (talk) 05:46, 19 June 2023 (UTC)

Coincidentally, I was thinking of that earlier today. I've emboldened it now. Refresh the page if you don't see it. Bongolian (talk) 07:23, 19 June 2023 (UTC)

Doubt people will listen. Can't say we didn't try. At least people who are curious won't be lacking for an answer. Chillpilled (talk) 08:27, 5 July 2023 (UTC)

Ugandan government raises taxes on diapers after parliament members claim they are mainly used by homosexuals.

This is literally the most retarded thing i've ever heard in a while. Why the fuck would anyone ever think that this is a good idea? --{{User:TheAlePower/SignTheAlePower (talk) 09:47, 4 July 2023 (UTC)

Frankenstein veto

I had no idea that was a thing, albeit only in Wisconsin. Feels like it should be illegal. Chillpilled (talk) 13:03, 9 July 2023 (UTC)

Yeah, really shouldn't actually be a thing. But also, I am very okay with Democrats using it to create actually-meaningful change right now. If Republicans are gonna cheat and play dirty, then Democrats absolutely can to. (っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ Natsuki Marx ♥ (talk) 13:23, 9 July 2023 (UTC)

Bastille Day

No mention of the sale of fireworks being banned in France to avoid 'over-exuberance' there? Anna Livia (talk) 11:37, 14 July 2023 (UTC)

@Anna Livia I've just added it. Spud (talk) 12:02, 14 July 2023 (UTC)

Does Richard Lynn really deserve to be listed here?

It seems to me that he is best suited for the Clogosphere news. A somebody. (talk) 17:58, 21 July 2023 (UTC)

Income inequality

Rising wages is good and all, but it's still not enough to combat price gouging, inflation, and the extortionate and ever rising costs of rent. Carthage (talk) 17:35, 26 July 2023 (UTC)

See here: 1, 2. This will differ depending on the state/city/whatever. I think much of Florida for example is screwed. Notably also, the Fed just increased interest rates again an hour ago. Chillpilled (talk) 19:19, 26 July 2023 (UTC)

Resurrectionist worms

Do the 'ancient Siberian worms revived' deserve a mention here or somewhere else on RW - given that the spin-off interest is likely to be within RW's remit. Anna Livia (talk) 16:49, 28 July 2023 (UTC)

30 mil

Suddenly attending a seminary looks like an appealing career prospect. Joking aside, that's easy money for doing essentially nothing. Whatever happened to "make not my father's house a house of merchandise"? Carthage (talk) 10:43, 2 August 2023 (UTC)

NASA

They already lost contact last month and are now receiving signals again. Slightly misleading Iluzasipal^{Stone them!} 12:50, 2 August 2023 (UTC)

I don't really think it warrants an entry in the WIGO - NASA personage made mistake in transmitted order couple of weeks back, Voy turned 'dish' wrong way. Worst case scenario was there's no contact with it until [I believe] mid-Oct when it's 'auto-correct' order kicks in and it re-aims back at the Pale Blue Dot. Nice to hear developments in the Deep Space Network meant NASA picked it up before this, though. KarmaPolice (talk) 13:31, 2 August 2023 (UTC)

Caged birds

Does the Zuckerberg - Musk potential cage fight deserve a mention here? Anna Livia (talk) 23:32, 6 August 2023 (UTC)

If it actually happens, I'd stick it in the clogs. It's just richguy attention-seeking of little real consequence. Chillpilled (talk) 17:31, 7 August 2023 (UTC)

I'd pay to see two ultra-rich pieces of shit beating each other black and blue. Carthage (talk) 19:40, 7 August 2023 (UTC)

The idea as such is RW-worthy.

Who else could be paired in the TV/streaming series derived from this? (Be reasonable/observe the proprieties.) ^{— Unsigned, by: Anna Livia / talk / contribs}

There is now talk of holding the fight in Italy and having a Roman theme. Anna Livia (talk) 10:13, 12 August 2023 (UTC)

Majority / Maturity

I don't want to appear smart-alecky, but regarding the 16-year-old groomed by the FBI: Isn't it supposed to be "maturity" instead of "majority"? Not a native speaker, could be wrong. Thanks, though.--Commissairejuve (talk) 11:57, 7 August 2023 (UTC)

Age of majority (っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ Natsuki Marx ♥ (talk) 12:01, 7 August 2023 (UTC)

China

But what about the productive forces?! We all know China will achieve socialism by 270000! Carthage (talk) 13:36, 15 August 2023 (UTC)

What? Sorry! Can't you hear over the sound of millions pulled out of poverty! :P Tikitime2 (talk) 22:00, 16 August 2023 (UTC)

Russians on "LGBT brainwashed soldiers"

That Russian advisor must be mentally stunned or something, to think that LGBT people are terrible. And China is following Russia. 🇷🇸 Serbiter (Wort wort wort) 22:30, 22 August 2023 (UTC)

A lot of LGBT related news this month on WIGO. Chillpilled (talk) 10:58, 25 August 2023 (UTC)

the article about the alleged conspiracy to criminalize the lgbt community...

... reads more like a blog post than anything else. it should have gone under blogs. The G (talk) 03:22, 30 August 2023 (UTC)

Possible astroturfing

Sorry if this isn't the right place to raise this issue, please move this to the appropriate section if it is not.

A recent news entry ("Young activists from Europe that are close to Greta Thunberg are demanding that the environmental group Greenpeace change its stance on nuclear power.") is in fact being fronted by RePlanet, a rebranding of the ecomodernist movement with ties to other lobby groups and the nuclear industry. The origins of RePlanet and ties to industry lobby groups have been documented here for example: https://eu.boell.org/sites/default/files/2023-06/nuclear_lobby_report_final.pdf

Neither the news item nor the linked Guardian article mention the lobbying ties and to me this sounds very much like astroturfing and not like the intended grassroots "young activists telling greenpeace about nuclear energy" narrative being pushed by DearGreenpeace. I don't know what the wiki's stance on this is, but I think at least a disclaimer for the news item mentioning the ties to known lobbying groups should be added. Kazkade (talk) 14:33, 30 August 2023 (UTC)

I've done a little digging. RePlanet got €1.8m in the last fiscal year, of which €1.7m came from Quadrature Capital and €100k was from Steven Schuurman. Does Quadrature have nuclear holdings? Might do; they're a massive hedge fund with 911 positions. From my skim, they seem to be a fairly 'normal' fund with holdings in both 'dirty' and 'clean' energy [along a lot of other stuff]. Is it an astro? That is a little hard to say; it's a new org and so you've got to grant a little leeway on their narrow funding pool. KarmaPolice (talk) 18:45, 30 August 2023 (UTC)

I was always under the impression that a strong anti-nuclear stance was more prominent among the older hippies. Younger people who got into climate politics, who saw fossil fuels as the big concern, were less fussed and in many cases pro-nuclear. Sure the nuclear lobby will be throwing money around but there is some truth in the difference of opinions regarding nuclear energy between old and young climate activists. Tikitime2 (talk) 08:33, 3 September 2023 (UTC)

Pretty much that. The aspect of the Cold War is also a thing; older folks when they thought of 'nuclear' thought of The Day After, Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. Fukushima has been a big dent, but that was a lot less severe than the '86 disaster, partly because it was handled in a much more competent manner. In Europe at least, the tipping point appears to have been the Ukranian War; now to get off hydrocarbons isn't just 'green', but simply a sensible 'national interest' matter [and to stop giving Putin money] - the UK polling about nuclear energy in late '22 has the highest support for it for decades.

Anyway, if you're looking for greed-based motivations, I would suggest that it's more likely that if RePlanet was a astro, it would be a pro-hydrocarbon one [as Quadrature's holdings appear to be more on oil/gas than green/nuclear]. KarmaPolice (talk) 12:24, 3 September 2023 (UTC)

Murdoch

I wonder if his son will be any different. I doubt it, but we've seen recent shifts in governance of other media properties (NYT for instance) after the heir takes over. Not always in a positive direction. His son could be worse. Chillpilled (talk) 17:11, 21 September 2023 (UTC)

I'm only seeing people say he's massively worse. also this. (っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ Natsuki Marx ♥ (talk) 17:21, 21 September 2023 (UTC)

US government shutdown

I understand from a news channel that it will happen shortly.

How probable is it that 'the usual brinkmanship' fails? Anna Livia (talk) 17:39, 29 September 2023 (UTC)

Armenia

They seem to have been growing apart from Russia the same way that Kazakhstan has, which I don't think was well-expected. I believe a big part of it was lack of Russian/CSTO assistance regarding clashes with Azerbaijan, or something like this. Chillpilled (talk) 22:58, 3 October 2023 (UTC)

That was pretty much the reason. Russia dishonored its alliance. Why stay with an ally like that? Chef Moosolini’s Ristorante Italiano^{Make a Reservation} 23:16, 3 October 2023 (UTC)

Israel-Hamas War Warcrimes

I'm glad someone posted these news stories because I think there's a tendency among this website to treat Hamas as not just a side, but the good guys in the conflict. Also, I've taken a look at the leftist twitter discourse, and I gotta say, the Red-Brown Alliance is alive and well. The fact they dismiss all civilian deaths as "colonizers" (along with their support for Russia) really summarizes why I hate the modern left.-Ryan1257 (talk) 05:58, 9 October 2023 (UTC)

Ok, so does "the left" in general support Russia, or is that a mischaracterization? I'm a leftist and I don't support Russia. Also, Israel is definitely a colonist power. Yes, what Hamas is doing is vile, but Israeli policies have made Gaza literally uninhabitable. I don't think I can fault Palestinian catharsis considering how they are still being ethnically cleansed and having the lion's share of their water and land stolen from them. No doubt the Israeli response is going to include a lot of "collateral damage," because that's simply how Israel operates. The attacks are also motivated by the fact that everyone on the global stage has sold out the Palestinians. It's a hopeless situation. If you were subjected to active apartheid, what would you do? Carthage (talk) 06:07, 9 October 2023 (UTC)

It won't matter what I would supposedly do because all of the good will Palestine had over many decades has now been thrown into the toilet. Now, it's scorched earth against Hamas, and with acts like raping and killing women for fun, I hope they go down very painfully. And the reason I mention what I did is because leftists, especially on social media as well as leftists organizations like the DSA have given tacit approval to killing and raping civilians, and if you endorse the idea that killing civilians is not just an unfortunate feature of war, but a good thing, I don't care about your politics, you're a sick person.Tell me Carthage, how is that family who just saw their daughter's naked corpse strapped to a vehicle by laughing, jeering men, who had probably raped and tortured her before murdering for the fun of it, supposed to feel about the Palestinian cause now?-Ryan1257 (talk) 06:30, 9 October 2023 (UTC)

Where in my post did I endorse Hamas' activities? Hamas' war crimes are counterproductive to the liberation of Palestine, assuming they even care about that. I think you're reading into my post things I never said because you assume leftists automatically support the activities of Hamas and Russia. What pisses me off is when people assume Israel and Hamas are equal. They are not. However, Hamas is still bad. The people of Gaza are going to suffer regardless. All the while Hamas' leadership sits comfortably in the Emirates, sending people off to die. Also, as a survivor of sexual assault myself: please shut the fuck up. I do not empathize in anyway with the actions of Hamas. At the same time, I do not agree that the population of Gaza deserve to be literally bombed off the map. That's genocide, a crime against humanity. Carthage (talk) 06:37, 9 October 2023 (UTC)

One more thing: "Now it's scorched earth against Hamas." So... what does that mean exactly? Gaza is densely populated. Are you advocating for collective punishment? I think anyone advocating for collective punishment is a piece of shit, but I'm going to assume that's not what you're suggesting... Carthage (talk) 06:39, 9 October 2023 (UTC)

First off, I wasn't advocating for genocide, I was saying the likely response by Israel now (and that I don't care about the welfare of Hamas fighters at the moment). And secondly, I've been mainly talking about assholes on twitter and reddit as well as leftist organizations who support this war both because they support Palestinian Liberation and the brutality that Hamas has shown against civilians (who are "settlers", therefore, aren't civilians. A bad precedent if I say so myself). We seem to be in more agreement than disagreement about things though.-Ryan1257 (talk) 07:04, 9 October 2023 (UTC)

Though, I'm pretty much against development support for Palestine now until they remove Hamas. Take Germany for example, since all of their years of help just got them a picture of one of their dead citizens stripped and tied to a car while her murderers cheered.-Ryan1257 (talk) 07:07, 9 October 2023 (UTC)

(EC) Yeah, sorry. The idea that they aren't civilians is bullshit. I sincerely doubt Hamas is for Palestinian liberation. Not many leftists who are safe from the comfort of their armchairs here in the West seemingly realize that. Also I don't think I'm comfortable with punishing civilian populations for the sins of unelected leaders, especially when the situation in Gaza is so.... Gaza is literally like a concentration camp. I fear for the people of Gaza because of this stupid war. On one hand I understand pulling out aid, but I think if the world was fair we'd remove support for Israel as well. They're the ones responsible for illegally occupying the territories and turning Gaza into an open-air concentration camp. Hamas is bad, but so is Israel. If we feel sympathy for Israeli civilians, we should also feel sympathy for the civilian victims of Israeli war crimes and human rights abuses. Carthage (talk) 07:12, 9 October 2023 (UTC)

Also take the time to consider what scorched earth tactics against Gaza would entail. Gaza is extremely densely populated. That will by itself ensure at the very minimum a high civilian casualty rate, and given the IDF's track record I don't trust that they'd care very much to avert that now especially with what's currently going on. Also consider what an effective incentive against recruitment to Hamas would be: Making sure that the people of Gaza receive their basic human needs that the blockade actively denies. Gaza is an open air concentration camp where its people are starving. Of course people are going to be radicalized by that. Cutting off aid is counterproductive and will only help Hamas with its recruitment efforts. Carthage (talk) 07:18, 9 October 2023 (UTC)

Sadly, if we cut aid to Israel, they'd just get closer to Russia and China who'd they'd probably transfer sensitive military technology to in exchange for a variety of support. After all, Russia and China are very understanding when it comes to matters of "dealing" with ethnic minorities. And yeah, I'm fully aware of what scorched earth entails which is why I wish this war hadn't happened. I really hope Palestinians are able to use this time to evacuate. As far as the development aid goes, it won't do anything to stop Hamas if Hamas is the one receiving the aid.-Ryan1257 (talk) 07:28, 9 October 2023 (UTC)

I hate Hamas so fucking much. Carthage (talk) 07:30, 9 October 2023 (UTC)

A lot of nut-picking and straw-maning of the nebulous chimera that is the "modern left" going on here. I suppose though it's difficult to feel superior to people you disagree with if you don't get to just make shit up about them first. The idea that "the modern left" loves Hamas, supports Russia and thinks killing civilians is a good thing is bullshit. Terminally online nutballs on reddit (many of whom may not even be out of highschool, nevermind of voting age) are not good barometers of any movement... ...social media is renowned for its tendency to over-represent such individuals which is why insightful commentary on the state of a given political movement rarely justifies itself with "BuT i Saw Sum1 0n RedD1t say dah B@d Fing!!". Tikitime2 (talk) 20:18, 29 October 2023 (UTC)

Haitian Political Crisis

As many of you know, Haiti is currently in a political & social crisis, with widespread crime & zero elected officials still in office. The page on Haiti was outdated, as it didn't acknowledge this, aside from saying that the US Government has a travel advisory against this. But I don't think everything on this Wiki should be from a US-American perspective. I added a mention of the current crisis in the article introduction, and removed the bronze label, as I don't think it's warranted until the article is better updated to reflect the current crisis. --LiamM32 (talk) 04:34, 24 October 2023 (UTC)

Feel free to revamp it yourself. Carthage (talk) 04:42, 24 October 2023 (UTC)

Royal Navy, Chinese servants

What? Chillpilled (talk) 10:41, 24 October 2023 (UTC)

That was my reaction entirely. Carthage (talk) 10:42, 24 October 2023 (UTC)

North Korean IT Workers

The tagline is confusing. Maybe someone could clarify that it's about foreign IT workers working for US companies. Especially since apnews.com is down right now. Thanks! --Äxl (talk) 18:33, 31 October 2023 (UTC)

Indonesian pyramid

The unpublished date has been called "fringe" by archaeologists. Should we really be featuring fringe pseudoarchaeology from an unpublished study featuring dubious methodology? Carthage (talk) 17:38, 3 November 2023 (UTC)

Feel free to remove it if you'd like, i wouldn't knowingly post non-credible information (っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ Natsuki Marx ♥ (talk) 10:17, 4 November 2023 (UTC)

Correction for recent Trump article

The article about Trump "winning all 50 states" has an editor’s note attached to the end of it:

"This story has been updated to make clear that Donald Trump was referring to the Republican primaries ahead of the 2020 US election in comments he made about winning every state, rather than the election result itself. He does, however, continue to repeat his baseless claims that "the whole election is a lie"."

185.213.154.244 (talk) 23:01, 7 November 2023 (UTC)

All Greek to me

Is this WIGO-worthy? Anna Livia (talk) 20:39, 10 November 2023 (UTC)

Vatican firing Texan

How much do you want to bet this is going to start another schism a la the Old Catholic Church? Carthage (talk) 19:18, 11 November 2023 (UTC)

Twitter again

Musk's self-outing couldn't have come at a worse (or better, depending on if you're Musk or not) time. Carthage (talk) 20:15, 17 November 2023 (UTC)

If I was running a car company that was making electric vehicles, I’d immediately get my marketing company working on ads saying that Tesla is owned by a Nazi sympathizer. Too bad the actual companies don’t have the balls. Chef Moosolini’s Ristorante Italiano^{Make a Reservation} 21:01, 17 November 2023 (UTC)

Considering the recent self-outing, you don't even have to add "sympathizer" anymore lmao. Musk's such a tool. Carthage (talk) 21:16, 17 November 2023 (UTC)

Musk needs to stop feeding Russia. Hasn't Canada already filled Russia's belly? MayGodSaveUsAll (talk) 22:29, 17 November 2023 (UTC)

This outcome has been, for months now, about as unexpected as a geyser from adding mentos to Diet Coke. I'm not sure where these companies thought this was going, but "those anti-white Jews shouldn't be shocked their hordes of minorities turned on them" (more or less actual paraphrasing of the tweet he endorsed), is not a surprising end-point for him to land on. Did people think trans people would be the first and last targets? Well, there's your result. And he's been inching up to it for a while now — was the ADL scrap not a warning shot? The implicit endorsements of Keith Woods and Monitoring Bias? It was so predictable. Chillpilled (talk) 22:26, 18 November 2023 (UTC)

"There are no prosecutions to women who have an abortion"

Am I just confused by the twisty wording of this sentence, or does that really contradict not only the article at hand but a certain recent case? Chillpilled (talk) 22:59, 27 November 2023 (UTC)

That's why I keep making grammatical corrections to WIGO World, especially to the contributions of the frequent editor whose user name identifies him in French as being a "European guy". But in this case, the sentence was also untrue, so I removed it. Spud (talk) 00:11, 28 November 2023 (UTC)

Holocaust denial

Possibly related:

• "No, One-Third of (18-24s) Don't Actually Think Earth Is Flat" (might want to re-evaluate that one...)
• "Gen Z and millennials more likely to believe fake news than Boomers" — "Curiously, the longer participants spent online for fun, the greater their likelihood of believing fake news."

Generational stereotypes don't always hold up.

Possible caveat: all three of these studies (the two above and the one that asked about the Holocaust) were partly to entirely conducted by YouGov. Chillpilled (talk) 06:45, 10 December 2023 (UTC)

The second one I'd love to take a closer look at. Gen Z and Milennial digital consumption habits are very different with Gen Z's form of internet usage being a lot more app-based. Tikitime2 (talk) 00:13, 14 January 2024 (UTC)

X reinstates Alex Jones' account

So, Elon Musk reinstated Alex Jones' X (formerly Twitter) account. Is this noteworthy enough to be featured on the WIGO World page? TheRationalGamer (talk) 23:48, 10 December 2023 (UTC)

I think this is clogs territory. Carthage (talk) 23:54, 10 December 2023 (UTC)

I made an entry on it there. It's extra astounding since Elon hosted a talk with Alex Jones and he lied about what he said on Sandy Hook there again. Chillpilled (talk) 13:47, 12 December 2023 (UTC)

technical voting problem with two recent issues

world30293355054258 ID seems to connect to two different issues ^{— Unsigned, by: 193.36.225.184 / talk / contribs}

Middle East Eye

I wasn't aware that MEE was a Muslim Brotherhood rag, but I did some digging afterward and found that a lot of the allegations were coming from Saudi outlets, at least according to their Wikipedia page. Media Bias Fact Check for their part list MEE as "mostly factual." Does anyone have more information available? Carthage (talk) 21:34, 21 December 2023 (UTC)

That wasn't just a Saudi accusation but also from Egypt, Bahrain and UAE. This was part of a wider diplomatic dispute (see: Qatar diplomatic crisis) that happened a few years ago where other countries in the area confronted Qatar over its backing of terrorist groups. Chillpilled (talk) 22:40, 21 December 2023 (UTC)

Thanks. Carthage (talk) 22:42, 21 December 2023 (UTC)

For what it's worth, Reporters Without Borders released a "report" critical of the campaign against Al Jazeera and MEE: [2] Carthage (talk) 00:19, 22 December 2023 (UTC)

I originally heard about it from an Egyptian guy (who probably heard it from the mainstream Egyptian newspapers he seems to read). Since it's an open secret how nuts Al Jazeera is in its Arabic edition, I figured it was plausible. Personally I just avoid it if possible due to that but like Al Jazeera English, I don't consider it totally unusable. Chillpilled (talk) 01:38, 22 December 2023 (UTC)

NRA Shrinking Bittersweet

While I'm glad to see this horrible organization decline, I feel like it's because they've already accomplished their goals, guns aren't going to be regulated more strictly for the foreseeable future and the courts have the most expansive interpretation of gun rights in US history. School shootings, which rightfully used to cause a lot of emotional outpouring and were often one of the few events to renew the conversation on gun control, yet now, they remain tragic for a week before the news cycle abandons them. It's not even a fringe opinion among the right anymore to claim mass shootings are just false flags. The NRA doesn't need to exist because they won.-Ryan1257 (talk) 19:48, 7 January 2024 (UTC)

North Korea

Don't like that one. Reunification was one of the main things that could still be agreed on even with the poor state of diplomacy with NK. Chillpilled (talk) 08:15, 16 January 2024 (UTC)

Just fuck that country. I don't know what its governmen's values are, but they seem to be a bunch of people who want to be stuck in 1900s. I swear, their conservative authoritarianism is due to their culture than communism. 🇷🇸 Serbian Arbiter (What would you have your arbiter do?) 01:10, 19 January 2024 (UTC)

Libs of Tiktok (Chaya)

I'm now curious. Did Chaya even attend a public school, or did she go to one of those Chabadnik private religious schools where they often don't even meet math/science instruction standards? To be fair I may have heard something about such schools giving better education to girls than boys, which would be quirky. Chillpilled (talk) 13:07, 24 January 2024 (UTC)

Giving her that job seems like a blatant case of state-sponsored Wingnut welfare.-Ryan1257 (talk) 15:16, 24 January 2024 (UTC)

I don't think her full background has been revealed, but given all we know (Raichik last name, Orthodox Jew) I would say the chances are pretty high that Chaya never attended public school and instead attended Chabad orthodox instruction. There's a fair bit of MAGA Orthodox Jews out there these days [3]. That Oklahoma appointment is definitely appeal to celebrity type wingnut welfare, something that will help continue the trend of Oklahoma's schools being ranked as the worst in the country.

Now, to me, the MAGA-Orthodox Jew alignment is honestly quite puzzling to me given the quite virulent antisemitism in multiple corners of MAGA. It's like the virulent homophobia shared between MAGA and the Orthodox blinds them to the parallels between ye olde fascism and ye new Ruscism, I guess. (That and the unhinged, often incoherent cherry-picked anger in Chaya's case matching with the unhinged, often incoherent cherry-picked Fox News style anger of MAGA. What does Orthodox Judaism have to say about that sort of temper?) BobJohnson (talk) 16:12, 24 January 2024 (UTC)

Chabad is a special type of Orthodox, specifically they're a type of ultra-Orthodox (or Haredi). They're known for their outreach centers which are all over the world, and that's probably their biggest link to the wider Jewish community. Theology-wise, they have some strange quirks. In terms of Holocaust theology I think they're some of the ones who argue the Jews deserved it because God ultimately did it and God is flawless. I am not kidding here, things really get sort of dicey when theologians start dissecting the Holocaust (one of the stranger escape hatches here I've seen is claiming Hitler was an Amalekite or something). I do want to be clear I'm not calling Chabad antisemitic or Nazis (as some people do claim) but I do think their theology on the subject was kind of an absurdity. Edit, based on their own word they hold another position on Holocaust theology so I may have been incorrect. There are others who out of extreme deference to God have an unusual position.

Then you've got the people who think the Lubavitch rabbi was the messiah. And with the recent bizarre tunnel story, you had the internet antisemites hop on it with conspiracy theories; meanwhile Chabad are in fact the international Right's biggest foothold of sorts among religious Jewry. As to how that alignment with right-wing culture warriors squares with Jewish religious ethics, it doesn't. But they continue on anyway. Chaya to me represents people willing to sacrifice Jewish religious values for political partisanship, to advance hatred in the world. But that's just playing catch-up with the Christians who were already doing the same thing, isn't it? And then you do have evangelical Christians and Chabadniks who are going to be left-wing despite all of this; but we can try to dissect a little bit where the relative sympathy for the right-wing comes from. It's perhaps not totally out of nowhere. Chillpilled (talk) 16:25, 24 January 2024 (UTC)