Sucking Up Every Line of Snow Cain Offers : Palin Addition

The news is out that McCynical has chosen Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be a short breath away from the presidency. On the one hand, and at first hearing the news, it almost seems like a smart move. Picking a woman with an independent streak, and one so young, can offset certain McCain deficiencies. The fact that she is solidly conservative helps McCain's standing among the hardcore in his party.

But the more you observe the choice, the more you realize how absurd it is. In addition to finding someone thoroughly lacking in experience, he is working under the assumption that women voters, particularly Democratic women voters, will prove highly emotional and lacking in good judgment. In a pander to the masses of women upset over Senator Hillary Clinton losing the nomination, he is assuming these women will neglect the issues that made them choose Hillary in the first place. Will the ploy work?

Of course all of this is hard for us here at BALT to take. Being conservative, we really have no business being on the Obama bus, but then again, between the economy and international difficulties, we remain somewhat concerned that the path of the past, and especially the attitudes of the past, won't make for smooth travels going forward. We hardly blame Bush for the economy, which has performed rather well given certain uncontrollable factors (Katrina, 911, collapse of the dot.com that unwound all the fake jobs created under Clinton, the necessity of lower interest rates to spur the economy early on). However, we work under the assumption that government spending will invariably rise, and the wiser candidate will be the one who is not merely proposing tax cuts, and the wrong kind, without any increases or offsets. Thus the position McCain is putting forward is not unlike the existing climate, where deficits continue to grow. At least former President Clinton, while receiving undue acclaim for job creation, had as a goal the balancing of the budget.

Nor do we expect McCain to push the issue of abortion, an issue that has often guided our voting in the past. Abortion has always been issue number one, before moving to a candidates other positions. But having experienced 20 years of Republicans unable to move law or public opinion, we hardly want to base our future vote on that issue alone when so many other problems are pressing.

McCain, the so-called maverick, has been the master of multiple faces; two faced if you will. For while savaging and mocking his opposition, he took Obama's nomination moment to run a commercial of congratulations. It was a calculated move to pop his face in on the event and say, "Look at me being respectful." And that was one day indeed. He has used all his energy to run this campaign of mockery, while simultaneously courting a supposed Christian crowd who ought to have a bit of skepticism toward the tactics, but have been largely applauding like sheep in the shed, or like addicts sucking up every line of snow Cain offers. McCain has reversed on nearly every position that previously won him acclaim, in a desperate desire to be president. Lacking the courage of his own convictions, he daily masks himself in strange mantels better worn by authentic candidates.

Huckabee at least had the honest convictions and beliefs that would have left us enthused, and with our vote correctly deposited. For while being conservative, there was a softness and pragmatism that would have gone over well in actually interacting with a world that must be met halfway.

And now McCain picks the governor of a state with a population the size of Obama's previous congressional district to push the artifice that this woman is prepared to run the show if and when he kicks the bucket. This woman, lacking Obama's experience, education, intellect, and organizational ability will be there, from this day forward, undercutting McCain's previous thrust that Obama himself was not qualified to run the nation.

Right now McCain is probably euphoric, feeling slick in his choice and assumption that nearly everyone is stupid. He is snowing Christian conservatives. He is snowing former Hillary supporters. He is snowing himself, at every turn fleeing his own center. Eventually enough people will realize what is at hand, will get their faces off the glass, stand up, and say "Not another line this time."

Bombast for/against Obama

In a move that might offend more than it inspires, presidential candidate Obama prepares a grand entrance in a set that may or may not bring to mind both a Greek temple and the White House. The Althouse blog wonders if the candidate will end up looking not quite how he intends. Or does he not realize that smaller will be better at this point in the campaign?  When people--wrongly--are accusing you of a big head, you don't Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade that head far above the people on the streets.

On the other hand, I would not be at all surprised if the descriptions of Obama's coming presentation are being spun by the very same forces working to paint him as an elitist. At the end of this process, there will be a lot of really dirty hands in need of a good dehandification (hand removal).

Roving Mouths, Listening Ears: Afghanistan, Russia Challenge

Two events in the news today.

In the first, the U.N. came out today stating that among the 90 civilians killed in western Afghanistan last Thursday were some 60 children.

The United Nations team visited the scene and interviewed survivors and local officials and elders, getting a name, age and gender of each person reported killed. The team reported that 15 people had been injured in the air strikes, which occurred in the middle of the night. The numbers closely match those given by a government commission sent from Kabul to investigate the bombing, which put the total dead at up to 95.

Of course the mistake, if true, only complicates our task there.

The other event was Russia unilaterally deciding to recognize two Russian leaning provinces in Georgia. The N.Y Times reports:

Acting a day after Russia’s Parliament unanimously supported the enclaves’ request to secede, President Dmitri A. Medvedev announced that he had signed decrees recognizing the two territories’ independence. He blamed the Georgian president, Mikheil Saakashvili, for causing the bloodshed and forcing Moscow’s hand.

The responses by Germany, the United States and France to this action was along the lines of criticizing the action for being in violation of "territorial integrity" and "principles of international law."

With these two situations we have what might be considered the outcomes of "American tactical shortsightedness."  In the case of Afghanistan, we can argue (as candidate Obama has pointed out) that Iraq has diverted resources, thus reducing our ability to conduct necessary tasks with minimal collateral damage (though such civilian deaths are always the fixed factor in war and not a marker for the worth of a war). With Russia we see the result of the West's arbitrary and subjective elevation of "freedom" over sovereignty.  This ethnic determinism is masked under the brand "democracy," thus exposing us to the law of unintended consequences as each ethnic group around the world discovers its inner democrat.

Do the candidates currently running for president in the United States offer the listening ear, or the roving mouth, and which will serve us best going forward in the international arena?  Domestic policy is the life of the single person, but international policy is much like a relationship where give and take, good communication and strong commitment are paramount.

(We would also like to add that we think the military was thoroughly capable of handling both the Iraq war and the Afghani situation, if not for bad execution on the part of the former defense secretary in Iraq. Thus we see Obama's viewpoint as only one version of many possible correct viewpoints. In other words, you cannot badly run two wars and succeed easily, but you can still succeed while fighting two fronts).

Sunday Morning

Hope
by Emily Brontë

Hope Was but a timid friend;
She sat without the grated den,
Watching how my fate would tend,
Even as selfish-hearted men.

She was cruel in her fear;
Through the bars one dreary day,
I looked out to see her there,
And she turned her face away!

Like a false guard, false watch keeping,
Still, in strife, she whispered peace;
She would sing while I was weeping;
If I listened, she would cease.

False she was, and unrelenting;
When my last joys strewed the ground,
Even Sorrow saw, repenting,
Those sad relics scattered round;

Hope, whose whisper would have given
Balm to all my frenzied pain,
Stretched her wings, and soared to heaven,
Went, and ne'er returned again!

America and China Expand, Russia Seethes

In exchange for security guarantees from the United States, the Polish government signed on to the American defense shield by agreeing to host ten interceptor rockets; the Czech Republic gets the radar. Moscow remains profoundly offended, as they should be, though in the end, they should also realize that America is primarily concerned with smoothing out the world for commerce, and not conquest.

This process of militarily colonizing former Russian satellites has been going on for some time and tends to capture all the headlines and attention, but there are other such actions going on all over, including here in the United States. The Chinese, in particular, are focusing there economic guns in our direction, according to this CNN report by reporter David Ellis:

Now more Chinese banks, bolstered by a booming economy and recently forged alliances with big Western players, are eyeing a stateside presence.

Earlier this month, the Federal Reserve gave the go-ahead to Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China's largest lender, to open a wholesale banking operation in New York - a sign that some experts say could herald a wave of other Chinese banks entering the United States.

Chinese banks have been performing relatively well the first half of 2008, though profits are expected to be impacted by a slowing world economy, with exposure to the United States trickling back to affect China's banking performance. Such business ups and downs go with the territory, and the territory is worldwide.

The expansion of banking into the United States by mainland Chinese banks is but one part of the growing influence that China has on the United States. They buy our government bonds and prop up our struggling firms, in addition to selling us more goods than a dead broke nation should be buying.

Which is why observing China is so important. The correct observation to note is that while the United States is placing enormous efforts in expanding American military might, other nations, and the Chinese in particular, are placing great emphasis on getting the economics right (or as right as a philosophically communist government can get it).

Even Russia's attempts to regain some "hand", some influence, are not focused on the type of efforts that will insure long term prosperity; Russia has stumbled into recent wealth by virtue of vast energy assets, but those assets maintain their value in part by the deliberate and careful economic expansion by neighbors like China and India and other nations.

It can certainly be argued that American military influence is the foundation for economic prosperity, but too often the focus is singular. The last thing we want to do is become a prisoner of war, by getting the focus wrong.

Non-Daily Daily Roundup

In tough Sunday morning talk, Defense Secretary Gates and Secretary of State Rice warned Russia that they will face consequences for entering Georgia and dragging derriere in getting out ... the question to ask is, are we considering the theoretical consequences of our theoretical consequences? Prolly not. Perhaps we should threaten to place missiles in Poland, or try to convert all their former allies to members of Nato. Oh wait... been there, done that.

Wall Street is considering the consequences of all this. Or rather, the N.Y. Sun is suggesting that Wall Streeters are worried about consequences, and particularly, a new Cuban missile crisis. It would in fact be a good idea right about now for Putin to test the waters as we are sure the significance of such an act would be lost on people who see no problem with the United States arming Russian border nations with troops, money and missiles. If I would be Putin, I would be put'in missiles places, just to heighten the hypocrisy level all around.

"People laughed — and not without reason," (N.Y. Times), so now you know that when wisdom greets people in the face, they often have no eyes to see, ears to hear, or imagination enough to believe in things they can't see (God's particular predicament in dealing with humans). But this was not God just an economist, New York University professor Nouriel Roubini, who back in September of 2006 was warning people about the coming housing and derivative market shake-out. At the time it seemed impossible, with one economist noting in response, "Roubini’s predictions did not make use of mathematical models." See, sometimes you just have to believe and not trust yourself, or the math.

Let's away from all that negative stuff. After all, prophets of doom always are prophets of doom, no? So I offer blueberries. Not just any blueberries, but berries from Maine. This is a bold step for this writer, given the massive amount of fear that flooded my soul as a five year old upon seeing the original Willy Wonka film with Violet Beauregarde turning into a blueberry girl. That scared me something awful, leading me away from the blue balls for years to come. But I am better now. So much so that I will give you the very berries that tortured me so, to soothe your economic worrying soul. Go on. Eat them. Eat them all.

Friday I'm In Love, Bush and Putin Swept Away In War

Last night a warm rain stumbled across Palindrome (Arizona) and it seemed a good moment to venture out in the elements and get away from the reality in my head. We found ourselves over at the AMC multiplex downtown, catching the Will Smith flick Hancock. My friend always has a ready supply of free passes from his job at a place I call Candyland; between the free movie passes, the three hour lunches and the morale building team jaunts to visit the museum of non-productivity, it amazes me that he ever goes home to his family at all at the end of the day. The theatre was mighty empty, a plus, and as we entered a twenty-something was exiting with his girlfriend, her huge chest falling out of a plunging tight black blouse.

I realized I don't get out enough, suddenly faint and dizzy with the concession stand blurry in front of me. The hobbit sized man with just a finger and thumb took half our tickets and directed us to the far screen.  We picked up some not very hot popcorn and not extremely cold soda and joined the only other three people in theatre: two plump ladies and what appeared to be a four year old.

Once out of the film, the real world was there to greet, and of course you know what I mean. Look to the left this morning and we have Wal-Mart telling of slowing markets, and glancing to the right we see the newspaper industry continuing to take hits, this time with Gannett losing 1,000 staffers; they are the publishers of the hometown Arizona Republic. (Notice, "the" hometown, not MY hometown, which is still in my mind, Queens, NY where I grew up).

Meanwhile, President Bush has called on Russia to stop their bullying of Georgia,  while simultaneously announcing the extension of U.S. military influence, via a  missile shield this time, ever closer to Russian borders.  While the United States has argued in the past that Russia has nothing to fear from Nato, and that Nato is not about Russia (with Nato tanks presumably intended to be lobbed via catapult into the Middle East instead), the details speak otherwise:

A senior Pentagon official described an unusual part of this quid pro quo: an American Patriot battery would be moved from Germany to Poland, where it would be operated by a crew of about 100 American military personnel members. The expenses would be shared by both nations. American troops would join the Polish military, at least temporarily, at the front lines — facing east toward Russia.

The West (ever benevolent) assumes that Russia should have no fear, presumably the way we would all sit casual if Russia built bases on Cuba, and dropped missile shields in Mexico; or would that not be permitted to happen in a million years?  All these many years since the fall of the Soviet empire, we have asked them to trust us, while simultaneously not trusting.  Russia is lead now by Prime Minister Putin precisely because we set up a series of policies of distrust and military expansion, while speaking peace.

As presented in this expansive article in The Age:

Under Russia's hardline president-turned-prime minister, Vladimir Putin, the Russian Bear is reasserting itself after almost two decades of chaos and what it sees as humiliation by the West. A major energy producer and one of the world's most populous and militarily powerful nations, Russia wants respect.

And Moscow — greatly angered over Western-imposed independence for Kosovo against its own strong protests — has chosen to move now at a time when the United States and other major Western powers, mired in Iraq, Afghanistan and a global economic slump, cannot fight back — economically or militarily.

"I think this is a war that is much less about objective objectives as it is about emotional objectives," says Lawrence Sheets, a 20-year veteran of the region and its post-Soviet civil wars. He is in a cramped office in Tbilisi with the International Crisis Group, located above a US-backed collection centre for supplies for war victims.

The above are all problems and policies that my night at the movies will hardly obscure, but it's Friday and I am in momentary love with actress Charlize Theron.  In a film filled with incoherent backstory about its superheroes, CGI that could have been created by trade school graphics class, and one uneccessarily vulgar moment that was instantaneously humorous but retrospectively disgusting, Theron's appearance was subdued and perfectly calibrated to soothe your soul, calm the bear, and make you want her. She was the angelic opposite of the boobliska exiting the movies as we arrived.

I won't do a total breakdown of the film since it was very slight and hardly worthy even as a confection, but I did manage to dig out a problem.  Lately we have been pointing out how blacks are used in many films; they have appeared particularly "pontificatory" yet unable to fight well or stay alive in such films as 300 and even TheDark Knight.

Here we have Will Smith, America's leading black actor, so we can hardly imagine him getting his derriere kicked, or not having the last laugh.  Box office assures him a level of power that most other actors, regardless of race or sex, will never have.  But it occurred to me during that massive sex scene two thirds of the way through the movie between Smith and Theron that even here the black actor loses, despite winning (in paycheck).  How so, and what sex scene and what movie was I looking at?

You have a lone male superhero, the last of his kind. Nobody can stop him. Yet in the end, he must remain a servant, a slave to mankind, stopping their petty fights and saving them from danger. Yes he has a hot wife, but science and scripting and incoherent thinking have structured a world where if he gets the woman-- in this case the white woman-- he grows weak.  Not to mention the fact that she can, if she wishes, beat the daylights out of him. It's odd actually, given the fact that he was the one who rescued  her during several lifetimes.  Our jolly Mr. Smith is reduced to immortal stalker, showing up in her life and at times seemingly unwanted.

When they finally get together to have a talk and explain themselves to each other, she shows up at his place in her sexiest-of-the-film outfit, and they proceed to tumble across L.A. much like in a scene from the original "Swept Away," although she never gets to the point where she says, you know... oh go Netlix THAT film.

The screenwriters pushed all the sexuality out the back door, giving us a fight scene as substitute, and stuffing the film with cute kids and PG-13 ridiculousness when in fact a tighter, better, more poignant film could have been created with the comedy still intact.

Bottom line lesson though: Even if you are a superhero, if black, you still won't get the girl, and certainly not the white girl, and certainly, certainly not the white blond girl. You will end up alone, playing with your bird, sitting atop a tall pointy building, slave to the world which drags you down.

Putin Finger in West's Blind Eye

Well let's see what we have here.  The Soviet Union falls apart, and all those nations and ethnicities gathered under its wings begin to choose their own path.  The United States and Europe immediately begin to assure Russia that we have no evil intent by encouraging all these newly independent nations to move closer to the West and join Nato. "Trust us," we tell Russia, while encouraging everyone to go their own way, and shipping our dollars and weapons their way.

Nevermind the fit we would throw if Russia reloaded in Cuba, or Venezuela, or pushed to place a missile shield in Mexico.  How can you compare, when the United States by virtue of being the United States is always, always right (and just, and fair)  if not quite empathetic or a practitioner of a consistent and realistic foreign policy? Hmmm.

When Yugoslavia went to pieces, we encouraged the breakup, and further encouraged Montenegro to split from the remaining stump of Yugoslavia that was Serbia.  Montenegro declared independence in June of 2006, and with wide western support, and much to Serb unhappiness.  If that was not enough, we further encouraged the breakaway of Kosovo from Serbia, splitting world opinion down the middle. 

Now we have a funhouse mirror situation in Georgia, with areas of that nation wishing to be somewhat autonomous, and with the West-leaning Georgia pulling a Serbia,  keeping up the pressure to keep all peoples and lands in house.  Here the roles are reversed with Russia supporting those who want a level of independence (for whatever reason) and the U.S. making noises about national sovereignty and the integrity of borders.

What we have here, is a mess.  The type of mess you get when one pursues policies for others that one is not willing to live by oneself.  As we pointed out previously, our decisions around Serbia and other places would come to haunt us, or rather, complicate our integrity going forward.  

We seriously have to start thinking through foreign policy, and asking ourselves, "Are we willing for others to do as we do?" and if not, do not.  Putin will be blamed, but Putin is not wrong. 

Market Jumps Up, Fed Sits On Hands

The market ended Tuesday up 331 points. Why?  A bit of euphoria over oil prices reaching new lower highs (as opposed to true lows).  The rationale is that inflation could be ebbing, freeing the Fed to think less about tightening rates.  With scary sounds from the bush behind you, and quicksand in front of you, the best option is to do nothing.  The benchmark Fed funds rate will stay fixed at 2%, an outcome obvious to everyone.  The N.Y. Times suggests the Fed is less worried about inflation than about a weakening economy:

That move was expected. What drew the attention of Wall Street analysts was the policy makers’ decision to partly reverse the assessment of the economy they had issued after their last meeting. In June, the bankers had ratcheted up their worries about inflation while declaring that the downside pressure on the economy seemed to have diminished.

The Fed put it this way:

Although downside risks to growth remain, the upside risks to inflation are also of significant concern to the committee. The committee will continue to monitor economic and financial developments and will act as needed to promote sustainable economic growth and price stability.

The Conference Board expressed concern that unemployment could cross 6% in early 2009, so any sustained rally in the stock market seems unrealistic.  As we have stated before, financial stocks will eventually move upward, and oil prices down,  converging at some happy profit point for those who time it right, but there are a lot of moving parts in this economy and too many of them are not moving in the right direction.  We think of the recent talk of Alt-A loans coming under increasing default pressure, which can only increase as labor problems move in front of financial system worries. 

We also note the increased rhetoric over oil by the politicians, while prices are beginning to slack out.  It would seem to us unwise for any candidate to get so specific as to policy solutions when everything is in such flux; broad themes and long term policy should be the order of the day in order to avoid falling into situational flip flops.

The economy is no sitting donkey, waiting for an easy solution to be pinned to rear. 

The most interesting bit of news can be found in the recent performance of HSBC, the British banking giant.  They managed to see their profits fall 29% in the first half of the year (according to CNN), leaving them with $7.7 billion in gains.

They remain profitable despite having bought their way into the front of the American subprime market with the 2003 aquisition of Household International Inc.  The offset to this disastrous business decision in the United States has been their deep and rising presence in the Asian markets, providing a good portion of their yearly profits.

With this one company you see the wisdom of diversity, at the same time that many American financial concerns are considering selling off various profitable business units to raise capital.  Why auto makers overseas andHSBC can outperform American automakers and Citibank here, and with all American execs at higher pay scales, is a question to contemplate as we head into our fall season.

Weekend in China: Ron Paul Edition

Rarely, rarely do we get words of wisdom from political figures, and Ron Paul has never been a true delight to us, him being borderline mentally drifty and attracting the delusional. But every now and then the gift of wisdom passes over a person, and out comes something that definately needs to be said.

As we grow closer to the Olympics in Beijing, it seems that interest is decidely low key among friends and those we enounter, and in part this is due to the times in which we live. Attentions are not focused on three television networks anymore and there is much to distract people; the world and the media is much more fragmented,  with the internet and other activities competing for people's attention.

That probably cannot be said of the population in China and Chinese around the world, who are at a moment in their history where they are trying to define themselves to the world, and finally able to sit down at the big people table saying, "Here we are." It has been a long deliberate absence, and a welcome arrival.

Sure there are concerns about human rights, ultimate intentions of the Chinese leadership (as in world domination), comptetition with the United States, but we are not going to be the ones to begrudge the Chinese things that we have all taken for granted in our own lives or in our own nation's development. Was has been good for us,  should be good for them.

Leave it to the United States House of Representatives to attempt to stick their foot in it all at time when so many more pressing issues are zooming down onto the American collective head like a brick in a suicidal diving competition. And what did our government do to China while ignoring more pressing matters overhead?

The House passed a 12 pointresolution condemning Chinese human rights practices, and urged George Bush to speak out both before and during the Olympic ceremonies.

"Calling on the Government of the People’s Republic of China to immediately end abuses of the human rights of its citizens, to cease repression of Tibetan and Uighur citizens, and to end its support for the Governments of Sudan and Burma to ensure that the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games take place in an atmosphere that honors the Olympic traditions of freedom and openness.”

It would seem China has to work really fast, today being, well August 4th,  and with a mere four days left for them to completely overhaul their modus operandi.

Enter Ron Paul (via Xinhua, the Chinese government media arm naturally) with a more astute assessment of what should be the priorities of our elected officials:

"I rise in opposition to this resolution, which is yet another meaningless but provocative condemnation of China. It is this kind of jingoism that has led to such a low opinion of the United States abroad,"

And the wisdom of Apostle Paul continues:

"The Bible cautions against pointing out the speck in a neighbor's eye while ignoring the log in one's own. I suggest we contemplate this sound advice before bringing up such ill-conceived resolutions in the future,"

Part of Paul's concerns are that we have very real problems going on both in the country and abroad in places like Iraq, and that some of our actions can be perceived as hypocritical by other nations.  It is a point well made. The Chinese response was typically florid, calling our actions "odius".

*

In other semi-Chinese news,  at least nine mountain climbers are believed to be dead on K2, the mountain that straddles Pakistan's border with China.  The Pakistani military seems to be casually contemplating a resue attempt, but not actually hustling to show effort, since little can really be done.  Which is good, because, NOTHING should be done. 

If you climb a dangerous mountain, where natural stuff can happen that kills you, then you should be prepared to make your grave in the pool of your own stupidity.  It's like the people who insist on climbing the small mountains in Phoenix. They get up there and somehow manage to forget water, gps, compass, working cell, food, while ignoring the blazing heat, forcing helicopters to come to the rescue.

People, stay off the mountains, and watch the Olympics or see a movie, or find Jesus to make you happy. 

N.Y. Times "Malwebolence" Can Bore You to Death

I am not sure what the point of Mattathias Schwartz's "Malwebolence" story is, beyond being a typical N.Y. Times word fad-fart piece that attempts to ride internet related themes in order to generate readership. Many words enslaved,  building a seven page tower of zzzzzzzzzzzz.

At best the article seems to have trouble distinguishing between trolls, typical hackers, and outright criminality, and at worst, it's a rather boring read, at the end leaving uninteresting questions thankfully unanswered in any depth. 

The more you read, you wonder if the "trolls" he is interviewing, and whose homes he is camping out in, are playing a simple hoax on the author, who seems wide-eyed (or lazy) enough to be entirely lacking in journalistic curiosity.

A fellow named Jason Fortuny is profiled, and his claim to impressive fame seems to be his prank of posting a fake sex ad and outing the respondents. He topped that by creating a fake website that mocked a 13 year old that committed suicide. After getting justifiable death threats, Fortuny assures us that “Anyone who knows who and where you are is a security hole ... I own a gun. I have an escape route. If someone comes, I’m ready.” Someone should test that out because I am betting that if he was not trying to be so publically anonymous, his ass would have been kicked seven ways to sundown. 

The author moves on to the story of another young man. But what is the point of telling us that a chap named Weev has lost $10K in commodities speculation, without offering any level of proof? Proof would make Weev's later claim, that "As a member of a group of hackers called “the organization,” which ... bring in upward of $10 million annually ... he can wreak ruin from anywhere," that much more interesting. Otherwise it's all a bunch of been there, lied like that too. 

Something that would be just dandy fascinating if remotely true becomes sleepy dull if veracity is in doubt.

In introducing this independently wealthy Weev, we are half told the story of a female who runs an online troll archive who gets into trouble with the trolls she is profiling. She calls on Weev, but the author does not bother to tell us how Weev actually resolved the young lady's difficulties. That little introductory story is dropped, denying us any ability to understand Weev's reputation or skill set, if any.

What we have is just another Times puff piece that attempts to ride buzzwords and trends without having a clear idea of where it is going or the depth of the reality it is attempting to portray. It's a bait and switch piece, offering something potentially interesting and substituting banal observations that offer no enlightenment on the dubiously contrived subject at hand.

Readers probably deserve better.