Whole Foods is Anti-Socialism, North Korean Escape, Congressional Anti-Semitism, Disney+ Eats Everything (The Five for 11/30/20)

Hey,

Welcome back from the Thanksgiving break.

Just a couple of notes before we dive in. The first is that I’m taking a break from social media for December, both in keeping with the (mostly forgotten) Christian tradition of fasting from something for Advent, as well as to work on some new writing.

You’ll still see me broadcasting into Facebook, YouTube, etc. on Thursday nights as I continue to work on the student loans startup…but I won’t be there outside of responding to comments during the live video.

On to The Five.

[one]

Didn’t see this one coming. Whole Foods CEO John Mackey has come out as a staunch defender of capitalism, when many large companies are bowing to far left ideas due to pressure from a tiny fraction of social media users (mainly on Twitter). Fox Business Reports:

Mackey said that the “single biggest misunderstanding about business and capitalism” was the notion that businesses exist solely to make money, noting that “until we get this corrected, capitalism is always going to be disdained and criticized and attacked.”

"It needs to evolve,” Mackey said of the business culture. “Otherwise, the socialists are going to take over — that's how I see it, and that's the path of poverty. They talk about trickle-down wealth, but socialism is trickle-up poverty. It just impoverishes everything. That's my fear, that the Marxists and socialists, the academic community is generally hostile to business. It always has been. This is not new."

“It will be attacked for its motivations because its motivations are seen as somehow they’re impure and yes, of course, business has to make money, business doesn’t make money it’ll fail, but that doesn’t mean that’s its purpose to make money,” he continued. “A good way to explain it is, my body has to produce red blood cells and if I stop producing red blood cells I’m going to die, but just because I have to make red blood cells does not mean the purpose of my life is to produce red blood cells.”

Mackey on Joe Rogan is also an absolute must-listen for anyone interested how to participate in capitalism in a way that’s raised the median life span from 30 to 72 in 200 years and reduced the percentage of global population living on less than $2 per day (adjusted for inflation) from 90% to less than 10% and falling.

[two]

A North Korean man escaped from the most brutal regime on earth by jumping over a fence. NPR reports:

The unnamed man, who is described as being in his late 20s, crossed into South Korea through the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) at around 7 p.m. Nov. 3, evading capture for 14 hours. He was found by South Korean soldiers at around 10 a.m. the next day less than a mile away from the border,according to The Korean Herald and Yonhap News Agency.

South Korean officials questioned the man's story, as well as his motives for crossing the border. To prove he was capable of hopping the fence, officials had him jump twice in their presence, according to The Korea Herald. The man is still under investigation by South Korean officials, the newspaper said.

The man is only the second person to escape from North Korea since 2019 and took a huge risk of running across a mine field to win his freedom.

For all practical purposes, nearly 100% of North Koreans live in slavery. From Human Rights Watch:

The North Korean government systematically requires forced, uncompensated labor from most of its population—including workers at state-owned enterprises or deployed overseas, women, children, and prisoners—to control its people and sustain its economy. A significant majority of North Koreans must perform unpaid labor, often called “portrayals of loyalty” at some point in their lives.

Ordinary North Korean workers are not free to choose their own job. The government assigns jobs to both men and unmarried women from cities and rural areas. In theory, they are entitled to a salary, but in many cases, these enterprises do not compensate them, forcing them to find other jobs to survive while paying bribes not to go to their officially assigned workplace. Failing to show up for work without permission is a crime punishable by three to six months in labor training camps (rodong dallyeondae).

The government also compels many North Koreans to join paramilitary labor brigades (dolgyeokdae), that the ruling party controls and operates, and work primarily on buildings and infrastructure projects. Prisoners in political prisons (kwanliso), ordinary prison camps (kyohwaso), and short-term detention facilities also face back-breaking forced labor in dangerous conditions, sometimes in winter weather without proper clothing.

If you think that racism is only a problem in the U.S., you’ve clearly never been to Asia. Many Japanese hold openly racist views about Koreans. South Koreans often treat escaped North Koreans as sub-human, and many well-to-do Chinese aren’t shy about despising Laotians and Cambodians. One of my good friends, ethnically South Korean but adopted by an Anglo family in the U.S. isn’t treated very well by South Koreans in business.

Godspeed to this young man who made it out. I hope he makes it to the U.S., which is a better place for escaped North Koreans than South Korea.

The older I get, the more I hope and pray for diplomatic solutions to international issues, but North Korea is a notable exception. Any time the U.S. wants to blow the living hell out of their B-team military and depose the entire Kim family, I’m all for it.

Because this is the closest millions of North Koreans can get to freedom.

[three]

Squad member Rashida Talib retweeted a graphic on Sunday that reads “From the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free.”

The statement calls for the complete destruction of Israel, and presumably the annihilation of all Jews, which even left wing publication The Daily Beast reports to be genocidal in nature.

Here is what they chanted: From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free. From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free. The river in this formulation is the Jordan, the naturally occurring eastern border of Israel and of the West Bank; the sea is the Mediterranean to the west. Uttered by advocates of the Palestinian cause for decades, the pithy slogan very pointedly makes no place for Israel. It evokes a strip of Middle Eastern land where Israel is no more, replaced by a unified Palestinian entity in the space it once occupied. It could be that this entity would welcome and protect a Jewish population. But when supporters of the Jewish state hear those 10 words, they worry about their potentially violent implications.

Talib also went full Anti-Semitism because Joe Biden dared to talk about putting a Jewish person in his cabinet, so at least she stays on brand.

[four]

Taylor Swift’s Folklore album, in my humble opinion, is far and away the best record of 2020. And it’s a heck of a documentary on Disney+. Even if you’re not a fan of Swift in particular, the doc has some great gems for people who work in creative fields.

Oh, and speaking of Disney+, there are rumors that the ESPN+ and Hulu bundle (currently $12/month for all three) will roll into a single service, so that Disney can tap into the R-rated movies they own but currently aren’t streaming under the family friendly mouse brand, including the uber-popular Deadpool franchise.

Entertainment is becoming increasingly monolithic.

[five]

And speaking of Disney+, the Star Wars spinoff The Mandalorian is really hitting it’s stride this season. If you’re into sci-fi at all, this one is worth jumping into.

Newcomer (to the series) Rosario Dawson more than proved her mettle to carry a spinoff show in the near future.

[bonus]

My wife, Amanda, is selling peg doll nativity sets like hot cakes. Depending on the size, they run from $21-$49 per set. You can reach her at amandalynhurd@gmail.com for questions or to place an order.

Until the next one,

-sth