Tag: corpocracy

Game Theory and Foreign Insourcing

The transformation of Silicon Valley into Mumbai-by-the-Bay was no accident:

Built by Americans. Captured by Foreigners. Post #1 How foreign interests infiltrate, capture, and gut American companies from the inside.

This is no longer a theory. It has happened. And we have the blueprint. In 2023, a U.S. attorney exposed how a company he worked with was quietly taken over after hiring a foreign CEO. The new CEO, backed by a private equity firm, removed the original American founders. Then he filled every C-suite position with executives from his home country. No diversity. No objectivity. Just a complete executive sweep. Within months, 15% of the American workforce was laid off. But the jobs didn’t disappear. They were filled by imported workers on visas. The firm was transformed from the top down, one relationship at a time. “He replaced every executive with someone from his country. Every single one.”

“My sister’s company went through the same thing. She’s the only American left on her team.”

“This is everywhere. And nobody is stopping it.” This is how it begins: leadership capture. One executive opens the door, and the network follows. Soon, referrals dominate hiring. Americans get passed over. Merit takes a backseat to connection and caste. The story was reported in Business Today and LiveMint, and originally shared by a U.S. attorney on X. No company name was shared. That’s the point. This could be your company. Your team. Your job.

In this series, we will break down every phase of the takeover. With citations. With legal records. With receipts. They didn’t just take the job. They took the company. And they’re not done yet.

The concept of a pure meritocracy is inherently and uniquely post-WWII American. No other culture shares it, although the degree to which they ignore merit and are content to simply parasitize and pillage the existing capital and infrastucture varies widely from culture to culture.

It’s a uniquely stupid philosophy, since it is, by definition, a self-terminating one. All it takes, as we’ve learned, is one X to find a position in HR, in the immigration office, or on the board, and a port of entry has been established to bring in more X until enough influence has been brought in to start denying entry to everyone who is Not-X.

It’s a very simple exercise in game theory, and the extent to which the American executive class failed game theory can be seen in the percentage of U.S. CEOs and board members who are not American.

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Short-Term Leaders

Tell Me How This Ends observes a curious phenomenon among the so-called leaders of Clown World. The executive chair never even gets warm before they’re off again to “lead” yet another organization into disaster.

Something I’m seeing over and over again in the bios of “leaders,” especially of the girlboss-in-obnoxious-glasses variety, and read the “previously served” paragraph closely:

Julie Felss Masino was named President and Chief Executive Officer for Cracker Barrel in July 2023 and assumed the position, along with an appointment to the Company’s Board of Directors, November 1,2023. Ms. Masino previously served as the President, International of Taco Bell, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) from January 2020 to June 2023. From January 2018 to December 2019, she served as President, North America of Taco Bell. Ms. Masino served as the President, SVP and GM Fisher-Price at Mattel, Inc. (Nasdaq: MAT) from April 2017 to January 2018. Prior to her service at Mattel, Ms. Masino served as the President and then the Chief Executive Officer of Sprinkles Cupcakes from 2014 to 2017. From 2002 to 2014, Ms. Masino served in various leadership roles at Starbucks Corporation (Nasdaq: SBUX). She began her professional career in corporate positions at a variety of retail companies, including Godiva Chocolatier, Coach, J. Crew, and Macy’s.

If we count the two Taco Bell jobs as one job, that’s at least eight companies and jobs in about three decades of work. Leading a brand “from April 2017 to January 2018” strikes me as a warning signal, not a sign of strength. If you name this person to lead a business, she’s going to do it for…a couple of years? Maybe? You’re not going to get stability and a sustained market strategy that takes your company forward over the course of the next decade or two; you’re going to get fourteen to twenty-three months of buzzwords, and then a parachute. I’ve worked for people like this. We’ve all worked for people like this.

See also the current Superintendent of Police in New Orleans, who came from a short tenure as the police chief in Oakland, California:

Prior to her tenure in Oakland, Kirkpatrick served as Bureau Chief in Chicago, where she was the liaison to the Department of Justice (DOJ) while the Chicago Police Department was under investigation for patterns and practice of civil rights violations, resulting in a consent decree. Kirkpatrick also served as Chief of Police in the cities of Ellensburg, Federal Way and Spokane, all in the State of Washington, as well as serving as Undersheriff of the King County Sheriff’s Office.

A cop who works as a senior leader for seven different police departments: a sign of maturity, depth, and commitment? Or a wind that blows through the office on its way to somewhere else? Why on earth does a mayor say, Oh, I want our city to be this person’s seventh police department!

Here’s a fawning profile of Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson:

In the 17 years following her graduation from law school, Jackson held a variety of legal jobs. She attained three federal clerkships, worked at four elite law firms, and served two stints with the Sentencing Commission. While much of that experience is typical for a Supreme Court short-lister, one line on Jackson’s resume is not: her mid-career decision to spend two years as a public defender.

It’s really impressive that she “worked at four elite law firms.” For example, “Jackson then snagged a highly sought-after spot as an associate at Miller Cassidy Larroca & Lewin, a Washington litigation boutique…Jackson left Miller Cassidy after a year for a third clerkship.” She often served at law firms, or in government jobs, for as long as two years. She was just that good, you see, so she never lasted anywhere.

This is the pirate class. These are Clown World’s mercenaries that it uses to keep the corpocracy and other organizations in line, moving from job to job and instituting insane policies that can’t possibly work and making radical changes to brands that will only serve to reduce their value.

These are not successful people, to the contrary, they are every bit as manufactured and propped up as their counterparts in the media. When you talk to executives of this sort, it’s less their lack of intelligence that strikes you as their level of ignorance concerning things you’d assume they have to know just to even do their job. It wouldn’t even be remotely surprising if Ms Masino not only didn’t know how to write a business plan, but couldn’t even read a balance sheet.

And these are the people who will always get the job over the qualified candidate who has worked his way up from inside the company or the police force. Because it’s not about competence or organizational success anymore, it’s about having a proven willingness to follow even the most ridiculous and obviously destructive orders.

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Implacable

Andrew Torba didn’t choose the unauthorized life. The unauthorized life was forced upon him.

They made me (and many others) untouchable, unemployable, unfundable, and always deplatformed. Our only remaining move was to make their malice common knowledge and move the Overton Window until truth became the default position. They should just have let me build a free speech social network in peace; instead, my life’s work is now to build the consensus that will destroy their grasp on our nation.

That’s why we just keep building and rebuilding. It’s not because we’re persistent, committed, or even stubborn. It’s because we literally don’t see ourselves as having a choice, when the choice is between a) taking the ticket and b) not selling your soul.

Speaking of things that are unauthorized, please be advised that now everyone has a payment option, the paywalls on UATV will be going up on September 1st. We’re in rebuilding mode, which means it’s only going to get stronger and better from this point on, while the mainstream platforms are killing themselves with algorithmic suppression, dead notification systems, and a new round of deplatformings.

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The Jeeting of Texas

It turns out all of that “don’t mess with Texas” talk was just that, talk.

A Texas housing developer was forced to deny that a new community being built in the Dallas area will be exclusively for people from India.

Sankalp Developer became infamous for the now-viral tweet that claimed they were building ‘a development by INDIANS for the right INDIANS.’ The tweet reads: ‘INDIA FIRST!’ The post does not specify where the supposed development would be located, however, Sanklap is based in Frisco – a wealthy suburb of Dallas.

In recent years, Frisco and neighboring communities like Plano, Prosper and Celina have been flooded by Southeast Asians, in what used to be majority white parts of the state. In the boom town of Celina, Telugu (a language spoken on the subcontinent) has overtaken Spanish as the second most spoken language in its prized school district, according to local reports.

However, the man in charge of Sankalp tells Daily Mail there is no truth to the post, which he learned about on Wednesday evening. ‘Obviously not,’ Sankalp CEO Mukesh Parna said in a phone interview Thursday.

But don’t worry, Mukesh Parna says it’s not true. Obviously not true.

At some point, high-trust people are going to have to get it through their thick, but incredibly naive skulls that if you allow one low-trust person into your organization, your executive team, or your society, they are immediately going to devote all of their efforts into bringing in more low-trust people from their identity group to the exclusion of everything and everyone else.

Different peoples from different cultures have different standards. This should not be a difficult concept for anyone to understand or accept.

There are over one billion jeets in the world, which means there are more than enough of them to replace every single American and European employee and executive in every single company. And if you’ve enjoyed the high-quality technical support you’ve been receiving from outsourced call centers for the last 30 years, then you’re just going to love the quality products and high-value service that you’re going to receive from organizations that have been comprehensively jeeted.

Also, go long on cholera futures.

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Convergence in the Home

I shouldn’t have to tell anyone who reads this site regularly to avoid all Amazon Home products, but I have no doubt that more than a few of you have decided that the convenience outweighs the possible risks. You might want to reconsider the matter.

A delivery driver for Amazon misheard an automated doorbell for “racism” and reported it.

Nobody was home.

Amazon turned off all the lights, shut the entire smart home down before it even started its investigation.

Law enforcement via corporation with no due process.

It’s fascinating that it only took eight years to actually arrive at the comedic dystopia about which some were joking back in the day. I think this has also disabused those of us with libertarian inclinations of our previous imaginings about corpocratic rule being any less insidious than rule by government.

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The Dismemberment of Disney

The Dark Herald offers a prediction concerning the future of the Walt Disney Company:

The Future of the Walt Disney Company

Not bankruptcy.

Dismemberment.

Given the absurd amounts of debt Bob Iger accumulated the only real way forward for the company is load up as much of its debt as possible on those sections of the company that have no future and spin it off.

Those would be the ones closest to Iger’s heart. Linear broadcasting and cable TV. Especially ESPN. There’s no way that Disney can outbid Netflix, Amazon and Apple TV for sports broadcast rights.

Although, once that happens stockholders will want Parks and Experiences spun off from entertainment. It’s been mismanaged for 20 years.

I don’t know about the IPs, but it’s possible. Roll Marvel and Lucasfilm together and then dump them with as much debt as possible.

Debt allows individuals and corporations to live well beyond their means for a time. And it looks like genuine success, as long as it lasts. But sooner or later, the debt ogres will appear and demand their interest-laden pounds of flesh.

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Fake Reviews on Amazon

The traditional publishers are actively manipulating the reviews of their books on Amazon and GoodReads alike:

Every “A-list” author from the major sci fi imprints seems to start out with 100+ “pre-release” reviews (almost all 4 or 5 stars) on Goodreads. Now, this could just be successful ARC promotion. That’s entirely possible.

Another explanation is that they have teams of people willing to pad reviews ahead of release. Idk, but it wouldn’t surprise me.

Especially since most of these A-listers see their Goodreads averages plummet once actual readers get their hands on the books. I’m not talking about a gradual decline. I’m talking about books that have a 4.3+ rating pre-release ending up in the 3.5 – 3.6 range within a few months.

If you go back through the Goodreads Choice Awards nominees, the trend jumps out of the data. A huge percentage of these books are extremely poorly rated by readers. Not at the time of release, mind you, but within a few months.

All of which is to say, nobody pulls more shenanigans and manipulates the book-buying public more than trad pub.

No, it’s not possible. While there is an organic element of pre-release review-stoking, the repetitive and reliable nature of the pattern indicates that this is a level of manipulation by favored players that Amazon is willing to tolerate. Amazon is not only confirmed to play favorites, but it habitually indulges in a level of charades and shenanigans much more comprehensive than anyone suspects, and has done so from the very beginning.

Ever wonder why Hugh Howey was never able to follow up on his incredible “success”? Or why his “super-popular” books were so mediocre? He was just a variant on the traditional publisher’s manufactured bestseller.

If it gets big fast, it is fake. Every single fucking time.

If I had more bandwidth, one of the things I would do is design a truly impartial and objective review site that aggressively resisted review-fluffing and review-sinking alike.

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MAILVOX: Advice From the Terminated

In which a whistleblower discovers that no one cares about would-be heroes.

Advice from the Terminated

I once was terminated from a long-term white-collar job and refused to take the generous severance package they offered. Here’s some advice based on what I learned.

Only Do Real Whistleblowing

If your company is doing something unethical or even illegal and you feel you must inform others, never do so internally, trusting your managers to be appreciative or even just reasonable. Sadly, sometimes no good deed goes unpunished. Go external to have proper protection, especially if you have a reputation for being difficult (where your “not listening” means not always being compliant enough!).

“Help”, “Guidance” and “Protection” = Corrective Action

If you are being given “guidance” or “help” or even “protection” by your managers or HR person or Dean of Diversity – even if this is framed as “friendly concern” – consider that such actions can easily be characterized as discipline or corrective action later on. Especially if you are told you need to sign what you think is just something like an “incident report”, even when you think that your supervisor is supporting your actions – or even just acknowledge the reception of an email seemingly containing both praise and what could possibly be perceived as a subtle warning. I’d immediately start looking for a new job if you get one of these.

Your Excellent Reputation is Only as Good as Today

Years of past successes, impressive references, compliments about communication and social skills, professional accomplishments, glowing talent management evaluations, etc. can become irrelevant in a minute. If you are perceived by higher-ups as being insufficiently supportive of your organization’s direction or “problematic” in any way, watch out! And do not think for a minute that one manager will ever overturn the termination decision of another.

Just Shut the Hell Up

If you are involved in a meeting with higher-ups and you suspect that they are not open to concerns about how you are being treated unfairly do not try to persuade them at all. Just listen very carefully during the meeting, taking notes if that seems acceptable, and saying “Thank you”, and “I understand” a lot (maybe ask if you can record the meeting, as you truly don’t want to miss anything important – this, of course, will also serve to protect you). Later on, you can do more reflection and try to figure out what to do next. All of this is especially important if you are feeling frustrated or caught off guard by what happens. Unlike me, try not to show any lack of prudence or a dearth of absolutely impeccable manners and poise. Any weakness you show here might enable groups to create accounts about how they felt victimized by you.

You Can’t Afford to Think You are Smarter and More Clever Than Them

If it comes to legal manners, do not represent yourself, ever. Even if you are highly ethical, that won’t help and could even hurt: they know the legal game better than you ever could. And take heed: If the state is involved in the case, be aware of what ultimately will be made public and what won’t be made public. Also note that there is nothing Illegal about a company selectively choosing to enforce their own internal policies. Combine this with at-will employment, and this combination also will make getting any unemployment benefits that much more difficult.

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Trade Deficit = Whip Hand

Donald Trump makes the textbook economics explicit:

The countries that deem US tariffs on their goods to be too high can just stop doing business with America altogether, President Donald Trump has suggested. He further insisted that his latest trade policies have made the US “strong,” bringing “billions of dollars a day” into its coffers.

On Wednesday, the US president slapped stiffer “reciprocal” tariffs on nearly 90 nations, only to announce a 90-day pause and a “substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%,” in a post on his Truth Social platform several hours later. The pause however does not apply to China, with which the US has engaged in a tit-for-tat exchange of ever-higher tariffs, with most of Beijing’s imports now subject to a 145% duty.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday, Trump proclaimed that “ultimately, we pretty much can do what we want to do. We can set the tariff, and they can choose not to deal with us, or they can choose to pay it,” he explained, asserting that “if they think it’s too high, they don’t have to do business with us.”

It’s a simple and obvious power equation. When you have nothing to lose, and you’re the one who owns the market in which everyone is interested, then you’re in control. No country with a trade surplus with the USA has any leverage at all, because the US is obviously better off not trading with it than continuing to trade with it on the basis of the system that has impoverished and hollowed-out the US economy.

This is why the threats of returning the favor are so empty and stupid. The USA would BENEFIT from pure autarky, so trade restrictions are not a viable threat. The President’s move is brilliant, because it not only protects the US markets, it prevents US companies from leaving the USA as well.

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Foreign Interference

It’s fascinating to see the Clown World puppet states of Europe complaining that the US government is interfering with the activities of their corporations by applying its laws to them, while at the same time attempting to directly interfere with the activities of US corporations like Gab.

France’s Ministry of Foreign Trade has denounced a request by Washington that French companies working with the US government eliminate their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, calling it “unacceptable interference” in a statement to AFP on Saturday.

The statement came after French media outlets reported that the US embassy in Paris sent letters to several companies urging them to end internal anti-discrimination policies. The request follows a January executive order by US President Donald Trump aimed at dismantling DEI initiatives across federal agencies and contractors.

According to Le Figaro, French firms working with the US were given five days to scrap their DEI or explain in writing why they could not. Each letter reportedly included a “compliance form” and warned that failure to meet the new requirements could result in larger customs duties or even the termination of US government contracts.

“American interference in the DEI policies of French companies, such as threats of unjustified customs duties, is unacceptable,” the French Trade Ministry told AFP. “France and Europe will defend their businesses, their consumers, but also their values.”

The strange thing about control freaks is that they are always shocked when someone else applies to them the same principles that they apply to everyone else. I mean, a) how do they not see it coming and b) why do they expect any sympathy from anyone when they cry about having done to them what they’ve been doing to others?

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