Brickbat: We'll Make It Up in Volume

Petar Dojkic / Dreamstime.com

Advertising for "junk food" accounts for some $17 million in revenue for Transport for London. But London Mayor Sadiq Khan insists his plan to ban such advertising in Transport for London facilities won't "dent" the system's revenue. When asked what his plans are to make up that revenue, Khan responded, "We will still have that advertising space. We don't expect any change as we expect brands to advertise healthier foods instead."

Comments

[DiegoF]

Well the mayor is a socialist and his voters are socialists so it's no surprise he gets to make up his own fantasy economics and no one questions it. One might have thought the collapse and discredit of Marxism would have cramped their style but the "democratic" socialists have proved much more resilient than that. It's actually been a boon to them--no longer shackled to that sinking ship, and with the memory of its wreck receding rapidly, they just get to make up their own economics built on fairy tales and wishes.

It's Star Trek economics, essentially--not so much socialism as simply not dealing with the question, of a world free of economics more than anything else. Wealth is generated as if magic; nothing has any consequences.

In terms of nannyism--the true passion of today's bourgeois "socialists" (the working-class mask having been dropped entirely)--maybe it makes perfect sense. Having been triggered by women in workout clothes showing their toned bodies, Ayatollah Sadiq pushed them back behind the purdah so that his "daughters" and other women would not be body-shamed by such motivation. Now he must counteract the SJW half of the prog agenda with the nanny half, since now the only motivation they are exposed to in the tube is to shove delicious food into their fat fucking faces.

[Radioactive]

right past their rotten teeth!

[Fuck you, Shikha (Nunya)]

Did it bother anyone else that in Star Trek IV there are some glasses that were worn by Benjamin Franklin and given to Kirk by Bones, I think.

My issue is this, in a society that had destroyed the usage of money, how could Kirk possibly receive these glasses? Unless someone is trading sexual favors I just see a lot of other ways for them to trade items such as these glasses. Also, surely that society would grown upon such personal ownership. I'm positive it would be viewed as selfish and as such not what is best for the collective. Funny that it makes them sound like the Borg.

[DiegoF]

Those are just one example! There are all sorts of goods that would clearly be scarce depicted in the Trek universe--and the problem actually got worse in the newer series as the "society without money" doctrine (like others--remember those TOS episodes about Starfleet positions barred to women and the one capital crime in the Federation?) hardened.

Technology means there is housing for everyone but who gets those apartments with views of downtown San Francisco, or those huge stately old mansions? Technology means there is food for everyone, any dish you want replicated, but who gets the "real" painstakingly prepared (and served) meals at tiny Sisko's or the painstakingly harvested wine from tiny Picard Vineyards? Technology means there is instant transportation and communication for everyone within a solar system but who gets interstellar trips? Technology means there is near-miraculous medical care for everyone but who gets the "very best" doctors (any society will have them) that are always getting flown in for the toughest cases? Not to mention all those rare artifacts that are being thrown around all over the place. There was even a (very good) episode where Jake Sisko set off a huge chain of elaborate barters to get his dad a birthday baseball card. Even Yankee Magazine stopped its swop column a few years back!

[DiegoF]

...If anything Trek is closest to Scandinavian style socialism, wherein the new "centrist" prog line is that, contra traditional doctrine, socialism works best in societies after building their enormous wealth. But even by those standards, it's mostly a dodge of any real economic questions. The military setting is indispensable for that reason.

[DiegoF]

Addendum: Hardcore fans will remember a Voyager episode about healthcare, that was supposedly supposed to be an indictment of heartless for-profit managed care but if so was an incredibly bizarre effort that actually ended up being a nearly perfect, devastating critique of socialized medicine.

[A Thinking Mind]

Yeah, that was such a weird episode. It was supposedly a take on health insurance, but since it didn't address wealth or money, the society's "computer" basically decided who was valuable enough to society to receive free, top level care. Nobody was paying for it. They made a passing reference to having limited resources, but then they made it seem as though resources were unlimited for the important patients. I don't know how they failed to realize that the top level patients were "party members" and the low level patients were the working class. It was all right there.

And it was so nonfunctional-they wouldn't spend any resources to contain a potential plague breaking out in the lower classes, thus making it MORE likely to spread and more expensive to deal with. Though whenever Star Trek does a blatant "here's the message" episode, they usually make sure it's so blunt and hits you over the head with it so they never have to think about it.

[Ben of Houston]

I was still a teenager at the time it came out, and I honestly thought that it was a condemnation of communism and privilege based on social class.

[Radioactive]

They are like the Borg, except the Borg have souls & a sense of humor unlike the treksters

[DiegoF]

By the way, I love the clip art as always--Reason's selection has always been beyond reproach. Is that even a particularly unhealthy sandwich? Many (including those with healthy-sounding names and reputations) are indeed awful nutritionally, but nothing in the photo suggests this one might not be part of a balanced diet. Is she really expected to forgo that and devour that entire plate of fruit in its stead--lemons and limes and all, like some supermarket-checkout-booklet Hollywood fad diet from the 1970s? That would be my face too. Let the poor girl have a fajita or something.

[lap83]

I would go with the lady laughing with salad but photoshop a Nazi uniform onto her

[BigT]

Some welcome collateral damage:

https://tinyurl.com/ybeu32q5

"An anti-Trump professor, Dr. Carol Christine Fair, is no longer teaching classes at Georgetown University following calls for the outspoken liberal educator to be fired.

Fair stirred up controversy on Twitter when she wished miserable deaths upon Republican senators supporting Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

"Look at [this] chorus of entitled white men justifying a serial rapist's arrogated entitlement," she wrote. "All of them deserve miserable deaths while feminists laugh as they take their last gasps. Bonus: we castrate their corpses and feed them to swine? Yes."

[Radioactive]

cause that's what us twatwaffles are entitled to!

[Fuck you, Shikha (Nunya)]

Any work from Twitter about her breaking the TOS? Of course not.

[chemjeff radical individualist]

So a person was fired from her job based on demands from the mob, without any due process or presumption of innocence granted to the accused? Huh. I thought that sort of thing was frowned upon around here.

[Cyto]

I certainly frown upon it. But I also understand the laughter at being hoisted by one's own petard. Bonus points for using actual hate speech, instead of just "speech I disagree with".

[DiegoF]

Seems like particularly poorly thought-out hate to me. Why castrate them after death? It doesn't even seem like a particularly well conceived way to dishonor a corpse, since apparently the balls are the only part that are being saved from consumption by pigs. I could do "angry revenge fantasy" a hell of a lot better than that, and I ain't even a woman! Sad!

[Wizard4169]

Yeah, I mean if you wanted to be really cruel, castrate them while they're still alive and feed the balls to the pigs right in front of them. How hard is this?

[Conchfritters]

A Georgetown spokesperson told Fox News Fair is no longer teaching students, but will be traveling internationally for university research.

Looks like she has tenure.

[DiegoF]

I wouldn't have fired her for that, or even deprived her of students. I seriously doubt she should've been hired in the first place though. Our universities are a joke. Catholic ones more even so than average.

[BigT]

So an all expenses paid overseas holiday is firing? WTF! Understand English much?

[Fuck you, Shikha (Nunya)]

I agree, even though this was a particularly nasty. I think everyone is just shocked as which side was affected here?

[Ben of Houston]

There's presumption of innocence. We presume she is innocent. We then look at her written words. Yep, she clearly wished death upon political opponents. Unless you claim that she was somehow hacked, but that's not reasonable to assume.

As for due process. Well, that's based on both her Twitter Terms of Service and her school's terms of employment, so I'm not qualified to judge.

[Conchfritters]

Oh, that's cute - you wouldn't know a Hereford pig from a Berkshire. Leave the farming to the Senate Judiciary chairman Chuck Grassley.

[DiegoF]

Those cow-colored pigs always blow my mind!

[Rich]

Her work is primarily focused on counter-terrorism and South Asian topics.

Of course it is.

[AlmightyJB]

"we expect brands to advertise healthier foods instead"

And by expect I mean....well you know.

[Fuck you, Shikha (Nunya)]

Instead of take out, he just expects the take.

[Roger the Shrubber]

To think that the frightened limey mayor would promote advertisement of assault weapons!

[Roger the Shrubber]

Keep your 16 ton weights handy, people! The Underground is about to resemble the killing fields.

[Jerryskids]

Falafel, kebabs, hummus and couscous for everybody!

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

Clingers always enjoy a side of bigotry when taking a break from trying to boycott Planned Parenthood.

Eat at Hardee's. Have some more Slim Jims. Treat yourself of an extra handful of street pills.

[Fuck you, Shikha (Nunya)]

That's not bigotry, fuck face. Pointing out what foods Sadiq would approve over which he would not is actually just a joke based on the obvious.

Lighten up, cupcake clinger.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

One of the great liberal-libertarian achievements of my lifetime is that intolerant conservatives no longer wish to be known as bigots, at least not in public. They masquerade until they are in safe spaces, such as private homes, militia meetings, and Republican Committee gatherings.

[Radioactive]

or the Democrat National Convention? paging Senator Byrd, party of 6, paging Senator Byrd party of 6.

[Agammamon]

Doubly so when pointing out those traditional food that he probably considers to be healthy are actually mostly deep-fried and full of fat.

[DiegoF]

That's not bigotry! Those foods are delicious. Why should anyone take it as an insult about who they are? My people's food is also delicious, and I am nothing but proud to have them associated with me. How would you like it if somebody tried to suggest that 'possum, roadkill stew, corn liquor, and bathtub meth were something for you to be ashamed of?

[Sometimes a Great Notion]

Who doesn't love street drugs and Slim Jims? Eat some acid and watch Macho Man Randy Savage entertain me for hours sounds like a lovely day.

[Radioactive]

certainly more entertaining than Rev. Kirkland's posts

[Red Tony]

To be fair, being castrated WITH a pig is more entertaining than Rev. Kirkland's posts.

[Radioactive]

so true

[Rockabilly]

Comrade Sadiq Khan:

I would like to advertise my healthy food on the people's transport system : delicious deep fried chocolate covered organic tofu

[DiegoF]

You know I think I'd at least try that.

[Longtobefree]

Only if there is a way to peel off the chocolate and just eat that.

[sarcasmic]

Went to the last agricultural fair of the season this weekend. I like to eat and my daughter likes the rides.

I had kielbasa wrapped in bacon for lunch, and for dessert I had a couple deep fried Twinkies. Gotta enjoy the food while it's still legal.

[sarcasmic]

"We will still have that advertising space. We don't expect any change as we expect brands to advertise healthier foods instead."

If this doesn't happen then it's because evil businesses have bad intentions. After all, the policy was created with good intentions, so if it doesn't have the desired result something else must be the cause.

[DiegoF]

Hopefully the businesses of London will not be as meanspirited as those of Philadelphia, who used that city's soda tax as an excuse to raise consumer prices, as the mayor denounced them for.

[sarcasmic]

They tax soda to raise the price and encourage people to buy less, and when it has the desired result they blame it on greedy businesses.

[Wizard4169]

Getting to boss people around and talk trash about evil, greedy businesses? Win-win!

[loveconstitution1789]

Stupid illiterate Socialists.

So "health food" companies are going to raise already high prices to pay for more advertising than the companies already think is prudent?

[loveconstitution1789]

To be fair, British food sucks anyway.

[sarcasmic]

In Heaven the food is French, the cars are German, and the police are British.

In Hell the food is British, the cars are French, and the police are German.

[loveconstitution1789]

That's a pretty good saying.

[A Thinking Mind]

I've heard it this way:

In Heaven, the police are British, the chefs are French, the lovers are Italian, the mechanics are German, and it's organized by the Swiss.

In Hell, the police are German, the chefs are British, the lovers are Swiss, the mechanics are French, it's all organized by the Italians.

[sarcasmic]

Too much to remember.

[Shirley Knott]

How would you know?
I've never had a bad meal in England or Wales.

[loveconstitution1789]

Traveling around the World exposes certain countries as places where food is not very good or sucky.

England is one of those places.

[BigT]

The UK has every variety of food imaginable. Traditional British food is not too bad, except for the boiled meat dishes.

[loveconstitution1789]

Bangers and mash and fish and chips are not horrible.

[General_Tso]

Drowned Baby for everyone!

[Wizard4169]

It's my long-standing theory that the Brits actually conquered great swaths of the world in search of some decent food, and building an empire was a mere byproduct.

[loveconstitution1789]

Probably. The Vikings still ended up with food that was not spectacular even though they hit major trading ports with foods and food ingredients from all over the world.

[markm23]

When the Vikings found a spectacular food overseas, usually the essential ingredients wouldn't grow in Scandinavia, nor survive the long trip home in an open boat. So they had to conquer a bit of land and stay there. Norsemen conquered a quarter of France, and then their descendants left Normandy and snagged bits of land in places as varied as Italy and Syria.

The present-day Scandinavians are descended from the losers who either were too chicken to leave, or who came back home after finding they couldn't make it in the larger world. Lutefisk might not be good, but they could get the ingredients locally, and no one ever wanted to take their lands away to get closer to the supply.

[Rich]

"We don't expect any change as we expect brands to advertise healthier foods instead."

"'Expect' is not a strategy."

[Radioactive]

sure it is, just not a very effective or well thought out one.

[General_Tso]

...and hey, if the gubmint needs to subsidize that 'healthy' advertising, even better!

[sarcasmic]

I always get a kick out of the term "organic." As if there is a such thing as "inorganic" food. Well, I suppose salt is inorganic. But it's not exactly a food.

[Rich]

I always get a kick out of the term "organic."

Naturally!

[Shirley Knott]

Just an essential nutrient.

[Mickey Rat]

Water as well. They are the only things regularly consumed necessary for life that are not some kind of hydrocarbon as the base substance.

[BigT]

It appears the Reazun staff is celebrating white male oppression and genocide day. How PC!

[AlmightyJB]

No they're too upset about Kavanaugh to work.

[DiegoF]

They're probably just late for work. I've never heard of a private company celebrating it, except for private schools. Maybe mob-owned businesses too, who knows?

[DiegoF]

Now that I think about it, it is a Beltway magazine. Maybe everything there just stays in today, perhaps especially journalists since they have nothing to report.

[Mickey Rat]

That would make them remoras for the political class. Not a pretty lifestyle.

[Griffin3]

I was amused, next county over is giving the kids the day off in public school. Our county is going to school this today, but having a "planning day" next week. My kid's grandfather was trying to get them organized to riot, and demand the day off in honor of Spanish Imperialism, but having no luck. Sad.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Hope is a hell of a plan.

[Radioactive]

Hope in one hand and shit in the other. See which one fills up first.

[Brandybuck]

To be fair, advertisement space is a somewhat fungible.

What's missing from the story is whether junk food advertisements pay more per square inch than other advertisements. Also missing is the length of the line waiting to get some ad space.

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