Paul Rowan Brian

Sunday

Paul Rowan Brian

The futility of the sex strike

Progressives spent decades telling conservatives how harmful sexual restraint was. Yet our open-minded friends on the left now seem to have discovered a new appreciation for the benefits of abstinence. Take the ‘#SexStrike’ led by the actress Alyssa Milano. The message is simple: no sex for men until new limits on abortion are rolled back. In particular, activists and their mainstream media allies are incensed about a new ‘heartbeat’ bill in the state of Georgia which would ban most abortions after around six weeks of pregnancy. This isn’t the first sex-strike aimed at female empowerment.

sex strike

Thursday

Paul Rowan Brian

The subtle side of Rambo

Forty-seven years ago, in 1972, David Morrell wrote the novel First Blood which was later adapted into a hugely successful film and launched the iconic Rambo franchise. This September, Rambo will pick up his gun for the last time (again) in Rambo V: Last Blood. Sylvester Stallone, now 72, will play Rambo as he races to rescue a friend’s daughter from a vicious Mexican drug cartel. Stallone had almost walked away from the Rambo series in 2016 before agreeing to do the cartel storyline. Prior to its evolution into a kidnapping/rescue story, Morrell and Stallone had worked out a different Rambo outline. Their concept was very ‘character driven’ but was ultimately scrapped by the studio for unknown reasons in order to pursue the Mexican cartel plotline.

Rambo

Sunday

Paul Rowan Brian

Will Donald Trump tackle the vampire squid?

Goldman Sachs isn’t just unpopular in the United States: their reputation black hole is expanding worldwide. In December 2018, Malaysia filed criminal charges against the investment giant over the 1MDB scandal, referred to as ‘the biggest financial scam in history’ — though Kuala Lumpur has indicated that it might be willing to drop the charges if Goldman pays $7.5 billion in reparations. After years of turning a blind eye to Goldman’s predatory behavior, hopefully 1MDB will push governments to take action against the firm memorably described as ‘a vampire squid’.

goldman sachs vampire squid

Tuesday

Paul Rowan Brian

The desperate pursuit of woke capital

It was really only a matter of time before a men’s shaving company began virtue signaling about #MeToo and toxic masculinity. Welcome to the brave new world of ‘woke capital’ – Gillette and their cringeworthy ad is just the latest example. Their short film, which basically plays on familiar denunciations of guys as insufficiently sensitive, is all about showing how much Gillette cares about making the world a better place that is an absolute utopia full of neutered men. Of course, Gillette does not seem to care so much about...treating their workers with basic decency, but...details. Gillette is far from alone in their attempt to showcase their exquisite dignity and compassion.

gillette woke capital

Tuesday

Paul Rowan Brian

The Trump economy, like Obama’s, is a big, fat, ugly bubble

If the Democrats want to surf a real blue wave in the midterm elections they will have to stop conceding the economy to President Trump. Look at a current snapshot and consider: job numbers are great, minority unemployment is at record lows, the stock market is happy. But beneath this cheery – temporary – façade, the same problems that caused the 2008 financial crash are still lurking. In fact, the contributing factors of the last recession have, in many respects, worsened. Ultra-high-risk financial behaviour, increasing deregulation and rosy political rhetoric telling us all to forget about the problems of the past: these are a few hallmarks of the current situation that also echo loudly with the lead-up to the 2008 collapse.

donald trump economy bubble