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Africa isn't exactly known as an intellectual hub, though the continent has produced several successful academics. For anyone interested in receiving the best education possible on the continent, South Africa is the ideal destination. This has been both positive and negative. On the plus side, immigration into the country for academic purposes has allowed the country to attract some of the best talent on the continent. On the downside, it makes entry into university tougher, as it means you're competing with the entire continent for limited spots.
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/best-universities/best-universities-africa
When looking at the best universities on the continent, you'll notice that it is dominated by South African universities, with the University of Cape Town consistently taking the top spot. Over the course of my academic career, I've interacted with a few of the top universities and I'd like to share the most entertaining controversies that have emerged from them.
Some of you don't like suspense, so I'll list the three universities I'll be discussing before I begin. I hope you enjoy the read.
3. Rhodes University - #RUReferencelist
2. Stellenbosch University - Pissgate
1. University of Cape Town - Decolonsation
With each university, I'll be asking you a key question. I'm writing this after taking some promethazine pills so I'm feeling warmly sedated. Consequently, this is the theme song for the longpost:
Rhodes University - #RUReferencelist
As I've mentioned in passing a few times on the site, I attended Rhodes University for most of my academic life. I was attracted to the university because it's located in a small town and it has a reputation for being a liberal university with a notorious party scene.
You'll notice that Rhodes University isn't on the list of top African universities, and there's a reason for that - Rhodes does not partake in any ranking system. The university is quite smug about it, and it claims that it has influenced other universities from around the world to do the same.
https://www.ru.ac.za/latestnews/adecadelaterrhodesuniversitysayswetoldyousoonrankingsobsession.html
In reality, from going to a few universities in SA and spending plenty of time at Rhodes, it's pretty obvious that current year Rhodes is easily trounced by most other universities. The school and the town it's in have been on a steep decline in the last few years and it shows no signs of slowing.
But I'm not here to rag on Rhodes. I'm here to discuss #rureferencelist. I've mentioned this movement in passing in other longposts, but I'll outline it again. As you know, South Africa has a r*pe epidemic, and academic settings aren't immune to this plague. During the 2010s, many female students at Rhodes complained about being r*ped by men, and the university not doing anything about it. I don't doubt that this is the case, as there were a few times dudes in my residence would tell me about their sexual escapades and sometimes, what they described was r*pe. In my opinion, a lot of men commit r*pe without knowing it. Some of it is a product of just being ignorant about consent and boundaries. S*x is a social act, and the skills to partake in the activity in a harmonious way with others requires learning and experience.
In 2016, the women of Rhodes decided they had had enough. Anonymously, a post was made on the popular Facebook group RU Queer Confessions, Questions and Crushes. The post featured a list of about a dozen male students accusing them of r*pe and domestic violence. Women then gathered in a humungous mob and went to various male residencess to find those accussed of r*pe. On that night, I was in my residence room (it was a single room I had to myself) and I was hitting my bong. This was when marijuana was still illegal (it was decriminalised in 2018), so I had to be careful about it. Imagine my shock when stoned me suddenly heard loud banging on the residence building's front door and I peered out the window to find an angry mob of women. For some reason, the weed had me paranoid and I thought they were coming to get me for smoking weed! Fortunately, I wasn't their target, but there were 3 men in my residence who were.
They managed to kidnap some of the men on the list and I'm not quite sure what they did to them, but I'm sure it was unpleasant. The university condemned the protestors, claiming that it was wrong to publish the reference list and accuse men of r*pe publicly when they hadn't been tried legally. The women did not like that, and they continued to protest. On one day they took their shirts off. I'm not sure what the logic for the shirtlessness was. Sorry I can't provide more clearer pictures. I used to have them all on an SSD but I lost it and the images seem to have been pretty much scrubbed off the internet.
The #rureferencelist received international attention, but the university which, as I've said, has a liberal persona, surprisingly stook to its unpopular decision to condemn the protests and the reference list. An interdict was obtained to put a stop to the protest which, of course, meant the use of police force. Following this, the university took disciplinary action against the girls, resulting in many of them leaving the university.
One of the people who was punished was Yolanda Dyantyi, who was found guilty of kidnapping, insubordination, and defamation. She was excluded from the university, which is a big deal because that goes on the record, making it next to impossible to find enrolment in a different university. When this happened she went on social media to complain and claim victimhood. I googled her to see what she's up to these days, and holy heck she's STILL going on about it, like literally hours ago.
Big Question: How do you interpret the shirtless protesting?
Stellenbosch University - Pissgate
So I'm currently studying at Stellenbosch University where I'm completing my PhD. I'm enjoying the university and I think it has very, very competent educators and the academia standards are much higher than at Rhodes.
In truth, these two universities are pretty much the complete opposite of each other. While Rhodes has a liberal persona, Stellenbosch takes a more conservative approach. This is in part due to the fact that it has lectures in both English and Afrikaans. This has made it quite the popular school among Afrikaaners, which is a conservative segment of the population. The school also has a reputation for being racist. When I was a wee young high school student choosing what university I wanted to go to (this would have been in 2012), I didn't even consider Stellenbosch because of its reputation.
I'm studying remotely, so I've never spent significant time physically at the university. Consequently, I can't say whether the claims are true or not. However, I haven't experienced anything remotely approaching racism in my interactions with the university. If anything, they seem to take the "colour-blind" approach instead of focusing on identity politics. This is quite different to Rhodes where identity politics is the be-all end-all.
One event that stirred up discussions about racism at Stellenbosch in recent years is #pissgate. This story involves two main characters: Babalo Ndwayana (a BIPOC) and Theuns du Toit (a mayo, I'm guessing Boer considering that last name). After a night of heavy drinking, Theuns returns to the residence and enters the room of Babalo where he proceeds to urinate over his laptop and study material. Babalo records the incident on his phone, and on the video, you can tell Theuns is quite wasted.
The video was distributed, resulting in widespread condemnation and protests. I mentioned race previously because this was interpreted as a racist incident. Theuns was expelled from the university, and Babalo pressed charges against him. Don't take this mean that Babalo was out for blood, as he was actually quite sympathetic towards Theuns.
On Reddit, you can see the heavy debates on Reddit over whether the incident was racist.
Big Question: is Theuns a racist?
University of Cape Town - Decolonsation
Technically, I did attend UCT but it was not for a degree. I just did a short course and obtained a qualification in copywriting. I do wish I had attended UCT instead of Rhodes. I have a cousin who went there and it's clear that she benefitted greatly from going to such a prestigious university. It's bullshit that 17yos have to make big decisions like picking a university when they're so young. I didn't consider shit about rankings, just "muh artsy school good!". Seventeen-year-old me was dumb. That promethazine got me drowsy as heck now, but we're going to fight through until the end. We're almost at the finish line.
A topic that has frequently arisen in recent years in the South African academic scene is the concept of decolonisation. The argument is that we have an education system shaped by the West and its worldview and ideals, to the exclusion of indigenous knowledge. This is a product of colonialism. Hence, to truly be a decolonised State, one must restructure the education system and implement one that better suits the needs of all identities, especially those BIPOCs.
Personal thoughts? Well, they're not wrong in their assessment. However, this becomes problematic once you take it to the STEM side of things. How does one decolonise mathematics or physics? Well, some have tried, as you'll soon learn.
In 2016, a discussion panel on decolonisation was held among students. In the video, we see a woman passionately talking about how necessary it is to decolonise the school. She argues that to do this, we need to completely do away with science and start from scratch. She states that among those who practice witchcraft in Black culture, they believe it is possible to send lightning to strike someone. How could science possibly explain this?! It can't and that is because science doesn't take into account Black perspectives. Not everyone in the room agreed with her, with one man stating "it's not true!". The boy was scolded by the leader of the panel and she made him apologise. I beg of you, please watch the video. It's got absolute bangers in there.
The video clip went viral, leading to many laughing and making especially fun of the idea of abolishing it. Of course went viral on Reddit and it was used as proof that woke nonsense had infiltrated everything (I don't remember whether "woke" was the word used in 2016). It got so big that even Thunderf00t dived in!
Big Question: Is science denialism for brainlets, midwits, or geniuses?
Conclusion
Darn, a BIPOC about to dose off. I'm outchea nodding like a mfer, fr fr. I can't think of much to close off. Thanks to whoever recommended that I play The Stanley Principle. It's a great game, so unique, and I'm thoroughly enjoying. I'm going to wait before I dive into The Beginner's Guide because I want to do it while on LSD, which I'll do at the end of January 2025.
Tune in next time when I attempt to define postmodernism.
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Woman is upset the men in Korea don't all look like K-pop stars. pic.twitter.com/z3BkNphojS
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) February 17, 2025
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Jew s cope that the sjws think they suck and are about to kill them
https://old.reddit.com/r/Jewish/comments/1imz2oe/anyone_else_finding_themselves_feeling_unsafe/
Kayne
https://old.reddit.com/r/hiphopheads/comments/1in68nv/ye_fka_kanye_west_is_being_sued_by_a_former/
Australia is now Austria
All Australian must be eaten by dingos
https://old.reddit.com/r/aussie/comments/1inf6tp/bankstown_hospital_workers_brag_about_killing/
"Jews should all hide in the attic"
Jew murdered and r*ped by subhuman savages.
https://old.reddit.com/r/Jewish/comments/1ineu9e/jewish_actor_wears_pin_to_support_hostages_to/
Gazans cope that they suck and are about to die
People like this belong in cages
Redditards love schizos
https://old.reddit.com/r/Indiana/comments/1inda5p/spotted_in_lafayette_today/
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lunar housing crisis victim 
O'Grimacey has returned from retirement and has brought shamrock shakes to Mcdonald's - 18
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The shamrock shake is back at Mcdonald's before it's even valentine's day along with Grimace's Uncle O'Grimacey who hasn't been seen since the '80s. He seems like a chill guy (see image below) and I'm happy Grimace has been united with his beloved uncle. 
I got one today and it was sweeter than I remember but maybe they just put too much mysterious green syrup in mine. 7.5/10 but I wonder how it'll taste after I put it in the freezer.
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A classical Greek tragedy about hard work, big egos, and French culture.
His fanatical attention to detail, frenetic work ethic, and discerning palate, propelled him to the top of his profession, and earned him a knowledgeable and loyal, but unforgiving and demanding clientele.
In the late 1990s, a new form of Asian-inspired "fusion cuisine" swept France, catering to an international corporate class and pleasing trend-driven "foodies" (a neologism of the movement), which Loiseau resisted.
Loiseau was downgraded from 19/20 to 17/20 in the Gault et Millau guide and received a strong negative media review from the gastronomic critic François Simon in the newspaper Le Figaro, but he still had his three stars in the Michelin Guide. Criticism continued to pour in and the media speculated about a possible future loss of a Michelin star.
But on February 24, 2003, the chef finished his lunchtime service, rolled up his apron and drove home. Telling his ten-year old son β one of three children β to go and play outside, he went upstairs, locked the bedroom door and shot himself in the head with a hunting rifle, a present from his wife.
After his death, three-star chef Jacques Lameloise said Loiseau had once confided, "If I lose a star, I'll kill myself".
Derek Brown, Michelin director at the time, said: "The idea of telling him about the concerns we had about some of his cooking was in order to give him an opportunity to consider whether he wanted to do something about it, which he did, as it turned out."
All in all, a messy story sparking many debates about whether reviewers should really be brutally honest, and if they are unfairly harsh. Perhaps it inspired Ratatouille (2007)?
and
ing hard since they realized that Trad Christian grifters are not on the same side of the tranime waifu fanservice enjoyers!
, the pendulum has swung to the right only 2 months ago, but culture is already speedruning its time travel back to 1999, the ones coming after their problematic/degenerate and misogynistic/pornographic tranime vidya are now the Xtian coomservatives just like 25 years ago, 1999 we are soback baby! 
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People really need to stop making heroes out of online personalties. You'd have thought they'd have learned their lesson from pointless celebrity worship.
Ideologically motivated moralists suck no matter what their political leanings. It's why I can't stand Matt Walsh even though he attacks stupid shit.
I fricking hate moral grandstanders. LET DEVS MAKE WHAT THEY WANT TO MAKE!
but please Mr. KiNeurodivergent, no loliBIPOCshit! 
"Only my freedom is the correct freedom, you degenerate bigot!"
That was fast. The pendulum just started swinging back and they're already grifting on the other end.
If you love games, if you love artistic freedom, then you do not have allies on the "left" or the "right". Regardless of what they say, they all have ulterior motives.
I'm an independent, and always have been since I first registered to vote, and this weird, sudden heelturn of those who supposedly pushed for freedom of speech proves why I never considered myself a conservative even if they had (temporarily) agreed with me.
If you push for censorship, you are my enemy. Simple as that.
Speaking as an open-and-out reactionary, the single greatest enemy to any postwar right wing movement has been that conservatives are placed in charge of them to make sure they never get anywhere.
I mean a lot of conservativesβ¦ya knowβ¦hate porn and hate half naked women showing their body in media. If they're conservative this really isn't shocking or surprising. It's just their beliefs.
Wait, Pastor Bubba Muttison (R) doesn't likes my loli tranime hentai game?, I thought that we were friends because we both hated Woke Commies?!, he doesn't thinks that Japanese cartoon porn is going to save Western civilization and the White race from Globohomo Marxists?! 
Thats why its so cringe to see these prude leftists nowadays, complaining about a 5 pixel boob window; Theyre acting exactly like the conservatives that they claim to hate so much. They have so many bad things in common.
For us who grew up in the 90s(and i guess 80s too) its like a flashback. They're all the same shits, trying to ruin entertainment and true art, by deciding what is or isnt allowed.
I never had any issue with either of them until they started acting like peepees, destroying my entertainment and telling us we are whatever bad thing they can think of, just cause we dont agree 100% with them.
prepare to switch attacking Woke SJWs to the Evangelical "Catholics" in the past four years, soldier of autism!
Yes Razorfist has chosen to destroy his credibility with his defending of Melonie Mac because she quotes scripture to deflect what's wrong. Heck he recently jumped down Act Man's throat saying he doesn't want Twerking in M-Rated games. I know Act Man is hated here but this response by Razor is just garbage. By the way if you attack Melonie Mac you're a Chinese shill and an agent of the CCP now according to Razor's recent livestream.
The rest are extremely simple to explain to be dismissed. Jon Del Arroz is a wife beater. The Quartering is a grifter. John F. Trent has been mask off for several years now and there's a reason he left Bounding into Comics and went to That Park Place now (I still don't like WDW Pro having him on his staff). Aristocratic Utensil doesn't believe in free speech at all because it gives the plebs a voice and is a Monarchist who fled his home country of South Africa.
I'm pretty disappointed by RazΓΆrfist. He's a metalhead, and fan of actually Satanic Black Metal too. He knows his BS about the Satanic Panic not being real is BS.
He has embraced religion i heard.
Trends bud, trends, hence why Norse Pagan aesthetic is all but dead in Neo-Nazi circles outside of Black Metal and prison gangs, and the Trvthnuke-dropping Fundie-obliterating Scientific Atheists are dead outside of reddit, in 2025, being a Trad Christian Fundamentalist is the counterculture and edgy fandom in modern Westoid culture.
A while ago. You can tell when he changed his sign off from, 'God fricking speed!" to "Godspeed!" He also compared his own life to Alice Cooper's a lot in his Alice Cooper Metal Mythos.
Are you surprised? Back in the 90s the conservetives (
) were the ones pushing censorship.
Now that the pendulum is swinging to the right prepare yourself to fight againts the moral busybodys of the right, the fight against censorship and authoritarianists never ends.
So, you know how, as we used to say, 'SJW's always eat their own'?
One of the reason a group starts cannibalizing itself over internal disagreements is because it perceives its external threats as defeated. Part of the reason SJW's were so eager to tear into themselves was because they correctly assessed themselves as being in control of the political climate.
Well, now Trump has won a second term and woke is being declared dead in the news media, these people have decided that now their team is in power, they don't need a bunch of weirdo nerds like us anymore.
Personally, I don't think the wokes are anywhere near as defeated as these guys think they are. We could easily have the democrats win again come 2028, and if they do, it will again be largely through the same coalition of women and 'brown' people.
Don't argue with them. I suggest just turning your back on all of these people. Every voice that opposes your ideas, suffocate it. Deny it the oxygen of your engagement. They've decided they don't need you, so respond in kind. You don't need them.
I just wish someone could explain to me what sort of dumb do you have to be to fall for the ol "I'm a christian!" shtick from a tattooed divorcee hypocritical E-Girl with 3-4 chockers on, wearing nothing but revealing clothing with a blow up lara croft in her background, pretending to be a teen. (:autism;:)
Like. Can we get the iq of these people and plot a graph? I have some theories I'd like to test.
she used to be a zealot FOR lgbt crap, now she moralizes while skimpy dressed
!g*mers !grillers !r-slurs !accelerationists
The very definition of a grifter.
I also think she genuinely feels threatened that video game women are leagues hotter than she is.
No matter the ideology, country, race, or religion, foids will always be foids 
I have no problem with people having tastes but that tolerance ends where they start trying to dictate what I can and can't enjoy.
Mac called games like First Descendent soft porn, while also making posts calling for banning all porn.
These guys are playing the same game that progressives played where they claim they aren't trying to get anything banned or censored, they are just criticising it but as soon as they got into a position where they could implement their ideology they started censoring things.
One of this subs core values is anti censorship. Anyone be it left or right that wants censorship is someone this sub opposes.
And to end this thread, here is a schizokino:
These guys are playing the same game that progressives played where they claim they aren't trying to get anything banned or censored
I think you're seeing monsters under the bed that don't exist.
Are they calling around to people's employers to try to get them fired, people's spouses to try to stir shit in a relationship, etc etc etc.?
That's the game progressives have been playing for the past decade+. If you're going to claim the other side is doing it in regards to these games, you're going to need more than vague accusations. I want to see direct calls to action.
What I see, in general, is people leaving a critique, and this thread seeming to be focusing into some kind of groupthink situation.
Basically it seems as if people can't criticize something they don't like. We've now got this affirmation only culture thing going on here?
Purity spirals weren't on the menu.
Make called games like First Descendent soft porn, while also making posts calling for banning all porn.
This is a bit of connecting the dots, a bit of a reach. I don't know how else to say it. You're associating two different statements said at different times.
Are they saying that First Descendent needs banned? This is a yes / no question. You are not a mind reader, like a lot of progressives, you don't get to lecture everyone else on "What they really mean, because they made this other tweet while taking a shit one day, trust me bro".
Because I'm not seeing it.
Bring some concrete evidence where they want to ban jiggle physics, ban Bayonetta, TFD, etc etc etc. If you're going to be associating dispsarate tweets that may even be hyperbole or satire or pointed or figurative....this is all I can see.
One of this subs core values is anti censorship.
In games, sure. I haven't seen anyone call for censorship that's relevant to the sub's interest.
Actual porn? That's already censored. There's an age requirement(both to participate in making as well as obtain the content). It's not in schools, not in broadcast or allowed at certain times of day, etc etc etc.
I would think porn, whether you want it or don't, would be more of a political issue than topical here. If we can start sharing links to porn, talking about porn, critiquing, discussing porn content creators extensively, etc, this place is going to start looking very different.
If we're shifting KIA to be about defending all porn, because muh censorship, you might want to make a sticky about it.
I mean, the sidebar does say pretty clearly:
KotakuInAction is the main hub for G*merGate on Reddit and welcomes discussion of community, industry, and media issues in gaming and broader nerd culture, including sci-fi/fantasy, comics, and animation.
I don't see porn there, funny.
Also, we're against censorship, but here we are saying people can't be against porn, or against "fan service" games in general.
I think you might want to go over this, with all of the mods, because that's a pretty large paradigm shift for this sub.
That's just me expressing an opinion. I'm not saying you can't make the sub inherently pro-porn, I'm not trying to stop you.
People can have various opinions, and if we can't tolerate some, we're no better than progressives.
It's a bit weird to see people get triggered over a couple very specific terms like "degenerate" and then also talk about how bad of allies they were(OP in this instance).
If anyone's behaving like progressives, it's OP and some others in this thread. Some people could do with a mirror.
Again, for the people in the back.
I'm not saying this because I have something against porn, or against these types of games. I don't want anything banned as long as things are otherwise legal(ban CP, for example).
There's room for everything, effectively, there is not finite space in game developement. If you like TFD, you can play TFD.
Similarly, if I don't want to, I don't have to, because there are other games out there.
Build it and they will come. Anything can find some fans.
That's not going to stop me from looking down on someone that may be a bit on the obsessive side.
Are we going to start adding to pronouns or orientations? Are we mandatorily going to have to affirm Waifusexuals or have it be requisite that we start calling all who disagree AnimePillowPhobes? Man, I can't stand those hateful divisive people!
I would just like to know the real rules here.
Edit: All questions here rhetorical, as in meant to make people think.
The sub seems to be having an identity crisis. I've explained about as much as I have patience for in several posts in this comments section and/or this comment chain. I can only lead the horse to water, I can't make it drink.
OP looks like a witch hunt, despite coy denials of being such, and is political in nature somewhat, and would seem to imply false or unsupported allegations of demands for censorship of games.....all in an overblown reaction to some youtube personalities they don't agree with.
To me, this sounds like it breaks several sub rules. But it's okay, because apparently a mod agrees.
Whatever. Wouldn't be the first time this sub has had a self created existential crisis and seen significant upheaval, and it won't be the last.
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EDIT: OP IS A MOID!
No drama but it just seemed funny to me, like why are you humblebragging on Reddit to a bunch of minimum wage wagies?
Also what the frick is up with that house? Why does it have two garages?
https://old.reddit.com/r/Homebuilding/comments/1hgjwyz/we_are_almost_there/
OP also sucks at parking:
https://old.reddit.com/r/HummerEV/comments/1g343jk/i_pulled_the_trigger_this_weekend/
She posts to /r/ebayselleradvice so I assume she's a stay at home wife with a rich husband.
She really loves humblebragging
And she has some Karen story that I didn't read:
https://old.reddit.com/r/Diesel/comments/1eb968p/i_know_we_all_have_had_bad_experiences_at/
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Pete Hegseth kicked off his day in Germany training with the elite Green Berets of 1/10 SFG, one of the U.S. Armyβs most formidable Special Forces units.
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) February 11, 2025
Never seen a US Secrtary of defense do this before . pic.twitter.com/I6OMMSU7tx
They should be more fat and black like SECDEF Austin and go out of commission for a week without telling anyone because they can't take care of their body.
just revoked Biden 
executive order that revoked requirement that Fed workers be vaxxmaxxed 
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Now he's forcing them back into the office AND to accept the brave and valid innoculations. Reminder that 
was a massive supporter of le covid vaccines
even praised him for getting the vaccines done
https://nypost.com/2021/12/21/biden-praises-trump-for-operation-warp-speed-getting-covid-booster/
also part of the $500billion AI "stargate" project is going to be for devoloping vaccines
https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-mrna-vaccine-cure-cancer-ai-2018701
and 
in shambles
https://old.reddit.com/r/conspiracy/comments/1i83n25/trump_revokes_biden_executive_order_that_had/
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On tonight's episode:
We begin the NewJeans Saga. Join us for a brief look at the history of the major players in the scandal, as well as the opening volleys of a feud that could alter the landscape of pretty ricefoids shaking their hips on stage for ever.
Who is MHJ?
What exactly is, a NewJeans?
Why do I keep using Twice for the OP?
Find the answers to all of this and more, right after these messages from our sponsor:
Now, back to our regularly scheduled programing.
Christmas Thread Theme
Introduction
On the morning of November 28th, 2024, an official representative of the superstar Kpop group NewJeans announced that the members would be holding a press conference to address the ongoing dispute with their record label, ADOR. Two weeks prior, on November 13th, the group sent a letter notifying ADOR of numerous issues that they considered to be breaches of their contract. Per a (standard) clause in the contract, ADOR had 14 days to respond to and ameliorate these breaches. If it failed to do so, NewJeans would have the option to terminate their exclusive contract, without penalty. With the 14 day deadline set to pass at 12:00 AM KST, November 29th, it seemed premature to call a press conference. However, the group was planning to board a plane to Japan in preparation for promotional activities later that evening, and expressed their wish to update their fans on the situation before ADOR could take advantage of their travel to control the media narrative.
They know what they did
And so, at 8:30 PM, the members of NewJeans and a PR representative met with the press to announce their response to ADOR's failure to rectify the alleged contract breaches. What followed was a bizzare press conference that saw members claim their contract was terminated and that they:
-
were no longer under contract with ADOR after midnight
-
would not need to pay a termination penalty
-
would begin seeking other oppurtunities while finishing scheduled events with ADOR
And the really bizarre part...
- would not seek to confirm the termination of their contract via legal action.
This, of course, raised numerous questions amongst the entertainment reporters present who have a solid grasp on how contract terminations work. I'm sure the dramatards in the audience who understand contract law, or are capable of tying their own shoes, have many of the same questions. Thankfully, the girls took some time to take questions from the press.
An excerpt from the press conference. Did you understand?
Always a good idea to check the specifics after terminating the contract
Leaving the world with more questions than answers, the members of NewJeans boarded a plane to Japan to resume promotional activities, setting the internet ablaze with discussion of what was in the future for NewJeans. Well, in order to predict the future, one must first understand the past.
And that past can only be found...
...In the K-Hole.
The Main Players
HYBE
The illegitimate love child of Kim Jong-Un and Xi Jinping Bang Si-Hyuk
HYBE Corporation, initially founded by Bang Si-hyuk in 2005 as Big Hit Entertainment, is the largest of the big 4 record companies in Kpop, with a market capitalization almost 4x greater than that of their next largest competitor, JYP Entertainment. Their success is directly tied to that of their most popular group, BTS, who during their heyday, generated more GDP for South Korea than the Korean domestic airline industry. This great financial success provided Big Hit Entertainment with the opportunity to acquire numerous smaller record labels including Source Music, which would later go on to debut the girl group Le Sserafim, in 2019 and Pledis Entertainment (Seventeen and Formis9) in 2020
With these new labels under their belt, Big Hit Entertainment restructured itself as HYBE Corporation in 2021, structuring all of their various sub-labels underneath the new Hybe Label division. During the years proceeding the re-structuring, HYBE developed plans to debut numerous gril groups, and leading these plans was the former Visual Director for SM Entertainment, Min Hee-jin (MHJ).
Min Hee-Jin
Born in 1979, MHJ began her career in Kpop as a graphic designer for SM Entertainment (one of the other big 4 companies in Kpop) in 2003. Eventually she was promoted to creative director, where she oversaw all visual branding for a number of SM's gril groups, including Girls Generation, Red Velvet, and f(x). Her impact on the industry in this role was massive, as she shifted artistic direction within the industry towards the idea of more experimental "concepts".
You can think of a group's concept as the overarching theme of the group, impacting everything from album art, photoshoots, music videos, and costumes to public behavior and even the type of music the group produces. The concept of an artist can remain static for years on end (think of how Motley Crue have always been party boy rockstars), or change over time (compare the early music and style of The Beatles to their later work.)
Leaving SM in 2018 due to burnout, it wasn't long before she found herself hired by Big Hit Entertainment to oversee the rebranding to HYBE Corporation. It was also announced that MHJ would be the creative lead for multiple new girl groups, as well as the producer for a label that HYBE would launch in the next few years. MHJ took part in initial planning for a new girl group with Source Music, but in 2021 HYBE established the ADOR sub label and named her as the CEO. The first act to debut under ADOR would be the girl group MHJ had begun developing with Source Music, NewJeans.
NewJeans
Upcoming January 2025 Vogue Korea cover featuring NewJeans
Auditions for Mhj's new girl group began in 2019 under Source Music. Initially planning to debut in 2021, this was pushed back to 2022, ostentibly due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Officially debuting on July 22nd of 2022, NewJeans quickly became one of the biggest acts in all of Kpop. Their achievements speak for themselves:
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First idol group in history to occupy the #1, #2 and #3 spot on every chart in Korea for 3 consecutive months with Ditto, OMG, and Hype Boy
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NewJeans surpassed 5 billion total points on Circle Digital Chart in only 64 weeks, second only to BTS (53 weeks)
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First girl group to ever chart 5 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 in the same calendar year in K-Pop history
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Set a Guinness record for fastest artist to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify and also became the fastest Korean act in history to reach 3 billion streams
Newjeans debut single and MV, Hype Boy, released July 22nd, 2022.
This groups massive success on the charts led them to become one of the most sought after brand endorsements in the advertising industry , with them eventually going on to work with Nike, Coca- Cola, McDonald's, Apple, Levi's, and Calvin Klein. NewJeans was so successful on this front that In April 2024, Forbes Korea reported that the group had earned β©30 billion (~$20 million) in advertising in the course of a single year. to put this in perspective, Patrick Mahomes had total estimated off-the-field earnings of $25 million in 2024.
You know you've made it big when even your slop meal gets to go on tour.
Hanni
The Vietnamese-Australian member of a Korean girl group's English male name is Harry.
Born to Vietnamese parents in Melbourne, Australia, PhαΊ‘m Ngα»c HΓ’n's (20) first experience in the entertainment industry was as a member of the Australian kpop dance cover group AEMINA. In late 2019, she was the only person to pass the Plus Global Auditions, the first set of auditions for the girl group that would become NewJeans. Hanni is widely considered to be the best vocalist in the group
Minji
Marcus the Cleanup Queen
Born in Chuncheon, South Korea in 2004, Kim Min-ji began training with Source Music in 2017. She was likely the first member selected for NewJeans, as she was the anonymous face of the Plus Global Auditions that selected Hanni. Often acting as the de facto leader, Minji is the oldest member and one of the best dancers in the group.
Dani
Her male English name is Demitree.
In 2005, Danielle Marsh was born to an Australian father and Korean mother in Newcastle, Australia. Moving back and forth between Australia and South Korea as a child, Dani's first experience in show business was as a child actor in South Korea. She began her kpop career as a trainee at YG Entertainment ( the last of the big four Kpop companies), leaving the company and joining Source Music in July 2020. Probably the most popular member internationally, Dani is a talented vocalist who provided the Korean dub of Ariel for the live action Little Mermaid movie.
Haerin
This Kang's name is Stephen
Originally from Seoul, South Korea, Kang Hae-rin dropped out of middle school in 2020 at the age of 13 to begin training with Source Music, later earning her GED. A taleented singer and dancer, Haerin is also a global ambassador for Dior.
Hyein
(Male name) Collin is the reason we need pedobear.
Lee Hye-in was born in Incheon, South Korea in 2008, making her the youngest member, or maknae, of NewJeans. Getting her start as a child model, she also was a member of a kid's group called U.SSO Girl from 2017-2018. She later went on to star on a YouTube children's channel called PocketTV. She eventually joined ADOR as a trainee in 2021. Despite being the youngest member of the group, Hyein has the most showbiz experience in the group.
Now that we've had a chance to meet the stars of our story, we are finally able to see where the NewJeans/ADOR drama truly began. But first, it's time for a...
Cookie Break
After the success of their debut single Hype Boy, NewJeans quickly followed up with the lead single of their self-titled debut EP, Cookie. As @0BS3SS10N mentioned in the comments of our previous episode, there was something a little off about this song.
With most of the song in Korean, the lyrics, once translated into English, are something else:
Now, these lyrics wouldn't be too bad in and of themselves, at least compared to western music, save for one small problem; the majority of the group was underage when the song was released. At the time of release, Dani and Hanni were 17, Haerin was 16, and Hyein was 14(!). Only Minji was over the age of 18 at the time. This generated a great deal of controversy in western markets due to the sexual tone of the lyrics.
https://old.reddit.com/r/kpop/comments/wdclrx/newjeans_cookie/
A solid summary of the drama
As @ftincel touched on above, the scandal was complicated by a report of a pattern of weird, borderline pedophilic behavior surrounding MHJ. She had numerous pictures of underage girls and a 15 year old Brooke Shields on her Instagram, and had also been accused of over sexualizing underage idols while at SM Entertainment.
HYBE, ADOR, and NewJeans themselves argued the song was actually about burning a CD for someone (to bake a CD is a euphemism for burning a CD in Korea) and that the translator who worked on the MV above had mistranslated the lyrics. Most Westerners didn't buy this, pointing out that two of the people in the group (Dani and Hanni) were native English speakers. However, as is common with scandals related to Kpop idols, there were plenty of fans who were ready to eat up the cover story.
https://old.reddit.com/r/NewJeans/comments/wkle0q/serious_discussion_thread_the_cookie_and_min/
Let's see what /mu/ had to say at the time:
You know it's bad when even 4chan thinks you've gone too far
I think this is a compilation of translated comments from Korean sites. If not, someone needs to investigate this guy.
With all of that background info and the Cookie drama out of the way, we can begin our story in earnest.
The Beginning of the End
The Audit
On April 22nd, 2024, bombshell news dropped that HYBE would be launching an internal audit of ADOR and it's executives, due to concerns that MHJ was trying to attract investors to take the label independent. At the time, HYBE owned about 80% of ADOR, with the remaining 20% being held by ADOR executives, predominantly MHJ.
HYBE alleged that MHJ and a VP at ADOR, identified only as Mr. L, were working in collaboration to "free" ADOR from HYBE. The scheme included Mr. L passing classified info about HYBE to MHJ. Mr. L had previously worked with HYBE, most relevantly during its IPO, before being transferred by the company to ADOR. Once HYBE became aware of the plan, the audit was triggered, executives electronics were examined, and plans to remove MHJ as CEO of ADOR were initiated.
Illit
For her part, MHJ released a statement alleging that the audit was an illegal attempt to oust her as CEO In retaliation for her accusing Illit, a new Kpop group under HYBE's sub-label, Belift Labs, and their producers of "copying" NewJeans.
https://www.koreaboo.com/news/min-hee-jin-official-statement/
April 23rd and 24th
The next day, April 23rd, HYBE responded that it had clear evidence that MHJ had been planning to take ADOR independent long before Illit had debuted. The main piece of evidence for this was an unreleased internal document detailing MHJ's plans.
https://m-en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20240423006400315
On the 24th, various ADOR executives tried to distance MHJ from the discovered internal document, but a report from Dispatch (basically the Korean TMZ) revealed that she had almost $73 million in put options on HYBE.
April 25th
The Next day, April 25th, HYBE made public it's initial findings from the audit and stated it's intention to report MHJ to the police.
A leaked conversation between MHJ and another ADOR executive, A
In response MHJ called her own press conference that day, which ran for almost 2 hours.
the entire press conference summed up by mhj lawyers pic.twitter.com/3qrfngiz3H
β πͺβ· (@JlNSONYEONDAN) April 25, 2024
During this press conference MHJ touched on a number of topics, including:
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Reiterating that the only cause of the audit was an internal complaint she filed over Illit's "plaigerism"
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Complaining that her shareholders agreement that she signed with HYBE was unfair and currently being renegotiated.
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Alleging that she was promised NewJeans would be the first of HYBE's new girl groups to debut. Instead Le Sserafim was allowed to debut first. (Remember this one, it will be important later on)
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Claiming that she would take legal action against HYBE for seizing her and other executive's electronics
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Stating that all of ADOR's internal discussions about seeking outside investors and breaking away from HYBE were merely jokes
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Tacitly admitting that she would consult a Korean Shaman to help make business decisions (again, more on this at a later date)
The entire press conference is a trip, and this all is just a snippet. We'll do a deep dive into the press conference and it's after effects next week, but for now, let's see how the internet reacted:
Reddit Reacts
Warning:: May contain spoilers for future parts of the saga.
https://old.reddit.com/r/kpop/comments/1ca2gc4/hybe_launched_audit_into_ceo_of_newjeans_agency/
https://old.reddit.com/r/popheads/comments/1ca90ty/hybe_initiates_audit_of_adors_management/
https://old.reddit.com/r/popheads/comments/1ca90ty/hybe_initiates_audit_of_adors_management/
/mu/ Reacts
That's all the time we have for this week, but I hope that I was able to whet your whistle for the drama we have ahead, because theres quite a bit of it.
On next week's "In the K-Hole"
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A deep dive into MHJ's April 25th press conference and auxiliary accusations!
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The parents of NewJeans speak up!
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New legal challenges!
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And much, much more, all next week!
I hope you enjoyed this episode, as well as your upcoming holidays. A very merry Christmas to you all and yours...
... From the bottom...
... Of the K-Hole.
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!linuxchads Just curious 
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i love the disco elysium portraits 
and the Delilah paintings from dishonored 
so i was inspired. reference was the least porny generate from chatgpt. feed back welcome, i was lazy on the hair :(
ID'd While Buying His 
Own Non-Alcoholic Beer 
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EFFORTPOST Historic moment, the last Rapport Koerant (most famous Afrikaans newspaper) printed its last final physical copy, likely ever. They'll continue only with digital news onwards, though their digital market is substantially smaller. This likely marks the end of weekly physical newspapers in Safrica.
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The Rapport had been the premier Afriaans newspaper for over 50 years, but like so many physical media over the world, they've taken a nosedive when confronted with the competition of instant access digital media,
which could broadcast stories instantly, and for no physical printing costs. Newspapers all over the world have also struggled with the competition in terms of people having become used to "free" news sites (with banner ads) versus a weekly/daily paper's upfront cost.
Additionally a lot of faith have been lost in mainstream media, of all countries - where the predominant pattern appears to be that ground level plebs tend to be more conservative/right-wing than than the more liberally oriented Journ*list class which had some hand in influencing national or international conversations.
This divide between liberal journ*lists and more conservative/rightoid laymen is hilariously apparent for ALL the fricking races in Safrica, but not in the way you would expect, or as similar as you would think as in Burgerland lol
Examples:
For black peeps, like the Zulus especially ( the largest ethnic tribe/group of the country), there has been decisive differences in public perception between the everyman, and the more liberal Zulu Upper Class.
Foreigners would make the mistake that because of the dominacy of the ANC, that liberalism/leftism is the dominant train of thought amongst black peeps, when in reality the conservative Zulus and Xhosas only support these parties/policies because it benefits them personally, like land grabs and gins, and BEE affirmative action.
But liberal notions like pan+African racial unity gets thrown out of the window πͺ when competition, when foreigners from middle Africa, like Zimbabweans, Mozambicans and Angolans are often frequently attacked by Zulus in xenophobic attacks, due to the desperation in a country where there's a near 30% unemployment since COVID.
The Zulu king got "in trouble" from the black national newspapers, because he had invited xenophobia and violence unto Zimbabwean refugees and migrants, yet the consensus amongst Zulus, those amongst the majority poor rural class shared in his opinion, stark contrast to the liberal journ*lists who condemned him.
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For the just under 1 million Indians in SA, they are the most self-segregating and anti-black demographic, with their upfront racism towards blacks going relatively unnoticed because majority of social capital spent against whites
For reference, look at @Sneedman's recent sneed about Indian racism
https://rdrama.net/post/321001/south-africa-and-the-indian-question
Oh yes, in Safrica, Indians are upper middle class, and look down on black peeps, the way Canadians look on sexy Indian dudes.
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For Boer whites you guys don't need introduction on how we are out of sync with the dominant global liberal orthodoxy, it's more Bongs in general whom are usually one standard deviation more liberal than average that's interesting π€
The fabled harmonious racially peace ποΈ βοΈ ful Rainbow π nation of past Mandela's dream, has failed to realize these past 30 years, due to entrenched ANC corruption and even these Bongs on average are now much more right wing than the average than the usual English journ*list.
Additionally English journ*lists have themselves been in the forefront with exposing systemic government corruption
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For coloureds, the coloured dominant Cape Town based media, like magazines and Newspapers, were utterly shocked this year's May 2024 election
When a monumental upset occured, with the ANC losing its supermajority, to the new Zulu Ultranationalist party MP, and the DA getting decent numbers, yet also being similarly cucked in the Cape Town municipality
By losing large blocs of coloured votes to the PA (Patriotic Alliance) a Coloured ethnic nationalist group.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_South_African_general_election
Who felt that neither black nor white dominant parties of ANC/DA represented them. They often feel they were too brown for Apartheid and too light skinned for the ANC, as they get shafted by BEE - a legalized affirmative action legislation which can only exist in a nation state where one racial group vastly outnumbers the others.
The breaking and thus weakening of the DA caused intense sneed amongst coloured journ*lists who wanted a unified front against Anc corruption, and that they were surprised by those events are symptomatic of how out of sync their respective journos are with their ground level peeps.
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Point is every conceivable demographic in SA is hilariously more chuddy in some unique fashion, than the journ*list class from that demographic in SA.
As is similar in Burgerland and Europe, but what has made the divide between the global modern liberal orthodoxy even more extreme has been social media, especially Facebook which dominated Southern Africa, compared to twitter in the West.
Many dramatards here are likely more Reddit addicts than Facebook, which has a more boomer/3rd world demographic
In Facebook, even with so much banning and censorship, chudthink rise to whatever counts as the front page, in spite of jannies or Facebook sexy Indian dude mods
In these insane slapfiights, with people often under their ACTUAL IRL identity π, you'll find opinions which make 4chan and 9gag look meek ,and you'll find how decisively the everyman of Indians/coloureds/Boers/sothos/pedis/Khoisan/Zulus/Xhosas are all just one ragebait post away from chipping out and showing the veneer of civilization is a Journos fantasy π π
Thus trust in journ*lists/Media to represent the interests of every group appears to have eroded away the past decades, as social media proliferated along with cheaper internet and smartphones, allowing the bypass of media orthodoxy
During COVID the death knell of physical papers were sounded, as during lockdown people were prevented from going outside to buy their weekly papers, and even the technologically illiterate were pushed through boredom to buy large internet, fibre, or download news apps and join Facebook news groups
Many peeps were thus in a nation wide scale exposed to the convenience and ease of news on their smartphones or computers, and even when lockdowns lifted in 2021, sales never recovered across the industry.
Publications like News24 which jumped ahead with the rapidly changing events were the 1st to rapidly program the best apps and gained a large market share, and thus rode on fire chariots the change from physical to digital media, like Zoom became dominant instantly as the premier online meeting app/program for SA businesses.
Other papers like the Rapport reacted or realised too late the need to have a digital presence to survive in this new world and for the past 4 years have been chugging along on fumes.
The Rapport was hardest hit and most tragic, because it was considered the most impressive and prestigious newspaper in the country, even when democratisation in 1994, when English became the most common tongue, and 10 other languages because part of the recognized official languages.
The Rapport had the intergenerational experience, infrastructure and prestige.
Important world changing events were often sought after specifically in the Rapport, because the best journ*lists wrote there, even Bong journ*lists, because many SA Englishman can speak Afrikaans.
The weekly format actually gave the newspaper credence because unlike daily rags chasing the daily story to make ends meet ,the weekly format allowed the experienced Journos to really do their research and make higher calibre articles.
When the 9/11 attacks occurred the entire nation would wait for the Rapport to a make an extensive and in depth coverage of the events made understandable for plebse
Even English and Sotho newspapers would source or share the Rapport articles afterwards, due to it's influence.
Yet as the internet proliferated, the format of waiting a week to read substantial important news as much as a week later became untenable and unpopular
Independent online news publications became increasingly competitive and competent, and the BEE for forcing it's way into all institutions, meant that white new reporters would seek their fame online instead.
Worsening the cycle of decline was that the Rapport and other news papers became more expensive to make up for the decline in sales ,from 11rand to 20rand, to 30rand, to eventually 39rand, almost the price of a high grade magazine.
But worst of all was that the editors leadership went full r-slur, and began to focus on Daily Mail tier slop, the paper got a reputation as a gossip rag for SA celebrities, which even South Africa doesn't care about, when superior Bong/Burger musicians exist.
Thus the Uber prestigious reputation went to shit. There was a time when the Rapport had special editions with extensive and fabulous resourced articles, with sketches maps and diagrams.
Like their infamous coverage of the killing Saddam or Bin Laden, with extensive details about the special forces involved. Visiting yanks were so impressed, that they claimed the coverage of the events were better than American news networks which were sensational junk news, whilst the Rapport was measured and neutral.
By the time, 2020 pandemic arrived, there was no loyal reader based.
Now this doesn't mean that physical papers will forever be gone, perhaps only that weekly formats are likely in a permanent decline.
Additionally other papers are still going strong, and perhaps only because Afrikaans has declined as a language worthy of catering towards.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_newspapers_in_South_Africa
After all there's always gonna be peeps enjoying physical media, just like Kindles will never completely replace physical ππππππ books
But the fact remains that physical media is deeply in distress and only continually declining for various complicated reasons.
https://dailyinvestor.com/business/54653/plan-to-close-beeld-and-rapport-newspapers-confirmed/
Earlier this year in June the news went under the radar and most didn't even believe it
A shit load of publications are eating shit
https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1033243152150182&id=100063935197932
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Sorry guys, no rebuilding your fancy houses that burned down by the ocean in LA until thereβs a new crack den installed right in the middle of the neighborhood.
— Joe Lonsdale (@JTLonsdale) January 31, 2025
The area is like D+43; this seems fair. I donβt make the rules π€·ββοΈ. pic.twitter.com/SVXM5cSCnH
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Captain America: Brave New World - 51% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Worse than The Marvels.
There have been 35 MCU films and this one ranks 33rd, ahead of only The Eternals and Ant Man 3.
I thought RT was supposed to be rigged. If so, it looks like Marvel has failed to offer up the appropriate number of child sacrifices, or whatever it costs to get good reviews these days.
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