Telegram CEO Durov Fathered Over 100 Kids as an Anonymous Sperm Donor (msn.com) 87
An anonymous reader shared this report from USA Today:
He's the founder of Telegram. He was arrested in France. He also claims to have fathered at least 100 children...
The 39-year-old Russian-born billionaire often keeps his personal life out of the spotlight. Something he has shared, however, is that, despite never marrying and preferring to live alone, he's fathered at least 100 children through anonymous sperm donation... Durov noted he plans to "open-source" his DNA so his biological children can find each other more easily. "I also want to help destigmatize the whole notion of sperm donation and incentivize more healthy men to do it, so that families struggling to have kids can enjoy more options," he wrote. "Defy convention — redefine the norm...!"
"Sperm donation has allowed many people to have families who otherwise wouldn't be able to," the article points out. But it also adds that the anonymous practice "has drawn several detractors, including from those who've been conceived through it." These people have shared with USA TODAY the mental turmoil of learning they have, in some cases, hundreds of half-siblings... One of the main criticisms of the practice is that the anonymity of the donor makes it difficult or impossible for donor-conceived people to learn about their health and treat genetically inherited medical issues. Even when donor-conceived people have their donor's identity and contact information, there's still no guarantee they'll respond or tell the truth. Also, most sperm banks in the United States aren't legally required to keep records of siblings or cap the number of families that can use a specific donor. As a result, donor-conceived people with many siblings often live in fear of accidentally having children with one of their half-siblings, or even having children with their own father if they were to pursue donor insemination.
The 39-year-old Russian-born billionaire often keeps his personal life out of the spotlight. Something he has shared, however, is that, despite never marrying and preferring to live alone, he's fathered at least 100 children through anonymous sperm donation... Durov noted he plans to "open-source" his DNA so his biological children can find each other more easily. "I also want to help destigmatize the whole notion of sperm donation and incentivize more healthy men to do it, so that families struggling to have kids can enjoy more options," he wrote. "Defy convention — redefine the norm...!"
"Sperm donation has allowed many people to have families who otherwise wouldn't be able to," the article points out. But it also adds that the anonymous practice "has drawn several detractors, including from those who've been conceived through it." These people have shared with USA TODAY the mental turmoil of learning they have, in some cases, hundreds of half-siblings... One of the main criticisms of the practice is that the anonymity of the donor makes it difficult or impossible for donor-conceived people to learn about their health and treat genetically inherited medical issues. Even when donor-conceived people have their donor's identity and contact information, there's still no guarantee they'll respond or tell the truth. Also, most sperm banks in the United States aren't legally required to keep records of siblings or cap the number of families that can use a specific donor. As a result, donor-conceived people with many siblings often live in fear of accidentally having children with one of their half-siblings, or even having children with their own father if they were to pursue donor insemination.
These Libertarian "alpha males"... (Score:1, Insightful)
These Libertarian "alpha males" think they're spreading goodness into the gene pool. Instead, they're spreading sociopathic tendencies, which are genetic. Just look at the Trumps. This is the kind of guy that's going to cause Idiocracy.
If this tech bro was truly alpha, he'd not only have seduced all these women, he'd be supporting the kids financially too. Instead, he's supporting terrorists and pedophiles while getting rich in the process. Did I say pedophiles? My bad. I meant producers and consumers
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Eraserhead incest baby epidemic predicted in 20 years.
Inbreeding by Country / Consanguinuity by Country 2024
Guess where its most common before you click
https://worldpopulationreview.... [worldpopul...review.com]
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I had no idea that Muslims love cousin-fucking more than most royal families.
Am equally surprised that this is tracked
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Pretty much.
To be fair, if someone is doing this, they are making up for all the LGB couples who choose to remain childless, and the Trans/NB people who brick their reproductive systems. It's unlikely to result in a bunch of right-wing sociopaths or even psychopaths as, the "male" contributed half of DNA tends to be variables, not defaults.
The way we understand DNA in a "programming" sense, is that the Woman's DNA is the "default settings" and the Man's DNA is the "variables". The woman's body is still the
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Gays and lesbians have been going childless for thousands of years. The big issue isn't them, it's "normies" finding ways to remain childless.
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Gays and lesbians have been going childless for thousands of years. The big issue isn't them, it's "normies" finding ways to remain childless.
Yes decline in western population is directly related to not having as many or zero children IMHO I think many will regret this decision later in life
OTOH there are many that should never breed
https://www.smh.com.au/lifesty... [smh.com.au]
Re: These Libertarian "alpha males"... (Score:2)
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A world of runaway incompetence, cluelessness and stupidity seems completely adorable next to the world of runaway indifference, selfishness and exploitation we're actually creating.
Idiocracy parodies relatively minor problems with our society that will have little effect compared to major ones that will produce a world more like what's seen in Elysium.
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Whenever you hear someone say they're an "alpha" male you know they're unstable, incomplete, and not ready for the public.
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True "alpha males", whatever they think that means, don't have to say it.
Did Teddy Roosevelt or Daniel Inouye ever have to declare how badass and alpha they are?
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Uh, if you knew even the first thing about Teddy Roosevelt you would have chosen a different example.
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Look, i think we all know that these evaluations are not based on deep historical context.
Anyone who says the phrase "alpha male" whatsoever is operating on the surface.
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Yeah and the fact that alpha male people thought "i know, we need an even stupider term now" is chefs kiss.
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Re: These Libertarian "alpha males"... (Score:2)
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So? (Score:4, Insightful)
Like all sperm donors. What's the story here?
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Why a billionaire is doing it?
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I don't know if you're aware, but all it takes to be a sperm donor is being somewhat healthy and knowing how to wank. Wealth has nothing to do with it.
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Does he also donate plasma for cash?
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Well, I don't know why he does it and I doubt he needs the money. But at least it's nice fo see a rich man do something normal like real people, rather than stupid shit like launching themselves to orbit in a giant penis-shaped rocket, purchasing social media websites for $44bn or stealing an entire Hawaiian island and building themselves a secret lair on it.
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Is jizzing in a cup and having people have offspring related to you normal? I don't think that it is. It's probably considerably less negatively impactful than that other stuff, I guess. These days we should be able to do genetic screenings that let us avoid the incest trait reinforcement problem even for people to whom you are related, I wish we would.
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"Well, I don't know why he does it"
Because the idea of having many offspring for whom you'll never be responsible is very appealing to far too many sociopaths
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I don't know if you're aware, but all it takes to be a sperm donor is being somewhat healthy and knowing how to wank.
People here on Slashdot would be semi-pros if only they exercised regularly.
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I don't know if you're aware, but all it takes to be a sperm donor is being somewhat healthy and knowing how to wank. Wealth has nothing to do with it.
I don't know if you're aware but anonymous sperm donations are often paid and thus it's traditionally seen as something you do to make a "quick buck". Hence his statement about wanting to "destigmatize the whole notion of sperm donation". Because it's seen as just something grubby dudes do to make money. Now the reality is probably different but the social understanding isn't that far removed from it.
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In his case though there seems to be a fetishized aspect rather than, "I need money for college." There's a difference there. The motivation matters. Put it this way, if you want to date a fat chick and you tell her you're attracted to her she'd be cool with that. But if you tell her you have a fetish for fat chicks .. she'd be repulsed in most cases.
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Why wouldn't he? If he feels the urge to have children (anonymously), there is no reason why being rich would bar him this option. But here is his answer, from the summary:
"I also want to help destigmatize the whole notion of sperm donation and incentivize more healthy men to do it, so that families struggling to have kids can enjoy more options," he wrote.
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Why a billionaire is doing it?
There is this disease that happens with rich people where it rots their brains and one of the common symptoms (far far too common) is this misconception that they're special and better than everyone and therefore they should be obligated to have more children to prevent Idiocracy. A lot of these people watched Idiocracy and ironically treat it like a documentary. So they try to have as many kids as possible because their genetics are "special" and "benefit mankind" see also Musk, Elon.
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If you're a couple looking at a fertility clinic and you need a sperm donor, you usually get a catalog of donors showing their credentials (anonymized so you won't be able to find out exactly who it is). Stuff like age at the time of donation, their education and background, job, etc. That someone is a billionaire would go into the bio.
Lots of people are going to pick sperm from a wealthy, successful male.
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Yup, because "he's rich, therefore is MUST have good DNA / be great at presidential economics / have a tight ass / have absolutely zero genetic defects / always ask a woman's permission first / and the genetics of being rich will be passed along to become my retirement plan."
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Luke! (Lucian, Lucy, ...) I am your father! ~Darth Vader, who used to be just another normal billionaire.
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Not like all sperm donors. In Europe typically people are only allowed to father so many children that way. Aside from the risk of creating thousands of people with the same genetic problems, there is also the risk of them knowingly having children together.
I can't remember the specifics but most European countries limit it to a few donations. People get around it by going to different countries or using unofficial donation systems... Like Telegram channels.
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adoption agencies also have to be careful. there was a documentary some time ago ( in the 90s?) about 2 siblings adopted from the same large dysfunctional family, dating during their college years, long before they found out they were biological siblings
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Like all sperm donors. What's the story here?
For one, I'm pretty dubious that there's a serious supply shortage requiring a single donor to supply 100+ fertilizations. More likely, because he's rich the clinic says "oh, this is the best product here, you'll have a super kid!". So I think there's a few problems:
1) We want genetic diversity, maybe that "prime product" gets used a bit more, but not exclusively.
2) The billionaire getting hundreds of offspring has a weird eugenics-like vibe to it.
3) The idea that the kids are supposed to have super-genes c
Welllll (Score:1)
Better be prepared to fulfill your obligation, you are the father, and can be held to pay child support.
You might win the case, or it might be overturned on appeal. But you will be out the money. So it can cost you a lot for that jacking off.
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Did you even bother to read the article you linked? In all the cases that were cited, the donor had an established relationship with the woman who received his sperm. It even states this right at the top of the damn article: "Concerned sperm donors should note that these cases are probably considered outside the norm. The child support-paying sperm donors usually have a closer than normal relationship with the children and the family."
Well, yes, I did read the story, thanks for your concern.
Let's say you are married, and your wife has a friend who is single, and wants to be a mother, and askses if you can donate sperm for her to become a mother.
Then she sues you, as you believe is right just and proper. So now, you (and your wife ) have to pay to raise the child.
Would you donate if you knew that you would have to pay child support to your wife's soon to be ex friend for 20 plus years, and the child's college education if they wa
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My intent was to point out that your initial post, as it was worded, sounded alarmist. It implied that EVERY man who donates is at some high risk. I never stated an opinion either way whether I thought the few cases that did come before a judge were justified.
Read my other post and the provided links about how anonymity is going away. Already, England, New Zealand and in the USA Colorado now demand identification of the donor.
And I've read at least the English guidelines. They say that you will never be responsible, or wording to that effect. It's a matter of trust.
Because there will be a single mom who is having trouble with money, and there will be a lawyer who wants to test the system, or is very interested in women's "rights" as it were. It will happe
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Look, if you donate sperm to your wife and raise a child with her, being the donor does not negate any obligation for child support. Nor does being the donor cause the obligation, you'd have the exact same obligation getting anonymous sperm from a sperm bank. It's entirely about the relationship, with the sperm donor bit being entirely irrelevant. However, performing a traditional, very fresh sperm donation will probably be seen as evidence of a relationship.
Oh, and if ever the state has to chose between th
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Look, if you donate sperm to your wife and raise a child with her, being the donor does not negate any obligation for child support.
. Then what you are asking for is an end to donation, and women who would like to have a child, but cant for some reason with their husband can go as they say - fuck off.
You can make all the demands you want, you can bring up that hypothetical woman couldn't have a checkbook or whatever ancient wrongdoing putsd you in a rage, or that other guy who is spun up about what I said, But if you think that men are going to jack off in a jar for the possibility of paying child support for a child they probably won't ever see, you have a very altruistic view of men.
People can say all they want, but there is a real issue of trust here. Even the New York times says that anonymity is going away https://www.nytimes.com/2023/1... [nytimes.com]
People conceived by donation are demanding the identities of the father. https://jamanetwork.com/journa... [jamanetwork.com]
https://www.theatlantic.com/sc... [theatlantic.com]
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.go... [nih.gov]
So you apparently believe that with Sperm donors not having anonymity, and that the sperm donor as the biological father is responsible parent, That men will be lining up for the privilege.
In England and new Zealand, donorship is already non anonymous At least if you are sued for child support, it will be less time. But they have your name and address from the moment you cum in the container. https://www.newscientist.com/a... [newscientist.com]
So with the inevitable lawsuits that will happen, it will be interesting.
And like it or not, that will dry up the donors interest. Already, our "black" brothers have virtually stopped - to the dismay of sisters who would prefer to have a baby that is also "black".
https://www.statnews.com/2019/... [statnews.com]
So, let's just assume that donors will find something else to do wit dere goo.
Who is going to be the victim. The men? Nope. It will be the women who would like to have children but won't be able to go that route. Perhaps they can talk their sterile husbands into going to girl's night out at the club, and conceiving a baby the old fashioned way?
Now let's look at it from a different perspective, because it isn't always the lack of viable baby batter. If a husband is fertile, but the wife doesn't have fertile eggs, and a friend of her's donates some eggs, she has a child, then her husband dies. Can she sue the woman who donated the eggs for child support? The same with states that ended anonymity for sperm donors like Colorado, is the other woman now liable for child support?
If a same sex female couple divorces, even though they are both female, one can sue the other for child support. So there is legal precedent for a woman suing another woman for support.
You see, you are looking at from a misandric angle, where it is okay because men - Medicine and society makes it a lot more complex than misandry would have it.
how is this news? (Score:1)
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What has this to do with anything? I guess Russian man bad.
Seems like some form of character assassination so make it clear that Mr. Telegram man is the bad guy in his recent arrest ordeal. Honestly, the reputation damage is kind of working, since I personally don't think too highly of someone who feels the need to brag that they've anonymously spread their seed far and wide. That's not far off from the mentality of those people on TikTok who were licking ice cream containers and putting them back on the shelves.
Of course, the guy being something of a creep still
Re: how is this news? (Score:2)
Re: how is this news? (Score:2)
Wasnt it technically just arranging your business in such a way that although legal, others dont like it.
Having business entities in different jurisdictions split custody of a security key is not illegal.
Having a business with multiple sub-businesses that share assets are not illegal.
Not responding to police requests when those come from a place that lack jurisdiction is not illegal. It is the very definition of jurisdiction!
At this point, they are just mad that he has arranged his business in a legal way t
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this is not accidental. someone wanted him taken off the board & France was a willing party to it
Chilld support (Score:2, Insightful)
You will be sued for child support especially if you can't do it "anonymously." It's already happening.
The legal system has levels of priority. The child, the mother, and the father, mainly as a wallet. Don't believe it?
https://www.findlaw.com/legalb... [findlaw.com]
Even if you win, welcome to the legal fees. Win on appeal? Pay twice. Hardy worth jackin' in a cup
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But the article states These cases seem to show that courts can order sperm donors to pay child support. On the other hand, it also appears like courts are only doing so when the donor has a higher-level relationship with the family or the children.
I think that's fair?
Also if the father is the primary earner of money, present or not that person has a responsibility. If the mother is the primary breadwinner they should kick in the same, it's just historically that's how the roles play out. I mean women wer
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But the article states These cases seem to show that courts can order sperm donors to pay child support. On the other hand, it also appears like courts are only doing so when the donor has a higher-level relationship with the family or the children.
I think that's fair?
Also if the father is the primary earner of money, present or not that person has a responsibility. If the mother is the primary breadwinner they should kick in the same, it's just historically that's how the roles play out. I mean women were not even really allowed to have their own checking accounts and credit cards until like the 1970's.
Bizarre - I merely note that if you donate sperm, you can be held responsible, and your reasoning is that women couldn't have a checking account in the 70's is the reason that they should.
Funny, my mother had a checking account in the 1960's.
My point is this - if you donate sperm, you might have to pay to raise that child. If you think that's a great deal and righteous then yank that crank and pay the bill.
After all, they used to burn witches in the 1600's, so men are responsible forever Good logic, a
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- if you donate sperm, you might have to pay to raise that child
No, you have a grievance post implying that such situations, when they happened, had some degree of unfairness which tied into a general greivance about mena, society and divorce law. The dog whistle is louder than you think sir. Maybe you are blissfully unaware off the giant trad-con media pipeline pushing these type of narratives but they are pretty common today and very much grounded in misinfo.
Funny, my mother had a checking account in the 1960's.
Did she get it on her own, or did your grandfather have to sign off on with the bank? [wikipedia.org]
My point is this - if you donate sperm, you might have to pay to raise that child.
No, your article had
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My point is this - if you donate sperm, you might have to pay to raise that child. If you think that's a great deal and righteous then yank that crank and pay the bill.
And the point of everyone else that has posted in response is that you keep using that link to justify an alarmist view that EVERY man who donates is in danger of being called on to pay child support. This is not happening. The article lists very specific cases where this happened, and none of them were of men who got called out by a woman who was a complete stranger to him. Now, if you want to argue that these cases listed were unfair, that's a valid viewpoint. Go ahead and argue that. But stop generalizin
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Your Rudy sig is so hilariously apropos here. I suppose Ol Oldsock could say he is "exaggerating a bit"...
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Your Rudy sig is so hilariously apropos here. I suppose Ol Oldsock could say he is "exaggerating a bit"...
I mainly note that there has been a dropoff in sperm donations, ant there is a non-zero chance that the dropoff is realted to the loss of anonymity, whatever the reason, there are men having to pay for raising children that they have no other rights, but as a wallet.
And that in some cases, the responsibility has been overturned, but you still have the lawyers fees.
Considering that there is a movement among conservatives in the USA that fertilized eggs are to be considered as complete humans there is
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And the point of everyone else that has posted in response is that you keep using that link to justify an alarmist view that EVERY man who donates is in danger of being called on to pay child support. This is not happening.
You do know that the anonymity of sperm donors is ending do you not?
You do know that case law is being made, do you not.
You do know that your statement "This is not happening" is not a forever thing, do you not?
All it will take is a lawyer taking on a case, perhaps to make a name for themselves, perhaps because of a woman who really needs the money, or perhaps because someone wants to chill the process.
Times change, and would you offer to pay the child support to a woman suing the donor - are you
Just publish DNA sequence. (Score:4, Interesting)
Sperm donation wont be needed. Just publish the DNA code and people can mix and match with others and then synthesize the DNA and the embryo itself. The key step we haven't figured out is called In-Vitro Gametogenesis (IVG, not IVF). That will probably get figured out in the next decade or two as it will have to be from China or Japan since that kind of research is frowned upon in the US though a couple of companies have raised some money for it. After IVG is figured out, the next step is regulatory approval which will take a few generations.
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We are a *long* way from being able to recreate DNA from data. We can't even yet accurately *read* more than about 95% of the human genome, even with techniques referred to as "whole genome sequencing." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
Yes, we can edit DNA with techniques such as CRISPR. But as we software developers have learned, it's a lot easier to make a tiny edit to a large code base, than to come up with the large code base from scratch.
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We can read 100% of the human genome. Reference: https://www.genome.gov/about-g... [genome.gov] You're correct we can't recreate an entire genome synthetically yet, but we can synthesize DNA fragments up to a 1000 bases long. Reference: https://www.genengnews.com/top... [genengnews.com]
If the fragments have a sufficiently low error rate, they can be linked up together via ligation. Granted that's very laborious, but at least it's a budget thing more than a we-don't-know-how thing. That's different from the problem with IVG where we do
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Interesting. I hadn't seen the T2T project completed. Still extremely expensive, of course.
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You could carry a contact card or app that can transmit and compare your paternity genetic data when you exchange info. In the future, we'll have $5 USB sticks that can do DNA sequencing from a cheek swab or saliva sample (a flow cell good enough for determining consanguinity costs $90 today, though the reader is $2000). Reference: https://nanoporetech.com/produ... [nanoporetech.com]
Who cares? (Score:2)
That must be the most irrelevant detail, ever.
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It's just a natural fREE mARkET phenomenon! Whenever someone is being investigated by intelligence agencies, the media spontaneously produces several hit pieces about them.
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This particularly hit piece is emotional and stupid, because that is the target audience of USA Today. "From each according to their abilities, to each according to their uh 'needs'."
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Ah, those people. Makes a lot of sense.
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To be clear, USA Today readers are morons, not communists. The Marx quote was just my cynical commentary on the art and science of pleb management.
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As soon as they are morons, it does not really matter. They will accept any ideology that is presented to them in the right way.
Not "no fun" method (Score:2)
Oh come on, you're a billionaire and you want to have a bunch of kids? Pick up a few strippers from Vegas or wherever (there may be better clubs, Vegas is just infamous for having a lot of strippers and porn actresses) and start cranking em out. Just don't marry anyone, and pay your child support. Who knows, if you aren't an asshole, maybe everyone will get along and you can actually, you know, have a positive influence on your kids' lives. Maybe.
Guys like Antonio Cromartie (who is only a millionaire) ha
edit: title should have been "The "no fun" method" (Score:2)
N/T
Only with enough information should that matter... (Score:2)
I mean unless we're pre-testing DNA for problems (and that ignores any gene transfer which can still happen), the biggest issue I see is people lying about who they are. "Why yes, I have multiple PhD's, no chronic problems, am happy, have never used drugs or alcohol, etc..."
Is it time for effective identity yet? Something that works online and is invisible to use. For tracking all transfers of value? How hard is it really to record publicly that money changed hands, and do the same for high value items.
Also ... (Score:2)
... he curdled the milk. And made my chickens stop laying!
Burn the witch!
No such thing as anonymous (Score:2)
All it takes is for a handful of these "anonymous" children to discover their identity, which they would no doubt do through DNA testing. Once those DNA tests are out there, others will more easily be able to figure out that they have a common parent.
Yellow Press Dot Org (Score:2)
Who will tell all next? His mother? His dog?
Eugenics (Score:2)
Jonathan Jacob Meijer enters the chat (Score:2)