2018: End Of Year Thoughts.

I have to admit, I didn't think 2018 would go the way I expected.

Oh sure, some good things did happen. But somehow I don't quite feel like I made a whole lot of progress. I guess I shouldn't complain too much.

Sure, I got a promotion this year. It took almost a WHOLE fucking year in the sense that my boss's boss told me in the beginning of 2018 that it'd happen in a couple of months.

Then March became May. And May became August. And August became October. And ... well you get the idea.

Meanwhile I worked and worked. It was great for my employer, and my team, and so on. They got the job done at a lower rate. Wasn't so good for me and my family.

Still ... I managed to survive and I guess succeed. And I did it the old-fashioned way - I earned it. I actually did it through a lot of hard and smart work with a good team, and achieved it through respect. I have to admit - it is good to have people finally acknowledge me by name and for what I've achieved for a change. I'm officially part of the middle part of my life, and now I'm part of middle management.

Also, didn't write that rock album - again. But in that sense I don't feel bad in that I did write a handful of new songs and finally have a semblance of a band together. Granted it isn't as hard as I like, but that's okay also. 2019 - I'll focus on getting as much stuff written for both my original effort and my current one.

We got kicked out of our house in the middle of the year. But that too also worked out in that I managed to become a home-buyer again. We bought a house out in suburbia. I have to admit, it did work out pretty well. We have a nice house, and a place for all the kids now. It's just enough space and more for all of us.  Yes even little Manimal (i.e. CV jr.).

As for the globe, well ... let's face it, we essentially have 12 years.

So overall the year was better than most. And I will have some things underway that will hopefully take me to better heights of success.

It's time I really start doing what I can when I can. And set an example for the family.

New Year's Eve at Cape Disappointment

Long Beach, WA pictures

An open message to Hillary Clinton.

Please stay away from the 2020 US Presidential Election. You will guarantee another four more years of Donald Trump.

Here's why -

Hmm ... love those oats? Better be careful who they come from.

Here's why - http://ens-newswire.com/2018/10/25/roundup-for-breakfast-weed-killer-in-popular-cereals/

The results of EWG’s first round of tests, published in August, also found glyphosate, the most heavily used pesticide in the United States, in three-fourths of the samples at levels that are dangerous to human health, according to the nonprofit group based in Washington, DC.

About one-third of 16 samples made with organically grown oats also contained glyphosate, all at levels well below EWG’s health benchmark.

EWG scientists purchased products in grocery stores in the San Francisco Bay area and Washington, DC, area. About 300 grams of each product were packaged and shipped for testing to Anresco Laboratories in San Francisco.

In the second round, Anresco conducted tests on 10 samples of different types of General Mills’ Cheerios and 18 samples of different Quaker brand products from PepsiCo, including instant oatmeal, breakfast cereal and snack bars.

The highest level of glyphosate found by the lab was 2,837 parts per billion in Quaker Oatmeal Squares breakfast cereal, nearly 18 times higher than EWG’s children’s health benchmark.

These test results contradict claims by two companies that make the cereal products, Quaker and General Mills, which have said there is no reason for concern.

Project Censored - > Top 25 Censored Stories of 2017-2018.

https://www.projectcensored.org/category/the-top-25-censored-stories-of-2017-2018/

Best ways to fight off 'fake news', is to avoid trusting what you see in the corporate media.

The future for business is China - and the Corporate Establishment knows this.

https://www.globalresearch.ca/why-the-u-s-threatens-china-as-a-new-superpower/5663759

Perhaps this is one key to China's steadily rising success -

"In recent years, through thousands of strikes and job actions, workers in China have won increased wages, social benefits and improved working conditions. There are many different views of this process and its future dangers for the socialist organization of society. But in almost all the deals with Western capital, China has insisted on keeping the technology and blueprints and demanded that Chinese workers be trained in operating and running the enterprise. This was a radically different deal than other countries had previously required."

Something that happened 104 years ago from 12-24-2018.

Soldiers forced into a war found a way to make peace, if only for awhile.

https://www.globalresearch.ca/remembering-the-christmas-truce-of-1914-the-desire-for-real-peace/5623341 

Soldiers on both sides courageously dropped their weapons, came “over the top” in peace to meet their former foes face-to-face. To get to the neutral zone, they had to climb over barbed wire, walk around shell holes and over frozen corpses (which were later to be given respectful burials during an extension of the truce, with soldiers from both sides helping one another with the gruesome task of burying their comrades).
The spirit of retaliation had been replaced by a spirit of reconciliation and the desire for real peace. New friends shared chocolate bars, cigarettes, wine, schnapps, soccer games and pictures from home.

Addresses were exchanged, photos were taken and every soldier who genuinely experienced the emotional drama was forever changed. Suddenly there was an aversion to killing young men who deserved to be treated as they had been taught in Sunday School: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Home for the holidays.

Let's hope the weather cooperates.

Snow. Wind. Blizzards. Tsunamis. I can deal with all those.

But rain, ugh.


It's all global warming's fault - DAMN YOU!!!!

More Corporate Stupidity.

Of course, since they are a military contractor now they are allowed by the corporate establishment to get away with such shit.

What fucking hypocrisy - people aren't allowed to do such things. Why then are corporations allowed to?

“Amazon ruined my life”
Amazon hired private detectives to spy on injured worker

By Tom Hall, 22 December 2018

Having denied surgery for Michelle Quinones’s wrist injury, Amazon’s workers compensation administrator Sedgwick hired private investigators to spy on and harass Michelle.

Police break up Amazon workers’ protest over oppressive conditions

“I think the whole shipping business is a little corrupt”
Amazon worker wrongfully fired for theft reveals company’s dead-end appeal system

Quote of the day - 12-21-2018.

From Phyllis Bennis -"It's all being done in secret."

What, you may ask? Why, it's making censorship part of law.

What an awesome and disturbing discovery.

https://concentrationcrisis.openmarketsinstitute.org/ (h/t to Redacted Tonight)

If this petition is correct, doesn't this make Scamazon a military contractor?

https://act.rootsaction.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=13545

Just wondering out loud.

My poor T-Birds.

Excellent analysis as always - http://thombeuningsinthecorners.blogspot.com/2018/12/rockin-around-christmas-tree.html

If there aren't enough reasons to distrust social media companies ...

... here's another one.

"According to the NYT, these businesses became exempt from standard privacy rules due to these inside deals. Microsoft's Bing was able to see the names of almost all Facebook user friends without consent; Netflix and Spotify were able to read private messages; Yahoo could view Facebook friend post streams, and Amazon was able to obtain usernames and contact information through friend connections."