People here have been so thoroughly indoctrinated about the value of electoral politics that they believe it is the only way to bring about the changes they want to see. The end result is the search for a savior, the belief that we can vote our way out of a situation created by the oligarchy which controls both wings of the duopoly. It is comforting to think that the right president would end capitalist exploitation and imperialism but such a belief, while understandable, doesn’t hold water.
2023-05-31
Proximity Bias and working in corporations.
Recently I interviewed for position that when speaking w/the hiring manager with prior to, I was told I would be an 'excellent fit'.
Applying and interviewing, I liked who I spoke to, and felt confident about how things went.
Then I was ghosted by the recruiter and the hiring manager.
I learned after more than a month (via a connection) that the position had been filled. Turns out they had someone in mind already and the interviews were really just a formality.
You'd think I'd be saddened or even angry at this. You'd be surprised to find out I'm not - why?
Because I've been down this dead-end road before, and forced to turn around and find my way back to some place else.
It's happened to me many times in my working career in IT - both in past employers, and the current one more than once.
This is the role (or one of the roles) I play here.
I'm extremely useful.
Meaning - someone (or several someones) with higher salaries than me and more authority knows who I am, knows what I have done, and has managed to place those accomplishments it under their own accountabilities and responsibilities, in order to make themselves look more important in the eyes of their bosses. And, they use their ability to stand at the doorway of opportunity and ensure only they go in, and not me.
So in this regard, I'm forever useful, but never valuable. That is, I will never been seen my the direct managers over me as anything more than just being able to do my job and other parts very well.
And it's easy to see why.
I refuse to play these games. I refuse to do that to others. I've been burned too many times to then do the required sucking up and then doing that to others who I would then have authority over.
But this is how Proximity Bias works in companies. Executives only listen and act based on the feedback given by the directors and managers, as opposed to having more data sources or being intellectually curious to expand and listen to more inputs.
As the years pass, I find myself asking more and more - is it really worth it all?
I mean yes I have responsibilities to myself and my family to take care of them, and money/compensation certainly helps in that regard. And for me working in IT is never going to be anything more than a job and a responsibilty.
But if I could do what I want to - could I? Could I in the years I have left to me?
I certainly don't want to die without ever trying.
And I don't want to keep putting off the things I want to do, only to reach a point in life where I can't do it any more.
So certainly some serious thinking to do.
SSOT - who is it really?
Often times, systems of corruption like capitalism use projection to reveal their true goals.
Case in point -
... the United States is the biggest “State Sponsor of Terrorism” in the world. The US is the only country with over 800 foreign military bases and spends more on its military than 144 countries combined. The US has launched 251 foreign military interventions since 1991. A report recently published by Brown University shows that the post-9/11 wars the US waged in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, and Pakistan killed at least 4.5 million and displaced 38 to 60 million people.
Context here for what global bullies like the US capitalist system ruling class really is:
The National Endowment for Democracy is the foreign government overthrowing apparatus of the United States Government.
They do what the CIA used to do years ago.
Apparently all of this is news to their PR head (Vice President of Communications and Public Engagement).
https://thegrayzone.com/2023/05/29/grayzone-national-endowment-democracy-vp-cia/
Ok - so the T-Birds dropped the last game to the Remparts.
But the Remparts lost also.
So nothing is set in stone.
https://chlmemorialcup.ca/gamecentre/547/preview
Go T-Birds!
2023-05-30
2023-05-29
Let's cheer on the T-Birds in their next Memorial Cup round-robin game!
Les Remparts seront une équipe coriace à coup sûr!
A pretty good weekend.
Lots of music writing.
Some fucking.
Good food.
Discovered a new YT channel.
Sigh ... back to work tomorrow.
2023-05-27
Meanwhile the persecution of Julian Assange by the US Crapitalist ruling class continues.
But there are many will never be silenced, and will never stop advocating for justice.
https://consortiumnews.com/2023/05/24/watch-stella-assange-jen-robinson-at-the-npc/
Climate Chaos?
Never thought I'd imagine the term could exist, but here we are.
You know how bad things are, when 'rational' and 'chaos' are in the same title.
Long weekend in motion
Lots of -
Driving
Cottonwood
Post-nasal drip
Music
Drama
... and a hole lot more!
2023-05-24
Hmm ... this is deeply suspicious.
All about enabling the illusion of democracy by making one side the heel, and the other the babyface?
This is taking it to the extreme, and it has consequences.
2023-05-22
Oh yes, and by-the-way, the looming climate disaster hasn't gone away.
https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/19/even-at-ground-zero-of-the-climate-crisis-denial-remains-the-norm/
Understand this -
The collective inability to acknowledge, understand, work through, and deal with global warming/climate change are a direct result of this capitalist system and those who control it for their own interests.
Trying to reform said system, or replace it while keeping the very entities that control the last system in charge (by fascism, or some other related system) - will only serve to seal all of our fates, and the future of all living things on the planet.
Well ... I survived the weekend.
Made it through a major work-related item.
9-10 hours of my life I won't get back on a Saturday, but managed to survive despite some bumps.
Now if only I can recover this week and get back on track with ... well, life.
2023-05-19
2023-05-17
An opportunity for Portland to snag an NHL team?
https://www.nhl.com/news/arizona-coyotes-tempe-arena-project-voted-down/c-344430868
If I had a lot of money, lived in the greater Portland area, and liked hockey - I'd be looking to take some action now.
2023-05-16
The problem w/Apartheid Israel calling itself a democracy is obvious - it's settler/colonialism capitialism to the extreme.
https://fair.org/home/israels-real-crisis-of-democracy-is-that-its-not-a-democracy/
This shortage of references to the Palestinians is startling, considering that the Israeli government controls the lives of approximately 14 million people who live between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, half of them Jewish and half of them Palestinian. These include 2.6 million Palestinians living in the West Bank under Israeli military occupation and without political rights, and 2 million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip, where Israel prevents them from enacting their political rights and confines them to an open-air prison. A further 350,000 Palestinians living in eastern Jerusalem, which was illegally annexed by Israel in 1967, nevertheless do not have the right to vote in Israel’s national elections.
Roughly 1.9 million Palestinians, living on the land that Israel has controlled since 1948, do have Israeli citizenship and can vote in Israeli elections, but discrimination against them is enshrined in law.
In other words, of the 7 million Palestinians over whom Israel exercises authority, approximately 5 million have no say in who governs them or how, while Israel relegates the remaining 2 million to second-class citizenship. By writing about a “crisis” in Israel’s “democracy,” without foregrounding or most often even mentioning the fact that Israel completely disenfranchises some 5 million Palestinians, coverage in the Times, Post and Journal whitewashes the apartheid that fundamentally disqualifies Israel as a democracy.
2023-05-15
Well at least the NHL playoffs this year resolved itself in one good way.
None of the teams that I didn't want to see make it to the finals and win made it.
- Gone are the fucking Rangers.
- Gone are the Maple Leafs - more on that later.
- Gone are the Oilers now - great to see they finally dealt with, and on home ice too.
And as for the Kraken, well ... they made it farther than anyone expected. If they can get past the Stars tonight, I'll be rooting for them against the Golden Knights.
Now, back to Toronto.
I do feel bad for them in seeing them eliminated (once again). And I think as long as there's an audience out there that sports media in Canada like to cater to, I'll always be there to pick on their team.
But as for the part about them not winning the Stanley Cup since the Pearson Administration ... I'll stop doing that starting today. I means let's face it, no Canadian team has won the cup in now over 30 years. What's 20 additional years gonna make?
Meanwhile, how about them T-Birds?
2023-05-12
Elizabeth Holmes - womanipulator.
Many pretend like no one could see what a boondoggle her company. Some even pretend like her board made her look smart.
It didn't. Scumbags like Rupert Murdoch and war criminals like Henry Kissinger are obvious red flags, except to only the foolhardy.
No one ever talks about the racist and sexist nature of her way to avoiding any responsibility for her crimes. Instead it's blame the older brown foreign guy.
She's a grifter and a fraud. Her company's technology never actually worked, and it was proven in court she knew the tests were fake.
She was found guilty of three counts of fraud totaling in the millions.
Frankly she should be thankful no one died as a result of an action based on a Theranos test result.
The sooner she's behind bars - the better all of society will be.
Only idiots and fools would be taken in by her now.
2023-05-10
In addition to fucking up Canada via just regular capitalism, corporations find new ways to ruin the land; and peoples' lives in the process.
During the technical committee process, representatives from Canadian Organic Growers participated
alongside our organic sector partners to represent the interests of organic farmers across the country. We
asked for mandatory notification and transparency of any and all gene edited seed products so that
organic farmers can be assured that the seed they use is free from contamination and safe to use in
organic production. This process did not yield results based on the solutions set forth by Canadian Organic
Growers and the organic sector. In addition to following an aggressive timeline, the technical committee
limited its scope to focus on using a voluntary database managed by the seed industry despite consistent
pushback from organic sector participants who highlighted this approach as highly problematic. Without
this necessary government ownership and oversight, the seed industry is now positioned to control
Canadian access to information on GE seed and immediate measures need to be taken to improve basic
transparency tools.
We have been very clear from the beginning that this voluntary initiative would not provide the organic
sector with the transparency that it needs. The concerns of organic farmers were not heard or addressed
in this process and as a result we do not support the conclusions as they are detailed in this report.
2023-05-09
2023-05-08
Symptoms vs. Causes.
Forgiving medical debt is reacting the symptoms.
Actually understanding and eliminating a system that creates the debt (and replacing is with a system designed to give the majority health care when needed) is actually responding to the problem.
2023-05-05
2023-05-04
Think these social media companies are giving you things for free?
Then you're an idiot.
You and your data are their product - it's what makes them profit.
And they will abuse you and that for as long as they can get away with it.
You know things are bad when a regulatory body in the US capitalist system is launching actions against them. Case in point -
https://news.yahoo.com/the-ftc-wants-to-ban-meta-from-profiting-from-kids-data-180720686.html
The FTC wants to ban Meta from profiting from kids' data
The agency says the company has failed to comply with a 2020 privacy order.
A ban?
That's honestly far from enough based on the past -> context here.
2023-05-03
Tuesday Morning going out of business ... Tuesday Morning.
https://www.pymnts.com/news/retail/2023/tuesday-morning-shuts-doors-retail-bankruptcies/
Tuesday Morning Shuts Doors Amid Retail Bankruptcies
After declaring bankruptcy twice in as many years, discount retailer Tuesday Morning is folding.
2023-05-01
Hockey in Seattle is truly rocking!
Awesome 1st two WHL Conference Final games. Game 1 was a barnburner for sure, and we had tickets right up against the glass to see! Game 2 was a bit of a nail-biter, but the team came from behind to catch up and tie, then win in overtime.
Then there's the Kraken.
Amazing taking the defending champion Avalanche to 7 games and winning on their home turf.
I will be cheering for both, as they progress.
Happy International Workers Day.
Until capitalism is replaced by a system more equitable and favorable to all lives, the pursuit and demand for better and safe working conditions remains paramount.
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