I have become philosophically opposed to certain multi-billion-dollar corporations. These corporations collect big data about everyone so as to turn their customers into a product. The means used in that data collection are unethical. Further, there are many other issues equally unethical, and too numerous to detail here. Consequently, I have permanently dismissed my advertisers as all of them use the advertising networks provided by these corporations. I will no longer cooperate with these unprincipled entities to the best of my ability.  Though my lack of certain skills and abilities force me to buy food and products from some of them, I can still resist.

All of this I am currently doing:

• I will work for ethical organizations.
• I will no longer advertise and make money from this website.
• When I do buy from corporations, I will prefer the ones who have the best ethics.
• I will prefer local small businesses.
• I will not break the law or do anything unethical in retaliation.
• I will continue to find new ways to resist.

I’ve got a few reasons why and some history lessons behind my motivations.  If you’d like to learn more, then continue reading.

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When I look at the flag of the former USSR with its hammer and sickle flowing under the star of the Communist party, I think of gentler times when the kind hands of Lenin and Stalin brought together the farmers and industrial workers to stand as a proud people and against American imperialism.

Unfortunately, the Soviet Union fell, and in the wake of that great civilization came skinheads, rap music, McDonald’s, and now TorrentReactor.  Vicious rumors that TorrentReactor has purchased the village of Gar in Russia and renamed it to Реактор словоизвержения (Torrent Reactor) are apparently true.  There is still a small chance that this is all some kind of elaborate hoax.  What’s more disturbing is that Gar TorrentReactor is not that far from the Seversk nuclear reactor.  Why?  I’ll tell you why.

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America’s entire science-fiction history is full of stories warning of a dystopian future where books are outlawed, art is destroyed, and the punishment for reading poetry is death.  Who thought that having “electronics books” was a good idea?  Not me, and here’s the proof:

Talk about irony. In an Orwellian moment, owners of Amazon’s Kindle discovered that their recently purchased copies of George Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm had been deleted by Amazon. Apparently, a third-party retailer who specializes in selling public-domain books used Amazon’s self-service platform to sell copies of two Orwell titles. Unfortunately, those books aren’t public domain in the U.S.A.

So, with a kindle, “they” can reach out and remove books from your possession.  Sounds a little like depriving you of your property without due process.  Here it comes.  It’s starting to happen for real.  This is the warning sign.  We’re already suckers for DRM crap and DCMA garbage; we can’t copy, move, lend, or basically use anything we pay for and own.

But there’s a flip side.  It turns out that, as usual, we are our own worst enemies.  Society has bred a kind of soccer mom criminal.  It’s become socially acceptable to simply go to a Torrent website and illegally download copyrighted material whenever it suits us.  Music, movies, books, games, and software.  Shoot, if young women could illegally download pregnancy, I’m sure they would.

So, the bad news is that we will end up creating the Firemen or Grammaton Clerics ourselves.  It won’t be government, but private corporations.  Think about it, who wants to get rid of your rights the most?  Is it your job, or the government?  The Government that we always seem to fear is by the people and for the people; the Government is ourselves (at least for now).  But what is the government becoming?  It’s becoming privatized.  We already know that huge corporations buy our politicians.  Since Corporations are running America, maybe we should be concerned about them being “big brother.”  Perhaps they already are:

At Work, here’s what happens:

1. Someone accuses you of doing something wrong to your boss.
2. Your boss didn’t like you anyway, and the accuser is kind of cute.
3. The boss concludes whether or not you are guilty.
4. You are not informed about the specifics of the charge.
5. You are not allowed to know who accused you.
6. You are not allowed to cross examine witnesses.
7. You are not allowed to examine evidence.
8. You have no representation.
9. You are terminated by a pink slip; it’s the first you’ve heard of it.
10. You realize you should have joined a union.

Man, at least with the government, you get some kind of fair shot.

Anyways, these dystopian book-burning warnings come in all shapes and sizes.  Pay attention to them!  Some of my favorites are Equilibrium, Idiocracy, 1984, Fahrenheit 451, Gattaca, V for Vendetta, I Robot, The Matrix, Metropolis, and Animal Farm.

Source: SHIFT

I was right!  As warned in my previous post, the Russian’s are proudly gearing up their Soviet attitudes, as evidenced in this year’s Victory Day parade.  This Soviet veteran (along with his fellow comrades) was not only photographed at the celebration in Red Square, but he’s toasting with Vodka to honor the modern Russian military.

Do you see that patch on his arm?  That’s CCCP (Союз Советских Социалистических Республик) along with the Soviet Union Navy ensign flag.  Now, why would he be toasting the (non-Soviet) Russian military?  Hmmm…?  Maybe his new comrades are “like-minded.”

I’m just kidding. I love this old guy. Look at all those honors hanging from his uniform. That’s one salty sailor who has seen a lot of serious shit. And I promise you, he made it because of his political and moral training. Good job. High-5!

Seen in the parade photos are MiG-29 and Su-27 Fighters, Ilyushin Il-78 Tankers, Tu-95 and Tu-160 Bombers, Topol-M Missile Launchers, Msta-S Howitzers, T-90 Tanks, BTR-90 Infantry Fighting Vehicles, Ka-50 Attack Helicopters, Sprut-SD Tank Destroyers, and of course Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Tons of great pictures from this year’s Victory Day parade.

It’s the 5th of May, and if you live in Mexico, you probably don’t care as Cinco de Mayo isn’t really observed there.  However, if you live in the US, then Cinco de Mayo is a day to celebrate the culture and experiences of Americans of Mexican ancestry.  However, as you enjoy your food, music, and folkloric dancing, keep in mind the origin of the holiday.  May 5th, 1862 – The Battle of Puebla, where the outnumbered Mexicans defeated a much better-equipped French army.

Let’s talk about Mexican’s for a bit.

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Welcome back [Soviet] Russia!  We missed you…

May 9th, 1945 (Victory Day) – the day that Nazi Germany capitulated to the USSR.  It became an official Soviet holiday in 1965 and continues to be celebrated even after the fall of the USSR.  Traditionally, ceremonial military parades are held on the day, such as the one in Moscow on the Red Square.  However, on May 9th, 2008, the Russian Federation returned to the Soviet Union tradition of showing off its mobile nuclear weapons during the Victory Day parade, declaring its return to super-power status (Также неизбежное поражение тех американских капиталистических свиней).  This is the RT-2UTTKh Topol-M Mobile ICBM, NATO Designation SS-27 Stalin.

This is a brand new “modernized” version of the weapon system, with a whole new kind of ICBM.  Want to know why you should be concerned?

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