junk and crap, amen

Just an ugly little story within a story, concerning the system. Contained within a kind of sketchy report in the Financial Post concerning a Bell Mobility executive suddenly resigning, is this:

A source familiar with the departing executive, however, said he was working on a discount cellphone brand call Smartco, which was to be aimed at seniors.

BCE had spent millions and had a staff of 60 working on the brand, which even had television commercials filmed, before George Cope came on board as BCE’s chief operating officer in 2006. Mr. Cope scuttled the brand in favour of maintaining Bell’s “disciplined pricing” approach, the source said.

What you're saying, George Cope, is that your current pricing structure is just too damn profitable to change. So fucking profitable that you can throw away "millions" and fire 60 employees. Such a cash cow that you can disregard the obvious humanity of giving seniors cheaper ways of communicating.

I mean, they get discounts on a goddam bus pass..

Are you also the same twerpy little shit who came up with the pay as you go unlimited nights & weekends ripoff? Normally, the per minute rate is 30 cents a minute for the first two minutes and 5 cents a minute thereafter, for each call. Once you activate the night & weekends thievery, your regular per minute rate is suddenly raised to 35 cents. For every minute.

Was that your brilliance manifesting itself?

Of course, maybe I've got this all wrong. Maybe you're looking out for the best interests of the consumer. You know, the people upon which your entire existence is dependent. But hey, if the rest of us stop using Bell (which thousands will do as soon as Canada implements legislation allowing people to switch carriers and keep their numbers), at least that would give you lots of time to dream up clever new ways of saying "price gouging".

Labels: Bell, corporations, seniors

At some point, you really have to start wondering if some people just didn't get enough vitamins when they were babies. Take the case of evangelical Christian leaders in the US. One after another, not unlike lemmings following each other off the cliff, they proceed to shove their heads entirely up their own asses, pull them back out and let shit fly from their mouths.

The newest facilitator of fecal fecundity is William Donahue.

To quote (click for audio - happens at 7:33):

"Just imagine if a white guy is performing oral sex on a statue of Martin Luther King with an erection. Do you need to see it to know it's ugly?"

That is some ugly shit.

Labels: religion, stupidity

Brilliant documentary from John Pilger, on the effects of corporate globalization on the third world and specifically Indonesia. Highlights: Between 39:10 and 44:00, Pilger interviews Stanley Fischer, a top IMF bureaucrat. Fischer squirms and twists, answering Pilger's questions about debt relief with the usual patent answers (I wish Pilger would have brought up the example of Solon of Athens). At around 42:50, Pilger hits him with a UN report on the negative effects corporate globalization has had on human rights. "Globalization has caused global conditions of inequality and discrimination." Fischer actual grins while he says he can't respond because he doesn't understand the context. He appears amused at this silly little question, or baffled. "I'd have thought it was the opposite" he says. Pilger then brings up the specific example of Indonesia, to which Fischer responds "...Indonesia grew throughout the 60's ... incomes rose ... there was a dictatorship ... some of their rights were, uh, where, uh, suppressed ... " (italics added) to which Pilger responds "Excuse me Mr. Fischer, you say some of their rights were suppressed. A third of the population of East Timor were killed under the Suharto regime." Fischer then gets indignant, saying "What are you asking me that question for? Do you think we supported the Suharto regime? Don't be ridiculous." to which Pilger responds "Well, did you speak out against it?". Beautiful.