Operator Speaking by Zachary Constantine
 

Photography: Still “Illegal”

2010-07-11 02:04:46 // The Operator
 

He asked who I was working for. I said I’m a freelance photojournalist working on assignment for ProPublica. He asked for verification of that so I showed him the letter from (ProPublica senior editor) Susan White. Officer Krietemeyer took down the information. Mr. Robison tried to dig at what the article was about, and I stayed mostly vague because I’m not the writer and I didn’t see the significance anyway. Eventually he asked if it’s about BP and I said yes, which seemed to make him angrier.

I then felt like Mr. Robison and Mr. Stief, the BP guard, started harassing me, primarily by keeping me there and talking to me in an aggressive and antagonistic manner, and relating what I had done to terrorist activity, ignoring what had actually happened. This went on for some time.

- ProPublica Photographer: I Was Followed by BP Security and Then Detained by Police

Homeland security can’t happen without your cooperation/intimidation/subjugation.

Posted in News | No Comments »


Do Dogs Go To Heaven?

2010-07-09 05:57:59 // The Operator
Tags:
 

[via Everything is Terrible]

Disappointed we ended up with Myers and not Nye? I was.

Posted in Comical, Video | No Comments »


Simian Virus 40 [SV40]

2010-06-17 18:17:39 // The Operator
 

[T]he largest vaccine contamination in medical history occurred from 1954 through early 1963, when millions of people around the world received polio vaccines that had been contaminated with a monkey virus.

- Polio Vaccines and the Origin of AIDS
B. F. ELSWOOD and R. B. STRICKER
Medical Hypotheses, vol. 42, 1994, pp. 347-354

Also relevant: The Corruption of Science and the Origin of AIDS: A Study in Spontaneous Generation by Louis Pascal.

Hilary Koprowski has been admonished of culpability and has successfully sued individuals who suggested his involvement in the creation and spread of AIDS.

Funny coincidence, though, isn’t it?

Posted in Misc. | No Comments »


“It sounds more like a respiratory illness.”

2010-05-31 22:12:24 // The Operator
 

Corexit, a dispersant, is being sprayed into the Gulf to break down the oil. The safety data information sheet from the manufacturer states that people should “avoid breathing in vapor” from Corexit, and that masks should be work when Corexit is present in certain concentrations in the air.

BP has not supplied workers with masks when they work near the oil and dispersants.

. . .

According to Guidry from the shrimpers’ association, BP told workers they were not allowed to wear masks.

“Some of our men asked, and they were told they’d be fired if they wore masks,” he said.

Tony Hayward, the chief executive officer of BP, offered another explanation for the fishermen’s illness: spoiled food.

- Fisherman files restraining order against BP

Taken straight from the playbook…

Posted in News | No Comments »


There are no atheists in foxholes…

2010-05-31 07:32:26 // The Operator
 

… at least not if the religious right has its way:

There is Campus Crusade for Christ’s Military Ministry, which has a permanent staff presence at U.S. military academies and whose directors have referred publicly to U.S. soldiers and Marines as “government-paid missionaries.” Such groups, Weinstein argues, “are the flip side of the Taliban. They’re like Islamic officers exercising Quranic leadership to raise a jihadi army.”

- Mikey Weinstein’s Crusade
at ForeignPolicy.com

via TYWKIWDBI

Ready to hunt men for Christ?

You’ll need your Bible verse sniper scope

Posted in News, Reaction | No Comments »


We no longer have a “free media”…

2010-05-24 18:46:12 // The Operator
 

Suffice it to say that, in all my experience, 43 years, there has been one seat change in our body politic and that I would suggest is the fact is that we no longer have a “free media” in any meaningful sense of the term.

You have to really try, you have to go out of your way, to get the real story – and most Americans are working two jobs or taking care of their kids and they get home at night and they put their feet up and they think that they’re getting news from the likes of Fox News and they’re of course getting anything else but news – they’re getting the kind of thing we used to get on Radio Moscow … they’re getting a steady diet of disinformation.

- Interview with 27-Year CIA Veteran Ray McGovern

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain – or this guy.

Posted in News, Video | No Comments »


Advice to Young People

2010-05-15 19:21:05 // The Operator
 

Always had a soft spot for William Seward Burroughs’ Words of Advice For Young People – perhaps it’s a bit dyspeptic, but there is some wisdom to be had.

Further observations on what may not be immediately apparent for some:


Never give your money to a beggar. You can’t help a parasite who refuses to help himself and you’ll find the real charity cases are asking for jobs, not dollars.

You’ll encounter people who treat you as though you’re seeking their approval. Oldest trick in the book – their opinions aren’t worth shit unless they’ve convinced you otherwise.

Religion, government, and the news media will only sell you ideas at a profit – you won’t get the whole story there and it costs you more than you might realize to lend an ear to their sales pitches.

Don’t settle for what anyone else tells you you’re worth: it’s in their interests not to. You aren’t earning your potential until you’re working for yourself.

The greater number of people are not intelligent and will act out their self-interest in ways which sabotage their best interests.

People who aren’t acting in their own self-interest are being manipulated by someone else who is.


Have some suggestions for the list? Please share in the comments.

Posted in Operator's Manual | No Comments »


Mohammed in Hell

2010-05-15 16:53:49 // The Operator
Tags:
 
Mohammed in Hell

Mohammed plate from The Divine Comedy by Gustave Doré

Posted in Misc. | 2 Comments »


Admissions of Fallibility

2010-05-12 17:30:58 // The Operator
 

Cognition is futile but I don’t believe in nihilism.

Understanding is a restriction of experience and it is by a reflexive framework of understanding that the stenosis of thought we foolishly call reality precludes us from the freedom of plenipotentiary chaos.

Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t – without a locus in the autodidactic fallacies of selfhood we would cease to be ourselves and revert to observers observing the machinations of the unknowable, manifold expressions of energy and matter.

Summary: The human mind is ill-equipped to comprehend the electron positions in a grain of salt and the nature of the universe is likely more complex than a grain of salt – the most you can ask of yourself is to be forgiving of your fallibility, aware of the paradox in any declarative statement, and willing to embrace the ephemeral for all its transient glory – it’s all you’ve got.

Posted in Journal | 2 Comments »


Drive-by Trolling: A Golden Opportunity

2010-05-09 03:27:30 // The Operator
Tags: ,
 

The premise:

The Golden 1 Credit Union

E-Commerce Manager
SACRAMENTO, CA

Are you seeking a golden opportunity?

Golden 1, one of California’s leading credit unions, is seeking a dynamic, energetic Manager to fill a key Marketing position. This position drives the eCommerce strategy and all online marketing efforts of Golden 1 as a major contributor to the accomplishment of organizational growth and retail goals. The eCommerce Manager serves to oversee research, development, and optimization of the complete online user experience with regard to online, mobile and text banking, online affiliate partnerships, e-mail campaign management, social media networks, website and intranet website. This position is also responsible for planning and budget management, as well as the communication of expectations and standards of performance among area direct reports.

Candidates must have a minimum of five years experience in Web development and maintenance and a minimum 3 years .NET experience. Two or more years of progressively responsible experience leading and supervising a Web development team, preferably within a financial institution. Experience programming in Spanish language is desired.

Pre-employment drug testing and background check are required before being offered a position. All applicants must be over the age of 18 and have a high school diploma or GED. We offer a competitive salary along with a generous benefits package.

Please apply:

The Golden 1 Credit Union
8945 Cal Center Drive
Sacramento Ca, 95826
Email:
RKelly@golden1.com
Fax: 916-363-7198

- E-Commerce Manager (Sacramento, CA)
Date: 2010-05-08, 12:51PM PDT

Opportunity taken:

To: RKelly@golden1.com

Subject: RE: E-Commerce Manager (Sacramento, CA)

I had questions and I think the post could use some clarification:

“Manager to fill a key Marketing position”

“Candidates must have a minimum of five years experience in Web development and maintenance and a minimum 3 years .NET experience”

So, essentially, you’re looking for a marketing manager who does development work – right?

“This position is also responsible for planning and budget management, as well as the communication of expectations and standards of performance among area direct reports.”

Would that be “departmental” planning and budget management, or is the E-Commerce Manager responsible for all planning and budget management, in addition to all web development?

How many employees does Golden 1, one of California’s leading credit unions, have on staff?

I am interested in the golden opportunity mentioned in your Craigslist post – I’m under 18 but that’s not really a deal-breaker for you, now, is it? I can assure you that I have plenty of experience.

Hope to hear back from you soon!

- Z. Constantine

Yes, I troll – but only for the lulz.

Posted in Comical, Reaction | No Comments »