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The unsolicited, unreasoned, uninformed, unapologetic opinions of Rev. Joe Dirt
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) formally ceased to exist on 26 December 1991. The result was 15 more or less separate countries. Below are the 15 resultant countries. Can you match the flags?
A
Imaginary overheard snippet of conversation…
“Don’t be fooled by the big ears, big hands and big feet…”
Which is the Russian Federation flag and which is the Ukrainian flag?
…yeah I know you did not ask!
Robin referred to me today as David Cop-a-feel. I think I like it.
…yeah I know you did not ask!
A person is simply the sum of his/her rationalizations.
…yeah I know you did not ask!
Man is simply a machine for creating rationalizations.
Speaking at an international security conference in Munich, Germany, Kerry said:
“The aspirations of citizens are once again being trampled beneath corrupt, oligarchic interests – interests that use money to stifle political opposition and dissent, to buy politicians and media outlets, and to weaken judicial independence and the rights of non-governmental organizations.”
Most folks thought he was talking about Ukraine, but sounds a lot like what is going on the good old USA.
She pretty much nails it…
I’m not going to mention the company, but I worked two IT contracts at a corporation that is consistently very close to the top the 100 Best Companies to Work For list.
Admittedly, as a contractor I was treated differently than employees. This is not always the case, but it was at this company. Admittedly, I am not your typical corporate type. I have always felt like a square peg in a round hole at these types of companies. Yet I have worked for several Fortune 500 companies over the years.
I was amazed all 3 years I worked at this company that they excelled on this listing. I knew almost no one who seemed genuinely happy with their job. There were a few folks around who were “somebody” or thought they were going to be “somebody”. These folks at least had a sense of purpose. What I observed was a management style of that seemed to me to be intimidation. Maybe it was my Southern sensibilities, but I did not find it a friendly place. The alternately left me for long periods with nothing to do, or with rush projects that were due yesterday. To me it was crazy making. My range of duties was so narrow that it did not give much job satisfaction. From what I observed this was not uncommon.
At one point they made me an offer to come on full time. It was surprising in its low remuneration. I later learned that it was pretty much in line with what the employees were making. Contracting seemed like a much better deal.
I read today a piece on Alternet.org , How Screwing Your Workers Gets You Rated as Top 100 Places to Work. The article is about Darden Restaurants, but it shed much light on how these companies get on this list. Basically, it is very similar to getting yourself on a Who Is Who List. You pay for the privilege. The ranking is not actually by Fortune magazine, but has been outsourced to GPWI.
“There were 11,327 U.S. firms with 1,000 or more employees in 2008, according to the most recent Census Bureau data. In 2012, only 280 of these companies paid GPWI to participate in its best workplace contest”
Suddenly, it all makes sense to me.