Dilbert_X
The X stands for
+1,813|6323|eXtreme to the maX

uziq wrote:

bitcoins aren't 'tied up' in a graphics card, either. they're kept in an encrypted wallet on your hard drive.
Oh thank god, thats completel different.
Fuck Israel
uziq
Member
+493|3669
it's a virtual currency that was accepted by multiple online and real-world vendors. i'm not really sure why you're so confused or skeptical about that part.

i've lived in two places which invented their own local currency to stimulate 'buying local', 'supporting independent business', etc. if the vendors accept it and its in circulation, why is it different from any other currency? you give the token; they accept the token; you get an item; they use the token onwards.

how is having your bitcoin balance on your PC, wholly digitally, substantially any different from having money in a paypal escrow?
Dilbert_X
The X stands for
+1,813|6323|eXtreme to the maX
Bitcoin's validity could fizzle out in an instant, it probably will, dollars probably aren't going to any time soon.
Fuck Israel
uziq
Member
+493|3669
highly doubt bitcoin will fizzle out at this point, cryptocurrency and the fundamental technology its based upon will stick around forever.

even when the speculative bubble bursts, and even if bitcoin goes back to being worth $0.20, it'll still be used, as it was for years before this current craze, for secure and anonymous online purchases. it was good for that. totally untraceable, after all.

what could seriously damage it is if world governments get together to try and stamp it out. well, good luck. there's about 150 meme coin currencies at this point. and it doesn't really look like that's happening; it rather looks as if the major financial players and institutions are starting to soften on cryptocurrency, now they see its investment potential (or the ability to turn a quick buck).

if they can get some sort of regulation and take all the power away from some pretty shady exchanges/private individuals, it could become a semi-respectable thing.
SuperJail Warden
Gone Forever
+640|3937
To stop the labor shortage employers should encourage employees to have affairs with coworkers. Perhaps it can be rolled into people's benefit packages.
https://i.imgur.com/xsoGn9X.jpg
SuperJail Warden
Gone Forever
+640|3937
The first Starbucks unionized today. Starbucks is a great place to take your coworker you are interested in during your lunch break. Get her/him used to taking little trips.

Subscribe to my newsletter for more tips.
https://i.imgur.com/xsoGn9X.jpg
uziq
Member
+493|3669
did you know kenny G was one of the earliest investors in starbucks? their coffee tastes like his music.
SuperJail Warden
Gone Forever
+640|3937
https://i.redd.it/huim9pk4dg581.jpg
???
https://i.imgur.com/xsoGn9X.jpg
uziq
Member
+493|3669
apparently a bunch of amazon employees died in that warehouse collapse because their superiors wouldn’t let them go home during a massive tornado alert.

and 90% of the workers there were contract workers without any legal protections or insurance. stay classy, amazon.

Last edited by uziq (2021-12-14 07:59:41)

SuperJail Warden
Gone Forever
+640|3937
People from Kentucky on Reddit said it is basically SOP to work through tornado alerts everywhere. And Kentucky is famously bad when it comes to labor laws though blue states have the same issue with contractors being used to get around having to pay benefits.

FWIW, healthcare shouldn't be tied to work. I don't fault any employer for not wanting to have to manage healthcare plans. I do hold in contempt people who oppose government provided health care for whatever reason. Government run healthcare is pro-business anyway. Healthcare being the individual/government's responsibility would be a boon to many employers.
https://i.imgur.com/xsoGn9X.jpg
unnamednewbie13
Moderator
+2,053|6989|PNW

Yeah there's not a chance most small businesses are usually going to be able to afford health insurance plans for their employees. Gotta be a certain size and profit margin I think before that can happen. Should def be a government service, with tax breaks for the wealthy rolled back to less absurd amounts to help cover it blah blah communism blah. Then everyone can be covered, and all the struggling little guy businesses the Republicans say they love so much will get a break.

Amazon should certainly not get a break from scrutiny just because other companies do the same stuff. "SOP in Kentucky" seems like a heat sink for the gov't to do nothing about it for the next several years.
unnamednewbie13
Moderator
+2,053|6989|PNW

https://i.imgur.com/qJkrx2K.jpg
unnamednewbie13
Moderator
+2,053|6989|PNW

So TBH my first mental image on the Amazon thing was they were kept working while the place was blowing apart. It would fit the memes, and certainly the reputation amazon's corporate culture has made for itself. Via CNN:

Several employees told Reuters that they had been directed to shelter in bathrooms by Amazon managers after receiving emergency alerts on mobile phones from local authorities. The first warning was issued about 40 minutes before the tornado hit, according to firefighters and the Illinois governor.

Amazon confirmed in an email that the site got tornado warnings through various alerts. "Our team worked quickly to ensure as many employees and partners could get to the designated Shelter in Place," the company said in a statement. "We thank them for everything they were able to do."

Workers gave conflicting accounts as to whether the bathroom was the designated shelter. Amazon did not comment.

Some of those workers said they had kept their phones in violation of an Amazon policy that prevents them from having cellphones at work.

The company responded by saying employees and drivers are allowed to have their cellphones.

"I was at the end of my route. I was just getting in the building and they started screaming, 'Shelter in place!'" said David Kosiak, 26, who has worked at the facility for three months. "We were in the bathrooms. That's where they sent us."
OK

Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union criticized Amazon for requiring employees to work through a tornado warning.

"This is another outrageous example of the company putting profits over the health and safety of their workers, and we cannot stand for this. Amazon cannot continue to be let off the hook for putting hard working people's lives at risk. Our union will not back down until Amazon is held accountable for these and so many more dangerous labor practices," said Stuart Appelbaum, President of the RWDSU.
Honestly though, if that hit their apartments or swept up their cars, they'd probably have been no safer outside the factory. Maybe there should be more tornado shelters, though. Imagine if in all its wealth, Amazon had built a better place to shelter in tornado country than a facility's bathrooms.
Dilbert_X
The X stands for
+1,813|6323|eXtreme to the maX
It makes sense to have the bathroom as the shelter in case, you know, people need to go to the bathroom during a tornado.

At Ford the hardened structure in the crappy building was built around a conference room and the bathrooms.

mAk3s 4cTuAl s3nZe
Fuck Israel
unnamednewbie13
Moderator
+2,053|6989|PNW

I feel like you could plumb a bunker for, you know, a bunker shelter people could escape to during a tornado and still be able to relieve themselves.

I wonder if Amazon will count the bathroom downtime against their pay.
Dilbert_X
The X stands for
+1,813|6323|eXtreme to the maX
Yes, instead of building the bunker around the bathroom build a whole extra bathroom in the bunker.

What if a tornado hits while someone is taking a shit?

They'll die, while taking a shit, and it'll be your fault.
Fuck Israel
unnamednewbie13
Moderator
+2,053|6989|PNW

I don't really understand where this is going or if you're just piling on the usual layer of sarcasm. Underground storm shelters, or aboveground saferooms are a thing in tornado states. Have you ever seen Twister? I would guess that whatever cheapo framework they had around their warehouse bathroom was probably not as strong as either of those options, and maybe less bulky depending on floor plans?

Also shelters can have more amenities than just toilets.
uziq
Member
+493|3669

unnamednewbie13 wrote:

Honestly though, if that hit their apartments or swept up their cars, they'd probably have been no safer outside the factory. Maybe there should be more tornado shelters, though. Imagine if in all its wealth, Amazon had built a better place to shelter in tornado country than a facility's bathrooms.
apartment blocks are way better storm and weatherproofed than factories, especially vast warehouse places like amazon uses. it’s essentially a giant tin can with a peelable lid. when’s the last time a tornado blew down an apartment block?

i’ve read lots of conflicting stuff about amazon’s culpability in this, but then again their PR machine is probably working in overtime now there’s global attention on it. wouldn’t surprise me if they’re trying to settle things left, right and centre and out of court. the political ramifications of an ugly happening like this could be huge. amazon want to preserve their ‘business as usual’ and not let, you know, the death of their employees lead to better conditions or rights for said employees.

i saw some screenshots of a text exchange in which one of the killed contractors text his partner saying they weren’t allowed to leave the site early. that just strikes me as shitty. where i work, you can go home early if you have a headache. a tornado warning? jesus christ.
unnamednewbie13
Moderator
+2,053|6989|PNW

3 days after tornado destroyed their apartments, displaced northwest Dallas renters are living in limbo
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/weather … -in-limbo/

Point anyway, warehouse buildings aren't exactly hardened structures.

How much time exactly did they have to even get home after the alarms went off? What were they threatened with if they left work anyway? Would security block them in? Giant Amazon facility can have storm shelters in storm country. There's really no reason not to.

Amazon could even start an Essentials line of storm shelters. Maybe revive Sears-style housing but with the cheapest construction possible, lol. Welcome Prime citizen to your Prime home. Dinner tonight is Prime waffles. Make sure you get to bed soon, lights out at Prime time. You have a doctor's appointment with your Prime provider at 9 am sharp.
uziq
Member
+493|3669
lol at your last paragraph. they’ve already started offering PCR tests in the U.K.  it wouldn’t surprise me if amazon eventually offered an entire line of climate change and global disaster related products. truly the snake at the end of capitalism eating its own tail.
unnamednewbie13
Moderator
+2,053|6989|PNW

Open the pod bay doors, Alexa.
Cybargs
Moderated
+2,285|6933

uziq wrote:

unnamednewbie13 wrote:

Honestly though, if that hit their apartments or swept up their cars, they'd probably have been no safer outside the factory. Maybe there should be more tornado shelters, though. Imagine if in all its wealth, Amazon had built a better place to shelter in tornado country than a facility's bathrooms.
apartment blocks are way better storm and weatherproofed than factories, especially vast warehouse places like amazon uses. it’s essentially a giant tin can with a peelable lid. when’s the last time a tornado blew down an apartment block?

i’ve read lots of conflicting stuff about amazon’s culpability in this, but then again their PR machine is probably working in overtime now there’s global attention on it. wouldn’t surprise me if they’re trying to settle things left, right and centre and out of court. the political ramifications of an ugly happening like this could be huge. amazon want to preserve their ‘business as usual’ and not let, you know, the death of their employees lead to better conditions or rights for said employees.

i saw some screenshots of a text exchange in which one of the killed contractors text his partner saying they weren’t allowed to leave the site early. that just strikes me as shitty. where i work, you can go home early if you have a headache. a tornado warning? jesus christ.
when american capitalism outcompetes korean capitalism.
https://cache.www.gametracker.com/server_info/203.46.105.23:21300/b_350_20_692108_381007_FFFFFF_000000.png
SuperJail Warden
Gone Forever
+640|3937

uziq wrote:

lol at your last paragraph. they’ve already started offering PCR tests in the U.K.  it wouldn’t surprise me if amazon eventually offered an entire line of climate change and global disaster related products. truly the snake at the end of capitalism eating its own tail.
I had to go to a local pharmacy yesterday. They have covid test kits for sale at the front desk. $50. Exploitative.
https://i.imgur.com/xsoGn9X.jpg
unnamednewbie13
Moderator
+2,053|6989|PNW

I think I saw some that were like $200, but it might have been a multipack.
uziq
Member
+493|3669

Cybargs wrote:

uziq wrote:

unnamednewbie13 wrote:

Honestly though, if that hit their apartments or swept up their cars, they'd probably have been no safer outside the factory. Maybe there should be more tornado shelters, though. Imagine if in all its wealth, Amazon had built a better place to shelter in tornado country than a facility's bathrooms.
apartment blocks are way better storm and weatherproofed than factories, especially vast warehouse places like amazon uses. it’s essentially a giant tin can with a peelable lid. when’s the last time a tornado blew down an apartment block?

i’ve read lots of conflicting stuff about amazon’s culpability in this, but then again their PR machine is probably working in overtime now there’s global attention on it. wouldn’t surprise me if they’re trying to settle things left, right and centre and out of court. the political ramifications of an ugly happening like this could be huge. amazon want to preserve their ‘business as usual’ and not let, you know, the death of their employees lead to better conditions or rights for said employees.

i saw some screenshots of a text exchange in which one of the killed contractors text his partner saying they weren’t allowed to leave the site early. that just strikes me as shitty. where i work, you can go home early if you have a headache. a tornado warning? jesus christ.
when american capitalism outcompetes korean capitalism.
not sure about that. the stories of workplace bullying, abuse, and generally shitty conditions at places like coupang (korean amazon), naver (korean google), kakao (korean facebook/whatsapp/etc) are totally legion.

the delivery driver culture in korea is honestly suicidally bad. this is a culture that expects same/next-day delivery for pretty much everything, like amazon courier deliveries taken to the next level. takeaways, groceries, household goods, electronics: the cities swarm with moped delivery drivers, normally with 20-24hr coverage per day (pre-pandemic, anyway).



korea probably also takes a special distinction in that the ‘good’ graduate level jobs at head corporate office also grind people down to dust. i doubt corporate amazon workers are as unhappy, bullied and legally unprotected as ‘successful’ koreans at naver HQ with ‘elite’ jobs. haha. it goes without saying that this is because korea is probably two generations behind the west with worker's rights, legal protections, health-and-safety, equality laws, etc. this means even people with permanent contracts at good companies can be treated like total shit; amazon has to exploit loopholes with contractors and temporary staff.

it's silly to distinguish between 'american capitalism' and 'korean capitalism' (or japanese, for that matter) anyway. they are significantly creations, and extensions, of pax americana, after all. korea just gives it that special twist that comes from zerg rushing the stages of development in 30 years rather than 300.

koreans call it 'gwarosa', death by overwork; japan similarly has 'karoshi' and china now has that infamous '996' culture. people lazily generalize and say that it's because of 'confucian values', but honestly that's some vague bullshit. nobody works themselves to death because of a philosopher from a few thousand years ago. it's because capitalism, numpties.

Last edited by uziq (2021-12-15 18:43:59)

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