Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Learn To Code Episode 2: Project 1: MineSweeper, Part 1

In this video I introduce Project 1 which is an implementation of the classic game MineSweeper. We begin by constructing some needed prototype static meshes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2khbXhCIRc



Click here to recommend this post on progressivebloggers.ca and help other people find this information.

Richard Fantin is a self-taught software developer who has mostly throughout his career focused on financial applications and high frequency trading. He currently works for CenturyLink

Nazayh Zanidean is a Project Coordinator for a mid-sized construction contractor in Calgary, Alberta. He enjoys writing as a hobby on topics that include foreign policy, international human rights, security and systemic media bias.

Monday, January 20, 2020

The stark reality Albertans face

One of the biggest pet peeves I have in Canadians is our comfort in "politics". We love to pride ourselves on our civility, our rule of law and process, but quite often this same pride blinds us to when these systems are used and weaponized against us.

For this we have no defense. We write angry letters. We get mad on Twitter. There was word of a general strike but the UCP has wrapped that in negotiation "red tape". Negotiations that will surely be designed to go nowhere but prevent any real affirmative action at the same time.

My certainty in the motives that I describe in 'Alberta's Great Panderer', isn't just based on what's happening right now with the UCP, it's based on all the work I've compiled here, the forecasts made, the inevitable logical conclusion of these events culminating in a choice for the ultra rich and banker class: vacate Alberta or lose.

Now don't get me wrong, I very much appreciate the work of Markham Hislop and other more "positive" voices but the key missing component to these works is they don't take into account that the banks really couldn't give two fucking shits about you or your family. They don't care about Alberta's future. The banks really don't care about raising people "out of poverty", they deliberately put people into poverty. Debt servitude is the name of their racket as we discussed in the last post.
Something folks on the left don't understand about the oil industry, is the oil industry isn't fighting to keep the oil industry alive for the sake of profit. The oil industry is fighting to stay alive because it is the fuel for infinite growth. Notice how all environmental discussion and methods revolve around how we can maintain our current economic system (which is fundamentally based on infinite growth, a pyramid scheme) in light of the reality infinite growth likely isn't possible. Observe Mark Carney stumble all over this question:
It's a good thing computers run on fairy dust to power all of the additional processing power a virtualized economy will cause. His answer is absolute nonsense. This is why I warned about him in 'Hellberta Strikes Back: WEXIT, Wolf, and War Rooms! OH MY!'. Bankers will put infinite growth before you. Remember this in everything they do. Everything the money powers will do to "fight climate change" is designed to maintain infinite growth in an economy headed towards permanent deflation. Cory Morningstar has excellent research regarding this.

Don't be fooled, if the bankers could fuel infinite growth on renewable energy they'd drop oil in a heartbeat. And also, our current rates of consumption to power GDP are unnecessary this is all in service to the banks. Different economic models are possible, especially with today's technology. Communism, socialism, capitalism, are simply different management systems for infinite growth. Ancient, outdated, we could open source a new economic model today built by the people. We don't need the central bankers, we don't need the politicians that promote infinite growth as the only real concern, they're archaic grifters.

But. We don't.

Around the world numerous countries have been protesting against these types of economic policies. This is not isolated, and the people behind it know exactly what the outcome is going to be. We are not special Canada, and Alberta, we are just another target.

The Federal Reserve didn't restart QE for fun, things are going to get bad this year I believe.
Alberta's doomed economy passed the point of no return, from the eyes of bankers, long ago. These people don't care about the future, they care about how to "get out". What is happening today is the vultures are picking us clean, it's as simple as that. The risks and liabilities are systematically being offloaded from the bank balance sheets, and on to ours, on to that of first nations. The companies leave, pocketing millions. And.. we pay for it. All of it. We've been getting fucked over for 4 decades and this is it folks, I'm telling you, the pot is empty. They have drained Alberta dry.

This is not "politics". It's not "ideology". We are being looted by corrupt banker criminals. Everything that will be taken from us over the next 4 years isn't going to return and the resulting mess will be a pox on the house of Alberta for generations. This is not the Klein years, this is clean up of the job. Mission complete.

The UCP has declared war on the people of Alberta, through their actions and via their establishment of targeted propaganda. We should believe them.



Click here to recommend this post on progressivebloggers.ca and help other people find this information.

Richard Fantin is a self-taught software developer who has mostly throughout his career focused on financial applications and high frequency trading. He currently works for CenturyLink

Nazayh Zanidean is a Project Coordinator for a mid-sized construction contractor in Calgary, Alberta. He enjoys writing as a hobby on topics that include foreign policy, international human rights, security and systemic media bias.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Left or Right, infinite growth is the enemy and why de-platforming is a fatal mistake

A growing trend I've noticed recently in social media is the belief that by ignoring and isolating "bad actors" (effectively in many cases simply people you don't agree with) that it diminishes their reach. It's true, but only amongst your own increasingly isolated following. This also has a side effect, it creates a more isolated environment for the "bad actors" as well, which I argue is significantly worse than engaging with the possible potential you'll amplify their message, above your own.

Now, I know, many users are abusive. I'm not saying to engage with these users, but what I am saying is to know your enemy, to infiltrate the ranks, to create discussion.

I've been 100% focused on the propaganda efforts of the UCP in particular (but really these expand to the federal level too) because as was last discussed in my post 'What Jason Kenney and the UCP fear most' it is the weakest point of attack. Counter the propaganda and the entire ruse falls to shreds and alternatively, without countering the propaganda policy will be enacted without a care in the world because the goal of the UCP caucus isn't to be popular, or to be liked, but rather to help the banks.

This approach can not be taken from your point of view, you're not going to convince anybody with your point of view. Your counter points need to be their point of view, to poke holes in the propaganda using their own words and actions and to do this you need to know your enemy.

Go look at the comments to any of Keean Bexte's posts, what do you see? It's a majority positive commentary. I can tell you this, the folks commenting on those posts are reading entirely different news, watching entirely different videos, and are effectively living in an entirely different world, than you are. If you're one of the unfortunate souls that's been fooled by this shill piece of shit then the above is true, but for you from the opposite point of view. "Liberal bias", or whatever.

Closing yourself off from them, and promoting everyone close themselves off from them simply makes this situation worse. They may be diminished in influence for you, but within the ever growing echo chamber their perception is the influence is only growing. Especially if there are no opposing voices. If everyone is in full agreement of the nonsense, the confidence of this nonsense only grows. You're just not noticing that anymore.

If peace of political mind is all you want, then cool, but if you're looking to provoke discussion and change minds, it's far more effective to do it from the trenches. Without a counter point it's just a jumble of confirmation bias. Why do you think the propaganda centre has disabled comments, feedback, everything? Propaganda is more effective in unthinking echo chambers than it is when it's directly opposed.

And it is propaganda.
You all remember the IDU from Alberta's Great Panderer, right? It's interesting isn't it that O'Toole just the other day repeated the exact same messaging, of Jason Kenney, along with basically everything "right wing". Such as the various "Actions" "Prouds" and yadda yadda, all linked through the Manning Centre, and IDU.

This is a coordinated campaign, make no mistake. From Hammish Marshall and the Rebel, the Astroturfs, right to the CPC, Jason Kenney, Doug Ford and our propaganda centre. Efforts with this much pull behind them aren't going to be diminished, it's just 1 more voice of opposition lost.

Go watch the Rebel's election coverage, seriously, sit through the whole thing (as difficult as that is because it's absolutely fucking stupid. I can't believe people would willingly choose this as their preferred election coverage). Put yourself in a real viewers' shoes. See what they're seeing because they're seeing it ALL the time.

Take notice of the complete lack of any opposing or balanced viewpoint, there is no debate, there is no critical thought, there is nothing but ridiculous stupid banter. One of my favorite moments is when Ezra Levant explains how parliamentary democracy voting works in that it's divided into seats and MPs need to have confidence of the house to form government as "we have an electoral college of sorts". In fact comparisons to the U.S. system of governance were abound. This is what you're up against, and there are no counterpoints in that sphere, none.

This isn't to say various mainstream news outlets may not be "biased", of course the media is owned by the money powers and are pushing an agenda. But there's discussion, opposing viewpoints (even if controlled opposition), it exercises thought to some degree. Not so with the increasingly isolated alternative reality being created for the UCP types. Attempting to diminish voices like those will have the inverse effect, not the desired effect, it makes the echo chamber louder for all those within it and the louder and more confident this echo chamber grows the less receptive to any information not coming from the cult leaders they will be.

You can see this already, often in discussions my sources will be written off as "liberal biased" because it's published by CBC or something. This has been consistent messaging. There's #defundcbc, etc. All of these efforts remove counterpoints. The less counterpoints, the more open air their lies have to fester.

From what I observe, left or right, most people just want things to be ok. I find the differences occur when specific problems are identified, or focused upon, that has a negative effect in another part of the broken system, which then effects someone else, and so on.

As an example lets look at a recent tweet by Bridget Casey on the $25 / day daycare pilot project that was cancelled by the UCP, which drew a good amount of attention:
Of course I support this initiative, but ultimately it's  just a patch for a broken system. Why is daycare increasingly un-affordable in the first place? The counterpoint to her tweet was largely that these people feel they shouldn't have to pay taxes for other people's childcare, which again skirts the real issue in that childcare is increasingly un-affordable. That is the problem to solve, which really extends into.. why is everything becoming so expensive?

It's the same thing with the wage gap, of course yes it is specifically a problem, but it's a problem within a much larger set of problems. Problems that extend into wage stagnation and the upper echelon taking all the gains. In short, we're all getting fucked.

For those worried about taxes or debt, I have news for you: all currency is debt. All of it is loaned into existence, at interest, and there is never enough currency in existence to pay the debt. Every government is in debt, and the only way Alberta could fake getting out of debt was with a massive price run up in oil fuelling an oil boom combined with devastating cuts to services. And it instantly fell right back in.


Long time readers of this blog will know I post the above video a lot, but if you're new please do give it a watch particularly if you're not aware how currency is actually created. It focuses on the US system, but every modern currency system works the same way and analyzing issues I find is difficult without this fundamental understanding. It is this understanding that bridges the gaps between the sides, for the problem is actually the same problem which if it didn't exist as it does now would result in an entirely different structure and level of wealth for society. If there is anything to know about how the system really works, it's this.

Understand it is literally impossible, in a debt based infinite exponential growth monetary paradigm, to ever pay off the debt. Ever increasing levels of debt is baked into the system and the slow degradation of the public good is assured. Conservatives are absolutely correct in that there should be no debt, they are absolutely right to be furious it exists, but they are fooled into believing that cutting services for the public good can ever achieve it. Their good intention is turned against them, and it's turned against us. They're not seeing the full picture, they just see the portion they're looking at. As is the case with most left and right disagreements in the organization of society. Things would probably be a lot less tense if we weren't being looted on a massive scale.

The interesting thing about Alberta is that while it's never been more divided, the divisions have never been closer together.


Click here to recommend this post on progressivebloggers.ca and help other people find this information.

Richard Fantin is a self-taught software developer who has mostly throughout his career focused on financial applications and high frequency trading. He currently works for CenturyLink

Nazayh Zanidean is a Project Coordinator for a mid-sized construction contractor in Calgary, Alberta. He enjoys writing as a hobby on topics that include foreign policy, international human rights, security and systemic media bias.

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Alberta's propaganda centre insists 'Canadians will have to accept an increase in their own emissions for the greater good of reducing global emissions'

The ongoing theme here lately has been to really drive home that the propaganda centre's purpose is not the international investment community, the opposition, or the fence sitters. It is for the base that's already convinced, hungry for new nonsensical talking points to assure them the war efforts are underway and going well.

The Canadian Energy Centre has been focusing themselves on trying to drive home 2 main themes based on the articles and posts I've been seeing over the last few weeks.

1) INDIGENOUS PEOPLE LOVE OILSANDS! (And you should just ignore the ones that don't)

and

2) Increasing Canadian LNG production will "displace coal" in countries like China, and will help lower GHG emissions.

Both of these claims are clearly geared towards the Canadian base, neither of these are talking points international investors will care about. These are largely Canadian concerns, and Canada's inevitably increasing emissions and treatment of indigenous groups has been a thorn in the industries' side.

The focus on Canadians (Albertans) can be seen in the final paragraph of their latest LNG propaganda:
Findlay agrees, saying it will be difficult for countries to reach agreements to share emissions reductions and to verify that Canadian gas is truly displacing coal, but it is critical to combatting climate change at a global level. 
“Something is needed to offset the fact that the Paris Agreement is predicated on individual nation commitments, which is fundamentally incongruent with a global economy,” he says. “Without some benefit to energy exporting countries who help reduce total global emissions, Canadians will have to accept an increase in their own emissions for the greater good of reducing global emissions.”
 So in other words, if Canada can not arrange for a global basically untrackable carbon offset program (which will allow us to increase our emissions), then Canadians will just have to accept that our emissions will increase for the "greater good". Either way, the only "solution" is to increase our emissions and hence our production. How convenient for the producers.

Read that again, Canada will need to increase it's emissions to lower global emissions. This is based on the idea that because China will have access to Canadian LNG they won't need that coal. Unfortunately, that's not how the global economy works.

There is a paradox in energy economics, called Jevon's paradox. It reads like this:
In economics, the Jevons paradox (/ˈdʒɛvənz/; sometimes Jevons effect) occurs when technological progress or government policy increases the efficiency with which a resource is used (reducing the amount necessary for any one use), but the rate of consumption of that resource rises due to increasing demand.[1] The Jevons paradox is perhaps the most widely known paradox in environmental economics.[2] However, governments and environmentalists generally assume that efficiency gains will lower resource consumption, ignoring the possibility of the paradox arising
It's a paradox that is well known and conveniently ignored because it destroys most, if not all of the faux "climate concern" coming from the money powers of the infinite-growth ponzi-conomy.

Here is the UCP propagandists using this same deliberate misunderstanding of (and not to mention intentionally misleading) Jevon's paradox to promote progress when in reality there won't truly be any aside from producing even more:
Open the article in question and what it actually says is:
Canada’s Cenovus Energy on Thursday unveiled plans to reduce per-barrel greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent by the end of 2030, as the country’s oil industry faces growing pressure from environmental activists.
Per barrel. Not a 30% reduction, a 30% reduction per barrel, hence allowing them to produce more. Cenovus in the short term wants to increase production by 70,000 barrels per day. Also again notice the focus on "indigenous ownership", which I find pretty funny that now that the oil companies have burned through all of the good oil, and the oil booms, and are having trouble attracting investment, NOW they want indigenous ownership. More accurately I'd say they want to transfer the increasing risk from these projects to indigenous hands.
The rising focus on the financial sector and investors presents another threat to oil and gas companies. But companies are vulnerable in different ways. U.S. shale drilling, for example, may not be all that exposed to this financial bubble. The bulk of a shale well’s production occurs in just a few years, allowing them to dodge the government restrictions and demand risk that likely lie in the future. That’s not to say that shale is not littered with its own set of financial problems, but the problem of stranded assets is a deeper problem for long-lived oil and gas projects
That includes Canada’s oil sands, LNG, offshore oil drilling and pipeline projects.
“Mark Carney is a thoughtful person so I want to listen closely to what he has to say,” Michael Tims, vice-chairman of Calgary-based Matco Investments, told the Financial Post
“The harder part is to try to rationally assess what the implications are to value for longer-horizon projects.”
These projects are based on the assumption that they will stick around for decades. The problem is that many of them are unviable in a world that gets serious about climate change. So, either the world blows past climate targets and hurtles toward catastrophe, or governments crack down on oil and gas, upending assets currently worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
Handing over the risk to indigenous communities at this time would seem like the smart thing to do, wouldn't it? It has the added benefit of convincing Canadians that after decades of fighting them, destroying their land, destroying their way of life, suddenly nooooooow we care. And if they don't support the projects, we have snipers for that. Don't we?

The UCP and propagandists have also been using the pipeline between Russia and China as reasoning for claiming there will be increased demand and that if only Canada can get it's LNG over there we would displace coal! One then would have to wonder, if an LNG supply will displace coal why is the Russian LNG pipeline not doing that? Why is China continuing to build coal (and everything) energy infrastructure?

Refer back to Jevon's paradox for your answer.

But there is another omission in the propagandists reasoning that is quite important to understand: the Russia/China pipeline is part of their plans to dump the U.S. dollar.
Some companies, however, have begun to move away from the greenback. In 2015, Gazprom Neft announced that it settled all of its oil exports to China in renminbi. And in August this year, Rosneft announced that it would stop using the US dollar for its export contracts. 
However, Demarais said complete de-dollarization remains a “utopia” on account of the reliance of global oil exports using dollar transactions, as well as the volatility of the rouble. Additionally, as Russia represents only 2% of global GDP (gross domestic product) it also means the rouble remains unattractive for some international investors.
Additional trading costs created by de-dollarization will also represent another “major obstacle,” she said. 
Dolgin suggested that further de-dollarization of Russia’s trade and a switch of its oil export contracts to euros is possible if the EU and China upscale their own efforts to bypass the dollar
The report concluded that Russia’s Ministry of Finance may be able to de-dollarize its assets after 2020, once the liquid portion of its National Wealth Fund (NWF) reaches 7% of GDP, allowing “bigger diversification of instruments.”
Canadas/Albertas insistence that if it can just get resources to tidewater everything will be fine, the jobs will returns, and prosperity will be back, is a lie. It's an excuse and dangling carrot meant to provide hope for a population whose jobs have always been on the chopping block.

Ironically China seems to be one of the only "investors" sticking around in Canada even as the EROEI of oilsands developments looks more and more unpromising:
While some European and U.S. companies cut their exposure to the Canadian oilsands, China’s Big Three oil giants — CNOOC, PetroChina and Sinopec — seem content to let their bets ride even if the results haven’t been spectacular.

In 2018, PetroChina produced an average of just 7,300 barrels per day of bitumen from its MacKay River thermal oilsands project, although it was designed to produce 35,000 bpd. In June, its output was about 8,700 bpd. 
The Beijing-based company paid $1.9 billion in 2009 for 60 per cent interests in the proposed MacKay River and Dover oilsands projects being developed by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. (now just Athabasca Oil Corp.), then bought out the rest of MacKay for $680 million in 2012 and Dover for $1.2 billion in 2014. 
“MacKay River is located in an area with complex geology, which creates challenges to heat up the reservoir to get the bitumen flowing,” said spokesman Davis Sheremata in an emailed statement.
The real problems with oilsands development haven't changed, they've just been papered over with the "we need pipelines" dangling carrot. Pipelines or no pipelines the jobs aren't coming back, and unless you're a China - with a long term goal and which uses the economy not as the end goal, but rather a tool - the future for Alberta is looking increasingly bleak despite the cheerleading coming from the UCP crowd.

This is why it's so important for the propaganda centre to focus on the supportive base. Without a faux war against everything to channel the anger, that anger would inevitably end up on the doorsteps of the companies that have never had any intention of fueling another job boom.

Click here to recommend this post on progressivebloggers.ca and help other people find this information.

Richard Fantin is a self-taught software developer who has mostly throughout his career focused on financial applications and high frequency trading. He currently works for CenturyLink

Nazayh Zanidean is a Project Coordinator for a mid-sized construction contractor in Calgary, Alberta. He enjoys writing as a hobby on topics that include foreign policy, international human rights, security and systemic media bias.

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

The UCP and convenient incompetence

Originally today I had planned on beginning recording of project 1 for the Learn To Code series but I ended up having a respectful exchange earlier on Twitter, regarding the UCP and supposed 'incompetence'.
I've increasingly seen this sort of resignation of incompetence as an excuse for their actions, I even saw some theory being promoted on Twitter the incompetence of the CEC may be deliberate. I doubt it. There is an intrinsic undertone in the series of Tweets I was responding to that makes the assumption that the UCP doesn't know that they are targeting the base with their messaging, that the goal of such messaging should be targeted at building support. That it's not, is written off as incompetence rather than entertaining the potential it's deliberate.

Let's look at the recent propaganda centre logo fiasco. Of course the UCP wants you to write this off with incompetence. Of course they "didn't know", but more interestingly, didn't care to find out either. And then to rip off a second logo and change it just enough, it might be able to go unchalleneged, but who is this new ripped off logo with a Maple Leaf targeted at? The international multi-billion dollar corporations, banks, and investors, that put more thought into the animations on their internal powerpoints than the UCP's propaganda centre could put into their logo? Or is it a logo that was just good enough to satisfy the UCP and propaganda centre supporters?

Even if it is incompetence, how does this "incompetence" fit with their mission statement to basically whoo the world's investors? If their mission was legitimate, would that "incompetence" exist? Or does the incompetence exist because it meets the 'minimal viable product' benchmark for the actual mission and focus, targeting Albertans and those that are already converted true believers? Could it be possible ripping off the logo wasn't considered a big deal because international recognition of this propaganda centre - in which it's stolen logos would certainly be noticed - has never been the intent? Things to ponder.

So would I say I believe the incompetence is "deliberate", only in the sense that it is the absolute minimal effort they need to expend to target the audience they intend to target, Albertans that already support such a propaganda centre.

There is a pattern of behaviour from the UCP that lends itself to be confused with incompetence but if examined from a perspective outside of "they want to be the bestest politicians EVAAAAHH!' can be seen to be carefully calculated. When you look at how expertly the UCP was able to organize propaganda for their campaign can you honestly believe their disastrous performance has simply been incompetence? Or is it possible they know full well what they're doing and the responses are designed to eliminate effective opposition from forming?

When Kenney accused Moody's of being involved in the "European agenda"  - which anyone who has been paying attention to the types of messaging coming from all of the various circling mouthpieces as we discussed in Alberta's Great Panderer may as well have just said "globalist agenda" to his base - was that 'incompetence'? Or a carefully calculated message for his base to maintain a war footing against the great green foreign funded conspiracy?

The UCP hasn't made a single attempt to bridge the gap, to listen to anyone who isn't in full support of their exploitation, has used intimidation and calling out private citizens, and folks - through the belief in incompetence - still think that if they just keep suggesting to them how to govern for the people they actually will start to do that. No, they won't, you're on the other side of the ear plugs. When the news of Kenney's popularity decline came out the UCP basically said "oh well", referred back to the era of Klein, and has continued to behave the exact same way.

Is this incompetence, or deliberate?

The usage of "incompetence" to describe UCP actions actually helps them. Because incompetence is far better than malicious intent. Incompetence hands them the benefit of the doubt, it gives you this idea that "maybe tomorrow it will be better", despite the fact they know full well what they're doing, what effect it will have, and how you feel about it. If they gave a fuck how you felt about it they wouldn't be employing Matt Wolf to tell you how wrong you are. They wouldn't each have a comms person equally skilled in lying. They wouldn't be using carefully crafted legislation to remove investigations into themselves. If they're incompetent, they are the luckiest richest incompetents I've ever seen. How many incompetent people do you know that just happen to, through their incompetence, do and get exactly what they want while raking in a ton of personal profit? Some incompetence.

Nothing the UCP has done demonstrates to me either incompetence, or that they are working for Albertans. The latest pointless war footing against the UN isn't going to help anything either, a war footing which was of course dutifully regurgitated by the propaganda centre. It sits there now, on their boilerplate website, being read by no one but Albertans. The target audience.




Click here to recommend this post on progressivebloggers.ca and help other people find this information.

Richard Fantin is a self-taught software developer who has mostly throughout his career focused on financial applications and high frequency trading. He currently works for CenturyLink

Nazayh Zanidean is a Project Coordinator for a mid-sized construction contractor in Calgary, Alberta. He enjoys writing as a hobby on topics that include foreign policy, international human rights, security and systemic media bias.

Monday, January 6, 2020

Learn To Code rational and the march towards the abyss

Well, the propaganda centre has had quite the month, hasn't it? From two stolen logos to staffers calling themselves "journalists" to get interviews (now where do we often see this tactic deployed?), it's a disaster. Ironically it now puts the government in the awkward position of having to defend the propaganda centre meant to "defend" the energy industry (which should be pretty obvious by now given the ridiculousness of the articles being used that it's geared towards the base, not intended to convince anyone of an opposing viewpoint).

Of course, with an army of #okboomer UCP political hacks running the show of which you can be damn sure there nay be a web developer or graphic designer amongst them, what was anyone really expecting? I can pretty well bet Jason Kenney didn't give a fuck, because the reality is this propaganda centre is designed to speak to the base in Alberta anyway. To comfort them, make them think the government is doing "something", as everything goes downhill.

Good. They need to be kept under fire - like I said in my last post - it's a major fear and a weakness. The NDP has seized on the propaganda centre, which is smart of them to do, and in response the press secretariat of the online UCP gestapo was out in full force today defending the propaganda centre.

That's progress. You know your propaganda centre sucks when you're forced to defend it's very existence.

And the UCP needs it's existence, to show footing in the "war" they're selling to their base, the wars they need for legitimacy. Without a war room, all they have is their shitty lawsuit that is bound to be rejected. Then what? The war room is the evidence they're fighting the "war".


Alberta oil production
Listen, oil workers, THE JOB BOOM IS NOT COMING BACK! EVER! YOU WERE FUCKED OVER BY THE COMPANIES.

No amount of pipelines, production, or war rooms will be bringing those jobs back. Labour was always their biggest expense and thus getting rid of it the goal. You can't have it both ways oil workers, either you're a "conservative capitalist" or you're not and if you're not and you support a state-run propaganda centre you're a fucking corporate socialist. If you are then, it sucks ,but you were nothing more than "dead weight" or "overpaid" as is the typical nonsense levied at the public service. If the bottom line matters so much to you then tough shit, guess what? You didn't make the bottom line! There's nothing more to it than that, and everyone - especially the UCP cult leaders - knows it's true. Everyone except the gullible cult followers that is.

This is why I've decided to create the Learn To Code video series despite my aversion to making videos. Aside from my analysis of political and economic trends I feel I needed to provide something constructive, something useful you can take and do that's independent to yourself. It's why I like software: I can work for someone, I can contract, I can build components, join teams, or publish something on my own. Out of every industry I've looked at it is the most versatile best paid industry you can be in and demand for developers can only go up as automation takes over. And with how cheap Arduino, RaspPi, and other micro controllers are becoming do it yourself at home automation, 3d printing, and the like outside the NSA spynet will also become important, devices like drones etc as the economic austerity war climate protests sweeping the world come closer and closer to home.

At what point of devastation to the global infinite growth system will you leave your home and protest? I'm not trying to shame you, I'm actually suggesting deciding what that line is now, and write it down and put it somewhere. Check our state of affairs against that criteria every so often, the media can be very convincing, in convincing you to lower the bar.

We're seeing this with the absolutely absurd assassination of Qassem Suleimani, where the U.S. apparently doesn't even try anymore to make a reasonable claim. Now it's just some vague “imminent attack”. Which I suppose yes the U.S. may certainly consider a peace conference it's not invited to an "attack", if you look at it from an imperial supremacy point of view. But they're not even trying anymore to make up convincing stories. "We have to prepare, we have to be ready, and we took a bad guy off the battlefield.". That's what you get now, "bad guy". The US again rained death from above on a foreign country that is pretty fucking pissed about it, but you know.. they're "the good guys".

How does it feel to be treated like you're a fucking 5 year old? I'm getting tired of it, aren't you?


Click here to recommend this post on progressivebloggers.ca and help other people find this information.

Richard Fantin is a self-taught software developer who has mostly throughout his career focused on financial applications and high frequency trading. He currently works for CenturyLink

Nazayh Zanidean is a Project Coordinator for a mid-sized construction contractor in Calgary, Alberta. He enjoys writing as a hobby on topics that include foreign policy, international human rights, security and systemic media bias.

Friday, January 3, 2020

Learn To Code Episode 1: Project 0: Unreal Playground

In episode 1 we begin building a simple level for prototyping code.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Tn0IcRUOQc



Click here to recommend this post on progressivebloggers.ca and help other people find this information.

Richard Fantin is a self-taught software developer who has mostly throughout his career focused on financial applications and high frequency trading. He currently works for CenturyLink

Nazayh Zanidean is a Project Coordinator for a mid-sized construction contractor in Calgary, Alberta. He enjoys writing as a hobby on topics that include foreign policy, international human rights, security and systemic media bias.

Thursday, January 2, 2020

Learn To Code Episode 0: Introduction and Setup

In episode 0 of Canadian Trends' LearnToCode I talk about what the series is about and the approach that will be taken as well as go over the steps needed to prepare your development environment for the series.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7elUya4zf7o


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Richard Fantin is a self-taught software developer who has mostly throughout his career focused on financial applications and high frequency trading. He currently works for CenturyLink

Nazayh Zanidean is a Project Coordinator for a mid-sized construction contractor in Calgary, Alberta. He enjoys writing as a hobby on topics that include foreign policy, international human rights, security and systemic media bias.