Monthly Archives: June 2010

The execs at GM must really want to collapse their company

Posted on by by Michael Janzen.
Reply

This is truly funny, and I first heard this news on Jim Hightower’s podcast.

It seems that the executives at GM are killing the ‘Chevy‘ brand. Yep, they are going as far as fining employees that use the name ‘Chevy‘ in conversation a quarter every time they use the word ‘Chevy‘. It seems that someone thinks that they should switch to ‘Chevrolet‘ and kill off that old ‘Chevy‘ stigma.

Problem is… Chevy has a positive stigma. I mean if ‘Chevy‘ had a negative or sinister reputation like Blackwater Worldwide (the infamous mercenary company) and you wanted to fade into the background, you might want to change you name to something completely forgettable, like Xe Services LLC. That’s a perfect camouflaged brand name few will remember.

My guess is that some expensive marketing guru told GM them that by killing off their past and building a new consistent brand on ‘Chevrolet‘ they can move their products into a new market segment. I think it’s stupid myself, since Chevy is such a friendly and familiar word.

Google trends shows a slight preference out there online for the word “Chevrolet” but I think this kind of evidence doesn’t come close to reflecting the truth behind the brand. I’m certain if you filter out all the official press that Google includes (below) and looked at what real people use in conversation, you’d find that car buyers predominantly use the word ‘Chevy‘.

As far as fining employees 25-cents for use of “Chevy” in conversation… that’s just F’d up.

If I were some kind of professional corporate marketing expert (wink) I’d advise the folks at GM to reevaluate this decision and conduct some very careful research before dumping the friendly and trusted name CHEVY.

Feel free to stick to the CHEVROLET name all over your cars and trucks but don’t correct your staff or the public by telling them that their trusted old friend CHEVY is dead and gone. If you do, I suspect you’ll be sending a bunch of buyers to FORD.

Are Our Police Being Pressured into BP Brown Shirts?

Posted on by by Michael Janzen.
Reply

This is really disturbing if this extends to more than one incident. Could BP be pressuring local law enforcement officers to work for them on their behalf?

I have an incredible amount of respect for law enforcement officers and considering the strain they are under already, as budgets get slashed and people laid off, we can’t allow anyone to pressure them into doing their own bidding.

The Brown Shirts were a paramilitary group started by the Nazi party in Germany and used during the 1920s and 1930s to help pressure the public to support the fascist party agenda. If our law enforcement officers are being pressured by BP to act as their private security force while on duty this is far worse than what the fascists did in Europe in the last century.

The original brownshirts were hardcore fascist party members happy to support their evil agendas. I can’t imagine any American law enforcement officer willing to protect BP.

Read the complete article on Mother Jones

President Obama Supports Increased Intellectual Property Protection

Posted on by by Michael Janzen.
Reply

Yeah yikes… on the surface this looks like a good thing, but in fact caters to those who profit from the increasing protecting of intellectual property [source]. Information wants to be free, so these folks stand in the river with their buckets attempting to stop the flood. Now they have Obama et al standing there with them.

What pisses me off more is that now our public tax dollars are being spent trying to stop the inevitable instead of working to protect the lives of regular people.


What if Americans took back ownership of our natural resources from the Oil Mafia?

Posted on by by Michael Janzen.
Reply

This would be the ultimate act of democracy and could really help protect our shared energy future. What if Americans took ownership of our natural resources and stopped allowing energy companies to drill for profit? When the U.S. Government (in essence the American public) allows natural resources to be extracted from our soil we are essentially selling these resources to profiteers.

From the look of things, it seems we’re not getting a good deal. Actually it looks like we’re taking it up the proverbial A$$. This is most certainly true when the oil gangsters screw up, like with the Deep Water Horizon catastrophe; but it happens every single day, every time we fill up at the pumps, every time we flip on a light or cell phone.

I’m not suggesting we implement some kind of socialist system. That would fail miserably too due to the same centrally focused power structure models. What we need is decentralization, total transparency, and strategic use of current resources to transition us to a renewable energy future.

I’m suggesting that we DEMAND that our representatives in Washington D.C. get to work, working for the American public and get us a better deal or turn the oil corps into giant non-profits (or something).

In other words, turn the energy companies into small open book businesses with the public’s interest in mind, not some off-shore billionaire stock-holders.

I know I’m grasping at straws and this is just scraping the surface of a potential solution. I guess I’m just sick of seeing the American public being taken for a ride by the Oil Mafia. I’d also like to think that we’re all working together to build a better future for our kids. I know that’s my number one priority.

Listen to music all day long for free on YouTube

Posted on by by Michael Janzen.
Reply

OK… this is not news, but an excellent moment to mention that there is nothing that can permanently stop the flow of free music and information. I know the music industry and the millions of intellectual property owners worldwide will continue to fight to keep a price tag on their content creations but in the end, information wants to be free, and will be.

I’m still pissed at Apple for buying and crapping out Lala.com, a competitor. While in a search for more free music online my wife pointed out that I can listen to free music all day long on YouTube. Thanks Julia!

I’m not saying everyone should give up and give it away free today. Just saying that those that begin preparing for the day where their business models will need to adapt will be the ones to stay in business.