Mickey Z
Cool Observer
Friday, November 18, 2005
An Occupation Worth Applauding
i was going to save this for a special occasion but it’s so quiet here today and i wanted you all to know that it looks like we have more fans than we bargained for.....
Posted by michael on from scotland 11/18 at 12:00 PMthe socialists review Jarhead one from socialist worker: http://tinyurl.com/bfoy6 and one from wsws: http://tinyurl.com/as7xc
Posted by tm on from outside world 11/18 at 12:12 PMThe socialists aren’t too happy with Jarhead. I haven’t seen it yet, and Good Night and Good Luck isn’t out here in PR and may never be. Anyway, that leaves more time for other things.
Great poster, Michael.
Posted by JOS on from mi orgullo, Puerto Rico 11/18 at 12:35 PM“Time is running out for tens of thousands of survivors of the 7.6 earthquake that devastated parts of Pakistan on Oct. 8, claiming more than 73,000 lives and leaving 3 million homeless. Winter is fast approaching. Experts believe 1 million people are at risk of hypothermia. Two hundred thousand villagers in more remote areas may soon be cut off by snow. A “second wave” of deaths from cold, hunger, and disease is feared.
Time is also running out for the international community to respond in a way that is befitting a disaster of this magnitude. Of the $550 million the United Nations called for in its “flash appeal,” only $119 million, or 22 percent, has been received. Contrast this with the overwhelming international response to the Indian Ocean tsunami that struck last December. The UN’s emergency appeal was more than 80 percent financed within days of the disaster. Since then, an estimated $13.6 billion has been raised internationally, some 92 countries have provided assistance, and the overall response to the tsunami is emerging as an exemplary story in disaster relief and recovery.”
(not the best article, because it doesn’t include any places to donate)
tm, didn’t you have a good link for Pakistan Earthquake donations? I am looking now.
Posted by JOS on from mi orgullo, Puerto Rico 11/18 at 01:12 PMHey Michael, TM, and Big Country. Nice poster.
JOS: I was never able to find a place to send money for earthquake victims. I truly hope someone posts here today with some useful advice.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 11/18 at 01:41 PMMornin Guyz -
I’ve never been to Pakistan, but I assume conditions are similar to those in India. In fact, Pakistan was a part of India, not too long ago. It seems likely that, even during the very best of times, the poverty and need of their general population transcends anything most Westerners can even imagine.
Beneath all the rhetoric, I bet the neo-cons look at this as as a splendid example of natural birth control, like the droughts and famines in Africa, or hurricanes on the Gulf Coast. While tens of thousands of people around the globe die dreadful deaths today, much of the industrialized world will be producing new lines of upscale automobiles, revolutionary and expensive moisturizing shampoos, smudgless eye-mascaras, fluffy toilet tissues, another 2 or 3 styles of rotary tooth-brushes, several varieties of designer-type shoes, and dozens of new cell-phone programs, to mention just a tiny portion of our vast creative output.Most of the people in the corporations producing the aforementioned products, from lowly floor-sweepers to the folks in the penthouses, will go home feeling exhausted, empty, unfulfilled, and vaguely anxious about their lives.
Gee -
If only there was something meaningful we could do with our immense wealth and almost limitless energy…Nope, tomorrow, the world will wake up and replay the same scenes, in the same way, with the same results.
Posted by joe on from Oregon 11/18 at 02:21 PMJoe, I’m tempted to steal everything you wrote above and use it as my talk tonight. Verbatim. As I read your words, I heard the Talking Heads song, “Heaven,” in my head:
Everyone is trying to get to the bar.
The name of the bar, the bar is called Heaven.
The band in Heaven plays my favorite song.
They play it once again, they play it all night long.There is a party, everyone is there.
Everyone will leave at exactly the same time.
Its hard to imagine that nothing at all
could be so exciting, and so much fun.When this kiss is over it will start again.
It will not be any different, it will be exactly
the same.
It’s hard to imagine that nothing at all
could be so exciting, could be so much fun.Heaven is a place where nothing every happens.
My captcha oracle adds: “price.”
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 11/18 at 02:38 PMI agree with Mick. Dead on, Joe.
“Nope, tomorrow, the world will wake up and replay the same scenes, in the same way, with the same results.”
Reminds me of the definition of insanity. Performing the same actions over and over again and expecting different results.
The problem is that only “the common people” expect different results. Those running shit expect the same results, more money in their pockets, more power in their hands.
Then I look at this: “Most of the people in the corporations producing the aforementioned products, from lowly floor-sweepers to the folks in the penthouses, will go home feeling exhausted, empty, unfulfilled, and vaguely anxious about their lives.”
Dead on, again, Joe. What will it take to wake people up? When those supposedly “at the top” feel empty and unfulfilled. How much longer are we going to ride this suicide train?
I like this analogy:
We are in a skyscraper and building it taller by knocking out blocks from the ground floor and piling them on the roof. (Daniel Quinn)
Posted by JOS on from mi orgullo, Puerto Rico 11/18 at 03:06 PMIt wasn’t easy to follow Joe today...but Big Country just did it with profundity. I may steal the Quinn quote, too.
You know how I asked the Expendables to write my bio recently? Next time, I might ask you to write the whole damn talk…
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 11/18 at 03:09 PMHi All...Nice conversation going on here. The only thing that I would add is that it reminds my of that old Native American tale about the man who invited the serpent into his tent and then was surprised when he was bitten by the snake. There is a lot of criticism of corporations (especially Wal-mart) these days. My thought is that the corporations are only doing what corporations do. It is Capitalism that is the big evil monster. Chavez got it right in his rallying speech when he said that Capitalism must be buried.//////////////Off topic, maybe those on the Left should think again about the outcry against the outing of any CIA operative. Think of what the world would be like if ALL of them were outed and there was no CIA.
Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 11/18 at 03:36 PMThe bio was excellent, but I think you’ll do just fine with the talk on your own...wish I could be there. One day we should have an Expendable conference in Astoria or something.
Posted by JOS on from mi orgullo, Puerto Rico 11/18 at 03:37 PMHello, RMJ…
I’m with you on capitalism, but I would also add most other economic systems and all governments.
A friend of mine just got back from an NA conference in Caracas. He says there is a soldier with an automatic weapon on every corner.
I am all for Chavez if he does what he says he will and I am sure whatever he does will be better than what we do here. There is a lot of work to be done there and elsewhere. I wish I knew more about the situation. South and Central America seem ripe for revolution.
Posted by JOS on from mi orgullo, Puerto Rico 11/18 at 03:44 PMJOS… Yes South and Central America are often ignored in the Press. My sister has been living in Brazil for almost 20 years and one of my best friends just relocated to Costa Rica because of the medical care system there. It has been interesting to see how my 2 young Brazilian nephews and niece are so advanced compared to those of the same age in the US. All 3 of my young relatives speak 4 languages and have done that since they first learned to talk. But yes, there is a lot of poverty in Brazil.
Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 11/18 at 03:55 PMThanks for another great post which even contains an excerpt from ‘50 AR’, Mickey!
And thanks for the links to the film reviews, tm.
LOVE the poster, michael.
And hi to all of you MZ’ers/expendables - I hope you all have a great weekend.Posted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 11/18 at 04:06 PMWow, suddenly the joint is jumpin’!
Hi Rosemarie, nice to see you.
Mickey, please use whatever you might want… Maybe I can go to sleep, tonight, with the thought that I did something for someone other than ‘joe.’Like JOS, I wish we could all attend your talk, tonight. BTW - I really like the Talking Heads - thanks for putting something heavenly into our day. Hey - this is not my beautiful planet!
JOS - my wife has several of those Daniel Quinn books. I’m going to take a look. Great stuff.
About Chavez: I’ve run into a few pieces, recently, about US plans to invade Venezuela… doesn’t seem far-fetched, being that Chavez is “the Sadaam of our hemisphere...”Rosemarie, what do you mean - about the CIA?
I think ya lost me.Posted by joe on from Oregon 11/18 at 04:17 PMHi Helga - sorry I missed you. Have a nice, warm sunny day down there. By the way, how’s tomorrow looking, thusfar?
JOS - yeah, I think almost all the economic systems must be somehow geared to rob the many and enrich the few. If not, well, such a de facto arrangement must grow up within every economy, in one way or another. If money is power, then, when people get alot of money, they also get alot of power, and all bets are off.
Posted by joe on from Oregon 11/18 at 04:22 PMSome form of Anarchy is the only way to go as I see it, Joe/RMJ. Hi Helga!
Definitely pick up and read Quinn, Joe. Ishmael is the first book...I read Story of B first and it hooked me...being that the Roman Catholic Church was the antagonist and B was called the Anti-Christ, I would think many of here would be drawn to it.
I just ordered his newest book along with James Lee Burke’s Crusader’s Cross and Mickey Z’s 50AR. It took me a while to get 50AR, Mick, but better late than never, right? As I like saying lately, I am between fortunes at the moment.
Posted by JOS on from mi orgullo, Puerto Rico 11/18 at 04:33 PMHi All...Joe, my only point was in reference to the Dems who are delirious with joy over Plamegate. The world would be a different kind of place without the CIA, BUT of course I would NEVER (cough, cough) advocate outing all of the Covert CIA Agents, because everyone knows how much respect I have for the Law and Outing those agents would be illegal. Sorry to be a bit evasive, but I am in enough trouble already. What I was trying to say is that sometimes government secrets endanger all of us.///////
For anyone interested in the great debate of the moment in the House...the Repubs have once again out-smarted the Dems. Great debate going on about the proposed vote tonight on the war. The Dems might have to stand up and be counted tonight and they are very unhappy about it. C-span is carrying the debate in the House right now.Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 11/18 at 05:52 PMI think I getcha, Rosemarie. You’re probably being very wise.
As to the Dems - what can be said?
At least the Repubs are fairly straightforward:
“We worship money, we don’t care about you, at all. Die.”
Whereas the Dems dance and prance about, pretending to be the party of the common people.
But, beneath the smooth cloth, they’re all tatooed: “We worship money, we don’t care about you, at all. Die.”JOS - Anarchy it is. Everything else demands that I live my whole life in someone else’s shadow. And, though it doesn’t always seem so - even the CEO of GE lives in someone else’s shadow. Even the great corporate mucky-mucks are slaves…
I have a copy of Ishmael right next to me, here in the cluttered garage. My wife read your post and brought it in…We’re between fortunes, as well, JOS. Except, of course, we never had one…
and, well, we probably never will have one.“lower”
Posted by joe on from Oregon 11/18 at 06:50 PMNice, Joe...your wife must be a pretty intelligent woman...and patient, I imagine. I know mine is…
“fire”
Posted by Grande Jo on from El Barrio 11/18 at 07:27 PMYeah, JOS. I don’t think I’d live with me, most of the time, if I had a choice.
She has a choice.
Wow.Mickey must be speaking now, I’d guess.
I hope he’s in a room filled with folks ready to wake up…Posted by joe on from Oregon 11/18 at 07:43 PMMe too, Joe, I’d like to see a surge in book sales for him as well…
Posted by Grande Jo on from El Barrio 11/18 at 07:46 PMhi
mudge
how did u get things in italics on this site? i only ask because i am replying to your moby dick comments of last week. i agree. i am going to be a ruiner here but really...a 580 page book and its page 562 before they meet the fucking whale. what a waste of time.
in between is a bizarre mix of profound stuff, racism, homo-eroticism and completely incorrect science.
for all those who haven’t read it - all i can say is don’t bother..there are many other ‘classics’
and they will ALL be of greater value. there is one particularly good line but the simpsons plagiarised it so you know it anywayPosted by michael on from scotland 11/18 at 07:57 PM>>>My thought is that the corporations are only doing what corporations do. It is Capitalism that is the big evil monster. Chavez got it right in his rallying speech when he said that Capitalism must be buried.<<<
This is the simple truth. A corporation is, legally, the fiction that a business entity made up of many owners is actually, under the law, equal to one single perosn. Thus the individuals who own, through shares or other means, the business entity are exonerated from individual, personal responsibility for the results of the actions of that entity.
With such stellar results, no? This may be remembered as the fiction whose evil results brought the whole edifice of capitalism crashing down, and folks like Ms. Silkwood and her like the ones who threw the first rocks to destabilize it.
>>>sometimes government secrets endanger all of us.<<<
Again an excellent synopsis of a huge subject. I would suggest one change only: “sometimes” be removed and “always” inserted at the end of the sentence. The people’s business *must* or even MAY be kept secret from the people whose business it is? Where does the Constitution say that? Outside of a soap opera, who conducts relationships like that? And if they do, with what degree of success?
Still in plot hell, though now from a different angle, on my NaNovel. Thanks to RMJ’s unintended distraction of putting Rosamonde’s story on my head (it really was a goof, guys, I guess I don’t make that clear enough) she (Rosamonde) is now kicking my psychic door down demanding time for her story to be told.
I think I have barely-self-controlled Dissociative Identity Disorder, these characters become so real to me.
Michael, love the poster.
Joe, love the thinking.
Big Country, where’s the chapter? Love you, too.
Helga, howdy! Have a lovely!
TM, always good to hear from you and, as “always”, so pithily.
MZ, break a leg tonight. Bluestockings won’t know what hit it.
Posted by Mudge on from Dear, dead Austin 11/18 at 08:11 PMHi, Michael! Itals and bold are simple to add to your posts. You know the square brackets [] keys? The ones with the curly braces {} above ‘em?
always lower case begins an [i]italic word or phrase.
[/i] always lower case ends an italic word or phrase.
always lower case begins a [b]bold word or phrase.
[/b] always lower case ends a bold word or phrase.This is simple, but there are some traps. Always, when you begin the word or phrase, remember that what you start you must finish. If you start something in bold or ital, end the emphasis or the brackets show up at the beginning of the word and nothing changes.
NO SPACES between brackets and words that begin or end the emphasis or the same thing happens...the brackets show up in the text and nothing gets emphasized.
REMEMBER TO SPACE --->before<--- the opening bracket and --->after<--- the closing bracket of the emphasis, if another word follows the last emphasized word, or to put the required punctuation directly after the closing bracket of the emphasis.
Any site where HTML or XML is enabled will allow these conventions to be used.
Spend precious “reading “ time on The Charterhouse of Parma or The Innocents Abroad, not Moby-Dick! Please, I beg of you, waste no heartbeats, Expendables, on Mr. Melville! (Although I admit to a fondness for Typee.)
Posted by Mudge on from Dear, dead Austin 11/18 at 08:28 PMcheers mudge
off to bed. its late here. sorry to have been a bit out the loop this eve but shit happens.
i have to restate it again. moby dick is a complete and utter fucking waste of time. mudge made his recommendations. i say ‘notes from underground’ by dostoevsky or anything by james kelman.
sorry
in bed
if i get abuse for this tomorrow it will only be what i am ‘due’
Posted by michael on from scotland 11/18 at 08:35 PMHello Mudge…
I plan to spend the day tomorrow Nanoing it…
this week will be prolific one, I HOPE.
Posted by Grande Jo on from El Barrio 11/18 at 08:38 PMI couldn´t finish Moby Dick and I have it in German, goes in the Great Unread Novel pile along with Mason and Dixon (tho I devoured everything else by Pynchon) Crime and Punishment (tho loved Super Karamazov Bros), Sometimes A Great Notion, The Tin Drum and Giles Goatboy (and the three of those are great so far too).
Posted by Owen on from Barcelona 11/18 at 09:33 PMG’night, Michael.
I know this may sound childish, but one day it would be interesting for each of us to include our local time ( and, I guess because of Helga and Jim from Australia - the date ) with our posts. I found a global time page somewhere, a few days ago, and began to look for the local times in Scotland and Holland and Spain and so on, but I never finished my goofy little project. Anyway, it might be fun to see where we each are in time… as we go thru a day…Mudge - great post about corporations - here’s a bit more, from Professor Chomsky:
(State and Corp.):
“Of course they are not real persons, they are immortal, they are collectivist legal entities. In fact they are very similar to other organizational forms we know and are one of the forms of totalitarianism that developed in the 20th century. The others were destroyed, these still exist, and later they were required by law to be what we would call pathological in the case of real human beings.
“...they are required legally to maximize power and profit no matter what effect that has on anyone else. They are required to externalize costs, so if they can get the public or future generations to pay their costs, they are required to do that. It would be illegal for corporate executives to do anything else.
“So they’re granted rights way beyond persons. They are immortal, they are extraordinarily powerful, they are pathological by legal requirement, and that’s the contemporary form of totalitarianism. They are not truly competitive, they are linked to one another. So Siemens and IBM and Toshiba carry out joint projects. They rely heavily on state power; the dynamism of the modern economy comes mostly out of the state sector, inot the private sector. Almost every aspect of what’s called the “New Economy” is developed and designed at public cost and public risk: computers, electronics generally, telecommunications, the internet, lasers, whatever…
“They are happy to let the public pay the costs and take the risks, and then transfer the results to private corporations to make the profits. From the point of view of corporate elites it is a perfect system, this interaction between state and private power. There’s plenty of other interactions as well. For example, the Pentagon isn’t just for developing the economy, it’s also for making sure that the world follows corporate friendly rules. So the linkages are quite complex.”Hope this aint too long!
I thought this was a tremendous summation…Posted by joe on from Oregon 11/18 at 10:02 PMHi Owen - sorry I missed ya.
A couple more paragraphs from Chomsky:“...we see that corporations are required by judicial decision, law, to maximize power and profit, but they are also at least permitted to carry out humanitarian actions, particularly if the television cameras are around, that is, and if it’s purely hypocritical. So if a drug company wants to give out drugs in poor neighborhoods, that’s fine as long as it’s for public-relations purposes that can be claimed to add to profits. That is to maximize their profits, they can do a little good, too.
“Furthermore the courts have gone so far as to urge corporations to carry out humanitarian activities, or else, and now I’m quoting, “an aroused public” may discover what their real nature is and move to undermine their rights and privileges. So in order to prevent “an aroused public” from developing, it’s a good idea to project a benign and benevolent image. I think the same is true of political dictatorships and kings and so on and so forth.”
OK, I think that’s an almost complete outline - overview of corporations, from The Master, himself.
For me, at least, it was even worse than I thought it would be…Posted by joe on from Oregon 11/18 at 10:10 PMJoe, this is completely untaught:
>>>They rely heavily on state power; the dynamism of the modern economy comes mostly out of the state sector, inot the private sector. Almost every aspect of what’s called the “New Economy” is developed and designed at public cost and public risk: computers, electronics generally, telecommunications, the internet, lasers, whatever… <<<
And “an aroused public” would be the end result of this provable, factual thesis being reported nightly, taught daily, and simply noised around in general. I do a lot of this, I confess, because I am so furiously angry at the money grabbed from MY thin wallet to fatten the corporate machine’s wallet. And now the poor, poor pharmaceutical industry is creating a drug-development crisis in order to foist the cost of developing the very things they rely on for their profits onto the public sector!!!!!!!!!!
Indignant, me? Why no, never! “Include” me out, as the great yogi once said.
Posted by Mudge on from Dear, dead Austin 11/18 at 10:28 PMHello all. Just a quick note before I hit the sack. Bluestockings was lots of fun tonight. A good crowd (maybe between 30 and 40? I dunno)...but more than numbers, it was a responsive, active crowd that felt the vibes and went with it. James from Hell’s Kitchen was there representing the Expendables and did the honors by reading the bio you guys wrote. More details tomorrow...but I just wanted to say thanks for sending your good wishes above. It means more than you might imagine.
Next stop: Barnes & Noble on Dec. 6.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 11/18 at 10:33 PMMudge, it brings me to a boil, as well. We’re forced to sell ourselves, like hookers, in order to survive, and then pay them for the privilege, each time we get a paycheck. Then we pay them again, each time we purchase something, or use the phone or switch on the electricity, or go to the gas pump… (Imagine what every gallon of gasoline actually costs - in blood and loot and horror...)
We’re all paying them, right this second.
Hi Mickey Z: I’m pleased that your evening went well, and that James showed up to read your biography. Barnes & Noble next, eh?
I think I see something out on the horizon… huge sales billowing in the wind, a great, sturdy vessel cutting its way through the waves - Oh, and it’s flying a flag which says: “Mickey’s Ship!”
It’s headed this way, Mickey - I think it’s comming into port…Posted by joe on from [i]Corporate-Headquarters[/i] 11/18 at 11:32 PMStumbled by the blog, found some interesting info on you over at wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Z
Confirm/deny the allegations in this article? I’m a wiki contributor and I’d like to see if you have any response to this. I tried sending emails but you didn’t respond.
Posted by Jacob on from Cali 11/19 at 12:35 AMJacob -
The man to whom you’re writing is my friend.
He has more character than most of the human beings I’ve encountered in 55 years of very active living…
Tell me, of all of the almost infinite number of activities you might be involved in, at any particular time - why would you choose this activity?
Of all the many things you might choose to ponder with your extraordinary human intelligence and insight -
tell me, why would you choose to ponder this?
Of all that you might be -
why not choose to walk upright, in the sunlight, rather than to slither about as you’ve chosen to do here?
Surely, Sir, you are infinitely more than this…Posted by joe on from Oregon 11/19 at 01:40 AMSorry I missed all of this yesterday. While I wait for Saturday’s post, I would like to point out that not all Expendables feel the same way about Moby Dick. Personally, I think it is a superior work of fiction, easily one of my top ten. I fail to understand how people so interested in great literature find fault with this book. So allow me to counter statements made above for those who haven’t read the book: read it!
As for the wikipedia business: I don’t think Jacob was slithering, Joe. It’s good at least that he is looking for Mickey’s response. I am shocked that he didn’t recognize outright that the entry is so far from NPOV ("no point of view") that no reasonably intelligent person would register it as an “encyclopedia” entry at all. But alas.
Posted by Keir on from The Hague 11/19 at 07:14 AMJacob could also be another alias for someone who wants his latest work recognized over at “Mickey’s” page on Wikipedia.
Either way, I’ve been doing some thinking about the author(s) of this page. A person only does something like this to gain some sort of recognition or attention that they can’t get in life. It’s sad, really. I mean, what sort of life must this poor fellow have that he has dedicated so much time to something like this?
I could see how it might be amusing for a while in some sick way. But now, after months and months of this, we are entering into new territory. Perhaps some form of psychosis...delusionary, really...some false, unusual belief in the young man’s mind...who knows where it may lead.
So yes, I definitely feel sorry for this guy, or these guys.
Posted by JOS on from Calle Colón 11/19 at 08:49 AMYou seem to have taken this very personal. I spent a grand total of 60 seconds, perhaps 90 at most, typing out that post in a request for information. I haven’t actually written anything about “Mickey Z” over at wikipedia, I simply noticed the article and some of its points and was curious as to whether he cared to respond to any of them. I read his article over at counterpunch on HIV/AIDS and couldn’t honestly tell whether he truly believed AIDS and HIV have no link or whether or not he was acting as Chomsky in the Faurrison Affair and was merely defending the right to free speech on the subject.
Asking for clarification specifically on that.
Also, to answer the point the last poster made, wikipedia exists to provide free information on the internet about a range of topics and sources, and comes in useful during current events because the information can be collected and organized and provides a useful alternative to the MSM.
Posted by Jacob on from Cali 11/19 at 11:11 AM
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