Mickey Z
Cool Observer
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
I link...therefore I am
Amelopsis, from yesterday: we´re going to do this dinnermusic thing a couple more Sundays too. Do you know somewhere I can put songs up in innernet?
p.s. Some of you were wondering what happened to Axl Rose in the last 15 years, so here:Posted by Owen on from Barcelona 02/28 at 06:15 AMi liked the one about the basketball player. a lot of sportspeople are afrain to speak up because of the abuse they will get and also losing the contracts…
here is a letter that thousands of fans emailed to the team i support when they signed their contract with Nike (teams negotiate their own deals)
unfortunately it didn’t make any difference…
CELTIC Football club & NIKE
As the 2004/05 Scottish Premier League season draws to a close so too does Celtic Football Clubs long association with kit suppliers Umbro in favour of a lucrative new five year deal with Nike worth a minimum of £25m to the Celtic PLC. With the first designs of the new strips about to be made public it seems pertinent to ask if Celtic supporters are entirely comfortable with this relationship..??
The reason I ask is that for many years now the Nike Corporation has stood accused of exploiting workers in the poorest parts of Asia in an effort to maximise profits. Of course many of you will say that Umbro were no less unscrupulous and whilst this may be true it is Nike who are consistently shown to be the main transgressors in this abhorrent practise.
These allegations include the use of child labour, excessive shift lengths, the denial of the right to join a free & independent Trade Union, physical abuse & serial breaches of Health & Safety procedures where such procedures exist to name but a few. Of course if workers attempted to protest or organise themselves Nike simply up sticks & relocate to ‘greener pastures’. It is also widely accepted that in Nike plants in Indonesia, China & Vietnam workers were paid less than $2 a day, not even sufficient to provide their dependents with an adequate meal.
Given the origins of our club, which are very much in our minds at the moment with the recent publication of the Brother Walfrid commemorative brochure, I would suggest that this deal between Celtic PLC & Nike is in direct conflict with the history & traditions of the club.
In order to address the issue I call on the board, through the pages of its official weekly magazine the Celtic View, to make a full public statement which is both honest and can be corroborated, to assure supporters that there were no abuses of employee’s rights, that all garments were produced ethically & that throughout the manufacturing process of Celtic/Nike products there was full compliance by the Nike Corporation with all Fair Trade agreements. Only when this statement is forthcoming will concerned Celtic Supporters be able to purchase Celtic/Nike merchandise with a clear conscience.
It would be an act of gross betrayal to the memory of Brother Walfrid if one hundred & seventeen years after the club was founded to provide funds for the poor children’s dinner table in the East End of Glasgow that Celtic Football Club, through its association with Nike were to profit from the poor peoples dinner tables of the Far East at our expense.
Let us, the wider Celtic family, ensure that doesn’t happen.
Yours in Celtic,
Posted by michael on from scotland 02/28 at 06:16 AMand for a mystery link i am doing this again becuase i like it so much…
Posted by michael on from scotland 02/28 at 06:21 AMOK Expendables speaking of Dick Cheney (one of the links) I need your help. I did an image search on my name (first and last) in google---I wanted to see if the picture on my blog site would register---and the first image that came up was the Dick hisself. I shit you not and this is disturbing. Is someone messing with me?
Posted by Keir on from The Hague 02/28 at 06:33 AMcan’t help you there. did you definitely name the jpeg file after yourself??
also, i have noticed a blogworld thing lately whereby everyone seems to be calling bush “chimpy mcstagger”
does anyone know where this comes from? (the daily show?)
Posted by michael on from scotland 02/28 at 06:37 AMHello Expendables. I thought I’d get in here early before I head into the city.
Owen: Those Axl songs, are they new? If so, we can begin to see who was pushing Guns n’ Roses toward songs like “November Rain.”
Michael: Wouldn’t it be amazing if a letter like the one you posted actually changed someone’s mind?
As for you, Keir, this is indeed disturbing. I certainly don’t know nearly enough about the Web to explain it.
All right, gotta run.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 02/28 at 06:49 AMin truth i think it would change a few of the fans mind...just not someone on the board.
Posted by michael on from scotland 02/28 at 07:25 AMWow, the party started early this morning. Here is a link to go along with your Venezuelan link. Keir has already seen this one.
http://tinyurl.com/otbgwPosted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 02/28 at 08:38 AMWow - what did all do? Pull an all nighter?
Look at all the busy mornig bees!I enjoyed all the links, second the sentiment about sports players speaking out. If more did, perhaps fewer among our youth would be apathetic, and maybe even pose as a starting point for conversation with parents who otherwise lack the wherewithal to start the ball rolling themselves?
I was just looking into the dams / salmon / whales about a week ago. No question as to the degree that humans must make some accomodations for the salmon if any bio diversity and natural ecology is to continue to exist. There is some good work going on in BC with the same situation but it’s still fisheries based which leaves only a limited range for real hopefulness.
Owen if you’re on a high speed internet connection you likely have web space available to you included in the monthly fee where you could host your audio files. (I don’t know if there are any services for sound files similar to those like flicker for image files.)
Posted by Amelopsis on from Canada 02/28 at 09:29 AMI’m honored to have my website in the links formerly known as “mystery”! Thanks, MZ!
Posted by Jeremy on from Taiwan 02/28 at 10:04 AMHere’s my not so mysterious link:
captcha “better”. My fingers are crossed.
Posted by Amelopsis on from Canada 02/28 at 10:20 AMI can’t say it was unexpected...my nephew and his roommate are not happy sharing living quarters with someone old enough to be their dad, so they’d like to have me, the dogs, and the stuff out by 4/1.
Another challenge. I don’t blame them, it’s got to be weird sharing space with someone my age who’s in a worse situation than you are. They were absolutely wonderful to make the offer and the effort.
But now I have some more pressure on me to find a job and get out of here, and somehow keep the puppies. Oddly, I woke up this morning with the Bad Company song All Right Now playing in my head. May this be an omen, and let it be all right now indeed!
Posted by Mudge on from Austin 02/28 at 11:13 AMgot this on another blog and whilst i am not condoning what he did at all...what does anyojne else make of it.. if you can speak spanish you are at an advantage when it comes to the link…
Bogota-A man has been sentenced to four years in jail for slapping a woman on the arse. Police caught the man, a 22 year-old bicycle messenger, and asked his victim if she wanted to biff him in the chops as a way of cutting though the red tape. But she insisted on pressing charges.
Four years! He would have got less than that for clubbing her over the head with a lump of wood. Indeed, under the Law of Justice and Peace (for demobilised FARC, AUC, etc.) you can get a lighter sentence than that for massacring peasants, as long as you promise not to massacre any more. There’s a moral here, if only I could work out what it was.
Posted by michael on from scotland 02/28 at 11:44 AMOh Mudge - tsunami size good vibrations en route to you. I wish you’d had at the very least a longer reprieve during which to make arrangments.
Posted by Amelopsis on from Canada 02/28 at 11:47 AMMichael, the moral I get out of it is that we, as a species, have a long long road to travel.
Posted by Mudge on from Austin 02/28 at 11:47 AMThanks, Empress...simultyping...I wish any number of things, but not least is that this turbulent passage would lead to a calm destination already.
Posted by Mudge on from Austin 02/28 at 11:50 AMfair point mudge.
there have been stories like this around for years. there was one here where the same judge in the same day gave one guy a £200 pound fine for sexually harassing someone at his work for about 2 years and then gave someone else a £3000 fine for throwing an empty potato chip (see - i used the american term for once!) packet out of his car.
what the F8ck?
Posted by michael on from scotland 02/28 at 11:50 AMJustice has always been blind, Michael, but what we weren’t told is that she’s crazy be-atch too. Since all you and I ever hear are the end results of these contests at law, we can’t know that there isn’t some thread of logic behind such seemingly random and bizarre miscarriages of justice.
It just looks so darn fishy, though, it’s hard not to hold you nose.
Posted by Mudge on from Austin 02/28 at 12:01 PMthis is tremendous - you need sound…
Posted by michael on from scotland 02/28 at 12:09 PMI can’t do sound until later. That sentence is a little odd to say the least; as Mudge points out, and I hope, that there is some greater logic to the decision than is being presented in this piece.
Posted by Amelopsis on from Canada 02/28 at 12:49 PMHello again.
Mudge, the endless upheaval around these parts is mighty disturbing. I wish I could offer more but here’s what I’ve got, my friend: Good luck...my thoughts are with you.Love that video, Michael. On a tangentially related topic, I remember reading a book in which the author suggested that health insurance be experiential...like, say, car insurance. Now there’s an idea bound to stir up some controversy here.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 02/28 at 01:01 PMMudge, All Right Now was by the band Free...same singer as Bad Comany though. Get it straight buddy!
Posted by Keir on from The Hague 02/28 at 01:31 PM-
Good luck with moving Mudge, I´m looking for a place for April too. Got my eye on an abandoned hotel might make for a good studio too.
Posted by Owen on from Barcelona 02/28 at 01:53 PM pee ess: that link be the last short thing I put out as was working on something longer till this week (or next week, final edits I´m making are getting more and more cosmetic, I´ll know when I´m dome when I start taking out the commas and putting them back in).
Posted by owen on from barcelona 02/28 at 01:57 PMLink-o-rama continues…
Not welcome in India:Bush laying flowers at Gandhi’s memorial? What an insult.
Posted by JOS on from Chicago 02/28 at 02:20 PMCognative meltdown...US media having a hard time eating it’s own bullshit:
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2006/022806.html
Posted by JOS on from Chicago 02/28 at 02:23 PMSo so much to read and respond to… if nothing else, Lydon and friends could have used my services before posting that letter. Or was that the British spelling and grammar style for all that? Doubt it…
Anyone read http://www.aldaily.com? enough there for you to basically never leave the house or get anything else done.
Posted by James on from work 02/28 at 02:32 PMOn this phenomenon known as blogging:
Posted by James on from work 02/28 at 02:51 PMHello Expendables,
Been gone way, way too long…
...but couldn’t resist Mickey’s invitation to hotlink to something I haven’t been following enough of lately—i.e., Perpetual War Comes to Bolivia.
The more things change, the more they stay the same....
Captcha = “human”
If only....
Posted by Hawk on from Boulder, CO, USA 02/28 at 03:09 PMhello Hawk...good to “see” you.
James, Art&Letters used to be part of my daily Internet web surfing routine...thanks for reminding me about it.
Posted by JOS on from Chicago 02/28 at 03:14 PMOh… and have you heard about the looming Water Wars? Looks like Bush’s lap poodle, Blair, is fixing to kill some dark-complected locals in the name of H20.
Perhaps these really are the End Times....
Posted by Hawk on from Boulder, CO, USA 02/28 at 03:16 PMHi everyone,
Mudge, sorry to hear of your latest challenge. They say that moving and/or divorce are the 2 most stressful life events. We all will be sending you good thoughts....and to you too, Owen.Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 02/28 at 03:21 PMNew number of Iraqis killed since the Mosque bombing: 1,300:
“BAGHDAD, Feb. 27—Grisly attacks and other sectarian violence unleashed by last week’s bombing of a Shiite Muslim shrine have killed more than 1,300 Iraqis, making the past few days the deadliest of the war outside of major U.S. offensives, according to Baghdad’s main morgue. The toll was more than three times higher than the figure previously reported by the U.S. military and the news media.”
Notice that Baghdad’s morgue specified that they have seen such surges of dead bodies during US offensives.
Posted by JOS on from Chicago 02/28 at 03:25 PMJOS said: hello Hawk...good to “see” you.
So good to be back amongst friends, JOS....
Can’t think of “anyone” I’d rather hang out with.
Posted by Hawk on from Boulder, CO, USA 02/28 at 03:33 PMright on, Hawk. How are those mountains loooking out there in Boulder? Still beautiful I imagine.
Mudge...my thoughts are with you. I would say prayers (they’re with you too), but there are too many athiests up in here.
RMJ, I am going through a move and a divorce, so I guess I better watch my stress levels. Overall, I’d say I am hanging in there extremely well.
Posted by JOS on from Chicago 02/28 at 03:40 PMThe mountains are snow-capped and staggeringly BIG, JOS. Boulder, however, is experiencing two (count ‘em, 2) 70 degree (F) days in a row. I’m personally not ready for summer, but apparently my opinion doesn’t matter as much as I thought.
Sorry to hear about the upheavals in your life. When they’re happening, platitudes (no matter how heartfelt) don’t really cut it. The only thing that seems to help me when the world’s spinning is to remember that “all things are impermanent.”
Posted by Hawk on from Boulder, CO, USA 02/28 at 03:48 PMKeir #22: Oh oh, guilty of being sloppy-engramed memory-loss-boy. You are, of course, completely correct.
Owen #23: Abandoned hotel for a studio! Coolness! How will you juice the equipment?
JOS #25: EEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWW
#26: UUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGH
James #27: Oh thanks, thanks a bunch there CatLady, I need some more stuff to waste time lookin’ over. Thanks.
Hawk #29: Welcome back! Hope you’ll be hanging around these parts more. Oh, about Bolivia...the good news just never stops rollin’ huh?
RMJ #32: Thank you, my dearly beloved role model. I am sure it will all come out for the best, though that’s often not obvious at first!!
xoxo to all
Posted by Mudge on from Austin 02/28 at 03:49 PMone more link…
support the troops, get them out of Iraq:
http://rawstory.com/news/2006/Poll_72_percent_of_troops_want_0228.html
Posted by JOS on from Chicago 02/28 at 04:23 PMI sound boring already: thanks for another great post, Mickey! And thanks for linking to your blog, Michael - like that photo of Einstein with the quote and the article about money and poverty. Also, I have just visited your blog, Amelopsis - LOVE the photos and what I have read so far. So many blogs and so little time - sigh.
And hello to all the other expendables.And I eat meat - but I hope I think at times at least ..
Posted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 02/28 at 04:25 PMVery, very cool to see Hawk here again...and of course, you too JOS (and everyone else). So much to comment on that, well, I’m not even gonna try. For now, I’ll just enjoy the interplay, links, etc. P.S. Helga, you are never boring.
Btw, I got invited to speak to a military audience about Somalia at Quantico. However, they were not offering to pay and they were looking for an unbiased presentation. Still, it’s always “quite” flattering to get such invitations.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 02/28 at 04:27 PMholy hot links!
Lots to ponder again.
In the meantime I’m buzzed about GWB getting near Gandhi’s memorial. Can’t wait to see the coverage of that.
Maybe if we’re all luckier than we imagine some instant karma will be inspired to kick in and he’ll just drop stone dead of a massive embolism upon reaching a 20m distance of it.Moving, divorce...horrid, heartwrenching, completely inconvenient, fortunately also possible to live through, and hopefully come out better the other end. I like to think I did, anyway. JOS you seem to be ok from here, hope it’s resolved in an unmessy fashion for both of your sakes.
Posted by Amelopsis on from Canada 02/28 at 04:29 PMI’m either simultyping or taking too long…
Great to see Hawk back for a visit, and thanks Helga!MZ I wonder what exactly they meant by ‘unbiased’? But that certainly does sound like an interesting opportunity. My “question” is: Are you pondering, or decided?
Posted by Amelopsis on from Canada 02/28 at 04:33 PMThat whirring noise you hear? Yeah, it’s the Mahatma spinning in his grave.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 02/28 at 04:33 PMyeah, I’m good Amelopsis...surprisingly good.
Mick, when they say UNbiased...did they actually mean UNtruthful? Cool that they thought of you, though.
Posted by JOS on from Chicago 02/28 at 04:35 PMHoly Simultyping, Empress…
Yeah, I declined. I’ve done many such talks (not many lately) and I’m hopeful the time will come again when such an invitation gets an immediate “yes.”
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 02/28 at 04:36 PMI may be wrong...but I was going to use that spinning in his grave comment...then I thought Gandhi was probably cremated. So it could be more of whooshing sound of ashes...that’s just wrong.
Posted by JOS on from Chicago 02/28 at 04:37 PMsimultyping bonanza…
Posted by JOS on from Chicago 02/28 at 04:38 PMI can’t keep up with you guys.
JOS: The guy who contacted me seemed open and friendly. I think I might have been able to talk freely about Somalia without that audience immediately shutting down. As I said above, my time will come.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 02/28 at 04:39 PMThe whooshing sound you’re hearing? That’s me throwing up my arms in surrender. This is Expendable-ness at its most frentic.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 02/28 at 04:40 PMI think you are just getting old, Mick.
Posted by JOS on from Chicago 02/28 at 04:46 PMGetting older.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 02/28 at 04:49 PMAnd best of luck with ‘apartment-hunting’, Owen and Mudge! Let’s hope there is some good news from you in a little while ..
Posted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 02/28 at 04:49 PMThanks, Mickey - for saying that I am NEVER boring!
I was also wondering what Qantico meant by ‘unbiased’ - but seeing you have declined the offer I wonder no more.
And thanks for making me laugh: ‘That whirring noise you hear? Yeah, it’s the Mahatma spinning in his grave.’ Does GWB even know who the Mahatma actually was?
Posted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 02/28 at 04:58 PMI say that and all the while can’t hardly make it up a few flights of steps without my lungs burning...so I guess I should be lucky if I was “getting older” like you are, Mick.
Posted by JOS on from Chicago 02/28 at 04:59 PMJOS, I will send special anti-stress vibes your way.
Mickey, congratulations on the invitation. Sounds like they wanted to censor your message. The truth hurts.Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 02/28 at 05:29 PMFunny - I was thinking the same as you, JOS #46. Wasn’t clever enough to think up something with ashes so I left it.
Burning lungs going up stairs, eh. I’m atrophying like a woman 3 times my age and am really trying to get back to my yoga. It is something that helped me, body and soul, so my efforts will come to fruition eventually. If I were nearer to the bright lights of the big city I’d be able to get to my favoured instructor, but the local one (who’s a little flaky) might just have to do. I sadly lack the discipline to do it myself despite knowing enough to get through the full hour alone, also despite the funds it will cost. (sorry - I suppose I’m just thinking aloud here)
captcha"moving" ...Posted by Amelopsis on from Canada 02/28 at 05:36 PMI just re-read the article by Aruhdhati Roy and I’d almost forgotten about something that I’ve decided to trot out as interesting trivia:
My dad actually met Gandhi when he was a youngster, my grandfather was involved in helping to organise and facilitate a few Congress meetings back in the day, one of which was attended by the great Mahatma and others by Subas Chandra Bose (Netaji) who’s disappearance is still being investigated by some who’d like to know how / if the man met his end.
I’m thinking of Mudge the Bibliofile & MZ in suggesting that there is some interesting reading from Arun Shourie...I’ve read none of it myself but there are reviews here: http://tinyurl.com/l27qo
I don’t know nearly as much as I should about India’s sordid and intricate history but it seems there must surely be valuable lessons to be learned in examining a former colony’s rise to the depths of our own consumer society while still maintaining a third world status for uncounted millions.
Posted by Amelopsis on from Canada 02/28 at 06:39 PMEmpress, what an excellent book title: Will The Iron Fence Save A Tree Hollowed By Termites?
Btw, for all you Expendables needing to shape up: http://tinyurl.com/ae2nm
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 02/28 at 06:49 PM
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