Mickey Z
Cool Observer
Saturday, June 10, 2006
My attempt at diplomacy
TRUE STORY...HAPPENED THIS WEEK TO MY FRIEND, THE HORSE LOGGER
St. Johnsbury,VT--National Intelligence Director John Negroponte’s Commencement Address to the graduating class of private St. Johnsbury Academy was disrupted twice by protesters inside the auditorium where the ceremony was being held.
Over 75 protesters gathered on the sidewalk outside of the Academy protesting… Two other protesters from Vermont School of the Americas Watch were arrested as they attempted to gain entrance to the auditorium....
Briefly after Negroponte began his address, Michael Colby, a horse logger* from Worcester, VT stood up saying, “In the name of democracy I object to this man speaking. He has blood on his hands from his work in Central America and Iraq. He shouldn’t be at the podium, he should be in jail. He is a war criminal.” Colby was grabbed by police and security and escorted out of the auditorium to awaiting police cars.
As Colby was being escorted away, Negroponte told the audience, “Now it’s my turn.” But before he could continue, Boots Wardinski, another logger quickly rose stating, “No! It’s my turn! When the headmaster introduced Negroponte, he forgot to tell about all the people tortured, killed and raped (under Negroponte’s helm in Honduras). You should be ashamed to stay in here and listen to this man.”
Some of the protesters assembled outside started to move toward the auditorium. Palmer Legare and Brendan O’Neill, both from Vermont School of the Americas Watch, were grabbed by the police and arrested.
O’Neill shouted to reporters and bystanders, “They are arresting the wrong people. This man (Negroponte) teaches war not peace. He is responsible for the murders of 30,000 innocent Nicaraguans.”
All four were arrested for disorderly conduct and trespass although both Colby and Wardinski had tickets allowing them inside for the Negroponte speech. Both Colby and Wardinski represented Horse Loggers for Peace and Wardinski is also a member of Veterans for Peace.After the four were released, Colby said that he told the arresting officer that, “I come in peace.” Colby said then the officer punched him in the stomach.
Wardinski said his arresting officer called him a, “punk asshole.”* A horse logger is one who uses horses to pull the logs after they are cut. Horses are used instead of machinery such as skidders, tractors, etc.
Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 06/10 at 08:14 AMThanks, RMJ...this line says it all: “They are arresting the wrong
people.”Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 06/10 at 08:41 AMI have a story so much more mundane than RMJ’s, one I’m so bored of, more a request for advice than a story-- where should I buy new clothes, jeans, specifically. I was just looking on http://www.responsibleshopper.org out of an urge to not shop at the GAP or an affiliate, and they’re pretty much ALL BAD. So what difference does it make? No, I don’t want to stress myself out trying to find pants that fit in thrift stores, that’ll take forever.
This isn’t as kinda black and white as the vegan/not vegan issue, for those that are into that. More it’s that there just feels like no alternative altogether, but I still would rather try not to feel like a hypocrite completely.
Mudge from last night, I’m blushing now, so I’m not sure how that affects my incandescence. I’m only working half days each day this weekend, so we’ll see.
Posted by James on from Hell's Kitchen 06/10 at 09:54 AMTo name a few..
1. http://www.nosweatapparel.com
2.www.unionjeancompany.com
3. http://www.justiceclothing.comPosted by Jeremy on from NYC 06/10 at 10:40 AMGood stories today MZ & RMJ.
@ MZ: I especially liked your response to the lady’s question…
@ RMJ: Your protest story has the typical ending: innocent civilians get hauled off to the slammer for exercising the First while the killers run free…
@ James: besides Jeremy’s very good links, you might also want to check out the Fair Trade Federation: http://www.fairtradefederation.org/
Posted by RT on from The Buyou City 06/10 at 10:49 AMJames...you bring up a good topic. It is discussed a lot up here, especially now because our local Wal-mart has applied for a permit to expand. My friends, those who have more money than I do, are opposed to the expansion. They rarely/never shop n Wal-mart. Other friends, the factory workers, are in favor of the expansion. The debate has broken down along economic lines. My position is that the Wal-mart shoppers are no better or worse than the boutique shoppers. The $100 sweater in the boutique was probably made under the same anti-labor conditions as the $10 sweater in Wal-mart. Yes, Wal-mart is exploitive in many ways but they are not the only ones. I don’t think there is a good answer to the question that you bring up...it’s a damned if you do, and damned if you don’t senerio. Ironically, it seems that those who are most opposed to the expansion, are the ones driving the big gas guzzlers. Living “simply” is the answer some suggest. That is a great solution but there are limits as to how “simply” one can live. I will modify one thing that I said above...There is a difference between the Wal-mart shoppers and the boutique shoppers. The way I see it, things would be better if the $100 purchase was made at a discount store for $10 and the $90 saving then given to a homeless person.
Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 06/10 at 10:55 AMHi Jeremy and RT. We were symultyping. The links you give are interesting.
Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 06/10 at 11:10 AMHey Jeremy and RT and everyone else, thanks a lot so far. Has anyone ever actually bought jeans from any of those places? The only NoSweat store listed for NYC is MooShoes, and they don’t have too much, no jeans anyway. Don’t see a store location for JusticeClothing, and I just can’t be mail ordering jean, I need to try them on. Same goes for FairTradeFederation… this is really starting to feel like too much trouble for too little tangible activism. Before I feel like sellout for tossing a coin btn the Gap and Calvin Klein or whatever, I’ll ask again if anyone’s actually found a practical solution to it. Reminds me of the favorite onion article again:
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/48223
Other issue is that being a New Yorker, I need black jeans, even harder to find. Ah well, too much more of this and Mudge will accuse me of using it just to pur off getting writing done, and he’d probably be right.
Posted by James on from Hell's Kitchen 06/10 at 12:07 PMHello again everyone...from a cool, comfortable Astoria. Thanks for the great links, re: responsible shopping. At times, it does feel like we’re re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic but, as long as no one mistakes socially aware shopping for the answer, why not make the effort to vote with one’s dollar?
We’re heading out now. I’ll check back later.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 06/10 at 02:02 PM@ James: unless one is extraordinarily savvy and committed, I would say that it is next to impossible to buy 100% sweatshop-free and/or fairly-traded merchandise all the time.
And yes, I’ve personally bought items through these places. As far as finding exactly what you’re looking for (e.g., black jeans), maybe compromise, and just settle for an off-brand or something? And maybe avoid the big chain stores and instead buy from a small, locally-owned business? That way you’re at least supporting the local economy… However, stuff like t-shirts, socks, and pracitcally anything that comes in S, M, L, XL sizes are easy enough to buy union-made/fair-trade, at least for me. I do know that No Sweat in particular allows exhanges, and I’m sure the others do as well. Afterall, it’s clothing…
But for me, the fact that I buy even just one union-made or fair-trade item is a statement in and of itself, and makes me feel good that I have made a socially responsible consumption choice. Also fun to share with others so that they too might follow suit.
Posted by RT on from The Buyou City 06/10 at 02:19 PMIt seems that 3 at Guantanamo just decided that it is better to be dead than under the “supervision” of the USA government. I understand the feeling. A lawyer for one of the prisoners just said that those imprisoned there are not allowed ANY contact or knowledge of the outside world. They did not know that there are those on the outside who are pushing for the closure of that hell hole. He also said that that is one of the contributing factors to their hopelessness.
Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 06/10 at 02:29 PM<html>
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My story today (this is fun)<style="font-weight: bold;">Real Life Magic</span>
After one has endured enough real life accidents one becomes a little
less credulous of real life magic.Oh, I never really got hurt all those times leaping about as a kid
(trying to fly). But then there are those reality-based moments
of life (am I being redundant?) when bolts drop and brakes fail… and
compound mass advertises its momentum with a thunderous blow!Like the time I was at my favorite Vietnamese-American owned pizza
parlor waiting for an order. (An 8” pepperoni and mushroom lunch-time special--
isn’t happiness always getting the same thing?)While distractedly scanning the [url="http://static.flickr.com/69/164362480_1d3eb2f91b_o.png"]paper
menu[/url] and the TV on top of a freezer: Bang! A lady in
the parking lot out front, rather than putting her car in reverse, had
accelerated through the front glass window.As a science-fair project, this could have been really
impressive: a prehistoric Siberian comet crash zone in which the
comet was the shiny new BMW-- and me and all the Formica tables were
hapless pine trees radiating in a tragic but predictable supine arch.Hardly a minute had passed when, siren wailing, a firetruck arrived
with bomberos and auxiliary EMTs scaling over the top of the BMW with
picks, high-tech metal cutters and first-aid boxes. “Don’t move!”
commanded one as I clambered to my feet unscratched from a mountain of
safety glass particles.One medic grasped me from behind to check for injuries: Relax and
answer my questions! How does this feel? Can you move this? etc.
(Meantime I could see the woman in the car, unscathed but weeping into
her hands-- how was she ever going to explain this later? Was the
man in the disaster zone (me!) going to press charges and sue?)“You seem to have a broken elbow,” the medic said tapping a small protuberance on my left arm. ("Wow! Is he
thorough!” I thought.)I broke it last week when another car hit me, I told him. “Can I still go to the
hospital? I don’t have health insurance!”The fireman looked at me with an expression of “....and I thought I’d
heard it all before."“I guess you’re pretty lucky… all in all," he winked while
bounding off.“Your pizza’s ready!" announced the pizza chef from behind the
counter.“How much is it?” I asked.
“Free today! Cám’ông!”
I opened the box he handed me-- the pizza looked and smelled the same
as always, neatly sliced with the little tissue napkins on the
side. All through the excitement, my pizza had still been
cooking!</body>
</html>Posted by Robert B. Livingston on from San Francisco 06/10 at 04:14 PMPreview problems! Here is an easier to read version:
Real Life Magic
After one has endured enough real life accidents one becomes a little less credulous of real life magic.
Oh, I never really got hurt all those times leaping about as a kid (trying to fly). But then there are those reality-based moments of life (am I being redundant?) when bolts drop and brakes fail… and compound mass advertises its momentum with a thunderous blow!
Like the time I was at my favorite Vietnamese-American owned pizza parlor waiting for an order. (An 8” lunch-time special-- isn’t happiness always getting the same thing?)
While distractedly scanning the paper menu and the TV on top of a freezer: Bang! A lady in the parking lot out front, rather than putting her car in reverse, had accelerated through the front glass window.
As a science-fair project, this could have been really impressive: a prehistoric Siberian comet crash zone in which the comet was the shiny new BMW-- and me and all the Formica tables were hapless pine trees radiating in a tragic but predictable supine arch.
Hardly a minute had passed when, siren wailing, a firetruck arrived with bomberos and auxiliary EMTs scaling over the top of the BMW with picks, high-tech metal cutters and first-aid boxes. “Don’t move!” commanded one as I clambered to my feet unscratched from a mountain of safety glass particles.
One medic grasped me from behind to check for injuries: Relax and answer my questions! How does this feel? Can you move this? etc.
(Meanwhile I could see the woman in the car, unscathed but weeping into her hands-- how was she ever going to explain this later? Was the man in the disaster zone (me!) going to press charges and sue?)
“You seem to have a broken elbow,” the medic saidthe medic said tapping a small protuberance on my left arm. ("Wow! Is he thorough!” I thought.)
I broke it last week when another car hit me, I told him. “Can I still go to the hospital? I don’t have health insurance!”
The fireman looked at me with an expression of “....and I thought I’d heard it all before.”
“I guess you’re pretty lucky… all in all,” he winked while bounding off.
“Your pizza’s ready!” announced the pizza chef from behind the counter.
“How much is it?” I asked.
“Free today! Cám’ông!”
I opened the box he handed me-- the pizza looked and smelled the same as always, neatly sliced with the little tissue napkins on the side. All through the excitement, my pizza had still been cooking!
Posted by Robert B. Livingston on from San Francisco 06/10 at 04:21 PMHello Expendables.
Robert: You are truly an excellent storyteller. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 06/10 at 07:50 PM
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