Mickey Z
Cool Observer
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
A slaughterhouse shut down for animal abuse? What about the other 5,700?
On the doored article…
Lost count of the number of times that very nearly happened to me.
My own method was to keep a careful watch and then when it happened to brake as quickly as possible and then call the person exiting the car every name under the sun very aggressively before cycling away again.
Posted by michael from not scotland on 11/04 at 05:46 AMVery good, very important point MZ.
Hmm. But this sounds familiar. One might think that the announcement about abuse and torture in one place would lead to frank discussion and wide condemnation of such practices everywhere, leading to their end. But that would be magical thinking.
It’s just outrageous that there are legal, regulated methods for torture and abuse (of animals as well as people). It tells you everything you need to know about whoever is writing such laws.
Posted by Keir from here and there on 11/04 at 09:20 AMHello Michael.
Keir: The original title of this post compared the slaughterhouse to the military’s collateral damage nonsense. It went up on Planet Green and then the higher-ups asked to have it switched.
Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria on 11/04 at 09:24 AMThat doesn’t surprise me Mickey. Why would they want you to make the point in the strongest way? If you were to even subtly compare slaughterhouse conditions to the “few bad apples” at Abu Ghraib (for example), someone might make the connection that the (human) torture and abuse issue in the mainstream media disappeared, and the torture and abuse goes on unabated, and horror of horrors, President Nobelprize might be seen to be culpable for such continuing outrages. I know it’s a stretch, and you would never want to suggest such a thing, of course not, but the higher ups must do their job and protect the Average Sanctimonious Liberal Reader from itself. The ASLR must never confuse its delicious organic whole foods groundbeefburger with nasty republican slaughterhouses or non-Nobel-Prize-vetted government’s torture policies in general.
Posted by Keir from here and there on 11/04 at 10:28 AMAgreed, Keir, but I still gotta say I feel good about reaching a mainstream audience with what I’ve been contributing to Planet Green. Is it enough? Of course not. But after years of hoping Z Net would run my articles (for no pay), it’s a nice change to have a paying gig that enables me to stay radical and increase my readership in a major way.
Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria on 11/04 at 10:39 AMNo doubt MZ. You’ve been pragmatic and to be clear: I love the way you have been combining practical, practicable radicalism (it shouldn’t be radical to ride a bike, or eat organic, locally grown vegetables, but it is) without sacrificing any of your idealism. The holistic approach you’ve been taking in your writing (one day it’s about history, the next nutrition, the next laughs, the next policy) mirrors the life lived.
Still, I get to say that sometimes I wish Planet Green were a little more black.
Posted by Keir from here and there on 11/04 at 11:02 AMThanks, Keir. I know I can count on my friends here to kick me in the ass if I ever get too light green with the posts.
Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria on 11/04 at 11:15 AMMake that Planet Light Green.
Posted by Zen Prole from Pac NW on 11/04 at 11:58 AMHi all…
Mickey,I voted.Posted by RMJ from Ward Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts on 11/04 at 01:58 PMI think the Planet Green series of articles have been great. A green radical article per day - amazing rate of production.
I’m seeing a band on Friday called Pet Conspiracy and they just put out a kind of nature friendly naked photoshoot of the band.
Then I did some research and found that a couple of the Beijing scene bands are vegan and run not only a Vegan promoting show bi-monthly but also the China site for PETA here.
Now I’m thinking of getting some of those band members together and doing a PETA style provocative photo shoot. It would go off like a bomb here, and be quite risky too, I mean from the gov and the police. Lets see.
Posted by Andy from shanghai on 11/04 at 02:05 PMI agree on Planet Green...keep it up Mick. I like the whole format and I don’t think they are all that light. I try to get my vote in every time I see one. I am with Andy on your output...I have no idea how you are able to pump out so much quality writing.
Let’s Go Yankees!
Posted by JOS from Chicago on 11/04 at 04:19 PMI think it’s great, Mickey. I find it frustrating that you’re not more well known. I do my best to promote you as much as possible, either on my raw food site or on Facebook. And I don’t find your stuff too watered down. You’re on point when you need to be.
Posted by Charles from Jersey City on 11/04 at 06:39 PMHello again, everyone. Thanks for the positive feedback
Andy: Keep us posted on the photo shoot.
Charles: I appreciate the help. I’ve yet to figure out how to rise above the notoriety plateau I’ve been on for many years. I have two more books due out very soon (that brings me to 9) and it’s hard to imagine either of them selling much. With all this social media, you’d think there’d be a way for me to get better known.
Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria on 11/04 at 07:05 PMHey all. Just to clarify, I never said nuthin’ about watered down or not liking what MZ is up to. In fact, I think I was giving praise. My comment was about Planet Green.
A specific example: I get overwhelmed with the visual impact of that website, all the different stuff floating around that is not the article I’m there to read. And I still find it difficult to understand how any “green” website pushing energy conservation can maintain a white background, since white backgrounds use more energy than black backgrounds. And not an insignificant amount, apparently. If high-traffic websites like Google and Yahoo and the rest switched to black there would be a big reduction in the substantial energy usage of the WWW.
And that leads somewhat into your question in #13 MZ. I’ve mentioned this before: I honestly think (and have been told this by friends I’ve recommended your site to) that a redesign of your website would help keep more traffic.
Posted by Keir from here and there on 11/04 at 07:47 PMI got your vibe, Keir. It’s just that your comment led me to talk about what it’s like to write for a more mainstream site.
As for a site re-design (and any other suggestions), I’m all ears.
Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria on 11/04 at 07:49 PMGo Yanks…
Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria on 11/04 at 11:58 PMHow about them Yankees???
Posted by Charles from Jersey City on 11/05 at 03:28 AMI was filled with emotion last night...thrilled to see my favorite team win while really missing my Yankee fan Mom.
Btw, a new post is now up. See you all there.
Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria on 11/05 at 07:17 AM
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