:: Archipelapogo ::

:: 30.8.04 ::

File me under: stereotype

There's nothing quite like heading to the grocery store at 10:15 at night. It's like Bachelor hell in there. As I stood in line at one of the two (out of some 19 or so) open lanes, I looked around and saw:

1 guy buying three frozen lunches

1 guy buying a gallon of milk and a box of Frosted Flakes

1 guy buying a gallon of milk, a gallon of water, two 2-Liters of Coke, and a Pineapple

I noted all these in my head rather humorously, which was all good and fine, until as I was walking out to the car, I realized what I had purchased

Mustard, sandwich bags, and cigarettes.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Don't Settle For the Lesser Evil

Cthulhu for President Bumper Stickers!
:: Scott [+] ::
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100 Reasons

The Sierra Club has started a new feature on their website called 100 Reasons, taking a major environmental issue a day and outlining why it's important and what can be done. They tackle a lot of inter-related topics, of course (like imporving fuel efficiency in cars and looking at hybrid tech, etc.) but there are also such wide-ranging topics as reducing mercury emissions, halting mountain top removal, and supporting the UN population fund. Definitely worth keeping an eye on - although I do wish the major reports weren't all .pdf's.

This is all leading up to a new petition they're asking people to sign, although I'm not sure who they're going to turn it in to or what the major point is. But, hell, I signed it anyways. You may consider the same.

Also from the Sierra Club, Bush's Seven Deadliest Environmental Sins and a look at potential disasters should he win another term.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Peace (up)Chucks

So Nike bought out Converse and then, in a meeting presumably with Lamia, Frank Sinatra, Raum, Yoko Ono, and Abaddon, have decided to put out some John Lennon Sneakers. I don't have a lot to add to this, other than I found out via Chico, who as per usual, writes it up much better than I could. Glad that all the middle school kids discovering pot and their parents copy of Revolver will have some new footwear options, I guess.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Jon & John

For those of you fellow hapless non-cable people, or those that just happened to miss it, Wonkette's got the transcript from John Kerry's appearance on the Daily Show last night.

Related bonus links: a WaPo article on why Kerry chose the Daily Show over more traditional news programs for his first National appearance post SWIFTies assault, and an exchange between a whiny, jealous Ted Koppel and Jon Stewart during the DNC.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Olympic Thoughts

Do the gymnasts really need that stupid Gala night or whatever it's called? We've seen them go through team qualifying, team championships, individual championships, and event championships. Is. that. not. enough.? Sheesh.

Congrats to Jeremy Wariner and Baylor Track Coach Clyde Hart. Hart's got one hell of a program going on there, and with another gold medal winner, it'll just make it that much easier to recruit.

Normally, I find the medal ceremonies pretty boring and contrived. But when Kerri Walsh reached over Misty May's shoulder last night and they kind of overlapped hands while overwhelmed by affection for each other and emotion for the moment, that just kind of exemplified teamwork.

When Morrocan Hicham El Geurrouj won the men's metric mile last night, the look of absolute joy and relief on his face was priceless.

My crushes of the month are officially Bulgarian sprinter Ivet Lalova and US Indoor Volleyballer Logan Tom. Just sayin'.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Sometimes, talking about the weather is just too exciting

The beginning of what I'm sure was a thrilling conversation between two men in the lobby of my building, overheard as I was entering the elevator:

"Boy, they sure do have a lot of smoke detectors in this building..."
:: Scott [+] ::
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Run Down Violence 5k

Nothing is locked in stone yet, but I want to let you
know about an important event that's taking shape. It
points out how delicate our lives and health are, and
how quickly things can change.

Cindee Crain, Legal Grounds Leslie and I are
organizing a running/walking fundraiser. We want to
raise as much money as we can for a man savagely
attacked at the Gypsy Tea Room 3 wks ago. His name is
David Cunniff. He apparently took his teenaged
daughters there to a concert and an argument erupted
with some skinheads after they were flicking ashes on
him. One of the attackers sneaked up on him, bashed
him with a beer bottle, and severed his spinal cord.
David is now paralyzed.
And his health insurance lapsed before the attack. He
lives in Lakewood, but currently is at Baylor
recovering.

We're putting together the Run Down Violence 5K very
quickly, so help us get the word out.

Here are the details so far:

Date: Thursday, September 2nd
Time: 7pm
Location: Lakewood United Methodist Church, Abrams and
Palo Pinto
Registration: Legal Grounds, starting this Saturday
and the night of the race
Cost: $20, kids under 12 will be $5
Awards: $50 Run On Gift Certificates to the overall
male & female winner
Drawings: $25 Lukes gift certificate and gifts from
various Lakewood merchants (still working on this).
T-Shirts: Everyone that registers will get a Run Down
Violence t-shirt designed by the students at the Arts
Magnet High School (where his daughters go to school)

All proceeds will go to pay the medical expenses of
David Cunniff.

:: Scott [+] ::
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Readings

..::Pollutants cause huge rise in brain diseases

The numbers of sufferers of brain diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and motor neurone disease, have soared across the West in less than 20 years, scientists have discovered.

The alarming rise, which includes figures showing rates of dementia have trebled in men, has been linked to rises in levels of pesticides, industrial effluents, domestic waste, car exhausts and other pollutants, says a report in the journal Public Health.

In the late 1970s, there were around 3,000 deaths a year from these conditions in England and Wales. By the late 1990s, there were 10,000.

The team stresses that its figures take account of the fact that people are living longer and it has also made allowances for the fact that diagnoses of such ailments have improved. It is comparing death rates, not numbers of cases, it says.

As to the cause of this disturbing rise, Pritchard said genetic causes could be ruled out because any changes to DNA would take hundreds of years to take effect. 'It must be the environment,' he said.

The causes were most likely to be chemicals, from car pollution to pesticides on crops and industrial chemicals used in almost every aspect of modern life, from processed food to packaging, from electrical goods to sofa covers, Pritchard said.

..::Republicans sign along dotted lines

Political campaigns are always eager to keep hecklers out of their pep rallies, but the Republican National Committee took that desire to a new level last week, requiring supporters to sign an oath of loyalty before receiving tickets to Saturday's New Mexico rally featuring Vice President Cheney.

The Albuquerque Journal reported on Friday that people seeking tickets to the Cheney event who could not be identified as GOP partisans -- contributors or volunteers -- were told they could not receive tickets unless they signed an endorsement form saying "I, (full name) . . . do herby (sic) endorse George W. Bush for reelection of the United States." The form warns that signers "are consenting to use and release of your name by Bush-Cheney as an endorser of President Bush."

The paper quoted a Republican official saying a "Democrat operative group" was trying to infiltrate the limited-seating event -- although the party apparently turned away uncommitted voters who simply wanted to hear Cheney speak.

:: Scott [+] ::
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Taking Back America

My inside sources tell me that the Taking Back America Film Festival is coming to Dallas. Sept. 10 and 11th at the Magnolia Lounge (note - this is *not* the same as the Magnolia theater at the West Village). Here's what they've got slated to screen:

Outfoxed

Unprecedented: the 2000 Presidential Election

Independent Media in a Time of War

The Carlyle Connection

Scenes from an Endless War

Point of Attack

The Oil Factor

Before You Don't Vote

There's also promised to be additional features shown. They're also looking for volunteers to work three hour shifts helping out with various tasks that need to be performed. If you're interested, send an e-mail to michele_sandlin AT sbcglobal DOT net.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Banana Guard

Some ideas just need to be forgotten 20 minutes after you and your drunk friends think you've come up with the next wheel. Purge them with the nacho-cheez colored, vodka soaked puke and forget them forever as you sleep the dreamless sleep of the dead only to wake the next afternoon and realize you've got an econometrics paper due in 12 hours.

Methinks the Banana Guard is one of them.

For one thing, this is functionally inept. Bananas, like many other things in life, come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and angles. This is why you can buy normal, snug, or magnum. The demonstration photo shows what appears to be a fairly regular sized banana with not a whole lot of wiggle room.

Secondly, carrying one of these makes you even more of a target for mockery than the kid that had to wear a headgear to class*. The jokes, even from your most whitebread suburban coworkers, would drive one to the pantyhose and sniper rifle shoppe. And you can't tell me that with descriptive adjectives as "ravishing", "passionate", "pretty" and even a "glo-in-the dark" model, these people didn't know what they were doing.

Now don't get me wrong, I like bananas. I really do. I eat one nearly every day and have been known to put down three in one sitting. But I don't love my bananas enough to carry one of these on my morning commute.

Then again, it may be worth purchasing one, probably the glow in the dark model, just to show future generations everything they need to know about e-commerce. Put it in a time-vault and melt the rest down. Thank you.

*Not from experience. Getting glasses in second grade was plenty truamatic, thanks

Link via lonita.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Monday Blahs

Sorry for what amounts to an off post, but it's Monday morning, what do you want? Anyways, I just wanted to toss off two things:

My post on human trafficking became more german this weekend as yet another semi-truck was busted in the metroplex, this time with 79 illegal immigrants in the bed. The story I saw on local news talked with many of the Police Officers who were on the scene, and they were very sympathetic to the immigrants, even getting them free food and water from area businesses. The driver, Alvin Auxter, is rightfully sitting in a jail cell.

On a completely different note, negotiations are underway and tentative plans being made for a possible trip to New Orleans for the Voodoo Music Festival. The line-up is irresistable. Beasties with Mix Master Mike, Pixies, Sonic Youth, reunited Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul. I'll sit through New Found Glory's set for this. I need to find a place to camp around there. Any tips would be appreciated.


:: Scott [+] ::
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Dying to Leave

I started to compose this post, decided against, but then after reading the full interview with Hillary Clinton, decided to go ahead and do it. So here goes:

Last night on PBS, the local station aired an episode of Wide Angle called Dying to Leave about the human trafficking market and it's exploitations. It was a very powerful show, detailing the stories of people going from Moldova to Italy, China to the U.S. via Mexico, Iraq to Australia, Colombia to Japan, and of course, Mexicans to the U.S. All of the stories were unique in nature but seemingly microcosmic examples of a growing and increasingly profitable black market. This is the 21st Century's slave trade.

In the show, two of the women (Moldova to Italy and Colombia to Japan) got caught up in the sex trade. The Moldovan woman was sold time and time again (eighteen times in two and half years, if I remember right) to different owners who would physically and sexually assault her. She was driven across borders to Turkey, Albania, Greece, and eventually, Italy. She was trying to build a better life by earning money outside of Moldova to care for her ailing son who needed surgery. The Colombian was tricked into flying to Japan - by a friend making a long-distance phone call from Tokyo, either under duress or for money - gave up her passport upon arrival, and was strong-armed by Japanese gangsters into working the streets to pay off her supposed debt of $40,000.

The man from Iraq, a Kurd, was removed from his home as a young boy and sent to a refugee camp in Iran. From there, he made contacts and travelled Malaysia, via India and Indonesia. He slowly began sending family members to Australia where they would seek asylum. The final boatload of his family members, which carried himself, his wife, and his daughter, sank, killing 143 children, including his daughter, and his wife. The water pump malfunctioned and the overcrowded boat sank.

The Mexican man was misled time and time again by coyotes and wound up in Florida working a tomato field where he and his coworkers were locked up at night and paid pittance for backbreaking work in the Florida Summer sun.

The Chinese man managed to build a semi-successful life for himself after working insane hours in various jobs in New York City to send money back to his family. He had to pay $25,000 plus interest that can only be described as usurious. He said in hindsight that even though he now married to a legal citizen and about to be eligible for a green card, he would not make the same choice again.

But enough of bit summaries, let's get some facts, no?

What kinds of slavery exist today?

- Bonded Labor - affecting at least 20 million people in the world today. People become bonded labourers by taking or being tricked into taking a loan for as little as the cost of medicine for a sick child. To repay the debt, they are forced to work long hours, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

- Forced labour - affects people who are illegally recruited by governments, political parties or private individuals, and forced to work -- usually under threat of violence or other penalties.

- Worst forms of child labour - refers to children who work in exploitative or dangerous conditions. Tens of millions of children around the world work full-time, depriving them of the education and recreation crucial to their personal and social development.

- Commercial sexual exploitation of children. - Children are exploited for their commercial value through prostitution, trafficking and pornography. They are often kidnapped, bought, or forced to enter the sex market.

- Trafficking - involves the transport and/or trade of humans, usually women or children, for economic gain using force or deception. Often migrant women are tricked and forced into domestic work or prostitution.

- Early and forced marriage - affects women and girls who are married without choice and are forced into lives of servitude often accompanied by physical violence.

- Traditional or 'chattel' slavery - involves the buying and selling of people. They are often abducted from their homes, inherited or given as gifts.

Human Trafficking FAQ

Q: How many people are trafficked?

A: It is impossible to know and statistics are difficult to obtain because trafficking is an underground activity. A US Government report published in 2004, estimates that 600,000-800,000 people worldwide are trafficked across borders each year. This figure does not include those who are trafficked internally.

Q: Are trafficking and smuggling the same?

A: No. Trafficking and smuggling are not the same. Human trafficking involves deceiving or coercing someone to move -- either within a country or abroad through legal or illegal channels -- for the purpose of exploiting him or her.

Smuggling is assisting someone for a fee to cross a border illegally.

The UN Fact Sheet on Human Trafficking

Over the past decade, trafficking in human beings has reached epidemic proportions. No country is immune. The search for work abroad has been fuelled by economic disparity, high unemployment and the disruption of traditional livelihoods. Traffickers face few risks and can earn huge profits by taking advantage of large numbers of potential immigrants.

Trafficking in human beings is a crime in which victims are moved from poor environments to more affluent ones, with the profits flowing in the opposite direction, a pattern often repeated at the domestic, regional and global levels. It is believed to be growing fastest in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. In Asia, girls from villages in Nepal and Bangladesh – the majority of whom are under 18 – are sold to brothels in India for $1000. Trafficked women from Thailand and the Philippines are increasingly being joined by women from other countries in Southeast Asia. Europol estimates that the industry is now worth several billion dollars a year.

Trafficking in human beings is not confined to the sex industry. Children are trafficked to work in sweatshops as bonded labour and men work illegally in the "three D-jobs" – dirty, difficult and dangerous. A recent CIA report estimated that between 45,000 to 50,000 women and children are brought to the United States every year under false pretenses and are forced to work as prostitutes, abused labourers or servants. UNICEF estimates that more than 200,000 children are enslaved by cross-border smuggling in West and Central Africa.

Recommended further reading:

- Colin Powell's Trafficking in Persons Report, released in June of this year. Here's the section on the U.S. Government's efforts including training, grants, foreign aid, and domestic presecutions which in light of the annual import of women and children brought into the US listed above, seems kind of paltry:

As of April 2004, the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division had 153 open trafficking investigations – twice as many as compared with three years earlier. Over one-half of these investigations were initiated as a result of the "Trafficking in Persons and Worker Exploitation Task Force Complaint Line," 1-888-428-7581, established in February 2000. In fiscal years 2001 through 2003, the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division and US Attorneys Offices initiated prosecutions of 110 traffickers, nearly a three-fold increase compared to the previous three fiscal years. In fiscal years 2001 through 2003, the Department of Justice secured 77 convictions and guilty pleas, a 50 percent increase over the previous three years.

- The Protection Project from Johns Hopkins University

- Human Trafficking Resources including many region-specific and issue-specific organizations.

- Free the Slaves - Facts on the booming slave operations worldwide. Read the stories of former slaves, learn about abducted slaves and slave-run industries, and get involved in the crusade against human bondage.

Sorry for being so long-winded and posting a downer on a Friday afternoon, but when I read this part of the interview with Hillary, I felt obligated to post this:

So we've made progress. Have we done everything I'd like to see? Of course not. And there will be a reauthorization of the legislation, hopefully this year or next, that we can try to improve on and learn from what has happened in the past. But we still haven't yet raised public awareness. Not only here in the United States, but around the world, so that people understand the horrible nature of this crime, and that they don't just view it as a cultural artifact or a way of someone looking for a better life and maybe being mistreated, but no harm done. They've got to understand that this is really at root a criminal enterprise that crosses all boundaries.

This is posted in the spirit of raising awareness. Please spread the word.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Upgrade your brain matter, cause one day it may matter

Some links for your weekend enjoyment:

..::CollageMania - a blog focusing on collage artists' work::..

..::Sam's pictures of creative mailboxes::..

..::An Interview piece with Gael Garcia Bernal - he of Y Tu Mama Tambien and El Crimen de Padre Amaro fame. I really can't wait for the Motorcycle Diaries to come out::..

..::Also from the Observer, Edward Said's last column, regarding the mellowing of artists as they approach death::..

..::And for the local DFW folk, tomorrow there is going to be a (rescheduled) World Refugee Day picnic at Fair Oaks Park. From the e-mail I rec'd about it:

"Picnic in the Park" (bring a picnic lunch, blanket, umbrella for sun or rain. Drinks will be provided). International crafts, activities for children, entertainment. Musical performances by MosaicSong and other groups.

Come celebrate with us! Meet refugees, and representatives of the International Rescue Committee, Catholic Charities Migration and Refugee Services, Refugee Services of Texas, Mosaic Family Services, United Nations Association USA Dallas Chapter, Islamic Community Center of North Texas, Center for Survivors of Torture, and National Alliance of Vietnamese American Service Agencies.

Sounds like it may be worth going to::..


:: Scott [+] ::
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Rudepundit

I swear, I don't know why I trust you people at all. I hang around, occasionally poking my head into conversations, but mostly just pining to hear about the new cool hangouts on the interweb. Yet, you've failed me once more.

It's been up for nearly a year, and I just now find The Rude Pundit. Juvenile, offensive, crass, and entertaining as hell.

And then, two nights ago, Laura appears on The O'Reilly Fucktor, and she uses the occasion to demonstrate that she's a good automaton, programmed to keep her opinions to herself, only once actually stating a real opinion, when she said, in answer to one of O'Reilly's long-winded pseudo-questions, "You gave me a really great idea. Maybe it is the media that has us divided." Otherwise, the interview was one talking point after another, one scripted reference to how she doesn't like people attacking hubby, how the sit-on-my-face twins are just so giddy and great and super-duper, how she and hubby never really "debate" issues, how her work day is like so many let-them-eat-cake wives, bland and information-free, until it was time to go back into the bubble of the domestic sphere once again (except, of course, whenever hubby needs to show that the world is safe by sending Laura to the Citicorp building, which was, supposedly, the target of a terrorist attack that could occur at any moment).

Thanks for nothing, ne'er-do-wells.
:: Scott [+] ::
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