Who the Hell is IPS anyway?
Oct 19, 2008 Uncategorized
I stumbled across a news organization called Inter Press Service News agency. They talk about representing the downtrodden, etc. in a mission statement that says… “IPS raises the voices of the South [???? Southern Hemisphere? South Africa?] and civil society [???]… IPS tells the story underneath.”
OK, maybe so. But why in the world would ANY valid news organization in the modern world have the following disclaimer at the bottom of an article?
“/NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN AUSTRALIA, CANADA, NEW ZEALAND, CZECH REPUBLIC, IRELAND, POLAND, THE UNITED STATES, AND THE UNITED KINGDOM/ (END/2008) ”
I check you out in more detail. Maybe I’m missing something.
Ron
Sort-of Saving Second Base
Oct 20, 2007 Uncategorized
As the Colorado Rockies prepare for their first World Series, it is interesting that something else has popped up in the news. It seems that Haley and Jessica, two girls from a Salina Kansas high school, decided to raise some money for breast cancer charities by selling a t-shirt. Unfortnately their plan ran into a couple of snags.
First, their high school refused to allow them to sell the shirts at football games because officials determined the design, two baseballs over the words Save 2nd Base, was inappropriate for high school. Sorry, Ward Cleavers of the world, on this one we disagree. However, the design they used had already been trademarked by the Rooney Foundation, which had every right to ask the girls to stop selling the shirts.
Great idea, we applaud your spunk and determination Haley and Jessica-you both should have bright careers ahead of you.
We’ll be watching for your next–original–idea!
Quack!
Thoughts on this September Day – the 11th
Sep 11, 2007 Uncategorized
A food court, fifty feet away from the noise and light of the Venetian hotel casino, seems like an odd place to be working today. September 11. I stepped out of the shower this morning, and put on old blue — my old, beaten, comfortable NYPD t-shirt. It’s been a tradition on this day since the world shook. As I walked toward the elevator, a thought crossed my mind and I turned around and changed — into a t-shirt from another resort. I don’t know why, but it just felt like the thing to do.
Old blue’s waiting. I’ll spend several hours working later this afternoon wrapped in the comfortable cotton.
God bless this thing called freedom
Duck
Cry Freedom – 1987
Oct 21, 2006 Racism, Suppression of Ideas, Suppression of People, Uncategorized
Just watched this film last night. I saw it when it first came out as an experience with the Denver International Film festival, had forgotten what an incredibly moving experience this film was. Kevin Kline and Denzel Washington were both brilliant. The story of the courage of Steve Biko and Donald Wood’s against the rages of an oppressive regime is incredible. Anyway, I moved on the inspiration and did some more research… here are a couple of the more interesting links I found.
Freedom Blues: S.African Jazz Under Apartheid
for more interesting stuff, Google music apartheid
Over the next couple of days I’ll dig into my archives and post a couple of pieces from the past.
Quack
Freedom – Not Just for Rednecks Anymore (part 1)
Sep 18, 2006 Announcements, Uncategorized
In the memorabilia I’ve kept for many, many years, there is a distorted slug. I think it’s .45 caliber, but it might be a little slower. Nearly 40 years ago, in 1969, that bullet flew past my head, with a message… yelled from a hundred yards away. “You can’t talk like that! This is America!” (I think I’d just finished singing a couple of verses of Country Joe McDonald’s “Feel Like I’m Fixin’ to Die Rag.”
Huh? If anything, in America we CAN talk like that. That’s what FREEDOM OF SPEECH IS ALL ABOUT!
If you want to see something scary, Google the word “Freedom” sometime. The good part is great links to quotes from people like Dr. Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, Rudy Guiliani… Then, then, then, then there are the flag adorned hate sites. The people who truly believe in their hearts that Freedom is something reserved for people who are light-skinned, who speak only English (maybe with a drawl).
Oh, well….
More on this one later. The medium makes it far too easy to rant. And none of us want to go there.
Peace, Love, Wow!
Duck
Political Topics – Starter Thread
Sep 1, 2006 Topics, Uncategorized
We’ve created categories for the political topics in the list below. If you’d like us to add a topic please let us know by adding a comment to this post. While we’re getting off the ground, you can add any post regarding a music style by posting a comment to this thread. We’ll move it to the appropriate category so others may comment on it.
Topic Categories: Corporate Corruption, Politicians/Politics, Racism, Suppression of People, Suppression of Ideas, War, Other
Thanks,
Duck
Music Styles – Starter Thread
Sep 1, 2006 Music Styles, Uncategorized
We’ve created categories for the music styles in the list below. If you’d like us to add a style please let us know by adding a comment to this post. While we’re getting off the ground, you can add any post regarding a music style by posting a comment to this thread. We’ll move it to the appropriate category so others may comment on it.
Music Style categories: Blues, Country/Bluegrass, Folk/Indigenous, Hard Rock/Metal, New Age, Pop, Rap/Hip Hop, Reggae, Rock and Roll, World Music, Other
I’ve left out Jazz because no politically oriented jazz immediately comes to mind. But of course I may be without a clue…
Thanks,
Duck
