Triangle Fire

From Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion

Sweatshop Garments Drag All Of Us Down referenced the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, which I remember learning about when I visited a museum in upstate NY as a teenager (I think it was by "the Egg"). I'd been to the museum as a child, so it was strange to come back in a taller/bigger body and look at things from that vantage point. I also felt very fascinated by the exhibit, in a terrible way.

Some things online about garment workers who survived the Triangle Shirtwaist fire in 1911:

My First Job - Rose Cohen
Rose Cohen & Isidore Wegodner

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The Sweatshops Garments article also mentioned three more recent garment factory fires:

7 people died in a fire at Smart Fashion Export in Bangladesh on Jan. 26, 2013

112 died in a fire at Tazreen Fashions in Bangladesh on Nov. 24, 2012

250+ died at Ali Enterprises in Pakistan (and there were also 25 deaths in a fire at a shoe factory on the same day?) on Sept. 11, 2012

A little musique

Old song from high school and/or maybe college...
Fade Into You

Hooray!

Had to find something to make me feel a little better before I went to bed.

Chester Township woman helps battle modern-day slavery

"Neigher said her lifelong concerns about human trafficking began when she wrote a ninth-grade paper on migrant laborers while a student at Monroe High School in Rochester, N.Y. Her mother was a social worker in a county with a high population of migrant workers."

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Maybe a little less hoorayish:

In Deterring Modern-Day Slavery, California is Stopped Short

"Young children and women remain heavily exploited. Crisis Aid states that the average age of a trafficked victim is 12-14 years old; however, girls as young as 5 and 6 years old may be sexually trafficked in the United States."

 

"With regards to forced labor, 40-50% of the exploited are children, while 56% of all forced labor victims are women and girls. Health and Human Services claims that “women and children are overwhelmingly trafficked in labor arenas because of their relative lack of power, social marginalization, and their overall status as compared to men.”

"Two types of labor trafficking exists: bonded and forced. The former, also known as debt bondage, remains the most common form of enslavement. The victim must repay a loan by providing labor, and the value of his/her work often exceeds the sum of money owed. The latter forces one to work under threats of violence against the individual or the family."

I'd watch this again

Marwencol

Someone will be *** with cute

From Cat cafe to open in London

Sunday videos

Sometimes, I just watch videos b.f. shows me, and then watch other stuff on my own.

Not necessarily in this order:

My Little Brony

Twister Commercial

Your Printer is a Brat

Kids shows

So apparently, "My Little Pony" was revived (I'm pretty sure I've seen the dolls in stores) and now there are grown men called "Bronies" who really like it a lot.
Adult Male My Little Pony fans
Huh.
Yes, I suppose it sufficiently interests a person who at one point got made fun of by boys (well, mildly teased, really not that bad) for playing with toy ponies. And I don't know any adult men who watch the show. I don't watch it. But I don't have cable. Barely have a functioning TV. Anyway.
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Article comment (sarcastic? serious? tongue-in-check but truthful?):

JohnYardDog

01 October 2012 12:11pm

167

I'm a Brony. Don't think it's that big a deal though - I've always enjoyed She-Ra, Jem, Hello Kitty and all manner of things that are considered 'for girls'. There's no reasons why things can't be 'cute' and 'badass' at the same time. Now, if only Season 3 would start.
/)

Songs and shoes and clothes and etc.

I just came across an interesting post about the "Wings" song! I didn't know all those people would be exposed to it like that...but I think it's cool to think that now a lot of people might go and seek out the full song after being exposed to just part of the song. I think some of those songs triggered some feelings in me... For example, I have been wondering off and on about which countries my clothing has been coming from for years. It feels very natural for me to wonder about that, and if my wonderment also deepens into regularly feeling concern for the treatment of the people who make the shoes on my feet and the clothes on my back, then that's probably how it should be.
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A 2012 article with differing perspectives on whether or not LA has sweatshops

Darn.

I'm trying to figure out if this could've been a game I played at a daycare in the 80s:
Pound Puppies: Pooch On The Loose

Aw....

Bob Dylan Lays Off 2,000 Workers From Song-Writing Factory
and
Johnny Depp Now Completely Made of Scarves and Bracelets

Interesting quotes from pages about fashion

A quote from Introducing Fashioning Change:

"The ideas behind the company were instilled in me by my father. He grew up in Juarez, Mexico, a city that many consumer-goods companies use as an outsourcing location. He had friends and family who worked in many of the factories, and he saw the impact people could have when they chose to purchase one brand over another. With that in mind, he gave my brothers and me three rules we had to abide by when making purchases: One, we couldn’t buy anything made in Asia because he believed the manufacturing practices in many Asian countries were worse than they were in Mexico. Two, we weren’t allowed to buy clothing made of synthetic materials. And three, we weren’t allowed to wear dark clothing because he believed that children were the light of the world and should dress in bright colors."

and a National Park Service page about the historic Anjac Fashion Building:

"In view of the fact that Los Angeles was, and remains today, an important center of the Mexican working-class population, and that Mexicana workers are still the major work force in the garment and needle trades industry, the garment strike of 1933 should be commemorated. Working conditions that strikers protested against in 1933 have not changed dramatically in the garment industry since that time. Recent Latina and Asian immigrants suffer many of the same degrading and humiliating sweatshop conditions their sisters struck against in 1933: no control of hours and wages, exploitative piecework rates, and no place to go for redress of grievances for fear of being fired or deported."

Comfy clothing #2 & #3

#2 - T-shirt that says "Isla Mujeres" -- made in Mexico by Yazbek

#3  - A favorite sweater -- from Soft Surroundings, made in China

A page with links about the textile industry in China

Garment Industry Booklet

Summary of Some Basic California and Federal Requirements....
 
"Much of the clothing we wear each day is made in factories in California employing California workers. Some of these factories are large, modern enterprises that scrupulously follow California's labor laws and maintain safe and healthy workplaces; others are fledgling enterprises, whittled out of storefronts or apartments. In the face of powerful competitive forces, some employers are tempted to cut corners on wages and health and safety laws to gain a competitive edge and amass working capital. These employers unfairly undercut law abiding employers while their employees, often California's poorest and most defenseless workers, lose wages and endure higher risks of workplace injury and illness. Most factories run 24 hours a day, causing production workers to work evenings and weekends. Many operations work on rotating schedules, which can cause sleep disorders and other stress from constant changes in work hours. Overtime is common for these workers during periods of peak production. Working conditions vary greatly."

"This booklet is not intended to answer all employment-related questions, but rather to serve as a guide and reference as questions arise. Issues, such as employment discrimination and taxation, are not addressed in this booklet. While every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this digest is accurate, laws, as well as policies and procedures, are subject to change. Therefore, it is important that you keep up to date on developments. You should also consider contacting employer groups, trade associations, unions and other employee advocacy groups for assistance..."

Comfy clothes of the day #1

Black yoga pants I bought a while back (I love these pants!)
By Champion
Made in Cambodia

A PBS story about the Cambodian garment industry:
Are Western Consumers Willing To Pay More For Apparel?

A just-remembered poem

Just felt like reading a poem called About Music For Bone And Membrane Instrument = =

A few appealing album covers

music.meteor.ie

Arise, Therefore...

Who cleaned the bathrooms I used today?

At home: Me. (I need to learn to do a better job of it.)
Out and about: I don't know who cleaned those bathrooms.

Who picked the food I ate today?

I haven't a clue.

What am I wearing?

Clothes that were made in India and Honduras.

On a more bittersweetly optimistic note

Hero 4-year-old pulls little sister from wreckage...