Bitching about Boston

100 Years ago Ugly Greed arrives in America

Desperate immigrants are worked to death

These were the days, when the state did not step in and look after the welfare of children, women, the elderly, the desperate or the ill.

Congress stepped in, because greed knew no bounds.

In 1912, a new state law went into effect reducing the work week of women and children from 56 to 54 hours. But because so many women and
children worked in the mills, men’s hours were also reduced. When the first paychecks of the year revealed a cut in pay, thousands of workers,
already barely surviving on an average pay of $8.76 a week, walked out of the mills, and the Great Strike had begun.

How far were the mill owners willing to go, in order to keep obscene high profits? According to a congressional inquiry, 36 out of every 100 men
and women who worked in cotton mills died by the time they reached 25. The men, women and children, died of lung diseases from cloth dust.
They died of illness from lack of food, clean water, acceptable living conditions. They died of exhaustion. Victorian England 's misery of Dickens,
came to America with the power loom and coal fueled steam engines.14 year old Carmela Teoli, had her hair became entangled in a machine and
it ripped her hair and scalp from her head.

The strike lasted 9 weeks. That winter, Augusta, Maine, temperatures reached 38 below zero. The mill strikers were close to the New Hampshire border.
The people that were united for a subsistence living wage, faced state militia armed with guns and clubs. The mill workers were not the only union to
suffer from the ugly tactics used by the mill owners. One thousand scab workers came up from New York to help break a strike on the Boston docks.

A cache of dynamite, first attributed to the strikers, turned out to be planted by mill owners and their friends in a clumsy plot to discredit the
strikers and their radical union, the Industrial Workers of the World. The tide turned against the mill owners when police, attempting to prevent
strikers from sending their children to the care of sympathetic families in other cities, caused a melee at the train station which received inter-
national press attention.

Bread and Roses- Massachusetts September 3, 2012 Monument dedicated
 
Am I Already Registered to Vote?

Am I already registered to vote? For Boston and Worcester residents you can check this on-line at the following addresses:

http://www.cityofboston.gov/elections/voter/ and http://www.worcesterma.gov/e-services/where-do-i-vote/

For elsewhere in Massachusetts (including Brookline), you need to call the City or Town Clerk or Elections Office.
For information on how to access your voter registration information look at

http://www.longdistancevoter.org/verify_voter_registration#.T7-BKFK1lyN
 
September 16, 2012

The Bruins’ first preseason game was scheduled for Sept. 25 against Washington.
The NHL should begin canceling preseason games shortly.

Normally, the Bruins would have skated at Ristuccia Arena to prepare for the opening of camp.
Under a lockout, players will not be allowed to use team facilities.

The Bruins were among the teams executing last-minute moves Saturday by extending Milan Lucic.
Teams are not permitted to make transactions during a lockout.

http://www.boston.com/sports/hockey...ockout-play/2m7manIObJrP9oImhlMLcP/story.html
 
Pumas Bears and Snakes

People may not be getting ready for Winter, after the nearly snow-less winter of this past year in MA. Nature's
creatures might have a different instinct. They are on the move and looking for a place to hole up for the winter.

HOLYOKE — A man is reportedly recovering from a venomous snake bite that he received while hiking at
Mount Tom State Reservation late Saturday afternoon.
September 17, 2012

The incident happened shortly before 5:30 p.m. Saturday as the unidentified man was hiking alone near the Easthampton line.
The man was bitten by a copperhead, which he then caught and gave to officials for identification purposes. Holyoke Animal Control
Officer Donald Tryon identified the snake at the scene and released the animal back into the wild.

The victim was treated at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, according to authorities, who cautioned against catching snakes.

In 2008, a Springfield man was hospitalized after being bitten by a copperhead in woods near his Pinta Circle home in the city's
East Springfield section. The woods bordered the Delta Hills Conservation Area.

A few years earlier, a New Jersey man was bitten by a rattlesnake while visiting family in Westfield in 2004.
The man, whose hand swelled to three times its normal size, was lucky to have survived the attack, officials said at the time.
That same year, an Easthampton woman was airlifted to UMass Memorial Medical Center after she was bitten
by a snake while gardening in her yard.

The Boston Globe and local TV news tells a bit of a different story-

September 16, 2012

HOLYOKE, Mass. (AP) — A hiker on Mount Tom was taken to a local hospital after being bitten by a venomous snake

Holyoke Police tell WWLP-TV the man was hiking near the Easthamton line at about 5 p.m. on Saturday when he was struck by the copperhead.

The man, whose name was not given, killed the snake and put it in a bag for identification.

Police say the hiker was taken to Baystate Medical Center for treatment.

Hospital spokeswoman Amy Swisher says Baystate has a supply on anti-venom on hand for such emergencies.
 
Mount Tom State Reservation

Holyoke, MA

http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/central/mtom.htm

Mt. Tom is one of the premier hawk watching spots in New England. Each fall, thousands of hawks and other birds fly past the mountain.
(Just watch where you put your feet, while you are birdwatching!)

Unparalleled view of the Connecticut Valley north and south, the Berkshire mountains to the west and the Pelham hills to the east.

Mount Holyoke Range State Park

Rising roughly 1,000 feet in elevation, Mt. Holyoke Range State Park straddles the seven-mile ridge

Parcels acquired by the state since the 1970's bring the park to over 3,000 acres. The Notch Visitor Center, located on
Route 116 in Amherst, MA The Mt. Holyoke Range formed some 200 million years ago when lava flowed from the valley
floor, cooled and was upended. More recently, glaciers left their signature, scouring the ridge's jagged edges smooth in
some places, exposing bedrock, or depositing till, sand, clay or muck in others.
 
The little snakes are busy in the Blue Hills, too-

Yellow Lab dog bitten by snake- either a Timber Rattler or Copperhead.
I am guessing that the anti-venom works for either.

The dog recovered. yay!
 
Boston Police Patrolmen's Union under fire-

The comments in the current issue of Pax Centurion, The Boston Police Patrolmen’s Union newsletter sparked outrage on social media websites.

Among the controversial comments in the newsletter, there were references to the Occupy Boston demonstrators as
“spoiled snots playing professional protester," Muslim women who "have to wear baggy dresses and veils at all times"
and Senate Candidate Elizabeth Warren as "your candidate for squaw."

Lojack is pulling its ads

Harpoon Brewery which tweeted "We don't support the views in the BPPA Newsletter & won't put an ad in there again.”

“Once we found out about some of the content of their newsletter, we felt that their values were inconsistent with
our own and we choose to no longer advertise with the newsletter,” said Kalimah Knight, Simmons College.

http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/12007869890443/boston-police-patrolmen-s-union-under-fire/



I know this will come as a shock but there is a truthful answer to this question.



Are you a Native American?


____ 100%
_____50%
_____25%
_____12½%
_____6.7%
_____3.1%
_____It's possible, though I'm not entirely sure. Somebody in my family once mentioned that they were told that my great-great grandmother might have been a Native American.




 
A bit dicey, over the border

SUV rolls on top of cruiser

http://www.wmur.com/news/nh-news/Ne...ser/-/9857858/16846332/-/7mcwpsz/-/index.html

PELHAM, N.H. —

Newly released video shows the moment of impact in a three-car accident in Pelham last month involving a police cruiser.

Lt. Brian McCarthy said he was inside an unmarked cruiser when an SUV rolled onto the hood. He said he feels thankful to be alive.

The intersection where the crash occurred in Pelham is called "the four-way." Old Bridge Street, Windham Road,
Main Street and Nashua Road all come together in the center of town. (In front of the fire station.)

The person nailed for this mess- The accident made the third or fourth violation for that day. "Distracted driver"= texting ?
 
Boston is having it's own woes

Jamaica Plain state lab scandal

Dead whale in the harbor.

Two Green Line trolleys collided on the E line on Huntington Avenue Monday, according to MBTA officials.

Three Green Line trains were stopped on the tracks at Brigham Circle. Service in the area will be disrupted through the night
and buses will continue to replace train service into the night.

Section of Storrow Drive outbound is scheduled to close from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. on weeknights
starting Monday and continuing for several months so a crumbling tunnel can be repaired.

The westbound lanes will be closed from the Hatch Shell to Clarendon Street, while one
eastbound lane may also require closure for a shorter period of time.

OTOH- Might get more hints about the 1990 theft of paintings at the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum
 
Greater Boston

The Women's Vote (2012)

Tonight's discussion-

"The Binder Girls" - Mitt Romney - Republican and Democratic problem with women- Obama's problem with sorting out the economy

ACLU saw the video and pics that the Boston police collected of citizen protesters

(Police blamed the unfulfilled promise to get rid of it all, on computer glitch)

(They saved and held onto the footage- Five years worth of spying on protesters. ) They labeled anti-war, pro peace activists as extremists.

:eek:

Criminal Activity Reports

Carol Rose- Privacy protections violated, resources wasted- money wasted

No check and balance, No accountability. They had to sue to find out what was on the files that were collected.

Largest protest that Boston ever had- Vietnam War Protest

boston globe archives, online
 
....all I know, is that we had a meal at the Middle East, and I was curious about the storefront, that was facing the street.
I was in the neighborhood. So I went in. I was dazzled by all things Mid Eastern.

The checkered head cloths, the voluminous black traditional dresses, the jewelry. Foods, spices, carved boxes.
Strange capes with gridded eye masks. Some of the dresses were subtly glossy and very black.
Some, I thought they were old, and used dresses.
The black dye had faded into black with a rust tinge or a grey tinge.

Cambridge was different, back then. You could find a meal that originated any place, in any part of the world.
Made by people from every the part of the world.

This was before the news of the Afghanistan people beating the daylights out of the Russians, had made it all the way around the world.

I knew there was trouble in Lebanon, from way back. Running into people who had other people, who were visiting from there. Back in the late sixties, early seventies.

1979- 1988 Afghanistan was only on the edges of my consciousness. Busy with school. Busy with friends and family.

The politics of it just did not stick, and stay with me.
 
There is enough money in the treasury chest to spruce up Boston Common. The torn up stone paving, does provoke
humorous thoughts of buried criminal figures. As it is, the workmen are busy with damaged trees. Trimming carefully,
for they will be decorated with Christmas lights, soon. They are adding to the red brick planters. Not solid brick walls,
as in the old days. Concrete and steel, with a face of red brick. Another place for First Nighters to plant their backsides,
and rest their feet. The Christmas Lights on the Common will be lit soon, to welcome shoppers. Hoping Mayor Menino
be feeling well enough to officiate. Time to celebrate skating outdoors, in the city. A nod to big sister New York. Eyes
will turn to her, and the Thanksgiving Day parade. (I still miss shopping at Filenes. And snacking on Jordan Marsh muffins.)
 
Using Tupac Shakur’s hologram, at Coachella ? Now they have gone, and done it!
La Belle et la Bete- Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon
Cutler Majestic Theatre

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qExGC7Lpc7g

"Actors interact with multimedia 3-dimensional imagery."

Dec. 5 - 9, 2012 at The Cutler Majestic Theatre (219 Tremont St. in Boston’s Theatre District).

Performed in English. (hiss! boo! Let them read subtitles!)

This production contains brief nudity and is recommended for ages 14 and up.
 
Next Monday-Free Sex toy ? Mayor Menino said no to Trojan- City Hall Plaza is not the place for this sort of brouhaha

Once-halted Trojan vibrator giveaway coming back to Boston
November 27, 2012

Cyclorama at the Boston Center for the Arts in the South End-
Veronique LeMelle, president of the Boston Center for the Arts, said that the organization agreed to rent out their indoor space
because organizations are adhering to "strict" rental policies including crowd control, having people sign disclaimers and checking
IDs for the 18+ event.

Big Sister NYC, gets to do almost everything, first!

August 08, 2012
With official NYC permits in hand (thanks City of New York!), the Trojan Vibrations Pleasure Carts have reloaded and will be
serving up pleasure tonight from 5-7 pm in the Meatpacking District on the corner of 14th Street and 9th Avenue.

http://www.metro.us/boston/local/ar...brator-giveaway-coming-back-to-boston-updated
 
Landmark Locke-Ober contents to be auctioned

November 27, 2012

The final chapter of Boston’s Locke-Ober Café will be written next month when an auction house sells restaurant and bar equipment,
décor, furniture and fixtures from the historic eatery in Downtown Crossing.

Locke-Ober, which first opened its doors in 1875, closed last month, citing the sale of its Winter Place buildings. In its 137 years,
the French-inspired restaurant has attracted local and international celebrities from politics including Presidents John F. Kennedy
and Bill Clinton, to television and film stars such as Paul Newman.

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/real_estate/2012/11/locke-ober-contents-auction.html
 
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