activist, a weblog by George Girton

New Pneumonia . . . . . mar 27 2003 — act4.dat

Perhaps you don't read Big White Guy's weblog? You should, because the big white guy in Hong Kong is living the life we may soon encounter once SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) spreads. Even if you have some reason for not caring, like for example you already have pneumonia, it's worth a visit to www.bigwhiteguy.com just for a photo of the big guy himself leaning up against the Hong Kong Skyline.

I check in on the big guy every couple of days, just to see what conclusions he's drawing about the course of the disease. A couple of days ago, he pegged it as a non-flu virus, perhaps a member of the paramyxovirus, and was optimistic about the slow spread.

Today's newspaper, though, has an article which pegs SARS as a coronavirus, more closely related to the common cold than to measles. The common cold, as we know, is quite contagious. Hong Kong stores are selling out of resipiratory masks, of the type popular during the time of the 1918 influenza that spread through the troops massing to ship over to World War I.

SARS is not spreading through the troops, but it does continue to spread. I recommend the two stories above, from the NY Times, but take a look at Big White Guy's Weblog too

Just desserts . . . . . mar 21 2003 — act3.dat

I was sorry to see that Mr. Bush is undertaking "a new diet under which he is forgoing (sic) desserts."

Here is a link to the article, by Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker.

Eternal Vigilance . . . . . mar 8 2003 — act2.dat

We're glad to see that Stephen Downs will remain free, now that the Pyramid Corporation has decided to drop trespassing charges against him. This was a pragmatic if not fully enlightened choice, especially when you consider that all he did was to buy a "give peace a chance" T-shirt at their Crossgates Mall (now second largest in the U.S.) and then have the effrontery to start wearing it immediately.

This is great, too, because I won't have to reach out and bond with anyone in the ZIP code vicinity of the Crossgates Mall. Nor will I have to write Apple Computer and grill them about their lease contracts.

Most mall leases dictate that the store's rent increases with the store's profitability. It's taken a while, but shopping centers have caught on to internet returns as subtracting from the total. That's right, stores were reducing their rent by accepting returns that didn't originate at that store. (zzzzzz sorry maybe not so interesting but fact-of-life true).

Also, what you can sell in your mall store is constrained. If you have a restaurant, you may not be able to start selling Kim Chi (highly desirable Korean ethnic food) if another store is already selling it in the mall.

We know Apple gives away T-shirts with the mall's name on them, but could they sell "Crossgates: Give Peace a Chance" T-shirts? Perhaps it's a shame, but now we may never know.

Check out the NY Times article on Stephen Downs, Antiwar Celebrity

TShirt Nation . . . . . mar 6 2003 — act1.dat

I was surprised when I saw Crossgates Mall (Albany, NY) in the news, because to me it was just another mall that had opened an Apple Store; now it seems like it's also a good place to get arrested for exercising your right to free speech.

Here's an impartial story on the mall: Crossgates Mall a Cultural Study Be sure you check out the profiles.

Now, what about the enforcement of expression at Crossgates? It's one of the few places they actually read what you put on your shirt!

It seems that Crossgates Mall is a good place to get arrested!

Now, let's do something. Many national chains have stores in Crossgates, and I'm sure they want customers to feel safe from arrest during their buying experience.

Who am I kidding? People are going to find out the stores and write to the corporations? Well, just maybe. It's better to begin with the personal touch, so I look up the ZIP code of Crossgates on the website of The Local Apple Store, and find that it is 12203. Armed with this information I will find nearby ZIP codes and see if I know anyone in the vicinity, which happens to be downtown Albany, NY, citadel of New York state government.