Winston Smith Revisits?


"In the Ministry of Truth, Mr. Smith cleans up the facts, altering and destroying "every kind of literature or documentation which might conceivably hold any political or ideological significance." Our current Ministry of Truth is cleaning up too...

Criterion and Process for Removing Old Content from www.ed.gov

" a justification for removing content is not just that it is out of date or a duplicate of other materials but that it runs counter to current administration priorities ... [and] does not reflect the priorities, philosophies or goals of the present administration."
We indeed do well to remember Big Brother's slogan "IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH." It is as false then as it is now, and it is hoped that concerned citizens will demand that the purging of documents on www.ed.gov cease immediately

It has been estimated that, using these criteria, up to 13,000 documents of the total 50,000 items on www.ed.gov will be deleted unless they meet five criteria, two of which specifically involve support for administration priorities and initiatives and consistency with administration philosophy. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Vowing to vote Democrat next time?

Left fringe should hold out for a real candidate with real ideas (and a real chance) via Working for Change

There's a current across the entire liberal Left exercising a powerful pull on people to unite to put out George Bush. This is understandable. Bush is awful, far more so than anticipated. Ashcroft is awful. Rumsfeld is awful. The Bush crowd has used 9-11 as the lever to put through a truly nightmarish political agenda both at home and overseas.

But does that mean that in the spring of 2003 everyone across the left-green-anti-Democratic Party spectrum has to hunker down and pledge support now for any and every Democratic candidate, like Dean whose economic program is wholeheartedly reactionary and whose foreign policy is only a few scant degrees athwart that of Bush; like John Kerry, who applauded the war? [more]

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Zoom on Doom: Easy-to-find nuclear weapons map


Greenpeace map of known nuclear weapons with a nice zoom-in feature. (requires Flash) posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

No One Gets Out of Life Alive


The symbolic rebirth of spring and visions of growth are masked by shadows of death. Though the sun is warm and wheel still turns, the face of war and the realities of death weigh heavily. Daily, I see the Iraq Body Count rise a little higher. I'm faced with the reality that my mom, at age 78, was diagnosed with lung cancer. Finding balance in a world where the power is shifted, the parent-child structure flipped, the power of democracy dying, and the simplicity of being threatened by invasive authority, is a daunting task. David Steinberg, whose erotic poetry is an expression of beauty, writes Comes Naturally. His latest:

Life to Hold Onto While Death is Passing
by David Steinberg

It's hardly surprising that we are powerfully drawn to sex during death-ridden times such as these. If death is the ultimate expression of the limitation and powerlessness of the human condition, sex is just the opposite -- the ultimate expression of human expansiveness and personal power.

When there are so many arenas in which we feel afraid, where we are lacking the power to make the world be what we want it to be, it becomes especially important that we affirm and exercise the real power we still hold. Sex is one way to do that. The right and ability to be deeply sexual in satisfying ways is a profound source of personal empowerment. That's why so many governments and religious institutions try to control that most personal part of our lives, and God knows their antisexual efforts do take a toll on us. But, despite the debilitating effects of sex-repressive attitudes and prohibitions, most of us retain the ability to turn to sex as a way of reminding ourselves that we are vibrant, effectual, repositories of the power of life.

Each time we have sex in meaningful ways we make that statement -- to ourselves and to the world outside of ourselves. [more]

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

We were not lying

A mefi comment thread. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

PM says pot soon to be decriminalized

Jean Chretien drew applause and a few whoops of joy at a fundraising dinner Tuesday night when he said that legislation decriminalizing possession of marijuana in Canada would soon be announced.

"Don't start to smoke yet," he quickly cautioned the celebrants in the audience.

"We're not legalizing it, we're decriminalizing," said Chretien who points out he has never smoked a joint.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

GM crop controls questioned

The EPA announced last week that Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. (Des Moines, Iowa), had paid a $72,000 fine in March. The penalty was imposed after the company had failed to promptly report test data showing that a gene engineered to protect against corn rootworm had contaminated other experimental plants in an adjacent field at the company's isolated research facility in Kauai, Hawaii

Noting recent mishaps with ProdiGene and StarLink, the report identifies gaps in an inconsistent regulatory framework involving APHIS, EPA, and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). "The time is ripe to address these issues — before a crisis occurs," author Michael Taylor said.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Weapons of Mass Deception -- Molly Ivins

The sour joke is: "Of course we know the Iraqis have weapons of mass destruction. We have the receipts." At this point, the administration would probably be delighted if it could find the WMDs the Reagan administration gave Saddam Hussein. At least it could point to some WMDs.

Also on my reading list today:

Serbia: 45 People Charged In Djindjic Assassination

Israeli army asked about enquiry into killing of journalist

Chornobyl Seen Affecting Reproductive Habits Of Worms

The Return of the Taliban

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Systemic causes of fundamentalism and religious violence

Fundamentalism is both a religious phenomenon, a political movement, and a state of consciousness. It is characterised by profound dissatisfaction about society, preoccupation with religious beliefs, expectation of imminent apocalypse, assumption of a cosmic battle between the forces of good and evil, concretisation of this in terms of actual groups of human beings, and the claim of divine authority to justify violence against the perceived enemies. Like other totalitarian worldviews such as fascism, Stalinism, and neo-liberalism, it claims absolute righteousness for its own beliefs: "God is on our side!" Throughout the millennia, fundamentalism has appeared in many forms including Hindu, Jewish, Christian, Islamic and other varieties, and has led to genocides, crusades, jihads, witch-hunts, tortures, inquisitions, deportations, pogroms, holocausts, terrorist attacks, revolutions, fatwas, coups d'état, human rights violations, collective suicides, and wars.

Fundamentalism is nothing new, but it is lately attracting so many adherents that it has become a global issue. Consider the Christian variety. In the USA, for example, Presidents Reagan and Bush would not have been elected without the backing of the Christian fundamentalist voting block; their advocates now sit on most school boards, where they censor the curriculum and oblige educational textbook publishers to re-write schoolbooks in order to avoid blacklisting and economic boycott.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Letting the Fur Fly


Lisa at RuminateThis found a couple links at Daily Kos yesterday that reek of hypocrisy. I found the same at the Dean Blog yesterday, myself. annatopia has some further words on that particular 'blame game'. In Lisa's words "rabid Dean supporters get all thirty shades of bent out of shape over Dems criticizing one another", yet, ask Anna, they were right in the midst of it!

It seems that at Kos there is a call for Democratic candidates to stop sniping at each other. Lisa suggests LETTING THE FUR FLY. I fully agree with Lisa, NOW is the time to iron out the kinks. This is the time for debate among the candidates, this is the time to get a feel for the Democratic agenda since it's still a floundering work-in-progress. Solidify, bicker, point out faults and defend ideas, because the Republicans will pull out all stops. It's good experience and it will ultimately bring a more unified agenda among the Democrats, as a whole.

Now is also a time for the general population to decide what they want and to help form that agenda. It is no longer a time for placing blame and bickering. If the voters want the sniping to stop, then let them set the example.

I see a tendency to berate a progressive view and work toward the center. I think that is a huge mistake right now. We need to aim high! We need to give progressives like Kucinich a chance to be heard and, perhaps, by a strong showing in early primaries,a more progressive path than we thought possible can be forged. The second link Lisa found at Kos was disturbing. It was a clear blacklisting based on a very sketchy 30 year old article. Someone didn't do their homework before making that call. I'll try to get back later with more about that particular dig.

When you visit RuminateThis take a look at ReHumanize - The Quilt Project . I like the idea! Maybe even I could do a square. Can you?

Not to give up on my repetition theme below, here is Paul Krugman: Matters of Emphasis

Did the news media feel that it was unpatriotic to question the administration's credibility? Some strange things certainly happened. For example, in September Mr. Bush cited an International Atomic Energy Agency report that he said showed that Saddam was only months from having nuclear weapons. "I don't know what more evidence we need," he said. In fact, the report said no such thing -- and for a few hours the lead story on MSNBC's Web site bore the headline "White House: Bush Misstated Report on Iraq." Then the story vanished -- not just from the top of the page, but from the site.

Thanks to this pattern of loud assertions and muted or suppressed retractions, the American public probably believes that we went to war to avert an immediate threat -- just as it believes that Saddam had something to do with Sept. 11.

Now it's true that the war removed an evil tyrant. But a democracy's decisions, right or wrong, are supposed to take place with the informed consent of its citizens. That didn't happen this time. And we are a democracy -- aren't we?

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Go Read These Blogs!

I'm taking a break today, be back late, or tomorrow. I need to rake leaves, dig in some dirt, watch some earthworms, and breathe some air (fresh or not). Here is some fresh reading for those of you stuck inside:

Project For A New Century of Freedom is writing about Instant Runoff Voting (!!) think exciting possibilities, and it's NOT just in USA Today..he gives further links. He's also writing about Censorship and Secrecy, which seems to be a much larger epidemic than SARS, eh?
My personal favorite from his page today seems to extend beautifully what I was trying to lead into yesterday, the responsibility to get reliable information out, the repetition needed to uncover the secrecy, the propaganda, the deceptions. He says in part;

This is my story, and my reason for being here. I'm glad I found the blogosphere, and believe our responsibility to be great. What responsibility you may ask? To bring the wide amount of information and news available on the Internet into focus and to make it accessible. Made-to-order global news filtering. Not to mention opinion. And I firmly believe this will impact the mainstream media themselves. This war in Iraq is a test case for a new policy of sharing information and dissent, and not just for demonstrating America's new national security strategy. more

More reading here:
The Daily Dystopian has a unique feature: Today in Dystopian History. Because my history education is lacking, I really appreciate reading that daily.
There are some excellent links about depleted uranium and the responsibility that Britian is taking upon themselves to at least test their servicemen and women for traces of DU. Of course, the US is ignoring this aspect, because to do so would be an admission that DU causes health and environmental problems. Go see how safe you think our troops are from future health problems. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Under the Guise of What?

Where are the f***ing priorities! We know oil is one, but this is craziness! U.S. Has Not Inspected Iraqi Nuclear Facility
Site That Contained Uranium Was Looted After War
I wrote about this when it first came to light... here, on April 16th and, especially, here, on April 12th with several links showing an incredible amount of ineptness.
Now, I no longer berate myself for cynicism.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Bush lies and manipulates public and Congress

by the ever-resourceful Carla Binion
Expanding on my previous entry, I find:

Huxley quotes Hitler's statement that "all propaganda must be confined to a few bare necessities and then must be expressed in a few stereotyped formulas . . . Only constant repetition will finally succeed in imprinting an idea upon the memory of a crowd." Bush has delivered the stereotyped formulas "You're either with us or with the terrorists;" "the oceans can't protect us;" and Saddam is connected with "al Qaeda," using constant repetition.

Carla has provided us with an excellent article and an amazing collection of resources. These resources could be used by the mainstram media in an effort to rectify their hasty shortsightedness. If the mainstream doesn't feel inclined to admit they were falling down on the job, then, through repetition, someone must. Read her article, use her resources, wash, rinse and repeat. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

How the road to war was paved with lies

I find myself not wanting to read articles of revelations about the lies we've been told and the way public opinion was formed because I watched it unfold. To me, and probably most people who read this weblog, it is old news. The very fact that it is now beginning to hit the mainstream media, slams me with the realization that for the majority of US citizens, this is all new. It was never even whispered in the media outlets they relied upon. Are they paying attention now? If they are, I wonder how they feel. Do they care, or was it worth it to squander an exhibition of power, aggressively invade another country and murder innocent people?

Although the news is old to me, my thoughts wander toward the bigger picture, the picture of ill-informed citizens who just may be open to hearing the details. The Democrats have not, to date, been very adept at exposing the lies, or calling for investigation of the deceptions. The only way this will change is to get the information to the citizens and have them demand investigation. I'm not sure how to get that information to the receptive ones.
A friend of mine said, to the effect, that my weblog was 'preaching to the converted'. I think that's true. I find myself drawn to like-minded weblogs.

The power of weblogs as an information tool can't be denied. The information is tidy and available. The availability, I suppose, is the major reason I will continue to link to articles that may be old news to me. Repetition is a way of learning, especially in an age of information overload. Repetition on weblogs, in the news, on email lists, by word of mouth....we have to go for it. The issue of deception and lies being a means to form public opinion is an issue we can't afford to drop the ball on! Any mention in the mainstream media bears repeating!

Again: How the road to war was paved with lies

And Again: Not Lying --Just a Matter of Emphasis


posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

IRV attracting attention

In USA Today:

Instead of voting for just one candidate, voters rank their preferences for candidates from first to last. If no one receives a majority of first-choice votes, the last-place candidate is eliminated and the second choices from those ballots are added to the totals for the remaining candidates. The process continues until one candidate emerges with a majority. Ireland and Australia have used the system in national elections, and it has been adopted in parts of Great Britain.

Now, the idea is starting to catch on in the USA. Louisiana residents who vote from overseas by absentee ballot already have that option. San Francisco will start using instant runoffs next year and several other municipalities, largely in the West, are preparing to go the same route.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

The Rorschach Test (NY Times)

however talented some such psychologists might be, they're ultimately interpreting the tea-leaf reading of their patients. The more artistic among them might draft insightful psychological portraits, but they're more like Impressionist painters than digital photographers. And, after all, how many great masters can there be?

also see: The Hermann Rorschach Archives and Museum posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Quarantining the Infected and the Exposed May Trample Civil Liberties

Here is a Washington Post article, dated today, that questions mass isolation/quarantine, civil liberites, and the laws as they stand. For further reference and mind candy you might want to read this post from April 6th.

I do think the SARS scare is being used as a 'social experiment' of sorts. Perhaps we should look at it as a 'disastor recovery' drill. We need to have effective means of communication, and ways to contain threats without needlessly restricting mobility or liberties. If we can look at it as a drill, it might not cause so much hysteria. If the media can show responsibility and not sensationalise it, we might have a better chance of ironing out acceptable procedures. As it stands now, the threat is blown completely out of proportion by the unknowns and by sensationalism. We can't possibly craft proper procedures with hysterical chaotic data. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Zuni Salt Lake




The Salt River Project, an Arizona-based public utility, wants to build a massive coal stripmine just 11 miles northeast of the lake. Edward Wemytewa, a Zuni Cultural Area Wetlands Project Manager, states simply that "they will be pumping 85 gallons of water per minute from the same aquifer that feeds the Zuni Salt Lake."
posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Not Lying --Just a Matter of Emphasis


I really don't know what to write about this. I'm glad it's finally come out in the media, but I am extremely angry that this was not touched on more before the US invaded another country. Sure, the blog world and the anti-war protesters pointed it out, but we are not FOX news or Rush Limbaugh and we don't blare obnoxiously into everyone's lives on an hourly basis crafting opinion of those less inclined to think and analyze.
Some obviously think that muscle flexing is noble, but, there is a difference between flexing muscle and killing innocent people especially when it goes against world opinion.

I do not want a leader who flaunts his muscle (flaccid though it may be) in my face or in the world's face. This is blatant exhibitionism which did irreparable harm. Emphasizing a 'possibility' and emphasizing a connection to Sept 11 that did not exist, is a lie. Simple.

I want responsible media. I want impeachment proceedings to begin. I want war crimes investigated and prosecuted. Simple.
posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

U.S. restarts production of plutonium parts for bombs

Aren't we such a proud nation?? We're evolving well as a species. Symbolic madness.

The United States has regained the capability to make nuclear weapons for the first time in 14 years and has restarted production of plutonium parts for bombs, the Energy Department said Tuesday.

The announcement marks an important symbolic and operational milestone in rebuilding the nation's nuclear weapons complex, which began a long retrenchment in the late 1980s as the Cold War ended and the toll of environmental damage from bomb production became known

the government is now spending about $6 billion annually on the nuclear weapons complex, 50 percent more than it did during the Cold War.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

A Second Renaissance -- Spirit and Stardust

Wow! I feel like I've discovered something richer than oil with refreshing depth. I can only imagine the possibilities and the healing this country would realise if this man's vision could lead us away from our current shallow misdirected ills. A Second Renaissance is a speech delivered on Sept 14, 2002 at The Redwood Sequoia Congress University of California Berkeley, California by Dennis Kucinich:

Imagine if we could look our nation with the same daring with which our founders gazed. Imagine if we could regain the capacity of spirit which animated freedom of speech, the right to assemble, the right to vote, freedom from fear, freedom from want. I tell you there is another America out there. It is ready to be called forward. It is the America of our dreams. It is the America of the flag full of Stars. It is the America which is in our hearts and we can make it the heart of the world.

and this wonderfully inspiring speech Spirit and Stardust given at Praxis Peace Institute Conference Dubrovnik, Croatia on June 9, 2002, also by Dennis Kucinich:

We begin as a perfect union of matter and spirit. We receive the blessings of the Eternal from sky and earth. In our outstretched hands we can feel the energy of the universe. We receive the blessings of the Eternal from water, which nourishes and sanctifies life. We receive the blessings of the Eternal from the primal fire, the pulsating heart of creation. We experience the wonder of life multidimensional and transcendent. We extend our hands upwards and we are showered with abundance. We ask and we receive. A universe of plenty flows to us, through us. It is in us. We become filled with endless possibilities.

We need to remember where we came from; to know that we are one. To understand that we are of an undivided whole: race, color, nationality, creed, gender are beams of light, refracted through one great prism. We begin as perfect and journey through life to become more perfect in the singularity of "I" and in the multiplicity of "we"; a more perfect union of matter and spirit. - - This is human striving. This is where, in Shelley's words, " . . . hope creates from its own wreck the thing it contemplates." This is what Browning spoke of: Our 'reach exceeding [our] grasp'. This is a search for heaven within, a quest for our eternal home.

found via Rhino's Blog where I also found:
The Treaty of 1868, A Field of Industrial Hemp, And The Controlled Substances Act posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Kucinich Requests DOD Release Number of Iraqi Casualties

Of course I don't expect the DOD to have these figures any more than I expect them to find WMD. I'm just curious how the evasion tactics work here.

WASHINGTON - April 21 - In a letter to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH) requested that the Department of Defense release the total number of Iraqi casualties incurred in the war in Iraq.

Kucinich, Ranking Member on the House Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations stated in the letter:

"Now that the combat phase of the war has ended, it is critical that the full extent of losses be calculated. While it may be difficult to account for the exact number of Iraqi combatants killed in battle, the number of Iraqi civilians killed and injured in the conflict should be released."

"It is important that this information be released," stated Kucinich today after sending the letter. "The United States owes it to the people of Iraq and the world community to make this information public."

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Republican Group Demands That Senator Apologize to Gays

I think they should join the call for his resignation.

A Republican group whose officials include former President Gerald R. Ford and Mary Cheney, the daughter of the vice president, demanded today that Senator Rick Santorum apologize to gays for his remarks equating homosexuality with bigamy and incest.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

A Dark Horse Fights the Odds Again

Yes, I know he doesn't have the name recognition, but don't write him off. Keep checking him out! Dennis Kucinich has drive, influence, a voice and good ideas. His webpage only lacks a weblog! More about him here. Follows is an excerpt from NY Times:

"I'm used to fighting for lost causes," he said in an interview. "I am used to doing things that other people say are impossible. I have learned throughout my whole life that you can turn it around."

Mr. Kucinich, known to some colleagues as Dennis the Menace for his energetic doggedness and somewhat impish looks, is co-chairman of the Progressive Caucus, which represents the left-most reaches of the House Democratic membership. He is a champion of universal health care, wants to return the retirement age for full Social Security benefits to 65 and would repeal the North American Free Trade Agreement, which he says has sapped the nation of millions of jobs.

Some who know him say his chief reason for running is to cement a role as national leader of the left. But he insists that he is serious about being president, and says the driving force behind his candidacy is his outrage at the war against Iraq and the prospect of future wars he fears President Bush will wage.

"The administration's illegal attack on Iraq is not just about Iraq," he said. "It is about Iran, it is about North Korea, it is about Libya, perhaps it is about Syria."

Mr. Kucinich credits himself for helping inspire a majority of House Democrats, 126, to vote last fall against the resolution authorizing Mr. Bush to use force in Iraq. Unlike many of his colleagues, he continued to voice opposition once the conflict began. "It is not logical to say you oppose the war and once the war started, you support it," he said.

He is also re-emphasizing his argument that the nation's military buildup, coupled with the president's push for tax cuts, is draining money that could be used for critical domestic programs. And this month he reintroduced his proposal to create a cabinet-level Department of Peace more

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Gingrich's deceptive rage transparent


Sneaky sh** !! This is how they work! News for them....it isn't working just as this disgusting (September sprint aims to tie into 9/11) play will be seen for what it is.

"Gingrich and company should look at themselves in the mirror," Kupchan said. "If you ask who is it who has set most of the world against the United States, it's not the (State) Department; it's the Pentagon and the neo-cons."

Gingrich's call for "bold dramatic change at the State Department" does, however, offer a preview of the ambitions of the neo-conservatives and their allies within the administration. "Calls for State Department reform are really a veiled way of trying to make permanent changes that would leave a certain ideological strain that could be called 'neo-imperial' in control not just of the Pentagon but of other parts of the government as well," Kupchan said.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Nader in 2004?

Good discussion in this salon article: (premium)
several thinking points from different perspectives:

"If Ralph runs again and tips it for Bush, it would not only be a worldwide tragedy, the prospect of building the Green Party would be radically doomed."

"I've never been so disgusted in my life as seeing how the Democrats contributed to going to war in Iraq," says Medea Benjamin. "They simply capitulated, with the leadership telling the party that they should vote for Bush's war resolution to get the whole Iraq thing behind them. It was a repeat of the Florida debacle, where the Gore campaign refused to let their supporters take to the streets."

"Bush has certainly given me pause; in fact I think Greens everywhere are thinking about it." But in the end, she (Robinson) says, it's more important to build the party than to defeat Bush"

"At this stage, when we're at war in Iraq and who knows where next, I'm more passionate about getting Bush out of office than in getting another 3 percent of the vote for the Greens."

"There is something self-defeating about the Democrats' refusal to open a dialogue with the Green Party. While some lower-level discussions between Greens and lefty Democrats have taken place, reconciliation has never become a priority of party leaders, who seem to have written off their left flank as irrelevant."

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Chrysalis
walking off the weight of winter
salt melting
into wounded concrete
rough, unmended
remnants of storms
cast in limestone

frigid winds
unravel
beneath shadows of tu-lips
and dusted red breast
of song

glistening facets
of color
spring from
smoke drenched clouds
a prismatic dance

warmed soil displays
volcanic art
sculpted by earthworms
and flowering ants

molten life blood
erupts into
weightless playtime
~Cyndy
older stuff I've written posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Two loaded missles and a diaper?

Breastfeeding and changing diapers can bring about legal charges for terrorist action against a U.S. citizen in international airspace while on an American flight during a time of war.

What did the American male passenger think they were - weapons of mass distraction?

Holy cow. After all, the U.S. is the same country that brought us the cheesy search for America's hottest person, made the semi-pornographic Maxim magazine a runaway success and recently became home to the niche airline Hooters. Named for the (in)famous restaurant chain, each flight features two well-endowed girls in tight T-shirts who give a whole new meaning to the concept of twin-engine props - and empty calories.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Dem Weekend 2003, May 2-4

In conjunction with the Party's Dem Weekend 2003, ABC News will host the first televised debate of the 2004 candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination featuring all nine of the contenders who have formally established campaigns. The nine candidates are: Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun, Governor Howard Dean, Senator John Edwards, Congressman Dick Gephardt, Senator Bob Graham, Senator John Kerry, Congressman Dennis Kucinich, Senator Joseph Lieberman and Reverend Al Sharpton.

The debate will be held Saturday night, May 3, from 8:30-10:00 pm EDT at the Longstreet Theater on the campus of the University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC. The debate will be made available to C-SPAN, South Carolina Educational Television and ABC network affiliates around the country.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Cults and Cosmic Consciousness: Religious Vision in the American 1960s

by Camille Paglia

• Eclipse by Politics
  
• Cults Ancient and Modern
  
• New Messiahs and Cultural Polarization
  
• Transcendentalism and Asian Religion
  
• American Strains of Asian Religion in the Twentieth Century
  
• Hinduism and 1960s Music
  
• Psychedelic Drugs
  
• Mysticism and Social Change
  
• The Rise of New Age
  
• Conclusion

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

I Can't Recall To My Knowledge


I can't remember what it was I was supposed to forget. I forget what it was I was supposed to remember. But U.S. Won't Seek Bases in Iraq, Rumsfeld Says

"I have never, that I can recall, heard the subject of a permanent base in Iraq discussed in any meeting," Rumsfeld said at a Pentagon news conference. "The likelihood of it seems to me to be so low that it does not surprise me That it's never been discussed in my presence -- to my knowledge."

"There has been zero discussion among senior Bush administration officials, the way I define senior, on that subject," Mr. Rumsfeld said.

Such linguistic precision is taken only with issues of the highest human importance.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Getting High for Science

even as the Feds spend $20 billion a year on the drug war, scientists in the US and abroad have begun studying the potential benefits of X, marijuana, and psychedelic mushrooms. Here's a look at the whys behind the highs.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

The Cesar Chavez postage stamp Issue April 23


posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Tony at abuddhas memes is Bhack with Bhang and the Bible.
Easter ecstasy!

"And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven."

Recent writers have speculated that this passage was in reference to flying saucers. That is because they look at this passage physically. This ascension of Elijah like the ascension of Christ in the cloud into heaven is the "withdrawal" from the external or physical world, to be the inmost reality of all. This can be referred to as ecstasy, rapture, or transport and is a result of the Holy Spirit. Ecstasy, rapture, or transport therefor agree in designating a feeling or state of intense, often extreme mental and emotional exaltation. Rapture is defined as ecstatic joy or delight; joyful ecstasy. Some of the synonyms of rapture are bliss, beatitude, transport, and exultation. The true rapture is therefore one in which one is spiritually transported to the heavens. Don't expect to float up into the sky.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Once again with feeling!: Dangerous Fantasies -- And Our Progressive Future

Written by Tom Ness after he ran for senate as a Green in Michigan.

It's hard to imagine darker days for achieving a progressive legislative agenda! We are lost, all of us -- Greens and Progressive Democrats -- who long for universal health care, a living wage and dignified employment, alternatives to a prison and war state, basic environmental standards, equitable economic policies, control over rampant corporations, on and on. No one has a clue anymore how any of it might be achieved. All that remains is a foreboding sense that we are failing even on the defensive, that tomorrow will be worse than today. Our essentially common progressive agenda withers on the vine, and snakes have run of the garden.

If we want to continue in this direction, we need not change a thing. But if we want a different future, we have to start looking at the world in entirely different ways. We need a new math -- because right now the numbers are crunching US!

Progressives have always wielded the best ideas and the best activists. We should be leading this country to a better future, as did our predecessors.

The progressive voice and vision shaped this country -- but only when we've been united.

Neither Greens nor Prog Dems can deliver the progressive agenda on our own. And we will certainly never do it so long as we are at each other's throats!

Greens are growing -- but nowhere near fast enough. Prog Dems are finally demanding a voice in your party -- but with little reason to believe it will turn an electoral tide.

Like the greedy monkey, with our fists desperately stuck through the bars, we thwart ourselves by insisting either of us alone can hold that magic 51 percent. Even together it will be very hard to hold!

Smart monkeys work together.Or we're finished. more

A heated discussion about The Greens, the Dems and 2004 at Daily Kos inspired the repost this time. The blame game has to stop. We have work to do. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Ashcroft remark raises eyebrows

This is the Attorney General of the US? He doesn't know to abide by a gag order? Fair trial be damned. Constitution be damned.

U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen on Friday denied a defense request for a mistrial. But he scolded government lawyers for trying to link the men on trial to the former suspect and said Ashcroft should have understood that he is covered by a gag order in the case.

Defense lawyers argued that the remarks were at least the second time Ashcroft had violated Rosen's gag order since the investigation of their clients began. The judge said he would decide after the trial whether to consider a request to have Ashcroft explain his actions.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

First case of SARS is found in Washtenaw County

Reedy said it's possible the Washtenaw County resident might have something besides SARS but added that given the person's exposure to a relative in Asia who was hospitalized with SARS, health officials are confident that it's a positive case.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Go see Bob


I've not quite known where to focus lately, so my blog has been a mix of randomness as I take a short breather from war, and politics. It hasn't stopped me from reading offerings from others however, trying to grasp my own thoughts and voice. I'd like to direct you to Bob's Links and Rants and his entire April 18th entries. (scroll)
He quotes Vonnegut quoting a fictional character Campbell, from Slaughterhouse 5, and asks for input. Check it out and give him feedback!
He also has a poem: The Dimwit Pride of Bushwar Two which is much more a constructive attempt at expessing anger than anything I would write at the moment. (Mine would be so bitter I'd run you off!). He also links to a wonderful article written by a 14 yr old boy; Young Voices: U.S. Can't Declare War a Victory posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Howard Dean's Blog

His website, and his article, Bush: It's Not Just His Doctrine That's Wrong posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Drag and Drop Map to the Middle East


I like this concept! A Flash drag and drop map. Other tools for teaching about the Middle East and the war can be found here.
Not for kids only! A great group of resources. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

It's official: Piestewa Peak

Squaw Peak in north-central Phoenix will be renamed Piestewa Peak.
The State Board on Geographic and Historic Names waived its five-year waiting period and approved the change by a 5-1 vote Thursday before a cheering crowd after a four-hour hearing.
The board sided with dozens of supporters who said that the word "Squaw" is offensive and that the mountain should be renamed after Army Pfc. Lori Piestewa, pronounced py-ESS-tuh-wah. The Hopi from Tuba City was the first female American Indian soldier to be killed in combat.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Immune Cells Do The Wave



A naturally fluorescent compound inside the immune system's neutrophil cell enabled Howard Petty to collect a series of 11 high-speed images that depict the wave-like movement of chemical reactions within the cell.
posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Oldest DNA exposes ancient ecosystems

DNA from the animals and plants that populated Siberia and Alaska up to 395,000 years ago has been recovered from specks of permafrost.

The discovery of these genetic fragments - by far the oldest DNA sequences yet authenticated - will give scientists unprecedented power to reconstruct ancient ecosystems and track them through time. The work has already shed new light on the mysterious extinction of the region's large mammals.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Advisors quit over museum looting

"If we understood the value of Sumerian cuneiform tablets to our past, as much as we do with oil...I don't think this would have happened," Vikan said.

"Our priorities had a big gap," Sullivan added.

"In a pre-emptive war that's the kind of thing you should have planned for."

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Hawks recycle arguments for Iraq war against Syria

As if we didn't know this, but it still makes me sick watching it happen. (I'm even linking to a MoonieTimes article out of sheer frustration)

The talk over war with Syria increasingly resembles a spring rerun of the debate over war with Iraq, with virtually the same cast of characters and plot.
Neoconservative Richard Perle, a leading hawk in the Iraq debate, yesterday called for Congress to pass a "Syrian Liberation Act" modeled on the 1998 law that made regime change in Baghdad official U.S. policy.
"There are many ways to fight these battles," Mr. Perle, a civilian adviser to the Pentagon, told a forum at the American Enterprise Institute.
"I would hope that Congress would take a look at helping those who want to free Syria from the tyrannical rule of the Ba'ath Party," the secular ruling party dominated by Syrian President Bashir Assad, Mr. Perle said.
via American Samizdat

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Sars in Michigan

Because I'm getting referrers looking for info on SARS in Michigan, I've included what I was able to find in a quick search:

ann arbor -- State and federal health officials say today that a patient at the University of Michigan Hospital suspected of having severe acute respiratory syndrome does not have SARS.

(Lansing-AP, April 17, 2003, 8:40 a.m.) A Washtenaw County adult is suspected of having a case of severe acute respiratory syndrome. That's according to a statement released today by the state Department of Community Health.

Dr. Clegg says SARS could be a problem but there's something else you need to worry about here in southwest Michigan. "West Nile is guaranteed to comeback this summer when mosquitos come out again.

"Fear of SARS is more of a problem than SARS now, as far as international business is concerned," says Linda Lim, a professor of corporate strategy and international business at the University of Michigan Business School

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

How toTalk back to the Wurlitzer

in this worldgonewrong.

It's not easy to stand up to the blasts of the Wurlitzer machine, which is so wonderfully adept at spinning disinformation, disseminating it to the public, and quashing rational discussion. So here are the telltale signs you are being buffaloed, plus tips on how to help others talk back, too.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Ask the White House

Interesting..this is all the info I have:

Next Guest: White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card

Time: 7pm - 7:30pm (ET)
Date: Tonight - Wednesday, April 16

You can submit questions to "Ask the White House" one hour before the online discussion begins.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Does History Repeat Itself?



After reading the Thom Hartmann article, When Democracy Failed: The Warnings of History, I found the parallels intriguing. I found Bush/Hitler Links to be quite informative. I was unaware of many of the parallels and some seemed too eerie to believe. As my right-wing aquaintance said about the Thom Hartmann article, "someone went to a lot of trouble to prove a point". The Bush/Hitler links page is an extension of that statement. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |