Earthquake: Coincidence or a Corporate Oil Tragedy?

I'm just passing this on. I have no idea, nor does the person who wrote this, but perhaps it's a question that needs to be investigated further. Did human activity have something to do with it?

Seismic surveys utilizing airguns have been taking place in mineral-rich areas of the world’s oceans since 1968. Among the areas that have experienced the most intense survey activity are the North Sea, the Beaufort Sea (off Alaska’s North Slope), and the Gulf of Mexico; areas around Australia and South America are also current hot-spots of activity.

The impulses created by the release of air from arrays of up to 24 airguns create low frequency sound waves powerful enough to penetrate up to 40km below the seafloor. The “source level" of these sound waves is generally over 200dB (and often 230dB or more), roughly comparable to a sound of at least 140-170dB in air.

According to the Australian Conservation Foundation, these 200dB – 230d shots from the airguns are fired every 10 seconds or so, from 10 meters below the surface, 24 hours a day, for 2 week periods of time, weather permitting.

These types of tests are known to affect whales and dolphins, whose acute hearing and use of sonar is very sensitive.

On December 24th there was a magnitude 8.1 earthquake more than 500 miles southeast of Tasmania near New Zealand, with a subsequent aftershock 6.1 a little later in the morning that same day.

On December 26th, the magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck at the intersection of the Australian tectonic plate and the Indian tectonic plate. This is the devastating tsunami tragedy that we have all heard about in the Indian Ocean. The death toll of this horrific event has reached 120,000 souls and continues to rise.

On December 27th, 20 whales beached themselves 110 miles west of Hobart on the southern island state of Tasmania.

What is interesting about this is that the same place where the whale beachings have been taking place over the last 30 days is the same general area where the 8.1 Australian earthquake took place, and this is the same area where they are doing these seismic tests. Then 2 days after the Australian tectonic plate shifted, the 9.0 earthquake shook the coast of Indonesia.

A great deal of interest and seismic testing has been taking place in this area, as the government of Australia has given
great tax breaks to encourage the oil exploration.

Two Geologists that I spoke to felt that it was highly unlikely that these seismic tests would have had enough energy to induce the Australian quake. On the other hand there is strong evidence that suggests that oil exploration activities have induced earthquakes in the past. read it all

Updated to fix link. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Slackin'

I've been a little lax in posting. I'm fighting a little pneumonia thing. Thanks to Andy for noticing and picking up some slack. I added a few links below today but until I get some oxygen back into my brain, don't expect much from me. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Harness that Anger

by Howard Zinn
The Progressive
excerpt:

What to do now? Harness those fierce emotions reacting to the election. In that anger, disappointment, grieving frustration there is enormous combustible energy, which, if mobilized, could reinvigorate an anti-war movement that had been slowed by the all-consuming election campaign.

It is in the nature of election campaigns to siphon off the vitality of people imbued with a heartfelt cause, dilute that cause, and pour it into the dubious endeavor to propel one somewhat better candidate into office. But with the election over, there is no more need to hold back, to do as too many well-meaning people did, which was to follow uncritically in the footsteps of a candidate who dodged and squirmed on almost every major issue.

Freed from the sordid confines of our undemocratic political process, we can now turn all our energies to do what is discouraged by the voting system--to speak boldly and clearly about what must be done to turn our country around.

And let's not worry about offending that 22 percent of the country (we don't know the exact number but it is certainly a minority) who are religious and political fundamentalists, who invoke God in the service of mass murder and imperial conquest, who ignore the Biblical injunctions to love one's neighbor, to beat swords into plowshares, to care for the poor and downtrodden.

Most Americans do not want war.

Most want the wealth of this country to be used for human needs-health, work, schools, children, decent housing, a clean environment--rather than for billion dollar nuclear submarines and four billion dollar aircraft carriers.

...) The Bush administration, riding high and arrogant, adhering to the rule of the fanatic, which is to double your speed when you are going in the wrong direction, will find itself going over a cliff, too late to stop.

If the leaders of the Democratic Party do not understand this reality, do not squarely address the desires of people in every part of the country (forget the red, the blue, the nonsensical generalizations that ignore the complexities of human thought), they will find themselves tailgating the Bush vehicle as it heads for disaster.read it all

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Grey Lodge Occult Review Issue 14

Great stuff! posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Book Review: Capitalism at the Crossroads: The Unlimited Business Opportunities in Solving the World's Most Difficult Problems

According to author Stuart Hart, sustainable global enterprise holds the key to reducing poverty, reversing environmental destruction, and even counteracting terrorism.

SocialFunds.com -- Cornell and University of North Carolina Business Professor Stuart Hart's Capitalism at the Crossroads perfectly complements University of Michigan Business Professor C. K. Prahalad's The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, perhaps even surpassing it in significance. The two professors collaborated from 1998 through 2002 on the seminal article that gave birth to the "bottom of the pyramid" (BOP) concept that Prof. Prahalad explains so eloquently in his book (see related book review). The BOP market theory holds that multinational corporations (MNCs) can simultaneously profit and help reduce global poverty by serving a market they have largely ignored until recently: the 4 billion people in the world living on less than $2 a day.

As good as Prof. Prahalad's book is, however, it leaves unanswered the question of how the BOP theory fits into the larger context of sustainability, particularly environmental sustainability. Prof. Hart's book not only answers this question, but also presents a comprehensive and compelling argument that capitalism cannot afford to ignore sustainability--indeed, that capitalism will thrive by embracing sustainability (and vice versa). continue reading

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Readers of the BBC News website have been sending in their own experiences of the disaster

Some totally fucking mind-blowing and heart-breaking personal accounts

My son Alan is in the Holiday Inn hotel right on the beach in Phuket. They are without power and therefore radio and TV, hence no outside contact. There is a shark washed up in the hotel swimming pool. He saw a couple of bodies and a mother being separated from one of two children whose hands she was holding as the water swept one of them away.
Alan Burr, Bromley, UK

posted by Andy | link |    | |

Feds to look at merits of 'Ecstasy,' psilocybin

The Food and Drug Administration gave the green light to a Harvard proposal to test the benefits of the illegal street drug known as "Ecstasy" in patients diagnosed with severe anxiety related to advanced cancer...

The FDA's approval puts the study on track to become the first test of a psychedelic substance since 1963 at Harvard, where drug guru Timothy Leary lost his teaching privileges after using students in experiments with LSD and other hallucinogens.

Already, MDMA is being tested for its ability to reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Two U.S. studies are looking at the usefulness of psilocybin, the active ingredient in "magic mushrooms," in terminally ill cancer patients and in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

In the coming year, advocates hope to submit to the FDA an application to test psilocybin and LSD as treatments for a debilitating syndrome known as cluster headaches.

posted by Andy | link |    | |

How to Help




The following agencies are accepting contributions for those affected by the earthquake and tidal waves in Asia.
UPDATE: The South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Help Site
News and information about resources, aid, donations and volunteer efforts.

American Red Cross
International Response Fund
PO Box 37243
Washington, DC 20013
800-HELP NOW
http://www.redcross.org

Catholic Relief Services
PO Box 17090
Baltimore, MD 21203-7090
888-HELP-CRF
http://www.catholicrelief.org

Direct Relief International
27 South La Patera Lane
Santa Barbara, CA 93117
805-964-4767
http://www.directrelief.org

Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres
PO Box 2247
New York, NY 10116-2247
888-392-0392
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org

International Medical Corps
11500 West Olympic Blvd., Suite 506
Los Angeles, CA 90064
800-481-4462
http://www.imcworldwide.org

International Orthodox Christian Charities
Middle East Crisis Response
PO Box 630225
Baltimore, MD 21263-0225
877-803-4622
http://www.iocc.org

Mercy Corps
PO Box 2669
Portland, OR 97208
800-852-2100
http://www.mercycorps.org

Operation USA
8320 Melrose Avenue, Ste. 200
Los Angles, CA 90069
800-678-7255
http://www.opusa.org
- The Associated Press posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Santa Claus and Mushroom Shamanism

Santa Claus represents magic which, in western society, has been controlled, abused, ridiculed, outlawed, repressed and finally forgotten. Santa is often times mocked, diminished and misunderstood as he is portrayed as a slave to commerce, infantile, dysfunctional, a joke. On the other hand, as he is preached to our children, he is wise, benevolent and magically powerful.



How are we to make sense of this conundrum? The only answer, I submit, is through facing the bizarre fact that Santa Claus and Christmas have a hidden secret: namely the powerful entheogenic mushroom, Amanita muscaria. Though perhaps challenging and difficult to accept, a close examination of this strange relationship offers deep insight into the nature of the human soul. This long forgotten key to the hidden meaning of Christmas helps to explain the very nature of the classic religious experience. And as we probe deeper into this mystery, it may even shed light on the widespread religious and political oppression that still dominates much of the world.

Whatever your tradition Dear Friends, may it bring peaceful smiles. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Thank you Harry

It probably wouldn't surprise you to know I still have my Kucinich sticker on my car. I don't feel quite so lonely after reading this. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Joseph Campbell's 10 Rules for reading Myth

I
Read myths with the eyes of wonder: the myths transparent to their universal meaning,
their meaning transparent to its mysterious source.

II
Read myths in the present tense: Eternity is now.

III
Read myths in the first person plural: the Gods and Goddesses of ancient mythology still live within you.

IV
Any myth worth its salt exerts a powerful magnetism. Notice the images and stories that you are drawn to and repelled by. Investigate the field of associated images and stories

V
Look for patterns; don't get lost in the details. What is needed is not more specialized scholarship, but more interdisciplinary vision. Make connections; break old patterns of parochial thought.

VI
Resacralize the secular: even a dollar bill reveals the imprint of Eternity.

VII
If God is everywhere, then myths can be generated anywhere, anytime, by anything. Don't let your Romantic aversion to science blind you to the Buddha in the computer chip.

VIII
Know your tribe! Myths never arise in a vacuum; they are the connective tissue of the social body which enjoys synergistic relations with dreams (private myths) and rituals (the enactment of myth).

IX
Expand your horizons! Any mythology worth remembering will be global in scope. The earth is our home and humankind is our family.

X
Read between the lines! Literalism kills; Imagination quickens

Joseph Campbell Saves The World In which the late, great master of myth reveals just how foolish all our religious impudence is, again
by Mark Morford posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Place to Be

Al Giordano wrote a a powerful piece about Gary Webb and about us too.
I've been sitting with it since Michael at Spontaneous Arising pointed to it a few days ago. I had few words then and still have few words. Gary Webb was a victim. That's all I know. I've known others, and the following words from Al ring true. Losing ones sense of place isn't hard to do in a climate such as it is.

I could go on and on – “all the friends I ever had are gone” - but I want to get to my point: In every single one of these cases their deaths were preceded by a combination of economic troubles and isolation from the ones they loved, who could not find the support or community to be able to love somebody as intense as a hero.

Do you want to know how to kill an Authentic Journalist or a revolutionary? Do you want to know how to provoke a truth-seeker and truth-teller into taking his or her own life? Play a con game on him and her: that’s how. Tell her you love her. Tell him you love him. Tell him and her that you’re different than all the dishonest people out there. Take the steps to show him and her that you are different, that you are like him and her, a truth-seeker and truth-teller. Get him or her to drop his or her guard, to open up. He or she will love you more intensely and generously than you have ever known. There is nothing he or she won’t do for you, so happy to feel, for the first time in probably a long time, that he is loved, that she is not alone. And then, when he or she are at their softest and most tender point, lightly drop the hint that it’s all been a lie. Reveal that you have successfully deceived him or her, in the very exact ways that you promised him or her with gooey eyes and poetic tones that you would never, ever, do to him or her.

Wanna see a truth-teller blow his or her brains out like Gary did, like at least two good journalist friends of mine are contemplating right now? Gain his and her trust, and then pull the trigger of deception: Make him and her doubt his and her own prowess as a truth-detector. Remind him and her that they are freaks of nature: truth-tellers in a world of liars, and that you are so smart – aren’t you cute and proud of yourself? - that you alone were able to deceive him and her.

That’s the first part: The suicides I have known have almost all been about love promised and not delivered. Let me be very clear: It is not the fault of the lover who could not love him or her enough. It is the fault of the entire community and culture for being unable and unwilling to support revolutionary love. The suicides I have known have mostly been in Gringolandia, where there is no support for love, where “the problem club” recruits daily, where the “self help” and addictionology industries prey on weak gringo minds selling the bullshit that a human being is a nation-state, that the human has “borders” or “boundaries” and has to “set those boundaries.” The "professionals" who peddle those inhuman theories have their fingers on the trigger, too.

There, in the United States, where, red state or blue state, it’s the same fucking fascism of cars and auto insurance, of illness and health insurance, of jobs at alienated labor, of “educations” that teach nothing except what must later be unlearned, or of unemployment, ignorance, illness, homelessness or prison, it is forbidden to love a revolutionary. If you do, if you are sincere at it, you will receive no support from your “friends” or “community.” If you love someone like Gary, like Abbie, like Ellen, like Jeff, someone intense and truth-telling and truth-seeking, you, too, will become isolated. You cannot find support. He or she is too overwhelming for you to handle by yourself, but nobody will help you. In fact, they may hypocritically blame you after he or she has checked out. They… the people who are really to blame, will turn on you for having followed their advice, and they will blame you. Think about that.

A hero simply loves more and gives more than an ordinary man or woman: and so do those who choose to love him and her while suffering the slings and arrows of the problem club and the jealous non-support of the slow class all around them. That’s the first part of the story.

But there is a second part, beyond the impossibility of loving a true revolutionary under capitalism. There is something else that assures a suicide when combined with deception and it is very much related to capitalism: The person looking down the barrel of the gun must lose his or her sense of place.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Beautiful!

Mark Dilley pointed me here. Gorgeous pyrography!
Which journal do I want? posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

I just cancelled my Live 365 station featuring Craig's music. It will probably be down sometime within the next 3 days, so if you want to listen, now is the time. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Lead, Follow or Get Out of the Way

Indeed. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Homeless man gets compacted in garbage

Yes this happened in Ann Arbor Friday. It sucks the life right out of me.

A homeless man miraculously escaped serious injury this morning when he was dumped into the back of a garbage truck and compacted after he fell asleep inside a commercial trash bin in downtown Ann Arbor, city firefighters said. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

US Dept of Energy office supports Peak Oil theory

Bob knows that I often stash links I find that I may or may not have read in my del.icio.us feed which is then fed into my left sidebar. Today he found one I hadn't had time to read yet, and although he hasn't finished reading the report either, took the time to highlight some important points. It's pretty damn graphic so far. I don't know if I'll find the time to read the report soon, so I'm going to rely on his eyes for further observations as he continues to read it.

Why do we need to ignore what the government (isn't) telling us and begin earnest change on our own? In this post I said to ignore the government completely. I wrote the following in the comments of the post in an attempt to clarify exactly what I meant by ignoring a government that is doing nothing but standing in our way.

It struck me how much the government holds us, as a people back, by disseminating false information continually, regulating common sense until it no longer makes sense, working to order what cannot be ordered and standing square in the face of progress. Growing the military and our prison systems, our largest social programs by the way, seem to be second only to sucking up to corporate profits.

Across the board (right and left) I think the common man knows what we need to do, but because the government doesn't care to share what should be public knowledge, the urgency isn't there. Ignore that which stands in your way and do what it takes. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Homelandabsurdity problems

I'm having problems with my server for Homelandabsurdity at the moment. I was going to put this article there, but for now I'll just put a link here. I haven't yet given up on the site but if I can't get this problem figured out with the host in the next couple days I'll just give up.
Sandia pushes limits of solar technology

UPDATE: I think Homelandabsurdity is working again, at least it appears to be from my home machine. If anyone gets an error could you please let me know?

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Info U of M / Google Knowledge Project

I started this post a few days ago and Blogger choked. Once Blogger was working again, I decided this was old news and didn't bother to continue, however, people have been asking me for info.

Google Weblog has updated info today and the following links will take you to some of the U-M press releases:

Google/U-M project opens the way to universal access to information

FAQ

This will all be forthcoming at this link.
more info at Arbor Update
and World Without End
and GoodspeedUpdate
posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Lazy Linkage

Just a few tidbits because I'm lazy.

A little bit of non-fundamentalist religious freedom is hanging on, let's keep it that way. High court lifts stay in fight over hallucinogenic tea
A New Mexico church will get to use hallucinogenic tea, a sacrament central to the religion, as part of its Christmas services.
link via easybakecoven where you'll always find a treasure of goodies

Only one Democrat attends Climate Change Conference Dennis Kucinich
"Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich, the only Democratic congressman here, told reporters the United States "is isolating itself" by not accepting Kyoto-style controls.

"The United States, as the source of so many of these gases, has a responsibility to the rest of the world," he said."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Campaign for a National Health Care Program Now

The Guardian has a list of the top 100 useful websites

U.S. and Russian Nuclear Missiles are Still on Hair-Trigger Alert

Think Globally, Eat Locally an op-ed in the NYT

If you aren't lazy, you can always go to Homelandabsurdity, log in and contribute to the database or add relative stories.
posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

The Trap We've Created

I finally made myself sit and watch the two DVD's I borrowed from Bob; The End of Suburbia and Richard Heinberg's keynote speech to the MREA. I already knew what I was going to see and hear. I was especially struck by Heinberg's analogy of humans and yeast. In the process of making wine, yeast destroy themselves. In the process of consumption, of oil in particular, are humans doing the same?

For some unwritten reason no politician can speak about Peak Oil. Heinberg suggested that if we were aware of the problem just possibly we would have enough sense to voluntarily take action before we are trapped. The choice of the government to keep this information from the public doesn't allow for the massive undertaking we need to take to regroup. It will be too late and we will be involved in perpetual war until there is no turning back.

I think that possibly 50% of the Bush voters continue to want to believe that the war with Iraq will be our salvation and squandering our resources is no big deal to them . I'm of the mindset that the rest of us begin planning in earnest and completely ignore what the government tries to sugarcoat, in fact, ignore the government completely.

There is a new article today titled End of Oil Could Fuel 'End of Civilization as We Know It' Read it and make up your own mind. Governments do not have the political will to prepare for the end of oil. It's our baby. This is what we need to do.

UPDATE: Written in a USA Today article today:
"For the first time, even though we've increased by 80% the number of actively drilling rigs, we've seen almost no increase in production. We're maintaining what we had been producing. No significant new reserves (in the USA) have been brought on line. That's because North America is a mature province; 1998 was the peak in production for natural gas, and 1970 was the peak for oil. We're having to drill deeper, which is more expensive and takes longer, and for smaller reserves." posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Why Don't Men "Get It"?

A new study:
What Makes Women Happy? Sex Tops List

"Women enjoy sex most and commuting least, according to a study using a new tool that attempts to measure what really makes people happy on a daily basis.

Surprisingly, researchers said they found that activities, such as sex, socializing, eating, exercising, and watching TV have a much bigger impact on women's happiness on a daily basis than general circumstances, such as income, religion, or marital status."

Personally I would scratch the TV thing altogether, but I think this study is saying, hey look guys, quit working your butts off, I really don't care how much money we have and hey, by the way, would you please stop trying to make me go to church, I'd rather get naked. Just think how much less we would be consuming and think of all that wasted work time!

link found via | blondesense posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Expectations Male/Female

Bob gave me my laugh of the day. Somehow it goes with my post below. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Touching Ourselves

Perhaps back to writing more regularly now because he's trapped inside at -20C, Tony at abuddhas memes writes we must tune in to uncertainty, turn on to possibility, drop out of partiality, and sense fully. Fear can be a very positive force as long as we are not blinded by Media Light. We live at the most critical and scariest of times. We are at a developmentally exponential apex, and so the most dangerous time in human evolution. We can be whole, but will not survive another bout of totalitarianism.

I wrote a bit about Listening to Ourselves and touched a little on women's intuition, how women tend to listen to themselves more often than men. I don't think it's because men don't have the capability, they just haven't learned how to tap into it, much as I continue to struggle with math though the capability is within me.


Another area that Tony talks about above is sensing fully. Women tend to be more sensual. Just as we can all learn to listen to ourselves, we can learn how to be more sensual, more connected to our surroundings and to the people who surround us.

Touch is probably the easiest sense to develop. Instead of simply petting your dog or cat, pay attention to the texture of their fur and how they respond to your touch, notice the fibers of your gloves, allow your toes to feel the textures beneath them, touch your own skin and really feel it. Mine feels wonderful, especially this winter because I've been taking flax, borage and fish oil supplements.

As I'm writing this I'm getting images of advertisements of women taking the laundry out of the dryer and feeling the softness. Notice that men are never in those ads.

we must tune in to uncertainty, turn on to possibility, drop out of partiality, and sense fully posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Gary Webb "Suicide"

Spontaneous Arising and Inspector Lohmann have both tracked down some very interesting and very different links related to Gary Webb's death.
Robert Parry has written America's Debt to Journalist Gary Webb
Sometimes we wonder why the media rolls over and sometimes it's disturbingly clear. There are an exceptional few who take the needed risks to keep us informed. RIP Gary Webb. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Developments in Ohio

Startling new revelations highlight rare Congressional hearings on Ohio vote
by Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman

Blackwell has locked down public voting records in Greene County and elsewhere.
Kerry has called for independent examination of voting machinery and programs as well as visual inspection of all spoiled ballots.
Please call C-SPAN and request/demand they televise the Congressional field hearing on Ohio vote irregularities being held in Columbus today. Here are the phone numbers:

202-737-3220 or 765-464-3080

Use this link to request a bi-partisan investigation of the 2004 election

PRESS RELEASE

CONGRESSMAN JOHN CONYERS, JR.
FOURTEENTH DISTRICT, MICHIGAN
RANKING MEMBER, COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
DEAN, CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS
________________________________

IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 12, 2004
CONTACT: Dena Graziano (202) 226-6888

Conyers Alarmed at Efforts to Obstruct Ohio Recount Effort, Calls Witness to Monday Hearing to Detail Such Efforts

Yesterday, it came to the attention of the House Judiciary Committee Democratic Staff that efforts to audit poll records in Greene County, Ohio are being obstructed by County Election officials and/or Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell. According to Joan Quinn and Eve Robertson, two election observers researching voting records, Greene County officials initially gave Quinn and Robertson access to poll records, and then abruptly withdrew such access. Greene County Director of Elections Carole Garman claimed that she had withdrawn access to the voting records at the direction of Secretary Blackwell. Regardless of who ordered the denial of this access, such an action appears to violate Ohio law. Later, at the same office, election observers found the office unlocked, and what appeared to be locked ballot boxes, unattended. Prior to the withdrawal of access to the books, observers had found discrepancies in election records, and possible evidence of minority vote suppression.

House Judiciary Committee Democrats wrote a letter to Blackwell on December 2 requesting answers to 34 questions about election irregularities and fraud in Ohio. This letter included questions about major discrepancies in Perry County poll books. Since that letter, additional documentation has been provided to the Democratic staff demonstrating similar problems in other counties.

Because of the urgency of the Greene County matter, Congressman John Conyers, Jr., Ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, has requested that Ms. Quinn testify at a hearing scheduled Monday in Columbus, Ohio. Ms. Quinn has agreed to do so and will also present sworn statements from corroborating witnesses. Conyers issued the following statement:

"The Recount effort is simply a search for the truth of what happened during the 2004 Presidential election in Ohio. We have now repeatedly seen election officials obstruct and stonewall this search for the truth. I am beginning to wonder what it is they are trying to hide."

Thanks to cs for not watching television so that she could pass on the above information from Ohio.
Thanks to John Conyers for pressing on! posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Madness

an excerpt from a must read:
By Richard Girard

I have come to an inescapable conclusion: the United States of America has gone around the bend. Not take a Valium agitated, or take a Prozac depressed, but load the syringe with Thorazine, call the attendants, and get the strait-jacket insane.

...) Wealth became the primary basis for a person's prestige among the American people. This in turn led to a preoccupation with acquiring wealth, because it was the societal measure of ones success

...) This reverence for material wealth is, to me, especially surprising among Amercan Christians of every stripe. Jesus had only disdain for material wealth and little respect for its possessors. In fact, I can find only one passage in the New Testament where Jesus spoke well of a rich man

...) I feel that we are headed for a time of economic hardship such as this nation has not seen since the Great Depression. I hope, whether this economic catastrophe occurs or not, we will then rediscover the truth of the Greek phiosopher Epicurus' observation that "Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants."

...) To doggedly adhere to any system of belief or knowledge without regular, critical examination of its underlying assumptions - to winnow out those things which are demonstrably wrong - is the essence of madness.

The four classic virtues of the ancient Greeks (Justice, Temperance, Prudence, and Fortitude), together with the three ecclesiastical virtues of the Apostle Paul (Faith, Hope, and Charity), are the seven ideas I believe lead to the most solid and consistent values by which one should try to live. Included in (but not limited to) these values are compassion, responsibility, mercy, fairness, equality, freedom, openness, community, cooperation, trust, honesty, and the opportunity to pursue personal fulfillment . We must realize that we all share the same world, and that we share a responsibility to that world and all of its inhabitants. Our world is Marshall McLuhan's global village, inhabited by individuals, families, communities and states, related by the metaphorical equivalent of blood and marriage, responsible for both ourselves and one another, especially in regards to our children.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Red

the puppet
who thinks he's alive
fit for duty
decided to decorate
the desert with vultures
staying alive
until it dies
his tongue
was cold
and sharp
the shame
of a leech
drunken with blood
where the dark has no taste
and tragedy becomes mundane
there's no point in dialogue now
the last coin sandblasted
red trinkets of ice
as she shops for presents
~cyndy posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Feminine Fundies

Norm at onegoodmove has a post today called Fundies and Fascists but he could have also added a couple other F-words to his title because quite frankly, under fundies, females are fuc*ed!

Digby looks at what he coins evolutionary theology, the characteristics (virtually identical) of fundamentalist movements in the world and has a few ideas about snipping the spread. Both digby and Norm reference the same article.

As a female, I'm becoming acutely aware of recent changes happening in the US culture directly affecting me because of this mindset. It's palpable even when I walk into a grocery store. I refuse to live with it. I think it may takes years to get back to where we were just four years ago. I just don't see a grassroots resistance being strong enough to overcome this at the moment, which is why I'm seriously considering my options. I have a lot of work ahead of me regardless of my ultimate decision, but I am at the point of being completely exhausted from working against and would rather opt to work for.

UPDATE: Seeing the Forest has more on this subject, re-enslaving women.

Science and Politics points out that it isn't just a fundie influence as a factor, but conservatism in general. I have to agree. I'm not surrounded by fundamentalists, so that isn't directly the cause of my discomfort but more of an extension of prevailing fundamentalist ideas. He has some good supporting links to follow. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Dying for Consumption

by Paul Campos

To the owner of the Ford Excursion who implores us to "Support Our Troops" I say this:

You, sir (or madam), are a monumental jackass. At this moment, American troops are risking their lives to protect your inalienable right to live your life in an impenetrable fog of selfishness and stupidity.

If not for the need to service this grotesque monstrosity on which you squander your money and that of the taxpayers who subsidize your comfortably numb life, those troops you support would not be getting killed and maimed in a country I doubt you could find on a map.

...) Drive off, Ford Excursion. Head back to your gated community, to patiently await the Rapture, or the next Nordstrom's sale. You've driven me past the limits of pundit endurance, and I long to return to the world of thoughtful observation.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Criminal Case Over Nuclear Reactor Taking Shape

DAVIS-BESSE NUCLEAR PLANT
NRC allegedly was misled about facility's condition

FirstEnergy Corp. yesterday said its nuclear subsidiary likely will be indicted on criminal charges, accused of misleading federal regulators about the condition of Davis-Besse's reactor head prior to the plant's 2002 shutdown.

...) The shutdown revealed a much bigger problem than potential nozzle-head cracks: Davis-Besse's reactor head itself was so corroded that it was a mere two-tenths of an inch from blowing open. It was the worst corrosion in U.S. nuclear history.

NRC officials eventually labeled it the nation's biggest safety lapse since the Three Mile Island Unit 2 meltdown in Pennsylvania in 1979, in part because of doubts over whether emergency safety systems would have worked once radioactive steam had formed.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D., Cleveland), whose district is downwind from Davis-Besse, became so incensed that he tried to get FirstEnergy's operating license revoked.

The congressman told The Blade last night that he was pleased by the possibility of FENOC being charged criminally. "They haven't been telling the truth," he said.

He said the utility's history of mismanagement is one of the nation's most underrated stories. "It's all about money in the end. It's not about public safety," Mr. Kucinich said.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

What Kind of Soul are You?

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Video for the weekend

This is a video we made of the Oct 26, 2002 Ann Arbor Peace Rally.
It features Chris Buhalis' Talkin' Joe McCarthy Blues, mixed amongst various speakers. The video is 9 minutes long and a takes a little while (up to a minute) to download.
I spent much of the day today trying to put it into windows media format because the real player format I had was too pixelated. It took awhile for me to recall how to get the settings right, but I did it! posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Counter-Inauguration Information Page for the Ann Arbor, Michigan area

Counter-Inauguration Transportation, Fundraising, and Events for Ann Arbor, Michigan & Washington D.C. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Only Connect

Tish just made my day with this post! I'm thinkin' maybe I should turn on the tv every-so-often if it can inspire this kind of thought. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Boot Camp Question

A few years ago, before Bush was in office, I attended a week-long class in Chicago called XML Boot Camp. The name wasn't especially appealing then but is even less so now. I'm just curious how many people would actually be excited about taking a class that has 'Boot Camp' anything attached to it now. What if your place of employment required you to take a class called "Boot Camp"? Would it be an over-reaction to say militarization of the workplace? Does anyone have examples of creeping militarization in their workplace in the past 4 years? posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Rainbow Box Video

Video for the day:
Rainbow Box 3 min 38sec windows media player posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

I wanna be a part of it

Some fairly cool developments in New York State.

First, crusading (that's always the word used, isn't it?) Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has decided to run for Governor.

Called everything from a contemporary Teddy Roosevelt populist to an overreaching Wyatt Earp vigilante, Mr. Spitzer has transformed the Wall Street and the nation's financial markets by taking on corrupt mutual fund managers, bid-rigging in the insurance industry, and excessive corporate compensation.

I guess this isn't a surprise to people who've been paying attention, but I myself had no idea and had been secretly hoping that he would make a bigger splash.

Also, NY's draconian (again with the cliche' alert!) Rockefeller drug laws have been eased up.

Drafted in the 1970s in response to rampant heroin addiction, the laws have been harshly criticized even by their architects as outdated and excessively punitive. But political deadlock in the statehouse and spirited lobbying efforts by district attorneys who said the laws are powerful crime-fighting tools eroded efforts to change them.

Alas, they didn't introduce the notion of treatment, which many had been hoping for, but it's better than nothing. posted by Andy | link |    | |

To Evolve A Species

Video for today:
A 4 minute movie. To Evolve a Species featuring Ken Kesey, the Kroger Plus Card and more. windows media player It could take up to a minute to download. patience. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Transfiguration

I'm noticing this is a particularly tough time of year for me. I'm struggling and trying to find the 'good' instead of dwelling on all that's wrong, though I know I'll get back to the 'wrong' out of urgency. Just.not.now.

One of the 'good'; the connection and chemistry that kept Craig and me tight was the recognition and value we found when working creatively together. The Flash animation I linked to in a post below was one of those ventures. We experimented with different types of web media which is why some will need different players than others. Over the next few days I'll highlight some of the movies we made. He usually did the editing and I did much of the filming.

I was asked over two months ago to have some mini dv tapes ready for cinema slam. I promise you Keith, I haven't forgotten. I just wasn't ready. No excuses.

I know some of you can't view these due to dial-up connections, or aren't interested in indie film. I'll be back to my regular posting when I'm ready, but for now, it's my selfish break. Enjoy if you will, The Transfiguration of Palmer Eldritch windows media player
Yes, the PKD references in the title are intentional. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Battlefield Earth

The story the Right tells is clear and coherent and allows them to ignore all other concerns while enjoying the stress of persecution. The Left has virtually no story. This is a must read:

by Bill Moyers
Battlefield Earth

I accept this award on behalf of all the people behind the camera whom you never see. And for all those scientists, advocates, activists, and just plain citizens whose stories we have covered in reporting on how environmental change affects our daily lives. We journalists are simply beachcombers on the shores of other people's knowledge, other people's experience, and other people's wisdom. We tell their stories.

The journalist who truly deserves this award is my friend, Bill McKibben. He enjoys the most conspicuous place in my own pantheon of journalistic heroes for his pioneer work in writing about the environment. His bestseller "The End of Nature" carried on where Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" left off.

Writing in Mother Jones recently, Bill described how the problems we journalists routinely cover – conventional, manageable programs like budget shortfalls and pollution – may be about to convert to chaotic, unpredictable, unmanageable situations. The most unmanageable of all, he writes, could be the accelerating deterioration of the environment, creating perils with huge momentum like the greenhouse effect that is causing the melt of the artic to release so much freshwater into the North Atlantic that even the Pentagon is growing alarmed that a weakening gulf stream could yield abrupt and overwhelming changes, the kind of changes that could radically alter civilizations.

That's one challenge we journalists face – how to tell such a story without coming across as Cassandras, without turning off the people we most want to understand what's happening, who must act on what they read and hear.

As difficult as it is, however, for journalists to fashion a readable narrative for complex issues without depressing our readers and viewers, there is an even harder challenge – to pierce the ideology that governs official policy today. One of the biggest changes in politics in my lifetime is that the delusional is no longer marginal. It has come in from the fringe, to sit in the seat of power in the oval office and in Congress. For the first time in our history, ideology and theology hold a monopoly of power in Washington. Theology asserts propositions that cannot be proven true; ideologues hold stoutly to a world view despite being contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality. When ideology and theology couple, their offspring are not always bad but they are always blind. And there is the danger: voters and politicians alike, oblivious to the facts. [ continue reading ]

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

December Events at Dreamland Theater

THE SNOW QUEEN IN SEVEN STORIES
By Hans Christian Andersen
Adapted as a puppet show by Naia Venturi,
With original music by Misha Grey



The tale of a young girls search for her lost friend who has become captivated by the Snow Queen. A multimedia spectacle with marionettes, shadow puppets, hand puppets, and incorporating original video and music. Puppets and video by Naia Venturi
For all ages.

Saturdays and Sundays
December 11th and 12th
December 18th and 19th
Saturday shows are at 7:00 PM
Sunday shows are at 4:00 PM

General Admission is $7
Children 12 and under $5
Seating is limited so reservations are encouraged.

December Gallery/Store Hours
Tues-Sun 3 to 6 PM
Information: (734) 834-1782
Reservations: (734) 657-2337



posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Solaris

I'm taking a break from politics for my own sanity, digging deep to keep my spirit alive for the next fight. I feel the cracks, but as Leonard Cohen says,

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.

In ringing the bells that still can ring, I have to revisit a time when they were ringing. It isn't a perfect offering but there is some light for me in this flash animation I made, so I thought I would share.

I can't run no more
with that lawless crowd
while the killers in high places
say their prayers out loud.
But they've summoned, they've summoned up
a thundercloud
and they're going to hear from me.

Ring the bells that still can ring ... posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Through the Bagelhole

Bagelhole.org is about creating and living the vision of the life we want for ourselves and for the whole planet: A life that is sustainable with ecological integrity, full of love, respect, abundance, artistic expression, healing, and freedom, which allows, promotes, and shares the incredible diversity that already exists. Almost the exact opposite of how the world seems to be today.

In addition to the bagelhole, which is an exceptional place to visit, I added quite a few sustainability development links at the homelandabsurdity consumer resource page. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

empathy

glittering gold
solar wheel
traveling
on an east wind
burns seizures
of pain
into shared blood

the voiceless chill
of frozen sunshine

~cyndy posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Breathing Thought

Thought must defend a space for itself where it can live and breathe.

Thank you for the space and the breath.
Refreshing. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

More Elections

Here is a list of PBA bloggers who are in the Wizbang Weblog Awards, amongst quite an unbalanced group of conservative leaning blogs. Give them a vote!
Progressive Blog Alliance HQ (Best Group Blog of 2004)
Pesky Apostrophe (Best Liberal Blog)
In Search of Utopia (Best Latino, Caribbean, or South American Blog)
Feministe (Best of the 250 - 500 Blogs)
Debwire (Best of the 1000 - 1750 Blogs)
Loaded Mouth (Best of the Top 1750-2500 Blogs).
posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Feedback Please!

Please read and give me some feedback to this idea. You can comment at the page I linked to. I'll read it there. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Seeking the Magic Mushroom

By R. GORDON WASSON

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |