Just Desserts

Souter's property
A businessman has asked the town of Weare, N.H., to seize the home of U.S. Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter in order to build a hotel and museum on the property.
...) The proposed development, called the Lost Liberty Hotel, would feature the Just Desserts Cafe and include a museum, open to the public, featuring a permanent exhibit on the loss of freedom in America, Mr. Clements said. Instead of a Gideon's Bible, each guest would receive a free copy of Ayn Rand's novel "Atlas Shrugged."

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

How to Make a Solar Power Generator for Less Than $300

Great for power failures and life outside the power grid. Power your computer, modem, vcr, tv, cameras, lights, or DC appliances anywhere you go. Use in cabins, boats, tents, archaeological digs, or while travelling throughout the third world.

I just want to power my laptop in my yurt. I guess that just about covers it, eh? posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

The Writing is on The Great Wall

Could GM, Microsoft End Up in Chinese Hands?

"Executives at Unocal Corp. and Maytag Corp. are on the cutting edge of a trend that's sure to shake up corporate America as rarely before: China's desire for Western brand names.

Lenovo Group Ltd.'s agreement in December to buy the personal computer business of International Business Machines Corp. for $1.25 billion was the first sign China is becoming rapidly more internationally acquisitive.

Now, with CNOOC Ltd., China's third-largest oil company, going after Unocal and Haier Group, its largest appliance maker, bidding for Maytag, there's no mistaking China's strategy. And those here in Washington pushing China to let its currency rise should know they're making that pursuit easier for Asia's No. 2 economy"

I'm no economist, but I'm no quite so dumb as to miss red flags when I see them. The above article should be read in conjunction with the article, Who Owns the Dollar? by Paul Craig Roberts.

The hardest blow on Americans will fall when China does revalue its currency. When China’s currency ceases to be undervalued, American shoppers in Wal-Mart, where 70 percent of the goods on the shelves are made in China, will think they are in Neiman Marcus. Price increases will cause a dramatic reduction in American real incomes. If this coincides with rising interest rates and a setback in the housing market, American consumers will experience the hardest times since the Great Depression.

Not only is the leadership in Washington feeding us a bunch of lies, they are totally incompetent, shortsighted, and insane.

UPDATE: Jack's Straight Speak has written Buy America - So China Does Just That With BushCo's Help if you need any further convincing. He put all the little Bushies in a row for you. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

elusive

drifting on a wind
cursing the muddy sky
of lonesome teardrops
cumulonimbus clouds promise
to wash me clean of my youth
starved and empty
drenched beneath
delightful aromas of
incipient blossoms
my ground softens
penetrated deeply
with droplets of hope
my roots imbibe in possibility
shaken
thirsty and eager
too eager
too thirsty
like a child
devastated by internal, eternal war
I'm greedy
one day I'll learn
clouds are elusive
pouring on their own timeline
riding their own wind
and cannot be touched
yet I still cry
when a special cloud passes me by
~cyndy posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Broken Template

It seems my template broke so I'm using this for the time being. Links are missing but I'll get to them soon. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

How Awake Are We?

Now that stirrings of The Great Awakening to the Iraq Deception have begun, will we keep our eyes open long enough to also see what Scott Ritter is warning us about now? The US war with Iran has already begun .
I can only shake my head and offer this transcript of Scott Ritter's warning to us March 25, 2003; US Will Lose the Iraq War.

I will also offer a plethora of links in the html conversion I made of the paper titled Dennis Kucinich was Right. He was right, in part, because he listened to Scott Ritter.

For those who don't know, Scott Ritter is a former UNSCOM weapons inspector, a ballistic missile technology expert, who worked in military intelligence during his 12-year career in the U.S. armed forces. He made it clear that Iraq’s weapons capabilities had been dismantled, and that Iraq posed no threat to the United States or its neighbors. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Listen to the Wishes

Tim Boucher has an absolutely wonderful post; To Wish Impossible Things. He connects different forms of linguistic indoctrination with our increasing inability to imagine, our failure to recall how to tap into our intuition, and how we are often unaware when words are redefined in a way that manipulates thought. The collection of quotes in his post are among my favorites, culled from an assortment of people. Imagine six impossible things before breakfast, play with the ideas, listen to the wishes instead of the language. Read his post. Find your own impossibilities.

Tim closes with this:

So maybe words aren’t the answer. Maybe, like psychedelics, what believing impossible things allows us to do is dismantle the words altogether, and get back to the essentially ineffable experience behind it all.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Bush's WMD 'Joke': Is the Media Still Laughing?

It occurred on March 24, 2004. The setting: The 60th annual black-tie dinner of the Radio and Television Correspondents Association (with many print journalists there as guests) at the Hilton. On the menu: surf and turf. Attendance: 1500. The main speaker: President George W. Bush, one year into the Iraq war, with 500 Americans already dead. [ read it all ]

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

When the Boat Sinks, Some Bail

and the water is pouring in...

Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel is angry. He's upset about the more than 1,700 U.S. soldiers killed and nearly 13,000 wounded in Iraq. He's also aggravated by the continued string of sunny assessments (lies*) from the Bush administration, such as Vice President Dick Cheney's recent remark that the insurgency is in its "last throes." "Things aren't getting better; they're getting worse. The White House is completely disconnected from reality," Hagel tells U.S. News. "It's like they're just making it up as they go along. The reality is that we're losing in Iraq." [ more ]

Sometimes jumping ship is the only sane thing to do. Just where is the tipping point?
*my interpretation (but yet another example of Congress being lied to, an impeachable offense) posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

MSNBC Online Poll

Live Vote
Do you believe President Bush misled the nation in order to go to war with Iraq?
* 35570 responses
Yes
94%
No
6%

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

There is absolutely NO way this dude Bush, currently a space holder in the office of the Presidency, will be there for another 3 years. He's toast.
It's time to work on other things and let him crumble with the rest of his house. The only question is, will he resign or will he waste time and money with impeachment proceedings? One would hope he would do the noble thing. Funny how I don't even think he knows which the noble thing is. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

A Shiny Roof of Common Sense Over His Head

Solar Shingles! Click on the pic to see the roofing process. Now I can't wait to see how it all works and the savings Bob sees.
Congrats Bob! It really is inspiring and has been a great education.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Congressmen call for U.S. withdrawal

I saw this a few days ago, but after talking to a few people who hadn't heard, I'm inclined to push it a bit.

The Republican congressman who pushed for "french fries" to be renamed "freedom fries" joined a bipartisan group of House members Thursday to call on President Bush to begin plans for a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq.

...Kucinich said he hoped the proposal would be "the basis for the beginning of the end of the war in Iraq."

"It's right here, and it's happened because four members of Congress put aside any kind of differences that we may have had in the run-up to the war and the conduct of the war, and we're saying this is the way to bring our troops home," Kucinich said.

If they can find common ground and dispose of partisanship in favor of common sense, and humanity. Perhaps it's not too much to hope that citizens hellbent to support Bush 'no matter what' will soon follow. Ya think?

UPDATE: Here's a WAPO article covering the evolution of Rep. Jones titled:
Rep. Jones, Resolving To Follow His Heart
Rising Iraq Toll Moves Republican To Call for Pullout
Can it be? I have to think others have a heart they can listen to also if the background noise becomes too distressing. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Something Completely Different

MORE


Behind the Scenes posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

I found it and had to

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Raw Story: Path of War Timeline

This is exceptional. Raw Story has put together a timeline documenting the path to the Iraq war as it's known so far. I can appreciate how much work went into this because I tried to keep a timeline documenting the missing nuclear material and missing explosives.

This is an evidence gathering resource. I really suggest not just bookmarking, but saving this page. It could be crucial in ushering in our own regime change.

UPDATE: Thanks to Bill for the reminder. There is a great timeline that Benedict was keeping on Cakegate.

UPDATE 2: Fixed the (oops) permalink so the stylesheet is attached. May have to shift/refresh your browser. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Since regime change was illegal it was "necessary to create the conditions" which would make it legal.

Just read it. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

STANDING POINT FILMS - Michigan Based Independent Media Productions

Via Mark Dilley I found this great example of non-violent artistic communication.
An older film, Whatever You Destroy: a former factory and warehouse appropriated by struggling artist as a pirate utopia in a city (Ann Arbor) with encroaching economic development and skyrocketing living costs. In 2003, this space was raided, its inhabitant evicted in the middle of winter, the building sold, bulldozed, and finally burned to the ground in a firestorm the engulfed the city block mysteriously weeks into the demolition process. After the film, the 555 artist collective moved to Ypsilanti (a town bordering Ann Arbor), but once again, their 13,000-sqaure-foot warehouse studio/gallery is set to be demolished to make way for a $100 million urban condo development.

Now, their newer project, Blue Noise. view the trailer
Taking the massive and disastrous water shutoffs in Detroit and Highland Park as launching points, BLUE NOISE critically examines the impact of privatization and globalization on on post-industrial communities. Working closely with diverse grassroots organizations, citizens, and scholars, the film articulates the local (and corresponding global) movement to preserve basic human rights in the war against poverty. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Wired for Solar

Yay! Click on the picture to see how close Bob is to completion with his Solar Project.
I plan to snag another picture from his page a little later this week.


posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

What took Them so Long?

Yep, I'm inpatient. Move On is finally asking for signatures on John Conyers letter. The bar has been raised to 500,000.
Frankly, I'm surprised there aren't already a million signatures. I think the fact that there isn't shows we have more work to do to get the word out. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

What Influences a Meltdown?



Patti Smith is my hero.I don't have many, and women role models are few, but Patti Smith rates at the top for me. In this article she talks about who influenced her.

Meltdown is at the South Bank Centre from June 11 to 26. I wish I could be there.

All this info found at Clea's Cave. Thank you!


posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

R.I.P.

Keith Crandell, 77, Noho activist for social justice, my uncle.
Here is some of his legacy in the pages of The Villager. posted by Andy | link |    | |

Street fighter in the halls of Congress (Metro Times Detroit)

Wonderful article by Jack Lessenberry about John Conyers.
An excerpt, but you simply should go read the whole thing.

Yet while many men mellow as they age, Conyers, if anything, has become more militant. That’s especially notable, given that the political culture has moved far to the right of where it was when he took office.

Many voters and officeholders were proud to be called "liberal" in 1965. Now that term has become such a dirty word that even the liberals don’t use it. If any presidential candidate today proposed trying to wipe out poverty in America, the richest nation in history, they would be laughed out of politics.

Yet it’s acceptable to invade and occupy small weak nations whose governments we don’t like. Our current government did that, giving a justification (Weapons of Mass Destruction!) that long ago was shown to have been wrong, and which now has been exposed as an intentional lie.

John Conyers has been fighting to wake people up about that too, persuading 88 members of Congress to sign a letter to President Bush, asking him to explain the recently discovered memos proving that the United States and Britain secretly decided in 2002 to go to war in Iraq, evidence or no evidence.

That may not be popular now, though I’m betting that it won’t be long before everybody will be pretending to have been against the war in Iraq all along.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Precious Balance

It's spring/summer. I have to get my fingernails dirty. I have to make changes. I have to smile again. Susan has a rant about changes she sees, trends in blogging, joint blog ventures. Her concerns about the pace are solid. I can't keep up with it all now and still remember to do the things for myself that are important.

Precious Balance. (link goes to a wonderful essay by John Nichols)

"If not us, who shall speak for the flowers? If not now, when?"

And yes, as I struggle to extricate myself from yet another pessimistic binge, I inevitably grow eager to speak for the flowers.

"But how to defend the flowers," I asked myself recently, "when I have gotten so out of kilter with all this getting and spending and laying waste of power that I find it almost impossible, even, to speak for yours truly?"

For me to speak for yours truly, I have to make some changes to mousemusings. I want to scream about the political climate, I want to scream at the court for stepping on the medical marijuana issue (more voices here please!), I want to watch as the Downing Street Memo finds its footing and wins the race. I think perhaps there is enough momentum gathering in the blog world that my place in it is to now to simply stay aware and watch.
It's been an interesting trip, watching as small issues become more prominent, IRV, Peak Oil, the reluctance of the main stream media to crush the chains and become journalists.

When I see something that is not getting the attention it deserves, such as HAARP, that Tony is persistently reminding us of, I'll let you know, "This is important folks!"

More now, I think I need to re-invent myself.
Is that what I would be doing?

No, I first had to remember where I was, and who I was, and now I'll let it carry me where it will. I may, however, re-invent mousemusings. I thought spring colors might do it, but it feels too cluttered still.

Expect changes. I'm considering placing my blogrolls on a page unto themselves. It will actually be easier for someone who just wants access to the blogroll because the page will load faster. I will probably run a random selection of blogs, maybe 20, on this page. Who knows, as I'm redecorating I may run across some treasures. This is one of those treasures where Precious Balance can be found. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Computer Claustrophobia

Bill is back. I won't be posting for awhile but you can find a lot to wade through at his place, including the following:

From Ingsoc And Newspeak To Amcap, Amerigood, And Marketspeak

In the increasingly inegalitarian system that prevails, Amcap, Amerigood and Marketspeak are flourishing and have a more important role to play than ever. They have been doing their job—"largely the defense of the indefensible" as Orwell put it—with a sophistication and effectiveness that Ingsoc could never command. Their innovations in language are continuous, filling all emerging propaganda gaps. At home, a law encroaching on civil liberties is called a "Patriot Act;" laws that free the weak and poor from their "entitlements" by pushing them into the labor market are referred to as "reform" and "empowerment," and they are said to reflect "tough love" of the suffering Proles. In military and foreign policy, a government agency openly designed to disseminate disinformation is entitled "Office of Strategic Influence;" missiles are "Peacekeepers," and military alliances are "Partnerships for Peace." The appeasement of amenable state terrorists (Mobutu, Suharto, the governments of apartheid South Africa) is called "constructive engagement"; civilian deaths from the "humanitarian bombing" of "rogue states" is "collateral damage."

Here is a site to have fun with while I'm away.
UPDATE: Michael at Spontaneous Arising just left me speechless. (If I could be left more speechless than I was already) He says it all so well. Read daily and listen.

If anyone is inclined to update mousemusings for awhile, let me know. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Do Something

By Dick Freely posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

A Blank Screen

Bob found this list of movies considered prerequisites for USC incoming Film/TV grad students.

I swear, I just don't belong in this world. I feel absolutely stupid. Anyone who knows me knows I am film illiterate but sheesh! I just can't get into watching movies alone. I have no other excuse. My tally is below. (The full list has around 200 prerequisites. It doesn't even scratch the surface. That's shallow. And you're reading this blog? I don't know jack. Move along.

MOVIES:
Being John Malkovich
Blade Runner
Bonnie and Clyde
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Carrie
Citizen Kane
Five Easy Pieces
Godfather, The (I & II)
Gone With the Wind
Graduate, The
Jaws
Matrix, The
Midnight Cowboy
Network
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Patton
Pulp Fiction
Seven Samurai
Silence of the Lambs
Star Wars
2001 - A Space Odyssey
Wizard of Oz, The


DOCUMENTARIES:
Gimme Shelter
The War Room
Don't Look Back
What the Bleep do we know?
Control Room

TV [available to Rent]
All in the Family
MASH
The Wonder Years posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Waking the Wimps?



Kerry's waking up: (let's just hope he doesn't nod back off)

Not that you'll be able to get to the page because their server seems to be dragging, a good sign that people are interested, but here are just a few sentences of the interest Kerry is showing regarding the Downing Street Memos...

Sen. Kerry puzzled over the apparent lack of interest by Americans in the Iraq war and the near silence in the U.S. mass media about the so-called Downing Street Memo.
That leaked secret document, the minutes of a 2002 cabinet meeting of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, says bluntly that Mr. Bush had decided to attack Iraq long before going to Congress with the matter, and that "intelligence was being fixed around the policy."
It caused an uproar in Great Britain and badly hurt Mr. Blair in national elections but went almost unnoticed in the United States.
"When I go back (to Washington) on Monday, I am going to raise the issue," he said of the memo, which has not been disputed by either the British or American governments. "I think it's a stunning, unbelievably simple and understandable statement of the truth and a profoundly important document that raises stunning issues here at home. And it's amazing to me the way it escaped major media discussion. It's not being missed on the Internet, I can tell you that."

BBA posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Mitten state mythologists

Great Lakes Myth Society

Sea shanteys, Iron Maiden, and literate tales of Michigan living? You bet. And it could be the best record you hear all year.

It’s almost as if some "Yes, Michigan!" folks went haywire and recorded an album that the Decemberists could only wish they had. There’s real sensitivity and depth.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |