FactCheck: No, Alaska doesn't deny federal stimulus help. (Nov 2009)

The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is seeking applications from organizations under the Recovery Act Local Youth Mentoring Initiative. Does your organization or ministry qualify? Read the guidelines here.

http://www.urbanministry.org/recovery-act-grant-available-mentoring-programs





So, Mrs. Palin recognizes that Wall Street in no way is going to improve the circumstances for the citizens of Alaska, but, yet she disses the President for rescuing the country from certain collapse.

The RNC - The Rhetorical National Committee

No effective policies, tons and tons of moral turpitude, but, they are a party to contend with.  Really?

$19.7 million through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund to address the
backlog of drinking water infrastructure needs

$23.8 million through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund to address the
backlog of clean water infrastructure needs

$175.5 million in Highway Funding to be used on activities eligible under the
Federal-aid Highway Program’s Surface Transportation Program and could also include
rail and port infrastructure activities at the discretion of the states

$41.6 million in Transit Formula Funding for investments in mass transit

$3.3 million through the Public Housing Capital Fund to enable local public
housing agencies to address a national $32 billion backlog in capital needs – especially
those improving energy efficiency in aging developments – in this critical element of the
nation’s affordable housing infrastructure

$4.3 million in HOME Funding to enable state and local government, in partnership
with community-based organizations, to acquire, construct, and rehabilitate affordable
housing and provide rental assistance to poor families

$1.9 million through the Homelessness Prevention Fund to be used for
prevention activities, which include: short or medium-term rental assistance, first and
last month’s rental payment, or utility payments. As such, most of this funding will go
directly into the economy of local communities, as the funds will be used to pay housing
and other associated costs in the private market

$33 million for Special Education Part B State Grants to help improve
educational outcomes for individuals with disabilities, raising the federal contribution to
nearly 40 percent, the level established when the law was authorized more than 30 years
ago

$3.1 million in education technology funds to purchase up-to-date computers and
software and provide professional

$41.1 million for Title I Education for the Disadvantaged to help close the
achievement gap and enable disadvantaged students to reach their potential

$4.3 million in State Employment Service Grants to match unemployed
individuals to job openings through state employment service agencies and allow Alaska
to provide customized reemployment services

$3.3 million in Dislocated Workers State Grants, particularly for grants that
support immediate strategies for regions and communities to meet their need for skilled
workers, as well as longer-term plans to build targeted industry clusters with better
training and a more productive workforce

$1.7 million for Department of Labor’s Adult State Grants

$4 million for Department of Labor’s Youth State Grants

$1.6 million for Vocational Rehabilitation to help individuals with disabilities
prepare for and sustain gainful employment

$28.6 million through the State Energy Program

$18.5 million through the Weatherization Assistance Program

$153,090 for National School Lunch Program Equipment Assistance

$236,572 through the Emergency Food Assistance Program

$44.8 million in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits
(formerly Food Stamps)

$254,764 for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program, which provides grants to
nonprofit and faith-based organizations at the local level to supplement their programs
for emergency food and shelter to provide for the immediate needs of the homeless

$4 million in Child Care and Development Block Grants to provide quality child
care services for in low-income families who increasingly are unable to afford the high
cost of day care

$1.3 million for Head Start to allow additional children to participate in this program,
which provides development, educational, health, nutritional, social and other activities
that prepare children to succeed in school

$3.7 million in Community Services Block Grants to local community action
agencies for services to the growing numbers of low-income families hurt by the
economic crisis, such as housing and mortgage counseling, jobs skills training, food
pantry assistance, as well as benefits outreach and enrollment

$500,000 for Senior Meals Programs to help senior meals programs cope with
steep increases in food and fuel costs. Many programs are reducing meal deliveries to
seniors or closing meal sites

$9.6 million in Byrne/JAG grants to support law enforcement efforts

$ 223,984for crime victims compensation and assistance

$484,330 in Internet Crimes Against Children Grants to help law enforcement
agencies enhance their investigative response to offenders who use the Internet, online
communication systems, or other computer technology to sexually exploit children

$870,590 in Violence Against Women Grants for victim services programs to
improve the criminal justice system’s response to violent crimes against women and to
assist victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking who are
in need of transitional housing, short-term housing assistance, and related support
services

FactCheck: Praised Bush $700B bailout; opposed Obama's $787B. (Nov 2009)

...Since its inception the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has provided important financing to small, rural communities in South Dakota and across the nation through USDA Rural Development programs totaling $75.8 million. Without USDA Rural Development's assistance, these small, rural communities would not be able to afford this infrastructure....(click title to entry - thank you)

Her husband is a fisherman.  Fishermen are small businesses.  Yet, there is no support for small business anywhere in the T.A.R.P. funds, but, there are provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Does this make sense? 

Mrs. Palin doesn't seem to 'get it.'  There are many things Mrs. Palin doesn't seem to 'get.' 

So, Sarah is all about Wall Street.  

In being a rhetorical Right Wing Republican she throws any and all responsibility to a huge entity that is too big to fail, hence, dooming the American people to nothing short of plutocracy.  She believes the USA Treasury is suppose to exist to support wars and Wall Street.

Every place one looks to understand why the Republicans insist on 'rhetoric' rather than policy it equates to 'dummying down' the electorate to be able to control the outcomes.  There is no other reason.  In that understanding, lies the 'esteem' to which the Republicans value the electorate.  The USA electorate to any Republican is nothing ore than chattel to the plutocracy.

The Prawn Broker Restaurant Group

http://www.prawnbroker.com/

...The Washington, D.C.-based conservation group Oceana has said officials need to determine what is killing the turtles quickly. Some experts have speculated they may have eaten fish contaminated by the oil spill.

"It's a good question," BP spokesman Steve Rinehart said. "Is the oil killing these turtles or not?"...

 http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/05/shrimpers_being_investigated_i.html

Who's side is Palin on anyway?  The side of the people that treat her like a Super Star or the companies that practice their businesses with abandon at the cost of the citizens of this country?

Opposes embryonic stem cell research. (Aug 2008)

...Parents who carry the gene, or who have family histories of the disease, can use PGD (preimplantation genetic diagnosis) to avoid having an affected child. A separate analysis identifies a group of different diseases caused by the wrong chromosome number, such as Down's syndrome, or abnormalities that lead to miscarriage. PGD has emerged as a tool for parents whose only other option would be to test abnormalities during fetal development. In most cases, PGD enables the family to avoid the difficult decision of whether or not to end a late stage pregnancy....

http://www.pgdcenter.com/

Why would any rational woman ever attempt to disrupt science that would enhance opportunities for parenting and the best of child outcomes?

Someone want to explain that?  Probably not.  The Right Wing will state, "I oppose stem cell research," but, in the same breath advocate Pro Life on any terms.

These messages are compartmentalized to carry a political rhetoric with potential to actually do harm to children.  

Mr. and Mrs. Palin understand what it is to raise a child with Down's Syndrome.  I do not criticize them for giving birth to a child with a disorder.  BUT, why do these people 'of means' actually advocate the end of the one branch of science that can make Down's Syndrome obsolete.

Today in the year 2010, any couple can afford genetic counseling at some level to detect any potential for birth defects or an unsuccessful pregnancy.  Does the American family have to continue to live in the Medieval Ages when women were chattel and children 'an unpredictable arrival?'  Do we?  Either we recognize this antiquated political agenda for what it is, or we doom our children to the unkindness of political rhetoric.

 

Where do these Right Wing ideas come from in regard to 'acceptable moral social content' regarding aggression and violence?

While mayor, Wasilla charged rape victims for rape kits. (Sep 2008) 

A rape kit is a tool of law enforcement.  It is absolutely necessary for the conviction of a rapist.  To demand a woman, THE VICTIM, to be responsible for the cost of a Rape Kit is detrimental to the woman, the police, the prosecutor and THE LAW.  

I mean, why not just let the rapist walk, okay?  A rape kit is NOT a medical treatment and quite frankly even if it was, the 'Victim Witness Law' of most states would cover it and the therapy for recovery after the crime was committed. 

Moral Turpitude is the basis of Ethic Standards

A phrase used in criminal law to describe conduct that is considered contrary to community standards of justice, honesty, or good morals.

Crimes involving moral turpitude have an inherent quality of baseness, vileness, or depravity with respect to a person's duty to another or to society in general. Examples include rape, forgery, robbery, and solicitation by prostitutes.

Many jurisdictions impose penalties, such as deportation of aliens and disbarment of attorneys, following convictions of crimes involving moral turpitude.

It's Saturday Night

"Under my Thumb" by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards

Under my thumb
The girl who once had me down
Under my thumb
The girl who once pushed me around

 

It's down to me
The difference in the clothes she wears
Down to me, the change has come,
She's under my thumb

 

Ain't it the truth babe?

 

Under my thumb
The squirmin' dog who's just had her day
Under my thumb
A girl who has just changed her ways

 

It's down to me, yes it is
The way she does just what she's told
Down to me, the change has come
She's under my thumb
Ah, ah, say it's alright

 

Under my thumb
A siamese cat of a girl
Under my thumb
She's the sweetest, hmmm, pet in the world

 

It's down to me
The way she talks when she's spoken to
Down to me, the change has come,
She's under my thumb
Ah, take it easy babe
Yeah

 

It's down to me, oh yeah
The way she talks when she's spoken to
Down to me, the change has come,
She's under my thumb
Yeah, it feels alright

 

Under my thumb
Her eyes are just kept to herself
Under my thumb, well I
I can still look at someone else

 

It's down to me, oh that's what I said
The way she talks when she's spoken to
Down to me, the change has come,
She's under my thumb
Say, it's alright.

 

Say it's all...
Say it's all...

 

Take it easy babe
Take it easy babe
Feels alright
Take it, take it easy babe.

Report: Mud safety barrier was removed before well was plugged

Tuesday, April 11

10 a.m.: Hearing on the Deepwater Horizon oil-rig accident, at the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. 

 

2:30 p.m.: BP PLC /quotes/comstock/13*!bp/quotes/nls/bp (BP 49.06, -1.27, -2.53%) /quotes/comstock/13*!rig/quotes/nls/rig (RIG 68.01, -1.69, -2.42%) America Chairman and President Lamar McKay, Transocean Ltd. President and Chief Executive Steven Newman and others testify on the Gulf oil spill's environmental impacts, at the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. 

 

Wednesday, April 12 

10 a.m.: Hearing on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, at the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. 

May 07, 2010  (click title to entry - thank you)

...In order to properly cap a well, drillers rely on three lines of defense to protect themselves from an explosive blowout: a column of heavy mud in the well itself and in the drilling riser that runs up to the rig; at least two cement plugs that fit in the well with a column of mud between them; and a blowout preventer that is supposed to seal the well if the mud and plugs all fail.
In the case of the Deepwater Horizon, Scott Bickford, a lawyer for a rig worker who survived the explosions, said the mud was being extracted from the riser before the top cement cap was in place, and a statement by cementing contractor Halliburton confirmed the top cap was not installed.
If all of the mud had still been present, it would have helped push back against the gas burping up toward the rig, though it might not have held it back indefinitely....

This is only part of the picture.  There is a lot more wrong than that. 

The way we think about our natural resources has to change.  The fisheries have to come first.  Without a food supply the nation is in ruins.  That priority has to take precedent over any Wall Street idea of fun.


Norway has a strong cultural fishing influence for its people's existence.  While the waters off Norway, and realizing they still value whaling, are very different than any of the characteristics of the Gulf of Mexico, it has a way of thinking about its natural resources that sets priorities to put fisheries first.

We are not Norway, but, we are a people that need protection from exploitation of our natural world and natural resources.

The precautionary principle (section 9)

 

In other words, if there aren't guarantees to the citizens of the USA to insure their livelihoods, then there is no green light to the Petroleum Industry ! 

 

Basically, NOT  ONE  MORE  OIL  CONTAMINATION of the USA fisheries and shorelines.  

 

NOT ONE.  

 

Leases get pulled and NEVER reinstated to any company or any 'relative/subsidiary/reorganization' of any company. 

 

When a decision is made in the absence of adequate information on the impacts it may have on the natural environment, the aim shall be to avoid possible significant damage to biological, geological or landscape diversity. If there is a risk of serious or irreversible damage to such diversity, lack of knowledge shall not be used as a reason for postponing or not introducing management measures.

We now know that 'lack of knowledge' is a huge issue and one of national security !  Lack of knowledge is substandard to any policy !

The principle that cumulative environmental effects must be assessed (section 10)

 

Any pressure on an ecosystem shall be assessed on the basis of the cumulative environmental effects on the ecosystem now or in the future.

 http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/md/documents-and-publications/government-propositions-and-reports-/Reports-to-the-Storting-white-papers-2/2008-2009/report-no-37-2008-2009-to-the-storting/7.html?id=577947

DO NOT remove the tether from the BP Concrete Oil Containment Structure.

There is entire process that has to take place to 'realign' successful access to that drill site in order to permanently secure this mess if this is to go forward under a lease from the USA.

The concrete structure is currently covered in oil and sea water and sediment and has to withstand huge psi.  It would not take much even in the way of 'wave dynamics' to upset the structure and it will become unrecoverable.

A permanent tether to maintain its underwater stability will have to remain in order to secure it at all.  A special ship will have to remain permanently in place in order to have the structure survive any process of storms and hurricanes.

A positioning system, supported by 12 powerful thrusters, uses computers to maintain the ship over a specific location while drilling in water depths up to 8,200 meters (5 miles). The ship can suspend as much as 9,150 meters of pipe to obtain core samples. The 400-ton heave compensator keeps the drill string stable relative to the ocean floor.

JOIDES Resolution Tour: JOIDES Resolution  (click title to entry - thank you)

 

http://www-odp.tamu.edu/public/onboardJOIDES.html

The Joides Resolution is a special ship with powerful positioning engines that will maintain a GPS locatiion to support a 'sediment' drilling operation for taking core samples.  This type of positioning capacity will maintain a tether without disrupting its stability.

These ships have incredible capacity for stability in any hurricane.  I doubt it would survive a Cat 4, but, Oceanography experts at the University of Rhode Island would have all the information the USA Navy and Coast Guard would need.

I would advocate the USA Navy be in contact with the Oceanography Department at the University of Rhode Island.and ask for their guidance in regard to this project.  They are among the best in the world.

If this structure works it cannot be 'at risk' for disruption for any reason.  Thank you.

Obama oil response: aggressive as crisis unfolded

By H. JOSEF HEBERT AND ERICA WERNER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITERS

WASHINGTON -- It was a two-day trip to the Midwest to talk about jobs and clean energy. President Barack Obama didn't mention the drama unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico, where oil was gushing from a broken well pipe a mile beneath the sea.

The situation hadn't become a priority. Soon it would.

On the return to Washington aboard Air Force One, Obama learned the spill had become more worrisome. A third break was discovered at the destroyed well pipe on the ocean floor 40 miles from Louisiana's precious coastal marshes. Federal scientists believed at least 5,000 barrels of oil a day were being released - five times more than original estimates....

http://www.seattlepi.com/national/1151ap_us_gulf_oil_spill_obamas_response.html

Joking !  Right?  

You mean the discovery of methane went along with the rupture into Earth to find 'the gusher.'  

This was new?  

No.  

This is what 'goes on' with the Petroleum Industry and why the bozos have no control of the BEST outcome for fisheries.

"Gee whiz, boss, we hit a methane bubble."  As if they weren't cheering because they did.

The question is not that they hit a methane bubble, it is WHY they cannot control the outcome of such an event that cost lives, livelihoods and an entire economy of the Gulf Coast of the USA.  THAT is the question.  This 'report' is nothing.  It simply states the obvious and does not seek to answer the real issue as to why this industry lacks insight into its own faults.

This cannot be allowed to continue!

Deepwater Horizon blast triggered by methane bubble, report shows

Investigation reveals accident on Gulf of Mexico rig was caused when gas escaped from oil well before exploding

guardian.co.uk, Saturday 8 May 2010 13.36 BST  

David Batty and agencies 

...A report into last month's blast said the gas escaped from the oil well and shot up the drill column, expanding quickly as it burst through several seals and barriers before exploding.

The sequence of events, described in the interviews with rig workers, provides the most detailed account of the blast that killed 11 workers and led to more than 3 million gallons of crude oil pouring into the Gulf.

Segments of the interviews conducted during BP's internal investigation were described in detail to the Associated Press by Robert Bea, a University of California Berkeley engineering professor who serves on a National Academy of Engineering panel on oil pipeline safety. He also worked for BP as a risk assessment consultant during the 1990s. He received the details from industry friends seeking his expert opinion....

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/may/08/deepwater-horizon-blast-methane-bubble


...Injured workers and families of the 11 individuals missing and presumed dead after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and then sank have filed personal injury or wrongful death suits. Shrimpers, charter fishing boats and others who engage in business along the Gulf Coast have filed individual suits or class actions in which they allege damages to their livelihoods... 

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202457882495&Gulf_Coast_Oil_Rig_Disaster_Sets_Off_Gusher_of_Work_for_Attorneys

A little late to the party. As of October 2009, there was an alliance of Southeast States to preserve and protect the natural harmony of the coastal communities.

I can't wait for the Petroleum Industry to take on the Challenger Deep.

Ultra Deepwater Drillship, designed for exploration and development drilling in excess of 40,000 ft RKB, operating in water depth up to 12,000 ft. (2010)

http://www.prideinternational.com/fw/main/Deep-Ocean-Ascension-3C72.html

Atlantic Alliance: The Next Generation Tension Leg Platform

http://www.onepetro.org/mslib/servlet/onepetropreview?id=OTC-8264-MS&soc=OTC

This citation above is an old document, but, it paints a picture.

Below is a link to global oil fields.  They have PSI ratings.  That is not a good thing.

List of Fixed Platform Projects used in Subsea Oil and Natural Gas Fields

http://www.subsea.org/projects/allbytopside.asp?qTop=Fixed+Platform

And it wasn't about oil !

It might have that appearance to some extent, but, the offshore bonanza is no longer a viable option for any economy.  The deepwater environment is too extreme to protect the coastal economies. 

I don't see the USA Navy and Coast Guard as an arm of the Petroleum Industry.

Gov. Sonny Perdue-GA: “Georgia’s coast is renowned for its extraordinary natural and cultural resources, deepwater ports and military assets. The South Atlantic Alliance provides a unique opportunity to collaborate with our neighboring states on mutual priority issues that are vital to sustaining our rich coastal heritage while growing a vibrant economy.” 

Governors of four Southeastern states announced today an agreement (click title to entry - thank you) to work together to better manage and protect ocean and coastal resources, ensure regional economic sustainability and respond to disasters such as hurricanes.

The agreement establishes an alliance among North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and Georgia. The South Atlantic Alliance will leverage resources from each state to protect and maintain healthy coastal ecosystems, keep waterfronts working, enhance clean ocean and coastal waters and help make communities more resilient after they’ve been struck by natural disasters....

Why do citizens of the USA have a far better economy without offshore oil?

Rig had history of spills, fires before big 1 (click title to entry - thank you) 

By FRANK JORDANS and GARANCE BURKE, Associated Press Writers Frank Jordans And Garance Burke, Associated Press Writers – Fri Apr 30, 6:07 pm ET

During its nine years at sea, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig operated by BP suffered a series of spills, fires — even a collision — because of equipment failure, human error and bad weather. It also drilled the world's deepest offshore well....

Think tourism and local economy.  Bye, bye Wall Street !  

Just as a side note, did everyone watch Paulson's testimony?  It was a joke.  Complete absolute joke.  

Geithner stated, "We need to create better shock absorbers for the USA financial system."  Timothy is finally getting the right idea.  He went on to say, "We don't know if the next shock to the USA economy will be worse."  

Get over it, there is no million dollar lottery everyday on the exchanges.  These are suppose to be valuable companies that deliver valuable commodities, not dreamscapes to wealth.  The current 'exchanges' have become 'a game of chance' on every venue.  That isn't what it is suppose to be nor should it continue.

The value systems of the USA, both citizen and government, have become corrupted with a MIND SET regarding corporations and their over bearing influence in the USA economy and political structure.  There is even Constitutional Rights for Corporations that far outweigh any citizen rights by the sheer fact a citizen cannot run a hugely funded campaign against corporate interests in any election.  The USA government, judicial and political system is completely corrupted by the value system that has cost the citizens of Louisiana their economy.

The issue with Alaska's Northwest Coast is a stark example of the complete abandon that has been exercised in regard to CORPORATE rights to profit over the best interest of citizens !!!

A citizen's economy is grossly different and far more PRUDENT and DIVERSE than any corporation could provide.

Alaska's Important Bird Areas and Chukchi Sea oil

The federal government announced this week that it would sell petroleum leases in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska’s northwest coast on February 6.

The Northern Alaska Environment Center, the Center for Biological Diversity, the World Wildlife Fund, and other conservation organizations immediately condemned the sale. And with good reason.... 

http://bwfov.typepad.com/birders_world_field_of_vi/2008/01/alaskas-importa.html

Because life goes on everyday without interruption as to the egregious nature of the Petroleum Industry.  There is a stable and vibrant tax base that delivers services without interruption.

The people of the USA have become 'idealized' by Wall Street and its INDUSTRIES.  The citizens of the USA grew highly concerned and overwhelmingly involved in shooting themselves in the foot during the banking crisis of 2008.  The USA government(S) have forgotten what it is like to have an economy without these huge corporations and it is unfortunate.

Citizens and their government actually believe there is no life without Wall Street and the Petroleum Industry.  The fact of the matter is there is more life and more income and more reliable economy when industries no longer carry such liabilities on all fronts of 'quality of life.'

The Chukchi Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) is characterized by its Sub-Arctic climate. It is a high-latitude marine region situated off of Russia’s East Siberian coast and the Northwestern coast of Alaska (USA). Pacific waters enter this Arctic LME via the Bering Strait. The LME is characterized by its extreme environment, and by major seasonal and annual changes in ocean climate. The region is driven by climatic conditions and by the annual formation and deformation of sea ice. Sea ice dynamics help explain the productivity of the region. An LME book chapter pertaining to this LME is Carleton Ray and Hayden, 1993, which describes marine biogeographic provinces of the Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort Seas.

Productivity 

 The LME is relatively shallow with an extensive continental shelf. The coastline has many islands, shallow bays, gulfs and inlets. The ice-cover varies considerably during the year and inter-annually. Annual formation of sea icetemperature influence the distribution, growth and recruitment of the major fish species and other living marine resources. The Chukchi Sea LME is considered a Class II, moderately high (150-300 grams of Carbon per square meter per year (gC/m²-yr)) productivity ecosystem based on SeaWiFS global primary productivity estimates. An important question is how this productivity might change under an altered climatic regime.

http://www.eoearth.org/article/Chukchi_Sea_large_marine_ecosystem

The implications of the Petroleum Industry beyond the ability of the people to control it is out of the question.  What started out as a finite industry many decades ago has become a blight on this country and Earth itself.  The Petroleum Industry is a self feeding negative environmental loop industry.  The more they are allowed to exploit natural resources the more the economy suffers.  This finite industry has a strong hold on economies both domestic and globally and it is completely detrimental with human impacts that bring entire ice oceans to resolve to water and vapor.  To continue in this manner with the notedly extreme practices now 'in play' by this industry is insane.

...NOAA statistics on Alaska in “Our Living Oceans” apply to all of Alaska, without a specific statistical breakdown for the US section of the Chukchi Sea LME. Key marine species are salmon, herring, walrus, seals, whales, and various species of waterfowl...

The concrete structure currently deployed in the Gulf of Mexico is the 'cutting edge' of future oil ventures globally.  The 'standard' equipment used in oil exploration and drilling cannot DELIVER the goods at depths below 2500 feet.  Therefore, the industry is turning to Halliburton concrete to 'fashion' the ability to go where no oil drill bit should ever go!

The concrete oil capture device in the Gulf of Mexico is actually NOT a 'recovery structure,' nor was it engineered for this emergency.  

Does anyone actually believe that concrete and metal structure was assembled specifically for the purpose of 'saving the Louisiana coastal economy?'  You actually believe that BP is heroically trying to save the USA coastal economy?  


Think again.  

The concrete structure being attempted as a method to 'stem' the oil that is now surfacing is 'state of the art' for 5000 feet down.  There is an entire division of Halliburton devoted to such structures as if it were a real answer to oil energy dependence.  


I don't think so !

It is time to stop this incidious industry, its 'stroking' of the citizens of any country into pliable servants. its CHRONIC contribution of carbon dioxide to the troposphere in a 'certain planet death scenario'  and it is time to move on to sincere State of the Art energy and transportation.


Enough !

...The Chukchi Sea LME is bordered by Russia and the USA. Local communities are adjusting their economies to climate change. Any consultative framework to manage the LME’s marine resources will require attention to the culture and economy of indigenous peoples. The change in their economic prospects poses a threat, while it also provides a vital opportunity for discussion of their concerns and for more involvement in the decision-making process. Stakeholders in this LME include the Inuit Circumpolar Conference and the Council of Elders of the Chukchi of Arctic Russia...

Oil spill has washed up on the western side of North Island, the northernmost sliver of the Chandeleur and Breton Island Chain.

OIL FINALY COMES ASHORE ON CHANDELEUR ISLANDS

Friday, May 07, 2010

By Mark Schleifstein

Staff writer

Orange-colored oil from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has washed up on the western side of North Island, the northernmost sliver of the Chandeleur and Breton Island chain, and officials with BP and federal and state agency say they have drafted a strategy to begin cleaning it up.

"On a small section of the northernmost island, we could see a pretty significant buildup of oil," said Times-Picayune photographer John McCusker, after an aerial tour of the spill on Thursday. "It's not inundated, but oil has definitely reached the island."

Oil was spotted at several other locations along the curved sand archipelago on Wednesday by two teams of scientists who flew over the area, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association scientist Jacqui Michel told reporters during a teleconference Thursday afternoon.

We should be grateful for mud evidently.  I would prefer to be grateful for fish !!!!!

Safety fluid removed before rig exploded

Mud may have slowed gas from racing up to platform

Friday, May 07, 2010

By David Hammer

and Dan Shea%%par%%Staff writers

The investigation into what went wrong when the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded April 20 and started spilling millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico is sure to find several engineering failures, from cement seals that didn't hold back a powerful gas bubble to a 450-ton, 40-foot-tall blowout preventer, a stack of metal valves and pistons that each failed to close off the well.
There was, however, a simpler protection against the disaster: mud. An attorney for an eyewitness says oil giant BP and the owner of the drilling platform, Switzerland-based Transocean Ltd., started to remove a mud barrier before a final cement plug was installed, a move industry experts say weakens control of the well in an emergency.
When the explosion occurred, BP was trying to seal off an exploratory well. The company had succeeded in tapping into a reservoir of oil, and it was capping the well so it could leave and set up more permanent operations to extract its riches.

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-14/1273214445121340.xml&coll=1

This better work, otherwise, BP needs to get out of the way and drastic action should be taken !!!  The USA cannot allow this to continue past any more reasonable outcomes by BP.  This is outrageous enough right now to think the citizens have been made to suffer for this company's attempt at continued profitability.

Dome may start catching oil from one leak Monday

But that would be a best-case scenario, officials warn

Thursday, May 06, 2010

By Rebecca Mowbray

Business writer

If all goes well, on Monday BP will begin capturing oil in a containment system and pumping it up to a drill ship to limit the amount of new oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico.
But there are a lot of steps to take between now and then, and both BP and the Coast Guard took great pains to manage expectations Wednesday about the prospects for sealing the leaks from an offshore BP well that exploded April 20.
"I know we are all hoping that this containment system will work, but we have to remember that this containment system is the first of its kind in 5,000 feet of water. I wanted to manage expectations," Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry said in a conference call Wednesday afternoon.

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-14/1273127534318310.xml&coll=1

Spill confuses summer vacation plans

Some locals afraid to book in advance

Thursday, May 06, 2010

By Katy Reckdahl

Staff writer

Jim Johnson of Slidell has five days to cancel his family's weeklong vacation on Navarre Beach, Florida.
"If you had a vacation that began on June 12, what would you do?," he asked, agonizing about whether to cancel his condominium reservations because of the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. He'll only lose 10 percent of his reservation cost if he cancels more than 30 days in advance. After that, he'll be on the hook for all of the lodging costs.
On Wednesday, Johnson called the real-estate agency that rented him the condo and said, "I guess you know why I'm calling." He was told only that the agency was sticking with its cancellation policy but that if the government closed the beach, he would be get a refund.

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-14/1273127591318310.xml&coll=1

Landrieu is a danger to her own constituency.  BP money must line the pockets well !  When a plane falls out of the sky it doesn't wipe out the living of fisherman along the Gulf Coast.  

No analogy.  

None!  

Not even close !  

The delegation from Louisiana needs a huge reality check.  

What to go for a swim Mary?  I know just the place.  

Maybe a little seafood and endangered turtle ribs?  What do you say?

....The federal government should proceed with investigations into the rig accident but should stop short of shutting down future harvesting of the oil fields beneath the waters, members said.
“It’s appropriate to put up some yellow lights, not red lights,” said Democratic U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana.
Landrieu has caught some national flak for a speech she made last week on the U.S. Senate floor that critics said minimized the catastrophe. The nation uses 21 million barrels of oil a day and the leak is 5,000 barrels a day, Landrieu said.
Popular television show host Jon Stewart repeatedly showed snippets of speeches that Landrieu gave supporting the oil industry. Landrieu stood by her comments Wednesday, noting that at least 1,000 wells exist in the gulf.
“When a plane falls out of the sky, you don’t ground every airplane,” Landrieu said.
Republican U.S. Rep. Rodney Alexander of Quitman agreed....

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/92934639.html

I have to admit though, Mary knows how to work a crowd.  She is calling for a payoff for fisherman to exonerate the tragedy from effecting oil drilling offshore.  That should shut them up, huh?

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Landrieu renews call for BP to issue aid package to commerical fisherman

...“Gulf Coast commercial fishermen are in desperate need of immediate and direct assistance from BP,” Sen. Landrieu said. “I have urged BP officials to honor the fact that this unprecedented disaster has, at least temporarily, put many of our fishermen, shrimpers and oystermen out of business. What these fishermen need is a financial support package from BP to help pay their bills and provide for their families, as we learn more about the environmental damage caused by this oil spill. I have every reason to believe that BP is willing to step up and assist these families and businesses, and that support must continue so long as their livelihoods are being affected by this disaster.”...

http://www.shreveport.thedailyyou.com/news/2010/may/06/bp-fisherman-louisiana-oil/

Influence Peddling. I demand the Obama Administration release the entire proceedings surrounding the National Energy Policy !

The proceeding of the National Energy Policy of 2001 was unreachable from the public because of Executive Privilege.  Richard Cheney is no longer in office and the proceedings need to be released to the public to determine what needs to be done to discern the best policies regarding the Petroleum Industry's future in the USA.  I demand the proceedings be released for the public to know where it all went wrong and why the Petroleum Industry was allowed to act no differently than that ungainly investment banks in 'self governance' at the expense of the citizens of this USA!

There cannot be effective energy policy and/or climate policy without the complete disclosure of the proceedings that lead to this irresponsible document and policy.

The citizens of the USA are paying the price on every venue for the polices of the previous administration.  We demand full disclosure.  There are no secrets within these proceedings that will compromise any national security issue.  For anyone to state that and delay the disclosure that will save lives and livelihoods in the USA is nothing but corruption.

I demand hearings regarding this continually unfolding disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and I demand to know what occurred on that rig that cost 11 people their lives and the entire nation, potentially the globe, the worst environmental disaster in the history of Earth.  

I demand any international interests in the USA to demand disclosure to learn what was done in what may be an incident that will taint international waters and international fisheries.

Nidal Hasan is NOT an issue of political correctness.

The political Right Wing of the USA lacks moral content while they try to justify their existence.

In an attempt to make a case for irrational control over violence in the USA post September 11th, I heard about the most ridiculous argument I ever heard yesterday.  Supposedly, 'profiling' is appropriate in the USA and any avoidance of same is practicing political correctness.


Is there anyway the Republican Right can take these issues seriously rather than seeking to generalize them to exploit them for political purposes?  

The Republicans are real comfortable profiling everyone other than White Supremacists.  Why is that?   Elizabeth Cheney will jump to their defense in a heart beat and call the 'killers among them' NUT CASES.  Are the Republicans somehow all decendents of David Duke or something?

Just as a point of reference Fareed Zakaria is a Muslim.  Should we racial profile him?  Let's all put Fareed in a concentration camp until we know his REAL intent.  What do you say?

ABOUT: Fareed Zakaria

http://www.fareedzakaria.com/about.html

Sound like a solution?  Huh?  I didn't think so.

KILLEEN — Fort Hood officials said they are increasing security at the on-post courthouse that will house an upcoming hearing related to the court-martial of Maj. Nidal Hasan, who faces 13 counts of premeditated murder in the Nov. 5 shootings at the post...

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/fort-hood-officials-ramping-up-security-for-hasan-673163.html

05/06/2010 08:56 AM

Fort Hood moving forward 6 months after shooting

By: Chie Saito

...In the wake of the shooting, Fort Hood launched a multi-phase behavioral health campaign in order to monitor individuals immediately affected by the shooting, as well as to ensure behavioral health needs are met in the future....

http://news8austin.com/content/headlines/270824/fort-hood-moving-forward-6-months-after-shooting

Army indicates it will seek death in Ft. Hood case

By ANGELA K. BROWN (AP) – Apr 28, 2010

FORT WORTH, Texas — Military prosecutors have sent a notice indicating they plan to seek the death penalty against the Army psychiatrist charged in the deadly Fort Hood shooting.
That's according to defense attorney John Galligan, who says he received the notice Wednesday outlining an aggravating factor — that more than one person was killed in the same incident. Military law experts say that's the Army's way of saying they plan to seek the death penalty.
If military jurors were to convict Maj. Nidal Hasan, they could sentence him to death only if they found that there was an aggravating factor in the case.
Hasan is accused of opening fire at the post on Nov. 5, killing 13 and wounding dozens. Hasan is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder, which carries the death penalty.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ihGepAkECGoDagETVBMpPb3w7Y3gD9FCAO600

Well, here we are again.  Northern Waziristan and Yemen.  I think we know where the remnants of al Qaeda leadership is.  I think we are getting closer to understand their methodology and the populous of Muslims that are in danger of being radicalized.  Does the USA military have any 'wisdom' to the cultural safeguards for these folks that need to be implemented so they don't 'drop off the deep end' in a stressful economic environment?  The President might be interested in knowing the DOD's recommendations.  The internet connections to Yemen and this Cleric need to be interrupted and that is just the beginning.  

Times Sq. Bomb Suspect Is Linked to Militant Cleric 

By Scott Shane and Mark Mazzetti 

Published: May 6, 2010 

...A senior military official said Thursday that Mr. Shahzad has told interrogators that he met with Pakistani Taliban operatives in North Waziristan in December and January. Later he received explosives training from the same operatives, said the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the case. 

Counterterrorism officials want to know how Mr. Shahzad, a naturalized American citizen who had earned an M.B.A., married and had children and worked in several corporate jobs, came to embrace violence.

It is no surprise to counterterrorism officials to find that an accused terrorist had been influenced by Mr. Awlaki, 39, now hiding in Yemen, who has emerged as perhaps the most prominent English-speaking advocate of violent jihad against the United States... 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/07/world/middleeast/07awlaki-.html 

As far as the American Flag incident in California?  Well, it is up to a Principal to maintain control over the school environment.  If the actions of a few students was to get 'in the face' of others when the school was recognizing a 'DIVERSITY DAY' event, then get real.  

By the way my family and I have American Flag tee shirts.  We wear them.  But, I don't ever recall wearing them as an offense to other cultures and as a statement.  I don't believe the American Flag needs image issues either.  MINORITIES are minorities.  There are 'certain' recognitions any American can make to WELCOME them into the 'fabric' of the country.  Being offensive ON PURPOSE is a call a Principal has to make.  

 

What is really sad is the fact these young men actually felt this insecure due to a diversity issue.  I don't believe the USA is falling apart because of Cinco de Mayo.  Lapel pins? 

American flag T-shirt controversy grabs nation's attention

May 6, 2010  By Lindsay Bryant

Four teens sent home for wearing red, white and blue on Cinco de Mayo have become the focus of national media attention as their story went viral after Live Oak High School officials asked the students to turn their American flag T-shirts inside-out to quell any confrontations.

Bay Area news stations set up camp in front of Live Oak High School Thursday morning as many more students came to school wearing red, white and blue. A firestorm of outrage erupted online and moved to the streets when about 200 Hispanic students walked out of Live Oak and Ann Sobrato high schools to march through Morgan Hill demonstrating their support for Mexico.

"It's disrespectful to do it on Cinco de Mayo," said Jessica Cortez, a Live Oak sophomore. "They can be a patriot on some other day. Not that specific day."

Live Oak parent Greg Hall saw the band of Hispanic students walking down Monterey Road Thursday....

http://www.morganhilltimes.com/news/265447-american-flag-t-shirt-controversy-grabs-nations-attention

There are currently issue at The Virginia Zoo regarding a couple of tigers. It needs to be investigated to the quality of water and food they have recieved.

I realize they aren't younsters, but, these tigers are precious and the thrill they have given children over their long many years deserves some loyalty and concern.

Family, if you will.

This cancer with the two tigers could be genetic as well.  We want to know what happened to these magnificent tigers.  We want to know that the rest of the zoo animals are going to be safe as well.

Shere Khan, a Siberian tiger at the Virginia Zoo, was euthanized Thursday after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.  (click title to entry - thank you)

Zookeepers found a mass on the 18-year-old tiger’s left side April 14. It was an aggressive abdominal skin tumor, a zoo news release said. Because of the tiger’s advanced age and condition, she was not likely to survive surgery.

Shere’s sister, Shaka Khan, was also diagnosed with cancer on her left elbow in April. Treatment would involve amputating the leg, but the surgery is also not recommended. She is expected to live another 10 to 12 months.

Tigers in captivity typically live to be 15 to 20 years old....

The Chemicals 'in the environment' issue is huge, isn't it? Yep. There is a good way and a bad way to think about this mess. Alcohol sterilizes, okay?

I am not someone that has a grandchild with Max Absorb next to her skin either, okay?

Baby Gwen in our family has all natural everything. including her diapers which are cloth.  So, let's start there.

The Chemical Industry, including the petroleum industry is an influence in life that simply lacks legitimacy on all fronts, including trustworthiness.  However, there are ways of thinking about this that are helpful.

Feds investigate baby bottom complaints

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/05/06/1616478/feds-investigate-baby-bottom-complaints.html

We can start with the fact that the American Chemical Society has been archiving chemicals, their characteristics, including harmful properties for a very, very long time.  The Bush White House could never harm the information in the American Chemical Society (ACS) archives.  It is far too extensive and exists 'in fact' of the properties of chemicals, otherwise, the world would have blown itself up by now.

So, let's start with 'the authority' that is reliable in discerning where best to 'learn' what is real about any chemical and its compounds and where it isn't real.

This statement is going to send the Right Wing in the USA right over the edge, but, ask me if I give a damn.  There was an approach to this issue some time ago that gave rise to legislation THAT WAS HELPFUL.  It is a book called "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson.

It is a remarkable book.  I have a copy.  It was written by a woman that died of breast cancer two years after it was published.  Carson was a marine biologist.  She was brilliant and as a career woman in the 1950s she knew where her strength lay and that was in writing.  She had written something like four books or so before she wrote Silent Spring.  The Hardcover of that book from 1962 is her original content.

That said, there is validity to the claims that came out regarding chemicals in the environment and I will not come away from that statement.  This point of view is void of political ideology.  Like I said, chemicals are chemicals and their properties are carved in STONE.  That can't be changed.

The eight years of the Bush/ Cheney White House are scandalous regarding the CARELESS METHODOLOGY regarding chemicals used in society INCLUDING arsenic.  I mean the FIRST DAY of office in 2001 Bush signed an order to increase the levels of arsenic in water supplies.  Like what the hell was that?  I suppose EVERY OTHER AUTHORITY before the little tin gods that took over were illegitimate.  I DON'T THINK SO.  Bush/Cheney were no Einsteins.

So, there is no way I will state this report is not prudent.  I will say this; it is about time.  HOWEVER, there are ways of doing this that makes sense and a run on Proctor and Gamble stocks is not one of them.  I believe the 'pit bosses' at the Exchange did a great job.

There is another authority that needs to be recognized and that is the FDA.  It was razed of its authority, save some whistle blowers, for the eight years of Republican idiocy from 2001 - 2009, but, it has solid footing in OLD METHODOLOGIES that work.  IN THAT, is an understanding that Proctor and Gamble PRODUCTS are tried and true and where there might be issues with cancer causing chemicals, the FDA would have found any and all evidence by this point.

The most LEGITIMATE methods of determining the effects of any chemicals lies in an OLD METHODOLOGY called LD50s.  It has been in existence since the American Chemical Society began and its methodology is as solid as the day is long.  I would say EVERY chemical ever archived by ACS has LD50 studies.  I doubt there exists any chemical on Earth that does not have an LD50 study.

With that we need to reinstate the safeguards that were abandoned during the Bush/Cheney years and simply GO BACK to what works and is known to work in protecting human health.  The Bush/Cheney administration was a desperate attempt to excoriate all regulations from the American lifestyle to illegitimately garner profits WITH abandon and WITHOUT the RESPECT for life outside of the Oval Office and the Map Room.

Dear God, they were horrible and that is putting it mildly.

The oncologists can also stop using chemicals that were never supposed to be used on any human body in the name of saving lives from cancer.  The practices that were allowed regarding cancer treatment under that administration in the USA were unbelievably hideous and Medieval.  So, the idea that JUST examining chemicals in the environment as a method to improving longevity is the only focus is not looking at the complete scope of chemicals in use today.  We also need to look at oncological treatment that was permitted in the USA during those eight years.  I mean, Dear God, what they did is a crime.  I mean that, too.

So, basically, everyone needs to calm down.  There are right ways and wrong ways of approaching this issue, but, by damn it we are going to do it and the people of the USA are going to have peace of mind regarding their market places and what is good for them and what isn't and YES, there is going to be LEGISLATION to pick up where Carson left off and the industry will be regulated !

To show EVERYONE how completely manipulative the Petroleum Industry is, they released information about the safety of chemicals from oil about 6 hours ago or so.  They are monsterous in their propaganda and information CONTROL.  The Petroleum Industry likes to control information and scientists, but, not the toxic effect of oil and their practices.

GIVE ME A BREAK !!!!!!

At this point, with Chemical Dispersants being touted as 'the savior' in the Gulf of Mexico, lends itself to having potential for a Great Lakes disaster if the nature of those chemicals aren't known and the circulation of the oil that is sinking isn't tracked.  The Gulf of Mexico RUPTURE is more than any civilized society should tolerate.  This has the potential of being an international incident.  Not only that, but, what in heck are the fisheries going to look like.  Can't wait to see how many legs frogs are going to have in six months from now along those shorelines.  I still believe in torpedoes over any 'Act by BP.'

BP Won't Say What Toxics It's Dumping Onto Its Oil Spill

http://www.ombwatch.org/node/10984

...Most view the use of these dispersants as a trade off – either disperse the oil throughout the water column and damage the aquatic life we cannot see, or let more come to shore and kill a lot of wildlife that we can see. (This "trade off" inaccurately assumes that life on shore is not connected to life deep in the water.) It is important to remember that using dispersants does not reduce the amount of oil being spilled. It does add secret chemicals whose environmental and public health impacts are poorly understood....

And a trade off is exactly what those chemicals are.  There is NO CHOICE.  The Petroleum Industry is completely negligent in prudent practices and this is the direct result of it.  5000 feet down in the ocean, what was any reasonable human being thinking?  Men are not gods, except, on Wall Street.  I don't think so!