Lair of the Blue Bear

In Retrospect

2012-01-15T07:53:00.000-08:00

I should have found this a couple of months ago...

[click photo]

I don’t believe this country’s manifestering destiny
Someone just cooked it up and it is fed to you and me
They tell us who to love and war and never ask for help
And they cannot stand us thinking for ourselves

Full Lyrics:
It’s the day before Thanksgiving I’m not feeling much of thanks
Just a low-grade desperation leaves me reeling in the ranks
Just when I think I’m getting somewhere it’s somewhere further to fall
It’s the day before Thanksgiving that is all
I don’t believe the pilgrims sat with Indians for a feast
A self-proclaimed holy sailor doesn’t break bread with his beast
But then again he had a musket and the Indian had a knife
And the musket man could make him eat for life
I don’t believe this country’s manifestering destiny
Someone just cooked it up and it is fed to you and me
They tell us who to love and war and never ask for help
And they cannot stand us thinking for ourselves
The day before Thanksgiving back in 1991
A millionaire let me drive his Mercedes just for fun
And I drove it with the top down on them Blue Ridge Mountain roads
He let me keep it thirteen weeks or so
And I know what he was saying with that car that wasn’t mine
That I could have one too if I just did not cross the line
But lines were made for crossing and I was born to crack the code
And there ain’t no shame in walking down this road
So it’s turkey breast and stuffing with gravy on the top
Mashed potatoes, peas and dinner rolls, you use them like a mop
Got my position at the table, got a child to say my grace
And a wife and boss that keeps me in my place
It’s the day before Thanksgiving I’m not feeling much of thanks
Just a low-grade desperation leaves me reeling in the ranks
Just when I think I’m getting somewhere it’s somewhere further to fall
It’s the day before Thanksgiving that is all
[Darrel Scott]

Laundry Day

2011-12-25T19:24:00.000-08:00

[click dirty laundry]

THE APARTMENT
   Stevens Point 1969. I lived with 3 friends in an apartment above a chicken hatchery. The building was built sometime around the late 1800's or early 1900's. A tall, 3 story, brick building. What the ground floor had in extra height, ceilings 14' high, the third floor lacked with its 6'6" ceiling height. My hair brushed against the ceiling as I walked though.
   The stairs to the second floor were exterior to the building and the third floor was accessed from within our apartment. The second floor held the kitchen, a formal dining room, the living room, two bedrooms and a huge bathroom with a skylight well that rose up through the third floor to the roof. The main attraction of the bathroom was an absolutely wonderful claw foot bathtub, large and deep enough that I could totally immerse my 6'5" body.
   The third floor had two bedrooms and one large open room which we used for a while for pasting up issues of Counterpoint, our underground newspaper, prior to taking them to the print shop.
   Both floors of the apartment each had two large bay windows hanging out over the sidewalk below. Aside from perches from which to watch the comings and goings of the townsfolk, they also served as sniper hideouts for the mock battles we would engage in when one of us crossed the street to the hardware or drug store. Plungers and mops were enlisted against the Mattel Tommy Gun we had conveniently hung in the window.
   Across the street, besides the hardware and pharmacy, were several other shops and just down the street was a hotel. The street heading south split in front of our apartment with the southbound lane going around the west side of the hotel and the northbound lane on the east side. The streets re-joined beyond the hotel and then went down under a railroad over-crossing.
   The hatchery below had row after row of incubators full of chicken eggs. Once a month they would ship out a batch of chicks. That was the only time we noticed the presence of the chickens, the smell of burnt hair when their beaks were trimmed. So they wouldn't peck each other to death in the shipping boxes, a guillotine type instrument with hot blades was used to cut off the sharp tips of their beaks. The proprietor insisted the beaks were like finger nails with no sensory nerves and the process didn't hurt the chicks.

THE BUST
   We were raided one time by the ATF over the machine gun we had hanging in the bay window. About twenty agents and local police stormed up the stairs shouting they had warrants and they were coming in.      They were nice enough to allow us time to open the door for them rather than breaking it down. They asked for the machine gun and we took them to it. After examining it they asked if we had any other guns but we had none and told them so. They held a little powwow amongst themselves and decided we were cool. As they left they asked that we not hang the gun in the window as it was upsetting the neighbors.

JANITORIAL DUTIES
   I worked second shift at the local hospital in the evenings, mopping and waxing floors and doing other janitorial work. Most of the work was easy and since I was by myself I had time to ponder many things beyond mopping, the Vietnam War being one of the major issues on my mind. The one creepy thing about the job was cleaning the morgue after an autopsy, blood clots and little pieces of body parts stuck in the drain strainer had to be manually removed and placed in Bio-hazard bags.
   They had Muzak playing throughout the hospital, the same playlist every night at the same time. I could keep track of my progress by which song was playing in which room. The only time it changed was in December when the Christmas song playlist would run. I tended to go a little insane after about two weeks of that!

DINNER OF CHAMPIONS
   One evening I came home from work just before midnight and upon entering the dining room I found the table set with two place settings, table cloth and all, candles burning in their holders on the table.
   On the plates, in the center, was a very small white pill about the size of a saccharine tablet. A glass of Merlot sat next to the plate. My roommate Dave had prepared us dinner!
We sat down at the table, made a formal scene of putting on our napkins as bibs, scooped up the tablets with our spoons and washed them down with the wine.
   Having finished dinner we put on some Joe Byrd and the Field Hippies and waited for the LSD to kick in.
Soon we were floating along with the music, first Joe then Pink Floyd's "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave Grooving With a Pict" on 16 RPM.

LAUNDRY DAY
   After Floyd, Dave wanted to get out of the house so we decided to make the journey useful. We grabbed our laundry baskets and headed off to the laundromat about eight blocks away.
Giggling the whole time we stuffed several machines with our dirty laundry, repeatedly consulting each other as to the correct quantity to put in the machine.
   After starting the washing machines we spent most of the first cycle watching the clothes swirl in the water, calling out "Shirt", "Pants", "Undies" as the various objects came into view from the depths of the machine.

OPEN THE POD BAY DOORS HAL
   After becoming bored with the washing machines we decided a good place to be was inside the dryers, so we each climbed into a dryer on opposite sides of the room. It was as though we were in space capsules soaring along together as in the To Jupiter and Beyond scene at the end of 2001 Space Odyssey.
    While we were in the dryers a lady came in and loaded up several washing machines. Dave and I sat in our dryers trying not to make eye contact with each other since when we did we couldn't control our laughter. To this day I'll never know how she never noticed us inside the dryers. Fortunately after she put her wash into a drier she left so we were able to get out. We were laughing so hard at what had happened that tears filled our eyes as we loaded our clothes into dryers.

FEDERICO FELLINI
   When our laundry was done we folded it and headed back to the apartment. When we got to the spot where the road split in front of our apartment we sat down on the triangular traffic island in the middle of the street with our laundry. The sun was about an hour from rising and the sky was just beginning to lighten. The building fronts were illuminated by the street lights and the nighthawks, with their echoing shrieks, flitted just above the lights.
   Otherwise there was absolute silence without a hint of a breeze. The scene was surreal, as if out of a Fellini movie. The final sequence of Toby Dammit, Fellini's contribution to Spirits of the Dead came to mind, the broken bridge as the sun rises. We sat there on the little traffic island discussing movie scenes and plots that would fit our surroundings.

THE BUST (ATTEMPTED)
   We had been there about twenty minutes before the first car came along. We could hear it coming from blocks away, the sound of tires on pavement braking the silence. I turned to see the car and from several blocks away I could see it was a cop car heading south towards us. I alerted Dave but he said that we were doing nothing wrong and at most the cop could tell us to leave. The car did not slow down as it approached so I thought it would just drive by. Instead, as it reached us the cop slammed on the brakes. The car went past us, tires squealing, and came to a stop about 20 feet past us. He sat there for about 45 seconds then punched the gas, smoking his tires, and raced of down the road, around the hotel and down under the overpass.
   From there we could hear him racing down to the next cross street then heading east to the next road which crossed the tracks. From there he raced north to the next street bringing him back towards the street we were on.
   Again he came down the street, approaching us from the north, and repeated the scene of locking up his brakes in front of us, this time a couple of feet sooner. Then off he went making another loop to come back around again.
   Now we began to think his actions were rather odd and that if he did it again we would leave and head up to our apartment.
   Sure enough, he did the skid maneuver another time, braking even sooner this time, but still sliding past us.
   This time, when he took off, we ran for our stairs as soon as he went around behind the motel. Instead of making the long loop, this time he short circuited around behind the hotel coming back northbound to the traffic island only to find us gone. We were already in our apartment and got to the bay window in time to see him get out of his car and start inspecting the island with a flashlight. Then he got back in the car and started shining his spotlight all around.
   Soon he was met by two other police cars and then an unmarked police car. They all got out and talked before getting back in their cars and racing off.
   We spent the next several hours in the bay window watching as police cars raced up and down the street in front of our apartment in search of us laundry toting, traffic island sitting, hippies as though it was the crime of the century.
   Or was it a matter of the skidding cop trying to prove to his fellows that in fact it wasn't HE that was hallucinating?.

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unspeakably beautiful

2011-12-22T22:50:00.000-08:00

Movie Night at the Lair

2011-11-29T21:19:00.000-08:00

Privilege

1967 - I had just turned 18, Freshman in college, this movie had a profound affect on me. I bought the sound track and would put it on at 11 and sing along at the top of my lungs until I would lose my voice.

Bright Blue Ball Spinning Free

2011-11-14T14:50:00.000-08:00

I highly suggest you start the music at the link just below, then with it playing in the background, when the lyrics begin, return here and start this video with its sound off. In any event, keep this video's sound off to maintain your sanity!

THROWING STONES

Picture a bright blue ball just spinning, spinning free
Dizzy with eternity
Paint it with a skin of sky, brush in some clouds and sea
Call it home for you and me
A peaceful place, or so it looks from space
A closer look reveals the human race
Full of hope, full of grace, is the human face
But afraid we may lay our home to waste

There's a fear down here we can't forget
Hasn't got a name just yet
Always awake, always around
Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down
Ashes, ashes, all fall down

Now watch as the ball revolves and the night-time falls
And again the hunt begins and again the blood wind calls
By and by, again, the morning sun will rise
But the darkness never goes from some men's eyes
(Well I know)
It strolls the sidewalk and it rolls the streets
Staking turf, dividing up meat
Nightmare spook, piece of heat
It's you and me, you and me

Click flash blade in ghetto night
Rudy's looking for a fight
Rat cat alley, roll them bones
Need that cash to feed that Jones
And the politicians throwing stones
Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down
Ashes, ashes, all fall down

Commissars and pinstripe bosses roll the dice
Anyway they fall, guess who gets to pay the price?
Money green, or proletarian gray
Selling guns instead of food today
So the kids they dance and shake their bones
And the politicians throwing stones
Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down
Ashes, ashes, all fall down

Heartless powers try to tell us what to think
If the spirit's sleeping then the flesh is ink
History's page will be neatly carved in stone
The future's here, we are it, we are on our own
On our own, on our own, we are on our own

If the game is lost, then we're all the same
No one left to place or take the blame
We will leave this place an empty stone
Or that shining ball of blue we call our home

So the kids, they dance, they shake their bones
And the politicians throwing stones
Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down
Ashes, ashes, all fall down

Shipping powders back and forth
Singing black goes south and white comes north
And the whole world full of petty wars
Singing I got mine and you got yours
While the current fashions set the pace
Lose your step, fall out of grace
The radical, he rant and rage
Singing someone got to turn the page
And the rich man in his summer home
Singing just leave well enough alone
But his pants are down, his cover's blown
And the politicians throwing stones
So the kids, they dance, they shake their bones
'Cause it's all too clear we're on our own
Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down
Ashes, ashes, all fall down

Picture a bright blue ball just spinning, spinning free
It's dizzying, the possibilities

Ashes, ashes, all fall down
[Ashes, ashes, all fall down]
Ashes, ashes, all fall down
[Ashes, ashes, all fall down]
Ashes, ashes, all fall down
[Ashes, ashes, all fall down]
Ashes, ashes, all fall down
[Ashes, ashes, all fall down]

LYRIC SOURCE

What's It All About?Maybe not what you think...

2011-11-04T22:05:00.000-07:00

[click photo]

There's a home place under fire tonight in the heartland
And the bankers are taking my home and my land from me
There's a big achin' hole in my chest now where my heart was
And a hole in the sky where God used to be
There's a home place under fire tonight in the heartland
There's a well where the water's so bitter nobody can drink
Ain't no way to get high and my mouth is so dry that I can't speak
Don't they know that I'm dyin' why's nobody cryin' for me
My American dream fell apart at the seams
You tell me what it means you tell me what it means
There's a home place under fire tonight in a heartland
And bankers are taking the homes and the land away
There's a young boy closin' his eyes tonight in a heartland
Who will wake up a man with some land and a loan he can't pay
His American dream fell apart at the seams
You tell me what it means you tell me what it means
My American dream...
There's a home place under fire tonight in the heartland
There's a home place under fire tonight in the heartland
There's a home place under fire tonight in the heartland
There's a home place under fire tonight in the heartland

The occupations may seem like a noble effort, but they are...

Maybe not what you think...

The Migration Has Begun

2011-11-02T13:12:00.000-07:00

[click dancing bears]

These are live cameras - best viewed between 7:00 am and 4:30 pm Central Time.

There is much more to see at explore.org

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Trick or Treat

2011-10-31T13:34:00.000-07:00

Scientist Marco Kaltofen Presents Data Confirming Hot Particles from Fairewinds Associates on Vimeo.

2011-10-12T19:17:00.000-07:00

Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller

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Police State in Amerika To Serve and Protect

2011-10-02T10:09:00.000-07:00

Another 11+ minute video if you can take it.

Higher Ground

2011-09-16T23:38:00.000-07:00

Gimme Shelter

Playing for Change
Playing for Change YouTube Channel
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you could go nuts

2011-09-15T14:39:00.000-07:00

WITHOUT HALF TRYING....

Reports Of My Demise...

2011-09-12T19:10:00.000-07:00

[click photo]

On my recent voyage to Tralfamadore my traveling companion Kilgore Trout got drunk and grabbed the controls sending us careening through the Chronosynclastic Infundibulum.

Since then, every time I've logged onto the internet and seen the conditions of things these days, I zip off back in time to when this country stood for something good and useful.

This has made it difficult to relate to, more or less to comment on, the despicable state of affairs which is this country today. As soon as I formed a thought, but before I could get it down on paper - or electrons as it is - whoosh, I was back somewhere conversing with the likes of Washington, Jefferson, Sam Clemens and even Tesla.

Having returned to the Chronosynclastic Infundibulum and passing backwards through it I seem to be stuck back in time only to return to find the OUTRAGEOUS TEXT ENHANCED LINK BULLSHIT all over The Lair and my other blogs.

I HATE THAT SHIT! FUCKING POP-UP BOXES ANYTIME YOU ACCIDENTALLY MOUSE OVER THEM!

I AM NOT SPONSORING FREE COMPUTERS! I AM NOT PLUGGING GOVERNMENT GRANTS! WHO GIVES A SHIT IF SOME SACRAMENTO MOM MAKES $77 PER HOUR!

THEY ARE ALL SCAMS! NOTHING IS FREE - STRINGS ARE ATTACHED!

I DO NOT WANT THIS SHIT ON MY BLOG! WHO AUTHORIZED THEM TO DO THIS?

GOOGLE SUCKS!

I CAN'T TAKE IT!

KILGORE, WHERE ARE YOU - WE NEED ANOTHER RETURN TRIP - I'LL BRING THE BOOZE!

MONTANA, I'M ON MY WAY!

NINES - HELP!

ADDENDUM:

After realizing these "Text Enhancement" links were only occurring on my desktop computer and not on my other computers nor on other peoples computers I ran a full scan with MalwareBytes and after 1 hour and fourteen minutes of scanning it found nothing. I was going to go online and see if I could find anything out about it so I hovered over one of the links to make sure I had the title right. I then noticed a little question mark Icon so I clicked on it. It gave me the choice of opting out of the service. So after scrolling through about 15,243 Captcha phrases until I found one I could read enough to get it right, I am finally opted out and the links have gone away.

What I want to know is why was I apparently opted in automatically and forced to go through the crap of opting out?

proof of life

2011-09-11T16:50:00.000-07:00

Last seen snooping at a Denver conference center, Agent BB2 seems to have dropped off the intertubes on us. This fills me with dread. Is he suffering? Has he been abducted? Has he finally snapped and run back off to the wilderness? Has one of his fifty dogs eaten his computer? Has he fallen into the depths of the bottomless 9/11 archives? Has something unendurable happened? What has happened to our furry friend?

Do we send out a search party? Or do we just sit and worry?

Death of the InternetSurveillance & Censorship

2011-08-14T14:07:00.000-07:00

"How do you hold the sovereigns of cyberspace accountable to the public interest when most CEO’s argue that their main obligation is to maximize shareholder profit?”

the suffering

2011-08-10T02:53:00.001-07:00

America is Waiting!

2011-08-09T20:25:00.000-07:00

America is waiting for a message of some sort or another.
Takin' it again. Again! Again! Takin' it again.
Well now... no, no... now, we ought to be mad at the government not mad at the people.
Takin' it again. Again! Again! Takin' it again.
I mean, yeah, well... wha-what're ya gonna do?
America is waiting for a message of some sort or another.
No will whatsoever. No will whatsoever! Absolutely no honor.
No will whatsoever. No will whatsoever! Absolutely no integrity.
No will whatsoever. No will whatsoever! I haven't seen any any any citizen over there stand up and say "Hey, just a second."
No will whatsoever. No will whatsoever! I mean, yeah, so... wha-what're ya gonna do?
America is waiting for a message of some sort or another.

It is impossible to achieve the aim without suffering!

The Steve Irwin is Free!

2011-08-02T22:02:00.000-07:00

In my email today...

The Steve Irwin is Free, Thanks to Thousands of Donations!

Dear BB2,

Sea Shepherd supporters rock!

Due to the generosity of our supporters around the world, we have raised over USD$735,000 to save our flagship Steve Irwin—less than two weeks after the launch of our SOS! - Save Our Ship fundraising campaign! Thank you to everyone who helped make it possible for us to fund a bond to release the vessel from detainment! Together, we will continue to make a difference.

As many of you are aware, on July 15, our flagship vessel the Steve Irwin was detained in the Scottish Shetland Islands pending our ability to fund a bond we estimated to be in the amount of USD$1,411,692.87. The detainment was ordered by British courts due to a civil lawsuit brought against us by Maltese fishing company Fish and Fish Ltd.

The British court set the bond today at £520,000 (approximately USD$846,290). Thankfully, we were able to post the bond earlier today, and the Steve Irwin will soon depart to the Faeroes for Operation Ferocious Isles. The Steve Irwin will join the vessel Brigitte Bardot and her crew, who are already onsite defending pilot whales.

I sincerely thank everyone who donated to help Save Our Ship. Your help enabled us to Free the Steve. However, despite everyone’s best efforts we didn't quite raise the entire amount and had to cut into our already scarce budget to meet the bond amount and Free the Steve. We face the ongoing costs of Operation Ferocious Isles, the transit of our vessels from the northern hemisphere to the southern for Operation Divine Wind, and then the cost of that Antarctic Whale Defense Campaign as well. We are all on the same crew, despite our different roles and varying locations. We all feel that inner drive to protect innocent lives and ecosystems, and I know many of you have given what you can— but please keep your donations coming in. Without your help, we cannot continue this important work.

We are in a war to save our oceans from ourselves, and if we lose, we all lose because if the oceans die, we all die – it’s as simple as that. Thank-you!

For Our Oceans and for the Steve Irwin,

Captain Paul Watson
Founder and President
Sea Shepherd

not forgetting jerry

2011-08-01T23:10:00.000-07:00

The Wonders of Duct TapeMy New Amphibious Car

2011-07-30T13:22:00.000-07:00

Perspective

2011-07-29T14:49:00.000-07:00

TURN IT ON!

Where Did All the Money Go?

2011-07-27T12:57:00.000-07:00

The Nines has an answer...

That Explains It All

2011-07-23T09:19:00.000-07:00

Non Sequitur by Wiley

Don't Ya Think?

Can You Help?

2011-07-21T19:25:00.000-07:00

CLICK THIS IF CAN YOU HELP

The Nines Ain't Gonna Like This!

2011-07-21T12:24:00.000-07:00

[click image]

A female polar bear swam for a record-breaking nine days straight, traversing 426 miles (687 kilometers) of water—equivalent to the distance between Washington, D.C., and Boston, a new study says.

The predator made her epic journey in the Beaufort Sea (see map), where sea ice is shrinking due to global warming, forcing mother bears to swim greater and greater distances to reach land—to the peril of their cubs.

The cub of the record-setting bear, for instance, died at some point between starting the swim and when the researchers next observed the mother on land. She also lost 22 percent of her body weight.

HOORAY!

2011-07-16T10:21:00.000-07:00

let's have a little hitchcock around here

2011-07-10T02:44:00.000-07:00

[click image]

Just a little nostalgia....

Pathetic!

2011-07-03T10:04:00.000-07:00

A Trip Back to the Future

2011-06-21T20:33:00.000-07:00

LIBYA - The American Steam Roller Rolls On

2011-06-18T07:36:00.000-07:00

[ht Big Dan]
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Whale Wars Returns

2011-06-03T13:10:00.000-07:00

Tonight season 4 of Whales Wars begins on The Animal Planet Station at 9:00 PM. Join the Sea Shepherds and the newsest addition to their fleet of 3 ships as they try once and for all to end the Japanese whale slaughter in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

The Gun

2011-05-28T19:40:00.000-07:00

In the early '80s I lived with my friend Tom and his girlfriend Terri in a house only five minutes from Folsom Lake. It was on a dead end street with about 9 other houses. The street ran downhill and each lot was leveled as a "pad", a seemingly California thing. The various homes where I lived in Wisconsin were all on hills which were allowed to slope in their original manner.

The ground was hard pan - impenetrable clay hard as cement - with a thin layer of imported top soil. On the one side of the yard was a rock wall which dropped down to the neighbors on the west, on the other was an embankment about five feet high on top of which our neighbor had a six foot tall wood fence.

The house had a nice large, covered, screened in patio on the back where Tom kept the bed for his dog. This dog had a fascination for the yard of the neighbor with the wood fence and was always going over there. The lower yard to the west had no fence but the dog never went there. Instead he would run across the yard, jump up the embankment then push off the top of the embankment to reach the top rail of the fence and pull himself over.

Tom had a pellet gun, a replica of a Colt 45 revolver, which we would target shoot with in the back yard. It looked fairly real, but on close examination you could see the cover for the CO2 cartridge and the fact that cylinder couldn't revolve. The small bore of the barrel was also a give-away.

One day, shortly after our house had been broken into, I came home to find a revolver laying on the dogs bed. Thinking it was Tom's pellet gun I scolded the dog for taking it and went to pick it up. As I lifted it I turned it such that I got a view of the barrel pointing at me. I freaked! Fuck, this ain't no pellet gun! It had a full size bore and I could see the copper tips of the bullets pointing at me from the cylinder holes!

I took the gun into the house, unloaded it and put the gun in one drawer and the bullets in another.

When Tom and Terri got home that night I showed it to them and neither had any idea where it might have come from. We began to worry that whoever had broke into the house had been packing the gun and dropped it somewhere. Already fearful of confronting a burglar, now we where even more concerned that he might be armed.

One evening about a week later we heard our neighbor behind the fence yelling at his wife from his backyard. He was obviously agitated and kept yelling "Where did you put it?", "Under which bush?"

I went out and asked him: "Are you looking for something?"
"Yes"
"Would it happen to be a gun?"
"Yes how did you know?"
"What kind?"
"A Colt 45 revolver."
"I have it."
"How the hell did you get it?"
"It was on the dog's bed."
"How did it get there?"
"You tell me!"
"Well last weekend my wife and I had a fight and I went out and got really drunk. She took the gun and hid it outside under the bushes."
"I guess the dog jumped the fence again, found the gun and brought it home."

Satisfied with his explanation I returned the gun and bullets to him, although I was concerned of the need for her to hide the gun in the first place.

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Oh For An Airplane!

2011-05-24T12:45:00.000-07:00

[photo BB2]

Oh for an airplane, that's where I'd be! Not a jetliner, rather an ultrlight or glider. Perhaps a balloon, that's it, a deck chair and balloons - lots of balloons!

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Bogeymen!

2011-05-23T12:50:00.000-07:00

Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller

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Filter Bubbles!

2011-05-17T20:21:00.000-07:00

The License Plate

2011-05-15T11:16:00.000-07:00

[Image - BB2]

In 1973 I quit my bed testing job at the furniture factory after they screwed me out of my vacation. When I took the job I was told that after one year I would have a week of paid vacation. After 14 months of working there I applied for my vacation and was told I was only eligible for two days.

Upon protesting that fact and pointing out I was promised a week after one year I was informed that their "Year" cuts off on December 31st. Vacation was allotted at one day for every ten weeks worked before December 31st of the previous year - the months I worked after January 1st did not count towards my vacation until the following year.

I again protested, pointing out that I had work 30 weeks and 2 days before January 1st and should therefore have three days. Wrong again - holidays didn't count in figuring your vacation, therefore I had only worked 29 weeks and two days.

Having four sick days accumulated I scheduled my two day vacation for a Thursday and Friday. The following Monday through Thursday I called in sick. During that time I went to Sheboygan and applied for work at the Kohler company as I heard they were hiring whereas jobs in Stevens Point had all but dried up. The day after applying I got a phone call that my application had been accepted.

I returned to work that next Friday and after working 1/2 day - the requirement to claim my sick pay - I told them to take their job and shove it.

As I began packing up the apartment for the move my ex-wife went to Sheboygan to find us a house. She scored big on a two bedroom two story home on 5 acres of land with a barn and shed for the sum of $65 per month. The upstairs had a half bath and we later rented it out to a friend for $25 per month.

When the packing was done I rented a U-Haul trailer, loaded it up except for a few things we couldn't fit in and headed to Sheboygan.

About a week later I returned one evening to Stevens Point to get the last couple of Items. In the mail were the license plates for the car we had recently purchased. All my tools were already in Sheboygan as were my collection of nuts and bolts. Being evening time the hardware store was closed so I placed one of the plates in the rear window and went to a friend's hose.

About 10:00 PM we decided to go out and have a pizza at our favorite pizza shop - the Red Lantern. It was located on a four lane road which was the main highway out of town. To the north was the crest of a hill about 1/2 mile away.

As we left after dinner I stopped at the entrance to the street and checked for traffic. I saw a set of headlights just coming over the crest of the hill. Being a 30mph zone and the car 1/2 mile away I saw no problem pulling out onto the highway. The next thing I knew there was horn blasting, tire squealing pandemonium then flashing red lights.

It turned out to be a cop! He had to be doing at least 90mph to be on us that fast. He got out of his car screaming at us that we tried to kill him. I pointed out that it was a 30mph zone, he was 1/2 mile away when we pulled out and that he had no siren or flashing lights to warn us of his speed. He backed off slightly but then noticed the license plate in the rear window.

"Your license plate is not legally displayed"
"I know, it just came today and I am in the middle of moving and have no tools or bolts to install it."
"It must be legally displayed!"
"I know, sir, but I have now way to currently do that. I will go to the hardware store in the morning and get bolts to install it."
"You can't move this car until your license is properly displayed!"
"But officer, as I explained I have no way of doing that at this time!"
"You can't move this car!"

At that point my friend and I climbed back into the car, discussed the situation, reclined our seats and laid back to wait for morning.

After about ten minutes there was the knock of a flashlight on the driver's window.

"What are you doing?"
"You said we couldn't move the car!"
"You can't stay here!"
"But we are waiting for the morning so we can walk to the hardware store."
"You can't stay here!"
"But you said we can't move the car!"
"Not without the license plate legally displayed!"
"Should I pull into the parking lot so I am not on the street?"
"No, you can't remain on private property and I told you you can't move the car!!!"
"If I can't move the car and can't stay here, what am I supposed to do!!!!?"
"Properly display the license plate!"

Totally frustrated I got back out of the car and started searching the ground for anything which might work to fasten the license plate. Finding two sticks which were slightly larger than the holes in the bumper and a rock, I took the sticks and drove them through the license plate and into the bumper holes with the rock.

"Officer, is that now properly displayed?"
"Yes, thank you."

He got back into his patrol car, turned off his flashing lights and drove away, To Protect and Serve written across his door!

.

OMG! right under our noses the whole time!

2011-04-27T01:28:00.000-07:00

History LessonMedia Fail

2011-04-20T21:34:00.000-07:00

alerting the media

2011-04-06T09:10:00.000-07:00

[click image]

A brand new bag....

Why Is This So Hard to Comprehend?

2011-03-25T18:46:00.000-07:00

Why Is This So Hard to Comprehend? Perhaps I Know!

A fix?

Extreme Ice Survey
James Balog Photography

tsunami worries

2011-03-12T13:03:00.000-08:00

[click image]

UPDATE: All missing crew members are alive and well.

Wisconsin Police Union Joins the PeopleTells Walker who they work for!

2011-02-27T09:20:00.000-08:00

Madison 2/26/11

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The Folks Back Home Are Making Me Proud!

2011-02-21T12:36:00.000-08:00

May 1933: Hitler Abolishes Unions

On May 2nd, 1933, the day after Labor day, Nazi groups occupied union halls and labor leaders were arrested. Trade Unions were outlawed by Adolf Hitler, while collective bargaining and the right to strike was abolished. This was the beginning of a consolidation of power by the fascist regime which systematically wiped out all opposition groups, starting with unions, liberals, socialists, and communists using Himmler’s state police.
..............................

First of all, assaulting the rights of workers to collectively bargain has absolutely nothing to do with any immediate budgetary issues. It does however have everything to do with ending one of the basic rights of labor to organize.

Second, and more importantly, the budget “crisis” in Wisconsin is both exaggerated and created in part by the new Republican power base as a tool to attack political opponents. Walker decreased state revenue when he enacted tax cuts for the rich and big corporations, who are not surprisingly large campaign donors for his political campaign.

The ball is rolling:
Ohio
Indiana
Montana
Iowa
And tonight here in Sacramento

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Great News for the Whales

2011-02-19T09:57:00.000-08:00

.
[click image]

Captain Paul Watson and the Sea Shepard fleet have caused the Japanese whalers to abandon their Scientific Research Hunt in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary:

On Friday, Japan said it was bringing home its four whaling ships, weeks before the usual end of the annual cull in mid-March, citing the need to protect their crew from Sea Shepherd's sustained harassment.

Japan -- which hunts the ocean giants under a loophole to a global ban that permits lethal "scientific research" -- has killed 172 whales this season, only about a fifth of its target, the fisheries agency said.
......

Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara said Tokyo had summoned the Australian, New Zealand and Dutch ambassadors and made "a strong request to take effective measures to avoid the recurrence of Sea Shepherd's obstructionist activities".

But...

Australia -- which last year launched legal action against Japan's whaling programme at the International Court of Justice -- and New Zealand earlier on Friday said they hoped Japan had given up whaling for good.

Deplorable...

Japan has long defended whaling as part of the island nation's culture and makes no secret of the fact that the meat ends up in restaurants.

Tomoaki Nakao, the mayor of Shimonoseki, the port from where the whaling ships leave each year, said: "I want Japan to maintain a firm stand and continue appealing to the world about the legitimacy" of scientific whaling.

Just what is legitimate about killing whales in a sanctuary for food and calling it scientific study?

More

Latin America urges Japan to stop whaling!

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

the death of the gulf

2011-02-15T10:39:00.000-08:00

More Deepwater Horizon coverage at the Lair

Enogen

2011-02-12T18:20:00.000-08:00

[photo merge by Kae]

Here they go again, tinkering with the genetics of one of our food sources for the benefit of corporations. A new genetically modified corn has been approved for use in the United States by the Department of Agriculture. In addition the FDA has also certified it safe for human consumption. It has already been approved for use in Canada and Japan among a number of other countries.

Manufactured by the Swiss company Syngenta, the corn named Enogen contains a microbial gene which causes it to produce the enzyme alpha-amylase, a compound which currently must be added to the corn during the fermentation process to produce ethanol. The presence of the enzyme in the corn at the time of milling jump starts the process of turning the starch to sugar.

Not everybody is happy about this - from the New York Times:

The decision, announced Friday, came in the face of objections from corn millers and others in the food industry, who warned that if the industrial corn cross-pollinated with or were mixed with corn used for food, it could lead to crumbly corn chips, soggy cereal, loaves of bread with soupy centers and corn dogs with inadequate coatings.

“If this corn is comingled with other corn, it will have significant adverse impacts on food product quality and performance,” the North American Millers’ Association said in a statement on Friday.

The North American Millers’ Association, representing 43 companies including General Mills and Con-Agra, also claims that Syngenta's own research shows that as little as one kernel of Enogen in 10,000 normal kernels could weaken the corn starch enough to interfere with food processing operations. They are also fearful of recalls and distribution disruptions should it enter the food stream.

The Union of Concerned Scientists is also worried:

“This is StarLink all over again,” said Margaret Mellon of the Union of Concerned Scientists. She was referring to the situation in 2000 when a genetically modified corn approved only for animal use got into the human food supply, prompting huge recalls and disrupting American exports.

The Center for Food Safety is also preparing to sue:

The group persuaded a court to temporarily revoke the approvals of the biotech alfalfa and sugar beets because the Agriculture Department had not done a full environmental impact statement. The department, which has been reviewing Syngenta’s application since 2005, did not prepare such a statement for Syngenta’s corn.

In the end the supposed benefits of this product, an 8% increase in production and 8% decrease in natural gas consumption are certainly not worth the risk.

It's time to go back to whole, organic foods and stop mutating our food sources!

Imagine

2011-02-08T17:07:00.000-08:00

Playing for Change

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dennis will get to the bottom of this

2011-02-06T14:53:00.001-08:00

[click image]

State of the PresidentSo How's the Empire Going Obama?

2011-02-02T21:09:00.000-08:00

Australia Braces For New Threat Catagory 4 Cyclone Yasi

2011-01-31T20:29:00.000-08:00

<p>&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href="http://video.theaustralian.com.au/1774472495/Batten-down-the-hatches---Bligh"&amp;gt;VIDEO: Batten down the hatches - Bligh&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;</p>

Hospital in Cairns to be evacuated by the RAAF.

UPDATE 1/2/11: The cyclone has now come ashore near Cairns as a Catagory 5 storm.

Revolution in Egypt

2011-01-29T10:07:00.000-08:00

Cell phone service and internet connections have all been shut down to hide what is going on. Reports filtering out speak of police using live rounds of ammunition against the citizens and of the army joining forces with the citizens. The true extent of the situation remains to be seen.

Live coverage here.

Agent 99 has been following the developments here.

To Our Friends Down Under & Down South

2011-01-26T21:04:00.000-08:00

Australia and Brazil have been hit recently with record rains and floods. May the rain stop and the sun dry you out.

Into The Night's YouTube Channel

The Corporation

2011-01-24T23:24:00.000-08:00

I'm sick of corporations too.

The Big Lie...The Oil Is Gone

2011-01-19T21:06:00.000-08:00

So they tell you it is gone? Nothing left to see? No news here? Ya Sure - see for yourself!

All images from the last 2 weeks in the Mississippi River Delta.

Source

More Deepwater Horizon coverage at the Lair

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another completely useless peacenik mashup

2011-01-12T09:41:00.000-08:00

I'm sick of them.

Even when they're this straight to the point.

maybe we oughta be on the republicans' side?

2011-01-07T12:34:00.000-08:00

[click image]

Endless War

2011-01-02T17:58:00.000-08:00

[click photo]

The disasters numb within us
caught in the chest, rolling
in the brain like pebbles. The feeling
resembles lumps of raw dough

weighing down a child’s stomach on baking day.
Or Rilke said it, ‘My heart. . .
Could I say of it, it overflows
with bitterness . . . but no, as though

its contents were simply balled into
formless lumps, thus
do I carry it about.’
The same war

continues.
We have breathed the grits of it in, all our lives,
our lungs are pocked with it,
the mucous membrane of our dreams
coated with it, the imagination
filmed over with the gray filth of it:

the knowledge that humankind,

delicate Man, whose flesh
responds to a caress, whose eyes
are flowers that perceive the stars,

whose music excels the music of birds,
whose laughter matches the laughter of dogs,
whose understanding manifests designs
fairer than the spider’s most intricate web,

still turns without surprise, with mere regret
to the scheduled breaking open of breasts whose milk
runs out over the entrails of still-alive babies,
transformation of witnessing eyes to pulp-fragments,
implosion of skinned penises into carcass-gulleys.

We are the humans, men who can make;
whose language imagines mercy,
lovingkindness we have believed one another
mirrored forms of a God we felt as good—

who do these acts, who convince ourselves
it is necessary; these acts are done
to our own flesh; burned human flesh
is smelling in Vietnam as I write.

Yes, this is the knowledge that jostles for space
in our bodies along with all we
go on knowing of joy, of love;

our nerve filaments twitch with its presence
day and night,
nothing we say has not the husky phlegm of it in the saying,
nothing we do has the quickness, the sureness,
the deep intelligence living at peace would have.

“Life at War” By Denise Levertov, from To Stay Alive

Lindsey Graham calls for permanent US military presence in Afghanistan
We can see everything
America's Empire and Endless Wars Are Destroying the World, and Ruining Our Great Country

Take Me For a Ride!

2011-01-01T00:52:00.000-08:00

[Shuttle over the Andes - click photo]

HYPERDRIVE

Smears and Misconceptions

2010-12-31T09:50:00.000-08:00

[click photo]

Change You Can Count On!(Overseas)

2010-12-28T20:21:00.000-08:00

[click photo]

From the Obama AdministrationMerry Christmas to the Polar Bears

2010-12-25T22:29:00.000-08:00

[click photo]

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2010-12-24T09:52:00.000-08:00

the truth is out there

2010-12-18T23:47:00.000-08:00

Sad they gotta make it moronic-goofy to get the point across, but I'll take it. Do you have any idea how hard it is to plant a split condom?

send money

2010-12-18T00:26:00.000-08:00

[click images]

UPDATE, 23 December 2010:

Merry Christmas!

The State of the US Main Stream Media (Useless!)

2010-12-15T12:18:00.000-08:00

Once Again - Thank You Mr. Obama!

2010-12-14T18:58:00.000-08:00

Thank You Mr. Obama!

2010-12-10T12:53:00.000-08:00

Rex Babin

Why the world needs WikiLeaks

2010-12-07T20:44:00.000-08:00

It Could Never Happen Here!

2010-12-07T07:47:00.000-08:00

THINK AGAIN!

Homeland Security ‘messages’ coming to Walmart, hotels, malls

1984 The Movie

Don't Worry, Be HappyMainstream Media Will Soothe You With Fluff

2010-12-06T16:33:00.000-08:00

Just BecauseA Distraction

2010-12-05T18:44:00.000-08:00

So You Think the Oil and Gas Are Gone? Guess Again!

2010-12-05T08:46:00.000-08:00

(Please bear with the commercial - not my choice to put it there!)

Fishermen question Gulf seafood safety [h/t RealityZone]

More Deepwater Horizon coverage at the Lair

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What's on Your Dinner Table?

2010-11-24T19:30:00.000-08:00

[click photo - playlist 37:22]

Monsanto: They're killing you! - [playlist 1:49:07]

president FINALLY gets with it

2010-11-24T19:01:00.000-08:00

.

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Well Ain't That The Truth!

2010-11-16T20:31:00.000-08:00

Non Sequitur by Wiley

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So Simple Even a Child Can Understand It E-Waste

2010-11-15T20:18:00.000-08:00

The Story of Electronics at The Story of Stuff Project

Ghana - Digital Dumping Ground

More on the subject at the Lair
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Just Thinkin'

2010-11-12T12:36:00.000-08:00

G20 SUMMIT - SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA

[click photo]

THE WAR ROOM - "DR. STRANGELOVE"

[click photo]

maybe we should try to help them

2010-10-25T11:46:00.000-07:00

. [click image]

See also the Sea Shepherd Gulf Rescue page....
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Not Ready...

2010-10-17T09:55:00.000-07:00

Non Sequitur by Wiley

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN!

2010-10-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

[click photo]

IMAGINE PEACE

'the love of my life has brown liquid leaking out of his ears'

2010-10-01T02:30:00.000-07:00

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More Deepwater Horizon coverage at the Lair

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I'll Have a Side of Arsenic With That!

2010-09-26T11:57:00.000-07:00

So, you're planning on going out to a nice dinner tonight at your favorite seafood restaurant. Well, you might think again. Where did that seafood come from? Despite the claims of the Obama administration and the FDA, that the gulf seafood is perfectly safe to consume, evidence casts a much different image.

COREXIT
First there is the issue of the dispersant Corexit which was used extensively by BP to "manage" the leak, thereby hiding the true amount of oil leak and avoiding greater fines based on that amount. Currently there is no test being used for the presence of Corexit in the sea food in spite of the fact that oil and Corexit have been found in blue crab larvae. NOAA and the FDA claim to be working on a test, but also claim there is no problem from the highly toxic dispersant.

“They don’t expect to find dispersant in fish but are operating out of an abundance of caution,” says Christine Patrick, a spokeswoman for fisheries programs at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. Link

Abundance of caution my ass!

“It’s because people need more reassurance and confidence ... (which are) not as controllable as you would hope.”

Do I smell the stench of propaganda?
In addition to contamination of the seafood, Corexit is having dire affects on the cleanup workers and those living along the Gulf Coast. More on that HERE.

HEAVY METALS
Also there is no testing being done for heavy metals. These include highly toxic cadmium, lead, mercury and arsenic.

Both National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and FDA officials told Raw Story that fish and shellfish being tested for the purpose of reopening waters to commercial and recreational fishing are not being tested for heavy metals. Link

This is particularly worrisome for several reasons:

“We know that heavy metals are linked to the development of cancer over the course of time,” said Edward Trapido, the Wendell Gauthier Chair of Cancer Epidemiology at the Louisiana State University School of Public Health. “So if there is no testing, then that’s a problem for sure.”

Trapido testified in June at a House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment hearing on the spill and is heading a research group at LSU that will look at a range of health effects, including psychiatric and behavioral effects, chronic diseases and cancers.

He pointed out that heavy metals also have associations with Alzheimer’s disease and birth defects. Link

ARSENIC
Arsenic in low levels is common in the gulf. Occurring from the natural oil seeps in the sea floor, it is normally filtered out by the sediments in the sea floor, but the sea floor is now saturated with oil.

Professor Mark Sephton said arsenic, which is found in seawater, was normally filtered out of the ocean when it combined with sediment on the sea floor.
“But oil spills stop the normal process because the oil combines with sediment and it leads to an accumulation of arsenic in the water over time,” he said.
“Arsenic only needs to be a 10th of a part per billion to cause problems.” Link

A recent survey done by the Department of Marine Sciences at the University of Georgia has found the seafloor of the Gulf covered with a layer of oil from the blowout:

The Research Vessel Oceanus sailed on Aug. 21 on a mission to figure out what happened to the more than 4 million barrels of oil that gushed into the water. Onboard, Samantha Joye, a professor in the Department of Marine Sciences at the University of Georgia, says she suddenly has a pretty good idea about where a lot of it ended up. It's showing up in samples of the seafloor, between the well site and the coast.

"I've collected literally hundreds of sediment cores from the Gulf of Mexico, including around this area. And I've never seen anything like this," she said in an interview via satellite phone from the boat.

Joye describes seeing layers of oily material — in some places more than 2 inches thick — covering the bottom of the seafloor. Link

Above photo on the left is of a core sample showing a 2" layer of oil soaked sediment, on the right is a control sample of clean sediment.

This layer of oil in the sediments will surely hinder the absorption of arsenic causing the levels to rise in the water and within the invertebrates upon which other sea life feeds. This in turn will lead to a bio-accumulation of arsenic as it works its way up the food chain and into our food stock. This and other chemicals associated with the oil have already become an issue in the mullet which are being used as hog feed:

... mullet are bottom feeders so you don't know what they've been eating ... because of their migratory nature, you also don't know where they've been eating. This fisherman, nicknamed "Red," who talked about the oil not being visible on the surface because the dispersants have made it sink down into the water, explained how mullet eat, sucking just about anything into what he called their "gizzard,"...

With the very unsurprising revelation reported by NPR last Monday that the oil from the BP oil spill isn't gone, but has merely sunk to the sea floor, it's no big leap to assume that the diet of these bottom-feeding, migratory fish is likely to include just about anything in that "fluffy and porous" layer of oil and "recently dead" things reported by Samantha Joye from the Department of Marine Sciences at the University of Georgia... Link

Another bottom foraging fish, menhaden, is used extensively in the production Omega-3 fatty acid supplements for human consumption:

The fish used by Omega Protein Corporation is menhaden, a forage fish which, like the mullet, has a filtering system. Prior to the BP oil spill, the biggest concern about menhaden was that their numbers were becoming so depleted because of their use in Omega-3 fish oil and livestock feed. In short, menhaden are a natural water filter, with each adult fish capable of filtering several gallons of water per minute, clearing the water of excess algae to allow the sunlight to get to oxygen producing undersea plant life. One can only guess what the menhaden in the Gulf are now filtering out of the water there.

OTHER ISSUES
Among the other issues pertaining to the leak and use of Corexit are high levels of Natural Gas dissolved in the sea water, local residents with high levels of oil and Corexit associated chemicals in their bodies and massive fish kills.

COVER-UP
Much needs to be done to determine the safety of the seafood coming from the Gulf of Mexico but at the present time all we are getting is one big cover-up of the deadly serious situation.

Evidence of the cover-up begins with the use of Corexit to sink the oil that reached the surface as well as prevent it from even getting to the surface and continues with threats to reporters and ridiculous regulations being created out of nowhere. The Coast Guard is also involved, as shown in the last portion of the Truthout article.

All of this is to lessen British Petroleum's liability for damages as those damages are based on the amount of oil which was leaked. Another ploy BP has used is to shift the liability of contaminated seafood onto the shrimpers, oyster-men and fishermen whose livelihood depends on a viable source of seafood. A source which is now seriously in question. Livelihoods which have been disrupted if not destroyed.

We need the truth and we need it now!

More Deepwater Horizon coverage at the Lair

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The Coverup Continues!

2010-09-24T18:13:00.000-07:00

More Deepwater Horizon coverage at the Lair

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To 99's Poppa

2010-09-18T20:14:00.002-07:00

I wish I had met him...

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On Specificity

2010-09-11T08:56:00.000-07:00

Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller

Something to Ponder

2010-09-07T20:33:00.000-07:00

.

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Declare Independence!

2010-08-25T19:58:00.000-07:00

ht: 99

2010-08-20T22:46:00.000-07:00

From an article titled Climate change basics III – environmental impacts and tipping points:

The world’s climate is inherently dynamic and changeable. Past eons have borne witness to a planet choked by intense volcanic activity, dried out in vast circumglobal deserts, heated to a point where polar oceans were as warm as subtropical seas, and frozen in successive ice ages that entombed northern Eurasia and America under miles of ice. These changes to the Earth’s environment imposed great stresses upon ecosystems and often led to mass extinctions of species. Life always went on, but the world was inevitably a very different place.

We, a single species, are now the agent of global change. We are undertaking an unplanned and unprecedented experiment in planetary engineering, which has the potential to unleash physical and biological transformations on a scale never before witnessed by civilization.

When climate change is discussed in the modern context, it is usually with reference to global warming, caused by anthropogenic pollution from the burning of fossil fuels. Since the furnaces of the industrial revolution were first ignited a few centuries ago, we have treated the atmosphere as an open sewer, dumping into it more a trillion tonnes of heat-trapping carbon dioxide (CO2), as well as methane, nitrous oxide and ozone-destroying CFCs. The atmospheric concentration of CO2 is now nearly 40% higher than at any time over the past million years...

From Climate Lab:

To examine possible tipping points in the earth's systems, the authors of the article, Tipping elements in the Earth's climate system, gathered data, reviewed literature and solicited opinions from climate experts on potential tipping elements in the earth's climate systems. Table 1 outlines nine of the most policy-relevant tipping elements they examined, the amount of global warming needed to cause the elements to tip, the timescales for warming, and a summary of key impacts of the warming.

[click illustrations to enlarge and clarify]

The authors of this study conclude that summer Arctic sea ice may be lost within 10 years. A number of other climate scientists note that albedo feedback makes summer and fall sea ice sensitive to moderate increases in temperature and that studies have shown that once sea ice retreats to a certain point, remaining ice can be lost without additional temperature increases. Concerns that the Arctic may have crossed a tipping point have been rekindled by recent observations establishing that the Arctic has been melting much more quickly than many scientists had predicted.

Significant changes in the Arctic environment could lead to dramatic swings in weather and climate patterns across the rest of the globe, with potentially far-reaching consequences for ecosystems and human populations. The influx of large amounts of freshwater into the northern Atlantic Ocean from a melting Arctic ice cap, for example, and the Greenland ice sheet, may alter the Atlantic Themohaline Circulation, which brings warm water north from the Caribbean to North Europe. According to some scientists, a change is this circulation that might occur in next 100 years if current climate trends are not reversed. The collapse of one system may lead to the collapse of other systems, causing highly disruptive changes over relatively short time periods. Dr. James Hansen has warned that the earth's climate system is reaching dangerous tipping points, that "elements of a 'perfect storm', a global cataclysm, are assembled." Hansen warns that, "The tipping point for life on the plant will occur when so many interdependent species are lost that ecosystems collapse."

The following illustrations and conclusion are from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's publication Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report (AR4):

Observed changes in (a) global average surface temperature; (b) global average sea level from tide gauge (blue) and satellite (red) data; and (c) Northern Hemisphere snow cover for March-April. All differences are relative to corresponding averages for the period 1961-1990. Smoothed curves represent decadal averaged values while circles show yearly values. The shaded areas are the uncertainty intervals estimated from a comprehensive analysis of known uncertainties (a and b) and from the time series (c).

Locations of significant changes in data series of physical systems (snow, ice and frozen ground; hydrology; and coastal processes) and biological systems (terrestrial, marine, and freshwater biological systems), are shown together with surface air temperature changes over the period 1970- 2004. A subset of about 29,000 data series was selected from about 80,000 data series from 577 studies. These met the following criteria: (1) ending in 1990 or later; (2) spanning a period of at least 20 years; and (3) showing a significant change in either direction, as assessed in individual studies. These data series are from about 75 studies (of which about 70 are new since the TAR) and contain about 29,000 data series, of which about 28,000 are from European studies. White areas do not contain sufficient observational climate data to estimate a temperature trend. The 2 x 2 boxes show the total number of data series with significant changes (top row) and the percentage of those consistent with warming (bottom row) for (i) continental regions: North America (NAM), Latin America (LA), Europe (EUR), Africa (AFR), Asia (AS), Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), and Polar Regions (PR) and (ii) global-scale: Terrestrial (TER), Marine and Freshwater (MFW), and Global (GLO). The numbers of studies from the seven regional boxes (NAM, …, PR) do not add up to the global (GLO) totals because numbers from regions except Polar do not include the numbers related to Marine and Freshwater (MFW) systems. Locations of large area marine changes are not shown on the map.

Anthropogenic — of, relating to, or resulting
from the influence of human beings

(a) Global annual emissions of anthropogenic GHGs from 1970 to 2004. (b) Share of different anthropogenic GHGs in total emissions in 2004 in terms of CO2-eq. (c) Share of different sectors in total anthropogenic GHG emissions in 2004 in terms of CO2-eq. (Forestry includes deforestation.)

Comparison of observed continental- and global-scale changes in surface temperature with results simulated by climate models using either natural or both natural and anthropogenic forcings. Decadal averages of observations are shown for the period 1906-2005 (black line) plotted against the centre of the decade and relative to the corresponding average for the 1901-1950. Lines are dashed where spatial coverage is less than 50%. Blue shaded bands show the 5 to 95% range for 19 simulations from five climate models using only the natural forcings due to solar activity and volcanoes. Red shaded bands show the 5 to 95% range for 58 simulations from 14 climate models using both natural and anthropogenic forcings.

IMPACTS

MITIGATION

In Conclusion:

Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice and rising global average sea level.

Many natural systems, on all continents and in some oceans, are being affected by regional climate changes. Observed changes in many physical and biological systems are consistent with warming.

As a result of the uptake of anthropogenic CO2 since 1750, the acidity of the surface ocean has increased.

Global total annual anthropogenic GHG emissions, weighted by their 100-year GWPs, have grown by 70% between 1970 and 2004. As a result of anthropogenic emissions, atmospheric concentrations of N2O now far exceed pre-industrial values spanning many thousands of years, and those of CH4 and CO2 now far exceed the natural range over the last 650,000 years.

Most of the global average warming over the past 50 years is very likely due to anthropogenic GHG increases and it is likely that there is a discernible human-induced warming averaged over each continent (except Antarctica).

Anthropogenic warming over the last three decades has likely had a discernible influence at the global scale on observed changes in many physical and biological systems.

The pattern of future warming where land warms more than the adjacent oceans and more in northern high latitudes is seen in all scenarios.

Warming tends to reduce terrestrial ecosystem and ocean uptake of atmospheric CO2, increasing the fraction of anthropogenic emissions that remains in the atmosphere.

Anthropogenic warming and sea level rise would continue for centuries even if GHG emissions were to be reduced sufficiently for GHG concentrations to stabilize, due to the time scales associated with climate processes and feedbacks.

Equilibrium climate sensitivity is very unlikely to be less than 1.5°C.

Some systems, sectors and regions are likely to be especially affected by climate change. The systems and sectors are some ecosystems (tundra, boreal forest, mountain, Mediterranean-type, mangroves, salt marshes, coral reefs and the sea-ice biome), low-lying coasts, water resources in some dry regions at mid-latitudes and in the dry topics and in areas dependent on snow and ice melt, agriculture in low-latitude regions, and human health in areas with low adaptive capacity. The regions are the Arctic, Africa, small islands and Asian and African megadeltas. Within other regions, even those with high incomes, some people, areas and activities can be particularly at risk.

Impacts are very likely to increase due to increased frequencies and intensities of some extreme weather events. Recent events have demonstrated the vulnerability of some sectors and regions, including in developed countries, to heat waves, tropical cyclones, floods and drought, providing stronger reasons for concern as compared to the findings of the TAR. [IPCC's Third Assessment Report - 2001]

[Ed. note: Anyone wishing to marvel over the sudden near-impeccabletude of the formatting of this post, can thank ME. —99].

we're shocked, shocked

2010-08-19T14:54:00.000-07:00

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[click image]

More Deepwater Horizon coverage at the Lair
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Broken Promises - Deportees

2010-08-18T19:47:00.000-07:00

President Barack Obama has said his government would take on the thorny issue of immigration policy reform.

BUT

First year of Obama administration sees record amount of deportations.

LINK

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Emma Lazarus

Liberty

Obama's version

WTF Is Going On?

2010-08-15T18:53:00.000-07:00

This is unreal! At first I thought it was a changing camera angle, until the floor dropped. Upon a second viewing it is obvious it is not the camera angle. The ROV on the left remains stationary as does the the other probe on the right. Only the seafloor changes.

Days After Tar Balls Hit New York Beach Massive Fish Kills Stretch From New Jersey to Massachusetts

Tar balls in New York? Looks like this animation was right on the mark!

So it is capped - right? Guess again:

Static Kill - Fail

More Deepwater Horizon coverage at the Lair

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Toxocology of the Gulf

2010-08-11T19:14:00.000-07:00

Grab your coffee for this one, lots of good information, but her speaking style, to say the least, is not very stimulating...

Video 17:14

Independent scientists being kept from investigating the effects of the spill.

Matt Simmons silenced - an accident?

The BP Cover-Up

More Deepwater Horizon coverage at the Lair

calling all C.O.N.T.R.O.L. agents

2010-08-08T20:35:00.000-07:00

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[click image]

THIS IS NOT A DRILL.
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Back to Grade School 1950's A Refresher Course

2010-08-07T10:03:00.000-07:00

.Due to current events it is time to travel back and refresh our memories of what do

when...

A Is for Atom Video 14:43

The War Game Video 46:24

The Truth Game Video 1:19:17 (Now complete with final segment)

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max interviews captain paul watson

2010-08-05T15:24:00.000-07:00

It's in the second half of the show.

MORE

You're Doing One Heck of a Job BP!

2010-08-03T18:57:00.000-07:00

BP's Oil on Louisiana's Barrier Islands - FOX8 Story @ Yahoo! Video

Now BP wants to scale back the cleanup, but as shrimper ERIC ABAIR points out

We've got way too much oil in the Gulf not accounted for, and basically the way we feel out here, until it's all gone in the Gulf, nothing should be cut back.

What BP and US Government Don't Want You to Know - Democracy NOW!

More Deepwater Horizon coverage at the Lair

Can You Swim?

2010-08-01T10:39:00.000-07:00

More Glacier Melt at the Lair

Corked!

2010-07-19T20:27:00.000-07:00

UPDATED 7/20/10 - See below

As of last Thursday BP claims to have plugged the leaking well. This could be good news except have they really stopped it?

According to oil industry insider and former energy adviser to President George W. Bush there is in fact another massive hole seven miles from the BP leak which is pouring up to 150,000 barrels per day into the gulf: VIDEO LINK

Also there is evidence of leaks from a fracture in the sea floor: VIDEO LINK

This article postulates that all of this is in fact a calculated attempt by BP to limit its liabilities by hiding the real damage done through the use of dispersants as well as keeping reporters and scientists away from the spill and subsequently polluted areas:

BP’s Strategy to Limit Liability in Regard to Its Gulf Oil Gusher

This strategy includes, but is not limited to, intentionally underestimating the rate of flow of oil that’s being released into the Gulf of Mexico, prohibiting independent measurement of the BP oil gusher by unbiased third party scientists and engineers, the excessive and unprecedented use of dispersants (both on the surface and underwater), systematically and intentionally collecting as small an amount of oil as possible from the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and controlling and restricting media access to the areas affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil gusher.

....................................

As McClatchy has reported, it’s been obvious from the start that BP has looked at the oil spill through the lens of legal risk, not
reputational risk – BP moved quickly to hire all the best oil spill experts, to make sure they couldn’t testify against the company in coming litigation. They’re not really concerned about the truth; they’re more concerned about ensuring the complete destruction of the proof!

In fact BP as launched a program of buying up scientists to work on their defense team: VIDEO LINK

And what of the dispersants, what are the consequences of their use? VIDEO LINK

Now today we hear of a new strategy supposedly to seal the well which they call a Static Kill.

But what is the motive in that maneuver?

Kenneth Feinberg, who manages BP's 20-billion-dollar compensation fund, said capping the well would allow compensation claims to move forward more quickly as the extent of the damage becomes clearer.

He urged fishermen, oyster collectors and hotel owners and other businesses to come forward with claims, including emergency payments to cover the first six months of damages.

Residents face a tough choice: whether to accept compensation from the fund or pursue legal action against BP or the other companies involved.

"I'll be much more generous than any court will be, and at the same time you won't need to pay lawyers' costs," urged Feinberg.

"I'll be much more generous than any court will be..."

Give me a break, so far the payouts they have given equal little more than $3,000 per claim!

The company said it has made payments totaling $207 million to settle claims for damages. Almost 116,000 claims have been submitted and more than 67,500 payments have been made.

LINK

The Gulf way of life and culture are being destroyed and taken over by a Police State run by BP. Video Link

If the cork holds, if the sea floor doesn't blow out, if, if, if, this is one small victory, but the damage is done, BP has put up a smoke screen, and with the full cooperation of the US Government and the National Gaurd is hiding its true liabilities and quite literally getting away with murder!

UPDATE 7/10/20:

EPA Whistleblower Accuses Agency of Covering Up Effects of Dispersant in BP Oil Spill Cleanup

BP trying to legally ‘contaminate’ Gulf scientists: report

Gulf oil disaster could destroy over 100,000 jobs

Oil-spill victims on Grand Isle post protest

BP Oil Poisons the Gulf of Mexico's Food Chain

As the Gulf Fills With Oil...Obama Administration Twiddles Its Thumbs

2010-07-11T11:22:00.000-07:00

[click to enlarge]

Who's in Charge?

As an unprecedented amount of oil fouls the Gulf of Mexico, research scientists and ocean experts say the Obama administration's efforts to discover the magnitude of the damage are surprisingly uncoordinated.

If the government's higher estimates are accurate, the BP oil blowout already is the world's worst accidental oil spill ever.

Despite a spill that may already total more than 150 million gallons of oil, however, neither federal officials nor BP has mounted a speedy, focused inquiry to understand its impact.

The result:

-There's no comprehensive strategy for scientific inquiry in the Gulf. Therefore, there's no central system for organizing the research, sharing information or avoiding duplication.

-Two and a half months after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and sank, little is known about the present location of the plumes of oil and dispersants, where they're heading or how toxic the brew will be to creatures in its path. [editor's note: this is a leak, not a spill! It will only be a spill when the leak has stopped!]

Shrimpers Poisoned by the Dispersant/Oil Mixture

BP Medical Unit leader first claims they are looking at long term health studies of the Exxon Valdez responders then admits there are no such studies available.

BP and Coast Guard Finally Admit Mysterious Second Pipe in BOP

1,500 square mile Methane dead zone discovered - entire area surveyed so far

Despite concerns that the integrity of the well and BOP are compromised...

BP intends to put a cap on the well to stop 100% of the flow.

My questions regarding that procedure are:

What will they do if they remove that cap and the well pipe and the second pipe, which some reports claim has shot up through the BOP, come shooting out?

Do they know the volume of oil coming out and at what pressure?

If not, how can they be sure they can remove the oil and natural gas fast enough so as not to apply back pressure to the system which we know is already leaking into the rock strata and up through the sea floor?

With pressures estimated by some to be far beyond our technical capabilities, how will they do this?

What will they do in the event of a hurricane or even a storm with high seas?

Oil Slicks reach Miami

Loop Current predicted over leak site by July 15th

Dispersant/Oil mix penetrates cells and organs of organisms swimming through it

No test available for dispersants in sea food - currently the testing is for oil only!

Arsenic levels on the rise in the Gulf

Oil Slick at Mississippi Barrier Islands

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it's official

2010-07-05T13:39:00.000-07:00

The silver lining, here, is that maybe a bunch more media whores will become frightened enough to start doing their jobs, whether or not it gets them fired.

Of course, the truth is: It's too lethal to be near the spill at all. They should be evacuating the whole Gulf Coast and forcing cleanup workers to wear respirators and hazmat suits.