grantlawrence Fishermen Hospitalized: BP Not Allowing Clean-Up Workers to Use Respirators
Image by Rusty Boxcars via Flickr
By Grant Lawrence
7 Fishermen in the clean up attempt in the Gulf were hospitalized recently. The Coast Guard temporarily called a halt to the clean up. The managed media is attempting to portray the Gulf clean-up sickness as a result of stress, heat, and exposure to chemicals.
– Stress combined with heat and exposure to chemicals could be among the factors that sent seven Gulf fishermen who were helping with oil cleanup to the hospital Wednesday, experts say…..The cleanup workers’ complaints of dizziness, nausea and headaches prompted authorities to pull all vessels off the water Wednesday…..(source: cnn)
The supposed experts in the above CNN news report are spouting nonsense.
The fishermen are used to hard work, long hours, and heat. What they are not used to is the chemicals coming from the oil and oil dispersant that is killing the Gulf.
Previously I reported on Gulf Coast fisherman getting sick.
“It’s like sniffing gasoline,” a fisherman says regarding the oil and oil dispersant that sent him to the hospital. The doctor reported that he looked like a 3 pack-a-day smoker, but he didn’t smoke.
See Also
Sick Gulf Coast Fishermen: Early Sign of a Chernobyl like Environmental Nightmare
Why?
According to Clint Guidry, president of the Louisiana Shrimp Association:
…..If you would do your research, the same situation occurred with Exxon Valdez over twenty years ago. It is a question of liability. The minute BP declares that there is a respiratory danger on the situation is the day that they let the door open for liability suits down the line. If they could have gotten away with covering this up, like they did in Alaska Valdez situation, like Exxon, they would not have to pay a penny for any kind of health-related claims….(source; democracy now)
The oil and chemicals are not only beginning to make the clean-up workers sick, but it will have long term health consequences for the people of the Gulf.
The odor is so bad that Guidry reports:
….The closest I got was Venice, Louisiana, and you could smell it from Venice. At the time I was down there, they were actually spraying Corexit 9527A on the oil spill on top of the water and spraying all around—Venice sits on a peninsula, the Mississippi River, right at the—right above the Head of the Passes. And they were actually spraying this Corexit in the air all around where people were living, with kids and children, and continuously saying how safe it was, which is incorrect….(source)
Just like what occurred after the Sept, 11th attacks, brave workers are doing what they can to try to help in a disaster. These workers will likely have to suffer for years and years, just like those workers of 9/11 did. Some might even die from their clean-up efforts. But these workers are knowingly risking their health and maybe even their lives.
Guidry says, “I spoke to several individuals. It was a choice between not paying the bills and having food for their families and maybe taking a chance of getting sick.”
BP is a despicable company that has been engaged in all types of environmental and safety violations.
This company makes me sick.
But more importantly, BP is contributing to the sickness of the clean-up workers because it won’t allow them to wear respirators.
It is all about money for BP. Since it is all about money, BP should be made to pay until they are no longer in business. BP should no longer be Beyond Prosecution. They should be taken out for their illegal and unethical business practices .
Who knows, if BP is taken out then maybe some other Beyond Prosecution Corporations might get the message.
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grantlawrence “Am I My Brother’s Keeper?” The Life of the Earth Depends on Your Answer
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By Grant Lawrence
Greg Braden, a spiritual teacher of some significance, uses science to explain in easy to understand terms the connection between our feelings and the world.
Science has traditionally told us that human feeling can only effect a person physically. In the past, there was even some debate on how much feelings do effect our health.
Today we know that our feelings can contribute tremendously to our health or our ill health. Today we also know, thanks to quantum scientific research, that the physical world is connected to consciousness.
We are literally the universe and not in any way separate from it. We must start seeing our lives in terms of the whole world and the whole of life. Once we start to see how intimately our feelings are connected to everything else, we can begin to embrace our own power.
But this power comes with a great deal of responsibility. When we have grasped the truth of our being, then we understand that we are responsible for the life of the world.
As Cain asked in the Old Testament Garden of Eden Story, “am I my brother’s keeper?”
The answer is that we are our brothers keeper. Our brother is all the life of the planet. We are all responsible for each other.
The good news is that once we start to see this truth then we start to feel better about ourselves and our lives. Thus as we raise our feelings, our very being, then we can have profound effects on the rest of life, as Greg Braden explains below.
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grantlawrence “People are Dying!” but Don’t Ask Questions
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By Grant Lawrence
“We’re about to die down here!”
Former Clinton adviser James Carville goes ballistic on the lack of Obama activity in trying to save the Gulf. He says the President has got to start taking control and do something because “people are dying!”
But the Obama Administration says it is BP’s problem and they have to take care of it.
Not quite, President Obama.
The people of the United States didn’t elect BP as President, although it is near certain that this corporation thinks it runs the government. The country needs a leader that can take the disaster out of the hands of the people that caused the disaster. Then that leader needs to make sure that BP pays for government efforts to solve the problem and clean up the mess.
Also, as Carville says, President Obama and Congress should begin investigations and start criminal probes into what exactly occurred in the Gulf of Mexico.
But Don’t Ask Questions
Naturally people have questions about BP and the Gulf Oil Disaster, but White House Press Secretary Gibbs has scolded the lap dog press in a private session for getting off the President’s lap. Or in other words, for asking too many questions on a particular topic.
What topic should the White House Press forget about?
The BP Oil Gusher Disaster
The press needs to concentrate on other things, according to the White House. Never mind, the life of the Gulf of Mexico is facing a calamity of Biblical proportions.
Don’t ask questions, it is better that way.
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grantlawrence 
- Image by Cory M. Grenier via Flickr
“It’s like sniffing gasoline,” a fisherman says regarding the oil and oil dispersant that is killing the Gulf of Mexico.
The Doctor told the fisherman that his lungs look like he has been smoking 3 packs-a-day. But he is not a smoker.
This BP gusher could end up being the environmental destruction of our worst nightmare. All brought to you by deregulation and the willful lack of regulation of Big Oil.
Grant Lawrence
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grantlawrence 
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By Grant Lawrence
The BP deep water drilling disaster in the Gulf of Mexico was subsidized by the US government.
What that means is that one of the richest industries in the world, the oil business, received government tax breaks and relief, or corporate welfare, so that oil companies could develop technologies for deep water drilling.
…But the expansion of deepwater drilling wasn’t solely a result of industry rushing into deeper waters and toward greater profit. According to the Los Angeles Times, it was also encouraged by the federal government, which gave oil companies tens of billions [2] in tax breaks, subsidies, and royalty relief. Many of these incentives have outlasted their initial purpose, according to the Times…. (source: propublica)
The government give-aways to Big Oil has been going on for decades.
But then there was the 2005 Energy Policy Act:
….the largest energy bill in years. The committee chairman, Rep. Joe L. Barton (R- Texas), a friend of the industry, had saved some big issues for the end: billions of dollars in tax and royalty relief to encourage drilling for oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico and other offshore areas. There was even a $50-million annual earmark to support technical research for the industry….(source: latimes)
Well if you are easily misled then you might think an industry making astronomical, even obscene, profits would have to have US government help so that America could become more energy independent.
But in truth:
“…No reputable economist believes that increasing the amount of [offshore] drilling we do will have any real impact on energy prices,” said Rep. Nick J. Rahall II (D-W.Va.), chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, in a hearing last year as he called for the end of some of the royalty waiver programs and for a more cautious approach to drilling…..(source)
See Also
The Oily Obama Scam: New Drilling Will Do Nothing for America’s Energy Independence
There is something called disaster capitalism and the United States is being ruined by it. It means that the oil found in the coastal US will be sold on the world markets to the highest bidders. Incidentally, this disaster capitalism is what either killed or forced half of the Irish population to leave Ireland during the Great Potato Famine. (see A People’s History of the Great Irish Famine and What it Means for us Today) But that is just one more terrible and sordid story brought to humanity by disaster capitalism.
In the mean time, there is talk in Congress about bailing out BP for their malicious acts and irresponsible behavior. In the US, individuals are expected to stand on their own 2 feet while corporations are expected to be subsidized by those very same individuals.
It is all a sad and terrible mess brought to you by politicians that are bought and paid for by the true owners of this country–the Super Wealthy Financial and Corporate Class.
The deep water drilling, that has nearly destroyed the Gulf of Mexico, was subsidized by a government that has expected you to dig deep to pay for corporate welfare to Big Oil.
Oh and be prepared to dig even deeper.
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grantlawrence 
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The Jackass of the Day is given to a person, persons, groups, organizations, or corporations that have shown incredible stupidity, carelessness, and/or heartlessness.
“…And I think it’s part of this sort of blame-game society in the sense that it’s always got to be someone’s fault. And instead of the fact that maybe sometimes accidents happen, I mean, we had a mining accident that was very tragic, and I’ve met a lot of these miners and their families. They’re very brave people to do a dangerous job. But then we come in, and it’s always someone’s fault. Maybe sometimes accidents happen…..”(source: democracy now)
Jackass of the Day Rand Paul referring to the BP Oil Gusher Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico
I like Congressman Ron Paul. As I have written before, I don’t agree with his libertarian philosophy. But I do admire his efforts to expose the Federal Reserve, the Banksters, US Empire, and the present day fascism that runs America.
Unfortunately, his Senate hopeful son Rand Paul is a fool.
It seems every time he is interviewed he makes a jackass of himself. For instance, recently he got into some trouble for questioning what parts of the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act he would have supported. Later he says he would have supported it all. Then he blames his problems on loony, lefty liberals.
But Rand’s problem is Rand’s ignorance.
He says accidents happen and Americans should stop the “Blame Game”. But the BP Oil Gusher killing the Gulf is more than just an accident.
BP has had a terrible, and some would say criminal, history of breaking federal laws regarding workplace safety and environmental regulations. They have even earned the nickname of ‘Beyond Prosecution’ because nothing seems to be done about their nefarious activities.
According to Tyson Slocum, Director of Public Citizens Energy Program….
“…..They have been fined over $550 million over the last several years for various infractions of federal laws spanning workplace safety, environmental protection, and even anti market manipulation walls. One of the worst issues with BP was a refinery explosion in Texas City, Texas in March of 2005 that resulted in BP pleading guilty to a criminal felony violation of the Clean Air Act and paying over $150 million in fines for the explosion that resulted in the deaths of fifteen workers, and serious injury to 170 other workers. The important issue here as we’ve seen in multiple other instances with BP, Amy, is that the immediate investigation found hundreds of workplace violations. The company was fined, it was placed on probation where BP was expected to address the hundreds of systemic workplace safety violations that were found. When the Obama administration reviewed whether or not BP had been in compliance with this probationary period, last year, the Obama administration’s Department of Labor found that BP failed to comply with the terms of its probation and fined the company and additional $87 million…. (source: Democracy Now)
As far as the Massey Energy Coal Mining Disaster in West Virginia that Rand Paul refers to:
…the Upper Big Branch Mine being run by Massey Energy was cited for 1300 safety violations since 2005, according to a report by Democracy Now. Fifty of those violations are said to be ‘unwarrantable failure.” They were violations involving life and death failures over ventilation and other issues….(source: bodhi thunder)
Rand Paul is right about one thing. The Massey Coal Mining Disaster and the BP Oil Gusher Gulf Disaster are similar. Both have resulted from corporate arrogance, greed, and government deregulation or a lack of regulation.
But Rand Paul foolishly blames the problem on a “blame game society”. As if the problem will go away if we stop blaming and start congratulating BP and Massey energy for skirting government regulations and the law.
Rand also says Obama’s blaming of BP is ‘Un-American’. A truly bizarre observation. As if blaming a disaster on the people that cause the disaster is somehow Un-American simply because they are a transnational foreign corporation.
If you caused the disaster, would it be Un-American to blame you simply because you are American?
See Also
What Would Happen to You if You Destroyed the Gulf of Mexico?
Rand Paul is a political disaster. Every time his lips move he proves that he doesn’t have a clue as to what is happening. But perhaps his ignorance will somehow endear him to the people of Kentucky. After all, it has gotten him a lot of Tea Party support.
So for being incredibly stupid, or at least for trying to convince the stupid, Rand Paul gets recognized as our Jackass of the Day
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grantlawrence 
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Grant Lawrence
Even an obtuse, silly person like Sarah Palin is beginning to understand that the massive disaster that is forming in the Gulf is having severe environmental consequences. But she and the Republican Party are not worried about the environmental consequences, or even the people of the Gulf of Mexico. They are worried about political consequences.
Thus, she now conveniently forgets her own ‘Drill Baby Drill’ mantra that was repeated throughout the Presidential Campaign in 2008. Instead, Palin says that President Obama’s seeming inactivity in dealing with the BP Oil Gusher Disaster in the Gulf must be because of his Big Oil connections.
….Speaking during a Fox News segment, Palin suggested campaign contributions may explain why Obama was “taking so doggone long to get in there, to dive in there and grasp the complexity and the potential tragedy that we are seeing here in the Gulf of Mexico.”
“I don’t know why the question isn’t asked by the mainstream media and by others if there’s any connection with the contributions made to president Obama and his administration and the support by the oil companies to the administration,” she added….(source: raw story)
Just a few weeks ago Palin was worried that the American people were going to lose faith in oil companies.
“Very tragic….I want our country to be able to trust the oil industry…..We’ve got to tap domestically because energy security will be the key to our prosperity….” (source: bodhi thunder)
For that bit of stupidity I awarded Sarah Palin my “Jackass of the Day.”
See also
Jackass of the Day–Sarah Palin
There is no doubt that President Obama’s decision to authorize more coastal drilling recently was because he is in bed with Big Oil. He went back on his campaign promises and did precisely what he said he wouldn’t and that was authorize more drilling.
“Although the Gulf of Mexico will be further trashed by President Obama’s decision, the good news is that supposedly America will have more oil so we can move beyond depending on foreign sources for our energy needs. President Obama, we are told, is helping to make America energy independent by polluting the coastlines. It is a dirty choice that but it has to be made. President Obama has to secure America’s energy needs and blah, blah, blah, and more blah, blah, blah.
So our peace prize winning, environmental President has to do what he has to do.
But what is not being mentioned by the managed sound bites and the spin in the media is that the oil that will eventually come from the coast or in Alaska will be sold by oil companies on the world market. Oil speculators can then drive up the prices for a barrel of the oil by reselling it over and over and over. The new American coastal oil, like our domestic oil does now, will likely end up all over the world because there is no rule on keeping the oil in this country. This is called capitalism and trade….(source: grant lawrence–bodhi thunder)
President Obama is in fact in bed with Big Oil. Obama and Palin represent a political establishment that is in bed with Big Oil. The whole dirty, oily political system that both Obama and Palin are a product of is destroying this country.
Both Obama and Palin are not only in bed with Big Oil, they are whores for Big Oil and any other corporate interests with enough money to make them turn a trick.
Sadly this is what passes for leadership in America.
Sadly we are now paying disastrous consequences for this political prostitution.
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grantlawrence 
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War is hell for everyone.
In the video below the soldiers vent a bit of their own hell on some wild dogs in Iraq. They blow the dogs up and explode in raucous laughter.
See also
All War is a Crime and There are No “Good Wars”
So we can get upset about the terrible cruelty. But war makes people inhumane.
That is what people don’t want to understand.
That war is brutal.
We dress up the brutality with terms like ‘collateral damage’ but that doesn’t make war any less brutal. We wave flags and have parades, but that is nothing more than national funeral rites to hide the death and indignity.
Obviously the war torn in invaded countries suffer horrendously.
But so do the soldiers that must fight the wars so that the super rich and super powerful will get even more super rich and super powerful.
When the troops come home, often after numerous tours, they carry the hell in their hearts and minds. The hell and the stink of war often stays with the soldiers and it gets dealt with in violence, drugs, PTSD, and other dysfunctions.
All pay the price for the hell of war. The people that get invaded pay with death, destruction, and incredible physical and mental suffering. The soldiers pay with their lives and their psyches. The invading nation(s) pay for all of it with the loss of their humanity, their dignity, and their wealth. War not only makes the invaded poor, it also makes the invaders poor. Only the owners of the invading country(s) win.
The ‘killing dogs for fun’ video is an example of the madness and inhumanity that takes over in war.
There is no glory in war.
Grant Lawrence
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grantlawrence 
- Image via Wikipedia
By Grant Lawrence
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov is the President of Kalmykia, the only Buddhist Republic in Russia and in Europe. The people in Kalmyka are mainly a remnant from the Mongol invasions. Mongolians have for the most part adopted Buddhism and the people of Kalmykia are no different, although they are a part of Russia.
Kirsan, besides being a leader of a small Russian Republic, has also been a the President of the FIDE (the World Chess Federation).
He has been criticized for his millions, his authoritarianism (although he had been elected to the post of President), possible corruption, and his promotion of chess in the Republic.
….The millionaire former businessman has a reputation as an eccentric character.
As president of the World Chess Federation, he has spent tens of millions of dollars turning the impoverished republic into a mecca for chess players – building an entire village to host international tournaments…..(source:bbc)
Oh, and there is one thing that makes him different from most critters.
President Kirsan claims to have been abducted by Aliens over 10 years ago.
He says the abduction occurred in a Moscow apartment while on official business. He was taken on a space ship and taken to another star system by alien beings. Kirsan says he was a little worried because he had to make it back in time for a trip to the Ukraine the next day.
The ET abductors told him he would have plenty of time.
These aliens, besides being not much concerned about time, are pretty much just like humans, according to the President. Kirsan says, “They have the same mind, the same vision.” He says he understood them completely.
The assertion that ET is like us should make us a little worried about Alien intentions. If they are like us, we should be expecting an invasion to bring freedom and to liberate us of our natural resources. Maybe they even could develop a taste for human steak.
So I am hoping Kirsan is wrong about Aliens and that they aren’t just like us.
The President of Kalmykia claims that thousands of people the world over also understand him completely. They have congratulated him for his courage to speak out about his abduction.
But there are some people that are a little upset about President Kirsan’s UFO encounters.
See also
Russian MP Andre Lebedev wants the Kirsan investigated for what he might have told the Aliens. Kirsan has said that the Aliens are here collecting samples, but the Russian MP thinks that he might have been giving away state secrets.One thing is clear is that Kirsan is brilliant, eccentric, and an excellent promoter. He also knows how to financially take care of himself. So perhaps the President of the small Buddhist Republic is looking for more than chess to put his country on the map. Perhaps this alien abduction claim is just another promotion to help himself and his country.
But admitting to seeing a UFO doesn’t make for the best publicity, especially if you are in public office. Also if you say you were abducted, then you are putting yourself up for ridicule and perhaps even a check up at the local clinic.
Tens of thousands of people have claimed ET abductions the world over. There are a variety of explanations for this, ranging from mental illness to psycho-neurological abnormalities. Some are obviously lying.
Another thing is clear. Psychology experiments show that we tend to see what we want to see. If our minds are closed to experiences, or certain patterns of energy, then we will likely shut ourselves off from these experiences and limit our perceptions. Buddhists generally have a broader understanding of various worlds beyond the physical. They also believe in lives beyond this one. Having a broader view of reality often opens people up to broader experiences.
Perhaps President Kirsan has a mind that is more expanded and thus able to remember and cope with experiences that go beyond the norm. People likely have plenty of paranormal experiences that they block from consciousness because it doesn’t fit their worldview.
Or, perhaps President Kirsan is a great promoter and has found another way, besides chess, to promote himself and his people.
There are those, like the Russian MP, that take Kirsan seriously. Maybe even his ET friends do too.
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- Russian MP Wants Russian President to Investigate UFO Alien Encounter of Official (grantlawrence.blogspot.com)
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grantlawrence 
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See Also,
By Grant Lawrence
The world’s eco-system is collapsing. From the birds to the bees to the frogs and bats. Something is seriously wrong.
According to a UN bio-diversity report:
….The economic case for global action to stop the destruction of the natural world is even more powerful than the argument for tackling climate change, a major report for the United Nations will declare this summer…..(source: guardian.co.uk)
Human kind must come to a rapid understanding that our economic activities have to be considered in terms of our total eco-system. Unless humanity takes a much broader approach that takes into consideration our whole system, and not just aspects of it that benefit the very very few, we will be facing even more severe environmental, social, and economic consequences.
The message of the BP Gulf Gusher Disaster is that we can no longer allow certain economic interests to determine our destiny. The people of the planet have to understand their place as part of the eco-system.
….The UN report’s authors go further with their warning on biodiversity, by saying if the goods and services provided by the natural world are not valued and factored into the global economic system, the environment will become more fragile and less resilient to shocks, risking human lives, livelihoods and the global economy.
“We need a sea-change in human thinking and attitudes towards nature: not as something to be vanquished, conquered, but rather something to be cherished and lived within,” said the report’s author, the economist Pavan Sukhdev…..(source)
Just changing leadership positions and making a few more meaningless laws is not what is needed.
We have seen this time and again. The new boss is the same as the old boss, regulations are discarded or not followed, and laws are made to be broken.
Instead there need to take a systemic view that involves systemic change. That means changing the game so that the present power structure no longer destroys our environment in the name of consumption.
Our bio-system is being destroyed. It is a product of a consciousness of greed based on ignorance. We need to open our eyes immediately and come to a better understanding that humanity is a part of the world and the universe. We must live in harmony with all of our relations (animal, plant, and mineral).
Expanding our Awareness and Understanding is not just a nice thing. It is a mandate for our survival and the survival of much of the planet.
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