May 2010 archive

On July 27, 2003, the oil tanker Tasman Spirit ran aground at the entrance to the port city of Karachi.  Laden with sweet crude, the vessel lay beached for two weeks before eventually breaking up and spilling 35,000 tons (10,780,000 gallons) of her cargo into the bay, from which an estimated 11,000 metric tons of toxic gasses known as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) evaporated into the air.

Fumes from the volatile organic compounds and mist containing hydrocarbons, accompanied by a strong smell, dispersed into the residential area, the researchers and others said. Local hospitals reported many cases of headaches, nausea and dizziness and seventeen schools in the vicinity were closed for about a week. Local media showed pictures of piles of dead fish and turtles on the oiled beach.

The tragic incident so close to a large city provided a chance to test the effects of oil spill VOCs on densely populated areas. Immediately following the spill, researchers began to study the health impact of the noxious fumes on the city’s approximately 700,000 affected residents.  

Crossposted at DKOS after a long delay. Some really good comments over there!

Gradually, we have stopped really looking at the horror. Not that it is all horror. Life itself is sweet. It is that sudden gust of summer wind that carries honeysuckle and a mixture of green-tinted scents. This is life, so full and opulent. This great Goddess that nurtures us without stint, without regret, without reproach. She accepts us just as we are and always will no matter what we do. She will cry in a dark corner but blame no one. Crying and hurt is part of the nature of fecundity.

But what of us? Actually we don’t give a shit. Not really. We are able to live in a very artificial world very far away from our Great Mother who cools her heels beneath the window of our daydreams. Daydreams and fantasies dominate our world-we want fantasies to be real. It seems that we want to shape the world and other people to fit our fantasies.

Something is profoundly wrong with the way we live today. For thirty years we have made a virtue out of the pursuit of material self-interest: indeed, this very pursuit now constitutes whatever remains of our sense of collective purpose. We know what things cost but have no idea what they are worth. We no longer ask of a judicial ruling or a legislative act: Is it good? Is it fair? Is it just? Is it right? Will it help bring about a better society or a better world? Those used to be the political questions, even if they invited no easy answers. We must learn once again to pose them.

Tony Judt wrote the above in the first paragraphs of an article he wrote in the New York Review of Books. In a way he is stating the obvious but it is hard to understand what has happened during the period Judt describes unless you’ve lived through it. It seems like wondering what a good society might look like is almost forbidden. The general view is no other way of living is possible.

Its in the coastlines now, in the harbors, bays and myriad brackish branches of the bayou. Visions of fingerling rainbows sparkling their false gold promise in the sun, creep into my view. Beautiful death, such a mask for the evil. Bright orange globs and tarred waters tint and leach into these relentless prismatic wisps, breaking free and meandering, searching, seeking to spread its chokehold throughout the very alveoli that breathes life into the Gulf.

Mother, mother ocean, I have heard you call

Wanted to sail upon your waters since I was three feet tall

You’ve seen it all, you’ve seen it all

Watched the men who rode you switch from sails to steam

And in your belly you hold the treasures few have ever seen

Most of ’em dream, most of ’em dream

cross-posted at firefly-dreaming.

Today was a very beautiful day in New York City. After a late night I never got out of the apartment and spent the day enjoying beautiful cloud formations and a strong cold breeze. The sky cleared in the late afternoon but the clouds came back for sunset.

The view tonight seemed like a few sunsets, so there are many photos below the fold. I hope you enjoy the show.

Waxman sneaks anti-vitamin clause in Wall Street reform bill.

US wants to censor GMO frankenfood labeling on a global basis.

Pennsylvania want you to know they know where you live.

http://www.naturalnews.com/

Potential find of ancient artifacts in Egypt’s Giza area.

http://projectcamelotportal.com/

Deep politics of diversity.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/i…

Bilderberger Bloomberg shoots his mouth again.

http://www.infowars.com/bloomb…

1099 my 600 dollar ass!

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&s…

Yes We can?  Now Anybody Can.

http://cryptogon.com/?p=15176

Stealth local implimentation of discredited carbon scams.

http://www.blacklistednews.com…

And the bees are still dying.

http://www.blacklistednews.com…

And Superfriends+eugenics links are “changing”

http://www.vidoemo.com/yvideo….

Gee, can ya tell I’m in a shitty mood.

Handmade pins from the anti-gym struggle at Kent State, mid-70s

May 4 fell on a Monday in 1970.

At some point during the morning, four students each woke up, grabbed a toothbrush, maybe showered, got dressed, probably had a bite of breakfast, and headed out.

It wasn’t the proverbial day like any other day. For one thing, over the weekend National Guard troops had occupied their school, Kent State University.

Bill Schroeder and Sandy Scheuer both made their way to their first classes anyhow. Alison Krause figured she’d hit the big anti-war rally scheduled for the Commons at noon. So did Jeffrey Miller, despite the spreading reports that Kent State administrators planned to ban it.

At 12:24, they were flung into history.