Yesterday my COPD was sufficiently severe that I have been able to sleep, so instead of pushing myself, I’m limiting my blogging to today’s Open Thread and returning to bed. I’m current with replies. I should be back tomorrow.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:10 (average 5:12). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From MoveOn: Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon And The People Gas Companies Tell You Don’t Exist
There is no doubt whatsoever that Big Energy companies are profiting by killing and poisoning people. The methods they are using now must be outlawed, and the practice must be stopped altogether, until and unless they find a technique that safe for both humans and the environment. I strongly doubt that there is any such fracking technique.
From NY Times: A vast storm system descended on the Northeast on Friday, bringing high winds, deepening snow and threats of flooding to southern New England and reopening the old wounds of Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey and New York.
After a day of pelting wet snow, five states — New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Rhode Island — had declared states of emergency, and Massachusetts had banned vehicles from every road in the state. As dusk fell, conditions quickly deteriorated. Major highways like Interstate 93 were almost completely abandoned; downtown Boston, in blizzard conditions, was a ghost town lost in a swirl of howling winds and snow. Parked cars lost their shape and resembled scoops of ice cream.
I hope and pray that our friends in the effected area are exercising extreme care and staying safe and warm.
From Huffington Post: The founder of environmental group Sea Shepherd vowed Tuesday to continue disrupting Japan’s whaling fleet when it heads for the southern oceans this winter, despite authorities in at least three countries seeking his arrest.
Paul Watson, 61, was detained in Germany in May on a Costa Rican extradition warrant that accused him of endangering the crew of a fishing vessel in 2002.
About ten days ago the Canadian, who sees himself as an advocate for whales, sharks and other marine animals, skipped bail after learning that Japan, too, was seeking his extradition from Germany.
Personally, I have watched every episode of Whale Wars and have observed the care that the Sea Shepherds take to prevent the Japanese Whaling fleet from murdering whales without doing anything to hurt the Japanese crews. At the same time, I have seen whalers attempt to kill Sea Shepherds. I cannot fault Watson for evading a Japanese kangaroo court. I hope that the Sea Shepherds are successful in ending the murder of whales for profit under the guise of research.
Cartoon:
19 Responses to “Open Thread–2/9/2012”
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5:10 I got stung!
3:30 I was just buzzing along until I got smoked by TC, stopping me in mid flight.
3:11 Well, for once TomCat and I are one, two! Good win, TomCat!
Thanks. That happens all too infrequently anymore.
Look at it this way, you are still under the average!
TomCat – thank you for watching the videos Sea Shepherd protecting whales without endangering anyone else – I'm afraid that I just can't watch such things, I get into desperate straits and so wretched thinking of the poor whales, that I truly thank anyone who has watched such things and can give me an unbiased opinion. I am glad Paul Watson went to join his boat again and save the whales.
Sorry that your COPD was bad again – and am very glad you are resting for a while.
Hooray that Yoko Ono and others have formed a high profile pressure group against fracking – it seems that no matter where we are in the world, unless we unite and stand up for what we believe in and speak out loudly, we will not only get ridden over roughshod, but some poor souls will die from fracking and the ailments it causes – beyond attrocious! At least Yoko Ono can get publicity for the cause.
Pat in all that watching, I actually only saw one whale killed, and upsetting as it was, it was worth to see the Sea Shepherds' heroism on their behalf.
Thanks. Much better today.
Amen to that!
MoveOn ~ We are continuing our fight against fracking here where I live. There is an aquifer directly beneath this area. It supplies NYC and much of downstate with its water. Can you imagine how many would be poisoned if it were allowed here near the Adirondack Mountains?
NY Times ~ We got about a foot here and it appears to have stopped but we will still get some lake effect snow later today.
HuffPo ~ Fight on, Sea Shepherds!
Cartoon ~ Yes, Virginia, there is a Joseph McCarthy. He lives in the hearts and minds of every whack-job RepublicanT and Tea-Bagger in our country.
Be on the lookout for his ilk and never, ever vote for his kind. They spread hate and fear wherever they go.
I shudder to think of it.
I hope that's it for you.
Amen.
One need not look far to find one such.
It's great that Yoko has joined the fight, along with Mark Ruffalo,Susan Sarandon, Josh Fox – the army grows and some more cash flow for mini-documentaries like the one you posted and a shorter commercial. Our fight in NY is scoming to a precipice the SGEiS (environmental health impact statement (which excludes any mention of "health") is due for submission this week, which means that the regulations (so poorly written that a civilian can easily discover flaws in favor of the industry (we submitted over 204'000 letters of critique of these regs to the DEC), after the SGEIS is submitted these "regulations must be submitted within 2 weeks and the Governor must make a decision – probably by the end of the month! Trips to Albany and protests here in NYC – keep us pretty occupied.
Preparing for Feb 17th rally for global warming in DC!!!!
Hope you rest up and feel better Tom — thanks for the mention of the Sea Shepherds!
I hoped your efforts are fruitful.
Cool. Bring home pics!
Thanks and you're welcome.
Tom I'm a HUGE Whale Wars fan as well, and agree with every single thing they are doing. That being said I hope you get to feeling better man.
Thanks Mike. I'm not surprised that we are on the samew page here.
If any of you have friends/family that live in any of the five New York Boroughs, this is a useful site to tell them when their block will be – or has been – plowed. Just type in the address, and click.
They can also click on the street in front their place to find out if it's a Primary, Secondary or Tertiary route, and when it was last serviced.
PLUS by clicking the bar on the right side for "Searched Information" –> "Additional Information" –> "Building & Property Information" they can find out a LOT about the building.they live in
http://www.nyc.gov/html/oem/html/nycsevereweather/weather_plowtracker.shtml
Nameless, that's most useful for folks there. Thanks!
Thanks for the post. I hope you feel better tomorrow. I can't watch whale wars or anything else that shows animals being mistreated because I get crazy when I do.
Glad Yoko is taking an interest in fracking, she will get the needed publicity.
McCarthy is still around in the minds and hearts of those who call themselves conservatives.
Edie, please see my reply to Pat.
Me too.
Or at least, most.
Puzzle — 3:30 I was just buzzing along until I got smoked by TC, stopping me in mid flight.
MoveOn — It was difficult to watch the video because the sound kept breaking up. That said, I know enough about fracking to know that it should be illegal. From contaminated water to earthquakes caused by the enormous pressure put into the ground, fracking is good for no one except the companies that benefit from it. Did anyone notice that some of the trucks bore the name 'Haliburton' on them. Could that be Chickenhawk Cheney's company? It would certainly make sense that that cold hearted bastard would be profiting from the pain of others.
NY Times — I too hope that everyone, on both sides of the border stays safe. Where my family lives in Ontario, they were getting approximately 40 cm of snow and howling winds as was the Lake Ontario-St Lawrence Seaway corridor. Out here, when we get big snow storms like a few years ago around Christmas, the skiers are the ones having the most fun — skiing to get groceries etc.
Huffington Post — An ecological and legal boondogle. I feel like I gre up around the name Sea Shepherd and remember rainbow coloured zodiaks at one time.
So the Japanese are targeting Sea Shepherd and Watson, yet they are the ones who are the criminals whaling in an international whale sanctuary and burning diesel at too low temperatures against the law. It is against all common decency to go after endangered species, let alone against the law. The Japanese and others need to change their ways.
I have never seen Whale Wars but since it is television, I won't be able to (no cable). I have in the past seen pictures of Japanese factory whaling ships and was thoroughly disgusted.
Cartoon — Ah, Joe McCarthy, the godfather of 'a communist behind every curtain'. This man single handedly created more fear and intimidation than any other that I know of, simply by turning every liberal thinking individual into a communist sympathiser in a time when the US was locked in a cold war with the USSR. Countless careers were ruined, and people defamed and imprisoned.
Woooo Hoooo! 😀
Amen!
Amen again!
You can watch episodes here:
http://animal.discovery.com/tv-shows/whale-wars
Then there was just one of him in office. Now there are dozens.