Monday, May 31, 2010

CHOPPING WOOD AND TOTING WATER

Henny Penny telling me how it is.

A chickadee joins the conversation briefly

CHOPPING WOOD AND TOTING WATER from Murph

While I am out making big pieces of wood into smaller pieces of wood that I can get in the wood burner to heat the shop, I find myself mulling over all the information that I see every day on the web, on the TV and in magazine articles and other print media. During this forced bout of exercise the chickens and dog hang around under my feet and getting in the way of splitting a 20” round and I have to keep shooing them all away, being afraid of them getting hurt in the act of swinging a deadly instrument with all the force my aging body can produce. After 8 or 10 swings, I have to rest a bit, I sit down and the chickens gather round and peck into the ground looking for the mostly non existent tasty bugs they expect to find. That’s when the conversation with Henny Penny begins (our oldest barred rock hen). She exhibits that old phrase that wisdom comes with age, (she is 5 now). I sit on a log panting from my exertions, and venting my frustrations at the insanity I see and read about going on in the world. She clucks and does her “yuuuurp” comments without much enthusiasm, castigating me for being such a slacker. Sort of a “this should have been done a month ago” type of complaint.

Upon reflection of my comments concerning the financial bull shit going on, I was informed that living beings really didn’t need money. The implication was that since she and the other troops in the flock didn’t need money, and obviously the rabbits and the chipmunks and local squirrels didn’t, I shouldn’t either. When I pointed out that her feed necessitated having money to buy it, she just shook her head and took another dust bath.

When I expressed my frustration with the local politics and how stupid and unproductive they were and how destructive they were on the local population she invited me to take a dust bath with her, saying it would calm my nerves.

So ignoring the little voice in my head that said the Freeacre wouldn’t approve and just might call 911 if she caught me, I squirmed around on the ground , making a shallow depression and flipped dust and sand all over myself. Henny Penny was very approving and commented “now doesn’t that feel better”? As I lay there with my imaginary wings spread out in the sunlight I had to admit that yeh, it felt good, although I did feel a bit stupid.

About this time some more of the flock came around and commented on the goings on. Henny was encouraging and told the rest that I was just learning to relax and enjoy the sunshine since I was all wound up over the goings on of the human critters.

I finally got up, dusted off and split another round, and low and behold, there were some tasty bugs in the center. Henny commented: “See how easy that was”?

Seeing how the day was going I sat down on a log again and the rest of the flock (except for Henny) drifted off to look for morsels elsewhere. I talked about the oil leak in the Gulf and how that had the potential of being a world wide catastrophe and could lead to whole animal specie extinctions and a vast reduction in world wide food supplies. Henny tut tutted and commented there would always be tasty bugs to eat, if they could be found that is. I expressed a bit of dismay on that and said that I wasn’t too enthusiastic about a diet of bugs. She just shrugged her wings.

So I thought I would try another line of conversation. I talked about the aerosol spraying and how it contaminated the ground and water and had a lot of known and unknown health affects on all the biota it came in contact with. That caught her attention. She zoomed off to the rest of the flock and there issued a long conversation among them. Henny ambled back and looking me right in the eye asked; “Are you humans’ nuts or something? Why would you do something like that?” I replied that it was just another example of the craziness and arrogance of humans and how concerned I was about it. She stared at me for a bit, commented that she didn’t know why the rest of the living things on this earth put up with us, ruffled her feathers and took another dust bath. Since I figured that I had pushed my luck far enough with Freeacre, I declined to again join Henny in her luxurious bath.

About this time, Brie, our big dog, came over and laid down close by. This brought the flock over again and they started jumping on her back and pecking at her hair. Brie tolerated this for a few minutes and then wondered off doing dog things. Henny’s terse comment was “see how simple it all is?”

We currently have 16 adult chickens, including one aging rooster, and 4 young ones, periodically, a couple of hens will get into some kind of disagreement and start a fight. In which case, the rooster comes over and settles it, separating the warring hens and chastising the aggressor. It seems to work for them and harmony is soon restored. I will admit that I scratch my head over this happening and wonder what lesson I should learn from it.

Now the point of all this revelation on relationships? No matter how complex, no matter how bad circumstances become, no matter what predicaments humans find themselves in, we still have to chop wood and tote water. We still have to be concerned with the basics of living. As horrible as all the events we see unfolding around us, we still have to provide the basics to stay alive. I do think it is a good thing to be aware of what is happening in our local community and the world at large, we do have to have some understanding of when to duck and cover, when to change what we are doing to try and preserve some dignity and values we hold dear, to communicate with the natural world around us and to not take personally the complexity and artificial life that is predominate. We still need to take stock of what we have and need, now and in the near future and give thanks for what the universe provides. If what the universe provides is not enough as we think about it, well that’s just too damned bad, get used to it. You figure on living forever on this plane of existence? Between the furry and feathery entities that populate our existence, there is still much to learn about simplifying our lives, about how to join together in mutual problem solving, in mutual enjoyment and cooperation. Heh heh. It’s the anarchist way of life that our chickens can teach us.

85 comments:

freeacre said...

As I go out to put some Kosher dogs and corn on the grill for a Memorial Day meal, I remember that it was eight years ago today that the Murphinator rolled up in his car from Iowa to come live with me. I'll say this: it has not been dull.

Hotspringswizard said...

Well once again I really enjoyed your musings there Murph! Taking a dust bath with the chickens too, thats the spirit! Next time have Freeacre get some video of you doing that, then you guys can put it up on You Tube for all of us ( and the rest of the world ) to see :-)

Down at Deep Creek where I go hiking, about a decade ago there was a huge fire in the area, then huge thunderstorms one year later washed lots of black soot down into the stream which made thick deep goey black mud every where in the creek bed. I happened to witness the flash flood that brought all this mud which was quiet an exciting event in itself.

For some years after that people at Deep Creek Hot Springs where I go would apply the black slick mud all over themselves enjoying making like a bunch of natives! It was an interesting feeling to wipe the slippery mud all over, then it would begin to dry and crack on the surface of your skin which was quite a differant feeling. I took a picture one day of a large group of people with mud all over themselves standing on a whiteish outcrop of granite and they all looked like black statues, the Mud Clan. Reminds me of you taking your dust bath with your chickens Murph :-)

On another subject Netflix now has the movie " The Road " available and I watched it a couple of days ago. Its about a father and son trying to survive after an un-explained apocalypse of some sort. The landscape is devastated, stark, burnt and dreary and they are just trying to survive against all odds. Most people have been reduced to plunderers and canibals.

The father and son speak of keeping the " Fire " which refers to them trying to maintain their humanity in depths of the utter despair and hardship that is their reality. As collapse unfolds itself in myriad ways, this idea of preserving the Fire within our selves, and by our actions without, is something that will require from each of us increasing strength of character.

The Fire for me means a life that has purpose, providing the reason for continueing despite all the challenges. Each of us will be again and again tested and through the trials we will find out just how resolved we are about maintaining the Flame of human decency while we see many of those around us more and more behave in ways that show they care not for such things.

It will not be an easy path to follow in the increasingly dire circumstances that look to be certainly coming for our future, but it is the path that all things good in my life have come from, the pursuit of living the life that holds the ideals of the Fire as worth always striving to achieve as much as we can in our imperfect ways.

Anonymous said...

From Belgium

This is a tremendous post if you have the sort of imagination that can picture these things happening. Sure we can learn a whole bunch from the dumb quarter. Homo Sapiens Sapiens as we are and not forgetting the lemmings of course seem to be the only species that go in for big time self destruction. Yes there are the carnivores but lions say have a particular area they live in, wildebeest have a wider area and breed faster so there is the good ol balance of nature kicking in. And us? We have Kyoto the IPCC and BP. Hooray!

I haven’t seen The Road yet and although it is Hollywood it does seem to carry a message of hope. If we keep the flame of life alive and keep the perps on the outside they can’t have control and win. We could all do that now of course but the time is not yet ripe. I am still sitting back and keeping an overview on the situation.

freeacre said...

What do you think of this one, Belgium? This is the best synopsis of the Israeli atrocity I've run into so far:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/5/31/871561/-Israel-massacres-unarmed-peace-activists
Maybe they thought we'd all be distracted by the Gulf to notice. Come to think of it, they may be right. Israel is to peace what BP is to oceanography.
Looking forward to seeing the movie of "The Road." Murph and I read the book a couple of months ago. I think it is one of the best books I've ever read.

wv: splatz "Splatz me with some of that mud, would ya?"

Hotspringswizard said...

Freeacre this you wrote, " Israel is to peace what BP is to oceanography " couldn't be more true. Israel continuely revisits the Holocaust history and the " horrible travesties " perpetrated on " their " people wailing about what the suffered, but then in its 60 years of the occupation of Palestenian lands Israel has perpetrated similiar egregious acts over and over against the Palestenians, all the while tightening the cage around them with the obvious intent on geonciding them out of existance sooner, or later. The US looks on and continues to prop up Israel, no questions asked! Yes there is rampant terrorism in this world and the US and Israel top the list when it comes to imposing such hideous acts upon the world community.

nina said...

Murph, that was just about the best post I ever read. Free is your perfect foil. 8 years now? Me too, going on 9 maybe 10, I lost track. I've come to find even in relationships nothing we thought turned out to be the way it is - if its going to work, because its all about teamwork, a small, supportive, very local, survival community always evolving and adapting. It would save a lot of heartbreak if it was better known the principles of community and the principles of getting along at home are interchangeable.
Happy Anniversary.

Anonymous said...

From Belgium

So FA you want a reaction from me on the latest shenanigans off the coast of Gaza. It is going to be short, to the point and not very palatable. Jews, de facto control the world. Not for 100% but very nearly. When they feel they can make their putsch for 100% control is when the long awaited collapse will occur. The most influential Jews choose not to live in Israel but will not allow it to fail. In the meantime those in charge of Israeli politics continue behave as bully boys on the World block. They can do this because as well as their own considerable arsenal they can and do influence the Pentagon and US foreign policy through dual nationality key players such as Feith, Chertoff, Perle, Wolfowitz et al, et al together with consigliore’s such as Kissinger and Brzezinski. Jewish key players who operate on the world stage from the shadows are as hard as nails but when it suits them they like to engender sympathy by playing the Anti Semitic poor me card. Semitism largely revolves around Israel’s right to exist and there are many sympathetic ears amongst world leaders but when the Palestinians say “Hey what about our right to exist” the same ears are surprisingly deaf. So Israel does as it likes and everybody else takes it, as for instance it did with the US Liberty incident. I think the Israeli leadership misjudged reaction to its latest adventure but since we are entering the end game they have given the world a very blunt “Up Yours”, a position from which they will not retreat. Is Gaza part if the sovereign state of Palestine? In theory yes but de facto no. Since there appears to be no solution to this situation all I can do is offer up some silly blogger suggestion that Hamas should test its sovereignty by nuking its own territory any day there is a strong onshore wind. Perhaps Pakistan could offer them the same hospitality that Iran did to Hezbollah.

freeacre said...

I hear you, Belgium, regarding the Israeli power elites and the dual citizenship that is disturbing. But, I also notice that nomatter what ethnic group they belong to, the frigging elites are all powermongering sons of bitches. Every Jewish person that I have ever personally known has been nice and smart and rational and they have never tried to push their religion down my throat. I admire their contributions to the arts and sciences, politics, medicine, etc. So many have fought for civil rights - Emma Goldman, Abby Hoffman, Jerry Reuben, great Jews fighting for justice in the union movements, etc. But, the Zionist thing is just as crazy as the Christian ultra-right numbskulls.
The same can be said about Catholics. Nice regular people at the bottom, and corrupt perverts at the top. So it goes, I guess. Must be the rarefied air they breathe...
And, thanks, Nina.

rockpicker said...

Murph,

I can picture you hopping down out of your pickup, dusting yourself off and crowing appeals, while strutting your bandy stuff, and Freeacre pretends not to notice...Congrats. You two make a fine couple.

New examples of press manipulation re: the oil gusher.

http://www.theflucase.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3618%3Abp-commands-government-to-strangle-off-media-coverage-of-oil-gusher-&catid=1%3Alatest-news&Itemid=64&lang=en

Turkey says it's sending another flotilla, and this time it's sending its navy as escort. Got to hand it to Erdogan, the man has chutzpah!

In chess, isn't this sort of move accompanied by a "Czech?"

murph said...

Nina,

Why thank you dear lady. I know that I admire your writing very much and have had the thought many times of "Gee wish I could write that well".

LOL Yup, 8 years now. Doesn't seem like that long. I guess time distortion is catching up with me big time.

We been busting our butts putting in the garden since the weather has finally gotten above freezing. If we have a decent growing season, we will have a really well producing effort.

Alan Donelson said...

Circling back to my favorite resting place, with some of the best people I know through the www, virtual stranger to you all, I know, nonetheless, I have to post a comment, being of Soleil Farm, where we too raise chickens for eggs and meat, turkeys for year-end holiday gatherings, and experience the oppressive move to eliminate family and small farming to feed ourselves and our neighbors.

Since reading "Zen Flesh, Zen Bones" some few too many years ago, I have always loved one description of "enlightenment": Before enlightenment, one chops wood and carries water; after enlightenment, one chops wood and carries water. So do each of us around this campfire, I surmise.

Soleil Farm is in Nevada County, CA. My wife and I have also "retired" to work harder at Life.

May Love and Joy and Peace be your heart's content, now and always!

Hotspringswizard said...

All along through this whole Oil Volcano diaster all the various news media, officials, and assorted experts having been citing the releif wells being worked on currently as being the final sure fix for this oil gusher in the GOM.

But what they are trying to do is hit exactly a ( aprox ) one foot hole with another hole of the same size, after starting 5000+ feet under the ocean, then going down another, as they suggest, ( aprox ) 18,000 feet below the sea floor, and thats not counting the extra distance needed to angle over to the leaking well hole.

Something like that has never been done before under these extreme distance and conditions. It always struck me that the success of this endeavor held a very low probability given the circumstances.

Well tonight on MSNBC, the Rachael Maddow show finally had someone who is talking with some clarity about the real prospects of success with these releif wells. The statement was made by the guest that to hit this thing on the first try would be like winning the lottery on your first go a-round. So then I would suggest it would follow that the second releif well would have essentially the same odds if that were true.

I have no way of knowing what the truly accurate odds are of these releif wells being successful, or if Lottery Ticket odds really describe the chance of it working, but I think I could bet safely that the two releif wells are anything but a sure fix, and regarding anything BP says about the odds of this or that working to stop the gushing oil, no one should beleive for a minute that they know what their talking about when they cite the two releif wells as being the endgame, the final solution that will work beyond any doubt.

Matt Simmons who has 40+ years in the oil business said fairly recently that he does not feel that BP, or anyone else for that matter will have the technological capability to stop this massive oil leak. He thinks its likely that the oil feild will just have to bleed itself out. Of course we all hope he is wrong about that.

freeacre said...

Nice to have you checking in again, Alan. Knowing about you and your folks is comforting. Give us updates on your efforts.

Remember that post I wrote in April, about the super rich "making other arrangements"? Well, take a look at this:
http://www.alternet.org/economy/147058/the_really_creepy_people_behind_the_libertarian-inspired_billionaire_sea_castles/?page=1

from Mark Ames on Alternet today. Just un-freaking believable! Even more outlandish than the 2012 movie scenario. Yeowza!

Dave Eriqat said...

While it is important to keep an eye on things and even allow one's self to feel outrage, it's equally important to not forget to enjoy life.

One needs to find a balance. To that end, I look forward to having some chickens - one of my sisters has three, and they are so adorable.

Dave - Erstwhile Urban Wanderer

murph said...

Alan,

Good to hear from you. Went to your web page. Not a whole lot of information there about what you are doing, but your classes sound interesting.

Yup, still have to tote water and chop wood, at least in the metaphorical sense, or until things just fall apart, then literally.

It continually amazes me that so many people, even if they agree with you that circumstances look grim or grimmer, how little preparation is being done for that grimness.

Here in Oregon, lots of people I talk to are concerned that if things really do get exceedingly grim, they are afraid of the hordes of people from CA migrating north and what to do about it. And yet, with that projected fear, nothing is being done outside of the stocking up of ammo and guns on an individual basis. We had heard rumor of some group in Oregon that plans on blowing up access to the north and south routes into Oregon if it gets grim. No verification, no added information and that is as it should be I guess. If such a group actually exists, they certainly aren't going to want to alert FEMA.

Hope your farm proves viable and satisfying.

rockpicker said...

Speaking of FEMA. Anybody heard the term mentioned since the gusher blew?

rockpicker said...

Oh, check this out!

http://moneycentral.msn.com/ownership?Holding=Institutional+Ownership&Symbol=BP

murph said...

Dave,
Left a comment on your site for your trip description.

Yup, need to keep a balance. Need to enjoy life as best you can. Circumstances can make both difficult for sure.

Good luck on the chickens. Watch out, they are a fussy bunch, will take over your life if you let them.

Alan Donelson said...

Thanks, Freeacre and Murph, for the welcome back! I feel sadly joyous, like returning to the arms of an extended family after a self-imposed absence. In the same spirit, I work now to repair relationships with estranged children, one such over 22 years and counting. The good news is that we've been corresponding on-and-off by e-mail for several years, not yet by telephone or f2f as the next generation might write.

Yes, Soleil Farm's "first draft" of a web site is just that. Check back in a few months, though. The "throw-together" done by a local "web site designer" left much to desire. Speaking of extended family, wife Gaétane's nephew in Canada may take on the task of upgrading. We'll have far more substance, competent proof-reading, and a modest WOW factor.

In the meantime, we have successfully penetrated local markets for eggs and chickens (alive and otherwise), developing needed infrastructure on relatively flat space nestled among the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Gaétane (aka Grandmama Hen) and I (pharmacologist by trade, farmhand with the moniker Grandpapa Rooster upon demand) continue to open wide, being the best channels we can for the Divine (aka Universe) to express beauty, abundance, and blissful accord with Mother Nature.

10-4 for now on 6-2-10.

Hotspringswizard said...

http://neithercorp.us/npress/?p=512

Warning Signs Of Full Spectrum Collapse Are Everywhere

......These signals across the globe are like the swell of the tide just before the onslaught of a hurricane......

freeacre said...

Alan, Hot Springs, Rockpicker... I just watched "Knowing" on a 12" kitchen tv --gaaaaah! (Our big one crapped out and we are awaiting a replacement.) Anyway, I was looking for the reference to the oil volcano in it. LOTS of foreshadowing of current and future events (big fire on oil rig, oil prices going sky high, earth warming up big time, plane crash, natural disasters, solar flares). But, I think the news cast of the oil rig probably used footage of a previous oil FUBAR, like the one in 1979 or the on-going ones in Nigeria. Doesn't take any secret knowledge of the Illuminati to know that it's all going down like pants at a frat party. All ya gotta do is surf the net.
Oh, yeah, then there's Gerrick's dream on Lucretia's Heart (A World Cracking Open) link from our front page that something dire will happen on June 6.
Gotta admit that my comfort these days comes from the council of the fine folks who contribute their affection and support. Nice to be able to express ourselves on assorted fears and outrage and yet keep each other centered. I keep reminding myself that if you picked apart a cocoon before the butterfly matures and escapes, it would look extremely disconcerting. Hopefully, Universe knows what it's doing.

freeacre said...

Oh, and Alan, I did not see or communicate with my biological father from the time I was 3 until I was 22. And, then when we met, it was as though I had always known him. Funny how karmic relationships don't seem to be affected too much by time.

Burnie said...

Thx for the conversation today. I found that movie Second Hand Lions, am going to watch it tonight. Reality might best be served at a distance of disassociation. I ask for guidance for the walk. Maybe a little roll in the dirt isn't such a bad idea. When I was weeding yesterday I eneded up more or less sprawled in the dirt. I always did love, and still do, love to get right down in it when camping. I meant to comment yesterday. Thanks for the words.

freeacre said...

FEMA? What FEMA? Is there still a FEMA? You'd think maybe they'd be helping to clean up the oil. But, I guess they must be working 24/7 on saving the rich or something. I am still trying to figure out how a steel oil rig could have rolled over and sunk from another oil and gas fire like on 9/11. hummmm

Anonymous said...

Just love your website. I am so glad I found it again after being away for many years.Thank you!

Anonymous said...

From Belgium

I guess most of you will have seen this by now.

http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/856.html

As they say, you will learn more about the European economy in this two minute clip than reading all the back copies of the Wall Street Journal from end to end. And speaking of the WSJ did you know that it is now owned my Rupert Murdoch?

rockpicker said...

“It is unclear what environmental stimuli the toads were responding to so far in advance of the [earthquake], but reduced toad activity coincides with pre-seismic perturbations in the ionosphere, detected by very low frequency radio sounding,” an abstract of the article in the Journal said.

Whole story here:

http://newstilt.com/istanbulcorrespondent/news/turks-fear-greek-toads-of-doom

Hotspringswizard said...

Freeacre I saw that movie " Knowing " a while ago. I've always enjoyed Nicolas Cage's movies. My brother and I used to go spearfishing at Catalina Island off the So Cal coast. One time my brother and a couple of his other friends were out there for a weekend diving and they happened on to Nicolas Cage who was in another boat with some of his friends. They all shared some friendly coversation for a bit.

Regarding the GOM gusher, true to BP form the cap looks like it will end up being yet another dismal failure. That cut they did on the well pipe was one level on one half, and much higher on the other half. The riser pipe diameter out of the cap top is very small compared to the volumes gushing out of the big 22 inch pipe. They don't even have the riser on the cap yet and look at all the oil coming out from underneath it. There is so much gushing oil that you can't even see the cap!

On CNN for a couple of days they have been showing this ridiculous tally number of the " supposed " amount of oil spilled thusfar, currently somewhere around 35 milion gallons. I've been watching the numbers rise and it goes up 9 gallons about every second. Look at the massive volumes gushing out from around the cap tonight and tell me thats anywhere close to 9 gallons per sec. Of course its much higher than that, 10 times, 20 times, they just won't get anyone to measure it because of all the liabilities and the shear gruesomeness of just how apocolyptic the real numbers would be.

Yesterday and agin tonight you can see a small white pipe spewing bright white colored poisenous dispersent into the oil plume. They say that the amount of dispersent used so far is now over 1 million gallons but like everything else with BP, the actual amount is probably much larger. And to see the poor birds they are showing on CNN this evening completely covered in oil, with the only life seen through the oil is their blinking eyes! Ruppert posted that he thinks that this oil volcano will eventually collapse the US economy. The repercussion are incalculable really.

On another subject, this year sure appears to be shaping up to be a hot one across the world. India just recently had record temps up to 124. Look at the heat wave brewing for the US this week end. I saw a report that said the snow cover is the lowest on record for the US for this time of year. Arctic sea ice is plumeting this year at a record pace. The atlantic has all time record temps. The first quarter of this year for the world was the warmest on record. Makes you wonder if we might have reached the threshold of some major climactic tipping point. How much methane is getting into the atmospher from the GOM gusher? The Methane hydrates bubbling from the oceans in the northern hemisphere have been spiking too.

And looks like it will be a very active tropical storm season. Clearly any work they are trying to do with oil cleanup and at the gushing well will be set back with a stormier GOM in the next four months. Its just ghastly whats going on out in the GOM and on shore, but no worries, Tony Hayward says BP will clean up every drop! Ok Tony, we are going to hold you to that, you " get your life back " as soon as that last drop of oil is gone! What a friggin idiot he is!

Anonymous said...

Congrats to fa & murph on your anniversary...your union has blessed us all. Great photos!
mrs p

mrs p said...

Hey everyone...please tell all your California friends and family to consider voting NO on Prop 16 which is heavily pushed by the PG&E who knowingly poisoned a whole town and lied about it. Remember the Oscar winning film, Erin Brockovich? Julia Roberts won the Oscar for Best Actress portraying the real single mom, Erin Brockovich who fought against PG&E for the people of Hinkley, CA and won. Please See the Prop 16 Fact Sheet at momsreallymad. There's also a link to the film trailer if you haven't seen it, it's a good one! Thanks a bunch, mrs p

Hotspringswizard said...

Also another thing I forgot to mention related to possible extra growing heat in the atmosphere this year, the weather channel is reporting that the cyclone/hurricane thats been brewing for the last few days in the Arabian Sea is the strongest one ever recorded for that particular ocean area.

And regarding the BP GOM gusher, the BP spokesman dude this morning is implying that all the oil we are seeing spewing out around the cap is all coming from four vents on top of it. This is utterly ridiculous, the oil has been gushing out from underneath the cap since it was first put in place. If the oil was truly coming only out of the four vent caps on top, clearly you would be able to see the bottom of the cap sitting over the well pipe.

The cap can't sit flush with the well pipe because the pipe was cut at two completly differant levels, hence there is now a very large gap where they come together. And the volumes coming out of the well pipe far exceed the capabilities of the riser pipe they intend to use to suck up the oil with.

The BP guy said the four vent caps are now open, and that when they close them down the gushing oil you see will become much less. Well if the oil we see is " all " coming from the vents, shouldn't all the gushing oil stop, once the close them? I'd say an opposite affect will happen, since the BP guy is wrong/lying from the start. The oil now gushing through these open vents ( if thats even really happening now ) on the cap, when closed, will be seeking another way to go, and the vast majority of it will just head out below the cap like the biggest amount of oil is doing this already.

They did say today that BP is currently getting about 1000 BPD from the riser on the cap, on a well head that by the governments low ball figures is gushing at 19,000 BPD. I've thought that the actual amount coming from the pipe is easily over 100,000 BPD, and Mike Ruppert said he thinks its up as high as 125,000 BPD. Matt Simmons recently indicated that he thought the flow may be around 119,000 BPD

Well one thing about it, if what I'm describing is true, then we will definitely continue to see the oil gushing around the cap remain the same, or even increase in volume when these four cap vents are closed.

Also BP said some days ago that there are things in the BOP itself that are currently obstructing somewhat the oil gushing up through it, which would to some degree or another reduce the pressure and volume of oil at the top of the BOP where its coming out. Now that the well cap riser has been cut off, the oil is rushing at increased pressure and volume against these obstructions all the time, wearing them away at some rate because of the sand and other hard material contained within the oil, all the while carving a wider more direct path for volume and pressure to further increas, and no one has any idea what is happening to the riser that runs down thousands of feet to the oil reserve itself.

And the fact is that what we are seeing on the surface is very likely only a small percentage of the lurking oil spreading who knows where below the surface, doing untold damage where ever it goes. Of course BP is really fine with this fact that whatever remains in the larger ocean, and below the surface will be basically impossible to quantify as to volumes, affects, and extent of spread, hence BP's ongoing efforts to disperse as much of this oil into the out of sight out of mind depths of the ocean.

rockpicker said...

Hotsprings,

Here's a good background article to complement your excellent up-to-the-minute reporting on the oil gusher in the Gulf.

http://www.morphcity.com/home/64-oily-politics-grease-the-wheels-of-control

rockpicker said...

Here's another good site for updates on the oil catastrophe.

http://www.stevequayle.com/News.alert/10_Cosmic/100603.Gulf.updates.html

Anonymous said...

Fellow tribesmen,
langosta,and montana freeman,are still here but being
up to my ass in alligators creating a world fit to live in within the confines of a society gone completely insane is a mother fucking bitch at best, and a happy licking puppy at worst if ya know what i mean and i'm sure ya do.
the ups and downs of what to leave in, what to leave out what to stack around the free sign in the front yard in the spiritual sense brings many colors of diaspora in regard to the homeland.
the trail of tears that somehow has morphed into a recognition that we are indeed all one, that no one is left out even though it seems that way most of the time, saying ''hey, i absolutely will not get into the boat with that niga on board'',
well the mirror we carry even though it is cracked six fucking ways from sunday is still alive and kicking regardless of what the tiny peeper behind the cracks thinks.
we awake at our own chosen moments,... i mean what's a mother fucker to do? where ya gonna go to?
standing room only? i don't think so.
wavy gravy and the rainbow crowd '' and i know there are a couple here at the fire , ( hey say if you are, it would be interesting to know how many)
seem to have disappeared, but naw we are still kicking.

murph and freeacre,
we fellow campers have been the recipients and privileged to have dined at your most excellent table of discussions and honor is ours to of been blessed to have been invited to it, we thank you for the enormous energy output that it must require to post after post words that give us your loyal fellow travelers a brighter day.
we love you.

langosta has been strangely quite for the longest time but the children of her spirit are chirping away in the yard in spite of the incredible amount of rain that is flushing montana and her slipping in and out of manifestation is quite disconcerting sometimes but nevertheless her voice is returning with sweet tidings and will hopefully have things to add to the wonder that is us.
to all you brothers and sisters that have faithfully added fuel to our collective fire, i salute you and love you.

aho

montana freeman

murph said...

Elder Montana Freeman,

Good to have you share with us again.

Ahhh yes, creating a world worth living in within a world gone mad. Endeavors in that direction have what probability to succeed? But, no matter what, we keep working in that direction.

At least the number of people denying the desperate predicaments we find ourselves in is becoming less every day. Question, will there be enough to carry on?

You ask "where ya gonna go to?" At this time, it sure appears that there really is no place to escape the insanity, only places to put it off for a bit. As I see it, sooner or later, we all will have to take a stand, no matter where we are. And, perhaps this is a good thing. Humans have been in denial for so long, not taking a stand for those abstract ideas such as the golden rule, honesty, love, fairness, justice, respect etc. As a group, we have bought into the idea of situational ethics or morality. ie. Honesty here is good, honesty there is bad. We have allowed the masters of the universe to dictate our values and now we are paying the price for "greed is good". That little piece of wisdom has enveloped the world in a dark shroud convulsing a large part of humanity in misery.

Montana, you also have graced our table with love and wisdom. We honor you.

I look forward to more communications from Langosta. I fear that Henny Penny and Langosta should not be in each others presence. Disastrous outcome is predicted.

rockpicker said...

Sun looks strange. Giant rift, aurora watch for June 7 and 8.

http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/assets/img/latest/latest_4096_0193.jpg

Hey, MF, nice to hear from you. Not raining much down here. Just started to warm a little.

Hotspringswizard said...

Rockpicker I checked out those two links, good stuff. Well the oil is still gushing out around the cap, what a suprise, just the same as it has from the beginning when they put it on. I see no change, at all. And yet BP says it is pulling up to 6000 BPD up the riser today. Yeah, BP says!

No one has independently ( from any trusted source ) determined the flow rate at the pipe even now after 46 days, and you can bet no one is verifying independently what oil amounts are really coming up that riser pipe to the tanker above.

Regarding the two releif wells being drilled, one is down about 8000 feet and the other one is only getting started. So what if they miss with the first relief well. There is no backing up with this kind of thing. Once they miss its on to the next try. The next well appears to be a couple of months in drilling behind the first one which may be why some MSM have been reporting this thing not getting " solved " till maybe Christmas.

But then, what if they miss with the second one. I have not heard about any other releif wells being drilled or proposed. So if one and two fail, then what. Looks like they would be starting from scratch at that point. BP acts like these two wells will definitely get the job done, but I suspect the odds are much poorer than that.

It has taken more than two releif well attempts to get a gushing hole plugged at other blowouts at other offshore wells around the world. And I haven't seen that any of those was dealing with something near this incredibly deep.

It could be seen as really laughable to hear BP and the Coast Gaurd heads talking about the " progress " thats being made now that the cap is in place, but its all such an unbelieveable tragedy and there is nothing funny in that. Its mindboogling that they can talk about progress when you see on the TV the live feed of this roiling mess of gushing black oil that really looks as big or bigger than it ever has. And these guys think they can be taken seriously at calling that progress?

RAS said...

Hey guys,
Ras here checking in. I love the post Murph -its absolutely great! I think this is your best one ever.

Regarding the GOM oil gusher, I'm still pissed. So are a lot of people down here. The Cajun's are about ready to riot -not that I can blame them. Tony "I want my life back" Hayward was talking about his Kevlar vest the other night and how he has thus far remained 'unscathed'. He goes down there again he's likely to be shot in the head. Deservedly so.

The second relief well does have a better chance of working than the first -but only just. Each succeeding relief well has a better chance of working than the last, but given that they're operating 5000 underwater and another mile down, the chances aren't all that high to begin with.

And people are still getting gas from BP. And no one feels any personal responsibility or culpability. And on and on and on.

In other news, I'm trying to get my soaps and stuff online. Hopefully by the end of this week. I'll post a link when I get it done.

freeacre said...

Montana Freeman - so good to hear from you! It's just not the same without you. Now, where's Stoney?
Hot Springs Wizard - thanks to your input, we probably have the most comprehensive links and info on the oil spill anywhere. Thanks!
Rockpicker - Yeah, HUGE coronal hole. I'm not sure what the difference is between a coronal mass ejection and the solar wind that comes out of the hole...
ras - I'll be looking for your site. Running out of your soap. It's so nice.
Looking forward to Burnie coming over for dinner today. despite Larissa's, et al's dreams of immanent disasters. Might as well have fun.

Hotspringswizard said...

Another thing I have noticed about the cap they have over the gushing wellhead, it is a solid cylinder all the way around its side, as apposed to the cap the MSM keep showing in the animations they have made up, which shows the cap as having four big rectangular openings in the side just below what would be the middle of the cap sides. The real cap has four round pipes sticking out of its top at about a 45 degree angle, along with the riser pipe in the top middle.

Those four pipes on top are the vents they keep talking about. They keep saying that they are closing these vents slowly to increase the volume of oil going up the riser. The fact is they have a much bigger gap in the mating of the cap to the well pipe, which is where all the gushing oil we see is coming from around the bottom lip of the cap.

Now this morning BP is saying that they are capturing over 50% of the leaking oil. Once again nothing looks visibly differant regarding the oil plume coming out from underneath the cap. They are clearly lying to try and fool the public into thinking the situation is significantly better.

BP is even suggesting that they think they will get up to the point of getting 90%+ of the gushing oil. BP is still running the whole show, Obama goes down there, talks tough, then he slinks back to Washington and everything remains in BP's hands.

The way I see it from what evidence you can garner, BP is only sucking up a small percentage of the gushing oil, and that will be the ongoing state of the situation, for the months to come. They most likely have already reached the limits of what the relatively small riser pipe will allow them to such up to the tanker.

BP of course will continue to lie about the actual stats of this spill and the media will more and more move on to other vitaly important news like that dude ( I can't pronounce his name ) who supposedly killed some girl down in South America. Some MSM channels have even been giving that story equal or more time lately than this oil catastrophe. It will become like, " oh yeah we got that devastated GOM thing, oh well, whats new with American Idol! "

This event shows so clearly on so many levels the complete failure of the various interconnected systems our far to complex industrial socities have created. Things are rapidly spiraling beyond any semblence of control now on so many fronts. We can observe and bring to light information on all thats occuring, but the carnage is to my mind realistically for the most part unstopable. It remains to be see of course just how the decline/collapse of the world's myriad industrial civilization will unfold from here.

I feel it as important in this time to learn as much as I can from various information sources and from a wide variety of peoples thinking more accurately where we stand and whats really happening because if things turn really catastrophic we all in our independent situations coping with collapse may have only this knowledge to go on, perhaps for the forseable future.

And also with this in the meantime, we clearly must also do all the things necesary to provide for our day to day lives, and those things we can muster to prepare for living arrangements that can be more sustainable. I have no illusions about this. Much of what we try and do may turn out to be just pissin in the wind but if your going to stick around, as far as I'm concerned you at least have to try.

Each person will have to decide for themselves what is the right balance of taking time to learn about and discuss all the ongoing developments we see, against the time needed to do the things which may make their lives somewhat more manageable in view of the great changes we all see coming.

rockpicker said...

We have not gravitated
to this holy place
for no reason. All
have jobs to do.
Do them well
and do not fear
what comes. More
comes, for those who
cradle the light.

ajo

rockpicker said...

Ras, have you heard about this around you?

http://www.wreg.com/news/wreg-mystery-crop-damage%2C0%2C187535.story?track=rss

RAS said...

I've seen that article but haven't heard any more about it. Apparently it hasn't been spreading -or if it has, it's not been reported. The only possible explanation I've heard for it is that there may have been a chemical leak from a nearby plant.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Murph and crew. The dogs and cats here agree.

Best, turey.

Anonymous said...

rockpicker,
the amount of chemical toxins being released into the environment amazes me that there is not more noticeable crop damage, and i suspect that the mutation of plant eating critters will at some point really have a bug picnic, and then its fire up the barbie for grilled bugs and beer on the weekend;
yum, can hardly wait.
''hey honey bring out that really good grasshopper sauce i just bought''
o yea and the prosaic to keep um quite till i git um on the grill.
fuck, as dude says ''we're doomed''


although at one point in the youth there was such a thing as chocolate covered ants, and other chocolate covered critters you could buy and eat, fad didn't last all that long did it?
aho
mf

murph said...

MF,

Had to laugh. Not so many of us left that remember the chocolate covered fried bugs that were so available in large array. I also partook in that tasty treat for a while. Expensive though. lol

WF upota lol that's an Indian word isn't it?

Anonymous said...

From Belgium

Hi Mf, that was a welcome pleasure brother, like an old friend walking through the front door again. I sure hope the old legs are keeping up with the active mind. It’s been a while, how are the junior family members doing?

I think I said a while back that when I moved to Belgium permanently, eight years ago now, I packed my life into a one trip Renault high top van and what wouldn’t fit in I gave away and now I can’t even remember what all those things I couldn’t live my life without really were. Some would say I have replaced them with equally useless stuff but I do try not to do that. I spend money on shelving and cupboards so I can store more things for what is coming and then try to forget about it by clearing off into the sunset for a while. Over the last few days I have been profiting from the good weather as they say over here.

I am having another shot at the veggie garden after last year’s dismal failure. Most things are doing ok so far except for the lettuce which tanked after three days – again and they are supposed to be the easy ones. Also I am growing a bunch of herbs in buckets outside the back door. We shall see.

I know I shouldn’t make light of the GOM thing but it occurred to me that when the oil is on the water we take exception to it (and rightly so) but when the same oil is in the air it doesn’t have the same impact, kind of out of sight, out of mind.

On that subject, a pair of years ago we tackled the alcohol / bio fuel thing here and it was the only time I can recall when two posts were being commented upon simultaneously. There was a group that wouldn’t leave the old subject alone even after the new post had gone up. Well Brasscheck TV has visited the subject again and it is well worth a watch. Apparently the bio energy audit figures had been negatively massaged by – guess who? No, not by big Petrochem, I would never have believed it.

http://brasschecktv.com/page/422.html

and

http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/423.html

Aho

SATS

mrs p said...

Poor Helen Thomas of the White House Press, now they're really a bunch of boring old fools without her. She said some things that were uh...well very true but might have offended some Ninnys who pledge their allegence to another foreign state, the no longer what it was 200 years ago now Nazi Israel. God forbid we offend any U.S. Citizens who pledge their allegence to a foreign state that oppresses people. Anyone else who does that would be charged with treason...but nooooo not them. Oh well who needs the Backwards, Right Wing Hearst Publishing anyway? Hope they don't own blogger & Google. Helen Thomas is a hero in my opinion she says it like it is! Those other W. H. Press dirtbag hacks stood by and watched Bush & Cheney commit murder! Front Row Helen speaks the truth and she has to resign? I was hoping we'd evolved a bit from this Gushing over Israeli double standards and looking the other way. Guess not. Hearst Publishing<--they're worthless too! Helen will be happier I hope.
mrs p

freeacre said...

Ditto, mrs.p. Scum-sucking press nozzles threw her under the bus. Tisking about how the old dear was great up until she just got too old and has apparently lost her marbles.
It ain't easy to speak truth to power, but she always has. I hope she has the last laugh.
Personally, I'd give the Israeli's south Texas. They'd have no problem securing the border, at least. Ah, shit, that wouldn't work. they'd probably start treating the Mexicans like Palestinians and the same cruel shit would start all over again. Forget I said anything...
Really good links, Belgium! Man, it's impossible to know what is really true. But, Brazil does seem to be making bio-fuels work there. But, then, they are also cutting down the rain forest... Guess there is an idocracy there, too.

Anonymous said...

the only thing that pisses me off about what helen said is that she apologized for telling it like it is. i didn't hear it but thats what the media is reporting. lennon did the same and we know what happened to him. who is helen's chapman? ... p

Anonymous said...

sheesh! so i publish the comment and the wv in the next window is guess what? HERSCH! too close to herst for comfort... p

zu said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Zoner said...

Great posting and comments per usual, and a wonderful treat to hear from our brother Montana Freeman.

I wish I had more to add, but thank you will have to suffice for the time being.

My best to all.

Z

Hotspringswizard said...

Helen Thomas has always been someone I respect. She was never afraid to ask real and necesary questions, what persons in her profession are supposed to do after all. This countries " press core " is a ridiculous joke and a disgrace. Helen should not have apologized but being quite old and frail the people around her probably applied great pressure for her to do this. Well I hope Helen finds more happiness now being out of the nest of scumbag spineless so called " reporters " that she previously had to reside with. She is a hero in my book!

Regarding Brazil and their sugarcane biofuels, I would suggest that what they have going regarding this fuel source is never going to be applicable to the US situation for a number of reasons, one big one being the vastly greater population and energy requirments we have here in the US. Another is that we do not have the climate for sugarcane plantations like brazil does. Also as Freeacre mentioned this method of creating fuel has its own lengthy list of ills involved with its mass production.

Regarding the GOM gusher, have you all seen lately CNN's spill volume counter now runnning close to 37 million gallons ( what a big lie ). It is now only adding 4 gallons on the counter every two second intervel aprox. It has slowed down by more than half due to BP's super efficient cap of course! Talk about in your face nonsense! We are supposed to beleive that whats gushing out around that cap is 4 gallons, every two seconds?

My wife told me last night I should send an e-mail to CNN's Anderson Couper saying something like, " Hey Anderson, since your all about keeping them honest, why is CNN showing a spill counter that so ridiculously understates the true extent of this leak, in declared total volume and rate of increase? ".

On another subject, Ruppert's Collapse Net website begins today. I was wondering if anyone here is signing up for this " pay for use " service? I am not planning on doing this but if someone is going to I would be interested in hearing about what they think of its format and perceived usefullness. Too bad the blog will be closed but I know Ruppert needs something to help him pay his bills.

And on one more thing, I read an article last night about the sun now entering a new period of much higher activity. So Freeacre and Rockpicker, are these coming changes for the suns intensity why you guys are monitering the sun's activity so much? The article talked about how a major pulse from the sun could wreak havoc on our modern electrically oriented devices of all sorts, and the grid.

freeacre said...

Yes, NOAHH scientists have released a report regarding their concern about the sun's activity and will be having a big conference about it I forget when. You can go to their site for their take on it.
But, of more concern is the info on Half Past Human. Go to Clif's site and go down the list of essays until you get to C14, Pole Shift, Noodle Soup. But the real killer is the explanation and graphics that explain the cyclic nature of the sun's activity over time that is the basis of the Mayan calendar projections. It is called "Link to Sun Spot Cataclysm Material." Probably have to go out for pie after reading that one.
If you have anything left, hit Geryl's site, Howtosurvive2012.com. Hopefully, he is wrong.
But, it's enough to get you hooked on spaceweather.com.
Belgium, what kind of lettuce are you trying to grow? We use heritage seeds for openers. The mesclun mix leaf lettuce as well as Speckled trout leaf lettuce is very good and hardy and should keep you going for a long time if you just cut the outer leaves and let the little ones continue to grow. Can continue to poke seeds into the ground (or planter) as they get used up. Also, grow in the shade. Too hot kills them. We have to water every day or every other day, as they suck up a lot of water. Water when they get weak. Hope that helps.

rockpicker said...

I have a few posts I wish now had been removed by the author.

wv==tanin

murph said...

RP,

Why's that?

Hotspringswizard said...

Freeacre, CNN today had segment regarding the increasing activity and solar flare threat from the sun. Some of the information they discussed was much the same as I read in that previously mentioned article.

Also on MSNBC they discused info on possible indications that the riser down in the earth of the GOM Gusher may be broken somewhere, allowing oil to come up through the ocean floor in other areas. They said that the top kill proceedure may have caused excesive pressure to build up in the riser blowing it out somewhere down deep.

I saw another report recently that stated some underwater ROV found a spot where something ( maybe methane hydrates ) was bubbling up on the ocean floor in a place some distance from the leaking wellhead. Matt Simmmons said a while back that there was another larger leak. Perhaps these things have something to do with his making that claim.

And Rockpicker, you wrote, " I have a few posts I wish now had been removed by the author ". Are you planning on expanding on that thought a bit later or something? Kinda left us with half the story with that one :-)

gamedog said...

Hi Murph & freeacre, great blog you've created here. Thanks to HSW for dropping breadcrumbs on the FTW blog, I managed to find some of the refugees :)

Just when I thought I'd escaped Blogger software glitches too, it seems you guys have sucked me back in!

Collapsenet seems to be doing well, 721 members in 30 countries already, no-one seems to have found the comments section yet tho. I expect there's still lots of work going on behind the scenes.

Seems the real numbers are creeping out on the gusher...

Gulf oil spill 'may top 100,000 barrels a day'

As the CA governor once said... "I'll be back" :)

freeacre said...

This link from Huffpo confirms Belgium's analysis a couple of post back:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/09/belgian-election-frontrun_n_605680.html
Interesting. Any comments, Belgium, on what's going on there?

Hotspringswizard said...

Hello Gamedog :-) Glad to see you stopped by! Sounds like you have signed up to be a member of Collapse Net. I know it just began yesterday but I'd be curious to hear about your impression of its format features and the extent of the involvement that develops there, how useful it is, etc. Of course I know you would need to experience it for a while to make that kind of assesment.

Anyway Murph and Freeacre are really great people who consistently come up with interesting post subject matter related to collapse and they also always show thoughtful appreciation for the people who come here to comment.

There are clearly lots of sites out there that are helping people understand collapse and the myriad issues related to this unfolding reality. Since by and large those of us more aware of the grave changes that are coming are spread out, I think a format like this at the Trout Clan is one example of how a collection of people can get together in a way they can not otherwise to discuss the various information, and their own unique personal concerns about these times of great change we are just beginning to experience.

Good luck Gamedog and hopefully we will hear from you again :-)

Regarding posting here Gamedog and the Blogger software, I always have to enter the " publish " information twice. The first time it never goes through. It always has worked for me on the second try. I don't know why it does that?

murph said...

Howdy Gamedog,

Glad you found us and welcome.

This group is a cantankerous bunch when it comes to the goings on in the world. I guess yours truly is the elder cantankerer.

Freeacre and I have also joined Collapse net. So far, not very impressed with it, but it is new and will wait to see how it develops before passing judgment. I got to admit that I'm a bit hesitant to put my name up for a lot of people to see what I am or am not doing. It has the possibility of asking for problems I don't need.

Notice that there seems to be more than one leak in that area, plus some other rigs have leaks. All it's going to take is a whole bunch of strong winds to make this a horrific tragedy. Benzine fumes are already being picked up on land and far away from the oil dump. My big question is how many countries will this affect and what will they do about it. What if the whole Gulf coast has to be evacuated say for 100 miles inland, or even 50 miles? That's going to be a big movement of people for sure.

Hotspringswizard said...

So now that I know you guys ( Murph and Freeacre ) are Collaspe Net members I'll be interested in hearing your opinion of how it is developing at some later point when you can judge this a bit better. I would imagine things with it will change and get better as they get more organized. There was a guy recently " navid " who posted some ideas at the old FTW site suggesting that he thought it was important that Collapse Net develop a tiered system of access. I think this would work better for them, allowing for a means to reach a broader range of interested parties.

You were speaking of the Benzene fumes Murph. Well I just came across this at an oil price site I check out for oil and gold prices:

http://www.oil-price.net/

" Know this: Most of the hydrocarbon chemicals extracted by the dispersants stay at the surface. They are the first ones to evaporate alongside water into clouds overhead that later fly over the continent and provide rain to the southern states. We are talking about chemicals causing cancer or kidney failure such as benzene and pretty much any possible chemical that can be extracted from crude oil. These chemicals would end up in water supplies, rain on crops, and eventually imbibed by humans and animals alike... and hurricane season just started. "

I put up this small excerpt because I didn't know if it would still be there if and when you checked it out. Most of the people living down there most likely have not a clue that this could be occuring.

Anonymous said...

From Belgium

That article was a pretty fair summation of what is going on here and as you can see the SNAFU continues on its seemingly unstoppable course. Because there are so many political parties here the leaders of any two at random have being going head to head for ten minutes each evening on TV. Last Thursday or Friday Bart de Waver (NVA) was pitched against Filip de Winter (Vlaams Belang) and each stood their ground over the Separation issue, the latter taking the extreme course and BdW a middling course. On Sunday Bart de Waver announced he could see no solution except separation which wrong footed everybody. As was said such a change in position so near the election could loose votes so he went for the long drawn out – working towards approach which eases the pain but can also become derailed along the way. The Catholic Democrats immediately said they would not work in a coalition with them and problems should be talked through. This is not a bad way of course, except the French have brought down four consecutive governments and frustration at their intransigence is running high. Belgium is one of the European economies which is relatively not doing too badly but whilst the French stop it from functioning it is loosing traction and things are coming to a head. Filip de Winter compared it to being halfway across the Atlantic on the Titanic. France, Germany and Britain are all doing worse since they have leant enormous sums of money to other European countries who now have no hope of paying it back so their economies are increasingly suspect.

If NVA wins I don’t know how any administrative changes will work in practice. I have heard Gent proposed as a new capital for Vlanderen. What will happen to Brussels? It would still have both the EU and NATO headquarters and there would still be French speakers there. The Monarchy I also have no idea about. As you know governments work directly and monarchies indirectly. From public gaze Albert ll seems to be a pretty ineffectual at this kinging business although his son Filip represents them at Bilderberg meetings.

This is just my personal reflection and I cannot come definitively down since there are still more questions than answers. Maybe the whole thing is an exercise in getting the French speakers minds right but one thing is for sure things cannot continue as at present and the time has come to abandon the talking shop and do something positive.

..__..__..__..

Welcome gamedog, throw a log on the campfire and join in the ongoing.

I am being called away now, more on the GOM situation tomorrow.

aho

Anonymous said...

Hotspringswizard,
the exerpt you posted,(below)is a chilling thought, sounds really horrible but realistic. Amazing that so many of the people working to clean up are not protected with proper respitory protection masks, just like in NYC. mrs p

"Know this: Most of the hydrocarbon chemicals extracted by the dispersants stay at the surface. They are the first ones to evaporate alongside water into clouds overhead that later fly over the continent and provide rain to the southern states. We are talking about chemicals causing cancer or kidney failure such as benzene and pretty much any possible chemical that can be extracted from crude oil. These chemicals would end up in water supplies, rain on crops, and eventually imbibed by humans and animals alike... and hurricane season just started. "

Anonymous said...

From Belgium

BP is in the media limelight as indeed they should be. The spill (doesn’t it make it sound as if they have knocked a glass of milk over) isn’t something that they can make disappear no matter how much they wish they could. With that in mind they are already taking measures in damage control if not damage elimination. Personal damage that is, I don’t think they could give a flying fuck about the environment. To that end they have secured the legal services of WilmerHale and partner’s Jamie Gorelick. Jamie served as President Clinton’s deputy attorney general, the second highest legal person in the land. Prior to that she was general council to the DoD. BP feel they need “An inside player to guide them through the ins and outs of the process. WlmerHale has been retained to help the company respond to various Congressional inquiries that are underway and not to advocate for any position.” Does it not give you a warm fuzzy feeling that the taxpayer money that went to pay Gorelick’s salary all those years gave her the experience to screw the American people over on behalf of BP? Me too!

With all the money it’s cost them I bet BP are wishing they had forked out half a million on that sonic valve instead of spending money on having it lobbied out. We have all heard what brand Obama has said on the subject of this disaster; let’s hope his presidential abilities are up to the job.


I have touched on Gorelicks time at the DoJ and the DoD; some other high points in her career include the following. She has sat on commissions to investigate 9/11; Waco; Ruby Ridge and Fanny Mae amongst others. Many hold her personally responsible for erecting the intelligence wall which prevented the Foreign Intelligence Dept and Criminal Investigative communities from sharing information which may ‘possibly’ have prevented 9/11. All of this has earned her the by title, the Mistress of Disaster. It seems she serves on commissions, takes the heat after which nothing significant happens and then laughs all the way to the bank. She is a career disaster eliminator, no wonder she is in such demand.

She is batting whatever Eric Holder likely pitches at BP. In Mr Holder’s career he has been top legal council for Chiquita (formerly the United Fruit Company); Coca Cola; Exxon Mobil; Occidental Petroleum and Drummond Co. It has been suggested in some quarters that when legal measures don’t work in Middle American countries then death squads usually have the right effect but this is speculation.

All of this leads us to the conclusion that whatever happens legally between BP and the USG it is unlikely to turn out well for the American people.

VW opesses - one letter missing?

Hotspringswizard said...

In a recent interview Matt Simmons said there is not enough money in the world to fix or clean up the repercussions of this GOM disaster. He also said he thinks BP will have to file for Chapter 11in a month or so because of the exponentially increasing cost related to this oil gusher.

And even though BP has had high resolution images of the gushing oil out of the top of the well head after they cut the riser off through the whole process, Coast Gaurds Thad Allen today said they are still working on determining the actual flow rate, and that they could not share the images ealier because they were on a hard drive on a ship at the Horizen Deepwater site.

So we are supposed to believe nobody out there knows how to burn a cd? As far as I'm concerned Thad Allen might as well be wearing a BP logo on his shirt the way he constantly schills for the BP lies!

freeacre said...

Thank you, Belgium, on that research on "Damage Control" Gorelick. Sounds like a first class scum queen. How depressing.

And you, too, Hot Springs on the benzene. We are so fucked. Sounds like HPH's predictions of diaspora will come to pass. Read it all and weep, I guess. I can hardly take any more, and yet it is unrelenting.

On the home front, our beloved dog, Brie, just suffered another massive seizure, and I am filled with grief. I am cooking all of her food now from meat, brown rice and vegetables. I don't want to jam her up with drugs that will turn her into a bloated zombie. Anyone else know of natural treatments we could try? It seems that St. Bernard's are prone to seizures. Such a bummer.

Wish I had something positive to say, but today is not the day.

freeacre said...

Oh, I just thought of something good. Burnie came to dinner on Sunday and hung out with us. He visits Nina's site as well as ours and lives nearby in Bend. Such a pleasure to meet him in person. Such a thoughtful and gentle man. We really enjoyed his company and relish his friendship. That's a good thing.

Anonymous said...

From Belgium

So sorry to hear Brie suffered a seizure. I haven’t any magic cure except rest and loving care. Is it anything like epilepsy she suffered? That and severe asthma attacks are the two human conditions which are far worse for the onlookers than for the victims themselves. In people it is a condition which can be controlled but not cured, there are drugs but they are repressors not preventers. As I understand it, it is I bit like a contact breaker tripping out to protect what is further down the line and after a while it resets itself. Like I said it has a worse effect on you than on her. How old is she now? She is such a sweet dog too. If as is sometimes said it is the good ones that get it first then you two had better watch out.

Hotspringswizard said...

I feel your pain about your pooch Freeacre. I have always had a close relationship with the various dogs I've been graced to have had as friends over the years. Brings me to tears when they eventually move on for this or that reason. One of my dogs Tuka got cancer so bad I had to put her down. I was right there petting her at the vets when they gave her the shot. Man that was a killer, seeing her take her last breaths, then still. Carried her out to my car in tears :-(

When one of my pooches dies, I take it out to some remote scenic outdoor spot that I appreciate, and lay them down there. Thats what happens all the time in the natural world ( besides human cultural traditions ), things die, then come to rest where they are. Then nature takes its course and the recycling begins, each part of the material vessel of life transforming into something differant, once again.

Its always the weirdest thing, when I go back to check on them a couple of weeks later they are gone. No fur, no body parts, no broken ground, and nothing to suggest they were even there. Realistically I figure maybe a Cougar or Coyotes carried them off or something. I took Tuka out by some beautiful large granite boulder outcrops. It was winter, and I came back after a couple of weeks just after a snowfall and she was still there, covered in white snow. When I came back another week later, she was gone, poof!

Anyway I do this because I think it is the way of nature and a show of my appreciation for the special friend my pooch was, and also when I pass these places, I am always reminded of them.

My great German Shepard Sparky has been with me on countless hikes. She has the sweetest temperment, always freindly, happy and loyal! She is getting up there now, maybe 13-14 aprox ( we got her at the animal shelter ). I never look forward to losing them of course, but thats life. I always have at least two pooches so when one goes I pretty quickly get another one, usually at the animal shelter if possible, which helps my spirits and that of the other dog too.

Life is fleeting, and its my philosphy that one should not spend too much time dwelling in dreary thoughts of things lost, people, pooches, etc. Best to move on to experience things with the living, but also never forgetting your special companion, remembering them fondly and recalling the many gifts of friendship they brought you, making your life a much richer experience than it would have been without them.

Well your story about your dog Brie just made me think of the above, since I know before too long I will be going thru the pain of losing my freind Sparky. But for now, she is still healthy and active for her age. She still goes on hikes with me when its cool enough, climbing Turtle and Raven Mountains. She knows all the tricks to get me to pet her, which I am a sucker for, every time :-)

Hope you find some kind of natural remedy for Brie :-)

rockpicker said...

Haven't read this yet, but thought it might be serious enough to let everyone know about it. From stevequayle.com:

"
EXTREME ALERT — Gulf Coast Evacuation Contingency Plans Soon to Go Operational: The operational name for the Gulf Coast Evacuation is "Swift Fox". Yesterday morning at around 8:30 Mountain time, I received information that specific towns, in Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas and Georgia were having hotel rooms rented in mass by different named "Societies" using Federal government credit cards. The block hotel room rentals are for half the available rooms in hotels with a minimum of 120 rooms. Specific conversations were "overheard" that would indicate that the planned Gulf Coast evacuation is soon to be implemented. The only scenario I hear that may force the government to evacuate the coast is a multiple plume situation. Apparently, the unmitigated oil spilling has caused a pressure flux which, ironically, has caused a spider web network of Gulf seabed fissures, which has caused at least one other confirmed oil plume. NOAA is searching for two more suspected ones". This quote is from an insider who is really concerned as he should be. Here's additional info he provided. His comments in the following quote: "I know FEMA has already scoped out FEMA camp locations, i.e. vacant lots and swaths of land that can be leased temporarily in Texas and Georgia".

The inside guy said it is up to the President to give the go-signal. There is an evacuation plan drafted and in place, ready for execution only *if* the administration deems it necessary. That can happen two ways. FEMA makes an emergency declaration with recommendation to POTUS (President of the US) for an evacuation or 2/3 of the Gulf States request federal help for an evac. States can individually declare an evacuation of their Gulf residents, but that would be a state action only, not FEMA/Federal".

One week ago I was given a "vision of bread" while praying for wisdom. I saw a piece of bread being ripped apart as you would tear apart a sandwich from the bottom up. Imagine holding a sandwich in both hands and pressing your thumbs through the center of the bread and then tearing the bread, ripping it apart into two sections!

I wondered why the Lord would give me the Bread Vision, and then it became apparent. FAMINE is going to explode through the land as a result of the Gulf of Mexico's sea floor rupturing! Yesterday, as I pondered all that's going on, I received an image of a jig saw puzzle with all the interrelated pieces being broken apart, and being tied to this event taking place in the Gulf. The famine that is coming to the US is heartbreaking in it's ramifications. The slaughter and devastation is unimaginable. As the Great Quake literally tears apart the US mainland, all America's external enemies including those "enemies within" will seek to destroy and devour that which is left and flee, but they will not succeed. THEY WILL BE STOPPED BY ALMIGHTY GOD HIMSELF. THE DESTRUCTION THEY HAVE PLANNED FOR THE INNOCENT WILL BE SUPERNATURALLY TURNED AGAINST THEM!

I will be publishing the prophecy that the Lord has given me at His appointed time. I want to personally thank all of the Lord's intercessors who pray for me daily that I might warn and help prepare those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. I urge every one who understands the lateness of the hour to get their hearts right before the Living God, as the time comes when only the power of an individual's relationship with God and the power of prayer will get us through the most perilous time period in ALL HISTORY! —Stephen Quayle

rockpicker said...

Okay, I know, like when Dylan found Jesus we all experienced a mild pole shift. Sorry. If you don't listen to those outside the box, and glean what you can of their truth, if there is any, you're just gonna stay inside the box...

http://cdn2.ash1.k-srv.info/camelotproductions/jamesfox2010.mp3

rockpicker said...

Ras, come in on this...

RAS said...

FA, I'm sorry about Brie. I hope you can find a natural remedy, but if not, you might want to look into the drugs. Most of the epilepsy drugs don't turn them into zombies.

Rp, I don't know anything about evacs planned for the Gulf. My guess is if they do it it will be because of massive fumes, which won't happen until large chunks of oil come onshore. It might happen during the first hurricane. People will probably be leaving themselves before FEMA gets around to giving the order.

As for the famine, I agree that one is coming but I don't think it will be this year. We squeaked by with enough of a harvest last year for the developed world (the poor countries are another issue -they're in the second or third year of famine). The question is whether or not the harvest this year will get us through next year. Stock up on food, everyone.

Anonymous said...

Freeacre;

We're very sorry to hear about Brie. Are there veterinarians practicing naturopathy?

Once I had a Pooley, Australian sheep dog breed, very mellow dog. When she got old, she had a stroke that left her head cocked, to maintain balance, I guess. Thought I was going to have to put down, but the vet gave her a shot of steroids, and damned if it didn't straighten her out to where she lived through the winter, seemingly back to her old self. Eventually, age catches up to all of us.

I'm building a masonry barbeque now which involves more than a little heavy lifting, so the age factor is an issue of increasing relevance.

Brie. What a great dog to be blessed with...

-rockpicker

Anonymous said...

Coronal holes starting to grow again. Sun looks sick.

wv-prepa

rockpicker

Anonymous said...

Burnie just explained to me you were Murph.

http://snippits-and-slappits.blogspot.com/2010/06/great-abyss-entire-continent-burning.html

It is on fire also under the gulf, but the ocean is cooling it down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDsX3nFo4_M

"Let me scare you even more. Fracking can proceed to where many of the so-called oil wells are joined, since there is only one really big deposit underlying the entire GoM shelf. Yep, all the way to your neck of the woods. All the platforms are really sucking teats from a single sow. A chain reaction is possible, eroding all the walls, going down to as far as Venezuela as a worst-case scenario. And remember, that South American deposit extends all the way, nearly to the Antarctic. The Falklands war was over possession of the oil. Estimates of several trillion barrels of oil can be let loose.

"Other that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?

http://www.rense.com/general91/oilor.htm

They don't call the pacific rim the ring of fire for nothing.

http://www.volcanolive.com/world.html

http://doctorjamespwickstrom.blogspot.com/2010/06/fire-on-bottom-of-gulf-of-mexico.html

Noor left this one on Wickstrom's site. The girl is cracking me up.

"getting goddam scary. chips. guillotines. starvation. disease. earthquakes. tsunamis. all of these things can be understood. This is a little tmi for me. Atlantis went down beneath the water. It was said fire would do it the next time. We are here, at "the next time" teetering on the brink. Cayce spoke of the Great Lakes pouring into the Mississippi which would pour into the Pacific. Pardon my rambling, but this is just about the time I could say "beam me up scottie". Despite what sounds like humor, there is a lot of fear running through me now..."

Anonymous said...

Dear FA & Murph
Sorry to hear about Brie. We have a natropathic friend who could perhaps suggest what to buy, probably can get it online.
Hang in there. I will ask and report back.
Wednesday and Yesterday, Thursday 6/10 and the was weird here too. I just had a ruff time with everything. You know everything was difficult. I think it was something in the atmosphere, or the stars who knows but it was a weird day. Even hubby was weird and felt weird. Frustrations etc.
Brie knows how much she's loved.
mrs p

Anonymous said...

From Belgium

Dublin Mick – “All the platforms are really sucking teats from a single sow.” That’s the real reason Eugene Island 330 was mistaken for the virgins lamps.

freeacre said...

Thanks so much for all the good wishes, loving thoughts, and info for Brie. Naturapathic dog vets are a good idea. I don't know why I didn't think of it, except I was mentally paralyzed I guess. I think there are some in Bend. I'll check it out.

Holy Mother of God! Those later links from Rockpicker and Dublin Mick are just beyond what I have words for. Flames now, coming from the well head??? Potential gas explosions under the continental U.S.?? Giant holes opening up in China like the one in Guatemala (from Urban Survival today)?? WTF! Kali is back.
I hope Israel realizes that this is NOT a good time to start WWIII.
Maybe it's time to start doing the Ghost Dance.

Hotspringswizard said...

There have been some reports of flames at the well head. I noticed last week there were images of the gushing oil where its flow had reduced enough ( from the increased pumping BP was doing I believe ) that the cap behind it could be seen intermitently. The cap was originally white but it appears from all the gushing oil rushing up around it the cap now has taken on the organish color of the crude oil, the same color that you see it look like in many instances while floating on the sea surface.

There are some very bright lights down there illuminating everything at the well head and when the gushing oil opens up enough to show the cap briefly behind it, the intense light shines on the orange cap surface and it looks sort of like flames behind the oil as the plume dances around showing parts of the cap in moving spurts. I watched the video of this for some time and could see clearly during bigger gaps in the gushing oil that orangish flashing color seen is the cap.

I think this is what is stirring up these flame reports. Besides that, scientifically I don't see where any flame could occur in the conditions present down there under 5000+ feet of very cold water, with oil gushing into the cap at roughly, by one estimate, 2300 PSI. A flame needs oxygen, like the massive flames from the burning oil and gas in the initial explosion on the rig, at the surface, in the air, not under water.

gamedog said...

Sorry to hear about your poor pooch guys, we're a big doggy family here, all I can suggest is to try to calm and reassure pooch during the seizures, it must be so confusing for animals with no sense of what's going on.

...on underwater fires...

The video I watched yesterday (linked above - since pulled off youtube) looked very convincing. Being an ex RN diver I like to think I know what underwater fire looks like (welding, phosphorous mines etc) the video almost had me convinced, I remain open minded.

There are chemical reactions which release oxygen (e.g. gunpowder, explosives etc.), so it's not impossible considering liquid methane in a chemical soup at some 6000psi, tho the actual chemical reaction is above my pay-grade, if it was a chemical fire, I would have expected to see more bubbles/waste gas from the reaction, so I remain agnostic.

Has anyone else experienced problems in the garden due to the extended cold spring we had? Everything here seems to be very late into flower, peas only just setting pods, while this time last year I was replanting second crops. Tomatoes just setting flowers. Many failures in the cold frame too, less than 20% of my beans germinated, sweetcorn looks stunted. seems an influx of slugs and snails too, 2/16 cucumber plants have so far survived.

If we really HAD TO survive on the garden, we'd struggle on this years crops for sure! Much food for thought planning next years crops.

Hotspringswizard said...

Hey Gamedog, regarding the wellhead flames stories I'm still looking for more news on that even though as I discussed in my recent post I think its probably unlikely in this case. Seems if there really was some kind of fire going on down there at the well head it would get into the the MSM at some point.

Regarding the weather, this spring here in the High Desert of So Cal has been much cooler than normal too. We did get a brief hot spell last weekend but late this week it has gone back to lower than normal temps. I have been wondering if perhaps that volcano in Iceland putting up that ash may have caused the rainer than usual conditions here in the west and the cool spring. I know Mt Pinatubo caused some general cooling in the world for a couple of years. Its however has been a nice break from the normally much hotter conditions we usually experience for this time of year. Good to hear from you again Gamedog :-)

Anonymous said...

thanks guys for the warm welcome, there is so much going on on so many levels its just mind crunching trying to make sense of it, i see no sense, but in the try hopefully there is a tiny bit of sunshine, well that is a fizzle and so on to better things, like keeping up with my old friends here at the sacred fire/

on the way back from polson,
( a little town at the south end of flathead lake on the reservation ) yesterday i stopped along the bluffs overlooking this beautiful and clean (relatively) flathead river and as the rain which has been turning this area of montana into a tropical paradise on the cool side of course, it occurred to me like a bolt of lighting a voice said ''the universe eats itself'' i think i have read this somewhere before but the impact and the truth of this was just mind boggling, the clarity of purpose which came immediately after and shut out all the outward manifestations of trivial was the the message, find creator.
that being, this sounds hokey but after the debris of a mind overwhelmed with the insanity of what the two-leggeds are doing to mother earth sounded like well maybe this is right on.
this will probably not be a received welcome notion but doesn;t matter.
its an individual experience anyway and the words do not make it real.

the importance given to the oil spill is about as important as forgetting to brush ones teeth in the morning as near as i can tell, in the larger scheme of things,i watched ( yes i saw a tv )and the goofy looking guy was rolling off words like a machine gun explaining this this and that and it suddenly seemed as if he was a robot in the realist sense and the message was straight out of the orwell book.looky looky who has the cookie, would you like a cookie,? man i got to quite smoking that shit from canada, it really twists the molecules and they really don''t need no more twisting at this late in the day adventure.

so i ask langosta about the world she inhabits and she gives up information that is always somewhat strange as to the meaning, she says the people of mother earth have lost all connection with her and that this loss is the cause of all the ''natural'' upheavals going on. this loss which is infinitely worse then say the lost of a wallet or even the loss of a love one is going on at the request of the two-leggeds themselfs but cannot be acknowledged by them because of being caught up in the illusionary world they themselfs have fallen prey to.
that it is an unconscious desire, a collective unconscious desire to return home to that which is reality,
this will and is taking a hammer blow of loss to restore that connection. it is not coming from outside, it is internal, a self inflected cure for the human spirit.
the suffering will contain the necessary catalyst to make it happen.
she says the love of things as opposed to the love of self and the the love of each other is a curse brought on by events that are cyclic in nature and is a learning process as maturity grows on the two-leggeds.
fuck i say that really sucks,
she replies, how would you fix it.?
i am stumped.

then there is this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb1n1X0Oqdw

this is the fourth day of trying to put this thank you up guys , its really a heartbreak to watch our mother go through all of this even if its part of the cure.
i am honored to know you all,

aho

mf&l

wv ovencia