35 years ago today the Vietnam War ended
Friday, April 30, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Weekly Astrology Insight: April 26 - May 2
Weekly Astrology Insight: April 26 - May 2
Based on Eastern Time zone.
Monday April 26, A few confusing aspects in the earlier hours could have us feeling a bit uncertain about our day. Mercury retrograde will also have his say in this, playing tricks with our minds, disrupting our ability to make good, conscious decisions. Before making choices or taking action, be sure to take some quality time to go over facts to avoid any possible misunderstandings.
Pinched for time, we're challenged to find a peaceful balance in our course of action, but change is not always easy. The traditional values that Saturn grounds us with, are put through a test when opposed with the impulsive changes that Uranus delivers at 7:23pm, to reform the old, with the new. Some of us may have already felt the stress increasing over the past weeks and/or months. As tension continues to build, something could snap, if it hasn't already. Chaos and unexpected shifts in the world, as well as in our life and relationships may occur, and times are changing, as it waits for no one. What may have been at odds or avoided in your circle, will now experience a force to be reckoned with. Saturn had been retrograde in Libra (personal and professional relationships) but has recently entered Virgo (our service to others, work, health, pets). These areas may be experiencing sensitivities and much strain as Pluto is also retrograde, digging and removing the REAL culprit of damage. Even though Saturn is retrograde, he's still looking out for our best interest, encouraging us to get it right' this time. 'Shape up or ship out', as it's for our own good. It's similar to when we've experienced a painful sore that just won't heal. We keep covering it up with a band-aid, but there is no change. Finally Uranus comes along as our 'wake up call', unexpectedly rips off the bandage and tells us that we need to change in our game. The Libra Moon helps us to make sense of what is happening, as we set our emotions on the side. We may not get what we want - but in a way we do - which is how the Universe rolls.
Tuesday April 27, Moon enters Scorpio 6:28pm, and we'll feel a need to withdraw and experience the emotions that we're tapped into. We may feel as if something is being pulled away from us as we begin to discharge negative forces, but the heavy weight of tomorrow's blistering Full Moon may simply be magnifying emotional pressures - reflecting our own desire to retreat. Mercury retrograde fumbles with our perspective, so we could struggle between our feelings and common sense. The necessity to let go of drama let's us step back to do a little self-nurturing. Find time to meditate, so that unhealthy suspicions can be cleansed.
Wednesday April 28, A Full Moon in Scorpio ripens at 8:19am, harvesting our New Moon intentions from the 14th - if we participated in making it happen. If you can't remember, here is part the clipping I wrote:
...We have a new emotional cycle on Monday April 14, as Luna enters courageous Aries 8:29 am EST. This is a time that we find ourselves ready to 'start fresh' and experience life on a whole new inner level. It is a time to Read More >>
Make it a great week!
Suzi Dronzek
Like We Didn't Already Need ANOTHER REASON to Boycott Wal-Mart
This has been a longtime problem - haven't there already been lawsuits in the past about this?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100426/ap_on_bi_ge/us_wal_mart_discrimination
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100426/ap_on_bi_ge/us_wal_mart_discrimination
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
Equal Pay Day Rally!
Via the Women and Girls Foundation:
April 20th is National Equal Pay Day. This day symbolizes how much longer a woman has to work to earn the same amount of money that a man has earned the previous year. Nationally, women earn about 77 cents for every dollar a man earns but in Pennsylvania women earn only 75 cents while in Pittsburgh they earn even less: 74 cents.
Every year the Women and Girls Foundation organizes a rally downtown to mobilize the community on the issue of gender wage gap. Here is the information for this year's WGF Equal Pay DayRally:
2010 Equal Pay Day Rally
WHEN: April 20, 2010, 12noon to 1pm
WHERE: Mellon Square Park (the park between the Regional Enterprise Towers and the Omni William Penn Hotel)
To learn more about WGF: http://www.wgfpa.org/ Questions? info@wgfpa.org
You can RSVP here.
Starcana Weekly Astrology Insight: April 19-25
Monday April 19 We find ourselves picking up the pieces for others, rather than putting order into our own lives as Sun inconjuncts fearful Saturn. Moon shifts from friendly Gemini, into motherly Cancer, and our natural instinct wants to nurture and take care of those around us. While it is a generous deed to attend to others, it's best to take as much quality time into getting our own lives in order to avoid future blame and extra work on our plate.
Tuesday April 20 Sun enters dependable Taurus, giving us a chance to experience the strong and silent traits of the earthy bull. We become less talkative, and more productive in our lives. Rather than 'talk the talk' - we're ready to 'walk the walk' - to prove what we are made of and what we are worthy of. Our steps toward loyalty and dedication are building blocks to a lasting friendship in our relationships, as well as with our work and finances. This is a great time to study what we have in our life, and to figure out how we can add more value to what we already own.
Wounded healer Chiron leaves socially-conscious Aquarius and enters recovering Pisces until 2019. Where we've concentrated on 'the bigger picture' with ideas to better the world for others, it is time to redirect some of this energy toward ourselves. Thoughts and ideas turn into movement now, allowing the therapeutic waters of Pisces to flow evenly and wash over the world and over ourselves. Generous amounts of imagination, self-love, and compassion can overwhelm us and form an ocean of forgiveness and love again in our lives. As Pluto (release) and Saturn (restructure) both continue retrograde, we are closing a chapter in our lives of toxic and broken foundations (Capricorn) in our professional and personal relationships (Libra). We can choose to close this cycle physically and let go of the past, or we can close the gaps and meet each other halfway.
Self-healing will be on the rise, especially as Saturn retrogrades in Virgo (health) to help us re-examine and reshape our physical, mental, and emotional well-being. We may find ourselves dealing with old reoccurring health issues that will be forcing us to take a second (or third) look at the way we have been taking care of ourselves - as we deal with faltering health issues, necessary visits with our physicians, becoming available to new fitness programs, making better food choices, taking our vitamins, and so forth. Emotional and mental health care also rises as part of the self-healing, where more folks turn to therapeutic counseling, natural alternative health choices, meditation, etc. During this shift, we could see a fresh era of new music brewing in the very near future.
Jupiter is also in Pisces now, filled with much in the way of generosity and kindness. We make bigger contributions to the less-fortunate, as Pisces represents the selfless and helpless. Many may actually begin to anticipate the benefits of the new healthcare system. Jupiter in Pisces brings us an abundance of study, higher thinking, and blessings from the Universe. If you use to follow my Daily Horoscopes, I always referred as Pisces in the hippy-psychedelic form. The last time Chiron was in Pisces was back in the sixties when 'All You Need is Love' was the way. We can develop a new outlook and yearn for love and peace now, searching for compassion, spiritual growth, and a Higher Power. It's all about us living with each other, like the fish (Pisces) who travel in a school together, rather than swimming it alone. As Earth and Mother Nature continues to take tantrums, we are more likely to see more communal living and shared housing, as we're forced to become more cooperative into 'living as one'. What we learn, we teach and share with others - to live in harmony. Just like the lyrics of 'I am the Walrus' from The Beatles... 'I am he, as you are he, as you are me, and we are all together'... Read More >>
Make it a great week!
Suzi
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Sally Kalson v Catholic Church AND Big Ben
Our much beloved Sally Kalson shares some insight into the cult of athletic personality.
From a public point of view, I think Sally is on to something. However, from a business point of view, the Rooney's ARE paying Big Ben to be a hero and the morality clauses widens that definition beyond job performance. It might be nice if there was a concrete way to define "hero" ... or put some of the onus of encouraging mature behavior on the shoulders of those raking in millions alongside the heros.
Fans assuming some of the responsibility for our expectations is a good start.
Sally herself was the target of another piece in the Forum section as Bishop Zubik took aim at the liberal media for picking on poor Pope Benedict.
Bishop Zubik is basically telling us to get over it already because the Church certainly has done their best to make it right. As a girl who grew up in a Pittsburgh Catholic diocese helmed by a pedophile in the 1980's, I do not buy it. Someone put Father John Wellinger into Holy Spirit Parish in West Mifflin and I've yet to see anyone who was of adult age at that point in time take responsibility for it. No one has ever contacted me to apologize. I was friends with some of his victims and can attest to the destruction he sowed as late as 1988. Not quite as far away as Bishop Zubik would like you to believe.
We may have to give our athletes a little wiggle room when it comes to conduct, but I'm tired of the "poor me" mentality of these Catholic thugs with their blame it on the homosexuals/liberal media defense posture. Your failure to take action to protect ME and my friends, Bishop Zubik, has done irreparable damage.
It is a bit eerie really, the parallels. Blame the victim. Protect the institution. Blah. Blah. Blah.
It is really sad when we anticipate justice from the Rooneys before the Vatican. How screwed up are those expectations!
Steelers President Art Rooney II said on Thursday that appropriate discipline would be forthcoming in a few weeks. After that, he said, "We intend to allow Ben the opportunity to prove to us he is the teammate and citizen we all believe he is capable of being."
How are they going to do that -- put him in a bar full of wasted college girls and see if he can resist?
I'd like to see him rehabilitated, too. I'd also like to see the rest of us get real about our expectations of professional athletes. This pedestal thing is getting old.
These are men who happen to be extraordinarily good at their sport. The notion that this makes them role models in any other aspect of life not only makes no sense, it has been shot through with holes time and again.
Of course, the pros may be upstanding people, generous, fair-minded, good examples for young people. But that's because of who they are (like Troy Polamalu and Charlie Batch), not what they do on the field.
The job makes them rich and famous, puts them in the public eye. It does not automatically bestow wisdom, character, humility or common sense. If anything, the huge amounts of money and misplaced hero worship can work against those traits.
Off the job, sports stars should be held to the same laws and standards of common decency as the rest of us. Expecting them to be paragons of virtue, however, is asking for disappointment.
It's possible that Ben can still become a decent person and a great asset to the team. Meanwhile, we'd do well to look for heroes elsewhere.
From a public point of view, I think Sally is on to something. However, from a business point of view, the Rooney's ARE paying Big Ben to be a hero and the morality clauses widens that definition beyond job performance. It might be nice if there was a concrete way to define "hero" ... or put some of the onus of encouraging mature behavior on the shoulders of those raking in millions alongside the heros.
Fans assuming some of the responsibility for our expectations is a good start.
Sally herself was the target of another piece in the Forum section as Bishop Zubik took aim at the liberal media for picking on poor Pope Benedict.
I was wondering how bad it could get. Then Sally Kalson began her column in last Sunday's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette with the following:
" 'When I was growing up, just about every parish had its pedophile priest and everybody knew who it was,' said my friend Carrie, who attended Roman Catholic schools just outside of Pittsburgh in the 1960s."
I didn't have to wonder any longer.
That charge was the lead in Ms. Kalson's column and a slap in the face of the 342 priests of this diocese who serve so faithfully with me. It was an attack on my flock, the nearly 800,000 members of the Diocese of Pittsburgh. It was never qualified, never modified. It simply was there in print as fact.
If you crunch the numbers of priests and parishes at that time, Ms. Kalson basically let the claim stand unchallenged that roughly 60 percent of the priests serving in the Diocese of Pittsburgh in the mid-1960s were pedophiles.
Slanderous and outrageous? Sure. But that's how bad it has become.
Bishop Zubik is basically telling us to get over it already because the Church certainly has done their best to make it right. As a girl who grew up in a Pittsburgh Catholic diocese helmed by a pedophile in the 1980's, I do not buy it. Someone put Father John Wellinger into Holy Spirit Parish in West Mifflin and I've yet to see anyone who was of adult age at that point in time take responsibility for it. No one has ever contacted me to apologize. I was friends with some of his victims and can attest to the destruction he sowed as late as 1988. Not quite as far away as Bishop Zubik would like you to believe.
We may have to give our athletes a little wiggle room when it comes to conduct, but I'm tired of the "poor me" mentality of these Catholic thugs with their blame it on the homosexuals/liberal media defense posture. Your failure to take action to protect ME and my friends, Bishop Zubik, has done irreparable damage.
But I do hope there will be a little more care taken before we give credence to every charge, along with a little more responsible thinking before dragging through the mud a church that has done more to address this horrible tragedy than any other entity.
It is a bit eerie really, the parallels. Blame the victim. Protect the institution. Blah. Blah. Blah.
It is really sad when we anticipate justice from the Rooneys before the Vatican. How screwed up are those expectations!
NEUROFIBROMATOSIS
a bit selfish of me. there are so many good causes out there, but this is dear to me.
Monday, April 12, 2010
The Non-Statement
From the Post-Gazette.
"I'd like to begin by expressing gratitude for the thorough investigation process in Georgia and the Prosecutor's decision not to bring charges. I know without a doubt it is the right conclusion. I don't intend to discuss any details related to the events in Georgia. I am happy to put this behind me and move forward.
"I am truly sorry for the disappointment and negative attention I have brought to my family, my teammates and coaches, the Rooneys and the NFL. I understand that the opportunities I have been blessed with are a privilege, and that much is expected of me as the quarterback of Pittsburgh Steelers. I absolutely want to be the leader this team deserves, valued in the community and a role model to kids. I have much work to do to earn this trust, and I am committed to improving and showing everyone my true values.
"I am excited to get back to work with my teammates, and I am more determined than ever to have a great season. I intend to make my family, friends and the Steeler Nation proud on all fronts
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10102/1049839-66.stm#ixzz0kvomq4Et
"I'd like to begin by expressing gratitude for the thorough investigation process in Georgia and the Prosecutor's decision not to bring charges. I know without a doubt it is the right conclusion. I don't intend to discuss any details related to the events in Georgia. I am happy to put this behind me and move forward.
"I am truly sorry for the disappointment and negative attention I have brought to my family, my teammates and coaches, the Rooneys and the NFL. I understand that the opportunities I have been blessed with are a privilege, and that much is expected of me as the quarterback of Pittsburgh Steelers. I absolutely want to be the leader this team deserves, valued in the community and a role model to kids. I have much work to do to earn this trust, and I am committed to improving and showing everyone my true values.
"I am excited to get back to work with my teammates, and I am more determined than ever to have a great season. I intend to make my family, friends and the Steeler Nation proud on all fronts
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10102/1049839-66.stm#ixzz0kvomq4Et
My idea of justice ...
I think we need to take about 10 Steeler nation Mamas who have college aged daughters, arm them with pink Terrible Towels and lock them in a bathroom stall with Big Ben for say .... 15 minutes with no two minute warning. Then we take the payment he would receive during whatever suspension he receives and donate it to Pittsburgh Action Against Rape to go into high school athletic programs and talk about sexual responsibility.
Just my opinion.
Just my opinion.
It would be so refreshing ...
... if a grown man would admit that there is just nothing responsible about taking a young woman into a bathroom stall. It is not cool, sexy, bad, awesome, atta boy, way to go, or even hygenic. It is disgusting, low-life, unChristian and demeaning behavior that shows a complete lack of respect for every woman who claims membership in the Steeler Nation.
Breaking News
Statement concluded.
He's wearing clothing.
"Gratitude for thorough investigation process."
"I don't intend to discuss any details related to the offense."
"I'm truly sorry .... to my family, friends, NFL ..."
"I want to be a role model to kids."
"Thank you and God Bless."
Steelers changed venue at last minute so it was not able to be broadcast live. Hmmmm.
He's wearing clothing.
"Gratitude for thorough investigation process."
"I don't intend to discuss any details related to the offense."
"I'm truly sorry .... to my family, friends, NFL ..."
"I want to be a role model to kids."
"Thank you and God Bless."
Steelers changed venue at last minute so it was not able to be broadcast live. Hmmmm.
The DA Press Conference
... can be found at KDKA
http://kdka.com/video/?id=71073@kdka.dayport.com
http://kdka.com/video/?id=71073@kdka.dayport.com
http://kdka.com/video/?id=71073@kdka.dayport.com
http://kdka.com/video/?id=71073@kdka.dayport.com
Live Blogging Big Ben
OK. 6 minutes to go to see what Big Ben has to say for himself. I'm truly curious if he has the self-awareness to recognize what a complete ass he's made of himself or that crawling into a public bathroom with a much young woman under any circumstances is creepy, inappropriate and lacking in hygeine.
We deserve better than a creepy not-quite-a-rapist leader in Pgh. I'm just saying.
We deserve better than a creepy not-quite-a-rapist leader in Pgh. I'm just saying.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Earth-related Tremors & Troubles
I have mentioned this before, as I have been been personally experiencing intuitive tremors and making notes on my twitter account, then archiving on my personal tremor log. Whether I have been on target with what I am feeling, or maybe just totally coincidental, but this is the reason that I am logging it all, to see if there is a genuine pattern. If you have read my notes, I have experienced visual signs that I am interpreting as something larger that MAY be happening with our earth. I COULD be wrong, because I have a feeling - not scientific proof. But with the tremors I have felt, something is shaking he earth. With Jupiter, there is an increase of moisture that is loosening the earth. I have seen a number of repeated visions of 'rings on fire', and after days of wondering - 'what the heck is that?' I am assuming with additional messages received, that these visuals is a volcano(s). Now with Pluto and Saturn as more of the distant planets, they move at a much slower pace. During their recent retrograde, they take their good ole time traveling backwards, into deeper 'unseen' areas. Deeper into memories, into the subconscious, etc. My thoughts are the same with the earth. We have extreme tension increasing between Uranus (tremors), Pluto (ejection), and Saturn (foundation/earth). A very deep eruption is surfacing. I don't know where this would occur, I don't know when this would actually occur, I don't know if this is worthy enough to even speculate, without valid proof.
Back in my February post: I mentioned that I'm not a professional scientist with a knowledge for these things, but instead, I follow intuitive patterns and astrological factors as my own guide. My goal is NOT to freak anyone out, but to simply make them 'aware', so that they may prepare. I usually try to follow my own advice and talk to my husband when I see certain obstacles ahead, and with what may come. I would personally suggest that if you qualify and live in an area where flooding is possible, use precaution and get flood insurance (with Jupiter in Pisces) this year. I also would check to see if your house lot is on or connected to an area where mining had occurred, there may be mining insurance for that as well (with Saturn and Pluto retrograding). And seriously, I could be wrong, as i am not going on scientific facts. And I hope that I am wrong. I don't know the geographical information with mining here in the Pennsylvania area, but my belief right now, is "better safe, than sorry", which is the reason for me sharing my thoughts.
I find it interesting that in 2010, we're in a universal three cycle in numerology 2+0+1+0=3, and three's are related to communication and expression. In the Tarot, three is related to The Empress card, who represents Mother Earth. This is a year that Mother Earth is communicating to us. So far, she has spoke loudly with the earthquakes in Chile and Haiti, along with the threat of a tsunami, blizzards and flooding in the US. I imagine that she still has a lot more to say and get off her chest.
Enjoy your week.
Suzi
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
At Least 25 Miners Dead in Blast — Who Killed Them? « SpeakEasy
At Least 25 Miners Dead in Blast — Who Killed Them? « SpeakEasy
- SpeakEasy - http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy -
At Least 25 Miners Dead in Blast — Who Killed Them?
Posted By jeffbiggers On April 6, 2010 @ 5:21 am In Uncategorized | 4 Comments
All coal mining safety laws have been written in miners’ blood.
My grandfather, who barely survived an explosion in a coal mine in southern Illinois, taught me this phrase. He also taught me about the 150-year-old battle in the coalfields over reckless production at the cost of responsible safety measures.
As our prayers and condolences go out to the many coal mining families in Raleigh County, West Virginia, I think about the needless safety violations and subsequent disasters that have taken place over the past century.
Over 104,000 Americans and immigrants have died in our coal miners. According to one inspectors, many, if not a majority of those “accidents” should not be considered mishaps, but acts of negligent homicide.
As a coal miner’s widow from Raleigh County, West Virginia told me on the phone last night, every time she sees a miner just off his shift, draped in coal dust, standing at the convenience market, she knows that mine is rife with violations.
Three coal miners still die daily from black lung disease–one of the most flagrant safety issues and scandals overlooked in our nation.
While we are still waiting for the details on the Performance Coal Co. Upper Big Branch Mine disaster, and whether methane gas buildup–the release of highly flammable and toxic gas that has haunted coal miners for centuries–led to the explosion that has taken at least 25 lives, reports are now coming out of the mine’s history of safety violations. According to Ry Rivard in the Daily Mail:
In March alone, U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration officials cited the mine, which is owned by Massey subsidiary Performance Coal Co., for failing to control dust; improperly planning to ventilate the mine of dust and the combustible gas methane; inadequate protection from roof falls; failing to maintain proper escapeways; and allowing the accumulation of combustible materials.
Since 1995, there have been more than 3,000 violations at Upper Big Branch, though it was not immediately clear how that compared to other mines of its size.
Of the $1.5 million in penalties MSHA proposed since 2007, Massey has actually paid less than $300,000.
The proposed fines for this year alone amount to about $190,000. Last year, the mine faced $900,000 in fines for more than 450 violations, including 48 “unwarrantable failure orders,” which are considered serious.
Many of those citations and fines are being contested.
The violations appear “quite relevant” to Monday’s explosion, said Scott Simonton, a professor of environmental science and environmental engineering at Marshall University.
“The fact that these seem like to me to be some serious violations and not just some paperwork violation – these are serious violations, especially in light of what has happened,” he said.
Massey, of course, has become infamous for its devastating mountaintop removal operations.
But the company also pleaded guilty to criminal violations for a January, 2006 fire at the Aracoma mine in Logan County, WV, which took the lives of two miners. As Charleston Gazette reporter Ken Ward noted:
a huge problem at Aracoma was also that Massey officials had removed key ventilation walls, or stoppings, allowing smoke to enter that primary escape tunnel in the first place – a move that U.S. District Judge John T. Copenhaver later said “doomed two workers to a tragic death.
In a now infamous internal memo to employees that was used in the Aracoma mine trial, Massey’s CEO Don Blankenship openly declared: “If any of you have been asked by your group presidents, your supervisors, engineers or anyone else to do anything other than run coal (i.e. – build overcasts, do construction jobs, or whatever) you need to ignore them and run coal,” the complaint quotes the memo. “This memo is necessary only because we seem not to understand that coal pays the bills.”
Nonetheless, Massey is ramping up its mine productions and profits, especially in its hurry to export coal to India and China. Last year, nearly 3,000 coal miners died in China’s own mines.
When my grandfather was in the mines in southern Illinois, a group of UMWA miners from Centralia, Illinois, outraged by the political machinations in the Department of Mines and Minerals, wrote a letter in 1946 urging the governor to take action on clearly dangerous buildups of coal dust. The letter described the mine’s situation, the politics, and then made a desperate request for intervention:
“In fact, Governor Green, this is a plea to you, to please save our lives, to please make the Department of Mines and Minerals enforce the laws at No. 5 mine of the Centralia Coal Company at Centralia, Illinois, at which mine we are employed, before we have a dust explosion at this mine like just happened in Kentucky and West WV.”
Despite numerous inspections, recommendations, and noted violations, the mine owners did not consider the dust situation to be of imminent danger. On March 25, 1947, an explosion ripped through the Centralia mine and killed 111 miners. Half of them died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Three of the four men who had written the governor also died in the explosion.
As the St. Louis Post-Dispatch pointed out, a crime was committed at Centralia. Just like modern operators, the Centralia Coal Company had made it a habitual practice to violate mining safety laws and simply pay the fines.
And the violations and the deaths continue today.
I can’t get the words of an old Welsh coalfield ballad out of my mind:
“Oh what will you give me, say the sad bells of Rhymney
Is there hope for the future, say the brown bells of Merthyr
Who made the mine owners, say the blackbells of Rhondda
And who killed the miners, say the grim bells of Blaenau. . . “
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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- SpeakEasy - http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy -
At Least 25 Miners Dead in Blast — Who Killed Them?
Posted By jeffbiggers On April 6, 2010 @ 5:21 am In Uncategorized | 4 Comments
All coal mining safety laws have been written in miners’ blood.
My grandfather, who barely survived an explosion in a coal mine in southern Illinois, taught me this phrase. He also taught me about the 150-year-old battle in the coalfields over reckless production at the cost of responsible safety measures.
As our prayers and condolences go out to the many coal mining families in Raleigh County, West Virginia, I think about the needless safety violations and subsequent disasters that have taken place over the past century.
Over 104,000 Americans and immigrants have died in our coal miners. According to one inspectors, many, if not a majority of those “accidents” should not be considered mishaps, but acts of negligent homicide.
As a coal miner’s widow from Raleigh County, West Virginia told me on the phone last night, every time she sees a miner just off his shift, draped in coal dust, standing at the convenience market, she knows that mine is rife with violations.
Three coal miners still die daily from black lung disease–one of the most flagrant safety issues and scandals overlooked in our nation.
While we are still waiting for the details on the Performance Coal Co. Upper Big Branch Mine disaster, and whether methane gas buildup–the release of highly flammable and toxic gas that has haunted coal miners for centuries–led to the explosion that has taken at least 25 lives, reports are now coming out of the mine’s history of safety violations. According to Ry Rivard in the Daily Mail:
In March alone, U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration officials cited the mine, which is owned by Massey subsidiary Performance Coal Co., for failing to control dust; improperly planning to ventilate the mine of dust and the combustible gas methane; inadequate protection from roof falls; failing to maintain proper escapeways; and allowing the accumulation of combustible materials.
Since 1995, there have been more than 3,000 violations at Upper Big Branch, though it was not immediately clear how that compared to other mines of its size.
Of the $1.5 million in penalties MSHA proposed since 2007, Massey has actually paid less than $300,000.
The proposed fines for this year alone amount to about $190,000. Last year, the mine faced $900,000 in fines for more than 450 violations, including 48 “unwarrantable failure orders,” which are considered serious.
Many of those citations and fines are being contested.
The violations appear “quite relevant” to Monday’s explosion, said Scott Simonton, a professor of environmental science and environmental engineering at Marshall University.
“The fact that these seem like to me to be some serious violations and not just some paperwork violation – these are serious violations, especially in light of what has happened,” he said.
Massey, of course, has become infamous for its devastating mountaintop removal operations.
But the company also pleaded guilty to criminal violations for a January, 2006 fire at the Aracoma mine in Logan County, WV, which took the lives of two miners. As Charleston Gazette reporter Ken Ward noted:
a huge problem at Aracoma was also that Massey officials had removed key ventilation walls, or stoppings, allowing smoke to enter that primary escape tunnel in the first place – a move that U.S. District Judge John T. Copenhaver later said “doomed two workers to a tragic death.
In a now infamous internal memo to employees that was used in the Aracoma mine trial, Massey’s CEO Don Blankenship openly declared: “If any of you have been asked by your group presidents, your supervisors, engineers or anyone else to do anything other than run coal (i.e. – build overcasts, do construction jobs, or whatever) you need to ignore them and run coal,” the complaint quotes the memo. “This memo is necessary only because we seem not to understand that coal pays the bills.”
Nonetheless, Massey is ramping up its mine productions and profits, especially in its hurry to export coal to India and China. Last year, nearly 3,000 coal miners died in China’s own mines.
When my grandfather was in the mines in southern Illinois, a group of UMWA miners from Centralia, Illinois, outraged by the political machinations in the Department of Mines and Minerals, wrote a letter in 1946 urging the governor to take action on clearly dangerous buildups of coal dust. The letter described the mine’s situation, the politics, and then made a desperate request for intervention:
“In fact, Governor Green, this is a plea to you, to please save our lives, to please make the Department of Mines and Minerals enforce the laws at No. 5 mine of the Centralia Coal Company at Centralia, Illinois, at which mine we are employed, before we have a dust explosion at this mine like just happened in Kentucky and West WV.”
Despite numerous inspections, recommendations, and noted violations, the mine owners did not consider the dust situation to be of imminent danger. On March 25, 1947, an explosion ripped through the Centralia mine and killed 111 miners. Half of them died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Three of the four men who had written the governor also died in the explosion.
As the St. Louis Post-Dispatch pointed out, a crime was committed at Centralia. Just like modern operators, the Centralia Coal Company had made it a habitual practice to violate mining safety laws and simply pay the fines.
And the violations and the deaths continue today.
I can’t get the words of an old Welsh coalfield ballad out of my mind:
“Oh what will you give me, say the sad bells of Rhymney
Is there hope for the future, say the brown bells of Merthyr
Who made the mine owners, say the blackbells of Rhondda
And who killed the miners, say the grim bells of Blaenau. . . “
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Article printed from SpeakEasy: http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy
URL to article: http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2010/04/06/who-killed-the-miners/
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Monday, April 5, 2010
Starcana Astrological Insight, April 5 thru 11
Last week on Friday April 2, Mercury (communications) entered constructive Taurus, and the way that we express ourselves is more slow, steady, and determined. In the next few weeks, we become less hurried and we behave in a relaxed and leisurely manner. The benefit that many of us can receive from this energy is that we'll be inclined to take a generous amount of time to think things over before rushing into anything at this time. We may be patting ourselves on the back over the next few weeks for making some solid life decisions - basically because we took the time to think it over seriously. It could still feel quite frustrating for some at this time, because energetic Mars is pressing on the gas pedal in confident Leo - but it's not about jumping the gun right now - until every aspect and obstacle has been analyzed. As our mind and speech are extremely reduced in speed, spontaneous and impatient folks could experience sluggishness and fatigue, as if dragging the heavy weight of the world on their shoulders. Best advice, work WITH the inactive and quiet energy. Taurus is ruled by Venus (relationships and money) so many of our ideas over the next few weeks will be concentrating on how to add value to what we already have. Plan well and work long and hard to see the benefits - before Mercury retrogrades on Sunday April 18.
On Tuesday April 6, Pluto stations and prepares for his five month journey in retrograde. Pluto's goal is to destroy and rid the toxins in our life, so that we may regenerate and heal. In retrograde, we may appear to be moving backwards, by backtracking into old steps and patterns. During this time, we can return and rely on old memories, reunite with individuals from our past, or.... Read more >>
Suzanne "Starcana" Dronzek, is a Spiritual Tarot Astrologer with over 20 years of practice and experience in spiritual astrology, intuitive tarot, and the mystical arts. "My passion is to help others help themselves, thru awareness and their true potential". Professional astrological consultations and spiritual tarot reading services via telephone, for personalized inner guidance, self-growth, spiritual enrichment, and/or relationship advice and compatibility. For complete information, call Suzi (724) 832-9283, or visit her website: www.starcana.com
Thursday, April 1, 2010
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