nibbler

Goebbels would throw a party praising the Can West and Reuters articles; during the celebrations he would send out the gestapo to deal with Dave Lindorff

The following paragraphs are excerpts, you can read the entire article by Greg Palast here On Tuesday (May 25th), Pump Station 9, at Delta Junction on the 800-mile pipeline, busted. Thousands of barrels began spewing an explosive cocktail of hydrocarbons after "procedures weren't properly implemented" by BP operators, say state inspectors "Procedures weren't properly implemented" is, it seems, BP's company motto. ...BP's CEO of Alaskan operations hired a former CIA expert to break into the home of a whistleblower, Chuck Hamel, who had complained of conditions at the pipe's tanker facility. BP tapped his phone calls with a US congressman and ran a surveillance and smear campaign against him. When caught, a US federal judge said BP's acts were "reminiscent of Nazi Germany."

The work of independent journalists is far more in-depth than Main Stream Media coverage. Where conflicts with advertisers prevent MSM journalists from getting to the bottom of stories, Indy Media journalists have the freedom to criticize whomever they please. In this case, Dave Lindoff's 38 years experience in the field of journalism serves us well. When an oil rig explodes and leaks millions of gallons of flammable goo- then yes- its an inflammatory issue deserving plenty of scrutiny from the press. The Canadian economy is being increasingly staged around Big Oil, thus Canadian Journalists should be covering this story like flies on shit. You have provided two examples from Main Stream Media referencing BP's attempts to soften Canadian regulations governing offshore oil drilling. After reviewing these pieces, I would argue that the coverage they provide only amounts to the bare minimum- to some people they seem like they are doing their job, but in reality they are spinning the pieces in favor of the oil industry. The Vancouver Sun article barely slaps BP on the wrist for negligence in the Gulf accident, the failure to cleanup, or for their audacity in lobbying our government to soften our drilling regulations. Instead of pouncing on BP for earning over 10 Billion in profits first quarter 2010 while penny-pinching at the expense of the environments they operate in; the author spends half the article planting seeds of hope that BP is on the cusp of "solving the problem" in the Gulf. The Reuters article spins in an entirely different direction. i.e.: "I was very disappointed. I think British Petroleum is going to have to do a lot better job if they want to drill in Canadian waters," This comment by a representative of the Canadian Government leads the unsuspecting reader to believe BP will have obstacles to overcome if they want to drill in Canadian waters. The article obfuscates around the fact that BP drilling in the Arctic is inevitable at this point. BP has already cut through the red tape and bought the rights to "explore" (translation=drill). What BP is trying to do now is lobby the Canadian Government to roll back the regulations even further, which given the Gulf disaster is absurd and should be met with an inflammatory reaction from the press. From the same Reuters article- more spin, this time subtly reassuring Canadians that Newfoundland's Government trusts in the present safety practices of the Oil Companies: "The government of Newfoundland is also launching a review of offshore safety practices, though it said it is satisfied with the current level of environmental protection practiced by the industry." For the record, I did get a laugh out of your statement juxtaposing the words 'real', 'journalistic', and 'stories'- you funny guy!

I was thinking its kind of strange that it is being discussed around here. I posted a related article a couple days ago which explains how despite the events unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico, BP is presently lobbying the Canadian Government to soften regulations for offshore drilling in Canada. As you may or may not know, BP has big plans to drill for oil in our Arctic waters.

Excerpt: Jamaica state of siege: Scores dead, hundreds detained By Bill Van Auken World Socialist Web Site May 28, 2010 Scores have been reported killed or wounded and hundreds arrested in what critics describe as indiscriminate violence by Jamaican security forces besieging an impoverished West Kingston neig hborhood. The confrontation, triggered by the Jamaican government’s reluctant acquiescence to Washington’s demand for the extradition of powerful and politically connected reputed drug trafficker, Christopher “Dudus†Coke, has continued for five days. Residents of Tivoli Gardens, Jamaica’s first public housing development and a supposed stronghold of Coke and his supporters, have been turned into prisoners in their own homes as some 2,000 police and soldiers armed with automatic weapons and wearing combat helmets have stormed into the area. In a call to Jamaica’s News Talk Radio 93FM Wednesday night, two women from the Tivoli Gardens neighborhood said that they were trapped on the floor of their home, without food, electricity or water and terrified of being shot if they raised their heads. “We’re not animals down here,†one of the women said. “We are humans.†Residents have reported the security forces firing rocket-propelled grenades and using bulldozers to demolish homes, while the media has raised questions about unexplained explosions in the housing estate. The security forces have sought to keep a tight lid on the operation, turning away the media at gunpoint. On Wednesday, Jamaica’s independent public defender, Earl Witter, a government official, was allowed into the zone and reported a count of 44 civilians dead. Hospitals, however, had by Wednesday reported receiving the bodies of 60 civilians, and there were disturbing reports that suggest the real death toll could be significantly higher. Some residents of Tivoli Gardens have reported seeing troops burning corpses on piles of tires. And Kingston’s Mayor Desmond McKenzie announced that he was launching an investigation following a Television Jamaica report Wednesday night showing police carrying coffins to a local cemetery for unauthorized burials.... read entire original article here

Don't hold your breath. The Canadian News Media is owned by Big Business. Where ownership is impossible, powerful influence over public media does the trick. ( e.g. Vale-Inco-TVO partnership etc.) Sharing the story is the only remedy for the sound of silence. Its up to us to decide wether or not we're happy with the Emperor's Oily New Clothes.

Screw the Environment: BP and the Audacity of Corporate Greed by Dave Lindorff This Can't Be Happening original article May 23, 2010 Even as BP’s blown well a mile beneath the surface in the Gulf of Mexico continues to gush forth an estimated 70,000 barrels of oil a day into the sea, and the fragile wetlands along the Gulf begin to get coated with crude, which is also headed into the Gulf Stream for a trip past the Everglades and on up the East Coast, the company is demanding that Canada lift its tight rules for drilling in the icy Beaufort Sea portion of the Arctic Ocean. In an incredible display of corporate arrogance, BP is claiming that a current safety requirement that undersea wells drilled during the newly ice-free summer must also include a side relief well, so as to have a preventive measure in place that could shut down a blown well, is “too expensive†and should be eliminated. Yet clearly, if the US had had such a provision in place, the Deepwater Horizon blowout could have been shut down right almost immediately after it blew out, just by turning of a valve or two, and then sealing off the blown wellhead. A relief well is â€too expensiveâ€? The current Gulf blowout has already cost BP over half a billion dollars, according to the company’s own information. That doesn’t count the cost of mobilizing the Coast Guard, the Navy, and untold state and county resources, and it sure doesn’t count the cost of the damage to the Gulf Coast economy, or the cost of restoration of damaged wetlands. We’re talking at least $10s of billions, and maybe eventually $100s of billions. Weigh that against the cost of drilling a relief well, which BP claims will run about $100 million. The cost of such a well in the Arctic, where the sea is much shallower, would likely be a good deal less. Such is the calculus of corruption. BP has paid $1.8 billion for drilling rights in Canada’s sector of the Beaufort Sea, about 150 miles north of the Northwest Territories coastline, an area which global warming has freed of ice in summer months. and it wants to drill there as cheaply as possible. The problem is that a blowout like the one that struck the Deepwater Horizon, if it occurred near the middle or end of summer, would mean it would be impossible for the oil company to drill a relief well until the following summer, because the return of ice floes would make drilling impossible all winter. That would mean an undersea wild well would be left to spew its contents out under the ice for perhaps eight or nine months, where its ecological havoc would be incalculable. BP and other oil companies like Exxon/Mobil and Shell, which also have leases in Arctic Waters off Canada and the US, are actually trying to claim that the environmental risks of a spill in Arctic waters are less than in places like the Gulf of Mexico or the Eastern Seaboard, because the ice would “contain†any leaking oil, allowing it to be cleared away. The argument is laughable. This is not like pouring a can of 10W-40 oil into an ice-fishing hole on a solidly frozen pond, where you could scoop it out again without its going anywhere. Unlike the surface of a frozen pond, Arctic sea ice is in constant motion, cracking and drifting in response to winds, tides and currents. Moreover, the blowout in the Gulf has taught us that much of the oil leaked into the sea doesn’t even rise to the surface at all. It is cracked and emulsified by contact with the cold waters and stays submerged in the lower currents, wreaking its damage far from wellhead and recovery efforts. Finally, as difficult a time as BP has had rounding up the necessary containment equipment and personnel in the current blowout 50 miles from the oil industry mecca of Texas and Louisiana, the same task would be far harder to accomplish in the remote reaches of the Beaufort, far above the Arctic Circle, where there aren’t any roads, much less rail lines or airports. In fact, it was the remoteness of the Arctic staging area, and the lack of infrastructure, that has been the oil industry’s main argument against a mandatory simultaneous relief well drilling requirement for offshore Arctic drilling. The industry claims it would be “too difficult†to drill two wells simultaneously, as this would require bring in and supplying double the personnel, and two separate drilling rigs. In a hearing in Canada’s Parliament last week, Ann Drinkwater, president of BP Canada, told stunned and incredulous members of Parliament that she had never compared US and Canadian drilling regulations. In fact, whether by design or appalling ignorance, she had precious little in the way of information to offer them about anything to do with drilling rules, effects of spills, or containment strategems. All she wanted was relief from “expensive†regulation, so BP could go about its business of putting yet another region of the earth and its seas at risk in the pursuit of profits. Asked if BP knew how it would clean up oil spilling out under the winter ice in a blowout, Drinkwater told the parliamentary hearing, “I'm not an expert in oil-spill techniques in an Arctic environment, so I would have to defer to other experts on that." "You'd think coming to a hearing like this that British Petroleum would have as many answers as possible to assure the Canadian public. We got nothing today from them," groused Nathan Cullen of the left-leaning New Democrats, after hearing from the ironically named Drinkwater. The fundamental problem in the US is that politicians purchased by campaign contributions are unwilling to look at the real risks of offshore drilling, whether on the two coasts or up in the Arctic region. With luck, maybe at least the Canadian government will conclude that such drilling in their northern seas makes no economic or environmental sense. In both countries, the amount of oil provided from offshore drilling would, over the next decade, be less than could be saved by simply making automobile mileage standards stricter. All this is even more true when the drilling in question is in the fragile ecological environs of the Arctic Ocean.

What a great gig! Knock em dead! :dazed:

Some of you may find this to be an interesting read. "Through the hard and potentially dangerous work of back yard shamans and amature ethnobotanists, many plants have been discovered that have the alkaloids necessary to produce the ayahausca effect. Synthesized laboratory grade chemicals have also been used to produce this effect, creating what some have called pharmahuasca, and what some purists call an abomination. Nevertheless, entheogen researchers have found that the plants and chemicals needed to produce ayahuasca are far reaching and can be found in many plants around the world." etc. etc.

This is true. You can't use a standard GPS to do a legal survey. You can use one to find the location of a property line with a +/- 9 foot accuracy once you knows the exact location of property corners or coordinates. For bONES' ordeal- GPS would help to know for certain if his neighbor was trespassing.

Udupi Palace is in Toronto's Little India, on Gerrard between Greenwood and Coxwell. Ceylonta sounds excellent too, will have to try to remember that one next time I'm visiting Ottawa.

No mentions for Jet Fuel ?! One of Toronto's best indie coffee shops; a favorite amongst east-siders and cyclists, in house roasting, every shot is a potent double shot*, pretentious attitude and grumpy staff, only $2 a coffee regardless of how you like it served, plus it would be an understatement to say the patio is burner friendly. * if you're not a caffeine junkie, Jet Fuel will leave you WIRED

FYI: Local surveyors charge between $1,000 and $1,500 a day to clear and define property lines, which roughly works out to about $3,000 per kilometer depending how thick the bush in question is...

Shitty deal. Before formally consulting a lawyer, or hiring one, be aware that many lawyers are happy to tell you that you've got a rock solid case, that it should be an easy win etc, when in reality, they often see you as someone they can make some easy money off. Furthermore, there are only 3 lawyers practicing law in the entire county, all of whom also take turns as small claims court judges, and all of whom have many conflicts of interest by way of this being a county of only 5,000 people: i.e. everyone who grew up here pretty much knows everyone else... That all being said, in my experience, these are important things to know: 1. Are there any right-of-ways granted to anybody for any purpose in your property deed? (very important) 2. Has your property been professionally surveyed? (without a survey you've got no legal grounds to stand on, even if buddy is cutting trees right next to your house!) 3. Do you have a copy of the survey and do you know where the markers (Iron Bars) are located? With this ^ information, you can use a good GPS to roughly find your property lines. If you've got a survey and you know where the iron bars are, I'd be happy to bring my GPS over and help you define your shared property line in question. Once the lines are clearly defined and thus where his construction crosses the line is as well, you should start shooting photos- lots of them- and keep a detailed dated journal about the discovery of his actions and steps you take to address the situation. I hear your pain and I feel it- but DO NOT cave into the vandal temptation, for that would quickly change your position in the eyes of the law from victim into shit disturber... Your neighbor is likely not entitled to cut trees on your land, though in this neck of the woods, the rule of law is often trumped by how many generations of said good-ole-boy's family have lived here and who he actually knows... Therefore, patiently waiting for a call back from the municipality (from whom?) could take a long time... Once you have defined the property lines, taken photos, and notes of your actions; that is the time to 'confront' your neighbor about it. Its possible by right of way that he is allowed to be clearing a road. Also possible that he's genuinely made a mistake, and that you can work a compromise/solution between the two of you. If he's unreasonable, then: From a legal perspective, landowners in the Highlands cannot clear trees without a registered forestry plan obtained through the MNR, which could be the way to pursue this- as in, if he doesnt have a permit and he's cutting down lots of trees, he's pretty fucked, or even if he does have a plan, if it doesnt specifically detail this cutting of a road, when the MNR audits his plan- he's fucked. Furthermore- if he is doing any construction of a road NEAR your property line- onus is on him to have a survey done to clearly define that he is not violating designated setback restrictions. The MNR must have some sort of "register a complaint about a neighbor violating their Registered Forestry Plan" hotline or department. From another perspective, once you've established beyond a shadow of doubt that your neighbor is cutting trees on your land, and speaking with him doesn't lead towards a solution, there's always the option of going public with the story. In that case, I know a person or two who work with the local media here who could help you out. Good Luck!

Great South Indian vegetarian food. Awesome Thalis. even better a la carte menu. Discuss.

sounds like the Opera House

The Colonel seemed to be right at home with this cosy venue, laid back and dancing crowd, and most importantly, with his new band. His guitar playing on Saturday was killer- he coaxed sweet sounds from that (rented?) guitar almost all night long, much more than I remember from seeing him previously in the past. It was as if the bands' skill coaxed him into letting go to shred without holding back. Most of the night he was listening intently- with eyes closed. I found much hilarity in his body language and hand gestures, along with his vocal improvisations and ad-lib additions. Thanks to Ken and Chris for making this show happen, already looking forward to the Colonel's return!

Pre party BBQ at Large Marge's?!?! This Saturday voyage to the Hammer sounds like its turning out to be way more awesome than I had imagined!

Were Russian secrets shared with ‘space alien’ visitors? By Tony Halpin Times Online May 07, 2010 Russia has never been immune to spies and informers, but the latest claim must have struck President Medvedev as a little bizarre: he has been urged to investigate whether a regional politician passed official secrets to a group of aliens. The request came after Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the millionaire President of Kalmykia, claimed on state television that he had been visited by aliens at his Moscow apartment several years ago and had spent hours in discussions with them on board their spaceship. The head of the republic said that the humanoid figures wore yellow spacesuits and gave him a tour of their craft, which he described as a “semi-transparent half-tubeâ€. They had brought him home in the morning, just as his worried driver and two advisers were about to call a citywide search after finding his apartment empty. “I am often asked which language I used to talk to them. Perhaps it was on a level of the exchange of ideas,†Mr Ilyumzhinov, who is also president of the international chess federation FIDE, told the Vladimir Pozner programme on Russia’s main First Channel. This is not the first time that he has spoken of the alien encounter but yesterday his claims prompted Andrei Lebedev, an MP from the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party, to ask Mr Medvedev to order an official inquiry into the alleged alien agents to establish whether Mr Ilyumzhinov disclosed secret information. In a letter to the Kremlin, he wrote: “I ask you to say if the head of Kalmykia has made an official report to the Russian presidency about his contacts with representatives of an alien civilisation. “Is there an established procedure of informing about such contacts by high-ranking people who have access to secret information like Ilyumzhinov? And did he in the course of his seemingly innocent conversation disclose secret information?†Mr Ilyumzhinov told his interviewer that his encounter had taken place in 1997 when the aliens appeared on his balcony. “I was reading my book, watching television and had almost fallen asleep. Then I felt that someone was calling. I would not have believed it, if I had not had three witnesses.†Mr Lebedev, a member of the parliament’s security committee, said that he had been astonished by the claims. “I am not at all disconcerted by the fact that Ilyumzhinov might have actually been in contact with ‘green creatures’. That is his personal business. “However, what myself and our opposition party as a whole do care about is who is occupying the office of the regional governor.†Mr Ilyumzhinov, who has led the Buddhist republic in southern Russia since 1993, dismissed the fuss, saying: “Pozner asked. I replied. If someone, including the respected Duma Deputy Andrei Lebedev, has any more questions, I am ready to meet and discuss any topic.†In 2006 he also claimed that he had flown with them to “some kind of starâ€, adding: “They put a spacesuit on me, told me many things and showed me around.†The controversy now may centre on the more down-to-earth matter of the bitter struggle for the presidency of FIDE. Mr Ilyumzhinov, 48, who has led the chess federation since 1995, is facing a challenge from the former world champion Anatoly Karpov in elections in September. Mr Karpov had expected the Russian Chess Federation to back his candidature at a meeting next week. But Mr Medvedev’s chief economic aide, Arkady Dvorkovich, who heads the federation’s board, said last month that it would support Mr Ilyumzhinov.

I suppose one could argue the free speech angle in that PETA videos may be threatened by such legislation. After all, their videos of the every day operations at factory farms, slaughterhouses, and animal testing labs contain clear and vomit-inducing evidence of animal cruelty as our everyday way of life. One doesnt need to go out of their way to wager on a dog fight to be contributing to the economy of animal cruelty. Buying a burger or some chicken nuggets is all it takes. Its gonna take a whole lotta carrot and stick to evolve past where we our more-faster-cheaper society seems to be stuck on this issue. And what a fucked up issue it is!

One of these expensive Japanese hoes would be great help in weeding the veggie garden!

-it won't be a problem for you so long as you're a registered member of the Conservative Party

I've researched this stuff in the past- There are dwarf varieties available by mail, which you can grow here so long as the trees never get frost. You wont get dwarves from sprouted seed, you have to buy them from a grower. (many located in southern U.S.) You wont see much fruit from trees grown in pots as dwarf avocado requires about 64 square feet per tree for healthy production... I keep saying one of these days I'm going to build that greenhouse... the homegrown Ontario mangoes and avocados will have to wait.

RIP