tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62180408098647858602024-02-20T21:00:54.536-05:00Matt Lawrence's Tales From The TropixMatt Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609672121306186763noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6218040809864785860.post-78688536817912630252012-05-13T07:27:00.000-04:002012-05-13T07:27:59.948-04:00Now’s the time to check and make sure…..“Now’s a good time to check and make sure you have…”<br />
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Those are the words used by many dive-masters aboard countless dive boats prior to leaving the docks for a day of SCUBA diving. The gist is to get divers to check their dive bags and equipment before the dock lines are cast to insure they’re prepared for a day of diving once they’re out at sea.<br />
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“…a mask, a snorkel, two fins—otherwise you’ll swim in circles...”<br />
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All joking aside, the call-out of an item list is done to prompt divers into running their checklists and to physically inspect their gear—and that of their dive buddy, too. <br />
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Following checklists and being responsible for another is not limited to hobbyists like SCUBA divers. <br />
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During hurricane season we need to establish a plan, and have some semblance of an idea as to what we’ll do if the wind blows and the waters rise. We owe it to ourselves, our families and for those who are so inspired--to our neighbors—after all, one tenant of the good book is to “be thy brother’s keeper”.<br />
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When I co-authored, “What to Do til The Cavalry Comes” with Thomas Van Hare in 2006, our intent was to reduce the chance of revisiting the heartbreaking scenes of New Orleans post hurricane Katrina. <br />
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The visions of Americans lined up in the streets, as well as those seen floating in the toxic mix of the storm’s flood waters still haunt us to this day.<br />
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Three years after we published “What to Do…” another preparedness guide rose from the wreckage of southern Louisiana. Its title is “Survival: How a Culture of Preparedness Can Save You and Your Family from Disasters”, authored by Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré (U.S. Army, ret). <br />
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The Lt. General’s guide is written in what I consider to be “pure Honoré” style. For the uninitiated, his wording may be harsh truth; but as he relates to preparedness the Lt. General’s beliefs are congruent to ours, and follow this basic understanding: <br />
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“The U.S. had a Culture of Preparedness during the 1960s, when every home, government agency and institution did something to prepare in the event of a nuclear attack from the former Soviet bloc. Once that threat was all but gone, we abandoned our readiness.”-- Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré (U.S. Army, ret)<br />
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What he means<br />
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In the 1960s when the threat was a nuclear attack; schools were civil defense shelters, students were drilled on “duck and cover” and the skills of survival were engrained in us. <br />
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Back then, home builders offered underground bomb bunkers as an option in my South Florida neighborhood—an area that had its own Nike missile base established to defend against the Soviet missiles pointed towards the U.S. during the Kennedy era.<br />
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Families stocked canned goods, Sterno, candles, bleach and other supplies at the ready in their homes. We relied on each other in a time when there was more of a sense of community--and of “being American”—after all, we were being led by the generation that was born of the “greatest generation”. <br />
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FEMA was not considered part of a personal preparedness plan and in fact did not exist as it does in its current role today.<br />
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The thought process was if you were ready for “the Big One”, you were ready for just about anything and being basically prepared meant you had half the battle won.<br />
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The same holds true today<br />
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“One of the harshest lessons learned from recent disasters, especially Katrina, is that you are your own first responder.”-- Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré (U.S. Army, ret)<br />
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I’m not one to wait in line on a good day. I’ve been known to leave restaurants when there’s a wait for a table, and I plan my grocery shopping for mid-week to avoid the weekend rush.<br />
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The joke I make amongst my friends in my “preparedness circle” is that I have everything I need, except for fresh limes and mint—two ingredients needed for mojitos and rum-n-cokes. <br />
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I’m not advocating that a hurricane is a time to party, but once my home is secured and the choice of “stay or evacuate” has been made; I sit back and relax—while the lines at the grocery store and Home Depot grow!<br />
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To me, the only lines that are worse than those before a disaster are the FEMA lines for the “free” food, water and ice afterwards.<br />
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The realities of today make it necessary for those who are capable--even on the smallest scale—to do what they can to prepare their family for a disaster—be it natural or man-made, hurricane or terrorism. <br />
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Remember, you’re not only preparing for the event, you’re preparing for the days and weeks afterwards. <br />
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Hurricane season began June 1st—the dock lines have been cast-- “Now’s a good time to check and make sure you have...” before you find yourself “…swimming in circles.” <br />
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<i>Since publishing “What to Do…”in 2006; Matt has spoken on disaster preparedness at the local, state and federal levels as well as been an invited speaker before members of Congress. <br />
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“What to Do” is endorsed by the current Governor of Mississippi Phil Bryant.<br />
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To contact Matt visit his website, www.mattlawrencebooks.com. His books are available in print, via electronic download and on Amazon Kindle. </i>Matt Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609672121306186763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6218040809864785860.post-35560540301681481992010-07-09T21:02:00.005-04:002010-07-10T03:05:56.013-04:00ROME is burning…As MSNBC, CNN, and much of the mainstream media are short reporting our nation’s downhill slide into an “economic depression”—<i>Lebron is coming to South Beach and Lindsey Lohan is going to jail.<br />
</i><br />
Why do I write of such trivia?<br />
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Because it seems that news of a Hollywood train wreck, and a basketball player’s choice of a new master are more important to most—but not all Americans.<br />
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We’re 80-plus days into the worst ecological disaster faced by our nation since the revolution that created her and the number one interview on FOX News for July 8th was with Lindsey Lohan’s ex-con father—not once...but twice. <br />
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Granted, FOX allotted standard time segments to the other top stories of the day—the Russian spy trade, The “Kill the Crackers”/New Black Panthers/DOJ Race Case, the sunken tourist boat in Pennsylvania and yes, BP’s pesky oil gusher—but there seemed to be no “hard break” cutoff for Lohan’s father who ranted about the enablers in his daughter’s life, his ex-wife and the paparazzi who meddle in his private life.<br />
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After hearing Michael Lohan drop an “F-bomb” live on Studio B during Shepard Smith’s interview; I was shocked to see the powers-that-be at Fox give him a second chance at Faux News fame--in primetime no less, with Sean Hannity!<br />
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<i>Seven-thousand satellite-fed channels available on a Wednesday night and there was not a damned thing on T.V.! </i><br />
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Mind you—while it appears that I’m picking on FOX News, none, N-O-N-E of the other “Snooze Stations” had bothered to cover the “top stories” I mentioned--and the reason is Americans—most, not all—are more interested in gossip and sports, or the hottest new techie-toy, than they are about our nation’s current or future situation.<br />
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Case in point:<br />
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Thousands lined up in the days leading up to Thursday June 24, 2010 to insure their ability to purchase and sign up for Apple’s new 4G I-phone. Many slept in parking lots and in line for the opportunity.<br />
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Apple called the demand for the phone "off the charts" and was working to get phones into customers' hands as quickly as possible.<br />
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I’m sure—just think of the new two-year service contracts for all those “gotta-have-it” customers--and of the initial sales profits before the price on the thing is slashed in half just six-months from now.<br />
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Sean Hill, 39, a D.C. police officer who pre-ordered an iPhone, smiled proudly and held his up victoriously as he left the newly opened Apple store in the Georgetown neighborhood.<br />
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"I'm like a kid in a candy store," he said. "I'm probably going to spend all morning playing with it."<br />
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Have you seen the crime rate in D.C.? It seems like the police there are always playing with something.<br />
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In Aventura, Fla., Loren and Veronica McHenry held out hope after they ended up at the back of the line. They arrived at 9 p.m. Wednesday and were told no one was allowed on mall property overnight. When they returned the next morning, they learned that 120 people had camped out at a nearby parking lot.<br />
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"There's no coordination between the mall employees, security and law enforcement," said Mr. McHenry, 42, shaking his head in disbelief. "It's a mess."<br />
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Yep, it’s an effin shame. We can’t coordinate a cell phone sale at a shopping mall—so why should we expect BP and our national leadership to coordinate the response to a major disaster or fix the economy? <br />
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One thing’s for certain—Americans will stand in line for anything. <br />
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Whether it’s to be first in line on Black Friday for those holiday bargains, a years worth of free fast food or for a case of water and a bag of ice after a hurricane, Americans have proven—as if been trained--to stand in line for things they want—and that’s a good thing.<br />
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With the economy continuing to show little signs of life, the lines for free stuff are about to get much longer—only these lines are going to be at welfare processing centers and depleted food banks. <br />
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Quite simply, while the collective “we”—Americans—have allowed ourselves to be distracted by the World Cup, Li-lo, and Lebron--the government has failed—among other things--to extend unemployment benefits before they went on vacation—thus leaving those families who have been so dependent on the subsidy in a lurch.<br />
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But hey, not to worry—Lebron’s coming to South Beach and that’s gonna make a real difference in a whole lotta people’s lives! I can tell. I saw the fans joyously jumping about as they screamed in excitement—about a person <i>they will never meet </i>and whose successes will <i>never impact them personally. </i><br />
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I know, it’s not all their fault—the T.V. was the babysitter for the latch-key generation of kids during the 70’s and 80’s—and the television, before the internet and social networking robbed us--lulled many Americans into a false sense of what’s important. <br />
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Those children—who we plopped in front of the boob-tube in their urine soaked diapers as soon as they could almost sit up—were fed a steady diet of commercial-based mindless programming that exposed them to all of the gotta-have-items-of-the-day that they begged mommy and daddy into submission for each night.<br />
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Some grew-up and evolved watching shows like Jerry Springer, Maury and Entertainment Tonight; while others became double-chinned, statistical experts, albeit not by advanced education--but by the teachings of ESPN.<br />
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These lords of the sports bar—mouth-breathing masters of the buffalo wing-n-beer pitcher special--can spout the most worthless stats about their sports heroes in a drunken stupor 24/7--yet most can’t run down a basketball court—much less hit the hoop—thanks to their years of dedicated <i>“television inspired conditioning.” </i><br />
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It’s that conditioning that has clouded a generation of Americans ability to understand the decline of our nation’s standing in the free world and their future ability to watch Lebron or any of their favorite players play.<br />
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You see, if you’re unemployed or underemployed--you can’t pay for game tickets, cable, or food, or rent—but it’s OK cuz <i>Lebron’s comin’ to Miami and Li-lo’s goin’ to jail</i>—while Rome is burning.Matt Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609672121306186763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6218040809864785860.post-56426126477697863462010-07-04T16:24:00.000-04:002010-07-04T16:24:32.220-04:00"I know liars when I hear them…."Man-o-man! <br />
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I barely got the posting of our nation’s Bill of Rights online before tuning in to hear an interview on Anderson Cooper’s AC360 with my favorite tropical troubadour~ Jimmy Buffet.<br />
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It was, as usual, when Buffet’s given the chance to quip--insightful and entertaining--but amazingly, ol’ Jimmy ended up sharing the spotlight with breaking news and another of the Gulf Coast’s rising stars—Billy Nungesser.<br />
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Rather than repeat what I’ve seen and heard in the last few days, I’ve decided to share it with you. I recently took some heat for a couple of past postings—including being called a “Commie” by someone I’ve never met. <br />
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Unfortunately, the reader didn’t think I actually researched anything before writing about it.<br />
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The last time I was so honored—I, along with fellow SAR aviators—was called an “air pirate” and “a terrorist” by none other than—Fidel Castro. <br />
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Our book, <i>"<a href="http://www.mattlawrencebooks.com/book_betrayal.html">BETRAYAL: Clinton, Castro & The Cuban Five</a>"</i> was researched by my co-author and I for thirteen years—needless to say, I’m practiced at “knowing about that which I write.”<br />
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So hence my decision to write this entry stylistically different than my others—I’ll link you to “the truth”, since it is being lost in the words of our President and his new minion—Commander Thad Allen (USCG-retired). Simply click on the <b>bold type </b>at the end of the paragraphs and hear the truth as it’s told by others.<br />
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Imagine my shock after posting the words of our First Amendment….<br />
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<i>Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.<br />
</i><br />
…to hearing this CNN breaking story of a “new law” inhibiting the press from covering the BP spill by way of threatening to charge reporters with a Class D Felony and fining them up to $40,000: <a href="http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/53725"><b>First Amendment Suspended? <br />
</b></a><br />
Of course, this law is meant strictly to prevent the truth from getting out and was later met head-on in a radio interview with the fury of “Fireball Billy Nungesser”: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-twfQwTr6LE "><b>Nungesser Calls Out The Government and the Coast Guard.</b></a>(10 minutes of TRUTH)<br />
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The “intimidation of the press rule” has been used “since day one” as shown in this video depicting the intimidation of CBS reporter Kelly Cobiella<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHdwpFdpjVg&feature=related">—<b>Arrest For Filming Oil Spill, BY BP CONTRACTORS: BP's Rules, NOT OURS</b></a><br />
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Thankfully, our President—the leader of the “free world”—stated previously that “the buck stops” with him—unfortunately, so does the truth.<br />
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You see, it’s not only me. Based on his experiences in “show business”, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4o1rWmbhRu0"><b>Jimmy Buffet claims to “know liars” when he hears them, too</b>. </a><br />
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Unfortunately Jimmy, I’ve never been in show business, but I did for a brief time in my life sell timeshares—I know liars when I hear them, too—and so does most of the American public as detailed in Paul Driessen’s recent posting, <a href="http://townhall.com/columnists/PaulDriessen/2010/07/03/obamas_deliberate_katrina/page/full"><b>“Obama's Deliberate Katrina”</b></a> <br />
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<i>“We are living in a full-blown international corporate command and control system where even the most basic rescue efforts are in the hands of proven pirates. It also has become clear that the pirate flotilla is owned by Goldman Sachs . . . and the president of the United States is the captain.”~Unknown source, but that statement and this post reflect MY opinion~ ML<br />
</i><br />
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<a href="http://www.mattlawrencebooks.com"><i><b>Turn up your speakers, click here and visit our website, my co-author Thomas Van Hare and I “write for food” and appreciate when people buy our books!</b></i></a>Matt Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609672121306186763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6218040809864785860.post-40865618150327492282010-07-01T13:44:00.000-04:002010-07-01T13:44:08.026-04:00Happy Birthday AmericaWith this being the week of our nation's "birth"...that is the week we celebrate "America's Birthday", I thought it important to <i>"go back to the basics", our <b>AMERICAN Bill of Rights.</b></i> <br />
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Celebrate that which makes us great, but be willing to fight for what we should never lose.<br />
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<i>Note: The following text is a transcription of the first 10 amendments to the Constitution in their original form. These amendments were ratified December 15, 1791, and form what is known as the "Bill of Rights."</i><br />
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<b>THE FIRST 10 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION AS RATIFIED BY THE STATES</b><br />
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<b>Amendment I</b><br />
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.<br />
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<b>Amendment II</b><br />
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. <br />
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<b>Amendment III</b><br />
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.<br />
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<b>Amendment IV</b><br />
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.<br />
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<b>Amendment V</b><br />
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.<br />
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<b>Amendment VI</b><br />
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.<br />
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<b>Amendment VII</b><br />
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.<br />
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<b>Amendment VIII</b><br />
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.<br />
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<b>Amendment IX</b><br />
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.<br />
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<b>Amendment X</b><br />
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.<br />
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<a href="http://www.mattlawrencebooks.com"><i>Matt Lawrence & Thomas Van Hare have co-authored multiple books with their latest being BETRAYAL: Clinton, Castro & the Cuban Five. An explosive exposé that links the Clinton White House with Castro's murder of American citizens in February 1994. Click here to visit their website www.mattlawrencebooks.com. "Turn up your speakers!"<br />
</i><br />
</a>Matt Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609672121306186763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6218040809864785860.post-80430250817660743142010-06-23T20:10:00.001-04:002010-06-30T21:33:03.403-04:00In my opinion....The arrogance of our agenda driven President has exceeded all levels of acceptance in recent days with the latest round of what American’s are led to believe are coincidences in the BP Gulf Geyser Catastrophe.<br />
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I’m talking about the federal government’s—specifically the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s—decision to halt the immediately needed sand berm dredging along the Gulf Coast over concerns about where the dredging is being done.<br />
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This dredging is the same dredging that the State of Louisiana had to apply for—and wait weeks for—permits from the Army Corps of Engineers. They were finally approved after multiple trips to the region by Mr. Obama and cabinet members.<br />
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Now, one day after U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman struck down the Obama administration’s six-month ban on deepwater oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determines they have concerns about one area where sand is being dredged from saying it is a sensitive section of the Chandeleur Islands, and the state failed to meet an extended deadline to install pipe that would draw sand from a less-endangered area.<br />
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Coincidence I ask? <br />
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As is so typical in these cases where the government is involved, the right hand doesn’t know or care what the left hand is doing—and in this case--in my humble opinion-- it’s “the left” slapping at those on “the right.”<br />
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Judge Feldman is a 1983 Ronald Reagan appointee. His 2008 financial disclosure report — the most recent available — showed investments (like many Judges in the region) in Ocean Energy, a Houston-based company, as well as Quicksilver Resources, Prospect Energy, Peabody Energy, Halliburton, Pengrowth Energy Trust, Atlas Energy Resources, Parker Drilling and others. <br />
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He’s clearly not invested in Mr. Obama’s “Green economy”—at least not by the looks of his financial disclosure.<br />
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Feldman’s ruling prohibits federal officials from enforcing the oil drilling moratorium until a trial is held. He wrote: “If some drilling equipment parts are flawed, is it rational to say all are? Are all airplanes a danger because one was? All oil tankers like Exxon Valdez? All trains? All mines? That sort of thinking seems heavy-handed, and rather overbearing.”<br />
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Judge Martin Feldman cited blatantly false claims by the Obama administration in its report imposing the ban, and violations of the Administrative Procedure Act, which protects against arbitrary government actions. <br />
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He was referring to a report filed by the National Academy of Scientists that was “altered” by Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to make the views of those who wrote the report appear to favor a federal moratorium…five of the National Academy experts and three of the other experts have publicly stated that they “do not agree with the six month blanket moratorium” on floating drilling.”<br />
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So is this tit-for-tat by the White House?<br />
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“Since day one”, Mr. Obama and members of his administration have hamstrung the response efforts to this disaster by imposing red tape at every juncture to delay prevention of the oil reaching shore, and rapid clean-up once the oil arrived.<br />
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They’ve failed to lift the Jones Act. The Jones Act bans foreign vessels and crews from working in U.S. waters, but it gives the President the authority to completely waive that ban if he wishes. <br />
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Obama refuses to lift the ban, even though American shippers who generally support the ban said they wouldn’t object to lifting it to fight the spill. <br />
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As a result of the ban, the U.S. has rejected a lot of foreign aid from counties with expertise in fighting oil spills.<br />
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Obama is a politician—not a leader—so in his world, his political agendas always come first. Obama’s reluctance to lift the Jones Act is because of his cozy relationship with labor unions. Unions see the President’s action [not waiving the act] as protecting jobs.<br />
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When Governor Bobby Jindal placed “port-o-let” trucks on barges—trucks that have the capability to suck gallons of oil from the marshes--the Coast Guard shut them down-- saying they needed to confirm that there were fire extinguishers and life vests on board, and then it had trouble contacting the people who built the barges. The result was a day or so of more oil lingering in the marshes.<br />
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And now, we have the issue with the sand berms after a Obama’s moratorium is lifted.<br />
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From where I stand, Obama is using BP’s oil spill to push his global-warming legislation that BP lobbied for. <br />
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Obama’s global-warming legislation expands ethanol subsidies, which cause famine, starvation, and food riots in poor countries by shrinking the food supply. Ethanol production also results in deforestation, soil erosion, and water pollution--as well as making gasoline costlier and dirtier. <br />
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This President came into office with his agenda of “hope and change”. He has however proven it is one of “hoax and chains”—he’s repeatedly saying the government is doing everything they can to work with BP to stem the tide of oil—yet his actions and the actions of the agencies he is in charge of—say otherwise.<br />
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Obama’s agendas are his and he’s willing to achieve them—at the expense and lives of Americans—for now on the Gulf Coast—but I’m convinced, he’d sacrifice us all, if it’d meant him “winning.”<br />
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<i>Matt Lawrence is a three-time author. His latest book, with co-author Thomas Van Hare, is entitled BETRAYAL: Clinton, Castro & the Cuban Five and uncovers an explosive scandal that links the Clinton White House with Castro's murder of American citizens in February 1994. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=1440118019/historicwingscomA/">Click Here to buy the book.</a></i>Matt Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609672121306186763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6218040809864785860.post-60841544334547473582010-06-19T19:55:00.000-04:002010-06-19T19:55:51.592-04:00B.O. ~ He said, “Yes we can…”Like most Americans who proudly watched <i>our nation’s man of hope and change</i> deliver his election winning speech in Chicago back in November 2008—I’m disappointed.<br />
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We all remember the tear streaked faces of his most ardent supporters who braved the chilly November night in Grant Park. <br />
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They stood shoulder to shoulder to hear a newly elected Mr. Obama give the first of his now famous 10th-grade level speeches—a speech that he punctuated with his trademarked line, <i>“Yes, we can.”</i><br />
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A <i>“line”</i> the crowd repeated like hypnotized drones for the entire seventeen minute speech.<br />
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While Americans have reluctantly had to accept the excuses for his failures over the last eighteen months--the BP blowout has been Mr. Obama’s first real world test at leading this nation out of a disaster occurring on his watch.<br />
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This catastrophe and lack of response has proven there’s no leadership at the top, no leadership in the middle and no substance in the agency staffing at the bottom of the Obama administration.<br />
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The administration’s critical failure has been “since day one” when it was discovered that a mandated piece of equipment—an oil fire boom—was not owned by the government agency responsible for a quick response.<br />
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When the leadership of the responsible agencies finally surfaced eight days after the deaths of eleven men—they made the rounds on the Sunday morning news shows in a media mop up of their mess by reassuring the nation they’d been on top of the event “since day one.”<br />
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You’ll notice that since that weekend of them <i>eating their feet </i>on television--which was followed by a couple of brief appearances on the Gulf Coast—the DHS, DOI and EPA heads have been relatively unseen—swept into the closet to allow the President to appear and “take control.”<br />
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That control, or lack of it, was readily apparent in the speech delivered from the Oval Office last Tuesday night. <br />
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In using the Oval Office, a setting reserved to deliver only the most important of messages to the American people—Obama chose to redeliver his politically motivated eco-agenda and eliminated any leadership or solutions in his message to those in peril along the Gulf Coast.<br />
<br />
His words were as empty as his suit. <br />
<br />
In the weeks prior to the BP blowout, Mr. Obama admitted to our nation that the responsible agencies under his leadership, were incapable of responding to a terrorist driven nuclear attack of any size—and the BP oil spill reaffirmed our national level of preparedness to be weak at best.<br />
<br />
What Obama’s proven good at is convening divisive committees who argue party lines, filing lawsuits, and layering bureaucracy so thick that nothing—I repeat NOTHING--can be done without pain to save our Gulf Coast.<br />
<br />
In my opinion—it’s by design—to allow him to push his Obama “green economy” and his unaffordable cap-and-trade bill—-in other words, his agenda. <br />
<br />
What better way to win the hearts and minds of the Grant Park “Yes-we-can” Club, than with pictures of oily beaches, oily dead birds and the oil-broken lives of ruined people?<br />
<br />
The real leadership in the Gulf has proven to be the locals—just watch Governor Bobby Jindal or Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nunguesser during their interviews—they have a plan, they want to act and instead of helping lead—the President and his henchmen and women are in the way, purposely.<br />
<br />
I wonder if those same tear streaked faces of the Grant Park group are watching the heartbreak along the Gulf Coast from their air conditioned living rooms—where are the Hollywood stars, the Jesse’s, the Al’s, the Oprah’s—they’ve been incredibly silent since April 20th.<br />
<br />
Perhaps the multitudes who stood there in Grant Park and were so moved to mimic the chant, have realized what many of us knew before they voted for him—when it comes to leading us and our nation, through this or any other major disaster—“No, he can’t.”Matt Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609672121306186763noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6218040809864785860.post-63663952221294430612010-06-13T19:41:00.000-04:002010-06-13T19:41:11.561-04:00BP~ Broken PromisesWe’ve listened to sixty days of broken promises and lies as the outfall from BP’s geyser of goo in the Gulf—<i>which emanates from the world’s second largest oil reserve</i>, has grown to <i>“biblical proportions”. </i><br />
<br />
Initial investigations reveal inconsistencies in BP’s following of governmental protocols during the permitting process.<br />
<br />
Those <i>“inconsistencies”</i> cost eleven hard working men their lives, ruined eleven extended families, and left an indelible mark in the psyches of all the others on the drilling rig, who—by the grace of God—escaped the hellish inferno on the Gulf.<br />
<br />
If you’ve not seen the video of the Deepwater Horizon fire captured by the Discovery Channel you owe it to yourselves to watch it—it’s inconceivable to understand the grand scale of how <i>“industrial”</i> an oil rig is until you’ve seen it. <br />
<br />
Those us who have worked an industrial job—and perhaps even those who have not—have seen the posters reminding us to <i>“work safe”. </i><br />
<br />
Unfortunately, when corporate greed and shareholder dividends get in the way, it doesn’t matter how many safety signs there are--the rhetoric stops at the printed sign.<br />
<br />
While everyone knows safety rules are to be followed religiously--<i>and they are for the most part</i>--when the need to complete a job is presented, there’s always a <i>“hero”</i> who will save the day for the good of the company--and that’s when a shortcut leads to an accident and that has proven true in the BP-Transocean-Halliburton disaster. <br />
<br />
<b>“You’re looking at the person most responsible for your safety.”</b><br />
<br />
I first saw those words of warning thirty years ago on mirrors in a locker room at Florida’s largest electric company during my familiarization tour as an apprentice substation electrician.<br />
<br />
That daily reminder of responsibility and safety meant everyone was supposed to play by the rules since we were wrangling up to 500,000 volts in gloved hands each day. <br />
<br />
The same safety message undoubtedly holds true when you’re a <i>“roughneck”</i> on a drilling platform--unfortunately BP management and the <i>“company men”</i> on the Deepwater Horizon the day of the explosion had not gotten the safety memo.<br />
<br />
I guarantee you the men who <i>“worked the rig”</i> for a living, did—and I’ll bet their safety concerns were not heard in the hours before the explosion.<br />
<br />
<b>BP~ Look in the mirror…</b><br />
<br />
Instead of immediately living up to it’s obligations and admitting how dangerous the situation was on the Deepwater Horizon before and after it sank; BP rolled out CEO and corporate front-man Tony Hayward—as if Americans would bow as loyal subjects upon hearing Hayward’s accent of <i>“the motherland”—</i>and therefore, be foolish enough to believe him.<br />
<br />
Hayward’s repeated and repugnant corporate statements exposed BP for the company they really are—and well represented by their corporate logo, <i>a cowardly yellow interior surrounded by greedy green. <br />
</i><br />
Hayward’s multiple successions at putting his foot in his mouth have only been outdone by two other of BP’s top professionals.<br />
<br />
BP VP Randy Prescott shared his taste for shoe leather when he tried to comfort seafood lovers with, <i>“Louisiana isn’t the only place to get shrimp,”</i> yet his comment was soon bested by BP’s Doug Suttles, who while doing his imitation of a President facing impeachment, stated that the existence of oil plumes was based on how one defines a <i>“plume”! </i><br />
<br />
<i>Why is it when people in peril ask for a definition, I have flashbacks of a bewildered President Clinton asking what the “definition of “Is”, is? </i><br />
<br />
Rather than BP accepting their responsibilities to being honest with their customers—the American public--Tony Hayward, Randy Prescott and Doug Suttles have proven themselves to be corporate vampires—or worse—corporate whores of BP. <br />
<br />
These three men are so removed from reality, that they’re willing to lie and sacrifice their own integrity--and that of their family’s’ integrity—in trade to have the opportunity to report to their British masters for just one more day.<br />
<br />
It’s time for them to look in the mirror—if in fact, they can actually see their own reflections.<br />
<br />
<b>… the ones most responsible for our safety?</b><br />
<br />
Who I find even more ludicrous are the employees of BP’s safety team, who were willing to falsify documents in order to insure the permitting process, regardless of the consequences of their actions.<br />
<br />
The BP employees who prepared and presented the company’s error filled 2009 Disaster Preparedness Plan are as guilty of creating the Gulf gusher as the <i>“company men”</i> who argued about procedures on the Deepwater Horizon before it exploded.<br />
<br />
Besides misrepresenting BP environmental studies, equipment providers and contact lists in the company’s written document; BP’s employees included the name of Peter Lutz, a marine biology professor at Florida Atlantic University, as a consultant to their disaster plan.<br />
<br />
Professor Lutz died in 2005--four years prior to the disaster plan being created.<br />
<br />
In writing <i>“BETRAYAL: Clinton, Castro & The Cuban Five"</i>, co-author Thomas Van Hare and I discovered that Cuban spies used the identities of dead people in the 1990’s to hide their own identities, as they plotted to kill Americans by shooting down civilian search and rescue aircraft.<br />
<br />
While I readily admit there’s no link between these two stories, it’s ironic that BP’s employees would stoop to the levels of convicted Cuban spies, and use the identity of a dead man for corporate gain—because of their actions in creating that false document to gain the drilling permit, eleven men have died.<br />
<br />
Anyone writing a disaster preparedness plan with any sincerity would surely verify the information they placed on the pages of the plan; because in writing such an operational plan, one would want to know with certainty the plan had a chance of succeeding. <br />
<br />
But of course thanks to the evidence, we now know BP’s only sincerity is in getting permits to drill and providing billions of dollars to their corporate bottom line—with no regard for our public safety.<br />
<br />
Thankfully, the BP disaster plan was signed by the employees who created it—leaving an identifiable paper trail for the lawyers of the families of the eleven dead.<br />
<br />
<b>BP~ Big Propaganda</b><br />
<br />
That’s BP’s new mantra.<br />
<br />
I’d love to know who sold BP on the idea of a fifty-million-dollar Madison Avenue “spin campaign” instead of telling the truth. <br />
<br />
How anyone could be as dumb as to think that using Orwellian styled images of pristine, sunny beaches lined with spotless oil-boom filled boats manned by workers in surgical white uniforms could ever cover up the 24-hour-a-day news videos of brown goo spewing from their hole in the earth and coating everything from the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf Coast, is beyond me!<br />
<br />
Whoever sold that ad package is, in my opinion, the world’s greatest salesman—and the buyer of the blunder—British, no doubt.<br />
<br />
<b>BP~ Profits Before People</b> <br />
<br />
Apparently, BP believes the ad campaign is cheaper than doing the right thing—which is funding the future of America’s Gulf States.<br />
<br />
The honorable thing for British Petroleum to do would be for them to leave the Gulf--after signing over their permits, well sites, drilling equipment and operations to a yet to be formed Gulf Trust.<br />
<br />
A trust that would continue to drill for oil in the Gulf, thus providing jobs for the residents and as well, provide profits and funding for the future—a future of a costly continuous clean-up—that will last for many generations to come.Matt Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609672121306186763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6218040809864785860.post-32153858984300445752010-06-07T22:12:00.000-04:002010-06-07T22:12:28.521-04:00BP’s Botched PlanThe proof is in the “pudding”--or oil--as the case is this time. <br />
<br />
Unless someone can prove otherwise--BP never considered developing a deep water spill response plan for the Gulf of Mexico; but instead spent their money buying off politicians and finding new ways to locate and suck the Black Gold out of the Gulf.<br />
<br />
That’s because BP’s six-hundred page response plan reads like a collegiate attempt at a term paper that was never going to be read--by anyone. <br />
<br />
The document, an apparent copy of a plan meant for colder waters mentions sea lions, walruses, and seals as critters of concern in the Gulf of Mexico—uh, hello Dr. Geologist CEO…Ms. Director of MMS…is anyone familiar with “who lived” in the Gulf? <br />
<br />
Whoever wrote (or copied) BP’s contingency plan also chose to list MSRC as the company’s 24/7 “primary equipment provider” for the Gulf of Mexico. <br />
<br />
I checked out the company’s Japanese website and didn’t find the oil spill response section, maybe you can. Here’s the URL. http://www.msrc.com/Equipment.htm . <br />
<br />
Also, missing from the voluminous document—any mention of meteorlogical or oceanographic data--or information about tracking underwater plumes. <br />
<br />
Plumes which, according to BP CEO Tony Hayward, a University of Edinburgh educated PH.D (Geology), with Honorary Doctorates from the University of Edinburgh, Aston University and the University of Birmingham—says don’t exist. <br />
<br />
Amazingly, BP did manage to have a section for their corporate media spokespeople. They’re instructed to never make "promises that property, ecology, or anything else will be restored to normal.” <br />
<br />
Exactly the opposite of what the million dollar ad campaign featuring an apologetic Mr. Hayward is saying the company will do, which is to make things as they once were.<br />
<br />
Just like Tony Hayward’s feeble attempts at minimizing the spill and his continued empty promises, the remainder of the response plan consists blank forms and is not worth the paper it is written on.<br />
<br />
But then again most corporate contingency plans are basically "fantasy documents” which is why BP is now on plan “W” of theirs—they’re “Winging it.”<br />
<br />
BP claims to have hired 20,000 paid responders to facilitate the clean up, yet work crews are small. Work rules are rumored to be--work fifteen minutes, rest fifteen minutes--to avoid the overheating themselves in their protective gear.<br />
<br />
I can only imagine the $12 per hour workers spend a good part of their day texting friends and family while complaining of the heat with the extra time they have. <br />
<br />
In the meantime, the majority of the Louisiana shrimping fleet sits idle, even though their crews are ready to work. Those fishermen who left over a month ago are considered the fortunate ones—they’re working. <br />
<br />
Unfortunately, they have no ability to return to port because their hulls can't be decontaminated—and they’ve yet to receive a paycheck from BP. <br />
<br />
<b>Something smells fishy in the Gulf….</b><br />
<br />
There have been a couple of reports circulating on the world wide web that add an air of suspicion to this disaster. <br />
<br />
One, which originally appeared in the Huffington Post, says Goldman Sachs shorted Transocean stock just days before the explosion. In it there’s a quote from Goldman employee Fabian Tourre’s email to his girlfriend. <br />
<br />
"One oil rig goes down and we're going to be rolling in dough," Mr. Tourre wrote. "Suck it, fishies and birdies!" <br />
<br />
http://pesn.com/2010/05/05/9501645_No_joke--Goldman_Sachs_shorted_TransOcean/<br />
<br />
The other report, in the U.K. telegraph reported that BP CEO Tony Hayward sold $2.8million (USD) in BP stock one month before the explosion.<br />
<br />
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/7804922/BP-chief-Tony-Hayward-sold-shares-weeks-before-oil-spill.html<br />
<br />
<b>While BP chose to make no “genuine” disaster/contingency plan, FEMA has.</b><br />
<br />
"Emergency preparations in dealing with the expanding oil menace are now being made for cities and towns from Corpus Christi , Texas , to Houston , New Orleans , Gulfport , Mobile , Pensacola , Tampa-St.Petersburg-Clearwater, Sarasota-Bradenton, Naples , and Key West.” <br />
<br />
“Some 36 FEMA-funded contracts between cities, towns, and counties and emergency workers are due to be invoked within days, if not hours, according to WMR's FEMA sources." <br />
<br />
"There are plans to evacuate people with respiratory problems, especially those among the retired senior population along the west coast of Florida, before officials begin burning surface oil as it begins to near the coastline.” <br />
<br />
The entire FEMA release can be found at the link below and like my prior blogs, you’ll do best to cut and paste the URLs into your browser or emails to your friends.<br />
<br />
http://www.resourceinvestor.com/News/2010/5/Pages/The-Coverup--BPs-Crude-Politics-and-the-Looming-Environmental-MegaDisaster.aspx<br />
<br />
<b>There’s a major threat looming for inland towns and cities.</b><br />
<br />
Just because you live inland, don’t think for a minute BP’s disaster won’t reach you. <br />
<br />
The FEMA plan goes on to say, “With hurricane season in effect, there is a potential for ocean oil to be picked up by hurricane-driven rains and dropped into fresh water lakes and rivers, far from the ocean, thus adding to the pollution of water supplies and eco-systems."<br />
<br />
BP claims it can have a relief well drilled by mid-August thus stopping the flow once the well is capped, but it’s now projected we’ll be dealing with oil in the Gulf through the fall—and the clean-up will take decades. <br />
<br />
With Florida boasting more exposed shoreline and inland waterways than anywhere else in the southeast, BP’s oil will have a greater chance to work its way far into the state’s unique environments thus polluting the Gulf, the bays, rivers, lakes and possibly even the Everglades.<br />
<br />
We're about to pay for BP’s lack of planning and years of profits because of this spill and that may include another round of declining property values. <br />
<br />
Property values in Grand Isle, Louisiana have dropped 30% thanks to the oil washing up on the beaches; it can’t bode much better for us in Florida either.Matt Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609672121306186763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6218040809864785860.post-39672621463588708022010-06-04T00:55:00.000-04:002010-06-04T00:55:22.685-04:00“Now’s a good time to check and make sure you have…”Those are the words used by many dive-masters aboard countless dive boats prior to leaving the docks for a day of SCUBA diving. The gist is to get divers to check their dive bags and equipment before the dock lines are cast to insure they’re prepared for a day of diving once they’re out at sea.<br />
<br />
<b>“…a mask, a snorkel, two fins—otherwise you’ll swim in circles...”</b><br />
<br />
All joking aside, the call-out of an item list is done to prompt divers into running their checklists and to physically inspect their gear—and that of their dive buddy, too. <br />
<br />
Following checklists and being responsible for another is not limited to hobbyists like SCUBA divers. <br />
<br />
During hurricane season we need to establish a plan, and have some semblance of an idea as to what we’ll do if the wind blows and the waters rise. <br />
<br />
We owe it to ourselves, our families and for those who are so inspired--to our neighbors—after all, one tenant of the <i>good book </i>is to <i>“be thy brother’s keeper”.</i><br />
<br />
When I co-authored, <i>“What to Do til The Cavalry Comes”</i> with Thomas Van Hare in 2006, our intent was to reduce the chance of revisiting the heartbreaking scenes of New Orleans post hurricane Katrina. <br />
<br />
The visions of Americans lined up in the streets, as well as those seen floating in the toxic mix of the storm’s flood waters still haunt us to this day.<br />
<br />
Three years after we published <i>“What to Do…”, </i>another preparedness guide rose from the wreckage of southern Louisiana. Its title is <i>“Survival: How a Culture of Preparedness Can Save You and Your Family from Disasters”, </i>authored by Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré (U.S. Army, ret). <br />
<br />
The Lt. General’s guide is written in what I consider to be <i>“pure Honoré”</i> style. For the uninitiated his wording may be harsh truth; but as he relates to preparedness, the Lt. General’s beliefs are congruent to ours and follow this basic understanding: <br />
<br />
<i>“The U.S. had a Culture of Preparedness during the 1960s, when every home, government agency and institution did something to prepare in the event of a nuclear attack from the former Soviet bloc. Once that threat was all but gone, we abandoned our readiness.”-- Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré (U.S. Army, ret)<br />
</i><br />
<b>What he means</b><br />
<br />
In the 1960s when the threat was a nuclear attack; schools were civil defense shelters, students were drilled on <i>“duck and cover”</i> and the skills of survival were engrained in us. <br />
<br />
Back then, home builders offered underground bomb bunkers as an option in my South Florida neighborhood—an area that had its own Nike missile base established to defend against the Soviet missiles pointed towards the U.S. during the Kennedy era.<br />
<br />
Families stocked canned goods, Sterno, candles, bleach and other supplies at the ready in their homes. We relied on each other in a time when there was more of a sense of community--and of <i>“being American”—</i>after all, we were being led by the generation that was born of the <i>“greatest generation”. <br />
</i><br />
FEMA was not considered part of a personal preparedness plan and in fact did not exist as it does in its current role today.<br />
<br />
The thought process was if you were ready for <i>“the Big One”, </i>you were ready for just about anything and being basically prepared meant you had half the battle won.<br />
<br />
<b>The same holds true today<br />
</b><br />
<i>“One of the harshest lessons learned from recent disasters, especially Katrina, is that you are your own first responder.”-- Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré (U.S. Army, ret)<br />
</i><br />
I’m not one to wait in line on a good day. I’ve been known to leave restaurants when there’s a wait for a table, and I plan my grocery shopping for mid-week to avoid the weekend rush.<br />
<br />
The joke I make amongst my friends in my <i>“preparedness circle”</i> is that I have everything I need, except for fresh limes and mint—two ingredients needed for mojitos and rum-n-cokes. <br />
<br />
<i>I’m not advocating that a hurricane is a time to party</i>, but once my home is secured and the choice of “stay or evacuate” has been made; I sit back and relax—while the lines at the grocery store and Home Depot grow!<br />
<br />
To me, the only lines that are worse than those before a disaster are the FEMA lines for the “free” food, water and ice afterwards.<br />
<br />
The realities of today make it necessary for those who are capable--even on the smallest scale—to do what they can to prepare their family for a disaster—be it natural or man-made, hurricane or terrorism. <br />
<br />
Remember, you’re not only preparing for the event, you’re preparing for the days and weeks afterwards. <br />
<br />
Hurricane season began June 1st—the dock lines have been cast--<i>“Now’s a good time to check and make sure you have...”</i> before you find yourself <i>“…swimming in circles.” <br />
</i>Matt Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609672121306186763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6218040809864785860.post-8422079724658041562010-05-31T16:57:00.000-04:002010-05-31T16:57:13.312-04:00"Louisiana isn't the only place that has shrimp"…I want to thank all of you who answered my email and FB request to spread the TRUTH in the words of “The Fisherman’s Wife”.<br />
<br />
I had many new readers pick up on this story globally--Canada, Mexico, Malaysia, Moscow, Paris and Germany—from Alaska to Maine—and from sea to shining sea, to the oil laden Gulf! THANKS for your efforts!<br />
<br />
I’m going to go out on a limb here and ask again for another favor of you, my readers. <br />
<br />
Multiple sources in Louisiana and on the web have reported that BP Vice President, Randy Prescott made the statement that, "Louisiana isn't the only place that has shrimp."<br />
<br />
Apparently, Mr. Prescott doesn’t get the fact that his company’s damned oil and their sub-sea and aerial spraying of dispersants are polluting the Gulf of Mexico, as well as the air and land masses of the surrounding Gulf States.<br />
<br />
Mr. Prescott, this ain’t just about shrimp and this ain’t just about Louisiana! <br />
<br />
It’s about BP’s corporate culture creating the worst ecological disaster in U.S. history and possibly the worst ecological disaster to affect the modern world; an event for which--reports say--BP had no external insurance for. <br />
<br />
For those readers so motivated, you can contact Mr. Prescott and voice your concerns over his unsympathetic remarks—Randy Prescott is BP’s Vice President of Power Origination, call him at 713.323.4093 or e-mail him at randy.prescott@bp.com.<br />
<br />
There’s an old saying that when the small fish die, the big fish die, too. In this case, when the small fish die, the big fish die, and the entire region stands to die, too. <br />
<br />
<b>This is more than BP covering up a leaky oil pipe</b><br />
<br />
BP and the Obama administration continue to keep what they know about the actual amount of oil gushing into the Gulf a national secret. They’ve done so by maintaining a “no-fly zone” in the skies above the site, and a U.S. Coast Guard blockade in the surrounding waters.<br />
<br />
Louisiana’s Cajun Navy—many of whom are now getting sick after being told the dispersants were non-toxic—may end up like many of the 9/11 first responders who also were told the environment they worked in was “safe”.<br />
<br />
The surrounding secrecy and corporate lies may cost American lives in addition to the eleven already lost unless BP is forced to “fess up”.<br />
<br />
As a nation, we’ve explored outer-space for decades; having landed men on the moon and sent robots to Mars. <br />
<br />
Yet our government can’t get an accurate flow rate from inner space, from a company proven to operate remotely controlled vehicles at depth while producing billions in quarterly profits without--up to now--losing a drop.<br />
<br />
Last Friday, when BP admitted that the “Top Kill” procedure had failed, the press conference included Coast Guard Rear Admiral Mary Landry who reiterated the administration’s position of “since day one” three times in her statements--even though it’s common knowledge that “day one” means “day eight” in Washingtonese.<br />
<br />
R.Admiral Landry commented that “they’d done a good job fighting the oil” <i>comparatively to what has flowed in the past 40 days or so, in ratio to what has reached the shore.<br />
</i><br />
Landry failed to mention that much of what has not made shore lies hidden beneath the surface of the Gulf thanks to the hundreds of thousands of gallons of dispersants used to break-up the oil. <br />
<br />
She also failed to confirm or deny the twenty-two mile long, 6 mile wide “sub-surface plume” that scientists are monitoring near one of the Gulf’s deep water estuaries. <br />
<br />
<b>Voices of the victims</b><br />
<br />
The truth about what’s happening at “ground zero” is heard in the voices of the victims; and it differs greatly from what’s heard in the corporate press releases from BP, or the daily press briefings with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.<br />
<br />
Gibbs recently went so far as to attack one victim, a Louisiana resident and Obama supporter—Democratic strategist James Carville, whose well warranted melt down about Obama’s bungled response to the massive leak in the Gulf Coast went viral in the days after he spoke his mind during a television interview. <br />
<br />
Perhaps Mr. Gibbs needs to take a trip to the bayou and listen to the people who are living this nightmare to fully understand what Mr. Carville may, or may not know:<br />
<br />
<i>“Today was utter chaos for our boats and men, everything is so out of control and unorganized it's unreal.”<br />
<br />
“Between the Coast Guard, Wildlife and Fisheries, public officials, BP and the Federal Government, it's a circus!! Everybody wants to give orders and nobody wants to do their job.”<br />
<br />
“If they'd have let all the boats work from day one then a lot of it wouldn't have made it to shore. Instead they'd rather spray chemicals on it so it sinks to the bottom and nobody can see it…”<br />
<br />
“We have issues with the task forces of vessels....some are getting tons of food while others are barely getting any. Some are getting all the fuel they need while others are on stand by with none. The logistics aren't set up correctly and we're 40 days into this. Sad thing is that there are capable people out there that could put the logistics together and make it work, but it seems BP doesn't want that to happen.”<br />
<br />
“One has to wonder if someone within BP isn't sabotaging all things brought forth, because one company couldn't possibly be this unorganized.”<br />
<br />
“Do we really think that OBAMA will make sure all his promises are kept? Heck no, he's part of the problem… Obviously, he was too busy on vacations, and traveling to push his own agenda.”</i> <br />
<br />
<b>A voice of leadership</b><br />
<br />
Lt. General Russel L. Honoré, US Army (Ret), is the "Category 5 General" who led Task Force Katrina and authored <i>"Survival: How a Culture of Preparedness Can Save You and Your Family From Disasters"</i>. Lt. Honoré offers his sobering opinion in this quote from a CNN report.<br />
<br />
“The No. 1 rule when dealing with disaster is to figure out which rules you need to break. Rules are designed for when everything is working. A democracy is based on trust. BP has proved it can’t be trusted.”<br />
<br />
From my perspective, we’re somewhere between twenty-million and forty-million gallons of goo in the Gulf. <br />
<br />
Perhaps it’s time for the Cajun Navy to follow Lt. General Honorés’ No. 1 rule and break a few as they work to save their way of life--after all, sometimes it’s much easier to ask for forgiveness later, than it is to ask for permission in the heat of the battle.Matt Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609672121306186763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6218040809864785860.post-28627087854244197492010-05-26T16:31:00.002-04:002010-05-26T16:36:34.976-04:00The Fisherman's Wife...a voice from the bayouMonday, May 25th I took the opportunity to reach out to one of the many people already affected by BP PLC’s oil spill who has made comments on my blog via Facebook.<br />
<br />
Our emails became a couple of candid phone calls that have given me insight and a “voice” from within this disaster.<br />
<br />
Respecting my new found friend’s fears of corporate retribution--against her husband, the Captain of a 65’ fishing boat currently at sea under contract with BP—I’ve chosen to identify her only as--the fisherman’s wife.<br />
<br />
The fisherman’s wife is a native of the bayou with that certain most unmistaken drawl of Louisiana. She’s also a mother who like most American moms is involved with her kids in Little League and school--and like many of my friends whose lives depend on the sea—she’s sturdy and steadfast.<br />
<br />
<i>“I just wanna share for a minute, as some of you know I'm taking this crisis with BP and spreading the word to everyone I can. We are all frustrated, saddened, and growing impatient."—</i>the fisherman’s wife<br />
<br />
<i>“Frustrated, saddened and growing impatient.” </i>Her words reflect that of everyone on the Gulf Coast from Texas to Florida—and with any hopes, in Washington, D.C.<br />
<br />
The fisherman’s wife explained to me that after BP’s attempt to get the fishermen to sign “Indemnity and Hold Harmless Waivers” was “thrown out by a Federal judge”, her family’s boat along with those of many others was contracted by the $92 million dollar-a-day earning BP to go deploy oil booms at wages that equal “good money in the off season” to the fishermen.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, May/June in the Gulf of Mexico is not the “off season”.<br />
<br />
BP’s DHR Vessels of Opportunity website states “crews on vessels scheduled for day-work will receive eight hours of pay and crews on vessels scheduled to perform nighttime operations will be paid for 12 hours of work. If vessels are scheduled and are not used, the day rate will still be paid.” The website doesn’t give exact figures, but says the daily rates are based on the vessel’s length.<br />
<br />
<i>“This is a disaster that is going to do what no hurricane has ever done. The oil spill damage we face is one thing, the lack of interest and nonsupport is another. If I've learned nothing else in the years I've lived here it's that the people of our community are resilient, determined, hardworking, heartfelt people.”—</i>the fisherman’s wife<br />
<br />
The shrimpers, crabbers and fishermen of the Parrish all answered the call, as have many others along the Gulf Coast. Only a few of the many were hired. <br />
<br />
Two weeks ago, the men gathered the required personal protective gear, fueled and provisioned their boats—with money out of their own pockets—before gathering in a circle on the docks to say a prayer. <br />
<br />
They then set off to do battle in the rough oily waters of the Gulf of Mexico in a Hail Mary attempt at saving their fishing grounds, their livelihoods and their neighborhoods.<br />
<br />
Those who stayed behind to “hold down the fort” were given BP’s Claims Hotline phone number, BP’s online claims website, and individual claims account numbers to prove they’ve filed.<br />
<br />
<i>“It’s like going to the IRS. They don’t make nothing easy. The want proof of everything. How big is your boat? How long have you been fishing? What do you fish for? How much have you earned in the past? What did you expect to earn this year? They make you feel as if you’ve done something wrong for making a claim.”—</i>the fisherman’s wife<br />
<br />
Instead of seeing checks, the people of Louisiana have seen organized chaos. One quote from the fisherman’s wife’s Facebook page says that one Captain is “catching hell” in the confusion of working with BP off Grand Isle.<br />
<br />
<i>“That will not change! We have a saying called "Cajun ingenuity" and it's time we show it. We need to take charge, complaining is not getting results, we need to step up and do this.” </i><br />
<br />
<i>“We need to show up in our shrimp boots and gloves and start placing boom, we need to walk into our officials offices and TELL, not ask them what we want, we need to demand in person what BP needs to do here, and out there for our fishermen. My heart goes out to each of you and I know we are all praying.”</i>--the fisherman’s wife<br />
<br />
The fishermen that live, and work in the Gulf know those waters better than any corporate “suit” yet they’re being restricted on where they can work, what they can do, and how they can do it--and they’ve been silenced from sharing their experiences--being told “not to be within a mile of the media”. <br />
<br />
Many in the Parrish have not seen their loved ones since they left. Ship to shore communications with family members have been sparse sparing the occasional cell phone call “when they can get service on the boats”, VHF radio messages relayed via neighbors and for some, satellite phones that are costly to operate.<br />
<br />
There’s no way to bring the boats back to port because the hulls are contaminated with oil. BP promised “car wash type deal” that was to be used to decontaminate the vessels at sea, but that has not materialized either, and there’s no telling of what the long term effects of the oil will do to the boat hulls.<br />
<br />
<i>“For now we’ve been depending on each other and Kim and David at Mariah Jade Shrimp Company, they’ve made things happen. Kim’s been organizing what BP doesn’t seem to be able to do and David has been helping get groceries, fuel and transportation for the guys that need to come to shore. Her boats and her sons are out there working the oil too. They’ve organized, delivered and continue everyday to get things done.”<br />
<br />
"We are voicing our concerns that seem to be in vain. Some of us our concerned about what the oil spill will to to our fishing economy, others our communities,or ecosystem and wildlife. Regardless of whatever our fears and anger is for,we will all be affected."—the fisherman’s wife</i><br />
<br />
<i>“We will all be affected.” </i>Truer words have never been spoken and they’re not in vain, they're those of--the fisherman's wife.Matt Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609672121306186763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6218040809864785860.post-50560273293952309222010-05-24T13:23:00.000-04:002010-05-24T13:23:18.556-04:00BP’s “Transparency” is simply Bullshitting PeopleMuch of this article was assembled from multiple web sources and links (cut-n-paste them) to corresponding stories in an attempt to put some of the puzzle pieces together and allow us all to quickly see the truth in BP’s handling of the BP Deepwater Horizons oil gusher and the “initiatives” of the Obama administration.<br />
<br />
They’re simply not listening. Many believe there’s a lot more being covered up by both parties as they continue their respective agendas--and unfortunately their agendas do not include, “We the people…”<br />
<br />
At the end of this article I’ve included BP’s contact information on multiple fronts so those readers so inclined may legally express their <i>“transparency”. </i><br />
<br />
From (www.bp.com), “BP today reiterated its pledge to be open and <i>transparent</i> in its response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.” “We are committed to providing the American people with the information they need to understand the environmental impact from the spill and the response steps that have been taken," said BP's chief executive Tony Hayward. <br />
<br />
This is the same guy who a week or so ago said the environmental aspects from this spill would be “very, very moderate”! <br />
<br />
Yes, Tony—the loss of eleven lives, the physical scarring of those burned in the blaze as they jumped for their lives; along with the psychological scarring of all those on the platform when it exploded in multiple blasts—is all reduced to “moderate” in your corporate mind. It’s “all about the company and shareholders” in your world.<br />
<br />
Has BP or the U.S. administration stopped to think that some of BP’s shareholders are some of the people who elected our current President?<br />
<br />
When one takes the time to assemble BP’s shoddy PR, versus what’s actually being done to stop the flow and clean-up the goo, the insensitive nature of Mr. Hayward, BP PLC, the Obama Administration and the corporate world is…<i>transparent</i>.<br />
<br />
Excerpts from…..<br />
Deepwater Horizon Response http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/site/2931/ <br />
“The Unified Area Command for the Deepwater Horizon/BP Response announces it will not use hair boom in its response efforts. Individuals and organizations are asked to discontinue the collection of hair for the hair boom.” “Our priority when cleaning up an oil spill is to find the most efficient and expedient way to remove the oil from the affected area while causing no additional damage. <br />
<br />
Yet <b>BP refuses EPA order to switch to less-toxic oil dispersant</b> http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-oil-spill-20100523,0,907236.story <br />
<br />
As President Obama, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Homeland Security and countless others voice their “we doing everything in our power”, it seems that Washington is impotent.<br />
<br />
<b>OBAMA POLITELY ASKS FOR COOPERATION WHILE BP RULES SPILL ZONE WITH IRON FIST<br />
</b>http://trueslant.com/allisonkilkenny/2010/05/22/obama-politely-asks-for-cooperation-while-bp-rules-spill-zone-with-iron-fist/<br />
<br />
The writer of that article sees the transparency saying, “Judging by the government’s handling of the spill zone, I’d be hard pressed to tell you who is in charge of the country right now. BP has stifled the freedom of the press, given the finger to the EPA, and will not be forced to testify in Obama’s shiny, new commission…” <br />
<br />
The article goes on to quote multiple people from the media who have been “run-off” from covering this story both on land and sea stating, “BP has quartered off the Louisiana coast like an army in a war zone, and has shaken off any attempt by the government to control their response to the environmental disaster.”<br />
<br />
In trying to find out “who is in charge of the country right now”, I found Sylvia V. Baca, a senior public and private sector manager in energy and environmental policy and programs, who was named Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar on June 18, 2009. An appointment did not require Senate confirmation. <br />
<br />
Her resume is “all BP”.<br />
<br />
“Baca had been general manager for Social Investment Programs and Strategic Partnerships at BP America Inc. in Houston, and had held several senior management positions with the company since 2001. She was also Director of Global Health, Safety, Environment & Emergency Response for BP Shipping Ltd. in London.” <br />
<br />
From her DOI web page: “As vice president for Health, Safety and Environment, BP North America in Los Angeles, Baca served as policy advisor on environmental initiatives, such as climate change, biodiversity, sustainable development, land restoration and air and water programs focusing on environmental initiatives, overseeing cooperative projects with private and public organizations, developing health, safety, and emergency response programs and working on climate change…” <br />
<br />
To read more on Ms. Baca go to her DOI webpage http://www.doi.gov/archive/bio/baca_bio.html.<br />
<br />
This promise of <i>transparency</i> is the same promise made by President Obama during his campaign and reiterated in multiple speeches since his moving into the White House. <br />
<br />
For many of us, Obama’s buzz words were understood, yet for the majority of Americans—who supposedly voted for him--the <i>transparency </i>is becoming apparent—he’s running his agenda while not listening to or saying anything to, the press or the American people—be it healthcare, immigration, the environment or his attitude.<br />
<br />
It’s time for the American public to also be as <i>transparent</i> as possible and express themselves as we legally have the rights to do so. While I’m not suggesting looking to the streets of Greece or Thailand for suggestion, I am saying it’s time for US, the citizens of the U.S. to express our displeasure with BP and their mishandling of securing their ever so valuable well.<br />
<br />
Perhaps informational pickets from public access around BP stores and facilities reminding BP customers and shareholders about those who died and/or were on the platform are in order. <br />
<br />
Perhaps it’s time for BP representatives to be met by local fishermen on the docks as they traverse from the oil inundated areas and the blast site. <br />
<br />
Or perhaps it’s just time to voice our opinions to BP until they admit we’ve been heard. <br />
<br />
Here are some of the ways I’ve been able to express my <i>transparency</i> with BP. I do hope their phones ring true with our concerns and their voicemails and email inboxes be chock-full of our feelings of disgust in their handling of their mess.<br />
<br />
Twitter: Oil_Spill_2010 follow @Oil_Spill_2010<br />
<br />
Facebook:<br />
Deepwater Horizon Response <br />
http://www.facebook.com/DeepwaterHorizonResponse?ref=ts<br />
<br />
BP America Press Office:<br />
+1 281 366 0265<br />
<br />
BP Press Office London:<br />
+44 20 7496 4076<br />
BP Investor Relations: +1-281-366-4937<br />
<br />
Claims: +1 800 440 0858<br />
www.bp.com/claims<br />
<br />
Media and government inquiries:<br />
+1 985 902 5231 or +1 985 902 5240<br />
<br />
People interested in “volunteering” can call 866-448-5816<br />
<br />
Call early and email often, but remember we live in a different age now so word your thoughts carefully to avoid looking insensitive, as BP’s Tony Hayward and the corporation has shown themselves to be.Matt Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609672121306186763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6218040809864785860.post-35763235487360360112010-05-20T17:30:00.003-04:002010-05-21T18:10:50.583-04:00Thirty days oy vey, enough already!!!Thirty days since the initial blowout of BP's Deepwater Horizons oil rig and the words and actions of big oil can not be more diametrically opposed.<br />
<br />
It’s become pretty evident that BP has been “allowed” to attempt to regain control of their prized oil well as multiple leaks have pumped a consistent and otherwise unabated flow of goo that is now said to be worse than originally stated.<br />
<br />
Who’d have thought that a company like BP would ever underestimate the scope of this disaster? After all BP is the company who said they’d pay the claims of impacted fishermen—and then asked those same fishermen to sign legally worded indemnity waivers before giving them jobs stringing oil booms in a feeble attempt to save their fishing grounds and livelihoods.<br />
<br />
While BP bears the brunt of the responsibility in their failure in operating the rig, others also have dirty oil on their hands. Litigators for Halliburton, Trans Ocean, as well as BP, continue to file cases in court that attempt to do nothing more than limit their liabilities.<br />
<br />
These lawsuits, along with…<br />
<br />
1) BP finally admitting that the oil spill may be ten times worse than originally stated.<br />
2) BP admitting the chemical dispersants they used in the Gulf are chemicals banned for use in Britain, and<br />
3) BP’s continued refusal to allow scientists and engineers into the area to assess the real damage.<br />
<br />
…give me the impression of a cover-up!<br />
<br />
Why, after thirty days of BP failing to gain control of their “black-gold mine”, has there been no active American boycott of BP gasoline or their products? <br />
<br />
Are American’s so disillusioned with the country’s current political climate and economic crisis that they’ve grown weary? <br />
<br />
Have we become so jaded that American Idol or Lindsey Lohan’s possible new jail outfit are more important than the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history? <br />
<br />
After all it’s only the potential loss of 30% of our seafood supply and the possible eradication of the breeding grounds for multiple species we supposedly cohabitate with on this planet.<br />
<br />
As I write this, BP has finally decided that funnels and straws won’t work to stop the oil geysers and they’re going to attempt filling the well with drilling mud and concrete on Sunday, May 23rd--with the caveat that this is something “never attempted at this depth before”. <br />
<br />
BP could have attempted this 29 days ago; but God forbid BP should lose their damned well, and the millions of dollars they’ve put into its research and development.<br />
<br />
In comparison, at stake are the livelihoods and the economy of millions of American’s residing along America’s Gulf coast —not to mention one of the world’s most treasured coral reef systems!<br />
<br />
But then, who needs beaches, coral reefs and fishermen when there’s always Disney World and the other theme parks to visit in central Florida— people will buy BP’s gas to get there, right?<br />
<br />
Let’s hope not! <br />
<br />
It’s time for Americans to speak to BP in the only language big oil understands--in dollars.<br />
<br />
It’s time to avoid at all costs; the eco-friendly green logo’d BP gas stations recognized in the U.S. nationwide, as well their ARCO and am/pm stores of the American west. <br />
<br />
I’d also suggest the next time you change your oil, choosing another brand other than Castrol, it’s a BP product as well.<br />
<br />
Also, depending on where you are in the world, you may find BP Connect, Wild Bean Café and in Germany, Aral service stations and retail outlets which BP boasts is Germany’s number three fast food retailer behind Burger King and McDonalds. <br />
<br />
Perhaps BP will get the message if the sound of Americans closing their wallets and purses is louder than the implosion and destruction of their well along with the billion barrels in oil reserves the black-gold represented to BP’s profits.<br />
<br />
Thirty days is long enough. Turn off the flow of oil BP, before America wakes up and turns off the flow of cash!<br />
<br />
BP = Bungled Performance!<br />
<br />
Here's Shep Smith's FOX News commentary from May 14th<br />
http://www.shepard-smith.net/video/fr/bpcommentary.mpgMatt Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609672121306186763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6218040809864785860.post-32650071244768365562010-05-12T15:04:00.000-04:002010-05-12T15:04:02.153-04:00Bad Planning, Bad Performance, it’s not just BP......our government is also guilty!<br />
<br />
The world has watched the environmental horror as the BP oil geyser has continued to gush black gold into the Gulf of Mexico since April 20th. <br />
<br />
Of course as in any major disaster, there was the initial shock of “it” happening as heroic crews rushed to the scene in search of survivors and to douse the raging inferno—much like we saw on 9/11. <br />
<br />
We then witnessed BP’s limp corporate response, most likely due to them wrangling with the “financial liability issues” and waiting to see what the U.S. government was going to do. <br />
<br />
BP’s response—finger pointing and denial of ownership of the oil rig and blowout preventor—finger pointing which continued into hearings on Capitol Hill on May 11th.<br />
<br />
Of course the Obama administration responded—and much like past governmental responses it was too little, too late--with the administration rolling out it’s department heads a little over a week after the event to deliver a reiterated and very prepared quote.<br />
<br />
Homeland Security chief, Janet Napolitano told Meet the Press that The White House knew "from day one that this could be a catastrophic failure,” and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar emphasized the same talking point on the same Sunday as a guest on State of the Union saying, “From day one there was the presumption of worst-case scenario”. <br />
<br />
“From day one…” It kind of has that, “You’re doing a fine job, Brownie,” ring to it, doesn’t it? <br />
<br />
If in fact, “from day one” our leadership “presumed” or “knew” of the magnitude of the BP oil spill, why wasn’t the "In-Situ Burn" plan--a plan produced by federal agencies in 1994 that calls for responding to a major oil spill in the Gulf with the immediate use of fire booms—activated?<br />
<br />
Because once again, just like on 9/11, post hurricanes Andrew, Katrina and Ike, the recent flooding in Tennessee and just about every other disaster to have hit the U.S.--the federal government was caught flat-footed—unprepared--and that’s the proven truth to our nation’s ability to respond to disasters.<br />
<br />
Americans have been told to prepare and to be self-sufficient for at least 72 hours since the 9/11 terrorist attacks; yet the government has failed to respond within that time frame to any disaster since--either natural or man-made.<br />
<br />
The agency responsible for responding to the BP oil spill did not have a federally required fire boom and it took U.S. officials eight days to locate the sole unit in the country before getting it delivered and conducting a test burn in the Gulf. <br />
<br />
Former NOAA oil spill response coordinator Ron Gouguet --who helped draft the 1994 plan --said that officials had pre-approval for burning. "The whole reason the plan was created was so we could pull the trigger right away."<br />
<br />
Our leadership, with their multi-paged preparedness plans replete with hierarchy and flow charts has proven their ability to do nothing more than create barriers to immediate and direct response in the event of any disaster.<br />
<br />
Perhaps in the early days of the BP blowout, the DHS chief and Interior Secretary could have FedEx’d the printed federal oil spill response plan to Louisiana so as to be laid upon the Gulf—allowing the document to soak up the first few thousand gallons of oil that escaped to the surface.<br />
<br />
The reality is, is disaster response requires money--and there is none.<br />
<br />
My statement was reinforced on May 11th--just three weeks before the beginning of what some experts are predicting to be an active hurricane season--with a preemptive warning of sorts from FEMA.<br />
<br />
It seems that this year's numerous disasters have tapped the Federal Emergency Management Agency dry.<br />
The House agreed March 24 to give the agency an extra $5.1 billion for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30. But the Senate has failed to act--despite recent flooding in Tennessee.<br />
Sixteen states experienced a combined 18 disasters this year before the House voted to give FEMA the extra funding.<br />
<br />
Since then, major disasters have been declared for winter storms or flooding in Maine, New Hampshire, West Virginia, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Connecticut, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Maryland.<br />
<br />
FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate said while visiting Tennessee on last Thursday that "there's an urgency" to approving the funding and said the agency could respond to emergencies as they occur but couldn't help rebuild afterward.<br />
<br />
Record flooding in early May in Nashville killed at least 20 people and caused an estimated $1.5 billion in damage.<br />
"We are not going to be delayed in helping individuals in the emergency response costs," Fugate said. "But as this flood is going to show, we already have almost $1 billion in outstanding projects from previous disasters that we cannot move forward on."<br />
<br />
FEMA is still paying for disasters dating to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. For example, the agency is still rebuilding schools in New Orleans, and an arbitration panel ruled in January that the agency must pay $474 million to rebuild Charity Hospital.<br />
<br />
"While we can meet the immediate needs of survivors in these declared disasters, and we can support state and local government in the immediate response, we do not have the ability now to fund permanent work," Fugate said. "And that's going to be a key factor in this recovery as well as previous disasters going all the way back to Katrina."<br />
<br />
Based on the historical data and supported by the fact that it’s not a matter of “if” but “when” a disaster will strike, today more than ever, if you’re not putting a personal preparedness plan in place, you’re “BP”.<br />
<br />
FEMA’s recent statements practically insure there’s no tractor trailers full of water, food, blue tarps, generators and all the other “free” things hurricane victims seem to love to stand in line for while awaiting deployment at first light after landfall.<br />
<br />
While the government has a written preparedness plan, part of that plan is an initial assessment or as I called it earlier, the hand-wringing. The secondary phase of the plan includes amassing equipment and personnel, and that takes money—and we’ve been warned softly—there’s none left, but it might be in the pipeline to being approved.<br />
<br />
Now would be a good time to check and make sure you have what your family needs and begin preparing yourselves for this year’s hurricane season. <br />
<br />
My suggestion is to plan on surviving without federal help for a minimum of seven days-- or more. That’s depending on how long it takes the Secretarys, Assistant Secretarys, Chiefs and their staff to realize that real people with real lives are hanging in the balance of FEMA’s checkbook and their ability to make a decesion on when they’ll deploy after the winds and tides subside.<br />
<br />
For those of you who wish to plan and would like suggestions, our preparedness guide, What To Do til the Cavalry Comes: A Family Guide to Preparedness in 21st Century America is online--FREE. No credit card or personal info required.<br />
<br />
What To Do… is endorsed by Mississippi’s Lt. Governor, Phil Bryant and co-authored with three-time Pentagon appointee, Thomas Van Hare. Each chapter is formatted with suggestions and checklists to help you establish a personal family preparedness plan that will work for you.<br />
<br />
Email me, Matt@mattlawrencebooks.com and I’ll send you the direct link so you can read it online, full screen, in it’s entirity—thanks to a service provided by fREADo.com.Matt Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609672121306186763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6218040809864785860.post-62831446891107039562010-05-07T14:19:00.000-04:002010-05-07T14:19:14.285-04:00“The truth may not always be heard in the spoken word……yet it’s always seen in people’s actions.” Those are my words, the very words I use in signing my book, <i><b>BETRAYAL: Clinton, Castro & the Cuban Five </b></i>(ISBN-13: 978-1440118012), a book that exposes the murder and cover-up of four U.S. residents, shot down over international waters by Cuban MiGs in 1996.<br />
<br />
My words are also applicable to BP PLC and their handling of their “underwater oil volcano” as it’s described by Florida Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL). <br />
<br />
In fact, Senator Nelson fears that BP PLC will not handle their responsibilities properly and try to limit their losses to a decades old $75 million dollar liability limit. <br />
<br />
Nelson also he indicated residents in the potentially affected states should not rely on the statements made by “Big Oil” and to prepare for a legal battle.<br />
<br />
I concur with Senator Nelson, considering developments of the past few days.<br />
<br />
BP filed the exploration plan and environmental impact analysis I mentioned in a previous article with the federal government in February 2009, saying BP it had the capability to handle a "worst-case scenario" at the Deepwater Horizon site…with capabilities of handling a leak of 162,000 barrels per day from an uncontrolled blowout – BP’s calculations have proven to be untrue.<br />
<br />
BP PLC has also said they will pay for the clean-up as well as damages and commercial loss due to the oil leak, but their actions Monday, May 3rd, signaled a much different approach. <br />
<br />
FOX News reporter Jonathan Hunt reported that statements made by BP executives went so far as to try to deny that this is their accident. <br />
<br />
BP execs claimed that while they were leasing and operating (and standing to profit from) the Deep Horizons oil rig; the rig was owned by a company called Trans Ocean; and that other equipment, including the failed blow-out preventor, was made by a different company, Cameron International.<br />
<br />
It appears to me that BP PLC tried the old “not our fault” defense paired up with a “can’t see it from my house” attempt at disbursing the sub-surface Gulf oil by using highly toxic chemicals. Chemicals that are killing marine life while keeping the oil from reaching the Gulf shoreline in sticky, gooey globs.<br />
<br />
Furthering their cause on Monday, BP PLC asked Gulf fishermen--who the company was employing to deploy oil booms--to sign legal waivers of indemnity.<br />
<br />
The waiver said in part, “I hereby agree on behalf of myself, and my representatives, to hold harmless and indemnify and to release, waive and forever discharge the BP Exploration and Production Inc...from all claims and damages.” (Source J. Hunt, FOX News) <br />
<br />
After fishermen complained BP PLC rolled out one of their spokeswomen, Ayana McIntosh-Lee; a very well educated, well spoken, cardboard cutout--specifically trained to calm rough corporate waters--who said, “We heard the concern, and we acted on it,” meaning BP PLC withdrew the requirement of indemnification from the fishermen.<br />
<br />
McIntosh also said, “That if people have a legitimate claim and they file that, it will be honored.” BP PLC has said those claims have to be, “legitimate and objectively verifiable”, confusing words for those who work the docks and fishing fleets, as well as to those in Washington, D.C. <br />
Corporate responsibility<br />
<br />
BP’s primary corporate responsibility—according to what I learned many years ago in college—is to turn a profit for their shareholders. Shareholders in a stock corporation hold the keys to voting for the Board of Directors who stand to make big bonuses based on their performance. <br />
Nothing in this business formula says the corporation has a responsibility to the safety and well-being of the general public.<br />
<br />
Based on BP’s six-billion dollar first quarterly earnings for 2010—yes $5.6 billion with a “B” in the current economy—I see no need for BP PLC to even think about asking hard working Americans and businesses to bail them out of their sticky mess—and this includes preying on people’s sympathies by begging for volunteers.<br />
<br />
Especially after trying to force indemnity waivers upon fishermen whom they were going to sub-contract and pay--and many whom admittedly have little or no formal education in dealing with corporate America and their privileged legal teams.<br />
<br />
BP PLC needs to educate folks who are considering volunteering to help with mopping up their mess or oil stricken marine life and wildlife. The general public needs to be aware of the risks involved; and those who wish to help should be provided a 40-hour HAZWOPR training and certification course, appropriate HAZMAT apparel, full foot and hand protection, and respirators if the situation dictates. <br />
<br />
Also, if people wish to be protected “down-the-road” from injuries, illnesses or even deaths caused by their slogging in BP’s oil--they need to have a formal relationship, not waivers signed—so from my perspective, it’d be best to be “employed” or sub-contracted in some fashion with BP PLC.<br />
<br />
Anybody remember September 18, 2001? <br />
<br />
That’s the day the Christine Todd Whitman; Administrator to the Environmental Protection Agency first released a report, in which she said, "Given the scope of the tragedy from last week, I am glad to reassure the people of New York and Washington, D.C. that their air is safe to breathe and their water is safe to drink." She also said, "The concentrations are such that they don't pose a health hazard...We're going to make sure everybody is safe."<br />
<br />
Later, a 2003 report by the EPA's inspector general determined that such assurances were misleading, because the EPA "did not have sufficient data and analyses" to justify the assertions when they were made—and many of our 9/11 First Responders are sick, and many others have already died—based on the spoken word of the EPA.<br />
<br />
BP’s statements and actions have not added up, and at this point I, as does Senator Nelson, question BP and “Big Oil”—so far there’s little “truth” in their “actions”.<br />
<br />
Let us pray, that BP's coffer dam, “the big box" works!<br />
<br />
<i>Matt Lawrence is owner of Paratus International LLC, a company dedicated to preparedness training and planning in the private and public sector. He’s also author of “What To Do til the Cavalry Comes: A Family Guide to Preparedness in 21st Century America”. He can be reached via his website at www.mattlawrencebooks.com</i>Matt Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609672121306186763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6218040809864785860.post-56556782580885802072010-05-02T11:30:00.000-04:002010-05-02T11:30:06.273-04:00Time for British Petroleum to step up and performIn an exploration plan and environmental impact analysis filed with the federal government in February 2009, BP claimed it had the capability to handle a "worst-case scenario" at the Deepwater Horizon site, which the document described as a leak of 162,000 barrels per day from an uncontrolled blowout - 6.8 million gallons each day.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, we may have been “misled”. <br />
<br />
A little over estimated--considering the Deepwater Horizon site is now said to be pumping up to “25,000 barrels per day” and could very well increase to an “unchecked gusher” should the seabed or well pipes deteriorate further. The well is considered to be “out of control”, according to the British online news source, <i>Times Online UK</i>.<br />
<br />
<b>British Petroleum’s responsibility for the spill</b> <br />
<br />
As the oil slick spreads so does BP’s responsibility to those in the affected areas. The looming coastal nightmare is hours away for some, and days away for others. <br />
<br />
BP has gone so far as to say they will pay claims to businesses in the affected areas and set a precedent by hiring some of Louisiana’s soon to be displaced fishermen to help deploy oil booms at an estimated $38 to $48 per hour.<br />
<br />
Oil industry experts and officials are reluctant to describe what, exactly, a worst-case scenario would look like - but if the oil gets into the Gulf Loop Current and the Gulf Stream and it carries to the beaches of Florida, the BP oil spill stands to be an environmental and economic disaster of epic proportions.<br />
<br />
With that said, potential victims need to prepare for the “coming storm”.<br />
<br />
<b>BP had a flawed preparedness plan, that doesn’t mean you should</b><br />
<br />
You can bet BP has their legal teams and insurance experts working to minimize their losses and you should too! <br />
<br />
If your business has the potential to being affected by losses due to the BP oil spill, now’s the time to check your insurance coverage for “man-made disasters” or the loss of business due to the negligence of others—verify now, exactly what your policy covers—or not.<br />
<br />
Seek legal advice as to your rights to file a claim and do so.<br />
<br />
Everyone from retail wholesalers to food brokers to restaurants to water based businesses and real estate agents servicing these destination towns will feel the effects of big oil for years to come, and residents may well too—as they are pushed into paying higher taxes to make up for the loss in tourist/bed tax revenues as vacationers disappear seeking “cleaner destinations”. <br />
<br />
<b>Unemployment in the Southeast is about to jump…but there’s options</b><br />
<br />
According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s statistics website, unemployment the affected states is already high: Alabama -11%, Florida -12.6%, Louisiana - 6.9% and Mississippi at 11.5%.<br />
<br />
Of course the numbers don’t reflect the under-employed, those who have never filed for unemployment compensation or those who have given up looking for work.<br />
<br />
Instead of seeking volunteers, BP should consider training and hiring oil spill mop-up and wildlife rehabilitation responders in each of the affected areas. <br />
<br />
Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve volunteered many times in my past. I’ve worked multiple whale and dolphin strandings in the Florida Keys, and flew search and rescue mission as a volunteer in the early 1990’s. <br />
<br />
This time it’s different. <br />
<br />
BP has stated that untrained volunteers risk injury should they try to clean-up the company’s oil without proper training.<br />
<br />
Quoting an article from Sunday’s <i>News-Press</i>, the Fort Myers area daily newspaper, "OSHAA (the Occupational Safety and Health Administration) requires that anyone who responds must be certified".<br />
<br />
According to that <i>News-Press </i>article, Joanne Semmer, president of Ostego Bay Oil Spill Cooperative at Fort Myers Beach, has provided a 24-hour training classes to people since the early 1990s for such an emergency.<br />
<br />
Her class is said to include many of the problems responders would face if the oil slick invades Southwest Florida waters, marshes and beaches.<br />
<br />
By BP assuming the liability for uniformly training and hiring unemployed Americans in the communities their oil spill will affect, British Petroleum will help offset a portion of the job losses, new foreclosures and economic declines caused by their inability to handle a situation they said they could in their 2009 analysis.<br />
<br />
<b>BP’s responsibility—“Beyond Petroleum”?</b><br />
<br />
This oil spill is BP’s baby, and their responsibility. It’s their choice as to how they handle the oil spill and clean-up. <br />
<br />
Should BP choose to do the right thing and employ BP trained Americans whose backyard they’ve destroyed, as part of their “Disaster Recovery Team”--bravo to BP.<br />
<br />
Should they choose not to, let BP provide personnel from within their global ranks of employees and import them to the communities their oil spill has destroyed.<br />
<br />
I’m sure the local businesses will welcome British Petroleum’s employees—with their corporate credit cards--into their communities with open arms; and provide them with all their necessities for the years--and possible decades--it will take for BP employees to clean up their company’s gooey mess.<br />
<br />
British Petroleum’s disaster is now America’s disaster and it’s time for BP to step up, beginning with a new corporate philosophy--“Benefiting People, Before Profits”--.<br />
<br />
<i>Matt Lawrence is owner of Paratus International LLC and author of What To Do til the Cavalry Comes: A Family Guide to Preparedness in 21st Century America</i>Matt Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609672121306186763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6218040809864785860.post-85817395679856884882010-04-30T11:42:00.002-04:002010-04-30T16:06:43.908-04:00“You’re doing a fine job, Brownie”…..Those were of words of former president, George W. Bush to former FEMA director, Michael D. Brown amid the swirl of devastation that swept across our nation’s Gulf coast after Hurricane Katrina. <br />
<br />
Brown had admittedly underestimated the impact of the hurricane, whose winds and water had also swamped the agency's preparations—or lack thereof.<br />
<br />
We find ourselves five years later with new leadership and newly appointed federal agency directors who came into power on the winds of hope and change. <br />
<br />
Today they find themselves facing what may be our nation’s greatest environmental disaster to date--the BP oil spill-- and the administration has tripped over their own shoe laces in response.<br />
<br />
The oil rig, Deepwater Horizon exploded on April 20th, and sank on April 22nd, leaving a trail of death, destruction and an oil slick that now threatens precisely the same area devastated by Hurricane Katrina--and possibly a lot, lot more.<br />
<br />
Today--ten days after the initial disaster--oil bubbles to the surface at a reported rate of 200,000 gallons per day and estimates of being able to slow or stop the flow of black gold are 4 weeks to 90 days away.<br />
<br />
The Obama administration’s response--rhetoric.<br />
<br />
“While BP is ultimately responsible for funding the cost of response and cleanup operations, my administration will continue to use every single available resource at our disposal, including potentially the Department of Defense to address the incident," Mr. Obama said Thursday afternoon. <br />
<br />
The first major briefing on the subject for White House reporters which included Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson and officials from the U.S. Coast Guard and the Interior Department, represented an increased effort by the administration to show it’s on top of the situation.<br />
<br />
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson are going to Louisiana to help coordinate the effort and "ensure that BP and the entire U.S. government is doing everything possible."<br />
<br />
While I say, “better late than never”, Obama aides were curt when questioned about whether there had been any delay in taking the oil spill seriously. <br />
<br />
Mr. Obama, THIS is your Hurricane Katrina. <br />
<br />
We’re about to lose the major supplier of seafood to the lower forty-eight. Think Gulf shrimp and a vast variety of fish and shellfish--for the uninitiated, I’ll translate the latter--OYSTERS! <br />
<br />
We’re also about to lose the industries and economies the Gulf fisheries create, including the sport fishermen, deckhands, fuel docks, fishing equipment providers, and processing facilities. Along with them, tourism in multiple states may be affected.<br />
<br />
Sadly, the children will also suffer. <br />
<br />
No, I’m not talking about the often bragged about “brilliant” back seat babblers of the gas guzzling, oversized SUV’s and mommy vans that create the need for rigs like BP’s Deep Horizon. <br />
<br />
I mean offspring of the Gulf of Mexico’s sub-aquatic and coastal based critter “families”.<br />
<br />
The Gulf of Mexico and its estuaries are the breeding ground, the hatchery, and the nursery for much of the sea life found in the waters off the southeastern U.S. including the Florida Keys, the Yucatan Peninsula and in the Atlantic Ocean. <br />
<br />
Depending on where the oil flows, it will affect everything from eggs hidden in the turtle grasses that line the Gulf’s sandy bottom, to the eggs, larvae and new born of all the wildlife that are so dependant on the coastal barrier islands and marshes of the Gulf coast.<br />
<br />
Vast numbers of dolphins, manatees, sharks, birds, and reptiles including gators breed and reside in and along the Gulf--the “population loss” will be unimaginable. <br />
<br />
The other player in how this disaster expands is Mother Nature. <br />
<br />
She’s already indicated she won’t be sparing any relief in the near term, with winds and seas predicted to build this weekend, thus speeding up the landfall of the crude and minimizing the window of preparation available to the states. <br />
<br />
Should the winds take a more easterly track--Mississippi, Alabama and Florida’s panhandle become at greater risk of being affected; and knowing how oil spreads with water, who’s to say these other states aren’t already in the crosshairs.<br />
<br />
Add to this, the prevailing clockwise Gulf currents potentially dragging oil and dying or dead marine life south along Florida’s west coast to the Florida Keys—a possibility already discussed in The Key West Citizen yesterday.<br />
<br />
Florida has more coastline, barrier islands and open water islands exposed to the Gulf of Mexico than Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama combined.<br />
<br />
Should the oil reach Florida’s west coast, our white sand beaches will be useless for quite some time and swimming in the Gulf will be unappealing for even longer. The tourism industry on Florida’s west coast will be wiped out until the spill and the stigma are gone. <br />
<br />
Some claim the evidence of Exxon-Valdez oil spill may be found in the environment for one hundred years—imagine the magnitude of what an oil spill sourced by 200,000 gallons per day, for 90 days will leave as an impact!<br />
<br />
As all this drama played out in the news on Thursday, April 29th—there was barely word from Florida’s governor. <br />
<br />
Instead of taking the lead in preparing his state for the possibility of a major environmental disaster; St. Petersburg native, Governor Charlie Crist, was busy struggling to save his political career and his Senate seat bid—bailing out from his beloved Republican Party to become an Independent.<br />
<br />
Sorry Charlie, not the kind of representation I want for Florida in D.C. <br />
<br />
It’s time for a few things to happen.<br />
<br />
Florida’s emergency managers whose counties lie along Florida’s west coast need to take precautionary action and begin locating contractors and equipment should they need to try and protect their exposed areas.<br />
<br />
The American public needs to boycott BP/Amoco for being prepared to drill for oil and take our money--yet unprepared to quickly react to such a spill. <br />
<br />
Folks whose businesses are in the affected areas should file lawsuits naming BP/Amoco and as defendants, charging them with negligence in their response and causing the collapse of the industries affected by BP’s negligence.<br />
<br />
Cuba voted for Hope and Change in 1959—look what they got. <br />
<br />
Supposedly we, the American public did so as well in 2008—and all we’ve seen is “hoax and chains”. <br />
<br />
Since Mr. Obama moved his family into the White House our current and future generations have been enslaved with unprecedented debt. We were force-fed a healthcare bill nobody wanted and are fighting a Cap & Trade bill supposedly designed to save the global environment—with Obama's environmental commitment proven by a nine day delay before reacting to the greatest environmental disaster in our lifetime.<br />
<br />
For me, its déjà vu—you remember--the last time our government went to Louisiana to help after underestimating a disaster.Matt Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609672121306186763noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6218040809864785860.post-33757661605016445972010-04-28T12:41:00.000-04:002010-04-28T12:41:50.815-04:00U.S. couple who spied for Cuba cooperatingTwo more Cuban rats--admitted spies for Cuba-- Walter and Gwendolyn Myers, admitted their spying for the Cuban government, plead guilty and agreed to cooperate with the federal government in a plea deal with prosecutors that got Gwendolyn Myers a much lighter sentence than she might have faced.<br />
<br />
Walter Kendall Myers -- a former State Department employee with top secret clearance -- agreed to a life sentence without parole; Gwendolyn Myers could have faced up to 20 years in prison, but under the plea deal, she now could serve between 6 and 7 ½ years.<br />
<br />
What a croc of ……<br />
<br />
With sentencing set for July 16th, the couple is also asking for favors, asking to be sentenced to prisons as close together as possible.<br />
<br />
What next? Conjugal visits?<br />
<br />
When they appeared in court Tuesday, they said through a lawyer that they had acted ``not out of selfish motive or hope of personal gain but out of conscience and personal commitment.''<br />
<br />
Ideological spies…in other words motivated not by financial gain, but instead, their own beliefs—which for Walter Myers indicates that while he believed getting his paycheck from the U.S. State Department, he did not believe in the values of the United States….I guess spying for Cuba doesn’t pay for a sailboat, a house, a nice retirement package etc etc.<br />
<br />
The pair has agreed to pay the government about $1.7 million, the salary Walter Myers made while working at the State Department, and forfeit everything else, in exchange for prison cells and uniforms.<br />
<br />
The Myerses had loyally served the Cuban DGI since 1979, traveling to Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America and New York to meet with Cuban agents. <br />
<br />
In his debriefings, Walter Myers bragged to an undercover FBI source that he was so successful he received ``lots of medals'' from the Cuban government.<br />
<br />
Perhaps he can share them with the Cuban 5 since they’ve yet to return to Cuba to receive theirs.<br />
<br />
To read the original article in the Miami Herald, click on the title bar above.Matt Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609672121306186763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6218040809864785860.post-51373014997288234312010-04-25T21:15:00.000-04:002010-04-25T21:15:08.322-04:00Cuba challenges US to lift embargo 'even for a year'Once again my GOOGLE web crawler has proven invaluable at finding the news not covered in the homogenized, U.S. "state-run" media...at least I didn't see this article....yet! <br />
<br />
Cuba's National Assembly president Ricardo <i>"Ricky Ricardo"</i> Alarcon has challenged the United States. This time the challenge is to lift the embargo "even if for a year" as a test to see if Cuba really wants normalized relations with us.<br />
<br />
This was Cuba’s first "official response" to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's April assertions that the Castro brothers do not want a transition to democracy or a return to relations with the U.S. as they were prior to 1961.<br />
<br />
Call me crazy...but perhaps Secretary Clinton is being a little cautious--remembering that during her husband's administration, Fidel “opened the flood gates” allowing Cubans to flee the island on anything that floated thus creating a humanitarian disaster in the summer of 1994 that the Clinton administration mismanaged.<br />
<br />
Or maybe it’s the fact she remembers how Castro manipulated our handling of the Elian Gonzalez debacle. <br />
<br />
Or dare I say, perhaps Secretary Clinton remembers that administration’s confusion over Cuba’s intentions, which resulted in the downing of the Brothers to the Rescue planes. <br />
<br />
Which brings me to a key paragraph in this article. “Alarcon said there were things Clinton could do "with a stroke of the pen" to improve relations, such as allowing visits by the wives of two of five Cubans serving prison sentences in the United States for espionage.”<br />
<br />
Since late December 2008 when Raul Castro broached the subject of the possibly of President Obama releasing the Cuban Five; the subject of the convicted spies and the wives wishing to visit has become a major source of contention in Cuba – U.S. negotiations.<br />
<br />
Once again, Cuba fails to mention that two of the Cuban Five were found to have infiltrated the Brothers organization with the intent of providing information to Cuba--which resulted in the murder of four men—lest we forget that a third spy, Juan Pablo Roque also worked within the Brothers organization with the same intent—but escaped.<br />
<br />
At some point perhaps the subject of the Cuban Five being allowed to visit with family members should be <b>discussed<i></i></b>, but only after Cuba agrees to extradite the pilots of the MiGs that were used in the ambush and the Cuban Air Traffic Controllers that led them to the slaughter.<br />
<br />
Click on the title of this post to read the entire article on Tolerance.ca in its original form.Matt Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609672121306186763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6218040809864785860.post-5365712356295682992010-04-22T07:15:00.000-04:002010-04-22T07:15:08.011-04:00The power of a child….Elian, 10 years laterTen years ago I “cheated death”. I beat a leaky appendix—a condition I ignored for months. <br />
<br />
On April 18th, 2000 at the behest of two friends--a treasure hunter in the Florida Keys and a gal pal in Texas--I went to the hospital to get “checked out”, and the emergency room nurse decided I needed to “check-in”. <br />
<br />
I was--as I lay curled up in the fetal position on a gurney in the E.R. -- in need of emergency surgery.<br />
<br />
That brings me to ten years ago today and the early morning hours of April 22nd. <br />
<br />
I was prone on my couch, recovering from the surgery and had passed out watching television in a pain killer-induced half sleep the night before; leaving my television to default to the test pattern of Miami’s WSVN in the early morning hours. <br />
<br />
There was a sudden flash of light as the station went “live” with hysterical screaming. I groggily awoke and struggled to focus on the television screen. <br />
<br />
Through the fog of the pain killers, and tear gas disbursed at the scene on the screen, I managed to see a van driven by a uniformed City of Miami police officer and a determined looking female running towards that vehicle with a horrified child pulled tightly to her chest—“they” were taking Elian Gonzalez from his Miami home!<br />
<br />
The raid was one that was promised locally as “would not happen”-- yet it did, as ordered by then Attorney General Janet Reno. It was conducted by an estimated one hundred thirty INS personnel, and an elite team of eight from the U.S. Border Patrol’s BORTAC unit.<br />
<br />
Shocked by what I’d witnessed, I spent the remainder of the day listening to the media rhetoric from both sides of the Elian debate, and the hate speech that spewed from Americans about “Cuban rafters”.<br />
<br />
During the early 1990’s, I’d flown numerous missions with groups like Brothers to the Rescue, Freedom Flight International and the Cuban-American Pilots Association. I’d also spent many hours at the House of Transit on Stock Island, near Key West, in those days.<br />
<br />
The hate that streamed from the television on April 22, 2000 in no way reflected what I experienced as we flew those flights in search of families fleeing Fidel’s island of Hell— I only saw families in search of the freedoms most Americans take for granted.<br />
<br />
For years after--as a bar stool Captain in my favorite Key West bars-- I’d told the tales of what I’d witnessed from my perch a mere fifty feet above the ocean’s surface, safely inside the cockpit of my crew’s Piper Apache 235. We were N13BR, “los Gringos al rescate”—an American flight- rescue team. <br />
<br />
For years, my friends told me, “Matt, you gotta write a book!” and for years I always promised I would. <br />
<br />
I started my first on April 22nd, 2000.<br />
<br />
It was the confluence of a tap on my shoulder from the man upstairs, the realization of having had another brush with death, and the betrayal of a little boy that set me on my path to writing.<br />
<br />
It wasn’t as if I had to create stories, I just had to write them. I’d seen them develop on the waves below me with my own eyes. I’d heard them from those rescued and living at the House of Transit.<br />
<br />
Within a few days of Elian’s forceful removal from his Miami relatives home, I e-mailed my first pages to my Texas gal pal prompting her to ask me where “the darkness” had come from. <br />
<br />
“The truth”, I told her. <br />
<br />
Those very pages became Chapter 9 in my first book, <i>“Dying to Get Here: A Story of Coming to America"</i>, a fictionalized version of a Cuban family’s harrowing escape to freedom that was published in 2004 as an attempt at explaining the plight of balseros.<br />
<br />
Five years later, with the help of my co-author, three-time Pentagon appointee Thomas Van Hare, we published, <i>“BETRAYAL: Clinton, Castro & The Cuban Five”</i>, a non-fiction compilation of the evidence surrounding the shoot down of the Brothers to the Rescue planes in 1996.<br />
<br />
Amazingly, I now realize, both books were born of one President’s administration and its failure to navigate the churning waters between Havana and Miami. <br />
<br />
The “Cuban Crisis” would be one of many Clinton would be remembered for; and most likely cost Al Gore a major block of voters in Miami’s Cuban exile community—one that had supported and then like Elian, found itself betrayed by his predecessor. <br />
<br />
Ten years after “cheating death” and Elian, I’ve been able to publish three books.<br />
<br />
Each and every year since, I’ve been able to thank my friends-- the treasure hunter and my gal pal from Texas--for the sage advice they gave me ten years ago—I credit them with saving my life—and in part, my writing career.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, I’ve never been able to thank Elian Gonzalez for his part in inspiring me to write, and from the looks of the recent photos of him in Cuba, it’s doubtful I’ll ever have the opportunity to do so.Matt Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609672121306186763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6218040809864785860.post-79972109821769833742010-04-20T10:12:00.000-04:002010-04-20T10:12:49.296-04:00Social Justice, Community Organizing--ACORN? Obama?Nope, a U.S. based socialist movement to free five Cuban spies! <br />
<br />
The National Committee to Free the Five defines itself on Facebook as a group that <i>“works to build support for the freedom of the Cuban Five - Gerardo Hernández, Fernando González, René González, Ramón Labañino, and Antonio Guerrero - five Cuban men who risked their lives to come to the United States and infiltrate right-wing anti-Cuban terrorist groups based in Miami and prevent further acts of terrorism by those groups. Imprisoned in the U.S. since Sept. 12, 1998, the Five were falsely convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage and other false charges, and are serving sentences ranging from 15 years to double life.”</i><br />
<br />
As in most (ok…damn near ALL) of the propaganda generated by this socialist organization there’s a failure to directly mention that Gerardo Hernández, René González, along with Juan Pablo Roque, infiltrated the Brothers to the Rescue purposely to collect information that was passed on to Cuba in conspiring to shoot down the Brothers to the Rescue aircraft on February 24, 1996.<br />
<br />
In the 14 or so months since publishing <b>"BETRAYAL: Clinton, Castro & The Cuban Five"</b> I’ve been amazed at the lack of awareness about this San Francisco based, global organization. <br />
<br />
Free the Five counts among it’s supporters, Hollywood heavyweights Danny Glover and Martin Sheen; former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, poet, short story writer, novelist Alice Walker, Bolivia’s president Evo Morales, South African cleric Desmond Tutu, plus hundreds of Mexican, British, Canadian, European Parliamentary members-- as well as other individuals and organizations devoted to fund raising events that further their cause to free five spies who in their eyes are called, <i>“heroes who are unjustly held in U.S. prisons”.<br />
</i><br />
In a recent bulletin the Free the Five Committee is seeking summer volunteers who wish to work for a minimum of six weeks as unpaid summer interns to help The Free the Five Committee work in <i>“defense of the Cuban Five”.<br />
</i><br />
Ah yes, young college age socialist ideologues….. <br />
<br />
The bulletin goes on to say that participants will build <i>“valuable organizing skills, fulfill independent study or community service requirements while becoming part of the movement for social justice in our communities and internationally”.<br />
</i><br />
While the qualifications are few, the Committee to Free the Five asks that applicants have, <i>“Passion to work with others to build the social justice movement. No experience required. Experience in multi-cultural and diverse gender environments helpful. Bilingual language skills helpful. General knowledge of computers and community organizing experience helpful”.</i><br />
<br />
Now folks, it’s been a while (quite a while) since I was in school and looking for a summer internship, but I can honestly say I never sought out, or was introduced to, internships with socialist movements in my upbringing.<br />
<br />
In fact, in reading the bulletin, I felt like I was reading propaganda from ACORN. <br />
<br />
Moreover, the context sounded to me more like the rhetoric coming from our current leadership (Mr. Obama), and some of his appointees-- Van Jones, Ron Bloom, Miami’s own Carol M. Browner or the president’s close associate Andy Stern of SEIU. (Glenn Beck, can you hear me now!!??) <br />
<br />
For most people in the United States, the case of the Cuban Five is unheard of, for those familiar with the shoot down of Brothers to the Rescue, the case is “closed” and the Cuban Five are convicted spies. <br />
<br />
Yet for a U.S. based propaganda machine, the spies U.S. attorneys, and many global supporters, the fight to free the five continues!Matt Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609672121306186763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6218040809864785860.post-68029447837180913302010-04-19T09:01:00.001-04:002010-04-19T09:04:37.858-04:00Ladies in White harassed and halted again!For the second time in as many weeks, security agents denied the female relatives of jailed dissidents permission to hold their peaceful protest Sunday. <br />
<br />
Title links directly to a story written in today's Miami Herald by Juan O. TomayoMatt Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609672121306186763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6218040809864785860.post-15073707467050773812010-04-16T11:33:00.000-04:002010-04-16T11:33:50.614-04:00Castro’s "State of Terror"Last week, I received an email from Capital Hill Cubans that raised concern about a government mandate sent to all Cuban workplaces, exhorting violence against dissidents and strict adherence to the paramilitary "Rapid Response Brigades."<br />
<br />
This document is the “permission needed”~ pitting Cuban against Cuban~those who wish to speak openly against Castro’s policies against those who believe in Castro’s hard-line revolution. “La patria o muerte.”<br />
<br />
The document clearly tells those joining the debate it’s OK to arm themselves “with rustic weapons that are available nearby, in accordance with the location of personnel”, and that "the present Act is undertaken with the objective of constituting a Rapid Response Brigade.”<br />
<br />
That’s the very same goon squad reportedly to have attacked The Ladies in White!<br />
<br />
Here’s the email below; an English translation of that document, which provides a closer look at the Castro regime's "State of Terror": <br />
<br />
PLAN TO DEAL WITH DISRUPTIONS OF THE PUBLIC ORDER AND COUNTERREVOLUTIONARY ACTIONS<br />
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I. Objective: To take all necessary measures, directed at repudiating the disruptions of the public order and counterrevolutionary actions that could be organized near the Work Unit ("Unit").<br />
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II. Brief appraisal of possible disruptions of the public order and counterrevolutionary actions:<br />
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It's known that counterrevolutionary demonstrations can occur, without taking into account the possibility of actions against them, with the objective of harming or acting against the security of our workers and customers, with the goal of causing uncertainty amongst them and affecting our economy.<br />
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III. Missions to repudiate the disruptions of the public order and counterrevolutionary actions:<br />
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1. Observe without interruption the areas of possible disruptions of the public order and counterrevolutionary actions.<br />
2. Determine and maintain the organization of Unit forces with rustic weapons that are available nearby, in accordance with the location of personnel.<br />
3. Repudiate the disruptions and actions that originate.<br />
4. Extinguish fires that may be ignited and provide first aid to anyone injured as a consequence of the confrontations.<br />
5. Keep the command chain of the head organization informed, and also the MININT, about the situation as it develops.<br />
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IV. Structure of the Forces:<br />
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To accomplish the mission, the workers on-shift will organize, and if the situation requires it, those off-duty will be alerted.<br />
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V. Weapons:<br />
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Sticks.<br />
Iron bars.<br />
Cables (electrical cords).<br />
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ANNEX<br />
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1. Plan for the protection and defense of the Unit.<br />
2. Methods for repudiating the disruptions of the public order and counterrevolutionary actions, and for the protection of the Unit.<br />
3. Plan for warning the Units.<br />
4. Acts of cooperation.<br />
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Appendix I: Plan of methods to repudiate the disruptions of the public order and counterrevolutionary actions, and for the protection of the Units.<br />
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Number 1:<br />
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Type of Demonstration: Disruptions of the public order through arguments.<br />
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Actions to be Implemented: Don't let the participants use parts of the Unit to demonstrate. Collect and store in secure places the cash received and the currency fund. Repudiate the disorders and riots together as a Unit. Put out fires and give first aid to the injured. Immediately find the Administrator. Perform complementary actions as necessary. Immediately inform senior organizations.<br />
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Performed by: Workers on-shift.<br />
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Person in Charge: Administrator.<br />
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Date: When they [the disturbances] occur.<br />
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Number 2:<br />
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Type of Demonstration: Actions or expressions against the Revolution, Party Organizations, or the Government at any level.<br />
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Actions to be Implemented: Respond with arguments, convincing strength and energy to such demonstrations, and make it very clear that such things are not permitted in our Units. Immediately find the Administrator. Perform complementary actions as necessary. If necessary, immediately inform the PNR, PCC, OLPP.<br />
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Performed by: Workers on-shift.<br />
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Person in Charge: Administrator.<br />
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Date: When they [the disturbances] occur.<br />
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Number 3:<br />
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Type of Demonstration: Performance of actions that can be qualified as counterrevolutionary.<br />
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Actions to be Implemented: Respond with actions and in ways that are necessary to accomplish the goal of impeding the materialization of these actions at all costs. Immediately inform the PNR, PCC, OLPP. Immediately find the Administrator.<br />
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Performed by: Workers on-shift.<br />
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Person in Charge: Administrator.<br />
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Date: When they [the disturbances] occur.<br />
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CONSTITUTIVE ACT FOR THE CREATION OF A UNIT OF THE RAPID RESPONSE BRIGADES (RRB)<br />
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At ____o'clock, in the month of ____, on the day of ____, "Year 52 of the Revolution," the present Act is undertaken with the objective of constituting a Rapid Response Brigade.<br />
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Disruptions of the public order and counterrevolutionary actions will never be permitted by our working people. The streets belong to the revolutionaries. This declaration against such acts is to be considered retroactive.<br />
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We, the people, the directors, civil servants, and workers of this unit declare ourselves in solidarity with the Rapid Response Brigades and will act unconditionally in defense of our Revolution without regard to the sacrifices we must make.<br />
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We demonstrate the aforesaid by signing here and understand what from this moment constitutes a pledge to resolutely repudiate whatever counterrevolutionary action or disruption of the public order takes place, wherever it happens, and regardless of its extent.<br />
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Key to Acronyms:<br />
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MININT - Ministry of the Interior, which "maintains and defends the country's security and internal order."<br />
OLPP – Organos Locales del Poder Popular, Local Organizations of Popular Power, the system of local representatives.<br />
PNR – the Policia Nacional Revolucionaria, the National Revolutionary Police, part of MININT.<br />
PPC – Partido Comunista de Cuba, the Communist Party of Cuba, the only legal party since 1965.<br />
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Translation courtesy of Regina Anavy.Matt Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609672121306186763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6218040809864785860.post-22008822245967187162010-04-13T19:09:00.002-04:002010-04-13T19:14:03.724-04:00Cuba’s Ladies in WhiteMost Americans don’t have the faintest idea of what it’s like to live in a society where there’s no freedom. And most Americans can’t imagine being taken from their beds in the middle of the night for no reason, or imprisoned for speaking their mind or expressing ideas. <br /><br />We’re protected in the United States by the First Amendment of our Constitution which grants us the freedom to say what we want to say, without fear of reprisal from our government or our fellow citizens<br /><br /> Not so in Cuba-to do so results in arrest.<br /><br />When arrested in Cuba for speaking openly, violators are subjected to government run court trials, where predetermined sentences, ranging from months to years are handed down before the defendant can even set foot in a courtroom.<br /><br />Cuba’s Ladies in White are the wives, daughters and sisters of the unjustly imprisoned — who join with other families suffering the same fate to walk peacefully through the streets of their barrios, wearing white and carrying flowers in a peaceful call to the world in an attempt to draw attention to the violation of their family member's freedom of speech.<br /><br />Along the route, they are closely monitored by Cuban government agents-gusanos-who at minimum, report back to their handlers in hopes keeping their family spared from the same scrutiny. <br /><br />To impede these peaceful protests, the Cuban government activates its “Rapid Response Brigades”, who hurl insults and racial slurs as the women walk; and in many cases these Brigades physically attack the women. <br /><br />These armed government thugs, beat and then drag the women to waiting government vehicles before hauling them away to secret locations where they are undoubtedly subjected to more physical and psychological abuse at the hands of henchmen loyal to the Castros and their Revolution.<br /><br />Cuba may only be 90 miles away from Key West, but it may as well be a million miles away in its application of human rights. In Castro’s Cuba, citizens have been, and continue to be, stripped of their rights to freedom of expression; and as freedom-loving Americans, we can’t afford to turn a blind eye, lest we suffer the same.<br /><br />We have a moral obligation to raise awareness about the violations of freedom in the world, especially those that have taken place in Cuba during the Castros reign of repression-and we must offer our unwavering support to The Ladies in White in their continued peaceful efforts to bring freedom to Cuba.Matt Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609672121306186763noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6218040809864785860.post-142000159499568872010-04-11T11:43:00.004-04:002010-04-11T11:48:59.015-04:00The Spy's WifeThe Spy’s Wife….<br /><br />On March 31st, at six in the evening; I received an email from GOOGLE Alerts, a programmable service provided by the internet giant that scours the World Wide Web for stories related to user specified parameters.<br /><br />The email had a single link leading to a Miami New Times story about Ana Margarita Martinez, a Miami woman duped into marrying Juan Pablo Roque, one of the many Cuban spies directly involved in planning and perpetuation of the shoot-down of the Brothers to the Rescue planes on February 24, 1996.<br /><br />Ana’s story is of the “stuff” fictional spy thrillers are made of…the infiltration of the United States by international double agents intertwined within a love story. <br /><br />When Thomas Van Hare and I wrote our book BETRAYAL: Clinton, Castro & The Cuban Five, we detailed Juan Pablo Roque’s actions as a Cuban military pilot, defector and spy to the roles he played in Miami as a husband, father, and infiltrator of the Brothers organization.<br /><br />Unsurprised by the usual vilifying and hateful comments these articles usually bring, I commented publicly on the article, which can be read at: http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2010-04-01/news/cuban-spy-juan-pablo-roque-s-jilted-ex-wife-won-27-million-for-his-deception and went on about my business.<br /><br />Surprisingly, within days of my post being published, I was contacted by, “The Spy’s Wife”; a brief email thanking me for my support in her search for justice. I forwarded her email to my co-author who readily identified her, and I also contacted Ana Margarita for a long overdue conversation that lasted an hour!<br /><br />I found her to be “much different” than I’d have ever imagined!<br /><br />As she spoke of her life with great candor I wondered how someone so betrayed by someone she loved could speak so candidly with a stranger about her ordeal. <br /><br />It’s Ana’s faith, her beliefs and her ability to “make lemonade out of lemons”. <br /><br />While much of her life ended the day before the shoot-down, she’s endured a living hell (my words not hers) since Juan Pablo Roque’s betrayal.<br /><br />Ana Margarita Martinez has sued the Cuban government in U.S. courts and won, although not been able to collect. She’s raised her children to be successful adults and become a proud grandmother.<br /><br />She has also been working on a book with retired Defense Intelligence Agency analyst Chris Simmons, and created a trailer for a movie she hopes to find in production in the near future.<br />For myself, this encounter with yet another of the many people affected by the heinous acts of the Castro brothers, their agents and co-conspirators has again led me to understand the many stories I’ve heard over the years…and the Hell the Castros have maintained for Cubans living both on and off the island.<br /><br />I encourage my readers to read the New Times article (linked above) and to visit Ana’s website, www.thespyswifethemovie.com . There’s a real life story awaiting the right producer, and I highly recommend everyone go see it!Matt Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609672121306186763noreply@blogger.com0