Gulf Oil Platform Explosion and Spill

Carol wrote:

As much as I love Hawaii we will be relocating to north east Oregon. I see the fickle finger of fate at work here. Let your family help you. One thing I knew when moving to Hawaii is that nothing would get me to leave except for my relationship with my mother who needs us. It's ironic how life unfolds and moves us all around like little chess pieces on a chess board.

Carol my thoughts and heart are with you often .
Nothing happens by accident . In any reversal situation there is a gift that one can't always see at first sight.
May you and your family keep safe and enjoy the journey you are now making by staying close together.
Blessings to you and yours and lots of love Always.
Stay strong.



mudra

Thank you All for your concern. I think that a personal story is a great way to keep a discussion going...otherwise, it's just a series of links and YouTubes, right? I'm willing to be the example, if no one minds! Great advice from all of you...and thank gods you have your heads on straight, even in these times. My training as an initiate in the Toltec tradition is helping me stay balanced. It's not cool to come out and say everything about shamanic training, you can't blow your own horn. I will, however, say that my mentor is a curanderisma, who trained under and is named as such by Don Miguel Ruiz, and he is impeccable. I write about my situation because it is so true for so many families right now...family members in denial, children and pets and the responsibilities for them. How about issues of property abandonment? Also, I feel I am on the borderline for danger...being 350 miles due North of Pensacola, Florida, well into the foothills of N. Georgia. One more thing: here's a short story regarding pre-cognition. My dear friend Susan (who just finished purchasing and rebuilding a home in Gulf Shores Alabama after it was taken down to the foundation and brick walls during Katrina) is also a student of earth based spirituality. We are both "dreamers" who receive info in dreams as opposed to "stalkers" who seek the information during the light of day. Anyway, about seven years ago, we both had a similar dream on the same night, and did not realize it until we talked about it about a week later. Both Susan and I dreamed that north metro Atlanta was washed in black oily water. Susan lived (and still lives in Austell) a few miles south of where I was living (Kennesaw) in north metro Atlanta, and saw a wave of about one foot. I lived maybe ten miles further north, at the start of the hilly part of N. Georgia. I saw an oily black inundation of about six inches. Both of us saw the water coming from the south. We had not discussed this in advance at all. We only realized the coincidence of our dreams when I began telling mine. We confirmed that we both had the dream on the previous Wednesday night. Now, that's too strange. Tsunami from the south? I will call Susan and ask her if she remembers the dream coincidence. Were we downloaded with info for our safety?

Mudra, once again thank you for your kind thoughts. Moving across
an ocean is a huge effort and we will have to leave many of our pets
(mini horses, ducks Isenshimel and Paddlefoot, some of our cats and all
of our chickens) behind which really saddens me. We have spent
the last three years making our 5 acres self-sufficient and planted
dozens of fruit and nut trees. I just put in a major garden that
is finally producing and just really breaks my heart to have to leave
it all behind ~ once again. This is the 3rd time we have had to
walk away from a home where we did all of this work in the past 12
years. The ranch is in winter a good 8 months out of the year so
gardening is a huge challenge here.

Linda, if there is any type of explosion from the methane or the idiots
who think nuking the rift will close it, a tsunami of oil is very
likely to occur. From what you both described it sounds like you
both had premenitions of future events. I do think a tsunami is
very likely to occur sooner then later and moving further north is a
good idea. Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

The bottom line is that too many folks are in denial and prefer to
believe that the situation can be fixed by man. It cannot.
Maybe by man and some off-worlders but not by what info is given to the
common man. Of course Floyd is referring to the upcoming earth
changes and I personally think England may end up as the north pole
again... however given how cold it has been in our area, the new north
pole could be here as well.

Thanks for keeping us posted Linda. The personal touch does add a
lot as you are closer to ground zero there then the rest of us.

Linda these life stories are important to share .
Our liveliness is the very stuff we are made of .
I have read Don Miguel Ruiz 's books . He is a wise man .
Thank you for telling us about the dream you and your sister had.
As I said before what you have within is what you need to " really " know.
I believe these dreams did'nt come by accident but as a warning for you and
your sister to take note of .
Many unbalanced events can still come from the gulf as the place has 'nt been
stabilized yet .
What these will be no one knows for sure .
One does'nt need a crystal ball though to connect all the dots and see that bluntly
the gulf area is not safe and that it will potentially get worse as time goes by .
I would consider connecting with like minded people , move and relocate somewhere for the time being.
This is'nt an easy choice to make and we can see in the videos metaw posted how much many would rather not see what 's is there right in front of their eyes and nose .
And yet mother earth herself is trying to warn people. These dying crops are not a good sign .

Love from me


mudra

Carol wrote: The bottom line is that too many folks are in denial and prefer to
believe that the situation can be fixed by man. It cannot.
Maybe by man and some off-worlders but not by what info is given to the
common man. Of course Floyd is referring to the upcoming earth
changes and I personally think England may end up as the north pole
again... however given how cold it has been in our area, the new north
pole could be here as well.

Thanks for keeping us posted Linda. The personal touch does add a
lot as you are closer to ground zero there then the rest of us.

A wise woman I know tells me that once again Kochab will become our planetary pole star. Make your calculations from that. This was confirmed to her by tribe elders in Afghanistan who shall be relocating to Greenland. This stream of wisdom also indicates that above 66 degrees north will be safe though there will be pockets all over.
P

Carol wrote:Mudra, once again thank you for your kind thoughts. Moving across
an ocean is a huge effort and we will have to leave many of our pets
(mini horses, ducks Isenshimel and Paddlefoot, some of our cats and all
of our chickens) behind which really saddens me. We have spent
the last three years making our 5 acres self-sufficient and planted
dozens of fruit and nut trees. I just put in a major garden that
is finally producing and just really breaks my heart to have to leave
it all behind ~ once again. This is the 3rd time we have had to
walk away from a home where we did all of this work in the past 12
years. The ranch is in winter a good 8 months out of the year so
gardening is a huge challenge here.

I am very sorry to hear this Carol . This is a lot you 'll have to let go off.
I hope your extended animal and vegetal family will find good souls to
take care of them . Hopefully one day you'll be able to go back there .
Wherever you and yours will be I trust you'll use wisdom and heart to
make miracles bloom around you .
Stay strong and know we love you more than we can say .
Blessed be your journey .


mudra

Intel Hub Radio - Matt Smith from Project Gulf Impact 1/5











Love Always
mudra

DHS Works Hand in Hand with BP Security and Local Police
July 3, 2010 by Alex


BP refinery Texas City,TX

Intel Hub
Alex Thomas & Shepard Ambellas
http://theintelhub.com/2010/07/03/dhs-works-hand-in-hand-with-bp-security-and-local-police/

Over the past month there has been numerous reports of BP security intimidating journalists and blocking access to certain areas, including refineries as far away as Texas. We now have documented evidence that not only BP security, but local police and DHS have taken part in “police state” tactics against reporters, denying them their first amendments rights and threatening them with arrest.


Lance Rosenfield/ProPublica

Lance Rosenfield, on assignment for PBS Frontline, was detained and integrated by the Joint Terrorism Task force for photographing a Texas City highway sign in public.
The photographer, Lance Rosenfield, said that shortly after arriving in town, he was confronted by a BP security officer, local police and a man who identified himself as an agent of the Department of Homeland Security. He was released after the police reviewed the pictures he had taken on Friday. They recorded his date of birth, Social Security number and other personal information.
The police officer then turned that information over to the BP security guard under what he said was standard procedure, according to Rosenfield. ProPublica.com
Our government and local law enforcement is actively sharing intelligence on U.S. citizens with an international corporation. This leads to the questions, what is DHS and the Joint Terrorism Task Force even doing protecting a British Petrolatum Refinery?
Apparently the government isn’t breaking any laws by passing citizens information to a foreign entity. Texas City lays just off the coast, an area known as the, “unconstitutional zone.” In 2008, Natural News reported that close to two thirds of the population now live within 100 miles of the coast, an area where authorities have unlimited power.
With free speech banned throughout the Gulf, it is now even more important for citizens to break this media blackout and demand that British Petroleum immediately stops spraying Corexit 9500, the same highly toxic chemical that was used during the Exxon Valdez. Unfortunately, very few people who worked clean up during the 1989 oil spill are alive to speak today.
It appears that these agencies are involved in a major cover-up. If we as the American people let this go much further, private corporations will soon rule every aspect of our lives. DHS and other agencies keep gaining more and more power; at the same time the American people keep losing ground to the tyrannical government. This situation is so bad that we might soon find ourselves dead in the water when it comes to our freedoms.
On June 30, 2010 the madam president blocked an almost unanimous vote of 420 to 1, a vote to investigate the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. This is very reminiscent ,of what happened after 9/11, when Bush appointed his own commission. There is an obvious cover-up. What will it take for the American people to act? What has happened in our country that would stop the American people from standing up to this tyranny?

Love Always
mudra

Deputy's traffic stop for BP raises questions

By Matthew Pleasant
Staff Writer

Published: Sunday, July 4, 2010

http://theintelhub.com/2010/07/04/deputys-traffic-stop-for-bp-raises-questions/

HOUMA — Biologist and blogger Drew Wheelan pulled away from BP headquarters on La. 311 after trying to ask the company to halt its use of a chemical dispersant to deal with the Gulf oil spill. Almost immediately, he saw lights flashing in his mirrors.

They belonged to a Terrebonne Parish sheriff's deputy stopping Wheelan to allow the BP headquarters security chief to question him, according to Wheelan's account. He says he found the June 16 encounter, and the appearance that the deputy stopped him without proper cause under the orders of the oil company, unsettling.

“I'm scared to drive through your parish. I'm scared to be in the state of Louisiana,” he said. “I feel like the police can do whatever they want at any point.”

Wheelan, contracted to cover the Deepwater Horizon oil spill's impact on birds by the American Birding Association, documented the stop in a video for his blog. The video also includes an earlier encounter. Just before the traffic stop, the same deputy urged him to stop videoing in a sugar-cane field near the BP headquarters.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana has already written law-enforcement agencies in parishes including Terrebonne and Lafourche not to block individuals or the media from newsgathering on public property.

Wheelan's initial encounter with the deputy was cited in the letter, but the subsequent traffic stop raises further questions about BP's relationship with local law enforcement, said Marjorie Esman, the state ACLU executive director.

“The problem that we have is law enforcement doing the bidding of a private corporation,” she said. “That could be a big problem, whether BP is co-opting law enforcement.”

Terrebonne Sheriff Vernon Bourgeois said he viewed a portion of the video taken by Wheelan but said he had no knowledge of the traffic stop. Nonetheless, he defended the deputy's actions as necessary.

“I couldn't give a crap what he says,” he said. “We're trying to keep everyone in Terrebonne safe. It's not about BP.”

Read entire article here : http://www.houmatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100704/FEATURES12/100709776&template=printart



Drew Wheelan on Corexit

What Is Corexit?

Corexit is predominantly composed of butoxyethanol with a few other minor chemicals plus tract elements including arsenic, mercury, cadmium, chromium, and cyanide. BP considers the Corexit use to be safer than letting the crude oil dissipate on its own. Others consider these dispersants to be toxic chemicals and refer to Corexit as a neurotoxin. It separates oil as a way of accelerating breakdown and at the same time, kills active organisms that naturally consume oil.

Corexit History

It has been reported that Corexit was used as a dispersant to clean up the Exxon Valdez oil. Follow-up studies report links between Corexit and human health problems such as liver, kidney, blood, nervous system, and respiratory disorders.
Corexit Health Impacts
Severe exposure can cause death. Not only can you experience headaches, vomiting and reproductive problems, you can get cancer and organ damage from these forms of chemicals.
If inhaled, the respiratory tract can be irritated, you may feel weak, slur speech, lose concentration and judgment, and experience blurred vision and dizziness. Prolonged fume exposures can affect liver, blood, microcytosis, urinary system, and cause lung hemorrhage and bronchopneumonia.

What Happens When Corexit Is Applied

The chemicals can be injected into the sea directly into the oil spill. However, much of the Corexit in the Gulf is being sprayed from aircraft onto the spill. When sprayed, much of the dispersant lands on the surface of the water. Some mist however, floats into the air, drifting to other sea areas and on land. This escaping mist can potentially adversely affect sea life in unaffected ecosystems and the health of humans.
These chemicals can combine in the air with other chemicals such as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). No testing on the toxicity of Corexit has been done nor, has there been any testing of these kinds of chemicals merging in the atmosphere. These new emerging atmospheric chemical compositions may actually be worse when inhaled than if these chemicals fumes were separate.

read more here : http://birding.typepad.com/gulf/2010/06/a-correction-about-my-dispersant-video-and-police-encounter.html

Love Always
mudra

Carol: I know how you feel about getting a place all green and then having to leave. You are an earthkeeper, so do not forget that the animals and the land were made better by you for your efforts. That is great for the land, and the animals. Heartbreaking for you, but, as Mu said, reversals are for a good reason. Was it Clif High or someone else who said Recently! that NE Oregon would be the place to be right now on the US continent. So, there you are. Couldn't ask for Mom to be in a better place, right? My heart feels right and good for you about this...and you could go back to Hawaii at some future time.

Mudra and All: I'm packing a few things and heading out by this weekend with just my teenage daughter. As much as it pains me to leave the pets (and the husband), it is the only practical thing to do right now. We are going on vacation to see what the rest of July brings. Sort of a euro-style vacation, like in LONG! No new contracts coming my way after this week, so off we go into the wilds of the interstates. I don't remember the formula for Farenheit to Centigrade right now, but we are heading into 98 to 102 F weather. I will report as soon as I get a connection. So far, no oil smell in the air. It has been clear, and winds from the North and East. I am willing to give someone a ride in my Honda if they need to leave Georgia for the Great Lakes. Ah, travel without animals, Well, except for the teenager. Send us your thoughts of smooth sailing, clear skies, and cool lake views from grape country.

lindabaker wrote:
Mudra and All: I'm packing a few things and heading out by this weekend with just my teenage daughter. As much as it pains me to leave the pets (and the husband), it is the only practical thing to do right now. We are going on vacation to see what the rest of July brings. Sort of a euro-style vacation, like in LONG! No new contracts coming my way after this week, so off we go into the wilds of the interstates. I don't remember the formula for Farenheit to Centigrade right now, but we are heading into 98 to 102 F weather. I will report as soon as I get a connection. So far, no oil smell in the air. It has been clear, and winds from the North and East. I am willing to give someone a ride in my Honda if they need to leave Georgia for the Great Lakes. Ah, travel without animals, Well, except for the teenager. Send us your thoughts of smooth sailing, clear skies, and cool lake views from grape country.

I am relieved to hear you are heading North Linda.
You do what rings true to your heart .
This is wise and brave of you .
Your husband will follow I trust.
Safe journey with your daughter.
Many blessings to you both.
Give us some news when you'll be able to.

You are in my heart and thoughts.
Much love dear


mudra

Latest Veritas about the Gulf with Dr. Brooks Agnew. Haven't listened yet:
http://www.manticoregroup.com/radio/2010/07jul/VS-100705-ECETI-bagnew.mp3

From this page, Epidoe 84.1:
http://www.veritasshow.com/veritasplayer.html

June 16, 2010
Cameron’s Deep-Sea Team Issues Ideas for Well
By ANDREW C. REVKIN

The deep-sea engineering experts and other specialists assembled on June 1 in Washington by the filmmaker James Cameron have issued recommendations (pdf file) for stanching the gulf gusher, undertaking an independent forensic examination of the rig wreckage and devising a fast-response system to get deep-diving submersibles to any future seabed disaster.

The initial report from the 10-hour meeting, which took place at the headquarters of the Environmental Protection Agency, was distributed on June 4 to senior officials at the Coast Guard, Department of Energy and other government agencies involved in the environmental disaster, but this is the first public release of the findings.

The final report is being posted on the Web sites of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution.

Some of the ideas for cutting the oil flow — including adding hoses directly to the failed blowout protector rising from the seabed to capture escaping oil — echo work that BP and its Deepwater Horizon team were already considering or have since initiated.

It appears that the rest of the concepts, including a tighter-fitting replacement for BP’s lower marine riser package (a cap-like siphon sitting on the pipe jutting from the failed well), are in the queue with whatever other ideas have come from the public, according to an e-mail message from Cameron.

One proposal that may have the most influence, to my quick read, is the team’s offer to help conduct a seafloor survey and inspection of the Deepwater Horizon wreckage that could help in any forensic investigation of what happened and why:

Creating a definitive seafloor survey of the site, including the wreck of the Deepwater Horizon, will be a critical part of the accident investigation. Members of this group have extensive experience operating small fiber-spooling ROVs inside shipwrecks hundreds of feet and several decks away from the entry point. It may be possible to recover valuable data from the Deepwater Horizon that could assist in understanding the accident. A comprehensive interior and exterior survey of the wreck should be performed as a basic part of the investigation. Our experience with wrecks is that “the steel does not lie.” Deepwater Horizon holds many answers to urgent questions.
Another is the team’s proposal to develop an international capacity to swiftly send remotely operated submersibles (ROV’s) to the site of a deep-ocean disaster in the future. In an interview, David Gallo, the director of special projects at Woods Hole and a veteran of decades of deep-sea exploration at depths more than twice those at the Deepwater site, said too much of the response to this disaster was weeks late and reliant on BP’s own equipment.

.....

“At best I was hoping that our group would be considered credible and that we would be injected, at the behest of one or more of the responsible agencies, directly into the process with the BP engineers who are working the problem,” he said in an e-mail message. “At worst, I figured we’d get a pat on the head and a polite kiss-off. We got neither. What happened was a long loud silence.”

Read entire article here : http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/16/camerons-deep-sea-team-issues-ideas-for-well/

Love Always
mudra

Cool Oil Spill Technology – Top 5 Oil Recovery Devices Not Being Used By BP

Published: June 12th, 2010 by gCaptain Staff

Since the Deepwater Horizon exploded nearly two months ago everyone from NASA to NOAA, not to mention Kevin Costner & James Cameron, has been looking for new technology to deal with the gulf oil spill. Here are a few deceives that have yet to be deployed:

Read article here : http://gcaptain.com/maritime/blog/cool-spill-technology?15208

Commentary…

This is just a taste for some of the cool technology that exists for cleaning up oil spills. IT’s certainly possible that some of these devices are currently deployed in the gulf of mexico but… gCaptain has not seen any evidence of it. This leads us to the question “BP: Why are you not using these??“.

...

Love Always
mudra

Internal Investigation Reports Revealed By Congress & A Call To 12th Grade Teachers

June 16th, 2010 by gCaptain Staff

A number of the primary players in the Deepwater Horizon incident submitted their internal investigation reports to congress yesterday. While they are all more thorough than BP’s What We Know document submitted last month, some still question the amount of work put into the internal investigations, particularly the work done by Transocean.

In response to the release of documents long time gCaptain member CMJeff, who has asked to keep his real identity a secret for “fear of backlash from Transocean” brings up some interesting points in forum post titled “where’s the beef?”. He states:

Am I the only one who thinks a PowerPoint just doesn’t cut it for an internal investigation…. where’s the beef?

The (Transocean’s) report lists first the fishing boat, then the worboat, then the engines and last the Drilling equipment as the source of ignition. They mention the fishing boat and workboat twice. But this is complete bogus because if either boat ignited the gas they would have been damaged and neither was.

If I handed in a PowerPoint like this to my 12th grade history teacher I would have failed and telling the teacher “But look at all the pretty diaghrams and flow charts” wouldn’t have saved my XXX.

read it all here : http://gcaptain.com/maritime/blog/internal-investigation-reports?15342

Love Always
mudra

metaw3 wrote:Latest Veritas about the Gulf with Dr. Brooks Agnew. Haven't listened yet:
http://www.manticoregroup.com/radio/2010/07jul/VS-100705-ECETI-bagnew.mp3

From this page, Epidoe 84.1:
http://www.veritasshow.com/veritasplayer.html

Very good. It covers a lot. Do listen.

metaw3 wrote:

metaw3 wrote:Latest Veritas about the Gulf with Dr. Brooks Agnew. Haven't listened yet:
http://www.manticoregroup.com/radio/2010/07jul/VS-100705-ECETI-bagnew.mp3

From this page, Epidoe 84.1:
http://www.veritasshow.com/veritasplayer.html

Very good. It covers a lot. Do listen.

Thank you metaw.
I am listening to it right now

Love from me
mudra

metaw3 wrote:

metaw3 wrote:Latest Veritas about the Gulf with Dr. Brooks Agnew. Haven't listened yet:
http://www.manticoregroup.com/radio/2010/07jul/VS-100705-ECETI-bagnew.mp3

From this page, Epidoe 84.1:
http://www.veritasshow.com/veritasplayer.html

Very good. It covers a lot. Do listen.

Thank you to have posted this metaw.
Indeed very good .

Here is a link to " Operation Garden Plot " that is discussed regarding evacuation plans :

http://www.uhuh.com/control/garden.htm

Love from me
mudra

DOUBLE POST
sw

CNN: 128 BP oil cleanup workers sickened in Louisiana; Told not to go to public hospitals

Sanjay Gupta, CNN, July 6, 2010 -- Transcript Excerpts:

Might BP
be trying to hide the risk to cleanup workers? ...

Louisiana's
Health Department has reported 128 cleanup workers who have been
sickened.

State clinics are telling us something else as well,
that cleanup workers are being told to report to BP's own health clinic
on Grand Isle, not to go to state facilities.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-8mszixOcw&NR=1

blessings friends

BP Clean-up workers say
they're not getting paid

They ruin the louisiana economy then rip off the people forced to work
for them in a job that will kill them with cancer a couple years from
now for a low wage.
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Oil/Water samples from
Gulf...VERY TOXIC
jamescfox 06 July 2010

Oil and water samples were taken from both
the Shores of Grand Isle and from 20 miles out. The preliminary analysis
was done at an academic analytical chemistry laboratory. Looking for
the likely pollutants from the deep water Horizon Oil spill. It was
focused on the detection of benzene and propylene glycol. Benzene and
other highly toxic contaminants were very low however the concentration
of propylene glycol was between 360 and 440 parts per million. Just 25
parts per million is know to kill most fish and propylene glycol is just
one of many ingredients found in Corexit. In short, the Gulf is being
poisoned by BP's usage of the dispersants even after the EPA asked them
to stop back in May. We are willing to provide ANY respected/known
laboratory these samples or provide them with more. This is very serious
to all people and marine life in and around the Gulf.
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Constitution Under Attack; Media Banned From Wildlife Refuge Being Affected By BP Gulf Oil Spill
Postedby Alexander Higgins -
July 7, 2010 at 8:38 p

A post over at treehugger.com points
us to yet another instance of the US
Constitution being violated by those participating in the
BP Gulf Oil Spill coverup.
The media has been banned from entering the Bon Secour National
Wildlife Refuge in Alabama which is being affected by the BP Gulf Oil
Spill.
I have said it before and I will say it again, this is a direct
violation of the civil liberties that our Founding Fathers sacrificed
their blood to give us.
Specifically it violates the First Amendment of the US Constitution,
part of the Bill of Rights, which grants us the Freedom of Press and the
Freedom of Speech.
The latest violation is on top two other blatant violations of our
civil rights including a BP enforced NO-FLY ZONE over the BP Gulf Oil
Spill and restriction zone imposed by the Federal Government that
effectively bans the media from all access to boom, spill, clean up
operations and response vessels.
It simply can not be tolerated.
<blockquote>Cameras Not Allowed in Alabama Wildlife Refuge
If that weren’t bad enough, the Institute for Southern Studies
reports that when John Wathen of the Waterkeeper Alliance
went to the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge we spoke with state
troopers guarding the entrance:
<blockquote>“Excuse me, sir, is there a rule against cameras down
there?” Wathen asks. “Some guy came out and told me I couldn’t be down
there taking pictures.”"The media’s not allowed to go down,” the trooper
answers. “As far as cameras and things down there, I don’t think
they’re allowed.”</blockquote>
This just reinforces the developing picture: Despite assurances to
the contrary by BP and all branches of the government, both state and
federal, working on this, no one is too keen on images of either the
clean up or the effects of the oil spill on ecosystems or wildlife
getting out that aren’t carefully stage managed. This is far more about
censoring what images get out there than safety, even if there are
safety concerns involved.
UPDATE: Photographer for ProPublica and PBS’ Frontline
Detained by Police
The Committee to Protect
Journalists reports that photographer Lance Rosenfeld, on
assignment for ProPublica and Frontline was detained by police
near a BP refinery in Texas:
<blockquote>Shortly after arriving in town, Rosenfeld was confronted
by a BP security officer, local police, and a man who identified
himself as an agent of the Department of Homeland Security, according to
ProPublica. Police released the photographer after reviewing his
images and recording his date of birth and Social Security number. The
police officer then turned the information over to the BP security
guard according to ProPublica.

Cameras not allowed in Alabama wildlife refuge affectedby oil spill (video)
</blockquote></blockquote>The latest video from the BP oil disaster by Hurricane Creekkeeper John Wathen
of Alabama shows the difficulties reporters and others face in trying
to document the effects of the catastrophe.
Footage posted to YouTube today finds Wathen at the entrance to the Bon
Secour National Wildlife Refuge in coastal Alabama
speaking to one of the state troopers guarding the entrance.
“Excuse me, sir, is there a rule against cameras down there?” Wathen
asks. “Some guy came out and told me I couldn’t be down there taking
pictures.”
“The media’s not allowed to go down,” the trooper answers. “As far
as cameras and things down there, I don’t think they’re allowed.”
The incident comes amid mounting concerns over efforts to limit
documentation of the ongoing oil disaster.
Late last month, the Coast Guard established 65-foot safety zones
around protective boom and vessels actively responding to the spill in
Southeast Louisiana. The policy was reportedly a reaction to instances
where boom was vandalized or broken by non-response vessels getting too
close.
The Coast Guard initially established a safety zone of more than 300
feet but later reduced the distance. In order to get closer than 65
feet, media must get special permission from the Coast Guard captain of
the Port of New Orleans.
Violating the safety zone can result in felony charges and up to a
$40,000 civil penalty. However, a spokesperson for the BP Deepwater
Horizon Response insisted the distance was “insignificant” for
gathering images.
“In fact, these zones, which do not target the press, can and have
been opened for reporters as required,” Megan Moloney said.
The New Orleans Times-Picayune has reported that the rule could
make it difficult to photograph and document the impacts of oil on land
and wildlife.
In response to mounting concerns over barriers to press coverage of
the oil disaster, AFTRA — the union of broadcast journalists — has
begun collecting stories of access denied:Alabama

State Trooper says "No media allowed"
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CNN has published an article on the situation assuring us that the GulfCoast folks will fight for their rights and will not
tolerate the violation of their unalienable rights .
<blockquote>(CNN) — Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Our
forefathers penned those simple words into the Declaration of
Independence 234 years ago as a promise to every citizen of their
fledgling country. Today, millions of Americans living along the Gulf
Coast find those unalienable rights threatened.
I grew up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. It was a place of pristine,
natural beauty. Miles of soft, sandy beaches. The gentle, warm waters of
the Mississippi Sound. The bays that cut inland to rivers and streams
lined with grassy marshes and bayous that served as nurseries for tiny
crabs, shrimp and all manner of fish and marine life.
This weekend, as the nation celebrated, the first black tar balls and
foul patties from the oil spill washed up on the beaches of my
hometown. Bay St. Louis was hosting its annual Crab Fest on Friday when
the quarter- to fist-size globs began rolling in. My brother called to
say he’d spotted some in front of the site of our former home on South
Beach Boulevard. It was sickening.
The people of the Gulf Coast are a hardy bunch. They already faced
the worst nature could dish out when Hurricane Katrina hit. And just as
they were getting back on their feet after years of heartache and
struggle, the worst man-made environmental disaster in U.S. history
smacks them back down.
That is what makes this such a difficult time for my family, friends
and neighbors on the Gulf Coast. Hurricane Katrina left them with a new
sense of vulnerability. Its scars are deep. And they are tired to the
bone.
But that doesn’t mean they won’t fight. It is a lesson BP executives
or anyone else who would underestimate them ignores at their peril. At
times of crisis, those in the claims division of corporate giants often
reason that residents who’ve lost everything will take anything. So they
offer shrimpers, oystermen and those who fish the Gulf Coast waters
pennies on the dollar for their losses.
…
A high school classmate messaged me on Facebook that her adult
daughter was coloring with her 5-year-old and drew some waves and a
bright sun in the sky. The child reached over and scribbled a yellow
blob over the water. When asked what it was, she said, “That’s the oil.”
Even the youngest see the place they love slipping away. Because it’s
not just those who ply their trade on the sea, or who house, feed or
entertain tourists, who stand to lose. People live on the Gulf Coast
because of the way of life there. They walk its beaches, sail and fish
its waters, and daily draw mental and physical sustenance from what it
offers. It is in their blood: a part of them.
How do you compensate them for its loss? My brother, an avid
recreational fisherman, was schooled in fishing the Gulf Coast waters at
my father’s knee. He has shared that love and respect for the water and
the abundant bounty it offers with his four children. Every week, he
e-mails me photos of them smiling broadly and holding their latest catch
of crabs, flounder or speckled trout. As the waters open for fishing
shrink to nothing, I know those photos and the smiles will stop.
BP promises it will make things right. Those I know and love on the
Gulf Coast want to believe that. I want to believe it. But history, back
to our nation’s founding days, teaches us the “small people” — as BP’s
chairman called Gulf Coast residents — regularly have to fight for life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness against those who would take it
from them.
Over the Fourth of July weekend, I drew hope from a 1774 speech John
Adams delivered in Massachusetts before heading south as a delegate to
the first Continental Congress. “The meanest and lowest of the people
are by the unalterable indefeasible laws of God and nature as well
entitled to the benefit of the air to breathe, light to see, food to eat
and clothes to wear as the nobles or the king. That is liberty. And
liberty will reign in America.”</blockquote>That peice from CNN also makes reference KindraArnesen who has turned whistle blower and exposed the BP Gulf Oil Spill
coverup.
If you haven’t read that post I highly encourage you to do so and
watch Kindra’s entire speech.http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2010/07/07/constitution-attack-media-banned-wildlife-refuge-affected-bp-gulf-oil-spill//