True Testament to the Gulf Oil Spill

BP Oil - Enough is Enough

2012-05-29T21:45:00.000-05:00

Start to present - the story of the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico as witnessed by the media coverage. The message remains strong - don't stop filming, photographing, sharing, telling the truth. The cover-up on the BP Oil Disaster is one of the worst in our countries history, and the final chapters have yet to be written. Please share this with everyone you know. Post it, email it, be heard.

Watch "Thrive" ~ A Revolutionary Film

2012-04-06T10:38:00.003-05:00

THRIVE: What On Earth Will It Take?
www.thrivemovement.com

Watch "Thrive" ~ A Revolutionary Film

2012-04-06T10:38:00.002-05:00

THRIVE: What On Earth Will It Take?
www.thrivemovement.com

New Study Says FDA Underestimated Seafood Contamination Risk After BP Oil Spill

2011-10-13T03:37:00.000-05:00

A new study suggests that following the BP oil spill, the FDA "seriously underestimated the cancer risk from contaminants that can accumulate in seafood," according to a Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) press release.

The study, “Seafood Contamination After the BP Gulf Oil Spill and Risks to Vulnerable Populations: A Critique of the FDA Risk Assessment," was published this week in Environmental Health Perspectives. It found that the FDA allowed "up to 10,000 times too much contamination" and didn't identify the risks to children and pregnant women posed by contaminated seafood.

The NRDC has filed a petition with the FDA asking them to set an upper limit for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in seafood. The NRDC said PAHs can "cause cancer, birth defects, neurological delays and liver damage."

The study also found that the FDA's "scientific standards [in 2010] were less stringent than those used by the agency in the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, which occurred in 1989," according to OnEarth.

This is not the first time that the government's seafood testing standards in the Gulf have been questioned. Last December, a toxicologist with a team challenging the FDA's seafood testing said, the "FDA simply overlooked an important aspect of safety in their protocol," reported MSNBC.

An NRDC survey last year also found that Gulf residents were consuming seafood at rates "far higher than those being used by federal and state regulators to determine if contamination levels pose a risk to human health," according to The Times-Picayune.

Last summer, Stephen Colbert joked that his "mouth [was] watering already," after hearing that Gulf seafood "tested below the level of concern for health risks."

This Used to Be My Playground

2011-09-27T13:15:00.005-05:00

"Pretty Slick" a film by James Fox

2011-09-07T01:09:00.003-05:00

James Fox has created a wonderful documentary exposing the TRUTH about the BP Deepwater Horizon Catastrophe in our Gulf. I highly recommend you watch the preview below and share with the rest of the world. This film is an eye opener and will serve to help us, the residents of the Gulf...the victims to spread the word that the oil is still invading and we continue to suffer the consequences of their reprehensible actions (or lack there of).

God Bless America and thank you to James Fox for this work of art.

~ Denise Rednour

Gulf Resident - Activist - Photographer and Victim of the Deepwater Horizon Disaster

Pretty Slick movie clips (BP Gulf oil spill) from james fox on Vimeo.

X-URGENT - Please Share - These Animals Die in About 1 hour!

2011-09-02T14:33:00.001-05:00

PLEASE PASS THIS ALONG QUICKLY!!

Thank you very much – Networking saves lives!
PLEASE DO NOT POST TO CRAIGSLIST
Please contact the shelter or the person(s) listed below
Please do not hit “reply”. I am only cross-posting.

Heard County Animal Control Center
11818 GA Hwy 100
Franklin, GA 30217

Phone: 706-675-3570
Fax 706-675-3572

Hours: Mon, Tues, Thur, Fri 8:30-12:00 & 1:00-5:00
Wed and Sat 8:30-12:00
Closed Sundays and Holidays
http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/GA430.html

Pet ID First 4-5 numbers
TU = Time UP AP = Adoption Pending RP = Rescue Pending

NOT SAFE!! Just a big baby - needs a hug - such a handsome color too! $100 donation to approved GA licensed no-kill rescue! Volunteers who have seen him say he more like a Boxer than Staffie.

61411 Time Up
Staffordshire Bull Terrier $100 donation to approved no-kill GA licensed rescue
Medium • Adult • Male
Email a friend Printer friendly Share on Twitter Share on Facebook
He is a handsome guy and is very friendly. He would be a good addition to your family.
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20524243

Sweet scared little guy

NOT SAFE!!
65011 Time Up
Staffordshire Bull Terrier: An adoptable dog in Franklin, GA
Large • Adult • Male
Email a friend Printer friendly Share on Twitter Share on Facebook
He is a very calm nice big guy that needs a loving family that will take good care of him. He doesn't deserve to be PTS because of ignorant people.
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20639993

The fear in his eyes just tears you up!

NOT SAFE!!
65211 Time Up
Hound Mix: An adoptable dog in Franklin, GA
Medium • Adult • Male
Email a friend Printer friendly Share on Twitter Share on Facebook
He is a nice guy and very handsome . Needs a good home.
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20641669

68411 Time Up NOT SAFE!!
American Staffordshire Terrier Mix???: An adoptable dog in Franklin, GA
Medium • Young • Male
Email a friend Printer friendly Share on Twitter Share on Facebook
He is a stray and needs a good loving home. Very sweet.
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20711067

NOT SAFE!!"Josie" Owner Turn in - deaf
She is an owner turn in and is Deaf. She is very sweet.
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20710897

NOT SAFE!! 68111 Time Up
American Staffordshire Terrier Mix??: An adoptable dog in Franklin, GA
Medium • Young • Female
Email a friend Printer friendly Share on Twitter Share on Facebook
She is a stray and needs a good loving home. Very sweet.
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20710946
Staff :"very sweet girl"

NOT SAFE!! 68311 Time Up
American Staffordshire Terrier Mix??: An adoptable dog in Franklin, GA
Medium • Young • Female
Email a friend Printer friendly Share on Twitter Share on Facebook
She is a stray and needs a good loving home. Very sweet.
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20711033

NOT SAFE!! 68211 Time Up
American Staffordshire Terrier Mix??: An adoptable dog in Franklin, GA
Medium • Young • Male
Email a friend Printer friendly Share on Twitter Share on Facebook
He is a stray and needs a good loving home. Very sweet.
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20711002

NOT SAFE!! 67011 Time Up
Boxer Mix: An adoptable dog in Franklin, GA
Large • Adult • Male
Email a friend Printer friendly Share on Twitter Share on Facebook
He is a sweet dog but doesn't like little dogs. He needs a home with NO LITTLE DOGS.
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20677582

NOT SAFE!! 67711 Time Up
Hound/Labrador Retriever Mix: An adoptable dog in Franklin, GA
Medium • Young • Male
Email a friend Printer friendly Share on Twitter Share on Facebook
One of 3 young dogs who were dumped at a gentleman's house and he just couldn't keep them. They are very nice dogs and needs a loving family.
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20708629

NOT SAFE!!
One of 3 young dogs dumped at a gentleman's house and he just couldn't keep them. They are very nice dogs and needs a loving family.
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20708393

Looks like a Boxer.

NOT SAFE!! 67211 Time Up
Staffordshire Bull Terrier Mix: An adoptable dog in Franklin, GA
Medium • Young • Male
Email a friend Printer friendly Share on Twitter Share on Facebook
He is a cute dog and has a great attitude. He needs a good home.
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20677884

NOT SAFE!!
She was a stray and the lady just couldn't keep her. She is a very sweet girl and would like a nice family.
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20731235

69911 Time Up NOT SAFE!!
Labrador Retriever/Shepherd Mix: An adoptable dog in Franklin, GA
Large • Adult • Female
Email a friend Printer friendly Share on Twitter Share on Facebook
She is a very friendly girl and very loving. She needs a family that will love and take care of her and keep her safe.
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20760393

69611 Time Up NOT SAFE!!
Staffordshire Bull Terrier: An adoptable dog in Franklin, GA
Large • Adult • Male
Email a friend Printer friendly Share on Twitter Share on Facebook
He is a nice dog but needs some food to fatten him up. Needs a good loving home.
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20744277

70111 Time Up NOT SAFE!!
Shepherd Mix: An adoptable dog in Franklin, GA
Medium • Young • Female
Email a friend Printer friendly Share on Twitter Share on Facebook
She is very pretty and full of energy. She needs a place to run and a family that will teach her and play ball with her and give her lots and lots of LOVE.
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20761092

69411 Time Up NOT SAFE!!
Chow Chow/Shepherd Mix: An adoptable dog in Franklin, GA
Medium • Adult • Male
Email a friend Printer friendly Share on Twitter Share on Facebook
He is a very sweet guy and likes love. He would make a very nice family friend.
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20740152

69511 Time Up NOT SAFE!!
Labrador Retriever Mix: An adoptable dog in Franklin, GA
Medium • Young • Male
Email a friend Printer friendly Share on Twitter Share on Facebook
He is a very cute pup and needs a family that will play with him and love him.
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20740529

ADOPTERS
Call and speak to Kaylene or Angela to get total adoption fee which will include rabies and spay/neuter. Western Union the fee and they will take your dog or cat to the vet for you. You will need to arrange to have your pet picked up from the shelter ASAP after he or she returns from the vet. If you need transportation assistance contact volunteer Emily atcherryharleytransports@fastmail.fm
cherryharleytransports (@fastmail. fm)

RESCUES
A Georgia license is required to rescue from Heard Co. Please fax your paperwork and follow up with a phone call to put a hold on a specific animal(s). If you do not have a GA license contact one of the volunteers below and they will put you in touch with GA rescues who may be able to help you. Phone: 706-675-3570 Fax 706-675-3572

VOLUNTEERS
Heard Co has almost no volunteers on the ground. Two ladies, sometimes with the help of a trustee, do the intake, petfinder, feeding, cleaning, transport to vet, release, and euthanizing. If you can help out by visiting Heard and photographing and interacting with the animals please reply to the current volunteers:

Emily cherryharleytransports@fastmail.fm
cherryharleytransports (@fastmail. fm)

Joan mcnewappraisals@gmail.com
mcnewappraisals @gmail.com

Jennifer jen_mcnew@yahoo.com
Jennifer jen_mcnew @yahoo.com

"There is no disease or condition of companion animals that takes more of their lives than euthanasia."

-Janet M. Scarlett, DVM, MPH, PhD, Professor of Epidemiology at Cornell University

It is just like man's vanity and impertinence to call an animal dumb because it is dumb to his dull perceptions. ~Mark Twain

To All My "Girl" Friends

2011-08-24T22:49:00.001-05:00

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

I don't want to brag or make anyone jealous or anything,

but I can still fit into the earrings I wore in high school.

National Girlfriend and Sister's Week
I am only as strong as the coffee I drink, the hairspray I use, and the friends I have.
To the cool women who have touched my life. Here's to you!

National Girlfriends Day

If you get this twice , you know you have more than one girlfriend.

Be Happy!
PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO ALL YOUR GIRLFRIENDS AND RETURN IT TO THE FRIEND WHO SENT IT TO YOU
It is good to be a woman:

1. We got off the Titanic first.
2. We can scare male bosses with mysterious gynecological disorder excuses.
3. Taxis stop for us.
4. We don 't look like a frog in a blender when dancing.
5. No fashion faux pas we make could ever rival the Speedo.
6. We don 't have to pass gas to amuse ourselves.
7. If we forget to shave, no one has to know.
8. We can congratulate our teammate without ever touching her rear end.
9. We never have to reach down every so often to make sure our privates are still there.
10. We have the ability to dress ourselves.
11. We can talk to the opposite sex without having to picture them naked.
12. If we marry someone 20 years younger, we are aware that we will look like an idiot.
13. We will never regret piercing our ears.
14. There are times when chocolate really can solve all your problems.
15. We can make comments about how silly men are in their presence because they aren't listening anyway.

Send this to all the bright women you know and make their day!!!!!

Love ya! Mean it!

Call 706-675-3570 within the hour to save any of these animals!!!!!!

2011-08-19T14:26:00.002-05:00

61411 Time Up - Rescue may have bailed on this boy they will be euthanizing him at 4PM $100 to approved no-kill rescue.
Staffordshire Bull Terrier: An adoptable dog in Franklin, GA
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20524243

PLEASE HELP THESE CATS/KITTENS NEED COMMITMENT ON OR BEFORE

8-19-11 TO INSURE THERE SAFETY, PLEASE IF YOU CAN RESCUE OR ADOPT CONTACT KAYLENE AT THE SHELTER AT: 706-675-3570

OR LEE ATnickoftimerescue@yahoo.com,

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ON GOING SUPPORT AND PLEASE BE SO KIND AND SHARE THESE GUYS, THANKS!

51611 Time Up 1 babies's Info...

Breed:	Calico	Color:	Calico Or Dilute Calico	Age:	Adult
Sex:	Female	Hair:	Short

51611 Time Up 1 babies's Story... She is a nice girl and needs a good home. Will she and her new baby die here. http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20213594

60911 Time Up Feral's Info...

Breed:	Domestic Mediumhair	Color:	Orange Or Red Tabby	Age:	Adult
Sex:	Male	Hair:	Medium

60911 Time Up Feral's Story... Feral and don't know what sex. He is handsome! Feral kitties are basically fearful of people and can come around with time. http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20497078

61511 Time Up's Info...

Breed:	Calico	Color:	Calico Or Dilute Calico	Age:	Kitten
Sex:	Female	Hair:	Short

61511 Time Up's Story... She is a beautiful kitten and needs a loving home, http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20524297

61111 Time Up Feral's Info...

Breed:	Domestic Shorthair	Color:	Gray Or Blue	Age:	Adult
Sex:	Male	Hair:	Short

61111 Time Up Feral's Story... He is a very handsome guy but doesn't trust people. He needs a loving family that understands him. http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20534562

62411-62711 Time Up's Info...

Breed:	Domestic Shorthair	Color:	Gray, Blue Or Silver Tabby	Age:	Kitten
Sex:	Female	Hair:	Short

62411-62711 Time Up's Story... These teen age kittens are just as cute as can be and deserve a loving home and family to call their own http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20575060

57311-57411 Time Up's Info...

Breed:	Domestic Shorthair	Color:	Gray, Blue Or Silver Tabby	Age:	Kitten
Sex:	Male	Hair:	Short

57311-57411 Time Up's Story... This brother and sister are cute kittens and they need a good home and loving family. http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20428063

57511 Time Up's Info...

Breed:	Domestic Shorthair	Color:	Gray, Blue Or Silver Tabby	Age:	Kitten
Sex:	Male	Hair:	Short

57511 Time Up's Story... He is a cute kitten and wants a loving family. UPDATE - has been here several weeks - will be euthanized today if no one helps him http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20428094

57911 Time Up's Info...

Breed:	Domestic Shorthair	Color:	Gray, Blue Or Silver Tabby	Age:	Kitten
Sex:	Female	Hair:	Short

57911 Time Up's Story... She is a cutie and has a pretty little face. She will make a loving family addition. http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20428395

58911 Time Up's Info...Check with shelter for Update

Breed:	Domestic Shorthair	Color:	Gray, Blue Or Silver Tabby	Age:	Kitten
Sex:	Male	Hair:	Short

58911 Time Up's Story... He is a cute kitten and we are waiting on the owner. This kitten came in with the 3 siblings

59311 Time Up's Info...

Check with shelter for Update

Breed:	Domestic Shorthair	Color:	Orange Or Red Tabby	Age:	Kitten
Sex:	Male	Hair:	Short

59311 Time Up's Story... He is a very cute kitten and was found on the side of a busy road. He would like a family that will keep him safe

59911-60311 Time Up's Info...A new photo is in order - Black cats have a hard enough time getting adopted - she must be much prettier than this - she is likely as delightful as my new black kitty

Breed:	Domestic Shorthair	Color:	Black (All)	Age:	Adult
Sex:	Female	Hair:	Short

59911-60311 Time Up's Story... This mom and babies need a place to go. They need a loving home http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20484503

60411-60711 Time Up's Info...

Breed:	Domestic Shorthair	Color:	Calico Or Dilute Calico	Age:	Kitten
Sex:	Female	Hair:	Short

I am up to date with shots.

60411-60711 Time Up's Story... They are cute kittens and need a loving home and family. http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20496904

60811 Time Up Feral's Info...

Breed:	Domestic Mediumhair	Color:	Black & White Or Tuxedo	Age:	Adult
Sex:	Female	Hair:	Medium

60811 Time Up Feral's Story... He is a little scared but with some time he will be a nice friend. http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20497043

Heard County Animal Control Center 11818 Ga Hwy 100 Franklin, GA 30217 Phone: 706-675-3570

http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/GA430.html

PLEASE HELP THESE DOGS NEED COMMITMENT ON OR BEFORE

8-19-11 TO INSURE THERE SAFETY, PLEASE IF YOU CAN RESCUE OR ADOPT CONTACT KAYLENE AT THE SHELTER AT: 706-675-3570

OR LEE AT nickoftimerescue@yahoo.com,

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ONGOING SUPPORT AND PLEASE BE SO KIND AND SHARE THESE GUYS, THANKS

59111 Time Up "SnowBall"'s Info...

Breed:	American Pit Bull Terrier	Color:	White	Age:	Adult
Size:	Med. 26-60 lbs (12-27 kg)	Sex:	Female

I am purebred.

59111 Time Up "SnowBall"'s Story... This girls owner moved off and left her chained. She is blind in her right eye. She needs a good loving home. http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20456225

59811 Time Up's Info...

Breed:	Labrador Retriever Mix	Color:	Brown/Chocolate	Age:	Adult
Size:	Large 61-100 lbs (28-45 kg)	Sex:	Male

I am good with dogs.

59811 Time Up's Story... This boy is big,sweet, strong and lots of energy ( i.e.lots of fun)He would make a nice family addition http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20484423

62011 Time Up's Info...

Breed:	Shepherd (Unknown Type) Mix	Color:	Brown/Chocolate - With Black	Age:	Adult
Size:	Med. 26-60 lbs (12-27 kg)	Sex:	Female

62011 Time Up's Story... She is a nice friendly girl and needs a loving home. http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20573842

61911 Time Up's Info...Baby here!

Breed:	Terrier (Unknown Type, Small) Mix	Color:	White - With Black	Age:	Puppy
Size:	Small 25 lbs (11 kg) or less	Sex:	Female

I am up to date with shots.

61911 Time Up's Story... She is a little on the thin side and would like to have a family that will lover her and not dump her like a piece of garbage. http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20562716

64311 Time Up

Shepherd/Husky Mix: An adoptable dog in Franklin, GA

http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20609610

Medium • Young • Female

She is # 62211 & 63911 sister. This girl is scared and she needs someone that has the time and is willing to socialize her. She is very pretty and needs some love.

"I want to go home".

65111 Time Up Husky/Shepherd Mix: An adoptable dog in Franklin, GA Medium • Young • Female Email a friend Printer friendly Share on Twitter Share on Facebook She is # 62211.63911, 64311 64611 & 64811 sister. This girl is scared and she needs someone that has the time and is willing to socialize her. She is very pretty and needs some love. http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20641250 65011 Time Up Staffordshire Bull Terrier: An adoptable dog in Franklin, GA Large • Adult • Male Email a friend Printer friendly Share on Twitter Share on Facebook He is a very calm nice big guy that needs a loving family that will take good care of him. He doesn't deserve to be PTS because of ignorant people. http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20639993 64811 Time Up Husky/Shepherd Mix: An adoptable dog in Franklin, GA Medium • Young • Female Email a friend Printer friendly Share on Twitter Share on Facebook She is # 62211.63911, 64311 & 64611 sister. This girl is scared and she needs someone that has the time and is willing to socialize her. She is very pretty and needs some love. http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20629191 65211 Time Up Hound Mix: An adoptable dog in Franklin, GA Medium • Adult • Male Email a friend Printer friendly Share on Twitter Share on Facebook He is a nice guy and very hansom . Needs a good home. http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/20641669

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Trial over BP oil spill will unfold in 3 phases next year

2011-08-15T15:17:00.001-05:00

Published: Friday, August 12, 2011, 12:25 PM

By Rebecca Mowbray, The Times-Picayune
Follow

The trial over last year's Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster will unfold in three phases and will start as scheduled on Feb. 27, 2012, U.S. District Court Judge Carl Barbier said Friday.

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier

Barbier said at a monthly status conference in the oil spill litigation that he will issue an order soon sketching out plans for next year's trial over liability in the disaster. His plan most closely resembles the proposal submitted by Anadarko Petroleum Co., which held a 25 percent ownership stake in the ill-fated Macondo well.

"I fully intend this trial will start as scheduled on Feb. 27, 2012," said Barbier, who was appointed to the federal bench by President Bill Clinton in 1998.

The initial "incident phase" of the trial will examine the role of the various defendants in the loss of well control, the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and the initiation of the flow of oil.

Although Barbier has not said how long the initial phase might last, several parties to the oil spill litigation contemplated in briefs this spring that it would probably take several months.

After a break, the court would begin a second phase of the trial focusing on efforts to control and shut down the well and how much oil was actually lost.

A third phase would deal with other liability issues, such as efforts to skim and burn the oil, the use of dispersants and boom.

Some 549 cases over the April 2010 well-blowout and 86-day oil spill have been consolidated in Barbier's court, and 108,000 individuals have filed claims alleging harm.

Getting to a February 2012 trial has required monumental effort on the part of scores of attorneys involved in the case. Some 176 depositions have been taken over the past six months, with multiple depositions going on each day and individual depositions often lasting two days and generating hundreds of pages of transcripts. In June, attorneys and court officials traveled to London to depose BP executives.

Another 31 depositions aimed at establishing the facts in the case are scheduled. After that the focus will shift to depositions of experts weighing in on the evidence.

As preparation for the main trial continues. plaintiff and defense attorneys are working to examine contract disputes arising from the Vessels of Opportunity program, in which private boats were hired to help clean up the oil in the Gulf. Boat owners say in a lawsuit that they were underpaid and that their vessels weren't decontaminated as promised.

The plaintiff and defense steering committees have each picked three cases as proxies for the contract disputes and are doing limited discovery of the facts in the incidents with an eye toward possible mediation.

Barbier said he stands ready to appoint someone to deal with disputes arising from the Vessels of Opportunity program, which involved thousands of boats. "This could expand," he said. "I'm not sure how many of these Vessels of Opportunity cases could be out there."

Rebecca Mowbray can be reached at rmowbray@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3417.

GREAT BLUE HERON

2011-07-02T17:55:00.003-05:00

Hank represented all of these things to me and so much more.
R.I.P. my dearest friend.

GREAT BLUE HERON is a majestic bird who teaches us the wisdom of standing still, waiting patiently, while what we need comes to us. Allow the dignity of Great Heron to inspire you: practice walking with assurance and deliberation, taking your time and refusing to be hurried.

For the two-legged with Blue Heron as a Totem, there will be a desire to establish themselves as a unique and independent Being, often making these souls the revolutionaries that disrupt the status quo of society in order to elicit change and evolution. Although this is a trait with many challenges, when operating from its Highest Vibration, Blue Heron souls teach the rest of us the value and importance of each individual contribution to the Whole.

Meanings and Messages: Ability to Stand Alone, Uniqueness, Independence, Call to Balance, Self-Esteem, Boundaries, Dignity, Exploration, Peace, Fluidity.

Company agrees to pay BP $75M to settle claims

2011-06-20T17:06:00.003-05:00

Posted: Jun 20, 2011 4:31 PM CDTUpdated: Jun 20, 2011 4:31 PM CDT

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A BP PLC contractor has agreed to pay the British oil giant $75 million to settle all potential claims between the companies over last year's deadly rig explosion and the massive oil spill it spawned in the Gulf of Mexico.

In exchange for the payment, BP has agreed to cover Weatherford U.S. LP for compensatory claims related to the disaster, including those over environmental damage and economic losses. Civil and criminal fines and penalties and claims for punitive damages aren't covered by the indemnity agreement.

BP said in Monday's announcement that it will apply the money to the $20 billion fund it created to compensate individuals and businesses after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded, killing 11 workers.

Weatherford, a Swiss-based oilfield service company, manufactured the float collar used in BP's blown-out well. The device was designed to help contain the cement at the bottom of the well.

Weatherford isn't the first company to settle out of court with BP. MOEX Offshore 2007 LLC, one of BP's minority partners on the project, agreed last month to pay BP $1 billion to settle all claims between them.

"This settlement allows BP and Weatherford to put our legal issues behind us and move forward together in strengthening processes and procedures, safety and best practices in offshore drilling," BP America Chairman and President Lamar McKay said in a statement.

BP said the two companies agree with a presidential commission's conclusion that the disaster "was the product of complex causes involving multiple parties." Weatherford said the companies have agreed to work with each other to improve the safety of offshore drilling.

"We are extremely pleased to have reached an amicable resolution with BP, a valued customer, that gives our shareholders finality with respect to the vast majority of any potential exposure Weatherford might have from last year's incident in the Gulf," Weatherford president and CEO Bernard J. Duroc-Danner said in a statement.

Weatherford said its insurance policies will cover the entire $75 million payment.

Maladies from Exposure to Dispersants

2011-06-17T03:45:00.006-05:00

Muscle Pain and Atrophy and Bruising

Staph/MERSA type rash on thighs and arms and chest

Intense burning and cracking of foot after accidental getting it wet

Intense pain and bleeding under the skin on my back

Intense pain and bleeding under the skin on my lower abdomin

NOTE: This occurs on my upper thighs and somewhat on the backs of my arms as well.

My Wish List

2011-06-13T23:25:00.008-05:00

FOR ALL GULF CITIZENS:

Clean Air Machines (such as ionic breeze or similar)
Water filtration units
Diatomacious earth (food grade) to deal with fleas
Coconut oil and cocoa butter for skin lesions
Peroxide, epsom salts and baking soda for soothing/healing baths
Vitamin supplements (in particular C, D3 and B12)
Cleansing tea bags

My Personal Dreams List:

Donations of supplies for small animal care.

Dog food (Purina Dog Chow for large and small breed dogs).
Cat food (Purina indoor formula)
Cat litter, prefer Arm and Hammer Essentials (corn fiber) Brand
Wee Wee pads for the floor
Flea and tick protection/shampoos:
Revolution for adult cats
Ivermectin liquid or Heartguard Plus for dogs from 4lbs to over 80lbs
Panacur and Strongid for treating worms
Amoxicillian (always needed for general use on the animals)

Handyman repairs...broken cars, lawnmower, jacuzzi, and more.

Hurricane supplies:

Plywood to board windows and rustproof screws
A hand truck or dolly to move things
MRE's (meals ready to eat)
Candles (jar candles prefered for safety)
Bleach for cleaning/disinfecting
Flashlights and lots of batteries
Battery operated fans
Moist body wipes and clorox wipes for cleaning
Gas cards or hotel vouchers for evacuees
Also cell phone cards for prepaid phones

Cash donations to aid in everyday needs such as utilities, taxes, insurance and food!

Friendship is always a welcome gift!

Prayers are much needed and most greatly appreciated!

What About Us? The Oil Spill Health Care Bill Rally

2011-06-10T13:36:00.008-05:00

Click HERE Please to RSVP

Time	Monday, June 13 · 10:00am - 4:00pm

Location	Louisiana State Capitol 900 North Third Street Baton Rouge, LA

Created By	Denise Rednour

For	People Helping People of the Gulf

More Info	Join us Monday, June 13th @ 10:00 am to lend support for the Oil Spill Health Bill (HB 389) sponsored by Representative Patrick Connick. Hold BP & our Lawmakers accountable for the health care of our Gulf residents in the LARGEST OIL SPILL DISASTER IN HISTORY. DEMAND MEDICAL MONITORING FOR GULF COAST RESIDENTS CALL & MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD CALL (225)342-6945 REMIND them that they work for US and not BP. If you can't make it, make your voice heard by helping your fellow citizens, please call your legislators now at the House Switchboard DON'T LET LOUISIANA BECOME ANOTHER EXXON-VALDEZ. Here is the list of our LA State Representatives http://house.louisiana.gov/H_Reps/H_Reps_FullInfo.asp Here is the of our LA Senators http://senate.legis.state.la.us/Senators/ WE HAVE GULF RESIDENTS WHO ARE SICK NOW AND NEED HELP NOW. REMEMBER, THE EXXON VALDEZ VICTIMS HAD MANY HEALTH PROBLEMS YEARS LATER. KEEP YOUR KIDS FROM GETTING CANCER & OTHER AILMENTS RELATED TO TOXIC CHEMICAL POISONING If you can't join us, please call here and voice your concerns about the ongoing disaster to your appointed representative. HELP SAVE OUR GULF RESIDENTS

Help Pass HB 389 - Call in TODAY - June 8th

2011-06-08T02:43:00.003-05:00

E-ALERT - URGENT: An unprecedented event -- the world’s largest environmental disaster -- calls for an unprecedented bill. Please support Representative Connick’s HB389 Oilspill Health Bill to protect citizen’s rights set to be heard on the House floor Wednesday morning. Time is of the essence. Please call NOW. Have your call patched through to your State Representative on the House floor. Did you know you could do that? Well, you can. Make your voice count. They work for YOU. Tell them you support the bill in its entirety to protect oil spill victim’s rights under Louisiana law and you want them to guarantee those rights. See here: http://www.legis.state.la.us/billdata/streamdocument.asp?did=741030

All four Gulf State Attorney Generals promised citizens they would have redress (ability not to sign away their rights and retroactively apply for claims) under the law. Historically, we know that medical issues can arise many years later that dramatically our citizen’s health due to chemical or oil-related exposures. The Exxon Valdez accident proved that to be the case. HB389 ensures that protection. It’s imperative that state legislators leave the medical monitoring amendment intact.

BP lobbyists are in force in OUR state capital trying to GUT the bill and undermine our protections!! Don’t let that happen. Louisianians deserve better. Make your voice count. Call your Representative now: GET THE NUMBER HERE: http://house.louisiana.gov/H_Reps/H_Reps_FullInfo.asp

Linda Leavitt

Executive Director

Gulf Coast Environmental and Health Coalition

Ken Feinberg says he hasn't seen any medical claims to our State Legislators; HB 389 Health Bill Pending in the House

2011-06-07T12:02:00.002-05:00

WHAT??? - BP's Ken Feinberg says he hasn't seen any medically-related GCCF claims???

BP's Ken Feinberg says he hasn't seen any medically-related GCCF claims, when in reality, many Gulf Coast residents have filed oilspill medical-related claims. In the meantime, there's an important Health Bill on the House Floor to protect your medical rights that BP is trying to derail!

We the people of the Gulf Coast are responsible for getting the bills passed. We're the key as we have no highly-paid lobbyists like BP has. We need you and your voice NOW!

Have you, a family member or a friend filed a medically-related GCCF claim as a result of the oilspill and been denied? If so, we need to hear from you! Please post to the Southern Louisiana Shrimp Alliance Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_117873228234788 or, e-mail directly to: GulfPHP@yahoo.com.

If you'd like to see real testimonials from those impacted, click here: http://leanweb.org/our-work/community/public-health/testimonials-of-gulf-residents/testimonial-of-captain-louis-bayhi

154 Groups nationwide have demanded action from Federal officials including Waterkeeper Alliance, United Houma Nation, Association of Family Fishermen and 69 different Waterkeepers organizations, representing hundreds of thousands of community members, and internationally from Mexico and China. They have sent a letter to EPA Administrator Jackson and HHS Secretary Sebelius demanding action on the growing public health crisis on the Gulf Coast. More on the letter here: http://leanweb.org/images/stories/bpspill/Public_Health_Sign_on_Letter_to_Lisa_Jackson.pdf

BREAKING NEWS Feinberg spoke at a Joint Select Committee meeting on Oversight of the BP Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF), at the Louisiana State Capital in Baton Rouge today, June 6. In attendance, were Louisiana State House and Senate Reps who oversee the GCCF. They heard a presentation by BP’s Kenneth Feinberg discussing claims submission and processing. According to an afternoon report from the Associated Press (AP): Kenneth Feinberg, the BP Gulf oil spill claims czar and attorney overseeing payments from BP’s $20 billion fund, said “he hasn’t seen any claims filed suggesting that the spill cleanup has caused medical illnesses.” See AP story here: http://www.fox8live.com/news/local/story/Feinberg-says-no-claims-filed-on-cleanup-illnesses/3o4Jbfyqt0qP_ESE8OldwA.cspx

The people of the Gulf Coast deserve better than closed-door meetings between our officials and BP lobbyists when it comes to oversight of the GCCF and any oil-spill related matters. Their decisions in these closed door meetings are then blasted as a one-sided story via AP to Forbes, Houston Chronicle, WAFB-TV and WVUE-TV in an instant. Meanwhile, we have no justice or a VOICE.

If you are as outraged as we are, please call your State Representatives directly here:http://house.louisiana.gov/H_Reps/H_Reps_FullInfo.asp and/or the State Senators list here: http://senate.legis.state.la.us/Senators/

The following is a specific list of Louisiana State Representatives and Senators who comprise this Joint Select Committee in charge of oversight of GCCF. To date, hundreds of people have filed health-related claims while Mr. Feinberg claims otherwise. Our officials need to know this. Please call and write to their offices to set the record straight.http://www.legis.state.la.us/boards/board_members.asp?board=924

CRITICAL HEALTH BILL THAT COULD SET THE TONE FOR THE ENTIRE GULF COAST: Mr. Feinberg’s meeting is timed to a critical Louisiana Health Bill to protect your rights pending on the House Floor. BP is so afraid of this bill that they sent their chief lobbyist, Mr. Feinberg, on their behalf during this legislative session. Here is the text of HB 389:http://www.legis.state.la.us/billdata/streamdocument.asp?did=741030

Summary of HB 389: This is legislation to protect you and your families and other workers who were involved in the BP spill and clean-up. It mandates that all releases and settlements entered into by you be interpreted using Louisiana law and not the law from another state. What this means is that, if 10 years from now, someone gets sick from being exposed to chemicals released and used during the clean-up, that person will be able to bring a claim against the responsible parties even if the release signed says you have waived your rights to do so.

It is unethical for BP to pay final settlements and then refuse to be responsible for latent diseases that manifest themselves years after a settlement has been entered into. Despite a massive attempt by BP to kill the bill, it has passed the House Committee on Civil Law as of Wednesday night on an 11-2 vote.

It is important to note that HB389 was amended in committee and immediately goes to the House floor for a vote by all State R. BP and friends were successful in removing a provision that required BP and the responsible parties to provide medical monitoring to those who were exposed to the crude and dispersants used. Despite this setback, we have a chance to exercise our rights and have this issue debated further as the bill moves from the House to the Senate. The key is the bill is alive so the bill can be improved upon or amended before it goes to the desk of Governor Jindal.

Let's all assure that HB 389 is passed into law by contacting our elected officials today and having them voice their support for the legislation. We urge you to take it upon yourself to lobby or rally support for the bill. See list here: http://house.louisiana.gov/H_Reps/H_Reps_FullInfo.asp

John Wathen's Footage of the F-5 Tornado in Tuscaloosa, Alabama

2011-04-28T13:42:00.002-05:00

In Johns own words:

"A strong F-5 tornado struck Tuscaloosa yesterday. As always Your Hurricane CREEKKEEPER documented the event.

I watched as Hurricane Creek vaporized and came up the hill as a huge fog bank. I have been to a couple of state fairs and one hog breeding and I have never seen anything like this in my life."

Alabama Storms Devastate Hurricane Creekkeeper's Home/Office. Please Help.

2011-04-28T12:28:00.002-05:00

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Dear Waterkeeper Alliance Family,

On Wednesday, April 27, 2011, the home and office of your Hurricane Creekkeeper, John Wathen, took a direct hit from a category F4/F5 tornado. John is physically okay, but his residence and workplace were heavily damaged. Some of his nearby relatives lost their home entirely. The tornado was generated by the same storm system that devastated many areas of the South yesterday and, as of this morning, has killed 173 people—at least 120 of those victims were in John's home state of Alabama.

Much of John's computer and photographic equipment was destroyed by the tornado. If you know anything about John, you know thatphotography and videography lay at the heart of what he does to protect clean water every day of his life. He's been there, on the scene, snapping photos and showing the world the truth about the 2008 Tennessee Valley Authority ash pond disaster and the 2010 BP oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. In fact, John recently won a prestigious 2011 Roosevelt-Ashe Society Conservation Award for his reporting on Gulf oil disaster events.

In this time of great need, we ask you humbly to help us help John rebuild. Waterkeeper Alliance is helping collect online monetary donations that will be passed directly to Hurricane Creekkeeper in order to speed John’s recovery. Click the link below to donate online right now. Please remember to designate your gift on your donation form as Hurricane Creekkeeper Tornado Disaster Recovery where you see the Gift Designation field.

Please select Hurricane Creekkeeper Tornado Disaster Recovery
as the gift designation on your donation form.

To send gifts by mail, please write to:

Waterkeeper Alliance

ATTN: Tornado Recovery

17 Battery Place

Ste. 1329

New York, NY 10004

(Please do not send credit card information through the mail.)

To phone in your gift, please call 212.747.0622 ext. 30.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Your friends at Waterkeeper Alliance

The voice of the world's waters.

GULF RESIDENTS RALLY BEHIND THE SICK AT TIPITINA’S FRENCH QUARTER LOCATION & SHED BBQ JOINTS IN COASTAL STATES

2011-04-18T05:04:00.003-05:00

Come one, come all! Don't miss this event on the one year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon Disaster! Bring a guitar of value to be signed by the artists to raise funds for the people sickened by this tragedy. Events being held along the Gulf Coast at The Shed BBQ locations too in case you can't be in New Orleans. Please share this link. Join us after the Summit Meetings!

Posted on April 18, 2011 by Dirty Cajuns

Tipitina’s French Quarter location, Shed BBQ & Blues Joints across the Gulf Coast, and venues around the country are throwing concerts to honor the 11 that died in the explosion & help the Louisiana Environmental Action Network get symptom sheets to folks that have fallen ill from exposure to oil and the record amounts of dispersants sprayed in Gulf waters. Here are the events we have planned. Please let people know how they can be part of the Solution to Pollution. We are asking folks to donate guitars of some value. These instruments will be signed by artists & all the money collected from their sale and proceeds will help Louisiana Environmental Action Network continue to help those sick from toxic conditions in the Gulf and Louisiana artists finish the Solution to Pollution project.

New Orleans events on 4/20

-5PM Future of the Gulf Town Hall Meeting 5PM- 7:30 Upstairs @ Tipitina’s French Quarter

-6PM Free Show/Press Conference @ the Louisiana Music Factory with Drew Landry (acoustic)

-6:45PM SECONDLINE FOR THE GULF leaves from the Louisiana Music Factory

Rev. Goat Carson’s 2nd Line w/ the Kinfolk Brass Band Mardi Gras Indians/Native Americans… Fi Yi Yi, Dancing Man 504, The Grayhawk Band, and many more roll into Tipitina’s in the Quarter at 7:30

-7:30PM THE SOLUTION TO POLLUTION CONCERT w/ Dr. John, The Treater Band, Drew Landry, Shannon McNally & the entire Second Line.

THE SOLUTION TO POLLUTION PROJECT/GUITARS FOR THE GULF 4/20

The ‘Solution to Pollution Project’ was Bobby Charles’ vision for introducing children at an early age to sustainability through music and environmental lesson plans. “Bobby Charles left behind some of the best songs of all time, but his real passion was the three song tape & lesson plan he created called ‘Solution to Pollution’,” said Louisiana singer/songwriter Drew Landry. Mac Rebennack, better known as Dr. John, a lifelong friend of Bobby Charles, believes the deep water disaster can be a catalyst for changing the way we treat our planet. Mac decided it was time to bring back the ‘Solution to Pollution’ and Wish Nails donated time for the Project at Dockside Studio where Bobby recorded the original Solution to Pollution EP. Louisiana musicians will showcase some of these songs at the one-year spill memorial concert.

A five song EP featuring Dr. John singing the songs of Bobby Charles & Drew Landry along with many other Gulf Coast musicians will be available at the concert and for sale at the Louisiana Music Factory. Funds collected at the concert and from the Deep Water Memorial EP will go toward completing a full-length album and implementing Bobby Charles’ environmental ideas and a few of our own in local communities.

Advance tickets $25 available at www.tipitinas.com, or $30 tickets at the door.

TIPITINA’S FQ EVENTS

On the one year memorial of the worst man-made environmental disaster in our nation’s history, coastal residents are coming together to honor the 11 men that died & those that fought to protect our coast. We also must chart a course to deal with the long-term environmental & health impacts from last year’s spill. Restoring the health & fragile ecosystem of the Gulf will be no easy task, but people here deserve a voice in their own recovery. We have some serious issues to address, but who says we can’t have a good time doing it?

TOWN HALL MEETING UPSTAIRS AT TIPITINA’S IN THE FRENCH QUARTER LOCATION 5-7:30 PM, Wednesday, April 20th
233 N Peters St, New Orleans, Louisiana – (504) 566-7095

There will be a Town Hall meeting in conjunction with the Gulf Coast Leadership Forum from 5-7:30 PM. This event will be upstairs at the French Quarter location. The mission is to give a voice to the thousands of coastal residents and cleanup workers who have fallen ill since the deep water explosion.

We will address the long-term recovery of the Gulf and inform the public on the current condition of coastal communities. Many residents and their children have come down with severe health problems since they started working and living in toxic conditions. So far, their pleas have fallen on deaf ears. To date, the best our federal and state governments have done is provide a phone number from CDC & a 10-year study that ‘might’ start soon.

Much like the 9/11 first responders, many of those who were on the front lines of the oil disaster and rose to the challenge to protect and clean our wetlands now suffer chronic heath issues. There is little doubt their conditions will worsen over the years to come. This is unacceptable; the lives of coastal citizens and clean up workers must not be a “trade off”. When James Carville said, “We’re dying down here”, few thought about the long term effects of oil & the dispersant COREXIT. It’s time to see if our elected officials care more about the health of their people that live the coast and those who risk their lives to clean this mess than multinational companies that profit from our existence. The truth is we can’t wait for thousands to pass before we get a bill that takes care of our own first responders. The sick include our commercial fishermen on the VOO program, clean up workers, and coastal citizens who frequent beaches and live on the water.

Sick residents and clean up workers get in the town hall free (rsvp to: gulfchange@gmail.com). For others, there is a suggested $10 donation that will go to LEAN who has been tracking the symptom of the countless residents who have fallen ill. We also hope to raise $1,200 for Mr. Clayton Matherne for his basic needs and housing. Like many, his medical condition has not allowed him to work since being exposed to the dispersant COREXIT.

We are proud this panel will represent the concerns of coastal citizens in the Gulf Coast Leadership Forum & Cherri Foytlin will personally invite our senators & congressmen to listen to the voices of the people they represent. For more info on Symptom Sheets & independent testing results in the Gulf please visit leanweb.org . For press inquiries or details on events please email gulfchange@gmail.com

Clayton Matherne from Blackbird Media on Vimeo.

Tipitina’s schedule:
5:00 pm – “What Happened to the National Media?”, Rocky Kistner, NRDC, and Lessons from the Past: EXXON VALDEZ Valdez, Dr. Riki Ott, author, Sound Truths and Corporate Myths
5:30 pm - Our first responders & coastal citizens will address their health issues & the impacts from Dispersants, Clayton Matherne/Lori Williams/and Cpt Louis Bayhi
6:00 pm – State of the Gulf: Conditions on the Ground one year later/Claims Process
Al Walker, Billy Nunguesser, Grace Scire
6:30 pm - Roots of the regional citizens oversight committee-
How to get involved? Weeks Bay Agreement/Lessons learned in DC visit/Powershift
Aaron , GRN/ Cherri Foytlin/Derek Evans, Gulf Coast Fund/Turkey Creek
7:00 pm – Where we go from here? – Helping the SICK with Dr. Mike Robichaux, Dr. Wilma Subra, Mary Lee Orr
7:30 pm – Second line/Solution to Pollution grand entrance – Citizens will be able to meet with leaders from the forum & work on Solutions together- Films follow from coastal residents & LEAN
8 pm – Upstairs reception w/ Sasafrass, Art, and pics from the spill.

LOUISIANA MUSICIANS WILL GATHER FOR A PRESS CONFERENCE AT THE LOUISIANA MUSIC FACTORY, 210 Decatur Street, ABOUT THE LONG TERM RECOVERY OF THE GULF COAST 6PM-

*Restore the Gulf: Direct 80% of BP’s Clean Water Act fines toward Gulf Coast recovery and restoration

*Provide Health Care Now: Create accessible health care and testing to address the growing health crisis on the Gulf Coast.

*Give Communities Control: Establish a Regional Citizens Advisory Council to provide long overdue, locally informed oversight of the oil industry.

Shed Shows and Water keepers to support in those areas… Bring a Guitar & buy some BBQ

SCOTT, La. – MUSIC BY Mitch Red & Citizens Band, Bro Dege Legg, & Jake Stevens. It’s a membership drive for Basin Keeper Dean Wilson & Greg Guirard will be there to sign copies of his latest book Atchafalaya Autumn II.

GULFPORT, Ms.- Delta Reign- Bluegrass & Sweet Fritzi Presley

MOBILE, AL Host an All-star line up…Ryan Balthrop and his Bowling Buddies**9 Volts and Thunderbolts featuring Brett LaGrave**The Gregg Fells Band
And the headliner GRAYSON CAPPS along with John Milham and Nick Branch!!!

A Press Conference from Artist and Activists @ the Louisiana Music Factory will be part of the release of the Solution to Pollution EP & short set of songs from a few Gulf Coast artists working on the project will happen at 6PM Followed by a SECOND line that will leave Decatur street at 6:45PM

DEEP WATER MEMORIAL SECONDLINE – to remember the lives lost on 4/20
REV. GOAT CARSON WILL LEAD A SECOND LINE FROM THE LOUISIANA MUSIC FACTORY at 6:45 WITH DANCING MAN 504, THE GRAYHAWK BAND, THE KINFOLK BRASS BAND, FIYIYI & HIS MANDINGO WARRIORS ACROSS THE FRENCH QUARTER INTO TIPITINA’S at 233 St Peters TO KICK OFF THE SOLUTION TO POLLUTION CONCERT AT 7:30 PM

THE SOLUTION TO POLLUTION CONCERT
DR. JOHN, THE TREATER BAND, DREW LANDRY, SHANNON MCNALLY, AND THE ENTIRE SECOND LINE will perform tunes of their own & music and many songs inspired by the spill and a few the late great Bobby Charles wrote for the Solution to Pollution. Attached is a song from Dr. John about the health affects of the spill. The release of the Bobby Charles’ inspired Solution to Pollution EP will raise money to finish the full album. We must unite those who care about the future, ensure care for the sick on the coast, prepare for the next spill, and further the push for clean air & water.

GUITARS FOR THE GULF-
LEAN, Gulf Fund & saveourgulf.org will also be helping to provide support for the Guitars for the Gulf program. The ask is for guitars of some value to be donated at one of these events. Instruments will be signed by artist and proceeds from their sale will be split between developing the Solution to Pollution Project & long-term testing of our waters, wildlife and people.

As you know, Cherri Foytlin walked to Washington, DC, in hopes of talking with President Obama about the health issues of coastal citizens. She will be finishing her walk with college students from all over the country at Powershift by walking to BP’s office in DC to deliver to them a bill for the $9.9 billion they are receiving from the American people in tax deductions for the spill & then continuing up to Capitol Hill to ask the elected officials from gulf coast states to hear the voices of the coastal citizens & clean up workers who all face an uncertain future. It was bad enough that our commander in chief balked at addressing the long-term effects of the spill in his State of the Union address, but it is unthinkable that on the one-year mark of the worst man-made disaster in US history, our president is thinking only about restarting his re-election campaign with a facebook town hall meeting about the economy. Please voice your concerns about the future of the Gulf Coast at this meeting.

Mississippi residents will gather together to remember the workers who lost their lives, share stories about how this tragedy has affected them, and speak with one voice to tell our leaders that now is the time for action to make the Gulf coast and it communities whole once again and prevent future oil disasters. Lighthouse Fishing Dock, north end of Lee Street, Biloxi, MS (just north of the intersection of Bayview Avenue and Lee Street) For more information, contact Raleigh Hoke at Raleigh@healthygulf.org or 504-525-1528, ext. 204.

Karen Hopkins is organizing Memorial in Grand Isle. What has become Ground Zero for graphic pictures of oiled beaches is also host to many great activist & people that have done great work throughout the spill. Join the Sierra Club & the good people of Grand isle for daytime events at the Grounds of the Grand Isle Medical Clinic 108 Willow Ln Grand Isle, LA 70358 Corner of La. 1 and Willow LaneGrand Isle, LA

The House of Blues… Music by the great Tab Benoit & Voice of the Wetlands and the Kevin Costner Band. Organizer Jerry Cope promises the likes of Brad Pitt & Daryl Hanna and will raise money with the goal of starting two health clinics. Tickets are $50 & 1,000 for VIPS..

I got a call from concerned citizens in Atlantic City who were friends of Dr. John & wanted to do their part…..Eddie Morgan and REK’D 4 JAZZ will jam from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at Wash’s Inn, 128 N. New Road, Pleasantville, NJ for a $10 cover charge. Patrons will have the opportunity to learn more about the ongoing oil tragedy, donate to the cause, and win some fabulous jazz related door prizes according to local author Sandy Warren who has helped raise money for Gulf aid the past year. For table reservations and more information, call 609-992-6728.

About Dirty Cajuns

The Dirty Cajuns are a group of people really concerned about the affects of the BP Oil Spill. We want to engage with our community by providing information and documentation of what is happening to our home – as fishermen, wildlife experts, just as people who care – through the form of words, videos, sounds, and photos. If you would like to be a part of what we are doing, email gulfchange at gmail dot com.

View all posts by Dirty Cajuns →

2011-04-16T01:58:00.002-05:00

Today presented undeniable evidence that there is every attempt to cover-up what the tide is washing in. We need to take a stand against the misuse of the billions of dollars involved in this disaster and see that it's "cleaned" and not simply "covered". This blatant disregard will serve no purpose and the toxic waste will resurface in a short period of time.

BP Buys Gulf Coast Millions In Gear

2011-04-11T12:41:00.004-05:00

MELINDA DESLATTE, Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS -- Tasers. Brand-new SUVs. A top-of-the-line iPad. A fully loaded laptop. In the year since the Gulf oil spill, officials along the coast have gone on a spending spree with BP money, dropping tens of millions of dollars on gadgets and other gear - much of which had little to do with the cleanup, an Associated Press investigation shows.

The oil giant opened its checkbook while the crisis was still unfolding last spring and poured hundreds of millions of dollars into Gulf Coast communities with few strings attached.

In sleepy Ocean Springs, Miss., reserve police officers got Tasers. The sewer department in nearby Gulfport bought a $300,000 vacuum truck that never sucked up a drop of oil. Biloxi, Miss., bought a dozen SUVS. A parish president in Louisiana got herself a deluxe iPad, her spokesman a $3,100 laptop. And a county in Florida spent $560,000 on rock concerts to promote its oil-free beaches.

In every case, communities said the new, more powerful equipment was needed to deal at least indirectly with the spill.

In many instances, though, the connection between the spill and the expenditures was remote, and lots of money wound up in cities and towns little touched by the goo that washed up on shore, the AP found in records requested from more than 150 communities and dozens of interviews.

Florida's tourism agency sent chunks of a $32 million BP grant as far away as Miami-Dade and Broward counties on the state's east coast, which never saw oil from the disaster.

Some officials also lavished lucrative contracts on campaign donors and others. A Florida county commissioner's girlfriend, for instance, opened up a public relations firm a few weeks after the spill and soon landed more than $14,000 of the tiny county's $236,000 cut of BP cash for a month's work.

The April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 workers and spawned the nation's worst offshore oil spill. As BP spent months trying to cap the well and contain the spill, cities and towns along the coast from Louisiana to Florida worried about the toll on their economies - primarily tourism and the fishing industry - as well as the environmental impact.

All told, BP PLC says it has paid state and local governments more than $754 million as of March 31, and has reimbursed the federal government an additional $694 million.

BP set few conditions on how states could use the money, stating only that it should go to mitigate the effects of the spill. The contracts require states to provide the company with at least an annual report on how the money has been used, BP spokeswoman Hejdi Feick said. But it's unclear what consequences, if any, the states could face if they didn't comply.

Some of the money BP doled out to states and municipalities hasn't been spent yet, but the AP's review accounts for more than $550 million of it. More than $400 million went toward clear needs like corralling the oil, propping up tourism and covering overtime.

Much of the remaining chunk consists of equally justifiable expenses, but it is also riddled with millions of dollars' worth of contracts and purchases with no clear connection to the spill, the AP found.

William Walker, executive director of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, said it is clear now that communities bought more equipment than they wound up needing. But he doesn't regret handing out BP's money freely.

"At the time we were making these decisions, there were millions of gallons of oil going into the Gulf of Mexico with no clear idea when it would stop," Walker said. "We didn't wait. We tried to get (grant money) into circulation as quickly as possible. We didn't have any extra time. We needed to move when we moved."

___

When oil from the ruptured Macondo well began to lap at Louisiana's marshes, BP deployed an army of workers to sop it up and hired contractors who specialize in disaster cleanup.

Even with BP and the federal government taking the lead, many communities weren't content to rely on equipment they had before the spill.

Lafourche (luh-FOOSH') Parish President Charlotte Randolph billed BP for an iPad, saying she needed it in addition to her parish-paid Blackberry to communicate with staff and other officials during the crisis. But she didn't buy the iPad until Aug. 26, a month and a half after the well was capped and several weeks after the federal government said much of the oil had been skimmed, burned off, dispersed or dissolved.

"Just because it wasn't streaming from the well any longer doesn't mean it wasn't approaching our shore," Randolph told the AP. "My work is very important. Perhaps one day you could follow me somewhere and learn what my work involves. I must be in contact at all times."

Lafourche Parish spokesman Brennan Matherne, who bought a new Dell laptop and accessories for $3,165, said working on the spill had worn out the computer he got just a year earlier for $2,700.

Biloxi, home to a strip of casinos overlooking the Mississippi Sound, bought 14 sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks, two boats, two dump trucks and a backhoe loader with its $1.4 million share of BP grant money.

Mayor A.J. Holloway, who drove a city-owned 2006 GMC Yukon before the spill, now has one of the vehicles the city purchased with the BP grant - a black 2011 Chevy Tahoe 1500 LT that cost more than $35,000. The city's public works director and chief engineer also are driving SUVs bought with BP money.

Holloway declined to answer questions about his new vehicle. City spokesman Vincent Creel said the mayor has used it to travel to "countless meetings" about the spill and to gauge the city's response with his own eyes.

"The mayor also uses the vehicle in the normal course of his duties, just as other BP equipment is used in the course of day-to-day business," Creel wrote in an email.

Walker, the state official, said he didn't know about the mayor's use of the vehicle but doesn't object.

Some Mississippi communities took a conservative approach in using their share of the money. Bay St. Louis received $382,461 to buy safety vests, street barricades, radios and other gear, but decided against buying a vacuum truck or other expensive equipment. City Clerk David Kolf said local officials trusted BP's word it would handle all the cleanup, so they didn't see a need to buy a "bunch of new toys."

"They had a lot of heavy equipment already staged here," he said. "We don't have the training. We don't have the personnel."

___

Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama each got an initial $25 million from BP, followed by an array of payments for tourism marketing, seafood monitoring and cleanup programs.

More than $300,000 of BP money went to Kenny Loggins, the Doobie Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd for a pair of rock shows to promote the state's oil-free beaches; BP shelled out an additional $260,000 in concert-related costs.

In Alabama, the state Emergency Management Agency distributed $30 million to local governments without rejecting a single request.

Mississippi gave money to 14 counties and cities along the coast, which was dotted with tar balls but never saw the heavy bands of oil that choked south Louisiana's marshlands. In early August, after the well was capped and the oil threat seemed to abate, the state instructed counties and cities to stop spending BP's money without prior approval from state officials.

"We were trying to make the change from protection to restoration and recovery, and that's where we are now," Walker said.

Louisiana doled out its initial $25 million to state agencies, including $10 million for the attorney general's office to devise its legal case against BP and the companies involved in the spill. State agencies spent nearly $9 million more on equipment, including boats, air monitoring units, mobile radios and life vests.

Local government leaders in Louisiana were left to lodge their requests for money directly with BP. Gov. Bobby Jindal's top budget adviser, Paul Rainwater, said the state's deal with BP specified that the money Louisiana got wasn't meant to replace anything that was supposed to go to the parishes.

Blue-collar Plaquemines Parish, which has absorbed some of the spill's worst environmental damage, has received slightly more than $1 million in BP money, of which $998,405 went to cover oil-related overtime and other payroll expenses.

"I didn't run up bills. I treated their money like I treated our own," said Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser, an outspoken critic of BP and the federal government's response to the spill. "Maybe down the road I'll look and say we should have stockpiled."

___

When BP was heavily under attack from the top down for its response to the rapidly growing environmental disaster, the company started throwing huge sums of money at the problems it had in the water and on land. Cutting checks to governments along the coast addressed both issues, even if it meant waiting until later to figure out details like how officials would have to account for the cash.

"We recognized the importance of getting funding to the states, parishes and counties quickly, and therefore provided advance funding to help kick start their emergency response," Feick, the BP spokeswoman, said in an email.

The payments to governments gave BP the kind of good PR it desperately needed, said Daniel Keeney, president of a Dallas-based public relations firm. By giving money to communities and allowing them to spend it largely as they saw fit, BP also put a buffer between itself and any questionable spending.

"Whether the funds could be perceived as being wasted or not really reflects on the organization accepting the money rather than BP," Keeney said.

Louis Skrmetta, one of the tens of thousands of business owners and individuals still waiting to get a share of a $20 billion claims fund established by BP, finds the state and local governments' spending galling, even if it's almost all BP's money.

Skrmetta runs a three-boat fleet that has a contract with the National Park Service to ferry day trippers to Ship Island, a recreation area about 10 miles offshore from Gulfport, Miss. He can't understand why BP paid so much to governments while businesses were suffering.

"I didn't think there was much logic in it," Skrmetta said. "Now, looking back in retrospect, it was a way to win over politicians, a way to win over the media."

In February, BP asked Louisiana parishes that received up to $1 million in advance payments in May for a detailed summary of how that money has been spent. Parishes were warned they must exhaust the advance money before they can make any new claims.

Some parishes, however, have banked that money and already billed BP for expenses on top of it. Terrebonne Parish says it hasn't spent any of its $1 million advance, yet BP has paid it an additional $927,842, mostly for contractors and payroll costs.

Parish President Michel Claudet said he isn't concerned that BP will try to recover unspent advance money.

"The agreement from the beginning was that it was nonrefundable," he said.

___

The oil spill drove away tourists and sapped tax revenues, but it was a boon for private contractors and consultants. Governments have spent more than $19 million of BP's money to hire contractors, according to the AP's review.

The Louisiana attorney general's office has spent $4 million and counting of BP's money to hire outside lawyers and accountants to help piece together litigation against the company. Five of the seven law firms hired and their attorneys have poured more than $80,000 total into Attorney General Buddy Caldwell's campaign coffers in recent years.

Amber Davis, who lives with Gulf County, Fla., Commissioner Bill Williams, incorporated Statecraft LLC less than a month after oil began streaming into the Gulf. Three months later, Statecraft won a monthlong, $14,468 contract to perform public information and government liaison work for the county of about 15,000 people.

Davis, who has worked in marketing and community relations, said she had planned to form her company before the spill. She also had volunteered for the county's emergency operations center for three months before she was given the contract.

"There is a perception of a conflict of interest in just about anything that anybody does," Davis said. "I guess my statement to that was that I volunteered anywhere from 15 to 18 hours a day for three months and never received a penny."

Williams said he consulted the county attorney and an ethics commission, and neither saw a problem with awarding the contract to Davis.

Gulf County awarded an identical one-month, $14,468 contract - this one for monitoring beach pollution - to Florida Eco Services, a company founded days after the rig explosion by Patrick Farrell, whose wife is on the board of the local Chamber of Commerce. Farrell says he has a background in managing and maintaining properties, as well as beach restoration.

County Attorney Jeremy Novak, who also is an attorney for Florida Eco Services, said it was a matter of giving business to locals rather than out-of-state contractors.

"It sounds like a bias, and it is, but I'm glad people in Gulf County got work and actually had the ability to feed their families," Novak said. "I don't see it as profiteering. I see it as obviously doing what you can because what you're doing for a living isn't available to you."

___

Local authorities could have taken even fuller advantage of BP's largesse had the company or state officials not nixed some requests that had no clear connection to the oil. Police in D'Iberville, Miss., for instance, were denied a $245,000 mobile command unit, a $140,000 hazardous materials vehicle and a $19,000 Harley-Davidson.

"If we had to establish barricades, they thought it would be more maneuverable," City Manager Michael Janus said of the motorcycle. "It was a bit of a reach, obviously."

Although BP footed the bill for other pricey acquisitions, some officials concede they may have to use taxpayer money to maintain them.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries spent $5 million for 22 boats and the accompanying trawls, nets and hauling vehicles.

"Nobody asked me for a space shuttle or anything," said Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Robert Barham.

BP money will cover the costs of maintaining the vessels, leasing dock space and buying fuel for at least three years, he said. Whether taxpayers will be forced to pick up these costs after that hasn't been decided.

"They don't run for free," Barham said.

___

Schneider reported from Orlando, Fla. Deslatte reported from Baton Rouge, La. AP videojournalist Jason Bronis in Gulfport, Miss., and Associated Press writers Holbrook Mohr in Jackson, Miss., Brian Skoloff in Ocean Springs, Miss., and Harry Weber and Troy Thibodeaux in New Orleans contributed to this report.

AP IMPACT: BP Buys Gulf Coast Millions In Gear - Photos - WDSU New Orleans

Dolphin tissue testing yet to begin

2011-03-19T16:25:00.001-05:00

Posted: Mar 18, 2011 3:54 PM CDTUpdated: Mar 18, 2011 6:56 PM CDT

These dead baby dolphins were found washed up on Horn Island in February 2011.

Click image to enlarge

By Jeff Lawson – bio | email

GULFPORT, MS (WLOX) - More dead dolphins washed up on the beaches of South Mississippi this week, but still no one seems to know what is killing them.

Gulfport's Institute for Marine Mammal Studies, led by Dr. Moby Solangi, has been taking tissue samples from the dead dolphins, and sending those off to the federal government. That's been going on for months.

But now, it has been learned that the feds have yet to send those samples off to be tested. So, the obvious question is why?

"It is really a question you should be asking the federal government," IMMS Director Dr. Solangi told us.

So we tried to ask federal officials, but got no answer. The only thing we know at this point is a letter, sent by NOAA to agencies gathering the samples, stated there is an ongoing criminal investigation. The dead dolphins are considered potential evidence in a lawsuit the federal government could file against BP.

So those dolphin tissue samples sit, somewhere in Washington.

Dr. Solangi said that some of those samples are frozen and some are in formaldehyde.

As to how long they can be preserved, Solangi said, "Some samples do have a shelf life, some samples are preserved and stay better for longer periods of time and others are short lived."

Dr. Solangi said the current speculation as to why the dolphins are dying centers on issues like infectious diseases, environmental issues, and the BP oil spill. The only thing we know for sure is, there will be no definitive answer, until the proper testing is done.

Are Coast Beaches Bouncing Back?

2011-03-14T20:25:00.002-05:00

CHRYSENE FOUND IN FLORIDA WATERS DETECTED BY OPFLEX POM POMS & SWEEPS

2011-03-10T16:27:00.003-06:00

For Immediate Release

March 10, 2011

CHRYSENE FOUND IN FLORIDA WATERS

DETECTED BY OPFLEX POM POMS & SWEEPS

Braintree, Massachussets-based Geo Labs has confirmed the presence of Chrysene in the waters in and around Perdido Key, Florida. This

substance was detected and absorbed by OPFLEX POM POMS and SWEEPS (OPFLEX is listed on the EPA's National Contingency Plan)

submerged near the beach just outside of Eden Condominiums on February 18th, 2011.

Geo Labs CEO, Dave Kahler stated, “We have now built a database of samples from Venice, LA to Pensacola, Florida utilizing EPA testing

protocols. This is the first time we have detected Chrysene, which is most concerning as it is showing up in the water close to the beaches

in Perdido Key, Florida.”

Chrysene is listed by the EPA as a Priority Water Pollutant and, as stated by the EPA website...

"The Clean Water Act (CWA) establishes the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States and

regulating quality standards for surface waters. The basis of the CWA was enacted in 1948 and was called the Federal Water Pollution

Control Act, but the Act was significantly reorganized and expanded in 1972. 'Clean Water Act' became the Act's common name with

amendments in 1977. Under the CWA, the EPA has implemented pollution control programs such as setting wastewater standards for

industry. We have also set water quality standards for all contaminants in surface waters."

Above is a picture of the OPFLEX with the absorbed oil contaminants that were analyzed by Geo Labs. On February 18th ABC - WEAR TV

Pensacola filmed OPFLEX CEO, Scott Smith deploying the very POM POMs and SWEEPS that detected the Chrysene and subsequently

interviewed Smith after deployment.

The interview and footage from the deployment is posted on youTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHECoDtwHXE

True Testament to the Gulf Oil Spill

BP Oil - Enough is Enough

Watch "Thrive" ~ A Revolutionary Film

Watch "Thrive" ~ A Revolutionary Film

New Study Says FDA Underestimated Seafood Contamination Risk After BP Oil Spill

This Used to Be My Playground

"Pretty Slick" a film by James Fox

X-URGENT - Please Share - These Animals Die in About 1 hour!

To All My "Girl" Friends

Call 706-675-3570 within the hour to save any of these animals!!!!!!

61411 Time Up - Rescue may have bailed on this boy they will be euthanizing him at 4PM $100 to approved no-kill rescue.

Staffordshire Bull Terrier: An adoptable dog in Franklin, GA

51611 Time Up 1 babies's Info...

60911 Time Up Feral's Info...

61511 Time Up's Info...

61111 Time Up Feral's Info...

62411-62711 Time Up's Info...

57311-57411 Time Up's Info...

57511 Time Up's Info...

57911 Time Up's Info...

58911 Time Up's Info...Check with shelter for Update

59311 Time Up's Info...

Check with shelter for Update

59911-60311 Time Up's Info...A new photo is in order - Black cats have a hard enough time getting adopted - she must be much prettier than this - she is likely as delightful as my new black kitty

60411-60711 Time Up's Info...

60811 Time Up Feral's Info...

59111 Time Up "SnowBall"'s Info...

59811 Time Up's Info...

62011 Time Up's Info...

61911 Time Up's Info...Baby here!

Shepherd/Husky Mix: An adoptable dog in Franklin, GA

Trial over BP oil spill will unfold in 3 phases next year

GREAT BLUE HERON

Company agrees to pay BP $75M to settle claims

Maladies from Exposure to Dispersants

My Wish List

What About Us? The Oil Spill Health Care Bill Rally

Help Pass HB 389 - Call in TODAY - June 8th

Ken Feinberg says he hasn't seen any medical claims to our State Legislators; HB 389 Health Bill Pending in the House

John Wathen's Footage of the F-5 Tornado in Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Alabama Storms Devastate Hurricane Creekkeeper's Home/Office. Please Help.

GULF RESIDENTS RALLY BEHIND THE SICK AT TIPITINA’S FRENCH QUARTER LOCATION & SHED BBQ JOINTS IN COASTAL STATES

About Dirty Cajuns

BP Buys Gulf Coast Millions In Gear

Dolphin tissue testing yet to begin

Video Gallery

Dolphin tissue testing yet to begin

Are Coast Beaches Bouncing Back?

CHRYSENE FOUND IN FLORIDA WATERS DETECTED BY OPFLEX POM POMS & SWEEPS