Monday Open Thread

10 thoughts on “Monday Open Thread”

1. A very good piece by an acquaintance of mine. Andrew Nikiforuk is the author of "Saboteurs: Wiebo Ludwigs' War on Big Oil", which is a must read for anyone who has to deal with the rapaciousness of the "Oily Boys"

    

   Radioactive Ranchers? Elements Found Downwind of Intensive Fracking

   At first, Nielle and Howard Hawkwood, who have ranched in Alberta's foothills for 40 years, couldn't believe the ''in-your-face industrialization'' that accompanied the horizontal drilling and fracking of tight oil wells around Cochrane, Alberta.

   It began in 2009 when the so-called Cardium oil boom abruptly dotted the rolling landscape with scores of well pads, oil batteries, and new access roads.

   The companies were drilling lateral wells, which turn 90 degrees and travel for kilometres underground, extending under people's barns and homes. (Tight oil costs more to extract and produces lower quantities of oil.)

   As industry fracked these deep, far-reaching wells with millions of gallons of water, toxic chemicals, and sand under high pressure and then burned off unwanted raw gas, the Hawkwoods and many of their neighbours began complaining about noxious emissions and earth tremors.

   Some officials with the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) initially responded to general complaints in the region by saying fracking was proven and safe and that it couldn't cause earthquakes — claims now proven false by a variety of scientific studies.

   http://www.resilience.org/stories/2016-06-13/radioactive-ranchers-elements-found-downwind-of-intensive-fracking?hl=1&noRedirect=1

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   1. As far as the quakes—the very same thing has been happening in Oklahoma.

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      1. Indeed and in Colorado, as well…particularly in the Trinidad area, as memory serves. The oil and gas industry imposes destruction everywhere it goes…without exception.

         In Oklahoma, the evidence indicates it is the injection of produced water into the ground that is primarily responsible for the extraordinary seismic activity there. However, there is much evidence to indicate that the hydraulic fracturing process is complicit in degrading the integrity of the earth. Particularly the aggressive fracking technique I have heard referred to as " elevator shaft stimulation", in which fracked zones in a horizontal formation are "fracked" hundreds of times, very closely together.

          Wherever they drill thousands of holes in the ground and start taking things out and putting other stuff back in, it always gets ugly….

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2. hate to say it, but I really have very little reaction to the mass killings anymore. The NRA has completely perverted the rationale for owning a gun and continually fear monger their membership, Republicans won't support even the most simple studies or safety issues, they also deny that most of this stuff is coming from the Right. Most Democrats are afraid of a gun vote against them and all too eager to please their "friends" on the other side of the aisle. And they'll still take the NRA's money if offered.

   The killings will continue. Keep your head down!

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   1. http://coloradopols.com/diary/84385/orlando-lgbt-terror-attack-stuns-nation#comment-609230

      like I said….

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      1. Remember that for Dudley Brown and his Rocky Mountain Gun Owners Association, and other similar travelers, the NRA is a bunch of limp-wristed, female pantie wearing, liberals. 

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   2. On December 14, 2012, 20 children and 6 adults were gunned down by a madman with an AR-15. That weapon is not particularly useful for hunting, target shooting, or personal protection.  A version of that weapon was used in Aurora to kill people in a movie theater and was used in San Bernardino to kill people at work. It has now been used to kill 50 people at a nightclub. It is the choice weapon of mass murderers (or terrorists sub-group domestic, if you prefer). Nothing "more" horrific will take place in the future.  The body counts will get higher, the victims may be younger and more innocent, but the horror is not quantifiable. Unfortunately, I share your pessimism. I pray that more murders do not occur, but also pray that I do not become convinced of their inevitability of politicians that do nothing as the slaughter continues.

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3. The NRA is a bunch of limp-wristed, female pantie wearing, liberals. 

    

   Where do I sign up?

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4. I just saw back to back Graham and Blaha TV 30 second spots on Channel 7. 5:10 pm 6/13/16

   Neither one said anything of substance: Washington's broken, dysfunction, sitting around at a table with diverse groups of nodding people. ZZZZZZZzzzzzz.. Blaha's got a money-back guarantee with a huge fricking Good Housekeeping seal – if you don’t like him, he’ll only serve one term.

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   1. Even better, if none of us like him, he won't serve any term!

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