#occupylptj - new news thread

[FreddyKnuckles]

This guy my landlord hired to do trivial repair work on the property is all involved in occupy Houston.  He introduced himself into my by saying, "Hi I'm Remington, I'm a straight ally." (I think he initially thought my wife and I were gay roommates or something)  He comes over sometimes to be generally feckless and perform shoddy repairs to the mailbox slot or whatever, and then corners me for 20 minutes explaining what unions are and why they are important while I'm trying to hang laundry out on the line.

Lots of poop in East Houston's waterways would probably be an improvement though.  I live a smidge under 5 miles from the largest benzene polluter in the US.

Does he have a really deep voice?  I know a Remington. 

[fishjim]

Lots of poop in East Houston's waterways would probably be an improvement though.  I live a smidge under 5 miles from the largest benzene polluter in the US.

How far are you from the Ship Channel? Seeing those hundreds of flares from the refinery stacks always reminds me of a petrochemical pipe organ.

[Dick]

I'm about  5 minutes from the ship channel, about 10 minutes in traffic to Pasadena off 225 where you're probably thinking about. 

[fishjim]

That's near the bridge we cross driving from the airport to Clear Lake, right?

Anyway, I come from a polluted place too. The county of Santa Clara (i.e., Silicon Valley) has more Superfund sites than any other county in the nation. Mostly it's from all the early semiconductor companies that stored their chemicals in underground tanks which leaked into groundwater for years.

I went into more detail than you require in a series for Salon back in 2001, "Poison Valley: Is workers' health the price we pay for high-tech progress?" It's long, almost 10,000 words, but most of the valley's nasty environmental history is in the first dozen or so grafs.

[Thermofusion]

Anyway, I come from a polluted place too. The county of Santa Clara (i.e., Silicon Valley) has more Superfund sites than any other county in the nation. Mostly it's from all the early semiconductor companies that stored their chemicals in underground tanks which leaked into groundwater for years.

Yeah that was a huge problem up until the early 80s, all over the country--corporations storing industrial solvents in steel (aka highly prone to corrosion and soil electrolysis) underground tanks originally designed for gasoline. 

[dumbfish]

But then where would we be without UST removal work? Those aren't leaky barrels, they're job-drippers!

[Thermofusion]

Haha yeah there's like three industries (removal/remediation, cathodic protection, testing/compliance) simply borne from the insistence on 1) making them out of steel and 2) burying the fuckers. And if any of em wanna drip a job on me they should hurry the fuck up.

[cold before sunrise]

But then where would we be without UST removal work? Those aren't leaky barrels, they're job-drippers!

you're funny. i remember my dad getting a job one summer when i was a kid, before recycling was sent to china, where the government paid him and his friend to smash their old computer equipment with sledgehammers. it was illegal for the systems to be resold so that was the official solution. we had an old family friend who was contracted to dispose of chemical production waste that was told to "make it disappear" as though the guy had a rocket handy to blow it to the moon. they didn't want to know where he put it. he buried them in a swamp beside the train tracks, as far from the wildlife park and development as he could find, until his conscience outweighed the heavy cheques and he felt like killing himself. kirkland lake, where my aunt and cousin live, accepted large lump payments to accept americans dumping vats of radioactive waste into a nearby lake. money talks but can we agree there are more vital things to listen to? some kids caught this fishing a river in alberta:

[Antero]

Ew.

[Thermofusion]

Cbs you're really adept at making Canada sound like Thunderdome

[cold before sunrise]

it's a gorgeous, peaceful place. please stay out of it unless you're coming for a visit.



do you remember when i wanted to go bald eagle watching a couple years ago? squamish used to be the largest roost in north america during spawning season - your great national bird's annual feasting party - but the salmon run is collapsing, failed for the second time in 3 years. the eagles didn't come this year because there was nothing for them to eat. i don't know what promises the political candidates are running their platforms on but if the ecosystem collapses we're all pretty much hooped.

[fishjim]

Nice!

In a 325-Page SEC Letter, Occupy's Finance Gurus Take on Wall Street Lobbyists

[Babar]

Let's hope Obama vetoes this shit. Given how buddy-buddy he is to Wall Street, I'm guessing he won't.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/mar2012/prot-m03.shtml

[cold before sunrise]

imagine! if my natural response to being pepper sprayed while standing up for something i believe in (good-bye, caribou) was to take a swing at the police officer with my umbrella i could end up in a work camp for decade! un-fucking-believable. this is for really real? or wait, we're not quite as americanized as steven harper would have us just yet. i've got to kidnap the fool and hide him in a rocky mountain cave until he's replaced, for the sake of the future my country. what other option is there? bake cookies for the homeless and be arrested for feeding the destitute? these things happen!

what destination is the world headed if we don't claw back control from corporations manufacturing consumer goods in pollution monster china? global meltdown is what. the ecosystem collapses and people are forced to start eating each other, are hunted by starving formerly-domestic dogs and you're glad for your pistol but lament all the time pretending with video games instead of perfecting your shot on cans in the woods. make it your summer mission to spend a weekend or more with guns, a picnic lunch and blanket, brewskies and friends. trust.

[Babar]

No need for guns, a firm kick in the snout should take care of most starving dogs.

[elpollodiablo]

What about when they come to put you in a labor camp? Whatcha gonna do THEN smart guy

[jm]

Let's hope Obama vetoes this shit. Given how buddy-buddy he is to Wall Street, I'm guessing he won't.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/mar2012/prot-m03.shtml

Troll feeding time: isn't this almost exactly what the law already is? Answer: yes. Also, what the fuck does "Wall Street" have to do with whether or not he'll veto it? (He won't, by the way).

[elpollodiablo]

Yeah, someone is

[cold before sunrise]

pork rinds: the push is to make debate illegal, to suffocate disobedience. do you not see the danger in allowing government to do as it sees fit, jailing those who voice concerns about the intent of governing decisions? the laws are being reshaped to defend the oligarchy and the arms and military training you paid for with your own taxes may now legally target america's own citizens. hoping to treat us all to the privacy worthy of a pedophile or terrorist, rights for none because a few deserve to be stripped of theirs. did you know that us veterans are red flagged as likely dissidents? guilty until evidence of innocence has been provided, a police state makes criminals out of regular people simply expressing our common interests. clean water? so if i showed up to the annual athabasca water conference in a costume of the mutant fish from the simpsons, to be the pink elephant in the room if only to get discussion moving on local water safety standards since freakish mutant fish have been appearing in the local river for a few years now, it could mean prolonged detention for this little lass? how could you possibly not find these measures disturbing?! indefinite imprisonment for calling public figureheads out on their selfish and short-sighted bullshit? is this a fucking joke? somebody has got to be pulling my chain.

lard-o: they generally kick in the door and pull their targets out of bed at 4-5am, when the soldiers come for you.

[elpollodiablo]

Yeah that happens pretty frequently, it's true. Nice edit, though!

[jm]

Awesome

[cold before sunrise]

it has happened and the groundwork is being laid for this to be formerly authorized, the detention of all resistance.

[Babar]

Let's hope Obama vetoes this shit. Given how buddy-buddy he is to Wall Street, I'm guessing he won't.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/mar2012/prot-m03.shtml

Troll feeding time: isn't this almost exactly what the law already is? Answer: yes. Also, what the fuck does "Wall Street" have to do with whether or not he'll veto it? (He won't, by the way).

The biggest public protest in the US for the last year or two has been Occupy Wall Street. The bill is about putting restrictions on protesting (free speech, that is). Obama is buddy-buddy with Wall Street, Goldman-Sachs being the second-largest contributor to his campaign and then him bailing out Wall Street with taxpayers' money after he got elected.

[jm]

The restrictions were already there.

[jm]

And seriously this has zero to do with actual Wall Street.