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So this week we have been watching the Mine Disaster. It is believed that they are trapped 1886 feet below ground. That is a great distance....I remember the Sago Mine Disaster, and how horrible it was, and how poorly handled. This week we have seen the Mine Owner Blame God and Nature. ( USGS website clearly does not identify this incident as a Quake, it appears by most scientific data and analyisis that The Cave In registered as the earthshaking event that it was.)Accountabilty needs to be a part of the Dialogue again, not nonsense from a Coal Barron....We all know that Energy Barrons operate with great impunity during the Bushco Regime and treat their workers like serfs. We have not really been told much about the Mexican Workers, I find it very interesting that the Mexican Consulate contacted Mr.Murray, makes me wonder were they here working legally ? Were they working under subpar conditions ?
These men are brave , but WHAT conditions are they working under and are they safe enough ? And do we get good journalistic coverage if Coal Companies are sponsering their coverage ? Was there any Methane problems? Have we even been told any oxygen, Co2, or methane readings? Was there any problems with Heaving ? or Slumping? Was there any history of Pillar Collapses? Were they legally still using Retreat Mining ? (it is not to be done below 1000 feet or if there is a history of slumping or heaving). Too many questions....and not enough answers....
Prayers to the families as they wait and the rescue work continues for the fifth day.
Prayers to the Miners, that they know of those above praying and working to rescue them....
[Click the title Alison Krause and Union Station singing "Constant Sorrow"....Kentucky Miners are in the photo from the 1950's}]
12 comments:
Being in a mine is a horrible occupation, coupled with the fact that it is one of the most dangerous jobs in America.
The majority of mine workers have no union to protect their safety interest, and they make substandard wages.
Today 3 mine workers were also killed in Southern Indiana.
Corporate America, including mine owners spend millions of dollars each year to keep labor laws weak, and unions out of the workplace.
No wonder America is falling apart.
Larry:thanks for coming by...and it turns out that the 3 workers that died in Indiana- were actually construction workers- and not miners- makes me wonder if they really should have been working in the mine or riding the bucket....
and yes, Corporate America has no compunction to do the right thing...or take care of workers- we all are expendable...
( my ancestors were Mining and Railroad people....in the hills of Kentucky and West Virgina....it is a way of life, but places like that there is no other work....and no other way of life- and the Coal Barrons like Murray KNOW that and take full advantage- if workers complain about safety issues, the Barrons retaliate and the mines are closed....)
and yes, you are right Miners in other countries- Australia and Canada...and Europe....are protected by Unions...
Greed is killing America and Americans....
Well well,,,,very very late on CNN coverage, Ted Rowlands has done a piece becuase a fella named Sanchez had complained about safety issues, including HEAVING...AND they were working in the oldest deepest part of the mine...
If you read the history of mines and the Mineworkers Union they have always had to fight the anto-worker mindset of the owners.
Where are the Molly McGuires's today?
I am so sad and tired of seeing miners trapped in mines. Its been part of America's history and we still don't make things better for them. Sad and pathetic if you ask me.
Dusty: I know it is a part of American History...that makes it no easier to watch ...knowing that we are in era that Coal can be mined in a cleaner SAFER manner, matter of fact if it is mined under safer conditions it is better for the workers and the environment....sadly my own history is tied to mining and raliroads...from the Appalacian hills...I know that it helped move my Scottish ancestors, relatives into this century....and I know that is why it tugs at me in a very odd haunting way...
Larry:ahhhh, a man that knows about the Mollies...the Molly McGuires have an interesting history...Some viewed them as terrorists and anarchists ( early labor literature describes them as such- and that I find so odd....) they actually were truly a Labor Force, trying to organize to save lives and also prevent families from starving...and they began their battle across the sea in Ireland and still brought their battle here during a terrible time in Industrial History....They were a secret society and I do wonder if this is a time when there will be a Return of Secret Societies...I think there will be a return...and I say that with great hope....because sometime these societies were able to educate and assist people that were disempowered by Capitalists that are morally bancrupt....
( I wrote a post back in June about Hobo History and Culture...that too was an era of Secret Cultures and men developing ways of looking out for each other as workers...)
We'll see what happens...
3:07 PM Saturday Mine Update:
11pm last night they started pumping compressed air down to the miners (unclear if that is oxygenated or not). Strickland is giving a talk now...3am they started to pound on drill still- no response. Withdrew out of the 6 in hole, completed at 7am...8am they dropped the camera down to try to get an image of borehole/mine tunnel below...borehole is within 2 feet of projected spot, identified spot properly, there is a spot with broken coal and roof- so they think they are in right area, horizontal images are hard to see clearly, and the vertical image is clearer, now they are lining the hole with a casing, so they can drop the camera again...they need the horizontal camera so they can see.....5.5. feet at bottem makes it so there is a space where they could be located....No1 Entry crosscut 124 , in some place is rubble is 5-6 feet high- debris field is 2000 feet long...into the tunnel ( so that is a pretty big debris field...for a cave in)....(they now have experts there to answer questions)...Roofline has not totally collapsed= they say that is crsuhing of pilars- but they say it is not a full collapse or cavein...( I can not understand WHAT they are saying the debris field is ????it can't all be from ribs, some is close to cieling, but they claim it is not a collapse ( yet the walls collapsed- just not the roof...)
Saturday 3:17pm PRESS Conference:
So it continues....the air is 21 % O2 being pumped in...they don't like all of these questions...,,but the reporters have to ask questions....it is essential...( I do wonder why there were two private meetings with families in the last 12 hours, about 50 people , for the 6 miners...)The camera will be able to see 100 feet out.
Our mines are extremely unsafe but unbelievably far superior to those in China and around the world. Those men and women too if there are any are unbelievably brave.
Just stepping in there you know you are risking your life under very tenuous and thanks to corporations putting the Buck ahead of safety it is very unsafe often by design. It is amazing what someone will do to make a living. dying isn't much of a living when all is said and done.
1pm Sunday
Still no further updates....I am still confused WHY the men that work the mine are helping with the rescue- don't outside crews usually come and help ? ( 130 men are working around the clock- but by now they must be exhausted...)
Patriot: I know mining is different countries is far more archaic, and primitive and yes, dangerous. I also know that conditions and saety measures have been on the books here- but not implemented- and that bothers me...There is Money and technology that would make things safer- example- they are in the deepest part of the mine- they should have been given devices to communicate...they are available and even law in certain areas....also there had been complaints of heaving in that area- so why were they there? Why send them to a spent older part of the mine?
I have relatives that come from Kentucky and West Virginia- and once you go to those little appalacian towns up in the hills you see that there is not alot of work there, not really any Opportunity to speak of ....so people that want to stay - they work the mines...The Miners themselves often understand the mines and the structures better than some old blowhard Coal Barron...there is alot of engineering and design that goes into the better mines, and the better miners study physics and engineering...but if the owner is doing it on the cheap- then you can expect dire results ...Example- the Fencing used to support the walls and the ceilings (roof) shown in the Murray Mines in Utah- you can not get much cheaper....and he keeps saying it is a "natural disaster"..that is bull...fencing will not hold up weight 1800 feet below ground- it is pathetic that the men were working in those conditions....okay I have rambled enough....as always thanks for your insights and thoughts....
11pm ...so sad...NOTHING since yesterday...nothing...no news ...no updates..nothing...those poor families...
One News report this am...
they showed actual footage of the bore holes...and it was interesting...very...and the debris fields....htey keep saying there is debris and rocks on the floors- have they considered that the men are under the rocks? ( am I the only morbid one wondering this)
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