"L'éveil au Cercle" - "Awakening to the Circle"

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Doomsday: How BP Gulf disaster may have triggered a 'world-killing' event

by Terrence Aym

Ominous reports are leaking past the BP Gulf salvage operation news blackout that the disaster unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico may be about to reach biblical proportions.

251 million years ago a mammoth undersea methane bubble caused massive explosions, poisoned the atmosphere and destroyed more than 96 percent of all life on Earth. [1] Experts agree that what is known as the Permian extinction event was the greatest mass extinction event in the history of the world. [2]

55 million years later another methane bubble ruptured causing more mass extinctions during the Late Paleocene Thermal Maximum (LPTM).

The LPTM lasted 100,000 years. [3]

Those subterranean seas of methane virtually reshaped the planet when they explosively blew from deep beneath the waters of what is today called the Gulf of Mexico.

Now, worried scientists are increasingly concerned the same series of catastrophic events that led to worldwide death back then may be happening again-and no known technology can stop it.

The bottom line: BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling operation may have triggered an irreversible, cascading geological Apocalypse that will culminate with the first mass extinction of life on Earth in many millions of years.

The oil giant drilled down miles into a geologically unstable region and may have set the stage for the eventual premature release of a methane mega-bubble.

Ryskin’s methane extinction theory

Northwestern University's Gregory Ryskin, a bio-chemical engineer, has a theory: The oceans periodically produce massive eruptions of explosive methane gas. He has documented the scientific evidence that such an event was directly responsible for the mass extinctions that occurred 55 million years ago. [4]

Many geologists concur: "The consequences of a methane-driven oceanic eruption for marine and terrestrial life are likely to be catastrophic. Figuratively speaking, the erupting region "boils over," ejecting a large amount of methane and other gases (e.g., CO2, H2S) into the atmosphere, and flooding large areas of land. Whereas pure methane is lighter than air, methane loaded with water droplets is much heavier, and thus spreads over the land, mixing with air in the process (and losing water as rain). The air-methane mixture is explosive at methane concentrations between 5% and 15%; as such mixtures form in different locations near the ground and are ignited by lightning, explosions and conflagrations destroy most of the terrestrial life, and also produce great amounts of smoke and of carbon dioxide..." [5]

The warning signs of an impending planetary catastrophe—of such great magnitude that the human mind has difficulty grasping it-would be the appearance of large fissures or rifts splitting open the ocean floor, a rise in the elevation of the seabed, and the massive venting of methane and other gases into the surrounding water.

Such occurrences can lead to the rupture of the methane bubble containment—it can then permit the methane to breach the subterranean depths and undergo an explosive decompression as it catapults into the Gulf waters. [6]

All three warning signs are documented to be occurring in the Gulf.

Ground zero: The Gulf Coast

The people and property located on the greater expanse of the Gulf Coast are sitting at Ground Zero. They will be the first exposed to poisonous, cancer causing chemical gases. They will be the ones that initially experience the full fury of a methane bubble exploding from the ruptured seabed.

The media has been kept away from the emergency salvage measures being taken to forestall the biggest catastrophe in human history. The federal government has warned them away from the epicenter of operations with the threat of a $40,000 fine for each infraction and the possibility of felony arrests.

Why is the press being kept away? Word is that the disaster is escalating.

Cracks and bulges

Methane is now streaming through the porous, rocky seabed at an accelerated rate and gushing from the borehole of the first relief well. The EPA is on record that Rig #1 is releasing methane, benzene, hydrogen sulfide and other toxic gases. Workers there now wear advanced protection including state-of-the-art, military-issued gas masks.

Reports, filtering through from oceanologists and salvage workers in the region, state that the upper level strata of the ocean floor is succumbing to greater and greater pressure. That pressure is causing a huge expanse of the seabed-estimated by some as spreading over thousands of square miles surrounding the BP wellhead-to bulge. Some claim the seabed in the region has risen an astounding 30 feet.

The fractured BP wellhead, site of the former Deepwater Horizon, has become the epicenter of frenetic attempts to quell the monstrous flow of methane.

The subterranean methane is pressurized at 100,000 pounds psi. According to Matt Simmons, an oil industry expert, the methane pressure at the wellhead has now skyrocketed to a terrifying 40,000 pounds psi.

Another well-respected expert, Dr. John Kessler of Texas A&M University has calculated that the ruptured well is spewing 60 percent oil and 40 percent methane. The normal methane amount that escapes from a compromised well is about 5 percent.

More evidence? A huge gash on the ocean floor—like a ragged wound hundreds of feet long—has been reported by the NOAA research ship, Thomas Jefferson. Before the curtain of the government enforced news blackout again descended abruptly, scientists aboard the ship voiced their concerns that the widening rift may go down miles into the earth.

That gash too is hemorrhaging oil and methane. It’s 10 miles away from the BP epicenter. Other, new fissures, have been spotted as far as 30 miles distant.

Measurements of the multiple oil plumes now appearing miles from the wellhead indicate that as much as a total of 124,000 barrels of oil are erupting into the Gulf waters daily-that’s about 5,208,000 gallons of oil per day.

Most disturbing of all: Methane levels in the water are now calculated as being almost one million times higher than normal. [7]

Mass death on the water

If the methane bubble—a bubble that could be as big as 20 miles wide—erupts with titanic force from the seabed into the Gulf, every ship, drilling rig and structure within the region of the bubble will immediately sink. All the workers, engineers, Coast Guard personnel and marine biologists participating in the salvage operation will die instantly.

Next, the ocean bottom will collapse, instantaneously displacing up to a trillion cubic feet of water or more and creating a towering supersonic tsunami annihilating everything along the coast and well inland. Like a thermonuclear blast, a high pressure atmospheric wave could precede the tidal wave flattening everything in its path before the water arrives.

When the roaring tsunami does arrive it will scrub away all that is left.

A chemical cocktail of poisons

Some environmentalist experts are calling what’s pouring into the land, sea and air from the seabed breach ’a chemical cocktail of poisons.’

Areas of dead zones devoid of oxygen are driving species of fish into foreign waters, killing plankton and other tiny sea life that are the foundation for the entire food chain, and polluting the air with cancer-causing chemicals and poisonous rainfalls.

A report from one observer in South Carolina documents oily residue left behind after a recent thunderstorm. And before the news blackout fully descended the EPA released data that benzene levels in New Orleans had rocketed to 3,000 parts per billion.

Benzene is extremely toxic and even short term exposure can cause agonizing death from cancerous lesions years later.

The people of Louisiana have been exposed for more than two months—and the benzene levels may be much higher now. The EPA measurement was taken in early May. [8]

Doomsday

While some say it can’t happen because the bulk of the methane is frozen into crystalline form, others point out that the underground methane sea is gradually melting from the nearby surging oil that’s estimated to be as hot as 500 degrees Fahrenheit.

Most experts in the know, however, agree that if the world-changing event does occur it will happen suddenly and within the next 6 months.

So, if events go against Mankind and the bubble bursts in the coming months, Gregory Ryskin may become one of the most famous people in the world. Of course, he won't have long to enjoy his new found fame because very shortly after the methane eruption civilization will collapse.

Perhaps if humanity is very, very lucky, some may find a way to avoid the mass extinction that follows and carry on the human race.

Perhaps.
…………

Sources

[1] The Permian extinction event, when 96% of all marine species became extinct 251 million years ago.

[2] “The Day The Earth Nearly Died,” BBC Horizon, 2002

[3] Report about the Late Paleocene Thermal Maximum (LPTM), which occurred around 55 million years ago and lasted about 100,000 years. Large undersea methane caused explosions and mass extinctions.

[4] Ryskin Theory
Huge combustible clouds produced by methane gas trapped under the seas and explosively released could have killed off the majority of marine life, land animals, and plants at the end of the Permian era—long before the dinosaurs arrived.

[5] James P. Kennett, Kevin G. Cannariato, Ingrid L. Hendy, Richard J. Behl (2000), "Carbon Isotopic Evidence for Methane Hydrate Instability During Quaternary Interstadials," Science 288.

[6] “An awesome mix of fire and water may lie behind mass extinctions”

[7] “Methane in Gulf 'astonishingly high'-US scientist”

[8] Report: “Air Quality - Oil Spill” TV 4WWL video

Links

“BP engineer called doomed rig a 'nightmare well’”

History Channel Mega Disasters - Methane Explosion

“BP Official Admits to Damage Beneath the Sea Floor"

Friday, July 16, 2010

First Nation Literacy

Thanks to Maria Morrison for posting the link to the
First Nation Literacy website in the comments.

The website is full of great resources for Aboriginal
literacy and learning.

For those of you who missed it, here is the link:
http://firstnationliteracy.com/

Also, check out the blog when your there.
Very Informative!

Article

Minister David Crombie's 1984 Still Unanswered
"64 Questions" on the Canada-First Nations
"Special Relationship" plus Why It Exists Section

A Four Arrows Summary: History Speaking to the Future *

64 Unanswered Questions

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 7, 2010

Manitoba Appeals Court Decision A Setback, Not A Defeat

(Winnipeg, MB) -- Métis National Council (MNC) President Clément Chartier is calling the dismissal of the Manitoba Métis land claim case disappointing but not unexpected. Speaking at a press conference at the Manitoba Métis Federation head office in Winnipeg, MB, Chartier announced the MNC will intervene in the appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.

“This decision must be appealed to ensure Métis receive their justice in the Canadian courts,” said Chartier. “The Métis Nation will not allow this decision to stand and the MNC will be taking active measures to prepare its intervenor application.”
Launched in 1981 by the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) and several Métis families in the province, the case seeks compensation for the 1.4 million acres of land promised to Métis in the Manitoba Act, as negotiated by Louis Riel’s Provisional Government with Canada to allow for Manitoba’s entry into Confederation.

In subsequent years, provincial and federal government actions violated the financial and legal duty to the Métis under the Manitoba Act, and allowed for much of the promised land to fall into the hands of speculators.

In 2007, the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench ruled Métis in Manitoba did not have a collective claim to the land, and that the Manitoba Act was not a treaty. The Court of Appeal has upheld that decision, and refused to rule on constitutional issues raised in the claim.

President Chartier did note, however, that the decision had a number of positive findings that can be built upon in the appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. "The decision overturned the lower courts finding that Metis do not have Aboriginal title and it recognized that there is a fiduciary relationship between the Crown and Metis people,” said Chartier.

Chartier also pointed out the decision clearly recognized there was a great delay with respect to the implementation of allocations of land to the Metis and mistakes were made in the allocation of lands to Metis children. ”We will build upon these findings on the facts in our submissions to the Supreme Court", said Chartier.

“This fight has been going on for well over a century and the Métis Nation has no intention of backing down now,” said Chartier. “I am confident the Métis will find justice, and the promises made to our ancestors will be fulfilled.”


For more information contact Greg Taylor, MNC Communications, at (613) 296-9263 or gregt@metisnation.ca

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Senate approves Matrimonial Property Bill, the Battle Moves to the House in September



Aboriginal senator Lillian Dyck opposed Bill S-4.

/Senator Lillian Eva Dyck/

Aboriginal senator Lillian Dyck opposed Bill S-4.
Geoff Howe/The Globe and Mail

Bill Curry

Ottawa --- From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
Published on Tuesday, Jul. 06, 2010 8:38PM EDT

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/
senate-approves-bill-to-help-abused-divorced-
aboriginal-women/article1630932/

Government legislation to help prevent women
who live on reserves from losing their homes
because of a divorce or abuse has won final
approval from the Senate in spite of passionate
last-minute warnings from female native senators
that the bill would leave women worse off.

The Senate voted 45-32 to give third and final
reading to the legislation on Tuesday, but it's still
a long way from becoming law.

Bill S-4, as it is called, is one of a handful
of government bills the Conservatives opted to
introduce in the Senate first. That means it still
must be debated and approved in the House of Commons.
The Harper government has twice attempted to pass the
measures through the Commons, but the legislation died
both times on the Order Paper.

Provincial divorce laws do not apply on reserves.
As a result, women on reserve do not have the same
legal options in such disputes as women who live
off reserve, leaving them to plead their case to
the local band council.

The situation is further complicated by the fact
that homes on many reserves are essentially owned
and managed by the band council, leading some to
view the debate as pitting the individual rights of
women against the collective land rights of aboriginal
communities.

Policy experts have long called for an end to the
status quo, but a widely accepted solution has been
elusive.

The government bill sets up federal rules granting
reserve residents access to the courts to sort out
residency and ownership issues when a spouse wants
protection from an abusive partner, or a couple breaks up.
Critics say the system would be too expensive for
many native women, particularly those in remote reserves.

Liberal Senator Sandra Lovelace Nicholas, who is
from the Tobique First Nation in New Brunswick, rose
in the chamber last week to urge her colleagues not
to support the bill, which she called "terribly flawed"
because there wasn't enough consultation with natives.

"I was that woman that was beaten and kicked out
of my house with my small children because I did not
have resources or housing. I was forced to go back,
only to have it happen time and time again. My own
mother went through the same abuse, as did my daughter.
There are thousands of stories that tell of experiences
of abuse," she said. "I cannot believe honourable senators
would pass Bill S-4 without proper consultation with
the very people it will impact, without knowing what
it is like to feel helpless and without the proper
resources."

The Government Leader in the Senate, Conservative
Senator Marjory LeBreton, said in an interview after
the vote that she was "amazed" and "mystified" by the
efforts of Ms. Lovelace Nicholas and Liberal aboriginal
Senator Lillian Dyck to defeat the bill. She said the
legislation is aimed at preventing cases of repeated abuse.

"I think we've talked long enough about it.
It's time to take action," she said. The Assembly of
First Nations also opposes the bill because it
considers the consultations inadequate, and
several chiefs spoke against it when it was studied
in committee.

"There was a very strong lobby in the aboriginal
community, who perhaps likes things the way they
are right now. That's the only conclusion I can draw,"
said Ms. LeBreton. Asked if she was referring to chiefs
being mostly male, she replied: "That's one argument:
That the chiefs are pretty powerful, pretty strong and
they're mostly male."



(Courtesy of Four Arrows)

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Article

Court Gives Feds Another Extension on McIvor;
UN Agency Urges Canada Ahead on Declaration:
"Unqualifed Endorsement and Full Implementation"

Indigenous People Win Claim To Sea in Landmark Australia Case
BC's "Prosperity Mine" Plan To Destroy Fish Lake Dumped On

A Four Arrows Special Review on International Indigenous Rights

International Indigenous Rights

A First Nations’ Mother on the Education of Her Child

The following letter appeared as an article in The Northern Newsletter. It was submitted by Surrey school trustee Jock Smith, who was an educational counselor for the Department of Indian Affairs. It is a moving document and was supplied by the mother of an Indian child, in the form of an open letter to her son’s teacher.

Before you take charge of the classroom that contains my child, please ask yourself

why you are going to teach Indian children. What are your expectations? What rewards do

you anticipate? What ego-needs will our children have to meet?

Write down and examine all the information and opinions you possess about Indians.

What are the stereotypes and untested assumptions that you bring with you into the class-

room? How many negative attitudes toward Indians will you put before my child?

What values, class prejudices, and moral principles do you take for granted as univer-

sal? Please remember that "different from" is not the same as "worse than" or "better

than", and the yardstick you use to measure your own life satisfactorily may not be appro-

priate for the lives of others.

The term "culturally deprived" was invented by well-meaning middle-class white

people to describe something they could not understand.

Too many teachers, unfortunately, seem to see their role as a rescuer. My child does

not need to be rescued; he does not consider being Indian a misfortune. He has a culture,

probably older than yours; he has meaningful values and a rich and varied experiential

background. However strange or incomprehensible it may seem to you, you have no right

to do or say anything that implies to him that it is less than satisfactory.

Our children’s experiences have been different from those of the "typical" white

middle-class child for whom most school curricula seem to have been designed. (I suspect

that this "typical" child does not exist, except in the minds of curriculum writers.) None-

theless, my child’s experiences have been as intense and meaningful to him as any child’s.

Like most Indian children his age, he is competent. He can dress himself, prepare a

meal for himself, clean up afterwards, care for a younger child. He knows his Reserve, all

of which is his home, like the back of his hand.

He is not accustomed to having to ask permission to do the ordinary things that are

part of normal living. He is seldom forbidden to do anything; more usually the conse-

quences of an action are explained to him and he is allowed to decide for himself whether

or not to act. His entire existence since he has been old enough to see and hear has been an

experiential learning situation arranged to provide him with the opportunity to develop life

skills and confidence in his own capacities. Didactic teaching will be an alien experience

for him.

He is not self-conscious in the way many white children are. Nobody has ever told

him his efforts toward independence are cute. He is a young human being energetically

doing his job, which is to get on with the process of learning to function as an adult human

being. He will respect you as a person, but he will expect you to do likewise to him.

He has been taught, by precept, that courtesy is an essential part of human conduct

and rudeness is any action that makes another person feel stupid or foolish. Do not mis-

take his patient courtesy for indifference or passivity. He doesn’t speak standard English, but he is no way "linguistically handicapped”. If

you will take the time and courtesy to listen and observe carefully, you will see that he and

the other Indian children communicate very well, both among themselves and with other

Indians. They speak "functional" English very effectively augmented by their fluency in the

silent language, that subtle, unspoken communication of facial expressions, gestures, body

movement, and the uses of personal space.

You will be well advised to remember that our children are skilful interpreters of the

silent language. They will know your feelings and attitudes with unerring precision, no

matter how carefully you arrange your smile or modulate your voice. They will learn in your

classroom because children learn involuntarily. What they learn will depend on you.

Will you help my child to learn to read, or will you teach him that he has a reading

problem? Will you help him develop problem solving skills, or will you teach him that

school is where you try to guess what answer the teacher wants?

Will he learn that his sense of his own value and dignity is valid, or will he learn that

he must forever be apologetic, and "trying harder", because he isn’t white? Can you help

him acquire the intellectual skills he needs without at the same time imposing your values

on top of those he already has?

Respect my child. He is a person. He has a right to be himself.

Yours very sincerely,

His Mother

Friday, July 2, 2010


Grandfather Commanda and Annie Smith-St.George at APTN LIVE
National Aboriginal Day telecast on Victoria Island June 20th 2010


(Photo Courtesy of Phil Weir- Circle of All Nations)

Paul Dewar MP for Ottawa Centre on Reconciliation - June 11th

Mr. Paul Dewar (Ottawa Centre, NDP): Mr.  Speaker, today
is the second anniversary of the government's historic
apology to first nations. Our country was deeply moved
by the authenticity of that nation to nation exchange.
However, an apology without action is empty rhetoric.
The promise of the government to sign on to the
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples has yet to be honoured.
With the stroke of a pen, that could be changed today.
Nationally, we must take action on those rights to
improve the lives of first nations, Inuit, and
aboriginal peoples. Here, on Algonquin territory,
we must join the call for the establishment of a national
aboriginal centre on Ottawa's Victoria Island, just
meters away from this place. This is a joint vision by
elder William Commanda and the renowned architect
Douglas Cardinal.
Reconciliation requires acknowledgment.
Acknowledgment requires action.
We have acknowledged. Now it is time to act. Meegwetch.