One body found in WV mine, 12 still missing

[Charlie Brown]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N03324171.htm

TALLMANSVILLE, W.Va., Jan 3 (Reuters) - One body has been found in the West Virginia mine some 36 hours after an explosion trapped 13 miners, a Red Cross volunteer said.

Tamila Swigler said the body had not been identified and that rescuers had not yet located the remaining 12 miners. Officials had reported poisonous gas in the mine.

[bigwillq]

1. Not good.

:( :cry:

[johnnie]

2. Shit

I'm sure we all figured this would be like this. It doesn't make it easy to hear though. Maybe the others made it somewhere safe. :(

[bbinacan]

3. Damn this saddens me. I hope

the others are well, but it doesn't sound good.:cry:

[Radio_Lady]

6. I feel so badly for the families of these men and what they have to

endure. So many men just feel they have no options but to follow their fathers and grandfathers into the mines. Me, I suffer from claustrophobia in elevators -- can't even imagine the terrible occupation at all.

My thoughts go out to everyone involved. I haven't been able to watch the news for most of the day, between the musician's family that was killed in some southern state and the rescue/recovery of the miners.

[bbinacan]

10. I too am

claustrophobic and just can't imagine that I could handle it.

[catnhatnh]

9. Really they already have a good idea....

If crushed and killed by stone,others may have survived.If killed by the atmosphere, then almost all hope is lost...how do you operate after 200 OSHA violations in the last year-about 70 "serious"... Or over 30 cave-ins in the last year...or a "major investigation ending in December...One more regulatory debacle left to it's outcome...and watch to see who pays...

[I Have A Dream]

4. That's so sad. If ever we needed a miracle, it would be now.

:cry:

[MaineDem]

5. "Biggest cause of this is letting the union go"

I think it's MSNBC (it's on in another room and I can hear it) and a miner is saying that if the United Mine Workers were still there they'd have had the men up by now.

[PA Democrat]

7. That was on Rita Cosby, and I believe it was the son of the miner

whose body was found who was speaking. He also brought up all of the safety violations this mine had and condemned the mine owners.

[adigal]

13. I was wondering if these men have union protection,

if their families will get a pension, if they have health insurance, or if their families will have health insurance if, God forbid, they are all dead? I bet the answer is "No" to all of the above. It is terrible that people have to work in these dangerous conditions just to feed their family in this day and age.

[catnhatnh]

16. Suppose that is how it goes?

Yep, we killed your Dad to cut corners but since it was cheaper than real safety we'll pay...are you satisfied?

[wordpix2]

23. don't know but backstory is the mine co. had SERIOUS violations

As one who has tried to get my town and state to enforce environmental laws and regs and get on companies that violate same, I can tell you the gutting of government by Repuke deregulators and tax cuts for the rich have done major harm to enforcement offices nationwide.

[wallybarron]

30. Non-union mine. eom

[Ilsa]

8. I gave up hours ago. I know that sounds pathetic,

but the news this morning about the lethal gas levels pretty much let me down.

God bless those people and the men who died trying to provide a living wage for their families.

[melody]

11. This is repulsive beyond description

Those people have NO choices -- it's work in the mine or starve. Why do we always have to fight these industry monsters over and over again? It's like staking vampires that just won't lie down.

We can only hope that the death toll will remain at one, but the carbon monoxide level report doesn't sound optimistic. :-(

[bleedingheart]

15. back in the old days it took the martyrdom of miners to bring about unions

I hate to say this but the more I read of history the more I have come to realize that real change occurs when the people in power fear for their safety. So when the miners organize and re-unionize and they are willing to starve for a while...then the union will win. Reading Zinn's, People's History of the United States just reaffirmed that when the masses unite...there is nothing that can stop them...and when the blood starts running and the corporate bastards are shown to be the vampires they really are....then the public (the rest of the people) turn against them...

[Fridays Child]

34. History seems to be repeating itself or maybe it's just that...

...nothing has really changed. The robber barons lost control of the country during the New Deal and they've been working to get it back, ever since. I'm reading The Plot to Sieze the White House and it's just amazing how everything is just as it was when Smedley Butler fought back against the fascist profiteers who tried to take over the country.

[flyarm]

25. there was a good reason for unions..now that Americans

and republicans have villified unions..we as a society will pay the price for not standing with unions!!

unions provide safety and security for americans..

and its our own damn fault!..we buy at walmart and shit from the chinese..and i remember my dad saying that unless americans are willing to pay for "made in the usa." we would all pay for it one day...well i guess "one day" is here..

my dad would not let a foreign car to be parked in our driveway..he didn't give a shit who was driving the foreign car ..it did not park in his driveway..and my dad refused to buy anything made in japan or china...
because he fought them and he was a lifelong union man...

it was the greatest generation of union workers who built our standard of living..now its the generation of baby boomers who have taken down that standard because they bought into the republican reagan bullshit of villifying unions...

well now you can hardly find anything made in the usa..

and these damn republicans are trying to destroy the labor dept and labor unions..and i warn all of americans..where the unions go is where you are heading!

from a now retired ..life long proud APFA UNION MEMBER...making the skys safe for you to fly

fly

[Ilsa]

26. Ah shucks, Melody, you know why we have to keep fighting them...

because those monsters like Abramoff will charge the corporations millions for lobbying to have those pesky rules and regs tossed or changed to a level of impotence, all with the support of Bushco. What you said (about their choices and the vampires) was sooo on target.

[Canuckistanian]

28. Exactly.

What options do these guys have? Hmmm, do I work in High Tech, Major Finance or go to the mines like daddy did?

Choices, choices....

:sarcasm:

[brentspeak]

12. This whole doesn't make sense

Shouldn't a mining group be equipped with a beacon or homing device that would allow their exact location to be pinpointed from the surface? Also, rescue operations were suspended for many hours because of carbon monoxide gasses; there's no suits with breathing apparatuses available for rescuers?

[bleedingheart]

17. beacon's and homing devices take money....the corporate types

don't like spending money on safety. Take my word for it...I worked in manufacturing set ups where they would pour hazardous cancer causing chemicals down drains...(example: Benzene)....
There is nothing more evil than capitalism minus a moral compass....

[Carni]

22. I hate to sound dumb or naive

But I was shocked to even learn that people are still working in mines and that they still aren't making jack for their troubles...

I know the history on this and knew how bad the job was but I had no idea that this still goes on in 2005. I guess I thought that wages had to have gone up dramatically or that no one would do that job.

If it were me faced with the mines or starving?

I would be starving because there is no way in hell I could do that job.

What a thankless, dangerous, shit job with zero rewards and no prestige.

Our society is completely fucked up in this country IMO

[mike_c]

20. some likely answers

Shouldn't a mining group be equipped with a beacon or homing device that would allow their exact location to be pinpointed from the surface?

Not through nearly 300 ft of dirt and hard rock.

Also, rescue operations were suspended for many hours because of carbon monoxide gasses; there's no suits with breathing apparatuses available for rescuers?

There's no doubt that rescuers are carrying O₂-- problem is, they're traveling a long way to reach the accident site, and working hard-- tanks are finite (and heavy), rescuers probably can't carry much more than a couple of hours of air supply. I presume there are operational reasons why dragging compressor hoses behind them wouldn't work better than carrying tanks, not the least of which is guaranteeing the safety of the hose.

[Xithras]

33. Nothing can transmit through solid rock.

Simply not possible. The only way to get a signal through rock like that would be by vibration, and a vibrating transmitter would be the LAST thing you'd want to use in an unstable cave.

As for breathing equipment, it does exist and they do have it, but they can realistically only carry an hours worth of air. When they have to travel two miles in and out of the cave AND the search has to be done on foot, that's not enough to search for long periods.

[Judi Lynn]

14. Time to mention the American history events not considered worthy

of being included in ordinary American history school books, in which mine owners hired thugs to beat and murder men trying to organize unions in order to seek relief from unholy working conditions, who were paid in "scrip" which was redeemable only at the overpriced company store.

The United Mine Workers, District 17 began to organize the non-union miners in Logan and Mingo Counties. The miner’s, eager to better their lives refused to back down in their quest for better pay and safer working conditions. The ruthless mine owners, determined to keep the Union out and to keep the miners and their families living in servitude, enlisted the aid of the all-to-willing Sheriff of Logan County, Don Chafin and the Mingo County Militia. The Mingo Militia was made up of coal-company officials, scabs, and an assortment of hired thugs. These two groups of thugs enthusiastically set out to oppress anyone associated with the Union or having an interest to join.
(snip)

The outbreaks of violence supported appeals for a congressional investigation of the hostilities in the West Virginia coalfields. An investigation was conducted July-October, 1921, and the committee condemned, among other things, the practice of the mine owners paying the wages and expenses of the Logan County Sheriff and his deputies. However, the committee did not order any reforms.

On August 1,1921 the assassination of Union leaders Sid Hatfield and Ed Chambers (defendants of the Matewan Massacre) on the steps of the McDowell County Courthouse by hired thugs outraged Union coal miners throughout West Virginia and intensified the expansion of the “West Virginia Mine Wars.”

A call-to-arms was issued in Union halls throughout West Virginia and within a few weeks approximately five thousand Union miners armed with rifles and an old machine gun assembled at Marmet and began their march south to Logan County. Along the way more Union miners joined the column and the column swelled to as many as fifteen thousand men.

On August 26, a group of 1,200 Union miners reached the foot of Blair Mountain, near the Logan County Line and were confronted by Sheriff Chafin and his men. A pitched battle broke out and the week long “Battle of Blair Mountain” began.

As word of the battle spread panic broke out in Logan County. After desperate calls from Logan County officials, Governor Morgan wired President Harding requesting Federal troops to end the fighting. The troops and military airplanes arrived within days and while the troops were preparing to engage the Union miners, the military airplanes began dropping bombs on Union positions. The battle continued on the mountain for a week. Neither side recorded accurate numbers of casualties or the names of the dead but it was determined both sides suffered an estimated 30 men killed and hundreds more wounded.
(snip/...)

~~~~ link ~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~snip~
A coal miner in West Virginia generally lived in a company town. He woke up in a company bed situated in a company house. He washed himself with water drawn from a company well and ate breakfast prepared with food bought at the company store. Everything consumed or used by his family came from the company, purchased on credit. The credits used during the pay period only rarely failed to add up to less than the paycheck (paid not in United States currency, but company script.) In debt from his first day on the job, the entire system was geared towards keeping him and his family that way.

The miner had free speech, but what happened after he spoke could give him serious trouble. Many companies employed the firm Baldwin and Felts to provide mine guards. These guards dispensed retribution against “rabblerousers” and “outside agitators” who came in talking about unions. One town even featured a Gatling gun mounted upon the front porch of a company official’s home. Companies figured that they could increase their control by importing miners from a variety of areas such as Russia, southern Italy, and Austria-Hungary. They came from countries with oppressive systems; also living in a strange country with different customs and languages increased their isolation. In fairness, company towns ran the spectrum from benevolently paternalistic societies to absolutely dictatorial rule. Increasingly the system turned its aims towards preventing unions from organizing the region.
(snip/...)

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/coal-mine.htm

[Carni]

18. Oh that sucks -- I was afraid of this

What a horrendous discovery :(

[Erika]

19. Every since the coal companies kicked Labor out of mine safety

the safety of the mines have gone down, according to a family member. He said his father talked every day how mine safety was deteriorating.

I guess W's new head of Mine Safety believes in the old business Republican way: less regulation on big business, voluntary safety measures, etc.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

21. wv rwers are already using to justify environmental destruction

specifically mountaintop removal, which has been used to cut costs in place of deep mining

this guy's a colunnist for a local rw rag of a paper here:
http://donsurber.blogspot.com/2006/01/your-electricity-their-lives.html
he's setting up a false choice and not taking into account that deep mines could be safer if they follow OSHA regulations

"The coal facts are simple. West Virginia ruin mountains to strip mine, or we ruin infrastructure in deep mines. Each ton of coal represents 2,000 kilowatts of electricity. More than half the electricity in the United States comes from coal.

Over in New England, people want to close the mines and end the burning of coal. OK. Fine. Start by closing the coal-fired plant in Connecticut, the two in Delaware, the four in Massachusetts, the two in New Hampshire, the five in New Jersey and the 12 in New York.

Otherwise, shut the hell up. As they say in the hills about those who protest coal, let 'em freeze to death in the dark. I prayed for 13 men and their families tonight."

[flyarm]

29. what osha? what epa????? do none of you remember how many were exposed to

god awful aspestos and god knows what else at the wtc and in nyc after 9/11 and this mother fucker in this white house had the epa and osha lie towtc workers..firemen, volunteers , police..wtf these mothers fuckers hate osha and epa..they fucking hate americans.,.and its about damn time we all wake up ajd wake up our neighbors..if we have to write it on our foreheads...and shove it down their throats..

sorry i am touchy about it and i tend to rant ..as my son was a volunteer at wtc and was exposed...and i am so damn tired of americans burying their heads in the sand ..and only "doing" something when it happens to them or there's

the same crap is going on in new orleans and mississippi...only now they are hiring illegals and exposing them..and half the time not even paying them ..deporting them before they get their pay...haliburton folks...haliburton..

get these fuckers out of our country..get these bastards out of our white house...

i can't take it anymore!

how many Americans have to die because of these bastards???????????

wow i am so mad..but i am mad because alot of these people in the name of god voted for these bastards against their own best interests..

how many have to die?????????

do we care??????????

let em kill you, let them take your income and make you live like third world ..and those stupid asses vote for this guy in the name of god...

well god help all of us!

fly

ps sorry for my rant..but i am so sick about this..as well as all the other shit this bunch of criminals in my government are doing to my country and my countrymen

[karlrschneider]

24. So sad. They are all dead. The company store will have to write off

a bit of their accounts receivable.

[frankly_fedup2]

27. Really, really sad. We can still hope for a miracle for the rest of

the men. I cannot imagine what the families are going through.

[deadparrot]

31. How awful.

Can't help but think that the others have suffered the same fate. My condolences and best wishes to all the family and friends involved.

[pro_blue_guy]

32. Such a tragedy.

I send my condolances and prayers to West Virginia from your neighboring state, Ohio. Here's to the safe return of the other 12 workers. We hope for the best!