Should the rescue effort be called off (miners)?

[CatWoman]

I'm torn. I really am.

Dan Abrams is discussing this right now.

That mountain is extremely volatile. It's going to take at least two more weeks just to locate the trapped miners.

Let's be realistic: in all probability they are dead, and right now we are looking at recovering the remains.

[Xipe Totec]

1. If they're planning to shut down the mine permanently,

then I would say yes, call it off.

If they plan to reopen the mine then, FUCK NO!

It is hypocritical to claim that it is too dangerous to attempt a rescue effort, but not dangerous enough to mine for profit.

[H2O Man]

2. It is a difficult

question, because although common sense would indicate there is a near zero chance of finding anyone alive, the families, friends, and co-workers are focused on that very slim chance. It is also difficult for me to remain objective, because I find the mine "owner" to be such an offensive swine.

[CatWoman]

3. he is a fucking pig, isn't he?

:grr:

[H2O Man]

4. Yes.

He seems like he stepped out of Porkey's or the Dukes of Hazzard.

[Parche]

15. Murry

Every time I see that nifnod I cringe
He is one of the biggest (no pun intended) fukwads out there
And he is a Republican


:hi:
OH MEOW

[TahitiNut]

5. It's my impression that mine is UNSAFE for damned near anything.

The 'bumps' and 'seismic events' smell suspiciously like collapsing mine shafts to me ... and a mountain shifting due to those collapses. The seismologists have been very careful in stating that the seismographs have picked up on single events ... not, as one would suppose if a quake triggered a collapse, two events - one from a quake and the next from a collapse.

The same thing that made it unsafe for the miners (including the six) makes is unsafe from the rescuers (including, now, the dead ones).

Murray is, imho, complicit in this. He's been doing damage control and spin like a pathologically greedy GOPher.

[CatWoman]

6. I got the impression that he was scum

when he kept insisting the mine collapsed due to an earthquake.

[parasim]

7. Since I know nothing of mines, I cannot say...

and since this pig-bastard mine owner is in charge of the rescue effort as well as seemingly in charge of the news reporting surrounding it, who knows what the chances are in finding survivors.

However, if was a friend or family of the the trapped miners, though, hell yeah, you can bet I would be pushing them to continue the rescue effort.

My grandfather was a miner (copper) and we always expected the company he worked for to protect their workers in such a volatile environment. Who would expect anything less?

[karlrschneider]

8. I'm just glad it isn't my call. I'd find it hard to live with myself if I called it off,

but to chance more rescuers dying in the attempt? There really is virtually no chance those 6 guys are still alive but the possibility they could be is horribly haunting.
:cry:

[Forkboy]

9. I would call it off.

Then feel like shit for the rest of my life.But I would still call it off.

[CatWoman]

10. great minds think alike

:)

:hi:

[Forkboy]

12. So what's our excuse?

:D

:loveya:

[porphyrian]

11. I don't know, I'm not an expert. Apparently, neither are those in charge. - n/t

[Javaman]

13. Switch to recovery.

The reality, sadly, is if the cave in didn't get them, the black damp did. :(

[SoCalDem]

14. Those miners were dead on DAY ONE

the collapse (NOT a "bump" or a "bounce") was significant enough to set off the meters at USGS.. they never knew what hit them, and they are buried in tons of rubble..2000 feet below the mountain.. the mountain is "filling the voids" left by decades of shifty mining practices..

The would-be rescuers died needlessly already.

Those men are gone and unrecoverable, just as if they were fishermen on a sunken ship.

As sad is it is, the families of those men should turn their efforts toward prosecuting that scumbag, Bob Murray...and unionizing so they can save the lives of the miners who are left.

[CatWoman]

17. oh man

:scared:

[kenny blankenship]

18. You said it. (I think)

I don't know much about mining, but it appeared to me that the rescue attempts were more or less for OUR benefit - to make us feel less bad about sending men down there into an unsafe mine - rather than for any benefit to the "trapped" miners. They were probably squished to thin film in an instant.

The longshot "rescue" operations are a form of denial of our guilt, or psychological "undoing". We don't want it to be as simple as we send people down into unsafe mines to partially collapse them to recover marginal coal for small pay. We're afraid to admit that we do this. Unfortunately 3 more had to die to assuage our guilt and denial.

We also don't want to admit that we invaded a sovereign country with absolutely no justification and have caused the slaughter of a million people. We are so incapable of facing our guilt that we will vote to continue to kill thousands of American kids - not to mention thousands and thousands more Iraqis - and send our country into bankruptcy, rather than confront what we have done and act accordingly.

[Ediacara]

16. I think they probably died in the collapse

And I really hate to side with that lying sack of shit Murray, but there's probably no way the bodies of those men will ever be recovered.

That being said, if Murray wants to open up other areas of that mountain to coal mining, he can be first in line as far as I'm concerned and we'll see how safe he thinks it is.