Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Review of RCH/C2C 20th July

Richard C. Hoagland on Coast to Coast AM

     He's BAAAAA-aaaaaack!!! Another hour of ranting, flinging totally inaccurate accusations like stink-bombs and beating a few dead horses just for good measure.

     There was nonsense about NASA and about the "artificial spaceships" Phobos and Lutetia, but most of the nonsense was once more about Deepwater Horizon:

     He repeated yet again a plea for those mud logs and lamented the fact that Ed Markey of the congressional sub-committee on energy and mineral resources has not been able to prise them out of BP's fingers. Of course, Hoagland doesn't actually know that — he's just guessing. Markey may well have been shown them on a classified basis. Hoagland still didn't say what he'd actually do with them if he got them. This campaign of his is already a total FAIL, but neither he nor radio host George Noory have accepted that fact.

     He called for the establishment of a network of tsunami warning buoys, presumably an extension of the existing DART system, ready for when that 20-mile wide methane bubble at a pressure of 100,000 psi erupts. Leaving aside for a moment the fact that the methane bubble as he describes it doesn't exist, the distance from the Deepwater Horizon site to the coast of Florida is about 450 kM — a tsunami would be over the beaches and swim-up bars of St. Petersburg and Sarasota in less than an hour. New Orleans would be the world's biggest human aquarium in about ten minutes.

     There was worse to come. Hoagland ranted several times about the stupidity of what he called the "pressurization" of the oil well by BP, a company that he described as concerned only about its profits and scandalously unanswerable to anybody representing "We, The People." He even apologized for getting hot under the collar, remarking that "when I see people doing really stupid things, I get mad."

     Well, this diatribe was not merely inaccurate but the exact reverse of the truth — and as usual George Noory allowed it on the air exactly as though it were true. The real truth is that since 15th July the three-ram capping stack has successfully stopped all but a trickle of oil and gas from the Macondo well. The gigantic three-month long gusher has actually had the effect of REDUCING pressure, from about 9,000 psi to today's 6,800 psi. The idea that the well is being pressurized is pure fantasy. As for lack of oversight of BP's practices — Adm. Thad Allen represents the people of the USA and he's very firmly in charge. Over the weekend he sent a headmasterly letter to BP reminding them that they had to do things his way, and directing them to continue the tests and seismic surveys.

     What Hoagland didn't mention — probably because he doesn't understand — is that the reduced pressure in the well has got some experts thinking again about a so-called "top kill." This is the same procedure that was tried unsuccessfully back on 26th May — injection of enough drilling mud to counterbalance the upward thrust of the column of oil under pressure. The pressure proved too great to overcome in May, but now that it's reduced a kill may be possible. However, it won't happen unless Adm. Allen approves.

     Either by means of the top kill or the relief well — very likely both — this well will be dead and sealed in a couple of weeks, weather permitting. High-pressure oil and gas will continue to exist under that part of the sea bed. But it was Mother Nature, not BP, that put it there.

     Hoagland still hasn't written the White Paper he announced five weeks ago, and for that I guess we can be thankful. Hoagland is wrong about the sabotage; he's wrong about the pressure; and he's wrong about that other gash in the Earth's crust spewing even more oil. His continued access to the public media, to spout utter lies to a radio audience of around six million, is a very palpable disgrace.

23 comments:

Chris Lopes said...

I was kind of hoping you would cover last night's C2C appearance. I was very tempted to tune in myself (I was under the impression he was going to talk about his days at CBS, it being the 41st anniversary of the Moon landing and all), but I didn't want to have to listen to his other nonsense, so I put my Apollo nostalgia on hold for the night. From what you have written, I didn't miss much.

I agree, it is good for the rest of us that he hasn't finished the "paper" yet (though it is sure to be good for a few laughs), but for Hoagie, not so much. I think waiting until the situation is essentially over to do something "official" looks lame. Some of his followers have got to be a little skeptical by now. The C2C people don't seem to consider him their go to guy on the spill (Friday's show has Professor Peter Ward on that subject), so this whole episode hasn't exactly been a win/win situation for him.

In any case, keep up the good work.

expat said...

There was nothing about Apollo. The NASA material was basically a lament, but it was totally self-contradictory. First he said that a free-thinking space agency was an important asset because somebody has to be bold enough to try theories that may not pay off for decades. Then, when he returned to the subject of the current NASA budget, still insisting that the return to the Moon will be restored, he seemed to deprecate the idea of research into exotic propulsion systems for the very reason that it might not pay off.

But the greatest chunk of Green Cheese poppycock by far was his assertion, at the end of the hour, that if NASA had been allowed to set up Moon bases in the 1980s, they would by now have had access to the exotic technology of the great lunar civilization of the past, and hence solved all our Earthly technical problems including our dependence on oil. Very, very bizarre.

Chris Lopes said...

That is very sad. The one thing Hoagland had going for him (in my eyes anyway) is the fact that he was there when it happened. He was a first hand witness (from CBS's vantage point, anyway) to history. If he is no longer able to get past his own mythology, and serve as a story teller of that moment, he really is lost. He's become merely an object of (well deserved) ridicule.

Biological_Unit said...

I'm not nostalgic for the fake manned moon landings.
I had a relative who knew immediately that it was fake!

“It’s a journey we can’t repeat with today’s technology, but in 1969, a group of astronauts risked everything to walk on the Moon.”
When We Left Earth, Discovery Channel, 2010

No elaboration necessary. I guess Rocketry and Physics operated with different parameters in 1969. Stay away from the brown acid, maaaann!!
I know it's not cool to attack the attackers of RCH, but yous make it so easy ...

Biological_Unit said...

Buzz Aldrin, most notoriously, has claimed that Apollo 11 was tailed all the way to the Moon by a UFO!

Illogical! Illogical!

Biological_Unit said...

It’s a journey we can’t repeat with today’s technology, computers are getting slower, we can't find the blueprints for the, unhhh, greatest success of mankind that was, unhhh, lost ...

expat said...

>>Buzz Aldrin, most notoriously, has claimed that Apollo 11 was tailed all the way to the Moon by a UFO!<<

Totally untrue. Buzz noticed an object he didn't immediately identify keeping station with Apollo 11 shortly after TLI. It turned out to be one of the four panels of the shroud that had connected the command module to the Saturn V upper stage.

Chris Lopes said...

BU, the technology and the physics aren't the problem, it's the politics. Apollo was fueled by a cold war mentality that made going to the Moon before the end of the decade a must. Once the deed was done, the urgency was gone. So the very specific technological infrastructure that supported it was allowed to fade.

We could rebuild that infrastructure again, but it would take at least twice as long (due to bureaucratic inertia and budgetary constraints) and cost who knows how many times more. So exploring the Moon as a government funded enterprise is not feasible.

Biological_Unit said...

I don't see why the Shuttle was or is never tasked to go to the Moon.
It was always said that the hard part is getting into earth orbit.

Once the deed was done, the urgency was gone.

You mean, once we whacked the whistle blower, that is all the NASA text provided. Nothing informations.

expat said...

That show is now available on YouKnowWhat.

Biological_Unit said...

BU, the technology and the physics aren't the problem, it's the politics

In 1608 Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec City. Soon after, Montreal was founded. Subsequent exploration reached the area of Lake Ontario and Kingston.
However, bureaucratic inertia and budgetary constraints meant that during the 1700's the French were stuck in Quebec City ... they could go no further ...

rreeeeeaaalllyy ....

Biological_Unit said...

Apollo was fueled by a cold war mentality
that they may have to fake major events to push the public into directions the elite need.

(see 911, oily wars, things related to Israhell that are illegal to disbelieve)

Biological_Unit said...

See 911, Gulf of Tonkin incident, USS Liberty, the Sinking of the Maine.

Food for thought for the authoritarian types here who are brown-nosing their way into cushy NASA positions.

Comment Moderation coming soon to this Blog!

Biological_Unit said...

Bruce At The Beach

Air quality and Beach quality seem good.

(Disclosure - I own no BP stock)

Chris Lopes said...

Expat, for your amusement. http://io9.com/5558437/why-did-nasa-destroy-that-dome-on-the-moon

Peter Uwira put this up on both the final frontier FB page and Richard's FB page. So far, Richard's only response is indignation at being an adjective (Peter has described the story as Hoaglandish). The story is not bad, though the author goes in a slightly different direction as Hoagland. Interesting.

Biological_Unit said...

Where are the proud LEM Rocket builders who could take credit for the wonderful successes of 1969?
They scrapped and shredded all the blueprints and documentation! Why. Lord God oh Why.
This suckass blog deserves to be spammed. But, of coors, there's lots of NASA dick to be sucked here. Yeah, I'm angry!

Biological_Unit said...

People can be diverted from discovering serious nonsense by other nonsense.

expat said...

Christopher: Thanks for the link. Yes, amusing.

George: FGS stop being so childish.

Biological_Unit said...

You can suck my dick too!

Biological_Unit said...

FGS - stop being so naive

At the start of a mission, life expectancy is very low. When six
operatives are on a mission, they tell one or two stories of what really
went down. After all, there is nothing to lose. A couple of the agents
die and four are left with eight stories. After a decade or two the stories start to repeat, but those startled, surprised survivors have the history of the world pierced through their thick skin and rubbed into the arms of their worn-out chairs. As they talk oblivious of their surroundings, they reveal their secrets and a whole new world opens up.
The problem with agents is that they played a role but were denied
the overall picture. Each had a piece of evidence to impart and it is only
through collecting their different stories that an entire picture emerges.
When an ordinary Joe interviews more than one of them and shows their
collective part in history, their friendship is immediate, protective and
concerned. Their advice is always right. After all, they are the survivors
of various governments’ ideologies and the bizarre cravings of power.
When these stories unfurl and are put in perspective, the nature of
the secret service opens up. With five decades of stories from more than
one player, their stories overlap in the thousands and a history is born.
As much as I show you here, much more is left out. As soldiers, authors
and historians die off, their records often go with them.
Most of history is created from manufactured records, yet the true
history provides us with the rich understanding of ‘humanity’s bizarre
strivings for wealth and power’, the destruction of each other, the desire
for mass murder and the cover-ups that follow. Heroism is wasted in
war – you may win the battle, but lose the war; while treason is rewarded
with entire countries and all your groceries paid for . . . but your life is
not your own.

Biological_Unit said...

“It’s a journey we can’t repeat with today’s technology, but in 1969, a group of astronauts risked everything to walk on the Moon.”
When We Left Earth, Discovery Channel, 2010

>>Discovery Channel<<

HELLO!

AN AUTHORITY FIGURE IS SPEAKING! THESE ARE RESPECTABLE MEN WHO HAVE OFFICES WITH NICE FURNITURE, WOOD PANELLING AND LEATHER-BOUND BOOKS IN EXPENSIVE NEIGHBORHOODS WITH HIGH TAXES! THEY ARE NOT SWEATY BLOGGERS AT ALL! SHOULDN'T YOU BE DISCUSSING HOW YOU AGREE WITH THEM? YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO IGNORE THEM AS IF THEY WERE DAMP BASEMENT BLOGGERS!!

Biological_Unit said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Biological_Unit said...

Amazingly bad Video of Torsion Physics, and a Ringworld around Saturn that wouldn't provide Gravity, making it useless for humans. Why was it built? It wasn't. It's DUST that is held up by Electrostatic forces.

Not plausible in any way