The West Virginia cultural museum hosted a panel on the importance of
Blair Mountain to Union and Coal aficionados yesterday. During the
"official" panel there was hardly a mention of the current efforts of
out of state coal mining companies to destroy this piece of history and
the psychological & economic impact it could have as a tourist
attraction.

Best quote of the afternoon: In the school system
West Virginia history is Morgan Morgan lived in a tree and fought
Indians, the civil war and that's the end of it... never a mention of
the largest insurrection our country has seen. They don't want to teach
kids the power of organizing.

Blair Mountain use to be on the
national registry of historic places and therefore protected from strip
mining. Legally, locals may object to the historic designation if they
choose. The effort to rustle up objectors netted 2 zombies who now live
peacefully in the heart of a millionaire coal exec somewhere.

Mo'Fo'
http://www.friendsofblairmountain.org/

A few days ago someone blocked the public access road to the Blair Mountain Battle Field with boulders that were clearly brought from a mine site.  This would prevent the march from using this state road turnout off the highway as a pick up and drop off spot for Marchers who intended to walk up the Public Road to the historic site.   A small group of marchers took the initiative to move those boulders with thier bare hands.   They opened up the road while jeering miners, private security and state police looked on.  The action had been cleared by the Dept of Transportation because this turnout was an important safety feature on this windy steep mountain  road that is frequently traveled by fast moving over loaded coal trucks.

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Marchers tell personal accounts of the impact o their lives from
Mountain Top Removal and the battle to save their own personal histories
and the sustainability of the land. Spirits are high as the march
passes through Madison WV.
http://marchonblairmountain.org

~ download

A little bit of Union History, morals & ethics in regard to the Blair Mountain Historic Battle Field; the site of the largest Armed insurrection in the United States since the Civil War.  10,000 union miners engaged in armed conflict with coal company thugs and the US Military over the Unionization of the coal mines in 1921.

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The woman who say May 5th was mistaken.  It was April 5th

The United Mine Workers of America, AFL-CIO and random environmental groups protest outside the Massey Energy shareholders meeting May 18th 2010.

Features Cecile Roberts president of the UMWA, Kevin Zeese of the Prosperity Agenda and random pissed off miners demanding justice by various means of punishment for Don Blankenship and the Massey Energy board of directors.

http://umwa.org
http://ProsecuteMassey.org

According to the Associated Press, the FBI is currently investigating Massey Energy for criminal negligence and its role in the death of 29 miners at the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster in Raleigh County, W.Va.  Mountain Justice is calling for decision-makers of Massey Energy to be held accountable for their actions which caused the fatal disaster. Similar in sentiment, shareholders of Massey Energy have called for the immediate resignation of Don Blankenship after the Upper Big Branch disaster, calling the distaster a "tragic consequence of the board's failure to challenge Blankenship's confrontational approach to regulatory compliance.
<http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63C2Q920100413>

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After marching for 5 miles today the seniors settled into the Universal Unitarian Church in Charleston for a fine Bus Cooked meal from Everybody's Kitchen & Seeds of Peace.  After the meal Larry Gibson kept the fire of determination lit for over an hour.  I've tried to boil it down to the core of the essential.

Mo'Fo'@
ClimateGroundZero.org

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At a rally held in Pittsburgh's Point Park on the eve of the G20; we
hear from union leaders from the AFL-CIO, United Steel Workers Union
and city / state officials explain how the green economy, green jobs,
are what is need to save our economy.  Music by Kathy Matea and Joan
Jett.

RePower America

A tour of the actual mural that the Beehive Collective is touring with now as they tweek the design with input from the coal affected communities of Appalachia.

DOWNLOAD Video ~ Beehive Collective Website