Yelling Fire!

( – promoted by odum)

Nice of Larry ENVY to start pointing fingers – before the fire marshal’s investigation is complete – for the fire at the ENVY office in Brattleboro.

Smith wasted no time in pointing at the anti-nuke folks.

Although tensions have been high regarding the continued operation of the nuclear power plant, this was the first time someone had put people’s lives at risk, Smith said. He added that he was shocked that someone could be so selfish as to put their agenda before someone’s lives.

[from VPR] (Smith) “It’s a little disturbing; it’s unnerving. If the cause of the fire is determined to be deliberate, that’s the most brazen, deliberate attempt on our property, or our employees or one of our facilities in our in our 39 year history.”

Right, lives were in such danger at corporate headquarters at 3 a.m.

“When the first crew arrived the sprinkler system was active and there was smoke in the first floor of the building,” [Fire Chief Michael Buccossi] told the Reformer. “Fire damage was minor as we were able to extinguish it in a short amount of time, but there was moderate water and smoke damage to the building.”

The usual anti-nuke spokespeople all seemed to fall right in line with the suggestion that some anti-nuke person or group had broken in and started the fire.

[Dan] DeWalt said setting fire to a building as a form of protest is “highly counter-productive.”

“We’re trying to win allies here,” he said. “I don’t think an act of violence or of destruction can win allies. The power of our movement is in our non-violence.”

Given that the state is now battling the worn out and obsolete plant’s continued operation beyond March, 2012, it just wouldn’t make any sense for the grass-roots anti-nukes to even consider such a thing.

Bob Stannard, spokesman for Citizen Awareness Network, which also opposes Yankee’s continued operation, agreed with DeWalt […]

“This whole process is all about playing in the confines of the rules of the game,” Stannard said. Setting a fire is pointless and not to be condoned, he added.

After dumping that thought, my next one was to wonder whether someone staged the break-in and fire in order to dispose of inconvenient records or test results that can now not be produced. Nor, if I understand the news coverage correctly, can tests be run in the basement lab.

We have our plant servers and computer systems. And there’s a quality control lab where we test instruments and other nuclear grade equipment. ~ VPR quoting Larry Smith

What a shame. No current data, more delays in releasing test results now done out of state … gosh, who’s the beneficiary there?

31 thoughts on “Yelling Fire!

  1. Certainly anythings possible. Earlier this week the Know-Nothing commenters in the BFP were speculating that the vehicle carrying the arrested farm workers was intentionally speeding in order to get stopped and create an incident. If that’s the way that bunch is thinking perhaps it wasn’t Entergy but one of their camp followers that might have set the fire. After all, Yankee is rapidly reaching the end of its rope.

    BTW, great appearance by Governor Shumlin on Rachel Maddow’s show last night. He covered a wide range of topics and did it superbly. Check it out!

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26

  2. How likely would it be that one of the protesters would actually imagine it useful to torch the ENVY office?!  

    Absolutely the most plausible culprit, if it was indeed set rather than accidental (a far more likely explanation), would be an over-zealous ENVY operative, either trying to create a distraction, destroy evidence, or secure insurance $$!

    Me thinks Larry dost protest too full.

    However, I don’t think it was set at all.  The place had a cooling tower that was allowed to collapse, for chrissake! How much attention do you think they pay to the office?!!

    This sounds more like Larry pulling a Chicken Little.

  3. every movement has people in it who are in it for the wrong reasons.  In the case of the anti-nuke movement, I totally agree that the vast majority of the people in the movement are doing so with good and non-violent intent but that doesn’t mean that everyone involved is going to do the right thing.

    I refuse to dismiss out of hand the possibility that VY (or some individual at VY with something to hide) set the fire, but I also refuse to dismiss out of hand the possibility that it wasn’t performed by some thoughtless idiot who thought it would be a good way to cause trouble for VY.

    And yeah, the PR machine was quick to jump in.  But, really, it’s not like VY’s PR machine is in low gear these days.  

  4. Smith said the three-story building houses the nuclear plant’s communication equipment, its public relations office and emergency response center.

    Why am I not surprised that there was no one at the VY  emergency response center?

    I am also surprised there were no PR people there, since it seems the only time they work is after 5PM on Fridays…

  5. Although tensions have been high regarding the continued operation of the nuclear power plant, this was the first time someone had put people’s lives at risk, Smith said. He added that he was shocked that someone could be so selfish as to put their agenda before someone’s lives.

    When I read this first I choked, then then laughed out loud. Unbelieveable that the nuclear industry can talk about someone putting their agenda before people’s lives. That is what the nuclear industry has been doing from the outset. Fukishima is still sending radiation out that will cause great amount of cancer. A month ago in St. Louis background radiation was 178 times “acceptable” levels. This industry is all about their agenda/profits before lives and health and their waste will be there for hundreds of generations.

    Its speculation but I’d guess it was far more likely someone on the Entergy team who set the fire given their suit wants to portray Vermonters as having played dirty with them and forced them into that agreement to shut down.

    The history of the nuclear industry is one of lies and the most callous disregard for human life imaginable. And also of more lies. Oh and more lies

    and disregard of peoples lives.

    Get these destroyers of earth out of Vermont. No Nukes Nowhere.

  6. for their continual appeals to the public & attempts to sway public opinion at each critical juncture of the steady string of ‘events’, mishaps & problems. Entergy’s strategy is always a widely distributed appeal to the public through VT media. The seemingly neverending campaign which has been going for several years to win the trust & support of Vermonters has failed miserably. Letters to the editor bombarding VT newspapers as well as op-eds from plant employees, ‘business leaders’, former legislators & other supporters are deceptive, misleading & false. Aided by Entergy Louisiana’s cheerleading squad, VTEP, a supposed ‘diverse group of business & labor’ which has served as a large source of this propaganda.

    http://www.vtep.org

    http://www.sourcewatch.org/ind

    Therefore the intended audience would have to be the very gullible, ininformed or both. What they think of the intelligence of average Vermonters is clear.

    Clearly, public perception has been shown to be uppermost in the strategy for continued operation of VY by Entergy corporate.

    Vermont Yankee Changes Ad Message Midstream

    http://www.7dvt.com/2010vermon

    Entergy Louisiana continues its deceptive advertising campaign

    http://vtdigger.org/2011/02/24

    Vermont Yankee Appeals To Public In Newspaper Ads

    Plant Takes Out Full Pages Ads In 9 Papers

    Read more:

    http://www.wptz.com/news/27597

    The character, honesty & trustworthiness displayed by the behavior of Entergy reps throughout the continuing debacle have been shown to be lacking to say the very least. I put nothing past them. That said, we may never know who is behind this & there is a case to be made for each ‘theory’.

    My initial reaction-I was somewhat stunned (why I don’t know), to see Larry Smith publicly accusing those opposed to VY as the cause. What reason would he/Entergy have for this very public display & accusation if not to sway public perception in the face of a very real liklihood of the loss of their dramatic lawsuit, VY v VT?

  7. No updates on B&E/Arson at Vt. Entergy office. Curious.  I wonder how many policing agencies are working on this?  Brattleboro PD, Vermont State Police, FBI, Homeland, and, of course NRC/CIA.  Boy, a shitload of coffee and doughnuts.  And still no news on these (speculated) anti-nuke kook masterminds who struck so swiftly and secretly and then faded away into the anti-nuke kook UNDERGROUND.  Perhaps they should bring in Inspector Clouseau?  After he solves this one, he can go find the Real Killers in the O.J. case.  

  8. PolitenessMan:  “Hmmm…methinks this silence has less to do with Politeness than something else–something I will probably find badly lacking in acceptability.”

    Marc Thompson:  “Get me out of here Politenessman, and I”LL investigate the fire (takes one to know one)–for a large fee, of course.

    FBI & NRC:  “Butt out, PolitenessMan.  This is a federal case.

    O. J.:  “It wasn’t me.”

    Inspector Clouseau:  “I am assistimont nurw in this straange case of perhaps a mad buumber on the luuse in the Graean Mountainonts.”

    “FBI & NRC:  “A buumber on the lusse?”

    (STEEL HANKIE–‘Thunk, Thunk, Thunk!’ on FBI, NRC & CLOUSEAU.)

    PolitenessMan:  “I must strongly discourage the accents being put on this issue to muddy-up this issue.  It would be in good manners to hear the real story on what’s going on.”

  9. What War?  What Bail-Out?  What Meltdown?  

    We interrupt this program to bring you this special message from somewhere in Vermont:



    “Hi.  I’m Larry; this is my brother, Darryl; this is my other brother Darryl.  I just want to say, we didn’t know there would be all this fuss about Darryl here breaking into the Vermont Entergy office.  I’ve been following all the stories on it the last 13 days, and I guess Darryl is guilty of some untoward behavior.  He got lost in Brattleboro and he was hungry and he thought Entergy was one of those power nutrition snacks all the yuppies eat.  He couldn’t find any, and I guess he was careless with matches.  Anyway, I just want to say, on behalf of myself and my two brothers, that we’re not going to give ourselves up.  We’ve been watching with great shock and awe all the government helicopters going back and forth looking for anti-nuke kooks and I feel, in this frenzy of high-powered law enforcement investigation, it would be impossible for Darryl to get a fair shake.  In fact, I worry for his life because I know the government would probably not hesitate to shoot poor Darryl, or hustle him off to that Guantanamo place they put people who they want to get rid of.  So we’re going to sit tight in our little nest here in the woods.  Maybe once in a while venture forth for some roadkill.  I hope level heads will soon prevail.  And I also want to say to Vermont Entergy that what Darryl did had nothing to do with you not hiring us last year as safety inspectors for your plant in Vernon.  Although, I must say, I think we could have done a much better job than whoever it was you did hire.  Once again, we’re sorry about all the fuss.  And all the extra work the Vermont mainstream media has had to do in covering this story.  Anything you want to add, Darryl and Darryl?  My brothers say Hey.  Thank you.”

  10. SPOKESPERSON:

    “Yes, I know everyone has been waiting for an update, so here it is.  It’s a mystery.  I mean, sometimes shit happens and you never really know why or how or whom to blame.  It’s like the weather, and I think we all know how mysterious that’s been.  I don’t want people to think that this is all some bullshit.  There was a fire.  And it was arson.  We said so from the get-go.  But…well, sometimes you need to get some distance and just sit back and chill.  If you try to horse things around, you could make matters worse.  You’ve got to move on with your life.  Christmas is coming.  

    I know I have a big Christmas list already.  We’re all just human beings.  Except those people who started the fire.  So just figure we know and you know who they all are and don’t worry about it.  I wish I had a dollar for every time there was a mysterious crime in this country and people got all shook up because it never got solved.  Or it was solved, and people just didn’t believe it really was.  You know, sometimes you just have to say: ‘DUH’…I mean, it’s life.  Not everything is a goddamn conspiracy.  Sometimes things are just fucked-up.  Like when your car won’t start for no good reason, or computers–I’ll bet we’ve all got some stories about computers and the shit they pull on us.  Talk about the inexplicable.  I had to ask my 12 year-old daughter yesterday to get back what my computer deleted on me, and even she couldn’t find it.  So anyway, what I want to make clear, sort of, is that everything is proceeding and everything will eventually come to pass.  Or as that guy once sang: ‘Don’t worry, be happy’–I loved that song.  

    So, there’s your update, and I won’t be taking any questions because, obviously, I have no answers.  Come on.  Like–Why is the sky blue?…Is there a God?…Think about it.  But, I want to thank you for your interest.  It’s interesting, isn’t it?  Reminds of those books I used to read in college.  Yeah.  What else can I say?  I’ll keep you informed, but to tell you the truth, right now, I don’t have a clue.  That’s just the way it is sometimes.  You search and you search for things, like the meaning of life, and damn, it’s like on the tip of your tongue, but you just can’t quite get a handle on it.  You understand.  And you know–sometimes No News is Good News.  We all ought to ponder on this in the long days ahead.  Thank you.”

  11. SPOKESPERSON:

    “We’ve contracted the services of Bruce Lesbian, Vermont PI.  His initial report has given us some leads.  We’re looking for a very Fat Man.  We are also looking for a woman who goes by three names, and a tough young punk who is known to be careless with matches.  In Lesbian’s report it was also noted that, on the morning of the fire, a large paperweight seems to have disappeared from the Vt. Entergy offices.  This large paperweight was a black statuette in the figure of a bird, a falcon to be precise.  We feel that this is a significant clue for our investigation, and Vt. Entergy has expressed a casual desire to recover this black statuette, for sentimental reasons.  So, as you can see, the plot thickens.  We are getting close to solving this case, but we are asking the public for some help.  We’ve set up an open blog-site called The Black Bird.  We’re hoping Vermonters will come to this site with suggestions, information, clues, whatnot.  Please, no recipes or X-rated chat.  We will solve this case.  Even if it takes us seventeen and a half years.  Because we’ve got brains.  Yes we have.”

  12. Thinks Salmon will change his mind for which office he is running for once he sees no progress on this. Deputy Constable Honorable Investigator, in pursuit of further helping Vermonters in these trying, post Irene Fire times.  

  13. SPOKESPERSON:

    “We have also decided to hold a SILENT VIGIL in front of the Entergy offices every Friday afternoon in hopes this will shame those anti-nuke kook arsonists into turning themselves in.  Hey, it worked for Iraq, right?  It didn’t?

    Never mind.”  

  14. SPOKESPERSON:

    “Have you seen the season’s changes?  I mean, when you contemplate nature, the powers of God, and how there’s this natural order to things, with cycles and all, it kind of makes you feel sort of insignificant in this vast expanding Universe.  We’re talking about a break-in and arson, but in the end, what are we really talking about?  Mankind has been trying to define and shape its place in the Universe for centuries.  God even sent down His only Son to help us out.  Think about it.  What if Jesus had turned out to be a fire-bug, or a convenience-store robber, or a serial killer?

    Things would be a lot different now, wouldn’t they?  I dare say, one small fire and some comments implying certain people were guilty, would be a very very small, a very petty, set of circumstances to dwell on, what with everything else we would have to worry about.

    I know, I know.  You want some information.  Hey, me too.  I can tell you this–This morning we contacted the American Society of Dowsers up in Danville, Vermont.  They have these pendulums that do really cool stuff.  My mother has one.  Anyway, we’re still working on it.  A seance will be held at the Vermont Entergy offices this Thursday evening.  And a potluck.  Come check it out.  They’ll also be Clog dancing later.  Meet with us, your officials and authorities, and get to know us.  You’ll like us.  And you’ll wonder what kind of people could do what they did to us.  I also want to point out that the joint Vt. State Police/FBI Support Group, Green Mountain Anomalies,  will continue to meet every Friday evening at the Brattleboro Public Library and will soon be holding meetings at other selected libraries across the state.  

    So you see, we’re still at it, although, for the life of me, I don’t know why.  What I hate most is all the overtime.  We put in for double-time, but we don’t have a Union, so Washington and Entergy told us to go fuck ourselves.  See, this is what stress causes.  I hear it everyday in the voices of people on the phones who call up to turn in their next door neighbors, or their dentists, or their teenage kids, or the guy who picks up their recycling.  God, what’s it going to be like on Halloween?  We’ll be looking for volunteers to help us man the phones.  Whew…that’s all for today.  I need to take a pill and a nap.  Thank you.”

  15. “Hello.  This is the Arson At Entergy Hotline.  Hello?”

    “Yeah, listen…is this where I call to report information?”

    “Yessir.  Do you have information for us?”

    “Yeah, I saw something the morning in question.”

    “Yes?”

    “Yeah, about 3:30 that morning I was driving back into town from the country in the car I repoed…”

    “Repoed?”

    “Yeah, I’m a Repo Man.  So I see this ’64 Chevy Malibu pulling away very fast from the Entergy offices, and I recognized the guys in the car.  The Fucking Rodriquez Brothers and…”

    “The Rodriquez Brothers?”

    “No. The Fucking Rodriquez Brothers.  And there was something sticking out of the trunk of the Chevy.  Something that made this strange glow in the dark, and there was this weird smell, and…”

    “Hold on a moment, sir.  I’m putting on my supervisor.”

    “Shit.”

    “Hello.  This is Major Bat Quano, Homeland Security.  What’s this about a ’64 Chevy Malibu that glows in the dark?  And where are you calling from?”

    “I’m calling from a throwaway cell which I’m about to throw away, you dildo dipshit asshole.  I want to know if there’s a reward for this information, that’s all.  Or maybe I should take it to Seven Days.”

    “We have no knowledge here of any ’64 Chevy Malibu, or any Rodriquez Brothers, or…”

    “That’s The Fucking Rodriquez Brothers.”

    “All right, The Fucking Rodriquez Brothers.  Or any knowledge of anything that glows in the dark or smells weird coming out of the Entergy offices.  If you’ll stay on the line, we’ll…”

    “Shit.  Adios dipshit.”

    “Sonofabitch!  Did anyone get a trace?”

    “Not enough time, sir.”

    “We’ve got to find that fucker.  He saw it.  He saw the Aliens.  And we’ve got to find that Chevy Malibu.  And the Rodriquez Brothers…The FUCKING Rodriquez Brothers!”

    “What if he goes to Seven Days, sir?”

    “We’ll let our SPOKESPERSON handle that.  He’s been doing a good job BSing people.”

    “You know sir, I think our SPOKESPERSON is under a lot of stress.  I think he’s ready to crack.  I don’t know how he’ll handle it if the Alien stuff gets out.  He might go over the edge.”

    “That’s all right.  A crazy bullshit person to handle a crazy bullshit story.  It’s been done since the AEC took over after Roswell.  I’ve got a lunch meeting with the Mayor of Barre.  You people get on this mess.  Find that guy and find that Chevy.”

    “And the Rodriquez Brothers?”

    “That’s THE FUCKING RODRIQUEZ BROTHERS!”

    “Yes sir.”

    to be continued…I’m sure…………………….

     

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