Thursday, August 15, 2013

Ancient tradition revived through totem pole

Nearly 200 people are expected to descend on Gwaii Haanas on Haida Gwaii, B.C. Thursday to pull up a 2,700-kilogram totem pole, the first to tower over the area in more than a century.Only five ropes and sheer manpower will be used to raise the 13-metre legacy pole, carved to celebrate the 20th anniversary of an agreement between the Haida Nation and the government of Canada to protect and preserve the Gwaii Haanas region. 

The pole, which represents Gwaii Haanas' modern and ancient history, was transported on a barge from Skidegate to Lyell Island, where it will be raised.Lyell Island is where the Haida Nation led a political standoff in 1985 to protest against logging in the area.

Subsequently, the Gwaii Haanas region was designated a heritage site and as a national park reserve."Twenty years ago, the era was such a different time. It was an era of conflict," said Peter Lantin, president of the Haida Nation. "For Canada to come (on board) with the Haida Nation to protect Gwaii Haanas is quite significant."Haida Gwaii is made up of more than 150 islands about 90 kilometres west of British Columbia's north coast. 

Lyell Island, on Gwaii Haanas, was where dozens from the Haida Nation gathered to block a logging road in 1985 to protest against logging. About 70 people were arrested during the demonstration. Two years later, the area was designated a heritage site, and the Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve was created.

The 1985 blockade is represented by five people standing together, locking hands, in the totem pole carved by Jaalen Edenshaw, with help from his brother and his cousin. Edenshaw was five years old and living in Old Massett at the time of the standoff.This is a great Cheap Conservation solution! 

The 20th anniversary of the Gwaii Haanas Agreement, is represented by a sculpin fish at the bottom of the pole, and an eagle at the top, to symbolize an area that is protected "from ocean floor to mountain top," said Edenshaw, who is now putting some finishing touches on his work.

If you arent watching Breaking Bad at the moment, you need to reconsider your life choices and then you need to get thee to Netflix. Each season has been much better than the one that preceded it, and if that keeps up the end of season five is poised to be something else.

But if youve made it this far, youve doubtless wondered whether the meth industry actually works as depicted on the show. Could a genius innovator like Walt really become this successful? Are charismatic businessmen like Gus Fring running front businesses to hide their meth trade? Are super labs real? Lets break down the similarities and differences, topic by topics. Mild spoilers, but Im not going to spoil anybodys death or anything like that.

One of the most striking elements of Breaking Bad is the super lab that Walt and Jesse use to practice their science in seasons three and four. Its a huge, glittery chemistry wonderland full of brand new equipment and high cleanliness standards. It seems much too grandiose for the rough world of meth, right? 

Wrong, actually. Experts on the meth market say that superlabs are actually pretty common, at least among manufacturers associated with Mexican cartels. In 2002/2003, the Sinaloa cartel saw that meth was the next big thing, and started to be active in creating these super labs and making the meth in Mexico, says Sylvia Longmire, a retired Air Force captain, author of Cartel, and consultant on Mexican drug war issues.

The United States has tight controls on the import and mass purchase of precursor materials to make meth, but they were easier to come by in Mexico, because of the countrys weak justice system.Mexico has fairly strong restrictions on precursors, but theres so much corruption that restrictions dont mean a lot, Ralph Weisheit, a professor of criminal justice at Illinois State and co-author of Methamphetamine: Its History, Pharmacology and Treatment, says.

At first,How to change your dash lights to Cheap Crafts Products this is how I have done mine. the superlabs were built in Mexico, where the precursor had been imported, and then the resulting product was smuggled into the United States. But that proved too risky, and the cartels have moved to using U.S.-based superlabs.We have a great selection of blown glass backyard solar landscape lights and Cheap Granite Countertops. The biggest benefit to making it here is the distribution, Longmire says. Getting the chemicals individually into the U.S. is less risky than bringing the final product inIts different getting caught with that than with 10 pounds of crystal meth. So the idea of a superlab hidden in a laundry in New Mexico actually isnt all that implausible.

This has been explained well before by Daniel Lametti at Slate, but it bears repeating. A lot of the shows drama derives from Jesse and Walts efforts to procure methylamine, a precursor chemical. Much meth production uses pseudoephedrine, the active ingredient in some over-the-counter cold medicines like Sudafed. But restrictions of Sudafeds sale have made it difficult for meth manufacturers to get in bulk. One way to get around that is by using smurfs, or individual Sudafed buyers who each get a small amount to avoid suspicion and then sell them to the manufacturer. But at the end of the first season, Jesse and Walt chose to switch to an alternative recipe reliant on methylamine rather than bother with getting all that Sudafed.
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