"I liked the miners when they were still underground. Now they are too mainstream" -- @Haydude
We can joke now, but the NPR coverage today had me moved. Good story, involves a Kansas company too, which devised the plan, officially named "Plan B" :-)
Interestingly, this is probably the first major mainstream news event I can say I've only followed online. I recall watching lots of other events strictly by staying glued to CNN: the beginning of the Gulf War, the death of Princess Diana, 9/11, perhaps most similar- the Quecreek Mine rescue.
The thing that stands out to me is that the Chilean president was there in person for every single rescue. I have no idea what kind of man he is, but that to me, sets a great example of how national leaders should respond in a disaster.
"Particular credit belongs to Chilean President Sebastián Piñera. It was Mr. Piñera who insisted on an all-out rescue effort, ultimately involving three separate extraction methods, when a more cautious (or fatalistic) politician might have feared raising expectations that could easily have been dashed.
Commentators have described his decision as a calculated political gamble, but to us it seems more like genuine statesmanship. Chile has historically depended on mining for much of its wealth. To keep faith with the men who go deep down into the earth to extract that wealth, as Mr. Piñera has, can no more be subject to a cost-benefit analysis than an army's decision to rescue its wounded or fallen soldiers from the battlefield. Deeper things are at stake."
It's a mixed bag. At this time in this kind of disaster I agree it made sense for him to be right there. But in many other types of disasters, the president's presence does little but further complicate the situation.
update: I've found that drill was for sale as early as 2002, so the technology is 8 years old
Two things bother me about all this:
1. all the nationality "flag waving" one country did this, another country did that. Really? Is that what this is about, where everyone that contributed happens to be from? Because the inverse of that is you are saying the other countries didn't care.
2. many of the miners are ready to head right back down and work elsewhere - despite the history of all the corporations running very unsafe mines in the area. This is like eating cheeseburgers after a heart-attack.
I am no miner but I believe the drill and bit are separate:
'Schramm Inc. of West Chester, Pa., makes the T-130 drill used to make the hole; Center Rock makes the 28-inch wide canisters that function as the bit. Each canister contains four air hammers and four drill bits that move in tandem to dig through rock.'
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39656218/ns/business-us_business...
2) Do you have a job for them? Apparently Chile derives around 40% of it's GDP from mining and these people are miners... 'All' the corporations in Chile do not run unsafe mines, only some of them, many of us have enjoyed the benefits the gold and copper they produce without questioning it's origin, perhaps this news will highlight the finite nature of our resources and the lives of those who work in their recovery.
For me it was pleasant to see an international news story on hope turn out with such a great result.
"many of the miners are ready to head right back down and work elsewhere"
They might be ready but it's unlikely that they will. So far I've seen them be offered $10,000 each along with $400,000 for exclusive interviews. Hopefully the offers are real and they'll use it to take care of themselves for life. They deserve to not have to go down in a mine to earn a living after surviving this cave-in. [Source CNN Anderson Cooper 360 coverage]
The cheeseburger would most likely be dangerous not because of read meat, but because of the processed wheat in the bun. Not sure about other ingredients.
American news this morning is non-stop about all the help from the USA, as if it's the only way we can relate to it. I wish I could still get CNN International it was a much better quality perspective about nearly everything.
What's interesting to me about all this, that I learned from the endless news, is that people in Chile have their own second class citizens - Bulgarians. I guess every country has a different nationality or ethnicity to pick on which is sad.
Funny, I heard somewhere that an american operator was responsible for the successful drill and thought it was kinda silly that no one mentioned in the live coverage (Brazil)
In other news a group of Chilean Miner's Families chased the 1300 journalists camped at the mining town out of town claiming that stunk up the joint..:)
We can joke now, but the NPR coverage today had me moved. Good story, involves a Kansas company too, which devised the plan, officially named "Plan B" :-)