What's Today? I Forgot.

In 9 years, I've never understood what this really meant. The 1st anniversary of the tragic events of 9/11 brought on a strange saying in my opinion...."We Shall Never Forget". Doesn't this go without saying? Don't we have a better way, a better phrase, to acknowledge what took place? Wouldn't you have to be in coma, live under a rock or gone senile in the past 9 years to have conveniently forgotten what happened in New York on September 11, 2001?

Maybe I hate that phrase because it was an excuse used by our former President to start a war. Remember that one? Shrub pissed everyone off by using "We Shall Never Forget" (paraphrasing, yet close...) "And those who have committed murder on the US will be brought to justice.....Saddam and his sons were responsible for the tragic events of 9/11". Well, no they weren't. And by the way, Bin Laden is STILL free to this day, 9 years later. I almost see it as an angry war cry - a phrase to stoke your hatred against those who trespassed against us.

But, hey - you can buy a commemorative plate or perhaps a piece of jewelry with the twin towers on it. After all, someone needs to profit from tragedy. Hmmm, interesting how that gets a free pass isn't it?

Sometimes I forget if I took a sinus pill, but I get a headache to remind me. September 11, 2001 I can recall EVERYTHING that happened that morning after Jodi called to tell me to turn on my television at work. I don't need to see countless "views" of the planes slamming into the towers, or New Yorkers running down the streets with dust and debris flying all about them. It will be forever etched in my memory. I didn't need a slogan to remind me that I can't forget what took place that morning.

What I will try to take away from that tragic day - is the days that proceeded it. The feeling (as a nation) we were one. We are Americans. We will help those that needed help.

We collectively mourned the loss of the innocent people who died in the towers the day and the rescue workers who died trying to save them. May you all, rest in peace.

One War Down, One War to Go!

American deaths in Iraq by state

I'm sure if you go through my archives you will find rant upon rant about our assinine decision as a country to go war with Iraq. After all, Bush and Company never did define a real reason after 7 1/2 years, we just kept changing the "mission" after each reason failed us. WMD? no, that wasn't it - Saddam's link to 9/11? no, that was just an outright lie and with that we settled on spreading "freedom" to the Iraqi people. Really? Freedom? 4,416 Americans gave their lives, to bring "freedom" to the Iraqi people.

I still find myself hard pressed to think otherwise, after 7 1/2 years, this was about oil, revenge and lining the pockets of Bush's friends who stood to profit from the invasion.

I've never found myself angrier at a President until I watched this clip. At this point (2004), about 2,000 Americans had died in Iraq and Bush decided it was a good time to practice some comedy regarding his lies - it's about 5 mins in and the "jokes" about Iraq and reasons for war became an SNL skit. And somehow, someway....he would be voted back IN office for a 2nd term. WOW, talk about head up our collective asses - WHAT was that all about?





As President Obama managed to get the majority of Americans out of Iraq this past week. He was criticized for leaving 50K behind. Sadly enough, once again our memories have failed, not giving credit where credit is due as to who brought us there in the first place.

A little rant from Rachel Maddow as a reminder.

Aerosmith at Fenway 8.14.10 - Dream On baby!

Proposition 8 Violates the U.S. Constitution

(CNN) -- Defendants and plaintiffs have until Friday to submit responses to a temporary stay that a California judge granted after striking down the state's ban on same-sex marriage.


Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker in San Francisco ruled on Wednesday that California's Proposition 8 violates the U.S. Constitution.

He however granted a temporary stay, which stops his decision from taking immediate effect.

Supporters of Proposition 8 argued, prior to Walker's ruling, that same-sex marriages would be performed soon after his decision and could be complicated by rulings and appeals farther down the legal road.

The judge's decision striking down the ban handed supporters of gay rights a major victory in a case that both sides say is sure to wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The 136-page opinion is an initial step in what will likely be a lengthy fight over the proposition, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

At stake in the trial was whether California's ban on same-sex marriage violates gay couples' rights to equal protection and due process, as protected by the U.S. Constitution.

The high-profile case is being watched closely by both supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage, as many say it is destined to make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

If it does, the case could result in a landmark decision on whether people in the United States are allowed to marry people of the same sex.

Same-sex marriage is currently legal in five U.S. states and in the District of Columbia, while civil unions are permitted in New Jersey. The five states are Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Iowa and New Hampshire.

"Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license. Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples," Walker, who was appointed to the federal bench by former President Ronald Reagan, wrote in his opinion.

"Race restrictions on marital partners were once common in most states but are now seen as archaic, shameful or even bizarre," he added. "Gender no longer forms an essential part of marriage; marriage under law is a union of equals."

Elated supporters of same-sex marriage gathered to celebrate the judge's opinion in the Castro district of San Francisco.
After speeches and songs, they began a march to city hall.

People waved rainbow flags and U.S. flags, and carried signs that read, "We all deserve the freedom to marry," and "Separate is Unequal."

Similar rallies unfolded in cities across California -- including Los Angeles and San Diego.

"For our entire lives, our government and the law have treated us as unequal. This decision to ensure that our constitutional rights are as protected as everyone else's makes us incredibly proud of our country," said Kristin Perry, a plaintiff.

Perry and Sandy Stier, along with Jeffrey Zarrillo and Paul Katami, are the two couples at the heart of the case, which if appealed would go next to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Opponents of same-sex marriage have said their best bet lies with higher courts, and vowed to appeal the federal judge's ruling.

In a national survey, conducted by Gallup in May, 53 percent of respondents said same-sex marriages should not be recognized by law, while 44 percent said they should.

Proposition 8 is part of a long line of seesaw rulings, court cases, debates and protests over the controversial issue of same-sex marriage. It passed in California with some 52 percent of the vote in November 2008.

"Big surprise! We expected nothing different from Judge Vaughn Walker, after the biased way he conducted this trial," said Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage. "With a stroke of his pen, Judge Walker has overruled the votes and values of 7 million Californians who voted for marriage as one man and one woman."

Dispersants used excessively in Gulf

This was reported about 2 mns ago on Good Morning America. Now its coming back to light as we see it's effects. Here's the GMA video - below, the story from CNN published today.



By the CNN Wire Staff
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
The dispersants were used to break up oil after the April 20 rig explosion
The EPA ordered the oil giant in May to limit surface application of the chemicals
In rare cases, exemptions to use the chemical could be requested

(CNN) -- New documents released by a congressional subcommittee indicate that Coast Guard officials allowed BP to use excessive amounts of chemical dispersants in the Gulf of Mexico.

BP used the chemicals to break up oil after the April 20 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion sent millions of gallons of crude gushing into the Gulf.

Despite a federal directive restricting their use, the Coast Guard routinely granted exemptions, said Rep. Edward J. Markey, chairman of the House Energy and Environment Subcommittee.

"BP carpet bombed the ocean with these chemicals, and the Coast Guard allowed them to do it," Markey said in a statement Saturday. "After we discovered how toxic these chemicals really are, they had no business being spread across the Gulf in this manner."

The exemptions granted "were in no way rare," Markey said in a letter to retired Adm. Thad Allen, the former commandant of the Coast Guard who is now overseeing the federal response to the oil spill.

The Coast Guard approved more than 74 exemptions in 48 days, Markey said. In one instance, Coast Guard officials allowed the oil giant to use a larger volume of dispersants than it had applied for, he said.

Dispersants are "a toxic stew of chemicals, oil and gas, with impacts that are not well understood," Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts, said in the letter to Allen.

In May, the Environmental Protection Agency, along with the Coast Guard, ordered the oil giant to stop surface application of the chemicals during the oil spill except in rare occasions, according to a House subcommittee on energy and environment.

In rare cases, exemptions had to be requested, documents show.

Markey said the findings are based on an analysis by the Energy and Environment Subcommittee.

Calls to a BP press office and the Joint Information Center were not immediately returned.

The EPA said in May that it believes the oil giant's total use of dispersants can be reduced by as much as 80 percent. While the dispersants were breaking up much of the oil being spilled into the Gulf, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said, "we are making environmental tradeoffs" and are "deeply concerned" about potential side effects.

Markey said the subcommittee also found contradictions on how much chemical dispersant was being used. On other occasions, BP used more than the amount approved by the Coast Guard, Markey said in his letter.

The report brings into question the total amount of dispersants used in the Gulf. BP says it has used 1.8 million gallons to break up oil flowing from the Deepwater Horizon's ruptured well.

"The validity of those numbers are now in question," Markey said.

Man's crack pipe sets prosthetic leg on fire

A New Mexico man who investigators say set his prosthetic leg on fire with a pocketed crack pipe has been arrested.

Deputies say they found 47-year-old Randy Malone naked along Rt. 70 with his prosthetic right leg in flames on July 5. He was treated for burns to his leg, back and buttocks.

A witness later told authorities that he agreed to give Malone a ride into Las Cruces but dropped him off after the passenger lighted a crack pipe in the vehicle.

Dona Ana County deputy sheriffs arrested Malone on Sunday at his home after the man's brothers tipped investigators. Malone was being sought on a warrant for making a false report.

Brains or Beauty?

I find Kelly interesting. I always wondered what it would be like to be model beautiful, yet stupid. Watching it unfold on The New York Housewives, well....that's entertainment!

10 Inane Kelly Bensimon Quotes:

Kelly Bensimon recently sat down for an interview with Out to talk about bullying (obvs), sex education, Real Housewives, gay stuff, live streaming, lollipops, and other non sequiturs that make absolutely no sense.


1.) "I was at Mohegan Sun for the opening of their Mohegan Sun Days event, it's their [monthly] GL — GLBT night. I always think that sounds like BLT."


2.) "Mostly I'm just like 'Huh? What?' And then I look like I'm an airhead because I'm not engaging in stuff that I don't understand."

3.) "So then speaking with GMHC about safe sex and also just about bullying, I learned so much about how alternative lifestyles get bullied so much and I was really disturbed by that to be honest with you because I have been a model for a long time and I have had so much respect for people that have alternative lifestyles."

4.) "Why do we have to be all flowers and lollipops. Why can't it be like fighting but we are actually learning. That's called back-door education."

5.) "I mean don't you think America, don't you think all the women in America that are in their forties would want to hear how New York women are dealing with their kids thinking about sex."


6.) "The one reason I would like to do my own show is because I am exposed to so many unbelievable people and so I would use my show as a vehicle to explore all these different people that I know, whether it would be Richard Meier to the man that helps me with my computers."

7.) "It's never really about me. It's always about the other people because that's what I find interesting. I don't really find what I do really interesting."

8.) "[T]hey asked me to be on the show because they wanted me to legitimize the brand and they wanted a real socialite. They wanted a real New Yorker, if you will, on the show. And it was a great opportunity for me because it's obviously got everything that I love, whether it's my safe sex initiative or anti-bullying or working on my jewelry line or just having my books…"

9.) "[E]verybody knows my name so that's a huge honor and I am really grateful to Bravo for exposing me and exploiting my name like that."

10.) "You know, everybody knows the problems — why can't we come up with different solutions? And that's like what I like. I like teaching in a different way and if it doesn't work we can always do something. What's the big deal."

BP CEO to walk away with $18 million

ARGH! Are you kidding me? Walk away with $18 million?

LONDON (Reuters) - BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward will collect a pay and pension package worth at least 11.8 million pounds ($18.03 million) when he steps down from his role at the company, the Times newspaper reported on Sunday.

The Times said Hayward will be giving up 546,000 share options and a maximum of 2 million shares in the company under a long-term incentive plan, now worth an estimated 8 million pounds.

A BP spokesman dismissed the report as "rumors," adding that Hayward remained chief executive and had full support of the board.

BP has decided Hayward should step down over his handling of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and his departure could be announced in the next 36 hours, sources close to the company said.

BP's board is due to meet in London tomorrow to discuss a plan for Hayward to step down and be replaced by Bob Dudley, a senior U.S. executive who is currently managing the oil spill response operation, the sources said.

(Reporting by Karolina Tagaris; editing by Diane Craft)

Testing of BP well will go another 24 hours

OMG! Finally after 89 days, just maybe they have stopped the gushing.

New Orleans, Louisiana (CNN) -- Encouraged by results so far, BP and the government agreed Saturday to another 24 hours of testing of the recently recapped Gulf well.


BP's 48-hour window for pressure testing expired Saturday afternoon with no reports of flowing oil or evidence that the giant sealing cap caused further damage. The testing will now go into Sunday afternoon.

Retired Adm. Thad Allen, the government's response manager, said once testing is eventually stopped "we will immediately return to containment, using the new, tighter sealing cap with both the [vessels] Helix Producer and the Q4000."

Pressure was still rising Saturday though it had slowed considerably as expected, BP Senior Vice President Kent Wells said earlier in the day. Officials are looking at the testing in six-hour windows.

"The longer the test goes the more confidence we have in it," Wells told reporters in a conference call Saturday. "There's no evidence we don't have integrity."

Higher pressure means oil is not leaking out from another source in the well. Lower pressure would indicate otherwise.

A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminstration sonar ship has been brought in to monitor the sea floor around the well, Allen said in a statement. "The pressure in the capping stack continues to increase very slowly and we want to continue to monitor this progress."

The latest pressure reading inside the well was 6,745 psi (pounds per square inch), Wells said. That falls short of the optimal 8,000 to 9,000 psi needed in order to conclude without doubt the well is not leaking.

"Based on the data and pressure readings compiled to date, the test has provided us with valuable information which will inform the procedure to kill the well and a better understanding of options for temporary shut-in during a hurricane," Allen said.

Allen said Friday that the rising pressure readings were generally good news.

But he added, "I think we're at a point where there's enough uncertainty about the meaning of the pressure that we're seeing that we have to use due diligence moving forward. We don't want to do harm or create a situation that cannot be reversed."

Reopening the valves would allow oil to once again flow into the Gulf and recovery operations from the surface to resume.

No oil has gushed out since Thursday when BP closed all the valves in a new custom-made cap that was lowered into place earlier in the week. The undersea video images of a quiet ocean sprouted new hope in the hearts of Gulf Coast residents devastated by three months of disaster.

Still, they remained cautiously optimistic, as did officials including Allen and President Barack Obama, until BP is able to announce conclusive test results.

Engineers and scientists intensified monitoring of the well, pouring over images and data collected by robots, sonar scans and seismic and acoustic examinations. A government ship is in the area, fitted with equipment for detecting methane gas, which would be an indication of a leak.

The well integrity test began Thursday after two days of delays, first as government scientists scrutinized testing procedures and then as BP replaced a leaking piece of equipment known as a choke line.

The oil stopped gushing out Thursday afternoon, the first time the energy giant has been able to gain control since the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded April 20 and triggered the catastrophe.

All that was made possible by a new, tightly fitting containment cap.

Meanwhile, BP restarted work on drilling two relief wells. Wells said Saturday that the first relief well is now about five feet away from the ruptured Macondo well and an intersection will occur by the end of July.

BP then plans to pump mud and cement down to kill the ruptured well.

"We are feeling very good at this point on how the well is lining up," Wells said.

When they are ready, mud and cement will be pumped into one of the relief wells to permanently seal BP's crippled well.

In the coming weeks, BP also plans to bring in two more oil collection ships in addition to the two already in the Gulf, bringing containment capacity to 80,000 barrels (about 3.4 million gallons) of oil a day, more than high-end estimates of how much oil had been leaking. But it's possible some oil may be released into the Gulf again, before all the ships are ready.

The skimming vessel "A Whale," which underwent extensive testing, was found unsuited for the task and will not be deployed, Adm. Paul Zukunft said.

President Obama spoke about the developments with a note of caution.

"I think it's important that we don't get ahead of ourselves here," he said. "You know, one of the problems with having this camera down there is that when the oil stops gushing, everybody feels like we're done, and we're not. We won't be done until we actually know that we killed the well and have a permanent solution in place."

The president expects to return to the Gulf Coast in the next few weeks. He took some heat from some corners on Saturday for taking a vacation in Maine instead of heading to revisit oil-affected areas.

First Lady Michelle Obama is slated to return to the region Friday to meet with Coast Guard personnel who've been responding to the oil spill and to christen a Coast Guard cutter named in honor of Dorothy Stratton, the service branch's first female commissioned officer.

Melissa Etheridge Files to End Relationship

Guess Julie was enough support to pay? Some of the reader comments were brutal, some were spot on.

7/2/2010 4:05 PM PDT by TMZ Staff
TMZ has learned ... Melissa Etheridge has just filed legal documents with the court to formally end her relationship with Tammy Lynn Michaels.

Etheridge filed a document called a Petition for Dissolution of Domestic Partnership in L.A. County Superior Court.

Etheridge and Michaels were registered as domestic partners in California. They had a commitment ceremony back in 2003. There were reports they tried to legally marry in 2008 -- during the time when same-sex marriages were permitted in CA -- but they missed the window.

In the docs, Etheridge cites "irreconcilable differences."

Etheridge is asking for joint custody of the couple's two children. Their twins were born in 2006, after Tammy was artificially inseminated by an anonymous donor.

Ethridge's lawyer, Judy Bogen, is also asking the judge to reject any possible bid by Tammy to get financial support.

There are reports the couple split back in April.

The BEST Night Evah!

The Gulf Waters

Delicate patterns in the sea breaking on Orange Beach, Alabama, more than 90 miles from the BP oil spill, cannot distract from the mess four to six inches deep on parts of the shore Photographer: Dave Martin/AP

Six Feet of Jesus in Flames!

Flames shoot up from the "King of King's" statue of Jesus Christ standing outside of Solid Rock Church in Monroe, Ohio in the early morning hours of Tuesday, June 15, 2010. The six-story-tall statue of Jesus with his arms raised along a highway was struck by lightning in a thunderstorm Monday night, June 14, 2010 around 11:15 p.m. and burned to the ground, police said. (AP Photo/The Dayton Daily News, Tiffani West-May)




6-story Jesus statue in Ohio struck by lightning
MONROE, Ohio (AP) -- A six-story statue of Jesus Christ was struck by lightning and burned to the ground, leaving only a blackened steel skeleton and pieces of foam that were scooped up by curious onlookers Tuesday.


The "King of Kings" statue, one of southwest Ohio's most familiar landmarks, had stood since 2004 at the evangelical Solid Rock Church along Interstate 75 in Monroe, just north of Cincinnati.

The lightning strike set the statue ablaze around 11:15 p.m. Monday, Monroe police dispatchers said.

The sculpture, about 62 feet tall and 40 feet wide at the base, showed Jesus from the torso up and was nicknamed Touchdown Jesus because of the way the arms were raised, similar to a referee signaling a touchdown. It was made of plastic foam and fiberglass over a steel frame, which is all that remained Tuesday.

The nickname is the same used for a famous mural of the resurrected Jesus that overlooks the Notre Dame football stadium.

The fire spread from the statue to an adjacent amphitheater but was confined to the attic area, and no one was injured, police Chief Mark Neu said.

Estimated damage from the fire was set at $700,000 - $300,000 for the statue and $400,000 for the amphitheater, Fire Capt. Richard Mascarella said Tuesday.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol was at the scene Tuesday to prevent traffic jams and potential accidents from motorists stopping along the highway to take photographs.

The patrol began issuing citations about 4 p.m. Tuesday to motorists for stopping on the side of the highway, dispatcher Adam Brown said. The number of gawkers coupled with construction had slowed I-75 traffic in the area to a crawl, the state Highway Patrol said.

Some people were scooping up pieces of the statue's foam from the nearby pond to take home with them, said church co-pastor Darlene Bishop.

"This meant a lot to a lot of people," she said.

Keith Lewis, of nearby Middletown, arrived at the church around 7 a.m. Tuesday to photograph the remains for his wife. Lewis said he had viewed the statue as both an oddity and an inspiration.

Cassie Browning, a church member from Dayton, said she was driving home when she saw smoke and noticed the statue was missing.

Travelers on I-75 often were startled to come upon the huge statue by the roadside, but many said America needs more symbols like it. So many people stopped at the church campus that church officials had to build a walkway to accommodate them.

Bishop said the statue will be rebuilt.

"It will be back, but this time we are going to try for something fireproof," she said.

The 4,000-member, nondenominational church was founded by Bishop and her husband, former horse trader Lawrence Bishop.

Lawrence Bishop said in 2004 he was trying to help people, not impress them, with the statue. He said his wife proposed the Jesus figure as a beacon of hope and salvation.

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World's oldest mother, 70, lies dying with baby at her side after risking her life to beat stigma of being barren

By Mail Foreign Service

The world's oldest mother is dying just 18 months after giving birth at the age of 70.

Rajo Devi Lohan says she is too weak to recover from complications after her IVF pregnancy.

News about her condition came as it emerged that a 66-year-old has become the oldest woman in the world to have triplets.

Some experts fear Bhateri Devi could suffer the same fate as Mrs Lohan.

Both women received IVF treatment at the same controversial clinic in India after being unable to bear children throughout their married lives, which is regarded as a stigma in their culture.

Mrs Lohan, who gave birth to her daughter Naveen in November 2008, is now confined to bed and so frail she cannot lift the little girl.

But she has no regrets, saying: 'I dreamed about having a child all my life. It does not matter to me that I am ill, because at least I lived long enough to become a mother.

'The doctor never warned me it was dangerous to have a baby at my age. But I was healthy before, and now I am very sick.'

Mrs Lohan, now 72, and her husband Balla, 73, are poverty- stricken farmers from the village of Alewa in Haryana state, north of Delhi.

After nearly 54 years of marriage they were desperate to have a child so took out loans to pay for the £2,000 IVF treatment.

They have no understanding of the risks of giving birth so late in life. Mrs Lohan is now in such pain that her sister Omi, 60, has moved in to help look after Naveen.

'Omi brings Naveen to kiss me and I tell her I love her very much,' she said. 'Her first word was "Ma". I was so happy to hear that.'

Mrs Lohan suffered internal bleeding and her womb ruptured after the caesarean birth, but she ignored doctors' orders to rest in bed and instead squatted down every day to milk the family buffalo.

She also needed difficult surgery to remove an ovarian cyst. Her body has not recovered from the two operations and she has to take daily painkillers.

Mrs Lohan's doctor Anurag Bishnoi denied her illness was linked to her pregnancy.

'Even though Rajo's health is deteriorating, at least she will die in peace,' he said. 'She does not have to face the stigma of being barren.'

'She had an ovarian cyst that was causing her problems but that has now been removed. The IVF treatment is completely safe. Rajo is an old woman and her life expectancy was only about five to seven years.'

He stoked controversy by announcing yesterday that triplets had been born to Bhateri Devi at his National Fertility Centre in Hisar, which is also in Haryana.
After nearly 44 years as a childless wife, she gave birth to two dangerously underweight boys and a girl on May 29. The infants, who weighed 2lb 6oz, 2lb 4oz and 1lb 7oz, are in intensive care.

Dr Bishnoi boasted that Mrs Devi's government birth certificate proved she was born on May 21, 1944, making her 66.

'This is authentic and therefore she has become the oldest mother in the world to give birth to triplets,' he said.

'She has become a mother for the first time and conceived only in our third attempt through IVF.

'For the first two attempts, only two embryos were transferred in each cycle. But in the third attempt three embryos were transferred in her uterus, resulting in the birth of three children by caesarean.'

Mrs Devi's delighted husband Deva Singh, 64, brushed aside potential risks, saying: 'She has fulfilledmy dream of having a child and gave my family an heir.

'She was my first wife and after she failed to conceive a child, I married twice but again I did not have any child from my other wives. I am very happy and I will provide all the best facilities to my children in the coming years.'

But a London-based fertility expert questioned the wisdom of helping such old women to give birth.

'Any woman over 70 putting their body through the rigours of birth is endangering themselves,' he said.

'Older mums usually require caesareans, which is obviously dangerous for women, but especially older women who are also prone to blood clots, and complications, such as internal haemorrhaging.'

Massive Flow Of Bullshit Continues To Gush From BP Headquarters

LONDON—As the crisis in the Gulf of Mexico entered its eighth week Wednesday, fears continued to grow that the massive flow of bullshit still gushing from the headquarters of oil giant BP could prove catastrophic if nothing is done to contain it.


The toxic bullshit, which began to spew from the mouths of BP executives shortly after the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in April, has completely devastated the Gulf region, delaying cleanup efforts, affecting thousands of jobs, and endangering the lives of all nearby wildlife.

"Everything we can see at the moment suggests that the overall environmental impact of this will be very, very modest," said BP CEO Tony Hayward, letting loose a colossal stream of undiluted bullshit. "The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean, and the volume of oil we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total volume of water."

According to sources, the sheer quantity of bullshit pouring out of Hayward is unprecedented, and it has thoroughly drenched the coastlines of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, with no end in sight.


Though no one knows exactly how much of the dangerous bullshit is currently gushing from BP headquarters, estimates put the number at somewhere between 25,000 and 70,000 words a day.

"We're looking at a truly staggering load of shit here," said Rebecca Palmer, an environmental scientist at the University of Georgia, who claimed that only BP has the ability to stem the flow of bullshit and plug it at its source. "And this is just the beginning—we're only seeing the surface-level bullshit. It could be years before we sift through it all and figure out just how deep this bullshit goes."

Congressional hearings aimed at stopping the bullshit have thus far failed to do so, with officials from BP and its contractors Halliburton and Transocean only adding to the powerful torrents of bullshit by blaming one another for the accident.

Along with the region's wildlife and fragile ecosystem, countless livelihoods have been jeopardized by BP's unchecked flow of corporate shit. Those who depend on fishing or tourism for their income are already feeling the noxious effects of the bullshit firsthand, as out-of-control platitudes begin to reach land and seep ashore.

"This bullshit, it's everywhere," said Louisiana fisherman Doug LaRoux, who lost his house to a tide of government bullshit following Hurricane Katrina. "It reeks. Big buckets of disgusting shit are oozing everywhere you look and I don't know if it's ever going to stop. I feel helpless"


Added LaRoux, "I never thought I'd be the victim of so much bullshit."

Observers have noted that after the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989, corporate bullshit gushed up like a geyser for two decades and didn't wane until the oil company had bullshit its way through an exhaustive process of court appeals that ultimately reduced payouts to victims by 90 percent.

Despite Hayward's denials that BP is at fault for the environmental disaster and his concern that it will result in "illegitimate" American lawsuits, the embattled CEO has still managed to trickle out a few last drips of bullshit sympathy for Gulf Coast residents.

"I'm as devastated as you are by this," Hayward said after a meeting with cleanup crews on Louisiana's Fourchon Beach. "We will clean every last drop up and we will remediate all of the environmental damage."

"There's no one that wants this thing over with more than I do," he added a week later, just absolutely defying belief with the thickest, most dangerous bullshit yet. "I'd like my life back."

Millions of Americans reported feeling ill and disoriented upon contact with that particularly vile plume of bullshit.

Many environmentalists, including Palmer, have called for a boycott of BP until the bullshit stops or is at least under control, but they emphasize that in the long term, Americans will have to change their habits if they wish to avoid future catastrophes.

"We must all work together if we're going to cure our nation of this addiction," Palmer said. "The sad fact is, the United States has been running on bullshit for decades."

The Onion

Tuesday's intriguing people - My boys :-)

Daryl Hall and John Oates

The Arizona Diamondbacks announced that the most successful duo in rock history has canceled its concert at Chase Field as a protest against Arizona's legislation to fight illegal immigration. USA Today reports that the performance had been scheduled to follow a game against the Dodgers on July 2.

Hall and Oates issued the following statement: "In addition to our personal convictions, we are standing in solidarity with the music community in our boycott of performing in Arizona at this time. We would like to emphasize that this has nothing to do with the management of the Arizona Diamondbacks, who have been professional and cooperative throughout our dealings with them. This is our response to a very specific action of the state."

USA Today: Hall and Oates cancel concert plans in response to Arizona immigration law

BP Chief: We Weren't Prepared for Gulf Spill

No shit Sherlock - and you still have an F'ing job??? Come on America - wake up and BOYCOTT BP!

BP fumbled its latest underwater experiment with the wild Gulf gusher -- just like every other endeavor the company has tried to fix the nation's worst oil spill and BP's chief executive said the company wasn't fully prepared for the disaster.

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- BP fumbled its latest underwater experiment with the wild Gulf gusher -- just like every other endeavor the company has tried to fix the nation's worst oil spill and BP's chief executive said the company wasn't fully prepared for the disaster.


First, a 100-ton, four-story box couldn't contain the spill because icelike crystals clogged the top. Then, a straw-like device that actually did capture crude was inconsistent at best. The supposed top kill -- shooting heavy mud and junk into the well -- couldn't overcome the pressure of the oil. And the most recent risky gambit ran into trouble a mile under the sea Wednesday when a diamond-tipped saw became stuck after slicing through about half of the blown-out well.

It took BP 12 hours to free the saw, and the company hopes to use giant shears similar to an oversized garden tool to snip off the pipe. However, the cut won't be as clean if successful, and a looser fitting cap will have to be placed over the spill.


No timetable was given for when that might start, a familiar refrain in this six-week-old disaster.

The Financial Times on Thursday quoted BP CEO Tony Hayward as saying it was "entirely fair" to criticize the company's preparations.

The newspaper quoted Hayward as saying: "What is undoubtedly true is that we did not have the tools you would want in your tool kit."

However, Hayward said BP had been successful so far in keeping most of the oil away from the southeastern U.S. coast.

"Considering how big this has been, very little has got away from us," Hayward was quoted as saying.

So far, each novel attempt to stop more oil from spewing into the Gulf has dragged on and misfired. All along, the company has been drilling a relief well, the best option at stopping the gusher -- but it's still two months away.

Since the biggest oil spill in U.S. history began to unfold April 20 with an explosion that killed 11 workers aboard an offshore drilling rig, crude has fouled some 125 miles of Louisiana coastline and washed up in Alabama and Mississippi. The well has leaked anywhere from 21 million to 45 million gallons by the government's estimate.

The latest attempt to stop it, the so-called cut-and-cap method, is considered risky because slicing away a section of the 20-inch-wide riser could remove kinks in the pipe and temporarily increase the flow of oil by as much as 20 percent.

And the situation on the water's surface becomes more dire with each day.

Oil drifted perilously close to the Florida Panhandle's famous sugar-white beaches, and crews on the mainland were doing everything possible to limit the catastrophe. Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the nation's point man for the spill, directed BP to pay for five additional sand barrier projects in Louisiana. Boats were also sent packing east, along with four helicopters to help skimmers spot oil threatening Alabama, Mississippi and the Florida coast.

As the edge of the slick drifted within seven miles of Pensacola's beaches, emergency workers rushed to link the last in a miles-long chain of booms designed to fend off the oil. They were slowed by thunderstorms and wind before the weather cleared in the afternoon.

Forecasters said the oil would probably wash up by Friday, threatening a delicate network of islands, bays and white-sand beaches that are a haven for wildlife and a major tourist destination dubbed the Redneck Riviera.

"We are doing what we can do, but we cannot change what has happened," said John Dosh, emergency director for Escambia County, which includes Pensacola.

The effect on wildlife has grown, too.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported 522 dead birds -- at least 38 of them oiled -- along the Gulf coast states, and more than 80 oiled birds have been rescued. It's not clear exactly how many of the deaths can be attributed to the spill.

Dead birds and animals found during spills are kept as evidence in locked freezers until investigations and damage assessments are complete, according to Teri Frady, a spokeswoman for the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.

"This includes strict chain-of-custody procedures and long-term locked storage until the investigative and damage assessment phases of the spill are complete," she wrote in an e-mail.

As the oil drifted closer to Florida, beachgoers in Pensacola waded into the gentle waves, cast fishing lines and sunbathed, even as a two-man crew took water samples. One of the men said they were hired by BP to collect samples to be analyzed for tar and other pollutants.

A few feet away, Martha Feinstein, 65, of Milton, Fla., pondered the fate of the beach she has been visiting for years. "You sit on the edge of your seat and you wonder where it's going," she said. "It's the saddest thing."

Officials said the slick sighted offshore consisted in part of "tar mats" about 500 feet by 2,000 feet in size.

County officials set up the booms to block oil from reaching inland waterways but planned to leave beaches unprotected because they are too difficult to defend against the action of the waves and because they are easier to clean up.

"It's inevitable that we will see it on the beaches," said Keith Wilkins, deputy chief of neighborhood and community services for Escambia County.

Florida's beaches play a crucial role in the state's tourism industry. At least 60 percent of vacation spending in the state during 2008 was in beachfront cities. Worried that reports of oil would scare tourists away, state officials are promoting interactive Web maps and Twitter feeds to show travelers -- particularly those from overseas -- how large the state is and how distant their destinations may be from the spill.
Source

Tropical Storm Agatha blows a hole in Guatemala City

Hundreds dead as torrential rain sweeps Central America. Sinkhole in Guatemala swallows three-storey building.

Tropical Storm Agatha swept across Central America yesterday, bringing torrential rain that killed more than 100 people and opened a 60m-deep sinkhole in Guatemala City which reportedly swallowed up a three-storey building.


The first named storm of the 2010 Pacific season dumped more than a metre of rain in parts of Guatemala, also hitting El Salvador and Honduras. At least 113 people were reported killed, with around 50 missing in Guatemala alone as rescue workers searched through the rubble.

The 30m-diameter sinkhole opened up in a northern district of Guatemala City, with residents blaming the rains and substandard drainage systems. Local reports said one man was killed when the building was swallowed. In 2007, three people died when a similar sinkhole appeared in the same area.

Guatemala was the worst affected country, with a confirmed death toll of 92, although that is likely to rise when rescuers reach remote villages. Almost 100,000 people have been evacuated from their homes. Nine people were confirmed killed in El Salvador and 12 in Honduras.

"I've got no one to help me. I watched the water take everything," Carlota Ramos told Reuters outside her mud-swamped brick house in Amatitlán, a town near the Guatemalan capital.

Feds have launched criminal oil spill investigation, AG says

(CNN) -- U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday the Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into the massive oil spill spreading through the Gulf of Mexico.


Holder said the investigation, which began "some weeks ago," would be comprehensive and aggressive. He promised that the federal officials will prosecute anyone who broke the law.

"We have begun both a criminal as well as a civil investigation as is our obligation under the law," Holder said. "We have what we think is a sufficient case to have begun a criminal investigation."

Holder emphasized that the investigation will cover all aspects of the oil spill, including the deaths of 11 workers in the April 20 explosion and fire on the Deepwater Horizon rig that started the leak.

He refused to name any potential targets of the investigation, saying, "I don't want to unnecessarily cast aspersions." However, Holder said "nothing is off the table" in the probe, and he cited false statements as one of several potential targets of criminal charges.

"This disaster is nothing less than a tragedy," Holder said. "As our review expands in the days ahead, we will be meticulous, we will be comprehensive, and we will be aggressive. We will not rest until justice is done."

Holder stressed that "anyone found responsible for this spill (must be) held accountable. That means enforcing the appropriate civil -- and if warranted, criminal -- authorities to the full extent of the law."

Among other things, Holder said Justice Department lawyers are examining possible violations of the Clean Water Act and the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. He also said prosecutors are looking into potential violations of the Migratory Bird Treaty and Endangered Species Acts, which provide penalties for injury and death to wildlife.

BP responded in a statement that it "will cooperate with any inquiry the Department of Justice will undertake, just as we are doing in response to the other inquires that are already ongoing."

Holder made the announcement during a visit to the Gulf to survey the BP oil spill and meet with state attorneys general and federal prosecutors from Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi, according to the Justice Department.

Last month, a group of senators -- including Environment and Public Works Committee Chair Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-California -- sent Holder a letter expressing concerns "about the truthfulness and accuracy of statements submitted by BP to the government in its initial exploration plan for the site." They asked the attorney general to investigate possible criminal and civil wrongdoing.

In a reply to that letter last week, a Justice Department official refused to say whether a criminal investigation had begun.

"The Department of Justice will take all necessary and appropriate steps to ensure that those responsible for this tragic series of events are held fully accountable," Assistant Attorney General Ronald Welch wrote.

Holder said last month the Justice Department would "ensure that BP is held liable."

Boxer issued a statement Monday praising the criminal probe.

"In preparation for the Environment Committee's hearings on the oil spill, it became clear that BP's assurances that they could respond effectively to a serious spill at this site were totally at odds with reality," Boxer said in the statement. "What is happening in the Gulf -- eleven people dead, and an entire ecosystem and the jobs that depend on it at risk -- justifies a thorough criminal investigation."

CNN's Scott Bronstein and Aaron Cooper contributed to this report

Underwater Oil Plumes Disputed By BP CEO Tony Hayward

Hey @sshole- did you miss the video? Pay Attention!

MATTHEW BROWN | 05/30/10 08:55 PM |
VENICE, La. — Disputing scientists' claims of large oil plumes suspended underwater in the Gulf of Mexico, BP PLC's chief executive on Sunday said the company has largely narrowed the focus of its cleanup to surface slicks rolling into Louisiana's coastal marshes.

During a tour of a BP PLC staging area for cleanup workers, CEO Tony Hayward said the company's sampling showed "no evidence" that oil was suspended in large masses beneath the surface. He didn't elaborate on how the testing was done.

Hayward said that oil's natural tendency is to rise to the surface, and any oil found underwater was in the process of working its way up.

"The oil is on the surface," Hayward said. "There aren't any plumes."

Scientists from several universities have reported plumes of what appears to be oil far from the site of BP's leaking wellhead, which is more than 5,000 beneath the surface.

Those findings – from the University of South Florida, the University of Georgia, Southern Mississippi University and other institutions – were based on video images and initial observations of water samples taken in the Gulf over the last several weeks. They continue to be analyzed.

One researcher said Sunday that their findings are bolstered by the fact that scientists from different institutions have come to similar conclusions after doing separate testing.

"There's been enough evidence from enough different sources," said marine scientist James Cowan of Louisiana State University, who reported finding a plume last of oil last week about 50 miles from the spill site. Cowan said oil reached to depths of at least 400 feet.

An even larger plume – 22 miles long, six miles wide and more than a thousand feet deep – was reported by the University of South Florida.

"We stand behind it," said William Hogarth, dean of the school's College of Marine Science. Hogarth, the former head of the National Marine Fisheries Service, said laboratory results are due this week.

A third scientist, LSU chemist Ed Overton, said simple physics sides with BP's Hayward. Since oil is lighter than water, Overton said it is unlikely to stay below the surface for long.

But Hogarth and Cowan said BP's use of chemical dispersants to break up the oil before it reaches the surface could reduce its buoyancy, keeping it in deeper water.

An estimated 18 to 40 million gallons of oil have been unleashed since BP's Deepwater Horizon platform exploded and sank last month, killing 11. With the undersea leak now expected to continue spewing oil until August, Hayward said the cleanup effort could last for months or even years.

The embattled CEO spent only a few minutes on the subject of plumes on Sunday, concentrating instead on outlining his company's cleanup efforts.

"The fight on this battlefield today is in Louisiana," he said.

Calls to BP seeking more information on how they tested for the underwater plumes weren't immediately returned.

"I would like my life back," Hayward told reporters

OMG! This guy is a f*cking moron. Seriously, when is he getting fired!

On heels of failure, BP vows to start again -- soon
By the CNN Wire Staff
STORY HIGHLIGHTS

New attempt to stop gushing oil could start early this week
Method involves cutting lower marine riser package and lowering cap
BP's CEO apologizes for "disruption," says BP is boosting effort to contain oil

Spill is in its 42nd day

(CNN) -- BP could try to cap a massive oil gusher again early this week in an attempt to solve what the Obama administration has called "probably the biggest environmental disaster we've ever faced in this country."

As the oil spill entered its 42nd day Monday, efforts to clean up coastal areas and develop a new plan of attack continued.

All previous attempts at containing the crude gushing from BP's undersea well have failed, including a "top kill" approach that many had pinned their hopes on.

BP said Sunday that it would strengthen its efforts to stop the flow and protect the coastline.

"As far as I'm concerned, a cup of oil on the beach is a failure," BP CEO Tony Hayward told reporters in Venice, Louisiana.

Hayward said he was sorry for the spill and the "massive disruption" it has caused the Gulf Coast.

"There's no one who wants this over more than I do. I would like my life back," Hayward told reporters. But he said the company has about 30 aircraft searching for signs of oil and has moved more than 300 people to offshore "floatels" to speed up its response time.

Up to 19,000 barrels (798,000 gallons) of oil a day have been spewing out of a BP-owned undersea well since the late April sinking of the drill rig Deepwater Horizon. BP, rig owner Transocean Ltd. and oilfield services company Halliburton have blamed each other for the disaster, which left 11 workers dead, but BP is responsible for cleanup under federal law.

"We're disappointed the oil is going to flow for a while, and we're going to redouble our efforts to keep it off the beaches," BP Managing Director Robert Dudley said on CNN's "State of the Union."

The most recent setback was the failure of the so-called "top kill" method of pumping mud to plug the leak.

Dudley said the next effort will involve placing a custom-built cap to fit over a piece of equipment called the "lower marine riser package." The process will involve cutting the riser package to create a clean surface to cap, Dudley said, and warm water will be circulated around the cap to prevent the freezing that hindered a previous dome-cap effort.

If successful, the procedure will allow BP to collect most -- but not all -- of the oil spewing from the well. The long-term solution is the drilling of a relief well that will be in place by August.

"If we can contain the flow of the well between now and August and keep it out of the ocean, that's also a good outcome as well," Dudley said. "And then, if we can shut it off completely with a relief well, that's not a bad outcome compared to where we are today."

On Sunday, the Obama Administration questioned BP's oil spill numbers.

On NBC's "Meet the Press," Carol Browner, Obama's assistant on energy and climate change, said BP may have had an ulterior motive for underestimating the amount of oil leaking.

"BP has a financial interest in these numbers. They will pay a penalty based on the number of barrels per day," she said.

BP had originally said about 5,000 barrels of oil per day were leaking.
The latest estimate, Browner said, is between 12,000 and 19,000 barrels per day.

"This is probably the biggest environmental disaster we've ever faced in this country," she said.

More oil is leaking into the Gulf of Mexico than any other spill in U.S. history, including the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, according to the government.

Many systems are in place to manage and decrease the amount of oil coming on shore, Browner said.

Controlled burns of oil have been effective so far, she said, though they have been limited due to weather conditions.
As a consequence of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, all deepwater operations in the gulf have been shut down for now, including operating wells, Browner said.

"At the end of the day we will make the right decisions ensuring that our environment is protected," she said.

Crystal Bowersox - You Rock!

Number 2 always does better than the winner. As I watched previous AI winners walk across the stage last night, it's apparent (only two did well) and the rest are like..."What happened to you?" - with that being said, Crystal desevered to win, but will be much better off without the title.

I thought she just nailed this song!

Report: BP had 3 indications of trouble in hour before blast

May 25th, 2010
07:35 PM ET
CNN

BP had three indications of trouble aboard the doomed drill rig Deepwater Horizon in the hour before the April 20 explosion that sank the offshore platform, congressional investigators reported Tuesday.

Witnesses reported the well was spurting liquid and pressure tests indicated "a very large abnormality" was occurring aboard the rig, according to a memo released by the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Tuesday afternoon.

The memo summarizes preliminary findings of BP's own investigation into the disaster, which left 11 workers dead and uncapped an undersea gusher that has spewed crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico for a month.

The well unexpectedly spouted fluid three times in the 51 minutes before the explosion and pressure on the drill pipe "unexpectedly increased" before the blast, the memo states. In addition, BP's investigation "raised concerns about the maintenance history, modification, inspection, and testing" of blowout preventer, a critical piece of equipment that has failed to shut down the well.

Palin Accuses Obama of Being in Bed with Big Oil -- DOH!

Can you really be this stupid and have a political career? Nevermind - Shrub's presidency hit me as I wrote that. Anyway, here's the rest.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Right-wing darling Sarah Palin accused US President Barack Obama on Sunday of leading a lax response to the Gulf of Mexico spill because he is too close to the big oil companies.

The former vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor, who champions off-shore drilling, criticized the media for not drawing the link between Obama and big oil and said if this spill had happened under former Republican president George W. Bush the scrutiny would have been far tougher.

"I don't know why the question isn't asked by the mainstream media and by others if there's any connection with the contributions made to president Obama and his administration and the support by the oil companies to the administration," she told Fox News Sunday.

More than 3.5 million dollars has been given to candidates by BP over the last 20 years, with the largest single donation, 77,051 dollars, going to Obama, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Palin suggested this close relationship explained why Obama was, "taking so doggone long to get in there, to dive in there, and grasp the complexity and the potential tragedy that we are seeing here in the Gulf of Mexico."

The BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20, killing 11 workers, and sank two days later. Ever since, hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil, perhaps millions, have been spewing each day into the sea.

The resulting slick, now the size of a small country, threatens to leave Louisiana's fishing and coastal tourism industries in tatters, ruin pristine nature reserves, and cause decades of harm to the ecology of fragile marshes that are a haven for rare wildlife and migratory birds.

The Obama administration has been forced to defend its response to the disaster as some Republicans have sought to portray it as their Katrina, an allusion to president Bush's mishandling of the response to the 2005 hurricane that devastated Louisiana.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs mocked Palin's suggestions that Obama was somehow in bed with big oil because of 2008 presidential campaign contributions.

"Sarah Palin was involved in that election, but I don't think, apparently, was paying a whole lot of attention," Gibbs said.

"I'm almost sure that the oil companies don't consider the Obama administration a huge ally. We proposed a windfall profits tax when they jacked their oil prices up to charge for gasoline.

"My suggestion to Sarah Palin would be to get slightly more informed as to what's going on in and around oil drilling in this country."

However, Gibbs did make it clear that reforms must be carried out to make sure that the incestuous relationship between oil firms and government regulators highlighted by the current disaster ended once and for all.

"BP will pay for every bit of this," he said. "We have to figure out and make sure that the relationship that is had with government and oil companies is not a cozy relationship as the president said.

Gibbs also said there was no comparison with Katrina.

"If you look back at what happened in Katrina, the government wasn't there to respond to what was happening. That quite frankly was the problem.

"I think the difference in this case is we were there immediately. We have been there ever since."

Palin, who quit the Alaska governorship after serving less than half of one term, famously promoted the slogan "Drill, baby, drill!" that rallied supporters while dismissing possible environmental impact of off-shore drilling.

Her detractors switched the line to "Spill, baby, spill!"

by Andrew Gully Andrew Gully

Sun May 23, 4:47 pm ET

Week of May 22nd - Oil Damage Thus Far

The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean. The amount of volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny

What an ASSHOLE! How does this bozo still have a job?

BP boss admits job on the line over Gulf oil spill
• Under pressure BP boss promises to fix earlier 'bumpy' errors
• 'I will be judged by the response,' says Tony Hayward

Tony Hayward, the beleaguered chief executive of BP, has claimed its oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is "relatively tiny" compared with the "very big ocean".

In an bullish interview with the Guardian at BP's crisis centre in Houston, Hayward insisted that the leaked oil and the estimated 400,000 gallons of dispersant that BP has pumped into the sea to try to tackle the slick should be put in context.

"The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean. The amount of volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total water volume," he said.

US authorities estimate that about 5,000 barrels of oil a day are leaking from the damaged pipeline lying on the seabed after attempts to stem the flow failed.

The spill began just over three weeks ago when a buildup of gas erupted from a well being drilled by BP in seabed about 1,500 metres (5,000 ft) below sea level. When the gas ignited at the surface, the explosion sunk the rig, the Deepwater Horizon, and 11 workers were killed.

Hayward promised that BP would "fix" the disaster, which is on course to eclipse the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill as the biggest US oil spill in history. "We will fix it. I guarantee it. The only question is we do not know when."

But the BP boss admitted for the first time that his job was on the line because of the Gulf of Mexico disaster. Asked if he felt his job was already under threat, he replied: "I don't at the moment. That of course may change. I will be judged by the nature of the response."

Hayward stressed that BP's efforts to contain the spill had succeeded in dispersing the oil and preventing large amounts reaching the shoreline around the Gulf.

But environmentalists are concerned about the unseen damage being done to marine life by the oil, which is sinking to the seabed.

Hayward said that BP was "increasingly confident" that progress was being made in trying to find ways to seal the faulty blow-out preventer, which failed to shut down the well and stem the flow of oil.

This week, US politicians attacked BP and the other companies involved in the drilling when they gave evidence at Senate hearings into the disaster.

But Hayward insisted that deep-water drilling would continue in the US despite the growing environmental and political backlash against the company.

"Apollo 13 [the unsuccessful third mission to the moon in 1970] did not stop the space race," he said. "Neither did the Air France plane last year coming out of Brazil [which mysteriously crashed] stop the world airline industry flying people around the world. It's the same for the oil industry."

He pointed out that the Gulf of Mexico, much of it in deep waters, represented one-third of the US's oil and gas production.

He insisted that BP was in far better shape to respond to the disaster than it was five years ago under his predecessor, Lord Browne. In 2005, 15 workers died in an explosion at BP's Texas refinery.

BP was then fined a record £53m by the US authorities, who also criticised the company's safety culture. BP also suffered a pipeline leak in Alaska in 2006.

"In the last four or five years we have made major improvements in safety performance. It has made the company much better … Four years ago it could have been very different," Hayward said.

BP's share price has slumped since the disaster. BP told the City yesterday it had now spent $450m (£304m) fighting the oil leak, but some analysts put BP's total bill for the clean-up and damages at $23bn. President Barack Obama has now proposed scrapping a cap on BP's liability for the spill.

Transocean, the world's largest offshore drilling contractor which owned the Deepwater Horizon, filed papers in a Houston court on Thursday seeking to limit its legal liability to $27m.

Hayward said it was "unwise" to speculate about the direct causes of the accident before investigations had been completed. "There is a lot of speculation, red herrings and hearsay." He also admitted that BP had made mistakes in its early response to the crisis. It initially refused to compensate fishermen who were unable to produce written proof of their normal earnings. Most keep no such records.

He also said BP had made a mistake when fishermen signing up to help with the relief effort were required to sign agreements limiting their receipt of any future damages from BP.

"It was a bit bumpy to get it going. We made a few little mistakes early on."

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2010

Executives Deflect Blame for Spill at Senate Hearings

Lawrence Taylor -- I Pleasured Myself, Not Her

DOH!

Lawrence Taylor -- I Pleasured Myself, Not Her
Sources directly connected with Lawrence Taylor tell TMZ the NFL legend's defense to rape is masturbation.We're told Lawrence will not deny he was in the same room as the 16-year-old prostitute, but his lawyer will argue Lawrence did not have sexual intercourse -- an element of third degree rape.As one source put it, Lawrence engaged in a "masturbatory act" and that was it.According to New York law, "A person is guilty of rape in the third degree when ... he or she engages in sexual intercourse with another person less than seventeen years old."Interestingly ... in the criminal complaint against the alleged pimp, authorities allege Taylor engaged in "sex acts" but there is not mention of sexual intercourse -- a requirement for 3rd degree rape.As TMZ first reported, a condom was found in Taylor's hotel room, but sources say Taylor's lawyers will argue the condom wasn't his and he didn't use it.Taylor's lawyer, Arthur Aidala, has said flatly, his client did not have sex with the girl.Read more: http://www.tmz.com/#ixzz0nkzxVoWX

BP releases terrifying photo of oil leak

You can see why BP hasn't got this image of the Deepwater Horizon disaster at the top of its homepage.

From the Houston Chronicle:

BP spokesman Mark Proegler said today that the 5-foot tall containment dome, or top hat, meant to contain the flow of this leak is now sitting on the sea floor as crews continue working on connecting it with a pipe to a surface tanker above.

"It should be in operation by the end of the week," Proegler said.

Spill baby, spill

So this story continues to piss me off daily.

BP knew of problems hours before blast

By Steve Hargreaves, Senior writerMay 12, 2010: 2:35 PM ET

(CNNMoney.com) -- BP knew of problems with an offshore well hours before it exploded last month, spilling millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, a House committee chairman said Wednesday.

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said the oil company told the Energy and Commerce subcommittee on oversight privately that the well failed a key pressure test just hours before it exploded on April 20.

The test indicated pressure was building up in the well, which could indicate oil or gas was seeping in and could lead to an explosion, said Waxman.

"Yet it appears the companies did not suspend operations, and now 11 workers are dead and the Gulf faces an environmental catastrophe," he said, asking why work wasn't stopped on the well.

Witnesses before the panel, which included executives from the three primary companies working on the well - BP, Transocean, and Halliburton - said the course of events and actions leading up to the explosion is still under investigation, and will come to light over time.

BP's deepwater oil well, 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana, is now leaking some 200,000 gallons of crude a day following theexplosion that claimed 11 lives.

Lawmakers also wanted to know a valve sitting atop the well, known as a blowout preventer, known as a BOP, failed to close and avert the disaster.

"It is far too early to draw conclusions about how the incident occurred," said Jack Moore, president and CEO of Cameron International (CAM, Fortune 500), the company that built the device. "Our BOPs have a very long history of reliable performance, including performance in some of the harshest operating conditions in the world."

Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., said the blowout preventer may have failed for four reasons: Modifications to it may have reduced the number of shears that can close the well; a hydraulic leak may have knocked it out of commission; it may have hit a section of pipe that was too thick to cut; and its battery power may have died.

The executives said the blowout preventer is not designed to handle all situations, especially when it becomes clogged with debris from an actual explosion.

"I would think that your blowout preventer should be designed to handle that," said Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas.

Lawmakers also criticized proposed efforts to seal the well by injecting rubber debris down the top, including old golf balls and bits of tires.

"The American people expect a response on par with the Apollo Project, not Project Runway," said Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass.

Senate hearings

On Tuesday, hearings in the Senate focused on similar themes: what caused the well to explode, and why the blowout preventer did not work.

Three executives from the three principal companies working on the well all blamed each other.

BP (BP), which owns the well and subcontracted the other companies to work on it, said it was Transocean's job to ensure that the blowout preventer was functioning. Transocean was the owner of the drilling rig that sunk, the Deepwater Horizon, and also owned the blowout preventer.

Transocean (RIG) said the blowout preventer worked just fine in tests, and that it may have gotten jammed with concrete or other well fluids that were injected by a third contractor, causing the well to explode. Either way, argued Transocean's president, it was the faulty well, not the rig or the blowout preventer, that ultimately caused the leak.

Halliburton (HAL, Fortune 500) was the third contractor; it injected cement and other well fluids into the hole before the explosion. But a Halliburton exec said it was only following the orders of BP, which wanted a heavier fluid, known as mud, removed from the well before the well was capped with a concrete plug.

The risks and rewards of offshore drilling

Some senators, citing a Wall Street Journal report, said this process of removing the heavy fluid before the concrete plug is installed is unusual in deep water drilling, and suggested it may have caused the accident by allowing the highly pressurized oil and gas to escape. But Halliburton's executive said the process was not out of the ordinary.

The Minerals Management Service, the federal agency that regulates offshore drilling, has also come under fire in the wake of the spill.

On Tuesday, senators wanted to know why there weren't other back-up systems in place to stop a leak besides the blowout preventer, and questioned why the blowout preventer may not have been able to cut through thicker sections of pipe to pinch it shut and stop a leak. Lawmakers also questioned the agency's relationship with the oil industry, which some have described as cozy.

The Obama administration announced plans Tuesday to split the agency in two, thus removing an apparent conflict of interest between the drive to maximize oil production and efforts to ensure safety, which could slow drilling down.

Under federal law, BP, as the lead project operator, is responsible for all clean-up costs associated with the spill.

While the subcontractors are thought to have some legal indemnification from BP and the federal government, lawyers say they could still be open to lawsuits from fisherman and others affected by the spill.

Ultimately, experts have said the total cost of the spill could range from $2 billion to $14 billion or higher, depending on when the leaking well is closed and where the oil washes ashore.

Senator Is the Centerfold

He's now holding the "people's seat" in MA. Poor Teddy, I imagine he's rolling over in his grave.


Senator Is the Centerfold

Long before he was a politician, the Republican candidate vying for Ted Kennedy’s U.S. Senate seat posed nude for the centerfold of Cosmo. Scott Brown won our “America’s Sexiest Man” contest and appeared in the June 1982 issue. In those days he was a 22-year-old law student at Boston College who was cramming for finals just days before stripping down for our photographer.

“Here at Cosmo we’ve had bachelors go on to be actors, models, and reality show stars, so we’re thrilled that one has gone on to become a politician,” says Kate White, Cosmo’s editor in chief. Obviously we know how to pick ’em. This particular bachelor has always had political ambitions and even admitted to being “a bit of a patriot” when we interviewed him.

Compared to some men in the GOP, this politician looks pretty damn good for his age. We bet he still has an amazing body underneath his suit and tie. There have been plenty of pics of our president running around without his shirt, so now that a precedent has been set, we’re hoping to see Scott shirtless again.

How to um....lose your pension

Man pleads no contest for masturbating in Kohl's store
Wednesday, January 6, 2010 3:18 AM


A former Grove City police sergeant will be sentenced March 9 after he pleaded no contest to a public-indecency charge yesterday.

A security officer at the Kohl's store on Morse Road confronted Steven J. Howard on July 2 after someone complained he was masturbating in the store.

Howard, 54, of Zuber Road in Jackson Township, resigned from the police department before he could be investigated. He was a 26-year veteran whose last assignment involved the supervision of a crime-prevention bureau and school resource officers.

Howard declined to comment through his attorney, Mark C. Collins.

By pleading no contest to the misdemeanor charge, he was found guilty without admitting guilt. He could be sentenced to 60 days in jail and fined $500 by Franklin County Municipal Judge James E. Green.

-- Bruce Cadwallader

bcadwallader@dispatch.com