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Oil Platform Explodes Off La. Coast; Oil Spreading:

By ALAN SAYRE
The Associated Press
Thursday, September 2, 2010; 3:54 PM

NEW ORLEANS, La. -- An oil platform exploded and caught fire Thursday off the Louisiana coast, spreading a mile-long oil sheen into the Gulf of Mexico. All 13 crew members were rescued.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Bill Coklough said the sheen, about 100 feet wide, was spotted near the platform, 200 miles west of the site of BP's massive spill. Firefighting vessels were battling the flames.

The company that owns the platform, Houston-based Mariner Energy, did not know what caused the blast, which was reported by a helicopter flying over the area. Seven Coast Guard helicopters, two airplanes and three cutters were dispatched to the scene.

BP Leaves Many Damage Claims Waiting in Limbo

by Sasha Chavkin ProPublica, Aug. 3, 5:57 a.m.

BP appears to be delaying decisions about the validity of many claims for damages from the Gulf oil spill, leaving claimants frustrated by bureaucratic obstacles and confusing requests for more documentation.

The company's claims process is guided by the Oil Pollution Act, a 1990 federal law that holds oil companies responsible for repaying direct "removal costs and damages" caused by a spill. But many claims are for damages that are not explicitly covered by the law -- such as ruined start-up companies and lost income from commission payments -- and many of those are in limbo.

BP appears to be delaying claims that are not covered by the Oil Pollution Act until the process is taken over in mid-August by Kenneth Feinberg, the independent administrator appointed by President Barack Obama to oversee the compensation process. Feinberg has said that his standards for judging claims will be more generous than the limits set by the Oil Pollution Act.

Daren Beaudo, a spokesman for BP, said, "It may be simpler for Mr. Feinberg to take on those non-Oil Pollution Act related claims."

While BP is reviewing claims whose eligibility under the Oil Pollution Act is uncertain, it has not indicated which types of damages have been approved for payments and which of these claims are being delayed as well.

The issue came to our attention following responses to ProPublica's BP claims tracking project by readers, who said that their claims for certain types of damages were in a holding pattern.

The frustration caused by the delays is compounded because BP is not explaining the situation to claimants. Instead, claimants describe a pattern of unreturned phone calls, frequent switches of the adjuster handling their claim, and requests for more documentation. Three ProPublica readers said they received form letters from BP saying that they had not provided enough documentation, only to be told later by adjusters that in fact the company was not yet approving the type of claims they had submitted.

It is unclear how many claims are being delayed because of doubts regarding their eligibility under the Oil Pollution Act, or how many claimants in this situation have been told they provided insufficient documentation. According to the latest data from BP, the company has held up a total of 59,900 claims for having insufficient documentation, accounting for 43 percent of all claims and significantly outnumbering the 38,400 claims that have been approved. (If you have had a similar experience, you can tell ProPublica about it here.)

BP spokesman Ray Viator wrote in an e-mail that "our policy is to send letters citing 'insufficient documentation' only to those claimants where that applies," and said that the sample letter provided to him from a ProPublica reader's claim had been sent in error by BP. Viator also said that the company had instructed adjusters to inform claimants if their claims were being reviewed for eligibility under the Oil Pollution Act.

One area in which BP appears to be delaying decisions because of uncertainty about the Oil Pollution Act is claims for lost income from commission payments.

Duane Sandy, a salesman of hurricane-proof storage units based in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., said he is paid on commission and has not sold a single unit in Florida since the spill. He said he submitted a claim in May for $3,500, based on the income he expected to lose relative to his commission payments in 2009, with a letter from his boss as documentation. He has not received any checks, and he received a form letter from BP dated July 19 stating that he had "provided insufficient documentation to support the claim."

But Sandy said that when he called BP's adjuster, he heard a different story -- that BP would not pay his claim because it was not approving payments for income loss based on commissions. "Once they heard I got paid by commission, they didn't care what I did," Sandy said.

Viator, the BP spokesman, wrote in an e-mail that the company is "currently evaluating claims based on lost income from commissions to determine whether they are compensable under the Oil Pollution Act."

Amy Weiss, a spokeswoman for Feinberg, said people who are paid by commission will be eligible once Feinberg takes over. Sandy may have to wait until the claims system switches control to have a chance to get compensated.

Claimants have also reported extended delays in decisions on such damage claims as lost income from a commercial photographer in a beachfront tourist town, lost down payments on canceled Gulf Coast vacations and lost sponsors for a television show about fishing in the Gulf.

If you've filed a claim with BP and been told that you didn't provide enough documentation -- or if there's any other part of your experience that we should know about -- you can tell ProPublica what happened with this simple form. If you have questions about the BP claims process, check out ProPublica's Unofficial Guide to BP Claims.

Amanda Michel contributed reporting to this piece, and is coordinating our BP claims project.

Update: Several hours after this report was published, BP sent out a press release acknowledging that decisions on “several thousand claims” will be deferred until independent administrator Kenneth Feinberg takes over the compensation system. Here is our story about BP’s statement.

ProPublica’s Unofficial Guide to BP Spill Claims

by Sasha Chavkin ProPublica, July 27, 9 p.m.

This article was corrected on July 29, 2010.

The BP oil spill has caused massive economic damage to people along the Gulf Coast. To compensate these losses, BP has set up a huge, multistate operation to handle the more than 100,000 claims that it has received. For people who have filed claims, or are thinking of doing so in the future, this complex system has raised a lot of questions. We answer some of the most important questions about the claims systems below. Got other questions? Send them to Sasha Chavkin. Share details of your experience with ProPublica’s reporters using this simple form – we’re beginning to examine the claims process.

Who is managing the claims system?

So far, the claims system has been managed by BP. The company has hired contractors to handle the claims, and its primary contractor is the claims management firm ESIS, Inc. ESIS has two principal subcontractors: Worley Catastrophe Response, which is in charge of adjusting, and Innovation First Notice, which handles claims intake.

In August, the claims system will be taken over by Kenneth Feinberg, an independent administrator appointed by President Barack Obama. BP will pay Feinberg’s salary, but he reports neither to BP nor to the government. Feinberg will have wide discretion in setting the rules to determine who is eligible for payments. The money for the new system, known as the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, will be drawn from the $20 billion escrow account that BP has agreed to set aside to cover claims and other expenses.

How do I file a claim?

There are three ways you can file a claim. You can call BP’s toll-free number (1-800-440-0858), you can file online through BP’s online submission form, or you can go in person to one of BP’s claims offices that are set up across the Gulf region. You can find the location of the closest office here.

What kinds of damages can I get compensation for?

Kenneth Feinberg said that he has written a draft protocol for determining eligibility for claims, but it has not yet been completed or published. He said that his baseline will be federal and state liability law: if you would win a lawsuit against BP at either level, then you’re eligible. Feinberg said that he would sometimes go beyond this legal baseline in the interests of justice and fairness, but did not specify in what areas.

Currently, as an individual or a business, you are eligible for compensation for a number of different types of damage: property damage, net loss of profits and earning capacity, natural resource damage, removal and cleanup costs, loss of subsistence for fishermen and others who catch their food in the Gulf, and bodily injury. If you have experienced more than one type of damage, you should file one claim that includes all of the areas where you are seeking compensation, in order to avoid confusion and bureaucratic delays.

Government entities, like counties or states, are also entitled to compensation for the cost of increased public services and loss of government revenue. Government claims will be handled by BP directly rather than by Feinberg.

To date, BP has not made any payments for bodily injury claims or government requests for additional mental health services. Compensation for most damages is defined by the Oil Pollution Act, a 1990 law that requires BP to pay for the "removal costs and damages resulting from an incident,” but the act does not cover health-related damages. Feinberg has said that he will pay personal injury claims but probably will not pay mental health claims. BP said that it is still determining its policy on government requests for mental health services.

It is also unclear how claims for indirect damages will be handled, such as loss of property value not directly caused by oil damage, or declines in rentals in beachfront hotels where oil never reached the beach. If you’ve filed a claim and haven’t gotten a clear answer on whether your damages will be covered, you call tell us about your experience here.

What will change when Kenneth Feinberg takes over the claims process from BP?

Feinberg has not yet provided official guidelines of how he will administer the claims fund, or set out any changes on policies such as requirements for documentation or types of damages that will be compensated. He has promised quicker and more substantial emergency payments, which he says will include six-month lump sum payments to ease economic hardship. Feinberg has also testified before a congressional committee that he will reduce the processing time to write checks for emergency payments to within two days of the approval of the claim. He will keep much of the same system – such as the claims offices and some of the contractors – that BP has used for responding to claims to date.

Has BP paid out all of the claims it has received?

As of July 29, BP’s claims statistics indicate that it has made payments on just over 37,000 of 135,000 claims, or 28 percent of the total. Here is the breakdown of the status of claims submitted to BP:

Total Claims	135,000	100%
Claims With at Least One Payment	37,200	28%
Awaiting Documentation for First Payment	57,300	42%
Having Contact Difficulty	12,200	9%
Withdrawn, Erroneous or Duplicate	4,700	3%
In Process, Evaluating for Payment	23,600	17%

The largest single category is people who are “Awaiting Documentation for First Payment,” which means that BP found that their claims were inadequately documented and requested that they provide further proof of damages before sending a check. Experts tell us that this proportion (42 percent of total claims) is not unusual for the early stages of a massive claims process, but it shows that providing documentation that is acceptable to BP has been a significant challenge for claimants so far. Providing documents has been a particular challenge for informal workers like deckhands and day laborers who are often paid in cash. If you’ve had this problem, you can tell us about your experience by filling out this simple form.

What documentation will I need to provide for my claim to be approved?

Currently, BP’s website describes the types of documentation that it requires for claims to be approved.

Claims for loss of income or net profits can be documented with tax records, trip tickets, wage loss statements, deposit slips, boat registrations or copies of your current fishing license. Claims that may require additional documentation are property damage, loss of rental income, economic loss for businesses, and bodily injury. All claims require valid photo ID to be approved.

As of July 29, 42 percent of claims were determined by BP to have insufficient documentation, and the company sent letters to these claimants stating that they needed to provide further evidence of the damage before they could get paid. Kenneth Feinberg will also require claims to be documented, but he testified to a congressional committee that he will “bend over backward to help anybody who claims lost wages or lost business in an all-cash business.” In these cases, Feinberg said he would also accept alternate documents, such as letters from a boat captain, priest or town mayor.

Do I need a lawyer to file a claim?

No. Under both BP and Kenneth Feinberg, the claims process does not require an attorney. However, you are allowed to obtain legal representation if you wish, and BP says that it will treat claimants who are represented by an attorney the same as those who are not.

Feinberg said that he would also set up a pro bono program to provide free legal advice to people who are making claims, although this program has not yet started. There will also be staff in the claims offices set up by BP around the Gulf area who will be available to help prepare your claim.

How long will it take for my claim to be paid?

As of July 29, BP’s claims statistics showed an average wait of five days from “claim to paid” for individuals who have gotten checks, and nine days from claim to check for businesses.

However, this refers only to the people whose claims have been approved – only 28 percent of total claimants. BP has determined that about half of claimants (51 percent) need to provide either better documentation of their claim or additional contact information in order for their payment to be approved. Data from the claims process and statements on BP’s website indicate that requests for more documentation are the most common reason that claims payments are delayed..

Does filing a claim mean giving up my right to sue for damages?

That depends on the type of claim that you file.

The monthly emergency payments that BP has been making do not require claimants to give up their right to sue. If you’ve been getting monthly payments for lost income, you can still file a claim or a lawsuit for additional or future losses, although the payments you’ve received will be counted in considering how much BP owes you. Kenneth Feinberg has said that he will also distribute six-month emergency payments in advance, which will not affect your right to sue either.

However, claims for a long-term settlement – payments that include projected future damages caused by the spill and are meant to cover all of your losses – require that you give up your chance to sue if you accept the money. This type of claim will not be considered until three months after the well is capped, and will erase all of BP’s liability to you when it is paid. You can still file a lawsuit if you submit a long-term settlement claim but aren’t satisfied with the offer.

What can I do if I don’t think the payment that I’m offered is fair?

You have the right to appeal decisions made by administrator Kenneth Feinberg, or to seek alternative remedies to the claims process if you are dissatisfied with its results entirely.

Within the claims process, you can appeal Feinberg’s decisions to a three-member panel that will be available to review claims that are denied and payments that you consider insufficient.

Outside the claims process, people seeking damages that are covered under the Oil Pollution Act – property damage, economic losses and cleanup costs – may appeal decisions by Feinberg to the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. The Trust Fund contains $1 billion and is administered by the Coast Guard. If you’re dissatisfied with both Feinberg and the Trust Fund, you still retain the right to sue in court.

Claims in areas that aren’t covered by the Oil Pollution Act, such as bodily injury, cannot appeal to the Trust Fund for compensation. These claimants still can file a lawsuit and seek remedy in court if they aren’t satisfied with the offer from Feinberg.

Does the $20 billion fund cap the damages that BP will pay out?

No. The $20 billion fund does not put a cap on how much BP will pay out in damages. BP says that it will make payments from the fund as awarded by Kenneth Feinberg through the claims process, as ruled by the courts or as separately agreed upon by the company. BP has said that it will continue to make payments even if the $20 billion runs out.

This means that the fund will be used to pay for both the claims process and separate lawsuits and settlements – but that no one should lose the chance to get compensated if damages turn out to be worth more than $20 billion. The fund will operate for three years and you can file a claim at any point during that period.

Who is Kenneth Feinberg and what is his role as the fund’s administrator?

Kenneth Feinberg is the lawyer selected by President Obama to administer the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, which draws from the $20 billion fund created by BP to compensate damages from the oil spill. Feinberg will administer the fund independently of the government or BP, and he has broad authority to set the rules for who will be paid by the fund and how much they will receive.

Feinberg has a long record of administering funds for compensation of mass damages. He is best known for administering the 9/11 Fund, which compensated the survivors of those killed on 9/11 and those who were injured by the attacks. He has also supervised compensation funds for the Virginia Tech school massacre and Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange, and served as Treasury Department’s overseer of executive pay in companies that received money from the bailout.

Correction (7/29/2010): This article originally said that the $20 billion compensation fund created by BP was established to cover claims and known as the Gulf Coast Claims Facility . The fund in fact covers both claims and other expenses such as court judgments, and the Gulf Coast Claims Facility draws from the compensation fund.

UK troops 'find bomb factory' in Afghanistan operation

31 July 2010    Last updated at 11:13 ET
BBC News 

British troops targeting a Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan have found a cache of bomb-making equipment, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.

The improvised explosive device (IED) components were found as troops pushed forward into an area of central Helmand province in Operation Tor Shezada.
The operation, which began before dawn on Friday, aims to remove insurgents from an area near the town of Saidabad.
The explosives found in the bomb-making factory were detonated on site.
Earlier, commanders had said troops had met only light resistance as they consolidated their hold on ground seized from the Taliban.
Insurgents are thought to make bombs and plan attacks from the area around Saidabad.
Hundreds of British and Afghan troops are being led by 1st Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment.
Others involved come from 21 Engineer Regiment, the Counter IED taskforce, 1st Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, the Joint Helicopter Force (Afghanistan) and the Afghan National Army.
Continued

EPA Proposes One Year Compliance Date Extension on Spill Prevention Rule for Certain Facilities

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to extend the compliance date by one year for certain facilities subject to recent amendments to the Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule.  The agency is also announcing that certain facilities will not be eligible for the one year extension and will have to comply by the current date of November 10, 2010.
 
Last year, EPA amended the SPCC rule to strengthen certain provisions. Regulated facilities are required to amend and implement these changes as part of their overall SPCC plans. The purpose of the SPCC rule, which was finalized in 1973, is to establish requirements for facilities to prevent a discharge of oil into navigable waters or adjoining shorelines.  EPA has no SPCC jurisdiction over drilling, production or workover facilities seaward of the coastline.

Types of facilities not eligible for proposed extension that must comply by November 10, 2010:

 Drilling, production or workover facilities that are offshore or that have an offshore component, or onshore facilities required to have and submit facility response plans (FRPs), due to the threats these facilities could pose of significant oil spills to navigable waters or adjoining shorelines.

 Types of facilities that may be eligible for the proposed one year extension:

 Oil production, farms, electric utility plants, petroleum refining and related industries, chemical manufacturing, food manufacturing, manufacturing facilities using and storing animal fats and vegetable oils, metal and other manufacturing, real estate rental and leasing, retail trade, contract construction, wholesale trade, other commercial, transportation, arts entertainment & recreation, other services (except public administration), petroleum bulk stations and terminals, education, hospitals & other health care, accommodation and food services, fuel oil dealers, gasoline stations, information finance and insurance, mining, warehousing and storage, religious organizations, military installations, and government facilities.

 In summary, the proposed rule would:

 ·         Extend the date by which the owners or operators of certain facilities must prepare or amend and implement an SPCC plan by one year to November 10, 2011

 ·         Delay the compliance date for facilities with milk containers that are constructed according to the current applicable 3-A sanitary standards, and subject to the current applicable grade “A” pasteurized milk ordinance (PMO) or a state dairy regulatory requirement equivalent to the current applicable PMO until one year after EPA finalizes a rule for these facilities.
  Maintain the current November 10, 2010 compliance date for drilling, production and workover facilities that are offshore or that have an offshore component, and for onshore facilities required to have and submit FRPs

 ·         Reconcile the proposed compliance dates for new production facilities

 The proposed amendments do not remove the regulatory requirement for owners or operators of facilities in operation before August 16, 2002 (other than facilities with milk containers described above), to maintain and continue implementing an SPCC plan in accordance with the SPCC regulations then in effect.  EPA is seeking comment on whether a shorter extension period (6 to 9 months) is warranted for facilities rather than the proposed one year extension. In considering a shorter compliance extension period, we request comments on the criteria to consider, such as discharge history, size and type of facility, potential risk posed, and ability to come into compliance.

 The public has the opportunity to comment on the proposed rule during a 15-day period following its publication in the Federal Register.

More information on the proposed rule:  http://www.epa.gov/emergencies/content/spcc/index.html

EPA Bulletin dated 30, July 2010 

BP to face spill victims in US court for first time

Wed Jul 28, 1:02 pm ET

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Energy giant BP and victims of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill go to court for the first time Thursday during a session in Idaho that sets the stage for a potential trial of the century.
The proceedings in Boise, Idaho before the Multidistrict Litigation Panel (MDL Panel) will examine whether complaints submitted by around 200 plaintiffs can be consolidated, and determine where the hearings should take place and under which judge.
A decision is expected around two weeks after the hearing, but the session will give trial lawyers a test run for the arguments they will make during what could be years-long legal proceedings.
The hearing will bring together a wide cast of characters linked to the disaster that was prompted by an April 20 explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon rig, which killed 11 and caused the platform to sink two days later.
Joining BP are Transocean, which leased the rig to the British firm, and Cameron International, which manufactured the blow-out preventer, which should have shut down the well, but failed to work properly.
Plaintiffs range from the families of the workers killed in the April explosion aboard the rig to Gulf fishermen whose catch has been contaminated by the spill, threatening them with financial ruin.

Continued

A Catastrophic Chapter in US History - Video

CNN's Rob Marciano goes on board an oil skimming vessel and learns just how slippery, difficult and time-consuming the process can be. Watch "Rescue: Saving the Gulf" Saturday and Sunday night at 8 ET on CNN

Gov2019t  Testing Finds Air in Gulf Like L.A. on a Bad Day

           by Marian Wang     ProPublica,  15 minutes ago
Air monitoring by the EPA shows that along parts of Gulf Coast, the air may be unhealthy for people 201Cwho are unusually sensitive to air pollution.201D
The numbers reflected by the real-time air monitoring maps tend to fluctuate, but as of this morning, about half of the 29 sampling sites showed 201Cmoderate201D levels of particulate matter pollution2014that2019s down from yesterday afternoon, when most of air sampling sites were 201Cmoderate201D rather than 201Cgood.201D
The Louisiana Bucket Brigade, an environmental health and justice organization, said this week that while the EPA2019s monitoring program does 201Crepresent progress,201D it 201Cfalls short in many ways.201D
201CThe EPA continues to use a limited number of monitoring sites to extrapolate to a broad region,201D the Bucket Brigade said in an analysis of the agency2019s air monitoring [PDF]. 201CIf the EPA does not have the data then they should simply state that fact.201D
We2019ve reached out to the EPA for comment but have not yet received one.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also released air sampling findings yesterday, which it said were "consistent" with the EPA's findings. The agency said most of the pollution levels were comparable to a bad day in an urban area such as Los Angeles, but nearer the Deepwater Horizon site, the air "was polluted with organics from the spill," and levels of benzene and toluene--some of the most concerning constituents of crude oil--were "well above maximum concentrations measured recently over the Los Angeles urban area."
It2019s also worth mentioning that since we last relayed statistics on oil spill-related illnesses, both BP and states released new numbers:
The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals reported this week that 290 illnesses were believed to be related to chemical exposure from the oil spill2014216 of those were from workers, while 74 were from the general public.
According to the Alabama Department of Public Health, at least 105 people were treated for health complaints believed to be related to the oil spill, reported the Mobile Press-Register on Wednesday. The Alabama numbers are only since May 14, however2014almost a month into the spill. Alabama doesn2019t break these statistics down into workers versus the general public.
BP2019s latest count2014which spans from April 22 to July 122014recorded 647 illnesses and 955 injuries from Gulf cleanup workers.
The illness and injury numbers for workers on the spill may see a decline if the surface cleanup efforts continue to wind down. The company this week announced that it has reduced the number of skimmers working in the Gulf by more than a quarter, now that the cap on the well is holding in most of the oil. (The decision to cut down on the number of boats skimming oil comes just as OSHA rolls out its new and improved safety training, a few weeks later than promised.)

Toxic Gulf Water Sample Explodes When Tested (Video)

Key decision on deepwater drilling could come Thursday

New Orleans, Louisiana (CNN) -- A New Orleans judge could decide Thursday whether a government ban on deepwater drilling will continue. The Obama administration has asked U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman to delay his decision to lift the ban until an appeals court reviews the case later in the summer.
Feldman struck down the deepwater drilling ban Tuesday, declaring it "arbitrary and capricious."
Obama administration lawyers filed the paperwork Wednesday signaling their intention to appeal Feldman's decision. Feldman could rule on the government's request as early as Thursday, government officials said.
As the deepwater drilling debate intensified,
As the deepwater drilling debate intensified, BP struggled to contain the undersea gusher in the Gulf and control its public relations message.

A containment cap over the underwater gusher in the Gulf of Mexico resumed siphoning oil and gas to a surface vessel Wednesday night after BP had to stop part of the operation earlier in the day.

The cap was removed Wednesday morning after an undersea robot accidentally bumped a vent on the device, shutting it off and forcing the company to remove it at 9:45 a.m.
BP said the device was reinstalled and functioning again by 8 p.m


Continued

Life Aboard the Drilling Rig That's the Gulf's Last Hope

Sunday 20 June 2010

by: Jennifer Lebovich  |  McClatchy Newspapers | Report

Aboard the Development Driller II — The men who spend weeks at a time aboard these deepwater rigs are accustomed to drilling in relative solitude out in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

But that's not how it is these days: Smoke billows and bursts of orange flames unfurl on the horizon, byproducts of the surface fight to stop the runaway Deepwater Horizon well, dumping tens of thousands of barrels of crude oil each day into the Gulf.

Here, the Development Driller II and another drilling rig, the DD III, about half a mile away are the last hope for finally plugging the gushing underwater well. Both rigs are drilling relief wells that, deep under the ocean bottom, will aim to tap into the pipe gushing oil, pour cement into it and hopefully stop the oil permanently.

"Whichever one gets there first,'' said Wendell Guidry, the drilling superintendent on the DD II. Officials have said the wells would take about two to three months to complete and have said they hope to plug the gusher in August.

Mickey Fruge, the rig's well site leader and senior BP representative on the rig, said the well is ahead of schedule and could be completed sometime in mid-July, barring storms or mechanical difficulties.

The men think about the importance of the task "all the time, always on our mind,'' said Guidry, who has worked on rigs for 27 years. The task ahead is the "same as any other well,'' he said. "That's our main focus, just to the get the well done, to get the flow to stop.''

He added: "I guess there's some self-imposed pressure on the guys, wanting to get it done. Some of the guys here worked with some of the guys on the Deepwater Horizon. When we got on the scene we told the guys we'll treat this like any other job, do the job we know how to do.''

On Saturday, a handful of journalists were flown from a helipad in Houma, La., to the DD II rig, about 40 miles offshore. It was the first media tour of one of the drilling rigs, ground zero in the fight to stem the environmental disaster. The government now says the Deepwater Horizon well is leaking 35,000 to 60,000 barrels a day of crude — between 1.47 million gallons and 2.5 million gallons.

Continued

BP Oil Leak Setback: "Top Hat" Removed, Oil Flow Continues

Wednesday 23 June 2010

by:   |  McClatchy Newspapers | Report

 Washington - Workers pulled the "top hat" device collecting crude oil from BP's gushing Deepwater Horizon well Wednesday morning in a major setback to efforts to contain the leak.

Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the Obama administration's point man on the BP oil leak, told reporters in his daily briefing that the long term impact of the decision was uncertain, but video from the leak showed crude gushing unhindered into the water for the first time since the "top hat" device, also referred to as the Lower Marine Riser Package, was set in place June 3.

It was unclear how soon the top hat might be put back in place, Allen said. He said he had only learned of the problem as he was headed to the Coast Guard headquarters briefing room in Washington. A BP press statement later said the incident had occured at 8:45 a.m. Central time.

BP called the measure temporary, but provided no information on when the device might be reinstalled.

Continued

Republican Congressman Apologizes to BP (VIDEO)

Friday 18 June 2010

by: Rachel Maddow  |  The Rachel Maddow Show

Rachel Maddow talks with Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) about the Republican response to the BP environmental disaster

Dispersal of Oil Means Cleanup to Take Years, Official Says

By JOSEPH BERGER, BRIAN KNOWLTON and HENRY FOUNTAIN 2:27 PM ET
 7 June 2010
Although the Coast Guard had trained for the possibility of cleaning up a disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, it had never anticipated that oil would spread across such a broad area and break up into hundreds of thousands of patches as the current spill has done, the commander heading the federal response to the spill said Monday.

Link to International Herald Tribune

Fighting The Oil Spill On Google: BP Versus The Lawyers

Jun 4, 2010 at 3:41pm ET by John Ellis

As oil-poisoned pelicans are found on Gulf shorelines, lawyers and British Petroleum are looking to Google for help gaining public awareness. Attorneys are primed and ready to line up plaintiffs who were harmed by the oil spill that killed 11 people and threatens the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem. BP is reaching out, as well.

Ambulance Chasing, Google-Style

Lawyers are using Google, Bing and Yahoo to actively bid on oil spill-related terms such as bp oil spill claim, oil spill sue and bp lawsuit:
Link To Search Engine Land 

Your request is being processed... Tony Hayward, BP Chief, To Address Investors As Pressure Increases For Him To Resign

June 3 (Bloomberg) -- BP Plc Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward will address investors tomorrow as his handling of the worst oil spill in U.S. history prompts speculation he may be forced to leave the company.
Hayward, leading BP's effort to contain the spill in the Gulf of Mexico, will speak on a conference call with investors and analysts tomorrow, spokesman Mark Salt said in a telephone interview.


--------------------------------
Give him his wish --- his life back ... away from US waters. As charges will definitely be handed down, my suggestion is to keep him in the US ... in Death Valley.

Bush's Glib Waterboarding Admission Sparks Outrage

This one you have to read, because I'm far too impartial.
Link to HuffingtonPost article

Shatner v Palin

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Raindrop UX Design and Demo from Mozilla Messaging on Vimeo.

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Racism in America & The Nobel

         It's there, still not all that disguised, and it's as ugly ever. Last November that was to have been wiped off the pages of history, or so it seems, but it has grown into a festering sore that is both shameful and provides a glimpse of the hatred still out there.

         The American President was given the Nobel Prize for Peace . One would think that quite an honour, to the man, certainly to the office, and to the nation. Instead we see hate. It's gone to far, and it's getting more mean spirited by the day. No matter how often the "nattering nabobs of negativity" cry Race as if it might be havoc, he still was awarded the Prize.

       Deal with it people, its pathetic that in this century, racism is tolerated, and says much about my fellow citizens, most negative.

       POTUS is a male born in the state of Hawaii, to a white mother and black father. He was the cool guy in school, called Barry by his classmates, smart as a whip, and said to be a good basketball player He became a lawyer, entered politics, and the rest is history.  No matter what the hue and cry might be, colour did not define the man. His character defines him. Just deal with it.

      The President is black, that much is obvious, but you don't get do overs based on colour. He is your President, and perhaps you should show the man the respect deserves.

Fla. GOP: Obama to spread socialism in schools ( and I'm the Easter Bunny )

AP: 3 August 2009
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. —

Florida's Republican Party chairman is objecting to President Barack Obama's plans to give a back-to-school address next week, saying Obama's real motive is to indoctrinate students with his "socialist ideology."

It points out the parents of those students belong back in the classroom, if only to learn what socialism is, and what the other political jargon they blithely toss about actually mean. Until then they remain garden variety racists, who likely couldn't tell you what Brown v. Board of Education actually means, nor do they care, they just want an all white country and will go to ludicrous length's to make it happen.

This should come under the heading " They should know better " or "yet another Glen Beck fan defends racism".

Obama's Socialist Policies Cripple America
The Daily Targum
Serving the Rutgers Community Since 1869
> Opinions
By Jimmy Winters
Published: Thursday, September 3, 2009
Updated: Thursday, September 3, 2009

"The United States of America has come to a significant turning point, and what happens in this president’s term, without any doubt, has the potential to change the very fiber of the land of the free. President Barack Obama’s administration and Congress are stepping up their secular progressive efforts — government-owned corporations, government-owned health care, redistribution of wealth, increased taxes, more social programs, etc. — with the ultimate goal of terminating this capitalist society and establishing a socialistic state. They would like nothing more than to empower the government to coddle each and every one of its citizens from birth to death, taking away innate initiative and incentive to work. Those are definite. The only variable is the people; only you have the power to make sure this crippling end never comes about."
Link to above opinion

Reverse Bank Robbery

Monday 31 August 2009
by: Dean Baker
for: The Guardian UK

No wonder America's banks are making profits again: the US government is bribing them to borrow its own money.

Most of us work for a living, the rest are bankers. These days the news is filled with great tales about how America's banks are coming back.

Even that giant corpse Citigroup is showing signs of life. Its stock is now selling for more than five times the lows it hit earlier this year. Its market capitalization is up near $57 billion, a bit more than the $45 billion that the government lent them through the Troubled Assets Relief Program, or TARP. Some are even expecting that the government will make a profit on its Citigroup investment.