close
The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20100806115258/http://leftedgenorth.blogspot.com/

"to be fair, the other party’s opposition has also been rooted in their sincere beliefs about how the economy works. They believe that our economy will do better if we simply let the banks and oil companies and insurance industry make their own rules. They still believe that—even after Wall street crashed and the BP oil well blew. They think we should keep on doing what they did for most of the last decade, leading up to the recession. Their prescription for every challenge is pretty much the same: cut taxes for the wealthy, cut rules for corporations and cut working folks loose to fend for themselves.

The problem is, we’ve already tried these ideas. We tried them for a good part of the last decade. And we know where they led us."

Barak Obama

BERJAYA

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Heroes in the Senate? I am watching for them. HERE is Anthony Weiner of New York in hero mode trying to get healthcare for first responders to the World Trade Center destruction:

The party of NO defeated this important bill to help the heroes of that day!

According to a bill summary, the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2009 would provide:

(1) medical monitoring and treatment benefits to eligible emergency responders and recovery and cleanup workers who responded to the World Trade Center terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001; and
(2) initial health evaluation, monitoring, and treatment benefits to residents and other building occupants and area workers who were directly impacted and adversely affected by such attacks. Requires the WTC program administrator to:
(1) implement a quality assurance program;
(2) establish the WTC Health Program Scientific/Technical Advisory Committee;
(3) establish the WTC Responders Steering Committee and the WTC Community Program Steering Committee;
(4) provide for education and outreach on services under the WTC program;
(5) provide for the uniform collection of data related to WTC-related health conditions;
(6) conduct research on physical and mental health conditions that may be related to the September 11 terrorist attacks; and
(7) extend and expand arrangements with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to provide for the World Trade Center Health Registry. Authorizes the administrator to make grants to the Department to address mental health needs relating to the terrorist attacks.Amends the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act to:
(1) make individuals eligible for compensation under the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 for harm as a result of debris removal; and
(2) extend the deadline for making a claim for compensation.

You may recall the criminal GWTF Bush EPA claiming that the air was fine and dandy to breathe after that horrendous collapse that put TONS of asbestos and many other toxics into the air of New York City as fine dust...

Friday, July 30, 2010

Endgame in Afghanistan: 'It's taken a year to move 20km'

As the war in Afghanistan enters its final chapter, Sean Smith's brutal, uncompromising film from the Helmand frontline shows the horrific chaos of a stalemate that is taking its toll in blood. Warning: contains distressing scenes and strong language.  Runs about 15 minutes.

   
   
   
   
   
I am a lifelong Democrat, liberal lefty, and I DO NOT understand how we can spill this much blood on the Cheney/Bush/Rumsfeld fiasco in Afgpakrak and then CUT FOOD STAMPS?  What the hell is going on?  What happened to the Democrats?  Where are they?  I fear the Democratic Party is about to be confronted by our own version of the tea party.
---------------------------------------------
On another note, I saw President Obama speaking at a Chrysler plant today.  While I am glad to see those few have good jobs, what I HEARD our president saying just reinforced my conviction that this fucker just does not get it.  He was going on and on about what a great car the fucking JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE is.  WHAT A DINK!  The grand fucking cherokee is some of the worst engineering imaginable in a car, and gets some of the worst fuel mileage imaginable.  The first pure electric car is going to be Japanese.  Jesusfuckingchrist.




Wednesday, July 28, 2010

If You Are Going To Arizona, You Had Better Watch Your Step. Even Though Totally LEGAL, The Sheriff Says He Might Throw Your Ass In Jail

"...The sheriff of the most populous county in Arizona says he's "not going to put up with any civil disobedience" when the state's new immigration law takes effect..." GO.READ


tea party fascist?

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

BP Hires Prison Labor to Clean Up Spill While Coastal Residents Struggle

 THE SLEAZE OF THIS COMPANY AND LEFT-OVER GWTF BUSH PLANS IS BEYOND MEASURE:

The advantage for private companies is that trustees are covered under Work Opportunity Tax Credit, a holdover from Bush’s Welfare to Work legislation that rewards private-sector employers for hiring risky “target groups.” Businesses earn a tax credit of $2,400 for every work release inmate they hire. On top of that, they can earn back up to 40 percent of the wages they pay annually to “target group workers.”
LINK

BIG STORY TODAY of missing billion$ in Iraq. History is funny my dears: Learn From It Or Repeat It

July 27, 2010
PENTAGON CAN'T ACCOUNT FOR 8.7 BILLION IN IRAQI FUNDS.

February 6, 2007
WAXMAN PROBES IRAQ CONTRACTING, MISSING 12 BILLION

BERJAYA






Monday, July 26, 2010

SOME GOOD NEWS:


Lessons Learned
BERJAYA

Lovers of human culture are fascinated by the idea that age-old low-tech solutions are thoroughly applicable in creating a more eco-friendly world are worthy equals to the usual high-tech hubris.
What's Old Is New Again: Traditional Knowledge Inventory Informs Innovation


Grid Lock?
BERJAYA

The transition to plug-in hybrids and electric cars won't hurt the power grid. Charging an electric car uses about as much electricity as 4 to 6 big plasma televisions, and they sell faster than cars.
Electric Cars Won't Bring the Power Grid Down!


Search Like the Wind
BERJAYA

With the goal of becoming carbon-neutral Google has built some of the world's most energy efficient data centres, but now they're helping fund investment in renewable energy project expansion.
Google Energy Signs 20-Year, 114 MW Wind Power Contract 

Lastly, I think we deserve the TRUTH about the latest WIKILEAKS information:
Leaked Reports Paint 'An Unvarnished And Grim Picture Of The Afghan War'

Three newspapers — The Guardian, The New York Times and Der Spiegel — have sifted through more than 91,000 secret documents related to the war in Afghanistan, released by WikiLeaks.
At a news conference, Julian Assange, the organization's founder, said that, for the past several weeks, WikiLeaks and the three newspapers worked together, in a "collaborative basement" in London, where they "shared research and computation techniques as equal partners."

CLICK ABOVE TO READ THIS ARTICLE, with lots of great links.  Personally, I think, as one taxpayer who is funding these wars and this horrendous war machine, I have a right to know.  Beyond THAT is the idea of our (USA AND NATO) governments and their "state secrets" used to hide or cover up nasty, illegal, murderous behaviour.







 

Saturday, July 24, 2010

DEAR COAST GUARD, BEEFUCKINGPEE, GULF OF MEXICO CLEAN UP GODDAMNED MANAGERS:

WHO THE FUCK RUNS FROM 40 GODDAMNED KNOT WINDS?  GET SOME SEAFARING LEADERSHIP IN THIS THING OR GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE WAY.  THERE IS WORK TO BE DONE AND IF YOU RUN EVERY TIME THE GODDAMNED WIND PUFFS UP, THE WORK AINT GONNA GET DONE!

JEEZUZ PEOPLE!





Wednesday, July 21, 2010

"MINOR LEAKS" in Gulf oil wells, Fox & tea party get another one over on Obama

MINOR LEAKS?? 
"...raised fears that the well was in danger. But Allen said another well is to blame. The seepage is closer to the older well than to the one that blew out, Allen said. Also, he said, "it's not unusual to have seepage around the old wells."
There are two wells within two miles of BP's blowout, one that has been abandoned and another that is not in production. Around 27,000 abandoned wells in the Gulf aren't checked for leaks," LINK

seems to ME that ANY crude oil leaking into the environment is NOT MINOR.

OBAMA CREW FALLS FOR TEA PARTY LIES AGAIN 
 "...The woman at the center of a racially tinged firestorm involving the Obama administration and the NAACP said Wednesday she doesn't know if she'd return to her job at the Agriculture Department..." LINK

WHO THE HELL IS IT IN THE OBAMA CREW WHO KEEPS FALLING FOR THE TEA PARTY AND FOX NEWS SLIME JOBS, AND WHO THE HELL DOES THE "EX-ADMIRAL" IN CHARGE AT THE OIL SPILL REALLY WORK FOR?  Sure seems like he "retired" at a very handy moment, and has/is letting BEEPEE get away with a lot of what may be felonious behavior!


Friday, July 16, 2010

Tim Geithner Opposes Nominating Elizabeth Warren To Lead New Consumer Agency

BERJAYA

BREAKING NEWS: Huffington Post reports that on the very day the Senate passed Wall Street reform and created a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Treasury Sec. Tim Geithner is urging President Obama NOT to appoint the most credible person as its leader: Elizabeth Warren.
Sign our emergency petition to the President today -- telling him to appoint Elizabeth Warren. Then, pass this email to your friends.
Elizabeth Warren is feared by Wall Street. 
As chair of the bailout oversight panel, she held Wall Street executives' feet to the fire and was not afraid to speak out.
As a Harvard professor, her credentials are impeccable. And she was the one who came up with the idea for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau -- perhaps the best piece of this bill -- in the first place.
In short, Warren is perfect for the position and most financial insiders have just assumed she would get it. That's why it's so outrageous that Geithner -- a longtime Wall Street insider -- would attempt to sabotage her appointment.
Sign our petition to President Obama in support 

PERSONALLY, I THINK THEY SHOULD FIRE GEITHNER AND HIS CREW - SHOULD HAVE FIRED THEM LONG AGO.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Guts and soul at a BeePee blowout mess commission meeting by a young man named Drew Landry

WAPO; Lessons from Exxon Valdez spill have gone unheeded

Same players
BeePee runs the consortium that owns the Alaska Pipeline (Alyeska) that was in charge of cleanup in Prince William Sound.
(the Trans-Alaska pipeline is a disaster set to happen at any moment).
Same "confusion"
We have been witnessing (again and again) BeePee's tecniques for dealing with disasters - ignore, hide, delay.

Now there is a new "Presidential Commission" convened in the Gulf of Mexico to investigate the BeePee caused deepwater gusher there.  No doubt they will learn exactly the same shit learned those years ago in Alaska.

One of the things that I am pleased about is the shutting down of all of the deepwater wells in the Gulf of Mexico for inspection and certification.  If all of these wells (and it looks like they are) are licensed and inspected like the one that blew up killing 11 workers and causing the destruction of a whole, vital ecosystem, we need to know (in spite of whatever any of the Republicans or Tee Parties say.

anyhow - please GO.READ



Tuesday, July 13, 2010

US budget deficit shrinks

US budget deficit shrinks

Dear Republicans: OK SHUT THE FUCK UP IF YOU CAN'T BE HELPFUL.

Dear tea parties:  JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP, WE KNOW YOU CAN NOT BE HELPFUL.

Sunday, July 11, 2010


Friday, July 9, 2010

Join experts, political leaders, and thousands of Americans in signing the statement:

We cannot let the denial of protective gear 
that hurt so many 9/11 clean-up workers 
happen again with the Gulf clean-up workers.
President Obama and the federal government must demand that BP allow every clean-up worker who wants to wear respiratory protective equipment to do so -- and ensure that workers get the equipment and training they need to do their jobs safely.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

DID YOU KNOW BEEPEE (BRITISH PEETROLEUM) HAS CONTROLLING INTEREST IN THE 35 YEAR OLD DETERIORATING TRANS ALASKA PIPELINE?

BP's Culture of Cost-Cutting Isn't Just in the Gulf: Danger Looms in Alaska Pipeline

Explosive allegations leveled by managers reveal that severe cost-cutting efforts could put the integrity of an 800-mile Trans Alaska Pipeline System at risk. 
 
Of the ongoing cuts to inspection and staffing for the Trans Alaska Pipeline BeePee says "Most of the concerns were not substantiated," says the email sent to employees, obtained by Truthout. "Specifically, the concerns about safety, integrity and environmental protection were not substantiated."
 
All safe in and around BeePee facilities, nothing to see here - move along now...
Click the link to read this fairly long, but important and interesting article:

Sunday, June 27, 2010

27 June '10 NEWS OF BEEPEE GULF SPEW AND SOME OF BEEPEE'S RECENT UGLY HISTORY



Friday, June 25, 2010

more oil than you suckers can suck

I have an idea for all you Southern and otherwise ALL POWER TO OIL Senators and other "representatives of the people" who want to go FULL STEAM AHEAD ON DEEPWATER EXPLORATORY WELLS in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere:  WHY DON'T YOU AND YOUR OIL PATCH CRONIES STICK A BIG FAT MOTHERFUCKING SUCTION PIPE INTO WHAT'S LEFT OF THE GULF OF MEXICO AND START SUCKING?  

GO GET IT, ASSHOLE!

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

BeePee is burning endangered sea turtles alive

News has just emerged from the Gulf Coast that BP is burning endangered sea turtles alive.

A boat captain who has been leading efforts to rescue the endangered turtles says BP has blocked his crews from entering the areas where the animals are trapped, effectively shutting down the rescue operation.

BP is using "controlled burns" to contain the oil spill. Shrimp boats create a corral of oil by dragging together fire-resistant booms and then lighting the enclosed "burn box" on fire. If turtles are not removed from the area before the fire is lit, they are literally burned alive.

I just signed a petition telling BP to stop burning endangered sea turtles alive. To learn more and take action, click on the link below.
http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/bp_endangered_turtles/?r_by=9693-1983511-xAyQgCx&rc=confemail

********************************************

FROM BEEPEE MAGAZINE:

BP recognizes the risk posed to the environment from spills and takes a range of measures to prevent any loss of hydrocarbons


Our approach

Our strategy to address spills has three components:
  • Prevention: we seek to assure the integrity of vessels and pipelines used to transport oil and other hydrocarbons.
  • Preparation: we seek to ensure an infrastructure is in place to deal effectively with spills and their impacts. Our operating facilities have the capacity and resources to respond to spill incidents and we participate in industry and international forums to coordinate contingency planning and emergency response.
  • Performance: we record incidents, learn lessons and aim to reduce the number of losses from primary containment. 
An interesting place to 'drill down' into the corporate/structural bullshit machine of BeePee.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Chevron Drilling Oil Well in 8,530 Feet of Water, Says it's safe...

HEY CITIZEN, TRUST US, 

WE ARE THE GREEN/
PEOPLE/ENVIRONMENT/
SOLAR/
ALTERNATIVE/
POISON BLACK GOOP COMPANY!

Monday, June 21, 2010

HOW MUCH OIL IS LEAKING INTO THE WORLD'S OCEANS VIA THE GULF OF MEXICO?

Sunday, June 20, 2010

DON'T FORGET TO HAVE A LOOK AT MY INCREDIBLY GROOVY STUFF ON EBAY THIS WEEK!

BERJAYA

Saturday, June 19, 2010

BP DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL SPEW AND CLEANUP UP TO DATE INFORMATION

  • For NOAA media inquiries, please contact Ben Sherman, John Ewald or Rachel Wilhelm or phone 301.713.3066.
  • To offer suggestions to clean, contain, recover or stop the flow of oil visit Deepwater Horizon Response Suggestions. This website also provides procedures and forms for Alternative Response Tool Evaluation System (ARTES) proposals.
  • For response-related inquiries, please phone the Joint Information Center (JIC) at 985.902.5231 or 985.902.5240.
  • To report oil on land, or for general community information, please phone 866.448.5816.
  • To report oiled or injured wildlife, please phone 866.557.1401.
  • To learn about volunteer opportunities in all areas and what training is required, please phone 866.448.5816.
  • To discuss spill related damage claims, please phone 800.440.0858.
  • BP is asking fishermen for their assistance in cleaning up the oil spill. BP is calling this the Vessel of Opportunities Program and through it, BP is looking to contract shrimp boats, oyster boats and other vessels for hire to deploy boom in the Gulf of Mexico. To learn more about the Vessel of Opportunity Program, fishermen should phone 281.366.5511.
VIA

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

MUST SEE - FAKE PRESIDENT MADDOW'S OVAL-OFFICE-IN-HER-HEAD ADDRESS AS IT OBAMA SHOULD HAVE DONE IT

CLICK ON THE LINK TO SEE RACHEL MADDOW NAIL IT WITH HER OPINION OF WHAT PRESIDENT OBAMA MIGHTA/WOULDA/SHOULDA SAID IN HIS ADDRESS FROM THE OVAL OFFICE THIS EVENING.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Whatever Obama’s failings, he is infinitely more competent at coping with catastrophe than his predecessor:

By FRANK RICH
Published: May 28, 2010

"...President Bush’s top disaster managers — the Homeland Security secretary, Michael Chertoff, as well as the notorious “Brownie” — professed ignorance of New Orleans’s humanitarian crisis a full day after the nation had started watching it live in real time on television and instead made a jocular show of vowing to rebuild the coastal home of his party’s former Senate leader, Trent Lott. He never did take charge. The Obama administration has been engaged with the oil spill from the start — however haltingly and inarticulately at times. It was way too trusting of BP but was never AWOL. For all the second-guessing, it’s still not clear what else the president might have done..."

GO.READ


Saturday, June 12, 2010

British attack Obama as 'Anglophobic'? WTF?

So.
President Obama called the company that is responsible for the greatest environmental disaster in HISTORY British Petroleum.
Some politicians in England have been offended.  They are saying it is OBAMA'S FAULT that the share price of BP stock is down in the basement.

WTF, BRITS?
GO.READ


When I read this article in the London (?) Daily Mail, I was struck by the comments.  Many of them absolutely dislike our President.  I suspect Britain has it's own Tea Party problems...

Oh...well now...I think I get it NOW.  It seems that while visiting there, President Obama hugged their biggest queen.  Nanner nanner neener no no!  My guess is they still have their panties in a twist over THAT.
  
Canadian oil companies no longer need to have relief-well plans?


OK you ENGLISH DINKS.  What's up with THIS?
via

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Using a BROKEN BLOWOUT PREVENTER and the underwater nightmare: ‘What BP does not want you to see.’

Philippe Cousteau:"...it’s not a question of if the oceans can take any more. The ocean can’t take any more. They couldn’t take any more fifty years ago. The question is, when are we going to stop?" GO.READ

BERJAYA

SINCE I WILL BE UPDATING THIS STORY PERIODICALLY, 

I WILL SIMPLY ADD TO THIS POST.  

OLDER WILL BE LOWER - NEWER CLOSER TO THE TOP.

  • 6/5 - IT'S THE CHENEY WAY: As Congress investigated its role in the doomed Deep Horizon oil rig, Halliburton donated $17,000 to candidates running for federal office, giving money to several lawmakers on committees that have launched inquiries into the massive spill.

  • In 2006, Scott West led an investigation of BP following a major oil pipeline leak in Alaska’s North Slope that spilled 250,000 gallons of oil on the Alaskan tundra. Before West finished his investigation, the Bush Justice Department reached a settlement with BP, and the oil company agreed to pay $20 million. At the same time, BP managed to avoid prosecution for the Texas City refinery explosion that killed fifteen workers LINK TO STORY
--------------------------------------
----------------------------------------
        More on top kill vs. did not do HERE

--------------------------------------

  • BP is now fighting the Environmental Protection Agency’s demands to change its use of toxic dispersants, after over 700,000 gallons have been used on the hundred-million-gallon Deepwater Horizon oil blowout. The dispersants have created an invisible toxic cloud of unknown size below the surface, as the federal government lets BP block attempts to monitor the gusher, study the undersea plumes, or learn about the dispersants being used. On Monday, Good Morning America correspondent Sam Champion and Philippe Cousteau Jr., the chief ocean correspondent for Planet Green and grandson of Jacques Cousteau, explored the toxic plumes of dispersed oil floating beneath the waves in the Gulf of Mexico:
This, critics say, is what BP does not want you to see: oil and chemical dispersants swirling together into a toxic soup, forming large plumes under the surface of the water as deep as twenty-five feet, perhaps deeper.
The small droplets of dispersed oil are “capable of passing right into the flesh of fish and birds.” “It’s absolutely disgusting,” Cousteau described. “I think this has got to be one of the most horrible things I’ve ever seen underwater.” Watch it:

LINK to story and comments at Think Progress dot org

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

FROM NRDC'S ON EARTH BLOG ; EPA Officials Weigh Sanctions Against BP’s U.S. Operations

By Abrahm Lustgarten
Officials at the Environmental Protection Agency are considering whether to bar BP from receiving government contracts, a move that would ultimately cost the company billions in revenue and could end its drilling in federally controlled oil fields.
Over the past 10 years, BP has paid tens of millions of dollars in fines and been implicated in four separate instances of criminal misconduct that could have prompted this far more serious action. Until now, the company's executives and their lawyers have fended off such a penalty by promising that BP would change its ways.
That strategy may no longer work.
Days ago, in an unannounced move, the EPA suspended negotiations with the petroleum giant over whether it would be barred from federal contracts because of the environmental crimes it committed before the spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Officials said they are putting the talks on hold until they learn more about the British company's responsibility for the plume of oil that is spreading across the Gulf.
The EPA said in a statement that, according to its regulations, it can consider banning BP from future contracts after weighing "the frequency and pattern of the incidents, corporate attitude both before and after the incidents, changes in policies, procedures, and practices."
GO.READ 

  • More on BP's accident history HERE

BP TELLS EPA TO GO F*CK ITSELF:

FOR OIL CORPORATION OUT OF SIGHT IS OUT OF MIND WHILE KILLING WORLD OCEANS:
After initially approving a chemical oil dispersant called Corexit, the U.S Environmental Protection Agency retracted it's allowance and ordered British Petroleum to stop dumping the mysterious chemical substance by Sunday.
However, the oil giant has ignored the government's deadline and was continuing to dump large volumes of Corexit into the Gulf on Monday, according to The New York Times, apparently to keep the massive sea floor oil plumes from surfacing and possibly washing ashore.
LINK TO STORY

Friday, May 21, 2010


Stunning Statistic of the Week:

  • Number of lobbyists representing opponents of strong derivatives reform in the congressional debate over financial reform: 903.
  • Number of lobbyists representing pro-consumer reforms during the same time period, since the beginning of 2009: 79. 
America, the greatest country in the world?  Certainly one of the crookedest...

BANKS TOO BIG TO FAIL? OIL COMPANIES (BP) TOO BIG TO PROSECUTE? WHAT HAPPENED WHILE WE WERE ASLEEP?

How Bush's Department of "Justice" Killed a Criminal Probe Into BP That Threatened to Net Top Officials

 "...we would have had a clear understanding of who knew what and when and then we would be able to make appropriate charging decisions. But because the investigation was shut down that was the end of it."


Mr. Obama, we are through fucking around with these people.  If YOU want to fuck around and dick around and kiss these corporate criminals' asses, THAT is up to you.  WE hired you to LEAD, and desperately need you to LEAD NOW.  There is no TIME to wait for Congress, or to wait for a lot of "studies" or "analyses".  
It just so happens that WE LOVE OUR PLANET, and we REALISE THE PERIL.  
Mr. Obama - GET OFF YOUR ASS, SHOW SOME PASSION, AND GET AFTER THIS NOW. 

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

BP CHOSE MORE TOXIC, LESS EFFECTIVE OIL DISPERSANT -- GUESS WHY ...

"...Corexit and manufactured by Nalco Co., a company that was once part of Exxon Mobil Corp. and whose current leadership includes executives at both BP and Exxon. And another 805,000 gallons of Corexit are on order, the company said, with the possibility that hundreds of thousands of more gallons may be needed if the well continues spewing oil for weeks or months.

But according to EPA data, Corexit ranks far above dispersants made by competitors in toxicity and far below them in effectiveness in handling southern Louisiana crude.
Of 18 dispersants whose use EPA has approved, 12 were found to be more effective on southern Louisiana crude than Corexit, EPA data show. Two of the 12 were found to be 100 percent effective on Gulf of Mexico crude, while the two Corexit products rated 56 percent and 63 percent effective, respectively. The toxicity of the 12 was shown to be either comparable to the Corexit line or, in some cases, 10 or 20 times less, according to EPA."
GO.READ


UPDATE
Climate Progress’ Joe Romm notes that as toxic as Corexit is, dispersed oil is more toxic.

Out of Sight: BP’s dispersants are toxic — but not as toxic as dispersed oil


Plus the threat the disaster poses to America's primary coral reef


Chemically dispersing oil spills “solves the political problem of visible oil but not the environmental problem,” Robert Brulle, a 20-year Coast Guard veteran and an affiliate professor of public health at Drexel University, told me. These dispersants “do not actually reduce the total amount of oil entering the environment,” as a 2005 National Academy of Sciences report on the subject put it.
In short: out of sight, out of mind. But not out of the body of marine life.
Dispersants decrease the amount of oil that directly reaches the shores or the creatures that live on the shores or sea surface. But they increase the exposure to oil by creatures that live in the water or on the sea floor — like, say, shrimp or oysters.
GO.READ

Monday, May 17, 2010

EVERYTHING BP owns or runs needs to be SHUT DOWN and inspected -

EVERYTHING.  It is clear that they are liars, incompetent and run a criminal enterprise endangering everyone and every thing in the vicinity of anything they do.  Their offshore oil rigs are especially suspect after seeing the interview on 60 minutes with the head electronics tech from the burned up oil rig.  British Petroleum's oil pumping stations, wells, refineries, tank trucks and gas stations WORLDWIDE need to be SHUT DOWN for inspection of the paper work and compliance with ALL applicable laws and regulations.

Letting scumbags like this slide might be a good thing to do if you name is Cheeney or Boosh, but for residents of this garden planet it is wrong thing to do.  

When handling or producing toxic substances, there are rules and regulations, and I don't give a fuck WHO you are, you WILL comply

Friday, May 14, 2010

Deepwater Horizon Explosion Survivor Interview



Many many pages of interesting (to me) professional chatter about plausible scenarios from oil well guys HERE 

For your amusement: If BP were a human being …
What if BP were a person, not a corporation? This person would have been married several times (thanks to corporate mergers) and would have several aliases. The person would be considered "a career criminal, a pathological liar and an international serial killer with a rap sheet several times the size of the Chicago Yellow Pages." Oh, the person also would be a flight risk.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Send a message to your senators today, calling on them to pass a real climate deal -- one that protects people and the planet, not polluters.

BERJAYA

This morning, Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) unveiled a draft of their long-awaited cap-and-trade bill, the "American Power Act."
Unfortunately, it's as bad as we feared. Summaries of the proposal released this morning indicate they would eliminate critical tools needed to stabilize climate chaos while handing out billions in giveaways to some of the worst industrial polluters in the country.
Send a message to your senators today, calling on them to pass a real climate deal -- one that protects people and the planet, not polluters.
The Kerry-Lieberman bill rolls back important protections in the Clean Air Act, the strongest tool we have at the federal level to reduce global warming pollution and undermines states' ability to reduce their carbon footprints with innovative solutions.
Adding insult to injury, the bill would also allow expanded offshore drilling, even though millions of gallons of oil continue to spew into the Gulf of Mexico, damaging the vulnerable ecosystems of the Gulf and the economies that rely on them. With the likes of oil behemoth BP (whose negligence precipitated the catastrophic spill) and other polluters backing the bill, it's clear who stands to benefit.
We need your help. Tell your senators today that we need a climate bill that contains true clean energy solutions.
We can soon be on the road towards a 100 percent clean energy future. Unfortunately, the Kerry-Lieberman bill would send us in the wrong direction.
Senator Kerry is defending his bill by saying that while it's not perfect, he thinks it's the best the Senate can do. We think a better strategy would be for the Obama administration to implement existing Clean Air Act protections, while senators work on building support for a stronger bill -- one that doesn't shower billions on polluters.
We need a bill that maintains all existing Clean Air Act protections, invests in clean energy, rather than providing more polluter handouts, and has the integrity to deliver rapid cuts in climate-disrupting emissions.
Let's mobilize to demand a real climate bill. Send a message to your senators today.
Erich Pica
President, Friends of the Earth
 
John Kerry didn't say shit when the Republicans were sliming his militery record and Joe Lieberman is one of the worst weasels in history.  NEITHER OF THESE DICKHEADS IS WORTH LISTENING TO ON MUCH OF ANYTHING.

Monday, May 10, 2010

SkyTruth: "We estimate the spill rate is closer to 1.1 million gallons (26,500 barrels) per day, based on the size of the slick on satellite images and Coast Guard maps, and thickness estimates derived from visual descriptions of the slick. That puts us at a total spill of 21 million gallons so far."

  • Petrochemical giant BP didn't file a plan to specifically handle a major oil spill from an uncontrolled blowout at its Deepwater Horizon project because the federal agency that regulates offshore rigs changed its rules two years ago to exempt certain projects in the central Gulf region, according to an Associated Press review of official records.

  • FOR A STARTLING EXAMPLE OF HOW BIG THIS SPILL REALLY IS, CLICK HERE TO PLAY WITH A VERY EXCELLENT GOOGLE EARTH OVERLAY GIZMO.  SEE HOW THE SPILL LOOKS OVER YOUR CITY.

  • This oil "spill" in the Gulf of Mexico is MUCH bigger and more dangerous than anyone is letting you know.  

Quote from SkyTruth  -

"Sunday, May 9, 2010


BP / Gulf Oil Spill - How Big Is It?

Quite a lot bigger than the estimate being uncritically quoted throughout the media of 210,000 gallons (5,000 barrels) per day. That was the last "official" estimate made by NOAA and accepted by the Coast Guard back on April 29 (see timeline below). Before that, the Coast Guard estimates ranged from 336,000 gallons (8,000 barrels) per day, to zero, to 42,000 gallons (1,000 barrels) per day. None of these estimates has been publicly explained or substantiated. And on May 1, the Coast Guard and NOAA stopped trying to estimate the spill rate, with Admiral Thad Allen saying, "Any exact estimate is probably impossible at this time."

But the media continues to report that oil is leaking into the Gulf at 5,000 barrels per day. At SkyTruth we estimate the spill rate is closer to 1.1 million gallons (26,500 barrels) per day, based on the size of the slick on satellite images and Coast Guard maps, and thickness estimates derived from visual descriptions of the slick. That puts us at a total spill of 21 million gallons so far.

Considering that there are deepwater oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico capable of producing >1.26 million gallons (30,000 barrels) of oil per day under controlled flow rates; and that the oil slick continues to grow in size even though it's been under attack 24/7 by skimmer vessels, burning, chemical dispersants, and natural processes; our estimate seems quite conservative.

Why is it important to get this number right? This is about more than just liability, or PR. You can bet that our future response capacity is going to be overhauled and retooled based on this spill. If we low-ball the spill amount and rate, we run the risk of designing an inadequate new spill-response system that is doomed to fail the next time something this big occurs.

Here's the timeline of spill estimates:

  • 4/22 - Deepwater Horizon rig sinks; Coast Guard estimates "up to" 8,000 barrels per day (bpd) is leaking - source
  • 4/23 - Coast Guard reports no leaking at all from the damaged well - source
  • 4/24 - Coast Guard reports well is leaking, estimates 1,000 bpd - source
  • 4/25 - BP repeats 1,000 bpd estimate - source
  • 4/27 - 1,000 bpd still the official Coast Guard and BP estimate - source
  • 4/27 - SkyTruth and Dr. Ian MacDonald publish first estimate that spill rate is 20,000 bpd - source
  • 4/28 - NOAA weighs in and raises the official estimate to 5,000 bpd based on aerial surveys "and other factors"; BP disputes this higher estimate - source
  • 4/29 - Coast Guard and NOAA repeat their estimate of 5,000 bpd - source
  • 4/29 - BP's Chief Operating Officer admits new estimate of 5,000 bpd may be correct; "He said there was no way to measure the flow at the seabed and estimates have to come from how much oil makes it to the surface" - source
  • 5/1 - SkyTruth and Dr. Ian MacDonald publish revised estimate of at least 26,500 bpd - source
  • 5/1 - Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen "acknowledged there was no way really to know the extent of the leak" - source - and stated that "Any exact estimate is probably impossible at this time" - source
  • 5/1 - Coast Guard and NOAA cease estimating the rate of the spill."

Friday, May 7, 2010

Take Action at Oil Change Now:


Less than one month after President Obama threw out a decades-old ban on offshore drilling, we are witnessing one of the worst spills in US history unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico. At least 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons) a day are spewing into the Gulf, and this could go on for months. Tell President Obama to return to his opposition to offshore drilling. Tell the President and your Senators that you oppose any expansion of offshore drilling and that you demand a real clean energy future that includes an end to our addiction to oil. Tell them the problem is not foreign oil, its oil, period.


Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Here's How Exxon Tried to Avoid Paying for Its Massive Oil Spill -- Let's Not Allow BP to Do the Same

Penalties that British Petroleum will pay 
are based on spill volume --
Exxon saved billions by scuttling the true amount.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Demand an audit of the Fed! Sign the petition: First Name Last Name Email ZIP Not ? Click here. Otherwise, just click: The Federal Reserve has handed out trillions of dollars of our money to big banks and refuses to tell Congress who they gave it to. The Senate may be voting on whether to demand an audit as soon as tomorrow -- can you sign our urgent petition in support?



The Fed handed out billions of your money and refuses to say where it went.
Wall Street
I recently asked the Chairman of the Federal Reserve who received the half trillion dollars ($500,000,000,000) the Fed handed over to various banks. He said he didn't know.
Think about that for a minute -- he didn't know!
That kind of ignorance and arrogance must end. We need a full independent audit the Fed. The House has passed it and the Senate could vote on it as soon as tomorrow. It's going to be extremely close -- every vote will count.
Can you sign the PCCC's urgent petition asking the Senate to support the Audit the Fed amendment?
The amendment is simple. If it passes, we'll finally learn how the Fed has been handing billions of dollars to big Wall Street banks like party favors. But if it fails, the Fed can keep handing out our money to whomever it wants, without telling Congress or the American people.
You'd think passing this legislation would be a slam dunk. Wrong. Wall Street bankers and their lobbyists are twisting arms and pouring millions into the campaign coffers of politicians on both sides of the political divide, to keep their sweetheart Fed loans under wraps. We need to counter their influence-peddling by making the Senate listen to the united voice of the American people. (That would be you.)
It's time to step up the pressure. Sign the PCCC's petition NOW. Then, we'll tell you how to contact your senator.
We can pass this, with your help. The amendment is already cosponsored by progressive heroes like Bernie Sanders, Pat Leahy, and Russ Feingold. And joining us in this bipartisans coalition are John McCain, Jim DeMint, David Vitter, and Sam Brownback.
Now we need your senator on board. Can you take a second to sign the PCCC's petition right now?
Courage,
Alan Grayson, Member of Congress

ARIZONA WE HARDLY KNEW YE...

BERJAYA