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Sunday, May 23, 2010

Gulf Oil Spill: New Orleans Talk Radio Host Garland Robinette Unloads on BP and Feds



This might be very educational for folks in the other 49 states - a Louisiana-centered perspective on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and the federal response - or lack thereof. Watch:




Interesting juxtaposition of the Bush and Obama speeches - and a number of other nuggets! BP - "bad and pathetic" - thanks Garland!

Read his nots here:

14 Scary Truths about the BP Oil Leak

1. After Katrina, President Bush promised the Federal Government would not rest until all the wrongs had been made right. After the oil spill in the Gulf President Obama promised the same thing, using almost the exact same words. (But they promised, and the President of the United States is the most powerful position on the planet, right?)
2. BP may have purposely chosen not to do a final test that might have averted this catastrophe. (Minerals Management Service would’ve protected us from that, right?)

3. Halliburton might have left out a seal in the pipe that would’ve avoided the catastrophe. (Again, MMS protects us from that, right?)

4. The test BP chose NOT to conduct might have revealed the missing seal. (If BP made that pathetic choice – MMS still would’ve protected us from harm, right?)

5. BP said they are liable, but increasingly you can hear them now point responsibility to the contractor and rig owners. (But, MMS knows the truth, right?)

6. BP knowingly used dispersants banned in England with the blessing of the EPA. (But the Environmental Protection Agency protects us from harm, right?)

7. Some news agencies are reporting that BP has financial connections to the company that sells the dispersant. The claims are that the dispersant company’s leadership includes executives from BP and Exxon. (No conflict there, right? Nobody could have their suspicions aroused by that, right?)

8. BP didn’t reveal all the videos of the spewing oil. (But Secretary of the Interior makes sure there’s transparency, right?)

9. BP refused to allow scientists to measure the amount of oil flowing into the Gulf, all the while saying it was about 5,000 barrels a day. Yesterday (5/20/10) they finally admitted that was wrong. Yesterday a Purdue University scientist told a Congressional committee that his estimates are between 75,000 to 115,000 barrels a day. If he’s right, this spill would be the second largest in the world. (But National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has us covered there, right?)

10. Representatives from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration say…”Now is a time for awareness and preparation, not overreaction.” (They’re telling us not to overreact, when they don’t know how much is spilling into the Gulf?)

11. Some suggest there’s a conflict of interest in oil-slick testing. L.A.B.’s clients include BP. (But, the Energy Department has our backs there, right?)

12. The Coast Guard and BP representatives threatened to jail a CBS-TV crew if they filmed the oil spill. That report went nationwide…and worldwide on you tube. (But the justice department insures freedom of the press, right?)

13. We’re begging Congress to give us 37.5% of our oil reserves now, while for decades five other states get 50%. Incidentally, we’re not scheduled to get that 37% until 2017. After the blood and tears of Katrina they gave us the 37% handout, but will tease us with it for 7 years. (But, Mr. President “equal representation,” right? You know…they’re “Cinderella”…we’re the ugly sister.)

14. Governor Jindal (a Republican’t) who’s worked so hard throughout this oil crisis, is reduced to begging President Obama (the Demodon’t) to please allow us to dredge sand barriers to avoid more destruction of our wetlands. We want to use our own sand…OUR sand… did you get that, Washington? We can’t even use OUR sand? Oh, that’s right! the Army Corp of Engineers is here to protect us. They’ve just been “thinking” about it for WEEKS…as black crude lands on our shores and eats up our wetlands. (That whole Demodon’t/Republican’t thing – how’s that working for ya now? Are your parties coming through, when we need them most?!?)

Source: http://www.wwl.com/pages/7155465.php?

David http://wyld-business.blogspot.com/

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Gulf Oil Spill: Oil pushing into Barataria Bay, other areas in Jefferson Parish

Louisiana 1Image via Wikipedia

Want to see how bad the oil spill is on the Louisiana Coast? Watch this video and read the story from WWL-TV below:



Oil pushing into Barataria Bay, other areas in Jefferson Parish | wwltv.com | WWLTV.com News

David

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Chris Matthews Tells Leno: 'The President Scares Me,' Limbaugh 'A Joke' (VIDEO)

BP OIL SPILL: BEYOND SCARRYImage by roberthuffstutter via Flickr



Wow - Chris Matthews taking the President to task on his handling - or non-handling - of the BP oil spill disaster. Great analysis - and yes, it is scary!

Watch:



Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

David http://wyld-business.blogspot.com/

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Sarah Ferguson, Duchess Of York, Caught Selling Access To Prince Andrew

Image representing Huffington Post as depicted...Image via CrunchBase



This could end up being a HUGE scandal - read:

Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Do yourself a favor and watch the original News of the World (hey, now everyone's credible after the National Enquirer is up for a Pulitzer Prize for breaking the Tiger Woods' story):

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/video/?vxSiteId=4a8b74c3-860e-48f4-a09e-9f2f93e9b1be&vxChannel=News&vxClipId=2160_823094&vxBitrate=300


You know, the British tabloids and mainstream press will have a field day with this. And look for a major government investigation into how the royals handle their affairs - it could be the beginning of the end for the monarchy. This looks like it wasn't her first time - and if it involves the Prince, then it is indeed a huge scandal.



One to stay tuned for...(thank goodness for those tiny cameras!!)



David http://wyld-business.blogspot.com/

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The European Financial Crisis: The Road To Economic Serfdom

MIT's Building 10Image via Wikipedia

Very interesting take from MIT Professor Simon Johnson on the Greek Crisis and the financial bailout taking place to try and save the Euro. Read:

The Road To Economic Serfdom « The Baseline Scenario

and watch:




David
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Florida officials hope oil spill fears won't keep tourists away - CNN.com



From CNN.com - originally published:

Florida officials hope oil spill fears won't keep tourists away - CNN.com

Officials in Panama City, Florida, have beaten construction delays, permit problems and the ever-present threat of hurricanes to arrive at this day: a new airport that will open the region to the world and bring in planeloads of tourism dollars.
But as regular air service begins Sunday, authorities never thought they'd have to contend with a new threat: an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that continues to gush thousands of gallons of crude every day.
"We've been getting calls ever since the oil spill occurred," said Dan Rowe of the Panama City Visitors' Bureau. "You know, wondering about their vacation plans."
Tourism, Rowe said, is the largest industry in Panama City. The $318-million Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport is the first international airport to open in the country since 1997.
"It is really going to be an economic driver for all of northwest Florida's economy for years to come," he said.
The new airport is expected to generate approximately $80 million in new state revenues over the first 20 years of operation.
But the challenge, now, is to convince tourists that the water is clean.
"We'll get through the oil spill," Rowe said. "There's no oil on Panama City Beach or any of the beaches in northwest Florida."
Video: Latest on oil spill Video: Gulf clean-up controversy Video: BP to fill leak with thick liquid
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Indeed, the spill is more than 100 miles away from Panama City Beach's coastline. Local officials have said that if it comes ashore, they will swiftly deal with it.
Yet, beach towns across the Gulf coast have seen business slide precipitously as tar balls -- pieces of emulsified oil -- wash ashore along the coasts of Mississippi and Alabama.
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist asked oil company BP, which owns the damaged well at the heart of the slick, to pay for a $35 million advertising blitz to reassure tourists that Florida beaches remain untarnished by the spill.
Oil has been gushing into the Gulf at the rate of about 5,000 barrels a day (210,000 gallons) since late April, when the drill rig Deepwater Horizon blew up and sank about 40 miles off Louisiana. Some estimates have put the amount of oil spewing from the well far higher.
Eleven workers are missing and presumed dead after the explosion and sinking, and the cause has not been determined.
Efforts to shut down the well that was ripped open by the accident have failed so far, though BP says it has been able to capture some of the escaping oil and pump it to a ship on the surface.
The company also said it will continue using a controversial subsea dispersant to break up the plume of oil, pushing back against a directive from the Environmental Protection Agency to find a less toxic alternative, the EPA indicated Saturday.
The EPA issued the directive on Thursday, ordering BP to find within 24 hours a less toxic but equally effective chemical than its current product, Corexit 9500, and one that is available in sufficient quantities. The directive also gave the company 72 hours to stop applying it to the undersea gusher.
Corexit has been rated more toxic and less effective than many others on the list of 18 EPA-approved dispersants, according to testimony at a congressional hearing Wednesday.
The EPA released BP's response to the mandate on Saturday.
The response, which BP submitted late Thursday night, said that the oil company identified the only other effective, less toxic alternative available in mass quantities as Sea Brat 4. However, BP said the Sea Brat product "contains a small amount of a chemical that may degrade to a nonylphenol."
Nonylphenol is an organic chemical that is toxic to aquatic life and may persist in the environment for years.
Corexit, however, "does not contain chemicals that degrade into NP (and) the manufacturer indicates that Corexit reaches its maximum bio-degradability within 28 days of application" and does not persist in the environment, BP's response said.
"Based on the information that is available today, BP continues to believe that Corexit was the best and most appropriate choice at the time when the incident occurred, and that Corexit remains the best option for subsea application," BP said.
Also Saturday, the Department of Homeland Security announced that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will lead a bipartisan Senate delegation to inspect the Louisiana coastline after globs of thick, heavy oil began washing into some of the state's marshlands this week.
The delegation will meet with federal officials and BP representatives to discuss the ongoing response efforts.




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Gulf Oil Spill: What's Really Going On in the Gulf Waters - "Toxic Soup" Says It All!



Maybe I've missed it, but I have not seen the mainstream media do enough stories on what the condition of the gulf waters are right now in the wake of the BP oil spill. This is a very good, first hand report from NBC's Anne Thompson, as she takes us on a boat ride stretching from the coast all the way to the site of the sunken Deepwater Horizon. Watch:



Unfortunately, the "toxic soup" she describes is the reality we face - thanks BP!

David http://wyld-business.blogspot.com/

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