Disasters 2010-08-16
[BP's Senior Vice President Kent] Wells confirmed that fear in the afternoon, admitting that they indeed had 4,200 psi on the well when it’s supposed to be dead. At the seafloor, the well should have no more than 2,200 psi on it… Wells said that it wouldn’t hold 4,200 psi because of 'bubbles' leaking out of the wellhead, implying that they are pumping on it to keep it there…
1/10
Lies & Cover-ups 2010-08-16
'City officials said samples collected last week from local waters tested positive for the presence of hydrocarbons, but BP rejected those findings… An invitation to jointly collect samples on Thursday was turned down by a local BP official,' the article reports.
2/10
Economy 2010-08-16
'...It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subject to the bright lights of publicity during these years. But the world is now more sophisticated and prepared to march towards a world government which will never again know war, but only peace and prosperity for the whole of humanity. The supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national auto-determination practiced in the past centuries.'
3/10
Politics & Corruption 2010-08-16
In a deal that has sweeping, long-term implications for millions of people living and working along the US Gulf Coast, the Obama administration has agreed to base the payments by BP to the oil disaster fund on the oil giant’s profits from its drilling operations in the Gulf.
4/10
Lies & Cover-ups 2010-08-16
Dr Richard Spertzel claimed Dr Kelly was on a 'hitlist' in the final years of his life.
The former head of the UN Biological Section, who worked closely with Dr Kelly in Iraq in the 1990s, has written to Attorney General Dominic Grieve about the 'mysterious circumstances' surrounding the death.
5/10
Current Events 2010-08-12
'If there's an attack on Iran by Israel and the US, there's no way to prevent it from becoming a nuclear war.' - Former Cuban president Fidel Castro
6/10
Disasters 2010-08-11
7/10
Economy 2010-08-11
With many of them beaten down by the worst jobs situation since the Great Depression, they just stopped looking for work. And given the Alice-in-Wonderland way in which we compile our official jobless statistics, they are no longer counted as unemployed.
8/10
Current Events 2010-08-09
'If accepted [S 510] would preclude the public's right to grow, own, trade, transport, share, feed and eat each and every food that nature makes. It will become the most offensive authority against the cultivation, trade and consumption of food and agricultural products of one's choice. It will be unconstitutional and contrary to natural law or, if you like, the will of God.'
9/10
Disasters 2010-08-09
In May, Mother Nature Network blogger Karl Burkart received a tip from an anonymous fisherman-turned-BP contractor in the form of a distressed text message, describing a near-apocalyptic sight near the location of the sunken Deepwater Horizon — fish, dolphins, rays, squid, whales, and thousands of birds — 'as far as the eye can see,' dead and dying. According to his statement, which was later confirmed by another report from an individual working in the Gulf, whale carcasses were being shipped to a highly guarded location where they were processed for disposal.
10/10
News Headlines - 16 August 2010
Disasters
[BP's Senior Vice President Kent] Wells confirmed that fear in the afternoon, admitting that they indeed had 4,200 psi on the well when it’s supposed to be dead. At the seafloor, the well should have no more than 2,200 psi on it… Wells said that it wouldn’t hold 4,200 psi because of 'bubbles' leaking out of the wellhead, implying that they are pumping on it to keep it there…
Disasters
The reaction that USF announcement received from the Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the federal agencies that sponsored their research:
Shut up.
Disasters
Since the Deepwater Horizon offshore rig exploded and sank in April, BP has devoted inadequate resources to the oil spill response, withheld information from the American public, and denied access to spill sites to journalists. So our ship the Arctic Sunrise is heading to the Gulf to do an independent assessment of the impacts. We believe it’s way past time the full, unabridged truth about the extent and nature of this oil catastrophe was told to America and the world.
History Revisited
Russian philosopher P.D. Ouspensky (1878-1947) wrote, 'It is a mistake to think the times we are living in are like any other. These are extraordinary times.'
Economy
Politicians' and public labor unions' assurances aside, there's another, not-well-publicized school of thought that says if the pension funds go bust, the state has no obligation to step in to pay the benefits. This runs contrary to the popular view that the Illinois Constitution, on its face, guarantees that all public employee pension benefits will be fully paid.
Current Events
Iran's first nuclear power plant is due to start up next week as Russia said it will begin loading it with enriched uranium.
Politics & Corruption
In a deal that has sweeping, long-term implications for millions of people living and working along the US Gulf Coast, the Obama administration has agreed to base the payments by BP to the oil disaster fund on the oil giant’s profits from its drilling operations in the Gulf.
Politics & Corruption
Farmers in Oklahoma are being targeted with new dust regulations. Normal farming methods include tilling the ground, which produces dust. What type of farming method doesn’t produce dust? No till. What company endorses no till farming methods for crop production? Monsanto. Don’t till to get rid of weeds, just apply Roundup.
Lies & Cover-ups
Dr Richard Spertzel claimed Dr Kelly was on a 'hitlist' in the final years of his life.
The former head of the UN Biological Section, who worked closely with Dr Kelly in Iraq in the 1990s, has written to Attorney General Dominic Grieve about the 'mysterious circumstances' surrounding the death.
Current Events
But Pyongyang issued a fresh warning Sunday that its army and people would 'deal a merciless counterblow' to the United States and South Korea over the war games.
'The military counteraction of (North Korea) will be the severest punishment... ever met in the world,' a spokesman for the North's army General Chief said in a statement quoted by state media.
Oddities & Humour
'We would advise anyone withdrawing cash from a machine to focus on what they are doing and not allow themselves to be distracted, however attractive the view,' the spokesman added.
Disasters
'The natural calamity has provided the United States with the best excuse to step onto the Pakistani soil,' a foreign journalist touring the flood affected areas in the northwest commented on anonymity in the backdrop of rising anti-American sentiment.
Lies & Cover-ups
'City officials said samples collected last week from local waters tested positive for the presence of hydrocarbons, but BP rejected those findings… An invitation to jointly collect samples on Thursday was turned down by a local BP official,' the article reports.
Economy
'...It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subject to the bright lights of publicity during these years. But the world is now more sophisticated and prepared to march towards a world government which will never again know war, but only peace and prosperity for the whole of humanity. The supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national auto-determination practiced in the past centuries.'
Environment
Current Events
Environment