Report of even more warnings ignored by BP prior to disaster

The BP SOP seems to have been ignore warnings and keep costs as limited as possible. Whether it was their outsourcing of the the failed safety device to China or failing to properly report problems to MMS as we are now hearing, BP showed little regard for the negative impact of their actions. Every business is trying to make money but BP consistently has shown little interest in what is best for the safety of its people and the environment. Their cost cutting is now turning out to be a lot more expensive than those costly safety precautions. Regulations are so expensive, aren't they?

Ronald Sepulvado, a BP well site leader, said he had reported a leak on a critical safety device at the rig to more senior company officials, but it seemed his warnings had not been passed on to the government regulating body, the Minerals Management Service.

"I assumed everything was OK, because I reported it to the team leader and he should have reported it to the MMS," he told the hearing. The leak was on a control pod connected to the blowout preventer on the rig, whose failure proved critical in causing the disaster.

A congressional committee in Washington heard testimony from Gale Norton, interior secretary under former president George W Bush. Norton said BP had ignored rules put in place in 2003. "If regulations on the books and industry best practices had been followed properly, there might not have been a blowout," she said. "It appears that BP violated all those regulations that were on the books."

Read More......

Republicans delay vote on unemployment extension — again

It never ends. From Greg Sargent today at the Plum Line blog:

Right now, as we speak, Senate Republicans continue to file a bunch of motions that could delay the vote on extending unemployment benefits for as long as another day.

This is key: It's a reminder that Republicans intend to continue to try to block the extension, unless its costs are offset, for as long as possible. Nobody is focused on this, but Republicans actually see a political upside for themselves in this standoff.

I'm told that Republicans are filing the motions because Senator Harry Reid says he doesn't want to allow votes on amendments that are designed to offset the extension's costs. Reid wants to proceed with the full vote. Senator Tom Coburn just filed a motion to suspend the rules, and Republicans are resolved to sit tight in hopes of forcing a vote on it.

"Republicans are declaring an all-out war on unemployed Americans," Reid spokesman Jim Manley emails. . . .

Republicans have their own strategy here. They believe that while Dems can milk this for short term advantage, over time any discussion of "chronic" joblessness -- a term you'll hear more often -- draws attention to the failure of Dem economic policies and feeds the GOP's larger critique[.]

What we're up against. We need us some fighters. Just sayin'.

GP Read More......

BP photo update

I just wanted to give people an update on the press coverage of the BP altered photo scandal that we broke yesterday. Here's a sampling of the coverage:

Washington Post
Fast Company
Gizmodo
Associated Press
Geek.com
Daily Mail
Gawker
Toronto Sun
Telegraph
MSNBC
Treehugger
Bild
AOL News
Yahoo News
Le Figaro Read More......

RNC fails to report $7 million in debt to FEC; Party treasurer faults Steele

The GOP civil war continues on schedule:

The Republican National Committee failed to report more than $7 million in debt to the Federal Election Commission in recent months - a move that made its bottom line appear healthier than it is heading into the midterm elections and that also raises the prospect of a hefty fine.

In a memo to RNC budget committee members, RNC Treasurer Randy Pullen on Tuesday accused Chairman Michael S. Steele and his chief of staff, Michael Leavitt, of trying to conceal the information from him by ordering staff not to communicate with the treasurer - a charge RNC officials deny.

Read More......

Original unaltered photo of BP crisis center finally released

(click photo to see larger version) Read More......

Obama administration may back track on firing employee after fake right wing outrage

After the Breitbart ACORN scam you would think Democrats might be suspicious of highly edited video footage that is fed to Fox News. The initial reaction by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to the edited Breitbart video was to force the resignation of Shirley Sherrod so the administration could avoid any problems with the right wing noise machine. It would be encouraging to see Vilsack change course, following a review of the entire story - not the edited version - and re-hire Sherrod. Why is it so often difficult for this administration to work with friends and appease its enemies?

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Wednesday he will reconsider the department's decision to oust a black employee over racially tinged remarks after learning more about what she said.

Vilsack issued a short statement early Wednesday morning after Shirley Sherrod, who until Tuesday was the Agriculture Department's director of rural development in Georgia, said she was pressured to resign because of her comments that she didn't give a white farmer as much help as she could have 24 years ago.

Sherrod said her remarks, delivered in March at a local NAACP banquet in Georgia, were part of a larger story about learning from her mistakes and racial reconciliation, not racism, and they were taken out of context by a blogger who posted only part of her speech.

Vilsack's statement came after the NAACP posted the full video of Sherrod's comments Tuesday night.

Here's a bit more background by TPM on the story following Sherrod's firing. Read More......

BP's excuse for photoshop controversy: Staffer was 'showing off'

BP just digs deeper and deeper:

Spokesman Scott Dean says Tuesday that two screens were blank in the original picture and a staff photographer used Photoshop software to add images.

Dean says the company put the unaltered picture up Monday after a blogger for the website Americablog wrote about telltale discrepancies.

He says the photographer was showing off his Photoshop skills and there was no ill intent.

No one at BP could show off their oil drilling skills. They failed at that, too.

The original post on this controversy is here.

And, doesn't BP pay big bucks for p.r. advice? This is the best they could do. Wow.

NOTE FROM JOHN: BP's answer is more disturbing than it may appear. It is difficult to believe that the photographer, who is a professional with over 10,000 photos online, could have done the photoshop job himself. It's just so badly done that I can't believe any professional photographer could have ever sanctioned, let alone done, that kind of shoddy work. It's difficult to explain, if you don't know Photoshop, but the job was the quality of that done by a kid, at best. BP's flippant answer suggests that there's more to the story that BP isn't telling us. Who approved of the photoshopping, who did it, and why? But a professional photographer was 'showing off' by doing an incredibly poor sophomoric job of photoshopping? Come on. Read More......

Wednesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

That BP photoshop story, which John broke, ricocheted around the internet and the traditional media yesterday. It was everywhere and resulted in our biggest traffic day ever, with nearly 600,000 visits. The post had around 2,300 retweets as of this morning. Nobody likes BP. Nobody trusts BP. Nobody should.

Today, the President will sign the Wall Street reform bill. He's holding the signing ceremony for the Dodd-Franks bill at the Ronald Reagan Building, which is between the White House and the Capitol. That's rich since only three GOPers voted for it.

The Senate will finally pass the unemployment insurance extension today. The Senate could have just voted to pass the bill after the filibuster was finally busted. But, no. Senate GOPers, just to prove how craven and vicious they are, prevented an immediate vote yesterday. Seriously, there has to be a special place in hell for people who created the economic crisis, then take delight in torturing the victims of that crisis.

I'm heading to Las Vegas shortly to attend Netroots Nation. John will be there, too, so we'll be reporting from the conference for the next couple days. The agenda is here. Should be interesting. Always is... Read More......

British economy closer to double dip as banks stop lending

Why should they? Politicians all over handed them money without strings attached and now expect the banks to show appreciation for being saved. We all know that when the tables are turned the banks would not hesitate to make demands in return for billions.

The disturbing part of the story is that the banks (and media) are again flogging a PWC study about how regulations are the cause of the banking problem. It's annoying to see this continue to receive attention because PWC is very active with the banking industry so they are not even close to being a neutral source. They're lobbying to help their customers. Reading this makes me wonder if this is the government's attempt to move backwards on regulation to make it an even easier ride for the banks. Saving them from ruin was probably not enough.

A green paper, to be rushed out by the chancellor and business secretary before next week's parliamentary recess, will acknowledge the scale of the lending rationing crisis, which could "abort" the fragile recovery.

As the Bank of England (BoE) published data showing yet another month when more loans had been repaid than had been granted, Cable admitted the level of anxiety in the government about the flow of funds to smaller companies. He said: "The green paper will acknowledge the scale of the problem and how the recovery could be aborted if we don't get on top of this.

"There is a fundamental policy conflict between efforts to make the banks safer and our wish to get them lending more freely to promote growth," Cable said.

He has been presented with research from the banks – which have given the work by PricewaterhouseCoopers the name "Project Oak" – showing that tougher capital rules and the end of emergency liquidity injections from the BoE could drain the banking system by £1 trillion in the coming years.

Read More......

British PM slams 'completely wrong' decision to release terrorist

It's hard to argue that point. Where we may differ is how this relates to BP. Outside of the normal apologist crowd few believe the release of the Lockerbie bomber was not directly linked to BP drilling off the coast of Libya. BBC:

UK Prime Minister David Cameron has insisted BP should not be blamed for the "completely wrong" decision to release the Lockerbie bomber.

Claims have been made that BP lobbied for the release, but Mr Cameron said the Scottish government was responsible for freeing Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi.

Mr Cameron has asked the UK's top civil servant to review government papers but ruled out US demands for an inquiry.

The Scottish government has denied any BP influence in the release last year.

Standing alongside US President Barack Obama, Mr Cameron said he had seen no evidence the Scottish government - which made the decision to free terminally ill cancer patient Megrahi on compassionate grounds - had been "swayed" by lobbying from BP.

Read More......

Retirement is for losers

Appeasement is what it's all about. The Republicans always like talking about the Democrats appeasing but of course, Neville Chamberlain was a Conservative. Not that facts should matter.

How is it again that the GOP can accept the cost of endless wars but it's fair to ask granny to work at Wal-Mart? What a proud nation the Republicans like to promote. God I admire them as well as the Democrats who play their game. Read More......

Cycling 'super highways' opening in London

It's an interesting idea but slapping down a bit of blue paint doesn't sound as safe as a hard berm or something else solid to protect cyclists from traffic. In Paris where we do have cement curbs along a number of bike paths, it is still not perfect due to parked cars, motorcycles and pedestrians but it's better than a coat of paint. With a Conservative mayor and the age of austerity paint may be all for now but the idea is nice. They estimate that 550,000 cyclists commute every day in London so improving the bike paths makes sense.

It's one of two new superhighways to open this summer. The other goes between Barking, east London, and Tower Gateway, which is near Tower Bridge. Twelve such routes are planned in all, with details and maps available on the Transport for London website.

Along with a forthcoming city-wide bike hire scheme, a new cycling police unit, 66,000 extra bike parking spaces before 2012 and better strategic planning, the hope of Mayor Boris Johnson is that they will spark what he calls a "cycling revolution".

His transport adviser Kulveer Ranger says: "People think 'cycling revolution' and think of the hire scheme, superhighways... but it's a lot more than that.

"Boris wants to see the culture around cycling evolving - we have to look at the infrastructure, securing bikes, cyclists' safety and embed cycling in transport policy."

Read More......

CREW launches 2010 Corrupt Candidates site

CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington) has launched a new website that attempts to compile "the most corrupt and unethical candidates vying for federal office in 2010 . . . 11 candidates with scandal-littered pasts and histories of questionable ethics."

The site is called Crooked Candidates, and it makes fascinating reading. Some of the juicier toadstools to pop up are these. (This is just a taste, seriously edited; the whole webpage is worth a read.)

Roy Blunt (U.S. Senate, Missouri): In 2003, Rep. Blunt divorced his wife of 31 years to marry Philip Morris (now Altria) lobbyist Abigail Perlman. Before it was known publicly that Rep. Blunt and Ms. Perlman were dating [Blunt, as Majority Whip] tried to secretly insert a provision into Homeland Security legislation that would have benefitted Philip Morris, at the expense of competitors. Philip Morris/Altria and its subsidiaries contributed at least $217,000 [PDF] to campaign committees connected to Rep. Blunt from 1996 to 2006.

J.D. Hayworth (U.S. Senate, Arizona; John McCain's opponent): While in Congress, Rep. Hayworth drew intense criticism for his extensive ties to Jack Abramoff and for employing his wife to run his political action committee (PAC). . . . Between 1999 and 2007, Rep. Hayworth’s wife, Mary, worked as the sole paid employee of TEAM PAC, his leadership PAC.  During that time, Ms. Hayworth was paid over $140,000.

Ed Martin (U.S. House, Missouri): [As Chief of Staff for Governor Matt Blunt] Martin sent emails from his government account to Republican Party activists . . . . [When state lawyer Scott Eckersly] notified Mr. Martin that deleting emails was a violation of state law and the governor’s office’s own policy, Mr. Martin fired him. . . . Mr. Eckersly subsequently brought a wrongful termination and defamation suit against Mr. Martin and other officials in the governor’s office. The State of Missouri ultimately agreed to a $500,000 settlement with Mr. Eckersly and spent an additional $1.3 million on legal fees – all because of Mr. Martin’s inappropriate conduct.

Kendrick Meek (U.S. Senate, Florida): Rep. Meek has been criticized for his relationship with developer Dennis Stackhouse, who is now awaiting trial for grand theft and organizing a scheme to defraud. Rep. Meek earmarked $1,072,750 million for Mr. Stackhouse’s development project and requested an additional $4 million in earmarks for Mr. Stackhouse, which were never awarded. . . . Mr. Stackhouse employed Rep. Meek’s mother [Mr. Meek's predecessor in the U.S. House] as a consultant paying her $90,000.

Dino Rossi (U.S. Senate, Washington): Following his defeat in the 2004 gubernatorial race, Sen. Rossi started the Forward Washington Foundation. Sen. Rossi used the foundation to pay himself $75,000 a year while traveling the state giving speeches but little else. . . . In his run for governor in 2008, Sen. Rossi [a former real estate developer] was supported by the Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW). The BIAW spent $6.9 million largely to promote Sen. Rossi and criticize his opponent throughout the race.

And two heavy-weights from Florida:

Charlie Crist (U.S. Senate, Florida, Marco Rubio's opponent): As [state] attorney general, Gov. Crist was criticized for failing to investigate those with whom he had political or financial ties. [He] failed to fully investigate boy-band mogul Lou Pearlman. Mr. Pearlman, who ran a $300 million investment scam, was eventually indicted by federal authorities and pled guilty of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering charges. [Mr. Pearlman] had donated at least $12,000 to Gov. Crist’s campaign.

Marco Rubio (U.S. Senate, Florida, Charlie Crist's opponent): Mr. Rubio is currently implicated in a federal criminal investigation for the misuse of Florida Republican Party credit cards during his time as [Florida House] Speaker. . . . including car repairs, and grocery purchases[,] dinners and a Rubio family trip to a Georgia resort. Mr. Rubio also admitted he double-billed both the Republican Party and state taxpayers for eight flights totaling about $3,000 in 2007. . . .

While preparing to leave his position [as Speaker of the] Florida House of Representatives, he accepted a $69,000 per year, part-time, unadvertised professor position with Florida International University (FIU). [In the Florida House] Mr. Rubio helped steer at least $29 million to the university, leading FIU’s president at the time to say that Mr. Rubio was “worth every penny”.

Again, just a sample of the goods on these people; check out the full webpage for the rest, including four guys I haven't mentioned (yep, all guys).

Your tax dollars at work.

GP Read More......

Devolving America: Tearing down our roads

I recently made a passing reference to our collective "peasant mentality," quoting Matt Taibbi to the effect that:

[A]ctual rich people can’t ever be the target. It’s a classic peasant mentality: going into fits of groveling and bowing whenever the master’s carriage rides by, then fuming against the Turks in Crimea . . . after spending fifteen hard hours in the fields. You know you’re a peasant when you worship the very people who are right now, this minute, conning you and taking your shit. . . . A good peasant is loyal, simpleminded, and full of misdirected anger. [ellipses mine]

So I'm not surprised by this, from the Wall Street Journal (h/t Digby, my emphasis):

Roads to Ruin: Towns Rip Up the Pavement
Asphalt Is Replaced By Cheaper Gravel; 'Back to Stone Age'

SPIRITWOOD, N.D.—A hulking yellow machine inched along Old Highway 10 here recently in a summer scene that seemed as normal as the nearby corn swaying in the breeze. But instead of laying a blanket of steaming blacktop, the machine was grinding the asphalt road into bits. . . .

Paved roads, historical emblems of American achievement, are being torn up across rural America and replaced with gravel or other rough surfaces as counties struggle with tight budgets and dwindling state and federal revenue. . . .

In Michigan, at least 38 of the 83 counties have converted some asphalt roads to gravel in recent years. Last year, South Dakota turned at least 100 miles of asphalt road surfaces to gravel. Counties in Alabama and Pennsylvania have begun downgrading asphalt roads to cheaper chip-and-seal road, also known as "poor man's pavement." Some counties in Ohio are simply letting roads erode to gravel. . . .

But higher taxes for road maintenance are equally unpopular. . . . "I'd rather my kids drive on a gravel road than stick them with a big tax bill," said Bob Baumann, as he sipped a bottle of Coors Light at the Sportsman's Bar Café and Gas in Spiritwood. . . .

Sportsman's Bar owner Hilda Kuntz worries that the classic cars and bikers that roll through town in the summer will stay away.

"It's going to kill my business," she said.

But letting the Bush tax cuts expire is never on the table. When you give money to the rich, they keep it and never give it back. Our betters, and the peasants who love them.

Notice that Baumann, the anti-tax freak in the story, is drinking in the roadside joint whose business his attitude is killing. Talk about confluence. If you're looking for a reason to be pessimistic, this is it. Sometimes I feel like I'm watching the dimmest guy in class slit his own throat — slowly.

GP Read More......

House Dems whack Cheney over oil spill

From The Hill:

Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee traded partisan blows Tuesday over whether the Obama administration or the former Bush administration deserves more blame for the catastrophic Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Senior Democrats on the panel — Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) — used a hearing on the Interior Department’s role to trace the disaster back to former Vice President Dick Cheney’s energy policy task force.

Waxman said that task force — which was assembled early in the Bush administration — set the stage for policies that pushed drilling at the expense of tough safety oversight of rigs and review of environmental risks.

“The cop on the beat was off-duty for nearly a decade and this gave rise to a dangerous culture of permissiveness,” Waxman said. “In many ways this history begins with Vice President Cheney’s secretive energy task force.”

Read More......