Sensors to measure oil leak deployed in Gulf

It's a good thing nobody is in a rush and somehow thought waiting nearly two months was OK. Maybe everyone can settle themselves and give BP a few more weeks to straighten out their ever changing story. Washington Post:

Scientists also haven't been able to pin down just how much oil is spilling into the Gulf, and the government has stressed that the larger estimates were still preliminary and considered a worse-case scenario. The Obama administration's point man on the oil spill, Adm. Thad Allen, on Sunday said government officials think the best figures are from a middle-of-the-road estimate, which would put the spill at around 66 million gallons of oil.

Allen said the sensors were to be deployed Sunday and will start taking pressure readings to validate the estimates. BP spokesman Jon Pack said undersea robots were attempting to install the sensors within the containment cap that sits over the well.

"I've told everybody from the start these are only estimates. We will only know what is flowing out of that well when we have it completely capped, control the flow, can actually measure," Allen told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday.

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Coast Guard demands BP moves faster

People can be so cute when they tell their boss to work harder or else. Or else what? After all of this time, why is BP still in charge of the cleanup at sea level? We heard so much about how they were the only ones with experience working at such depths (which we know is also false) but along the coast and at sea level? What exactly is their special experience that only BP has? It's increasingly hard to accept that BP is running the cleanup effort when it's been obvious for weeks that they're not up to the task. BP must be shaking in their boots with this letter.

The Coast Guard has given BP engineers to the end of the weekend to increase the containment of the oil spilling from the ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico.

The order came in a letter sent to the company on Friday by Rear Adm. James A. Watson, who is the federal government’s on-scene coordinator for the cleanup effort. The letter, which was released to the media on Saturday, was sent to Doug Suttles, BP’s chief operating officer.

“I am concerned that your current plans do not provide for maximum mobilization of resources to provide the needed collection capacity consistent with the revised flow estimates,” Admiral Watson wrote. “Recognizing the complexity of the challenge, every effort must be expended to speed up the process.”

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And again, BP is blocking media access

It would be better if the media left the workers alone when there are so many people around who are paying them but still. The workers are simply trying to make ends meet in a tough situation with a tough job that everyone appreciates. The rent-a-cop "security" for BP is a complete asshole and if anyone should be sacked it's that knucklehead and those like him. Better still, dump the command chain completely and move everything away from BP who have no right to say what's allowed or not allowed. Read More......

NY Times wants Obama to show competence and leadership

Very tough editorial in today's NY Times aimed at President Obama. I hope he and his staff will read it -- and heed it:

But a year and a half into this presidency, the contemplative nature that was so appealing in a candidate can seem indecisive in a president. His promise of bipartisanship seems naïve. His inclination to hold back, then ride to the rescue, has sometimes made problems worse.

It certainly should not have taken days for Mr. Obama to get publicly involved in the oil spill, or even longer for his administration to start putting the heat on BP for its inadequate response and failure to inform the public about the size of the spill. (Each day, it seems, brings new revelations about the scope of the disaster.) It took too long for Mr. Obama to say that the Coast Guard and not BP was in charge of operations in the gulf and it’s still not clear that is true.

He should not have hesitated to suspend the expanded oil drilling program and he should have moved a lot faster to begin political and criminal investigations of the spill. If BP was withholding information, failing to cooperate or not providing the ships needed to process the oil now flowing to the surface, he should have told the American people and the world.

These are matters of competence and leadership. This is a time for Mr. Obama to decisively show both.

That's why we elected Obama. Still waiting for both. Read More......

Sunday Talk Shows Open Thread

If you're watching the shows today, you'll get a heavy focus on the oil spill and energy. And, there's going to be a lot of politicking, too.

CBS has three Governors from Gulf Coast states, including Charlie Crist. Axelrod is on NBC. ABC has Boehner debating Hoyer. But, ABC also has Bill Gates who is talking about the need for clean energy research. Gates has been working on "A Business Plan for America's Energy Future." We sure need one.

Carly Fiorina, who, in the past week, has become best known for her commentary on her opponent's hair, will be on Meet the Press and FOX. Before that, Fiorina was probably best known for being the disastrous CEO of Hewlett-Packard and "Demon Sheep." (FOX hsas one of the biggest "gets" in awhile: Barbara Bush, W's daughter. Not kidding. She's listed as a guest today.)

Here's the full lineup. Read More......

Bo Diddley

Wow. Bo Diddley really kicked some ass on TV. It must have been shocking back in the day because it's pretty powerful stuff for any era. Three-cord-George (Thorogood) never came close to what Bo could deliver. I had the pleasure of seeing Bo Diddley decades ago and the guy could still do it.

After months (like 12 of them) of talking about it, Jojo finally picked up her new bike yesterday. It's a great bike for riding in the city and beyond. Looking at some of the cities who are adding bike rental systems, it has me thinking about what an impressive job our mayor did here in Paris. By throwing 14,000 bikes into the city overnight (14 July, of course!) it immediately changed the dynamics of bike riding. Cars had to learn to share the road and with a few exceptions, it works for everyone. I wonder if adding 500 bikes or even 1,000 has the same impact. The system in Paris has a pretty good sponsor, JCDecaux. They fund (most) of the bikes in exchange for advertising around Paris.

With that said, I'm heading out for a ride with my riding partner who is back from the US. It's yoga Sunday for Jojo. Read More......

USA vs. England finishes in a tie

Even more important though is what's with those really annoying vuvuzelas? Somehow I think this match will be covered a lot more in England than in the US. This image is an exaggeration but maybe not too far off. BBC:

Goalkeeper Robert Green suffered a World Cup nightmare as England were forced to settle for a disappointing draw in the opening game of their campaign against the United States.

Steven Gerrard gave coach Fabio Capello the perfect start to this South African mission when he slid Emile Heskey's pass beyond Tim Howard after only four minutes.

And while England rarely hit the heights, they were maintaining their advantage in relative comfort until five minutes before half-time when West Ham United's Green suffered the lapse that will haunt him.

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