Five Months Before Disaster, BP Testified Offshore Drilling Is ‘Safe And Protective Of The Environment’

From the WonkRoom:
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BP hiring local fisherman to help battle oil slick

In the near term it should help but for how many? As large as the oil slick has been reported to be, they should have been organizing more people much sooner. Yesterday BP was promoting the idea of an "armada" of not quite 80 boats to work on the problem. The number sounds large but then when you think of the slick being the size of Puerto Rico, it sounds much too small. But for now a few fisherman will be paid for work. The Independent:

As part of BP's ever-escalating budget for coping with what may become the biggest oil spill since the Exxon Valdez disaster, the company is preparing to hire hundreds of people like this. If their boat is less than 32ft, which mostly they are, they will be paid $1,200 (£785) a day, first to help lay the floating booms which will help to protect fragile wetlands as well as so-called sorbent pads, which absorb oil but not water.

For men like Jonathan Wilson, 37, who has been shrimping here in Plaquemine Parish all his adult life, the offer from BP may almost turn out to be an opportunity for a job change that he could not have imagined before the crumpling of the Deepwater Horizon rig on 20 April. "Honestly, I would rather work for BP than catch shrimp. The price of shrimp has been down recently."

That doesn't mean there is not frustration with BP among the residents. Like many, Mr Wilson, whose boat is a 27ft Lafitte skiff, is clear that the company was too slow reacting to the spill and equally tardy in turning to people like him for help. "I think they have been much too slow, they should have done all of this the day they knew that they weren't going to be able to shut that oil off."

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Is social networking inherently anti-social?

A really interesting article in today's NYT on the implications for kids of the growth of social network. If your kids text and chat online more than they use the phone or see their friends in person, is technology bringing them together, or driving them apart? The article notes how anti-social kids can use technology to communicate when they might not otherwise, thus bringing them out of their shells. But it also notes that if you spend most of your time communicating with someone via technology, do you lose the ability to size people up in person? And, are some kids now less interested in going out and meeting people as a result of technology - is it making it harder, or more uncomfortable, to meet people in person? Read the rest of this post...

Times Square bomber had international ties

The story is looking increasingly creepy. Then again, it doesn't seem to have been a very professional operation. From ABC News:

Federal authorities are closing in on the man they say is a person of interest in the Times Square car bomb attempt this weekend, who is described as a naturalized American citizen who hails from Pakistan and just returned after spending five months there.

There is growing evidence the bomber did not act alone and had ties to radical elements overseas, with one senior official telling ABC News there are several individuals believed to be connected with the bombing and that at least one of them is a Pakistani-American.

Authorities said another clue in the investigation is a video posted online early Sunday morning by persons in Connecticut, who may have been involved in the bomb attempt and are being sought by law enforcement. The video, posted on a site registered one day before the attack, has the Taliban in Pakistan claiming responsibility for the attempted bombing.

The Washington Post, quoting Obama Administration sources, said the attempted bombing "increasingly appears to have been coordinated by several people in a plot with international links."

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VA attorney general changes state seal to hide goddess' boob; now using Civil War seal

Original VA state seal:


New VA state seal being used by attorney general:


Civil war era state seal of VA:


(Hat tip Rachel Maddow and Hampton Roads.) Read the rest of this post...

Florida Republican caught looking at porn on state Senate floor

Almost as good, you can hear another member in the background talking about the fact that the legislation they're considering "disrespects too many women in the state of Florida." More from Taegan.

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New MoveOn ad pushes Obama to ban offshore drilling

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Should a billionaire banker make even more from Greece's financial misery?

Germany, more than anywhere else in the EU, has been strongly against the rescue plan for Greece so it's not a surprise that such a story is in the German media. The article is targeting Spiros Latsis, Greece's richest person. As much as I am disgusted with the bankers profiting and being bailed out, this case may not be quite the same. Latsis may have purchased Greek government bonds "at favorable rates" but that's also what happens during such a crisis. Those bonds could have gone in the wrong direction very easily and without other offers to invest billions, Greece had limited options. It's easy to understand why people are frustrated and angry though.

The real issue here should be about the bankers who organized the previous deal along with the previous political leaders who bought into it. They all had to know this had a high likelihood of failure so call them out. Bild:

In Greece this doesn’t surprise anyone – you help each other out.

Just like when Latsis’ bank took on €12 billion high interest government bonds under very beneficial circumstances. That helped the Greek state make ends meet again – and boosted the billionaire’s bank account by no small amount thanks to the high interest.

And that effect is ongoing and will soon pay dividends again thanks to German taxpayers…

The IMF and the Eurozone countries, above all Germany, will help out Greece to the tune of €45 billion in new credit. That will allow the essentially-bankrupt country to pay interest and old, running out debts on time – amongst them Latsis’ government bonds.

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Obama's Katrina?

Ambinder says no:

The Katrina comparisons are silly. For one thing, the Army Corps of Engineers was responsible for the collapse of the levees. State and local governments were unprepared and responded poorly. (This, remember, was the GOP talking point at the time.) What role the federal government could have played to mitigate the oil spill early on is not clear. You can't send barges and helicopters to collect oil; there are only so many yards of boom. The extent of the disaster was not known immediately. There is no need for a national disaster declaration because there are no direct costs associated with the event yet that aren't being picked up by BP. And state and local governments seem to be cooperating effectively.

No doubt that the administration is concerned about perception. Obama wants to be seen as being on top of the situation, perhaps the worst environmental disaster in recent memory. But there was no "Convention Center" moment here. The early government response to the spill was largely unnoticed and unpublicized because it was standard operating procedure. The bandwidth-challenged minds at the White House seemed to really take notice of the scope of the calamity at about the time as virtually everyone else did. I don't doubt that there is a political desire to communicate to people that Obama is a competent administrator of government. I just don't think there is any reason -- yet -- to pass judgment.

I do think the administration is in a bind over its recent endorsement of offshore drilling, and the President's recent repudiation of the link between offshore drills and oil spills. That one is going to be hard to walk away from. Doesn't mean the spill is Obama's fault, however.

Related, just came across this rather scathing NYT editorial from the other day. Read the rest of this post...

Oil spill could cost $14 billion

The good news is that BP has agreed to accept paying the full costs of the oil spill. At bad as the oil spill is, it could be even worse if they pushed off their financial responsibilities. Compare that to Exxon who took their fight to the Supreme Court and dragged out the process for decades. Reuters:

The total bill related to the oil spill drifting toward Louisiana from a well operated by BP in the Gulf of Mexico, could exceed $14 billion, analysts said.

Since an explosion almost two weeks ago on the Deepwater Horizon rig, a disaster scenario has emerged with hundreds of thousands of gallons of crude oil spewing unchecked into the Gulf and moving inexorably northward to the coast.

The responsibility for the cleanup operation lies with the owners of the well, led by 65 percent shareholder, London-based oil company BP.

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Conservative Latinos rethinking ties to GOP

Ironically, progressive Latinos have similar concerns about the Democrats. The article is behind a firewall, but even this quote is interesting:

Adam Bustos, a third-generation Mexican-American, has voted Republican since Ronald Reagan ran for president. But he has been reconsidering his party affiliation since Arizona State Gov. Jan Brewer signed the nation's toughest immigration law last month.

"I've been thinking I might leave the party," said Mr. Bustos, a 58-year-old Arizona native. "A lot of my Latino Republican friends have been talking about it after this law."

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Exclusive: Amazing photos of the Gulf Coast oil rig exploding, sinking

Taken by a DOE contractor.

















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Times Square bomb 'would have caused casualties, a significant fireball'

We're getting more information on the Times Square car bomb and possible video of the potential bomber:

Law enforcement officials offered a more detailed description of the makeup of the failed car bomb found in Times Square on Saturday night, and said they were reviewing surveillance footage that showed a white man who appeared to be in his 40s walking away from the area as he looked over his shoulder and removed a layer of clothing.

Raymond W. Kelly, the New York City police commissioner, said on Sunday that the materials found in the Nissan Pathfinder — gasoline, propane, firecrackers and simple alarm clocks — also included eight bags of a granular substance, later determined to be nonexplosive grade of fertilizer, inside a 55-inch-tall metal gun locker.

The bomb, Mr. Kelly said, “would have caused casualties, a significant fireball.”

Had it exploded, said Paul J. Browne, the Police Department’s chief spokesman, “It would have been, in all likelihood, a good possibility of people being killed, windows shattered, but not resulting in a building collapse.”

NYPD released the video of "a white man who appeared to be in his 40s." The New York Times website posted the video, but without an embed code. (Weak, nytimes.com). The Washington Post did the video make it embeddable:
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Monday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

Looks like we're going to spend this week talking about the catastrophic oil spill. As everyone knows, the President spent the day in the Gulf Coast area yesterday. The oil keeps gushing out -- and I'm hearing and reading news reports that if it could make its way onto the East Coast. If that happens, we better see Mary Landrieu and David Vitter in waders cleaning up the mess.

The President has no major public events on his schedule today, except a dinner with the Business Council. That's a group of the top executives from corporations around the country. A listing of the membership is here. You'll see some familiar names.

Obama was supposed to be in New Jersey to talk about the economy on Wednesday, but that trip has been canceled. And, it seems like Garden Staters already loathe their new Governor. Via Blue Jersey, a recent polls shows Christie's job disapproval is 63%, while only 33% approve.

Let's get this week started... Read the rest of this post...

Rescue package delivered to Greece

The bailout was $146 billion but will it be enough to calm the markets? With unemployment rising to 20% in Spain, many could start looking in that direction very soon. The cash injection is good news for the immediate issue though there is so much more to address for the EU. CNN:

Greece has accepted an international aid package worth 110 billion euros (US $146 billion) over three years, Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Juncker said Sunday.

The bailout deal includes a promise by Greece to cut its budget deficit to 3 percent of gross domestic product by 2014, Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said.

The package was negotiated by the European Central Bank, European Commission and International Monetary Fund.

Of the overall amount, 80 billion euros will be made available through euro-area members, with up to 30 billion available in the first year, Juncker said. The first disbursement of bailout money will be made before May 19, Juncker said.

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British election remains close

The Conservatives continue to hold on to the lead while the Liberal Democrats and Labour are now locked up behind. The good news is that the Tories are still not popular enough to win the election outright so they will have to form a government in a power-sharing deal. It's far from over so anything can still happen in the final days. The Guardian:

David Cameron has failed so far to persuade voters to give him a majority, according to the latest Guardian/ICM poll. The race remains a tight, three-way contest, with all three main parties just five points apart.

The poll puts the Conservatives on 33%, the same as last week's Guardian/ICM poll and down three on a poll published today in the Sunday Telegraph from the same firm.

Labour is on 28%, unchanged from the Guardian poll last week and down one point on today's Telegraph ICM poll. The Liberal Democrats are also on 28%, down two on last week but up one on the Telegraph ICM poll.

But voters are nonetheless ready for a change of direction, with 70% agreeing with the sentiment "time for a change", against just 25% who say continuity is most important and want to stick with Labour.

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BP spent record amounts on lobbying Washington last year

Oh, how surprising. Much like Wall Street who have practically thrown bags of cash out of helicopters over Congress, Big Oil and BP in particular have done the same. Is there any good reason to expect any different results out of Washington when there's money like this being pumped into the system? Obama is right to keep moving on limiting money like this but we all know how the GOP is going to react. How is it socialism when corporate interests are destroying the country?

In 2009, the company spent nearly $16m on lobbying the federal government, ranking it among the 20 highest spenders that year, and shattering its own previous record of $10.4m set in 2008. In 2008, it also spent more than $530,000 on federal elections, placing it among the oil industry's top 10 political spenders.

This money has bought BP great access and, many would argue, leniency. "I personally believe that BP, with its corporate culture of greed over profits, murdered my parents," Eva Rowe testified before Congress in 2007. The Congress was investigating the worst workplace accident in the US in more than 15 years, a massive explosion at BP's Texas City Refinery in March 2005 that killed 15 workers, including Rowe's parents, and injured 180.

The US Chemical Safety Board, an independent federal agency, investigated the blast and released a devastating indictment of BP. "The Texas City disaster was caused by organisational and safety deficiencies at all levels of the BP corporation," the 2007 report found. "The combination of cost-cutting, production pressures and failure to invest caused a progressive deterioration of safety at the refinery."

While experiencing its highest profits in its corporate history, BP implemented budget cuts of 25% in 1999 and 2005 at each of its five US refineries. The safety board found a pervasive "complacency towards serious safety risks" at all of them.

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