BP is Dirty

BP has been trying to shut down an internal safety watchdog agency it set up under congressional pressure four years ago, according to sources close to the office and a leading congressman.

The Ombudsman Program was set up after a 2005 explosion at a BP refinery in Texas that killed 15 workers and a massive oil spill in Alaska the following year. Its chief, former federal judge Stanley Sporkin, would not comment for this story -- but a source inside his office told CNN, "I'm surprised we're still here."

The Washington-based office was set up to hear BP workers' safety concerns after investigations into the Texas City refinery explosion raised questions about whether employees feared retaliation for speaking up. Since then, 112 employees have filed complaints, and 35 of them have dealt with "system integrity or safety issues" that the office says are extremely serious.

But sources close to the office say BP doesn't like having independent investigators pursuing those complaints. A union representative told CNN that some workers who complained have faced retaliation. Jeanne Pascal, a former lawyer for the Environmental Protection Agency, agreed.

"They've been demoted, they've been terminated, they've also been blackballed," Pascal said.

BP spokesman Steve Rinehart said the company has a "zero-tolerance" policy toward retaliation and said it is unaware of any unresolved cases that violate that policy.

"Concerns raised internally or with the Ombudsman's office in respect to our operations are fully investigated and appropriate actions are implemented," he said in a statement supplied to CNN. He added, "If Ms. Pascal or others believe there are cases that have not been resolved appropriately, they can be raised through the ombudsman's office.

BP has promised Rep. Bart Stupak, the chairman of a congressional subcommittee investigating the April sinking of the Deepwater Horizon drill rig, that it will keep the watchdog office in place for another year. But Stupak said the head of BP's American subsidiary, Lamar McKay, told him earlier this year that the ombudsman's office was slated for elimination.

McKay had become the head of BP America in January 2009, more than a year before the the Deepwater Horizon disaster killed 11 workers and uncorked the worst oil spill in U.S. history. Stupak, D-Michigan, and other lawmakers met with McKay in January and March of that year.

"One of the first things Mr. McKay said was, 'I'm going to replace the ombudsman. I'm going to shut her down,' " Stupak told CNN. "He wasn't even on the job for more than a few weeks, maybe a month or two, and he wanted to shut down the ombudsman. We encouraged him not to do so."

Stupak said lawmakers were "shocked" that McKay would bring up the topic so soon.

"The logic was, 'Well, we will make things better,' " he said. "Well, I'm not sure."

BP has said it can do a good job investigating complaints through an established internal system -- without the ombudsman's office. But Pascal, who spent 26 years prosecuting polluters for the EPA, has called BP a "serial environmental criminal." She said BP repeatedly violates environmental laws, scoffs at safety regulations and treats U.S. government safety and pollution control officials as a mere nuisance.

The company paid record federal fines and pleaded guilty to a felony in connection with the Texas City explosion. It also pleaded guilty in 2007 to one count of criminally negligent discharge of oil, a misdemeanor, in Alaska. In 2009, the Justice Department filed a civil complaint alleging the company had violated clean air and water laws in Alaska.

That record indicates that BP considers safety "a secondary or tertiary concern," with no indication that will change, Pascal said.

"From my perspective, BP for a long time has been a company that is interested in profits first and foremost," she said. "Safety, health and the environment are subjugated to profit-making, and I do not think that has changed."

Senator Byrd Hospitalized

Senator Robert Byrd, a Democrat from West Virginia (which sounds odd, come to think of it), has been hospitalized in serious condition.

The 92-year-old was admitted to a Washington area hospital last week. His office lists him as "seriously ill". Initially it was believed he was suffering from heat exhaustion and dehydration.

Last year, Senator Byrd was hospitalized for 6 weeks due to a staph infection.

Last November, he became the longest-serving member of Congress at more than 57 years, surpassing the old record set by Arizona Democrat Carl T. Hayden. Byrd also is the only person elected to nine full terms in the Senate. Senator Byrd served 3 terms in the House of Representatives before becoming a Senator. He has never lost an election.

Always a controversial figure in politics, he has in the past been a member of the Ku Klux Klan and a pro-segregationist. Despite this, he remains a Democrat and has changed his position on a number of inflammatory topics.

He is a widower with two daughters, two sons-in-law, five living grandchildren (another deceased) and six great-grandchildren.

He was a good friend of the late Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy.

More Oil. NOW!

Saudi Arabia announced in the past hour that they will increase production of oil. The amount would increase to 9.7 million barrels in July. It is currently 9 million flat. Also, the Saudis have said that by the end of the year, they will be producing 12.5 million barrels.

On paper this sounds like relief. But it should help a little by easing the demand. Saudi Arabia has also said they would like to create an OPEC fund of $1B for loans to third world nations such as African nations.

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, a very recent candidate for candidate for President, who also thinks the Surge didn't work in Iraq, thinks that increased oil production is not the windfall some are hoping it to be. In the short term it may be a relief, but in the long term, he's right. We need to continue focus on developing energy systems the run on renewable resources because its only a band-aid.

Oil Companies have used many tactics throughout the past century such as buying new technogies and suppressing them. There have also been anecdotes about murder being used to suppress technology (Think I'm making it up? Nope. That this guy might be. I doubt it.). What we really have is an energy monopoly. Not very libertarian. It results in restriction from a free and open market. I can't walk down to the local dealership and get a car that doesn't run off gasoline. Hybrids regardless of their fanfare, still utilize oil at some point during the operation. Hydrogen requires a mot of oil to create the hydrogen fuel to run those cars. Why do you think George Bush was in favor of that particular alternative energy?

I want to point out that with Bush's declarations that Congress needs to open up ANWAR and other areas for exploitation, it seems rather stupid. Here's Why: Bill Richardson brought up something that has only been mentioned in the past week. Oil companies hold leases to many places throughout the country where they can drill for oil, which by the way, it takes ten years to develop an oil deposit. They aren't using them. Why? Why is there a demand from Oil man George Bush to open up areas when there are plenty of leases already held?

A good reason is that by limiting the supply, it drives the price of oil up. it is highly unlikely that ANWAR will ever be opened. It creates a perception of restricted production that drives price uo and puts money in the hands of those who already have plenty. This sounds criminal because oil is in many areas of the country a necessity. In rural parts of the nation, there is no access to alternative transportation like buses, trains and light rail lines. Its the car, truck or tractor to get around. There are no alternatives! But in the rural areas there are plenty of renewable resources like wind, solar, hydro and other biological materials that can be utilized for fueling purposes. However, these are not going to make a dent in the energy problem in the near future.

What I'm getting at is that the whole country is not made the same. Every city and every region has its own set of unique problems and also solutions. The reason we cannot tackle "America's Addiction to Oil" is because its an extremely daunting task. Every area needs to be evaluated for its particular needs, problems and available resources. What works in New York City may not work in Davenport.

I also want to point out the media's misuse of the phrase "Addiction to Oil". Is it an addiction is the only vehicles a consumer can purchase is gasoline fueled? Is it an addiction if car manufacturers continue to produce cars at the minimum of CAFE standards? If I could change my car to running off of water, trust me, I would. But I lack the automotive abilities to make that transformation.

As you can from the meandering post that I have composed thus far, there is not an easy issue to analyze. No one solution is an absolute cure all. This means that one person does not hold all the cards to solving the energy crisis. It involves a lot of hard work and patience from all involved and the country itself. Unfortunately, with our global economy and the limited supply of oil, costs will not decrease any time soon and many people will continue to suffer through these hard economic times, myself included.

But we were warned. The demand for oil is infinite. The supply is finite. When we burn a fuel faster than it can be harvested and refined begins to become a problem. There is also the issue of peak oil. Peak oil is basically this idea: oil production will peak at one point and drop off. Now someone could point out that will alternative energies, this would cause the dropoff prophetized. But M. King Hubbert who made this prediction in 1956 was not looking at environmentalists to change the fuel economy of the world. Peak Oil would come about because of resources of oil which I've already pointed out are very finite. Hubbert predicted that the US production of oil would peak in the late '60's to early '70's. This roughly coincided with the fuel crisis that developed. This was not a natural crisis. There were also political motivations involved such as the Arab-Israeli war.

Nobody wants to continue giving money to the middle east. Nobody wants to be subservient to another county. We live in a country that cannot fuel itself. We need to be able to do that. But as long as we have a oil companies restricting technology, refusing to exploit already held lands and pushing to create better technologies, we will be held hostage in the Global Economy. And while the wealthy exploit the middle and lower classes to line their pockets, they will destroy the economy. If the economy crumbles, then it won't matter any more. That's how bad it could get. Stock up on water.

Moving on to other topics that are less depressing. Tim Russert died over a week ago. This led NBC to broadcasting a gluttony of production that came just short of canonizing him as a Saint of American Objective Journalism. True, he probably the last bastion of the objective journalist values so rarely seen in the media these days. But seriously! Things went too far! I couldn't turn on a channel without hearing about it... and the 17 girls in Gloucester, Massachesetts. The man was a great guy but i think this was overdone. Russert himself would have been embarrassed.

That's it for now. I was planning on writing more, but I'm running on empty.

Chocolate and melting ice will kill ya

Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in Environmental awareness worldwide. Yeah, he shares it with the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change but its Gore's. He has pledged to donate his portion of the $1.5M prize to the Alliance for Climate Protection. He reiterated his comments about his position about climate change by saying”The climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity.” He also cited an African proverb to relate the challenge of environmental concern: “If you want to quickly, you go alone. If you want to go far, you go together.”

There was, of course, no mention by Gore that he would seek the Democratic Nomination for President. To be honest, Bill Clinton has proved that to effect real change you need to step outside the state agencies and offices such as the President of the United States. Clinton's Initiative has jump started lots of things like removing junk food from schools. Gore has found his cause and it is not a political one. These two men, regardless of what their politics are great leaders and able to inspire others to change conditions throughout the world.

In other news, Turkey is weighing its options on invading Northern Iraq. This is no doubt a retaliatory remark considering the resolution that will likely go before the House of Representatives. There have been rallies in Istanbul protesting the move in the US. So, does Turkey really mean they will invade the unofficial Kurdistan in retaliation for our legislature's decision to condemn a heinous 92-year-old massacre? Should we call their bluff? Is this the beginning of Congress growing a spin e in essence testing how much effect they have in foreign affairs? What does the Israel Lobby think of all this? Do they even care?

I can only say that this is poorly timed. Congress may be thinking that if they start issues with Turkey which may seriously restrict our ability to wage war in Iraq, they may be able to expedite our withdrawal. However, I think this only lays us prone to a far deeper international quagmire.

Moving on, the “Butcher of Depayin“, General Soe Win of Myanmar is dead at 59 after a long illness believed to be Leukemia. The General was also the Prime Minister in the Militarily governed and beleaguered state of Myanmar, also known as Burma. He is most known for his attack on Democratic opposition and its leader most notably, its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi in 2003. This may create some interesting changes in the Junta's grasp of power in the Asian country.

Lastly, it appears that people may crave chocolate according to the types of microbes and the amount in their intestines. Scientists think they may be able to manipulate the bacteria in someone's gut to get people to lose weight. Anyways...

On this day, in 1492, Christopher Columbus made landfall, just like a hurricane, in the Bahamas. He was entirely convinced he reached East Asia. He believed to the his death.

Still this day does not exist in 1582 for Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain. Stupid Julian Calendar!!!

In 1692, the Salem Witch Trials were finally concluded. There was no one left to burn, hang or drown.

In 1792, we started celebrating Columbus day in New York. There was no ticker tape parade.

In 1810, the Bavarian royalty invited the residents of Munich to celebrate a royal wedding betwixt Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria and Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. It is the first Oktoberfest.

In 1901, then President Theodore Roosevelt (yes the other one) renamed the executive mansion the White House. There was even an executive order about this. Why would this be so important? Because Executive Mansion sounds elitist and far above and outside the realm of the common working man whom were much more common then they are now. The White House sounds far more common and less aggrandizing.

In 1915, English Nurse Edith Cavell was executed by German firing squad for helping hundreds of Allied soldiers escape German-occupied Belgium to the Netherlands which was neutral. She was working for the Red Cross and this supposedly violated Military Law. The UK felt it was powerless to help her cause and actually believed they would hurt it. She was reburied in Life's Green in England where a memorial service is held every year on this date. Her name became popular to in France and Belgium after her death. Édith Piaf, who was born two months after the execution, is one very famous example.

In 1941, on this day as well as the next, the Germans, now the Nazis, massacred 11,000 Jews in Dnipropetrovsk (Дніпропетровськ ), Ukraine. They marched them to a ravine and then shot them there. Of the city's 80,000 Jews before the war, only 15 survived to the end of the war.

In 1960, Nikita Khrushchev, premier of the USSR, delivers his shoe banging speech at the United Nations General Assembly and declares “We will bury you”. This meant that the USSR would outlast the US. Their government would be there to bury ours.

In 1962, there was a Columbus Day storm in the Northwest that killed 48. It was known for its ferocious winds.

In 1972, there was a racial brawl of more than 100 sailors aboard the the carrier the USS Kitty Hawk as it sailed for the Gulf Tionkin.

In 1979, Typhoon Tip records the lowest atmospheric pressure not related to tornadic activity in the Pacific.

In 2000, due to two terrorist bombers in Aden, Yemen, a hole was rent in the hull of the USS Cole (I believe it was the larboard or port side) and 17 sailors died, one of whom was a friend of mine and fellow basic trainee. Thirty nine others were wounded. The evidence supports that al-Qaeda was responsible.

And finally, France passed a law on this day a year ago making denial of the Armenian Genocide a crime. Ho ho ho [the French “Ho ho ho”].

Good Night and Good Luck.

Saffron Revolution

In Myanmar, there are now protests against the military regime that has been in place since 1962. Recently there had been smaller protests since August 15^th but now Buddhist monks are leading the charge. The instigation of this new wave of protests is the rise in fuel prices dictated by the junta. Prices are supposed to rise 500%. The numbers of protesters is estimated to be somewhere between 30,000 and 100,000 and growing, according to eyewitnesses. The Buddhist monks and also nuns have marched to Yangon (formerly Rangoon) to demand change. Riot Police have been deployed to control the protests. The monks have been chanting for Democracy.

Ordinary people are beginning to get involved in the biggest anti-junta protests in nearly 20 years. The remnants of two political parties: the National League for Democracy, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, and the Burmese Communist Party which is largely defunct.

Today, is also the first day of the United Nations General Assembly with Ban Ki-moon presiding. President Bush spent a good deal of time addressing the recent spate of protests in Myanmar. Sanctions have been imposed on the country by the US. The President mentioned Iraq or Iran as little as possible. Myanmar provided an excellent new topic that no one can disagree with him on. Who is not in favor of new democracy in place of rule by fear? I will concede that Laura Bush, his wife, is deeply involved in the struggle for freedom in Myanmar.

Also in Eastern Asia, there has been recent upheaval in government of Japan. The Prime Minister Shinzo Abe resigned on September 12^th taking his cabinet with him amid unpopularity. He was elected only last year and was the youngest, not to mention, the first to have been born after World War II. On August 27^th, he scrapped his cabinet after the suicide of the Minister of Agriculture on May 28^th by hanging himself. There had been an open investigation into impropriety involving his office expenses.

After getting a new cabinet, things still did not go well. In fact, problems continued with the same office. Norihiko Akagi was the replacement for the Minister of Agriculture and he resigned August 1st after disastrous elections on August 1st and allegations of funding discrepancies. The Liberal Democratic Party took particularly large losses. Three days after the new house was sworn in, Shinzo Abe and his entire cabinet resigned. For months the Prime Minister's popularity had not risen above 30%.

Yasuo Fukuda was chosen by the National Diet today. Word is, he will announce the new cabinet tomorrow, September 26^th.

Back on this day in 1066 the battle of Stamford Bridge occurred. The invading Norwegian army of King Harald Hardrada beat Edwin of Mercia and Morcar of Northumbria. The Norwegian victory was shortlived... This is considered the end of the Viking age in England.

In 1513, Spanish Explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa found himself in the Pacific Ocean. Ferdinand Magellen, the Portuguese explorer, named it the Pacific Ocean.

In 1789, the US Congress passed twelve amendments: The Congressional Apportionment Amendment, Congressional Compensation Amendment and the Bill of Rights. The Congressional Compensation Amendment was not ratified until the 1990's as the 27^th. The first Amendment still has not been ratified. Only 11 states ratified it Georgia, Connecticut & Massachusetts not doing anything. Under modern ratification rules, 27 more states need to ratify the amendment. The Bill of Rights went into affect on December 15^th, 1791. Again, Georgia, Connecticut & Massachusetts did not ratify. They did however, do so in 1939.

In 1962, Algeria becomes free & independent.

And in 1976, soon to be pretentious rock band U2 was founded in drummer Larry Mullen, Jr.'s kitchen in Dublin, Ireland.

erin go bragh

George Allen is done!

Wahoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Macaca is over.

Granted, he was the most entertaining election of all this midterm season. First, his racist slip, then his mom is a Jew, he used to unmentionable things in the mailboxes of black people.... It was all quite interesting.

But now, both houses belong to the Democrats de facto. After twelve years of Republicans calling the shots in DC we have the Democrats in charge. So, is this better? Maybe. If they reverse the tax cuts possibly not. They will likely increase minimum wage and loosen the restrictions on financial aid for college students. Ok, I'm done for the day. 'Sides, I gots to celebrate this most momentous occasion since.... since Bill Clinton won...?

P.S. Allen is likely looking to run for President of the United States in two years. God help us...

To keep up with the 2008 Presidential Election, go here. Honestly, presidential elections are years, if not decades, in the making. There are already a handful of announced campaigns.

Elections....

So, its been two days since election day. And three weeks since I posted anything. Let's just say, I needed the break. In fact, there are still things I should be doing like a mid-term and a presentation tomorrow but, eh...

The House is now controlled by the Democrats. If you didn't hear about this, put down the funnies. Nancy Pelosi, a congresswoman from the gloriously liberal city of San Francisco will indeed be the new Speaker of the House. Dennis Hastert, the outgoing Speaker of the House and Republican from the weird as all fuck state of Illinois (I'm from there, I can say that), has stated he will not seek any leadership positions in the new house.

It is not clear if the Senate will be controlled by any party. The Senate race in Virginia between George Allen and Jim Webb has not been completely decided. Due ti the slim margin, there is a recount going on. Allen's people have stated that he does not wish to drag this out. This is the last thing to decide before control can be determined. It would come down to 49 senators for both parties and two independants, both from New England. Joe Lieberman, a Democrat until he lost the primary to Ned Lamont, ran as an independant this year due to backlash for being pro-Iraq war.

Bernie Sanders, the only independant in the House, will take over for outgoing independant Senator, Jim Jeffords. This is an interesting story. Sanders is a Democratic socialist. Jeffords was a Republican until 2001 when the GOP shunned him enough to make him flee the party. So, he decided not to run again and is seat was won by another independant, albeit, a very different independant. So, does this make Vermont the capital of Independant thinking, or what?

Both Senators have stated publicly that they will caucaus with the Democrats. Lieberman is still a registered Democrat and may literally announce his decision to remain a Democrat. One can switch their party affiliations without any conscience or consultation with say their constituency. Just ask that fucker Norm Coleman from Minnesota. He was elected as the mayor of St. Paul as a Democrat (from New York, no less), then two years into his term, he decides he wants to be a Republican (granted the DFL party ain't lemonade and sweetcakes). St. Paul elected a Democrat and got a Republican. Let me tell ya, they felt gyped. So, go ahead Joe.

President Bush held a press conference yesterday and was properly humble. He announced that Donald Rumsfeld, one of his toadies, would resign from his office as Secretary of Defence. He will be replaced by former CIA chief Robert Gates who also ran the Iraq War Study Group. Apparently, this was in the works prior to election night. Why choose to announce it the day after the election? Well, it looks like Bush is listening to us. It also would have smacked of political ploy (more than it does now?) if he had done it in the last days of the election. I suppsoe the saying "The Buck Stops Here" means very little to the president. However, he took the blame for his party's loss this week to the outrageously motivated Democratic party.

And this is a loss for the GOP. The Democrats did not win the election. It was merely the GOP doing poorly. With Mark Foley and the fallout from that, the stupid assanine things Republicans did and the fact that a one-party government with no concerns for the largest sector of the country (the Middle Fucking Class!!!) was doing nothing to help them might have done it. When the Republican Party starts to regroup and figure out what they did wrong, I hope they realize it was not soley the war that turned voters off. It was the cronyism, response to Hurricane Katrina, the Religious Right, contracts for Halliburton and anyone else in Iraq, No Child Left Behind, Macaca, The Faith-Based Initiative, Arrogance, Karl Rove, Record profits for Exxon-Mobil, Dick Cheney's Shadow Government...

I could go on and I likely will. There are more things that leave middle class voters with a bad taste in their mouths. But I think nearly 3,000 dead is also one of them. Those who've died in Iraq for a cause that many of us are uncertain about should never be discounted. These men and women are fighting and dying in service to our country. Our reasons for going into this war were vague and proved uncredible. Yet, we must remain until the job is done. My reasons for stating this is history. In 1983, there was an attack on the Marine barracks in Beirut. Over 200 marines were killed (and some Navy and Army personell) and the US left Lebanon. This was followed up by our hasty withdrawal from Iraq in 1991 after then President George Herbert Walker Bush told the Kurds and Shi'ites to rise up against Saddam Hussein. Regardless of how anyone feels about the war, we have to continue until the job is done and done well or we will be seen as the country who can't follow through with shit in the Middle East. That, dear readers, is what is at stake now.

Moving on to local politics: Amy Klobuchar, the Hennepin County Attorney, was elected to the Senate seat being vacated by fellow DFLer Mark Dayton. The margin of victory for Klobuchar was 1,278,915 to Mark Kennedy's 837,484. In precentages, that's 58% of total votes for Klobuchar to Kennedy's 38%. There were 87,324 votes cast beetween Independence (Ventura's formerly named Reform Party), the Green Party and the Constitution party.

Colleen Rowley, the FBI whistleblower, who lives literally down the street from me, did not win
the 2nd Congressional District here in Minnesota. The seat was won by its incumbent, John Kline, a man who once carried the "football" for Reagan.

To many here in Minnesota, the re-election of Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty was a surprise. As the night went on it appeared at one point that Hatch had a sizable and insurmountable lead over the Governor. But when all the ballots were counted, Pawlenty had won a second term. The margin of victory was slim: 21,132 votes seperate the two. Independence party Peter Hutchinson, a far cry form the flamboyant Jesse Ventura, yet endorsed by him, won 6% of the vote. While this is, yes, not enough to win, it does enable the party to gain more public funding for campaigns. This can only help to build the party to be an even stronger and legitimate voice here in Minnesota. That is a good thing.

One other point about the Minnesota Gubernatorial Election this year: the withdrawal of Jonathon "The Impaler" Sharkey. This Satanist and Vampire announced his candidacy for Governor on Friday the 13th of January. On the 31st of that month, after his schoolbus driver wife lost her job due to being Wiccan, he was arrested for stalking, fleeing and I think faking his own death. His trial was supposed to begin in July but I've heard nothing on him. The man also founded the Vampires, Witches and Pagan party last year. One can only imagine what happened to that.

On this day, in 1989, an event occurred that changed my life forever. After 28 or so years, the wall dividing Berlin was opened. East and West Germany ceased to exist as separate entities. Since that day, I've looked at the world with a different view. I've seen what can be done when people work, strive, dream, hope... for change. I have since then devoured the news looking for more stories like this. Well, I really just love the news. But my desire to work in the field of politics, NGOs, diplomacy or journalism was sparked by seeing people dancing on the Berlin Wall.

That's about it from here. Currently, CNN is reporting that Ed Bradley, correspondent for CBS' 60 Minutes, has died of Leukemia at New York's Mount Sinai Hospital. I can't help but be a little sad as another of my heroes passes. His candor and style will be sorely missed.