Free Republic

n response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, four industry task forces were formed, to look into better ways of preventing oil spills in deepwater locations, intervening when an oil spill does occur, and responding to oil that has been spilled. This week, two of the task forces made their reports; the other two task forces had made their reports in May. The American Petroleum Institute issued a briefing paper on the reports. The Subsea Task Force made 29 recommendations, which can be found in this report. One of the major recommendations was the formation of a Marine Well Containment...

Two years ago, a police officer in a Brooklyn precinct became gravely concerned about how the public was being served. To document his concerns, he began carrying around a digital sound recorder, secretly recording his colleagues and superiors. Chad Griffith At 1.7 square miles, the 81st Precinct in Bedford-Stuyvesant is one of the smallest in the city, but the densely populated neighborhood is also a rough place to work. One cop there recently told us, “It keeps you from getting bored is about all you can say.” At 1.7 square miles, the 81st Precinct in Bedford-Stuyvesant is one of the...

Any opposed? Not too likely in Columbus Since 2007, the City Council has made 5,823 decisions, all but 15 unanimous Sunday, September 12, 2010 03:01 AM By Robert Vitale THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH The Columbus City Council reconvenes Monday after a six-week summer hiatus that has left its chambers void of rigorous debate and clashing opinions. In other words, it has been business as usual on the second floor of City Hall. Council members have cast a combined 37,742 votes on policy changes, spending proposals, procedural motions and other matters since January 2007, the earliest date that a majority of the...

This thread is being closed. Please comment on http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6946. BP's new report giving their version of what happened at the time of the explosion comes to a rather surprising conclusion--that the blowout preventer worked, but too late. If the rig crew had taken different actions, the explosion and fire might have been prevented. According to a Wall Street Journal article titled Rig Workers Had Chance to Prevent Explosion: Contrary to what most oil industry experts thought based on testimony in government hearings, not only did the crew manage to activate the blowout preventer—the huge set of valves designed to shut...

Update, 1:00pm EDT Friday: Admiral Allen has issued a letter, authorizing BP to proceed with specific aspects of the relief well intercept procedure. In particular, BP is to proceed with an evaluation of the current status of the casing hanger. If it is found to be correctly positioned, BP is to install the locking ring to secure the hangar, and then commence completion of the relief well. There was, apparently, no briefing on Thursday on the Deepwater Oil Spill. However RockyPaloma has put up a number of videos on Youtube showing an internal video inspection of the blowout preventer (BOP)...

Organizations that, in recent years, have received direct funding and assistance from (George Soros) and his (Open Society Institute) (OSI) include the following. (Comprehensive profiles of each are available in the ("Groups") sectionof the (Discover The New Works)

I Don't often post vanities. However it's been almost a couple of years since BushII left the White House and I think it's time for me to give the devil his due. I never cared much for BushII. Like his Dad he was a big social spender. One of his first acts was to double the funding for the Dept of Education, for example. I thought that going into the Middle East with ground troops to be a boneheaded move, mainly from a historical perspective in that every foreign occupier in that area got savaged endlessly. On the plus he...

Teachings from the leaders of the Mormon (LDS) Church on the blessings of our Constitution and the freedoms we must defend. President Ezra Taft Benson statements (continued): When one casts doubt about the character of these noble sons of God, I believe he or she will have to answer to the God of heaven for it. Yes, with Lincoln, I say: “To add brightness to the sun or glory to the name of Washington is . . . impossible. Let none attempt it. In solemn awe pronounce the name and in its naked deathless splendor, leave it shining on.” If...

Navy tests new missile defense systems By YAAKOV KATZ 09/12/2010 01:11 Small UAVs that can be launched from ships also being considered to counter Hamas, Hizbullah. In an effort to bolster its defenses in face of Hamas and Hizbullah’s growing anti-ship capabilities, the Israel Navy is testing a new missile defense system for its small and fast patrol boats that are tasked with enforcing the blockade on the Gaza Strip and Lebanon during wartime. The navy’s patrol ships include the Super Dvora, built by Israel Aerospace Industries and the Shaldag, manufactured at Israel Shipyards. The new defense system includes a...

Yet, even as Steve Cohen's 9th Congressional District opponent prepares a campaign that may include a billboard proclaiming "Charlotte Bergmann can whip Steve Cohen," Memphis' most popular elected Democratic legislator is indicating he will not mount a large campaign aimed at motivating Democratic voters. Snip Cohen wasn't even sure how much effort he would put into a get-out-the-vote operation for his Democratic base.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republican challenger Sharron Angle remained deadlocked in Nevada's Senate race, with Reid holding a statistically-insignificant 46 percent to 44 percent lead, according to a Mason-Dixon Polling & Research survey conducted Sept. 7-9 for the Las Vegas-Review Journal. Six percent are undecided and the rest do not like either choice. The margin of error is 4 points. Two weeks ago, Mason-Dixon had Reid at 46 percent and Angle at 45 percent. A Rasmussen Reports poll conducted Sept. 1 had the two tied at 45 percent each.

Figures said to be bad news for Obama Washington - The number of people in the U.S. who are in poverty is on track for a record increase on President Barack Obama's watch, with the ranks of working-age poor approaching 1960s levels that led to the national war on poverty. Census figures for 2009 - the recession-ravaged first year of the Democrat's presidency - are to be released in the coming week, and demographers expect grim findings. It's unfortunate timing for Obama and his party just weeks before important elections when control of Congress is at stake. The anticipated poverty...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – House Republican Minority Leader John Boehner said Sunday that his party is set to make significant gains in November legislative elections, but called regaining control "an uphill fight." "I think winning the House (of Representatives) is still an uphill fight, but I can tell you that we have great candidates across the country and we have a great opportunity," Boehner told CBS television's "Face The Nation." Boehner declined, however, to give much credit to insurgent "Tea Party" Republicans -- who have ousted several established party candidates with anti-incumbent fervor -- for his party's renewed vigor. "The Tea...

FLOTUS Michelle Obama and Laura Bush served as keynote speakers yesterday honoring the Flight 93 Shanksville, Pennsylvania 9-11 memorial that resembles the Islamic Red Crescent design. Its design insults the memory of 9-11 hijack victim Tom Burnett, Jr. says his father. The bereaved man, who asked that his son’s name be removed from the site, is deeply offended especially now upon learning four glass blocks remembering the Jihadi hijackers are being added to the aisle of the 40 innocent American victims who took down the plane to prevent it from flying on to Washington. Tom Burnett, Sr. said, “Mr. Murdoch’s...

WATCH HERE Well, I’m sorry I’m late. We had a bunch of kid activities today, and the kids come first, OK, so we’re taking care of that, but first let me ask you. Do you love your freedom? We do love our freedom so what we do is we think of vets, and we have some vets right here and we have vets all over this crowd. Raise your hand if you’ve served in the past or are presently serving in the United States military. We love you and we salute you! God bless you guys. Thank you guys...

Reports of bedbug infestations are on the rise, news that strikes fear into the hearts of frequent travelers. While hotels and motels aren't the only places where these insects can hitch a ride on clothes or other belongings -- after all, you can pick one up just by visiting a friend's home, and recent findings in movie theaters and offices prove how easily these bugs get around -- the high-traffic buildings are some of the highest-risk places to encounter these tiny insects that live by feasting on human blood while we're sleeping. By knowing what to look for and taking...

Obama’s remarks on 9/11 were about what you would expect from a president who ridiculed his countrymen for overreacting to the most lethal terrorist attack on our soil and who can’t manage to utter the worlds “Islamic fundamentalists” or “jihadists.” Really, let’s not dwell on the bad stuff, he tells us. “On this day, it’s perhaps natural to focus on the images of that awful morning — images seared into our souls. It’s tempting to dwell on the final moments of the loved ones whose lives were taken so cruelly.” Yes, it is tempting — because that is what the...

http://www.petitiononline.com/Boehner/petition.html Rep Boehner should step down from party leadership after making the comments "If the only option I have is to vote for those at 250 and below, of course I'm going to do that. But I'm going to do everything I can to fight to make sure that we extend the current tax rates for all Americans". In his leadership place should be a real republican like Mike Pence. Sincerely, The Undersigned

It is axiomatic that organized crime cannot exist without public corruption. Indeed, given that the Mexican drug cartels have well-established supply lines, distribution networks and operational cells in 230 locales throughout the United States from which they pull $20 to $30 billion in cash a year, one can only wonder how they have gotten away with so much for so long without some inside help. Well, the problem apparently starts -- but certainly does not end -- at the border where dirty U.S. border agents such as Martha Garnica make a mockery of law enforcement as reported by Ceci Connolly...

Retail Investors Have Suddenly Become Massively More Bullish Vincent Fernando, CFA Sep. 12, 2010, 5:14 AM Retail investor has whip-sawed from substantially pessimistic to substantially optimistic in the course of just a few weeks according to a survey from the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII). Trader's Narrative: This level of overall bullishness is the highest since late April 2010 and the highest percentage of bulls since mid April, just as the market made an important top. The nominal level of bullishness isn’t the only thing that concerns me. It is also the fact that retail investors have a very...