Colin Powell: Oil Spill Is ‘Beyond The Capacity’ Of BP To Solve, Military Might Have Role

THE HUFFINGTON POST

Sam Stein | HuffPost Reporting

05/30/2010

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell suggested on Sunday that the United States military has a role to play in helping contain the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, saying that the problem now was “beyond the capacity” of BP to stop.

“The president has to get involved as quickly as possible,” Powell told ABC’s This Week. “If you don’t, then public opinion starts to drag you in the media, and pushes you. And so when something like this clearly is going to get beyond the capacity of whoever caused it, get beyond the capacity of local authorities, I think the federal government has to move in quickly and move in with, to use my favorite expression, decisive force and demonstrate that it’s doing everything that it can do.”

Powell continued: “[This] is a major problem that can only be dealt with by the federal government and all the resources of the federal government and that’s what the president is now doing.”

The statement by the revered military and political figure is a reflection of a growing discouragement over the failure of the Obama administration — in practice or in perception — to play a hands-on role in resolving the crisis. Asked whether he’d been satisfied with the extent of the president’s response to this point, Powell was moderately critical.

“I think the president directly said the other day that he’d been monitoring it, following it, and … been on top of it from the beginning,” he said. “But that impression was not conveyed to the American people. And the comprehensive speech he gave the other day, I think he would have been better served — and the nation would have been better served — if he had given it a few weeks earlier. But I think the federal government is now fully engaged.”

Did he agree with the notion put forth by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fl.) that the response in the Gulf should be federalized with the even military units sent in? …

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/30/colin-powell-oil-spill-is_n_594779.html

Big oil has enjoyed a cozy relationship with the neocons for twenty-some-odd years. And that relationship came at someone’s expense. That’s always the way it is – somebody pays. Having America pay for the profits of big oil is not a new neocon concept.

America paid for Big Oil’s acquiring the second largest oil reserves – right behind Saudi Arabia’s. To get that prize to Big Oil cost America billions of dollars and 6000 American soldiers lives. But the neocon press followed the neocons’ party line. The neocons motivation for attacking Iraq was WMDs and democracy. It matters not about any secret energy meetings held by the neocons before attacking Iraq. And it matters not that the name of a Big Oil company that was in Iraq before Saddam Hussein now seems to be back. Did that big name oil company have an idea of how big the prize would be if Saddam Hussein was out of the way? If America is addicted to oil, could its behavior toward oil be similar to a drug addicts behavior toward recreational drugs?

Leaving Microsoft

Saying goodbye to Microsoft isn’t easy and it remains to be seen how permanent that goodbye is. But today – trying to contend with the short-comings of Windows Vista and the impositions on those who might like to use Windows Live Writer, it’s getting harder and harder to enjoy what Microsoft created.

Windows 7 is  an operating system that I was testing. If you were one of those who was testing Windows 7 for Microsoft but failed to purchase by the deadline, you may have experienced how much control Microsoft has, and is willing to exercise, over its operating system and consequently over personal computers that are running that operating system. You may have thought that an operating system wouldn’t dare shut your computer’s power off without your permission. Microsoft can, and would, and did. That is a maximum affront to the computer owner.

Windows Vista seemed like a mistake from the start. It didn’t seem to get much right – even the time of day. I don’t know how far back in computer history you would need to go to find a computer that couldn’t tell time.

And speed is another “trademark” of computer operating systems – but not Vista. You could download a program and after the download completed, visit your download folder only to find the just completed download is not in your download folder. But just wait – Vista has a lot of things to do – slowly. Eventually your newly downloaded program will show up in your download folder.

After service pack two, Vista is finally getting to do some things faster and it now knows how to tell time.

Windows Live Writer is a great blogging editor. That fact is not lost on Microsoft. Although it is “free” it does come with “requirements” on the part of the one who would download the “free” software. And those requirements do seem to be dynamic. Perhaps they change with marketing initiatives.

One of the first things you notice after you get to the WLW download page is WLW is contained in a list. And the next thing you notice is that someone has already checked all items in the list. So, if you only want WLW, you will likely un-check the numerous other items in the list

At the next step Microsoft might either want the WLW requester to answer some questions about personal preferences on topics chosen by Microsoft or they might just want to know if you are registered with Microsoft. After all that your “free” copy of WLW should be downloading.

And the Neocons’ Legacy is Still Killing America

Two of the neocons’ major legacies are still “killing” America. Their Big Oil legacy and their Big Pharmaceutical legacy – two of the neocons’ biggest money makers have taken a costly toll on America.

The two most profitable industries in America have been protected in their business practices by neocon politicians. Both industries have been allowed business practices that have skyrocketed their profits.

Imagine a neocon politician classifying as un-American a critical examination of the safety policy of an oil well that was spewing oil all over the environment. Imagine a neocon politician going to war with a country, ostensibly to find WMDs, but only found the second largest oil reserve known and transferred that reserve to BIG OIL.

And the idiot brigade along with their neocon press are trying to pass ownership of their train-wrecked legacy on to the Obama administration. And while the right side of their mouth passes their train-wreck legacy on to the Obama administration, the left side of their mouth is saying how the Hawaii election showed that America was still interested in governments being responsible.

Perhaps some American mamas did – unintentionally -  raise fools or perhaps the neocon ideology is just naturally a “honeypot” for fool types. The neocons have certainly not displayed much in the form of competence, professionalism, or common sense in the “management” of America. And some have found the low performance standards of the neocons are the highest possible level their talents can achieve.

The neocons, with one exception, are in a class by themselves.

Free Software Developer IDE’s Brings Obligations

Eclipse and NetBeans are world class software Integrated Developement Environments. Both are free.

But the “free” of today is different from the “free” of “yesterday”. Free today brings with it the right of copyright owners to spy on monitor usage of their software.

Eclipse says “you agreed to monitoring” when you accepted the license agreement. NetBeans annoys you with teeny-tiny pop-ups about their desire to monitor your software activities.

More and more, the Internet is getting to be the place to gather information about American habits, choices, politics, software preferences, hardware preferences and the like. America’s computers – connected to the Internet – can paint a profile of the computer user.

No longer is there a need to trek door to door or do telephone canvasing to get information on what America is doing.

In the software field, going back to the IDEs dedicated to a single rather than multiple software programs is starting to look attractive again.

Documents show early worries about rig safety

BP was concerned about well casing and blowout preventer 11 months ago

By Ian Urbina

The New York Times

May 30, 2010

WASHINGTON – Internal documents from BP show that there were serious problems and safety concerns with the Deepwater Horizon rig far earlier than those the company described to Congress last week.

The problems involved the well casing and the blowout preventer, which are considered critical pieces in the chain of events that led to the disaster on the rig.

The documents show that in March, after several weeks of problems on the rig, BP was struggling with a loss of “well control.” And as far back as 11 months ago, it was concerned about the well casing and the blowout preventer.

On June 22, for example, BP engineers expressed concerns that the metal casing the company wanted to use might collapse under high pressure.

“This would certainly be a worst-case scenario,” Mark E. Hafle, a senior drilling engineer at BP, warned in an internal report. “However, I have seen it happen so know it can occur.” …

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37422018/ns/us_news-the_new_york_times/

Was BP willing to gamble on the safety of human life and the destruction of the environment? What if BP lost the gamble?

Based upon information now in the hands of those looking into the accident, BP was aware of possible trouble 11 months ago. It now looks like BP took a gamble – and BP lost.

There was a big blow-out of a BP oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. And America’s neocons along with their neocon press jumped into “damage control” mode. Their mouths started to work before their brains had time to digest the facts – not too unusual for neocons.

It’s Obama’s Katrina roared the neocons. And later another neocon claimed it was un-American to mess with BIG OIL. Both rhetoric sources have now become quiet. Stupid assertions, with the exception of WMDs(That assertion was never retracted by the one who made it famous), sooner or later die a natural death.

And, of course, it wasn’t just BP who suffered a lost. A good part of America is awaiting its share of the loss. Reaping the “rewards” of negligence is stupid but well within the behavior of business bolstered by the lassie faire attitudes of a neocon government.

Big oil has had twenty-some-odd years of doing it like it wanted to. And the Gulf of Mexico is just another example of how BIG OIL has been doing business under the neocons.

The neocons, with one exception, are in a class by themselves.

Have I Reached the Party to Whom I’m Speaking?

Lily Tomlin, on the comedy show, Laugh-In, used to say those words as a telephone switchboard operator. She, naturally, spoke to many people over many different connections and she wanted to make sure she had a good connection to the party to whom she was speaking. “Ernestine” made America laugh. The laugh was serious and honest.

Back then, you did not need to be told to laugh. Back then, laughing at those words was a no-brainer. Laughing came naturally. And America laughed. They were funny words – “Have I reached the party to whom I’m speaking”?

But before she could ask her famous words she had to first connect. She counted the rings – one ringydingy, two ringydingys three ringydingys. And before long America was doing “belly laughs”.

Today, however, Ernestine’s words might easily have “political qualifications”. “HAVE I REACHED THE PARTY TO WHOM I’M SPEAKING” might easily be reality trying to get the attention of the neocons. “Ringydingy” could easily describe a neocon politician whose mouth linked unAmerican activity to criticizing BP oil rig safety practices.

The neocons, with one exception, are in a class by themselves.

Mid-Term Elections are Approaching

Mid-term elections are approaching so now may be a good time to go beyond morality in government and look at legality in government. Laws, both national and international ought to be of interest to America’s voters for both helps America to be a good citizen at home and abroad.

The neocons brought new “standards” of legality to America’s government. The electorate may be interested in looking at what rules the neocons needed to adhere to if they wanted to portray themselves as being law abiding.

And since the neocons held wars in such high esteem they must have had more than a passing interest in how to conduct their wars legally and morally – maybe.

We visit the website of Cornell University’s Law School to get an understanding of WAR CRIMES. Let’s look:

§ 2441. War crimes

(a) Offense.— Whoever, whether inside or outside the United States, commits a war crime, in any of the circumstances described in subsection

(b), shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for life or any term of years, or both, and if death results to the victim, shall also be subject to the penalty of death.

(b) Circumstances.— The circumstances referred to in subsection (a) are that the person committing such war crime or the victim of such war crime is a member of the Armed Forces of the United States or a national of the United States (as defined in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act).

(c) Definition.— As used in this section the term “war crime” means any conduct—
(1) defined as a grave breach in any of the international conventions signed at Geneva 12 August 1949, or any protocol to such convention to which the United States is a party;
(2) prohibited by Article 23, 25, 27, or 28 of the Annex to the Hague Convention IV, Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land, signed 18 October 1907;
(3) which constitutes a grave breach of common Article 3 (as defined in subsection (d)) when committed in the context of and in association with an armed conflict not of an international character; or
(4) of a person who, in relation to an armed conflict and contrary to the provisions of the Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps and Other Devices as amended at Geneva on 3 May 1996 (Protocol II as amended on 3 May 1996), when the United States is a party to such Protocol, willfully kills or causes serious injury to civilians.

(d) Common Article 3 Violations.—
(1) Prohibited conduct.— In subsection (c)(3), the term “grave breach of common Article 3” means any conduct (such conduct constituting a grave breach of common Article 3 of the international conventions done at Geneva August 12, 1949), as follows:

(A) Torture.— The act of a person who commits, or conspires or attempts to commit, an act specifically intended to inflict severe physical or mental pain or suffering (other than pain or suffering incidental to lawful sanctions) upon another person within his custody or physical control for the purpose of obtaining information or a confession, punishment, intimidation, coercion, or any reason based on discrimination of any kind.

(B) Cruel or inhuman treatment.— The act of a person who commits, or conspires or attempts to commit, an act intended to inflict severe or serious physical or mental pain or suffering (other than pain or suffering incidental to lawful sanctions), including serious physical abuse, upon another within his custody or control.

(C) Performing biological experiments.— The act of a person who subjects, or conspires or attempts to subject, one or more persons within his custody or physical control to biological experiments without a legitimate medical or dental purpose and in so doing endangers the body or health of such person or persons.

(D) Murder.— The act of a person who intentionally kills, or conspires or attempts to kill, or kills whether intentionally or unintentionally in the course of committing any other offense under this subsection, one or more persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including those placed out of combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause.

(E) Mutilation or maiming.— The act of a person who intentionally injures, or conspires or attempts to injure, or injures whether intentionally or unintentionally in the course of committing any other offense under this subsection, one or more persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including those placed out of combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, by disfiguring the person or persons by any mutilation thereof or by permanently disabling any member, limb, or organ of his body, without any legitimate medical or dental purpose.

(F) Intentionally causing serious bodily injury.— The act of a person who intentionally causes, or conspires or attempts to cause, serious bodily injury to one or more persons, including lawful combatants, in violation of the law of war.

(G) Rape.— The act of a person who forcibly or with coercion or threat of force wrongfully invades, or conspires or attempts to invade, the body of a person by penetrating, however slightly, the anal or genital opening of the victim with any part of the body of the accused, or with any foreign object.

(H) Sexual assault or abuse.— The act of a person who forcibly or with coercion or threat of force engages, or conspires or attempts to engage, in sexual contact with one or more persons, or causes, or conspires or attempts to cause, one or more persons to engage in sexual contact.

(I) Taking hostages.— The act of a person who, having knowingly seized or detained one or more persons, threatens to kill, injure, or continue to detain such person or persons with the intent of compelling any nation, person other than the hostage, or group of persons to act or refrain from acting as an explicit or implicit condition for the safety or release of such person or persons.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/718/usc_sec_18_00002441—-000-.html

With mid-term elections approaching news sources should strive to provide information that reflects reality – not just “slivers” of reality.

News sources that dare link “morality” to a party that has sold cocaine to America’s own, water-boarded prisoners of war(detainees?) and likely had serious bodily harm done(penis slicing) to human beings on behalf of America should be suspect.

Elements of America’s Press Seems to Have Recovered Their Morality Detectors

Certain elements of America’s press seems to have recovered the ability to detect morality in the political world. A post in U.S. News & World Reports, “Sex, Lies, and the Character Issue in the Midterm Elections” talks about immorality using only two or three instances of immoral behavior. With mid-term elections approaching and a “respectable” number of neocon instances of immoral behavior, certain press elements wants to mention both Republican and Democratic immoral behaviors. It wasn’t always that way.

The neocons took America’s morality standards lower than seen in the lifetimes of many Americans. And certain press elements did not seem to notice. One of the strangest articles appeared in a column written by an npr columnist. The npr column “Watching Washington” published a post with the unusual title of: “When is a Scandal Really a Scandal?”

America was “up to its neck” in neocon scandals and there was a columnist trying to “define” scandal.

And over at the Los Angeles Times, it was busy firing a “too liberal” columnist. And Jonah Goldberg, writing for the Los Angeles Times, was busy writing his scathing column on the Democrats.

Some news elements just didn’t seem to be detecting the immorality of the neocons. At one time the neocons’s immorality had the Democrats’ immorality beaten by at least twenty(20) to zero(0).

Those numbers did change however. America’s FBI, for the first time in its history, searched the office of a member of Congress. Congressman Jefferson was charged by the FBI with a crime. Congressman Jefferson was a Democrat. And neocon bloggers claimed political scandals were “bi-partisan”.

It’s lucky for the neocons that news sources are getting their morality detectors back in time for the mid-term elections.

The City of Chicago, Its Seniors and Overheated Apartments

The City of Chicago provides “cooling centers” for its citizens but the entire city could not “fit” in Chicago’s “cooling centers”. There would be either a shortage of cooling centers or an over-abundance of Chicago citizens.

The city of Chicago does not require home owners or the owners of commercial buildings to maintain a range of temperatures considered to be suitable for human habitation – in winter and summer. The city’s ordinance does speak of heating temperatures that addresses winter conditions but nothing addressing summer temperatures

Chicago is a city with temperature extremes. It gets cold in the winter-time and hot in the summer-time. If proper care is not exercised, one could freeze to death in the winter-time or die of heat stroke in the summer time.

Chicago is a huge city and at any given time on any given day there may be temperature differences within the City of Chicago. But all would agree that, in the City of Chicago, summer-time is summer-time and winter-time is winter-time.

Air-Conditioning appears to be a luxury not required by City Ordinance. The same is likely true for most of America’s cities – large and small. There was likely a time in American history when “heat-stroke” death was a “necessity” or at least expected. But today is different and Americans are living longer.

While a majority of owners of commercial buildings in Chicago do recognize and properly respond to dangers to health and safety of their tenants – some don’t. Politicians ought to respond to their constituents distress calls for help with overheated apartments but some don’t.

Today, at one apartment building in the city of Chicago, tenants have cried out for help from political leaders. Today, it appears that political leaders are not listening.

Today, at this time, wheel chair bound ladies won’t use their stoves because it is too hot. Today, wheel chair bound ladies are living off those frozen strips of red, green and yellow crushed ice type things that kids love. They won’t turn their stoves on.

Today, a man was rushed to a hospital in a delirious state. Today a man with emphysema is concerned about his health.

Who are these people who can be so treated by a bad landlord and nobody seems to care?

Why they are senior citizens. They are the old. They are the infirm. They are the helpless. They are the ones living with HUD assistance. They are the ones who helped make America what it is today. But now they are too old to be useful?

Who can they hurt? It’s survival of the fittest – right?

America, not just Chicago, should be ashamed of treating its senior citizens this way. And Hyde Park Illinois, the home of President Obama, should be up in arms.

And oh yes, there is “limited” air-conditioning. The lobby entrance and the building’s office are air-conditioned.

[ It has since been claimed that the coolness felt in the lobby was not from air condition.]

Stocks surge, China reasures on Europe debt

But worries about U.S. recovery linger after some disappointing data

msnbc

Associated Press

May 27, 2010

NEW YORK – Stocks had another turnaround Thursday and rocketed higher after China reassured investors it doesn’t plan to sell the European debt it holds.

The Dow Jones industrial average surged nearly 285 points, while Treasury prices tumbled as traders funneled money into riskier assets like stocks and commodities.

The show of confidence in Europe let the market resume a rally that stalled late Wednesday following a report that China was considering cutting its exposure to European debt. That would have signaled that China didn’t think Europe would be able to contain the crisis. The agency that manages China’s $2.5 trillion in foreign reserves denied the report.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37374242/ns/business-eye_on_the_economy/

China has investments in America. That made the news after Mr. Bush claimed outer-space. One news source said that move by Mr. Bush was a BOLD move. Many in the world would not have described that move that way.

But Mr. Bush’s bold move prompted a response from both China and Russia. China’s military shot down one of its aging satellites. Apparently that was done without getting President Bush’s approval. And the neocons got into their “war” mode. The neocons love wars.

As a prelude to the neocons favorite sport, war, two American battleships asked for permission to dock in Hong Kong. That permission was denied. The neocons were war-mongering against one of America’s very significant investors because of some crazy … I mean bold claim to outer-space.

And to rub salt into that “bold claim to outer-space” wound – Russia sent two mini-subs to the Arctic ocean’s floor and lay claim to untold riches on the ocean’s floor. The BOLD claim of the neocons started to look less like a bold claim and more like the kind of claim it really was.

And now China and Europe are not war-mongering but supporting the “pre-historic” relations between “countries”. That relation was trade – not wars.