Image via WikipediaExperts testify on grim ecological fallout from Gulf oil spill
The damaging effects of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will be felt all the way to Europe and the Arctic.Multiple forms of marine life from across the Atlantic Ocean come into the Gulf to breed.
Brace Yourself: This Is the Tip of the Iceberg for Oil-Induced Enviro Catastrophes
a blowout preventer that could have halted the Deepwater Horizon clustergush failed a crucial pressure test hours before the April 20 explosion, and was never tested by the government engineer who approved BP's drilling operation. Those kinds ofsafety lapses are standard operating procedure, an oil industry whistleblower told the Huffington Post, saying he routinely witnessed 100 such shortcuts on BP rigs and others throughout 18 years of service in the sector. The fallback plan, a relief well, won't be finished until after the summer, by which there will be little reason left to live in New Orleans.
Rep Henry Waxman reported that on the day of the explosion, the rig failed a critical pressure test, indicating high gas levels in the well bore.
Nightmare Scene of Oil Unfolding in Wetlands
"The day that we have all been fearing is upon us today," Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said Wednesday after seeing thick oil washing into the state's coastal marshlands.
Crude is also being dragged towards Florida's popular tourist beaches and fragile coral reefs, by an oceanic current that could wash oil ashore on the state's coastline in as little as six days, before carrying it up the US East Coast and even into the Gulf Stream. Related article: Scientists fear oil slick damage to Florida coral
Ex-Cop Goes Rogue on the Drug War, Tells Pot Smokers How to Outsmart the Police
Supreme Court Says Feds Can Detain Sex Offenders Indefinitely: Why That's Dangerous
The U.S. Supreme Court's 7-2 ruling this week in U.S. v. Comstock, which declared that the federal government has the right to hold convicted sex offenders in "civil commitment" even after they have completed their prison sentences, has alarmed civil libertarians.
The possibility that Comstock could help justify the legal black holes at Bagram or Guantanamo is certainly a concern worth raising, particularly given the Obama administration's embrace of indefinite detention. But it seems equally important to consider the immediate implications for the prisoner population that may be affected by this law. It could be bigger than we think.
The NACDL pointed out in its brief that, whereas the Kansas statute "applied only to persons previously 'convicted of or charged with' at least one of twelve specifically defined sexually violent offenses," Section 4248 makes no such specification, basically authorizing "certification and potential commitment of a significant number of persons with no criminal history of sexual misconduct."
My Brother Faces a Lifetime of Solitary Confinement on a Spurious Terror Conviction
Ahmed was initially sentenced to 30 years, but the prosecution was not satisfied. They appealed to increase his sentence. Despite the fact that the so-called conspiracies, according to the judge, "did not result in a single actual victim," he is now serving a life sentence in solitary confinement under Special Administrative Measures (SAMs).
Created in 1996, SAMs were imposed for a maximum of four months when a prisoner was deemed violent. Now, SAMs can be designated by the Attorney General for up to a year, and renewed continually thereafter resulting in perpetual isolation, a form of torture under international law.
SAMs also restrict conversations between inmates and their lawyers by allowing them to be monitored by prison officials, violating attorney-client privilege and depriving inmates of their right to effective counsel guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment. Ahmed was under SAMs even before his trial began. Imposing SAMs pre-trial cast a shadow of suspicion on a defendant, rendering him guilty until proven innocent.
Why Is Anyone Still Catholic?
If your softball league or your children's school did what the Catholic Church is doing, you'd quit in outrage. So why haven't you?
James K. Galbraith: Why the 'Experts' Failed to See How Financial Fraud Collapsed the Economy
The experience of the Savings and Loan crisis was of businesses taken over for the explicit purpose of stripping them, of bleeding them dry. This was established in court: there were over one thousand felony convictions in the wake of that debacle.
Massive Race Divide: Blacks Will Never Gain Wealth Equality With Whites Under the Current System
The gap between Black and white household [accumulated] wealth quadrupled from 1984 to 2007, totally discrediting the conventional wisdom that the U.S. is slowly and fitfully moving towards racial equality, or some rough economic parity between the races. Like most American myths, it’s the direct opposite of the truth. When measured over decades, Blacks are being propelled economically downward relative to whites at quickening speed.
"Earlier this month, the Electronic Privacy Information Center and 14 other privacy and consumer organizations filed a complaint against Facebook with the Federal Trade Commission, accusing the popular social network of "unfair and deceptive trade practices" and violating users' expectations of privacy and consumer protection laws.
Barbara Ehrenreich: Why Forced Positive Thinking Is a Total Crock
It was impossible not to dwell on the fact that Seligman's early work, before he announced the launching of positive psychology, had been about "learned helplessness," showing that when dogs are tormented in random ways they become passive, depressed, and unable to defend themselves.
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