Oil Spill Region & Tropical Storms

Two tropical systems were projected to strengthen as they moved north in the Gulf of Mexico. Both dissipated over the oil spill area. Bonnie collapsed while large areas of oil remained on the surface. Tropical Depression #5 fell apart over the Gulf's "residual oil."

A third test comes with TD5's remnants reentering the Gulf.

It could move over water by Monday, “where conditions are expected to be conducive for some development,” senior hurricane specialist Richard Pasch wrote in the NOAA outlook.

Scientists long theorized a layer of oil could weaken a hurricane. Does the great Gulf science experiment have another test in it?

BP Yet to Update Gulf Emergency Plan

BP's risk managers hesitated to set a new standard for oil spill response, despite regulations that require an updated emergency plan.

A BP spokesman denied the company needed to file a revised plan, saying: "An incident does not trigger automatic re-submittal of an oil spill response plan… Once we have gathered the learnings from the Deepwater Horizon incident, we will update our plan and submit it."

The government is still reviewing BP's original response plan. Note: Over a three month period BP's skimming failed miserably relative to plan.

Before the well blew out, BP reported its skimming capacity as 491,721 barrels of oil each day in the event of a major spill. That dropped to 171,000 bpd when the burning rig sank. BP didn't skim one day's worth of its promised capacity.

It turns out thousands of Vessels of Opportunity were mostly for show. Risk clearly remains.

Reliance on BP for Mississippi's Resilience Program

Resilience, reliance--What a difference a few letters make. Governor Haley Barbour's office said:

Former "Baywatch" star David Hasselhoff will host a one-hour television special later this month to promote the state (Mississippi) and oil company BP is footing the bill.

The governor's office has been handling plans for the show hosted by Hasselhoff.

What fictions will Haley and BP push? Will it be BP's latest oxymoron. "Aggressive spill response" means mobilizing more lawyers than skimmers. "Accountability" means not testifying before government investigative panels. Look for more hollow buzz words.

David Hasselholf has a history with buzzed videos. Will he eat Mississippi seafood off the beach?

BP's Risk Management Machine

BP claims it has no responsibility for a subcontractor's hiring of a sex offender and his subsequent crime. Rundy Charles Robertson, a registered sex offender, worked as a supervisor. He raped an employee, one who wasn't feeling well.

BP hired Miller Environmental Group for the cleanup operation who then hired Aerotek to seek out employees. The supervisor worked for Miller Environmental Group, while under contract to BP.

BP's legal army offered the following:

BP spokesman Robert Wine told CNN, "The requirement on sub-contractors to BP's contractors is one further step beyond BP's scope of control," and Aerotek representative Jeff Reichart said, "We are not liable for anything that happens," claiming Miller Environmental Group did not require them to conduct background checks. Miller Environmental Group did not immediately respond to CNN.

It rings like BP, Halliburton, Transocean and Cameron after the Deepwater Horizon blowout. No one is responsible for anything. Accountability is buried in a maze of legal documents between contractors and subcontractors.

Meanwhile, the victim is laid off and unemployed. She joins legions seeking justice in BP's great rape of the Gulf of Mexico.

BP's Vidrine Won't Testify to Government

Bloomberg reported:

Donald Vidrine, one of two BP Plc well-site leaders aboard the Deepwater Horizon rig when it exploded April 20, has declined to testify before a federal investigative panel.

Vidrine declined to testify before Congress and the Coast Guard/Bureau of Ocean Energy Management panel. Thus, no government investigation will have the benefit of his sworn testimony. If the feds are conducting a credible investigation, it's subpoena time. Otherwise, we have kabuki theater.

The world deserves to hear public testimony from Donald Vidrine. What did he and Transocean's manager argue over the night of the blowout?

Medical Tourism to Spread Superbugs

British medical researchers say the gene that makes bugs resistant to antibiotics exist in third world countries, now on the rise. Scientists expect the gene to spread as Westerners flock to foreign hospitals for cheap cosmetic surgery procedures.

The irony is international health care will hurt international health care. Bill Clinton said globalism had gotten ahead of itself. More irony, given Clinton's globalist history and future intentions. Did any of Bill Clinton's cosmetic surgery procedures occur overseas? Is he carrying superbugs?

Chip Kahn, Clinton's partner in lobbying for health care reform, could use the superbug threat to promote his for-profit hospital trade group. How can the pair work Harry & Louise into this issue?

When The Carlyle Group invested in a Turkish for-profit hospital system, I pondered their medical tourism designs. Should they inadvertently aid the spread of the superbug, Carlyle has an affiliate that can help. Proteus Biomed has high tech products that remind people to take their medications, in this case antibiotics. Will superbugs garner SuperReturns?


Update 9-14-10 Superbugs have been found in California, Massachusetts and Illinois.

OSHA's BP Texas City Fine Discounted

OSHA fined BP $87.4 million for poor safety practices at their Texas City refinery. BP agreed to pay $50.6 million. That's a 42% discount.

BP bought off the Justice Department for $50 million in regard to the 2005 Texas City accident, which killed 15 people. In the same settlement BP paid over $300 million for natural gas trading irregularities.

It's hard to figure what's a record "fine" vs. "settlement." Take the Goldman Sachs SEC fine, where the new record was larger than the old record. Other odd occurrences have corporations "paying to not play" in ongoing "pay to play" investigations.