February, 2012 archive
Spill Here, Spill Now, Quash Court Dept. 0
Stephanie Grace, writing at the New Orleans Times-Picayune, considers efforts by Buccaneer Petroleum to keep depositions from Tony Hayward, chief buccaneer at the time of BP’s wild well, out of court.
A snippet:
“Do you think that BP bore any responsibility, operation or otherwise, for the performance of this blowout preventer?” And “do you think BP had any responsibility, given its position that the BOP was the last line of defense, to follow up to ensure that any maintenance and repair that needed to be done, got done?”
While BP argues that responsibility is a legal term, the plaintiffs say it’s also a lay term that “everyone understands.” Hayward’s concept of his company’s responsibility, of course, is also central to how the events unfolded and who should be held at fault.
Apparently, the plain light of day is no friend of buccaneers.
Click to read the rest.
Pork Chopped 0
About three miles from where I grew up:
Virginia State Police Sgt. Michelle Anaya said the accident was reported around 4 a.m. and 41,000 pounds of frozen pork spilled onto the roadway.
Picture at the link.
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*It’s pronounced exactly as it’s spelled.
Not WYSIWYG 0
A skin-grease cosmetics ad. Photoshopped?
Oh noes.
(snip)
The watchdog was responding to a complaint from MP Jo Swinson, who “challenged whether the ad was misleading, because she believed that the image of Rachel Weisz had been digitally manipulated and therefore misrepresented the results that the product could achieve”.
iStuffed 0
Asia Times reports on Apple’s off-shoring.
After addressing the notion that there are two economies, a “financial” economy (companies such as Goldman Sachs, which make money by playing with money) and a “real” economy (companies that make money by making stuff), they look at Apple and other tech companies:
A nugget:
Long before the banking collapse of 2008, such important US industries as machine tools, consumer electronics, auto parts, appliances, furniture, telecommunications equipment, and many others that had once dominated the global marketplace suffered their own economic collapse. Manufacturing employment dropped to 11.7 million in October 2009, a loss of 5.5 million or 32% of all manufacturing jobs since October 2000. The last time fewer than 12 million people worked in the manufacturing sector was in 1941. In October 2009, more people were officially unemployed (15.7 million) than were working in manufacturing.
This decimation of the manufacturing sector, which involved the elimination a massive number of well-paying manufacturing jobs, played a central role in the stagnation of income, wages, and purchasing power in the United States. In the three decades prior to the crash of 2008, Robert Reich notes, the wages of the typical American hardly increased, and actually dropped in the 2000s.
One result is that the number of persons who can afford the stuff that the “real” economy produces is decreasing apace.
Follow the link for the rest.
The Worst Legislative Body in the Free World 0
That’s how Mayor Green described Philadelphia City Council.
That august body is in eclipse.
A. P. Ticker explains:
Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go 0
Slightly better:
(snip)
The four-week moving average for jobless claims, a less volatile measure than the weekly figures, fell to 375,750 last week from 377,750. It was the second-lowest average since 2008, after a 374,000 reading in the last week of December.
The Entitlement Society, Political Version 0
One can see the rationale for the law–one can imagine a Scott Walker or Rick Scott trumping up charges for political ends–but perhaps it needs a little rethinking.
This is hardly partisan. Remember Wilbur Mills.
The Agony of Fail 0
The local rag opens a story with this agonizing description of pain and despair.
But despite a history-making senior season, Mayes will sit out today’s ceremonies. He’ll instead spend the day working out.
Mayes fell short academically, failing to meet the NCAA’s minimum GPA or SAT score.
It’s about a kid whose grades aren’t good enough to play semi-pro college football having to sit out “Signing Day,” when high school kids (high school kids, mind you) learn which semi-pro college team is going to notpay them for playing football next year. (Wonder whether spending school days working out had anything to do with his grad–oh, never mind.)
The only persons with an IQ above 20 who care about “signing day” are at brewery ad agencies and ESPN.
Furrfu.
Make TWUUG Your LUG 0
Learn about the wonderful world of free and open source.
What: Monthly TWUUG Meeting.
Who: Everyone in TideWater/Hampton Roads with interest in any/all flavors of Unix/Linux. There are no dues or signup requirements. All are welcome.
Where: Lake Taylor Transitional Care Hospital in Norfolk Training Room. See directions below. (Wireless and wired internet connection available.)
When: 7:30 PM till whenever (usually 9:30ish) on Thursday, February 2.
Directions:
Lake Taylor Hospital
1309 Kempsville Road
Norfolk, Va. 23502 (Map)
Pre-Meeting Dinner at 6:00 PM (separate checks)
Uno Chicago Grill
Virginia Beach Blvd. & Military Highway (Janaf Shopping Center). (Map)
QOTD 0
Learned Hand, from the Quotemaster (subscribe here):
The mutual confidence on which all else depends can be maintained only by an open mind and a brave reliance upon free discussion.