"The Spill" - Frontline's Investigation Into BP's Corporate Push To Put Profits Over People

Business/Economic/Housing/Layoffs News for August 2, 2010

US infrastructure commentary: "The Unpaved Road To Serfdom"

Greece turns to military as truck drivers refuse to end strike

'Disastrous' - Former Fed head, Alan Greenspan, says Republican plan to extend Bush tax cuts would kill the struggling recovery

Nielson: The End Game is Either Hyperinflation or Debt Implosion - Got Gold?

Gold Has Got Its Groove Back

One bln tonnes of coal found in Mozambique

BP seeks to permanently seal oil well in Gulf of Mexico

5 reasons why the California real estate market will weaken from August to December of 2010: California budget delay, inventory growth, and three other important factors.

How Australia's banks could trigger a property crash

Warren Buffett's Mr. Fix-It: Full Version

Spoiler Alert: U.S. Unemployment Is Now Rising, Not Falling

Restaurant Index shows contraction in June

Homeless shelter network closing 11 of 15 locations in Seattle, forcing homeless into the streets

Last Friday was the last day on the job for 192 San Jose, California city government workers

Business/Economic/Housing/Layoff News for July 27, 2010

Oil well just off course of Louisiana hit by barge this morning, 20 foot high oil spew still not capped, booms surrounding spill

US shopping center vacancy rates rose in 2nd qtr

Cap-And-Trade Advocates See Tougher Battle After Elections

Taleb: Government Deficits Could Be the Next 'Black Swan'

Unless women take control of Wall Street and America, 'The End' is near

The Illustrated Guide To Larry Summers' FinReg Hypocrisy And Hallucinations

The Government's Role in the Housing Bubble

Sickness, late pay, faulty equipment & lies . . . what it's like to be one of the non-inmates working for BP cleanup crews

With scores of coastal residents out of work after the spill, BP is hiring inmates to clean up its mess—and getting lucrative tax breaks in the process

Undersea oil plumes linked to BP Oil Volcano

As counties across the USA run defecits, more asphalt roads are returned to gravel

Derek Thompson of The Atlantic - "The Scariest Unemployment Graph I've Seen Yet"

James Howard Kunstler: "What Is It?"

London bankers buying up 1974 book on mechanics of Weimar Republic hyper-inflation

Head of Bush's TARP program for bankers, Neel Kashkari, wants to cut entitlements such as Social Security for the Middle Class

Cities looking at giving away land and cracking down on non-profits as a means to generate more revenue

Rochester schoolboard to give pink slips to 116 teachers

United Technologies to cut another 1500 jobs for remainder of 2010

Pennsylvania state government employee layoffs still coming

Must Read Of The Day - - - Roger Ebert: "BP's Tree Fell On My Lawn"

Business/Economic News for July 9, 2010

Biggest defaulters on mortgages are the Rich, not the Poor

Business/Economic News - July 7, 2010 Edition

Gold hits 6-week low on China news
China promises not to dump US Treasuries or pile into gold

Mish:"Hussman Blasts Geithner, Bernanke, Keynes; Why Keynesian Stimulus Always Fails"

Which builders have the biggest Gulf Coast exposure?

BP Supposedly Ahead of Schedule on Drilling Relief Well by One Week

Peter Schiff: Jobs report reveals the truth about recovery

Wal-Mart's Sam's Club chain is teaming up with a lender to offer loans of up to $25,000 to its small business members

EU suggests raising retirement age to 70

The Economist looks at four letter word DEBT: "Repent At Leisure"

To Address Its Housing Shortage, Paris Cracks Down on Pied-à-Terre Rentals
Oil Trades Near $72 on Forecast Supply Drop, Europe Optimism

Louisiana and Scientists Spar Over How to Block Oil’s Approach

Next 10 days crucial to gulf spill

86 miles of Florida's coastline is now "oiled"

Foreclosures drop 49% in second quarter in South Florida

Can South Korea prevent the Housing Bubble from bursting there?

Harvard Professor, Ken Rogogg, co-author of "This Time It's Different", thinks USA not headed for Double-Dip Recession, but slow growth, a continuing slide in housing prices and unemployment

China Property Market Set for Healthy Correction



The 10 Biggest stock winners in 2010 for the first-half

States Are Projecting Massive Employment Layoffs

NASA sub-contractor to lay off 1,000 Space Shuttle workers

NY State Fair terminates union workers; thousands threaten boycott

Milan, MI city council refuses to hire for open positions as rumors swirl about a 200 person layoff at local auto supplier

The Games Realtors Play With "Original Price" and DOM (Days On Market)

Hello Friends,

Today we are going to look at what I believe is an honest mistake made by a Real Estate company which obviously hasn't kept close tabs on one of its entries to my favorite MLS in the Florida Keys. This Real Estate company in question simply keeps tabs on properties for sale down in the Keys and adds very good slideshows and a decent, quick-searchable data base set up by price, different Florida Keys, different types of homes (condos, duplexes, etc.) and so on. As this Real Estate company does officially represent the sellers of but just a few of the properties on this searchable MLS, my guess is they sell "shoppers" on using them to mediate a sale.

This particular MLS is the one with photos of most every home and business listed and can be found at www.keywestmls.com.

This particular MLS, sponsored and edited by Key West's Seaport Real Estate, is the most popular MLS which my Key West friends use. Other MLS searchable databases put together by other Real Estate company go nowhere near the lengths which Seaport provides information.

Most especially welcome on this great website is the tab for "Just Reduced" homes which, like it's title, shows all homes and their new reduced "listing" prices over the past 7 days. (And please, please, please . . . if you are new to looking for a Key West home . . . notice nowhere on the website of www.keywestmls.com is there a tab for "Just Increased" home prices. That should tell any novice that prices are still cratering in the Keys.)

Nevertheless, Seaport Realty's webmaster makes a mistake once in a while and leaves up two MLS numbered entries for the same home. Today, I discovered one I want to share. And please keep in mind this is not to condemn Seaport Realtors for their mistake, but it is to applaud the fact that their mistake is another in a long line of proof which I have supplied over the years that Realtors are trying everything to put lipstick on the Housing Crash Pig.

Onward.

In many a past blog post I have told you why I recommend you keep your own Excel spreadsheet on falling home prices if you are seriously considering buying in the Keys within the next 6 months. Among my reasons, I told you how Realtors play this game of ripping homes off a market after an "original" price had multiple price drops and then coming back on the market a few days or weeks later with a new MLS number and new "original" price.

The reason for doing this is obvious:

1) The new "original" price is a much lower price than the old "original" price and subsequent price drops. Hence, with a newer starting price, one cannot fathom the "panic" in the seller's position, giving a potential buyer less leverage in making a deal.

2) When a new "original" price is listed, it also means the DOM (Days On Market) start afresh. Meaning a listing with only 7 days on market and an "original" price looks more enticing to sellers than one which has been on the market for 300 days and has had 5 price reductions would look to buyers. Sellers and Realtors want to "keep up appearances". Buyers are looking for desperation from sellers, i.e., deals.

3) And when a new, lower "orginal" price is lowered or reduced to a new listing price, should that price sell, the Real Estate cartel will trumpet it was only 20% off the original price and prices are firming, when in reality, the "Just Sold" price could be as much as 50-70% off the first "orginal" price. All of the above might sound confusing to a new reader, so let me show how one house in Cudjoe Key has been marketed, accidentally, with two MLS numbers - one of which shows the real drop in value on the property.

Let's start with the more benign listing, the one with the least amount of depreciation in pricing.

Here's the mansion in question:

MLS#:	550147
Original Price:	$3,795,000
Listing Price:	$3,100,000
Address:	23069 Redfish Lane
City:	Cudjoe Key
Subdivision:	Cudjoe Acres
Mile Marker:	23
Prop Type:	Single Family
Waterfront:	Yes
Days on Market:	276
Bedrooms:	5
Bathrooms:	5.5
Interior Sq Ft.	4,430
Price Per Sq. Ft.	$699.77
Lot Sq. Ft.	0
Year Built:	2007
Taxes:	$25,000.00
Tax Year:	2008
Exemptions:	Homestead

Here's the description of the property by the Realtor:

Private Gated Keys Estate With Open Water Views. Chestnut & Marble Floors, Gourmet Kitchen, Elevator, Private Boat Basin, Ramp & 2 Lifts. Lounge By By Your Pool Or Beach. 5 Bds/ 5.1 Baths + A Library & Loft. Main House Features 3bd/3.5 Baths & Thguest House Offers 2 Bd/2 Ba. True Paradise Living To The Most Discriminating Buyer Who Wants Everything...With A Sense Of Being Away From It All.

Notice the following three data points above: Original price, Listing price and DOM (Days On Market)
1. Original Price: $3,795,000
2. Listing Price: $3,100,000
3. Days On Market: 276
(By the way, to see the 9 slide photo shoot of this listing click here)

Now as I never kept track of Florida Keys mansions by entering their info on a spreadsheet, it is very possible this mansion had more than one "Reduction In Price" in the past 276 days.

Regardless, let's pretend for a moment that some well heeled buyer simply comes along today, plops down the new listing price of $3,100,000.

Well, the way the Good Deeds in the Sunday paper would report this sale is "100% of asking price". And, invariably, some of the Realtors in our town would crow that this 100% bid on the listing price is "proof that the Real Estate market is bottoming in the Keys."

In reality, the sale at $3,100,000 would represent a drop of 18-19% from the owner's "Original Price" some 276 days ago at $3,795,000. But the Good Deeds in the Sunday Key West Citizen long ago quit showing both "Original Price" and "Listing Price". So, buyers looking at the Good Deeds now are thinking, "Prices don't seem to be falling as much. That's good."


Time For Another Strong Dose Of Reality In Keys Real Estate

But what if the mansion discussed above had been on the market for a longer period of time at a much higher price? Don't you think a savvy buyer would like to know this information so he/she could drive a better bargain with maybe a panicked seller?

Well, in a case of laxity (that's my guess), the keywestmls.com webmaster did not notice the same mansion appears twice, with a different front photo shot, and a different MLS number on their www.keywestmls.com website.

Here's the first entry for the same mansion we are looking at above with new cover photo. (Also if you want to see the original 19 photo slide show, click here) :

MLS#:	107685
Original Price:	$4,499,000
Listing Price:	$3,100,000
Address:	23069 Redfish Ln
City:	Cudjoe Key
Subdivision:	Cudjoe Ocean Shores Sec 2,2b,3
Mile Marker:	23
Prop Type:	Single Family
Waterfront:	Yes
Days on Market:	813
Bedrooms:	5
Bathrooms:	5.5
Interior Sq Ft.	4,443
Price Per Sq. Ft.	$697.73
Lot Sq. Ft.	32,242
Year Built:
Taxes:	$20,589.00
Tax Year:	2009

Notice the following:

This earlier listing of the exact same property with different MLS number has been on the market for 813 days! That means this mansion has been on the market since early 2008 and is really in its third year of being marketed.

Secondly, notice the "Original Price" of $4,499,000! That is $704,000 more than what the newest listing (MLS #550147 with 276 Days On The Market) is showing as an "Original Price" of $3,795,000.

Same property, two different MLS numbers showing, two different DOMs showing, and two different, very different "Original Prices" showing. (Meaning the webmaster's slip is showing how Realtors really play the game to "juice" Potemkin pricing which many times is a facade for what has really gone on behind the scenes.)

If some rich buyer comes to the Keys today, without thinking about hurricanes and oil spills, rising sea levels, a county government in deficit, declining county services, bad schools, etc., and pays $3,100,000 (the new listing price), said buyer would actually be getting 31-32% discount from the real "Original Price". Not only is that the real discount so far, but, the Key West Citizen would be showing the sale as 100% of the Listing Price in the Sunday paper's Good Deeds. (It should be noticed that "Good Deeds" are sponsored by some Title Company here in the Keys, and it is they who obviously decided to discontinue showing "Original Price" of homes sold.)

These are the games going on all the time with the MLS as played by Realtors. They put homes on the MLS. They rip them off. They assign new MLS numbers and put properties which have been for sale for years back on the market after a few days breather to hide market inefficiencies and buyers who were in denial for a loooooong time and who are now determined to get out of their money holes.

This is why serious buyers must pay attention and do their own diligence: Realtors are not going to give you the whole story and you will not have the macro-Economic wide angle view you need to know whether you are getting a deal, whether Real Estate is really bottoming (don't worry, buyers, it is not) and whether you should rush in now to get a "deal" compared to 2006 prices (don't, rates have only one way to go . . . higher . . . and as rates go higher, even fewer people will afford "more" home meaning home prices will have to drop even further).

That said, anyone buying a home in the Florida Keys or Florida before the BP Oil Deluge is finally stopped is not paying attention to the current Double Dip Recession which may turn into a Depression forcing even more pressure downward on Keys home pricing.

Stay aware of Macro-Economic trends. Stay aware of local trends. And whatever you do, don't listen to the FIRE Economy cheerleaders who are telling you "There's never been a better time to buy a home!" They've been saying this for the last ten years. Keep in mind these are the vested interests who do not have your best interests at heart.

As always,

Caveat emptor!


Rock Trueblood

Pensacola Beach: Not A 4th Of July Destination This Year

If you have ever visited the powder white sands on Pensacola Beach or swam in the pristine green waves, this will turn your stomach:

Oil Covered Whale And Dolphins In The Gulf; Smoke From Set Fires Pollute The Air

Here's the latest video shot by Independent videographer John Wathen/Hurricane Creekkeeper:

June 15, 2010: Latest On The BP Oil Volcano In The Gulf

Say goodbye to less than $67 a barrel oil forever? Oil back above $74, Day Trader's Pick For This Week: Transocean (NYSE: RIG)

(click charts above to enlarge or click on RIG and $WTIC to see respective charts)

I've been following oil very closely since the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform sank out in the Gulf.

Back on April 15th, oil hit this year's high at $87.26. The Deepwater Horizon exploded on the night of April 20th. The next day, oil barely budged as the extent of the oil spill was not even known.

On May 3rd (first trading day of the month), oil tested the $87.26 resistance, by hitting an intraday high of $87.17.

Oil headed South on May 4th only to bottom with it's low in May on the 25th with a $67.15 low.

Since then, as the real extent of the Gulf Oil Gusher Disaster became better known, a few things have happened to cause oil to start a slow grinding upward rise in price:

1. The Federal government has announced a shake up of the MMS, meaning no more Bush/Cheney/Obama friends of Oil being planted in the governmental regulatory agency which was supposed to overlook deep sea drilling and mining in the USA.

2. The Feds placed a temporary moratorium on offshore drilling despite Governor Bobby Jindal begging the Feds to put back to work his Louisiana drill workers laid off by the moratorium.

3. BP has opened field offices in all the Gulf States to handle a raft of lawsuits brought on my failing tourism, fishing, etc.

4. Transocean and Halliburton employees interviewed by CNN and 60 Minutes have told versions of the explosion which all coincide on one point, i.e., a BP official made the choice to keep drilling despite many a worker's worries about unsafe and untried drilling practices. BP officials were under pressure to get the well drilled. Safety was not on the mind of the BP official who told Transocean and Halliburton officials that BP was demanding the drilling continue and screw safety procedures.

5. Several notable Oil experts are saying their are plumes of toxic dispersant/oil mixes which are hundreds of miles long out in the Gulf which are going to play hell with sea life. The extent of what these plumes might/will do to sea life and Gulf Coast economies is unknown at this time.

6. More than one pundit has said BP should withold paying dividends to its investors.

7. More than one pundit has suggested BP will be required to go bankrupt.

8. More than one pundit has said the Federal Government should place BP in receiver ship.

9. The bad news about the disaster and BP has affected, negatively, all oil sector stocks, but especially BP, Transocean and Anadarko (company which owns a minority share of the spewing Deepwater Horizon well).

With all of the above, oil found a new bottom in price (since the Deepwater Horizon exploded) on May 25th at $67.15


My Thoughts:

As more people realize tougher governmental regulations are coming to oil rigs, more people will realize the cost of drilling will continue to rise. And costs will especially escalate on deepwater rigs.

As a believer in Peak Oil, I want to plant one solid idea in your brain today: all the easy to find oil has been found and is decelerating in oil recovery. All the hard to find, hard to drill oil and hard to process oil (offshore, tar sands, oil shale, etc.) are going to skyrocket in expense for the next 20 years before the free world has switched transportation and energy to more greener energy.

I daresay today, we will never see oil trade for less than the May 26th low of $67.15 again in our lives.

That said, I recommend we concentrate on how to profit off what is sure to be a long trend in rising oil prices from here.

In the coming weeks, I'll toss out some ideas here from both traditional and Green energy sectors.

The Deepwater Horizon Catastrophe is a game changer in the way the USA explores for energy. Traditional energy (oil, Nat Gas, coal) are going to go up as more regulatory oversight is demanded by US citizens. Keep all of the above in mind as you invest for the short term and long term.

I recommend all day traders to follow Transocean (NYSE: RIG) at Friday's close of $46.85. I will be "scalping" this trade every day this week. Do not, repeat, DO NOT buy and hold this stock for the long term as BP is now threatening to sue Transocean and vice versa.

Transocean has already received hundreds of millions in Insurance payments for the Deepwater Horizon disaster. It won't be long 'til Congress and BP will seek to get their hands on some of that money.

Transocean's P/E is now at a miniscule 5.20.

Transocean is now 53% off its high in less than a month.

Recommendation: use both 5 minute and 15 minute charts to trade in and out of RIG. Scalp it long, scalp it short. Do not hold over night.


Sincerely,

Rock Trueblood


p.s. Asian shares rose this morning as well as oil. S&P futures (3:45 AM EST) are now 3 points above last Friday's close. There are strong down trendline resistances for the S&P 500 and the Dow Industrials. Will the bear market continue, or will we break to the upside today?

Regardless, pick your sectors well. Only buy and hold defensive stocks which will never go out of style.

Heartbreaking Photos of Wildlife Dying To Live With the BP Oil Gusher

There is no way to embed the slideshow from Huffington Post. So, all I can do is link you to "Crimes Against Nature" . . . a heartbreaking answer to all the jerks such as Brit Hume, Haley Barbour and other Neo-Con/Libertarian/Tea Party yodelers who kept asking, "Where's the oil?"

Click here for "Crimes Against Nature" - "Gulf Oil Spill - Animals In Peril".

How The Oil Spill Has Turned Hypocritical Republicans Into New Age Pro-Environmentalists, Pro-Regulationists, Pro-Big Governmentalists, Etc., Etc..

See the hypocrites run like little piggies to the Mainstream Media Trough and claim the territory which used to belong to Progressives.

One of my favorite utterances in this video clip was the line, "There are no Libertarians in a crisis."

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Oil Slick Spreading Toward Florida Panhandle After Already Hitting Alabama and Mississippi

Latest news has oil already hitting beaches in both Mississippi and Alabama with an estimated time of arrival on the first Pensacola Beach in Florida sometime later today.

From a Press Association release earlier this morning:

An oil slick from the Gulf of Mexico leak was confirmed a few miles off the Florida coast today as the impact of the disaster spreads.

Officials are saying it could hit the white sands of Pensacola Beach later on Wednesday.

Escambia County officials started putting out booms on Tuesday and making other plans for the arrival of the oil which has already impacted on 125 miles of the Louisiana coastline.

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour says oil is hitting the state for the first time.

Mr Barbour said a two-mile strand of caramel-coloured oil has been found on Petit Bois Island, a barrier island near the Mississippi-Alabama border. The discovery means Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi have all been hit by oil.

Mr Barbour says vessels will be dispatched to clean up the oil. Officials believe the strand broke off a patch of oil on Sunday south of nearby Horn Island

Note to Watchworld regulars: Haley Barbour is the same politician who just last week expressed little concern for the oil spill. He assured his state citizens the oil spill was breaking up, was 75 miles from Mississippi, was moving westward, and the oil which was washing up in Louisiana was not that toxic as it was breaking up and was just more messy than anything. Suddenly, Barbour went silent over this past weekend. Now the oil has arrived. Now he's eyes wide open.

Also contained in the Press Release is the news that Avatar director James Cameron is offering help to fight the oil disaster:

Meanwhile, federal officials are hoping blockbuster movie director James Cameron can help them come up with ideas on how to stop the disastrous spill in the Gulf.

The Avatar and Titanic director was among a group of scientists and other experts who met officials from the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies for a brainstorming session on stopping the massive oil leak. Canadian-born Cameron is considered an expert on underwater filming and remote vehicle technologies.

More than 20 scientists, engineers and technical experts attended the meeting, which also included representatives of the Energy Department, Coast Guard and National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.

Private groups represented include the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute; Oceanographic Institute at Harbor Branch, Florida Atlantic University; University of California at Santa Barbara; Nuytco Research Limited; World Wildlife Fund; and the University of California at Berkeley.

If only Mr. Cameron could call up the Navi who could bring their healing power to our ailing portion of the planet.

In another headline this morning on the Huffington Post website which read in huge cap letters "FL-OIL-RIDA: BP Oil Spill Close To Florida: Oil Sheen Spotted Nine Miles From Pensacola Beach" we read the oil is just offshore from Pensacola Beach's white sands. We also read how their request for aid from BP has gone unanswered for the past 3 weeks:

PENSACOLA BEACH, Fla. — An oil sheen was confirmed about nine miles off the Florida coast, and officials are saying it could hit the white sands of Pensacola Beach as soon as Wednesday.

Escambia County officials started putting out boom Tuesday and making other plans for the arrival of the oil. Crude has already been reported along barrier islands in Alabama and Mississippi, and it has impacted some 125 miles of Louisiana coastline.

Fla. officials say their request for about $150,000 from BP to buy sifting machines and a tractor to help remove oil from the beach's famous white sands has lingered unanswered for more than three weeks.

Santa Rosa Island Authority executive director W.A. "Buck" Lee says he is fed up with delays from the unified command center in Mobile, Ala.

Now who here still doesn't believe we're possibly heading into a Double Dip Recession and a continuing crash in Keys Real Estate?

Stay tuned,

Rock

Estimated Gallons Leaked Widget

Big Oil's Groundhog Day of "Deja Vu Land" As Produced by Rachel Maddow

Rachel Maddow completely destroys Big Oil's claim that they've gotten better at drilling for oil offshore. Maddow and her production team put together video clips from a big oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico during 1979. The similarities between it and the Deepwater Horizon Oil Catastrophe of today will make you shake your head in disbelief.

Maddow asserts at the close of her show that oil companies have gotten better in only one respect of drilling: going deeper. The 1979 rig blowout in the Gulf was only in 200 feet of water. On the other hand, Maddow says Big Oil has gotten no better at containing the risks of an oil rig failure, as they are still using tried and failed methods from 31 years ago to try and stop today's leak which is 5,000 feet below the surface.

Must see TV:

Cross Your Fingers, Gulf States, Today's The Day BP Tries The "Top Kill" Fix To End Underwater Oil Gusher

Key West's eternal, late optimist, Mel Fischer would say, "Today's the Day" everyday before his treasure salvors would dive for the umpteenth time looking for buried treasure in the ocean floor.

Today, it is BP trying to bury some treasured oil under the "Top Kill" fix. In this approach, BP will begin pumping a heavy mud fluid into the runaway well. The fluid is heavier than the water and oil surrounding it, and it is hoped this heavy mixture will clog the well.


If this approach fails today, we may actually see an increase in the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico from this oil volcano's plume. But if it succeeds, we in the Florida Keys might just skate by this disaster with the edge of our finger nails showing the faintest trace of oil. As much as I hate BP for the criminal white class in its office suites, today I wish them the best of luck. As President Obama yelled yesterday, "Plug that damn hole!"

Memo Shows BP Suits Think Of Workers As Expendable "Pigs"

(Click on image of memo to enlarge it)

What has BP come to when their suits in the Executive suites think of their workers as expendable pigs?

Eleven men on BP's Deepwater Horizon rig just lost their lives to criminal negligence.

Stupid, uniformed Libertarians such as Rand Paul shrug it off by saying "Accidents happen." But Deepwater Horizon was no accident. It was simple criminal neglect leading to disaster, i.e. BP officials' shortcuts disregarded equipment failure and required tests, and this led to the biggest rig explosion in history.

This was to be expected. Anyone knowing anything about BP's corporate culture knows this is a corporation which puts profits ahead of safety. And today we pin another turd to the Watchworld's "Dishonor Board" by BP's name as a damning internal BP memo from "The Daily Beast" shows how cold calculating bean counters in the BP executive ranks decided against providing blast proof housing for workers in a BP refinery which blew up in 2005, killing 15 workers and injuring 170 other plant employees and residents of nearby homes.

In fact, BP's sociopathic suits used the allegory of "The Three Little Pigs" to figure out what was more important to them: providing blast resistant housing for workers, or cutting costs (for fatter profits) by simply placing expendable worker-pigs in thin aluminum trailers that a Big Bad Wolf (explosion) could easily blow down.

Above is the memo, and you will want to read the entire story at The Daily Beast titled "BP's Shocking Memo" to get a righteous anger going today. By the way, notice the icons of three "Little Piggy Banks" which some BP suit printed onto the memo, as if to imply doing cheap housing would save money for the mega-corporation. Wasn't that cute?

Tom Tomorrow - What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

The latest Tom Tomorrow cartoon was released on www.salon.com yesterday. It is titled, "What could possibly go wrong?" and is a great comment about the Deepwater Horizon Catastrophe and all lightly regulated businesses.

To see the cartoon, click "What could possibly go wrong?"

Enjoy!

Boston Globe's The Big Picture Blog: "Oil Reaches Louisiana Shores"

Below are just two of the images of 39 which the Big Picture Blog has assimilated under the title of "Oil Reaches Louisiana Coast".

Each photo has a caption underneath. For instance, the first photo you see here has the caption "A young heron sits dying amidst oil splattering underneath mangrove on an island impacted by oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in Barataria Bay, along the the coast of Louisiana on Sunday, May 23, 2010." (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Click on the link "Oil Reaches Louisiana Shores" to see all the photos:

ABC Reporter Sam Champion Puts On Hazmat Diving Suit To Show What Is Happening Under Surface Of Oil Polluted Water

Phillipe Cousteau, grandson of Jacques Cousteau, and ABC reporter Sam Champion don hazmat diving suits to take a look at what the mix of chemical dispersants and oil are doing to gulf waters. Sam Champion calls it a "toxic soup".

It ain't pretty, and it sure doesn't make eating any kind of fish out of the Gulf a top choice on a restaurant's menu. It's scary to think of schools of fish, sea mammals and birds bathing in this crap: