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04 Sep 2010 21:19

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U.S.: Thad Allen: The Macondo oil well is no longer in danger of leaking

  • I’m very pleased to announce that with the new blowout preventer on this well, and the cement that was previously put in … that this well does not constitute a threat to the Gulf of Mexico at this point.
  • Thad “I don’t get paid enough for this #(&@” Allen • Claiming that BP’s leaky well is no longer a threat of breaking anymore. There’s a lot of stuff blocking the Macondo well, like a 5,000-foot column of cement. And it’s only going to become more secure soon enough – the bottom kill still needs to be done. At which point work will focus on the relief well and abandoning the old well. So, that’s something. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Sep 2010 10:17

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U.S.: Blackwater, er, Xe, apparently gamed the system for contracts

  • 31 affiliates of Blackwater helped them get CIA contracts source
  • » Why this is bad: Blackwater is still managing to get federal money despite their rep cemented by that incident where a bunch of Iraqi civilians got killed. They’ve made $600 million from classified contracts, according to one government official, and just got another $100 million to provide security at Afghan bases. And they’re doing it in such a way as to stay low profile in hopes that nobody notices it’s the same company. Guess that didn’t work.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Sep 2010 10:02

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U.S.: Goodbye Earl: The U.S. bids adieu to an annoying storm

  • good Tropical Storm Earl is no longer bearing down on U.S. soil, with relatively little damage.
  • better It’s headed towards Canada, which means we don’t have to care anymore! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Sep 2010 19:33

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U.S.: Did yesterday’s oil rig blast cause another leak, anyway?

  • NO but that’s what they say; start conspiracy theories now source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Sep 2010 11:48

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U.S.: “Goodbye Earl”? Not yet. But the hurricane is weakening big time

  • good The storm is currently slowing down; it’s only a Category 1 and has already lost much of its punch.
  • better The storm only minorly nicked North Carolina’s Outer Banks, causing minimal damage. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Sep 2010 21:07

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U.S.: Hurricane Earl weakening, but still has some punch

  • good Hurricane Earl is slowly but surely weakening as it moves up the East Coast this weekend.
  • bad The storm will still be a fairly powerful Category 2 as it hits North Carolina tonight. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Sep 2010 16:00

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U.S.: Three differences between today’s oil rig explosion and the BP spill

  • it’s not nearly as deep The Deepwater Horizon explosion took place in waters 5,000 feet deep. The rig that exploded today sits in a mere 340 feet of water, making it easier to repair.
  • everyone survived None of the workers were killed in today’s explosion, and they all floated to safety afterwards. In contrast, eleven workers died in the BP explosion.
  • it might be leak-freeAlthough a mile-wide sheen was spotted off the coast of Louisiana, there’s not yet any evidence that any new oil is actually leaking. *fingers crossed* source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

02 Sep 2010 11:57

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U.S.: ANOTHER Oil Rig blast off Louisiana – Twitter is freaking out yet again



Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Sep 2010 11:27

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U.S.: Hurricane Earl is a pretty massive storm. Here’s proof.

  • 166,000 the number of square miles Hurricane Earl covers
  • 160,000 the number of square miles California covers source
  • » It’s going to nail a lot of places: The Outer Banks of North Carolina will get hit first by the Category 4 storm, but there are watches and warnings as far up the coast as Maine, and it looks like it’s on a relatively direct path towards Massachusetts, which just filed a hurricane warning.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Sep 2010 10:31

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U.S.: WHOO: Illegal immigration dips by nearly 67 percent

  • 850,000 number of people who illegally entered the U.S. between 2000 and 2005 (which is huge)
  • 300,000 number of people who did the same thing between 2007 and 2009; this is a pretty big deal source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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