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I didn't see where anyone posted the link to the video, so I apologize if this is a duplicate. The clip is from a recording for C-Span's "Road to the White House 2008" program. The Indian community was pretty upset. The chairman of the Indian American Republican Council, who is himself a surgeon, responded with "It's amazing to know we don't all work at Dunkin Donuts or the local 7/11. The contributions to America by Indian Americans in the fields of medicine, education, science, and business have been well-documented." He was upset that Biden chose to ignore those contributions, and instead chose a degrading stereotype. It's been over two months, and this has gotten surprising little coverage in the media.

I couldn't believe they re-elected that joke of a mayor either... They didn't have much to chose from, and chose the known evil.

Also, while having a horrendous personal savings rate to begin with, it has gotten much worse. For the first time since the great depression, it is negative, has been for the last 5 quarters, and currently resides a -1.5%. Bureau of Economic Analysis - US Dept. of Commerce Business Week recently published one of the most irresponsible articles in its history trying to say that the savings rate is irrelevant, and that the picture changes when R&D and Education is considered. Almost every stat used in the article is made up, starting with the 2nd paragraph's that the savings rate is 0.8% on the plus side for the past year - that's hard to do when it has been negative for the last 5 quarters. Further, even if the made up stats were true, the picture would indeed change: our average savings rate would still be close to 1%, but still be skewed so that for most Americans it is negative. Too many Americans are living pay-day to pay-day, and most aren't even acheiving that. Some of that is undoubtedly people living beyond the means. But the income inequality is growing worse. The opportunities are now, more than ever, being offered to the already weathly (this is another thing the Business Week article ignores, in assuming every American is a home owner - and then it still mis-states the stats). As for the latest Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Estimates, which should be updated again in the very near future: NEWS CONFERENCE ON 2004 INCOME, POVERTY, AND HEALTH INSURANCE ESTIMATES FROM THE CURRENT POPULATION SURVEY Charles Nelson Assistant Division Chief, Housing and Household Economic Statistics August 30, 2005 Thank you, Jacque. http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/img/incpov04/fig02.jpg Good morning and thank you once again for attending today?s news conference. The Census Bureau?s main focus is to gather data, through surveys like the Current Population Survey and the American Community Survey, as accurately and as completely as possible. We do this to provide updated and current information about the population and economy, and to arm local officials with the knowledge they need to make important policy decisions. The Census Bureau leaves to others the task of interpreting the data and using it to improve their communities. The figures I am presenting today are the income, poverty, and health insurance coverage data from the Current Population Survey. Let me first summarize the main findings about income and poverty from the Current Population Survey report. figure 3 Median household money income in the nation in 2004 was $44,400, and was unchanged from 2003 in real terms. There were also no changes in the most commonly used measures of income inequality between 2003 and 2004. The median earnings of both men and women who worked full-time, year-round declined in 2004. The ratio of female-to-male earnings for full-time, year-round workers was 77 percent, an increase from 76 percent in 2003. figure 4 The official poverty rate for the nation rose from 12.5 percent in 2003 to 12.7 percent in 2004. The number in poverty increased also, by 1.1 million people, to 37.0 million in 2004. Finally, the poverty rate for children remained unchanged. Now let me provide some of the details. [urlhttp://www.census.gov/hhes/www/img/incpov04/fig05.jpg]figure 5[/url] This chart provides a time series perspective on median household income. As already noted, the 2004 median money income for all households was unchanged from the year before, at $44,400. This is the second consecutive year that households did not experience an annual change in real median income, after declining in real terms for two years (in 2001 and 2002). Since 1967, the first year household incomes were computed, median household income has risen 30 percent in real terms. figure 6 The number of people in poverty (37.0 million people) increased by 1.1 million in 2004, and the poverty rate rose from 12.5 percent to 12.7 percent. This is the fourth consecutive year in which the poverty rate has increased. Past experience tells us that it is not uncommon to have several years of rising poverty following a recession. As slide four shows, these increases led to a poverty rate in 2004 of 12.7 percent, or 1.4 percentage points higher than its recent low point of 11.3 percent in 2000. Since 1959, the first year poverty was measured by the Current Population Survey, the nation?s poverty rate has fallen by about 43 percent. figure 7 Now let?s take a look at the changes in real median household income by race and Hispanic origin between 2003 and 2004. Median household money income did not change in real terms for any of these groups in 2004. figure 8 Focusing on poverty rates by race and Hispanic origin, we see that [the only group to show an increase in its poverty rate in 2004 was non-Hispanic Whites, at 8.6 percent, up from 8.2 percent in 2003. Asians were the only group to show a decline in poverty, down 2 percentage points from 11.8 percent in 2003 to 9.8 percent in 2004. figure 9 Concentrating on differences between regions in the U.S. shows that median household income declined from the year before in only one region, the Midwest, where it fell 2.8 percent. This was also the only region to experience an increase in poverty, from 10.7 percent in 2003 to 11.6 percent in 2004. figure 10 Moving from poverty rates of all ages, I am now going to speak about poverty for various age groups. Child poverty stood at 17.8 percent in 2004, not different from the 2003 child poverty rate, but down from its most recent peak of 22.7 percent in 1993. Among the nation?s senior population, the poverty rate for those 65 and older declined from 10.2 percent in 2003 to 9.8 percent in 2004. The poverty rate for people 18 to 64 increased by .5 percentage points, from 10.8 to 11.3 percent. Income inequality can be measured in a number of ways. figure 11 According to the most widely used measure, the Gini index, household money income inequality did not change from 2003 to 2004. Another measure is based on the share of total income that each 20 percent of households received. None of the shares changed between 2003 and 2004. Over the last decade, however, the Gini index has increased, indicating a higher level of income inequality than in 1995. Also, the share of total income received by the highest 20 percent of households has increased, while the shares received by those in lowest 60 percent have declined. figure 12 Earnings are by far the biggest component of income. Median earnings for men who worked full time, all year, declined by 2.3 percent in real terms in 2004. The earnings of year-round, full-time women decreased 1.0 percent in 2004 from the year before, the second consecutive annual decline for women. Prior to 2003, women had not experienced an annual decline in real median earnings since 1995. As shown in this slide, the ratio of female-to-male earnings for full-time year-round workers was 77 percent in 2004, which is up from 76 percent in 2003. figure 13 Moving from the national level and based on a comparison of two-year moving averages for states, real median household income rose for six states and decreased for eight. Also using a comparison of two-year moving averages, the poverty rate rose in seven states and fell in three. One state ? Hawaii ? had an increase in income and a decline in poverty, while two states ? Kentucky and Missouri ? had both decreases in income and increases in poverty. Individuals also derive economic well-being from noncash benefits such as food stamps and employer contributions to health insurance, and have reductions in disposable income from taxes. The Census Bureau computes a number of other measures of income and poverty that attempt to account for those factors. Those estimates will be released later this year. Note that the report is being modified in response to comments to make it simpler and more focused, and it will show fewer alternative definitions of income than past reports. figure 14 Next I will summarize the main findings about health insurance coverage in the U.S. from the Current Population Survey report. The number of people with health insurance coverage rose by 2.0 million from 2003 to 2004. The number of people without health insurance coverage rose by 800,000 over that same period, from 45.0 million to 45.8 million people. The net result was that percentage of the nation?s population without health insurance did not change in 2004, remaining at 15.7 percent. The percentage of children not covered by health insurance also did not change, remaining at 11.2 percent. figure 15 By looking at this graph, one can see that the 12-year period from 1987 to 1998 is marked by years in which the uninsured rate either increased, or was unchanged from one year to the next. After peaking at 16.3 percent in 1998, the rate dropped for two years in a row to 14.2 percent in 2000. The uninsured rate increased for three years, from 2001 to 2003, before stabilizing at 15.7 percent in 2004. The stabilization in the overall coverage rate can be explained by an increase in government coverage (notably Medicaid and the State Children?s Health Insurance Program) that offset a decline in employment-based coverage. figure 16 As shown in this slide, employment-based health insurance coverage fell 0.6 percentage points between 2003 and 2004, while Medicaid and State Children?s Health Insurance Program coverage increased 0.5 percentage points. Also, the percentage of persons covered by military health care increased by .2 percentage points. figure 17 There was no change in the uninsured rates for Blacks and non-Hispanic Whites from the year before. However, the percentage of Asians without health insurance coverage decreased by 2.0 percentage points to 16.8 percent in 2004. Hispanics had the highest rate of people without health insurance in 2004 of any group shown here, 32.7 percent, which is unchanged from 2003. figure 18 Children in poverty had a higher uninsured rate than all children in 2004, 18.9 percent compared with 11.2 percent. Children 12 to 17 years old had a higher uninsured rate than those under 12, 12.5 percent compared with 10.5 percent. Also, Hispanic children, at 21.1 percent, had a higher uninsured rate than non-Hispanic White, Black, or Asian children. figure 19 Among states and based on a comparison of two-year averages, there were three states in which the uninsured rate declined and eight states in which the uninsured rate rose. That concludes my portion of the news conference. Now Jay Waite, associate director for decennial census, will discuss American Community Survey local data about income, poverty and earnings. US Census Bureau Oh, and for what it's worth, the administration's $290 billion deficit for the this year, as of Wednesday, was up to $571 billion. He's just $25 billion from a new record. Since it has gone up $59 billion in the first 23 days this month, we have a good chance at seeing a new record deficit. It looks like Bush is going to miss his target by over 100%.

I heard that Iran was testing some newly developed missles in wargames. Coincidentially, some Iranian missiles have landed in Iraq. I think I might feel more comfortable if the Iranian military was found to be involved. Iranian shells kill 2 in Kurdish villages in northern Iraq By Edward Wong and Yerevan Adham The New York Times Published: August 20, 2006 SULAIMANIYA, Iraq Artillery shells fired from Iran have landed in remote northern villages of Iraqi Kurdistan in the past four days and have killed at least two civilians and wounded four others, a senior Kurdish official said Saturday. Dozens of families have fled the region. The shells have been aimed at an area around Qandil Mountain, known as a base for militant Kurdish opposition groups seeking independence from Turkey and Iran, said the official, Mustafa Sayed Qadir, a senior member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, which governs the eastern half of Iraqi Kurdistan. "A lot of homes have been damaged and livestock killed," he said. A shepherd was wounded Saturday, and two women were among the three people wounded on previous days, he added. The government of Iraq is aware of the shelling, which has taken place occasionally in recent months, but has not taken an official position, he said. The president of Iraq, Jalal Talabani, is the head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. He has at times had a close relationship with Iran, especially when he sought Iranian support in the 1990's against rival Kurdish leaders and Saddam Hussein. But Mr. Talabani is also aware of the Iranian government's poor treatment of its Kurdish minority. Iranian officials could not be reached for comment Saturday evening. Iran and Turkey have sizeable Kurdish populations that live in mountainous areas bordering Iraqi Kurdistan. In recent weeks, the two countries have stepped up warnings to Kurdish militant groups, perhaps fearing that they might have enough of a haven in Iraqi Kurdistan to inject new vigor into independence movements in Iran and Turkey. Iraqi Kurdistan is autonomous from the rest of Iraq and is home to most of this country's five million Kurds. It is unclear what weaponry or troops Iran has amassed along its border with Iraqi Kurdistan. American officials have accused Iran of supporting Hezbollah in its recent battle against Israel. This month, the American ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, said Iran had been pushing small Shiite militias to step up attacks against the American-led forces in retaliation for Israel's assault on Lebanon. An American military spokesman said some Shiite militias had been training in Iran and had received weapons from individuals or groups in that country. However, the spokesman, Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, said the military had not found any evidence that the Iranian government was involved. In Baghdad on Saturday, thousands of Shiite pilgrims converged on a shrine in the northern part of the capital for an annual procession, walking a route secured by police officers as a citywide ban on driving emptied the streets in an effort to prevent sectarian attacks and panic. At least three Shiites were found dead in Baghdad, shot in the head, according to hospital officials. But the Interior Ministry could not confirm whether they were pilgrims. Elsewhere in Iraq, battles continued to rage. An American soldier died from wounds suffered during fighting in Anbar Province, the American military said in a statement. An Iraqi police patrol was ambushed by sniper fire in Mosul, killing a policeman and wounding another, the police said. In a series of gun battles in and around Baquba, at least six people were killed. A civilian died from stray gunfire after an attack on an Iraqi police checkpoint in a western suburb; nearby, gunmen killed two professors from Diyala University. International Herald Tribune

Any new news? Pretty much just a confirmation of the above ESPN article.

There is a report that Glavine is going to addressing the media today at 11:45. You can listen live on www.wfan.com.

Updated: Aug. 20, 2006, 3:23 AM ET Report: Unknown ailment could derail Mets' Glavine ESPN.com news services Tom Glavine's season could be in jeopardy. Glavine, 40, has experienced coldness in a finger on his pitching hand, and the New York Mets left-hander is scheduled to undergo medical tests next week in hopes of finding the cause, sources told the New York Daily News. Glavine, a 287-game winner, is scheduled to have a CT scan Monday and an angiogram on Wednesday, the newspaper reported. Doctors are unsure whether Glavine's problem is related to a blood clot or possibly a "knot" in an artery near his left shoulder. Agent Gregg Clifton confirmed Saturday that diagnostic tests are planned for next week, but he declined to elaborate. Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz would not acknowledge a medical issue. Doctors apparently have ruled out an aneurysm, the newspaper reported. Last year, Mets reliever Felix Heredia experienced coldness and numbness in his pitching hand and ultimately was diagnosed with an aneurysm in the shoulder, which ended his Mets career. Glavine (12-6, 3.92 ERA) hasn't been present in the clubhouse the last two days at Shea Stadium. The loss of Glavine would be a serious blow to the Mets, who already have Pedro Martinez on the disabled list for the second time this season. ESPN

In its mid-year budget review released July 11, the administration of President George W. Bush reduced its estimate for the fiscal 2006 budget deficit by 30 percent to $296 billion, down from the previous estimate of $423 billion. The deficit swelled to a record of almost $413 billion in fiscal 2004 and narrowed to $318.6 billion during fiscal 2005. The Bush administration is using the P.T. Barnum theory (actually Barnum never said :There's a sucker born every minute", but that's what Bush is taking us for) when it comes to the deficit. It's too bad that the government conveniently exempted itself from Sarbanes-Oxley. According to the Department of the Treasury: Debt as of Aug 9, 2006: $8,448,162,775,201.94 Debt as of Sep 31, 2005: 7,932,709,661,723.50 Fiscal 2006 Deficit to Date: $515,453,113,478.44 On July 11, the day of the announcement, the deficit was already sitting at $480.5 billion.

More evidence of BP creating this problem by cutting corners. BP 2004 Report Flagged Concern About Alaska Pipelines (Update1) Aug. 9 (Bloomberg) -- BP Plc was alerted by employees and contractors in a February 2004 survey that the now shut Alaskan pipeline network probably wasn't being adequately examined, according to a company report. ``If we find pipe that we know is rotten, they have to replace it,'' said an unidentified employee in a report posted on BP's Web site. ``My concern, however, is that they are not taking a look at every piece of pipe that they need to be'' examining. Prudhoe Bay, the largest oilfield in the U.S., is being closed after a pipeline that leaked four to five barrels of oil was shut down on Aug. 6, BP said two days ago. Crude climbed as high as $77.30 a barrel in New York as the London-based company said a full closure would curb supplies by 400,000 barrels of crude oil a day. The Alaska unit used the survey, prepared by research company McDowell Group Inc., ``to help formulate plans for future activities,'' Toby Odone, a London-based spokesman for BP, said today by telephone. BP, the world's third-largest oil company by market value, said today it has shut half of the field. Cost cuts created ``anxiety in the workforce, and that impacts safety,'' a contractor and supplier said in the report. ``Contractors, suppliers and the conservation community were concerned about BP's purported drive to support the highest standards, yet push for reduced costs in its operations,'' the report said. `Cutting Corners' The company ``has been cutting corners'' since around 1999, said Charles Hamel, a former oil broker, who today lobbies government regulators on behalf of Alaskan oil industry workers. BP ``shareholders were not well served by'' the oil producer's cost reductions, he said Aug. 7 in an interview. BP pared spending on a corrosion inhibitor in its Alaskan pipelines following the cost cuts, Hamel said, citing people, including BP employees, who he declined to identify. Wendy Silcock, a London-based spokeswoman for BP, today said she couldn't immediately comment on whether spending on the inhibitor fell from 1998 to 2000. BP plans to spend $71 million this year in Alaska on its corrosion monitoring, prevention and repair program, Odone said. That's 15 percent more than last year, he said. Owners of the Prudhoe Bay field, which accounts for 8 percent of U.S. output, include Exxon Mobil Corp., ConocoPhillips and Chevron Corp. `Below Standard' BP Chief Executive Officer John Browne already faces a grand jury probe for a March 2 Alaska spill and allegations of market manipulation in the U.S. propane industry. He's also been fined for a Texas refinery blast that killed 15 workers last year, and there's a separate grand jury investigation for that incident. BP, which gets 40 percent of its sales from the U.S., said last month it will boost spending there to improve safety and maintenance. BP's pipeline management practices have been inferior to other companies in the oil industry, a regulator said. ``The typical standard of care is far above what we saw from BP's maintenance practices over the past dozen years leading up to the 2 March spill,'' Thomas Barrett, administrator of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, said yesterday in an interview. Ronnie Chappell, a BP spokesman in Anchorage, wasn't immediately available to comment. Calls to the BP press office in London after normal business hours weren't answered. March Spill BP on March 3 said it shut some daily production at Prudhoe Bay after a leak in a pipeline spilled about 6,400 barrels of crude oil. Some major pipelines, including the 800-mile (1,287- kilometer) Trans-Alaska link, which carries oil from northern Alaska to shipping terminals farther south, are examined and cleaned about once every two weeks by mechanical tools known as pigs. The Prudhoe Bay pipelines feeding into the trunk aren't, according to Department of Transportation records. The department ``has not received a reasonable explanation why BP has not scraper-pigged these lines over an approximate 14- year period,'' Deputy Secretary Mario Cino said in a June letter to a Congressman. ``In our opinion, based on current information, this length of time does not represent sound management practices for internal corrosion control.'' The Prudhoe Bay pipelines hadn't ever been fully inspected with mechanical pigs until now, BP officials told analysts on a conference call yesterday. Ultrasound Testing Instead, BP had relied on ultrasonic testing of the links, which run above-ground across the tundra. That ultimately proved ineffective at detecting the extent of corrosion, executives including BP Alaska President Steve Marshall told analysts on the call. Refineries along the West Coast, particularly those in California and the Pacific Northwest, depend on Prudhoe Bay for crude supplies. Refiners including Valero Energy Corp. and Tesoro Corp. said they can meet near-term requirements for crude. The U.S. government has offered to release oil from its emergency stockpile if necessary. The nation has 688 million barrels in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve along the Gulf Coast. The U.S. consumes about 21 million barrels of oil a day Bloomberg Maybe if we let BP inspect our utility poles, and let FPL inspect the pipeline, things would be better.

It took me a while to go back and find it, but this corrosion leak is old news. BP just neglected the problem. Petroleum News | Vol. 11, No. 20 |Week of May 14, 2006 Providing coverage of Alaska and northern Canada's oil and gas industry BP: Learning from oil spill lessons Johnson, Beaudo explain what they think happened in Prudhoe Bay?s largest spill and what the company is learning from the incident Alan Bailey On March 2 a BP well pad operator discovered a leak in the transit line that delivers oil to the trans-Alaska pipeline from Gathering Center 2 in the western operating area of the giant Prudhoe Bay oil field on Alaska?s North Slope. The leak occurred in the transit line segment between GC-2 and the point where the production from Gathering Center 1 enters the line. BP launched an immediate response to what, with an estimated volume of around 200,000 gallons, proved to be the largest spill in the history of Prudhoe Bay. The cause of the leak became obvious within a few days of its discovery: internal corrosion had caused a one-quarter-inch hole in the bottom of the transit pipeline. The hole had formed in a section of line buried under what is termed a caribou crossing, a culvert designed to allow animals to cross over a pipeline as opposed to going under an elevated pipeline. The winter snow covered the leaking oil, so the spill remained undetected, probably for several days. It was odor ? the smell of oil ? that ultimately exposed the leak to a worker. Cleanup of the spill site has now been completed, according to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. To date BP has spent $8 million responding to the incident, Daren Beaudo, spokesman for BP in Alaska, said in a recent interview with Petroleum News. Beaudo and Maureen Johnson, BP senior vice president for Greater Prudhoe Bay, talked to Petroleum News about how the leak developed and BP?s actions to prevent a similar problem in the future. Microbiological corrosion All indications are that the corrosion that caused the hole in the transit line was biological in origin, caused by sulfate reducing bacteria inside the pipeline, Johnson said. ?The evidence has mounted that that is true,? she said. ?We?ve scanned what the (corrosion) pits look like in the bottom of the pipe.? Also the way in which the corrosion in the pipeline accelerated over time is characteristic of the way in which microbiological corrosion develops, as the bacteria grow and multiply. The bacteria form in water, so that problems associated with microbiological corrosion tend to be associated with water carrying pipelines, such as the lines that are used for waterflood operations. In fact, BP treats its water injection lines at Prudhoe Bay with anticorrosion chemicals and runs maintenance pigs down the lines at frequencies ranging from weekly to monthly (a maintenance pig is a device that passes through the inside of a pipeline, scraping and cleaning the inside walls of the pipeline). The company pigged its Prudhoe Bay pipelines more than 350 times in 2005, Johnson said. Transit lines less corrosion prone BP has viewed oil carrying transit lines, such as the line from GC-2 that developed a leak, as much less susceptible to corrosion than a water bearing line. But the company has regularly monitored the Prudhoe Bay oil transit lines for internal corrosion using two techniques: ultrasonic testing and the use of corrosion coupons. Ultrasonic testing involves the use of an ultrasonic device to measure the thickness of the pipeline wall ? a thinning of the wall indicates the presence of corrosion. A corrosion coupon is a small metal plate placed inside the pipeline and inspected for corrosion every 90 days. ?We had 29 years of history that said these systems were not a great concern,? Johnson said. ?All of those things told us ?not a big worry here?.? In addition to the program of frequent inspections, BP runs what is known as a smart pig down each transit line every few years ? a smart pig contains instruments that can measure and test the condition of the pipeline, including the detection of corrosion damage. The company ran a smart pig through the GC-2 transit line in 1990 and again in 1998. According BP?s incident investigation report for the transit line oil spill, the 1990 pig run ?noted nothing of significance? and the 1998 pig run ?showed moderate internal and external corrosion?. The evidence for corrosion in 1998 was confirmed by ultrasonic testing ? BP subsequently used the ultrasonic testing to monitor any continuing development of corrosion in the line. However the BP report says that the corrosion detected in 1998 was ?well within the BPXA ?fit for service? criterion? and that the subsequent ultrasonic testing up to 2004 indicated that ?corrosion was not highly active during this period.? It was only in an inspection in September and October of 2005, that evidence of increasing corrosion activity started to appear. The increasing amount of corrosion found in the fall of 2005 caused BP to step up the inspection program on the pipeline ? the company increased the number of inspection points, increased the frequency of inspections at some points and scheduled a smart pig inspection for the summer of 2006, according to the BP report. However, an inspection of the line after the March 2006 leak showed evidence of high rates of corrosion, even in place that had been free of corrosion in the fall 2005 inspection. Clearly, there had been an exponential growth of corrosion, culminating in the hole that caused the oil spill. ?Whether it (the exponential corrosion growth) was over six months or 12 months or 18 months, that becomes a little bit more of a judgment call, but it was pretty recent,? Johnson said. And because the rate of corrosion accelerated so rapidly, more frequent smart pigging would probably not have detected the problem unless, perhaps, the pigging had been done in the summer of 2005, Johnson said. Two factors So why did the corrosion accelerate so rapidly? No one knows for sure. But the BP investigation report theorizes two main factors that came together at the same time. The first factor relates to corrosion inhibitors. BP adds about 3 million gallons per year of these inhibitors to Prudhoe Bay production fluids; the fluids carry the inhibitors into production facilities such as GC-2. ?We have been injecting something like 3 million gallons of corrosion inhibitor a year ? And it?s going up every year as the amount of water we handle goes up,? Johnson said. But the corrosion inhibitors appear to have been present in relatively low concentrations in the GC-2 production facilities, when compared with the other Prudhoe Bay facilities. It is, therefore, likely that the fluids passing down the GC-2 transit line from GC-2 contained only small amounts of the inhibitors, thus providing opportunities for corrosion-causing bacteria to grow. The corrosion inhibitor shortfall may have occurred because GC-2 is the only facility at Prudhoe Bay that processes viscous oil. The viscous oil production introduces more solids into the processing facilities than traditional production and BP thinks that these additional solids may have adsorbed some of the inhibitor. The second possible factor was the relatively low flow rate in the GC-2 transit line, upstream of GC-1. With Prudhoe Bay production in decline, the transit line was carrying much smaller volumes of oil than the line was designed to handle ? the resulting sluggish flow may have enabled an increased build up of water in the line and provided an environment conducive to the incubation of bacteria. There was much less corrosion downstream from GC-1, where the addition of the fluids from GC-1 would have increased flow rates in the line. ?Downstream from GC-1 we don?t see real high corrosion,? Johnson said. There was also a build up of solids in the GC-2 transit line over a period of several years, as sediment carried by the fluids from the GC-2 processing facilities settled in the pipeline. Although it is not possible to discount the possibility that these solids contributed to the corrosion, it is unlikely that the solids were a significant factor, Johnson said. Johnson pointed out that there are about two inches of solids in the bottom of the east transit line, but that line does not appear to be corroding. Also the BP incident investigation report says ?under-deposit corrosion is usually a longer term corrosion issue and by itself would not be expected to suddenly increase and produce the (corrosion) rates observed.? Leak detection system In the wake of the transit line leak there has been much discussion about the line?s leak detection system. The leak detection system measures the volumes of fluid entering each pipeline segment and the volumes of fluid leaving each segment. The system triggers an alarm if the volume measurements don?t match up. So why did the system not detect a leak of the magnitude of the transit line oil spill? In fact the leak detection alarm did sound four times during the week before the spill was discovered, although the alarm did not go off during the two days prior to the discovery. Both before and after the discovery of the leak BP interpreted the leak detection alarms as false alarms, Johnson said. ?It was a false alarm,? Johnson said. ?What we thought then and what we think now ? is that that was a process upset.? Beaudo explained that a process upset consists of a sudden change in fluid flow, rather like the situation when you turn on a garden hose. The sudden pressure change in the system causes false readings in the metering at the ends of a pipeline segment. However, although a process upset can cause an apparent loss of fluid in one segment of the pipeline, the fluctuation in flow causes an equal and opposite volume discrepancy in the next pipeline segment. The resulting volume loss in one segment balanced by a mirror image volume gain in the next segment is exactly what was observed when the false alarms sounded in the GC-2 transit line. Johnson said that the GC-2 facility also confirmed that process upsets had occurred. In fact none of the investigators of the oil spill incident were able to find any evidence of the pipeline leak when they examined the data from the leak detection system, Johnson said. ?We?ve looked at our leak detection data and even in hindsight we cannot tell when the leak started,? she said. It now seems clear that the leak occurred slowly over an extended period of time. As a result, the leak rate was below the regulated and practical threshold of the leak detection system, Beaudo said. Beaudo also said that BP is now investigating the potential for developing a more sensitive leak detection system. Next actions As part of its reaction to the Prudhoe Bay oil spill and in response to corrective actions required by the U.S. Department of Transportation, BP has started taking a series of steps to ensure that another pipeline leak does not occur. The company has done 2,000 inspections of oil transit lines at Prudhoe Bay since the leak, Johnson said. ?We?ve looked at all of the oil transit lines ? none other has the same combination of factors ? bacteria in the facility, low flow rate and low corrosion inhibitor carry over,? Johnson said. But BP has committed to ratchet up its corrosion prevention program by running maintenance pigs through its oil transit pipelines at regular intervals, by increasing the frequency of smart pigging and by injecting corrosion inhibitors into the lines ? in effect the company will apply similar corrosion prevention measures to its oil transit lines as it already applies to its water systems. ?Going forward we?ll pig out oil transit lines on a regular basis and we?ll look at our pigging practices on all of our pipelines and say ?Does this make sense??? Johnson said. BP is also continuing with a $17 million upgrade to GC-2, to improve the handling of solids from viscous oil production, Beaudo said. BP is also now using infrared heat detectors to improve leak detection on its pipelines. ?We have already initiated weekly overflights with infrared,? Johnson said, adding that the company has ordered handheld infrared detectors for security people to use on the ground. But the company has yet to determine what to do about the segment of the GC-2 transit line where the leak occurred ? the pipeline segment remains shutdown, with GC-2 production partially restored through a bypass line. ?We aren?t clear at this point whether we?re gong to be able to patch it up well enough to be able to smart pig the whole thing ? or whether it will be permanently out of service,? Johnson said. BP has committed not to put the line back into service until the company, the DOT and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation are all confident that oil can safely flow through it, she said. Pigging issues DOT has served BP with corrective actions requiring maintenance pigging on the transit lines. DOT also requires smart pigging within three months, Beaudo said. DOT has granted an extension of the period within which BP has to do the maintenance pigging because of some practical problems in carrying out the pigging. BP plans to do the smart pigging within the DOT?s specified time frame. However, the smart pig run will require clearing of the lines of solids using the maintenance pigs. So, depending on when it is possible to do the maintenance pigging, the company may also have to apply for a time extension for the smart pigging. ?There?s been a lot of good, steady, regular dialogue between our people and DOT ? we?ve had some very constructive conversations,? Beaudo said, adding that BP remains in compliance with DOT orders and that DOT agrees with BP?s plan of action. The problems with the maintenance pigging result from the quantities of solids currently lying in the transit lines ? BP will have to remove the solids in stages, using a series of increasingly aggressive pigs. And there are no separator facilities between the transit lines and the trans-Alaska pipeline. Consequently, the sudden removal of a large quantity of solid material from the lines would result in an abnormally large quantity of solids suddenly flushing into the trans-Alaska pipeline. BP is working with Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., the trans-Alaska pipeline operator, to assess the risks involved in moving the solids and to plan a course of action. One solution might be to install separator tanks to remove the solids before they enter the Alyeska facilities. All of this takes time. ?I?d rather take the criticism on taking longer, and do it right, and that?s what we?re doing,? Johnson said. Future strategies Johnson went on to talk about BP?s longer term strategy for the maintenance of its pipelines on the North Slope. With the potential for the export of natural gas from the North Slope, the company is talking about a 50-year future in Alaska, she said. Senior company management is encouraging people to think about the technologies, equipment and people that will be needed over that time frame. And Johnson likened the Prudhoe Bay field to a Cadillac that is 29 years old and has 120,000 miles on the clock. ?We can drive it some more, safely,? she said. ?If we?re going to go another 200,000 miles, another 50 years from where we are now, then we need to think about not only the car but the people driving it.? In the past year the company has embarked on a program of hiring and training people in appreciable numbers, she said. ?We?ve also been on this journey, looking at the kit, the facilities themselves,? Johnson said. And when it comes to pipelines the company?s long-term strategy translates to doing things in a bigger broader way, although the company has yet to work out the specifics of what this means, Johnson said. ?You can count on us to not only do the reactive things we?ve done already ? the inspections, the additional inhibitor, maintenance things, the smart pigging, the solids removal,? Johnson said. ?? (But) the response will be bigger and more connected than that.? And thoughts about the transit line spill, a month after the spill was discovered? Johnson said that her feelings about the incident go much deeper than just regret, sadness or disappointment. ?We know that a spill of that size is completely unacceptable. If I could find the best way of apologizing to the people of Alaska, so they get how we feel, that?s what I?d do,? Johnson said. ?A spill of that magnitude just doesn?t fit BP?s values as a company.? Petroleum News In short, BP went cheap and let the problem acerbate. It is readily apparent that it neither added the corrosion inhibitor and also did not perform the maintenance pigging (a maintenance-pig is a top-shaped device that is sent down the pipeline that mechanically cleans the line). For the DOT to grant an extension for the smart pigging because of BP's lack of maintenance pigging is unconscionable. BP's attitude that the leak detection system reported false alarms when a fresh leak was discovered is also inexcusable. If our fire alarms goes off, our house burns down, and Brinks defense for not reporting it is that is was a false alarm, I'm gonna win millions. As for the comment about the slow leak, "slow" means a couple of days as noted earlier in the article. The leak in question spilled 267,000 gallons. By comparision, when some idiot shot a hole in the pipeline a few years ago, it spilled 285,000 gallons in 3 days. But the pipeline isn't the only problem. BP also has a serious problem with the wells themselves leaking. BP has built a new section of pipeline to bypass the damaged section, which still contains 17,000 barrels of oil that it plans to drain in late August. Earlier this week, BP said it would shut 12 oil wells on Alaska's North Slope as a precaution after whistleblowers alleged more than 50 were leaking. Most of the shuttered wells were in Prudhoe Bay. The shutdowns come a month after BP confirmed it had received a subpoena from a U.S. grand jury investigating the March oil spill. Seattle Post-Intelligencer July 28, 2006

US slams Russian companies over Iran By Stephanie Kirchgaessner and Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington Published: August 5 2006 00:02 | Last updated: August 5 2006 00:58 US relations with Russia hit another obstacle on Friday when the State Department imposed sanctions on two Russian companies ? one of which has close connections with President Vladimir Putin ? for selling arms to Iran. The move angered the Russian government. The State Department imposed the sanctions on the two companies, as well as two Indian firms, two North Korean companies and a Cuban group, because it said they were exporting material that could contribute to the development of weapons of mass destruction by Iran or a cruise or ballistic missile system. In imposing sanctions the State Department is hitting at a close friend of Mr Putin. Sergei Chemezov, who heads Rosoboronexport, served as a KGB officer with the Russian president in East Germany in the 1980s and has boasted that their relationship helped his company ?get a lot of issues resolved fast?. The Russian foreign ministry said the move was an ?illegitimate attempt to make foreign companies work by internal American rules? and that the US was punishing its own companies by making it impossible for them to co-operate with leading Russian corporations. ?These sanctions, which the US unilaterally imposes on other countries and their organisations, are an obvious political and legal anachronism,? the ministry said. The embargo could create problems for US companies such as Boeing, which is working with Sukhoi in Russia and is a large customer of VSMPO-Avisma, a Russian titanium company, which has been targeted for a takeover by Rosoboronexport. The seven companies identified by the State Department will be barred from business with the US government and denied new export licences for two years. The Kremlin?s appetite for arms sales with countries that ?compromise the political and economic independence and territorial integrity of other states? was raised by the Pentagon earlier this year. Donald Rumsfeld, defence secretary, has also said he was concerned Russia was supplying arms to Iran and Syria. Washington?s unease was exacerbated last month when Moscow sealed a deal to sell fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters to Venezuela. The latest development heightened concerns of European companies that do business with Iran, according to attorney Judith Lee of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, who said the sanctions were a ?provocative act?. ?The US is cutting off these companies from the US market because they are doing something that is legal in their own countries,? she said. Financial Times

Congressional pay raises are part of the General Schedule for all federal GS employees. Technically, they don't vote for the raises, as allowed for in the Constitution. Instead, by inserting their raises into the GS schedule, the raises are automatic unless Congress passes a bill prohibiting them. This way, Congress gets an "unwanted surprise" every year because they conveniently have more important matters than passing legislation to prohibit their raises.

If the reserve estimates of 16 billion barrels is correct, and if we stayed at our current consumption level of roughly 20.6 million barrels/day, it would provide the equivalent of a little over 2 years worth of oil. But, since most of our refineries can only handle lightsweet crude, and ANWR production would be (primarily) heavy crude, it will most likely only support our oil exports. Further, it would have little, if any, impact on the global price for oil. We could export it for refining, and then import the refined products. It that happened, though, in a strange paradox, oil production from ANWR would then result in a net import/export trade deficit (which would strengthen the $US, which would lower our cost of oil, etc in the tangled web of a global economy) Better yet, the oil companies could spend about $7 billion over 5 years and build a new refinery just to process the ANWR oil. At current prices, the $7 billion refinery would be about 6/10 of 1% of the value of the estimated crude reserves. However, the refined value of the reserves would nearly triple to $2.4 trillion dollars. At todays prices, and the oil companies overall profit margin of 8.2%, that would be about $197 billion in profits over the life of the ANWR reserves, and generate close to twice that amount in taxes. Without a refinery, all ANWR will do for the US is little more than reduce our trade deficit.

With several thousand children in the stands for the 1:05 p.m. start on Camp Day, announced attendance was 25,546, although the actual crowd was about half that. AP / Palm Beach Post

It's true, but we need more summer camps. "Decent crowd today: Two teams with losing records at Dolphin Stadium on a weekday afternoon might sound like a formula for a record-low crowd. But the Marlins are expecting at least 20,000 fans today when they host the Nationals at 1:05 p.m. At least 10,000 will be kids who are participating in a summer camp promotion. Palm Beach Post Still, even with 10,000 summer campers, 15,000 on a Wednesday afternoon, against a last place team, no big names on the the mound, isn't too bad.

Make that 1 empty spot in the Nats BP. Roy Corcoran filled the other. Vidro, Guillen, or Soriano won't be Nats much longer.

im thinking the Nats will now be moving Soriano And they have 2 spots open in the pen.

I've been hearing some talk of the Democrats coming up with something modeled after the Republicans 1994 Contract with America. Supposedly this proclamation is to be announced mid-September and includes: Part 1. Crack Down on Corruption Part 2. Make America Safe (this sounds like is only concerns FEMA reform) Part 3. Unleash New Energy for America Part 4. Rebuild America First (infrastructure and tax reform to grow our manufacturing sector) Part 5. Make Work Pay (minimum wage increase, empowering unions) Part 6. Make Healthcare Affordable for All (universal health care) Part 7. Protect Retirement Security (enlarge social security, government control of all pensions) Part 8. Keep the Promise of Opportunity (grants for college and technical tuitions) Part 9. Refocus on Real Security for America (set a deadline for the withdrawal from Iraq) Pelosi's "New Direction for America", which she that she rushed out last month to the chagrin of much of her party membership, was based on these plans. Part 1. Make Health Care More Affordable (fix prescription drug program) Part 2. Lower Gas Prices and Achieve Energy Independence Part 3. Help Working Families (increase minimum wage; bring jobs back to the US) Part 4. Cut College Costs (tuition deductible, more grants, lower interest rates on loans) Part 5. Ensure Dignified Retirement (no privatization of soc. sec., but give private savings incentives) Part 6. Require Fiscal Responsibility While no solutions are provided, at least it defines some issues (some with much less merit than others) and, hopefully, opens some debate. While I don't agree with some of the ideas, at least they are more worthy issues than the flag burning admendment.

You and I both know tax evasion is not at issue here, nor will it result in anything more than heavy fines. There is a huge paper trail of bank records, real estate records, and sports memorabilia sales/activity that can substantiate the tax evasion and money laundering charges. These charges are the easiest to prove, and if there is willful intent, the least likely to afford a plea that does not include jail time. The willful intent would evidenced by structuring the transactions to be under $10,000 so as not to trigger an alert (which is also considered money laundering), and not disclosing the income on his returns. As for his returns, none of us know a thing about them. Did I ever deny that? Go ahead and re-read the article...mmmkay? Money laundering and tax fraud is hardly the impetus for the investigation, or the focus of the article...unless you write forged documents in flaxseed oil. The money laundering and tax evasion charges are much more serious crimes, with more severe penalties, than the perjury charges. While maybe not the focus of this particular article on the potential indictment, they are a more serious focus of the investigation. When the IRS Criminal Invesigation Special Agents, get invovled, as they are in this case, the investigated party has better than a 90% chance of going to jail.

He's innocent until proven guilty, I think many would be served well to remember that. Actually, he's presumed innocent until proven guilty. The presumption of innocence may or may not equal innocence. While legally entitled to the presumption of innocence, that does not necessarily mean he is innocent.

You and I both know tax evasion is not at issue here, nor will it result in anything more than heavy fines. There is a huge paper trail of bank records, real estate records, and sports memorabilia sales/activity that can substantiate the tax evasion and money laundering charges. These charges are the easiest to prove, and if there is willful intent, the least likely to afford a plea that does not include jail time. The willful intent would evidenced by structuring the transactions to be under $10,000 so as not to trigger an alert (which is also considered money laundering), and not disclosing the income on his returns. As for his returns, none of us know a thing about them.

Why does everyone seem to miss the "physical" part of Girardi's tirade?? Maybe because it was barely physical?

Didn't McKeon give Mota a very animated chewing out last year?

this is the epitome(sp?) of a team loss At least somebody got it right.

A five tool player: Does not hit .216 Does not have a .347 SLG Does not get CS 50% of the time, and does not picked off a few other times on base Does not continuously throw the ball to the wrong base Does not necessarily have the 6th tool - a brain