| One of the worst oil spills in history just happened and you didn't hear a thing about it That is because it happened in the Niger Delta, where about 300 spills a year have happened every year for the last half century or so as oil companies have acted with such impunity and recklessness that much of the region has been rendered uninhabitable. This is just a reminder that once the focus is off our troubles and the world's cameras have turned their lenses back to Paris Hilton and Sandra Bullock and Bombshell McGee, there are lots of worse troubles out there if anyone bothers to take five seconds to notice - and at the bottom of most of those fetid piles of debris and human suffering...you'll find a god-damned oil company.
Singapore slick reaches Malaysian waters Like we said, we are not alone in suffering the greed and rapaciousness of oil companies. "An oil slick that closed public beaches on Singapore's eastern coastline has been mostly contained but patches have drifted into Malaysian waters, officials said. ... "Efforts to contain and clean up the oil spill have been positive," the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said in its latest press release, issued Sunday evening. ... "As of this afternoon, no oil slick was reported in the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) off Changi East or within the anchorages of Singapore?s port waters," the MPA added. ... The spill came from the Malaysian-registered tanker MT Bunga Kelana 3, which was carrying nearly 62,000 tonnes of crude when it collided off Singapore Tuesday with the MV Waily, a bulk carrier registered in St Vincent and the Grenadines. ... About 2,500 tonnes of crude leaked from a gash in the double-hulled tanker but most of it was contained at sea, according to the MPA."
Spain's debt rating get's downgraded, putting pressure on Euro "The euro is expected to come under further pressure tomorrow as Spain's minority government teeters on the brink of collapse and traders fear contagion throughout the eurozone after a senior French minister admitted that his country's top-notch credit rating was under threat. ... Stock and debt markets are likely to take a battering after the decision on Friday by the ratings agency Fitch to strip Spain of its coveted AAA credit score, the second downgrade in a month."
Oregon judge may allow Canadian teenager to return to his family He has been in the custody of the Oregon foster care system since a policeman stopped him for riding a bike without a helmet two years ago. The boy has severe Attention Deficit Disorder and had difficulty answering questions, ended up in "the system" and two years have gone by while the family fights to get their child back because the Oregon authorities decided the note that the boy's stepfather had from his mother that it was okay for the two to be traveling together in the U.S. wasn't good enough.
Nearly 900,000 Californians are long-term unemployed "To a degree not seen in recent recessions, unemployment has become a drawn-out affair. ... About 6.7 million Americans have been unemployed for at least 27 weeks, including nearly 880,000 Californians. The ranks of the state's long-term unemployed more than doubled in the past year and now account for about 40 percent of all those out of work, according to the Employment Development Department."
Question: What kind of attorney asks a question in court that she doesn't know the answer to? Answer: A stupid one. Greta Van Susteren ran an opinion poll on her own intelligence, and lost. "Fox News host Greta Van Susteren was so upset by a recent viewer email calling her stupid that she put up an opinion poll asking followers to rate who's smarter -- Van Susteren or her detractor, "Brian." ... "Who is dumber?" the poll asks. "Greta? Or Brian for spending his time watching someone he thinks is dumb?" ... So far, Brian is winning. As of May 29, 78 percent of poll respondents agreed that Van Susteren is dumber than Brian."
Twenty years after the Rodney King beating, LA cops fail to grok that there are cameras out there capturing every move you make "The Los Angeles Police Department has launched an internal investigation after one of its officers was caught on camera apparently kicking a cyclist during a protest against oil giant BP on Friday. ... According to the Los Angeles Times, the incident took place on Hollywood Boulevard during a "Critical Mass" cycling event. Critical Masses -- which involve cyclists riding through the streets to call for cyclists' rights -- typically take place on the last Friday of every month. This particular event targeted BP for its role in the Gulf oil spill. ... Video of the incident, which was posted to YouTube, shows what appears to be a police officer stepping out and kicking at a passing bicycle."
First tropical storm of the season kills 44 in Central America "The death toll in Central America rose to 44 from landslides and flooding triggered by first tropical storm of the year, as authorities struggled on Sunday to clear roads of debris and reach cut-off communities. ... Torrential rains that pounded southern Mexico and Guatemala eased somewhat as rivers continued to rise and word filtered out from isolated areas of more deaths in landslides. ... Guatemalan disaster relief spokesman David de Leon said Sunday there have been 13 deaths and 24 people were missing - a figure that only counted deaths it could directly confirm. Local Guatemalan authorities and rescuers reported 27 additional deaths in numerous landslides across the country. Four other deaths were reported in El Salvador and Honduras."
Gaza relief flotilla sets sail, prepares to meet Israeli navy "Hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists, including a Nobel laureate and a Holocaust survivor, set sail Sunday for the Gaza Strip, edging closer to an expected naval showdown with Israeli gunships determined to stop them. ... Huwaida Arraf, one of the organizers, said the six-ship flotilla began the journey from international waters off the coast of Cyprus in the afternoon after two days of delays. She said they expected to reach Gaza, about 250 miles (400 kilometers) away, on Monday afternoon, and that two more ships would follow in "a second wave." ... The flotilla was "fully prepared for the different scenarios" that might arise, and organizers were hopeful that Israeli authorities would "do what's right" and not stop the convoy, she said. ... "We fully intend to go to Gaza regardless of any intimidation or threats of violence against us," she said. "They are going to have to forcefully stop us.""
Schumer wants details on outsourced call center jobs "In a bid to reduce outsourcing of U.S. jobs, a Democratic senator said on Sunday he will push legislation to make companies inform customers when their calls were being transferred outside the United States and charge companies for those transferred calls. ... "This bill will not only serve to maintain call center jobs currently in the United States, but also provide a reason for companies that have already outsourced jobs to bring them back," Senator Charles Schumer said in statement."
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