Friday, July 09, 2010

Reality sucks

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, you made me cry. I'm crying, and I need to blow my nose, and there is nothing to blow it with.

This is so sad. This is just terrible. I don't even know where to put my face.

I hope that man has a beautiful wife who will kiss him and hold him as they go through this terrible thing together.

Mantan Calaveras said...

It's not just a Louisiana problem, or a gulf coast problem.

http://www.helium.com/items/1882339-doomsday-how-bp-gulf-disaster-may-have-triggered-a-world-killing-event

Welcome to the end of days,

Jason Brad Berry said...

I read that article, it's bullshit. That guy is a financial writer and self professed "creative writer". He's trying to stir panic and market unrest.

The whole theory that a natural gas bubble once caused an extinction is highly speculative with very little proof. It is most likely untrue.

That story is just the pinnacle of apocalyptic fear mongering.

The reality that is occurring is bad enough. We may see mass extinction, but it will be sea life not human. That's not to say it won't affect human health, but the Gulf is not going to blow up and send a massive Tsunami on shore that wipes out the entire coastline.

Mantan Calaveras said...

Well, I certainly hope that yer right

Anonymous said...

http://www.drroyspencer.com/2010/06/evidence-of-elevated-sea-surface-temperatures-under-the-bp-oil-slick/

As summer approaches, sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the Gulf of Mexico increase in response to increased solar insolation (intensity of sunlight). Limiting the SST increase is evaporation, which increases nonlinearly with SST and approximately linearly with increased wind speed. It is important to realize that the primary heat loss mechanism by far for water bodies is evaporation.

-I don't know what half that stuff means, but I would guess it means "Shit's getting hotter and that's not good."

Anonymous said...

Have you seen Frederika Randall's article on Italy's Burlusconi on The Nation 's site?

It is good reading for anyone who lives in a place full of declared emergencies.

And sweet Jesus, the Vatican. Corrupt beyond the point of putrification... question: zombie dream food, or too disgusting even for zombies? Inquiring minds want to know.

Back to the article mentioned earlier: wrong it may be, but it sure was scary.

Is the stuff about the levels of benzene in New Orleans true?

That factoid all by itself had me more concerned than the other disaster porn fantasies mentioned.

While we're at it: Hey Zombie, any thoughts about Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas's epileptic nephew being tasered in a hospital in Jefferson Parish?

GentillyGirl said...

There is no level in Hell for those who are responsible for this. And many don't work for BP.

Anonymous said...

Find the old guest lists for DC Mardi Gras, check out which state political types and lobbyists attended, and you've got a good beginning for your Hell list.

On a related note:

BP funded, and maybe still funds (for now), a lot of great art things in Britain, including the Tate Gallery, and grants that provide substantial support for talented individual artists.

That support must make a big, big difference in the lives and careers of those artists, and the support for the galleries and competitions gives BP a real role in shaping the aesthetic culture of Britain.

These are good things, in my opinion.

It really bothers me when people whose economic success rests on a foundation of cutting corners, ignoring the rules, conflict of interest and inside baseball, fraud, illegality, and neglect for the common good will then launder their reputations the way the Mafia launders money.

Have you observed how often people who make their primary living doing wicked, evil, exploitative things will then use their ill gotten gains to fund charitable projects?

If they don't do it with money, they will use the free time they have (thanks to the wealth they cut corners to acquire) to sit on charitable boards, or to develop their talents through hobbies, which also increases their "social capital" by extending their networks.

Then people praise them for these good works, and act as if an "on the one hand/ on the other hand" evaluation of their actions is appropriate.

I end up with emotional whiplash.

In the city where I grew up, a powerful man who regularly beat his wife half to death (I was friends with their son, and as a kid, I saw this man hit her) gave so much money to the local hospital they named a wing after his mother.

I had to stay in that hospital wing once, and it was very nice. The staff all seemed happy to be working in such a nice place.

Do you all know the sick, complicit feeling I'm talking about?

Has it made you, too, stay away from fun social events or good causes because of who else you know is going to be there, or what group is providing the funding?

I really feel for the fisherman who are taking work with BP to get by. It rubs salt in the wound that they are not being paid promptly, and that attempts to force them to sign all sorts of shitty releases were made.

Anonymous said...

The "islands" made in the Gulf to protect Louisiana's sensitive marshland are already failing \

http://news.discovery.com/earth/gulfs-artificial-islands-already-failing.html#mkcpgn=rssnws1


Jindal WASTED OUR TAX dollars on Grandstanding and Bullshit!

WTF? WTF? Listen to the experts and the scientists next time!!!

Anonymous said...

Delicious British Pride Louisiana Oysters

For A Dining Experience Like None Other

Marinated in 100% Louisiana Crude, With A Touch Of Chemical Disperant To Bring Out Their Subtle Flavors Just As Nature Intended

Unspeakable Taste - Eat One And You Man Never Speak Again

Self-Cooking. Put In A Pan And Toss In A Match

Or Eat Them Raw, Like The Louisiana Walruses Do

These Oysters Just Scream "Bite Me"

Coming To A Gas Station Near You

In Pints, Quarts, And For Those Special Occasions - Barrels

BP - Changing Your Life As You Know It - Like It Or Not... Forever

Anonymous said...

Another one for the "BP sucks" file: al jazeera english has a story about BP's potential involvement in a shady deal connected to the Lockerbie bombing.

BP used to be the Anglo-Persian oil company. Remembering that lets you look up all sorts of interesting things.