President Barack Obama won't be in Louisiana to mark Deepwater Horizon explosion anniversary ~At right: US President Barrak Obama squats to take another dump on Louisiana. It was bad enough when he finally visited New Orleans to tell us what didn't flood the city, but he doesn't even have the balls to come here now to commemorate what did in fact poison the whole Gulf Coast. The man simply doesn't give a damn.
Emails expose BP's attempts to control research into impact of Gulf oil spill ~Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show BP officials discussing how to influence the work of scientists ~Editilla Archivellas~Ivor van Heerden, the Compromised Cassandra of the Gulf~Ben Sandmel, Politics Daily ~Many harsh critics of BP – including Leonard Bahr, a former Louisiana State University marine sciences faculty member and coastal policy adviser – vouch for Van Heerden without reservation, praising him as "well-respected." But other observers disagree, especially those with more of a fringe perspective. Last month the blogspot New Orleans Ladder commented"now that it appears that Ivor van Heerden is into the Jury-Tainting Business with BP, I sincerely hope that our readership may [serve on his jury] in his own case against LSU."(:?Fringe?Us?:) ~Editilla Fringellates~ A few more of my past "Fringe Perspectives":
~"We have a toybox in Hell where we keep those words for just this sort of liaises fairer scientry." ~"But! But! What Would Ivor Say? WWIS????" ~"OVERSTATED"??? I still can't get my mind around that. Ivor van Heerden... I just can't do the et tu Judas thing. But my sense of abject betrayal by someone I threw it all for is Nothing compared to the pain our coast will feel as a result of this bull shit. That is what really bothers me. The babies who will be born into this hell with defects, the grain belt stained by the blood of this black swan, our people with their 100 year stares. The Pelican, blinded by the gobs of oil that Van Heerden has said is only on "tens of miles" of coastline. The Devil is actually honest in the details. This is another Contract all together."
BP faces protests at AGM in London ~Oil giant BP faces a wave of protests at its annual general meeting on Thursday, which come just days before the first anniversary of the Gulf disaster.
More Cries for Help~American Zombie ~Last Saturday I spent the day at Dr. Michael Robichaux's farm in Raceland talking with well over 60 offshore workers, fisherman, and family members who are experiencing extreme health effects from the BP oil spill. Many of the workers who came into direct contact with the oil and the dispersant, Corexit, are experiencing similar health problems ranging from mild sypmptoms to life threatening conditions. It's not only the men who were out on the Gulf during the spill that are sick, family members are experiencing health problems as well. Even people who swam in the ocean are stricken.
Rapides Parish jurors reject proposal to display Ten Commandments ~Alexandria Town Talk General McChrystal's New Job: How Tone-Deaf Is This Administration? ~Harry Shearer~How tone-deaf do you have to be to appoint a man tainted by the cover-up of the friendly-fire death of a hero as head of an advisory panel helping service members' families? The juxtaposition almost seems like a bad joke. So what is it? Lack of institutional memory, or Google skills, in the White House? A desire to "look forward," the well-ingrained habit of the Obama administration to ignore misdeeds of the past (e.g. waterboarding, the Corps of Engineers' failure in New Orleans, etc.)? Or just an unlucky push-pin stabbed in a familiar name? Happy birthday, Eudora ~Gambit ~Update~The celebration of Southern author Eudora Welty's 102nd birthday has been canceled. The event was scheduled for noon to 2 p.m. tomorrow (Wednesday, April 13) at the Carousel Bar at the Hotel Monteleone.
Oil Spill Cleanup~Officials disagree about pace, effectiveness of efforts one year after millions of gallons of oil poured into Gulf.~The work is not living up to the $100 million advertising campaign BP is running about “make it right,” said Garrett Graves, “I think they’re trying to ‘make it right’ to shareholders.”
Locals air continuing worries on BP Oil Spill's health effects~Naomi King ~Paul Doom was one of several who gave their testimonies on the lawn of Dr. Mike Robichaux, a Raceland ear, nose and throat doctor who is seeing a trend of symptoms in his patients, especially those who have worked on or in the Gulf of Mexico since the spill a year ago. Of the more than 100 people at the gathering, about 20 to 25 people are suffering from suspected oil-related illnesses, according to Robichaux. Many more are sick but scared to speak out or seek medical help, he said. Doom, a 22-year-old from Navarre, Fla., once bound for the Marines, swam in the Gulf this summer and now has up to 15 seizures daily. He suffers vertigo and headaches and is confined to a wheelchair after suffering what doctors believe was a stroke. His mother, father and brother, who live 700 feet from the Gulf of Mexico, also have higher blood pressure, heart rates and levels of chemicals found in oil in their blood, said his mother, Kathryn Doom, an intensive-care nurse. They're all on detox herbs and medicines.“No one can tell me why I was paralyzed and why I have lesions on my brain,” Paul Doom said.
New Orleans Earth Day Festival 2011! ~Thanks to our friends at WORKagencies for making this beauty happen! If you don’t know about them, WORKagencies is a talented brother/sister design team from Lafayette who do it all (Web design, logos, CD packaging, etc.) with a style that’s fun, hip and celebrates South Louisiana. Be on the lookout for their New Orleans Earth Day Festival poster all across the city. And at the festival, be sure to check out the booth for their side project: Parish Ink.
Naomi Klein ~In recent years two things have happened. One, that battery wound up on the first Earth Day has finally wound down: congressmen, it turns out, can tell the difference between an aging membership list and a vibrant political movement. As the DC political bible Politico put it last month: "green groups are being forced to play defense in a world where D.C. pols aren't scared of them." Second, the key issue has changed. Forget acid rain and Superfund; these were important but relatively easy fights that didn't directly confront anyone's business model. You could clean up acid rain by putting a filter on your power plant. But global warming is different -- you'd have to shut down that power plant, and replace it with a windmill or a solar panel. Thomspon on Connick v. Thompson ~NOLA Defender New Orleans Saints' Jonathan Vilma staying focused on next season
~At right: US President Barrak Obama squats to take another dump on Louisiana. It was bad enough when he finally visited New Orleans to tell us what didn't flood the city, but he doesn't even have the balls to come here now to commemorate what did in fact poison the whole Gulf Coast. The man simply doesn't give a damn.
~Map of MRGO and the Bayou Terre aux Boeufs Ridge
~Careless Love~Joe Roberts/ Glenn Smith ~Hat Tweet @captainswallow
~Many harsh critics of BP – including Leonard Bahr, a former Louisiana State University marine sciences faculty member and coastal policy adviser – vouch for Van Heerden without reservation, praising him as "well-respected."
~Hat Tweet @ humidbeings~The best way to preserve New Orleans culture is to support the people who make the culture. ~ Kalamu ya Salaam #nola #culture
BP faces protests at AGM in London
~Hat Tweet @ johnmcquaid John McQuaid~Why there's no accountability with the Army Corps of Engineers, part LXVIII http://bit.ly/i3K0Ea
~Seafood, goat, alligator, crawfish and more Louisiana specialty foods are the guests of honor at Gulf Alive!, a series of seminars and food demonstrations at the French Market from April 18 – April 20.
Don’t go off the grid with second hospital ~Maggie Tishman and Jack Davis, The Lens
New Orleans Earth Day Festival 2011!
RT @Editilla the Pun~@theharryshearer #TheBigUneasy ~Brass Balls Tour http://bit.ly/gi7fCj
Naomi Klein
~If Editilla had to pick a favorite it would be this one.
