- BP is doing its best to run the “forget we contaminated the Gulf Coast with millions of gallons of oil and ruined the areas ecosystem for years to come” playbook and the company’s latest tactic is fingering a name familiar to Americans for something entirely different than a giant oil spill. The oil giant is alleging that the defense contractor with strong ties for former Vice President Dick Cheney "intentionally destroyed evidence" related to the explosion aboard an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico that led to the worst oil spill in U.S. history. BP filed a lawsuit Monday in federal court in New Orleans in an attempt to have sanctions imposed on Halliburton Energy Services Inc., which was a contractor for BP on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. The explosion on the rig on April 20, 2010 triggered the spill, killed 11 people working on the rig and injured 16 others. Ultimately, more than 200 million gallons of oil were dumped into the Gulf. In its filing, BP alleges Halliburton destroyed evidence on cement testing and violated court orders by not providing "inexplicably missing" computer modeling results. "Halliburton has steadfastly refused to provide these critical testing and modeling results in discovery. Halliburton's refusal has been unwavering, despite repeated BP discovery requests and a specific order from this Court," the documents state. "BP has now learned the reason for Halliburton's intransigence -- Halliburton destroyed the results of physical slurry testing, and it has, at best, lost the computer modeling outputs that showed no channeling. More egregious still, Halliburton intentionally destroyed the evidence related to its nonprivileged cement testing, in part because it wanted to eliminate any risk that this evidence would be used against it at trial.” Needless to say, them are fightin’ words……or words to step gingerly around for the time being. Halliburton declined comment and a company spokeswoman said the defense contractor was looking forward to defending itself in court. When the case does go to court, Halliburton will have to answer to charges that two of its employees testified to the evidence destruction of which the company is accused. The lawsuit is a continuation of BP’s lingering legal battles with its two contractors -- Halliburton and Transocean, which owned the Deepwater Horizon rig where the explosion occurred -- that have stretched over the past year. The final federal report on the spill placed partial blame for the spill on both contractors. The three companies "violated a number of federal offshore safety regulations," according to the report, written by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. BP is now attempting to piggyback the report’s findings and shift some of the blame for the disaster off its shoulders and on to Halliburton’s. Or we could continue blaming everyone involved and find them equally worthy of contempt, which certain seems like the best option……………
- Cam Newton has exceeded most expectations in his rookie season. The Carolina Panthers quarterback has stepped into the starting role from Day 1 and despite some rough patches, has led his team to twice as many wins through 12 games this season as they won all of last year. Newton has fueled the four wins for the team with 13 passing touchdowns and two 400-yard games, although he does have more interceptions than passing touchdowns. Yet his passing exploits tell only half the story - literally. On Sunday, Newton set an NFL record for quarterbacks with his 13th rushing touchdown in a 38-19 win at Tampa Bay. With as many rushing touchdowns as passing scores, the 6’5 Newton truly is a duel threat. However, he either wasn’t aware of his feat when he barreled in from one yard out or was too wrapped up in the moment to remember because after his NFL record-setting TD run, he ran across the end zone and handed 16-year-old Katie Brown the game ball. Brown took the ball happily and got to hold onto it for just a few minutes before Panthers assistant equipment manager Don Toner asked her to give the football up. The record-breaking ball was marked for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio because it was the one used to break Steve Grogan's 35-year-old record. Toner knew asking for the ball back might be tough, but Brown was extremely cooperative. "The funny thing is when Cam scored and started running over there, we're all yelling, 'Oh no, don't,' " Toner said. "It was like watching it happen in slow motion. It was painful." He grabbed one of the game balls from the ball boys and later took four hats from an equipment trunk on the sideline and exchanged them for the ball Newton handed Brown. . "I just asked her real nice, 'Would you mind exchanging that ball -- we kind of need it,' " Toner said. "And she was real sweet about it. She didn't hesitate. She was so excited, she was trembling. She was just giddy about what had just happened." Unlike baseball fans who catch record-setting home run balls and auction them off (nothing wrong with it if you catch it), Brown didn’t hesitate when asked to relinquish the prized pigskin. "I was like, 'OK, no problem,' " Brown said. "I honestly believe Cam deserves to have that ball because it was his record and his achievement. He should have it." Along with her bounty of Panthers swag from the game, the team also plans to send Brown something in the mail. As for the question of why Newton tossed her the ball out of all the fans within reach, her attire may have had something to do with it. She was attired a homemade black T-shirt she'd had made the night before that said "Katie and Cam" on the front and "Mrs. Newton" on the back, along with Newton's No. 1. She was able to attend the game only after her father secretly bought tickets and took her and the rest of their family as an early Christmas present. The tickets turned out to be the less significant part of the present in the end……………
- For anyone anxiously awaiting Microsoft's TV-centric Xbox update……wait a little longer. The update was supposed to have dropped early this week, but that time frame has been pushed back as detailed in a tweet sent out Tuesday morning by Larry Hyrb, of Microsoft's Xbox marketing team. "The timing for Xbox 360 dashboard update has been slightly delayed. I'll have a status update later today," Hyb tweeted. However, he did not specify how long that delay might be and Xbox fans aren't likely to remain patient after Microsoft kicked off the week with the announcement of "an all-new Xbox 360 experience" that will include apps from TV and entertainment companies. The rolling launch was supposed to commence Tuesday with offerings from sources including ESPN, Hulu Plus, Lovefilm (in the U.K.), Netflix, and Telefonica (in Spain). Those plans are now on hold, as are apps from the likes of Verizon Fios TV, Vudu, YouTube, Rogers On Demand Live, and Australias Ninemsn (later in December) and the BBC, HBO Go, CinemaNow, and MLB.TV (in early 2012). The list truly is impressive, as is the impending integration of Kinect voice control with Bing search. Voice searches are an interesting addition and could prove to be more than just a novelty once they finally launch. For those whose primary focus for their Xbox experience is still gaming, the gaming interface will also get an overhaul and they will also be able to take advantage of more advanced voice-recognition controls. However, the true importance of the update is Microsoft interjecting itself into the TV entertainment experience. By teaming up with 40 content providers from around the globe to significantly increase the amount of live and on-demand content available on Xbox, the company is clearly trying to grow beyond its terrible operating system for computers and become a more diversified conglomerate…………….
- Hmm…….smog-riddled air in China, you say? That is so exceptionally rare that you’re more likely to see a rainy day in Seattle or a hot day on the Serengeti, perhaps even snow at the top of Mt. Everest. Depending on whose story you believe, the tainted air choking the life out of Beijing beginning on Sunday and continuing into Tuesday was either smog or fog. Either way, thousands of travelers have been delayed since Sunday evening by the almost opaque air around Beijing Capital Airport. One of the world’s busiest airports has seen no flights in or out and the air quality has been so poor that even the highway to the airport had to be closed. Given that more than half of the world’s 20 most-polluted cities were in China when the 2008 Summer Olympics rolled around, a cynic might assume the revolting air was due to excessive smog. Not so, claim Chinese officials. Despite hundreds of flights being canceled and the extreme unlikelihood of fog lingering so completely for so long, officials insisted that the murk was fog, purely a weather phenomenon, with a smattering of “light pollution.” Those claims were quickly contradicted by the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, which has its own air monitor on the roof. Embassy officials reported Sunday night that the index of fine particulate matter had soared to 522 micrograms per cubic meter, which is insanely high given that a reading between 300 and 500 is considered hazardous. Beijing residents know the perils of polluted air all too well and in a short span of time, bought more than 20,000 face masks on Taobao, a shopping website. Others mocked the government via social media and networking sites, accusing the government of treating them like “idiots.” Air quality in the city briefly improved early in the day Tuesday before worsening again and causing the cancellation of delay of hundreds more flights. On some level, maybe the government deserves credit for keeping its head up its ass and sticking to its story that air quality is improving in Beijing and that 80 percent of the days meet its own standards of “blue sky days," meaning air that is at least acceptable. Holding firm to that kind of political bullsh*t takes some dedication. A report released Monday by an international environmental watchdog group claimed that in a recent study of over 500 cities around the world, the WHO [World Health Organization] found that urban areas in Mongolia, Madagascar, Kuwait and Mexico had the extremely pollution levels, but those levels measured were only about half as severe as Beijing. Local and national media have lamented the declining air quality, but the Communist Party is doing its best to remain in denial. Those efforts received a boost Friday when the Environmental Protection Bureau formally rejected a Beijing resident’s petition to publish data on fine particulate matter because it supposedly was not a criterion specified in the 1996 government guidelines for air quality. Happy breathing, Beijing…………
- "KHAAAAAAAAAAAN!" The name and that particular pronunciation of it are famous in the lore of dork-tastic sci-fi franchise “Star Trek” and the franchise’s most famous villain could soon make his big-screen return from exile. The Khan Noonien Singh character, best known simply as Khan, was made famous by Ricardo Montalban. Khan was the namesake for the 1982 "Wrath of Khan" but hasn’t been seen in the “Star Trek” galaxy for years. Rumors surfaced last week that Benicio del Toro would play Khan in the next "Star Trek" movie. Producer J.J. Abrams was queried about the possible return of Khan and dismissed the rumors as "not true." Other reports claimed del Toro was out of the film over contract issues, but his departure wouldn’t mean that a Khan revival was dead. The new film is a sequel to the 2009 revival of the franchise but unless it advances the storyline far into the future, the events of "Wrath of Khan" still will not have happened. An alternative could be featuring an early Khan, as he was seen in "Space Seed," the 1967 episode that introduced the character, and explain his exile that is a key part of his story. Abrams could always elect to remain patient and hold off on the return of Khan for now, introducing him in a later film. Better still, he could do both by introducing the young Khan now and picking up the "Wrath of Khan" events in a later film. The last of those options would likely placate the largest number of “Star Trek” fans, who obviously do not have much in their lives in terms of friends, significant others or general social interaction with non-Klingons. Hope this one works out well for you, “Star Trek” dorks…………..
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