The company that owns the now-infamous Deepwater Horizon, the oil rig that caused immeasurable damage to the Gulf, recently applauded itself for the "best year in safety performance in our Company's history." The company, Transocean Ltd., rewarded its executives millions in bonuses for the achievement, according to the annual report it released yesterday.
Steven L. Newman, Transocean's president and CEO, awarded himself $4.3 million in cash bonuses, stocks and options.
Transocean hails ‘best year’ in safety, gives execs bonuses, despite Gulf spill
How a big US bank laundered billions from Mexico's murderous drug gangs
On 10 April 2006, a DC-9 jet landed in the port city of Ciudad del Carmen, on the Gulf of Mexico, as the sun was setting. Mexican soldiers, waiting to intercept it, found 128 cases packed with 5.7 tons of cocaine, valued at $100m. But something else – more important and far-reaching – was discovered in the paper trail behind the purchase of the plane by the Sinaloa narco-trafficking cartel.
During a 22-month investigation by agents from the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service and others, it emerged that the cocaine smugglers had bought the plane with money they had laundered through one of the biggest banks in the United States: Wachovia, now part of the giant Wells Fargo.
Pfizer, Lilly Antidepressants Linked to Narrowed Arteries in Older Men
Antidepressants may narrow the arteries of middle-aged men, potentially putting them at risk for heart attacks and stroke, researchers said.
A study involving 513 male twins, with an average age of 55, found those who took medications like Forest Laboratories Inc. (FRX)’s Lexapro, Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY)’s Cymbalta or Pfizer Inc. (PFE)’s Zoloft had thicker blood vessel walls. The increase, a measure of fatty-plaque buildup linked to atherosclerosis, was seen regardless of what type of antidepressant the men were taking.
Transocean gives safety bonuses despite Gulf deaths
Transocean Ltd. gave its top executives bonuses for achieving the “best year in safety performance in our company’s history” — despite the explosion of its oil rig that killed 11 people and spilled 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
The company said in a regulatory filing that its most senior managers were given two thirds of their total possible safety bonus.
Sites hit in massive web attack
Hundreds of thousands of websites appear to have been compromised by a massive cyber attack. The hi-tech criminals used a well-known attack vector that exploits security loopholes on other sites to insert a link to their website.
Those visiting the criminals' webpage were told that their machines were infected with many different viruses. Swift action by security researchers has managed to get the sites offering the sham software shut down.
Montana Rep. Says DUI Laws Are 'Destroying a Way of Life'
While speaking out against a proposed bill that would make DUI laws more strict for repeat offenders, state Rep. Alan Hale, R–Basin, said drunken driving regulations hurt local businesses and are "destroying a way of life."
"These DUI laws are not doing our small businesses in our state any good at all. They are destroying them," he said in a speech on the state House floor. "They are destroying a way of life that has been in Montana for years and years."
Zero Population Growth - The Only Way Out
As the human race gallops toward adding 2 to 3 billion within the next 40 years, and the USA expects to add 138 million by mid century-no one will speak of the consequences. The eminent population scientist Dr. Paul Ehrlich said, "All causes are lost causes without limiting human population."
"There are three, and only three, ways that human population growth can be reduced to zero or made negative, if that is necessary for our species to survive," said Brent.
They are:
Only two U.S. nuclear sites are in compliance with federal fire regulations
On an ironically clear and placid day in August 2007, a three story tall cooling tower at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant collapsed, goring a massive hole in the center of the structure and spewing asbestos, rotting wood, plastic panels, and thousands of gallons of water onto the bank of the Connecticut river.
It later emerged that several employees had expressed concerns about the tower, and that, in the days before the collapse, others heard odd noises from within the structure.
Nation's quake-warning systems need work, scientists say
Americans have been lulled into a false sense of security that they are prepared for a devastating earthquake, according to a report issued Wednesday by the National Research Council.
Among other recommendations, the report's 20-year "road map" for preparedness -- which was in the works long before a magnitude 9 quake hit Japan on March 11 -- calls on the U.S. to beef up earthquake research and improve forecasts and warning systems.
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