Shakedown
You probably had some idea why Oklahoma was having all those earthquakes. Shockingly, the state of Oklahoma now admits you were right and the oil and gas industry was wrong. Via The New York Times.
Warning Cry
Five years have passed since the Deepwater Horizon explosion and spill, which killed 11 people and leaked 4.9 billion barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Greg Palast at TruthDig reflects on Chelsea Manning, the convicted State Department whistleblower, who tried to warn us.
“After the BP rig in the Gulf of Mexico blew itself to kingdom come… the oil company, the federal government and the industry were shocked—shocked!… But BP knew, and Exxon and Chevron knew, and the U.S. State Department knew that just 19 months earlier another BP offshore rig suffered an identical, disastrous blowout in the Caspian Sea. In both blowouts, the immediate culprit was caused by the use—misuse—of nitrogen in the cement mix, a money-saving but ultimately deadly measure intended to speed the cement’s drying. The cover-up meant that U.S. regulators, the U.S. Congress and the public had no inkling that the cost-saving “quick-dry” cement process had failed on an offshore rig until the Deepwater Horizon blew.”
Gulf Rising
Activists are staging a week of oil and gas industry protests in Gulf states Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. The long-term strategy is to “shift the narrative” on the Gulf culture in the wake of the disaster “from resilience to resistance.” Via Waging Nonviolence.
Impossible Dream
The argument from a leading Iranian dissident for why a nuclear deal between America and Iran is the best way to bring democracy to Iran: “When a nation is threatened, democracy is an impossible dream.” Via The Atlantic.
Cash Money
Heather Digby Parton: Is the right going to dupe the mainstream media again with its latest anti-Hillary book, Clinton Cash? What do you think? Via Salon.
Good Advice
In the early going, it looks as if Marco Rubio is everyone’s second choice. Nate Cohn posits in The New York Times that that’s exactly the wrong place to be – where everyone likes you, but no one loves you. Ross Douthat tells how Rubio can get to be No. 1.
Crossroads
Which way are the Democrats going to go on fast-tracking negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership? Both ways probably, which is good news for Obama. Via The National Journal.
Sad Song
Another Mediterranean disaster: Hundreds dead at sea while trying to get from North Africa to Europe. What’s the solution? It can’t be more people at the bottom of the sea. Via The New Yorker.
Long View
The Hubble Telescope celebrates 25 years of service this week. And the strange thing, in this world of rapidly evolving technology, is that the Hubble is still the baddest telescope in the universe. Via The Washington Post.
Photo Credit: Rough Tough, Real Stuff, Creative Commons, Flickr.
