Author Archives: George Washington

→ Washington’s Blog As Coast Guard admiral Thad Allen has explained, sustained pressure readings above 8,000 pounds per square inch (psi) would show that the wellbore is more or less intact, while pressures of 6,000 psi or less would mean there could be major problems: We are looking for somewhere between 8,000 and 9,000 PSI […]

→ Washington’s Blog [Videos embedded in my blog] Read this first, for background. BP suspended the “top kill” operation for 16 hours – because, according to numerous experts, it was creating more damage to the well bore – without even telling the media, local officials or the public that it had delayed the effort until […]

→ Washington’s Blog [Videos embedded at version posted on my blog.] Don Van Nieuwenhuise – director of geosciences programs at the University of Houston – gives the best summary of what is happening with BP’s new effort to stop the oil gusher. Van Nieuwenhuise points out: There is probably damage to the well bore under […]

→ Washington’s Blog As I have previously noted, Corexit is toxic, is less effective than other dispersants, and is actually worsening the damage caused by the oil spill. Now, two toxicologists are saying that Corexit is much more harmful to human health and marine life than we’ve been told. Specifically Gulf toxicologist Dr. Susan Shaw […]

→ Washington’s Blog By all reports, BP is ahead of schedule in drilling the relief wells. In fact, BP will likely complete the first relief well this month. The team leader for BP’s relief wells – Boots and Coots – is 40 for 40 in successfully stopping oil spills using relief wells (around 6:10 into […]

→ Washington’s Blog On May 1st, I warned that the amount of oil spilling into the Gulf was much higher than either the government or BP were admitting: As a story in the Christian Science Monitor shows, the Gulf oil spill is much worse than we’ve been told: It’s now likely that the actual amount […]

Irish-Canadian journalist Alex Kearns, who now lives in St. Mary’s Georgia posted this image on her website today, along with the following description: A researcher captured this image. A discarded flag (or one that has fallen from one of the many vessels in the area) rests on the ocean floor amid the oil and the […]

As I noted Tuesday, there is growing evidence that BP’s oil well – technically called the “well casing” or “well bore” – has suffered damage beneath the level of the sea floor. The evidence is growing stronger and stronger that there is substantial damage beneath the sea floor. Indeed, it appears that BP officials themselves […]

→ Washington’s Blog The allegation by doctors with expertise in prison experimentation and torture that the Bush administration conducted “illegal and unethical human experimentation and research” on detainees while in CIA custody after 9/11 is certainly newsworthy. See this and this. Specifically, Physicians for Human Rights – an international doctors’ organization – alleges that: High-value […]

→ Washington’s Blog Here’s the scoop: BP’s attempt to stop the oil spill using the “Top Kill” method has failed. How do I know? Well, as the New York Times notes: BP officials, who along with government officials created the impression early in the day that the strategy was working, disclosed later that they had […]

→ Washington’s Blog As I pointed out in December: James Hansen – the world’s leading climate scientist fighting against global warming – told Amy Goodman this morning that cap and trade not only won’t reduce emissions, it may actually increase them: The problem is that the emissions just go someplace else. That’s what happened after […]

→ Washington’s Blog Preface: I can’t get the videos to post here.  Please see original for videos. BP’s new insertion tube inside the leaking oil pipe – unfortunately – isn’t doing very much. Specifically, the Miami Herald points out that – according to the Coast Guard – the spill is getting worse in spite of […]

→ Washington’s Blog A deal was struck in the Senate today regarding an audit of the Federal Reserve. Senator Dodd worked out a compromise with Senator Sanders, and Dodd will now become a co-sponsor of the bill. The White House has also apparently signed off on the legislation. The bill would: Require the non-partisan General […]

→ Washington’s Blog Preface:  The story that Obama was the top recipient of political contributions from BP is going viral today.  I thought I’d put the story in a little context. As a side note, I voted for Obama, and had high hopes for him … until he appointed Summers, Geithner, various Bush re-treads and […]

→ Washington’s Blog In March 2004, when Alan Greenspan was Fed chairman, he suppressed the opinions of those Fed officials who knew that there was a housing bubble. Congressman Alan Grayson points out that – because the Fed unilaterally decided to hand out half a trillion to foreigners without any Congressional oversight, and that Bernanke […]