alters...

pro lies...

iz NOT snuffer, me...

furgut...

axept...

vault...

agatha kills... :(

Storm Agatha kills more than 100 in Central America...

31 May '10

GUATEMALA CITY (AFP) - The first tropical storm of the season has killed at least 101 people across Central America, triggering flash floods and mudslides that swept away homes and destroyed roads, officials say.

Tropical Storm Agatha also forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes as it whipped heavy rains across Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Mexico.

"The storm has caused 82 deaths," Guatemalan President, Alvaro Colom, told reporters.

Among the dead were four children in a house swept away in a landslide, officials say.

In neighboring El Salvador, floods and landslides accounted for nine deaths, authorities there say.

In Honduras, emergency management officials reported at least 10 storm-related deaths as Agatha lashed the country, forcing the government to put five of the territory's 18 departments under a state of emergency.

As many as 2,289 people were forced to leave their homes.

Agatha slammed into Guatemala overnight, with 65-kilometer (40-mile) per hour winds and was soon downgraded to a tropical depression as it dissipated over higher ground, but the damage caused by heavy rains and high winds prompted the government in El Salvador to declare a state of emergency.

Guatemala had been under a state of emergency since Saturday, while Honduras declared a nationwide state of emergency Sunday and established a crisis management committee to address heavy flooding and other effects from the storm.

Guatemalan President Colom said flash floods and mudslides forced nearly 112,000 people to flee their homes.

He said schools would remain closed until next week.

The worst storm-related disaster in Guatemala occurred in a village in Solola department where a landslide swept away 25 homes killing 15 people, with another 10 missing, according to San Antonio Palopo Mayor, Andres Cumes.

To prevent an outbreak of disease, the bodies will be buried at once, he told reporters.

Colombia and the United States offered to send aircraft to ferry aid or help with evacuations of storm-hit areas, and Colom said six US military aircraft were en route from a base in Honduras.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon, at Colom's behest, has offered the airport in the border city of Tapachula for emergency flights in and out of Guatemala, Calderon's office said.

Guatemala City's La Aurora International Airport has been closed since Friday after being showered by volcanic ash from the eruption of the Pacaya volcano two days earlier.

Two people were killed and three missing after the eruption on Wednesday.

Vulcanologists at Guatemala's national seismological institute said activity in the volcano was within a normal range, but its director, Freddy Sanchez said, "It's very possible there could be more violent explosions in the coming days."

Colom said that even though the storm had eased, authorities remained on an emergency footing, adding there were dozens of towns and villages still inaccessible because of roads severed by landslides.

El Salvador's President Mauricio Funes put his country under a state of emergency, saying even though the storm was weakening, the risk of mudslides and flash floods "remains very high".

Copyright © 2010 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved

not from apple, take back!

millions...

Apple sells two million iPads in 60 days...

59 minutes ago

PARIS (AFP) - Apple, now the largest US technology company by value, said today it had sold two million of its iPad tablet computers, outdoing even the iconic iPhone on its launch.

Apple said it had sold 1.4 million iPads since it went on sale exclusively in the United States on 03 April.

On Friday, the iPad -- a flat, 10-inch (25-centimetre) black tablet computer Apple claims will revolutionize the industry -- went on sale in Australia, Japan, and Canada, alongside Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland.

Demand in the United States was so strong the company pushed back the global roll-out.

Apple head, Steve Jobs, said in a statement, clients all over the world were now able to experience the iPad, and seemed to like it as much as the company itself.

Apple was very grateful for their patience, and was now doing everything in its power to make sure there were enough iPads for everyone, Jobs added.

The iPad goes on sale in nine additional countries in July, including Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.

Last week, Apple dethroned software giant, Microsoft, as the largest US technology company, in terms of market value.

Copyright © 2010 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved

A customer hold the new iPad tablet computer at its UK launch at an Apple store in central London, 28 May 2010. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor

reality bites...

curridge...

Manic Mondays... mm 22

***

Leanan...

Inspiring both poets and musicians, by their vast thousands, she granted them everything they sought, besides the pleasure of her body, in exchange for which she asked but a humble price: their lives.

When beauty failed, and it seldom did, she used her winsome ways to make him her lover, then shared her intelligence, magicks and creativity to ensure his creations were superior to anything a mere scribe or minstrel could compose, and then vanish, just as he closed in on the zenith of his career.

Her suitor, no longer able to create in the style that had taken him to the tops of best-seller lists, would sink into a deep depression, wither, and languish near death... of a seeming broken heart.

While yet possessing a discernible pulse, she would gather him up in her chariot then wing her way back to her lair, where, unlike usual vampires, she would not suck up his blood.

No, nay, never!

Instead, he would be caged, suspended over her huge, red cauldron, and his blood allowed to fill it as he died.

This blood, of course, was the source of her incredible beauty, artistic inspiration and magickal powers, which she not only bathed in but also sipped from in a demitasse, as she luxuriated in her warm blood bath.

Tis perhaps meet to take heed, you creative gentlemen, and ask yourselves if the fame and riches found in her arms are worth the cost of cavorting with the fickle Leanan Sidhe?

Should you come upon her resting place, whether by night or by day, it is said, as with the Dearg-due, it is best to cover her lair with tons of rock, to prevent her from rising again.

~2010 laughingwolf

*****

throatless bev...

Beverly Throatless Shear...

Twenty years ago, when I was first starting out as a metal sculptor, I was advised by my art teacher if I made only one purchase, I should get a Beverly Shear.

It remains the best advice I've ever received.

Sounding like a 1940s B movie star, this wonderful tool has been the center of my studio ever since.

It lets me cut metal and other materials into complex shapes without misshaping the metal and leaving a clean edge that needs only light finishing.

I use it not only for my sculpture work, where I cut parts out of salvaged sheet metal without harming the patina, but also to cut plastic, rubber, old vinyl records, and even cutting corrugated roofing, diagonally and along the ridge.

Though I have used the larger models the company offers, I find the B1 is the perfect size for almost any task, and does a great job of cutting out small and delicate parts.

It is rated to cut 14 gauge steel (18 gauge stainless) and does so with minimal effort with its geared rack and pinion mechanism.

There are imitations that go for less money, but I wouldn't trade my Beverly for anything.

-- Scott Randolph

Beverly Bench Shear B-1
$536

Available from Otto Frei

Manufactured by Beverly

fell...

dumbo!

awht...

extinction looms! GRRRRRRRRRRR

Oil Spill's Scope Threatens Gulf's Already Endangered Species...

2010-05-29 19:35:50 (2 days ago) Posted By: Intellpuke

As the magnitude of BP's oil spill becomes clearer, scientists fear the volume of oil, the depth of the leak, and the chemical dispersants the company is using will combine to threaten a vast array of undersea life for years. At risk are such endangered species as Kemp's ridley sea turtles, the Atlantic bluefin tuna, as well as the Gulf of Mexico's 8,300 other creatures, from plankton to birds. The contamination, some say, is likely to undo years of work that brought some wildlife, such as the brown pelican, back from the brink of extinction. "It's probably going to be one of the worst disasters we've ever seen," said Paul Montagna, a professor of ecology at the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University, in Corpus Christi. "Instead of creating a typical spill, where the oil goes to the surface and you can scoop it up, this stuff has been distributed throughout the water column, and that means everything, absolutely everything, is being affected," he said. Further complicating the toxic effects of the oil, the chemical dispersants - used as never before a mile below the surface - have changed the crude in ways that will keep it from breaking down.

The dispersants have modified the oil, keeping it in a form "much gooier and much oilier, that has a lot of us worried, because it means the stuff is not going to degrade very easily," said James H. Cowan, Jr., a professor of biological oceanography at Louisiana State University, in Baton Rouge. Because of the high pressure deep underwater, it's harder for dispersants to break up the oil, he said. "A lot of us suspect that we may be dealing with this for decades," said Cowan. BP's use of the dispersants also is likely to keep the damage hidden. Larry Crowder, a professor of marine biology at Duke University, said the dispersant, Corexit, had kept much of the oil off the beaches, making it "harder to get 'Film at 11' about the effects." Many species killed by the oil in the water will die, and sink out of sight. "That may be the preference of the oil companies: to keep the damage out of sight, out of mind," said Crowder. Scientists said that at the seabed, where the gusher has spewed as much as 37 million gallons of crude since April, the world is like a refrigerator with the door shut: about 40 degrees and dark. Bacteria that degrade oil don't work well in those conditions. "A lot of the technology that worked pretty well in shallow water we're finding - oops! - there are some things we didn't know or think about," said Texas A&M's Montagna. "Obviously, there were no contingency plans." BP's response plan for a spill in the Gulf didn't anticipate oil staying underwater. It said measurements would be made on the surface to calculate the size of the spill. Layers of oil reach out in all directions under water, LSU's Cowan said, some deep, where they degrade slowly, and others moving toward the surface. One layer is a few hundred feet down in the water and 300 feet thick, he said. He and his research team have been out checking the reefs with remotely operated vehicles. Most of the oil they've seen is near the shore, he said, "but we now think we're beginning to see some oil on the reef environment in a little deeper water." The rock reefs are home to creatures such as whip corals, anemones and sea lilies, as well as colorful fish that are also found in the Caribbean. "Reefs are very, very vulnerable to any type of toxicity," said Cowan. The habitat of colorful tropical fish here is very specific and limited, "and it just so happens some of these habitats are in harm's way," he said. The spill could eliminate some of these fish from the northern Gulf. Crowder of Duke said one of the most serious threats was to the Atlantic bluefin tuna. The fish are down to about ONE PERCENT of their former population, and some experts want to add them to the endangered species list, but there's been strong resistance because individual fish are so valuable. Bluefin tuna spawn only in the Mediterranean Sea, and in the vicinity of the spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The effects on eggs, larvae, and adult fish might not be known until they show up in the population 8 - 10 years later. Kemp's ridley turtles nest mainly at Rancho Nuevo, Mexico. A smaller number nest on Padre Island National Seashore, in south Texas. The oil is still far from Rancho Nuevo, but when nesting season ends in late May or early June, the turtles will swim along the coastline from Mexico to Florida, right through the oil, said Crowder. Protection of their nests and the turtle exclusion devices fishermen use have helped to increase the number of nests, from about 800 at a low point in the late 1980s, to 7,000 to 8,000 a year now. "I'd say they're a real success story, but the success could be blunted, or reversed, pretty seriously by an oil spill of this scale," said Crowder. The real toll won't be known until reduced nesting is discovered, he added. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported, as of Wednesday, 228 sea turtles were seen in the spill area, including two small Kemp's ridley turtles covered with oil, and were sent to the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans for care. One other oiled Kemp's ridley was found dead. John Hewitt, the aquarium's director of animal husbandry, said his staff could care for large numbers of oiled sea turtles, but they might not be able to release the ones that recover right away. "We'll have to wait until the Gulf is ready to support life again," he said. "It could be a long while." Brown pelicans were removed from the endangered species list just last year, after a slow recovery since the 1970s, when their populations plummeted from the use of the pesticide DDT. "The spill is going to be responsible for a big hit that puts them in jeopardy again," said Stan Senner, the director of conservation science at the advocacy group Ocean Conservancy. Senner worked for seven years as the chief restoration planner for Alaska after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. The Gulf oil spill could "prove to be a sort of tipping point in the life of a population like the Gulf of Mexico sperm whales. "We just don't really know yet if that's how it plays out," said Senner. Intellpuke: You can read this article by McClatchy Newspapers staff writer Renee Schoof, reporting from Washington, D.C., in context here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/05/28/95041/bps-massive-spill-threatens-gulfs.html

g'luck with that! GRRRRRRRRRRR

Gulf Coast warned oil may leak until August...

31 May '10

By Ed Stoddard and Sarah Irwin

VENICE, Louisiana (Reuters) - U.S. government and BP officials are warning that the blown-out oil well causing an environmental disaster on the Gulf Coast may not be stopped until August, as the company begins preparations on a new attempt to capture the leaking crude.

The disaster, in its 42nd day on Monday, is already the largest oil spill in U.S. history and officials are calling it the country's biggest environmental catastrophe.

In the wake of a devastating failure this weekend to plug the BP well with the tricky "top kill" operation, BP Chief Executive, Tony Hayward, said the Gulf of Mexico leak may not be stopped for two months.

"There's no doubt the ultimate solution lies on the relief well, which is in August," he said on Sunday as he toured the Louisiana fishing hub of Venice, largely idled by the spill.

The drilling of two relief wells began in May, an expensive but reliable way to intercept and cap the leaking well that ruptured with a deadly rig explosion on 20 April.

In the meantime, Hayward said BP needs "to be in the mind-set of containment in the sub-sea, containment on the surface, and defending the shoreline, in very aggressive ways."

The Gulf spill has surpassed the Exxon Valdez disaster off Alaska in 1989 as the worst U.S. oil spill, with an estimated 12,000 to 19,000 barrels (504,000 to 798,000 gallons/1.9 million to 3 million liters) leaking per day.

Right now, BP is preparing a containment cap to place on top of a lower marine riser package (LMRP), which is a piece of equipment that sits atop the failed blowout preventer at the seabed one mile below the surface.

The White House said the company would begin cutting a pipe that rises out of the so-called LMRP on Monday or Tuesday.

If the containment operation works -- and BP expects to know later this week -- then at least some of the leaking oil could be piped to the surface.

Even President Barack Obama's administration, facing a barrage of criticism they have been slow to respond to the crisis, is looking toward August... and the relief well solution.

ELECTIONS LOOM

"There could be oil coming up until August," top White House energy adviser Carol Browner told CBS's "Face The Nation" on Sunday.

"We are prepared for the worst."

The oil spill has unleashed a surge of public anger that poses a major domestic challenge to Obama and his party as they face congressional elections in November.

The Gulf Coast is one of America's richest ecosystems, and a vital breeding ground for a $6.5 billion seafood industry.

Kuzma Tesvich, an oyster fisherman attending the Seafood Festival in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, on Sunday, said his livelihood could be hurt for many years.

"If this goes on, if our oysters are totally killed, it would be at least three years before we can come back, or it could be a lot longer," Tesvich said.

The spill has already shut down a good chunk of the fishing business.

For the festival, Tesvich brought in oysters from unrestricted waters east of the Mississippi River.

Louisianans, whose anger has only grown after the top kill failure, want the government to do more.

They remember the fumbled response of former President George W. Bush's government to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

"They should be down there seeing what it's doing, everything it's killing.

"They should be down here supporting the people of Louisiana," said Cathy Van Der Griff as she visited New Orleans' famous Cafe du Monde.

Obama, who made his second visit of the disaster to the Gulf last Friday, is sending three of his top energy and environmental officials back to the Gulf this week.

(Additional reporting by Katharine Jackson in New Orleans and Eileen O'Grady in Houston; writing by Mary Milliken; editing by Eric Beech)

Copyright © 2010 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Workers contracted by British Petroleum (BP) pick up tar balls from the Deepwater Horizon oil leak, along a beach in Grand Isle, Louisiana, 30 May 2010.

With the failure this weekend of BP's 'top kill' attempt to plug its leaking Gulf of Mexico oil well, fears are growing the economic and environmental impact of the nearly six-week-old spill can only spread. REUTERS/Lee Celano

swing, punk!

leon...

wolf/shepherds...

The Wolf and the Shepherds...

A WOLF, passing by, saw some Shepherds in a hut, eating a haunch of mutton for their dinner.

Approaching them, he said, "What a clamor you would raise if I were to do as you are doing!"

~Aesop

foes...

holder...

31 May 2010 Being a Container... Holding Space For Others Sometimes we are called simply to hold space for a friend as they go through whatever they need to go through. We have all been called upon, at one time or another, to help a loved one through a difficult time. When the help required consists of concrete actions, such as running errands or making phone calls, we know what to do. Sometimes we are called simply to hold space for the person as they go through whatever they need to go through. They may need to express anger or grief; they may need to talk or be silent. They may need us to hold their hand; they may need us to give them time alone. Whatever the case, when we hold space for someone, we offer ourselves up as a container for the overwhelming feelings they may be encountering due to their circumstances. When we offer ourselves in this way, the more centered and grounded we are, the better. Our steadiness allows our companion to lean into us for support, as our presence provides an environment in which they can be free to move. We can also help by being responsive, allowing them to dictate the flow of action from talking to not talking, from anger to grief, and back again. By being aware and open, we can help them confront their feelings when that feels right, and back off from them when they need a break. Holding space requires humility, conscientiousness, and the ability to step out of the way, to honestly understand this is not about us. When we love someone in this way, we provide a space in which they can simply be. Thus they're able to feel what they need to feel, without worrying about how they are being perceived. We can provide this offering in person, over the phone, or even from a distance, through meditation. However we do it, when we hold space for someone in need, we are offering a gift of the highest nature. For more information visit dailyom.com This article is printed from DailyOM - Inspirational thoughts for a happy, healthy and fulfilling day. Register for free at www.dailyom.com

© 2004-07 DailyOM - All Rights Reserved

and then came you...

teefin!

roost...

huh?

to my american brothers and sisters: HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

...a bit of humor, no disrespect intended About Flexibility and The Art of Negotiation
This is the alleged transcript of an actual radio conversation between a mighty US naval ship and Canadian maritime contact, off the coast of Newfoundland, in October 1995.
Americans:	Please divert your course 15 degrees North to avoid a collision; over...
Canadians:	Recommend you divert your course 15 degrees South, to avoid collision; over...
Americans:	This is the Captain of a US navy ship; I say again: Divert your course! over...
Canadians:	No. I say again, you divert your course; over...
Americans:	This is the Commander of the aircraft carrier, USS Lincoln, the second largest ship in the United States Atlantic Fleet! We are accompanied by three destroyers, five cruisers and numerous support vessels! I demand you change your course 15 degrees North, immediately! That's one fiver degrees North... or counter measures will be undertaken to ensure the safety of this ship! over...
Canadians:	We are a Lighthouse... your call. ***

acupuncture...

The point about pain: New study sheds light on acupuncture...

30 May '10

PARIS (AFP) - Acupuncture eases pain in the limbs because it releases a natural molecule called adenosine, neuroscientists in the United States reported on Sunday.

The mechanism was discovered through experiments in lab mice, which were given an injection of an inflammation-inducing chemical in their right paw.

The researchers inserted fine needles below the midline of the mice's knee, at a well-known acupuncture location called the Zusanli point.

They rotated the needle gently every five minutes for 30 minutes, mimicking a standard acupuncture treatment.

During and just after this operation, levels of adenosine in the tissues surrounding the needle surged 24-fold.

The mouse's discomfort -- measurable by the rodents' response time to touch and heat -- was reduced by two-thirds, they found.

The same test was carried out on mice that had been genetically engineered to lack adenosine.

The acupuncture failed to have any effect, and the mice reacted in discomfort, as before.

The team then experimented with an adenosine booster.

They gave mice a leukaemia drug called deoxycoformycin, which makes it harder for tissues to remove adenosine.

As a result, levels of adenosine accumulated in the muscles, nearly tripling the duration of the acupuncture's effectiveness.

"Acupuncture has been a mainstay of medical treatment in certain parts of the world for 4,000 years, but because it has not been understood completely, many people have remained skeptical," said Maiken Nedergaard of the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, who headed the research.

Previous work has focused on acupuncture's effectiveness on the central nervous system -- the trunk of nerves in the spinal cord and brain -- rather than the peripheral nervous system.

In the central nervous system, acupuncture creates signals that cause the brain to produce powerful anti-pain chemicals called endorphins.

The paper is published by the journal Nature Neuroscience.

Copyright © 2010 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved

Acupuncture eases pain in the limbs because it releases a natural molecule called adenosine, neuroscientists in the United States reported on Sunday. Photo:Joe Raedle/AFP

fughedaboudit!

loss. . .

iz...

dogs/master...

The Master and His Dogs...

A CERTAIN MAN, detained by a storm in his country house, first killed his sheep, then his goats, for the maintenance of his household.

The storm still continuing, he was obliged to slaughter his yoke oxen for food.

On seeing this, his Dogs took counsel together, and said, "It is time for us to be off, for if the master spare not his oxen, who work for his gain, how can we expect him to spare us?'

Moral: He is not to be trusted as a friend who mistreats his own family.

~Aesop

yuck!!!

as i thought... :(

BP "top kill" fails...

1 hour, 50 minutes ago

By Ed Stoddard and Mary Milliken

VENICE, La./HOUSTON (Reuters) - BP Plc said on Saturday the complex "top kill" maneuver to plug its Gulf of Mexico oil well has failed, crushing hopes for a quick end to the largest oil spill in U.S. history, already in its 40th day.

The beleaguered London-based energy giant said its next option is a "lower marine riser package" that will not plug the well ruptured in a rig blast, but rather capture most of the oil on the sea floor and channel it to the surface for collection.

BP Chief Executive, Tony Hayward, called the containment cap "the best way to minimize the flow of oil into the Gulf" and said it would take around four days to put it in place.

Hayward had given top kill a 60 to 70 percent chance of success, but the procedure was fraught with risk because it had never been attempted at the depth of the well, a mile beneath the sea.

"I am disappointed this operation did not work," Hayward said in a statement.

"The team executed the operation perfectly, and the technology worked without a single hitch." [???]

The news was a blow to Gulf coast residents, whose communities are still on the mend from the 2005 Hurricane Katrina, and now have to contend with oil invading fragile marshlands and waters vital to wildlife and a lucrative commercial fishing industry.

Louisiana's Plaquemines Parish president, Billy Nungesser, was about to address a crowd when he got news of the top kill failure.

"I didn't have the heart to tell them it didn't work," Nungesser told CNN.

The news also spells more trouble for President Barack Obama, struggling to convince Americans his administration can handle the crisis.

The plodding clean-up effort has sickened workers, and left Gulf coast residents frustrated and angry.

The Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on 20 April, killing 11 workers and unleashing an underwater torrent of oil that the government estimated at 12,000 to 19,000 barrels (504,000 to 798,000 gallons/1.9 million to 3 million liters) a day.

This week, the government showed the Gulf disaster has surpassed the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaskan waters.

RELIEF WELL TWO MONTHS AWAY

The bad news came over the beginning to a three-day weekend at a daily briefing by the U.S. Coast Guard and BP Chief Operating Officer, Doug Suttles.

Coast Guard Admiral, Mary Landry, said the news of the top kill failure was disappointing, and the best option for ending the spill was drilling a relief well, which BP estimates will take two months.

BP's already tarnished reputation and its bottom line are likely to suffer further, as is the share price when markets re-open on Tuesday.

BP has thus far spent $940 million to try to plug the leak and clean up the sea and soiled coast.

The disaster has wiped out a quarter of its market value, or $50 billion, and its London-traded shares lost 5 percent on Friday alone as delays in the top kill made investors sell.

Top kill involved pumping heavy fluids known as drilling mud and other material into the well shaft to stifle the flow, then seal it with cement.

Hayward said they pumped 30,000 barrels of mud at high pressure before giving up.

Although the Obama administration has squarely put the blame on BP, polls show Americans are losing faith in the government's ability to mitigate the disaster.

In his second visit to the Gulf in the 40-day crisis on Friday, Obama faced criticism he responded too slowly.

He assured people in Louisiana they "will not be left behind" and the "buck stops" with him.

There is not much Obama can do, other than apply pressure to BP to get it right, and put his best scientists in the room.

The government has no deep-sea oil technology of its own.

COMPARISONS TO KATRINA

That does not mean the public will forgive the first-term president, who is anxious to avoid comparisons to former President George W. Bush, after Bush's government's much-criticized response to Hurricane Katrina.

His political opponents, and even some prominent Democrats, are calling on him to take command of the situation.

That kind of rhetoric could hurt his credibility ahead of congressional elections in November, where Democrats are poised to lose seats.

Still, BP gets worse marks from Americans for the lack of proper clean-up of the Louisiana coastline and the oil in the Gulf.

Federal regulators complained in an internal memo that BP had not adequately trained or equipped the 22,000 workers cleaning up the spill, some of whom have been sickened by the oil.

The memo to Thad Allen, the Coast Guard admiral overseeing the government response, was obtained by McClatchy newspapers.

"These are not isolated problems," David Michaels, the assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health, wrote in the memo.

"They appear to be indicative of a general systemic failure on BP's part, to ensure the safety and health of those responding to this disaster."

Suttles said, "It's clear people have gotten sick, and we need to figure out what we need to do to change that."

He said illness was not widespread among the workers.

(Additional reporting by Kristen Hays in Houston, Jane Sutton and Pascal Fletcher in Miami; writing by Mary Milliken; editing by Mohammad Zargham)

Copyright © 2010 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

29 May '10

Louisiana's fishermen usually make half their annual income in a season lasting around 80 days.

The oil spewing out from the ruptured BP oil well at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico is sounding the death knell for not only for this year's fishing catch, but possibly for a generations-long way of life along the coast. Duration: 02:06 Photo:/AFP

old ...

'king' homer...

Movie Talk: Homer Simpson Tops Controversial 'Greatest Characters' List...

by Mike Ryan

28 May 2010

Harry Potter may be king of the pop-culture book-sales world, but when it comes to the entire universe of modern-day showbiz characters, nothing beats a Simpson.

Homer, to be exact (sorry, Bart).

For the most part Entertainment Weekly did a pretty fine job of putting together their list of The 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 years.

That doesn't mean there's not some room for dissent.

The pick of Homer Simpson as the best character over the last 20 years is fitting: he's actually been around for 20 years.

Sure, diehard fans will tell you "The Simpsons" isn't what it once was, but for a single character -- particularly an animated one -- to sustain such a presence in popular culture over such a long time is truly remarkable.

There's not a lot to debate in the top 10.

It's hard to argue with iconic names such as Harry Potter, Tony Soprano, and Carrie Bradshaw (Okay, maybe Edward Scissorhands, who comes in at number 7, is ranked a little too high.)

Working down the list, the choices become more questionable.

Yes, "Glee" is the popular TV-show of-the-moment.

No question.

And no one is at all doubting the comedic genius of Jane Lynch.

But, it may be a bit premature to rank the Machiavellian cheerleading coach, Sue Sylvester, all the way up at 18.

"Glee" is just finishing its first season and, as of this writing, has aired the relatively low number of just 20 episodes.

If this list were created in 2003, would Seth Cohen from "The O.C." (the "Glee" of its day) be on the list?

This is not to say Sylvester shouldn't be on the list at all, but ranked higher than Roseanne Conner, Stephen Colbert, Jack Bauer, John Locke, Don Draper and Ally McBeal?

Sue herself might even snarl at the implausibility of it.

Then there are the characters that have no business being on the list at all.

It's hard to believe Will Smith's Hancock is the 91st best character of the last 20 years, period.

Is it even the 91st best character Will Smith has portrayed in last 20 years?

And, really, Hancock ranks higher than Lisbeth Salander of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"?

Also, even though "Battlestar Galactica" fans were not entirely happy with the ending, it would seem that that its female protagonist, Starbuck, deserves a higher ranking than 72.

Seriously, she's behind Molly Shannon's Mary Katherine Gallagher?

Come to think of it, of all the "SNL" characters, why is she the only one ranked instead of Wayne Campbell (who is mentioned on the page)?

Just as a comparison of their importance to popular culture, Mary Katherine Gallagher's movie, "Superstar," grossed $30 million compared to "Wayne's World"'s $121 Million.

Not to say the list is all bad.

Far from it.

In fact, it's quite refreshing to see some of the choices EW made.

Gob Bluth from the canceled, cult-classic "Arrested Development" is a welcome sight.

And thankfully, they chose Neil Patrick Harris' Barney Stinson from "How I Met Your Mother" over his arguably better-known role as Doogie Houser.

Including one of the most unusual sketch comedy creations ever, Dave Chappelle's Clayton Bigsby, is laudable.

As was picking Ricky Gervais' original, UK "Office" manager, David Brent, over the more familiar and almost (almost!) equally deserving,

Michael Scott, portrayed by Steve Carrell.

But, really, not one character from the American version of "The Office"?

Wither Dwight Schrute?

That's one major flaw with lists such as these: once a character is chosen from a particular show, the rest of the cast seems to be off limits (unless chosen as a pair).

Cosmo Kramer from "Seinfeld" gets the nod, so, no soup for you, Elaine Benes and George Costanza (or, for that matter, Larry David from "Curb Your Enthusiasm").

Jennifer Aniston's "Friends" Rachel Greene is listed, so Chandler Bing is left out.

Then again, this is an arbitrary list, which means any arguments are quite arbitrary as well -- and fun.

So, thanks, EW, for starting the debate.

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dennis dies... :(

Hollywood hellraiser, Dennis Hopper, dead at 74...

46 minutes ago

By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood actor Dennis Hopper, best known for directing and starring in the 1969 cult classic "Easy Rider", died today from complications of prostate cancer, a friend of the actor said.

Hopper was 74.

The hard-living screen star died at his home in the coastal Los Angeles suburb of Venice, at 8:15 a.m. PDT (1515 GMT), surrounded by family and friends, the friend, Alex Hitz, told Reuters.

In a wildly varied career spanning more than 50 years, Hopper appeared alongside his mentor, James Dean, in "Rebel Without a Cause", and "Giant", in the 1950s, and played maniacs in such films as "Apocalypse Now", "Blue Velvet", and "Speed".

He received two Oscar nominations -- for writing "Easy Rider" (with co-star, Peter Fonda, and Terry Southern), and for a rare heartwarming turn as an alcoholic high-school basketball coach in the 1986 drama "Hoosiers".

But his prodigious drug abuse, temper tantrums, propensity for domestic violence, and poor choice of movie roles, often made him a Hollywood pariah.

Hopper felt over-indulgence was a requirement for great artists.

He once claimed he snorted lines of cocaine "as long as your arm, every five minutes, just so I could carry on drinking ... gallons" of alcohol.

Still, his legacy rests securely on "Easy Rider".

Regarded as one of the greatest films of American cinema, it helped usher in a new era in which the old Hollywood guard was forced to cede power to young filmmakers such as Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese.

The low-budget blockbuster, originally conceived by Fonda, introduced mainstream moviegoers to pot-smoking, cocaine-dealing, long-haired bikers.

"We'd gone through the whole '60s and nobody had made a film about anybody smoking grass without going out and killing a bunch of nurses," Hopper told Entertainment Weekly in 2005.

"I wanted 'Easy Rider' to be a time capsule for people about that period."

Hopper and Fonda were joined on screen by a then-unknown, Jack Nicholson, as an alcoholic lawyer, but it was not a harmonious set.

Hopper clashed violently with everyone, and Fonda later described him as a "little fascist freak".

Their friendship was destroyed.

"Dennis introduced me to the world of Pop Art and 'lost' films", Fonda said in a statement.

"We rode the highways of America, and changed the way movies were made in Hollywood.

"I was blessed by his passion and friendship."

Hopper's 1971 directorial follow-up, "The Last Movie", shot amid what he later called "one long sex and drug orgy" in Peru, was a flop.

He was often gripped by paranoid delusions.

In 1982, while filming "Jungle Warriors" in Mexico, he ran naked into the jungle, convinced World War Three had started.

He was put on a plane home, but jumped out onto the wing as it was about to take off, fearful the plane was on fire.

Upon his return, he was admitted to a psychiatric hospital for three months.

He starred in bad movies just for the money, such as "Super Mario Bros.", and "Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2", and turned down important projects that could have enhanced his legend, such as "Taxi Driver", and "Reservoir Dogs".

Hopper also found himself typecast as the psychotic villain, thanks to such films as "Blue Velvet", in which he played a gas-huffing rapist, and the 1994 smash, "Speed", in which his character rigged a city bus to explode.

Hopper mellowed somewhat in later years, becoming a Republican, and a pitchman for the likes of Gap and Nike.

Outside of Hollywood, he was a noted photographer, painter, sculptor, and art collector.

He lived in a warehouse-style compound in the coastal suburb of Venice, in a neighborhood that was gang-infested until a decade ago.

Hopper fell ill last September.

He continued working almost to the end, both on his cable TV series, "Crash", and on a book showcasing his photography.

But his final months were also consumed by a bitter divorce battle with his fifth wife, Victoria Duffy.

Indeed, his private life was never dull.

His marriages included an eight-day union, in 1970, with Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and Papas, who later told Vanity Fair she had been subjected to "excruciating" treatment.

Hopper is survived by four children.

Funeral arrangements were pending.

(Editing by Vicki Allen and Alan Elsner)

Copyright © 2010 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Actor Dennis Hopper who was honored with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in March 2010.

Hopper, a counterculture icon who worked with Hollywood legends, including James Dean, and director Francis Ford Coppola, has died at age 74, US media reported Saturday. Photo:Frazer Harrison/AFP

memorial...