When I woke up this morning, I turned on the TV and this ad was running. I thought maybe I was still asleep having some bizarre nightmare. But no, it's real. I can't quite put my finger on it, but something about this creeps me out.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
BP is Shameless
From Yahoo News:
How is this possible, since 2010 included the worst oil spill ever in the history of everything?
So they're not going to count the Gulf spill because the amount spilled is too much to count?
Your honor, my client can't be charged with murder since it is impossible to count the number of stab wounds inflicted on the victim.
But honey, you can't accuse me of cheating! Not until there's an accurate count of how many women I've slept with!
Oh, and also there's this:
via AP:
But they did finally contact the people whose data was on the missing computer. People like Matt O'Brien.
Okay, maybe not him, but they notified everyone else, I'm sure.
Shameless. Utterly shameless. And they have the balls to issue this statement:
If this is what committed looks like, count me out.
In its first sustainability report since the Deepwater Horizon explosion triggered the spill last year, BP claims that it leaked more oil in 2006 and 2008 than it did in 2010.
How is this possible, since 2010 included the worst oil spill ever in the history of everything?
. . . on the first page of the report, the company lists the amount of oil, CO2 and methane it released into the environment in 2010. However, on closer inspection it turns out that those figures don't include the oil leaked in last summer's Gulf spill. The reason? According to a message from the company in the report's fine print, "no accurate determination" of the extent of the disaster has been made to date. The survey goes on to note that the company decided to omit that embarrassing incident in the Gulf "due to our reluctance to report data that has such a high degree of uncertainty."
So they're not going to count the Gulf spill because the amount spilled is too much to count?
Your honor, my client can't be charged with murder since it is impossible to count the number of stab wounds inflicted on the victim.
But honey, you can't accuse me of cheating! Not until there's an accurate count of how many women I've slept with!
Oh, and also there's this:
via AP:
BP employee lost a laptop containing personal data belonging to thousands of residents who filed claims for compensation after the Gulf oil spill, a company spokesman said Tuesday.
The data included a spreadsheet of claimants' names, Social Security numbers, phone numbers and addresses. But Thomas said the company doesn't have any evidence that claimants' personal information has been misused.
Asked why nearly a month elapsed before BP notified residents about the missing laptop, Thomas said, "We were doing our due diligence and investigating."
But they did finally contact the people whose data was on the missing computer. People like Matt O'Brien.
Matt O'Brien, part owner of Tiger Pass Seafood, a shrimp dock in Venice, La., said he had filed a claim with BP before the GCCF took over processing claims in August. A call from an AP reporter on Tuesday was the first he had heard that his personal information may have been among the data compromised.
Okay, maybe not him, but they notified everyone else, I'm sure.
Beau Weber, a fishing guide in Lafitte, La., also had filed a claim with BP prior to Aug. 23, and he had even received several monthly payments from BP. He said he hadn't received a letter from BP about the missing laptop.
Shameless. Utterly shameless. And they have the balls to issue this statement:
BP spokesman Curtis Thomas said the oil giant on Monday mailed out letters to roughly 13,000 people whose data was stored on the computer, notifying them about the potential data security breach and offering to pay for their credit to be monitored.
"We're committed to the people of the Gulf Coast states affected by the Deepwater Horizon accident and spill, and we deeply regret that this occurred," he said.
If this is what committed looks like, count me out.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
CBS Pushes Quack "Science"
from CBSNews.com:
How many times does this theory need to be debunked? (there's a good debunking here)
In Atkisson's defense, her article does include this paragraph:
But why pretend that there is still a legitimate debate? There are actual people out there who maintain that the earth is flat* and /or the moon-landing was fake, but we don't pretend that they have some sort of valid argument that needs to be debated.
This bullshit pseudo-science is not just stupid, it's doing real harm. There are parents who refuse to have their kids immunized for horrible diseases like whooping cough and German Measles because they believe the bullshit. Why? I can't imagine. Your doctor will tell you to immunize. Get a second opinion and that doctor will too. So will the CDC, the National Institutes of Health, the American Medical Association, and anyone with a lick of common sense. But some parents will look at the overwhelming scientific consensus and say, "yeah, but Jenny McCarthy says otherwise!"
For some reason, there are a lot of people who just hate Western medicine. They like to say that all doctors do is drugs and surgery. And they have a point. But just because a lot of doctors unfairly pooh-pooh natural remedies doesn't diminish the fact that countless lives are saved every day by drugs and surgery. That doesn't mean that herbal remedies don't have their place, or that accupuncture isn't good for a lot of things, but if you're having a heart attack, you'd be a fool to head for the health food store instead of the emergency room. How many people do you know whose lives have been saved by, say, chemotherapy? Now how many do you know whose lives were saved by yoga?
But for some reason, there is this nasty strain of anti-intellectualism in this society which insists that if the "eggheads" are recommending something it must be wrong. Somehow, a large chunk of our population has made the leap from "doctors don't know Everything" to "doctors don't know Anything." And apparently, CBS and Sharyl Attkisson are going to give them a platform. And if a bunch of kids die from easily preventable disease, then what?
*no, really. Check 'em out here:
http://www.alaska.net/~clund/e_djublonskopf/Flatearthsociety.htm
Vaccines and autism: a new scientific review
Posted by Sharyl Attkisson
For all those who've declared the autism-vaccine debate over - a new scientific review begs to differ. It considers a host of peer-reviewed, published theories that show possible connections between vaccines and autism.
How many times does this theory need to be debunked? (there's a good debunking here)
In Atkisson's defense, her article does include this paragraph:
University of Pennsylvania's Dr. Brian Strom, who has served on Institute of Medicine panels advising the government on vaccine safety says the prevailing medical opinion is that vaccines are scientifically linked to encephalopathy (brain damage), but not scientifically linked to autism. As for Ratajczak's review, he told us he doesn't find it remarkable. "This is a review of theories. Science is based on facts. To draw conclusions on effects of an exposure on people, you need data on people. The data on people do not support that there is a relationship. As such, any speculation about an explanation for a (non-existing) relationship is irrelevant."
But why pretend that there is still a legitimate debate? There are actual people out there who maintain that the earth is flat* and /or the moon-landing was fake, but we don't pretend that they have some sort of valid argument that needs to be debated.
This bullshit pseudo-science is not just stupid, it's doing real harm. There are parents who refuse to have their kids immunized for horrible diseases like whooping cough and German Measles because they believe the bullshit. Why? I can't imagine. Your doctor will tell you to immunize. Get a second opinion and that doctor will too. So will the CDC, the National Institutes of Health, the American Medical Association, and anyone with a lick of common sense. But some parents will look at the overwhelming scientific consensus and say, "yeah, but Jenny McCarthy says otherwise!"
Trust me, I'm a ekspert!
For some reason, there are a lot of people who just hate Western medicine. They like to say that all doctors do is drugs and surgery. And they have a point. But just because a lot of doctors unfairly pooh-pooh natural remedies doesn't diminish the fact that countless lives are saved every day by drugs and surgery. That doesn't mean that herbal remedies don't have their place, or that accupuncture isn't good for a lot of things, but if you're having a heart attack, you'd be a fool to head for the health food store instead of the emergency room. How many people do you know whose lives have been saved by, say, chemotherapy? Now how many do you know whose lives were saved by yoga?
But for some reason, there is this nasty strain of anti-intellectualism in this society which insists that if the "eggheads" are recommending something it must be wrong. Somehow, a large chunk of our population has made the leap from "doctors don't know Everything" to "doctors don't know Anything." And apparently, CBS and Sharyl Attkisson are going to give them a platform. And if a bunch of kids die from easily preventable disease, then what?
*no, really. Check 'em out here:
http://www.alaska.net/~clund/e_djublonskopf/Flatearthsociety.htm
A Depressing Statistic
From Public Policy Polling
If Trump actually run (sic) 21% of New Hampshire GOP voters say they'd vote for him,what if Donald Trump
ran for President and the candidates were
Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Mike
Huckabee, Sarah Palin, Ron Paul, Tim
Pawlenty, Mitt Romney, and Donald Trump.
Who would you vote for?
Michele Bachmann ......................................... 3%
Newt Gingrich ................................................. 12%
Mike Huckabee ............................................... 12%
Sarah Palin ..................................................... 7%
Ron Paul ......................................................... 9%
Tim Pawlenty .................................................. 4%
Mitt Romney.................................................... 27%
Donald Trump ................................................. 21%
Someone else/Undecided............................... 7%
ran for President and the candidates were
Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Mike
Huckabee, Sarah Palin, Ron Paul, Tim
Pawlenty, Mitt Romney, and Donald Trump.
Who would you vote for?
Michele Bachmann ......................................... 3%
Newt Gingrich ................................................. 12%
Mike Huckabee ............................................... 12%
Sarah Palin ..................................................... 7%
Ron Paul ......................................................... 9%
Tim Pawlenty .................................................. 4%
Mitt Romney.................................................... 27%
Donald Trump ................................................. 21%
Someone else/Undecided............................... 7%
Monday, April 4, 2011
NEW FEATURE -- Cafe' Chaos
Visit Cafe Chaos for music.
Specializing in the Atlanta music scene, but will feature national and international artists as well.
The picture is of a nightclub in the Latin Quarter of Montreal.
The French Canadians totally get me.
Also, the French Canadians are probably the coolest people in the world.
French people are really cool, Canadians are really cool, so put 'em together and voila!
Full disclosure, my wife's family are Quebecois on her mother's side, so I may be a little biased.
Specializing in the Atlanta music scene, but will feature national and international artists as well.
The French Canadians totally get me.
Also, the French Canadians are probably the coolest people in the world.
French people are really cool, Canadians are really cool, so put 'em together and voila!
Full disclosure, my wife's family are Quebecois on her mother's side, so I may be a little biased.
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