Live Feeds

A friendly neighboring blog says television entertainment around the world must really "suck." Why Now? draws that conclusion because "the one thing that everyone wants to watch is clouds of oil billowing out of a pipe a mile below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico."

The live video feeds showing in real time BP's leaking oil well have been up and down all over the Internet during the last twenty four hours -- on congressional web sites, cable news network web sites, web sites of scientists, environmentalists, bloggers -- you name it. One blog with the mysterious name of MeMiM even tried listing a number of links, none of which could show a working live feed within a couple of hours after the post went up.

The courageous congressman and senators who demanded BP make the feed publicly available were too right: public demand to see it is extremely high. So high, that many servers apparently are being overloaded.

Even so, in just one day the live feed has done its job. As Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) said yesterday, "These videos stand as a scalding, blistering indictment of BP's inattention to the scope and size of the greatest environmental catastrophe in the history of the United States."

The live feed not only appalled, it forced BP to virtually admit it's been lying about the amount of oil pouring into the Gulf over the last month. Mother Jones reporter Kate Sheppard explains:

BP has been telling the world that only 5,000 barrels of oil are leaking out of its well in the bottom of the Gulf each day, despite the fact that outside experts believe the correct figure is probably more like 95,000 barrels. BP also says that the pipe inserted into the well to siphon oil to the surface is drawing about a fifth of the oil. As of their last announcement, that was about 1,000 barrels of oil per day.

But now BP says that actually it's siphoning 5,000 barrels per day—in other words, the total amount of oil the company says is spilling into the sea. But the live-feed of the spill site that was made available today clearly shows a whole lot of oil leaking into the Gulf.

Now that we've seen the leak on a live feed, she adds, there are only two possibilities: the oil driller has been deliberately lying or BP is "just bad at math."

BP is now making the feed available for public viewing (at this writing). If you trust BP not to fake the video like it falsifies the facts then CLICK HERE to see it. In our opinion, the world would be much better off if the feed were hosted by the terrific folk at Google -- they won't fake it for anyone.

When the Cat's Away

We'll be taking a break for a few days to work on our own, personal version of The Wave for the New England Patriots.

If you want to party, sad to say the Pensacola Beach Krewe of Wrecks web site is off-line, last we saw. Maybe they gave it up for Lent. The SRIA has a list of Mardi Gras weekend activities.
Krewe of Laffite: A Mardi Gras Calendar. The PNJ also lists Mardi Gras events.

If you'd rather read opinions about the news, politics, and household cats in Northwest Florida, check out our geographical neighbor's blog, Why Now? He's always good for an informative post, a rousing argument, or an old fashioned cat fight.

Question for Candidates

Time was when the one thing all presidential candidates claimed for themselves was their loyalty to the U.S. Constitution. Anyone elected president even takes an oath to uphold it:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Given the grave threat to the Constitution posed by the Bush administration's FISA proposal now pending in the U.S. Senate, Bryan at Why Now? rightly asks, "Where in hell are Obama and Clinton?"

For that matter, where are all the presidential candidates, whether they be in the Senate or not? Have they no motivation or "ability" to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution?"