Category: Crime and Punishment

BP: The Only People Qualified to Stop the Oil Spilling into the Gulf, and They Haven’t Got a Clue

Gulf Oil spill video

From the live feed courteously provided by BP, May 31, 2010, ca. 10:45 CST.

We need to face it: “They” have no idea what they’re doing.

“They.” You know who “they” are. “They” are the ones who are supposed to know these things. “They” are the ones who say all those neat thing, you know, as in, “They say.”

In this case, “they” are BP, British Petroleum, those responsible for what is now the greatest ecological disaster the United States has ever known.

And, yes, we can blame the government of the good ol’ US of A.

First, allow me to add my voice to the chorus of voices thanking President George W. Bush for working so hard to create such an affable relationship between the oil industry execs and those in our government responsible for regulating them. Thanks so much to President George W. Bush putting the oil industry first, over and above the health and welfare of the citizens of the United States. Thanks so much to President George W. Bush for trusting the oil industry to essentially police itself.

That is well-deserved, my friends.

I don’t know yet if President Barack Obama should have reacted more quickly, if President Obama dropped the ball in working to regulate the oil industry.

I do know that if President Obama had reacted more quickly, perhaps sent the U.S. Navy to the Gulf of Mexico to plug the leak, I doubt we would be any better off. Please, no offense at all to our men and women who serve, but the United States Armed Forces don’t train for oil recovery or oil well disaster management.

That’s supposed to be what British Petroleum and all those other wonderful oil companies do.

And get this, British Petroleum is using dispersants that are banned in the United Kingdom, and using them in quantities greater than dispersants have ever been used in the history of U.S. oil spills.

This time, the great “They” are British Petroleum, the great BP, and they haven’t got a clue what to do about this oil leak.

The latest is that BP is trying once again to use a dome to funnel some of the leaking crude to a tanker on the surface. The New York Times gives us the good news:

If successful — and after the string of failures so far, there is no guarantee it will be — the containment dome may be able to capture most of the oil, but it would not plug the leak. Its failure would mean continued environmental and economic damage to the gulf region, as well as greater public pressure on BP and the Obama administration, with few options remaining for trying to contain the spill any time soon.

If unsuccessful, that will leave the Gulf with gushing oil at least through August, which is the earliest engineers will be able to engineers “complete the drilling of a relief well, which would allow them to plug the leaking well with cement,” the NYTimes reports.

They haven’t got a clue.

Watch.


Al Sharpton at Aiyana Stanley-Jones’ Funeral: ‘This Child is the Breaking Point’

From AOL News:

Civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton gave a rousing eulogy Saturday for a 7-year-old girl killed in a police raid, challenging the hundreds of mourners to take responsibility and help stop a spiral of violence that has swept the city.

Sharpton lobbed some criticism at Detroit police, whose explanation of how Aiyana Stanley-Jones died from a gunshot has been contradicted by the girl’s family. But he mostly offered a broad cultural message to a city where at least three children and an officer have been killed in recent weeks.

"I’d rather tell you to start looking at the man in the mirror. We’ve all done something that contributed to this," he said referring to Aiyana’s death.

"This is it," Sharpton said at Second Ebenezer Church. "This child is the breaking point.

The congregation stood and applauded Sharpton, the final speaker at a nearly two-hour service that included stirring gospel music and remarks from clergy.

Aiyana was shot in the neck while sleeping on a couch May 16. Police hunting for a murder suspect say an officer’s gun accidentally fired inside the house after he was jostled by, or collided with, her grandmother. A stun grenade was also thrown through a window.

I was really touched listening to Rev. Sharpton. We must all share responsibility for Aiyana’s death. This is not about something that happened to "the others" in Detroit. This happened to some of us who happen to live in Detroit.


Park Forest Police Charge 18-year-old with Shooting Death of 20-year-old

Jason Burns

(Photo: PFPD)

Park Forest, IL– The Park Forest Police Department announced this evening that eighteen-year-old Jason Burns of 4648 Clarendon Ave., Richton Park, has been charged in connection with the May 12 shooting death of Park Forest resident Adam Martinez.

Six days ago, on Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at approximately 11:30 P.M., Park Forest Police responded to a report of gun shots fired in the 100 block of Hemlock. Responding officers found a twenty-year-old Hispanic male, later identified as Adam Martinez, of 6 Illinois Ct, Park Forest, sitting in the driver’s seat of a 2004 Chevrolet Monte Carlo in the middle of the parking lot of court H-12. Officers could see one visible bullet hole in the passenger side of the front car door. Adam had been shot once in the right side of the head.

Responding officers and Park Forest paramedics assisted the victim, transporting him to St. James Hospital in Chicago Heights for treatment, police said. Friends of the victim who were with Martinez at the time of the shooting were located. Police credit those friends and many local neighborhood residents for assisting the police in helping to identify the alleged offenders and bring about the arrests of those involved.

The Park Forest Police Department Investigations Commander activated the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force (SSMCTF). The Illinois State Police Crime Scene Services unit also responded.

The SSMCTF is a combined unit of police detectives and command officers, comprised of local agency, Cook County Sheriff’s Police and Illinois State Police Detectives. This multi-jurisdictional, mutual aid team assists member agencies by providing manpower and technical support in major crimes.

"The Major Crimes Task Force is one of the Country’s most successful multi-agency murder task forces," said Park Forest Deputy Chief Michael McNamara.

Adam Martinez died on Thursday May 13, 2010 at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn.

The Cook County Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death homicide from a gunshot.

During the next five days, police say Task Force Detectives worked around the clock. Suspects and witnesses were identified and located. Numerous statements of those involved lead investigators to believe that Adam Martinez and his passengers had no connection to Jason Burns, but were allegedly mistaken by Jason Burns as individuals involved in an earlier altercation with a friend of Burns’.

Burns allegedly fired a firearm into the vehicle, killing Adam Martinez, according to police.

The Cook County States’ Attorney’s Office approved the charge of first degree murder against Burns. Jason Burns will appear for a bond hearing before a Markham 6th District Judge on Wednesday morning, May 19, 2010 at 9:00 a.m.

At this time, out of respect to the Martinez family, there will be no interviews given by members of the Park Forest Police Department to the media.

Related: 20-Year-Old Park Forest Man Dies of Gunshot Wound to Head

Source: PFPD Press Release via eNews Park Forest


Betty Loren-Maltese Will Now Take Your Call

Betty Loren-Maltese is done with the pizza business. Now, she wants a talk radio program.

From the Chicago Tribune:

Betty Loren-Maltese says she has quit her job as hostess at an Oak Park pizza restaurant because she did not make enough money and would like to pursue a career as a radio talk show host.

The former Cicero town president said she enjoyed her time at Salerno’s Pizza and Pasta restaurant, where she began working on April 7.

But she said she did not make enough money to live on. She said one of her paychecks for four nights’ work totaled $216.75.

"It worked out to about $3 to $4 an hour," she said. "I cannot survive on that."
Loren-Maltese says she took the job because she is strapped for cash after being released from a federal prison for her role in a scheme that bilked the town of more than $12 million.

Loren-Maltese said she needs money to prove to a judge in Alabama that she is financially sound so she can regain custody of her 13-year-old daughter.

Loren-Maltese said she is doing computer research on foreclosed homes while she pursues other opportunities.

One job she said she would like is to host her own radio show. Last month, Loren-Maltese was guest co-host of "The Cliff Kelley Show" at WVON radio.

Here we go.


Summer of Blagojevich Unfolds: Judge Will Not Subpoena Obama

From the Chicago Tribune :

The judge overseeing the corruption case against former Gov. Rod Blagojevich has denied a defense motion to issue a subpoena for the testimony of President Barack Obama.

U.S. District Judge James Zagel said he does not believe Obama’s testimony would be material to the charges.

The Trib promises that details will follow.

This is the correct decision. Blago wants a show. All the judge needs to do is guarantee justice.


Some Ass Shoots 21-Year-Old Man in Buttocks on Chicago’s South Side

From the Chicago Sun Times:

A man was shot in the buttocks Thursday night in the South Side Calumet Heights neighborhood.

The man, 21, was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in good condition after being shot in his left buttock about 10:15 p.m. Thursday in the 8900 block of South Houston Avenue, according to a police News Affairs release.

More foolish and cowardly men with guns.

It’s us. It’s the men who are doing the shooting.

What’s up with that?


Summer of Blagojevich Unfolds: Ex-Aide Lon Monk Pleads Guilty to Extortion

From the Chicago Sun Times:

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s onetime chief of staff and running buddy Lon Monk pleaded guilty today for a second time to crimes tied to the Blagojevich administration.

Monk, 51, admitted to attempting to extort a horse-racing businessman for a campaign contribution in exchange for getting a bill signed.

Monk has agreed to serve 24 month in prison and is cooperating with investigators.

The clock is ticking in Blagoland.