Category: News

[JURIST] UK Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Secretary William Hague [official profile] said Friday that the UK will launch an investigation into allegations that overseas UK operatives were complicit in torture. Hague stated that the new coalition government will initiate a judge-led inquiry into the allegations, but no details were outlined in the legislative program [text, PDF] published Thursday by Prime Minister David Cameron [official profile]. In an interview [text] with the BBC, Hague stated:

We have said again in the coalition agreement that we want a judge-led inquiry. … We will be setting out in the not-too-distant future what we are going to do about the allegations that have been made about complicity in torture. … So will there be an inquiry of some form? Yes, both parties in the coalition said they wanted that. Now what we’re working on is what form that should take.

At least 12 men have filed lawsuits against the UK claiming the government knew or should have known about the torture the men experienced overseas.

Earlier this month, the England and Wales Court of Appeal [official website] ruled [JURIST report] that state intelligence agencies cannot use secret evidence in their defense against abuse accusations by Binyam Mohamed [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] and several other UK residents who were held at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive]. The judgment overturned a November ruling [JURIST report] of a UK high court, which held that defendants MI5 and MI6 [official websites] could utilize a “closed material procedure” that would allow them to rely on certain evidence without disclosing it to opposing counsel or committing it to the public record. The procedure, typically employed in criminal proceedings, is designed to allow concealment of evidence where disclosure would cause “real harm to the public interest.” In February, the England and Wales Court of Appeal ruled [JURIST report] that the government must disclose several paragraphs [text] detailing the allegations of Mohamed’s mistreatment that were previously omitted from an earlier ruling in his criminal trial. Mohamed was returned to the UK in 2009, four months after charges against him were dismissed [JURIST reports]. He was held at Guantanamo Bay for four years on suspicion of conspiracy to commit terrorism [JURIST report].

People are up in arms that Australian customs officials have taken it upon themselves to go porn-hunting on travelers’ computers, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. If they find anything, they’ll confiscate the dirty stuff in order to prevent you from exporting it to the untainted island.

Sure, it’s invasive, unfair, perverted, etc., but enough about that. Where do you sign up for that job?

How fascinating it must be, to size a person up and guess what sort of demented debauchery they’re into, maybe make a few sidebets with your coworkers, then go hunting for the embarrassing answers.

Or maybe it’s just me. Anyway, if you head to Australia, move your hentei to a jump drive and leave it at home.

Travellers to be searched for porn [Sydney Morning Herald via Gizmodo]

Hurricane Creekkeeper John Wathen of Alabama flew over the Gulf of Mexico this week with pilot Tom Hutchings of SouthWings to continue documenting the unfolding ecological catastrophe from the BP oil spill.

Leaving the coast of Alabama and looking toward Florida, they saw clear seas. But they soon ran across the first tideline of red oil. About 14 miles out they saw a thin, glossy sheen, and at 38 miles deep streaks of red.

“The color seems to have changed somewhat,” Wathen reports. “It’s not the bright red it was before; it’s more brown. It’s as if the dispersant they’re putting on it is merely hiding it from sight.”

Yesterday the Environmental Protection Agency — which initially approved the use of the dispersant Corexit — directed BP to use a less toxic chemical. The move came after EPA released BP testing data that showed areas of significant toxicity in the water where the dispersant had been used.

The closer they got to source, the more oil there was on water — and the more cloud cover there was above. Wathen says it was as if the spill were creating its own weather pattern.

“Nothing could have prepared me though for what I saw next,” Wathen continues. “Looking out across the tops of the clouds, there was one that stood out all by itself — a long, black, ugly-looking thing. It seemed to come straight up out of nowhere. This is the burn at the source of the BP slick.”

The massive black cloud (pictured above in a photo by Wathen) stretching across the horizon is coming from relatively small fires, he points out. It would take thousands of fires like that to burn all the oil on the surface.

“Is the tradeoff for what we’re putting in the atmosphere worth what we’re burning off the surface of the Gulf of Mexico?” he asks. “Can we really afford to do that?”

Air tests from the Louisiana coast have already shown a serious threat to human health from the airborne chemicals released by the underwater oil gusher. While BP is now collecting some of that oil, most of it continues to be released to the environment.

As Wathen and Hutchings headed back to land, they witnessed the massive slick — now estimated to cover about 16,000 square miles — making landfall along the Louisiana coast. They also saw the booms that had been placed in hopes of stopping the oil being tied up in knots and destroyed by the seas.

“It’s plain to see this is a futile gesture to protect the shorelines of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, but what can we do? We have to do something,” Wathen says.

“We need every scientific mind in the country working on this — and not just those at BP who are trying to protect the resource,” Wathen concludes.

Watch the video here:

A sigh of relief is due on Wall Street. The procedural finale for the U.S. Senate’s debate on financial reform came just in time for the big banks. The bill just kept getting tougher as the talk dragged on. But it could have been worse. While banks’ future activities and profitability may get pinched, their core business model appears intact. In the end, Wall Street got nicked, not nuked. Some observations:

1) Wall Street should thank the White House. Had President Barack Obama prioritized bank reform over healthcare at the height of the crisis, the biggest players might have been broken up, hard caps placed on balance sheets, and banking and investing operations separated. More recently, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against Goldman Sachs in April helped re-energize advocates for such changes.

2) Nothing radical here. While the Senate and House bills still need to be blended, it’s safe to say the most radical ideas have fallen by the wayside. A “systemic risk council” of federal regulators will recommend new capital and leverage rules to the Federal Reserve, which will be the most influential bank regulator. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation will have the power to wind down any failing large, systemically interconnected institution.

In addition, large, complex financial firms will have to submit plans for their rapid and orderly shutdown should they go under. And for the first time the derivatives that are currently traded privately will mostly be forced to go through clearing houses and in some cases trade on exchanges. Bank lobbyists have defended their corner: it’s not the regulatory reign of terror their clients’ most vociferous critics wanted. But it’s hardly a “light touch” regime, either, and it does involve real changes. Caveat: This assumes the Blanche Lincoln provision on derivatives is softened or stripped in the conference committee.

3) Too Big To Fail is still a problem. As long as regulators and politicians have vast amounts of discretion, a financial crisis will make bailouts an irresistible temptation. The way around this is either breaking up the banks or creating hard, market-based triggers for either regulatory action or a resolution process. Neither is in the bill.

4) Wall Street’s has an enduring PR problem. Yes, big banks are unpopular. But it has gotten so bad that they may not be able to so easily counter their image issues with campaign cash. Getting Wall Street money now has a stigma attached to it like oil and tobacco money. Candidates like Meg Whitman in California and John Kasich are getting hammered for their Wall Street ties. The industry’s continued unpopularity will no doubt spawn further attempts to tax, regulate and restrict the sector.

5) Bernanke trimphant. The Federal Reserve has to be pretty satisfied. It did not lose its role as regulator; in fact, it’s been strengthened. And the central banks was also able to fend off attempts to make it more transparent.  The downside:  The GOP (see Rand Paul)  has soured on the Fed in a big way, particularly at the grassroots. Further economic woes will lead to more calls to change its form and function.

Even though the Maybach Exelero coupe received a lot of attention from consumers and the media, the Mercedes-Benz uber-luxury brand never put it into production (or even limited production). In fact, the Exelero was a one-off model commissioned by Fulda Tyres. Fulda used the car as a reference vehicle to test a new generation of wide tires. The Exelero even popped up in Jay-Z’s video for his song Lost One.

While Maybach won’t be doing a coupe anytime soon (or never depending on whether they stick around or not), German based engineering specialist Xenatec will. The firm is building 100 examples of a Maybach 57S coupe at £560,000 ($807,265 USD) a piece.

Daimler is all-go for the project and will be supplying 57 chassis from its Sindelfingen based manufacturing headquarters.

Power will come from the same 6.0L twin-turbo V12 making 612-hp and 737 lb-ft of torque.

Maybach 57S Coupe by Xenatec:

By: Kap Shah

Source: AutoCar

One of the most anticipated tennis events is on its way, as French Open draws near to commencement on Sunday. French Open is the second of the grandslam title in tennis calendar. The event also showcases the premier clay court of the sport. Defending champions Roger Federer and Svetlana Kuznetsova are not seen as the favorites in this year’s competition. Federer has just tasted another bitter defeat from archrival Rafael Nadal at Madrid few weeks ago. Furthermore, the Swiss top-seed has not won any title since winning the Australian Open cup last January.

All eyes point to just two tennis future hall of famers: Spain’s Rafael “Rafa” Nadal and Belgian Justin Henin. Both captured French Open championship for four times. Nadal won French open for four straight year  (2004-2008) and was just badly hurt and fell into the hands of No. 23 Robin Soderling of Sweden in 2009, to give way to Federer to snatch the grandslam title. Federer said that he feels more relaxed right now and ready to defend the title to anyone. Nadal, on the other end of the court seemed so fierce and in perfect form to regain his title back. He want to remind everyone again why he is  hailed as the best tennis player in clay. Henin, also a four-time French open champion will see another action after her unforeseen retirement two years ago. She already played at the Australian Open this January. She is currently at No. 22. Henin was drawn into the same bracket as world’s No. 1 Serena Williams.

Related posts:

1. Roland Garros Awaits For Nadal
2. Soderling Beats Andy Murray at BNP Paribas Quarter Finals
3. Official of Rio Tinto Admitted of Bribe

Red Bull acaba de confirmar que su piloto Sebastian Vettel estrenará un nuevo chasis para su monoplaza en el inminente GP de Turquía 2010. Recordemos que durante el pasado GP de Mónaco 2010, Vettel se quejo sobre el equilibrio del monoplaza por lo que es posible que dicho cambio tenga que ver con este problema.

Por otra parte, algunos medios especializados afirman que este cambio puede ser debido a las dos victorias consecutivas de su compañero de equipo Mark Webber que recordemos han sido dos victorias aplastantes sobre su compañero. En definitiva, durante el próximo gran premio saldremos de dudas.

Related posts:

1. GP de China 2010, Sebastian Vettel consigue la pole y doblete de Red Bull
2. Sebastian Vettel ganador del GP de Malasia 2010
3. Sebastian Vettel ganador del GP de Abu Dhabi 2009

One of the draws of using the iPad is having a new device to try new software on to find those gems out there. Having hundreds of thousands of apps to choose from makes this a daunting task, and when a jewel is spotted it can be a delightful experience. That’s the case with iCab Mobile, an alternative web browser for the iPad that has earned a place on my iPad’s dock.

I didn’t set out looking for another browser on the iPad; I’ve been quite happy with Mobile Safari. It’s worked well for me and I didn’t think it lacked any features that would be helpful. I stumbled upon iCab Mobile and quickly found a few features that have improved my browsing experience.

There has been a desktop version of iCab for the Mac for years, and I confess I’ve never looked at it. There are no shortage of fine browsers for the Mac desktop, and I have seen no need to try iCab. The mobile version of iCab is a different story as it adds some usability features to the browser that are nice.

Mobile Safari handles tabbed browsing in a decent way — it lets you open multiple web pages at the same time but it hides them in the background. I often pop open the separate tab window in Safari to find I have a lot of pages open I’m no longer using. What Safari is missing is a tab bar that shows all open tabs just like the desktop version, and this is the primary feature I use in iCab Mobile.

The tab bar in iCab works just like the desktop version of Safari, but is even more configurable than that. You can set new page links to open in the current web page, always open in a new tab or my favorite — open links in domains other than the current page in a new tab. Click a link, and the page opens in a new tab. You can configure iCab to have newly opened tabs take the focus or not. The key is how iCab lets you set things up the way you prefer to work, and when you get it customized the whole browsing experience becomes more enjoyable.

If you don’t like the tab bar taking up space on the screen then you can turn it off. You still have an advantage over Safari in that iCab has a tab button that shows all open pages in a popup window when pushed. There’s no switching to a separate tab window like Safari — the popup is visible as is the current web page and this is a much better solution.

If you really want to take advantage of as much screen as possible, the full screen mode in iCab is wonderful. Just hit the button and the web page fills the entire iPad screen. There are tiny buttons around the edge of the display so you can still access needed functions. This is a wonderful way to browse on the iPad and worth the price of admission for me.

Another big feature in iCab is the ability to use modules. These are like the extensions in Firefox that add simple functionality if desired. There are not a lot of modules available, but a few of them are really useful. There’s the “Translation by Google” module, “Increase text size”, “Add page to Instapaper”, “Twitter”, among others. There’s even a “Black & White” module that makes any web page display white text on a black background, which is more useful than you might think.

The filter function in iCab makes it possible to block ads and other content in any web page. The program has over a hundred filters predefined for use, and it’s simple to add new ones as desired.

The attention to detail in iCab Mobile is evident at every level; take bringing in my bookmarks from the desktop. In the iCab Mobile settings there is an Export/Import option. When that is invoked it opens a window with detailed instructions to get the desktop browser bookmarks into iCab Mobile. It starts a server on the iPad and wirelessly connects it to the desktop, where the bookmark file is copied into iCab with the push of a button. It couldn’t be easier and in a few seconds all my desktop bookmarks were available on the iPad. There’s no way to sync them, but this process can be invoked as desired to update the bookmarks.

The iCab Mobile app makes the browsing experience on the iPad better, and that is saying a lot. I find it well worth the $1.99 price and it has replaced Mobile Safari in the iPad dock. That’s the highest compliment I can give an app.

Related content on GigaOM Pro (sub. req’d): Hot Topic: Apple’s iPad

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Environmental progress is based on people. People willing to do the right thing, to make a different choice, to try a new behavior. And that kind of sea change takes something more than regulations. It takes a shift that comes not just from the head but from the heart of millions of individuals, desiring a better life and a healthier environment.

Helping us make that leap into people’s hearts is The Ad Council , a non-profit organization that serves as the charitable arm for the advertising and media industry. The AdC recruits the best talent in the communications industry, who volunteer their expertise, to shine a spotlight on social issues in need of mass public action to make a measurable, positive change in society.

As EPA celebrates its 40th Anniversary, it’s fitting that we join forces with the Ad Council to tackle another pressing social issue: Childhood Asthma.

Since 2001 EPA has partnered with the AdC to highlight the growing problem of childhood asthma. Our goals are to reduce the severity and number of asthma attacks to reduce emergency room visits and improve school attendance.

In its first iteration, the national childhood asthma media campaign adopted a goldfish metaphor to explain that no child with asthma should feel like a fish out of water. The media has generously embraced this campaign donating more than $300 million spanning TV, radio, newspaper, magazine, billboard and web in English, Spanish and in three Native American languages. The iconic goldfish leaves a powerful impression that stays with audiences—reporting an awareness of 33%–compared to the AdC norm of about 15%. This high awareness helps to shift behaviors as well—by prompting parents to go to the web or call a hotline to learn more. Tracking success, since the start of the campaign, some 20% of parents report trying a new behavior to help prevent their child’s asthma attacks.

Joining us this year, for a new round of public service television commercials, is one of America’s most prolific and renowned film directors, Joe Pytka. Think two eggs sizzling in a frying pan; think Superbowl, the iconic Clydesdales; and Michael Jordan in Space Jam. Known for his ability to fill the screen with emotional tugs, he reminds parents and caregivers– for a child with asthma, monsters can be lurking anywhere, even in innocent places inside their home.

Take a look at the new campaign for Awareness Month in May

About the Author: Kristy Miller leads the national asthma media campaign for EPA’s Air Office.

Another link to view the media campaign

Other links include:

http://www.adcouncil.org/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vz-fc_Y2xWU

http://www.kab.org/site/PageServer?pagename=kab_history

Call it the “snowball effect,” or maybe the “witch-hunt” effect. At some point, when a company is under fire for something, even the smallest piece of evidence that it might be guilty of that thing can get blown out of proportion. Exhibit A is Facebook and the recent news — reported somewhat breathlessly by the Wall Street Journal, of all places — that the social network sent personally identifiable information to advertisers, after saying that it doesn’t. As Marshall Kirkpatrick at ReadWriteWeb has noted, this story is a tad exaggerated. The fact is that lots of websites transmit information via the URL of a page, because that’s the way modern web browsers work. In some cases, Facebook seems to have accidentally included user IDs in the URL string when someone clicked on an ad, and according to the Journal has now changed the way it handles those links as a result of the paper’s inquiries.

Despite the scare-mongering from some sites about Facebook “selling your identity to advertisers,” on a scale of 1-10 privacy-wise, this is probably around a 1 or 2 — and it’s not unique to Facebook, either (MySpace uses the same method, according to the Journal). As one commenter at the Hacker News site noted, it could easily be a simple case of programmers overlooking what info is being encoded in a page’s URL. Should the network have had controls in place to prevent this? Probably. But the reality is that Facebook has become a lightning rod for such issues, and therefore even the tiniest speck of incriminating behavior gets sucked into the maelstrom of attention.

In other words, privacy is clearly the new black. Whether it’s concern over Facebook’s transmission of data through URLs or Google’s accidental capturing of Wi-Fi data, consumers and advocacy groups and government agencies are increasingly concerned about what large web companies are doing with consumers’ data. Google has had complaints filed against it with the Federal Trade Commission and is being investigated by German authorities, while Facebook is the subject of letters of complaint and calls for federal inquiries stateside. High-profile users are cancelling their Facebook accounts and others are pointing to CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s allegedly aggressive stance on the issue of personal privacy.

Could privacy be Facebook’s Waterloo? As I argued in a recent GigaOM Pro report (subscription required), the company has to start getting serious about privacy if it wants to continue the momentum that has gotten it to 500 million users and a private market value estimated at some $20 billion. One thing it needs to do, as Liz pointed out recently, is to speak clearly on the issue and make its policies and settings as understandable as possible. It’s easy to show that Facebook is still growing, and therefore come to the conclusion that users don’t care about privacy, but that would be a mistake. Once the snowball effect is underway, it can quickly become an avalanche, and by then it’s too late.

Related content from GigaOM Pro (sub req’d): Why New Net Companies Must Shoulder More Responsibility

Post and thumbnail photos courtesy of Flickr user Max-B

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Filed under: Motorsports, Classics, Coupe, Performance, Auctions, Chrysler, Dodge, Mitsubishi

Way back in 1991, Chrysler was charged with providing a pace car for the 75th running of the Indianapolis 500. At the time, the company was blood brothers with Mitsubishi, and the automakers had decided it would be worth everyone’s while to rebadge the popular 3000GT as a Stealth and sell it under the Dodge banner. Chrysler was thrilled to have something resembling a sports car on its dealer lots and wanted to get the word out by handing pace car duties to its newest creation. Only there was a problem. Once the public got wind that Chrysler wanted to run a Japanese-built car out front of the red, white and blue Indianapolis 500, near riots ensued, with the United Auto Workers among the most critical parties.

Chrysler pulled a 180 and decided to roll out a Viper prototype for the race, but not before it built a Stealth for pace duty. The car was dipped in some very visible yellow paint, and safety equipment like a roll cage, racing harnesses and a communication system was installed. The car was never called to pace at the Brickyard, however, having been relegated to the duty of an official festival car. Thereafter, it spent its years parked in the Walter P. Chrysler Museum instead.

Now, that very would-be pace car is up for auction on eBay. With just 8,000 miles on the clock and an opening bid of $25,000, the car is someone’s chance to own one very odd piece of Detroit history – the Indy 500 pace car that never was. Check out the auction here.

[Source: eBay Motors]

eBay Find of the Day: 1991 Dodge Stealth is the Indy 500 Pace Car that never was originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 21 May 2010 09:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BP’s Doug Suttles addresses inaccurate estimates and dispersant concerns:

Strawberries have started appearing on shelves here in California.  It is a cheery announcement that summer is upon us!

Unlike traditional salsas that have onions for some bite and spice, this one is intentionally kept simple to let the fruit really shine. If you’re looking for a more complex salsa to serve with meats or an entree — add some onions, perhaps some jalapeno, and read our list of a dozen things to do with salsa.
 
If strawberries or mangos aren’t available yet where you live, try substituting other fruits such as melons, kiwi, pineapple, or whatever is in season and fresh.  This dish will only be as good as the fruit you can find.

There was quite a bit of dicing and chopping, I will admit, and the task was interrupted often by eager little ones who kept returning for more juicy samples.  But the colorful and flavorful confetti was worth the wait.  I cut the fruit into a small dice to make the salsa easier to pick up with chips.  And the chips of choice?  Try cinnamon pita chips for a real flavor surprise.  It would be a great appetizer for any poolside party or back yard BBQ.  If you prefer milder flavors, serve with regular pita chips or tortilla chips.

And please, don’t throw away any leftovers!  Simply throw into a blender with some yogurt and ice for a delicious smoothie.  You can even freeze the smoothie mixture into popsicle molds for a tasty afternoon treat.

Strawberry Mango Salsa Recipe

2 cups diced strawberries
2 cups diced mango
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice (from 1 lime or lemon)
¼ cup chopped mint or cilantro (optional)

1. Stir all ingredients gently in a serving bowl. 
2. Allow to rest for 15 minutes for flavors to meld.

Prep time: 20 minutes
Serves: 8

Apple’s stronghold on the music industry is greater than once thought. After knocking Walmart off the top of the ladder back in 2008, iTunes now sells more music than both Walmart and Best Buy put together these days. More »










ITunes – Music – Business – Arts – Arts and Entertainment

Remember the saying that “third time’s the charm”? Well it is not always the third especially if you are talking about “Shrek”. The third installment of the first two hit movie “Shrek” was not enough to satisfy some movie critique and thus they have decided to release another new story that will bring in another twist in the story.

Dream Works just announced that “Shrek Forever After” will be better and bolder than “Shrek the Third.” The 4th movie will be having another new villain, Rumpelstiltskin which will be voiced over by the very own film story editor, Walt Dohrn.

With the additional character like Rumpelstiltskin, Dream Works have become very creative by incorporating other fairy tale history on the movie “Shrek.”

Rumpelstiltskin magically sends Shrek back into a world where he had never been born. Shrek, who hates his family oriented life, lacks appreciation with his wife and his three adorable baby ogres now wants his old life back, the days where people fear for their lives and he can do anything he wants to do. To cut the story short, Shrek’s life is a mess.

Related posts:

1. It’s All Ogre for Shrek
2. Shrek 4: Shrek Forever After, The Final Installment
3. Lifetime Movie Networks presents ‘Deadly Honeymoon’

Article Tags: Roy Spencer, World Temperatures

Click source to read FULL report by Dr. Roy Spencer

Source: drroyspencer.com

Read in full with comments »   

Oracle’s Vice President of Database Security, Vipin Samar published an open letter on Oracle’s site yesterday, May 20 2010, announcing the company’s intention of buying database security firm Secerno.

Started after a research project at Oxford University’s Computing Laboratory, the company offers database security systems to companies a… (read more)

Spectators will bet their fortune come May 23^rd on the court of Roland Garros while players will be on the arena to get their first French Open title or bounce back from a depressing 2009 in the case of Rafael Nadal.

While not everybody can stage a successful comeback, Nadal has stepped into 2^nd rank which places him in a high stake to meet 2009 title holder Roger Federer on June 6 for the Men’s Single final this year.

From losing his 4-year reign in French Open to Robert Soderling in 2009, Nadal began to recover his own lost since winning the Davis’ Cup in December ’09.

To date, he has 15 successful matches that include a very crucial win against Roger Federer in the Masters 1000. This track to vengeance is keenly observed by tennis fanatics therefore making Nadal the instant favorite. As of this time he is ranked as the most possible winner in the men’s division.

Although offset can happen in any of his match, winning Rome Masters plus Monte Carlo Masters makes Nadal a very tempting talent to bet on.

There are other names that poses a threat to what can be his 5^th title in the French Open like Juan Martin del Porto and Andy Murray but his famous rival Soldering is sitting low at this point.

Related posts:

1. Henin, Nadal Back To Regain Lost Glory
2. Masters golf tournament 2010 scoreboard
3. Master’s Tournament Final Round Updates!

A simple predicate is the part of a sentence that links (agrees) directly with the main or simple subject. So if your sentence is “Mary plays on the beach every day”, “plays” is the simple predicate and “on the beach” etc is the complete predicate. You can find a very good, clear explanation here.

“We’ve got to do something, man! It’s just criminal,” said Billy Nungesser. The president of Plaquemines Parish was visibly upset after a local wildlife officer showed him two sea turtles covered in oil and clinging to life.

Nungesser has proposed an ambitious plan utilizing the U.S. dredge fleet to build an 80 mile “sand boom” along coastal Louisiana’s barrier island chains to protect against the BP oil spill. But the parish leader is growing impatient with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which has yet to issue a permit to carry out his plan.

“We prepare for the worst for hurricanes and hope for the best,” Nungesser said. “Damn it! We’re not preparing for the worst. We’re sitting here hoping something doesn’t happen that we see happening in front of our eyes and we aren’t doing a damn thing about it.”

Oil has already breached some of the traditional barriers that were installed to protect beaches and wetlands in this ecologically fragile area.

“We’re putting boom out that washes ashore every day,” Nungesser said. “What are we gonna do — just keep doing this until everything’s dead?”

Frustration over the oil spill is being felt from Louisiana’s wetlands to the White House.

Two top Obama administration officials claim BP has “fallen short” on its pledge to keep the American public and government informed about the spill.

In a letter to BP CEO Tony Hayward, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson write, “The public and the United States Government are entitled to nothing less than complete transparency in this matter.”

The letter requests all records of sampling, monitoring and internal investigations — as well as any videos related to the spill.

Under pressure from federal lawmakers, BP has made public a video feed from the ocean floor that shows the spill site in real time. The live images have led independent researchers to conclude the oil spill is much larger than originally thought.

BP officials say an insertion tube is capturing oil from the leaking well at a rate of 210,000 gallons (5,000 barrels) per day — a figure equivalent to original estimates of the spill. However, the live video feed shows additional quantities of oil still billowing into the Gulf.

“BP’s numbers just don’t add up, and the video proved it,” Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass) said in a press release. “The whole world could see that there must be much more than 5,000 barrels per day coming from BP’s spill. That is just what we saw today, who knows what we will see tomorrow?”

In an interview with FOX News Radio reporter Eben Brown, BP spokesman Mark Salt insisted the original 5,000 barrel per day estimate of the total spill came from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and not his company. However, the new revelations of additional oil have prompted BP’s critics to suggest the company has been less than forthcoming with bad news.

Neither the oil company nor federal officials would speculate on a new estimate of how much oil has spilled into the Gulf.

BP has been trying to mitigate the effects of the oil spill using record amounts of dispersants — chemicals that break the oil into small droplets. The company has already deployed approximately 655 thousand gallons of dispersant (600 thousand gallons on the surface and 55 thousand gallons underwater).

Chemical dispersants carry risks, but are generally less toxic than the oil they break up. Nevertheless, federal regulators have raised concerns about the potential impact the large quantities of chemicals could have on the environment. The EPA has issued a directive instructing BP to seek a less toxic dispersant than the one currently in use.

On Sunday, BP plans to begin efforts to plug the rest of the leaking well 5,000 feet below the surface by filling the site with heavy mud and encasing it in concrete. The so-called “top kill” method has never been attempted at such a great depth.

But as with the Plaquemines Parish president’s plan to build an artificial barrier island, extraordinary measures may be required to control a catastrophic oil spill.