Society's ChildS


Hourglass

Imminent threat! Efforts to plug Porter Ranch-area gas leak worsened blowout risk, regulators say

porter ranch
© Unknown
A view last month of Southern California Gas' leaking well near Porter Ranch, including the exposed wellhead

Southern California Gas Co.'s effort to plug its leaking natural gas well involves higher stakes than simply stopping the fumes that have sickened many residents of Porter Ranch.

The company also is trying to avoid a blowout, which state regulators said is now a significant concern after a seventh attempt to plug the well created more precarious conditions at the site.

If a blowout occurs, highly flammable gas would vent directly up through the well, known as SS25, rather than dissipating as it does now via the subsurface leak and underground channels.

State officials said a blowout would increase the amount of leaked gas, causing greater environmental damage. That natural gas also creates the risk of a massive fire if ignited by a spark. The risk of fire already is so high that cellphones and watches are banned from the site

California Department of Conservation spokesman Don Drysdale called the possibility of fire "a concern" even without a blowout. The department is the umbrella agency that oversees the oil and gas regulators responsible for well safety.
If the wellhead fails, the thing is just going to be full blast.- Gene Nelson, physical sciences professor, Cuesta College.
The chief deputy director of the department, Jason Marshall, and a senior oil and gas field regulator assigned to daily watch at Aliso Canyon, Scott McGurk, told The Times the site and wellhead were made more unstable by the gas company's attempts to stop the leak by pumping a slurry directly into the well.

The last of those efforts, which stretched over several days beginning Dec. 22, expanded a crater around the wellhead, state and gas company officials said.

The crater is now 25 feet deep, 80 feet long and 30 feet wide, those officials said. The wellhead sits exposed within the cavernous space, held in place with cables attached after it wobbled during the plugging attempt, Marshall and McGurk said. The well pipe and its control valves are exposed and unsupported within that hole, atop a deep field of pressurized gas.

Comment: Erin Brockovich seeks justice for the victims of the Porter Ranch gas leak


Monkey Wrench

German farmers have lost over one billion euros, demand end to Russian sanctions

German Farmers Union Joachim Rukwied
President of the German Farmers Union Joachim Rukwied
Background information from the translator: the German Farmers Association - DBV / Deutscher Bauernverband - is Germany's major representative for farmers, their families, and rural areas of the country. With its long tradition, the Farmers Association today represents more than 90% of a total of 300,000 farms in Germany.

The Association is quite influential in German politics and plays a role in the general political discussions. The Farmers Association has two offices and representations in Berlin and Brussels which work as central points of contact between political parties, associations and public organizations. The Germany Famers Association is a member of the European Farmers Association (COPA) and is also a member in the World Farmers Association (WFO).

The German Farmers Association is complaining about billion-dollar losses due to EU sanctions against Russia. But Federal Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt characterizes the sanctions as merely "annoying" - and expects 2016 to be a poor year.

Considering the poor economic situation of many farmers, the German Farmers Associations (DBV) is demanding an end to the Russian sanctions on products from the EU. "Efforts to overcome the current embargo have to be intensified!" stated DBV president Joachim Rukwied in an interview with the newspaper Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung. Many German farmers find themselves in dire straits because of Russia's boycott on products from Europe.

Comment:


Handcuffs

Former U.S. attorneys predict criminal charges in Hillary email investigation

hillary
Two former U.S. attorneys said the FBI will likely reach a determination in the next few months in its investigation of Hillary Clinton's private email server, and based on publicly available evidence said the bureau could have a strong criminal case.

"I expect the FBI to conclude the investigation within 60 to 90 days and make a recommendation to the Justice Department, and I believe they will recommend a series of charges involving the classified information," said Joseph DiGenova, who was U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia during the Reagan administration.

The FBI has been investigating whether classified information was mishandled over Clinton's private email server since at least August. The probe reportedly has expanded to include contracts awarded by the State Department in relation to Clinton Foundation donors.

"These classified information cases are relatively simple cases to get into, and the FBI knows that what the Clinton people did with regard to her server was a clear violation of federal criminal law," DiGenova added. "It is the negligent handling of classified information, which is prohibited by statute, and this is a gross example of it, and it dwarfs the information in the [David] Petraeus case."

Comment: Hillary Clinton has been singularly successful at emerging unscathed from her numerous scandals. Perhaps her good fortune is finally running short, or it could be that the amount of time and resources devoted to this investigation is mere theater and that when she is once more let off the hook, through whatever means the judiciary seems fitting, the path will be cleared for her 'election'.


Ambulance

Congressional cafeteria workers hospitalized after possible exposure to lead paint dust

capitol building, US congress
© James Lawler Duggan / Reuters
Capitol Police and Washington, DC fire officials are investigating a suspicious substance found in the basement of Longworth House Office Building after 10 cafeteria workers there suddenly became sick.

Construction has been underway at the facility, which is one of three used by the House of Representatives.

The 10 people reported feeling ill in the cafeteria area of Longworth House Office Building on Friday morning and were escorted from the building. At least two were carried out on stretchers, according to Roll Call.

No Entry

Wounded and abandoned Brit Army interpreter seeks UK asylum

Dijilane
© Bradley PageFazel Dijilane, interpreter for 3rd battalion Yorkshire Regiment and the Royal Marines
An interpreter injured by a bomb while working for the UK Army in Afghanistan is now sleeping rough in the Calais Jungle. Fazel Dijilane, 23, spent eight months translating for soldiers on patrol, risking his life every day. But he says he was 'abandoned' when our troops pulled out and was forced to flee after the Taliban accused him of being a spy.

He spent more than two years travelling across Europe to try to reach the UK, where he hoped to claim asylum. But instead he is now destitute, living in a tent in Calais alongside hundreds of other migrants. His injuries mean he is in constant pain, which is worsened by cold weather.

Mr Dijilane said: 'I am at the front door of the UK now. But it seems they don't care about the interpreters.' He said he wanted to help British troops because they had 'left everything to fight for peace for us'. But his cousin, a member of the Taliban, was killed and his family suspected Mr Dijilane of informing because of his work.

He said he was waiting for the UK Government's Labour Support Unit (LSU) in Afghanistan to consider his application to be relocated to the UK when he was threatened by the Taliban and had to flee. He said: 'I lost everything: my mother, my sisters, my health, my country. I know many interpreters the Taliban have already killed. So I had to leave. Now, I am just asking for help.'

Comment: Those who give uncompromising service to others often find the return balance negligent and unfulfilled. This is an all too often circumstance of beneficence being used and then left by the wayside. Mr. Dijilane made a self-sacrificing contribution while risking his life and that is something honorable in itself. In a nice world, it would be acknowledged and reciprocated. We do not live in a particularly nice world.


Heart - Black

Unreal! Teenaged rapist given a two year suspended sentence because his own sister was raped and murdered

Convicted rapist Luke Grender
Convicted rapist Luke Grender, left, was spared jail despite being found guilty of multiple attacks on a school girl because his sister was murdered while eight-and-a-half months pregnant in 2011.

A teenage sex attacker who carried out multiple rapes on a schoolgirl has walked free from court - because his sister was raped and murdered.

Luke Grender, 18, was told he was being spared jail because of 'exceptional circumstances' of his family heartbreak.

Grender's sister, Nikitta was eight-and-a-half months pregnant when she and her unborn baby were murdered in 2011 by killer Carl Whant - who tried to cover his tracks by burning down her house.

Whant was jailed for a minimum of 35 years and was also found guilty of raping Nikitta.

And Newport Crown Court heard the impact of his sister's death 'twisted the thinking' of Grender.

Heart

At 102, nation's oldest working teacher has no plans to retire

Agnes Zhelesnik
© CBS NewsAgnes Zhelesnik, teaching in school at 102 years of age!
Teachers and students at one New Jersey school said they hit the jackpot with one of their teachers who's been with the school for more than 20 years.

As CBS2's Hazel Sanchez reported, they call her Granny and she's been named the oldest living and working teacher in the United States.

At 102 years old, Agnes Zhelesnik certainly doesn't act her age.

"I feel like, maybe 95," she said.

Sheriff

Court collusion with police increases blue privilege while laying waste to your rights

police blue priviledge
As state legislatures convene across the country, police unions and their lobbyists have begun a nation-wide campaign to preserve - and, where possible, expand - "Blue Privilege" in its various guises, from efforts to criminalize video-recording police to the preservation of the officially sanctioned larceny called "civil asset forfeiture."

Police unions in Maryland are pressuring the state legislature not to override last year's gubernatorial veto of a package of bills that would decriminalize possession of marijuana paraphernalia and place restrictions on the practice of asset forfeiture. Senate Bill 528 would establish a $300 threshold for cash seizures, redefine "presumptions and ... certain burdens related to forfeiture of money" (which is to say, it would place the burden on the state, not the property owner), and prohibit the transfer of confiscated property to federal control "unless there is a federal criminal charge or the owner consents." That last provision would impede the pernicious practice of "equitable sharing," in which seized property or cash is handed over to the Feds as a way to prevent victims from seeking redress through state courts; the Feds then keep a small portion and kick back the rest to the state or local agencies that confiscated it.

Comment: The war on drugs is a total failure. Its real purpose seems to be to seize assets to create more funds to militarize police departments who then act against the people that they are sworn to protect.


Fire

Another chemical plant explosion in Brazil; residents urged to stay inside

Santos chemical fire
© EPA Mayor said chemical elements 'could burn the skin'.
A chemical explosion at a cargo warehouse in Brazil has spread toxic gas over the country's biggest port.

The company owners said the containers in Santos were full of acid and a disinfectant which came into contact with rainwater, causing a reaction.

The area's mayor said at least 66 people were taken to hospital with breathing difficulties.

Officials said the fire had been controlled but that there is still smoke in the area.

The cargo terminal and nearby homes were evacuated and residents were asked to stay inside.

The container terminal was operated by Localfrio, a logistics company, in Guaruja, an area on the eastern side of Santos, in Sao Paulo state.

Fire

Ten dead and seven injured after massive explosion at Chinese fireworks factory

Explosion at a fireworks factory in Kaifeng, Henan province
Incident: Ten people have been killed at an explosion at a fireworks factory in Kaifeng, Henan province
Ten people have been killed and seven others injured in an explosion at a fireworks factory in Kaifeng city, central China's Henan province.

The explosion occurred at around 11am local time today, the People's Daily Online reports.

The incident comes as the country prepares to celebrate Chinese New Year in a few weeks, the peak time for the purchase of fireworks and firecrackers.

According to Tongxu County Government Hospital, seven people are injured, five of them seriously.

Emergency services attended the scene and the fire has now been brought under control.

However there are reports of firecrackers still exploding as the flames dampen down.

Trucks near to the factory were also caught up in the blaze and completely destroyed.


widespread damage across the area
Deadly incident: The accident took place at 11am local time, causing widespread damage across the area