Saturday, June 12, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
co-operation between the federal Liberals and New Democrats is favored!
OTTAWA — A new poll suggests more than half of Canadians favour some sort of co-operation between the federal Liberals and New Democrats.
But The Canadian Press-Harris Decima survey indicates there's no consensus on what form that co-operation should take.
Twenty-eight per cent of those surveyed favoured a non-compete pact between the two parties, wherein they would agree not to run candidates against each other in some ridings across the country.
Fourteen per cent favoured a Liberal-NDP coalition government after the next election, while 13 per cent said they'd prefer an outright merger of the two parties prior to the election.
Another 30 per cent -- including 50 per cent of Conservative supporters -- said they would rather that the two parties not co-operate at all.
The telephone survey of just over 1,000 Canadians was conducted June 3-6 and is considered accurate within 3.1 percentage points, 19 times in 20.
The poll comes amid a resurgence of interest among Liberals about finding some way co-operate with the NDP. Interest has been fuelled by tepid poll numbers and the recent installation of a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government in Britain.
A number of Liberal luminaries -- including former prime minister Jean Chretien -- have mused about the merits of combining Liberal and NDP forces to defeat Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives.
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff weighed in on the weekend, saying he's open to leading a coalition government if necessary, if that's the hand he's dealt by voters in the next election.
But he flatly ruled out any pre-election arrangement with the NDP, including a merger or a non-compete pact.
The Tories are attempting to revive public outrage over the idea of a coalition, reminding voters of the unpopular coalition of "separatists and socialists" former Liberal leader Stephane Dion tried to cobble together in 2008.
They're also trying to pre-empt any attempt by Liberals and New Democrats to form a coalition if the Tories come up short of a majority but still with the most seats in the next election.
Harper insists the public will not tolerate "losers" forming a coalition government, that only the party with the most seats gets to govern.
However, there are plenty of examples of so-called losers taking power in parliamentary democracies around the world, including the current Israeli government and the 1985 Ontario government.
But The Canadian Press-Harris Decima survey indicates there's no consensus on what form that co-operation should take.
Twenty-eight per cent of those surveyed favoured a non-compete pact between the two parties, wherein they would agree not to run candidates against each other in some ridings across the country.
Fourteen per cent favoured a Liberal-NDP coalition government after the next election, while 13 per cent said they'd prefer an outright merger of the two parties prior to the election.
Another 30 per cent -- including 50 per cent of Conservative supporters -- said they would rather that the two parties not co-operate at all.
The telephone survey of just over 1,000 Canadians was conducted June 3-6 and is considered accurate within 3.1 percentage points, 19 times in 20.
The poll comes amid a resurgence of interest among Liberals about finding some way co-operate with the NDP. Interest has been fuelled by tepid poll numbers and the recent installation of a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government in Britain.
A number of Liberal luminaries -- including former prime minister Jean Chretien -- have mused about the merits of combining Liberal and NDP forces to defeat Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives.
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff weighed in on the weekend, saying he's open to leading a coalition government if necessary, if that's the hand he's dealt by voters in the next election.
But he flatly ruled out any pre-election arrangement with the NDP, including a merger or a non-compete pact.
The Tories are attempting to revive public outrage over the idea of a coalition, reminding voters of the unpopular coalition of "separatists and socialists" former Liberal leader Stephane Dion tried to cobble together in 2008.
They're also trying to pre-empt any attempt by Liberals and New Democrats to form a coalition if the Tories come up short of a majority but still with the most seats in the next election.
Harper insists the public will not tolerate "losers" forming a coalition government, that only the party with the most seats gets to govern.
However, there are plenty of examples of so-called losers taking power in parliamentary democracies around the world, including the current Israeli government and the 1985 Ontario government.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
BP memo shows spill plan faults A close look.
BP memo shows spill plan faults
Document refers to walruses, links to defunct websites and cites expert who died in 2005
Workers clean up oil residue along the beach in Port Fourchon, La., on May 29. (Jae C. Hong/Associated Press)
Professor Peter Lutz is listed in BP's 2009 response plan for a Gulf of Mexico oil spill as a national wildlife expert. He died in 2005.
Under the heading "sensitive biological resources," the plan lists marine mammals including walruses, sea otters, sea lions and seals. None lives anywhere near the Gulf.
The names and phone numbers of several Texas A&M University marine life specialists are wrong. So are the numbers for marine mammal stranding network offices in Louisiana and Florida, which are no longer in service.A worker in Port Fourchon, La., looks on as the finishing touches are put on a 100-tonne cofferdam that BP used to try to plug the leak. Many of the oil giant's attempts to stem the oil flow didn't work. (BP)
BP PLC's 582-page regional spill plan for the Gulf, and its 52-page, site-specific plan for the Deepwater Horizon rig are riddled with omissions and glaring errors, according to an Associated Press analysis that details how BP officials have pretty much been making it up as they go along.
The lengthy plans approved by the federal government last year before BP drilled its ill-fated well vastly understate the dangers posed by an uncontrolled leak and vastly overstate the company's preparedness to deal with one.
"BP Exploration and Production Inc. has the capability to respond, to the maximum extent practicable, to a worst case discharge, or a substantial threat of such a discharge, resulting from the activities proposed in our Exploration Plan," the oil giant stated in its Deepwater Horizon plan.
A close look
BP's plans have fallen short in many areas.
Beaches where oil washed up within weeks of a spill were supposed to be safe from contamination because BP promised it could marshal more than enough boats to scoop up all the oil before any deepwater spill could reach shore.
"The vessels in question maintain the necessary spill containment and recovery equipment to respond effectively," one of the documents says.
BP asserts that the combined response could skim, suck up or otherwise remove 20 million gallons of oil each day from the water. But that is about how much has leaked in the past six weeks — and the slick now covers about 8,500 square kilometres, according to Hans Graber, director of the University of Miami's satellite sensing facility.
Only a small fraction of the spill has been successfully skimmed. Plus, an undetermined portion of the spill has sunk to the bottom of the Gulf or is suspended somewhere in between.
The plan uses computer modelling to project a 21 per cent chance of oil reaching the Louisiana coast within a month of a spill. In reality, an oily sheen reached the Mississippi River delta just nine days after the April 20 explosion. Heavy globs soon followed.
Other locales where oil washed up within weeks of the explosion were characterized in BP's regional plan as safely out of the way of any oil danger.
Also, BP's site plan regarding birds, sea turtles or endangered marine mammals ("no adverse impacts") also have proved far too optimistic. While the exact toll on the Gulf's wildlife may never be known, the effects clearly have been devastating.
More than 400 oiled birds have been treated, while dozens have been found dead and covered in crude, mainly in Louisiana but also in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. On remote islands teeming with birds, a visible patina of oil taints pelicans, gulls, terns and herons, as captured in AP photos that depict one of the more gut-wrenching aspects of the spill's impact. Such scenes are no longer unusual; the response plans anticipate nothing on this scale.
In Louisiana's Barataria Bay, a dead sea turtle caked in reddish-brown oil lay splayed out with dragonflies buzzing by. More than 200 lifeless turtles and several dolphins also have washed ashore. So have countless fish.
There weren't supposed to be any coastline problems because the site was far offshore. "Due to the distance to shore (77 kilometers) and the response capabilities that would be implemented, no significant adverse impacts are expected," the site plan says.
But that distance has failed to protect precious resources. And last week, a group of environmental research centre scientists released a computer model that suggested oil could ride ocean currents around Florida and up to North Carolina by summer.
Perhaps the starkest example of BP's planning failures: The company has insisted that the size of the leak doesn't matter because it has been reacting to a worst-case scenario all along.
Yet each step of the way, as the estimated size of the daily leak has grown from 42,000 gallons to 210,000 gallons to perhaps 1.8 million gallons, BP has been forced to scramble — to create potential solutions on the fly, to add more boats, more booms, more skimmers, more workers. And containment domes, top kills, top hats.
In the spill scenarios detailed in the documents, fish, marine mammals and birds escape serious harm; beaches remain pristine; water quality is only a temporary problem. And those are the projections for a leak about 10 times worse than what has been calculated for the ongoing disaster.
Billy Nungesser, president of Plaquemines Parish, La., says there are "3,000 acres [of wetlands] where life as we know it is dead, and we continue to lose precious marshland every day."
There are other wildly false assumptions. BP's proposed method to calculate spill volume based on the darkness of the oil sheen is way off. The internationally accepted formula would produce estimates 100 times higher.
The Gulf's loop current, which is projected to help eventually send oil hundreds of miles around Florida's southern tip and up the Atlantic coast, isn't mentioned in either plan.
The website listed for Marine Spill Response Corp. — one of two firms that BP relies on for equipment to clean a spill — links to a defunct Japanese-language page.
In early May, at least 80 Louisiana state prisoners were trained to clean birds by listening to a presentation and watching a video. It was a work force never envisioned in the plans, which contain no detailed references to how birds will be cleansed of oil.
A containment cap
This week, after BP reported the seemingly good news that a containment cap installed on the wellhead was funneling some of the gushing crude to a tanker on the surface, BP introduced a whole new new set of plans mostly aimed at capturing more oil.
The latest incarnation calls for building a larger cap, using a special incinerator to burn off some of the recaptured oil and bringing in a floating platform to process the oil being sucked away from the gushing well.
In other words, the on-the-fly planning continues.
While a disaster as devastating as a major oil spill will create some problems that can't be solved in advance, or even foreseen, BP's plans do not anticipate even the most obvious issues.
In responses to lengthy lists of questions from AP, officials for BP and the Interior Department, which oversees oil rig regulator Minerals Management Service, appear to concede there were problems with the two oil spill response plans.
"Many of the questions you raise are exactly those questions that will be examined and answered by the presidential commission as well as other investigations into BP's oil spill," said Kendra Barkoff, spokeswoman for Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. She added that Salazar has undertaken transformational reforms of MMS.
Said BP spokesman Daren Beaudo from Robert, La.: "We expect that a complete review of the regional response plans and planning process will take place as part of the overall incident investigation so that we can determine what worked well and what needs improvement.
"Thus far we have implemented the largest spill response in history and many, many elements of it have worked well. However, we are greatly disappointed that oil has made landfall and impacted shorelines and marshes. The situation we are dealing with is clearly complex, unprecedented and will offer us much to learn from."
A key failure of the plan's cleanup provisions was the scarcity of floating lines of plastic or absorbent material placed around sensitive areas to deflect oil.
From the start, local officials all along the Gulf Coast have complained about a lack of supplies, particularly the heavier, so-called ocean boom.
Oil clings to the feathers of an oiled pelican waiting to be cleaned in Fort Jackson, La. (Sean Gardner/Reuters)
But even BP says in its regional plan that boom isn't effective in seas more than a metre or a little higher; waves in the Gulf are often bigger. And even in calmer waters, oil has swamped vital wildlife breeding grounds in places supposedly sequestered by multiple layers of boom.
The BP plans speak of thorough resources for all; there's no talk of a need to share. Still, Alabama Gov. Bob Riley said his shores were left vulnerable by Coast Guard decisions to shift boom to Louisiana when the oil threatened landfall there.
Meanwhile, in Louisiana's Plaquemines Parish, Nungesser and others have complained that kilometres of the boom now in the water were not properly anchored. AP reporters saw evidence he was right — some lines of boom were so broken up they hardly impeded the slick's push to shore.
Some out-of-state contractors who didn't know local waters placed boom where tides and currents made sure it didn't work properly. And yet disorganization has dogged efforts to use local boats.
Boats skim oil from the surface of the Gulf of Mexico near the site of BP's sunken oil rig on June 8. (Dave Martin/Associated Press)
In Venice, La., near where the Mississippi River empties into the Gulf, a large group of charter captains have been known to spend their days sitting around at the marina, earning $2,000 a day without ever attacking the oil.
But perhaps the most glaring error in BP's plans involves Lutz, the professor, one of several dozen experts recommended as resources to be contacted in the event of a spill.
Lutz is listed as a go-to wildlife specialist at the University of Miami. But Lutz, an eminent sea turtle expert, left Miami almost 20 years ago to chair the marine biology department at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. He died four years before the plan was published.Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/06/09/f-bp-spill-plan.html#ixzz0qQP77VbP
Document refers to walruses, links to defunct websites and cites expert who died in 2005
Workers clean up oil residue along the beach in Port Fourchon, La., on May 29. (Jae C. Hong/Associated Press)
Professor Peter Lutz is listed in BP's 2009 response plan for a Gulf of Mexico oil spill as a national wildlife expert. He died in 2005.
Under the heading "sensitive biological resources," the plan lists marine mammals including walruses, sea otters, sea lions and seals. None lives anywhere near the Gulf.
The names and phone numbers of several Texas A&M University marine life specialists are wrong. So are the numbers for marine mammal stranding network offices in Louisiana and Florida, which are no longer in service.A worker in Port Fourchon, La., looks on as the finishing touches are put on a 100-tonne cofferdam that BP used to try to plug the leak. Many of the oil giant's attempts to stem the oil flow didn't work. (BP)
BP PLC's 582-page regional spill plan for the Gulf, and its 52-page, site-specific plan for the Deepwater Horizon rig are riddled with omissions and glaring errors, according to an Associated Press analysis that details how BP officials have pretty much been making it up as they go along.
The lengthy plans approved by the federal government last year before BP drilled its ill-fated well vastly understate the dangers posed by an uncontrolled leak and vastly overstate the company's preparedness to deal with one.
"BP Exploration and Production Inc. has the capability to respond, to the maximum extent practicable, to a worst case discharge, or a substantial threat of such a discharge, resulting from the activities proposed in our Exploration Plan," the oil giant stated in its Deepwater Horizon plan.
A close look
BP's plans have fallen short in many areas.
Beaches where oil washed up within weeks of a spill were supposed to be safe from contamination because BP promised it could marshal more than enough boats to scoop up all the oil before any deepwater spill could reach shore.
"The vessels in question maintain the necessary spill containment and recovery equipment to respond effectively," one of the documents says.
BP asserts that the combined response could skim, suck up or otherwise remove 20 million gallons of oil each day from the water. But that is about how much has leaked in the past six weeks — and the slick now covers about 8,500 square kilometres, according to Hans Graber, director of the University of Miami's satellite sensing facility.
Only a small fraction of the spill has been successfully skimmed. Plus, an undetermined portion of the spill has sunk to the bottom of the Gulf or is suspended somewhere in between.
The plan uses computer modelling to project a 21 per cent chance of oil reaching the Louisiana coast within a month of a spill. In reality, an oily sheen reached the Mississippi River delta just nine days after the April 20 explosion. Heavy globs soon followed.
Other locales where oil washed up within weeks of the explosion were characterized in BP's regional plan as safely out of the way of any oil danger.
Also, BP's site plan regarding birds, sea turtles or endangered marine mammals ("no adverse impacts") also have proved far too optimistic. While the exact toll on the Gulf's wildlife may never be known, the effects clearly have been devastating.
More than 400 oiled birds have been treated, while dozens have been found dead and covered in crude, mainly in Louisiana but also in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. On remote islands teeming with birds, a visible patina of oil taints pelicans, gulls, terns and herons, as captured in AP photos that depict one of the more gut-wrenching aspects of the spill's impact. Such scenes are no longer unusual; the response plans anticipate nothing on this scale.
In Louisiana's Barataria Bay, a dead sea turtle caked in reddish-brown oil lay splayed out with dragonflies buzzing by. More than 200 lifeless turtles and several dolphins also have washed ashore. So have countless fish.
There weren't supposed to be any coastline problems because the site was far offshore. "Due to the distance to shore (77 kilometers) and the response capabilities that would be implemented, no significant adverse impacts are expected," the site plan says.
But that distance has failed to protect precious resources. And last week, a group of environmental research centre scientists released a computer model that suggested oil could ride ocean currents around Florida and up to North Carolina by summer.
Perhaps the starkest example of BP's planning failures: The company has insisted that the size of the leak doesn't matter because it has been reacting to a worst-case scenario all along.
Yet each step of the way, as the estimated size of the daily leak has grown from 42,000 gallons to 210,000 gallons to perhaps 1.8 million gallons, BP has been forced to scramble — to create potential solutions on the fly, to add more boats, more booms, more skimmers, more workers. And containment domes, top kills, top hats.
In the spill scenarios detailed in the documents, fish, marine mammals and birds escape serious harm; beaches remain pristine; water quality is only a temporary problem. And those are the projections for a leak about 10 times worse than what has been calculated for the ongoing disaster.
Billy Nungesser, president of Plaquemines Parish, La., says there are "3,000 acres [of wetlands] where life as we know it is dead, and we continue to lose precious marshland every day."
There are other wildly false assumptions. BP's proposed method to calculate spill volume based on the darkness of the oil sheen is way off. The internationally accepted formula would produce estimates 100 times higher.
The Gulf's loop current, which is projected to help eventually send oil hundreds of miles around Florida's southern tip and up the Atlantic coast, isn't mentioned in either plan.
The website listed for Marine Spill Response Corp. — one of two firms that BP relies on for equipment to clean a spill — links to a defunct Japanese-language page.
In early May, at least 80 Louisiana state prisoners were trained to clean birds by listening to a presentation and watching a video. It was a work force never envisioned in the plans, which contain no detailed references to how birds will be cleansed of oil.
A containment cap
This week, after BP reported the seemingly good news that a containment cap installed on the wellhead was funneling some of the gushing crude to a tanker on the surface, BP introduced a whole new new set of plans mostly aimed at capturing more oil.
The latest incarnation calls for building a larger cap, using a special incinerator to burn off some of the recaptured oil and bringing in a floating platform to process the oil being sucked away from the gushing well.
In other words, the on-the-fly planning continues.
While a disaster as devastating as a major oil spill will create some problems that can't be solved in advance, or even foreseen, BP's plans do not anticipate even the most obvious issues.
In responses to lengthy lists of questions from AP, officials for BP and the Interior Department, which oversees oil rig regulator Minerals Management Service, appear to concede there were problems with the two oil spill response plans.
"Many of the questions you raise are exactly those questions that will be examined and answered by the presidential commission as well as other investigations into BP's oil spill," said Kendra Barkoff, spokeswoman for Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. She added that Salazar has undertaken transformational reforms of MMS.
Said BP spokesman Daren Beaudo from Robert, La.: "We expect that a complete review of the regional response plans and planning process will take place as part of the overall incident investigation so that we can determine what worked well and what needs improvement.
"Thus far we have implemented the largest spill response in history and many, many elements of it have worked well. However, we are greatly disappointed that oil has made landfall and impacted shorelines and marshes. The situation we are dealing with is clearly complex, unprecedented and will offer us much to learn from."
A key failure of the plan's cleanup provisions was the scarcity of floating lines of plastic or absorbent material placed around sensitive areas to deflect oil.
From the start, local officials all along the Gulf Coast have complained about a lack of supplies, particularly the heavier, so-called ocean boom.
Oil clings to the feathers of an oiled pelican waiting to be cleaned in Fort Jackson, La. (Sean Gardner/Reuters)
But even BP says in its regional plan that boom isn't effective in seas more than a metre or a little higher; waves in the Gulf are often bigger. And even in calmer waters, oil has swamped vital wildlife breeding grounds in places supposedly sequestered by multiple layers of boom.
The BP plans speak of thorough resources for all; there's no talk of a need to share. Still, Alabama Gov. Bob Riley said his shores were left vulnerable by Coast Guard decisions to shift boom to Louisiana when the oil threatened landfall there.
Meanwhile, in Louisiana's Plaquemines Parish, Nungesser and others have complained that kilometres of the boom now in the water were not properly anchored. AP reporters saw evidence he was right — some lines of boom were so broken up they hardly impeded the slick's push to shore.
Some out-of-state contractors who didn't know local waters placed boom where tides and currents made sure it didn't work properly. And yet disorganization has dogged efforts to use local boats.
Boats skim oil from the surface of the Gulf of Mexico near the site of BP's sunken oil rig on June 8. (Dave Martin/Associated Press)
In Venice, La., near where the Mississippi River empties into the Gulf, a large group of charter captains have been known to spend their days sitting around at the marina, earning $2,000 a day without ever attacking the oil.
But perhaps the most glaring error in BP's plans involves Lutz, the professor, one of several dozen experts recommended as resources to be contacted in the event of a spill.
Lutz is listed as a go-to wildlife specialist at the University of Miami. But Lutz, an eminent sea turtle expert, left Miami almost 20 years ago to chair the marine biology department at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. He died four years before the plan was published.Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/06/09/f-bp-spill-plan.html#ixzz0qQP77VbP
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Abousfian Abdelrazik From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Abousfian Abdelrazik
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Abousfian Abdelrazik
Born
August 6, 1962[1]Al-Bawgah, Sudan[1]
Detained at
Charge(s)
No charge
Status
Returned to Canada
Abousfian Abdelrazik (Arabic: أبو سفيان عبدالرازق) is a Sudanese-born Canadian dual citizen. The Canadian federal government would not grant him travel papers and otherwise blocked his return to Canada following his imprisonment in Sudan.[2][3][4] On July 23, 2006 the United States Department of the Treasury designated him as a supporter of al-Qaeda and a terrorist, but he was subsequently cleared in multiple investigations by the Sudanese government, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). On June 4, 2009, the Federal Court ruled that his Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms had been violated and ordered the Canadian government to facilitate his return. On June 27, 2009, Abdelrazik flew to Canada. He is only living Canadian on the United Nations terrorist no-fly list[5]. Upon his return to Canada he sued the government for $24-million, and $3-million more for Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon's alleged, “misfeasance in public office.” Abousfian's situation is similar to other Canadians such as Maher Arar, who have been swept up in anti-terror dragnets post 9/11, and brings into contrast the issues of civil liberties and due process verse national security. There is evidence that he was abused by his interrogators in the Sudan.
Contents[hide]
1 Life
2 Imprisoned and then stranded in the Sudan
3 Involvement of Canadian and American intelligence agencies
4 Formal designation as a terrorist and addition to UN Security council terrorist no-fly list
5 Further attempts to return and judicial decree
6 Return and lawsuits against the federal government
7 External links
8 References
//
[edit] Life
Abdelrazik was born in Sudan on January 1, 1962. He initially trained as a machinist and got married. He was imprisoned for his political views after the 1989 military coup by Omar al-Bashir, and fled to Canada as a refugee in 1990. In 1992 he was granted landed immigrant status. He married a french Canadian named Myriam St-Hilaire in 1994, and they soon had a daughter together. He became a Canadian citizen in 1995.[2] He states, that he was unable to find regular employment once he came to Canada. Muslims who know him have characterized him as a devout Muslim who "often read the Koran to the sick and was paid as a healer". In an interview with Globe and Mail he stated that he has traveled to many places including such countries as Pakistan and Bosnia. He states that he was only involved in humanitarian work, "to help people". He further stated that, "my humanitarian trips abroad were funded by my religious work as a Muslim healer in Montreal and also through donations from many individuals in the Muslim community".[6] Abousfian felt it necessary to state why he didn't list the names of his supporters in a letter to the editor of Globe and Mail,"On the urging of my lawyers...I had earned the money by reciting alms. I had not wanted to invite scrutiny of those who paid me, knowing where guilt by association can lead".[7] In 2000, Abdelrazik voluntarily testified via videolink at the trial of Ahmed Ressam, the "millennium bomber".[2] He testified he knew Ahmed Ressam when he met him at the Montreal's Assuna Annabawiah mosque, widely regarded as a hotbed of Islamic extremism, but had no knowledge of his plans to attack targets in the USA and knew nothing about his whereabouts since he last saw him in Vancouver. In 2001 his first wife died of cancer. While in jail in the Sudan his second wife divorced him. He has an, ex-wife, one son, two daughters, and a step-daughter who live in Canada. He currently lives in Montreal Quebec since he came home to Canada in June 2009.[8]
[edit] Imprisoned and then stranded in the Sudan
In the spring of 2003, Abousfian along with his wife and three children, went to the Khartoum Sudan to visit his sick mother. Shortly after his family returned to Canada that August he was arrested.[9] According the Lawyers Weekly, "documents reveal that Sudanese officials arrested him at Canada’s request".[10] The People's Commission on Immigration and Security Measures claims that Mr. Abdelrazik stated, "he was repeatedly beaten and tortured". In an affidavit this year, he admits to telling his interrogators "what they wanted to hear", whether or not it was true.[11] While in jail his wife divorced him[12] and his Canadian passport had expired.[2] He was released in July 2004 after spending 11 months in prison. His family bought him a plane ticket home but the airlines refused to transport him based on the no-fly list. Sudan then forced him to live in a police owned and monitored house. On Oct 10th. Sudan offered Canada to fly him home on a private plane if the countries share the cost. Canada informs Sudan that it will not share the costs or provide an escort. The People's Commission on Immigration and Security Measures states, that on July 26, 2005, Sudan's Minister of Justice issues Mr. Abdelrazik a formal document exonerating him. We "did not find any evidence'" linking him to terrorism or crime or al-Qaeda".[11] Abousfian was re-arrested in November 2005, and finally released again in July 2006,[8] This led to the UN's 1267 Committee to include him on their individuals and entities belonging to or associated with the Taliban and Al-Qaida.[13] The name Abousfian Abdelrazik appears as an alias.[14] Once out of prison Canada refused to renew his passport, leaving him unable to travel on commercial airlines. Canada went so far as to refuse to allow Sudan to transport him to Canada at their expense on a Sudanese government aircraft. Government aircraft are exempt from the flight ban list which only applies to commercial airlines.[2] The Canadian government could have issued temporary travel papers to get him to Canada, but that would have required Abdelrazik to fly immediately to Canada to qualify.
[edit] Involvement of Canadian and American intelligence agencies
CSIS had been interested in Mr. Abdelrazik since 1999 – and perhaps earlier – when he associated with several other Muslim men believed to be linked to al-Qaeda.[15] The Globe and Mail reports that it has acquired documents in contradiction to previous Canadian government statements that it had not requested Abdelrazik's detention. Their report states the documents they obtained show Canada had requested his detention, in 2003. It states Canadian officials had participated in his interrogation in October 2003. While he was in the Sudanese prison, Canadian diplomat Sean Robertson secretly cabled the Canadian embassy personal stating, "Mission staff should not accompany Abdelrazik to his interview with the FBI", and Sudanese intelligence agents.[16] Abousfian claims to have been interrogated by two Canadian Security Intelligence Service agents.[8] Canadian official Sean Robertson ordered Canadian ambassadorial staff to not attempt to monitor the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) interrogation, after Abdelrazik had requested that they accompany him to the interrogation since the FBI had threatened that he would "never return to Canada" if he did not confess allegiance to al-Qaeda and name other terrorists.[9] Embassy staff compromised with Abdelrazik and told him they would phone him immediately after the scheduled interrogation was over, but when they called, there was no answer. Meanwhile however, assurances were being given to Canadian Parliament that he was receiving full consular protection.[9]
During a news conference upon his return to Canada, Abousfain made several new allegations. According to Abousfian, CSIS "laughingly" stated that, "Sudan will be your Guantanamo". Apparently a CSIS agent interviewed him before he left for the Sudan and was also his interrogator in the Sudan. During that interview in 2003 it is alleged that, the CSIS agent told him he would "never see Canada again". Abousfian also denied every allegation that the US government has made against him, including the accusations that he: knew Osama bin Laden, fought in Chechnya, trained in Afghanistan, and was a key al-Qaeda operative.[17] Details have emerged due to the media attention to his case. In May 2009 the Globe and Mail published new reports on the role Canadian authorities played in Abdelrazik's apprehension.[18][19][20][21] On October 29, 2009, Richard Fadden the head of CSIS stated that civil-rights advocates and media present a distorted picture of, "terror suspects are too often portrayed as romantic revolutionaries". He was referring to Abdelrazik and a few other accused suspects. He went on to state,"So why then, I ask, are those accused of terrorist offences often portrayed in media as quasi-folk heroes despite the harsh statements of numerous judges. Why are they always photographed with their children, giving tender-hearted profiles and more or less taken at their word when they accuse CSIS or other government agencies of abusing them?...A more balanced presentation is what I'm hoping for."[22]
[edit] Formal designation as a terrorist and addition to UN Security council terrorist no-fly list
On July 23, 2006 the United States Department of the Treasury designating him as a supporter of al-Qaeda and a terrorist, "for his high-level ties to and support for al-Qaeda." According to the Globe and Mail, the U.S. State Department believes, "Mr. Abdelrazik was “closely associated with Abu Zubaydah, Osama bin Laden's lieutenant responsible for recruiting and for al-Qaeda's network of training camps in Afghanistan.” The United States also alleges Mr. Abdelrazik recruited and accompanied a Tunisian extremist named Raouf Hannachi for paramilitary training at a camp in Afghanistan in 1996 “where al-Qaeda and other UN-sanctioned terrorist groups were known to train,” and became personally acquainted with Mr. bin Laden".[1][23] Eight days after he was designated a terrorist, he was added to the UN Security Council terrorist no-fly blacklist by the U.S. and is now the only living Canadian on that list. According to the Globe and mail,"any country can nominate anyone they consider to be an islamic extremest. All his personal assets were frozen once he was put on that list.[11]. According to a letter sent on April 18, 2008, by the Department of Foreign Affairs to Abousfian Abdelrazik's lawyer, the Canadian government requested the UN's 1267 Committee to remove Abdelrazik from its list of al Qaeda supporters.[24] A request was made to the UN on December 10 2007, but was vetoed with no explanation eleven days later, meaning that at least one of the 15 members of the Security Council raised an objection. Canada has stated that it now supports removing Abdelrazik from the list, but has not clarified whether it was the country which originally asked for his inclusion.[25] Critics of the no-fly list have commented that Abdelrazik's status is typical, since in practice it is far easier to be added to the list than removed.[25]
[edit] Further attempts to return and judicial decree
Out of fears for his safety due to growing media attention, on 28 April 2008, Abdelrazik took refuge in the Canadian embassy in Sudan, a situation the Canadian government described as "temporary". Abdelrazik also brought a legal suit against the Canadian government, seeking his return.[26] On April 18, 2008 the director of consular affairs in the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed that Mr. Abdelrazik, like all Canadian citizens, was entitled to emergency travel documents to get him home. Accordingly, on August 26, 2008, Abdelrazik booked a flight to Canada on Etihad Airways, which was willing to fly him despite the fact that his presence on the U.S. no-fly list meant that any airline which transports him will no longer be able to enter U.S. airspace, thus eliminating most international commercial airlines.[3] His flight was due to leave on September 15, 2008, but Abdelrazik was not able to leave Sudan because Ottawa refused to issue him travel documents. (He was issued a special one-use emergency passport valid for only two weeks after his 2004 release, but at the time could not find an airline willing to transport him.) On April 3, 2009, this letter was received by Abousfian Abdelrazik's lawyer in Ottawa, Canada. Counsel for the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Donna Blois, in a one line letter notifies that the minister has refused to grant an emergency passport pursuant to section 10.1 of the Canadian Passport Order which states: "10.1 Without limiting the generality of subsections 4(3) and (4) and for greater certainty, the Minister may refuse or revoke a passport if the Minister is of the opinion that such action is necessary for the national security of Canada or another country."[27] According to the Lawyer's Weekly, "the government argued that the Charter only guarantees the rights of citizens to enter Canada once they present themselves at the border, and since Abdelrazik is not at the Canadian border, he has no rights.[10]
On March 12, 2009, 115 supporters of Abdelrazik presented a ticket for his flight to the Canadian government after the government withdrew its previous comments about allowing him to return, stating that he needed to have a pre-paid flight ticket, and that any Canadian who donated money to purchase such a ticket could be charged under anti-terrorism legislation. The donors included former solicitor-general Warren Allmand, political science professor at the University of Toronto Joseph Carens, and Canadian peace activist and former iraq hostage James Loney.[28][29]
The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee passed a motion requesting Abdelrazik testify before it.[18][30] Member of Parliament Paul Dewar stated the request should require the Government to drop its efforts to block Abdelrazik's return. On May 7 and 8, 2009, the Federal Court heard arguments from Abdelrazik's lawyers, who asked the court to order the federal government to facilitate Abdelrazik's return home. His legal argument was rooted in Section 6 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which states in part that "Every citizen of Canada has the right to enter, remain in and leave Canada."
On June 4, Federal Judge Russel Zinn ruled the government had violated his constitutional rights and must fly him home before July 7.[31] Judge Zinn's message was tougher. He required the Canadian government to issue an emergency passport and make travel arrangements for Mr. Abdelrazik within 15 days. The judge stated Mr. Abdelrazik, "is as much a victim of international terrorism as the innocent persons whose lives have been taken by recent barbaric acts of terrorists". The Globe and Mail stated, "In a toughly worded 107-page ruling, Judge Zinn pilloried the government's claims of trying to help Mr. Abdelrazik, concluded that Canadian anti-terrorism agents were implicated in his imprisonment in Sudan, denounced the UN terrorist blacklist as an affront to justice and basic human rights and slammed Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon for high-handedly ignoring due process of law".[32] In response to public demands by opposition parties that Ottawa should stop fighting the case, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said government lawyers would need time to review the 107-page decision before deciding on a course of action.
[edit] Return and lawsuits against the federal government
On June 18, 2009, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson announced that the Government of Canada would abide by the court's ruling. Nine days later Abdelrazik flew to Canada. In the fall of 2009 he sued the Canadian government for $24-million, and $3-million more for Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon's, “misfeasance in public office.” The Hamilton Spectator states that according to Justice Minister Robert Nicholson, "the Harper government spent more than $800,000 in legal fees fighting a losing battle to keep Canadian citizen Abousfian Abdelrazik from coming home".[33] Justice department lawyers have claimed Abousfian's lawsuit is meritless because Canadian laws do not apply overseas. The government has characterized the lawsuit as mostly frivolous and vexatious. The government claims that "no such tort has been recognized in Canadian law" that recognizes preventing torture at the hands of others. Abousfian's lawyer stated in response, "I expected the government would approach us about an apology and a settlement, instead they have been entirely unrepentant." The outcome of the case will most likely set several new legal precedences with regards to the Canadian charter of rights. [34]
[edit] External links
Cenre for Constitutional Studies: Abdelrazik Still Stranded in Sudan as Government Fails to Issue Passport
Updates, Press Releases and Action Alerts on website run by supporters of Abdelrazik
Take Action- Canada: clear the way for Abousfian Abdelrazik’s return
[edit] References
^ a b c United States Department of the Treasury, Treasury designates Canadian and Sudanese National for Support to al Qaida, July 20, 2006
^ a b c d e Paul Koring (April 28, 2008). "Terror claims trap Canadian in Khartoum: Marooned for five years, Abousfian Abdelrazik gets $100 a month from Canada to survive, but no passport or clearance to go home". Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080422.wabdelrazik0428/BNStory/National/home?pageRequested=all&print=true. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
^ a b Paul Koring (September 12, 2008). "Ottawa withholding travel papers for Canadian". Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080912.ABDELRAZIK12/TPStory/?query=abdelrazik. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
^ Paul Koring (September 16, 2008). "Ottawa balks at travel permit for man trapped in Sudan". Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080916.ABDELRAZIK16/TPStory/?query=abdelrazik. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
^ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/video/abdelrazik-i-never-hurt-nobody-i-never-did-something-wrong/article1300281/
^ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/abdelraziks-lost-years/article1303360/
^ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/letters-to-the-editor/abdelrazik-no-mystery/article1355167/
^ a b c Brown, Jim. Canadian Press, "Ottawa refuses to help Canadian in Sudan: Lawyer", April 28, 2008
^ a b c Koring, Paul. Globe and Mail, Ottawa denied Abdelrazik diplomatic assistance, November 25, 2008
^ a b http://www.lawyersweekly.ca/index.php?section=article&volume=29&number=2&article=3
^ a b c http://www.peoplescommission.org/en/abdelrazik/timeline.php
^ El Akkad, Omar. Globe and Mail, Montrealer takes refuge in Canadian embassy, April 29, 2008
^ [http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sc8798.doc.htm "Security Council Committee Adds One Individual in Al-Qaida Section of Consolidated List, Approves Changes of Information Regarding 25 Individuals"]. UN Security Counsel. August 2, 2006. http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sc8798.doc.htm. Retrieved June 23, 2009.
^ "The New Consolidated List of Individuals and Entities Belonging to or Associated with the Taliban and Al-Qaida Organisation as Established and Maintained by the 1267 Committee". http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/committees/1267/consoltablelist.shtml. Retrieved June 23, 2009.
^ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/article680695.ece
^ Paul Koring (November 25, 2008). "Ottawa denied Abdelrazik diplomatic assistance". Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081125.wabdelrazik25/BNStory/International/. Retrieved 2008-11-25.
^ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/abdelrazik-pleads-to-clear-his-name-i-want-to-live-like-a-normal-canadian/article1229574/
^ a b Paul Koring (2009-05-05). "Canadian agents secretly interrogated Abdelrazik: Papers obtained by The Globe show officials admitted he was jailed in Sudan at the request of mysterious 'Canadian' authorities". Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090504.ABDELRAZIK04ART2242/TPStory/International. Retrieved 2009-05-05. "Newly obtained government documents, now in the possession of The Globe and Mail, also show that in a secret briefing to then foreign affairs minister Maxime Bernier, officials admitted as recently as last year that Mr. Abdelrazik had been originally imprisoned in Khartoum at the request of mysterious "Canadian" authorities."
^ "A contradiction to be explained". Globe and Mail. 2009-05-05. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090504.weAbdelrazik05/BNStory/specialComment/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20090504.weAbdelrazik05. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
^ Raphael Alexander (2009-05-05). "More pieces to the Abdelrazik puzzle". National Post. Archived from the original on 2009-05-05. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnetwork.nationalpost.com%2Fnp%2Fblogs%2Ffullcomment%2Farchive%2F2009%2F05%2F05%2Fraphael-alexander-more-pieces-to-the-abdelrazik-puzzle.aspx&date=2009-05-05.
^ "Abdelrazik questioned by Canadian agents before Ottawa knew his location: report". CBC News. 2009-05-04. Archived from the original on 2009-05-05. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbc.ca%2Fcanada%2Fstory%2F2009%2F05%2F04%2Fabdelrazik-csis-report040.html&date=2009-05-05.
^ http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Abousfian_Abdelrazik&action=edit§ion=3
^ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/article682954.ece
^ "Ottawa trying to get Montrealer off UN terrorist list: report". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. May 2, 2008. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2008/05/02/sudan-delist.html. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
^ a b "Trying to get off the UN's terrorist list described as 'Kafkaesque'". Globe and Mail. May 16, 2008. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080516.LIST16/TPStory/TPInternational/Africa/. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
^ "Abdelrazik suing Canada". The Arab American News. May 16, 2008. http://www.arabamericannews.com/news/index.php?mod=article&cat=Canada&article=1043. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
^ http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/laws/regu/si-81-86/latest/si-81-86.html
^ Montreal Gazette, This is a vile way to treat a citizen, March 9, 2009
^ "Supporters defy law, buy plane ticket for Montrealer stuck in Sudan". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. March 12, 2009. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2009/03/12/mtl-abdelrazik-plane-ticket-0322.html. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
^ Paul Koring (2009-05-05). "Abdelrazik asked to appear before committee". Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090505.ABDELRAZIK05ART21422/TPStory/International. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
^ {{cite news url=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/06/04/abdelrasik.html title=Court orders Ottawa to let Abdelrazik return to Canada publisher=CBC News date=June 4, 2009 accessdate=June 4, 2009 }}
^ Globe and Mailhttp://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/court-orders-ottawa-to-allow-abdelrazik-to-return-to-canada/article1168783/
^ http://www.thespec.com/Opinions/article/653611
^ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-rejects-abdelrazik-claim-that-csis-knew-he-faced-torture/article1473779/
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Abousfian Abdelrazik
Born
August 6, 1962[1]Al-Bawgah, Sudan[1]
Detained at
Charge(s)
No charge
Status
Returned to Canada
Abousfian Abdelrazik (Arabic: أبو سفيان عبدالرازق) is a Sudanese-born Canadian dual citizen. The Canadian federal government would not grant him travel papers and otherwise blocked his return to Canada following his imprisonment in Sudan.[2][3][4] On July 23, 2006 the United States Department of the Treasury designated him as a supporter of al-Qaeda and a terrorist, but he was subsequently cleared in multiple investigations by the Sudanese government, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). On June 4, 2009, the Federal Court ruled that his Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms had been violated and ordered the Canadian government to facilitate his return. On June 27, 2009, Abdelrazik flew to Canada. He is only living Canadian on the United Nations terrorist no-fly list[5]. Upon his return to Canada he sued the government for $24-million, and $3-million more for Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon's alleged, “misfeasance in public office.” Abousfian's situation is similar to other Canadians such as Maher Arar, who have been swept up in anti-terror dragnets post 9/11, and brings into contrast the issues of civil liberties and due process verse national security. There is evidence that he was abused by his interrogators in the Sudan.
Contents[hide]
1 Life
2 Imprisoned and then stranded in the Sudan
3 Involvement of Canadian and American intelligence agencies
4 Formal designation as a terrorist and addition to UN Security council terrorist no-fly list
5 Further attempts to return and judicial decree
6 Return and lawsuits against the federal government
7 External links
8 References
//
[edit] Life
Abdelrazik was born in Sudan on January 1, 1962. He initially trained as a machinist and got married. He was imprisoned for his political views after the 1989 military coup by Omar al-Bashir, and fled to Canada as a refugee in 1990. In 1992 he was granted landed immigrant status. He married a french Canadian named Myriam St-Hilaire in 1994, and they soon had a daughter together. He became a Canadian citizen in 1995.[2] He states, that he was unable to find regular employment once he came to Canada. Muslims who know him have characterized him as a devout Muslim who "often read the Koran to the sick and was paid as a healer". In an interview with Globe and Mail he stated that he has traveled to many places including such countries as Pakistan and Bosnia. He states that he was only involved in humanitarian work, "to help people". He further stated that, "my humanitarian trips abroad were funded by my religious work as a Muslim healer in Montreal and also through donations from many individuals in the Muslim community".[6] Abousfian felt it necessary to state why he didn't list the names of his supporters in a letter to the editor of Globe and Mail,"On the urging of my lawyers...I had earned the money by reciting alms. I had not wanted to invite scrutiny of those who paid me, knowing where guilt by association can lead".[7] In 2000, Abdelrazik voluntarily testified via videolink at the trial of Ahmed Ressam, the "millennium bomber".[2] He testified he knew Ahmed Ressam when he met him at the Montreal's Assuna Annabawiah mosque, widely regarded as a hotbed of Islamic extremism, but had no knowledge of his plans to attack targets in the USA and knew nothing about his whereabouts since he last saw him in Vancouver. In 2001 his first wife died of cancer. While in jail in the Sudan his second wife divorced him. He has an, ex-wife, one son, two daughters, and a step-daughter who live in Canada. He currently lives in Montreal Quebec since he came home to Canada in June 2009.[8]
[edit] Imprisoned and then stranded in the Sudan
In the spring of 2003, Abousfian along with his wife and three children, went to the Khartoum Sudan to visit his sick mother. Shortly after his family returned to Canada that August he was arrested.[9] According the Lawyers Weekly, "documents reveal that Sudanese officials arrested him at Canada’s request".[10] The People's Commission on Immigration and Security Measures claims that Mr. Abdelrazik stated, "he was repeatedly beaten and tortured". In an affidavit this year, he admits to telling his interrogators "what they wanted to hear", whether or not it was true.[11] While in jail his wife divorced him[12] and his Canadian passport had expired.[2] He was released in July 2004 after spending 11 months in prison. His family bought him a plane ticket home but the airlines refused to transport him based on the no-fly list. Sudan then forced him to live in a police owned and monitored house. On Oct 10th. Sudan offered Canada to fly him home on a private plane if the countries share the cost. Canada informs Sudan that it will not share the costs or provide an escort. The People's Commission on Immigration and Security Measures states, that on July 26, 2005, Sudan's Minister of Justice issues Mr. Abdelrazik a formal document exonerating him. We "did not find any evidence'" linking him to terrorism or crime or al-Qaeda".[11] Abousfian was re-arrested in November 2005, and finally released again in July 2006,[8] This led to the UN's 1267 Committee to include him on their individuals and entities belonging to or associated with the Taliban and Al-Qaida.[13] The name Abousfian Abdelrazik appears as an alias.[14] Once out of prison Canada refused to renew his passport, leaving him unable to travel on commercial airlines. Canada went so far as to refuse to allow Sudan to transport him to Canada at their expense on a Sudanese government aircraft. Government aircraft are exempt from the flight ban list which only applies to commercial airlines.[2] The Canadian government could have issued temporary travel papers to get him to Canada, but that would have required Abdelrazik to fly immediately to Canada to qualify.
[edit] Involvement of Canadian and American intelligence agencies
CSIS had been interested in Mr. Abdelrazik since 1999 – and perhaps earlier – when he associated with several other Muslim men believed to be linked to al-Qaeda.[15] The Globe and Mail reports that it has acquired documents in contradiction to previous Canadian government statements that it had not requested Abdelrazik's detention. Their report states the documents they obtained show Canada had requested his detention, in 2003. It states Canadian officials had participated in his interrogation in October 2003. While he was in the Sudanese prison, Canadian diplomat Sean Robertson secretly cabled the Canadian embassy personal stating, "Mission staff should not accompany Abdelrazik to his interview with the FBI", and Sudanese intelligence agents.[16] Abousfian claims to have been interrogated by two Canadian Security Intelligence Service agents.[8] Canadian official Sean Robertson ordered Canadian ambassadorial staff to not attempt to monitor the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) interrogation, after Abdelrazik had requested that they accompany him to the interrogation since the FBI had threatened that he would "never return to Canada" if he did not confess allegiance to al-Qaeda and name other terrorists.[9] Embassy staff compromised with Abdelrazik and told him they would phone him immediately after the scheduled interrogation was over, but when they called, there was no answer. Meanwhile however, assurances were being given to Canadian Parliament that he was receiving full consular protection.[9]
During a news conference upon his return to Canada, Abousfain made several new allegations. According to Abousfian, CSIS "laughingly" stated that, "Sudan will be your Guantanamo". Apparently a CSIS agent interviewed him before he left for the Sudan and was also his interrogator in the Sudan. During that interview in 2003 it is alleged that, the CSIS agent told him he would "never see Canada again". Abousfian also denied every allegation that the US government has made against him, including the accusations that he: knew Osama bin Laden, fought in Chechnya, trained in Afghanistan, and was a key al-Qaeda operative.[17] Details have emerged due to the media attention to his case. In May 2009 the Globe and Mail published new reports on the role Canadian authorities played in Abdelrazik's apprehension.[18][19][20][21] On October 29, 2009, Richard Fadden the head of CSIS stated that civil-rights advocates and media present a distorted picture of, "terror suspects are too often portrayed as romantic revolutionaries". He was referring to Abdelrazik and a few other accused suspects. He went on to state,"So why then, I ask, are those accused of terrorist offences often portrayed in media as quasi-folk heroes despite the harsh statements of numerous judges. Why are they always photographed with their children, giving tender-hearted profiles and more or less taken at their word when they accuse CSIS or other government agencies of abusing them?...A more balanced presentation is what I'm hoping for."[22]
[edit] Formal designation as a terrorist and addition to UN Security council terrorist no-fly list
On July 23, 2006 the United States Department of the Treasury designating him as a supporter of al-Qaeda and a terrorist, "for his high-level ties to and support for al-Qaeda." According to the Globe and Mail, the U.S. State Department believes, "Mr. Abdelrazik was “closely associated with Abu Zubaydah, Osama bin Laden's lieutenant responsible for recruiting and for al-Qaeda's network of training camps in Afghanistan.” The United States also alleges Mr. Abdelrazik recruited and accompanied a Tunisian extremist named Raouf Hannachi for paramilitary training at a camp in Afghanistan in 1996 “where al-Qaeda and other UN-sanctioned terrorist groups were known to train,” and became personally acquainted with Mr. bin Laden".[1][23] Eight days after he was designated a terrorist, he was added to the UN Security Council terrorist no-fly blacklist by the U.S. and is now the only living Canadian on that list. According to the Globe and mail,"any country can nominate anyone they consider to be an islamic extremest. All his personal assets were frozen once he was put on that list.[11]. According to a letter sent on April 18, 2008, by the Department of Foreign Affairs to Abousfian Abdelrazik's lawyer, the Canadian government requested the UN's 1267 Committee to remove Abdelrazik from its list of al Qaeda supporters.[24] A request was made to the UN on December 10 2007, but was vetoed with no explanation eleven days later, meaning that at least one of the 15 members of the Security Council raised an objection. Canada has stated that it now supports removing Abdelrazik from the list, but has not clarified whether it was the country which originally asked for his inclusion.[25] Critics of the no-fly list have commented that Abdelrazik's status is typical, since in practice it is far easier to be added to the list than removed.[25]
[edit] Further attempts to return and judicial decree
Out of fears for his safety due to growing media attention, on 28 April 2008, Abdelrazik took refuge in the Canadian embassy in Sudan, a situation the Canadian government described as "temporary". Abdelrazik also brought a legal suit against the Canadian government, seeking his return.[26] On April 18, 2008 the director of consular affairs in the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed that Mr. Abdelrazik, like all Canadian citizens, was entitled to emergency travel documents to get him home. Accordingly, on August 26, 2008, Abdelrazik booked a flight to Canada on Etihad Airways, which was willing to fly him despite the fact that his presence on the U.S. no-fly list meant that any airline which transports him will no longer be able to enter U.S. airspace, thus eliminating most international commercial airlines.[3] His flight was due to leave on September 15, 2008, but Abdelrazik was not able to leave Sudan because Ottawa refused to issue him travel documents. (He was issued a special one-use emergency passport valid for only two weeks after his 2004 release, but at the time could not find an airline willing to transport him.) On April 3, 2009, this letter was received by Abousfian Abdelrazik's lawyer in Ottawa, Canada. Counsel for the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Donna Blois, in a one line letter notifies that the minister has refused to grant an emergency passport pursuant to section 10.1 of the Canadian Passport Order which states: "10.1 Without limiting the generality of subsections 4(3) and (4) and for greater certainty, the Minister may refuse or revoke a passport if the Minister is of the opinion that such action is necessary for the national security of Canada or another country."[27] According to the Lawyer's Weekly, "the government argued that the Charter only guarantees the rights of citizens to enter Canada once they present themselves at the border, and since Abdelrazik is not at the Canadian border, he has no rights.[10]
On March 12, 2009, 115 supporters of Abdelrazik presented a ticket for his flight to the Canadian government after the government withdrew its previous comments about allowing him to return, stating that he needed to have a pre-paid flight ticket, and that any Canadian who donated money to purchase such a ticket could be charged under anti-terrorism legislation. The donors included former solicitor-general Warren Allmand, political science professor at the University of Toronto Joseph Carens, and Canadian peace activist and former iraq hostage James Loney.[28][29]
The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee passed a motion requesting Abdelrazik testify before it.[18][30] Member of Parliament Paul Dewar stated the request should require the Government to drop its efforts to block Abdelrazik's return. On May 7 and 8, 2009, the Federal Court heard arguments from Abdelrazik's lawyers, who asked the court to order the federal government to facilitate Abdelrazik's return home. His legal argument was rooted in Section 6 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which states in part that "Every citizen of Canada has the right to enter, remain in and leave Canada."
On June 4, Federal Judge Russel Zinn ruled the government had violated his constitutional rights and must fly him home before July 7.[31] Judge Zinn's message was tougher. He required the Canadian government to issue an emergency passport and make travel arrangements for Mr. Abdelrazik within 15 days. The judge stated Mr. Abdelrazik, "is as much a victim of international terrorism as the innocent persons whose lives have been taken by recent barbaric acts of terrorists". The Globe and Mail stated, "In a toughly worded 107-page ruling, Judge Zinn pilloried the government's claims of trying to help Mr. Abdelrazik, concluded that Canadian anti-terrorism agents were implicated in his imprisonment in Sudan, denounced the UN terrorist blacklist as an affront to justice and basic human rights and slammed Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon for high-handedly ignoring due process of law".[32] In response to public demands by opposition parties that Ottawa should stop fighting the case, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said government lawyers would need time to review the 107-page decision before deciding on a course of action.
[edit] Return and lawsuits against the federal government
On June 18, 2009, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson announced that the Government of Canada would abide by the court's ruling. Nine days later Abdelrazik flew to Canada. In the fall of 2009 he sued the Canadian government for $24-million, and $3-million more for Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon's, “misfeasance in public office.” The Hamilton Spectator states that according to Justice Minister Robert Nicholson, "the Harper government spent more than $800,000 in legal fees fighting a losing battle to keep Canadian citizen Abousfian Abdelrazik from coming home".[33] Justice department lawyers have claimed Abousfian's lawsuit is meritless because Canadian laws do not apply overseas. The government has characterized the lawsuit as mostly frivolous and vexatious. The government claims that "no such tort has been recognized in Canadian law" that recognizes preventing torture at the hands of others. Abousfian's lawyer stated in response, "I expected the government would approach us about an apology and a settlement, instead they have been entirely unrepentant." The outcome of the case will most likely set several new legal precedences with regards to the Canadian charter of rights. [34]
[edit] External links
Cenre for Constitutional Studies: Abdelrazik Still Stranded in Sudan as Government Fails to Issue Passport
Updates, Press Releases and Action Alerts on website run by supporters of Abdelrazik
Take Action- Canada: clear the way for Abousfian Abdelrazik’s return
[edit] References
^ a b c United States Department of the Treasury, Treasury designates Canadian and Sudanese National for Support to al Qaida, July 20, 2006
^ a b c d e Paul Koring (April 28, 2008). "Terror claims trap Canadian in Khartoum: Marooned for five years, Abousfian Abdelrazik gets $100 a month from Canada to survive, but no passport or clearance to go home". Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080422.wabdelrazik0428/BNStory/National/home?pageRequested=all&print=true. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
^ a b Paul Koring (September 12, 2008). "Ottawa withholding travel papers for Canadian". Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080912.ABDELRAZIK12/TPStory/?query=abdelrazik. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
^ Paul Koring (September 16, 2008). "Ottawa balks at travel permit for man trapped in Sudan". Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080916.ABDELRAZIK16/TPStory/?query=abdelrazik. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
^ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/video/abdelrazik-i-never-hurt-nobody-i-never-did-something-wrong/article1300281/
^ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/abdelraziks-lost-years/article1303360/
^ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/letters-to-the-editor/abdelrazik-no-mystery/article1355167/
^ a b c Brown, Jim. Canadian Press, "Ottawa refuses to help Canadian in Sudan: Lawyer", April 28, 2008
^ a b c Koring, Paul. Globe and Mail, Ottawa denied Abdelrazik diplomatic assistance, November 25, 2008
^ a b http://www.lawyersweekly.ca/index.php?section=article&volume=29&number=2&article=3
^ a b c http://www.peoplescommission.org/en/abdelrazik/timeline.php
^ El Akkad, Omar. Globe and Mail, Montrealer takes refuge in Canadian embassy, April 29, 2008
^ [http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sc8798.doc.htm "Security Council Committee Adds One Individual in Al-Qaida Section of Consolidated List, Approves Changes of Information Regarding 25 Individuals"]. UN Security Counsel. August 2, 2006. http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sc8798.doc.htm. Retrieved June 23, 2009.
^ "The New Consolidated List of Individuals and Entities Belonging to or Associated with the Taliban and Al-Qaida Organisation as Established and Maintained by the 1267 Committee". http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/committees/1267/consoltablelist.shtml. Retrieved June 23, 2009.
^ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/article680695.ece
^ Paul Koring (November 25, 2008). "Ottawa denied Abdelrazik diplomatic assistance". Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081125.wabdelrazik25/BNStory/International/. Retrieved 2008-11-25.
^ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/abdelrazik-pleads-to-clear-his-name-i-want-to-live-like-a-normal-canadian/article1229574/
^ a b Paul Koring (2009-05-05). "Canadian agents secretly interrogated Abdelrazik: Papers obtained by The Globe show officials admitted he was jailed in Sudan at the request of mysterious 'Canadian' authorities". Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090504.ABDELRAZIK04ART2242/TPStory/International. Retrieved 2009-05-05. "Newly obtained government documents, now in the possession of The Globe and Mail, also show that in a secret briefing to then foreign affairs minister Maxime Bernier, officials admitted as recently as last year that Mr. Abdelrazik had been originally imprisoned in Khartoum at the request of mysterious "Canadian" authorities."
^ "A contradiction to be explained". Globe and Mail. 2009-05-05. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090504.weAbdelrazik05/BNStory/specialComment/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20090504.weAbdelrazik05. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
^ Raphael Alexander (2009-05-05). "More pieces to the Abdelrazik puzzle". National Post. Archived from the original on 2009-05-05. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnetwork.nationalpost.com%2Fnp%2Fblogs%2Ffullcomment%2Farchive%2F2009%2F05%2F05%2Fraphael-alexander-more-pieces-to-the-abdelrazik-puzzle.aspx&date=2009-05-05.
^ "Abdelrazik questioned by Canadian agents before Ottawa knew his location: report". CBC News. 2009-05-04. Archived from the original on 2009-05-05. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbc.ca%2Fcanada%2Fstory%2F2009%2F05%2F04%2Fabdelrazik-csis-report040.html&date=2009-05-05.
^ http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Abousfian_Abdelrazik&action=edit§ion=3
^ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/article682954.ece
^ "Ottawa trying to get Montrealer off UN terrorist list: report". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. May 2, 2008. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2008/05/02/sudan-delist.html. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
^ a b "Trying to get off the UN's terrorist list described as 'Kafkaesque'". Globe and Mail. May 16, 2008. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080516.LIST16/TPStory/TPInternational/Africa/. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
^ "Abdelrazik suing Canada". The Arab American News. May 16, 2008. http://www.arabamericannews.com/news/index.php?mod=article&cat=Canada&article=1043. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
^ http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/laws/regu/si-81-86/latest/si-81-86.html
^ Montreal Gazette, This is a vile way to treat a citizen, March 9, 2009
^ "Supporters defy law, buy plane ticket for Montrealer stuck in Sudan". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. March 12, 2009. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2009/03/12/mtl-abdelrazik-plane-ticket-0322.html. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
^ Paul Koring (2009-05-05). "Abdelrazik asked to appear before committee". Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090505.ABDELRAZIK05ART21422/TPStory/International. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
^ {{cite news url=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/06/04/abdelrasik.html title=Court orders Ottawa to let Abdelrazik return to Canada publisher=CBC News date=June 4, 2009 accessdate=June 4, 2009 }}
^ Globe and Mailhttp://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/court-orders-ottawa-to-allow-abdelrazik-to-return-to-canada/article1168783/
^ http://www.thespec.com/Opinions/article/653611
^ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-rejects-abdelrazik-claim-that-csis-knew-he-faced-torture/article1473779/
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Halliburton Controversies and Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Controversies
The company has become the object of several controversies involving the 2003 Iraq War and the company's ties to Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney. Cheney retired from the company during the 2000 U.S. presidential election campaign with a severance package worth $36 million.[39] As of 2004, he had received $398,548 in deferred compensation from Halliburton while Vice President.[40] Cheney was chairman and CEO of Halliburton Company from 1995 to 2000 and has received stock options from Halliburton.[41]
Bunnatine Greenhouse, a civil servant with 20 years of contracting experience, had complained to Army officials on numerous occasions that Halliburton had been unlawfully receiving special treatment for work in Iraq, Kuwait and the Balkans. Criminal investigations were opened by the U.S. Justice Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Pentagon's inspector general.
In one Greenhouse's supposed examples of abuse, he said that military auditors caught Halliburton overcharging the Pentagon for fuel deliveries into Iraq. She also complained that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's office took control of every aspect of Halliburton's $7 billion Iraqi oil/infrastructure contract. After her testimony, Greenhouse was demoted for poor performance.[42] Greenhouse's attorney, Michael Kohn, stated in the New York Times that "she is being demoted because of her strict adherence to procurement requirements and the Army's preference to sidestep them when it suits their needs.[43]
Halliburton is the only company mentioned by Osama bin Laden in an April 2004 tape in which he claims that "this is a war [in Afghanistan] that is benefiting major companies with billions of dollars."[44]
[edit] Sale of KBR
On April 15, 2006, Halliburton filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell up to 20 percent of its KBR stock on the NYSE under the ticker symbol "KBR", as part of an eventual plan for KBR to be a separate company from Halliburton.[45]
In November 2006, Halliburton began selling its stake in KBR, its major subsidiary, and by February 2007 had completely sold off the subsidiary. In June 2007, several days after Stewart Bowen, the Special Inspector General, released a new report, the Army announced that KBR would share another $150 billion contract with two other contractors, Fluor and Dyncorp, over the next ten years.[46]
[edit] Environmental issues
In 2002, Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) reports were completed to measure the amount of chemicals emitted from Halliburton's Harris County, Texas facility. The TRI is a publicly available EPA database that contains information on toxic chemical releases and waste management activities reported annually by certain industries as well as federal facilities. The facility had 230 TRI air releases in 2001 and 245 in 2002.[47]
On June 7, 2006 Halliburton's Farmington, New Mexico facility created a toxic cloud that forced people to evacuate from their homes.[48]
Halliburton may also be implicated[49] in the oil spills in the Timor Sea off Australia in August 2009 and in the gulf of Mexico in April 2010 for improper cementing. An investigation is underway as to the cause of the Australia spill.
[edit] Baghdad incident
In accordance with the law of armed conflict and to maintain non-combatant status, Halliburton does not arm its truck drivers. Trucks are often the target of insurgent attacks. On September 20, 2005, a convoy of four Halliburton trucks was ambushed north of Baghdad. All four trucks were struck by improvised explosive devices and were disabled. Their US National Guard escort was thought to have abandoned the disabled vehicles, leaving the drivers defenseless. Three of the four truck drivers were killed by the insurgents while the surviving driver, Preston Wheeler, caught the event on video. Although the trucks had military camouflage paint, the drivers were civilian. The US military returned to the scene 45 minutes later.[50] However, in a statement by senior military officials in Iraq, an investigation revealed that troops did not abandon the civilians and they were all exiting the "kill zone" during the ambush.[51]
[edit] Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Halliburton was responsible for cementing the plug in the oil well. Improper cementing may have caused the original blowout.[52]
[edit] Subsidiaries
As of Halliburton's latest form 10-K filings with the SEC, Exhibit 21.1 lists the following as subsidiaries of Halliburton Co.[53]:
Breswater Marine Contracting B.V. (Netherlands)
DII Industries, LLC (United States)
Easy Well Solutions AS (Norway)
Halliburton Affiliates, LLC (United States)
Halliburton AS (Norway)
Halliburton Canada Holdings, Inc. (United States)
Halliburton Company Germany G.m.b.H. (Germany)
Halliburton de Mexico, S. de R.L. de C.V. (Mexico)
Halliburton Energy Cayman Islands Limited (Cayman Islands)
Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. (United States)
Halliburton Group Canada Inc. (Canada)
Halliburton Group Holdings (1) Company (Canada)
Halliburton Group Holdings (2) Company (Canada)
Halliburton Holdings (No. 3) (United Kingdom)
Halliburton International, Inc. (United States)
Halliburton Latin America S.A. (Panama)
Halliburton Manufacturing and Services Limited (United Kingdom)
Halliburton Netherlands Operations Cooperatie (Netherlands)
Halliburton Norge Holding AS (Norway)
Halliburton Norway Holdings C.V. (Netherlands)
Halliburton Overseas Limited (Cayman Islands)
Hobbymarkt Delft BV (Netherlands)
Kellogg Energy Services, Inc. (United States)
Landmark Graphics Corporation (United States)
Oilfield Telecommunications, LLC. (United States)
[edit] Headquarters
Halliburton headquarters (North Belt Office) in north Houston
Halliburton's headquarters (North Belt office) is located in Harris County, in northern Houston, Texas, near George Bush Intercontinental Airport.[54][55]
Halliburton had its headquarters in Dallas, Texas from 1961 to 2003.[55] The company moved its headquarters from the Southland Life Building in Dallas to 50,648 square feet (4,705.4 m2) of space in Lincoln Plaza in Downtown Dallas in 1985.[56] 20 employees worked in Halliburton's headquarters in Dallas.[57]
Halliburton planned to move its headquarters to Houston in 2002.[58] Halliburton, which signed its lease to occupy a portion of 5 Houston Center in Downtown Houston in 2002,[59] moved its headquarters there by July 2003.[60] Halliburton occupied 26,000 square feet (2,400 m2) of space on the 24th floor in 5 Houston Center.[55]
In 2009 Halliburton announced that it planned to move its headquarters to the North Belt offices in Houston. In addition it planned to consolidate operations at its Westchase and North Belt offices.[61] The move occurred in 2009.[54] The 90 acres (36 ha) North Belt complex will house 2,200 employees. Halliburton planned to add a research and development facility with laboratories, a new cafeteria, a childcare center, two additional parking garages, and fitness and wellness centers for employees.[55] The plans for the North Belt office had been delayed by one year, and Halliburton expects completion in 2013. The construction of the North Belt administration building is scheduled to begin in late 2010.[62]
According to Marilyn Bayless, the president of the North Houston Greenspoint Chamber of Commerce, in 2003, Halliburton had planned to move operations out of the North Belt office because other area school districts offered the freeport tax exemptions while the Aldine Independent School District (AISD), where the North Belt office is located, did not. In order to attract businesses, in May 2003, AISD began offering the same tax exemption as other jurisdictions. Subsequently, Halliburton retained the North Belt office.[63]
[edit] Corporate Giving
According to the company, Halliburton’s total corporate giving for 2009, including cash and in-kind donations, was more than $572 million. In addition, Halliburton employees volunteered more than 49,000 hours during the year.[citation needed]
The company has become the object of several controversies involving the 2003 Iraq War and the company's ties to Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney. Cheney retired from the company during the 2000 U.S. presidential election campaign with a severance package worth $36 million.[39] As of 2004, he had received $398,548 in deferred compensation from Halliburton while Vice President.[40] Cheney was chairman and CEO of Halliburton Company from 1995 to 2000 and has received stock options from Halliburton.[41]
Bunnatine Greenhouse, a civil servant with 20 years of contracting experience, had complained to Army officials on numerous occasions that Halliburton had been unlawfully receiving special treatment for work in Iraq, Kuwait and the Balkans. Criminal investigations were opened by the U.S. Justice Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Pentagon's inspector general.
In one Greenhouse's supposed examples of abuse, he said that military auditors caught Halliburton overcharging the Pentagon for fuel deliveries into Iraq. She also complained that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's office took control of every aspect of Halliburton's $7 billion Iraqi oil/infrastructure contract. After her testimony, Greenhouse was demoted for poor performance.[42] Greenhouse's attorney, Michael Kohn, stated in the New York Times that "she is being demoted because of her strict adherence to procurement requirements and the Army's preference to sidestep them when it suits their needs.[43]
Halliburton is the only company mentioned by Osama bin Laden in an April 2004 tape in which he claims that "this is a war [in Afghanistan] that is benefiting major companies with billions of dollars."[44]
[edit] Sale of KBR
On April 15, 2006, Halliburton filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell up to 20 percent of its KBR stock on the NYSE under the ticker symbol "KBR", as part of an eventual plan for KBR to be a separate company from Halliburton.[45]
In November 2006, Halliburton began selling its stake in KBR, its major subsidiary, and by February 2007 had completely sold off the subsidiary. In June 2007, several days after Stewart Bowen, the Special Inspector General, released a new report, the Army announced that KBR would share another $150 billion contract with two other contractors, Fluor and Dyncorp, over the next ten years.[46]
[edit] Environmental issues
In 2002, Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) reports were completed to measure the amount of chemicals emitted from Halliburton's Harris County, Texas facility. The TRI is a publicly available EPA database that contains information on toxic chemical releases and waste management activities reported annually by certain industries as well as federal facilities. The facility had 230 TRI air releases in 2001 and 245 in 2002.[47]
On June 7, 2006 Halliburton's Farmington, New Mexico facility created a toxic cloud that forced people to evacuate from their homes.[48]
Halliburton may also be implicated[49] in the oil spills in the Timor Sea off Australia in August 2009 and in the gulf of Mexico in April 2010 for improper cementing. An investigation is underway as to the cause of the Australia spill.
[edit] Baghdad incident
In accordance with the law of armed conflict and to maintain non-combatant status, Halliburton does not arm its truck drivers. Trucks are often the target of insurgent attacks. On September 20, 2005, a convoy of four Halliburton trucks was ambushed north of Baghdad. All four trucks were struck by improvised explosive devices and were disabled. Their US National Guard escort was thought to have abandoned the disabled vehicles, leaving the drivers defenseless. Three of the four truck drivers were killed by the insurgents while the surviving driver, Preston Wheeler, caught the event on video. Although the trucks had military camouflage paint, the drivers were civilian. The US military returned to the scene 45 minutes later.[50] However, in a statement by senior military officials in Iraq, an investigation revealed that troops did not abandon the civilians and they were all exiting the "kill zone" during the ambush.[51]
[edit] Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Halliburton was responsible for cementing the plug in the oil well. Improper cementing may have caused the original blowout.[52]
[edit] Subsidiaries
As of Halliburton's latest form 10-K filings with the SEC, Exhibit 21.1 lists the following as subsidiaries of Halliburton Co.[53]:
Breswater Marine Contracting B.V. (Netherlands)
DII Industries, LLC (United States)
Easy Well Solutions AS (Norway)
Halliburton Affiliates, LLC (United States)
Halliburton AS (Norway)
Halliburton Canada Holdings, Inc. (United States)
Halliburton Company Germany G.m.b.H. (Germany)
Halliburton de Mexico, S. de R.L. de C.V. (Mexico)
Halliburton Energy Cayman Islands Limited (Cayman Islands)
Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. (United States)
Halliburton Group Canada Inc. (Canada)
Halliburton Group Holdings (1) Company (Canada)
Halliburton Group Holdings (2) Company (Canada)
Halliburton Holdings (No. 3) (United Kingdom)
Halliburton International, Inc. (United States)
Halliburton Latin America S.A. (Panama)
Halliburton Manufacturing and Services Limited (United Kingdom)
Halliburton Netherlands Operations Cooperatie (Netherlands)
Halliburton Norge Holding AS (Norway)
Halliburton Norway Holdings C.V. (Netherlands)
Halliburton Overseas Limited (Cayman Islands)
Hobbymarkt Delft BV (Netherlands)
Kellogg Energy Services, Inc. (United States)
Landmark Graphics Corporation (United States)
Oilfield Telecommunications, LLC. (United States)
[edit] Headquarters
Halliburton headquarters (North Belt Office) in north Houston
Halliburton's headquarters (North Belt office) is located in Harris County, in northern Houston, Texas, near George Bush Intercontinental Airport.[54][55]
Halliburton had its headquarters in Dallas, Texas from 1961 to 2003.[55] The company moved its headquarters from the Southland Life Building in Dallas to 50,648 square feet (4,705.4 m2) of space in Lincoln Plaza in Downtown Dallas in 1985.[56] 20 employees worked in Halliburton's headquarters in Dallas.[57]
Halliburton planned to move its headquarters to Houston in 2002.[58] Halliburton, which signed its lease to occupy a portion of 5 Houston Center in Downtown Houston in 2002,[59] moved its headquarters there by July 2003.[60] Halliburton occupied 26,000 square feet (2,400 m2) of space on the 24th floor in 5 Houston Center.[55]
In 2009 Halliburton announced that it planned to move its headquarters to the North Belt offices in Houston. In addition it planned to consolidate operations at its Westchase and North Belt offices.[61] The move occurred in 2009.[54] The 90 acres (36 ha) North Belt complex will house 2,200 employees. Halliburton planned to add a research and development facility with laboratories, a new cafeteria, a childcare center, two additional parking garages, and fitness and wellness centers for employees.[55] The plans for the North Belt office had been delayed by one year, and Halliburton expects completion in 2013. The construction of the North Belt administration building is scheduled to begin in late 2010.[62]
According to Marilyn Bayless, the president of the North Houston Greenspoint Chamber of Commerce, in 2003, Halliburton had planned to move operations out of the North Belt office because other area school districts offered the freeport tax exemptions while the Aldine Independent School District (AISD), where the North Belt office is located, did not. In order to attract businesses, in May 2003, AISD began offering the same tax exemption as other jurisdictions. Subsequently, Halliburton retained the North Belt office.[63]
[edit] Corporate Giving
According to the company, Halliburton’s total corporate giving for 2009, including cash and in-kind donations, was more than $572 million. In addition, Halliburton employees volunteered more than 49,000 hours during the year.[citation needed]
Monday, June 7, 2010
Deepwater Horizon data!.
Deepwater Horizon was an ultra-deepwater, dynamically positioned, semi-submersible offshore drilling rig. The rig was built in 2001 in South Korea, is owned by Transocean and was leased to BP plc until September 2013.[4] Deepwater Horizon was registered in Majuro, Marshall Islands. In September 2009, the rig drilled the deepest oil well in history at a vertical depth of 35,050 ft (10,680 m) and measured depth of 35,055 ft (10,685 m).[5]
On April 20, 2010, an explosion on the rig left eleven crewmen dead. The resulting fire could not be extinguished, and on April 22, 2010, the rig sank, leaving the well gushing, causing the largest offshore oil spill in the United States.[citation needed]
Contents[hide]
1 Design
2 History
2.1 Construction
2.2 Ownership and lease
2.3 Drilling operations
3 Explosion and oil spill
3.1 Explosion and fire
3.2 Massive oil spill
4 See also
5 References
6 External links
//
[edit] Design
Deepwater Horizon was a fifth-generation, RBS-8D design, ultra-deepwater, dynamically positioned, column-stabilized, semi-submersible drilling rig,[6] or Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit, designed to drill subsea wells for oil exploration and production purposes. Deepwater Horizon was the second semi-submersible rig constructed of a class of two, although the Deepwater Nautilus, her predecessor, is not dynamically positioned. The rig was 396 by 256 ft (121 by 78 m),[6], could operate in waters up to 8,000 feet (2,400 m) deep, to a maximum drill depth of 30,000 feet (9,100 m),[7] and in 2010 was one of approximately two hundred deepwater offshore rigs capable of drilling in waters more than 5,000 ft (1,500 m).[8]
In 2002, the rig was upgraded with "e-drill," a drill monitoring system whereby technicians based in Houston, Texas, received real-time drilling data from the rig and transmitted maintenance and troubleshooting information.[9]
[edit] History
[edit] Construction
Designed originally for R&B Falcon, Deepwater Horizon was built by Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, South Korea. Construction started in December 1998 and the rig was delivered in February 2001 after the acquisition of R&B Falcon by Transocean, and was insured for $560 million.[10]
[edit] Ownership and lease
Transocean, the rig owner, operated the rig under the Marshalese flag of convenience.[11] Beginning in 2008, BP Exploration leased the Deepwater Horizon from Transocean Ltd.[11] In October 2009, the contract was extended until 2013.[4][11] The lease contract was worth $544 million, a rate of $496,800 per day.[12]
[edit] Drilling operations
The Deepwater Horizon worked on wells in the Atlantis and Thunder Horse Oil Fields, a 2006 discovery in the Kaskida field, and the 2009 Tiber oilfield.[13][14] On September 2, 2009, Deepwater Horizon drilled on the Tiber oilfield with a vertical depth of 35,050 ft (10,683 m) and measured depth of 35,055 ft (10,685 m), of which 4,132 ft (1,259 m) was water, which was at the time the deepest oil well in the world.[14][15][16][17] The well was more than 5,000 feet deeper than the design specification on the company's fleet list.[18]
In March 2008, at the Minerals Management Service's lease sale,[19] BP purchased the mineral rights to drill for oil on Mississippi Canyon Block 252, referred to as the Macondo Prospect, in the United States sector of the Gulf of Mexico, about 41 miles (66 km) off the southeast coast of Louisiana.
The Deepwater Horizon commenced drilling in the Macondo Prospect in February 2010 at a water depth of approximately 5,000 feet (1,500 m).[20] As of April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon was still working on the site.[21][22][13][23]
[edit] Explosion and oil spill
[edit] Explosion and fire
Main article: Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion
On April 20, 2010, the rig was in the final phases of drilling an exploratory oil well in which casing was being cemented in place as a reinforcement by Halliburton Industries.[21] The planned well was to be drilled to 18,000 feet (5,500 m) below sea level, and was then to be plugged and suspended for subsequent completion as a subsea producer.[20] At 9:45 p.m. CDT,[24] a geyser of seawater erupted from the marine riser onto the rig, shooting 240 ft (73 m) into the air. This was soon followed by the eruption of a slushy combination of mud, methane gas, and water. The gas component of the slushy material quickly transitioned into a fully gaseous state and then ignited into a series of explosions and then a firestorm. Workers immediately attempted to activate the blowout preventer, but it failed.[25]
Eleven workers were presumed killed in the initial explosion. The rig was evacuated, with numerous injured workers airlifted to medical facilities.[3] Support ships sprayed the rig with water in an ultimately unsuccessful bid to cool it and prevent it from capsizing. This was an attempt to buy time while attempts were made to stop the oil and gas that were feeding the flames from coming up the riser pipe. That would have reduced the flames and allowed special teams of firefighters to board the stricken rig and extinguish the remaining fire.[26]
After burning for approximately 36 hours, the Deepwater Horizon sank on April 22, 2010, in water approximately 5,000 ft (1,500 m) deep, and has been located resting on the seafloor approximately 1,300 ft (400 m) (about a quarter of a mile) northwest of the well.[21][27][28]
[edit] Massive oil spill
Main article: Deepwater Horizon oil spill
The oil was not stopped before the Deepwater Horizon sank. As of the beginning of June, 2010, the oil was still flowing. Some estimates of the spill make this the largest oil spill ever in the Gulf of Mexico, threatening fisheries, tourism, and the habitat of hundreds of bird species.[29]
[edit] See also
Nautical portal
Atlantis PQ
Ocean Ranger
Piper Alpha
Thunder Horse PDQ
Transocean John Shaw
Ixtoc I oil spill
Kola Superdeep Borehole
[edit] References
^ Transocean Ltd (April 26, 2010). "Transocean Ltd. Provides Deepwater Horizon Update". Press release. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/transocean-ltd-provides-deepwater-horizon-update-2010-04-26. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
^ "Deepwater Horizon: A Timeline of Events". Offshore-Technology. 07 May 2010. http://www.offshore-technology.com/features/feature84446/. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
^ a b c McGill, Kevin (April 21, 2010). "Evacuated workers sought after oil rig explosion". The Houston Chronicle. The Associated Press. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/6968340.html. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
^ a b "Deepwater Horizon contract extended". Offshore Magazine (PennWell Corporation). November 1, 2009. http://www.offshore-mag.com/index/article-display/6112303380/articles/offshore/volume-69/issue-11/departments/gulf-of_mexico/gulf-of_mexico.html. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
^ "Deepwater Horizon Drills World's Deepest Oil & Gas Well", Transocean press release
^ a b "Fleet Specifications, Deepwater Horizon", Transocean, retrieved May 12, 2010
^ "Transocean Deepwater Horizon specifications". Transocean. http://www.deepwater.com/fw/main/Deepwater-Horizon-56C15.html. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
^ "Rig Data Centre". Rigzone. 28 May 2010. http://www.rigzone.com/data. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
^ "Monitoring system reduces rig downtime". Offshore Magazine (PennWell Corporation). November 1, 2002. http://www.offshore-mag.com/index/article-display/161517/articles/offshore/volume-62/issue-11/news/general-interest/monitoring-system-reduces-rig-downtime.html. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
^ "Transocean Ltd. Provides Deepwater Horizon Update". Wallstreet Journal. 2010-04-26. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/transocean-ltd-provides-deepwater-horizon-update-2010-04-26.
^ a b c Reddall, Braden (2010-04-22). "Transocean rig loss's financial impact mulled". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2211325420100422. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
^ "The Well". Houston Chronicle. October 17, 2009. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/6672098.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+houstonchronicle%2Fbusiness+%28chron.com+-+Business%29. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
^ a b Anadarko Petroleum (August 31, 2006). "BP & Partners Make Discovery at Kaskida Prospect in the Gulf of Mexico". Press release. http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=35730. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
^ a b TransOcean (September 2, 2009). "Deepwater Horizon Drills World's Deepest Oil & Gas Well". Press release. http://www.deepwater.com/fw/main/IDeepwater-Horizon-i-Drills-Worlds-Deepest-Oil-and-Gas-Well-419C1.html?LayoutID=6. Retrieved September 2, 2009.
^ "BP drills oil discovery in the Gulf of Mexico". Offshore Magazine (PennWell Corporation). September 2, 2009. http://www.offshore-mag.com/index/article-display/7488119241/articles/offshore/drilling-completion/us-gulf-of-mexico/2009/08/bp-drills__giant_.html. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
^ Braden Reddall (September 2, 2009). "Transocean says well at BP discovery deepest ever". Reuters. http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKN02119720090902. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
^ "Transocean's Deepwater Horizon drills world's deepest oil and gas well". Red Mist Media. http://www.yourindustrynews.com/transocean%27s+deepwater+horizon+drills+world%27s+deepest+oil+and+gas+well_38385.html. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
^ http://www.deepwater.com/_filelib/FileCabinet/fleetupdate/2010/RIGFLT-APR-2010.xls?FileName=RIGFLT-APR-2010.xls
^ "Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area Lease Sale 206 Information". US Minerals Management Service. 2008-08-08. http://www.gomr.mms.gov/homepg/lsesale/206/cgom206.html. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
^ a b "Macondo Prospect, Gulf of Mexico, USA". offshore-technology.com. 2005-10-20. http://www.offshore-technology.com/projects/macondoprospect/. Retrieved 9 May 2010.
^ a b c Robertson, Cambell; Robbins, Liz (April 22, 2010). "Oil Rig Sinks in the Gulf of Mexico". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/23/us/23rig.html?hp. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
^ BP (April 21, 2010). "BP confirms that Transocean Ltd issued the following statement today". Press release. http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=2012968&contentId=7061443. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
^ "Gibbs: Deepwater Horizon Aftermath Could Affect Next Lease Sale". Rigzone. 2010-04-30. http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=92025. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
^ "12 missing after Gulf of Mexico oil rig blast: coast guard". Thenews.com.pk. 2010-04-22. http://www.thenews.com.pk/updates.asp?id=103368. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
^ Brenner, Noah; Guegel, Anthony; Watts, Rob; Pitt, Anthea (2010-04-29). "Horizon crew tried to activate BOP". Upstream Online (NHST Media Group). http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article213497.ece. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
^ "Gulf Oil Spill". NatgeoTV.com. National Geographic Channel. May 27, 2010. http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/gulf-oil-spill-5488/behind-the-scenes. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
^ Resnick-Ault, Jessica; Klimasinska, Katarzyna (April 22, 2010). "Transocean Oil-Drilling Rig Sinks in Gulf of Mexico". Bloomberg. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aHylLWhmGcI0. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
^ "Deepwater Horizon Incident, Gulf of Mexico". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Response and Restoration. April 24, 2010. http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/topic_subtopic_entry.php?RECORD_KEY%28entry_subtopic_topic%29=entry_id,subtopic_id,topic_id&entry_id%28entry_subtopic_topic%29=809&subtopic_id%28entry_subtopic_topic%29=2&topic_id%28entry_subtopic_topic%29=1. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
^ "Bird Habitats Threatened by Oil Spill". National Wildlife (National Wildlife Federation). April 30, 2010. http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Birds/Archives/2010/Oil-Spill-Birds.aspx. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
[edit] External links
Wikinews has related news:
Oil rig in Gulf of Mexico sinks after explosion; eleven missing
Gulf of Mexico oil spill expanding; submarines to try to stop leak
Deepwater Horizon detail at RigZone.com
Latest Reported Position from Sailwx
ABS Record
GOES-13 satellite images (CIMSS Satellite Blog)
"gCaptain's Deepwater Horizon Thread"
Photograph of the Deepwater Horizon in 2004, before it exploded
On April 20, 2010, an explosion on the rig left eleven crewmen dead. The resulting fire could not be extinguished, and on April 22, 2010, the rig sank, leaving the well gushing, causing the largest offshore oil spill in the United States.[citation needed]
Contents[hide]
1 Design
2 History
2.1 Construction
2.2 Ownership and lease
2.3 Drilling operations
3 Explosion and oil spill
3.1 Explosion and fire
3.2 Massive oil spill
4 See also
5 References
6 External links
//
[edit] Design
Deepwater Horizon was a fifth-generation, RBS-8D design, ultra-deepwater, dynamically positioned, column-stabilized, semi-submersible drilling rig,[6] or Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit, designed to drill subsea wells for oil exploration and production purposes. Deepwater Horizon was the second semi-submersible rig constructed of a class of two, although the Deepwater Nautilus, her predecessor, is not dynamically positioned. The rig was 396 by 256 ft (121 by 78 m),[6], could operate in waters up to 8,000 feet (2,400 m) deep, to a maximum drill depth of 30,000 feet (9,100 m),[7] and in 2010 was one of approximately two hundred deepwater offshore rigs capable of drilling in waters more than 5,000 ft (1,500 m).[8]
In 2002, the rig was upgraded with "e-drill," a drill monitoring system whereby technicians based in Houston, Texas, received real-time drilling data from the rig and transmitted maintenance and troubleshooting information.[9]
[edit] History
[edit] Construction
Designed originally for R&B Falcon, Deepwater Horizon was built by Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, South Korea. Construction started in December 1998 and the rig was delivered in February 2001 after the acquisition of R&B Falcon by Transocean, and was insured for $560 million.[10]
[edit] Ownership and lease
Transocean, the rig owner, operated the rig under the Marshalese flag of convenience.[11] Beginning in 2008, BP Exploration leased the Deepwater Horizon from Transocean Ltd.[11] In October 2009, the contract was extended until 2013.[4][11] The lease contract was worth $544 million, a rate of $496,800 per day.[12]
[edit] Drilling operations
The Deepwater Horizon worked on wells in the Atlantis and Thunder Horse Oil Fields, a 2006 discovery in the Kaskida field, and the 2009 Tiber oilfield.[13][14] On September 2, 2009, Deepwater Horizon drilled on the Tiber oilfield with a vertical depth of 35,050 ft (10,683 m) and measured depth of 35,055 ft (10,685 m), of which 4,132 ft (1,259 m) was water, which was at the time the deepest oil well in the world.[14][15][16][17] The well was more than 5,000 feet deeper than the design specification on the company's fleet list.[18]
In March 2008, at the Minerals Management Service's lease sale,[19] BP purchased the mineral rights to drill for oil on Mississippi Canyon Block 252, referred to as the Macondo Prospect, in the United States sector of the Gulf of Mexico, about 41 miles (66 km) off the southeast coast of Louisiana.
The Deepwater Horizon commenced drilling in the Macondo Prospect in February 2010 at a water depth of approximately 5,000 feet (1,500 m).[20] As of April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon was still working on the site.[21][22][13][23]
[edit] Explosion and oil spill
[edit] Explosion and fire
Main article: Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion
On April 20, 2010, the rig was in the final phases of drilling an exploratory oil well in which casing was being cemented in place as a reinforcement by Halliburton Industries.[21] The planned well was to be drilled to 18,000 feet (5,500 m) below sea level, and was then to be plugged and suspended for subsequent completion as a subsea producer.[20] At 9:45 p.m. CDT,[24] a geyser of seawater erupted from the marine riser onto the rig, shooting 240 ft (73 m) into the air. This was soon followed by the eruption of a slushy combination of mud, methane gas, and water. The gas component of the slushy material quickly transitioned into a fully gaseous state and then ignited into a series of explosions and then a firestorm. Workers immediately attempted to activate the blowout preventer, but it failed.[25]
Eleven workers were presumed killed in the initial explosion. The rig was evacuated, with numerous injured workers airlifted to medical facilities.[3] Support ships sprayed the rig with water in an ultimately unsuccessful bid to cool it and prevent it from capsizing. This was an attempt to buy time while attempts were made to stop the oil and gas that were feeding the flames from coming up the riser pipe. That would have reduced the flames and allowed special teams of firefighters to board the stricken rig and extinguish the remaining fire.[26]
After burning for approximately 36 hours, the Deepwater Horizon sank on April 22, 2010, in water approximately 5,000 ft (1,500 m) deep, and has been located resting on the seafloor approximately 1,300 ft (400 m) (about a quarter of a mile) northwest of the well.[21][27][28]
[edit] Massive oil spill
Main article: Deepwater Horizon oil spill
The oil was not stopped before the Deepwater Horizon sank. As of the beginning of June, 2010, the oil was still flowing. Some estimates of the spill make this the largest oil spill ever in the Gulf of Mexico, threatening fisheries, tourism, and the habitat of hundreds of bird species.[29]
[edit] See also
Nautical portal
Atlantis PQ
Ocean Ranger
Piper Alpha
Thunder Horse PDQ
Transocean John Shaw
Ixtoc I oil spill
Kola Superdeep Borehole
[edit] References
^ Transocean Ltd (April 26, 2010). "Transocean Ltd. Provides Deepwater Horizon Update". Press release. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/transocean-ltd-provides-deepwater-horizon-update-2010-04-26. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
^ "Deepwater Horizon: A Timeline of Events". Offshore-Technology. 07 May 2010. http://www.offshore-technology.com/features/feature84446/. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
^ a b c McGill, Kevin (April 21, 2010). "Evacuated workers sought after oil rig explosion". The Houston Chronicle. The Associated Press. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/6968340.html. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
^ a b "Deepwater Horizon contract extended". Offshore Magazine (PennWell Corporation). November 1, 2009. http://www.offshore-mag.com/index/article-display/6112303380/articles/offshore/volume-69/issue-11/departments/gulf-of_mexico/gulf-of_mexico.html. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
^ "Deepwater Horizon Drills World's Deepest Oil & Gas Well", Transocean press release
^ a b "Fleet Specifications, Deepwater Horizon", Transocean, retrieved May 12, 2010
^ "Transocean Deepwater Horizon specifications". Transocean. http://www.deepwater.com/fw/main/Deepwater-Horizon-56C15.html. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
^ "Rig Data Centre". Rigzone. 28 May 2010. http://www.rigzone.com/data. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
^ "Monitoring system reduces rig downtime". Offshore Magazine (PennWell Corporation). November 1, 2002. http://www.offshore-mag.com/index/article-display/161517/articles/offshore/volume-62/issue-11/news/general-interest/monitoring-system-reduces-rig-downtime.html. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
^ "Transocean Ltd. Provides Deepwater Horizon Update". Wallstreet Journal. 2010-04-26. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/transocean-ltd-provides-deepwater-horizon-update-2010-04-26.
^ a b c Reddall, Braden (2010-04-22). "Transocean rig loss's financial impact mulled". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2211325420100422. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
^ "The Well". Houston Chronicle. October 17, 2009. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/6672098.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+houstonchronicle%2Fbusiness+%28chron.com+-+Business%29. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
^ a b Anadarko Petroleum (August 31, 2006). "BP & Partners Make Discovery at Kaskida Prospect in the Gulf of Mexico". Press release. http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=35730. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
^ a b TransOcean (September 2, 2009). "Deepwater Horizon Drills World's Deepest Oil & Gas Well". Press release. http://www.deepwater.com/fw/main/IDeepwater-Horizon-i-Drills-Worlds-Deepest-Oil-and-Gas-Well-419C1.html?LayoutID=6. Retrieved September 2, 2009.
^ "BP drills oil discovery in the Gulf of Mexico". Offshore Magazine (PennWell Corporation). September 2, 2009. http://www.offshore-mag.com/index/article-display/7488119241/articles/offshore/drilling-completion/us-gulf-of-mexico/2009/08/bp-drills__giant_.html. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
^ Braden Reddall (September 2, 2009). "Transocean says well at BP discovery deepest ever". Reuters. http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKN02119720090902. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
^ "Transocean's Deepwater Horizon drills world's deepest oil and gas well". Red Mist Media. http://www.yourindustrynews.com/transocean%27s+deepwater+horizon+drills+world%27s+deepest+oil+and+gas+well_38385.html. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
^ http://www.deepwater.com/_filelib/FileCabinet/fleetupdate/2010/RIGFLT-APR-2010.xls?FileName=RIGFLT-APR-2010.xls
^ "Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area Lease Sale 206 Information". US Minerals Management Service. 2008-08-08. http://www.gomr.mms.gov/homepg/lsesale/206/cgom206.html. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
^ a b "Macondo Prospect, Gulf of Mexico, USA". offshore-technology.com. 2005-10-20. http://www.offshore-technology.com/projects/macondoprospect/. Retrieved 9 May 2010.
^ a b c Robertson, Cambell; Robbins, Liz (April 22, 2010). "Oil Rig Sinks in the Gulf of Mexico". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/23/us/23rig.html?hp. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
^ BP (April 21, 2010). "BP confirms that Transocean Ltd issued the following statement today". Press release. http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=2012968&contentId=7061443. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
^ "Gibbs: Deepwater Horizon Aftermath Could Affect Next Lease Sale". Rigzone. 2010-04-30. http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=92025. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
^ "12 missing after Gulf of Mexico oil rig blast: coast guard". Thenews.com.pk. 2010-04-22. http://www.thenews.com.pk/updates.asp?id=103368. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
^ Brenner, Noah; Guegel, Anthony; Watts, Rob; Pitt, Anthea (2010-04-29). "Horizon crew tried to activate BOP". Upstream Online (NHST Media Group). http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article213497.ece. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
^ "Gulf Oil Spill". NatgeoTV.com. National Geographic Channel. May 27, 2010. http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/gulf-oil-spill-5488/behind-the-scenes. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
^ Resnick-Ault, Jessica; Klimasinska, Katarzyna (April 22, 2010). "Transocean Oil-Drilling Rig Sinks in Gulf of Mexico". Bloomberg. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aHylLWhmGcI0. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
^ "Deepwater Horizon Incident, Gulf of Mexico". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Response and Restoration. April 24, 2010. http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/topic_subtopic_entry.php?RECORD_KEY%28entry_subtopic_topic%29=entry_id,subtopic_id,topic_id&entry_id%28entry_subtopic_topic%29=809&subtopic_id%28entry_subtopic_topic%29=2&topic_id%28entry_subtopic_topic%29=1. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
^ "Bird Habitats Threatened by Oil Spill". National Wildlife (National Wildlife Federation). April 30, 2010. http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Birds/Archives/2010/Oil-Spill-Birds.aspx. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
[edit] External links
Wikinews has related news:
Oil rig in Gulf of Mexico sinks after explosion; eleven missing
Gulf of Mexico oil spill expanding; submarines to try to stop leak
Deepwater Horizon detail at RigZone.com
Latest Reported Position from Sailwx
ABS Record
GOES-13 satellite images (CIMSS Satellite Blog)
"gCaptain's Deepwater Horizon Thread"
Photograph of the Deepwater Horizon in 2004, before it exploded
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