The Information Super-Frog

Reuters: BP: Gulf well cap collected 14,800 barrels June 7

So BP is now collecting over 14,000 barrel a day as a fragment of the flow from a rig that BP previously wouldn't admit might be spewing any more than 5,000 barrels a day? Hey BP: Do you kiss your mother with that math?

NYT: Scientist Awed by Size, Density of Undersea Oil Plume in Gulf

"It's an infusion of oil and gas unlike anything else that has ever been seen anywhere, certainly in human history," said Samantha Joye of the University of Georgia, the expedition leader.

"Bacteria are breaking down the oil's hydrocarbons in a massive, microorganism feeding frenzy that has sent oxygen levels plunging close to what is considered "dead zone" conditions, at which most marine life are smothered for a lack of dissolved oxygen.

"Joye said her team also measured extremely high levels of methane, which is also spewing from the gushing BP well at up to 10,000 times background levels in Gulf waters. "I've been working in the Gulf of Mexico for 15 years," Joye said. "I've never seen methane concentration this high anywhere in the water." "

Crisis in the Making?

"Federal authorities responding to the massive oil spill say dead birds soaked in oil have been reported in Texas, for the first time."

I heard about dead oiled pelicans in Texas Monday morning on NPR. That makes 5 for 5 U.S. Gulf states. Last week a friend called me saying she saw large areas of oil sheen off the coast of Texas from her airplane. As I'd read nothing indicating it had gotten that far west, I was skeptical. I'm less so now.

Mother Jones: "The rig's on fire! I told you this was gonna happen!"

"A prominent Houston attorney with a long record of winning settlements from oil companies says he has new evidence suggesting that the Deepwater Horizon's top managers knew of problems with the rig before it exploded last month".

BP has another type of containment going on. Chicago Tribune: Help BP get its message out

"To help get its message out, BP is placing ads on Google and Yahoo search results for terms like "oil spill" and "oil spill claims"."

On target satire from The Onion: Massive Flow Of Bullsh!t Continues To Gush From BP Headquarters

But wait, there's more? CBS News: BP Rig Not the Only One Leaking Oil in Gulf. Oil Slick Emanating from Ocean Saratoga Rig Visible from Space, Ala. Newspaper Reports

Via Crooks & Liars:Oil Industry Expert Simmons on Worst Case Scenario for BP Rig: Open Hole Spewing 100-150,000 Barrels a Day

"If oil industry expert Matthew Simmons that appeared on the Dylan Ratigan show and Sen. Ben Nelson's worst case scenarios turn out to be true the situation in the Gulf truly looks dire. Simmons said that they have grossly underestimated the size of the disaster and that it appears to be the result of the biggest blowout in the world and that most of the oil is not coming from the leak the BP cameras are showing, but instead "an open hole with no casing in it which sits about seven miles away from where BP had been trying to fix these little tiny leaks in the drilling riser"."

I would be greatly relieved if one of these "worst case scenario" doom sayers is finally proved wrong. There's been an unfortunate shortage of that so far.

Bonus cathartic comedy: Colbert Report video: Stephen Colbert demonstrates how President Obama should display his anger towards BP

A couple days ago I wrote, "News of the "Deepwater Horizon" oil spill just keeps getting worse." That continues to be the case.

Will it be a bigger spill than Exxon Valdez? Maybe is already, and still growing steadily. "It is so big and expanding so fast that it's pretty much beyond human response that can be effective. ... You're looking at a long-term poisoning of the area. Ultimately, this will have a multi-decade impact."

First effects begin to be seen. At least 20 dead sea turtles wash up on the beaches of Mississippi. Locals report dead fish and birds as well.

Fisheries along the east coast of Louisiana are shut down. B.P. oil offered suddenly unemployed fishermen work helping with cleanup, but first they had to "Sign a contract with BP saying they will "hold harmless and indemnify … release, waive and forever discharge the BP Exploration and Production, Inc., its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, regular employees, and independent contractors … from all claims and damages" arising from helping to clean up the mess that BP has made." And the Palm Beach Post (!?) beat local media to covering this?

It hasn't hit Alabama yet, but B.P. officials have been going around coastal Alabama offering $5,000 to sign agreements waiving rights to sue.. They must think the pending damages are of an extent that 5k per coastal Alabaman would be getting off easy.

And, um... Halliburton may be Culprit In Oil Rig Explosion? So how is Dick Cheney making money off this?