McConnell claims that Serco operatives spoofed a BP order to the Schlumberger crew to leave the rig without recording a cement bond log and deprived BP of evidence needed to prove that it had followed Coastguard rules on abandoning wells while Serco's time-on-tag offenders allegedly triggered Red Switch incendiaries in Lloyd's insurance frauds and forfeiture frauds on BP shareholders.
Prequel 1: sleeper agents - bbc snuff films - bp - operation paperclip - the gehlen org
Deep Water Horizon Moments after Explosion Live Footage
U.S. Court Says BP 'grossly Negligent' In 2010 Spill, Billions In Fines Loom
Deepwater Horizon - May 14, 2010 - Sanchez - Obama comments on BP disaster
Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig Fire
Electronic Tagging of Offenders
The Biggest Company You've Never Heard Of
"Schlumberger says its crew left Horizon day of fire
SAN FRANCISCO
Thu May 20, 2010 3:30pm EDT
"BP extends Transocean GoM rig contract at cut rate
Halliburton, Cameron shares shaking off spill blame
UPDATE 1-US rig survivors recall gas cloud and deadly blast
(Reuters) - Schlumberger Ltd, the world's largest oilfield services company, said on Wednesday it had a crew on the Deepwater Horizon that departed only hours before the explosion and fire that engulfed the rig.
The company, which had not previously revealed its work on the Horizon, said in an emailed statement that it performed wireline services for BP Plc on the rig in March and April, completing the last services on April 15 and leaving a crew on standby in case any more were needed.
"On the morning of April 20, 2010, BP notified the Schlumberger crew that it could return to its home base in Louisiana," Schlumberger said in a statement, which a company spokesman confirmed by phone. He declined to comment further.
Wireline services relate to any aspect of well measurement logging that employs an electrical cable to lower tools into the borehole and to transmit data.
The wireline standby crew departed the Horizon at about 11 a.m. on one of BP's regularly scheduled helicopter flights, Schlumberger said. The explosion occurred at about 10 p.m. that night, and the rig sank into the Gulf of Mexico two days later as a massive leak from the well started.
Other oilfield services companies whose names were attached to the Horizon have seen their share prices battered due to fears about liability over the loss of the rig and 11 workers, and the resulting environmental damage of the oil spill.
Shares of Halliburton Co, which did various services on the Transocean-owned rig including well cementing, are down 22 percent since it sank. Shares of Cameron International Corp, maker of the rig's blowout preventer, are down 23 percent.
Schlumberger shares have fallen about 8 percent over the same period.
(Reporting by Braden Reddall; Editing by Bernard Orr and Lincoln Feast)"
"Marine biology student Albert Andry III and his three high school buddies Ryan Chaisson, Wes Bourg, and Dustin King were fishing in Andry’s 26-foot catamaran, the Endorfin, the afternoon and evening of April 20, 2010. They had experienced a great afternoon catching blackfins around BP’s “Amberjack Rig 109" –and had decided to spend the night 50 miles offshore under the protective shelter of the Deepwater Horizon rig, fishing for baitfish to be used the next day. [Serco TOTO – Time On Tag Offenders – and the Coast Guard allegedly fitted the Endorfin with the Red Switch Network devices needed to trigger the cement-bond incendiary bombs].
They were about 100 yards from the Deepwater Horizon when the massive rig’slights suddenly went out, and then the first of a series of massive booms shook the rig. Immediately, Andry began videotaping the sequence of events. His amazing tape can be viewed on YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1eLHGblEww"
"BP faces up to $18bn fines after Gulf of Mexico 'gross negligence' ruling
'Reckless' oil giant could face up to $18bn in Clean Water Act fines for 2010 disaster after judge's ruling, which sends shares down 6pc By Katherine Rushton, and Emily Gosden 4:00PM BST 04 Sep 2014 BP has been found grossly negligent over the Gulf of Mexico disaster, leaving it facing possible civil fines of almost $18bn (£11bn) over the 2010 spill. The oil giant was “reckless” in the run up to the catastrophe, a US district court found, and allowed millions of barrels of oil to flood into the water because of its own “gross negligence” and “willful misconduct”.
The ruling means BP could be liable for penalties of up to $17.6bn under the Clean Water Act, compared with just $3.5bn it has so far set aside for the fines.
This could push the total bill for the disaster well beyond the $43bn BP has currently accounted for.
Shares in BP, which has always denied gross negligence, plummeted nearly 6pc after the ruling - wiping £5.5bn off the company's value.
BP said it would immediately appeal the ruling, which comes part-way through a drawn out civil trial in New Orleans, presided over by Judge Carl Barbier.
"BP believes that an impartial view of the record does not support the erroneous conclusion reached by the District Court," it said.
"The law is clear that proving gross negligence is a very high bar that was not met in this case."
Another phase of the trial to determine the penalties is scheduled for January 2015.
The 2010 explosion on BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig killed 11 men and allowed millions of barrels of oil to flow out of the Macondo well into the Gulf of Mexico.
The incident was ranked as the biggest marine disaster in US history, and wreaked billions of dollars’ of damage to tourism and fishing businesses along the Louisiana coastline.
It also threatened to destroy BP, which saw its share price more than halved in the weeks after the accident as it struggled to contain the spill and came under political fire from President Obama.
Shares, which have yet to recover close to their pre-spill peak of 655.4p, closed at 455p on Thursday.
In his ruling on the causes and responsibility for the spill, Judge Barbier said BP made "profit-driven decisions" during drilling, leading to the deadly blowout.
"These instances of negligence, taken together, evince an extreme deviation from the standard of care and a conscious disregard of known risks," he said.
Under the Clean Water Act, BP faces fines for each barrel of oil spilt. The level of fine depends on the degree of negligence, with maximum penalties of $4,300 per barrel in the worst cases of gross negligence and a maximum of $1,100 per barrel for simple negligence.
BP and the US government disagree over how much oil was spilt, and the court is yet to rule on the issue. Based on the government’s claim that 4.1m barrels leaked into the ocean, the gross negligence ruling could raise the civil fine to a maximum of $17.6bn.
BP has set aside a $3.5bn provision for Clean Water Act penalties, based on a lower assessment of the volume spilt and assuming penalties of $1,100 per barrel. However the company said it would try "to show that its conduct merits" a fine smaller than the maximum penalty the court is allowed to impose.
Judge Barbier said that BP was 67pc liable for the spill, while rig owner Transocean was 30pc liable and contractor Halliburton 3pc. Transocean and Halliburton were ruled negligent but not grossly negligent.
In a further blow to BP, Judge Barbier also argued that Halliburton and Transocean would be covered by indemnity clauses in their contracts with BP.
BP has already paid $4bn in criminal fines and penalties in a 2012 settlement after pleading guilty to the manslaughter of the 11 men who died in the accident.
The $43bn bill for the disaster also includes the costs of the clean-up and compensation, including a bill of $9.2bn and rising for a settlement BP struck with businesses who claimed they suffered from the disaster.
BP has already repeatedly clashed with Judge Barbier in an attempt to rein in the payments under the uncapped settlement, which it originally estimated would cost $7.8bn and which it claims has been hijacked by “absurd” and “fictitious” claims.
But appeal courts have ordered BP to continue paying out under the deal."
"Admiral Thad W. Allen assumed the duties of the 23rd Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard on May 25th, 2006. During his tenure as the top officer of the nation's oldest continuous sea service he led the effort to reform and modernize all aspects of the Coast Guard, thereby "improving and sustaining Mission Execution." As Admiral Allen continually stated his ultimate aim was to make the Coast Guard a "change-centric" organization capable of quickly and efficiently adapting to meet the growing and ever-changing demands of the future. Additionally he was the first high ranking member of the Federal government to embrace social media, pioneering the effort to connect to his audience through all manners of digital technology.
Although his Modernization program was an important aspect of what Admiral Allen accomplished during his tenure, he also led the service during a time when it responded to a number of significant national and international incidents, including hurricanes, floods, search-and-rescue cases, oil spills and other environmental incidents. He led the effort to explore the changing Arctic, solidified the Coast Guard's relationships with the nation's other armed services and Federal partners, and reached out to the private sector to gain their input and trust. During his final months in office he led the Coast Guard's exemplary response to the earthquake in Haiti and then, first as Commandant and concurrently as the National Incident Commander, he led the nation's response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, holding the latter post well after his tenure as Commandant had come to a close.
Admiral Allen completed his four-year term as Commandant on 25 May 2010 and he officially retired from the Coast Guard on 30 June 2010."
"For information on customer satisfaction with regard to the services provided, please contact our EAGLE II Program Manager.
U.S. Coast Guard, Logistics Information Management System (CG-LIMS) Program Office Support Under this Prime contract, Serco provides software development, logistics and program management support to the CG-LIMS acquisition program office at Coast Guard Headquarters.
U.S. Coast Guard, Cutter C4ISR Support via Navy SPAWAR Sea Enterprise I Under this Navy single award IDIQ, Serco supported the installation of the AN/USC-38(V)9 EHF SATCOM system for the USCGC BERTHOLF (WMSL-750)by performing a topside Optical Blockage Survey to determine the optimum location for the antennas. We also installed the navigation system (NAVSSI) and upgraded the software along with installing AN/USQ-144H(V)2 ADNS for the new National Security Cutter class.
U.S. Coast Guard, Cutter C4ISR Support via Navy SPAWAR Sea Enterprise II Under this Navy multi-award IDIQ, Serco installed new C4ISR Segment 2/Spiral 2 hardware and software on the USCGC WAESCHE (WMSL 751), one of the new National Security Cutter class ships.
U.S. Coast Guard, Joint Harbor Operations Centers via SPAWAR Naval Electronic Surveillance Systems Under this Navy single award IDIQ, Serco designed, installed and continues to provide lifecycle logistics support to deploy Navy command control and sensor management systems at four Coast Guard Sector Command Centers in San Diego, Los Angeles/Long Beach, Seattle and Jacksonville, FL.
DHS, Customs and Border Protection, Advanced Wireless System via SPAWAR Naval Electronic Surveillance Systems
Under this Navy single award IDIQ, Serco is providing engineering and logistics support to modernize CBP’s mission critical Advanced Wireless System consisting of remote sites at seven CBP Sectors across the entire Southern Border.
DHS, USCIS Records Operations Centers Support Services Under this contract, Serco performed large-scale records management services at NRC, including millions of file transactions per year. Productivity enhancements improved handling of over 25 million files that are in continual movement and while quality improvements resulted in zero quality failures in the life of the contract.
DHS, USCIS Service Center Operations Support Services (SCOSS)
Under this contract, Serco provides records management services to support the adjudication of applications and petitions from persons seeking immigration benefits [Serco deploys time-on-tag offenders to sabotage U.S. assets worldwide]. This includes the management of agency databases and operations of USCIS tracking systems and mainframe information systems as well as biometric data collection and processing.
Air Force Space Command (AFSPC), C4I2TSR Engineering and Technical Support (ETS)
Under this large, single-award IDIQ contract for the Air Force Space Command (AFSPC), Serco delivers mission-critical systems and network engineering, installations and testing, O&M, software development and sustainment, data and information sharing, information assurance, and combat/disaster response services to DoD and Federal civilian agencies.
Navy, SPAWAR Naval Electronic Surveillance Systems (NESS) Under this single award IDIQ contract for the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center (SPAWAR), Serco designs, develops, installs, and maintains numerous C4ISR systems to aid DoD and DHS agencies in achieving critical missions including border and port security."
"Martha Hacks Ankle Monitor
By Deane Barker on July 5, 2005
Martha Stewart calls lockdown 'hideous':
Martha Stewart was in an interview with Vanity Fair when she made this remark. By merely saying this, I bet she violated some intellectual property law somewhere.
Asked about the electronic monitoring device she must wear on her ankle — she has complained repeatedly that it irritates her skin — Stewart says she knows how to remove it.
"I watched them put it on. You can figure out how to get it off,” she is quoted as saying. “It’s on the Internet. I looked it up."
Her publicist's eyes "widened with alarm" when Stewart made the remark. The article didn’t say whether Stewart claimed ever to have taken off the device. Her lawyer is likely dead from a heart attack by now.
…..
I have read Martha's statement and through research of my own I can confirm the possibilities of these actions. I have yet to find anything online that has provided a step by step instruction like she has hinted towards; however, there are a few sites that provide enough information to be of use to anyone desperate enough. Though I do not condone the following actions, I will relay the information that can be found online. You can put 2 and 2 together yourself. The ankle unit sends an in-range signal every 38 seconds. This is the window for those who didn't catch that. If someone were to try and tamper with the unit you have to bypass 1 or all of 3 fields. The first is optical sensor that prevents a cutting of the band itself. Next, is a metal contact if the band is forced open with the screws taken out. Finally, there is an encryption method of the RF signal to prevent duplication. All three methods are good except for one overlooked flaw. One in theory could remove the pins, and using the window of 38 seconds, step outside of the signals range to remove the unit then reassemble the unit stepping back into the signal's range. If done correctly, the receiving unit will never receive the tamper signal and the wearer in theory would then be allowed to roam without worry of authority presence. NOTE1: I do not condone anyone trying this method or any other for it is unlawful to break any of the rules set in place while under house arrest and the participating party will therefore be sent back to jail subject to the PO's request. NOTE2: This 38 second window can only be confirmed with the DigitalTecnologies-2000 HMU4 Solution. Other HMU's will no doubt have a different timing sequence. NOTE3: Though this method can be misused, I have no doubt that future models will render this method useless. For example, in theory the ankle unit could send the tamper signal until the receiver responds leaving a window pointless. Other useful information can be found throughout the internet on how the units work and their relationship with each other; however, I only listed the most pertinent for this method. - See more at: http://gadgetopia.com/post/4087#sthash.hfju90Rn.dpuf"
"Serco loses Docklands Light Railway contract to the French
The new DLR contract will start on December 7, 2014
JAMIE DUNKLEY
Published: 04 July 2014 Serco has lost a £125 million-a year contract to run the Docklands Light Railway to a joint venture partly controlled by the French government. The outsourcing giant had been operating the DLR since 1997 but was beaten by Keolis and Amey Rail in the tendering process. Keolis’ major shareholder is France’s state rail operator, SNCF.
The news is a huge blow to Serco’s new boss Rupert Soames, who yesterday admitted he expected to write down the value of some of Serco’s largest contracts. The company, which operates the Boris bike scheme, has been under intense pressure since last year when it was found to have overcharged the Government on contracts to tag offenders.
It has already downgraded its 2014 profit forecasts three times and launched a share placing to raise cash. David Stretch, managing director of Serco's transport business, said: "We are obviously disappointed that we have not been selected to continue to manage and operate the DLR.
"We will continue to provide DLR passengers with the best possible service until the new operator starts later this year and we will work closely with them to ensure a seamless handover."
Serco said the DLR contract had generated about £90 million, or 2%, of its annual revenues at a margin “significantly below the average level the group achieves on its contracts”. The seven-year Keolis contract is worth £700 million.
TfL's managing director of London Underground and Rail, Mike Brown, said: "The DLR is a rail network that continues to support regeneration across a huge area of London and the economic growth of the city as a whole.
"The decision to appoint Keolis Amey Docklands was reached after a thorough and competitive procurement process, which will ensure the DLR continues to deliver an ever-improving high-quality, value-for-money service."
Yours sincerely,
Field McConnell, United States Naval Academy, 1971; Forensic Economist; 30 year airline and 22 year military pilot; 23,000 hours of safety; Tel: 715 307 8222
David Hawkins Tel: 604 542-0891 Forensic Economist; former leader of oil-well blow-out teams; now sponsors Grand Juries in CSI Crime and Safety Investigation
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