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To: ManyMoose who wrote (362834)	5/4/2010 10:34:30 PM
From: FJB	1 Recommendation Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 793964

Owner of sunken oil platform had safety concerns Transocean, owner of sunken oil rig, had eliminated executive bonuses over safety concerns .Companies:Transocean Ltd..David Koenig, AP Business Writer, On Tuesday May 4, 2010, 7:44 pm EDT DALLAS (AP) -- Transocean Ltd., which owned the drilling rig that exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico, eliminated bonuses for top executives last year over concerns about safety problems at the company. The company said in a regulatory filing on April 1 that it eliminated the bonuses to stress safety after four workers died on rigs last year. It wanted to give executives more incentive "to promote ... the avoidance of future fatal accidents." On April 20, the company's Deepwater Horizon rig, which it leased to BP PLC, blew up and sank. Eleven workers were killed and the accident spawned a huge oil spill that is now endangering wildlife and businesses along the Gulf's coastline. Transocean's chairman and CEO told shareholders in a letter in March of a "thorough review" of safety practices taking place across the company. Lawsuits are starting to pile up. Some survivors of the Deepwater Horizon claimed in a lawsuit Tuesday that they were stranded in a rescue boat for more than 10 hours after the explosion, watching the rig burn and knowing that other men were missing. Transocean spokesman Guy Cantwell defended the company's response to the April 20 explosion 50 miles off the Louisiana coast. "One-hundred and fifteen people got off this rig alive," Cantwell said. Cantwell said management recommended the decision not to pay executive bonuses last year. He said the four deaths in 2009 occurred on different rigs in four different countries. Reports on one death, in Azerbaijan, appeared in the media, but Cantwell declined to disclose other locations and whether any were in U.S. waters. None were related to drilling, he said. The company had two workers killed in 2008 and none in 2007, Cantwell said. Transocean is scheduled to report first-quarter financial results on Wednesday -- analysts predict it earned about $670 million, or $2.10 per share -- followed by a conference call with investors on Thursday. As of the close of trading Tuesday, Transocean's stock market value has fallen 21 percent, to $23.35 billion since the explosion. Philip H. Weiss, an analyst with Argus Research Group, said the company has a strong backlog of rig contracts and was benefiting from a tight supply of rigs capable of operating in deep water. "They have been doing well, but this (blowout) creates a huge overhang," Weiss said. He said uncertainty about Transocean's potential liability after the explosion makes it hard to recommend the stock, which he downgraded to "hold" last Friday. Weiss said he wants executives to discuss the potential fallout on Thursday's call but fears they won't because of legal concerns. According to the lawsuit filed in Texas state court Tuesday, a supervisor rushed to get crews on life rafts but the workers were then kept on a boat near the burning rig for more than 10 hours before being taken ashore. Kurt B. Arnold, the lawyer who filed the case, said company officials tried to get statements from the crew members before letting them leave a hotel in Kenner, La., the next day The lawsuit was filed on behalf of one of the 11 killed on the Deepwater Horizon and three survivors and alleges the rig wasn't seaworthy and didn't meet federal safety standards. The family of another dead worker filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Louisiana shortly after the explosion, charging Transocean and BP with negligence. Several other lawsuits have been filed against the companies on behalf of fishermen and others who expect to be harmed by the spill, and the governor of Florida is considering suing. Fitch Ratings on Tuesday changed its outlook on Transocean debt to "stable" from "positive," citing the potential for large legal expenses and liabilities related to the oil spill. Fitch said Transocean carries $950 million in liability coverage before deductibles, and oil companies usually repay rig owners for costs related to blowouts. But the rating agency said Transocean could still be vulnerable for damages above $950 million if was found to be negligent. Insurance should cover the loss of the $560 million Deepwater Horizon, which sank in about 5,000 feet of water, but Transocean has a deductible of $10 million per event on personal injury liability, Fitch said. The agency kept its rating on Transocean debt at "BBB," or investment-grade but carrying a moderate default risk. Transocean's annual shareholder meeting is planned for next week in Switzerland.

To: ManyMoose who wrote (362834)	5/5/2010 12:15:38 AM
From: KLP	3 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793964

Investors Editorial: Times Square Scare Posted 06:23 PM ET War On Terror: A Muslim-American terrorist's car bomb didn't go off as planned in New York's busy Times Square. But it explodes a number of stubborn myths about the homegrown threat. Myth No. 1: The only violent citizens we need to worry about these days are anti-government Tea Party types angry over ObamaCare. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg repeated the faulty assumption — oft-cited by the Obama administration — in an interview with CBS News anchor Katie Couric the day after the scare. Never mind that the bomb-laden SUV was parked nowhere near a government building. And never mind that the Times Square subway just last year was a target of Najibullah Zazi, another homegrown jihadist. The mayor must also have been napping a couple of weeks ago when two other Muslim Americans were busted in Manhattan for supporting al-Qaida. Myth No. 2: Unlike Muslims abroad, our Muslims don't partake in violent jihad. And Muslims immigrating to our shores clamor to become U.S. citizens because they love America. Times Square terror suspect Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani immigrant who became a U.S. citizen last year, sure has an odd way of showing his love. Authorities say his car bomb would have killed hundreds of fellow Americans. Shocking truth is, hundreds of Muslims living in America have been busted for terrorism since 9/11. And tens of thousands more have supported jihad through charitable fronts. In fact, every major Muslim charity in America has been shut down now. Myth No. 3: The Taliban's terror reach is limited to South Asia. Pakistan-based Taliban claimed credit for the car bomb plot in an audio tape. And there are reports that Shahzad recently trained at a Taliban camp in Peshawar. The Taliban and al-Qaida provide angry Muslim Americans with the fuse, and then secrete these human bombs back inside American communities such as Bridgeport, Conn., Shahzad's home, or Aurora, Colo., where Pakistan-trained Zazi lived. It's perhaps no coincidence that Shahzad traveled to Pakistani camps after obtaining his U.S. passport, a document cherished by Taliban and al-Qaida recruiters. Terrorists who are American citizens have a better chance of re-entering the U.S. undetected. Authorities are doing next to nothing to close off this end of the Pakistan terror pipeline, and not nearly enough to close off the other end . Myth No. 4: Drones alone will take care of the enemy's training camps, safe houses and leaders inside Pakistan. New videos from the Pakistani Taliban show their leader alive and refute earlier White House claims that he was killed in a U.S. drone strike in January. Hakimullah Mehsud's embarrassing survival underscores the drone campaign's limits. The enemy enjoys sanctuary inside Pakistan's remote tribal region, and continues to operate with virtual impunity. Without boots on the ground there, our chances of defeating the enemy before it can launch attacks against us are slim. Myth No. 5: Shahzad is another al-Qaida wannabe. They're incompetent amateurs. Nothing to worry about. While his car bomb may have been a dud like the Christmas airline bomb, he still got the bomb in place before authorities caught on. Bottom line: We're still reacting to terrorism. And lately, we've gotten lucky. But we also got lucky in 1993 when a truck bomb failed to knock out the WTC pilings — until our luck ran out eight years later, when the Muslim terrorists came back and hit the towers again, this time with winged bombs. investors.com

To: ManyMoose who wrote (362834)	7/7/2010 7:42:10 PM
From: KLP	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793964

NYC Subway Bomb Plot Linked to British Al Qaeda Cell, Feds Say Published July 07, 2010 foxnews.com WASHINGTON -- A failed plot to set off bombs in the New York subway system last year was part of a larger Al Qaeda terrorist conspiracy that planned a similar attack in England, U.S. prosecutors said Wednesday. In an indictment unsealed Wednesday, prosecutors added several Al Qaeda figures to the case, including Adnan Shukrijumah, an FBI most-wanted terrorist. Shukrijumah, one of the Al Qaeda leaders in charge of plotting attacks worldwide, was directly involved in recruiting and plotting the New York attack, prosecutors said. Attorney General Eric Holder has called that plot one of the most dangerous since 9/11. Two of the men indicted Wednesday -- Abid Naseer and Tariq Ur Rehman -- were linked to a previously undisclosed companion plot in England. "These charges underscore the global nature of the terrorist threat we face," said David Kris, the Justice Department's top national security prosecutor. Three U.S. citizens were arrested in September 2009 before, prosecutors said, they could carry out a trio of suicide bombings in Manhattan. Najibullah Zazi and Zarein Ahmedzay have pleaded guilty and admitted planning to detonate homemade bombs on the subway during rush hour. A third man, Adis Medunjanin, awaits trial. Prosecutors added new terrorism charges against him Wednesday. After 9/11, Shukrijumah, 34, was seen as one of Al Qaeda's best chances to attack inside the U.S. or Europe, captured terrorist Abu Zubaydah told U.S. authorities. Shukrijumah studied at a community college in Florida but when the FBI showed up to arrest him as a material witness to a terrorism case in 2003, he already had left the country. In 2004, then-Attorney General John Ashcroft called Shukrijumah a "clear and present danger" to the United States. The U.S. is offering a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture. foxnews.com 7/nyc-subway-bomb-plot-linked-british-al-qaeda-cell-feds-say/