Miner Rescue Live via MSNBC

(Oct. 12) -- After a record 10 weeks trapped nearly half a mile underground, the ragtag group of some 33 survival-minded Chilean miners is about to be saved, AOL News reports.

The actual retrieval portion of the rescue operation (getting the men above ground, very carefully, one at a time using an extremely precise and claustrophobic NASA-designed escape pod/capsule) is expected to begin shortly, around 10 p.m. Chilean or central time, according to the latest reports, which is two hours ahead of the initially planned midnight deadline time. You can watch it live here via MSNBC:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Also follow along with The Guardian's Live Blog.

Still, despite the good news, it's worth pointing out that the miners' ordeal -- and that of their families and loved ones -- is far from over.

A great degree of risk remains throughout the rescue: The escape capsule, for instance, is reportedly going to be loaded with dynamite in case it gets stuck on the way up and the unlucky passenger has to attempt to widen the narrow rock-chute by blasting it open.

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Plus, the world awaiting the miners above ground poses its own share of problems as well: Doctors and medical personnel standing by to attend to the miners' health needs are already bracing for a media barrage, and several of the men are reportedly facing jilted spouses and the exposure of formerly secret lovers.

But all in all, the world is eagerly awaiting their return to safety on the surface of the earth and the promise of their futures, whatever they may hold.

Vermilion Bay

Its name is drawn from a ruddy pigment used since ancient times. But right now the collective worry is that it’s about to become streaked with a fresh leak of brown crude: The site of an Gulf oil platform explosion, reported Thursday morning by a helicopter company flying over the area, is 80 miles from Vermilion Bay along the central coast of Louisiana.

Surge Desk has the details on the bay’s location, wildlife and history with oil rigs — and oil disasters like this one on Mariner Energy’s platform.

Where is Vermilion Bay exactly?

The bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, to which it’s linked by the Southwest Pass straight. Vermilion River, a 72-mile stretch of water that flows through southern Louisiana, feeds into the bay.

On the bay’s southwestern shore, there’s a dedicated wildlife refuge zone — it’s also in close range to Marsh Island, home to yet another state wildlife refuge.

What’s Vermilion Bay known for?

Largely wildlife and fishing. The bay is home to myriad marine life, as well as alligators, shorebirds and wading birds.

The flora and fauna in the area also make it a hot spot for camping: Cypremort Point State Park, on the coast of the bay, offers fishing, canoeing, kayaking and bird watching for tenting tourists.

Has It Been Affected by Oil Spills Before?

Oh, you know it. The BP oil spill was a direct hit to the bay: 1,100 miles off the coast of Vermilion were closed to fishing after the April spill.

Patches of oil were spotted in the bay via satellite imagery throughout the summer.

Conservation projects in the area, like an oyster reef restoration project, were stalled by the spill and have just started picking up steam again. Time will tell whether this latest rig incident stops them yet again. So far, reports of another oil leak have not been confirmed.

Mariner Energy

The U.S. Coast Guard said this morning  that a natural gas and oil drilling platform exploded 80 miles off the coast of Louisiana. A Coast Guard spokesperson said the platform, Vermilion Oil Rig 360, is an oil and gas platform in 2,500 feet of water and is owned by Houston-based Mariner Energy. It is not currently producing oil or gas. Apache Corp. recently purchased Mariner in a multi-billion dollar deal.

Just yesterday, however, the Financial Times reported that employees from Apache and Mariner, along with thousands of oil industry workers, rallied in Houston to protest the Obama administration’s offshore drilling moratorium that was designed as a safety precaution after BP’s disastrous Gulf oil spill. A Mariner Energy employee chastised the Obama administration for its drilling moratorium, which would not have affected the rig that exploded today:

    Companies ranging from Chevron to Apache bussed in up to 5,000 employees to the Houston convention centre to underline to Washington the industry’s contribution to the country. [...]

    “I have been in the oil and gas industry for 40 years, and this administration is trying to break us,” said Barbara Dianne Hagood, senior landman for Mariner Energy, a small company. “The moratorium they imposed is going to be a financial disaster for the gulf coast, gulf coast employees and gulf coast residents.”

Apache Corp. recently agreed to buy BP assets in order to help the British oil giant meet its financial obligations as a result of its Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Thirteen workers were on the rig when it exploded; the Coast Guard has said that “all 13 workers involved in the production platform explosion are accounted for, but one person is injured.”

Update The Washington Post reports, “In its recent Securities and Exchange filing, the company said that the Interior Department’s moratorium on deep-water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico had affected Mariner’s operations. It said its operations ‘may be impacted in the future by increased regulatory oversight, which may increase the cost of’ Outer Continental Shelf wells ‘and delay drilling and production therefrom.’”

Oil Rig Explosion

Another oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded today. All crew members survived. Right now, nobody knows whether or not the explosion caused a leak in any of the seven wells that the rig collects from. There have been reports of an oil slick on the water near the fire, but that could just as easily be from the finite amount of oil stored on the rig—which would still a spill, but a significantly less problematic one.

Other than that, there's not really much information out about this right now. If anybody's learned anything from Deepwater Horizon it seems to be that you're better off, PR-wise, if you don't have to correct everything you say two days later.

To give you something to chew over in the meantime, though, Deep Sea News has been doing a really interesting series on the science (such as it is) of oil dispersants. It's interesting, not just because of the basic facts, but also because it gets into the details of why we don't know more.

    Dispersants must be applied successfully and have a high effectiveness once in ocean waters. This sounds easy, in principle--once you've perfected your Corexit formula in the lab, just spray it from a helicopter, and voila! Except there are a lot of factors which you also have to take into account: the composition of the oil spilled, sea energy, whether the oil has been subjected to weathering at all, exact type of dispersant used and the amount which you sprayed, and ocean temperature/salinity.

    Thank goodness for all those lab tests over the years which figured all this stuff out, you say. Um, well actually it seems like even designing simulation experiments is difficult, and different tests can report different effectiveness scores for the same dispersant. It is difficult to accurately scale up lab tests in order to predict dispersant action on real spills. Older studies used methods and analyses which have since been discredited. Wave-tank tests can probably provide upper limits on dispersant effectiveness, but there are SEVENTEEN (!!) critical factors that require strict control for accurate results (Fingas 2002). Field tests in open ecosystems are even worse for measuring the fate of oil and controlling variables. In terms of measuring dispersant effectiveness, tank tests, field tests, and lab tests all disagree. Awesome.

Discovery Communications

SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — Police shot a man upset with the Discovery Channel network's programming who took three people hostage at the company's headquarters Wednesday, officials said. All three hostages escaped safely.

Montgomery County Police Chief Thomas Manger said he did not know whether police killed the gunman, who was upset about the network's programming. Police spent several hours negotiating with him after he burst into the suburban Washington building about 1 p.m. waving a handgun and with canisters strapped to his body.

Manger said an explosive device may have detonated, and the suspect may have brought other devices into the building. He said as far as he knows, the 1,900 people who work in the building were able to get out safely.

A law enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing said authorities had identified James J. Lee as the likely suspect.

A different official, who spoke on condition of anonymity for the same reason, said Lee previously protested outside the building, where he was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct in February 2008, according to court records.

Police reports indicate he paid homeless people to join his protest and carry signs outside the building. He gave one individual $1,000 for what he considered a prize winning essay.

At one point, a crowd of more than 100 people gathered around Lee, 43, who referred to money as "just trash" and began throwing fistfuls of it into the air.

At the trial, The Gazette of Montgomery County reported, he said he began working to save the planet after being laid off from his job in San Diego. He said he was inspired by "Ishmael," a novel by environmentalist Daniel Quinn and by former Vice President Al Gore's documentary "An Inconvenient Truth."

A lengthy posting which could be seen Wednesday on a website registered to Lee expressed anger against the Discovery Channel and said it promoted overpopulation.

He said it and its affiliates should stop "encouraging the birth of any more parasitic human infants." Instead, he said, the network should air "programs encouraging human sterilization and infertility."

"NO MORE BABIES! Population growth is a real crisis," he wrote.

He also railed against "programs promoting War" and said solutions should be found for global warming and automotive and factory pollution.

"I want Discovery Communications to broadcast on their channels to the world their new program lineup and I want proof they are doing so," he wrote. "I want the new shows started by asking the public for inventive solution ideas to save the planet and the remaining wildlife on it."

Discovery Communications Inc. operates cable and satellite networks in the U.S., including The Discovery Channel, TLC and Animal Planet. Discovery shows include "Cash Cab" and "Man vs. Wild," and TLC airs "American Chopper" and "Kate Plus Eight."

Animal Planet also airs the controversial series "Whale Wars," about attempts by environmentalists to disrupt the Japanese whaling industry.

After Lee's arrest, a magistrate ordered a doctor's evaluation, but court records do not immediately indicate the result. Lee was convicted by a jury and served two weeks in jail. He was also ordered to stay 500 feet away from Discovery headquarters.

Adam Dolan, a sales director in Discovery's education division, told The Associated Press by phone that he was heading to lunch with a co-worker when he heard there was a situation in the building.

He was told to go back up to the top floor, lock the door and turn off the lights. Eventually the workers were herded down a stairwell and told to go home.

"Everyone was very scared, but at the same time ... I think people were calm and collected and responded as one would expect in this situation," said Dolan, 28.

When he got to the bottom floor, he saw shattered glass near the company's daycare and suspected it was broken to get the children out. He later got an e-mail that all the children were safe and had been taken to a McDonald's.

Dolan said the company has unarmed security guards who won't let anyone into the building without a badge.

Melissa Shepard, 32, of Peterborough, N.H., a consultant who works there during the week, said she was on the third floor in a large room with several other workers when someone announced over a loudspeaker that there was a situation in the lobby and people should stay at their desks.

After some time, they were told to move to the other end of the building. She said she was among a dozen workers who huddled into an office, shut the door and turned off the lights.

Then she said someone knocked on the door and told them to leave the building. She said there was some confusion as they were told to go to an upper floor or down the stairs.

"Finally, I screamed, 'tell us where we need to go...I just want to get out of there,'" she said. "I was shaking...I was like what do we do what do we do?'"

Authorities descended on the area, and people were being kept away from the main drag of the downtown area where the building is located amid restaurants and shops. Traffic was jammed.

Discovery Building

Earlier today, a gunman entered Discovery Channel's headquarters with a gun or some explosives (reports are still coming in), took some employees hostage, and demanded better science programming.

His demands, which are posted here, include the demand that Discovery Channel start airing shows that offer solutions to the planet's problems, and that "All programs promoting War and the technology behind those must cease."

The document also demands that Discovery stop promoting childbirth in its shows, and that it must "Develop shows that mention the Malthusian sciences about how food production leads to the overpopulation of the Human race. Talk about Evolution. Talk about Malthus and Darwin until it sinks into the stupid people's brains until they get it!!" The gunman also demands shows that offer solutions to problems with immigration, pollution, and the US economy.

So far, it appears that nobody has been hurt.

UPDATE: Police say the gunman is James Jay Lee, who has protested before at the Discovery Channel building. It appears that he has one hostage, still unhurt.

UPDATE: Police have shot the gunman, and his three hostages are now safe.

Silver Spring Md

Silver Spring Md, James Jay Lee was no stranger to the employees  of Discovery Channel on Wednesday that terrorized with a gun and what appeared to be makeshift bombs strapped to his chest and back.

Lee, a California man to 43 years old with a religious fervor, apparently for environmental causes, had a history of the orientation of the channel to its programming, especially in a protest in front of the channel 2008 Silver Spring, Maryland, headquarters, 1,900 employees at work. That day, the protest included throwing wads of cash in the air, and ended in his arrest.

But show web ads Lee was increasingly obsessed with the “filth of civilization” and the problem of overpopulation, which he attributed to “parasites human babies.” This obsession ended late Wednesday when police opened fire and killed him at last to a hostage crisis nearly four hours inside the headquarters of Discovery. Read three hostages escaped safely.

Those who knew him say they were not surprised.

“A desperate act to validate his own ego and opinion,” is how Lee’s brother-in-law, Thomas Leonard, described the attack in an interview with Fox News, Neil ‘Cavuto as a hostage confrontation unfolded.

Lee had “a lack of respect for any authority” and was prone to “emotional outbursts” and “erratic,” said Leonard.

Lee had published a list of demands in a manifesto criticizing Discovery line for what he saw as the promotion of human birth canal and coverage of the war, and called on the channel of programming dedicated to exposing the misdeeds of man.

“Civilization must be exposed for the filth that is,” says the manifesto. “That and all the nasty rooted religious, cultural and greed. Dissemination of this message until the contamination on the planet is reversed and the human population is falling! This is your obligation. If you think not, to then get the hell off the planet! Breathe Oil! Is the moral obligation of all who live otherwise what are they? ”

In another section, wrote: “All the programs on Discovery Health, TLC should stop encouraging the birth of human babies any more parasitic and false heroics behind those actions. In places of such programs, programs to promote sterilization and human infertility are pushed. All previous programs in favor of birth must now push in the direction of preventing human birth, not encourage it. ”

Discovery Communications Inc. operates in the U.S. cable and satellite networks, including Discovery Channel, TLC and Animal Planet. Discovery shows include “Cash Cab” and “proof of everything,” and TLC airs “American Chopper” and “Kate Plus 8.”

David Leavy, Discovery’s executive vice president of corporate affairs, said all employees had been taken into account. “We are relieved that ended without any risk to our employees,” he said.

Leonard said Lee had been estranged from his family for about two years – since February 2008 a protest in front of the building.

“The Discovery Channel, produced many so-called” Environmental Programs “supposedly there to save the planet,” Lee said in an announcement that drew in a newspaper of Washington to promote the protest. “But the truth is that things are worse! Its programs are causing more harm than good.”

Photos show Lee walking in protest outside the building while holding a sign that read, “SAVE THE PLANET DISCOVERY CHANNEL!” He reportedly recruited homeless people to carry signs as well. At one point, he threw a wad of bills in the air, sparking a fight among spectators.

He was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and sentenced a month later for a trial period of six months and a fine of 500 and told her to stay at least 500 feet from the building.

The judge in the case had nothing but contempt for the actions of Lee.

“I can not tell you how this is absurd,” said Judge Stephen Johnson, according to a story in the local Gazette. The judge also said that after throwing away money, Lee would “give some to the State.”

Lee said at the time that its point was to show “money means nothing. The money is rubbish.”

The Gazette also reported that Lee had spent two weeks in jail after his arrest, including several days of being assessed by psychiatrists.

“I told them my idea of saving the planet,” he said. “I could not find anything wrong with me.”

Lee said he began his crusade after being fired from a job in San Diego. It also seems to have been inspired by books by novelist Daniel Quinn environment, in particular, “Quinn Ishmael.” He pointed to the pages of this novel in his manifesto, saying that the Discovery should create a schedule based on your message. He said he also was inspired by the Al Gore documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.”

The MySpace profile of Lee was given the label “World Guardian”, in a blog entry in December 2008, Lee wrote of “having strange dreams.”

“I can not seem to stop myself from this company. I cannot think of anything else except this and this alone. Thanks for ruining my life Shannon,” reads the blog. “I am willing to go all the way with this. All the kids like that!”

In another study published the same month, wrote:

“I refuse to read anything not directly related to the problem of overpopulation and global warming. I am looking for history for clues that might save the planet. Still baffles me why this happens. It seems impossible. I’m expecting some nature videos I ordered. ”

Under the “Who I’d like to meet” category of your MySpace page, he listed, “Environmentalists, scientists, readers of Daniel Quinn, and people who want to work towards real change.

Discovery Channel Hostage

James Lee, a man upset by the Discovery Channel’s environmental programs took three people hostage at gunpoint at the company’s headquarter today.  Lee was shot and killed by police.  Read more on this story below.

James Lee was shot dead after holding three people hostage at the Discovery Channel headquarter.  Thankfully all three hostages are alive.

Sources at the Discovery Channel building said that SWAT members fired the shots that killed the suspect.

Officers spent hours attempting to negotiate with Lee after he went into the building at around 1 p.m. armed with a handgun and canisters strapped onto his body.

The suspect is James Lee, 43, who has protested at the Discovery site before.

Here’s James Lee’s crazy rant posted on his website:

    The Discovery Channel MUST broadcast to the world their commitment to save the planet and to do the following IMMEDIATELY:

    1. The Discovery Channel and it’s affiliate channels MUST have daily television programs at prime time slots based on Daniel Quinn’s “My Ishmael” pages 207-212 where solutions to save the planet would be done in the same way as the Industrial Revolution was done, by people building on each other’s inventive ideas. Focus must be given on how people can live WITHOUT giving birth to more filthy human children since those new additions continue pollution and are pollution. A game show format contest would be in order. Perhaps also forums of leading scientists who understand and agree with the Malthus-Darwin science and the problem of human overpopulation. Do both. Do all until something WORKS and the natural world starts improving and human civilization building STOPS and is reversed! MAKE IT INTERESTING SO PEOPLE WATCH AND APPLY SOLUTIONS!!!!

    2. All programs on Discovery Health-TLC must stop encouraging the birth of any more parasitic human infants and the false heroics behind those actions. In those programs’ places, programs encouraging human sterilization and infertility must be pushed. All former pro-birth programs must now push in the direction of stopping human birth, not encouraging it.

    3. All programs promoting War and the technology behind those must cease. There is no sense in advertising weapons of mass-destruction anymore. Instead, talk about ways to disassemble civilization and concentrate the message in finding SOLUTIONS to solving global military mechanized conflict. Again, solutions solutions instead of just repeating the same old wars with newer weapons. Also, keep out the fraudulent peace movements. They are liars and fakes and had no real intention of ending the wars. ALL OF THEM ARE FAKE! On one hand, they claim they want the wars to end, on the other, they are demanding the human population increase. World War II had 2 Billion humans and after that war, the people decided that tripling the population would assure peace. WTF??? STUPIDITY! MORE HUMANS EQUALS MORE WAR!

    4. Civilization must be exposed for the filth it is. That, and all its disgusting religious-cultural roots and greed. Broadcast this message until the pollution in the planet is reversed and the human population goes down! This is your obligation. If you think it isn’t, then get hell off the planet! Breathe Oil! It is the moral obligation of everyone living otherwise what good are they??

    5. Immigration: Programs must be developed to find solutions to stopping ALL immigration pollution and the anchor baby filth that follows that. Find solutions to stopping it. Call for people in the world to develop solutions to stop it completely and permanently. Find solutions FOR these countries so they stop sending their breeding populations to the US and the world to seek jobs and therefore breed more unwanted pollution babies. FIND SOLUTIONS FOR THEM TO STOP THEIR HUMAN GROWTH AND THE EXPORTATION OF THAT DISGUSTING FILTH! (The first world is feeding the population growth of the Third World and those human families are going to where the food is! They must stop procreating new humans looking for nonexistant jobs!)

    6. Find solutions for Global Warming, Automotive pollution, International Trade, factory pollution, and the whole blasted human economy. Find ways so that people don’t build more housing pollution which destroys the environment to make way for more human filth! Find solutions so that people stop breeding as well as stopping using Oil in order to REVERSE Global warming and the destruction of the planet!

    7. Develop shows that mention the Malthusian sciences about how food production leads to the overpopulation of the Human race. Talk about Evolution. Talk about Malthus and Darwin until it sinks into the stupid people’s brains until they get it!!

    8. Saving the Planet means saving what’s left of the non-human Wildlife by decreasing the Human population. That means stopping the human race from breeding any more disgusting human babies! You’re the media, you can reach enough people. It’s your resposibility because you reach so many minds!!!

    9. Develop shows that will correct and dismantle the dangerous US world economy. Find solutions for their disasterous Ponzi-Casino economy before they take the world to another nuclear war.

    10. Stop all shows glorifying human birthing on all your channels and on TLC. Stop Future Weapons shows or replace the dialogue condemning the people behind these developments so that the shows become exposes rather than advertisements of Arms sales and development!

    11. You’re also going to find solutions for unemployment and housing. All these unemployed people makes me think the US is headed toward more war.

    Humans are the most destructive, filthy, pollutive creatures around and are wrecking what’s left of the planet with their false morals and breeding culture.

    For every human born, ACRES of wildlife forests must be turned into farmland in order to feed that new addition over the course of 60 to 100 YEARS of that new human’s lifespan! THIS IS AT THE EXPENSE OF THE FOREST CREATURES!!!! All human procreation and farming must cease!

    It is the responsiblity of everyone to preserve the planet they live on by not breeding any more children who will continue their filthy practices. Children represent FUTURE catastrophic pollution whereas their parents are current pollution. NO MORE BABIES! Population growth is a real crisis. Even one child born in the US will use 30 to a thousand times more resources than a Third World child. It’s like a couple are having 30 babies even though it’s just one! If the US goes in this direction maybe other countries will too!

    Also, war must be halted. Not because it’s morally wrong, but because of the catastrophic environmental damage modern weapons cause to other creatures. FIND SOLUTIONS JUST LIKE THE BOOK SAYS! Humans are supposed to be inventive. INVENT, DAMN YOU!!

    The world needs TV shows that DEVELOP solutions to the problems that humans are causing, not stupify the people into destroying the world. Not encouraging them to breed more environmentally harmful humans.

    Saving the environment and the remaning species diversity of the planet is now your mindset. Nothing is more important than saving them. The Lions, Tigers, Giraffes, Elephants, Froggies, Turtles, Apes, Raccoons, Beetles, Ants, Sharks, Bears, and, of course, the Squirrels.

    The humans? The planet does not need humans.

    You MUST KNOW the human population is behind all the pollution and problems in the world, and YET you encourage the exact opposite instead of discouraging human growth and procreation. Surely you MUST ALREADY KNOW this!

    I want Discovery Communications to broadcast on their channels to the world their new program lineup and I want proof they are doing so. I want the new shows started by asking the public for inventive solution ideas to save the planet and the remaining wildlife on it.

    These are the demands and sayings of Lee.

Wow! That’s crazy!  Thank goodness all the hostages are alright!