Warning to folks with online businesses.

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Tuesday September 08, 2020 · 10:01 AM PDT

2020/09/08 · 10:01

This is my first attempt at a diary since the days of the Deepwater Horizon, but I think it’s important. (Hope I didn’t mess anything up.)

I know many people who hang out here have online businesses. Hubby and I both have them, though I’m not active that much right now.

In the last fifteen or so minutes, he got an email “message” from what looked like the USPS. BitDefender (bless them) caught it and said, “Uh, you might want to look at this before you even THINK about complying with the request”.

It wasn’t from the USPS, even with the pilfered logo. Not even close. The message was addressed to “Dear sales” and said a package we had shipped via USPS was lost, and he should download a form to correct that. Had a “tracking number” and everything.

Having been doing online sales for YEARS, he knows what a genuine USPS tracking number looks like. This wasn’t it.

Doing the backtrack through the origination of the email, guess what we found?

A (dot) ru. Yep, it looks like it originated in Vlad-land. Downloading the “form” would likely have wreaked untold havoc.

So, all you online-shippers out there, be warned. Vlad wants to eat your computers.

------------------------------------------------------------------------—

As others have pointed out, we do get the normal amount of bogus / phishing stuff, and it is handled appropriately. But this stuck out as different — the service it attached, and the origin of the link.

Hence, the notice posted.

BP Drilled Despite Unsafe Conditions, and Tony Testifies - Gulf Watchers Special Edition

Lorinda Pike for Gulf Watchers Group

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Wednesday February 27, 2013 · 2:33 PM PST

2013/02/27 · 14:33

The third day of the BP trial has featured a combative BP higher-up, a BP senior executive who resigned from BP in disgust, expert witnesses in the drilling field, and the star of today's show...the one, the only, Tony "I Want My Life Back" Hayward. Tony, sadly, did not actually make the trip to New Orleans for this trial; his testimony was from 2011, but was entered into evidence today. US District Judge Carl Barbier has prohibited the release of courtroom audio or video, but parts of Hayward's deposition have been available for public view when The Daily, a New York-based daily news app for iPads, obtained a leaked copy and published it in 2011, over the court's objections.

Lorinda Pike for Gulf Watchers Group

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Tuesday February 26, 2013 · 3:00 PM PST

2013/02/26 · 15:00

As the BP trial enters the second day, the first witness called was Robert Bea, a University of California-Berkeley professor who was consulted by the White House commission that investigated the Deepwater Horizon explosion and blowout. He is a professor emeritus in civil and environmental engineering, is co-founder of the Center For Catastrophic Risk Management, and a former engineer at Shell Oil.

Bea was also a paid consultant for BP. He testified how he warned BP several times over the years to improve its safety procedures and culture, but those warnings - and even BP's own protocols - were subsequently ignored in the time leading up to the blowout.

Lorinda Pike for Gulf Watchers Group

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Monday February 25, 2013 · 8:51 AM PST

2013/02/25 · 08:51

The civil trial of BP gets underway in New Orleans Federal Court today - and the legal wrangling continues on the dollar amount the British oil giant should pay for the April 2010 explosion and months-long oil gusher that killed 11 and rendered large swaths of the Gulf contaminated by crude and Corexit.

Lorinda Pike for Gulf Watchers Group

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Tuesday January 29, 2013 · 10:55 AM PST

2013/01/29 · 10:55

Judgement Day for BP. Motion to extend deadline for seafood industry settlement rejected. TransCanada makes a boo-boo.

You are in the current Gulf Watchers BP Catastrophe AUV #604. AUV #603 is here.

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Gulf Watchers Diaries will be posted on every other Tuesday afternoon.

Part one of the digest of diaries is here and part two is here.

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Lorinda Pike for Gulf Watchers Group

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Tuesday December 18, 2012 · 2:59 PM PST

2012/12/18 · 14:59

Survey to wellhead completed; no info released. Louisiana will be a major player in BP litigation. Shell considers BP bid. BP sell chunk of North Sea field. Lawsuit to challenge plans for offshore leases. The truth could land you in jail. Fish are showing more problems that can be directly related to traces of oil.

You are in the current Gulf Watchers BP Catastrophe AUV #602. AUV #601 is here.

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Gulf Watchers Diaries will be posted on every other Tuesday afternoon.

Part one of the digest of diaries is here and part two is here.

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Lorinda Pike for Gulf Watchers Group

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Wednesday November 14, 2012 · 9:07 PM PST

2012/11/14 · 21:07

Reuters is reporting this evening that BP is expected to plead guilty to "criminal misconduct" in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster through a plea agreement it has reached with the U.S. Department of Justice.

The announcement may come as early as Thursday, according to what Reuters terms "to two sources familiar with discussions."

The sources, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said that BP would plead guilty in exchange for a waiver of future prosecution on the charges.
BP and the Justice Department declined to comment.

London-based oil giant BP has been locked in months-long negotiations with the U.S. government and Gulf Coast states to settle billions of dollars of potential civil and criminal liability claims resulting from the April 20, 2010, explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon rig.

The deal could resolve a significant share of the liability that BP faces after an explosion killed 11 workers and fouled the shorelines of four Gulf Coast states in the worst offshore spill in U.S. history. BP still faces economic and environmental damage claims sought by U.S. Gulf Coast states and other private plaintiffs.

There had been speculation earlier this year that the delays and perception of "silence" in regard to settlement issues were indications that any criminal aspects had to be determined first, and a criminal action against BP could substantially affect the civil parts of the case, including any disbursements to the plaintiffs involved.

It is unclear what form of criminal misconduct BP will plead guilty to. In an August filing, the Department of Justice said "reckless management" of the Macondo well "constituted gross negligence and willful misconduct," which it intended to prove at a pending civil trial set to begin in New Orleans in February 2013. The U.S. government has not yet filed any criminal charges in the case.

BP as the well owner, and Transocean as the rig operator face both criminal and civil liability charges.

FuelFix, a section of the Houston Chronicle devoted to petroleum news, states earlier this week that the status of the criminal investigation was unclear.

“We do need clarity of the criminal prosecution before there will be any civil settlement,” said University of Michigan law professor David Uhlmann, a former federal prosecutor who is following the spill litigation closely but isn’t directly involved.
Lawyers for several possible individual defendants say they’ve had no recent contact from government investigators. BP continues to have discussions with the Justice Department about settling expected fines and penalties, but its lawyers are also preparing for a drawn-out court fight over how much oil spilled, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the talks.

Stay tuned...this could get interesting.

Gulf Watchers Tuesday - Something's Happening Here... - BP Catastrophe AUV #600

Lorinda Pike for Gulf Watchers Group

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Tuesday November 13, 2012 · 3:06 PM PST

2012/11/13 · 15:06

The criminal charges may come first. Opting out might not be the best idea..you know, half a loaf and all that. BP owes Alaska $$$. Who dat doin' that deepwater drilling? It ain't the Saints... Petro compaines go all in on tar sands and shale oil.

You are in the current Gulf Watchers BP Catastrophe - AUV #600. AUV #599 is here.

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Gulf Watchers Diaries will be posted on every other Tuesday afternoon.

Part one of the digest of diaries is here and part two is here.

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Lorinda Pike for Gulf Watchers Group

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Tuesday October 16, 2012 · 2:00 PM PDT

2012/10/16 · 14:00

BP "company men" (and everyone else) from the Deepwater Horizon should testify. Will we get to watch ROVs again? Probably not. Feinberg's replacement expects BP settlement deal to stand. Protesters muck up tree-clearing for Keystone pipeline.

You are in the current Gulf Watchers BP Catastrophe - AUV #598. AUV #597 (592) is here.

Follow the Gulf Watchers tag by going clicking on the heart next to the Gulf Watchers tag at the bottom of this diary.

Bookmark this link to find the latest Gulf Watchers diaries.

Gulf Watchers Diaries will be posted on every other Tuesday afternoon.

Part one of the digest of diaries is here and part two is here.

Please be kind to kossacks with bandwidth issues. Please do not post images or videos. Again, many thanks for this.

Lorinda Pike for Gulf Watchers Group

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Sunday October 14, 2012 · 3:34 PM PDT

2012/10/14 · 15:34

I read a lot of science fiction when I was younger. Time travel was always a good bet - starting with the "grandfather paradox", where the question is posed: what would happen to you if you went back in time and killed your grandfather, or at the least prevented him from marrying your grandmother? What would change? Would you cease to exist? Or you went on a safari to kill a dinosaur and happened to step on a butterfly that wasn't supposed to die, as in Ray Bradbury's A Sound of Thunder?

One of my favorite stories was Vintage Season, by Henry Kuttner and Catherine Moore (and published under the pseudonym "Lawrence O'Donnell"...).

So set your controls and follow me past the orange singularity for a brief synopsis.

Lorinda Pike for Gulf Watchers Group

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Tuesday September 11, 2012 · 2:56 PM PDT

2012/09/11 · 14:56

BP wants to steam clean Louisiana beaches after Isaac. Objections raised to settlement of claims. Transocean proposes a $1.5 billion settlement, fights Brazilian injunction, and buys four new deepwater rigs. BP sells off some Gulf assets for a sh*tpile of cash. Shell begins Chukchi Sea drilling, but ice has other ideas. Bob Cavnar explains why the ice is a problem. And Tony H. is getting his life back, the little bastard.

You are in the current Gulf Watchers BP Catastrophe - AUV #596. AUV #595 is here.

Follow the Gulf Watchers tag by going clicking on the heart next to the Gulf Watchers tag at the bottom of this diary.

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Gulf Watchers Diaries will be posted on every other Tuesday afternoon.

Part one of the digest of diaries is here and part two is here.

Please be kind to kossacks with bandwidth issues. Please do not post images or videos. Again, many thanks for this.

Lorinda Pike for Gulf Watchers Group

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Tuesday August 14, 2012 · 3:24 PM PDT

2012/08/14 · 15:24

Location, location, location; please ignore the death and destruction... Federal mandate to remove idle oil rigs should be reconsidered. Half of Alaska Petroleum Reserve off limits. Survey says? Drill, baby, drill! Another excuse to hike gas prices, since we're not having enough hurricanes... New claims administrator is said to be different. Alabama representative does not like Mr. Feinberg at all.

You are in the current Gulf Watchers BP Catastrophe - AUV #594. AUV #593 is here.

Follow the Gulf Watchers tag by going clicking on the heart next to the Gulf Watchers tag at the bottom of this diary.

Bookmark this link to find the latest Gulf Watchers diaries.

Gulf Watchers Diaries will be posted on every other Tuesday afternoon.

Part one of the digest of diaries is here and part two is here.

Please be kind to kossacks with bandwidth issues. Please do not post images or videos. Again, many thanks for this.

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Warning to folks with online businesses.

BP Drilled Despite Unsafe Conditions, and Tony Testifies - Gulf Watchers Special Edition

BP on Trial - Witness Says BP Obsession With Profit Caused Catastrophe - Gulf Watchers Tuesday

BP on Trial...Finally (With small update) - Gulf Watchers Special Edition

Gulf Watchers Tuesday - Judge OKs $4 Billion Settlement - BP Catastrophe AUV #604

Gulf Watchers Tuesday - Survey Says...Well, Nothing Yet.. - BP Catastrophe AUV #602

Gulf Watchers: Breaking - BP Expected to Plead Guilty to Criminal Misconduct

Gulf Watchers Tuesday - Something's Happening Here... - BP Catastrophe AUV #600

Gulf Watchers Tuesday - Make Them ALL Testify - BP Catastrophe AUV #598

Gulf Watchers Sunday Block Party - Vintage Season

Gulf Watchers Tuesday - BP Proposes Steam Cleaning the Beaches - BP Catastrophe AUV #596

Gulf Watchers Tuesday - BP Has a Yard Sale! - BP Catastrophe AUV #594