The now infamous Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, tragically killing 11 workers, on April 20. Amid the understandably growing tension over the looming environmental catastrophe, the arguments and incriminations now predictably center around money and where a lot of money is involved, common sense is sometimes elusive.

Making sense out of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, first and foremost, the tragedy is the loss of the lives of the eleven workers on the Deepwater Horizon rig, the tragedy is the growing list of casualties in the animal world, including dolphins, turtles, birds and the entire ecosystem along the four US Gulf States and the tragedy is the livelihoods of the thousands of people in the area who make a living from the sea. If Hurricane Katrina was Mother Nature's scourge, this is Mankind's follow-up. And how.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will visit Russia on Thursday and Friday as part of his 11-day world tour, the Kremlin said. Chavez will meet with President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Friday, the Kremlin and the government said.

Speaking ahead of the tour, Chavez said he would discuss energy and military cooperation in Moscow, including major projects to produce, refine and export oil. The head of Russia's largest independent oil producer LUKoil, Vagit Alekperov, said earlier a document to establish an oil consortium to develop the Latin American state's Junin-6 field in the Orinoco oil belt could be signed during the visit.    

Russian scientists tested essential oils of savory, which can be powerful antioxidants, and received stunning results.  Natural antioxidant of traditional herb Satureja hortensis has a strong positive effect on laboratory mice and probably can rejuvenate not only animals, but also human beings.
      
Laboratory mice either received savory essential oil with water, or inhaled it for 1-3 months. Results showed that essential oil, no matter if inhaled or taken with water, increases concentration of useful polyunsaturated fatty acids in brain and reduces risks of oncological diseases in mice. Researchers suggest that human organism would react on this oil the same way as mice, Russia-InfoCentre reports.   

What exactly is going on in the Gulf of Mexico? When there are reports of media blackouts, then the natural reaction is to start investigating, and in the current environmental catastrophe, the more stones one turns, the more horrific the potential scenario becomes. While scare mongering is as pointless as it is dangerous, the truth remains that the media have the duty to inform.