First clue

Robert E. Murray was completely certain that an earthquake caused his mine's cave-in rather than the other way around, and his certitude was the first clue that might be full of it. The media lapped it up in their usual haste, but at least in this case the AP followed up.

So did the LA Times, which found that the Murray mine uses a dangerous technique called room and pillar:

The final column to be slashed is known among miners as the "suicide pillar."

We may never know what in all likelihood took the lives of six men, but the liability management plan may already be in place. The civil standard of proof is preponderance of evidence, and a plausible story goes a long way toward blunting seismographic records.

It's also interesting that three of the miners are Mexican citizens. I'm guessing this is not a union shop, and I wonder whether they were working legally.

Update: Murray a complete phony. See Crooks & Liars.