"Oil Surf"

[sabrina 1]

Oily waves come ashore in Orange Beach, Ala., Wednesday, June 30, 2010. Heavy seas from Tropical Storm Alex helped push more oil from the Deepwater Horizon disaster towards the Florida and Alabama coasts. (AP)

Rough Seas From Hurricane Alex 2010 Pushing Oil Closer To Gulf Coast Beaches

GRAND ISLE, La. (AP)-- Rough seas generated by Hurricane Alex pushed more oil from the massive spill onto Gulf coast beaches as cleanup vessels were sidelined by the far-away storm's ripple effects.

The hurricane was churning coastal waters across the oil-affected region on the Gulf of Mexico. Waves as high as 6 feet and winds over 25 mph were forecast through Thursday just off shore from the Mississippi Delta in Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle.

In Louisiana, the storm pushed an oil patch toward Grand Isle and uninhabited Elmer's Island, dumping tar balls as big as apples on the beach.

"The sad thing is that it's been about three weeks since we had any big oil come in here," marine science technician Michael Malone said. "With this weather, we lost all the progress we made."

And the brilliant minds to whom for as yet inexplicable reasons, we entrusted the care of our coastal regions to, and still are, Never Considered Hurricanes In Their Response Plans

Does anyone really care about this country and its citizens? These morons are apparently STILL employed. Is it just me or isn't it normal that if someone makes a mistake of far, far less magnitude than this, they get fired? Have we created a Global Empire so powerful that it doesn't what they do, there is simply nothing we can that can be done about them?

Third world countries have suffered under this Global Empire for a long time. Imagine thinking that a Corporation that would engage in the kind of environmental destruction and human rights violations that BP has elsewhere, would treat the U.S any better?

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Horrific.....just horrific.

To think of all the innocent creatures and plants that are doomed because of that....

[walldude]

2. K&R..

This is one of those things... I just get to sit and watch and feel helpless. I'm taking my kids to the movies today, time to escape for a few hours...

[sabrina 1]

3. I just want to know why no one has been fired

We had the usual Congressional Hearings where everyone yelled at a few Oil guys, like we always do, and so far, that seems to be it. They are still in charge, and nothing is getting better. It is more than infuriating and how any of those in charge can have the nerve to mention 'terror' again while talking about goofy 'underwear bombers' that no one is afraid of, and ignore this, I cannot imagine.

[walldude]

4. Reminds me of a Jackson Browne song...

"I want to know who the men in the shadows are
I want to see someone asking them why
They're the first ones to tell us who are enemies are
But they're never the ones to fight or to die
And there are LIves In The Balance"
-Jackson Browne Lives in the Balance

I played at an open mic the other night, did that song, along with Warren Zevon's Lawyers Guns and Money and Pink Floyd's Dogs and dedicated the set to BP... It wasn't my best performance but the crowd loved it...

[sabrina 1]

8. 'and dedicated the set to BP'

Wish I could have heard that. Good for you. I have a feeling it was probably well received by the audience.

I doubt Jackson Browne ever got any answers and I doubt we will either. But I still want to know why, after all the angry words from Congress, nothing more has happened. I guess the Republicans' outrage over how poor BP is being treated, had the desired effect.

[rzemanfl]

6. I want to know why not one person responsible has killed

themself. The only person who committed suicide after 9/11 was a clerk from an airline counter.

[sabrina 1]

11. They have no conscience, you can see that by the way

act, here and elsewhere. To be in charge of a big Corp like that, you have to leave your humanity at the door, or you wouldn't last there. People are killed often by their negligence, or even on purpose as in Colombia, when they give them too much trouble. It doesn't bother them, I doubt they lose a night's sleep over it.

The fisherman who killed himself so tragically was a real human being with feelings and a heart and a family he loved but believed he could not take care of anymore.

[Odin2005]

20. The corporate Elites are sociopaths.

[blindpig]

22. Capitalism encourages and rewards such behavior.

It's part of the job description, between the lines.

Kill Capitalism

[TBF]

34. Exactly right, it's not just a few bad actors, and not just that power

corrupts - it is that it MUST work that way in capitalism. It is time to try something new.

[Lorien]

24. +1. nt

[bertman]

38. Sabrina, no one has been fired because the Boss is the one who does the firing.

Guess who's the Boss here??

Hint: it ain't the elected gals and guys.

[Lucky 13]

5. The worst is yet to come.

Our nightmare has only begun.

[KeyWester]

7. And if this was happening to the coast of a blue state ...

we would all be hearing about how "god is angry at our sinning"

What a friggin mess we have made.

[sabrina 1]

10. True, but we haven't heard much from them lately,.

It would be hard to blame 'liberals, prostitutes and gays' for this, although I'm sure they worked hard trying. Republicans are to blame for the deregulation that allowed a foreign corporation, or even a domestic one, to ignore safety regulations even when they were aware of the risks. And Democrats can be blamed for not doing enough to stop them.

I'd just really like to know why they are still in charge ~ it's as if we have lost all power to protect this country from real threats, while we're spending a fortune on the bumbling idiot would-be, inept, almost laughable 'terrorists' who don't seem to be much of threat even to themselves whom they failed to blow up. This disaster could end up killing many Americans as it already has killed so much beautiful marine life. And so far it has killed 12 American citizens.

[BeFree]

12. And

It came out today that none of the oil companies in the gulf have hurricane plans in a spill situation.

I'm sure BP is telling everyone who will listen that they needn't worry. That BP will, indeed promise, to make this right, just leave them alone. Don't worry.

Frankly, all of this is very embarrassing for good govt. people. We are acting like a 3rd world nation.

I've said it before... they hope they can PR this the right way and be able to say: See, we can handle a spill, let us drill.

Of course, BP is also looking for the backdoor.

[sabrina 1]

13. Yes, I included a link to that story in the OP.

Unbelievable, and further demonstrates that they had no interest in safety, it wasn't a concern for them.

In the hearings a few weeks ago. Henry Waxman revealed that all five Oil Corps working in the Gulf had gone to some company to get 'safety regulations' written up to comply with the law. But when he read them, all five were exactly the same. Just something they had to do and simply outsourced the job to a company that serviced all of them. As a result, there was no plan in place to handle an emergency.

Three of the identical 'reports' on safety, talked about the 'Walrus' as an animal that was in the Gulf! Walruses in the Gulf of Mexico You can see how much research and money they put into even knowing what they needed to protect!

Disgraceful and someone needs to be held accountable, but it looks like we no longer hold very wealthy Corporate entities accountable and we need to get used to that. The 'rule of law' doesn't apply to the rulers.

[BeFree]

14. Their problem

Every rock they turn over there is a nasty bug underneath.
The PR campaign is in full swing. They pray the corexit hides the most of it.
But I have a feeling this is just the start of a new 'earth day' type of people's movement.

[sabrina 1]

15. I hope you are right about this:

But I have a feeling this is just the start of a new 'earth day' type of people's movement.

Because it is clear that our government appears to be powerless over these corporations. Corexit should have been banned eg, BP was ordered not to use it, yet they are still doing so and no one knows what it will eventually do to people involved in the clean-up. We do know that it kills 25% of all marine life that comes into its path. Which is why it is banned in Britain.

[marions ghost]

17. delete dupe

[marions ghost]

18. A new Earth Day Peoples' Movement

yes, that is what's needed.

But watch out for the media spin that we are "environmentalists" rather than concerned citizens.

That way they can control and contain us.

[sabrina 1]

21. Or as Big Coal's CEO, Don Blankenship calls them 'Greeniacs'.

I hope this awful tragedy doesn't get Massey Energy off the hook. It has kept them out of the headlines, but if anything, the two are connected. Putting a wind farm on top of mountains would not only help stop dependence on Coal and Oil, but it would keep people employed for a long time to come.

But yes, their propaganda has successfully demonized the word 'environmentalist'. However, they are not the most loved people in the world at the moment so I think environmentalists have and advantage.

[Oldtimeralso]

35. I Would Much Rather Be A 'Greeniac'...

than a 'Greedyiac'!

[sabrina 1]

36. Yes, so would I ~

Smart ass Blankenship who never lost an opportunity to slam environmentalists, has been pretty quiet lately, no more tea-parties for him, at least for now. But his arrogance got 29 miners killed and he should not get away with that. Just wondered if anything is happening to get accountability for that tragedy.

[lark]

25. The saddest part is our government is aiding and abetting

I heard yesterday on CNN that Thad Allen had ruled out brining more oil skimmers (there are 200 available that aren't in the Gulf if I remember right) from other parts of America to the Gulf. He didn't want to strip those areas of protection in case the worst happens. Well, duh, the worst has happened and is happening continuously in the Gulf so why is that not a priority? Why does Obama leave this BP loving clown in charge?

What is wrong with him that he thinks this paltry response is OK. Why isn't there a massive hiring and training program going on to address this? Why, why, why??????

It makes me cry to see the unnecessary and imbicilic destruction happening due to malicious negligence and profiteering and BP's part and just plain pandering to BP and not seeming to care on the part of the government..

[amborin]

9. K&R

[HCE SuiGeneris]

16. 'Big Oil" exacts its terror daily

[blindpig]

19. Geez, what an annoyance for BP.....

Kill Capitalism

[depakid]

23. "Oil Rigs Today Don't Generally Cause Spills" -April 02, 2010

Montara, Timor Sea August-November 2009.

[sabrina 1]

26. I know presidents are not expected to be experts on

every issue. They have advisers who are and most likely listen to those who are considered to be experts.

Someone obviously advised Obama on this issue.

Who told Obama drilling is 'absolutely safe'?

Who told Obama drilling is 'absolutely safe'?
By: Byron York
Chief Political Correspondent
June 18, 2010

President Barack Obama makes a statement in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, June 16, 2010, after meeting with BP executives. (AP)

There was one particularly striking moment in President Obama's widely panned Oval Office speech on the Gulf oil disaster. About midway through his talk, Obama acknowledged that he had approved new offshore drilling a few weeks before the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion on April 20. But Obama said he had done so only "under the assurance that it would be absolutely safe."

......

"If you can find anything that's absolutely safe, I sure want to find out about it," says Robert Bea, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California at Berkeley. "There is no engineering system that I am aware of that has zero likelihood of failure."

"We can never be absolutely safe," adds Ken Arnold, an independent consultant to the oil and gas industry. "The only way you can be absolutely certain of being absolutely safe is to shut down all production and all drilling from offshore today."

So how did the president get the idea that new offshore drilling would be absolutely safe? Obama has often said he relies on a "green team" for advice on energy and environmental decisions. The top three members of the team are the director of the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy, Carol Browner, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Energy Secretary Steven Chu. Did Browner, or Salazar or Chu assure the president that new offshore drilling would be "absolutely safe"?

Chu's spokesperson says it was not Chu. According to the article, there was no comment from Salazar's office. But by now, whoever it was should have been fired. Unless it was not the 'green team'.

The sad thing that has become apparent since this tragedy occurred is that the U.S. government defers to the Oil Industry rather than having their own experts. But someone was terribly wrong and hopefully no longer have influence over decisions regarding offshore drilling.

[bdamomma]

27. by any chance is anyone ready for a march in DC?

[sabrina 1]

41. I wonder why it hasn't happened yet.

This story just gets worse every day and it looks like nothing is being done about it, not to mention the fact that local governments appear to be aiding and abetting BP. If ever there was a time to march on DC this would seem to be the time.

[WinkyDink]

28. Neither Clinton for 41 nor Obama for 43 got rid of Bushies in govt.

[sabrina 1]

30. Yes, but why didn't they?

It's beginning to look more and more like presidents actually do not have much power. When a disaster like this is left in the hands of those who caused it, you have to believe that the president has little say in it. I cannot believe that Obama does not want to take over that whole, corrupt operation. He must know that it's way past time to be claiming they 'know what they are doing', and start prosecuting the criminals and those in the oversight agencies who aided and abetted them.

So why doesn't he, or Congress just do it? The only logical answer is that he cannot ... and that means that there was a coup, that this government no longer has any power to stop Corporations no matter how threatening they are to this country. If there's another explanation, I can't think of it..

[Nikki Stone1]

29. Where is the prison time for the BP executives?

And the firing squads?

[sabrina 1]

32. I am against the death penalty, but for their horrible abuses

of human rights in other countries, for their criminal indifference to human life, which is now responsible for the deaths of 26 Americans and for their behavior towards people in countries like Colombia where workers have been killed for standing up to them, it's long past time that they were criminally prosecuted.

[TBF]

33. Not to mention their indifference towards the sea turtles

and anything else that is in the way of them profiting off their oil.

[sabrina 1]

37. Yes, that is heart-breaking, not to mention criminal. n/t

[katty]

31. Oil blowback

[bertman]

39. All of us anti-drilling do-gooders are nothing but impediments to their

long-term financial objectives. And by "their" I mean the Corporate elites who control BP, the White House, and the Congress.

[sabrina 1]

40. Yes, we are but we are lucky, so far, that we don't live in

Colombia where standing up against BP's abuse of the environment and/or its workers, can be very dangerous. With the help of the corrupt Colombian Government (another ally of the U.S.) employees of BP have been beaten, jailed and even murdered.

Tonight, on the Anderson Cooper Show it was revealed again, that the National Guard is stopping the press from taking photos of dead marine animals. This is an outrage because it seems the NG is helping BP cover up the extent of the damage they have done. I thought that our NG worked for the American people, NOT for a foreign oil corporation and I hope A.Cooper can find out on whose orders they are silencing the U.S. media. This sounds a lot like how BP operates in third world countries, with the help of the governments who provide their military personal to go after the citizens there.

I am assuming the NG must follow orders, and it would be interesting to know if it is the two Republican Governors, Barbour and Jindal who are providing BP with the protection of our NG.