Nellcote wrote on May 28^th, 2010 at 3:56pm:



since we obviously aren't prepared and this is huge in terms of devistation... so what is more and is quicker actually possible, if you don't have an ability to begin with? i'm no expert on oil spills, and it seems even the experts don't know what to do... with Katrina, we had civilians in places, with a means to get people assistance, and we were slow... in this case, i'm not sure what it is exactly you think should be happening... as fas as I can tell, we aren't very prepared, you can't do unprepared quicker.... I'm sure in a few weeks and months, many of us will have learned more, and be able to say, like we know now, what should have happened... get my drift...?

Bingo wrote on May 28^th, 2010 at 4:51pm:



You need to read this.  http://www.newsweek.com/2010/05/26/the-missing-oil-spill-photos.html

    BP's Photo Blockade of the Gulf Oil Spill

    As BP makes its latest attempt to plug its gushing oil well, news photographers are complaining that their efforts to document the slow-motion disaster in the Gulf of Mexico are being thwarted by local and federal officials—working with BP—who are blocking access to the sites where the effects of the spill are most visible. More than a month into the disaster, a host of anecdotal evidence is emerging from reporters, photographers, and TV crews in which BP and Coast Guard officials explicitly target members of the media, restricting and denying them access to oil-covered beaches, staging areas for clean-up efforts, and even flyovers.

    Last week, a CBS TV crew was threatened with arrest when attempting to film an oil-covered beach. On Monday, Mother Jones published this firsthand account of one reporter’s repeated attempts to gain access to clean-up operations on oil-soaked beaches, and the telling response of local law enforcement. The latest instance of denied press access comes from Belle Chasse, La.-based Southern Seaplane Inc., which was scheduled to take a New Orleans Times-Picayune photographer for a flyover on Tuesday afternoon, and says it was denied permission once BP officials learned that a member of the press would be on board.

Bingo wrote on May 28^th, 2010 at 6:05pm:



I have heard speculation that BP doesn't want the same public relations nightmare that Exxon faced when millions of dead creatures started washing up on the shore. That fits in with the theory of BP telling the White House they will continue to use the more harmful dispersant. Kill the creatures out in the gulf and less will float to the shores.

I think the media people should record the warning they are hearing, that they will be arrested if they don't leave.

Put that on the fucking 5:00 news.

lotsajizz wrote on May 28^th, 2010 at 3:07am:


Yep the very same Bobby Jindal that opposed the stimulus money but took it anyway and scored points for this for this photo op: http://thinkprogress.org/?p=51962

To quote the former couchmaster, Tee to Hee

BP buses additional clean-up crews to Grand Isle for Obama's visit
By Richard Rainey, The Times-Picayune
May 28, 2010, 4:19PM


David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune
Oil cleanup workers line Louisiana 1 in Grand Isle on Friday as the motorcade of President Barack Obama passes.

BP, the oil company taking flak for its inconsistent response to the massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, bused in 400 extra cleanup workers to Grand Isle during President Obama's visit today, Jefferson Parish Council Chairman John Young said.
"It appears to have been a PR stunt by BP, not to say we don't appreciate the extra participation," Young said. "We certainly need them, but we don't need them for just one day that happens to coincide with a visit from the president."

Obama made his second visit today to Louisiana's oil-stricken coast, stopping in Grand Isle and Port Fourchon.

Young said he saw the workers dressed in red shirts, blue jeans and black shrimp boots mulling across the beaches and in the mess hall during the president's appearance. They were uniformed in a way "which you don't normally see workers dressed like that," Young said.

After Obama's departure, Young said, the work crews all but vanished.

"This is a total shame that a mockery has been made of this visit by the executives of BP," Councilman Chris Roberts said.

"What we want to make clear (is) if they're going to send them, then send them everyday, not just on the day of the president's visit," Councilman Tom Capella said.

BP spokesman Mike Abendhoff denied it was done solely for publicity.
"Obviously, it's unfortunate that that's what people are thinking," Abendhoff said. "We're not sending people for PR stunts.We're sending people to clean up this oil."

Abendhoff said the additional workers are part of BP's efforts gradually to increase its presence on Louisiana beaches to meet the incoming oil. "We've continued to add resources every day," he said.
Donald Nalty, the chief operating officer of Environment, Safety, Health, Inc., the subcontractor that hired the workers, said Friday that the additional force in Grand Isle and Fourchon was part of a ramping up that will likely continue. He said the decision to bring on the additional workers was made May 23, before the president's visit was announced.
Nalty said 300 workers had been cleaning Grand Isle and 150 cleaning Fourchon. On Friday 400 additional workers were added in Grand Isle and an additional 100 to Fourchon, Nalty said.
"It had nothing to do with the president coming to town,'' Nalty said. "It was 100-percent coincidental. All the allegations to the contrary are false.''
Young stopped short of saying Jefferson Parish officials were frustrated with BP's response to a disaster that has affected more than 100 miles of coastline. But he noted that parish officials commandeered idle BP-hired vessels last week to begin skimming oil that had traveled into Barataria Bay.

He said there appears to be a disconnect between the oil company and the Coast Guard, which is in charge of the response effort.

"I would compare BP today to FEMA after Katrina," Young said, recalling the halting response of the federal emergency agency in the days following the 2005 hurricane.

http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/05/bp_ships_in_clean-up_c...

This ain't seen very often.

A front page editorial addressed to Mr. Obama by the Times-Picayune of New Orleans: http://www.newseum.org/media/dfp/pdf28/LA_TP.pdf

So when will Obummer hire a bunch of illegals to clean up the mess so he can claim he is creating jobs while courting the Latino vote?   Come on Rahm, let no crisis go to waste, this is a real political opportunity for the Harvard genius!!!

tell us howe you really feel, riffboot!

could the army corps of engineers help?

shit...too bad they can't just evacuate everybody and then toss a match on the whole goddamned thing! make for a nice weenie roast.

Starbuck wrote on May 29^th, 2010 at 1:41pm:



They can't. This is super high tech stuff. They're not trained.
As bad as the disaster is, we will continue to drill deep wells in the ocean.

CNN reporting now that the "top kill" method of plugging the leaking well has failed and will look for another approach.

can we blame bush for this one?