Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) apologizes to BP executive

[Torvald Von Mansee]

http://c-span.org/Watch/Media/2010/06/17/HP/R/34337/BP+CEO+Spill+in+the+Gulf+of+Mexico+never+should+ha ve+happened+and+I+am+deeply+sorry.aspx

Gee, I wonder why there's no mention of this, here?

[thorn69]

[/URL][url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEwNcnklcsk&feature=related (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yh9cNYlmXEY) :wah:

[GoldenRivet]

I think what the gentleman from Texas is trying to say is that the smoke hasnt even settled from this... investigations are not yet completed, the distaster is still on-going, nothing has been solved or settled... yet despite all of this, a judgement of guilt has not only been passed by the white-house against BP, but also the punishment handed out.

it is a shame really.

BP had it coming, sure... but IMHO they had it coming six months from now after following the due process of law

[Torvald Von Mansee]

This also seems like a good place to leave this:

http://www.salon.com/entertainment/comics/this_modern_world/2010/06/15/this_modern_world/story.jpg

[Jimbuna]

Nice move Mr President, a really nice way to treat an employer of so many thousands of your citizens....I should imagine your quite relieved there is currently something more newsworthy out there than your pitiful attempts at putting your own countries affairs in order.

Yes sir, nothing feels better than a flexing of the muscles and public humiliation, especially on the world stage.

A bit hypocritical don't you think....coming from possibly the planets biggest polluter.

While your about it why don't you dismiss the thousands of British troops currently in iraq and Afghanistan.

I'm now beginning to fully realise why your so unpopular with so many of your fellow countrymen on this forum :nope:

Rant over...feel a bit better now :DL

[thorn69]

Nice move Mr President, a really nice way to treat an employer of so many thousands of your citizens....I should imagine your quite relieved there is currently something more newsworthy out there than your pitiful attempts at putting your own countries affairs in order.

Yes sir, nothing feels better than a flexing of the muscles and public humiliation, especially on the world stage.

A bit hypocritical don't you think....coming from possibly the planets biggest polluter.

While your about it why don't you dismiss the thousands of British troops currently in iraq and Afghanistan.

I'm now beginning to fully realise why your so unpopular with so many of your fellow countrymen on this forum :nope:

Rant over...feel a bit better now :DL


Agreed. Obama is a Chicago thug and bully. Black Capone!

[krashkart]

On the bright side, we haven't elected a President yet that's nuked anyone since the 40's. :haha: I hope that never changes. :stare:

[Weiss Pinguin]

On the bright side, we haven't elected a President yet that's nuked anyone since the 40's. :haha: I hope that never changes. :stare:
I dunno, things have been getting kind of slow lately, some excitement would be nice :hmmm:

[AVGWarhawk]

http://c-span.org/Watch/Media/2010/06/17/HP/R/34337/BP+CEO+Spill+in+the+Gulf+of+Mexico+never+should+ha ve+happened+and+I+am+deeply+sorry.aspx

Gee, I wonder why there's no mention of this, here?

I watched this on the new today. He retracted the apology.

[AVGWarhawk]

Nice move Mr President, a really nice way to treat an employer of so many thousands of your citizens....I should imagine your quite relieved there is currently something more newsworthy out there than your pitiful attempts at putting your own countries affairs in order.

Yes sir, nothing feels better than a flexing of the muscles and public humiliation, especially on the world stage.

A bit hypocritical don't you think....coming from possibly the planets biggest polluter.

While your about it why don't you dismiss the thousands of British troops currently in iraq and Afghanistan.

I'm now beginning to fully realise why your so unpopular with so many of your fellow countrymen on this forum :nope:

Rant over...feel a bit better now :DL

It is a sad state of affairs Jim....

[SteamWake]

I watched this on the new today. He retracted the apology.

The coward caved to peer pressure.

Know what say what you believe and believe what you say dont be such a pussy !

[AVGWarhawk]

The coward caved to peer pressure.

Know what say what you believe and believe what you say dont be such a pussy !


Yep..he caved.

[Takeda Shingen]

Yep..he caved.

And then caved a second time, but in the other direction. Take a stand, one way or the other. Ah, politics.

[Jimbuna]

It is a sad state of affairs Jim....

Fully agree Chris and I feel much better now I've vented.

I just think it was a an easy/cheap shot by Obama, an opportunity for him to appease those who are frustrated at his lack of leadership in other important areas such as Iran and North Korea to name but two.

[Torvald Von Mansee]

Things BP has done:

hired private security firms to keep reporters/photographers from accessing public beaches

not provided proper protective gear for workers, and made those workers sign nondisclosure agreements as a condition of employment (after certainly ending the previous employment of some of those new workers via the spill)

had more serious safety violations than just about any other oil company in the world

probably ruined the Gulf for decades

Oh, I'm sure I could go on..

Maybe some of the rednecks seeing their livelihoods destroyed will realize that voting mindlessly for conservative Republicans like Barton isn't in their best interest.

[SteamWake]

Things BP has done

Work hard to fix the damn leak.

[Schroeder]

Things BP has done

Work hard to fix the damn leak.
Maybe they should have worked hard to prevent such a thing from happening in the first place. :hmm2:

[SteamWake]

Maybe they should have worked hard to prevent such a thing from happening in the first place. :hmm2:

Isnt that the federal regulators job?

Meanwhile...

Eight days ago, Louisiana (http://topics.abcnews.go.com/topic/Louisiana) Gov. Bobby Jindal (http://topics.abcnews.go.com/topic/Bobby-Jindal) ordered barges to begin vacuuming crude oil (http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Media/bp-oil-spill-thick-crude-hits-shore-workers/story?id=10869546) out of his state's oil-soaked waters. Today, against the governor's wishes, those barges sat idle, even as more oil flowed toward the Louisiana shore.

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/bp-oil-spill-gov-bobby-jindals-wishes-crude/story?id=10946379

[AVGWarhawk]

Fully agree Chris and I feel much better now I've vented.

I just think it was a an easy/cheap shot by Obama, an opportunity for him to appease those who are frustrated at his lack of leadership in other important areas such as Iran and North Korea to name but two.

The problem is enormous for both. First of all, BP has to cap a well 1 mile down in the ocean. That is the first daunting task. Hardly something for the faint at heart and certainly not easly done if.....EVER. In the mean time the relief wells are the only hope of stopping the flow for good. That however takes time. By next month from the looks of it the relief well will be complete. I can not recall, at least in my memory, having a well opened like this at the depths it is located. Therefore, combating such a thing is all new from what I can see. But in the meantime we are going to beat the hell out of guy from the UK who works for BP just for a good show I suppose. We will grill him until he is crispy. On the other side of the court we have Obama. He was kind of, 'oh well' from the start of this. Once some folks started barking and Jindal in Louisiana started his barking did Obama wake up to this very bad mess. So what to do? Make a PR appearance. Demand monies for those affected and hope to save any shred of evidence of leadership. Personally, I would have hoped that the two countries friendship and the Allies that they are this entire ongoing incident was handled in a better manner then it was. It did irritated me watching a BP exec get grilled. It seems to serve no purpose other than to look like something is being done.

[AVGWarhawk]

The fall guy:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20100618/bs_ynews/ynews_bs2709_2

[GoldenRivet]

and the "who's ass i have to kick" comment.

about what I expected.

a misguided and unprofessional attempt at looking tough.

http://top5doa.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/samuel_l_jackson_cool_with_gun.jpg

I HAVE HAD IT WITH THIS M.F.ING OIL IN THIS G.D GULF!

:D

[Schroeder]

Isnt that the federal regulators job?

I don't know what a federal regulator is. Is this a government guy? If so then the answer is simply no.
If I handle dangerous substances/equipment or whatever then I have to make damn sure that no one else is getting hurt by it whether there are laws for that or not. I would call that common sense.

That would pretty much be like the guy who sued the manufacturer of his motor-home for not writing in the manual that he mustn't leave the steering-wheel while driving...:dead:

[Blood_splat]

My heart goes out to all the BP executives. Just think of all the profits they'll going to lose. :wah:

[Wolfehunter]

Problem with this whole mess is from top to bottom. Trying to make the quick buck with no morals and consequence. Rats! They're all just ugly nasty rats. :nope:

[krashkart]

/usr/sbin/krash +grr -o /mnt/fustigated/bpnfrnds.arg

If anything good is to stem from this disaster it should be that the industry learns how to cap a leak, so that the next time it happens (and don't think it won't, because it is sure to happen again) the repairs will go much more quickly and efficiently. Also better adherence to safety standards; no more ignoring what concerns the other contractors are pointing out. No more slacking, period. And the government darn well should learn a bitter lesson from this disaster - know how to respond, do not take "NO" for an answer when offering help, and make sure the citizenry is being told everything from the start (even if all that can be said is, "We don't know yet."). :stare:

That felt pretty good. :DL

[SteamWake]

Problem with this whole mess is from top to bottom. Trying to make the quick buck with no morals and consequence. Rats! They're all just ugly nasty rats. :nope:

Not just the bucks but the political currincey as well. Bunch of posturing .... (censored)

[Zachstar]

The moment his OWN party threatened to remove him from several party positions this lame coward caved in and retracted faster than a lizards feet in a Texas sun baked rock.

LOSER! What a joke to the State of Texas.

[breadcatcher101]

And Obama. What a joke to the whole country, running around acting like a trial lawyer than a president.

[UnderseaLcpl]

Maybe they should have worked hard to prevent such a thing from happening in the first place. :hmm2:

Isnt that the federal regulators job?


No, that's BP's job first and foremost. The market doesn't work right if it can pawn off regulatory responsibilities on the state, and the state doesn't do the job well to begin with. The state's only proper responsibility is enforcing legitimate civil court decisions relating to compensation for damages.

[XabbaRus]

Things BP has done:

hired private security firms to keep reporters/photographers from accessing public beaches

not provided proper protective gear for workers, and made those workers sign nondisclosure agreements as a condition of employment (after certainly ending the previous employment of some of those new workers via the spill)

had more serious safety violations than just about any other oil company in the world

probably ruined the Gulf for decades

Oh, I'm sure I could go on..

Maybe some of the rednecks seeing their livelihoods destroyed will realize that voting mindlessly for conservative Republicans like Barton isn't in their best interest.


Hmm the easy things to jump on for a conspiracy theorist.

As for the safety violations. Can you back that up, I mean not that there were not any violations but the statement "more than any other oil company in the world".

I don't know what your job is but you haven't obviously worked with BP. I have. If anything they have some of the most stringent rules concerning health and safety. At least here in the UK.

I'm really sorry that the gulf coast is polluted, it has wrecked thousands of peoples lives. However I am tired of BP being made out to eb the one and only company responsible.

YEs as it seems BP pushed for things to be done quicker but at the end of the day on a rig it is the OIM (Oil Installation Manager) who is in charge on the rig. He is god. He could have said stop. Transocean provided the rig, and the BOP and the other bits associated theyn are as much responsible. THEY ARE GETTING AWAY SCOT FREE. BP have done more than any poxy federal government unit have done regarding this spill. Obama is all talk talk talk. I'm the big guy yadda yadda yadda.

My rant over.

Obama knows he is rubbish and no living up to the hype. No decisive statements on Korea, or Iran. It's all let's be friends and sing kumbay f**king ya....

[Tchocky]

Hmm the easy things to jump on for a conspiracy theorist.

As for the safety violations. Can you back that up, I mean not that there were not any violations but the statement "more than any other oil company in the world".

The easiest things to jump on are the true ones.

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/bps-dismal-safety-record/story?id=10763042

The violations are determined when an employer demonstrated either an "intentional disregard for the requirements of the [law], or showed plain indifference to employee safety and health."
OSHA statistics show BP ran up 760 "egregious, willful" safety violations, while Sunoco (http://topics.abcnews.go.com/topic/Sunoco%2C-Inc.) and Conoco-Phillips each had eight, Citgo had two and Exxon had one comparable citation.

BP have done more than any poxy federal government unit have done regarding this spill. Well that's the point of an oil company, isn't it? To drill, use and maintain oil wells. Stands to reason that they'd be better at capping one than the government.

[XabbaRus]

760 violations based on what. How are they defined? Is it a paper violation or an actual violation.

I work in the oil industry and they have stop cards etc, but some of these violations will be more procedural rather than actual.

Also if you want to know why there is a feeling of pot kettle black in the UK over this in terms of lives lost then I will give you piper alpha

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piper_Alpha#Aftermath

[MGR1]

Also if you want to know why there is a feeling of pot kettle black in the UK over this in terms of lives lost then I will give you piper alpha

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piper_Alpha#Aftermath

Gah, I, like all Aberdonians who are old enough, remember that.

I remember going to see the Queen Mother unveil the memorial too - nice, bright sunny day. Hell of a lot of people went to see it.

One of the women I work with lost her husband during it.

Nasty business, nasty indeed.

Mike.

[SteamWake]

No, that's BP's job first and foremost. The market doesn't work right if it can pawn off regulatory responsibilities on the state, and the state doesn't do the job well to begin with. The state's only proper responsibility is enforcing legitimate civil court decisions relating to compensation for damages.

No one is trying to clear BP of blame but the fact is 'big oil' cant take a dump without some sort of regulatory agency from the goverment 'signing off' on it.

In fact this particular rig was in line for a safety award :haha:

[tater]

Barton was in effect right, actually.

There are already laws on the books that will require BP to pay. Confiscating their money, and doling it out without due process is a real concern. Wer don;t like what neo-nazis have to say, for example, but the State should not be allowed to silence them, that would be unconstitutional. As is taking property without due process.

[SteamWake]

Barton was in effect right, actually.

There are already laws on the books that will require BP to pay. Confiscating their money, and doling it out without due process is a real concern. Wer don;t like what neo-nazis have to say, for example, but the State should not be allowed to silence them, that would be unconstitutional. As is taking property without due process.


It's the Chicago way Brotha !

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh312/UlteriorModem/obama_youth_04.jpg