Gulf Update - Head for the Hills

The Plume Groweth

Monday, June 7, 2010 by DrJBHL | Discussion: WinCustomize Talk

True to Doc's never ending quest for Truth, here's an Update....the kind WC'ers need to remain relevant in this rapidly changing world.

I know you dedicated pixel pushers have little if any time to view news, so this one might just save your lives.

The gusher is spreading and threatening to bury us all alive in....well, read for yourselves, my friends.

 

This Post is dedicated to my friend Web(doc made me do it)Gizmos who really cares passionately about this topic. Thanks for caring so much, WG.

 

News
Massive Flow Of Bullshit Continues To Gush From BP Headquarters

June 7, 2010 | ISSUE 46•23

 

LONDON—As the crisis in the Gulf of Mexico entered its eighth week Wednesday, fears continued to grow that the massive flow of bullshit still gushing from the headquarters of oil giant BP could prove catastrophic if nothing is done to contain it.

The toxic bullshit, which began to spew from the mouths of BP executives shortly after the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in April, has completely devastated the Gulf region, delaying cleanup efforts, affecting thousands of jobs, and endangering the lives of all nearby wildlife.

"Everything we can see at the moment suggests that the overall environmental impact of this will be very, very modest," said BP CEO Tony Hayward, letting loose a colossal stream of undiluted bullshit. "The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean, and the volume of oil we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total volume of water."


Hayward's comments fueled fears that the spouting of overwhelmingly thick and slimy bullshit may never subside.

According to sources, the sheer quantity of bullshit pouring out of Hayward is unprecedented, and it has thoroughly drenched the coastlines of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, with no end in sight.

Though no one knows exactly how much of the dangerous bullshit is currently gushing from BP headquarters, estimates put the number at somewhere between 25,000 and 70,000 words a day.

"We're looking at a truly staggering load of shit here," said Rebecca Palmer, an environmental scientist at the University of Georgia, who claimed that only BP has the ability to stem the flow of bullshit and plug it at its source. "And this is just the beginning—we're only seeing the surface-level bullshit. It could be years before we sift through it all and figure out just how deep this bullshit goes."

Congressional hearings aimed at stopping the bullshit have thus far failed to do so, with officials from BP and its contractors Halliburton and Transocean only adding to the powerful torrents of bullshit by blaming one another for the accident.

Along with the region's wildlife and fragile ecosystem, countless livelihoods have been jeopardized by BP's unchecked flow of corporate shit. Those who depend on fishing or tourism for their income are already feeling the noxious effects of the bullshit firsthand, as out-of-control platitudes begin to reach land and seep ashore.


Dense streams of shit are expected to continue spreading throughout the region and the entire United States.

"This bullshit, it's everywhere," said Louisiana fisherman Doug LaRoux, who lost his house to a tide of government bullshit following Hurricane Katrina. "It reeks. Big buckets of disgusting shit are oozing everywhere you look and I don't know if it's ever going to stop. I feel helpless"

Added LaRoux, "I never thought I'd be the victim of so much bullshit."

Observers have noted that after the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989, corporate bullshit gushed up like a geyser for two decades and didn't wane until the oil company had bullshit its way through an exhaustive process of court appeals that ultimately reduced payouts to victims by 90 percent.

Despite Hayward's denials that BP is at fault for the environmental disaster and his concern that it will result in "illegitimate" American lawsuits, the embattled CEO has still managed to trickle out a few last drips of bullshit sympathy for Gulf Coast residents.

"I'm as devastated as you are by this," Hayward said after a meeting with cleanup crews on Louisiana's Fourchon Beach. "We will clean every last drop up and we will remediate all of the environmental damage."

"There's no one that wants this thing over with more than I do," he added a week later, just absolutely defying belief with the thickest, most dangerous bullshit yet. "I'd like my life back."

Millions of Americans reported feeling ill and disoriented upon contact with that particularly vile plume of bullshit.

Many environmentalists, including Palmer, have called for a boycott of BP until the bullshit stops or is at least under control, but they emphasize that in the long term, Americans will have to change their habits if they wish to avoid future catastrophes.

"We must all work together if we're going to cure our nation of this addiction," Palmer said. "The sad fact is, the United States has been running on bullshit for decades."

 

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ekimragz
Reply #81 Tuesday, June 15, 2010 11:05 AM

Ha, Ha, Ha. In congressional hearing now underway. Other company oil execs throwing BP under the bus for taking irresponsible cost cutting risks.  Say tragedy was preventable.  This is entirely consistent with BPs horrible safety record in the USA like explosion at Texas Refinery a few years ago that killed several people and very high number of citations for lack of safety measures.  There is now talk of debarring BP from doing business in the USA which would increase the chance of a bankruptcy filing.

DaveRI
Reply #82 Tuesday, June 15, 2010 2:13 PM

My concern is that corners get cut all the time, be it from corporate strategy or the choice of an individual.  To be clear, I'm not defending BP.  I'm concerned that the powers that be will whip BP and shred them, then vigorously pat themselves on the back and say "See what a great job we did whipping and shredding them" while ignoring the fundamental issue that we still don't know how to promptly deal with an ocean spill.  Then they can also say "See, it was all because BP was sloppy, the next guys won't be, we can drill all we want."  At some point we'll be right back here again, be it through corner-cutting or a blind spastic whale. 

ekimragz
Reply #83 Tuesday, June 15, 2010 5:21 PM

I don't think the lessons for the oil companies which are so obvious here will be lost and the status quo restored.  BP has historically been a bad actor in the oil sector and is known for cutting corners to save costs.  They are now estimating that the amount of oil spilling into the gulf is about 60,000 barrels per day up from 35,000.  Every additional barrel raises the penalty stakes for BP by $4,000+  Will be interesting to hear what the President has to say tonight from the Oval Office.  BOA/Merrill Lynch has instructed its traders not to do any oil trades with BP that extend beyond a year.  Which is to say, Merrill is questioning whether BP can survive with potential penalties in the area of 100 Billion. 

tazgecko
Reply #84 Tuesday, June 15, 2010 6:06 PM

I thought BP only owned the oil and another company owned and operated the oil platform. If there where risks taken extracting the oil why is BP getting the blame?

 

DrJBHL
Reply #85 Tuesday, June 15, 2010 7:28 PM

tazgecko
I thought BP only owned the oil and another company owned and operated the oil platform. If there where risks taken extracting the oil why is BP getting the blame?

Heya taz! I would hazard a guess here: Depends on how the contracts read.

If BP is responsible for operation, or has the major say on what goes on, it's theirs...much like a renter who sets a fire in an apartment he's renting.

If on the other hand the apartment owner is responsible for maintenance and things go south because he didn't do required inspections and repairs, he's holding the basket.

TransOcean owns the rig, BP leased it and bought the mineral rights to the Macondo Prospect. If the lease reads BP is responsible for upkeep, BP is stuck. If not, imo TransOcean is....

WebGizmos
Reply #86 Tuesday, June 15, 2010 8:01 PM

Ultimately the oil is BP's...even if they have an outside contractor they are still responsible to make sure whoever they get to extract the oil does it in a responsible manner.

tazgecko
Reply #87 Wednesday, June 16, 2010 3:54 AM

Sounds like more of a legal issue. Once the oil leak is stopped, BP and TransOcean will be punching it out in the courts on who to blame for the accident. If someone was cutting corners there will be questions asked if the deaths were preventable. This could go on for years.

Its nice to see the Government putting pressure on BP saying they will pay for compensation . But again this will go into the courts. Lets hope it does not go down the Exxon road.

DrJBHL
Reply #88 Wednesday, June 16, 2010 5:28 AM

^ Well said, tazgecko. Eventually though, it'll be found out. Not a very complex thing until the lawyers and spin-meisters get their hands on it.

I'm sure the dysfunctional government will also get it's share of the blame. After all, if things were being done correctly,

1. A copied emergency plan could not have 'flown'.

2. Inspections would have been done correctly.

3. Emergency exercises would have been done to see just how well and how quickly measures could be enacted.

But no one it seems was as awake as the cowboys who beat the path to the bank with the profits. There's no shade for anyone in this mess.

ekimragz
Reply #89 Thursday, June 17, 2010 11:31 PM
www.geekosystem.com
Earlier today, Republican Congressman Joe Barton apologized to BP CEO Tony Hayward for what he called a $20 billion shakedown on the government's part with respect to BP in the wake of the oil disaster in the Gulf Coast; thereafter, Barton 'apologized' for his apology, saying his words had been subj...

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