Thursday, June 24, 2010

Is there a bonus for being the most corrupt judge in Louisiana? A $20 billion escrow account and there is irreparable harm? I don't think so.


There is pickle puss himself.

Pfc. Montrell Baker of the Louisiana National Guard's 1022 Engineer Company, pulls out a 50 foot section of tiger dam to protect the beach at Grand Isle, Louisiana, USA, 21 June 2010. EPA/ERIK S. LESSER



When is there going to be an investigation into Feldman's holdings and conduct in this case?

None of what he is stating has any basis in fact.  Every business effected by the moritorium and BP's disaster is receiving compensation.  Feldman is in gross misconduct of his power.

"We know who the real enemy is;...in the White House." It is unfortunate, but, the USA military post Bush/Cheney needed this reality check.



It is a relief to hear Admiral Mullens speak in such clear and concise terms regarding the LIMITS of the USA military.  In recent months, including the issue with the EPA Secretary and her order to stop using the oil dispersant, has resulted in alarming responses by our military.  The EPA Secretary was ignored.  Virtually, ignored and then she back peddled and allowed BP and the Coast Guard to have their way.  Eventually, the amount of the dispersant was cut back, but, the toxic chemical is still being used when it was ordered originally to stop it.


I sincerely believe during the Bush/Cheney years the USA military was elevated to a status that took the 'civilian' focus and 'neutrality' priority away while replacing it with a 'right to increased importance' over the citizen.


I am pleased the USA military is taking all this seriously.  It is more than 'putting the skids' to participating in 'risky interviews' that bring 'shame' to the 'officer;' it is about 'the authority' of the military within this democracy.


It is especially unfortunate the 'issue' has resulted around General McCyrstal.  There are many soldiers and officers under the Commander in Afghanistan.  Many of those soldiers were placed in their positions during the Bush/Cheney years.  A General cannot fight a war himself.  There has to have been significant pressure on General McCrystal from many venues under his authority to allow him to believe such an outrageous interview appeared appropriate.


In his first interview with CBS after his assignment and promotion he portrayed a General with a clear strategy in front of him, but, he also was disappointed in the officers that surrounded him when he stated the Officers Club should be a firing range.  That coming from their new Commander didn't go over well, I am sure.  He was between a rock and hard place the entire time.  He was not receiving support from any corner of his command and he began to find himself isolated in his priorities.  He turned to ridicule of the White House and the comfort of the esteem showed him by NATO. 


It was bound to happen that he would be demoralized from his value system and turn on those that were in his way of carrying out priorities from others surrounding him.  He was probably harassed in more ways than one, in ways subtle but real.  He, as a human being, also had to survive the pressures and seek cooperation where he could find it.  His staff was probably a support and to a degree a comfort to him.


What is so astounding is that he turned to a radical news media to allow his frustrations to come to life.  He also believed it would not touch him or his staff.  I still believe he was a victim of the hideous environment in Afghanistan, the lack of cooperation by Karzai and the incideous enemy of 'cooperation' amoung the citizens of Afghanistan that escaped him, no matter how much he tried to 'reach out to them.'


His 'speciality' was to turn an insurgency into a functional arm of society in a country that has known nothing but war for decades and a neighbor with an ISI that is basically corrupt.  I believe the corruption of Afghanistan was too mcuh to bring about effective results in his initiatives and it might be that the corruption never was going to be turned around and he was making decisions about such things as the Poppy Economy that insulted his values as an American more than he could himself cope with in the ways available to him.


I also believe this failure of the military to come to terms with the reality of Afghanistan is not the entire problem.  I believe Karzai is a power icon that coerces the USA power into allowing corruption to exist.  I do not believe Karzai is an ally, so much as a puppet to the Taliban.  Given that as the truth the reality is that Afghanistan IS an enemy to the USA and NOT just al Qaeda and the Taliban.  Turning the corner on an insurgency is one thing, but, turning an entire corrupt nation around is quite another.


When reflecting on 'the condition' of the USA military in their Officer Lounges rather than finding firing ranges, it is OBVIOUS the entire military was demoralized under Bush/Cheney.  There is more than one way to surrender, espeically when there are no 'life choices' or options.  When looking back of the previous administration, there were record number of resignations.  Think about it.


I believe General McCrystal was the best choice.  He had the correct strategy.  No one worked harder at it then he did, placing his own life 'on the line' everyday when he strolled without armor or weapons among the people of Afghanistan. What he didn't have or still today does not exist is an ally within Afghanistan and a populous to defeat the Taliban and the Poppy Economy. 

Acceptance of an insurgency only to allow it to result in 'a draw' is more than he was willing to accept in his own value system.  I believe he felt defeated and projected his desire to expand his military force as a failure of his country to believe in him.  That wasn't it.  We believed in him.  We just don't believe in Afghanistan anymore and aren't willing to commit more soldiers to die when the enemy surrounded them, including within the infrastructure of the Afghan government.

At this point General Petraeus has to be given all the support of the Upper Command structure to rid Afghanistan of its 'dysfunctional military' infrastructure.  I am not comfortable with the idea of Karzai appreciating General McCyrstal while the dynamics within Afghanistan can only be stated as 'a draw.'  There is something very, very wrong and I am not sure it can be solved by any Commander.

The Moronic Bush/Cheney Years, where did this policy come from the Halliburton School of Oil Business?

BP is forced to remove its cap after a robot submarine breaks it and the New York State Pension Fund takes aim at the oil giant all on BP executive Bob Dudley's (b.) first day on the job.

Now, everyone knows where Limbaugh gets his material, from top experts, government policy under Republicans, otherwise known as "Guaranteed Profits at Taxpayer Expense." 

Related News : Energy Industry · Energy Markets.

BP's Gulf Oil Spill Response Based on Outdated Government Model, WSJ Says
By Vivek Shankar - Jun 23, 2010

BP Plc and other oil companies were required to base their approach to a potential spill in the Gulf of Mexico on U.S. government guidelines that were last updated in 2004, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The faulty government models expected oil to evaporate quickly or get broken up by waves or weather, the newspaper said. They also didn’t expect oil to reach the shoreline even in after much bigger spill than the current one, the Journal said.
Oil has hit 171 miles of coastline in the Gulf since the Deepwater Horizon accident on April 20, the Journal said.
 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-06-24/bp-s-gulf-oil-spill-response-based-on-outdated-government-model-wsj-says.html


Top Hat, Top Kill, Top Exec and now Top Robot

...In a major setback for the cleanup effort, a robot submarine bumped into the broken well, forcing the removal of the containment cap that was siphoning some of the oil....

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/06/23/2010-06-23_bp_comes_under_attack_from_all_sides_for_spill_after_containment_cap_breaks_thre.html


Why the $20 billion BP escrow account for the country?  Because when investors finish suing the lousy company there won't be anything left.  Not even the robot.  President Obama will have at least secured some recovery funds for the 'small people.' 


State to sue BP over investments (click title to entry - thank you)
 Comptroller says state pension fund was misled about BP's drilling safety 

By RICK KARLIN, Capitol bureau

First published in print: Thursday, June 24, 2010
 ALBANY -- State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli on Wednesday said he was suing BP in the wake of the massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, and would seek to make New York the lead plaintiff in a class action suit against the British petroleum giant....


The SPILL  GIANTS become a team, all we need is a third partner in Exxon and the set will be complete.


BP And Chevron To Partner Over China Block
Muazzin Mehrban, June 2010


(24 June 2010)
Disgraced energy giant British Petroleum (BP) and its US rival Chevron Corp are set to put in a joint offer for an exploration block in the South China Sea. Reuters reports that the move is a clear signal that refiners are still willing to partner BP in deep water projects despite its failure to halt the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.
Under the agreement, Chevron would have a 60 percent stake in block and act as operator, while BP will hold the remaining interest. According to Chinese sources, CNOOC, a subsidiary of China National Offshore Oil Corp, has the right to a 51 percent share in the block should the companies make a commercial oil or natural gas discovery....

http://www.financierworldwide.com/article.php?id=6953


How convenient, let's isolate 'the problem' as BPs issue while everyone is up in arms at them as if it never, ever happened before!  What genius, huh?

A CEO from a petroleum industry company is awaiting the report to the cause of the BP disaster, BUT, a Louisiana judge that lifted the moratorium, in all his wisdom, already knows!

This is NOT an isolated incident, everyone already knows that, it is NOT just a BP issue, the oil and GAS industry have been setting fire to rigs and causing explosions for decades, it has just NEVER hit the USA before.

In previous years, the petroleum industry never had to 'negotiate' with the natives, they simply slaughtered them.


Partner in well awaits 'root causes'

Anadarko chief says future work with BP open to question

By BRETT CLANTON Copyright 2010 Houston Chronicle


June 23, 2010, 10:27PM
 
It's too early to know if the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion was an isolated incident or symptomatic of broader safety problems at BP, "but it's clear we're paying a lot more attention to that issue," said the CEO of Anadarko Petroleum Corp., a minority partner in the doomed well.
If investigations point to the latter, Anadarko would need to evaluate whether it would again partner with the British oil giant.
"I think as we find out more about the root causes, we'll have to make a determination on that," James Hackett, CEO of The Woodlands-based Anadarko, said in an interview Wednesday. "We're definitely going to be cautious with regard to any operator we believe is not using best practices."


The remarks come after Anadarko on Friday accused BP of being reckless in drilling the deep-water Macondo well that blew out on April 20. Anadarko, with a 25 percent stake in the well, said Friday BP's actions "likely represent gross negligence or willful misconduct." As such, the company argues it should not have to pay a share of cleanup costs and other spill-related liabilities.
BP, however, said in a statement last week it strongly disagrees with Anadarko's position and expects well partners Anadarko and Japan's Mitsui Oil Exploration Co., with a 10 percent stake, to ante up....

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/energy/7077220.html



...Rig worker claims BOP problems flagged up 'weeks before blowout'
BP's oil collection system at the blown-out Macondo well had to be taken offline temporarily due to lightning in the area, dropping its take to about 23,290 barrels in the last 24 hours from more than 25,000 barrels per day, the head of the US response effort said Monday....


http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article218301.ece;.upstream.dinar