This would be interesting if it were not so sad!

[White Fox]

This would be interesting if it were not so sad...

 

http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/homepage/STAGING/local_assets/bp_homepage/html/rov_stream.html

 

I've less and less faith in what the company is telling us happened all of the time.

 

It is though interesting to see what is going on that far down from the robot submarines

 

Pretty impressive any more to be able to have live news coverage on something happening that far under water, or in such a remote place.

 

J

[grouchomg]

As a co-owner of a second home in New Orleans, I'm very saddened by the Deepwater Horizon spill and the effects it is having there. Friends in NOLA tell me that sometimes they can smell the oil from the spill.

 

I trained as a petroleum geologist way back in what seems like another era. I learned that there are good and bad folks in the petroleum business, often within the same company. I also know that events happen that are just so big, no one is prepared for them. But companies don't sometimes factor this into their decision making and are willing to risk disaster if there are big bucks to be made.

 

That's my two cents' worth.

[Worker 11811]

I have heard stories a few years ago, told to me by somebody who worked on the Alaska pipeline. He said that BP was one of the worst companies he has ever seen in terms of maintenance and safety issues. Basically they let their equipment fall apart, they never replace old, worn out stuff and, when they do, only the minimum amount of work is done.

 

I spoke to this guy again, just recently, and he said he is not surprised that BP's oil well blew up like that.

[White Fox]

So strange today. I am totally uneducated in this stuff. YET...

 

1. I looked at the site and at one point oil was coming out again full blast.

 

2. They at other times had a saw already going sawing things, etc down there. Carbide tipped saw blade looking like a circular saw blade. It was not the least bit hard to tell something new was going on.

 

Even an amateur could tell that the "top kill" had failed and they had moved on.

 

Yet, they were still telling us to "Wait" to see if things had worked. Obviously they knew it had not. Just a way to put things off even more for even longer. And they still say "Oh, Trust us and what we say!"

[FrBrGr]

He said that BP was one of the worst companies he has ever seen in terms of maintenance and safety issues. Basically they let their equipment fall apart, they never replace old, worn out stuff and, when they do, only the minimum amount of work is done.

 

And they still say "Oh, Trust us and what we say!"

 

We are once again reaping the consequences of what happens when politicians are "on the take." (Remember - This was the well that was just given a safety commendation by our government!) Transparency my ass! Why should we trust any of them? Most all of them are a bunch of a-wipe liars - BP, Obama, Congress - and I'm talking both sides of the isle here - ! In the first place, we had no business drilling for oil that far out in the Gulf and so far down below the surface of the water. Just wait until a major hurricane comes up out of the Gulf and slams into the Gulf Coast. That would be a disaster to begin with, but add millions and millions of gallons of oil to the flooded inlands, and well . . . the tragedy is just unimaginable. Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida will never be the same and thousands - maybe hundreds of thousands - maybe even millions of people's lives will be ruined. The impact on our economy and society will be immeasurable! And BP is going to pay for all the damage, right? Yeah, right. BP and our government are giving terrorists everywhere a reason to cheer. They don't have to do a thing - Just sit back and watch us kill ourselves.

 

When are we going to wake up and take back our country?

[Worker 11811]

Location is irrelevant to me. Whether you are deep-water drilling for oil in the Gulf or digging a hole in your garden to plant flowers, you should do the job right! If you can't do the job right then you shouldn't do it at all!

 

The guy I talked to told me that the Trans Alaska Pipeline had to be shut down on a regular basis because of equipment owned and operated by BP which broke down. You've got to expect that SOME equipment will break down and you have to be ready to act when it does. But I was told that BP just lets their equipment go to pot and they worry about fixing it AFTER it breaks. This is standard procedure with them. It has been happening for decades.

 

To me, this has little to do with the safety of drilling for oil or the lack thereof. It has everything to do with the fact that, as FrBrGr says, our government is on the take. They care little about whether they do a good job of running the country. They care ONLY about themselves and how much then can make from big corporations. I agree with FrBrGr again that this is not a partisan issue. Both parties are just as rotten as the rest. I think our government is due for an overhaul, or at least a major house cleaning.

 

It is a sick thought to think but I almost wish this oil well will KEEP spilling oil for a little while longer! That way we can prove just how ineffective our government is at solving problems and, maybe, people will wake up and take a little action!

[FrBrGr]

My son, who is at the opposite end of the socio-economic-political spectrum from me, sent me the following from "The Borowitz Report," a website that features a 250-word satirical (and fake) news report every week. Aside from his progressive point of view, Mr. Borowitz certainly has amassed an impressive vitae; After graduating from Harvard (he was president of the Harvard Lampoon), Borowitz moved to Los Angeles to work for producer Bud Yorkin at Tandem Productions, the company Yorkin co-founded with producer Norman Lear, the creator of All in the Family. From 1982 through 1983, he wrote for the television series Square Pegs starring actress Sarah Jessica Parker. From 1983 through 1984, he wrote for the television series The Facts of Life. He wrote for various television series through the 1980s.

 

In 1990, Borowitz created The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air which ran for six seasons on NBC and launched the acting career of Will Smith. Borowitz received an NAACP Image Award for the series.

 

In 1998, Borowitz co-produced the film Pleasantville, starring Reese Witherspoon, Tobey Maguire, William H. Macy, Joan Allen and Jeff Daniels. It was nominated for three Oscars, including Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Costume Design, and Best Music, Original Dramatic Score.

 

In 2004, Borowitz appeared in Woody Allen's Melinda and Melinda, starring Will Ferrell, and in Marie and Bruce, starring Julianne Moore and Matthew Broderick. In 2007 he appeared in the movie, Fired!

 

Borowitz is also a stand-up comedian, TV performer, contributing author to several magazines, and has authored six books since the beginning of the millennium.

 

Anyway, the point of this post - Here is Andy Borowitz's "Bin Laden Says He's 'Professionally Envious' of BP" . . . "I've Got to Step Up My Game, Says Madman." I think you'll enjoy it.

 

 

 

THE BOROWITZ REPORT - In a new video that is light on his usual threats but heavy on admiration, Osama bin Laden admits that he is “professionally envious” of oil giant BP’s massive oil spill, saying that it puts his efforts to create destruction and chaos to shame.

 

“There are times in an evildoer’s life when one has to stand back and admire a job well done,” Mr. bin Laden says in the video. “BP, you blow me away.”

 

The Al-Qaeda mastermind adds that his first thought upon seeing BP’s spill was, “Man, I’ve got to step up my game.”

 

Mr. bin Laden claims in the video that he rarely feels envious towards other evildoers, but says he likes “to use that energy to push myself to be the best terrorist I can be.”

 

As for the envy he felt after seeing BP’s handiwork, the madman says, “I haven’t felt this way since the whole Toyota thing.”

[White Fox]

You know it is so strange. They are perplexed that the saw quits on them when they try to cut that pipe. Any old farmer or contractor would tell them that if they made a second "Sheer Cut" just against where the pipe takes the second curve it would take the binding action away from the pipe. The little left would weight it to cause it to keep the saw from binding. VERY simple old time tricks any craftsman would know. And these guys cannot figure that out!

 

Yep, I realize that most stuff is oversimplified, and too easy for someone to guess looking from the outside. BUT, in this case, their problem is so easily solved. And these highly intelligent men getting millions of dollars a year cannot solve it!

 

W

[Worker 11811]

They should fly you down there to supervise.

 

I'm only half joking!

[ew19975]

Maybe that simple a solution would occur to someone used to dealing with using tools like this on a more than very rare occasion, but somehow over the time frame of this accident there have ended up being too many 'top minds' from academia and government involved so that common sense and such has been squeezed out of the picture.