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talkpoliticsThis is Obama's "Fuck you all, this is so not my Hurricane Katrina"?
As noted in the title, I think this is somewhat impressive and I don't think anything comparable happened after the Exxon Valdez. I think it sets an important precedent for one thing. It also wrests control of a significant portion of the funds from BP, ensuring less chance of their decreasing their financial burden by exhausting the litigants. Similarly, the timing is noteworthy. As it stands, Obama gets the credit and BP looks like they were cowed into this. They played it very poorly. Had they been more contrite early and been proactive in setting up something like this, it'd look less like Obama riding in and saving America from an evil oil company.
Don't get me wrong, though, still deeply disappointed in his administration, just not over this issue.
Damning the Administration with faint praise here, but.....
Date: 16/6/10 21:40 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 16/6/10 21:46 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 16/6/10 21:56 (UTC)I hope he'll make some edit soon.
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Date: 16/6/10 21:53 (UTC)Then again, -- haha! ;-)
Can we say so much with the meme of Obama not getting anything done? He said he'd
shovepass health-care -- he did. He said he'd make BP pay -- he did. What's next, fixing the world economy? Disarming Iran? Bringing democracy to NK? Reconciling Israel with the Palestinians? Pacifying Afghanistan? I mean, now that he has fixed the domestic mess, he could move on to bigger targets.Btw one of his "minor" vows was to work for a nuke-free world. I'm all eyes and ears.
(no subject)
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Date: 16/6/10 22:45 (UTC)"Union carbide2 and "Bhopal" when El Prezidente comes onscreen.
Coz, for all the noise that Obama is making about the pollution that a bunch of Limeys have caused with their greed and incompetance in drilling for oil, the fac remains that the USa has done far worse to developing nations , and they won't be getting $20 billion dollars to help sort things out...
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Date: 17/6/10 17:44 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 17/6/10 21:10 (UTC)Yes, I know that. I remember that Thatcher sold it off, so it isn't a national asset or interest any more.
However, it is a foriegn company that Obama says has caused a massive eco disaster that is a threat to local businesses as well as the ecology. So Obama is quite within his righs to go nail 'em, in my book.
However, what about when an American company goes and screws up in a developing country like India?
To me, the company of Union Carbide is in exactly the same position as the british Company BP is. they are equally guilty of causing a mess and should equally be forced to pay up.
I don't think Obama sees it this way, though.
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
Date: 16/6/10 22:40 (UTC)DOMA?
Obama is only slightly in favor of gay rights, and AFAIK against gay marriage.
And then there's the war on drugs.
And then there's the shitty education oh-so-many innercity youths get.
So, uhm, I'm gonna haveto disagree that "he has fixed the domestic mess"
Now, I'm happy he is doing something and I would have expected President McCain wouldn't have gotten a penny from BP; and VP Palin...well, she'd have right fucked up any chance of good foreign PR. So yeah, I'm happy Obama is in the white house vs the other guy, but he aint no savior.
(no subject)
Date: 16/6/10 22:42 (UTC)It always amuses me when someone lets sarcasm go completely off his radar. LOL.
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Date: 16/6/10 22:44 (UTC)Too much Jack Bauer makes me a serious panda.
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Date: 16/6/10 23:39 (UTC)I keep thinking of that Pepsi advert as I read that... :)
(no subject)
Date: 17/6/10 12:32 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 16/6/10 22:10 (UTC)I mean, I have no serious qualms with how Obama's handling this on a whole, but I see no need to celebrate some sort of victory here - BP was likely to do this regardless of Obama's request.
(no subject)
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Date: 16/6/10 22:12 (UTC)TaxTrade gets passed. This is hush money.(no subject)
Date: 17/6/10 08:00 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 16/6/10 22:36 (UTC)There are some calling for the military to take on a larger role, but this is not something that is within their purview or capabilities. The military does not have the experience, training, equipment, or know-how to deal with this sort of scenario. BP and other oil companies, on the other hand, have the scientists and equipment and personnel. As this event has show us, the technology and techniques for dealing with this sort of gush oil are pretty crappy-they have not advanced much in the past 30 years. But it's still a greater concentration of resources for handling this than one would find elsewhere.
Getting BP to agree to a 20 billion dollar escrow account is a decent accomplishment. No, it's not stopping the gushing oil. No, it's not going to save any wildlife. No, it's not going to keep oil off our shores. But, it does guarantee there will be a pool of money for dealing with the damage BP has caused-a pool of money that won't be affected by any potential bankruptcy, legal liability caps, or other maneuvers that BP could institute down the line.
Keep in mind that those affected by the Exxon Valdez spill did not receive any compensation until August 2008. The spill occurred in March 1989. The escrow fund that President Obama and BP agreed upon will hopefully ensure that those in need receive funds faster than the 18.5 years it took for the victims of the Exxon Valdez spill to receive any money.
The management of this pool of money will in many ways determine just how big of an accomplishment this escrow account is. Will money get to the fisherman and others, in a prompt fashion, so they can survive, or will it sit in a bank account untouched, or will it go to towns and states and not the individuals who are feeling the most immediate, dramatic impact of this spill? Time will tell, but the person administering the escrow account, Kenneth Feinberg, is a very well-respected attorney who is widely acclaimed for his handling of the 9/11 victim's compensation fund, something that was a difficult and sensitive task. I can't think of anyone more suitable for the position of administering this fund.
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Date: 17/6/10 01:08 (UTC)http://www.portfolio.com/business-news/portfolio/2009/03/23/Exxon-Valdez-Lawsuit-History
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Date: 17/6/10 13:49 (UTC)The whole thing about paying fishermen $5000 when they make more than that in a week of fishing season, however, is a big deal.
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Date: 17/6/10 05:44 (UTC)Also, I'm a little less concerned about ebil oil company reparations than I am plugging the damned leak. Though the flaming oil hurricane idea sounds um, scary-interesting.
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Date: 17/6/10 16:51 (UTC)I am working on a seperate post to discuss this. I've seen four news stories this week that I'm like "yay!! ohh wait, is th at legal or moral"?