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[Brentai]

So hey, an environmental disaster about to hit Louisiana that will require active government aid.

After everything else, it might actually be this that defines the difference between the current administration and the last.

[Royal☭]

"It turns out, by the way, that oil rigs today generally don't cause spills. They are technologically very advanced" - Barack Obama, April 2, 2010, advocating offshore drilling

[SCD]

In all fairness to the guy, it's hard to think of a candidate in 08 who was serious about getting US off of arab oil and not into drilling their own resources.

[Royal☭]

Here's Obama in 2008 campaigning against offshore drilling, anyway:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8fkbEuCQss

[Mongrel]

I can't find the video right now, but the one from this April 2nd is way funnier: He says that "Modern offshore oil platforms don't lead to oil spills." 

[Shinra]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Obama and the Democrats are more worried about holding their power base in 2012. Sorry to say it, but most people don't really give a shit about oil spills or the negative environmental effects of offshore drilling. They do, however, care about gas being three dollars+ a gallon again. Offshore drilling is, of course, not going to help the problem, but at least we can't be accused of doing nothing.

[Royal☭]

I can't find the video right now, but the one from this April 2nd is way funnier: He says that "Modern offshore oil platforms don't lead to oil spills." 

"It turns out, by the way, that oil rigs today generally don't cause spills. They are technologically very advanced" - Barack Obama, April 2, 2010, advocating offshore drilling

[Brentai]

I'd argue that it was more true when he said it but it turns out there were at least 2 in 2008 so yeah he's pretty much being a fucker on this point.

The alternate argument is that he was referring specifically to the shut-off switch that the BP tanker was missing.  The alternate counter-argument is that that sort of technology doesn't help when the tankers don't have it.

[TA]

The BP rig does have a shutoff switch.  The workers say they can't reach it.  Which is why he's sending in SWAT teams to get that shit taken care of, and shutting down all new offshore drilling until this is fully investigated and fixed.

[Mongrel]

Well, at least that's a reasonably credible response to start with. Guess we'll see where that goes.

@ Constantmean: 

[Brentai]

So the solution is apparently to drop a giant container over it.

It's like this kind of big shell.

[McDohl]

...METAL GEAR?!

[Mongrel]

If you think you have a sense of the Oil Spill's Scale...

Also, I'm kind of amused that the Obama thread became the oil spill thread. 

[Fortinbras]

Now that we've tried a box...

If this doesn't work they're going to challenge the oil spill to a dance contest.

[Brentai]

Also, I'm kind of amused that the Obama thread became the oil spill thread. 

Yeah yeah, fine.  And I was quite enjoying my run of being a useless piece of shit all day and playing all these games.

[SCD]

I just want to say that at times like this, having the world's largest standing volunteer army in the world comes in handy, especially considering how many troops you still have playing the counterinsurgency role. 

[Brentai]

NPR's report on the Senate investigation.

WELNA: Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski honed in on the blowout preventers, known as BOPs. She pressed BP's McKay about reports the devices had been altered.

Senator LISA MURKOWSKI (Republican, Alaska): Do you have any reason to believe that the Deepwater Horizon BOP was modified?

Mr. McKAY: During our intervention work in the last three weeks, we have - we do have reason to believe that it was modified. I don't know the extent of those modifications.

Sen. MURKOWSKI: Mr. Newman, can you speak to that, because I am assuming if there were any modifications that would have been done by Transocean?

Mr. NEWMAN: They were, in fact, done by Transocean, Senator. They were performed in 2005. They were done at BP's request and at BP's expense.

WELNA: Newman explained the changes had been made to speed up testing and allow drilling operations to proceed more quickly, and thus save BP money.

Nice corner cutting there, Slick.  Get it?  Slick?

Ehhh anyway, at least they're being humbly apologetic about it and not in the least bit fucking sarcastic in the middle of an inquiry as to how much they fucked up.

Senator MARIA CANTWELL (Democrat, Washington): Okay, so if it's a legitimate claim, a harm to the fishing industry, both short term and long term, you're going to pay?

Mr. McKAY: We're going to pay all legitimate claims.

Sen. CANTWELL: If it's an impact for business loss from tourism, you're going to pay?

Mr. McKAY: We're going to pay all legitimate claims.

Sen. CANTWELL: To state and local governments for lost tax revenue, you're going to pay?

Mr. McKAY: Question mark.

Remember when you were a kid and you broke your mother's (x) and she started browbeating you and you decided for some reason the quickest way to get her off her back was to act like she's the asshole somehow?  I'm willing to bet you didn't completely fuck over the economy of the Gulf Coast when you did it.

One of the commentators pointed out when the spill was compared to the Exxon Valdez disaster that, in terms most people will actually care about, the economic effects of this spill could easily be 10-20 times worse simply due to location.

[Mongrel]

One small thing I've noticed in this is that Transoceanic really seems to have taken full advantage of an agreement that basically stuck BP with all the liability and risk and then proceeded to whistle their way to disaster.

[Büge]

I move we make this the thread icon.

[Zaratustra]