BP Oil Spill Civil Trial set to begin …..Breaking….Trial delayed for a week….

 

The Associated Press ‏ @AP  (2/26/12 – 3:36PM)

BREAKING: Gulf oil spill trial delayed, allowing another week for settlement talks, people close to case say -RJJ

The civil trial is set to begin in a New Orleans Courtroom while settlement talks continue….

The Trial could set the civil penalties and percent of responsibilities for the parties involved…

In addition, the outcome of THIS matter could effect other civil suits and a possible criminal investigation by the Justice Department….

An unfair resolution could also spell political trouble in the region for the Administration……

Lawyers involved in the case said settlement talks were continuing through the weekend. Unlike Exxon, which spent two decades fighting damage claims over the 1989 Exxon Valdez tanker spill in Alaska, BP has been eager to put to rest the entire affair surrounding its ill-fated Macondo exploration well. But while opposing sides often reach agreement on the eve of trials, lawyers familiar with the case said the trial would probably move ahead. “The parties remain significantly far apart,” said one of the lawyers, on the condition of anonymity because negotiations are ongoing.

Firm numbers were hard to come by, but some sources said that the private plaintiffs group and the Justice Department were each seeking more than $25 billion in civil claims. If the Justice Department decides to file criminal charges, that would be a separate trial.

Possible outcomes

Any settlement by the Justice Department could have political impact if voters see it as not large enough given the size of the spill and of BP, still one of the world’s biggest oil giants. The associate attorney general in charge of negotiations, Thomas J. Perrelli, also oversaw talks that led to the recent $26 billion foreclosure abuse settlement with major banks. Perrelli, a law school acquaintance of President Obama, is leaving the department March 9 after three years as its No. 3 official.

If the trial moves ahead, lawyers for the plaintiffs’ steering committee and the Justice Department are expected to attack BP and rig owner Transocean, saying that their gross negligence and willful misconduct led to the blowout on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which caught fire and sankApril 20, 2010, killing 11 people and eventually spilling as much as 4.9 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

If found guilty of gross negligence, BP and Transocean could have to pay $4,300 a barrel instead of $1,100 a barrel in federal fines under the Clean Water Act and Oil Pollution Act for oil that was not recaptured. (Under one scenario,BP pays $3.5 billion)

More….

Photo…Washington Post

From Politcaldog101.Com

 

Japan close to restoring power to Nuclear plants….

Power hopes rise at Japan plant

Workers are close to restoring power to cooling systems at a quake-hit Japanese nuclear power plant, officials say.

Engineers connected a cable through which they hope to supply electricity to part of the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

The earthquake and tsunami it triggered crippled the plant’s cooling systems, and some radiation has leaked.

Radioactive contamination has been found in some food products from the Fukushima prefecture, Japanese officials say.

The iodine was found in products – reported to be milk and spinach – tested between 16 and 18 March and could be harmful to human health if ingested, the officials said.

International nuclear experts at the IAEA say that, although radioactive iodine has a short half-life of about eight days, there is a short-term risk to human health if it is ingested, and it can cause damage to the thyroid.

The IAEA had earlier reported on its website that food products from Fukushima prefecture had been banned from sale by the Japanese authorities, but later said a ban was only being considered.

Traces of radioactive iodine have also been found in tapwater in Tokyo and five other prefectures, officials said on Saturday.

The traces are within government safety limits, but usual tests show no iodine, the AP news agency reported.

Rising toll

The earthquake and tsunami which struck on 11 March are known to have killed more than 7,600 people, while more than 11,000 remain missing…..

More….

From Politicaldog101….

 

Japan Update…..3/15/11

From BBC….

Radiation levels have fallen at Japan’s earthquake-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, the government says.

The levels had spiked to harmful levels after a fire and a third explosion at the site.

Weather reports say winds are blowing radiation from the plant, on Japan’s north-east coast, over the Pacific.ce.

Friday afternoon’s earthquake was the strongest in Japan since records began to be kept. It hit the north-east of the main island of Honshu and triggered a powerful tsunami that devastated dozens of coastal communities.Further strong aftershocks – one of 6.1-magnitude centred south-west of Tokyo – continue to rock the country.

The latest official death toll from the quake and tsunami stands at more than 3,000 – but thousands of people are missing and it is feared at least 10,000 may have been killed.

More than 500,000 people have been made homeless.

The government has deployed 100,000 troops to lead the aid….

More…..

This from Politicaldog101…

 

8.9 level Earthquake and Tsuami hits Japan and spreads across the Pacaific…..

The tsunami, seen crashing into homes in Natori, Miyagi prefecture

(Kyodo News, via Associated Press)

From the New York Times…..

Walls of water whisked away houses and cars in northern Japan, where terrified residents fled the coast. Trains were shut down across central and northern Japan, including Tokyo, and air travel was severely disrupted. A ship carrying more than 100 people was swept away by the tsunami, Kyodo News reported. And the government evacuated thousands of residents near a nuclear plant about 170 miles northeast of Tokyo after a a backup generator failed, compromising the cooling system, the Associated Press reported.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the disaster caused major damage across wide areas. Several hours after the quake, Kyodo News reported 59 deaths, but with rescue efforts just getting under way, the extent of injuries and damage is not yet known.

The United States Geological Survey said the earthquake had a magnitude of 8.9, and occurred at about 230 miles northeast of Tokyo and at a revised depth of about 17 miles. The Japanese Meteorological Agency said the quake had a magnitude of 8.8, which would make it among the biggest in a century.

The quake occurred at 2:46 p.m. Tokyo time and hit off Honshu, Japan’s most populous island. The quake was so powerful that buildings in central Tokyo, designed to withstand major earthquakes, swayed.

“This tremor was unlike any I’ve experienced previously, and I’ve lived here for eight years. It was a sustained rolling that made it impossible to stand, almost like vertigo,” said Matt Alt, an American writer and translator living in Tokyo.

President Obama said the United States was ready to help with any assistance. “Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to the people of Japan,” he said in a statement. He said he had instructed federal agencies to be prepared to assist Hawaii and any other areas in the United States affected by the tsunami.

By Friday night, tsunami waves of about 30 centimeters, or about 2.5 feet, were reported in Halmahera in Indonesia’s North Maluku Province, and was expected to reach Hawaii in the coming hours……

More….

From Politicaldog101….

Open thread for June 15…….Site Upgrades and White House Hype….

I’ve been busy today doing some paperwork and house cleaning  the blog for a long due upgrade…..

And believe me it ain’t as easy all as the web hosting people and WordPress says it is….

First I started off in the wrong place…

Then I found the right place but WordPress is having problems….

I vow to be patient…..

The new Web Hosting people have my money now….

On the other front….

I’m now checking the net to do a post and I notice one thing….

The race is on!

Every media outlet has something on Obama going to the Gulf, Obama telling the BP what to do….The White House in charge …Congress beating BP up…The stocj taking a hit….

And the best ones…..The Clean up is Chaotic…..

They even have a picture of my man Thad Allen looking glum…..

Judging my the comments here I guess I’m the only one out here that ain’t looking to lynch BP…..

Well folks you got what ya asked for…

Obama and his adminstration now looks like they are going to own the OIl spill…

They are in charge (Not really ….They don’t drill or cap oil wells )

They are whipping BP (Not really, that comes tomorrow )…

And  the state actually coordinates the clean up…..

BUT THEY ARE THE LEAD NOW!

SEND YOUR PUNCHES TO THE PRESIDENT and the government….

BP will settle on  putting money aside….

That’s a smart thing….

For the states and BP….

And I hear that WH Press Secretary Gibbs thinks they can capture 90% of the oil by next month…..

The Alvin Greene saga continues……

Yes Sir!

South Carolina Republican’s AND Democrat’s

what a mess…..

On to other things….

Daniel won’t be around for the you guys to kick around for a month…

He’s busy at work……

So I’ll try to do a some polling pieces and anyone that wants to try their hand at it…..

Come on!

As usual…….

Comments Please!!!

I’ll take the slow hits today……

and

Subscribe…..Subscribe…….Subscribe..…..

Ruff, Ruff….Bow wow!

The Dog

Why are we in Afghanistan…Is it for the $$$?….An Editorial…..

Today the New York Times has a piece on the US Military find of significant natural resources beneath Afghanistan…

I did a post on that story months ago….

The resources in the ground ARe worth trillions of dollars…..

The Chinese have been working on getting contract from Karzai’s government for months…

The British and American’s are right behind them…..

Why bring this up on the front page of the New York Times today?

Hummmmmm?

I seem to remember a post I did just a day or two ago about a certain general asking out loud for more time to prosecute the Afghan war…..

I then remember writing about anti-war stirrings….

And….

The question….

Why are we there?

Coincidently, the fact  that the place is literally sitting on a money mine pops up?

Cash, Money,  Dollar bills…

From Ole’ Christopher Columbus to today…….

Obama will try to 'Jawbone' BP into setting aside $$$….

Am I surprised?

Nope…..

The President is gonna try to put more pressure on BP to set aside money in an address to the nation ……

This is 20% operational…….80% politcal….

While the Dog agree’s a ‘set-aside’ would be a good idea…..

The fact is Obama’s moves are principally to assuage the media……

Because Obama is slow to anger….

And generally seeks to deal with issues rationally ….

He is under attack from the media….

The media and others are seeking revenge for the accident….

BP like the president has hunkered down and gone about its business…

That simply isn’t good enough, egh?

I watched  the MSNBC special of the Oil Spill today…

What struck me was the laid back way everything was…

The response was principally to save large amounts of bird wildlife….

But the think was not hurried just resigned….

No dramatic music…

Just people out there doing their jobs…..

The media needs to show more of this

And stop beating up the President and BP…

We need to see more of what can be done to deal with the problem….

The political ‘dog and pony’ show will surly come later……

As will the fines…….

Obama will try to ‘Jawbone’ BP into setting aside $$$….

Am I surprised?

Nope…..

The President is gonna try to put more pressure on BP to set aside money in an address to the nation ……

This is 20% operational…….80% politcal….

While the Dog agree’s a ‘set-aside’ would be a good idea…..

The fact is Obama’s moves are principally to assuage the media……

Because Obama is slow to anger….

And generally seeks to deal with issues rationally ….

He is under attack from the media….

The media and others are seeking revenge for the accident….

BP like the president has hunkered down and gone about its business…

That simply isn’t good enough, egh?

I watched  the MSNBC special of the Oil Spill today…

What struck me was the laid back way everything was…

The response was principally to save large amounts of bird wildlife….

But the think was not hurried just resigned….

No dramatic music…

Just people out there doing their jobs…..

The media needs to show more of this

And stop beating up the President and BP…

We need to see more of what can be done to deal with the problem….

The political ‘dog and pony’ show will surly come later……

As will the fines…….

President Obama quote on the Oil Spill…….

From Politcalwire…..
“Even though I’m president of the United States, my power is not limitless. So I can’t dive down there and plug the hole. I can’t suck it up with a straw.”

— President Obama, quoted by the Washington Post, on the massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.

( Ain’t that the truth!….The Dog)

The Dog told ya so…Louisiana Pols push for Deep Water Drilling to continue….

Quite a few people here have argued that BP should be ran out of business…

That Oil drilling should stop….

And that the federal government should get involved in oil drilling…..

None of those things are going to happen….

Actually …..

The politicians (Republican AND Democrats ) of the Gulf States will fight against those actions….

The simple facts are that BP employees a lot of people in those states…..(even more now working on the cleanup)…

BP has a lot of American and British money invested in it…..

A failure of the company would hurt British AND AMERICAN investors…..

Oil drilling isn’t going to stop…

Louisiana Governor Jindhal not happy with the Government’s 6 month hold on deep water permits in the Gulf…

We American’s need gas and oil too much…..

And the Gulf states need the jobs, taxes and money for their economies….

They need to stop the leak…

Clean up….

And move on……

“Our bottom line is that we absolutely want drilling to be done safely, but it shouldn’t take months of federal government committees and meetings,” Gov. Bobby Jindal told reporters Thursday.
Jindal’s comments came in response to the Obama administration’s recent decision to halt all deepwater oil exploration in American waters for six months while a safety review determines the chances of another underwater blowout like the one that began the BP disaster and killed 11 rig workers.

Local residents and members of Louisiana’s congressional delegation in Washington have criticized the six-month time frame as arbitrary and potentially catastrophic to the state’s economy and the hundreds of thousands of Louisianans whose jobs depend on the oil industry.

The Obama administration has said the president will propose an Oil Spill Unemployment Assistance Program for workers who lose their jobs because of the moratorium, but Jindal said people don’t want unemployment checks — they want work.

“Just because the federal government can’t do their jobs doesn’t mean thousands of Louisianans should lose their jobs,” he said.

Along with Jindal, Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) called on the administration to lift the moratorium while the safety review goes on. “There is no one more environmentally devastated by this oil disaster than the people of the Gulf Coast. It’s our coast, our marshes, and our way of life that is being impacted,” Vitter wrote in a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. “Simply put, [the moratorium] will cost us more jobs and economic devastation than the oil spill itself.”

According to the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, the moratorium means that 33 floating drilling rigs — typically leased for up to $500,000 per day by companies like BP, Chevron, Shell and Marathon — are costing local rig operators $16.5 million per day.

But Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) said the real pain is being felt by the men and women who work on those rigs (between 100 and 200 on each rig) and the estimated 20,000 people whose jobs on shore support them, including supply boat operators, welders, divers, caterers, and tugboat runners. The LMOGA estimates that the lost wages locally could top $330 million per month while the rigs sit idle.

More

Note…..On this one……. Obama is in a lose…lose situation…..

The media is fanning anger at BP and him….

They are constantly showing pictures of oil soaked wildlife…..

He can’t leave the country to get away….

The Gulf stste politicians are asking for money…while beating him up for not enough action …..

And they want him to get rid of the ban so they can have MORE drilling..

The British are pissed for him pissing on BP….

And in REALLITY….

THERE ISN’T MUCH OF A DAMN THING HE CAN DO!………

EXCEPT …..Wait….. like everyone else for BP …….AND LOOK PAINED……