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Gulf oil spill: BP has a long record of legal, ethical violations
Richard Mauer and Anna M. Tinsley ^ | May 8, 2010 | Richard Mauer and Anna M. Tinsley

Posted on 05/28/2010 9:10:23 AM PDT by libstripper

ANCHORAGE — The causes of the disastrous blowout and gas explosion on BP's leased Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico are a long way from being determined.

Yet already BP's actions are facing unprecedented scrutiny, thanks to a years-long history of legal and ethical violations that critics, judges and members of Congress say shows that the London-based company has a penchant for putting profits ahead of just about everything else.

Over the past two decades, BP subsidiaries have been convicted three times of environmental crimes in Alaska and Texas, including two felonies. It remains on probation for two of them.

(Excerpt) Read more at mcclatchydc.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bp; corruption; obama; oilspill
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This is the clean corporate citizen Obama's been in bed with. (sarc. off)
1 posted on 05/28/2010 9:10:23 AM PDT by libstripper
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To: libstripper

A million dollars to Obama.


2 posted on 05/28/2010 9:12:23 AM PDT by FormerACLUmember ("Subtlety is not going to win this fight": NJ Governor Chris Christie)
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To: libstripper

They are so steeped in arrogant stupidity they can’t see straight.


3 posted on 05/28/2010 9:12:24 AM PDT by norraad ("What light!">Blues Brothers)
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To: libstripper

I stopped buying BP’s gas when they decided they didn’t want to be an oil company but a “Green Energy” company instead.


4 posted on 05/28/2010 9:19:29 AM PDT by Kozak (USA 7/4/1776 to 1/20/2009 Reqiescat in Pace)
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To: libstripper

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2505164/posts?page=106#106


5 posted on 05/28/2010 9:21:03 AM PDT by Matchett-PI ("If Obama Won, Then Why Won't Democrats Run on His Agenda?" ~ Rush Limbaugh - May 19, 2010)
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To: libstripper

One of their biggest ethical lapses was to support the global warming alarmists. They probably assumed cap & trade would create an artifical shortage that they could use to raise prices. I hope that company collapses.


6 posted on 05/28/2010 9:24:35 AM PDT by ArcadeQuarters (Stuck with a local RINO? Donate $$$ to a different district.)
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To: libstripper

Yes and the Bent Impeached Rapist gave the go ahead to buy Amooco ,Arco and fire the Americans in the front office, this for starters, why would they care about any mess that is left in their wake?


7 posted on 05/28/2010 9:24:53 AM PDT by Cheetahcat (Zero the Wright kind of Racist! We are in a state of War with Democrats)
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To: Cheetahcat

Amooco = Amoco


8 posted on 05/28/2010 9:25:38 AM PDT by Cheetahcat (Zero the Wright kind of Racist! We are in a state of War with Democrats)
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To: libstripper

Obama’s Oil

1) Pres_ _ent Obama gets $$$$$ from BP ............. check
"Obama biggest recipient of BP cash
BP and its employees have given more than $3.5 million
to federal …with the largest chunk of their money going to Obama"

"Obama White House and British Petroleum (BP), which pumped $71,000 into Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign
are covering up the magnitude of the volcanic-level oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico"

BP oil leak: Fallen Deepwater Horizon was tapping second largest oil deposit in the world
If there is a single aspect to the dangers of the BP oil leak,
it lies in the question CEO Tony Hayward and other BP executives
have been avoiding since the first drop of oil went rogue: How much oil is leaking?
The real answer is - more than anyone wants to admit,
because the well holds enough oil to make Saudi Arabian drillers jealous."


2) Pres_ _ent Obama exempts BP from normal requirements ......... check
Gulf oil spill: BP has a long record of legal, ethical violations
…. BP's actions are facing unprecedented scrutiny, thanks to a years-long history of legal
and ethical violations that critics, judges and members of Congress say shows that the
London-based company has a penchant for putting profits ahead of just about everything else.

Over the past two decades, BP subsidiaries have been convicted three times of
environmental crimes in Alaska and Texas, including two felonies. It remains on
probation for two of them. "

“Workers on doomed BP oil rig: Corners were cut to save money
Two workers injured when an oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico told Congress on
Thursday that the companies in charge of the doomed drilling operation cut corners and
neglected maintenance in a race toward higher profits.
MMS official Jason Mathews, one of the panelists who questioned Harrell, noted that the
project was several weeks behind schedule, a delay that had cost more than $20 million at
a daily rate of $525,000."

Federal Regulator Repeatedly Failed to Inspect Deepwater Horizon – Including for... Obama Presidency
ABC News has learned that in the 16 months from January 2009 through April 2010
MMS failed to inspect Deepwater Horizon four times – in May 2009, August 2009, December 2009, and January 2010."

"U.S. exempted BP's Gulf of Mexico drilling from environmental impact study"

"Obama admin exempted BP's Gulf drilling from environmental impact study "

"Obama sheltered BP's Deepwater Horizon rig from regulatory requirement"

"Red Flags Were Ignored Aboard Doomed Rig "

"US allowed drilling 'without required permits"

"U.S. Said to Allow Drilling Without Needed Permits
The federal Minerals Management Service gave permission to BP …
to drill in the Gulf of Mexico without first getting required permits "


3) Pres_ _ent Obama and the DNC begin the obstruction ......... check
“McCarthy: Obama hasn't returned call of lawmaker representing district of rig!! "

"Obama sat on sand berm request 2 weeks, still no reply"

"Frustration over sand barriers boils in Louisiana as federal government offers few answers"

President Delays Oil Spill Recovery Efforts For San Francisco Fundraiser With Getty Oil Heirs”


4) Pres_ _ent Obama and the DNC begin the coverup ......... check
"Oil Spill - CBS Threatened With Arrest For Filming The Oil Spill (Coast Guard: "This Is BP's Rules."

"Lab Chosen To Test Oil Spill Water & Animal Samples Has Ties To BP
In addition to this potential conflict of interest, federal officials have mandated that BP
gets to hire the companies that collect data as part of efforts to rescue wildlife covered with oil."

BP reports warning signs before gulf oil rig explosion"


9 posted on 05/28/2010 9:26:42 AM PDT by Diogenesis (Article IV - Section 4 - The United States Â… shall protect each of them against Invasion)
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To: libstripper

I’d wager than just about any oil company that had problems, would have something similar reported about them. The oil company detractor pea-shooters are always out in force.

Just about any company that is regulated by the feds has some sort of violations on their record. The regulations change all the time, and enforcement varies so much that you get sited one time for things they agreed not to enforce the prior couple of decades.

The inspectors have to come up with some violations, or their services wouldn’t be needed. It’s quite the gotcha situation many times.

Of course that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any problematic companies out there, but just because one of them has violations, it’s not proof positive that they are really are problematic at all.


10 posted on 05/28/2010 9:28:18 AM PDT by DoughtyOne (J. D. Hayworth, the next Senator, the Great State of Arizona - Sen. Poopdeck, Panama is calling...)
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To: libstripper

Right. All this Monday morning quarterbacking simply raises the question of why a corporation capable of such unethical and legally questionable behavior was given permits to drill in the first place.

Obama needs to get his story straight. If BP has been corrupt all along, then this substantially calls into question the ability of the feds to competently regulate oil drilling in particular (but anything else, in general).

Conversely, Obama can claim regulation has been tip-top all along, including during the first 17 months of his administration. But in that case, the spill would have to be attributed to some very out-of-character behavior by BP, such as lying about the extent they were in compliance with federal regs A, B, C etc. But that’s a completely different narrative.

In either case, why would the feds trust a lawless unethical company to stop the spill or clean it up? Apparently they don’t have the in-house expertise to figure this out, but that wouldn’t stop the feds from getting such help from other oil companies.

The point is, with each passing day we get growing evidence of the fed’s incompetence in dealing with this issue. Then we aggravate the situation by shutting down all drilling (as if the feds would ever be competent enough to determine that it was “safe” to resume their operations).


11 posted on 05/28/2010 9:33:39 AM PDT by DrC
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To: DoughtyOne
"The oil company detractor pea-shooters are always out in force."

True, but BP's track record "is" dicey compared to others. Sarah Palin rapped their knuckles with a ruler up in Alaska for bad behavior there.

12 posted on 05/28/2010 9:55:23 AM PDT by Wonder Warthog
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To: Wonder Warthog

Well, one disagreement with Palin doesn’t a real bad track record make. BP may be problematic, but making that case on citations alone can be problematic. I would wager all of the major oil players have numerous citations.


13 posted on 05/28/2010 10:05:31 AM PDT by DoughtyOne (J. D. Hayworth, the next Senator, the Great State of Arizona - Sen. Poopdeck, Panama is calling...)
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To: DrC

This really reminds me of Chicago gun grabbing. The corrupt Dailey regime, being in bed with the gangbangers, deliberately looks the other way as they turn the city into a shooting gallery with live human targets. If, however, law abiding citizens want to be armed to protect themselves from Daley’s gangbangers, they’re to be smeared and prosecuted to the fillet extent of he law. Here the bribe paying corporate criminal, BP, gets the royal treatment from the bribed regime, while responsible, law abiding drillers are deprived of their livelihoods.


14 posted on 05/28/2010 10:40:59 AM PDT by libstripper
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To: DoughtyOne
This is a lot more than just citations; FTA:

Over the past two decades, BP subsidiaries have been convicted three times of environmental crimes in Alaska and Texas, including two felonies. It remains on probation for two of them.

The Bush administration prosecuted BP for and convicted BP of those felonies.

15 posted on 05/28/2010 10:49:18 AM PDT by libstripper
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To: DoughtyOne
"Well, one disagreement with Palin doesn’t a real bad track record make. BP may be problematic, but making that case on citations alone can be problematic."

The problem is that Sarah swatted them for excessive violations, not just one. And my sis-in-law (Houston geophysicist, 20 years in the oil exploration biz), says pretty much the same thing...that even among the oil folks, BP is the "black sheep".

16 posted on 05/28/2010 12:15:57 PM PDT by Wonder Warthog
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To: Wonder Warthog

Thanks for the follow-up. I’m just trying to make heads or tails of it myself, so I have no real ax to grind on the issue. I just get tired of the Left and enviro whackjobs taking every oportunity to demonize oil companies. If BP has been a problem, it deserves to take it’s lumps. It’s employees may have cut corners on this job. If so I’ll join others in criticizing them (and it) for it.


17 posted on 05/28/2010 12:22:29 PM PDT by DoughtyOne (J. D. Hayworth, the next Senator, the Great State of Arizona - Sen. Poopdeck, Panama is calling...)
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To: DoughtyOne
"I just get tired of the Left and enviro whackjobs taking every oportunity to demonize oil companies. If BP has been a problem, it deserves to take it’s lumps. It’s employees may have cut corners on this job. If so I’ll join others in criticizing them (and it) for it."

I agree with you 100% on all points. But I'm going to wait 'til all the evidence is in before making a final judgment (as I'm sure you will). At this point, my opinion is that there appears to be "a pattern of behavior" that is suspicious.

18 posted on 05/28/2010 12:27:56 PM PDT by Wonder Warthog
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Jumping on the bandwagon to trash BP when we don’t have the facts is joining forces with anti-capitalist liberals.

The leftists are loving this disaster, why do you think 0bama is making the Army Corps sit on the permit request, now into it’s third week, for Louisianna to build dikes.


19 posted on 05/28/2010 12:30:42 PM PDT by Travis T. OJustice (I can spell just fine, thanks, it's my typing that sucks.)
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To: libstripper

I love oil companies.

They take risks, produce and sell me a product that I need, for a price I can afford.

They also employ many fine people, pay enormous taxes, and earn a deserved profits for their shareholders.

During my adult life I have been employee, consumer and shareholder of oil companies, service companies, etc.

People who criticize oil companies inform me to be sceptical of their self-label of “conservative.”

Liberals are almost universally big critics of oil companies.


20 posted on 05/28/2010 12:53:31 PM PDT by truth_seeker
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