The investigation will undoubtedly expose errors and violations by TransOcean and Haliburton. But as of now we have three documented incidents where BP willfully ignored or rejected standard safety measures, at least two of which were argued for by TransOcean, and overridden by BP: one being the issue of the damaged gasket; another being the refusal to take the safer route to capping the well; and a newer revelation that BP sent an entire inspection crew home the day before the explosion. One of that crew's tasks was to inspect the cement plugs that are inserted in the well shaft prior to the capping process, and it is believed that at least one of those plugs failed (which would be on Haliburton), leading to the explosion. Had that crew been allowed to stay on and do their job, the flawed plug(s) may very well have been detected.

Now, that's a lot of "believed to be's" and "may haves" and "should haves". But one thing that is certain, is that if all of those issues had been addressed according to industry standards, the rig would have been enroute to its next location, eleven crewmen would be alive today, the Gulf waters and it's inhabitants would be as vibrant as ever, and the environment and economy of the region would be conducting business as usual.

But some people are just happier with their own "facts".

BTW, km, all you have to do is Google Countdown on MSNBC, and look up last Friday's broadcast to view the report about the premature dismissal of the inspection crew. And I've already posted the Rachel Maddow report which covered the broken gasket and BP's insistence on rushing the closure of the well. So spare us the "support your points" baloney. Done. And done.

No I knew about that but it doesn't relieve TO of liability or transfer it to BP... for the reasons to which poly has drawn attention.


No, you've been taken in by over-emotional reporting and one-sided misinformation. Compare the statement of CEO Tony Hayward that "safe and reliable operations are the number 1 priority for BP and the company has a very strong record of safe and reliable operations in the Gulf of Mexico".


No that's you... what victims and their families want is truth, not bias, hate and propaganda.


Oh I see... you get the science wrong but still can't give up so you have to try another tack.


Not really - every case has to be considered on its merits.

km

So what the victims get instead from BP is indifference, cover-ups, and blame-shifting.

Well, I said I'm neither scientist not engineer. And I also said that I don't mind being corrected by anyone that knows what they're talking about. If what poly explained is correct, then you can tell me I told you so 'til your tongue gets numb. But only on the issue of the science, because I stand firm on everything else I've said.

Gawd, this line-by-line stuff is tedious. I can see why you embrace it. to you, too, Slick.

Not to mention the 60 Minutes interview I posted......

Which one? I saw that but it didn't make any difference because it was mainly speculation that was already contradicted by what BP were saying. What you've got is amateurs trying to contradict the experts and getting it wrong... and then you lot all lapping it up like you did over Iraq because of programmes like 60 Minutes - oh, and by the way there aren't any weapons of mass destruction over there posing a threat to national security, and there never were.

km

No kidding, Sherlock. Except that very few here bought the Bush/Cheney line about WMD (and I readily admit that I was one of the very few who did at first), and we're still screaming for their heads today. I don't hear anyone defending them, do you? Wanna try a relevant analogy, now?

speculation <---?

That was an I witness account you to funny , not to mention he is an Oil Man , so call that a Professional Eye Witness .

Now if he was the Pizza delivery guy then you could call that speculation

It was an eye witness, an engineer who was working on the platform when it exploded. Not speculation. So now, an oil company engineer is an amateur? You're a pompous @ss.

That might be a different one then, pompous @ss So the eyewitness said what, exactly?

km

BP chose to ignore the damaged BOP and opted to ignore the other safety issues we've been posting about. We don't make this stuff up, you know.