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Editorial See other Editorial Articles Title: Who Should Go to Jail: Paris Hilton or BP Execs? Inquiring Minds Want to Know. Who Should Go to Jail: Paris Hilton or BP Execs? Inquiring Minds Want to Know. 7Share Submitted by BuzzFlash on Sat, 09/04/2010 - 1:59pm. * Guest Commentary JACQUELINE MARCUS FOR BUZZFLASH Another oil and gas rig in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana has exploded. We don’t know the details on why it exploded nor do we know for certain if oil is leaking. What we do know is that oil drilling is literally killing our marine life, seafood, beaches, water, and the very air we breathe. It is a poisonous threat to our state of well being. There is no way Big Oil can “make it right.” BP has never given a damn about safety. It’s all about profits and not environmental safety. Nevertheless, Democratic representative George Miller is “making it right” with an amendment that prevents BP from drilling in the Gulf. BP executives are threatening legislators that if they’re forced to leave the Gulf, they won’t have the funding to fulfill their moral and financial obligations. Wrong. BP can certainly raise the money to pay for the infinite damage they’ve caused to Gulf residents and the marine life. BP spent $90 million dollars alone on TV ads in the last two months: "Mr. Weiss dismissed BP’s warning that it might not be able to meet its financial obligations. “BP has substantial assets, whether they develop them or sell them,” he said. “If BP needs to sell assets to meet its financial obligations, that’s a decision they have to make.” … The amendment that would bar any company from receiving permits to drill on the Outer Continental Shelf if more than 10 fatalities had occurred at its offshore or onshore facilities. It would also bar permits if the company had been penalized with fines of $10 million or more under the Clean Air or Clean Water Acts within a seven-year period. While BP is not mentioned by name in the legislation, it is the only company that currently meets that description. The provision was written by Representative George Miller, Democrat of California, who is a strong environmental advocate and a close ally of Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker. It was specifically designed to punish BP for its past transgressions, including the Deepwater Horizon explosion, and deny the company access to American offshore oil and natural gas. “The risk of having a dangerous company like BP develop new resources in the gulf is too great,” said Daniel Weiss, Mr. Miller’s chief of staff. “Year after year after year, no matter how many incidents they’re involved in, no matter how many fines they’ve had to pay, they never changed their behavior. BP has no one to blame but themselves.” (The New York Times 09/03/10; BP Says Limits on Drilling Imperil Oil Spill Payouts) Frankly, BP execs should be so lucky; an honest government would have the culprits in prison by now. Fines are not enough of a punishment. Leaving the Gulf is not enough of a punishment. When BP’s CEO Tony Hayward declared that he wanted his life back, after eleven men died and after millions of barrels of oil poisoned the Gulf’s marine from BP’s clear case of gross negligence, he not only spoke for himself, he represented the sentiments of BP’s Board of Executives and stock investors. These are people who only value their own lives, not the lives of others and certainly not our country’s environment. In my opinion this piece of legislation is too lenient. It allows oil companies to kill up to nine workers in fatalities; if more than ten human lives are lost, and if environmental damages are more than $10 million, they must leave. No prison time. By contrast, Paris Hilton was caught, naughty girl, with a small amount of cocaine, a repeated offense, and she must now be punished without exception according to the Judge who ruled that she is to serve 27 days in jail. Now who do you believe is the biggest criminal: BP or Paris Hilton? I mention this to point out the huge discrepancy in the way the laws are applied, how Big Oil is above the law. The damage that BP did through gross negligence is beyond the pale: hundreds of thousands of birds and fish, whales, dolphins, turtles—have died and will continue to die for decades to come. Eleven men died from the Horizon’s explosion, but no one in the Justice Department is waving a finger at those responsible at BP for repeated crimes and offenses, no one is saying, “We gave you a chance to clean up your act; this time you’ll serve time in prison.” In any event, if they won’t throw the bums in jail, then let’s throw BP out of the country. Get out and stay out! Technorati Tags:Technorati Tags: Guest Commentary BP Justice Gulf » * Login or register to post comments * Printer-friendly version * Buzz this on Buzzflash.net Buzz this on Buzzflash.net * ShareThis Fight Ignorance: Read BuzzFlash.com
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#1. To: tom007 (#0)
Paris.
Yes, she has hurt a lot of innocent people.
#3. To: tom007 (#2)
BP was an accident. Paris funds Drug King Pins who shoot at our people on the border.
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