NEW ORLEANS (CN) - A newly consolidated RICO class action claims BP's "cocksure behavior," its history of safety violations, disregard for federal regulations and failure to inspect and maintain equipment all contributed to the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon. The class claims that BP conducted itself with an "underlying 'unconscious mind,'" and that its practice of putting profit before safety created the catastrophe.
The federal complaint adds that the relative newness of offshore drilling, the difficult geography of the Macondo well site, and the fact that BP was drilling at depths that exceeded its federal permit also contributed to the disaster.
The class claims the oil giant gambled with worker and environmental safety by cutting corners, misrepresenting intentions, using shoddy material and failing to run crucial safety inspections.
Ultimately, all those factors combined with the No. 1 cause of the disaster: that for BP, profit came before safety, according to the 91-page complaint.
The class claims BP was behind schedule and was spending $1 million a day to keep drilling the difficult Macondo well when the Deepwater Horizon exploded.
"Despite this history of catastrophes and close calls, BP has been chronically unable or unwilling to learn from its many mistakes or to give up its regular way of doing business," the complaint states. "The company's dismal safety record and disregard for prudent risk management are the results of a corporate safety culture that has been repeatedly called into question by government regulators."
The class action, released Monday, was consolidated under U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier's court as part of the oil spill multidistrict litigation. More than 300 oil spill-related lawsuits pending in Barbier's court are to be divided and consolidated into "bundles," depending on their causes of action.
On April 20, 2010, BP workers aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig lost control of the subsea well they had almost completed. When highly pressurized hydrocarbons leaked into the well, the vessel's emergency equipment failed to stop the oil and gas from blowing out of the well, which led to explosions and a fire on the Deepwater Horizon, and ultimately to the sinking of the vessel. Eleven people died and gas and oil gushed into the water unchecked for 12 weeks.
"Meanwhile, BP downplayed the severity of the spill and was, contrary to their prior claims to regulators, unprepared for the massive cleanup effort required," according to the complaint.
On May 21, President Obama established the National Oil Spill Commission on the BP Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, to examine facts and circumstances surrounding the explosion.
"A key finding of the commission was that BP repeatedly placed profits over safety, implementing procedures that greatly increased risk, primarily in order to avoid the expense of delay," according to the complaint.
According to the chairman of the investigation, "All the evidence of BP's misguided priorities and imprudent decisions regarding the Macondo well and the Deepwater Horizon described above is part of a pattern of cocksure behavior -a 'culture of complacency,'" according to the complaint.
Deepwater offshore drilling is an "immensely complex, technical process, and a relatively new one that has only developed over the last five years," the complaint states.
In emails weeks before the blowout, BP employees referred to the Macondo well as a "crazy," "nightmare" well, and indicated a sense of resignation about safety procedures, the class claims. It cites an email from BP official Brett Cocales in which he admits using less equipment than was necessary: "'who cares, it's done, end of story, will probably be fine.'"
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Showing posts with label Leaked Emails. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leaked Emails. Show all posts
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Monday, January 31, 2011
In Messages, Lobbyist Says DeLay Pressed for Donation
WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 - Newly disclosed e-mail messages from the lobbyist Jack Abramoff show that he told an Indian tribe client that he was being pressured by Representative Tom DeLay for a contribution for a $25,000-a-table Republican fund-raiser and that Mr. DeLay had personally phoned the lobbyist's office in search of the money
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EXCLUSIVE EMAILS: Jack Abramoff Describes Relationship With President Bush
ThinkProgress has obtained emails written by Jack Abramoff in which the fallen lobbyist personally describes his relationship with President Bush. They depict a relationship far more extensive than has been previously reported.
The emails written by Abramoff was addressed to Kim Eisler, the national editor of Washingtonian magazine. The Washingtonian recently reported on the existence of several photographs showing Abramoff and Bush together. Eisler is also the author of Revenge of the Pequots, a book about tribal politics for which Abramoff was interviewed.
In the emails, Abramoff describes meeting Bush “in almost a dozen settings,” and details how he was personally invited to President Bush’s private ranch in Crawford, Texas, for a gathering of Bush fundraisers in 2003. Abramoff did not attend, citing a religious observance.
Abramoff emailed Eisler about his invitation to Crawford and his decision not to attend:
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The emails written by Abramoff was addressed to Kim Eisler, the national editor of Washingtonian magazine. The Washingtonian recently reported on the existence of several photographs showing Abramoff and Bush together. Eisler is also the author of Revenge of the Pequots, a book about tribal politics for which Abramoff was interviewed.
In the emails, Abramoff describes meeting Bush “in almost a dozen settings,” and details how he was personally invited to President Bush’s private ranch in Crawford, Texas, for a gathering of Bush fundraisers in 2003. Abramoff did not attend, citing a religious observance.
Abramoff emailed Eisler about his invitation to Crawford and his decision not to attend:
NO, IT WAS THAT I WOULD HAVE HAD TO TRAVEL ON SATURDAY (SHABBOS). YES, I WAS INVITED, DURING THE 2004 CAMPAIGN. IT WAS SATURDAY AUGUST 9, 2003 AT THE RANCH IN CRAWFORD.The White House has continually downplayed the relationship between Abramoff and President Bush. At a January 26 press conference, President Bush said “You know, I, frankly, don’t even remember having my picture taken with the guy. I don’t know him.”
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McCain Withheld Controversial Abramoff Email
In the 2006 Senate report concerning Abramoff's activities, which McCain spearheaded, the Arizona Republican conspicuously left out information detailing how Alabama Gov. Bob Riley was targeted by Abramoff's influence peddling scheme. Riley, a Republican, won election in November 2002, and was reelected in 2006.
In a December 2002 email obtained by the Huffington Post -- which McCain and his staff had access to prior to the issuance of his report -- Abramoff explains to an aide what he would like to see Riley do in return for the "help" he received from Abramoff's tribal clients.
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In a December 2002 email obtained by the Huffington Post -- which McCain and his staff had access to prior to the issuance of his report -- Abramoff explains to an aide what he would like to see Riley do in return for the "help" he received from Abramoff's tribal clients.
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She knows who they are
Don’t under-estimate the pressure from the top, as Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown stands by her suggestion that under-performing city councilors must find ways to improve their performance.
The mayor stayed calm after discovering that a councilor had leaked one of her emails to the media. She told the New Tasman blog: “I am aware of which councillors may have an interest in disruption rather than creativity now they are back from holiday. But I don’t intend to worry about who spread this around.”
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The mayor stayed calm after discovering that a councilor had leaked one of her emails to the media. She told the New Tasman blog: “I am aware of which councillors may have an interest in disruption rather than creativity now they are back from holiday. But I don’t intend to worry about who spread this around.”
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Leaked emails cast doubt on dam operation
A series of leaked emails suggests the floods that devastated parts of Brisbane would have been less severe if operators had not allowed water to build to high levels in the Wivenhoe Dam before severe rain drenched the region
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Integrity commissioner condemns email leak
Mississauga's integrity commissioner hasn't been able to determine who leaked two internal emails to The National Post, but he says the distribution of one of them to the newspaper constitutes a "clear breach of confidentiality ... bordering on contempt."
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SNP minister reported over leaked email
Education Secretary Michael Russell has been referred to the Scottish Parliament’s Standards Commissioner after he was accused of interfering in a council’s plans for rural school closures.
Mr Russell was referred after leaked emails showed he intervened personally with SNP councillors in Argyll and Bute over their proposed support for a package of school closures
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Mr Russell was referred after leaked emails showed he intervened personally with SNP councillors in Argyll and Bute over their proposed support for a package of school closures
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Climate science must move on from UK email scandal
LONDON, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Reviews last year of a scandal over scientists' leaked emails correctly ruled out data manipulation and showed it was time for climate science to move on, a panel of UK lawmakers said on Tuesday. It is the fourth British review of a scandal dubbed "climategate" which had partly involved the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit, based in eastern England.
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Starbucks, Kraft emails show coffee spat not new
Starbucks says repeatedly told Kraft about deal concerns
* CEO emails in January discuss problems in grocery
* Kraft says emails "selectively leaked"
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* CEO emails in January discuss problems in grocery
* Kraft says emails "selectively leaked"
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Leaked Internal Emails Show Microsoft Overstated Windows Live Spaces Numbers
Joe Wilcox at BetaNews has posted a must-read article in the wake of the announcement – made at TechCrunch Disrupt SF – that the Redmond software giant would be transitioning all its Windows Live Spaces users to Automattic‘s WordPress.com platform.
You may recall Dharmesh Mehta, Director of Product Management for Windows Live, stating that there were roughly 30 million active Windows Live Spaces accounts.
Wilcox, however, has managed to obtain internal e-mail messages exchanged between (yet unnamed) Microsoft employees that suggest far lower numbers.
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You may recall Dharmesh Mehta, Director of Product Management for Windows Live, stating that there were roughly 30 million active Windows Live Spaces accounts.
Wilcox, however, has managed to obtain internal e-mail messages exchanged between (yet unnamed) Microsoft employees that suggest far lower numbers.
However, according to a senior Microsoft manger e-mailing colleagues: “The net is: 300k sites are expected to migrate of the 30M ‘blogs’ — most are dead. WordPress is adding somewhere in the order of zero servers to handle this capacity. This was a ‘who has the best online service for blogging for our customers’ and had nothing to do with technology.”Ouch – so basically most of the 30 million so-called active blogs are in reality dead, and Microsoft expects a mere 300,000 sites to effectively migrate to WordPress.com (which currently hosts just south of 14 million blogs).
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Thursday, January 27, 2011
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