Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group I was going to put this in the Asylum, but....

thank you kat and michelle

watching a program about all this, one thought seemed to make sense to me. that they would carry out a process for which they do not have the technology to recover from a mistake, as is happening now. would think they'd only proceed with something so risky if they had the ability to handle a crisis, but as can be seen, that was not the case. that just seems wrong, though i understand why they do it: money.

but agree with you, focus on stopping oil leak and cleaning up where energy will do the most good. though can also understand holding someone accountable once things are under control. good that some are focussed on clean up.

I'd like to bring up the point that we should NEVER expect a corporation to act in a manner of anything other than making a profit. That is precisely what they are solely set up to do, make a profit. Despite the current US law under which they are to be viewed in our legal system as individuals, a "right" that they have demonstrated to take full advantage of, at every turn-

If a corporation were to deliberately sacrifice their profits for the sake of humanitarian causes, they could be liable and be forced to answer from their shareholders, who would not be pleased (i.e. sell their shares) when they find out their 401K retirement funds are being used in such a way!

although many corporations present themselves as doing just that, methinks we should be very suspicious when they make those claims, and would like to see the wording of some of those ads say: "A portion of a portion of a portion of a portion of your purchase is being donated to XX"

It's been well known that in many cases the companies spend more on the PR & advertising to brag about their so-called goodwill, than the actual contributions themselves!

sorry, I am just a cynic sometimes...

Following this story now, the news just keeps getting worse, corporate collusion with our government is getting exposed, a little at a time, on a daily basis-

I'm starting to really wonder, if the efforts being made now, the chemical agents, the dome to cover the drill site, etc are in part stall tactics, as from what I read, the only method that has been proven to absolutely work against deep-sea drilling accidents, is relief drilling- yes more deep-sea drilling rigs, strategically placed to hit the same underground oil rivers, which will cause the Horizon site pressure outflow to decrease, and yes, allow that oil to be retained and turned into profit (construction on those rigs has already begun, I hear, to take another month, by then it will sound like a really good idea!!)

One of the problems, from a government view, as I see it, is that government officials, so called "experts", invariably come from the private sector, where they were successful in their fields, whether that was Wall Street (Goldman Sachs) or the oil business (Halliburton, our ex Vice Pres) and as a result, they retain financial connections and conflicts of interest to those industries. This seems an almost impossible problem to solve, who would have more credibility than someone who was a successful leader in their profession?

But to attract them to a government position, with a government wage (i.e. a huge salary cut), and to legislate that they can't continue to be making profits from their connections...well you can try to propose that, but you've just lost the interest of a lot of CEO's!

More than SOME are focused on the cleanup EVERYONE down here is focused on the clean-up...this is where we live...

Yeah, Dow, you're on the money about for-profit companies, in these situations, the guy that you see on television, explaining the situation and making all the promises isn't usually the one that's calling the shots...the public rarely gets to see who's actually running the show...

aloha Kat

bravo, kid.

i so wish there were smart solutions to this mess. this is a catastrophe far beyond epic porportions...it's cherynoble; bp's or obama's is yet to be seen.

i think the us govt has been so just plain stooooopid about this,
i don't want an investigation; i want it fixed... but then it really can't be fixed (there is still oil on the beaches of alaska).

all the best to you
thanks
pu liki mau

Hey Ben, as you point out, at this time, it really doesn't matter who caused it (BP did ultimately), but getting it fixed. Problem is, the people down there are feeling really abandoned by the government already because of Katrina and Rita and the aftermath of those hurricanes. Now this. It's just become more than some can bear.

Perhaps it's time the UN stepped in when it comes to drilling in international waters. Someone has to. It's becoming increasingly common, and from this disaster, it is clear that nobody is observing or implementing, or forcing implementation, of the protocols required for safety. They're putting one of these things in the waters 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland. I pray they learn from this and implement all the safety protocols. I fear, however, that the Great God Economy will rule the day once more and they won't bother. I don't know what we should or can do about it, other than refusing to ever use petroleum products again.

We all know what a pipe dream that is.

Warm hugs,

What can I say except.. WOW.

As ever, very wise words Stormy - thank you.


We should all take care to ensure we remain respectful in the manner in which we express our views, particularly when a subject elicits such strong feelings in so many.

Thank you,
mig

just simply meant some outside the area, like what kat and her sweetie are doing, they don't live down there, and yet are also helping.