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Why hasn't Obama called for the suspension of the Jones Act which keeps some of the best and most modern and advanced foreign owned ships from helping in the Gulf?
Some of these countries say they have offered to help by bringing their ships to the Gulf to collect oil from the waters there..... but cannot help out.
The president could do this with an Executive Order....
Really makes you wonder (The unions are opposed; they really love the Jones Act).
Within days of the oil spill, several European nations and thirteen countries in total apparently offered the Obama administration ships to assist in the clean-up of the Gulf. When asked about this, a State Department press spokesman refused to identify any offers of assistance.
According to one newspaper, European firms could complete the task in four months, rather than an estimated nine months if done only by the U.S. Working with the U.S., the cleanup could be accomplished in three months. The Belgian firm DEME contends it can clean up the oil with accuracy at a depth of 2,000 meters. Another European firm with capabilities is the Belgian firm Jan De Nul Group. There are also Dutch companies with similar special equipment capable of accelerating cleaning-up the Gulf. The Belgians and the Dutch are also long time NATO allies and as such partners in international security cooperation.
According to the article, no U.S. companies have the ships which can accomplish this task is because those ships would cost twice as much to build in the U.S. as they do outside the country. This is one adverse impact of the Jones Act, which Congress passed in 1920s. This piece of protectionism has only hampered an anemic American maritime industry. It also has prevented a quicker response to the oil spill. European firms do have the expertise to clean up the spill.
To Save the Gulf, Send the Jones Act to Davy Jones Locker
Detonation would seal it. Might have to be a nuclear detonation, but the loss of marine life would be no worse than what we're going to have to endure anyway.
I would have ordered the Navy in there about week 2 and sealed it off for good, but then again, I don't have a standing tee time with my buddies either..
This was the first thing I thought about a week into the spill: Nuc it.
Why hasn't Obama called for the suspension of the Jones Act which keeps some of the best and most modern and advanced foreign owned ships from helping in the Gulf?
<SNIP>
Some of these countries say they have offered to help by bringing their ships to the Gulf to collect oil from the waters there..... but cannot help out.
makes you wonder (the heritage foundation is opposed to the act; they hate the jones act)
the fact of the matter is that the jones act has little or nothing to do with cleaning up the oil spill and that international boats have been involved from the inception. the jones act relegates port to port shipping to american fleets.
Obama should have doe whatever he could to plug the fucking leak.
Instead he did nothing.
Another fact free post from wingnut who has NO IDEA what Obama could have done.
I predicted the wingnuts would have no realistic ideas, and I was right so far
<SNIP>
Questions: Why hasn't the president put a single person in charge of coordinating the entire effort?
Why hasn't the president even talked to the Chief Operating Officer of BP, while at this late date he is going to sit down with the board of directors?
Why does the administration make threatening gestures to BP like threatening to bring criminal charges, and demanding suspension of dividends to shareholders which drives down the share price and the efficacy of the corporation?
Don't they realize that if they drive BP to bankruptcy that the taxpayers will have to make up any financial shortfall?
Everything the Administration does seems to be political (Unions?) and an "ad hoc" response rather than being coherent and organized around what they can actually accomplish immediately to help the Gulf region. The Bush administration would've had a cogent and organized approach, at least talking to people who understand oil technology. Wouldn't that have given us a foot up? These deficiencies and mis-directed efforts are reflected in why people in the Gulf give the president a "D" so far in HIS performance. They seem to understand that suspending deep drilling operations hurts them a lot more than it helps.
The president should make himself available to a press conference right now and take questions we all want the answers to.
<SNIP>
Questions: Why hasn't the president put a single person in charge of coordinating the entire effort?
Why hasn't the president even talked to the Chief Operating Officer of BP, while at this late date he is going to sit down with the board of directors?
Why does the administration make threatening gestures to BP like threatening to bring criminal charges, and demanding suspension of dividends to shareholders which drives down the share price and the efficacy of the corporation?
Don't they realize that if they drive BP to bankruptcy that the taxpayers will have to make up any financial shortfall?
Everything the Administration does seems to be political (Unions?) and an "ad hoc" response rather than being coherent and organized around what they can actually accomplish immediately to help the Gulf region. The Bush administration would've had a cogent and organized approach, at least talking to people who understand oil technology. Wouldn't that have given us a foot up? These deficiencies and mis-directed efforts are reflected in why people in the Gulf give the president a "D" so far in HIS performance. They seem to understand that suspending deep drilling operations hurts them a lot more than it helps.
The president should make himself available to a press conference right now and take questions we all want the answers to.
To continue with this theme...
We need answers:
Why did the president take 12 days before a Cabinet Level Official visited the Gulf?
What's going on with doctoring a signed document from the Academy of Engineers after they signed it, distorting their intent on the desirability of shutting down deep wells in the Gulf?
The seven experts who advised President Obama on how to deal with offshore drilling safety after the Deepwater Horizon explosion are accusing Obama administration of misrepresenting their views to make it appear that they supported a six-month drilling moratorium -- something they actually oppose.
The experts, recommended by the National Academy of Engineering, say Interior Secretary Ken Salazar modified their report last month, after they signed it, to include two paragraphs calling for the moratorium on existing drilling and new permits.
Salazar's report to Obama said a panel of seven experts "peer reviewed" his recommendations, which included a six-month moratorium on permits for new wells being drilled using floating rigs and an immediate halt to drilling operations.
"None of us actually reviewed the memorandum as it is in the report," oil expert Ken Arnold told Fox News. "What was in the report at the time it was reviewed was quite a bit different in its impact to what there is now. So we wanted to distance ourselves from that recommendation."
(Salazar apologized to the experts Thursday)
On the subject of shutting down deep wells in operation in the Gulf: Scientists and engineers say shutting down these wells is far more dangerous than allowing them to continue in operation. Its a lot like interrupting surgery; things can go wrong, the risks are multiplied.
Instead, it seems to me, the prudent course of action wouldve been to simply review the records of each and every Gulf deep well, and to have acted according to any revelations from those records and existing conditions.
He's a Coast Guard Admiral and admininstrator. From watching his briefings, it apears he could use some help, If there were a higher level coordinator the effort wouldn't seem so chaotic, incoherent, and incomplete.<SNIP>
On the subject of shutting down deep wells in operation in the Gulf: Scientists and engineers say shutting down these wells is far more dangerous than allowing them to continue in operation. It’s a lot like interrupting surgery; things can go wrong, the risks are multiplied.
Instead, it seems to me, the prudent course of action would’ve been to simply review the records of each and every Gulf deep well, and to have acted according to any revelations from those records and existing conditions.
Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen was there since day one. Are you saying he is as incompetent as "horse show judge" Brownie?
Why hasn't Obama called for the suspension of the Jones Act which keeps some of the best and most modern and advanced foreign owned ships from helping in the Gulf?
<SNIP>
Some of these countries say they have offered to help by bringing their ships to the Gulf to collect oil from the waters there..... but cannot help out.
makes you wonder (the heritage foundation is opposed to the act; they hate the jones act)
the fact of the matter is that the jones act has little or nothing to do with cleaning up the oil spill and that international boats have been involved from the inception. the jones act relegates port to port shipping to american fleets.
" Some of the best clean up ships owned by Belgian, Dutch and the Norwegian firms are NOT being used. Coast Guard Lt. Commander, Chris ONeil, says that is because they do not meet the operational requirements of the Unified Area Command. One of those operational requirements is that vessels comply with the Jones Act.
"Yes, it does apply, said ONeil, I have heard no discussions of waivers.
Waivers to the Jones Act were granted by the administration of George W. Bush in the days following hurricane Katrina. And today, the Obama White House said waivers might again be considered.
If there is the need for any type of waiver, that would obviously be granted, said White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs. But, we've not had that problem thus far.
Democratic Senator Bill Nelson is not so sure about that. Hes hearing from the folks back home in Florida, where they want all the skimmer ships they can get. He sent a letter to Admiral Thad Allen today which read in part:
Admiral, I believe the orange mousse of oil that is now in Floridas waters is more than enough evidence that we need to take advantage of every appropriate global resource. Please advise as to whether we are taking full advantage of the offers of assistance from other countries.
When asked about this by Fox News, Admiral Allen said, If it gets to the point where a Jones Act waiver is required, we're willing to do that too. Nobody has come to me with a request for a Jones Act waiver.
After 50 plus days of oil flowing freely into the gulf, the question could be asked: Why do effective and proven foreign clean up ships remain on the sidelines? Carafano believes it may have something to do with the Obama administrations close relationship with labor unions.
Cause this is a big thing for unions, Carafano said. The unions see it as protecting jobs. They hate when the Jones Act gets waived, and they pound on politicians when they do that. So are we giving in to unions and not doing everything we can, or is there some kind of impediment that we don't know about?
If the Obama Administration needs an example of what can happen when global assets are allowed to tackle a massive oil spill, they need look no further than Saudi Aramcos clean up of a massive wartime spill off the Kuwaiti coast in 1991. Aramco summoned every available ship to assist in the cleanup. The company claims it recovered 900,000 barrels of oil in roughly three months. The industry views that effort as the gold standard in oil spill cleanups."
Jones Act Slowing Oil Spill Cleanup? Liveshots
Questions: Why hasn't the president put a single person in charge of coordinating the entire effort?
Why hasn't the president even talked to the Chief Operating Officer of BP, while at this late date he is going to sit down with the board of directors?
Why does the administration make threatening gestures to BP like threatening to bring criminal charges, and demanding suspension of dividends to shareholders which drives down the share price and the efficacy of the corporation?
Don't they realize that if they drive BP to bankruptcy that the taxpayers will have to make up any financial shortfall?
Everything the Administration does seems to be political (Unions?) and an "ad hoc" response rather than being coherent and organized around what they can actually accomplish immediately to help the Gulf region. The Bush administration would've had a cogent and organized approach, at least talking to people who understand oil technology. Wouldn't that have given us a foot up? These deficiencies and mis-directed efforts are reflected in why people in the Gulf give the president a "D" so far in HIS performance. They seem to understand that suspending deep drilling operations hurts them a lot more than it helps.
The president should make himself available to a press conference right now and take questions we all want the answers to.
Obama should have doe whatever he could to plug the fucking leak.
Instead he did nothing.
Another fact free post from wingnut who has NO IDEA what Obama could have done.
I predicted the wingnuts would have no realistic ideas, and I was right so far
Well of course not. Only 6% of scientists are Republican. They have no clue and no education. The only thing they know for sure is that Obama is "black" and living in the "White" House.
Seriously, you want to ask "these" people for "ideas"?
norwegian vessels Boa Sub C, Ocean Intervention III and Skandi Neptune have been working with BP as early as april 20. these are among many foreign vessels operating in aid of this issue. the Deep Sea Horizon is a foreign vessel operating in US waters. it is flagged marianas or something. the jones act is a regulation regarding US port -to- US port shipment of goods. that has nothing to do with who BP has contracted to help them with their mess.
foreign vessels constitute the majority of ships working in the offshore oil industry in the Gulf.
His role ought to be more involved than it is at the present. His total absence contributes to the Administrations problems in this debacleantagon: FEMA dude has got to be a suicidal wreck
And: Why the delay in issuing EPA permits to dredge and build berms? Where are the booms to contain the oil and prevent it from reaching the coasts and marshes?
And: Why the delay in issuing EPA permits to dredge and build berms? Where are the booms to contain the oil and prevent it from reaching the coasts and marshes?
Do you really think anything would have been different if John McCain were President?
I honestly do not.
In other words, don't blame Obama for the inaction, blame the system.
Immie
And: Why the delay in issuing EPA permits to dredge and build berms? Where are the booms to contain the oil and prevent it from reaching the coasts and marshes?
Do you really think anything would have been different if John McCain were President?
I honestly do not.
In other words, don't blame Obama for the inaction, blame the system.
Immie
And: Why the delay in issuing EPA permits to dredge and build berms? Where are the booms to contain the oil and prevent it from reaching the coasts and marshes?
Do you really think anything would have been different if John McCain were President?
I honestly do not.
In other words, don't blame Obama for the inaction, blame the system.
Immie
Immie, you honestly don't believe that a man 70 years of age with naval and aeronatics experience, and 30 years in congress and the senate would have the same limitations as a junior senator with 2 years in that body, and whose prior experience was a state senator who voted "present" as often as yea or nay?
And: Why the delay in issuing EPA permits to dredge and build berms? Where are the booms to contain the oil and prevent it from reaching the coasts and marshes?
Do you really think anything would have been different if John McCain were President?
I honestly do not.
In other words, don't blame Obama for the inaction, blame the system.
Immie
That's b'loney.
I don't recall saying McCain would do better, but it's quite likely he would have handled crisis management in a much more expeditious fashion. The system doesn't have to work on autopilot.
