Thad Allen: BP Risk Manager

The government announced new rules keeping the media away from the oil spill. Violators will be charged with a felony and face substantial fines, up to $40,000. Thad Allen's transparency promise rings hollow. Despite his estimating deficiencies, Allen excels at managing BP's liability risk.

This isn't the first time a government disaster expert conducted corporate risk management. The Bush White House omitted the hospital with the highest death toll from its Katrina Lessons Learned report, crafted by Frances Townsend. The beneficiaries of that omission were oily Tenet Healthcare (10 deaths) and The Carlyle Group's LifeCare Hospitals (25 deaths).

The BP/U.S. Department of Oil Spew Misinformation continues. Change looks remarkably the same.