Sunday, June 20, 2010

What the AP Missed on BP

A summary piece on BP's oil spew had multiple omissions, even errors. They are:

The panel (spill commission) appointed by President Barack Obama to investigate the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has yet to meet, yet some panel members are making their views known, with one member blogging about it regularly.

Five commissioners are experts in policy and management. The White House said the commission will focus on the government's "too cozy" relationship with the oil industry.

Two of the five commissioners are paid by organizations with significant BP ties. The AP didn't say co-chair William Reilly controls over $2 million in stock in ConocoPhillips, a joint venture partner with BP in the massive Tiber field in the Gulf of Mexico. It also failed to mention Fran Ulmer's work for the University of Alaska-Anchorage, the $30 million beneficiary of BP and ConocoPhillips largess.

As for the commission's charge, President Obama said they would look at the causes of the accident. The AP didn't note Interior Secretary Ken Salazar bailed on that with his 30 day investigative report.

The AP also reported on the huge decline in the shrimp catch:

Biologist Marty Bourgeois says preliminary figures show 4.1 million pounds of headless shrimp landed last month. That's two-thirds below last year's May catch of 17.4 million pounds.

The shrimp drop is 76%, or over three-quarters.

The spill is now in Matt Simmons' territory, with unimpeded flow at up to 100,000 bpd. Maybe the AP or Thad Allen will catch up.

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