|
Thom's blog
BP put profits ahead of safety
That's what Justice Department Attorney Mike Underhill argued yesterday, in the first phase of the trial that could force the oil giant to pay tens of billions more in damages for the 2010 Gulf oil disaster. According to the Associated Press, BP has already racked up $24 billion in spill-related expenses and $4 billion in criminal penalties, but could face up to $18 billion more under the Clean Water Act, and additional fines if found grossly negligent in the high-stakes civil trial. The liability of the rig owner Transocean and cement contractor Halliburton are also at issue in the trial's first phase.
During opening arguments yesterday, the three companies pointed fingers at each other in a triangle of blame, but BP received the brunt of accusations, from its partners and other plaintiffs in the case. The Justice Department's Mike Underhill piled on, saying, “Despite BP's attempts to shift the blame to other parties, by far the primary fault for the disaster belongs to BP.”
This first phase of trial is designed to determine what caused the blowout and determine responsibility of each of the three companies. This phase could last as long as three months, as the case involves hundreds of attorneys, 90 million pages of documents, and more than 300 depositions from witnesses. Once this phase is complete, the second phase of trial will determine how much crude oil actually spilled into the Gulf.
This trial is one of the most complex and costly civil cases our nation has ever seen, and it will be months before we see an outcome. Although no amount of money can ever fully repair the damage done to the Gulf, or bring back the 11 people who died on the rig, at least we'll finally see BP, Transocean, and Halliburton have to answer for the largest environmental disaster in our nation's history.
-Thom
(What do you think? Tell us here.)
|
|
|
Tonight on The Big Picture on RT TV at 7pm and 9pm... Big Brother is watching... (check your local listings for stations or stream at RT, and catch past shows on Youtube)
The Best of the Rest...
Big Brother is watching...- Brian Doherty, Reason magazine and Reason.com, author "Ron Paul's Revolution: The Man and the Movement He Inspired" - Shahid Buttar, Bill of Rights Defense Committee & the People’s Campaign for the Constitution (PCC)
Meet your new teacher...Ayn Rand!
Daily Take: Bush V Gore - took away your right to vote! (Pt. 1)
|
|
|
|
|
Monday's Daily Stack
Hour One: Why do conservatives hate pre-school?- Carrie Lukas, Independent Women's Forum
The Big Picture- Sam Sacks, The Big Picture producer, progressive commentator
Hour Two: Should we move to a new monetary system?- Dr. Stephanie Kelton, University of Missouri-Kansas City / New Economic Perspectives
Hour Three: Best of the Rest
Speech: " First State of the Union Address" by George W. Bush, 2001. " Many of you have talked about the need to pay down our national debt. I listened, and I agree."
|
|
Tuesday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 3-6pm ET
Hour One: Meet your new teacher - Ayn Rand!
Hour Two: The real reason conservatives want Obama to give up on green energy- Diana Furchtgott-Roth, Manhattan Institute, former Chief Economist of the U.S. Dept of Labor
Hour Three: Bush V Gore - took away your right to vote!
And, the best of the rest of the news and your calls right here on...
The Thom Hartmann Program...your media support group for "we the people"...
|
|
Wednesday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 3-6pm ET
It's an issue that has some progressives as well as libertarians concerned about our privacy rights...biometric ID...ever heard of it? Ever had one? I'll be talking with Chris Calabrese of the ACLU and David Biers of the Competitive Enterprise Institute...
Plus, the best of the rest of the news along with your calls right here on...
The Thom Hartmann Program, Occupying The Media 3 hours a day 5 days a week" for "we the people"...Democracy is NOT a spectator sport...it begins with you...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thom's Poll
Are you surprised by the SCOTUS decision on FISA?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Watch & Listen to Thom
TSA Now Targeting Disabled Toddlers...
Crazy Alert! A good ending to a porn theft....
The Good, The Bad, And the Very, Very Teleophobically Ugly...
Are Cats Leaving New Zealand for good?
NRA's Newest Conspiracy Theory on Obama
How gun violence & improving the economy go together...
Will the GOP plan to rig elections in Michigan work?
Dr. Richard Wolf - DC's Dangerous Game
Or watch the Full "Big Picture" Show...
Full Show 2/25/13: TSA Now Traumatizing Disabled Toddlers in Strollers
Thom talks with economist Richard Wolff on the parallels of Europe's austerity cuts and our looming sequester cuts. Also discussed: GOP electoral college rigging, how increasing the minimum wage will save lives and what the NRA is doing with a leaked White House memo on gun control. In tonight's "Daily Take" Thom discusses the latest war on terror victim courtesy of the TSA.
Thom Hartmann on The News: February 25, 2013
A Balanced Budget is Not Necessarily Good
The US is Nowhere Near Inflation!
The Price of Oil & The Decline of The Dollar
What is Modern Monetary Theory?
Why Do Conservatives Hate Pre-School?
|
|
Show Info
Call Thom on the show at 1-866-987-THOM (8466) (0870 974 9686 from the UK, +1 503 796 2324 from outside the US or UK).
Sign up for Thom's podcasts.
Come on over to the free chat room, where Thom hangs out during the show.
Join in the discussions on Thom's free message board.
Blog or upload videos or audios at Thom's community.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Would you like to help give a child with a very troubled background this feeling of peace? Thom and Louise Hartmann founded the New England Salem Children's Village (NESCV) in New Hampshire in 1979. With states delaying payment for the children they entrust to the village, they need help with cash flow. Can you help? Now on Facebook.
|
|
|