PHOTOS, PAGE 1

       Editor and prime reporter is Doug Terry, a veteran television and radio reporter in   Washington, DC, (details below)

UPDATE (6.4.10) Recent reports have indicated that BP is not “in charge” of the airspace, but have failed to support that conclusion. BP, at minimum, appears to have had (and might still have) de facto control of the airspace, saying who could and could not enter and then passing along the orders to the Coast Guard. In any case, this is one of many matters that need serious, deep investigation as the world’s largest oil spill continues.

President Obama was just on national television less than two hours ago trying to reassure the nation that the Federal government is, in fact, in charge of the oil clean up on the Gulf of Mexico and carefully measuring the actions of BP to make sure it does its job quickly, without hindrance or delay. Yeah? Then who the hell put British Petroleum in charge of a vast area of air space over the spill zone in the Gulf? This makes Obama’s words of calm reassurance into a bit of a joke. Here’s a clip from a Newsweek.com story about limiting access by journalists to the disaster area:

Since the flight restrictions were expanded on May 11, private aircraft must get permission from BP’s command center to fly over a huge portion of the Gulf of Mexico encompassing not just the growing slick in the Gulf, but the entire Louisiana coastline, where oil is washing ashore. If a request is denied, aircraft must stay 3,000 feet above the restricted area, where visibility is minimal.

One of Obama’s persistent points at the White House news conference this afternoon was that the Federal government does not have better technology or engineers than BP to handle the task of shutting down the well. Since when does BP have better technology, or judgment, to act as an air traffic controller over American air space?

BP, as the Newsweek article makes clear, is restricting photographer’s access to the worst sites in the massive spill zone. It is in BP’s corporate interest to do so. Why is the US government allowing the company that created this environmental disaster, along with local governments in the area, to limit how it is covered? Somebody with real power in Washington should go down to Louisiana and rip the power cords out of whatever radios and radar BP is using to control the air space. Then, put the government in charge and keep it that way.

This is just one more example of how, no matter what they say, the White House is not on top of this problem. Instead, they are acting like a bunch of middle school boys pointing fingers at the other guy: he made this mess, he’s the one who should clean it up. This is not nearly good enough.

Want to know what really happened in the Gulf? Here it is, in order:

1. The Minerals Management agency of the Interior Department was captured by the oil companies years ago. They ceased being effective regulators and became buddies, big time, with big oil.

2. New technologies were developed which allowed ever deeper oil wells in ever deeper water. Problem was, the control techniques had never been tried in an emergency so very deep, where the pressure is very high and the water very, very cold. It is a difficult, hostile environment were only robot subs can go and work.

3. The oil companies assured Washington, DC, that everything would be fine in an emergency, that they had back-ups for back-ups. They were wrong or they lied, maybe both. They want the oil, the money and the power and they took chances, at our expense.

4. The White House has never gotten out far enough in front of this disaster to see what it needed to do. They’ve been relying on the Interior Department and the Coast Guard. As we have seen in other dire situations, this is not nearly good enough. The procedure lower down in government is to paper over problems, try to come up with modest solutions and hope things work out. This is way off the mark of what the White House, and the country, needed in this situation.

5. BP’s response has not taken on a drastic, war time tone or effort. If they could try pumping in drilling mud now, why not three weeks ago? Why not have these “solutions” lined up and ready to go one after another in a matter of days, not weeks? Why? Well, the stakes are different for a private company. Everything that could be brought to bear should have been put into the Gulf, sparing no effort or expense. Only the White House can order up that kind of effort.

Doug Terry. 5.27.10

Here is another clip from the Newsweek article:

Photographers who have traveled to the Gulf commonly say they believe that BP has exerted more control over coverage of the spill with the cooperation of the federal government and local law enforcement. “It’s a running joke among the journalists covering the story that the words “Coast Guard” affixed to any vehicle, vessel, or plane should be prefixed with “BP”,  says Charlie Varley, a Louisiana-based photographer. “It would be funny if it were not so serious.”

The problem, as many members of the press see it, is that even when access is granted, it’s done so under the strict oversight of BP and Coast Guard personnel. Reporters and photographers are escorted by BP officials on BP-contracted boats and aircraft. So the company is able to determine what reporters see and when they see it.

More details at Newsweek.com

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