A Few Points
Gulf of Mexico:
I think we can all agree that what has happened in the Gulf of Mexico is a tragedy, 11 people have died, an there is a good bit of damage to the ecosystem.
However I have a problem with people who say this proves that BP and other Oil Companies are evil, and that BP is not really trying to fix the hole.
Admittedly, none of their ideas have yet to yield fruit, but there may be a reason for that; It is entirely possible that they are doing the things that they are doing because they don't want to be seen as doing nothing. Because: "It is more noble to try and fail than not to try at all." Really how would it have been perceived if they had spent the past month doing nothing but saying “We’re thinking up a solution.”
I believe it is possible that they are doing these things while they work on ideas that have a better chance of success.
Then there is the nuke idea, which basically calls for using a nuclear device to seal the 30” hole. Problem is, BP can’t do that. That would be a solution that would have to be employed by the US Government. This is the solution that I tend to favor, even though it involves the Government in a sector which, I believe, doesn’t concern them. Although in the interest of full disclosure, one of my favorite movie quotes is "Take off and Nuke it from orbit, it's the only ay to be sure."
At this moment they are trying a few solutions that could help in the short and long term.
Israeli Blockade
I love how the Israeli raid on the Flotilla heading for Gaza has been called a massacre. I find it absolutely astonishing that this action, enforcing a blockade, has been drummed up this much.
It appears that when Israeli forces boarded the lead ship they were attacked by men armed with baseball bats, knives and slingshots loaded with metal balls. According to Israeli sources the boarding team was armed with mostly nonlethal weapons. They acknowledge that they had pistols, but according to one source “…never expected to use [the pistols].” Israel says that the troops roped down from helicopters and were immediately attacked, and several had they pistols taken from them.
Reports state that coming into the hospitals several soldiers and passengers had gunshot wounds as well as bruises. It is entirely possible and even probable that the attacks against the Israeli soldiers were perpetrated by a small portion of the ships 500+ passengers. However when you start fighting back you’re probably going to hit people who have done nothing because you’re mad. This was supposed to be a relatively simple and peaceful mission, the group that set up the flotilla is supposed to be one of the very peaceful groups, but I guess that’s like saying Christianity and Islam are religions of peace, however that’s an entirely different subject.
I believe that Israel is in the right, at least as far as stopping those ships is concerned. Israel is attempting to maintain a blockade of a hostile territory. A blockade is only effective if you prevent ships from entering the blockaded ports.
Also the flotilla suffered a better fate than most failed blockade runners. During the American Civil War, while Southern ports were blockaded, most blockade runners were either sunk or captured and sold as prizes. During the World Wars, when German was using U-Boats to try and blockade Britain, they sank every ship that they could that was carrying supplies to the beleaguered British. So they were detained, and might loose their ships, at least they have their lives.
4 years ago
