Right W. co-worker just said to me why didn't Obama let the Dutch

[rainy]

come over with their ships and help clean up. Said they have been offering for a month. I really didn't know anything about it so what should I have said?

[Zoeisright]

1. Ask him why Bush didn't ask the Dutch for help during Katrina.

And then ask him why Cheney and Bush were allowed to deregulate the oil industry, and then ignore the regulations that were already in place, which CAUSED THIS MESS IN THE FIRST PLACE.

[Nay]

26. Or, better, why Bush REFUSED aid from Canada the day after

the storm. I was in Vancouver BC at the time of Katrina, and the papers were full of stories about the planeful of relief workers, search dogs, inflatables, etc. that was TURNED AWAY from NO. They ended up landing in Mississippi, I think, and asking a local sheriff if he wanted help -- he, of course, said YES, and they were able to help in that state.

[Narraback]

2. Some info

http://www.pensitoreview.com/2010/06/16/palin-lies-about-obama-refusing-foreign-assistance-in-gulf/

[MineralMan]

3. Tell him that the Dutch skimmers are in the Gulf, skimming oil

right now. They were put off because it wasn't clear that they'd be needed at the beginning of this disaster. That was incorrect. They are needed, and they're here. Took them a while to get ready to come, and a while longer to cross the Atlantic. The initial decision not to ask them to come was based on the information available at the time. When more information was available, they were invited.

The Dutch are here.

Refer him to this CSPAN video from June 11.

http://www.gulfcleanupfund.org/Videos/Player/TabId/80/VideoId/207/CSPAN-Onboard-A-Dutch-Skimmer--Jun-11-2010.aspx

[gateley]

5. That's probably the answer to a lot of the "why" questions. We didn't know

at the outset what the situation was or would become. That makes sense.

[MineralMan]

6. Yup. BP lied and it took a bit of time to figure that out.

Once we figured it out, resources were called in. They're here now. Lots of people are here now. Would it have been good if they had been here earlier. Yes. And if BP hadn't tried to hide the extent of the leak, they would have been.

Some people think it's still May, I guess, and are repeating old crap without checking what's actually going on right now.

[zipplewrath]

13. One of the early screw ups

They should have been told to start sailing on day one. They could always turn around. BP would have had to pay of course and it is not in their nature to pay for something before they know they need it. In a disaster situation, you start moving your "long lead" items right away. You can always stop them after you do your initial assessment and figure out that you won't EVER need them.

And all of this should have been in the emergency planning that should have been done years ago.

[MineralMan]

14. Hindsight is perfect sight, neh?

On Monday morning, everyone's a Hall of Fame Quarterback.

[zipplewrath]

21. Long lead items

Ordering long lead items first is pretty standard. I think the administration started figuring out pretty quickly that BP wasn't doing alot of things they should. I suspect it is the tendency of every administration to not try to jump in immediately to every problem and try to take over. There is no doubt that everyone in the industry and in the government was buying this "it's fairly safe" argument. As such, there weren't alot of well vetted plans in place to deal with this. Most companies have "disaster recovery plans" these days for their IT infrastructure. It is fairly apparent that BP didn't have such a thing for this.

[Bitwit1234]

24. I was going to post this, I do say if they would watch other news

than Fox they would know what is going on.

[howaboutme]

30. Good to hear, I didn't know that

I haven't heard that and I don't watch Fox. I was wondering the same thing. Obama and the news media should give them credit for coming to our aid.

[baldguy]

4. He wants Obama to go begging to the damn socialists in Old Europe?

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

8. But they also otherwise want him to spit on their leaders instead of shaking hands. (nt)

[AnArmyVeteran]

10. Isn't that a hoot! Right wingers begging to socialist countries. LOL

I hope democratic leaders are accumulating tapes of all the republicans who are supporting BP and saying the citizens should have to pay for their disaster. With all the attacks against our country by conservatives, bringing us to the verge of destruction, democrats should pick up huge numbers of seats in congress, not lose them. But for some reason democratic leaders are notorious for squandering opportunities. It's almost like they want to lose.

[blogslut]

7. Ah, your co-worker is getting talking points from Lady Mrs Ex-Governor

Here you go:

http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2010/jun/16/george-lemieux/white-house-refused-international-oil-spill-aid-fl

Barely True
The State Department on June 14 released a list of the countries that offered to help -- Canada, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, Croatia, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and Vietnam. That's 17 countries. The State Department also detailed what offers had been accepted.

From Mexico -- Two skimmers and 13,780 feet of boom (accepted in early May).

From Norway -- Eight skimming systems (accepted in early May).

From Netherlands -- Three sets of Koseq Rigid Sweeping Arms, which attach to the sides of ships and gather oil (accepted on May 23).

From Canada -- 9,843 feet of boom (accepted on June 4).

FYI - The Netherlands = "The Dutch"

[lpbk2713]

9. Tell him to stop getting his "news" from RW AM radio.

It's always biased and more often than not totally fabricated.

[The_Casual_Observer]

11. How about this, ask then, how is that they are already there.

This is the sort of vacant bullshit that republican bastards have to offer.

[madrchsod]

12. tell him that ships don`t fly.....

[jazzelle]

15. Tell him to go $#%^&* himself

and offer him a bandage for his knuncle-scrapping.

[City Lights]

16. You work with Sarah?

Do tell! ;-)

Obviously, your co-worker is channeling their inner Sarah, since she was spouting about "the Dutch in the Norwegian" just the other day.

[rainy]

27. I did say "you sound like Sarah Palen." It's a she. After reading some of

what you guys had to say I had another conversation with her and told her what you all said. She listened and asked how Sean and Rush could say Obama refused help if it wasn't true. I just said in the very beginning when we were still trusting that BP had it covered we turned away some help.

We had a very long and nice talk about corporations etc... she said I taught her something today.
He he.

[City Lights]

29. Nicely done! It's good to hear there are still people out there willing to listen.

:toast:

Thanks for taking the time to try and enlighten her! :thumbsup:

[NNN0LHI]

17. Tell him Mexico has donated 2 skimmers and watch your friends face droop

Get a picture if you can.

Don

[Subdivisions]

18. Norway has sent ships and boom. They're already working in the Gulf. n/t

[Raine1967]

19. Did anyone give you this link?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/13/AR2010061304232.html

In late May, the administration accepted Mexico's offer of two skimmers and 13,779 feet of boom; a Dutch offer of three sets of Koseq sweeping arms, which attach to the sides of ships and gather oil; and eight skimming systems offered by Norway.
-------------------------------

and then there is THIS very important part of the article:


"We're clearly behind the curve because BP did not have the game plan to deal with this spill," said Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.), who visited Louisiana on Friday. "I don't know if the federal government has the capacity it needs at this point."

Anthony H. Cordesman, a national security and energy analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the administration has been hampered because the spill is "a rare case" where the traditional emergency response routine does not apply.

"Most emergency relief is based on proven technology and precedence," he said. "We are now confronted by something that doesn't match any of the models."


and this:
In some cases, the administration rejected offers because they failed to meet U.S. specifications: The private consortium that serves as Norway's spill-response team uses a chemical dispersant that the Environmental Protection Agency has not approved.

and this:
In other cases, domestic politics are at play. Dutch authorities have worked in Louisiana since Katrina hit and were among the first to offer to help. After some hesitation, BP has obtained the state-of-the-art Dutch skimmers, two of which are in operation. Meanwhile, a massive sand-dredging operation is moving slowly.

Me thinks your friend needs to not listen to Sarah Palin. She doesn't read either.

[Subdivisions]

20. Replying a second time to say that your friend is just following palin's 'lead' from the bill-o

segment here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfTTckgn-mo

[old mark]

22. They have been there for weeks...Palin is still a liar and O'Reily is still an idiot.nt

[Blue Meany]

23. Yeah, if the Dutch had been called in for Katrina, they could

have stuck their fingers in the dike and kept New Orleans from flooding.

[katsy]

25. Ask him why he thinks it's up to the Dutch (socialists) to

clean up our mess. Isn't he part of the "bootstraps" gang? Maybe the gop should get on their knees & beg forgiveness for insulting our European friends whenever it suits their purposes. "Freedom Fries" ring a bell?

Then report him for goofing off on company time. }(

[Raschel]

28. I thought they didn't want the government to take over everything.