BP is paying the man in charge of overseeing its $20 billion victim compensation fund for its devastation of the Gulf of Mexico over $10 million a year. The choice of Washington attorney Kenneth Feinberg to manage the fund in June 2010 was widely lauded at the time, as he had dealt with the challenging tasks of managing the federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and serving as Obama’s special master for TARP executive compensation. “I’m running an independent claims facility,” Feinberg told the world. Since then, however, Feinberg has battled with the victims of BP’s toxic crime, trying to compel them to accept small checks in return for signing away any further right to challenge BP. He claimed that “the Gulf of Mexico should largely recover from BP’s oil spill by the end of next year,” in flat contradiction to all scientific evidence.
A federal judge rebuked Feinberg for claiming to be “independent” when he is in fact a paid contractor of BP. Feinberg’s compensation from BP — which pays for the services of four attorneys — dwarfs what nearly any of the claimants are receiving for having their livelihoods and communities devastated and poisoned. Meanwhile, BP is complaining that Feinberg’s settlements are too generous.
1in·de·pen·dent
adj \ˌin-də-ˈpen-dənt\: not subject to another’s authority or jurisdiction; autonomous; free: an independent businessman.
Most corrupt administration ever in American politics.
I believe Feinberg is independent. Same as if he was paid by the USA? There isn’t even a conflict of interest as long as the money is paid regardless of performance. At worst: the appearance of a conflict of interest calling only for an analysis of performance.
I think he performed one or more of those earlier assignments “for free” having gotten filthy rich ripping the public off somehow else – forget now how.
Pro’s and Con’s to all we do and the question as always is: what’s the better alternative?
It should be instructive to view the coverage of every major oil spill for the last 50 years: carbon copies.
You can’t cheaply drill, without the unnecessary spill. A polluted environment in the Gulf Coast means nothing to an industrialist living in the Costa del Sol. Silly Hoomans.
#1
The oil industry is no longer directly part of the administrative branch, so I’m confused by your comment.
Old song: “My God how the money rolls in!”
#3 Chicago thugs ALWAYS get their cut.
#2 This entire event stinks of conspiracy. BP paid big bucks to ignore the rules…to Obama, and when that caused a massive spill…Obama uses it to aid his Arab friends and stop all drilling.
There is more here than is known.
#2 AlfredDude:
That’s quite a story you have there! Have you alerted the media? I’m sure everyone would love to see proof of such a heinous crime.
Oh, that’s right. There isn’t any. You made it up, like you always do.
Glad you see you recover from the sound beating I gave you the other day though. Way to get back on the horse.
I am just shocked (shocked!!) that an attorney would charge such high fees and then appear to be in a conflict of interest.
OK its official tea dude is alfie, post 1 gave it away.
#6–TEA Dude==what this stinks of is: Business as Usual. Decades of regulatory capture by the subject industries. We see it in every area of our society without exception. This time it is merely Big Oil.
What do you think a Carbon Copy is a copy of except that which is prcedent?
Obama?–Yes. As merely the latest.
Stop being so silly ass stupid.
#7 Obama biggest recipient of BP cash
http://politico.com/news/stories/0510/36783.html
I could have cited many other sources for the next, but Socialists are likely seen by you as especially trustworthy:
Obama sheltered BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig from regulatory requirement
http://wsws.org/articles/2010/may2010/gulf-m06.shtml
BUT BP caused a massive spill, and two possibilities come to mind.
1)BP is a major player in the global warming Green tech Enron inspired carbon credit scam progressives, both democrat and republican, were scheming to foist upon the public, making them all filthy rich.
Did they spill the oil on purpose to further the crime of the century, the carbon credit/green energy scam?
2)Obama is foreign operative sent to destroy the US economy. He plays along with Democrats and crony capitalists as though he too wants to be filthy rich, while in reality he knows letting them succeed takes America…so others can rise, particularly his Arab friends, especially as oil prices bankrupt the west but make them filthy rich. So he shuts down oil production in the US.
Okay so everyone seems to have noticed that the people in the Fed Gov are a bunch of sell outs.
So why do some people still think that turning all our money over to the Fed. Gov. so it can run everything for us while we take orders is going to solve all our problems when they also know they can’t trust the people running the Fed. Gov. not to sell them out?
Wondered who “Think Progress” was so I looked it up. It is a blog from the Center for American Progress. According to Wikipedia “The Center for American Progress was created in 2003 as a left-leaning alternative to think tanks such as the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute.”
John Podesta, former Chief of Staff for Bill Clinton, is the President and Chief Executive Officer.
So, considering the source, I’am not really concerned with lawyer Kenneth Feinberg being paid a great amount. I’m willing to bet this was a fixed-price contract that BP would not be able to back out of, so the influence that BP could bring to bear on him would be small to none.
The claim that “Feinberg has battled with the victims of BP’s toxic crime, trying to compel them to accept small checks in return for signing away any further right to challenge BP” is simply him doing his job. His job is to get compensation to the victims as quickly as possible and avoiding a large number of unwieldy lawsuits. It is not to advise the victims on whether to collect the check from him or pursue the big jackpot at the other end of a long, drawn-out lawsuit against BP.
Most corrupt regime in American history…and perhaps that of the world.
Nothing is sacred…everything is scammed for $$$
To add salt to the wound, Michele’s ass is getting bigger on ribs while she scolds us for doing the same.
I hate progressives, they just suck.
#12–do-ill==you used your obvious intelligence to frame the issue as retardedly negative as you could. So retarded as to be completely dismissed as childish in its LIEberTARDian roots.
A challenge: rewrite the same issue framed in as balanced and nuanced a way as you possibly can. Let’s give you cover: what you write, being balanced and nuanced will be a piece of progressive/liberdrool crap, yes, we all agree: but can you DO IT? Just do it do-ill. Use your own intellect to balance and moderate your own silliness.
Just an exercise. You will still be retarded, but then we will all know it is by choice rather than by affliction.
For everyone talking about corruption, I just ran across this story on Yahoo/AP about real corruption.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110228/ap_on_re_af/af_equatorial_guinea_yacht_1
Even Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew were petty amateurs compared with this.
#10 You could be right, perhaps incompetence and corruption explains everything this administration is doing.
But its had to believe Obama does not realize the harm his policies are doing to the US Economy…
It is always REALLY funny how people can be led around like sheep. The $10 million is for the entire OFFICE of the Victim’s Compensation Fund. It is not Feinberg’s salary.
But don’t let facts get in your way of a good rant.
#5 “Chicago thugs ALWAYS get their cut.”
Possibly, but that seems unrelated to this story.
#11
So you believe the world socialist website: what are you some kind of commie?
#14
“I hate progressives, they just suck.”
I don’t think that word means much of anything.
At the time of the spill I suggested that Obama must creatively, and openly, use all the powers of government to screw BP’s shareholders/executives/operations. Some really Nixonian shit.
Here is the reality:
Dirtiest to cleanest of recent past presidents
1. Reagan- many off the books minor wars, many jailbirds
2. Bush II- knowingly started an unneeded major war while friends profited
3. Clinton- incidental perjury
4. Bush I- in the line of duty
5 Carter- had impure thoughts
The least dirty are also the least politically successful. Law is fungible when you are the top guy. Obama seems more inactive than dirty, at least to my eye. He is part of the scenery rather than part of the problem, no way is he part of the solution.
#16–nice link Cap’n===”It’s not fraud, we need to honor the contractual obligations…..” //// Gee, when and where did I hear, and am still hearing, that explanation for a massive transfer of wealth from the poor, middle, and rich class of people to the Super Rich?
Yes, where was that exactly?
We are abused no differently than the poor folks of Equatorial New Guinea==and pound for pound, isn’t that yacht a much better deal than those watches? At least the boat can float?