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.
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!”
#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.
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.
#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.
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.
#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?
Chris–if that were Clinton’s crime, he wouldn’t be on the list. No. He sold pardons and transferred technology to Red China. Beyond that more generally he and his co-conspirator have sold their enfluence to anyone with enough money. “I’m President of the World!!!!”
Obama–will live long enough to be ashamed of himself.
and Chris, only because I admire your postings so much: thats not what fungible means at all. Even treating the laws “the same” as if they can all be ignored does not make them the same “in fact” which is the essence of fungibility. Close in a tangential incorrect way but no banana.
#22
‘Malleable’ would have been a better word.
I don’t mean that laws can be disregarded by the president, but presidents get away with significant rule-breaking with only some staff legal trouble. Bad stuff, but it isn’t going to change anytime soon.
What I don’t get at all are claims of duplicity with substance by Obama from the TEA idiots. Reagan and Bush II were melding ideology/crime/politics in their foreign policy. Little O’s foibles aren’t anything like that.
Clinton was hooked up with Wal-Mart, but everyone brings a regional power with them: Bush I and II(Big Oil), Mitt Romney(Mormons), Huckabee(Southern Evangelicals) and Obama(Chicago Machine).
It goes to the idea of someone being “acceptably dirty.”
Obama doesn’t appear to be doing much of anything. At least I knew why everyone was attacking Clinton.
#26,
Yes, the drapes DO match the carpet.
How much revenue does a 4-partner law firm bring in? $10m doesn’t sound unreasonable when you consider oeverhead, staff, salaries, etc.
#11
A presidential candidate has corporate campaign contributors? I’m shocked, SHOCKED! I wish it weren’t, but its the way things are. Especially since Citizens United.
BP doesn’t even make the top 20
http://opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cycle=2008&cid=n00009638
As for your second link, yes Obama was caving to “Drill,Baby, Drill” pressure at that time. Requirements were being eased and offshore drilling was being opened up, in large part due to pressure to do so from conservatives. Then BP lubed the gulf, and the brakes were put on.
So he loosened regulation and promoted offshore drilling. So you’re lambasting Obama for acting like a Republican. And this makes him corrupt…
Your closing conspiracy theory is just laughable: 2+2=22.
#23–Chris==malleable is better than fungible but still not quite right. I think your target is a bit off. Its not what Presidents “do” but rather that the mechanism/counterpoint/law enforcement/political will is just not there to oppose them. Democrats cower in fear that if they oppose gun laws, or foreign wars, or invasion of privacy rights that the PUKES will frame them as weak willed commie lovers or as Alfie would say: progressives. A label they cannot abide so they run scared to point out the obvious. Obama did it right off the bat by saying he would “look forward” rather than to the past: ie–a stay out of jail card for all the criminals in the Bush Admin and on Wallstreet.
So, like “Weapons of Mass Destruction” or “Enhanced Interrogation Techniques” or “Investment Opportunity Act” look to “redefining laws to achieve their nefarious ends” as the technique that is in play. Its fun. Watch the news. Anytime new terminology is introduced, watch for the perfidy that will come knocking on your door. Its never far away.
#28 “malleable is better than fungible but still not quite right”
Going back TWICE to question my word choice, Mr. Meaning-Context? I think words have a humbler purpose that you miss most of the time. Groups of words convey an idea. The idea is really the star of the show, and the words just help the idea get to other people.
Since you want to nitpick:
“Yes, where was that exactly?
We are abused no differently than the poor folks of Equatorial New Guinea”(from your post at #20)
Where exactly, indeed:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equitorial_Guinea
#30, #31, #32
You got a little foam on your mouth, there.
Three posts of bluster, no substance.
Chris–without looking, I assume there is no country of New Guinea just Guinea with or without the Equator?
I thank you for the correction, and have been made better for it.
See how easy that is?
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OFHEO has reaffirmed that both GSEs remain adequately capitalized. At the same time, recent developments convinced policymakers and the GSEs that steps are needed to respond to market concerns and increase confidence by providing assurances of access to liquidity and capital on a temporary basis if necessary.”