What does the BP "escrow" deal really mean?

Seize BP Campaign, June 16, 2010

People all around the country have put so much pressure on the Obama administration that it had to “do something” to look like it was standing up to BP. The announcement today of a so-called $20 billion escrow fund from BP would never have happened without mass pressure. But does this fund truly respond to the needs of the people in the Gulf Coast states?

Too much is at stake for people to let down their guard and accept the “feel good” sound-bite version of what took place today in the meeting between President Obama and BP’s executives.

The White House and BP are creating a mythology, or "spin," on what the tentative agreement signifies.

It is noteworthy that BP's executives are very happy with the new agreement. Their necessary goal as a corporation is to maximize profits, and not to pay damages to all of those who have been harmed. As the Washington Post reported after the meetings, "Behind the scenes, the company had signaled what it expected from Wednesday's meeting—and the company appears to have gotten exactly what it wanted."

It is quite clear to us, even though much more will be revealed in the coming days and weeks, that we have to accelerate the movement for justice. This agreement is not only inadequate but attempts to shield BP from paying all the damages and compensation for lost work, ruined small businesses, and a devastated ecosystem.

At first glance, one would believe, based on the headlines that the Obama Administration compelled BP to set aside $20 billion dollars in an escrow account to meet the needs of people and communities harmed by BP's criminal negligence.

But this is actually a great deal for BP.

The facts on the "escrow" account

The "escrow account" in 2010 is not $20 billion dollars. BP will put in $3 billion dollars in the third quarter of 2010 (ending September 30) and another $2 billion in the fourth quarter (ending December 31). Thereafter, it will have to make installments of $1.25 billion each quarter for the next three years.

This means that the necessary money will not be available to pay the tens of billions in losses that are real and immediate. It also means that people and businesses will have to get in line.

The real number for the escrow account in 2010 is $5 billion—six months from now at the earliest. To put this in perspective, BP has been bringing in between $26 billion and $36 billion annually in profits on revenue of $250 billion, and pays out more than $10 billion in dividends yearly.

According to a report in Forbes, BP could absorb $35 billion in spill costs before it would have a "material impact" on its operations. But instead, it will be allowed a paltry $5 billion a year, in an installment plan over four years.

Another measure of perspective can be had by comparison of this $5 billion per year voluntary set-aside to the accumulated potential fines and penalties under the Clean Water Act. BP can be fined $4,300 per barrel of oil spilled as a consequence of gross negligence. With the recent acknowledgment that the spill volume is 60,000 barrels per day, that is a potential penalty of over $250 million per day. Put another way, every 60 days accumulates a potential $15 billion fine under the Act. The voluntary arrangement to set aside $5 billion per year is meager in comparison.

This, of course, reflects Obama’s unwillingness to exercise legal authority against BP. Department of Justice lawyers could be initiating prosecutions for the accumulated fines, but aside from the announcement of potential investigations, this has not occurred.

Obama denies that his deal with BP will function as a cap on its liability, but this remains to be determined. The deal appears to functionally provide a shield for BP. As one investment advisor told the Wall Street Journal, the agreement puts "an end to the financial bleeding," and allows investors to assess what BP's total liabilities might be. So while President Obama stresses that the plan is not a cap on liability, it certainly appears as one. The installment terms of the payments themselves limit the amounts that will be made available while people are seeking claims.

Mr. Feinberg to the rescue—again

President Obama announced that the fund will be administered by Kenneth Feinberg, a Washington lawyer who made $5.7 million in his law practice in 2008. Mr. Feinberg has played a particular role in Washington at the time of virtual uprising against the banks and bankers' bonuses. He was appointed to be the “pay czar” by Obama reviewing and approving many of the obscene bonuses doled out to AIG and other executives after they were bailed out with hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money. As Reuters wrote today, "He has been hailed for soothing the egos of Wall Street executives clutching on to big paychecks, while still looking tough to a general public shocked by massive payouts to firms on a government lifeline."

There is very little other information about how claims will be processed. There will have to be determinations made as to what, in the parlance of both BP and President Obama, is a "legitimate" claim. While Obama stated that anyone can file a claim, that doesn’t mean that the claim will be accepted or paid. Nor does it appear that the decision-making process will include any of the affected Gulf coast residents or their representatives from the fishers, shrimpers, crabbers, unions, small business people and workers in the tourism and recreation industry, local elected officials, clergy, and independent scientists and environmentalists.

Details must be forthcoming about claims payments and standards. Can we expect tens of thousands of people to receive checks by the end of the month? One thing is clear: The limited level of the fund necessarily means that claims cannot be paid equivalent to the damages incurred right now.

The creation of the so-called escrow fund was the result of a nationwide mass movement. Now is the time to step up our organizing to make sure that we have the kind of escrow fund that can really meet the needs of the people and repair the vast environmental damage caused by BP.

Who Decides if a BP Spill Claim Is Legitimate?

By Bryan Walsh, TIME, June 11, 2010

Legitimate. It's the word that could come to define the extremely expensive, extremely litigious aftermath of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Almost from the beginning, BP has promised to pay what it calls all "legitimate" claims by people and businesses affected by the spill. But legitimate, when it's contained in a print ad as part of BP's new multimillion-dollar campaign or poshly pronounced by CEO Tony Hayward in one of the accompanying TV commercials, sounds very different from the way it sounds coming out of the mouth of a bayou shrimper in Venice, La. What constitutes legitimate is still an open question.

At the very least though, it looks like BP won't be the only one who gets to decide. A day after demanding that the company turn over data about its financial-claim payment process, the Coast Guard reported that BP had pledged to expedite payment to affected businesses in the Gulf. "BP recognized that its previous approach of waiting until after the books have closed for each month to calculate losses will not work," Tracy Wareing of the Federal Emergency Management Agency said at a news conference Thursday. "It won't get dollars quickly enough to the businesses that are struggling on the ground." (See pictures of people protesting against BP.)

And reports are filtering back from Louisiana that BP's lost oil seems to be flowing a lot faster than its cash. David Camardelle, the mayor of Grand Isle in southeastern Louisiana, told a hearing of a subcommittee of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee that he knew of 37 applications from his community still waiting for their $5,000 claims check from BP. "Every day, I have a mom that comes in front of me and asks me, 'Mr. David, how am I going to get food for my kids,'" Camardelle said. "Please, please send us some help." (See photos of victims of the BP oil spill.)

BP has said that it has already paid over $80 million in claims to more than 10,000 individuals in Louisiana, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi, with more coming soon. The company also says that it has opened scores of claims centers around the affected coastline, and that it is trying to process claims in a few days at most. "We'll do this until it's finished," said Darryl Willis, vice president of resources for BP America, in a teleconference with reporters over the weekend.

To aid the company in speeding the payment process, Alabama is considering assigning National Guard troops to work at claims centers — a uniquely effective lever only the government can use. But the very nature of how many people work on the Gulf Coast is going to trump the number that will be answering phones and processing documents. And the very nature of the fishing industry won't help either. Fishing can bring in a lot of money in a very short period of time during the right season, but fishermen might be hard-pressed to provide evidence — bank statements, pay stubs — that can back that up. The same goes for many other businesses: if receipts are dwindling at a restaurant, or guests are cancelling at a resort, how is it possible to prove that the spill alone is responsible? "We're stuck in the middle," says Chris Camardelle, whose seafood restaurant in Grand Isle has been badly hurt by the oil spill. "So it's a tricky situation." (See a brief history of BP.)

The government has insisted repeatedly that BP will pay all the costs of the cleanup and all damages as well — and Washington seems willing to push the oil company as far as it can. But there will surely be limits. President Obama has said that he will push BP to compensate rig workers who have been laid off because of the six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling he instituted to fix the industry's safety standards, but there's skepticism that claim could hold. As BP comes under greater pressure politically in Washington, a backlash is beginning to build in Britain, especially over the question of whether BP will be able to make billions in expected dividend payments to shareholders even as the spill is continuing. "I do think it starts to become a matter of national concern if a great British company is being continually beaten up on international airwaves," London Mayor Boris Johnson told the BBC Thursday.

As the spill worsens, though, the pressure will only increase — and a new scientific estimate of the leak rate shows that Gulf catastrophe could be even worse than we ever imagined. After reviewing better video from the underwater leak, the government's Flow Rate Technical Group estimated on Thursday that the oil was escaping at a rate between 20,000 bbl. and 40,000 bbl. a day, and that was before robots severed the broken riser at the wellhead a week ago, which may have increased the flow by as much as another 20%. That's up from an earlier estimate of between 12,000 bbl. and 19,000 bbl., and an initial number of about 5,000 bbl. a day, though some independent scientists were arguing weeks ago that the flow was far higher than that. And it's still not certain. "Our scientific analysis is still a work in progress," said U.S. geological-survey director Marcia McNutt, the head of the flow-rate team. "In coming days we'll be refining our estimates further. (Read a Q&A on who's liable for the Gulf oil spill.)

The total amount of oil spilled into the Gulf will have an impact on the kind of damages claims the government — and private individuals — can bring against BP. But while it's important to get a fix on the leak, it won't be the final determination of the damage. "Even if we can't be precise about the amount of oil spilled, we can make conservative estimates of the losses suffered here, and they'll be huge," says David Uhlmann, the director of the environmental law and policy program at the University of Michigan Law School and a former prosecutor for the EPA. "But the easy part is going to involve the financial penalties and the civil penalties — the hard part will be restoring the region and making the victims whole."

Indeed, although BP's ubiquitous ads have said repeatedly that the company will "make things right," given the scale of the damages, that might prove impossible. And like with legitimate, the definition of the word right will be up for grabs. It will be defined, ultimately, by the courts; there have already been countless suits filed against BP by private individuals and businesses, and the government is pursuing an investigation of the spill too. "It's gearing up to be the most heavily fought legal battle in history," says Jody Freeman, founding director of the environmental law and policy program at Harvard Law School. So we know that one group will end up better off than when the spill started: the lawyers.

Congress Fights to Make Sure BP Pays for Oil Spill

Several Democrats have put forward a bill to get rid of the liability cap
By Kent Garber, U.S. News & World Report, June 15, 2010

BP says that it's already spent $1.5 billion on its response effort to the Gulf of Mexico spill, and it's repeatedly promised to pay "all legitimate claims" related to the disaster. But that promise has done little to calm fears that it will try to fight tooth and nail, much as Exxon did after the terrible Valdez tanker spill, to limit how much it has to pay out in the future.. [See which members of Congress get the most from the oil industry.]

Those fears have prompted a burst of activity on Capitol Hill, much of it focused on raising—or eliminating—what's known as the "liability cap." According to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, if a spill occurs, the responsible company has to pay for all cleanup costs, no exceptions. But, in most cases, a company's liability is limited to $75 million for the long-term damage to the local economy, natural resources, and people's livelihoods. The cost of the Gulf spill will vastly exceed that number. [See photos of the Gulf oil spill.]

Last week, the White House voiced support for chucking the cap, saying it wants to make sure BP pays to help states rebuild their coasts and to allow fishermen and businesses to recover. Several Democratic senators agree and have put forward a bill that would get rid of the cap. Over in the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she also favors the cap's removal and wants her chamber to produce legislation by July 4. On a separate track, the White House is now pushing BP to create an escrow account that would cover environmental and economic damages.

But striking the cap, it turns out, isn't going to be a slam-dunk, even amid the populist anger against BP. Several Republicans have argued that removing the cap altogether—which is to say, making oil companies fully liable for the entire cost of a spill—would make it close to impossible for all but the biggest oil companies to drill offshore because the potential financial risks from an accident would be too great. "It would appear to me that if we were to take the cap off altogether, it would institute a de facto ban on offshore drilling," Sen. Jim Inhofe, the Oklahoma Republican, said recently.

Democrats say their goal is not to stop offshore drilling but to make it safer. As Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar noted, a $75 million cap seems pretty minor compared to the billions in profits oil companies make each year. "How is that an incentive to take safety measures?" she asked in a recent hearing.

In the current situation, these arguments may matter only so much. According to the 1990 law, the $75 million cap doesn't apply if the company is found guilty of "gross negligence or willful misconduct" or of violating "federal safety, construction, or operating regulations." No formal charges of wrongdoing have been leveled against BP yet, but the Justice Department has launched both civil and criminal investigations. With the Exxon Valdez incident, says Lloyd Miller, a lead plaintiffs' attorney in that case, the criminal charges hinged on being able to show that upper management was aware that the skipper of the vessel had a history of drinking on the job. "Once you have the upper management aware," Miller says, the court "can hold the company responsible."

BP, for its part, says that it's acting as if the cap isn't there. Testifying before a House committee this morning, BP America CEO Lamar McKay noted that BP expects to far exceed--and in fact already has exceeded--the cap. But that's providing little reassurance. Exxon has fought the penalties against it for much of the past two decades, and BP may do the same. The Obama administration is clearly hoping otherwise and is having the Coast Guard pressure BP to process claims from fishermen and affected businesses more quickly. That might bring some temporary relief. But the question of how much BP is going to have to pay surely is going to be around for years, if not decades, to come.

* See photos of the Gulf oil spill disaster.
* Check out our editorial cartoons on the Gulf oil spill.
* See who gets the most from the oil industry.

Documents reveal BP's missteps before blowout

Oil giant engineer describes 'nightmare well' six days before rig explosion
By MATTHEW DALY & RAY HENRY, AP, MSNBC.com, June 14, 2010

NEW ORLEANS - BP made a series of money-saving shortcuts and blunders that dramatically increased the danger of a destructive oil spill in a well that an engineer ominously described as a "nightmare" just six days before the blowout, according to documents released Monday that provide new insight into the causes of the disaster.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee released dozens of internal documents that outline several problems on the deepsea rig in the days and weeks before the April 20 explosion that set in motion the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history. The committee has been investigating the explosion and its aftermath.

"Time after time, it appears that BP made decisions that increased the risk of a blowout to save the company time or expense. If this is what happened, BP's carelessness and complacency have inflicted a heavy toll on the Gulf, its inhabitants, and the workers on the rig," said Democratic Reps. Henry A. Waxman and Bart Stupak.

The missteps emerged on the same day that President Barack Obama made his fourth visit to the Gulf, where he sought to assure beleaguered residents that the government will "leave the Gulf Coast in better shape than it was before."

The breached well has dumped as much as 114 million gallons of oil into the Gulf under the worst-case scenario described by scientists — a rate of more than 2 million a day. BP has collected 5.6 million gallons of oil through its latest containment cap on top of the well, or about 630,000 gallons per day.

But BP believes it will see considerable improvements in the next two weeks. The company said Monday that it could trap a maximum of roughly 2.2 million gallons of oil each day by the end of June as it deploys additional containment efforts, including a system that could start burning off vast quantities as early as Tuesday. That would more than triple the amount of oil it is currently capturing — and be a huge relief for those trying to keep it from hitting the shore.

Possible 'game changer'

"It would be a game changer," said Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Mark Boivin, deputy director for near-shore operations at a command center in Mobile. He works with a team that coordinates the efforts of roughly 80 skimming boats gathering oil off the coast.

Still, BP warned its containment efforts could face problems if hoses or pipes clog and engineers struggle to run the complicated collection system. Early efforts at the bottom of the Gulf failed to capture oil.

Meanwhile, congressional investigators have identified several mistakes by BP in the weeks leading up to the disaster as it fell way behind on drilling the well.

BP started drilling in October, only to have the rig damaged by Hurricane Ida a month later. The company switched to the Deepwater Horizon rig and resumed drilling on Feb. 6. The rig was 43 days late for its next drilling location by the time it exploded April 20, costing BP at least $500,000 each day it was overdue, congressional documents show.

As BP found itself in a frantic race against time to get the job done, engineers cut corners in the well design, cementing and drilling mud efforts and the installation of safety devices known as "lockdown sleeves" and "centralizers," according to congressional investigators.

In the design of the well, the company apparently chose a riskier option among two possibilities to provide a barrier to the flow of gas in space surrounding steel tubes in the well, documents and internal e-mails show. The decision saved BP $7 million to $10 million; the original cost estimate for the well was about $96 million.

'Crazy well'

In an e-mail, BP engineer Brian Morel told a fellow employee that the company is likely to make last-minute changes in the well.

"We could be running it in 2-3 days, so need a relative quick response. Sorry for the late notice, this has been nightmare well which has everyone all over the place," Morel wrote.

The e-mail chain culminated with the following message by another worker: "This has been a crazy well for sure."

BP also apparently rejected advice of a subcontractor, Halliburton Inc., in preparing for a cementing job to close up the well. BP rejected Halliburton's recommendation to use 21 "centralizers" to make sure the casing ran down the center of the well bore. Instead, BP used six centralizers.

In an e-mail on April 16, a BP official involved in the decision explained: "It will take 10 hours to install them. I do not like this." Later that day, another official recognized the risks of proceeding with insufficient centralizers but commented: "Who cares, it's done, end of story, will probably be fine."

The lawmakers also said BP also decided against a nine- to 12-hour procedure known as a "cement bond log" that would have tested the integrity of the cement. A team from Schlumberger, an oil services firm, was on board the rig, but BP sent the team home on a regularly scheduled helicopter flight the morning of April 20.

Less than 12 hours later, the rig exploded.

BP also failed to fully circulate drilling mud, a 12-hour procedure that could have helped detect gas pockets that later shot up the well and exploded on the drilling rig.

A spokesman for BP could not immediately reached for comment on the findings, but executives including CEO Tony Hayward will be questioned by Congress on Thursday.

The letter from Waxman and Stupak noted at least five questionable decisions BP made before the explosion, and was supplemented by 61 footnotes and dozens of documents.

"The common feature of these five decisions is that they posed a trade-off between cost and well safety," said Waxman and Stupak. Waxman chairs the energy panel while Stupak heads a subcommittee on oversight and investigations.

BP rig's safety valve failed test before oil spill explosion

The safety valve protecting BP's oil well in the Gulf of Mexico failed a key pressure test just hours before an explosion causing the deaths of 11 people and a growing environmental catastrophe.
By Rowena Mason, telegraph.co.uk, May 12, 2010

BP officials told an official hearing that the rig's safety device - known as a blowout preventer - had highlighted problems before the accident.

The Deepwater Horizon rig operated and owned by contractor Transocean caught fire and sank almost three weeks ago, leaving BP responsible for clearing up the huge spill.

At U.S. congressional hearings this week, BP and Transocean, the contractor, blamed one another for "a cascade of failures" that led to the massive oil spill threatening America's south-eastern coastline. BP continues its efforts to seal the leak, which is gushing 5,000 barrels per day into the ocean.

It emerged yesterday in the testimony of James Dupree, BP's senior vice president for the Gulf, that tests before the blast showed "discrepancies" in pressure levels. These tests are meant to ensure the integrity of cement poured into the well to keep out natural gas. Another contractor, Halliburton, had just finished cement work hours before the blast.

"There was something happening in the well bore that shouldn't be happening," said Steven Newman, Transocean's chief executive officer.

A Democrat member of the committee, Bart Stupak, reported that the blowout preventer "apparently had a significant leak". The device had also been modified in "unexpected ways," he said, and may not have been strong enough to shut the well.

Henry Waxman, the Democrat chairman of the committee, said the case cast doubt over the oil majors' insistence that deepwater drilling is safe.

"BP, one of the largest oil companies, assured Congress and the public that it could operate safely in deep water and that a major oil spill was next to impossible," Waxman said. "We now know those assurances were wrong."

Leaking Oil Well Lacked Safeguard Device

By RUSSELL GOLD, BEN CASSELMAN And GUY CHAZAN, WSJ.com, April 28, 2010

The oil well spewing crude into the Gulf of Mexico didn't have a remote-control shut-off switch used in two other major oil-producing nations as last-resort protection against underwater spills.

The lack of the device, called an acoustic switch, could amplify concerns over the environmental impact of offshore drilling after the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon rig last week.

The accident has led to one of the largest ever oil spills in U.S. water and the loss of 11 lives. On Wednesday federal investigators said the disaster is now releasing 5,000 barrels of oil a day into the Gulf, up from original estimates of 1,000 barrels a day.

U.S. regulators don't mandate use of the remote-control device on offshore rigs, and the Deepwater Horizon, hired by oil giant BP PLC, didn't have one. With the remote control, a crew can attempt to trigger an underwater valve that shuts down the well even if the oil rig itself is damaged or evacuated.

The efficacy of the devices is unclear. Major offshore oil-well blowouts are rare, and it remained unclear Wednesday evening whether acoustic switches have ever been put to the test in a real-world accident. When wells do surge out of control, the primary shut-off systems almost always work. Remote control systems such as the acoustic switch, which have been tested in simulations, are intended as a last resort.

Nevertheless, regulators in two major oil-producing countries, Norway and Brazil, in effect require them. Norway has had acoustic triggers on almost every offshore rig since 1993.

The U.S. considered requiring a remote-controlled shut-off mechanism several years ago, but drilling companies questioned its cost and effectiveness, according to the agency overseeing offshore drilling. The agency, the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service, says it decided the remote device wasn't needed because rigs had other back-up plans to cut off a well.

The U.K., where BP is headquartered, doesn't require the use of acoustic triggers.

On all offshore oil rigs, there is one main switch for cutting off the flow of oil by closing a valve located on the ocean floor. Many rigs also have automatic systems, such as a "dead man" switch as a backup that is supposed to close the valve if it senses a catastrophic failure aboard the rig.

As a third line of defense, some rigs have the acoustic trigger: It's a football-sized remote control that uses sound waves to communicate with the valve on the seabed floor and close it.

An acoustic trigger costs about $500,000, industry officials said. The Deepwater Horizon had a replacement cost of about $560 million, and BP says it is spending $6 million a day to battle the oil spill. On Wednesday, crews set fire to part of the oil spill in an attempt to limit environmental damage.

Some major oil companies, including Royal Dutch Shell PLC and France's Total SA, sometimes use the device even where regulators don't call for it.

Transocean Ltd., which owned and operated the Deepwater Horizon and the shut-off valve, declined to comment on why a remote-control device wasn't installed on the rig or to speculate on whether such a device might have stopped the spill. A BP spokesman said the company wouldn't speculate on whether a remote control would have made a difference.

Much still isn't known about what caused the problems in Deepwater Horizon's well, nearly a mile beneath the surface of the Gulf of Mexico. It went out of control, sending oil surging through pipes to the surface and causing a fire that ultimately sank the rig.

Unmanned submarines that arrived hours after the explosion have been unable to activate the shut-off valve on the seabed, called a blowout preventer.

BP says the Deepwater Horizon did have a "dead man" switch, which should have automatically closed the valve on the seabed in the event of a loss of power or communication from the rig. BP said it can't explain why it didn't shut off the well.

Transocean drillers aboard the rig at the time of the explosion, who should have been in a position to hit the main cutoff switch, are among the dead. It isn't known if they were able to reach the button, which would have been located in the area where the fire is likely to have started. Another possibility is that one of them did push the button, but it didn't work.

Tony Hayward, BP's CEO, said finding out why the blowout preventer didn't shut down the well is the key question in the investigation. "This is the failsafe mechanism that clearly has failed," Mr. Hayward said in an interview.

Lars Herbst, regional director of the Minerals Management Service in the Gulf of Mexico, said investigators are focusing on why the blowout preventer failed.

Industry consultants and petroleum engineers said that an acoustic remote-control may have been able to stop the well, but too much is still unknown about the accident to say that with certainty.

Rigs in Norway and Brazil are equipped with the remote-control devices, which can trigger the blowout preventers from a lifeboat in the event the electric cables connecting the valves to the drilling rig are damaged.

While U.S. regulators have called the acoustic switches unreliable and prone, in the past, to cause unnecessary shut-downs, Inger Anda, a spokeswoman for Norway's Petroleum Safety Authority, said the switches have a good track record in the North Sea. "It's been seen as the most successful and effective option," she said.

The manufacturers of the equipment, including Kongsberg Maritime AS, Sonardyne Ltd. and Nautronix PLC, say their equipment has improved significantly over the past decade.

The Brazilian government began urging the use of the remote-control equipment in 2007, after an extensive overhaul of its safety rules following a fire aboard an oil platform killed 11 people, said Raphael Moura, head of safety division at Brazil's National Petroleum Agency. "Our concern is both safety and the environment," he said.

Industry critics cite the lack of the remote control as a sign U.S. drilling policy has been too lax. "What we see, going back two decades, is an oil industry that has had way too much sway with federal regulations," said Dan McLaughlin, a spokesman for Democratic Florida Sen. Bill Nelson. "We are seeing our worst nightmare coming true."

U.S. regulators have considered mandating the use of remote-control acoustic switches or other back-up equipment at least since 2000. After a drilling ship accidentally released oil, the Minerals Management Service issued a safety notice that said a back-up system is "an essential component of a deepwater drilling system."

The industry argued against the acoustic systems. A 2001 report from the International Association of Drilling Contractors said "significant doubts remain in regard to the ability of this type of system to provide a reliable emergency back-up control system during an actual well flowing incident."

By 2003, U.S. regulators decided remote-controlled safeguards needed more study. A report commissioned by the Minerals Management Service said "acoustic systems are not recommended because they tend to be very costly."

A spokesman for the agency, Nicholas Pardi, said the decision not to require the device came, in part, after the agency took a survey that found most rigs already had back-up systems of some kind. Those systems include the unmanned submarines BP has been using to try to close the seabed valve.
—Jeff Fick contributed to this article.

Write to Russell Gold at russell.gold@wsj.com, Ben Casselman at ben.casselman@wsj.com and Guy Chazan at guy.chazan@wsj.com

Corrections & Amplifications:
The oil rig that exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico was owned by Transocean Ltd. and leased by BP PLC. A previous version of this article incorrectly said that BP owned the rig.

Coast Guard rejects BP oil leak plan as too little, too late

By Mark Seibel, McClatchy Newspapers, June 12, 2010

WASHINGTON — The Coast Guard has told oil giant BP that its proposed plan for containing the runaway Deepwater Horizon well does not take into account new higher estimates of how much oil is gushing into the Gulf of Mexico and demanded that the company provide a more aggressive plan within 48 hours.

In a letter dated Friday and released Saturday, Coast Guard Rear Adm. James A. Watson also said that BP was taking too much time to ready ships to capture oil spewing from the well.

"You indicate that some of the systems you have planned to deploy may take a month or more to bring online," Watson, who is the federal on-scene coordinator for the Deepwater Horizon disaster, wrote Doug Suttles, BP's chief operating officer. "Every effort must be expended to speed up the process."

The 48-hour deadline is the second the Coast Guard has given BP in the past week and indicates a growing recognition on the part of the Coast Guard that both BP and the Obama administration underestimated for weeks the amount of oil pouring from the well, which began leaking when an April 20 explosion shattered the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, killing 11 workers. The rig sank two days later, taking a mile of well pipeline with it.

For weeks, the Obama administration and BP said the spill was leaking 5,000 barrels a day — about 210,000 gallons. On May 27, a government task force of scientists revised that estimate to a minimum of 12,000 to 25,000 barrels a day, and possibly much more. Then on Thursday, the government doubled those estimates to between 20,000 and 50,000 barrels a day, saying those, too, may understate the size of the leak because a decision to shear off the well's riser pipe to add a "top hat" containment device may have unleashed more oil.

The intervention by the Coast Guard comes as the oil continues to spread across the Gulf. Alabama advised residents not to swim in areas near the Florida border and in the Mississippi Sound. An access route to the Inter-Coastal Waterway, the Pensacola Pass, was closed Saturday evening during flood tide until further notice to keep oil from entering the bay. And tar-ball fields detected in the Gulf appear to be headed toward the Florida Straits.

Watson said the new estimates were the reason for the new deadline, saying the plan Suttles outlined was only "consistent with previous flow rate estimates."

"Because those estimates have now been revised . . . it is clear that additional capacity is urgently needed," he said.

BP said it would respond to Watson's letter "as soon as possible."

The White House was asked Saturday what action it would take if BP doesn’t speed up its effort to containment.

”This isn’t open for discussion,” a senior administration official said. “BP must do better to plan a more aggressive response. In the same way we pushed for second relief well, additional redundancy, more transparency, paying for the berms, etc…we will push them to find better answers to contain the oil.”

The official, who asked not be named as a matter of policy, said the letter to BP was “a unanimous Obama team decision.”

BP and Coast Guard representatives have been meeting throughout the week, Coast Guard officials have said, to refine the plan, which Suttles outlined in a letter to Watson dated Wednesday — before the new flow rate estimates were released. In his letter, Suttles said the plan had been outlined on Tuesday to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Energy Secretary Steven Chu. "No objections were raised," he wrote.

Under that proposal, BP outlined two phases — a temporary one involving three recovery ships and a jerry-rigged system combining the "top hat" containment device with hoses already in place from the "top kill" procedure that failed to stanch the well last month, and a more permanent one that involves construction of two new risers from the well that would be serviced by two large recovery ships that are en route to the site now.

BP said that the temporary phase would bring the amount of oil captured to 20,000 to 28,000 barrels a day by the end of next week. Most of that oil would be recovered by the Discoverer Enterprise drilling ship, which has been collecting around its stated 15,000-barrels-per-day capacity through the "top hat" but that Coast Guard officials believe can be pushed to 18,000 barrels a day. The remaining 5,000 to 10,000 barrels per day would be taken up by a second vessel, the Q4000 drilling platform, which would burn the oil in a rarely used, if not unprecedented, procedure. BP vice president Kent Wells said Friday that burning could begin as soon as Monday.

The burning idea has provoked some experts to raise questions about the health and environmental effects of the process.

Containment capacity would be pushed further during the temporary phase by the addition of a third vessel, the drill ship Discoverer Clear Leader, which would take on an additional 5,000 to 10,000 barrels a day when it is operational in mid July, Suttle wrote.

In the second, more permanent phase, Suttles said BP was building two permanent floating risers to provide oil to the Taisa Pisces and the Helix Producer recovery ships. Each riser takes about a month to complete, Suttles said. One is expected to be finished next week. Work on the second began Monday, June 7. Once operational, the new risers and ships would have capacity to receive between 40,000 and 50,000 barrels per day, BP said.

The plan foresees both the Q4000 and the Discoverer Clear Leader discontinuing operations once the new floating risers are operational, but says the Discoverer Enterprise would remain on site and could provide additional capacity, if needed.

In offering an estimate of the total capacity of the temporary phase, BP's plan is more cautious than numbers Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen used in press briefings with reporters. On Friday, Allen said capacity would reach 38,000 barrels a day once the Discoverer Clear Leader is operational.

BP's numbers may be more realistic, however. While Allen has said that the Discoverer Enterprise could be pushed to receive 18,000 barrels per day, the actual amount it's recovered has declined by a few hundred barrels since it peaked at 15,800 barrels on Wednesday. On Thursday, the ship recovered 15,400 barrels and on Friday, it recovered 15,500 barrels, BP reported Saturday.

How much oil will flow to the Q4000 and the Discoverer Clear Leader is also uncertain. Neither vessel will be "pumping" the oil up from the sea, but instead will rely on the oil's natural pressure to push it up through hoses that were originally used to push drilling mud into the well's dysfunctional blowout preventer during the "top kill" effort. Based on the size of the hoses, the maximum amount likely to flow through to those ships would be 10,000 barrels per day, but could be less, depending on the oil reservoir's pressure.

Both Suttles and Wells warned that there could be additional delays in the plans because of adverse weather and conditions at the drill site, which officials describe as crowded with dozens of ships.

It was also unclear how soon additional equipment could be made available. The Q4000 was under contract to another oil company and only began working the Deepwater Horizon spill after that company agreed to release it. A tanker that will work with the Taisa Pisces to shuttle the captured oil ashore, the Loch Rannoch, is available only because BP has shut down for maintenance the North Sea well it was working, oil industry publications said. BP has yet to identify a second tanker needed to work with the Helix Producer.

Seize BP: Make BP & BP Station Owners Fund Cleanup & Compensate Residents

Demand Action to Save The Wildlife & Marine Life & Clean Up This Environmental Catastrophe NOW!!!

Boycott BP & Independent BP Stations Until They Use Profits To Fund Cleanup & Compensate Residents!!

Seize BP's Assets to Fund Clean Up & Pay For ALL Damages - including to workers & businesses!

BP Must Adhere To Environmental & Safety Regulations & Standards NOW!!

What Does The BP "Escrow" Deal Really Mean?

- Seize BP Oil To Pay For Environmental Clean Up & Saving Animals!
- Hands Off Immigrant Workers Cleaning Up Oil Spill
- Reparations to the residents of The Gulf

Independent BP Station Owners That Support BP Are Complicit & Responsible in BP's Crimes!
Owner of BP Station at Randolph Rd & Sharon Amity Rd. in Charlotte, NC Supports BP & Defends BP's Environmental & Safety Violations

Sign inside BP Station window at Randolph Rd & Sharon Amity Rd in Charlotte, NC On June 12

News Reports on the June 12 Protest:

WSOC-TV
FOX News 18
MSNBC
WCNC
Politics Daily - AOL
Charlotte Observer

News About BP's Negligence:
Documents reveal BP's missteps before blowout
BP rig's safety valve failed test before oil spill explosion
Leaking Oil Well Lacked Safeguard Device

BP On Wikipedia

Info:
Action Center For Justice
http://charlotteaction.blogspot.com/
charlotteaction [at] gmail [dot] com

Students For A Democratic Society (SDS) - UNCC

BitTorrent Live Stream Brings Film Festival to Gaza

By Ernesto, TorrentFreak, June 11, 2010

BitTorrent is the most effective way to share large files online, but it can also be used to stream live events. In some cases it’s the only way for people to access cultural events. After a Palestinian filmmaker was denied a visa to visit a film festival in Norway where one of his films is to be screened, the festival’s organizers are turning to BitTorrent to stream the festival live to Gaza.

This weekend, the International “Nordic Youth Film Festival” takes place in Tromsø, Norway. As is the case every year, the festival’s organizers have invited young filmmakers from all over the world to show their work, but not all were allowed to come. Despite an invite, the Palestinian director of Ticket to Azrael was prevented from flying to Norway by the authorities.

“It’s not a secret that the blockade in the Middle East prevents vital resources like water, food and medicines going to the needy people in Palestine. But it is perhaps not as general known that normal people who are traveling out of the area are denied a visa,” the festival organizers write in a blog post commenting on the issue. Luckily, with BitTorrent the filmmaker can still follow the festival.

The Norwegian film festival has close ties to the people of Gaza. The festival’s organizers have previously invited its young filmmakers and after the 2008/2009 siege they continued to collaborate on film workshops over the Internet. This year, due to the political situation, they’re going to take it up a notch by offering a BitTorrent-powered live stream to people all over the world, including Gaza.

The BitTorrent stream that the festival will use is facilitated by The Far North Living Lab which has experience with the technology. Last year the lab kicked off with a spectacular experiment in which they used BitTorrent to stream a 2K resolution film onto the big screen, and a few months later they hosted the first BitTorrent-powered live streamed concert.

The Far North Living Lab start their live stream from the festival tonight during the opening. In order to get the stream to Gaza and other parts of the Internet they’ve set up a BitTorrent-powered live stream (approx 1.1mbit h264, full PAL resolution) that will be transmitting from Norway’s oldest still-used cinema. Similar to the previous projects, the lab’s researchers are using the P2P-Next codebase.

“This is an important opportunity to reach our goal for an international awareness of Youth Cinema,” festival director Hermann Greuel told TorrentFreak.

An important aspect is that through the stream young filmmakers in Gaza can follow the festival. “The current stream will not be possible on a central place or event in Gaza due to special permissions from the Gaza government, but the stream is available in Gaza,” he added.

It’s good to see that there are filmmakers and enthusiasts who put BitTorrent to creative use, rather than simply accusing the technology of facilitating copyright infringement.

Readers who want to check out the stream can do so from 6 PM CET.

Israeli document: Gaza blockade isn't about security

By Sheera Frenkel, McClatchy Newspapers, June 9, 2010

JERUSALEM — As Israel ordered a slight easing of its blockade of the Gaza Strip Wednesday, McClatchy obtained an Israeli government document that describes the blockade not as a security measure but as "economic warfare" against the Islamist group Hamas, which rules the Palestinian territory.

Israel imposed severe restrictions on Gaza in June 2007, after Hamas won elections and took control of the coastal enclave after winning elections there the previous year, and the government has long said that the aim of the blockade is to stem the flow of weapons to militants in Gaza.

Last week, after Israeli commandos killed nine volunteers on a Turkish-organized Gaza aid flotilla, Israel again said its aim was to stop the flow of terrorist arms into Gaza.

However, in response to a lawsuit by Gisha, an Israeli human rights group, the Israeli government explained the blockade as an exercise of the right of economic warfare.

"A country has the right to decide that it chooses not to engage in economic relations or to give economic assistance to the other party to the conflict, or that it wishes to operate using 'economic warfare,'" the government said.

McClatchy obtained the government's written statement from Gisha, the Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, which sued the government for information about the blockade. The Israeli high court upheld the suit, and the government delivered its statement earlier this year.

Sari Bashi, the director of Gisha, said the documents prove that Israel isn't imposing its blockade for its stated reasons, but rather as collective punishment for the Palestinian population of Gaza. Gisha focuses on Palestinian rights.

(A State Department spokesman, who wasn't authorized to speak for the record, said he hadn't seen the documents in question.)

The Israeli government took an additional step Wednesday and said the economic warfare is intended to achieve a political goal. A government spokesman, who couldn't be named as a matter of policy, told McClatchy that authorities will continue to ease the blockade but "could not lift the embargo altogether as long as Hamas remains in control" of Gaza.

President Barack Obama, after receiving Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian Authority, said the situation in Gaza is "unsustainable." He pledged an additional $400 million in aid for housing, school construction and roads to improve daily life for Palestinians — of which at least $30 million is earmarked for Gaza.

Israel's blockade of Gaza includes a complex and ever-changing list of goods that are allowed in. Items such as cement or metal are barred because they can be used for military purposes, Israeli officials say.

According to figures published by Gisha in coordination with the United Nations, Israel allows in 25 percent of the goods it had permitted into Gaza before the Hamas takeover. In the years prior to the closure, Israel allowed an average of 10,400 trucks to enter Gaza with goods each month. Israel now allows approximately 2,500 trucks a month.

The figures show that Israel also has limited the goods allowed to enter Gaza to 40 types of items, while before June 2007 approximately 4,000 types of goods were listed as entering Gaza.

Israel expanded its list slightly Wednesday to include soda, juice, jam, spices, shaving cream, potato chips, cookies and candy, said Palestinian liaison official Raed Fattouh, who coordinates the flow of goods into Gaza with Israel.

"I think Israel wants to defuse international pressure," said Fattouh. "They want to show people that they are allowing things into Gaza."

It was the first tangible step taken by Israel in the wake of the unprecedented international criticism it's faced over the blockade following last week's Israeli raid on the high seas.

While there have been mounting calls for an investigation into the manner in which Israel intercepted the flotilla, world leaders have also called for Israel to lift its blockade on Gaza.

At his meeting with Abbas, Obama said the Security Council had called for a "credible, transparent investigation that met international standards." He added: "And we meant what we said. That's what we expect."

He also called for an easing of Israel's blockade. "It seems to us that there should be ways of focusing narrowly on arms shipments, rather than focusing in a blanket way on stopping everything and then, in a piecemeal way, allowing things into Gaza," he told reporters.

Egypt, which controls much of Gaza's southern border, reopened the Rafah crossing this week in response to international pressure to lift the blockade.

Egypt has long been considered Israel's partner in enforcing the blockade, but Egyptian Foreign Minister Hossam Zaki said the Rafah crossing will remain open indefinitely for Gazans with special permits. In the past, the border has been opened sporadically.

Maxwell Gaylard, the U.N.'s humanitarian coordinator in the Palestinian territories, said the international community is seeking an "urgent and fundamental change" in Israel's policy regarding Gaza rather than a piecemeal approach.

"A modest expansion of the restrictive list of goods allowed into Gaza falls well short of what is needed. We need a fundamental change and an opening of crossings for commercial goods," he said.

Hamas officials said that they were "disappointed" by Israel's announcement, and that the goods fell far short of what was actually needed.

"They will send the first course. We are waiting for the main course," Palestinian Economy Minister Hassan Abu Libdeh said in Ramallah, specifying that construction materials were the item that Gazans need most. Many Palestinians have been unable to build their homes in the wake of Operation Cast Lead, Israel's punishing offensive in the Gaza Strip in December 2008 and January 2009.

Israel said the cement and other construction goods could be used to build bunkers and other military installations.

Some of those goods already come into Gaza via the smuggling tunnels that connect it to Egypt.

(Frenkel, a McClatchy special correspondent, reported from Jerusalem. Warren P. Strobel and Steven Thomma contributed to this article from Washington.)

BP Announces Deepwater Gulf of Mexico Discovery - Teams Up With Israeli Co.'s Partner Noble Energy

BP website, Release date: June 6, 2007

HOUSTON, TX - BP Exploration & Production Inc. (NYSE: BP) announced today a hydrocarbon discovery in an exploration well that tested its Isabela prospect in the Gulf of Mexico. The well is located on Mississippi Canyon Block 562 in approximately 6,500 feet of water, about 150 miles southeast of New Orleans. Isabela was drilled to a total depth of approximately 19,100 feet into Miocene era sands.

“Isabela is an excellent addition to our portfolio of discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico” said Dave Rainey, BP’s Vice President of Gulf of Mexico Exploration. “It will likely be tied back to our Na Kika production platform, helping to maximize the value of that infrastructure.”

The well is operated by BP Exploration & Production Inc. with a 67% working interest and is co-owned by Noble Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NBL) with a 33% working interest. The lease was acquired at federal OCS Lease Sale 169 in March, 1998.

BP is one of the world’s largest energy companies, with interests in more than 100 countries and over 100,000 employees across six continents. BP’s business segments are Exploration and Production; Refining and Marketing; and Gas, Power and Renewables, which includes its Alternative Energy business. Through these business segments, BP provides fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, retail services, and petrochemical products.

Further information:
Name: Neil Chapman
Office: BP Press office, Houston
Telephone: 281-366-7115

Israeli Tshuva in talks to buy all BP gas stations in France: A deal will boost the number of Delek's gas stations in Europe to over 1,200

Globes - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX, TradingMarkets.com, Feb. 04, 2010

Yitzhak Tshuva-controlled Delek Group Ltd. (TASE: DLEKG) subsidiary Delek Europe BV is in negotiations with BP Group plc (NYSE; LSE: BP) subsidiary BP France SA to acquire all its 416 petrol stations in France for ae180 million. Delek Group expects to close the deal during the second half of the year.

Delek Group has already paid BP France ae10 million for negotiations exclusivity, which is valid through October 15. Delek Group will pay an additional ae10 million down payment when a contract is signed.

In addition to the gas stations, the deal includes 300 convenience stores and 200 carwashes. Delek will continue to operate the gas stations under the BP brand. The deal will probably also include a long-term agreement for the use of fuel cards.

If a deal is closed, Tshuva will hold a 3 percent share of the French gas stations market.

Delek Group owns Delek Europe through wholly-owned subsidiary Delek Petroleum Ltd. (TASE: DLKP.B7; DLKP.B8) (80 percent) and Delek Israel Fuel Corporation Ltd. (TASE: DLKIS) (20 percent). Delek Europe owns Delek Benelux BV, which operates 870 Texaco brand gas stations in the Netherlands and Belgium.

A deal will boost Delek Europe's gas stations in Europe to over 1,250. Delek Israel operates 1,000 gas stations in Israel.

Delek Group's share rose 0.5 percent by mid-afternoon to NIS 809.60, giving a market cap of NIS 9.2 billion. Delek Israel's share fell 0.1 percent to NIS 159.50, giving a market cap of NIS 1.81 billion.

Israeli Company Delek Buys BP Gas Stations for $33.5 Million

AllBusiness.com, Nov. 8, 2005

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Delek Group Ltd. announced that its subsidiary, Delek US Holdings, had bought the rights in 25 gas stations and convenience stores in Nashville, Tenn., from British energy giant BP for $33.5 million, not including inventory, reported Globes online. The deal is expected to be closed in December.

The contract involves ownership rights to 20 gas stations, and leasing rights to five more. It also includes four other real estate properties slated for gas stations and convenience stores, including ownership rights for three properties and leasing rights for one property, according to the report.

Delek added in the report that the gas stations and convenience stores would continue to operate under the BP brand.

In its financial report for the second quarter of 2005, Delek said that Delek US Holdings owned 328 gas stations in Tennessee, Alabama and Virginia under the Mapco Express brand. Delek also reported that the profit of its Texas oil refinery jumped to $72 million for the second quarter, reported Globes.

Video: History of BP Includes Role in 1953 Iran Coup After Nationalization of Oil

As tens of thousands of gallons of oil continue to spew into the Gulf of Mexico from the BP oil spill we continue our series on BP. Sixty years ago, BP was called the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. We look at the story of the company’s role in the 1953 CIA coup against Iran’s popular progressive Prime Minister Mohamed Mossadegh.

Democracy Now! - The War & Peace Report

June 5: Global Day To Break The Israeli Siege Of Gaza & Support Aid Flotilla

Sat., June 5, 2010

1:00 PM

Caterpillar
9000 Statesville Rd
Charlotte, NC
(protest at corner of WT Harris Blvd & Statesville Rd)

We will demonstrate in front of Caterkiller in solidarity with the Freedom Flotilla taking humanitarian aid to Gaza. This day also marks the 43rd anniversary of Israel's Six Day War in 1967 against Palestine & her neighbors.

The company which best exemplifies the interest of US corporations in the Occupation and the complete refusal to address human rights concerns in the region is Caterpillar. The most destructive weapon of the Occupation may not be an F-16 or helicopter gunship, but rather, an armor plated D-9 or D-11 bulldozer. These are the machines that have demolished thousands of homes, uprooted countless olive trees, and carved gaping holes in roads, making them impassable. Even when used in Israel’s colonial intrusions on the land through construction of illegal housing or bypass roads, CAT equipment is being used daily in the commission of war crimes and violations of human rights.

Call for Action: Global Day to Break Israeli Siege

Today we watched with horror as Israel committed its massacre against the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza murdering at least 9 unarmed civilians and leaving over 50 injured. The peaceful Flotilla carrying over 10,000 tones of humanitarian aid to Gaza and over 700 pro-Palestinian activists was attacked by Israeli Navy forces using live ammunition, teargas, grenades…etc.

The Israeli apartheid state has again acted in full impunity against international law and needs to be held accountable for the murder of unarmed civilians at sea and illegal barbaric piracy of civilian vessels in international water carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza.

In memory of the brave men and women who lost their lives on the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza, today we are calling all free citizens and people of conscience around the world to a Global Day of Action to carry forward Freedom Flotilla’s cause of breaking the Israeli siege of Gaza.

Let’s mark Saturday, 5th June 2010 as Global Day to Break Israeli Siege with protests and demonstrations in front of Israeli embassies and consulates all over the world. We call on you to join us on this day to demand in a global united voice, from our governments to:

- Take a stance against this horrid inhumanity committed by Israel against armless humanitarians and activists by following Turkey’s footsteps in shutting down Israeli’s consulates. Crimes against inhumanity are inexcusable and will not be welcome in our countries.

- Join the growing international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement in cutting all political, economic, cultural and academic ties with Israel as a statement that crimes against humanity are inexcusable, unwelcome and will not pass unchallenged.

- Impose full sanctions against Israel until they fully abide by international law and UN conventions in relation to the siege in Gaza, occupation and apartheid in Palestine as well as the right of return of refugees.

- If you do not have an Israeli embassy in your country, protest in front of major corporations or institutions with economic, political, cultural or academic ties with Israel.

We stand today at an urgent and critical point in our global quest for justice and human rights. The brutal attack on activists aboard the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, resulting in at least 9 deaths and tens of injuries, proves that Zionism indiscriminately targets human rights advocates of all nationalities. We must not allow this massacre to pass quietly.

Please register your event on Global Day to Break Israeli Siege by sending us an email to support@breaksiege.com or by submitting your event details here.

Join the growing critical mass around the world with a commitment to the day when Palestinians are entitled to the same rights as any other people, when the siege is lifted, the occupation is over and the 6 million Palestinian refugees are finally granted justice.

For more information:
http://charlotteaction.blogspot.com

For more info on the Global Day To Break The Israeli Siege of Gaza:
http://www.breaksiege.com/

http://gazafreedommarch.org

Israel using 'pirated' footage to defend raid: media body

TurkishPress.com, June 3, 2010

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military's YouTube site is using 'pirated' footage confiscated from journalists on board a Turkish vessel in a bid to defend its botched flotilla raid, a press body charged on Thursday.

"The Foreign Press Association (FPA) strongly condemns the use of photos and video material shot by foreign journalists, now being put out by the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) spokesman's office as 'captured material'," a statement from the organisation said.

The complaint centres on footage shot on board the Mavi Marmara passenger ship, which was the focus of a deadly Israeli commando raid at dawn Monday, in which nine foreign aid activists were killed, provoking an international outcry.

One of the clips on YouTube, entitled: "Flotilla Passenger: I Want to Be a Shahid (Martyr)" shows a passenger being interviewed on the boat before the raid, by someone holding a microphone with 'Press TV' stamped on it.

The 23-second clip, in which the man talks about wanting to become a martyr, is not credited to any journalist or media outlet, and only described as "footage captured on the Gaza flotilla."

Several other unattributed clips shown on the IDF's YouTube channel also feature "footage captured on the Mavi Marmara" -- one of which shows activists hurling objects and hosing down troops trying to board the vessel from an assault craft.

"The material and/or equipment that was confiscated from journalists covering the events on the ships, should be returned to the owners and their media organisations," the FPA said.

"The use of this material without permission from the relevant media organisations is a clear violation of journalistic ethics and unacceptable," it said, warning media outlets to treat such material "with caution."

"We call upon the authorities to immediately clarify the source of the material."

The army had no immediate comment on the exact source of the footage, with a spokesman saying only it was "found" on board the Marmara after it was taken over by troops following the bloody operation.

Nearly 700 passengers were travelling on board the aid fleet, of which around 60 were journalists, press freedom group Reporters Without Borders said earlier this week, including correspondents from Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya and the Sydney Morning Herald.

Since Monday, the army has broadcast more than a dozen video clips on YouTube in a bid to back up its claim that the activists on the boat were not harmless peaceniks but Islamists bent on violence.

Rachel Corrie makes its way to Gaza

by SHAHANAAZ HABIB, The Star Online, June 4, 2010

AMMAN - Volunteers on the MV Rachel Corrie are not trained soldiers, and they are fearful of being attacked by the Israeli army – but they are determined to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.

“Of course there is worry, but this is an amanah (trust bestowed upon us) to deliver the aid to Gaza,” said Perdana Global Peace Organisation representative Shamsul Akmar in an interview.

He is on board the sole ship making its way to Gaza.

Israel’s attack on the six aid ships in international waters on Monday resulting in nine deaths only made those on Rachel Corrie more determined to carry out their amanah.

Rachel Corrie was supposed to be part of the flotilla but she got left behind due to delays and some “suspicious stringent checks” by port authorities at several places, said Shamsul.

If all goes well, the 1,200 tonne Rachel Corrie, carrying medical aid, construction material, toys, educational and writing material is expected to reach Gaza on Saturday.

There are 19 people on board and they have been travelling for 20 days.

Other than Shamsul, who is the head of the delegation, there are five other Malaysians – Matthias Chang, Parit MP Nizar Zakaria, activist Ahmad Faizal Azumu and TV3 crew members Halim Mohamed and Jufri Junid.

Also on board is a strong Irish delegation with Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire.

There are six crew members, a captain and a chief engineer.

The ship is funded by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Perdana Global Peace Orga nisation.

Shamsul said there are a number of possible scenarios:

> Israel may let Rachel Corrie through

> Israel may become aggressive and board the ship; and

> those on board the ship may be shot by Israeli forces

Shamsul said that if Israel stopped the ship in international waters, but the ship was forced away, “we collectively feel we should stay there for a few days to try and deliver the aid.”

The tiny Gaza strip has been put under a strangling blockade after Hamas took over control of it in 2007, causing hardship to the 1.5 million living in what is called the “world’s biggest prison on earth.”

In December 2008, Israel launched a three week massive military strike on Gaza, killing at least 1,400 people and destroying many homes, buildings, factories and infrastructure.

But because of the siege, Gaza has not been able to bring the materials needed to rebuild including construction material like cement, glass and bricks.

Activists: We have funding for another larger Gaza flotilla

'Freedom 2' expected to set sail in coming weeks; Crew members of 'Rachel Corrie' ship, part of the first Gaza aid convoy, still determined to break Gaza blockade, saying 'we are a peaceful mission.'
By Avi Issacharoff and Reuters, Haaretz Daily Newspaper, June 2, 2010

The European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza announced on Wednesday that they received funding for three more ships to be part of a new Gaza-bound flotilla dubbed "Freedom 2".

Dr. Arafat Madi, the head of the group, based in Brussels, said that they are planning a new Gaza flotilla comprised of many more ships and pro-Palestinian activists than the first one.

"Following the massacre done by the IDF forces in international waters, the world's calls for another flotilla are even more pressing."

The new flotilla is expected to set sail in the coming weeks, and the head of the group didn't discount the possibility of Turkey's semi-official participation in funding or organizing.

Meanwhile, the last aid ship of the first Gaza flotillais determined to finish its journey despite a naval blockade and expects to reach the point where Israeli commandos raided a flotilla later this week, a crew member said.

The MV Rachel Corrie, a converted merchant ship bought by pro-Palestinian activists and named after an American woman killed in the Gaza Strip in 2003, set off on Monday from Malta.

It is carrying 15 activists including a northern Irish Nobel Peace laureate and expects to be at the point of Monday's deadly raid on a Turkish-backed aid convoy between Friday evening and Saturday morning, crew member Derek Graham said.

The Israeli navy stormed a Turkish ferry leading a six-ship convoy on Monday, killing nine people in what authorities have said was self-defense. The killings have sparked a world outcry and condemnations of Israel.

"We had a meeting after what happened on Monday morning and we were more determined than ever to continue with our mission," Graham told Irish state broadcaster RTE on Wednesday.

He said he would inform Israeli authorities of the exact positions of the ship's passengers and urge those on board to remain peaceful.

"I will advise the passengers and crew to sit quietly with their hands shown so they cannot do like they did on Monday and claim we attacked them," he said. "We are a peaceful mission."

The Israeli government has offered to escort the vessel and deliver the civilian aid for it. It has said Egypt is prepared to do the same.

However Graham said he was concerned not all the cargo would be delivered. The ship is carrying medical equipment, school supplies and cement, a material Israel has banned from entering Gaza.

Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen, who described the vessel as Irish-owned, said it should be allowed to finish its mission.
.

South Africa recalls its ambassador

Flotilla affair leads to further diplomatic fallout.
By AMIR MIZROCH, The Jerusalem Post, June 4, 2010

“This was done in order to register the Government’s strongest possible protest to the Israeli Government, for its unjustified military action and resultant loss of life inflicted by The State of Israel on a flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian relief supplies to Gaza,” Deputy International Relations Minister Ebrahim Ebrahim said in a statement to reporters on Thursday.

“The recall of Ambassador Ismael Coovadia for consultations is a way of protesting and a way of showing our strongest condemnation of the attack. This recent Israel aggression of attacking the aid flotilla severely impacts on finding a lasting solution to the problems of the region,” Ebrahim told journalists in Pretoria.

Some 3,500 protesters in Cape Town on Thursday called on South Africa to sever ties with Israel, E-tv, which is based in the city, reported.

South Africa on Thursday announced that it was recalling its ambassador to Israel for consultations over the Gaza flotilla incident earlier this week.

South African Embassy spokesman Judika Tladi told The Jerusalem Post that Ambassador Ismael Coovadia was being recalled to Pretoria so that the government can get a “better understanding” of what happened off the coast. He could not say when Coovadia, who was leaving the country this weekend, would return to Israel.

Tladi added that Pretoria was not planning on expelling Israel’s ambassador to South Africa or severing ties.

“This will not affect ties between the two countries. We have no intention of expelling the Israeli ambassador or cutting ties with Israel,” Tladi said.

Israeli Ambassador to South Africa Dov Sergev-Steinberg was summoned earlier this week to a meeting and given a demarche from Deputy Minister of International Relations and Co-operation Sue Van Der Merwe.

“This was done in order to register the Government’s strongest possible protest to the Israeli Government, for its unjustified military action and resultant loss of life inflicted by The State of Israel on a flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian relief supplies to Gaza,” Deputy International Relations Minister Ebrahim Ebrahim said in a statement to reporters on Thursday.

“The recall of Ambassador Ismael Coovadia for consultations is a way of protesting and a way of showing our strongest condemnation of the attack. This recent Israel aggression of attacking the aid flotilla severely impacts on finding a lasting solution to the problems of the region,” Ebrahim told journalists in Pretoria.

Some 3,500 protesters in Cape Town on Thursday called on South Africa to sever ties with Israel, E-tv, which is based in the city, reported.

South Africa’s diplomatic recall comes several days after Turkey recalled its ambassador to Israel. Turkish Ambassador Oguz Celikkol arrived in Ankara Thursday. Nicaragua cut ties with Israel earlier this week and Ecuador announced Thursday that it was recalling its ambassador as well.

Israel expressed its regret and disappointment at the South African move.

“Those who criticize Israel would be better advised to turn their criticism against the terror-supporting rioters from the flotilla, who have nothing to do with humaneness,” spokesman Yigal Palmor said in a statement.

Relations between Israel and South Africa are for all intents and purposes in a “freeze,” one diplomatic official said Thursday.

South Africa, a close trading partner with Iran, votes against Israel in almost every possible international forum.

“We try to strengthen ties and South Africa tries to break them. They are very much like Turkey now,” the official said.

Pretoria also joined the many in the international community calling for the naval blockade of Gaza to be immediately lifted.

“This siege, which has brought untold hardships to the ordinary people of Gaza and made their lives nightmarish, is unconscionable and unsustainable,” said Ebrahim.

Ebrahim also spoke of the government’s commitment to contributing towards peace in the region and ensuring an independent and viable Palestinian state.

“A long-term solution to the region can only be achieved through negotiation. What is needed is the creation of a climate of mutual trust and peace,” he said.

A low point in relations with South Africa was reached during Operation Cast Lead, when then-South African deputy minister of foreign affairs Fatima Hajaig unleashed an anti-Semitic tirade against Israel.

“In fact, no matter which government comes into power, whether Republican or Democratic, whether Barack Obama or George Bush, the control of America, just like the control of most Western countries is in the hands of Jewish money, and if Jewish money controls their country, you cannot expect anything else,” Hajaig was recorded as saying, to thunderous applause, at a pro-Palestinian rally in the Lenasia township outside of Johannesburg in January 2009.

South Africa had one citizen on board the flotilla. Gadija Davids, a journalist with Radio 786 in Cape Town, was aboard the Mavi Marmara , on which the deadly raid that killed nine activists occurred.

Radio 786 is a community radio station, whose license holder is the Islamic Unity Convention, The Mail and Guardian reported. The journalist was not hurt and is expected back in South Africa Friday.

In a statement released Thursday, the South African Jewish leadership said that while it is saddened over the deaths and injuries incurred during the Gaza flotilla incident, it nevertheless saw the South African government’s decision to temporarily recall its ambassador in response as “premature and inappropriate.”

“The relevant facts of the incident are not yet fully known; they will become so only after the investigation into its causes has completed its work and reported its findings to the international community,” the South Africa Jewish Board of Deputies said.

“In this regard, the leadership expresses its profound disappointment at the decision, as it goes against the South African way of engaging in dialogue and not jumping to conclusions before all the facts are known. The Jewish leadership regrets that South Africa is thus far the only country, aside from Turkey, to have taken so radical and disproportionate a step, despite not being directly involved in the matter,” the statement said.

Rachel Corrie' proceeding to Gaza

PAMELA NEWENHAM and MARY FITZGERALD, The Irish Times, June 3, 2010

An Irish-owned boat laden with humanitarian supplies is continuing its journey towards Gaza despite Israel’s insistence it will not allow any vessel break its blockade on the territory.

The MV Rachel Corrie , which has five Irish citizens aboard, including Nobel peace laureate Mairéad Corrigan-Maguire and former UN official Denis Halliday, is currently in Libyan waters some 640 km (400 miles) from Gaza.

The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign tonight dismissed some reports that the boat was due to dock in Turkey and insisted it intends to maintain course with no stops until it reaches the Gazan port.

The boat, which is captained by Eric Harcis, is travelling at approximately 402 kms (250 miles) a day and expects to reach Gaza by Saturday. Film-maker Fiona Thompson from Dundalk and husband and wife Derek and Jenny Graham from Co Mayo are also on board.

“I spoke to Derek and he said they were going full throttle towards Gaza,” Freda Hughes from the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign said today. “Originally the boat was lagging behind the rest of the flotilla, now it looks like the one surviving member that might get to Gaza."

Ms Hughes said the activists would not accede to an Israeli request unloading the ship’s cargo at Ashdod port for transport to Gaza was not a deal the activists would strike with Israel, as the ship is carrying banned building materials including cement which would not be delivered.

“It’s bringing aid to Gaza that’s not allowed such as medical equipment and construction materials. If it docks in Ashdod, none of this aid will reach Gaza”.

Speaking from the ship today, Dennis Halliday said: “We want to emphasise that our aim is not provocation but getting our aid cargo into Gaza”.

We are calling on the UN to inspect the cargo and escort us into Gaza, he said, adding “we all remain in good spirits”.

Irish officials have been maintaining close contact with the 1,200-ton boat which was supposed to join the aid flotilla raided by Israeli commandos on Monday but was delayed due to mechanical problems.

“We have continued to make it clear to the Israeli government . . . that we want maximum restraint and we do not want any interception in international waters,” Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin said. “It has been a terrible week in terms of the loss of life and there is now an obligation on all involved to reduce tension . . . It is extremely important that we do not have a repeat of what happened earlier this week.”

Israel’s ambassador to Ireland, Zion Evrony, has said Israel does not expect any confrontation or violence when the MV Rachel Corrie approaches the exclusion zone.

The storming of the six-ship flotilla by Israeli commandos on Monday resulted in the deaths of nine activists and prompted renewed international criticism of Israel’s blockade.

Martin calls on Israel to show restraint with Irish boat

MARY FITZGERALD and ALISON HEALY, The Irish Times, June 3, 2010

IRISH APPEAL: THE GOVERNMENT yesterday repeated calls for Israel to exercise restraint in dealing with an Irish-owned boat currently en route to Gaza to deliver aid in defiance of the Israeli blockade of the territory.

The Government has urged Israel to allow the MV Rachel Corrie, whose crew includes five Irish citizens, safe passage to discharge its cargo.

The activists onboard expect to reach the exclusion zone off Gaza by late Friday. Taoiseach Brian Cowen told the Dáil yesterday that the Government has been maintaining close contact with the 1,200-ton boat which was supposed to join the aid flotilla raided by Israeli commandos on Monday but had been delayed due to mechanical problems.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin said he had stressed the importance of restraint in conversations with Israel’s ambassador to Ireland Zion Evrony.

“We have continued to make it clear to the Israeli government ... that we want maximum restraint and we do not want any interception in international waters,” Mr Martin said.

“It has been a terrible week in terms of the loss of life and there is now an obligation on all involved to reduce tensions ... It is extremely important that we do not have a repeat of what happened earlier this week.”

Fianna Fáil TD Chris Andrews, whose plans to travel with the flotilla were scuppered when authorities in Cyprus did not allow him board the ships last week, said there were plans for another aid flotilla to Gaza.

“The events ... have only made people more determined,” he said, adding that if force were used against the MV Rachel Corrie , there “will be consequences for that”.

Green Party leader John Gormley said Israel’s attack on the flotilla showed it can act with “virtual impunity” because of “policy incoherence” at EU level.

“We don’t have that coherent response at a foreign policy level. That’s what’s required and if we had that I think Israel would listen.

“But at the moment they can act with virtual impunity because of the incoherence at European level and because they continue to get not just outright support but tacit support as well from the US.”

Mr Evrony has postponed an appearance in front of the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee, which was scheduled to take place today. Committee chairman Dr Michael Woods said the postponement was “most disappointing”.

Israeli raid on Gaza Freedom Flotilla killed US citizen Furkan Dogan

Furkan Dogan – one of the activists killed in an Israeli raid on the Gaza 'Freedom Flotilla' and buried in Turkey today – was a US citizen. A friend, who had been on board the same ship, said Dogan was shot by five bullets.
By Scott Peterson, CSMonitor.com, June 3, 2010

Istanbul, Turkey - An American-Turkish dual citizen killed during an Israeli commando raid on a humanitarian aid flotilla was among activists buried in Turkey on Thursday.

Furkan Dogan was struck by five bullets shortly before dawn on Monday while atop the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara ship, according to friends who were on board at the time of the Israeli raid and attended the funeral for eight of the nine Turks who died.

The website of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan – who called the Israeli raid a "bloody massacre" and threatened to sever ties with Israel – listed Mr. Dogan's nationality as American. A State Department spokesman confirmed a dual US-Turkish citizen was killed and said the embassy in Turkey had offered consular services to the family.

Dogan’s death and his US citizenship were spoken of at the funeral.

“Furkan was my friend,” said Ali Yunusoalu, who went with Dogan for pre-dawn prayers on the top deck of the Mavi Marmar on Monday. Israeli naval boats soon approached the ship, he said, and then commandos dropped from helicopters.

“The soldiers started shooting and bombing” with bullets and percussion grenades, said Mr. Yunusoalu. “It was a big sound – you can’t hear a thing because of the noise.”

Dogan ran “everywhere” before he was killed, recalled Yunusoalu. “We were very afraid.”

Repercussions?

Though Dogan’s ongoing American ties appear to be limited, the death of a US citizen will make it harder for the Obama administration to side-step a diplomatic confrontation with Israel.

So far, the US public and government response has been more muted than those in Europe or the Middle East, with the administration caught between a powerful pro-Israel constituency at home, on the one hand, and growing anger among other allies, on the other.

But the death of a US citizen by violence usually prompts a response from the federal government and politicians.

After American activist Rachel Corrie was killed by an Israeli military bulldozer as she tried to stop it from destroying a Palestinian home in Gaza in 2003, senior US officials demanded a full investigation of the incident.

The results of the Israeli investigation into her death was that it was accidental, which drew charges of a whitewash from her supporters and her family, which this year sued the Israeli military over the incident. An Irish-owned humanitarian boat that is steaming towards Gaza and could challenge Israel’s blockade as soon as Saturday was named in her honor: the MV Rachel Corrie.

Dogan was not the only American casualty of Monday’s events. Shortly after Israel's raid on the flotilla, US college student Emily Henochowicz was struck by an Israeli tear gas canister and lost her eye while attending a pro-Palestinian protest at the Kalandia crossing, along the fence Israel erected between Jerusalem and the West Bank.

How they died?

Turkish media reported that initial examinations of the dead Turkish activists show they all had been killed by bullets, some fired at close range. A funeral for the ninth Turkish citizen killed was due on Friday.

Dogan’s apparent dual citizenship was not the only American connection weighing on some of several thousands mourners at the service at Istanbul’s Fatih mosque, where eight coffins draped with Turkish and Palestinian flags were lifted overhead to chants of “God is great!”

A few Turks also shouted: “Murderous United States of America.”

“No thanks to the Americans for supplying all arms to [the Israelis],” said Sakir Yildirim, a UK-British dual national who was also on the Mavi Marmara ship. He said he witnessed three or four deaths of activists within a few yards of him—one of the men shot in the forehead when the red light of a laser rifle sight alighted there. “All that stuff is American made.”

Staff writer Dan Murphy contributed from Boston.