Return of the BP Cover-Up: US govt won't release data for MONTHS -- Mother Jones

[nashville_brook]

http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/08/noaa-no-data-spill-claim-least-two-months


Return of the BP Cover-Up
By Kate Sheppard| Thu Aug. 19, 2010 3:00 AM PDT

Earlier this month, the federal government claimed that three-quarters of the oil in the Gulf had magically disappeared. But as I reported Wednesday, the federal government has so far refused to provide congressional investigators and the media with the numbers to support that claim. Now, it looks like the official report, with all the data and substantiating material, won't be released for months.

On Wednesday afternoon, during a telephone briefing on the spill for congressional staffers, NOAA scientists said the data might not be available for at least two months. The full report is in the "process of being written," according to NOAA, but it won't be made available for "around a couple months." The delay, NOAA representatives said, is so the report "can be peer reviewed." This, of course, raises the question of why the initial report was even released on Aug. 4 if it hadn't been peer reviewed and couldn't be substantiated with data, methodology, and full disclosure of the kind of assumptions that went into reaching this conclusion. The NOAA representatives indicated that it was the White House that jumped the gun on releasing the report before it was really complete.

From what NOAA indicated to congressional staffers, we're not going to know for a while what the final report actually looks like or how accurate that first one even was. So is the government operating under the assumption that "most" of the oil is gone? And what does that mean for how they're handling the response–everything from cleaning up the oil itself to evaluating the safety of seafood?

Perhaps even more concerning, did members of the Obama administration, in their effort to declare "mission accomplished" and finally get some good news out of the Gulf, create more problems than it solved? I mean, they got their New York Times headline, so at least we can say their PR mission was accomplished. But the rush to put out a report they still can't substantiate should raise red flags galore.

[Wilms]

1. The White House and the EPA said everything was OK, and NOAA said "maybe not".

That's all you need to know.

Keep the CHANGE.

[AlabamaLibrul]

2. in before branding as an "obama hater" n/t

[nashville_brook]

14. ibboh!

[nashville_brook]

15. and, it's not like NOAA has been a big boat rocker in all this. if they're saying "whoa"

then it's likely a big deal.

[madrchsod]

3. smell the fish and the water is fine

[nashville_brook]

5. the whole fiasco doesn't pass the sniff test

[izquierdista]

6. Obama's whole administration doesn't

Appointing Geithner and Summers to fix the mess they had a big part in creating? Stinks! Having former health insurance executives write major parts of their "health reform" bill? Stinks! Pulling out of Iraq, but leaving 50,000 "non-combat" troops for "continuing operations"? Stinks! His 'Race to the top' education privatization? Stinks!

I better leave before the Obamabots tell me that the bullshit I'm smelling is actually rosebuds about to open. :hide:

[SammyWinstonJack]

7. +1 nt

[Donnachaidh]

9. +2 n/t

[nashville_brook]

13. +3

[Wilms]

19. +4 n/t

[Selatius]

21. I had a hunch Obama would turn right when he appointed Summers and Geithner.

It was a huge red flag appointing the same people who created the mess when you had equally qualified people who were sounding warnings all along like Stiglitz and Roubini.

[Poboy]

4. K&R!

[City Lights]

8. K&R nt

[Oilwellian]

10. Incredible

But yet, there Obama was, swimming in the Gulf with his daughter. I think that was the turning point for me and the Obama administration. It literally made me physically ill.

[nashville_brook]

11. that was an unnecessary low point.

[Marr]

16. But he looked so dreamy!

Why are you talking about the environmental disaster and the disturbingly symbiotic relationship between our government and big multinationals when this NEW ISSUE OF TIGER BEAT IS OUT?! Oh, swoon-- it has a poster! I bet he'd look great in a flight suit!

[Wilms]

20. You've captured it well.

Have a look at this sycophantical post with 12 recommends.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x412585

:gag:

[Poboy]

12. ttt

[PufPuf23]

17. Shameful. We pay for the fiasco in $ and livelihood.

Where the hell is an honest person to go for leadership in the USA?

[amborin]

18. knr