Oil Pipe Successfully Cut, Spike Lee Says Obama Not Mad Enough

It seems that BP has had a rare moment of success in their floundering attempt to stop the worst oil leak in U.S. history. After yet another setback yesterday, technicians have managed to cut the riser pipe so that they can cap the remaining pipe with a new dome. The bad news is that with the riser sheared off, oil is now gushing without obstruction into the ocean, and the leak could now be as much as 20 percent greater.

Yesterday the saw cut halfway though the riser pipe before it stopped being effective; one anonymous technician tells the Times "it appeared that the saw had been dulled by material inside the riser—including, perhaps, some of the objects pumped into the well during the failed 'top kill' procedure last week." Junk shot FTW! Today they used a shear instead of the finer diamond-laced wire saw, which resulted in a jagged cut, meaning that the containment cap will fit less snugly. Adm. Thad W. Allen called it a "significant step forward" but added, "We’ll have to see when we get the containment cap on it just how effective it is." Good point, Thad.

Meanwhile, our greatest hope for relief has been spurned. It seems James Cameron just doesn't have Kevin Costner's cachet and he says that his offer to help solve the problem was "graciously" rejected by BP. And in other celebrity backseat driving news, Spike Lee was on "AC 360°" last night urging Obama to get pissed. "One time, go off!" director Spike Lee urged the unflappable president. "If there's any one time to go off, this is it, because this is a disaster." Obama will appear on Larry King Live tonight to talk about the spill, and will visit the Gulf region once again tomorrow, marking his third trip since the oil rig exploded April 20th.

And speaking of getting pissed, cyclists in LA are outraged after video surfaced showing an LAPD officer trying to kick bikers riding in a Critical Mass ride protesting the spill. It's no Officer Pogan Vs. cyclist Long, but it's always interesting to watch cops take down the guy videotaping them. Viddy below:

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in News on June 3, 2010 4:05 PM

Comments [rss]

freddynyc

I hope that no one here compares Obama to the laid back black guy who doesn't give a f*ck when the going gets tough...

ribaldry

SHOCKER - OIL BASED ECONOMY DESTROYS ENVIRONMENT

just saying

1) So now the media is soliciting advice about handling the BP disaster from the likes of Spike Lee. Who's next, Big Bird?

2) re the Critical Mass ride in LA:

A tipser/cyclist emailed:

"The *vast majority* of the police along the way were helpful and accommodating. Even firefighters were out on the sidewalks outside of their stations giving high fives and waving hello. But for whatever reason the police in Hollywood were extremely aggressive..."

Wow - the LAPD (except in Hollywood) sounds pretty cool and laid back--unlike the NYPD. No doubt they also work out daily and have enviable tans. lol

btw-did anyone notice that virtually none of the LA cyclists were wearing helmets?

John L

First and foremost, I cannot believe that these oil companies did not have a plan in place in case something like this happened, which was just a matter of time. I don't believe that they never imagined that something like this could would never occur. They need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law just to deter other companies from not being prepared to handle a crisis such as this. There should have been a structure built around these pipes to handle this in case something like this happened.

Secondly, I don't know what exactly all these people expect of our president. What exactly is he suppose to do? Put on a scuba diving suit and jump in the water? I mean really, what is the president's role in this? If the best engineers in the world, experts in their field, can't come up with a solution then what can or should the president do?

Thirdly, I've heard so many people refer to this oil spill as "Obama's Katrina" and I don't understand how this disaster can even be compared to Bush's response of Hurricane Katrina. These are two totally different disasters. President Bush's delayed reaction caused Americans to die on rooftops waiting to be rescued, Americans drowned in the attics of their homes waiting to be rescued, Americans were forced to start looting to survive because there wasn't any relief aid, Americans didn't have clean drinking water to survive, Americans were homeless and referred to as refugees in their own country, how can this compare? Sure this is an atrocity for our environment and all the fisherman who count on it for their livelihoods but no one is dying because rescue efforts are being delayed, Americans aren't waving desperately at news helicopters, begging to be rescued.

Mr. Shankly

You can be sure that the cost to develop such contingencies was not worth the cost to BP. In other words, "A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one."

BO pitching a hissy at this point would be as pointless as his finger wagging at the banks. I'd like to see him deny BP any further drilling rights on around US soil. He'll fold like a cheap suit, though. No question.

Bush's reaction came off as bad PR, but N.O. is a city built below sea level in hurricane alley. It was/is a poor, corrupt, poorly led disaster waiting to happen. Saint JFK himself could hardly have done better.

BP's failure was certainly more calculated and malicious given their safety record. Rightly blame the last administration for letting it happen. Dropping the ball now would be even worse.

fuboy

Okay, I'm willing to let Gothamist get away with a lot in how it reprocesses the news, but damn, John, what the hell is with the LA cyclist bit at the end? It has absolutely nothing to do with the story. Are you getting influenced by the highly tangential and off-topic comments section of the site?

If you want to start a comment war over cycling, why not put this as a separate post?

Spirit of 76

Did you miss the part where JDS wrote, "cyclists in LA are outraged after video surfaced showing an LAPD officer trying to kick bikers riding in a Critical Mass ride protesting the spill"?

As for Spike Lee, he's pissed enough about everything to balance Obama's supposed lack of passion. As more level-headed people said, what would Obama screaming and yelling four-letter words accomplish? "Going off" never helps anybody. I just hope BP is indicted in the criminal investigation and especially that CEO who has his head stuck so far in the sand, I swear he must have struck oil with his nose.