BP Oil spill

as has been stated before BP are still not 100% liable
two other oil companies haliburton and XXXXXX ? were the makers and installers of the rig itself and the saftey valve
the inquest into what actually happened is underway
i always thought in america you were innocent until proven guilty but so much has happened recently to complete dispell that rumour ( guantanamo / abu grahib / iraq / afgahnistan )

and listening to question time last night
one person raised the issue of bhopal where the victims are still in court 20 years on trying to get compensation from an american company who polluted / didn't do the safety bit... exxon valdez where it took 15 years for the americans to cough up the compensation
the niger delta american companies are spilling as much as is being spilt in the gulf daily but somehow a blind eye is being turned to that issue
contradictory / blinkered american politics.... really fucked up
yet they jump down BP's throats

The reason BP are in the headlines is roughly because Haliburton and Transocean were subcontractors to BP. BP were the main contractor/well owners and have ultimate responsibility. The main contractors get the gross share of the profits and by default the gross share of the risk. If the inquest deems that Haliburton or Transocean were liable then BP will have to pay in full and then pursue those at fault for the costs later. That's why America are blaming BP. Because, as main contractors/owners, BP are responsible.

The question isn't "who's responsible?" it is "did anyone point out that this was possible and decide to ignore the risks?". Because when all of that falls out the finger willm most likely be pointing directly at BP and the MMS.

Interestingly one of the things Obama set out to do was to get rid of the corruption in the Mineral Management Service. He actually gutted it and got rid of a bunch of their "worst" people last year. But it looks like he didn't go far enough.