This will be fun - drilling moratorium blocked

[TBird41]

Jun 23, 2010 12:37:26 GMT -5 Boz said:

Jun 23, 2010 12:15:25 GMT -5 hoyainspirit said:

Well, they've screwed up again. Managed to knock the cap off. Oil is again flowing unimpeded into the Gulf. What a nightmare!

At this point, I think we need the services of the USS Enterprise, traveling back through time.

I'm sure Scottie could fabricate some sort of transparent aluminum barrier to keep the oil in check.


And while they're at it, some dilithium crystals might help us break our addiction to oil.

Have you seen what happens when warp drives overload??? There's NO WAY the environmental lobby and the NIMBYs would ever let us build a warp reactor.

[hoyawatcher]

Jun 23, 2010 12:48:36 GMT -5 TBird41 said:

Jun 23, 2010 12:37:26 GMT -5 Boz said:

At this point, I think we need the services of the USS Enterprise, traveling back through time.

I'm sure Scottie could fabricate some sort of transparent aluminum barrier to keep the oil in check.


And while they're at it, some dilithium crystals might help us break our addiction to oil.

Have you seen what happens when warp drives overload??? There's NO WAY the environmental lobby and the NIMBYs would ever let us build a warp reactor.

Would we need to reopen Yuka Mountain to store spent dilithium crystals? That could be a problem

[kchoya]

Jun 23, 2010 12:48:36 GMT -5 TBird41 said:

Jun 23, 2010 12:37:26 GMT -5 Boz said:

At this point, I think we need the services of the USS Enterprise, traveling back through time.

I'm sure Scottie could fabricate some sort of transparent aluminum barrier to keep the oil in check.


And while they're at it, some dilithium crystals might help us break our addiction to oil.

Have you seen what happens when warp drives overload??? There's NO WAY the environmental lobby and the NIMBYs would ever let us build a warp reactor.

Is that like when the streams cross in Ghostbusters?

Can't they just use that whale they scooped up in Star trek IV and have it go down and plug up the leak?

[SFHoya99]

Not just a Star Trek reference, but a Star Trek IV reference!

Sadly, there are no more nuclear wessels on Alameda.

[kchoya]

Much of the sensational reporting on Feldman’s investments was based on outdated information. The Judge was blasted for owning stock in Transocean, Ltd and Halliburton, two of the major companies involved in the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Feldman owned those stocks in 2008; however, he sold those shares long before issuing his ruling this week. In fact, this updated information will be released in the next report on his stock holdings.

If Feldman held financial interests in any of companies involved in the lawsuit or the Deepwater Horizon rig, he would not have been allowed the take the case. The 5th District Court uses a sophisticated computer system to check whether judges have a conflict of interest in any legal proceeding. This system automatically determines whether a judge needs to be recused from a particular case. In this lawsuit, Feldman was allowed to take the case because he did not own any stock related to the parties involved.

[Boz]

You mean the media was lazy and didn't check into this before reporting it?

I find that hard to believe.

[jerseyhoya34]

The stock angle didn't bark for me either. For whatever it is worth, which may not be much, Feldman had stock in other oil companies that were affected by the deepwater moratorium - which was the issue he generally considered.

[SirSaxa]

As far as media accuracy goes, the only source I personally heard beforehand was CNBC. They specifically stated the info was the latest that was available due to reporting requirements for judges and that it was from the prior year. They said they had no way of knowing if the judge had added to or sold off his holdings since that report was made public.

[TC]

Jun 25, 2010 16:15:28 GMT -5 SirSaxa said:

As far as media accuracy goes, the only source I personally heard beforehand was CNBC. They specifically stated the info was the latest that was available due to reporting requirements for judges and that it was from the prior year. They said they had no way of knowing if the judge had added to or sold off his holdings since that report was made public.

It was for 2008 :

www.judicialwatch.org/jfd/Feldman_Martin_L_C/2008.pdf

I think it kind of begs a question though - seems like judges should be limited to or should limit themselves to index funds.

[SSHoya]

"U.S.District Judge Martin L.C. Feldman sold the stock in Exxon Mobil 14 days after the case was filed in New Orleans by a group of oil service firms --- and less than five hours before he struck down the moratorium." Exxon has one rig in the Gulf.

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/25/AR2010062504155.html?hpid=moreheadlines

[TC]

Jun 26, 2010 6:17:58 GMT -5 SSHoya said:

"U.S.District Judge Martin L.C. Feldman sold the stock in Exxon Mobil 14 days after the case was filed in New Orleans by a group of oil service firms --- and less than five hours before he struck down the moratorium." Exxon has one rig in the Gulf.

I think you can dismiss the "media was wrong" argument now. It's bad enough he owned oil industry stock and took this case, but selling during what should be a judicial quiet period?

[hoyainspirit]

He owns several funds run by BlackRock, an asset management firm. BlackRock is undeniably one of BP's largest shareholders, and, according to some reports, the largest shareholder. Perhaps Feldman is able to render a decision in this instance without regard to his own financial self interest. I would not be shocked if that were the case. His actions, without a doubt, fail the smell test, though.

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