The Myth of Competence has died.

[n2doc]

Oil keeps flowing, experts keep getting it wrong
BY LEONARD PITTS JR.
MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

Now they're saying August. August.


After a month and a half of "top kill" and "junk shot," of chemical dispersants and high-tech domes, of skimmers and controlled burns, this is what we have to show for it.

We are now told it may take another two months to stop oil from spewing into gulf coast waters. And that's assuming no hurricane forces temporary suspension of the effort to drill two relief wells.

The immediate consequences of the April 20 oil rig explosion that started all this have long been manifest. Eleven lives were lost. Oil spilled into our seas, wreaking havoc on the various forms of fish, fowl and crustaceans for whom the ocean is home or feeding ground. The disaster also struck at the economic lifeblood of a region still trying to find its footing after Hurricane Katrina.

The myth
Weeks later, one other consequence becomes jarringly apparent: The Myth of Competence has died.

Meaning the belief that people who engage in high-risk activities -- in this case, the ones who drill for oil 5,000 feet under the sea -- know what they're doing, that they have every contingency covered, that even their backup plans have backup plans.

more
http://www.freep.com/article/20100604/OPINION05/6040321/1322/Oil-keeps-flowing-experts-keep-getting-it-wrong

[Xipe Totec]

Along with the myth of the invisible hand up the market nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Actually history is repeating itself

see Ixtoc I...

Oh and lack of ... institutional memory too

[Xipe Totec]

2. The first time as tragedy

the second time as farce.

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. And the first time you might say

accident... the second time, or third or fourth, you get the picture... (Australia last year) is negligence.

[Angry Dragon]

4. Murderers .......Murderers .........Murderers

People have died from this disaster, people will get sick from the oil and solvents, some more may die, peoples' lives are being destroyed, the food chain is being altered, this planet will never be the same. None of this will matter unless alot of top executives from the oil companies spend a long time in jail for murder will things change.

If bp is able to walk away with just paying a lot of money to appease the multitudes nothing will change. They will just do it again and other companies will look and see that they can kill people and part of this planet and all it costs is a little money, they will follow suit. They have shown over the years that people die when safety is circumvented so they knew that people would/could die so they should be arrested and tried for murder.

This how I feel and some may disagree with me and that is okay.

Try them for murder and you might have a chance to save your planet.

[ladjf]

7. Unfortunately, there seems to be no way to get the slaves to throw of the

bonds of corporate tyranny. It's almost as if they feel that the overlords have a right to plunder anything on the planet. Is this some strange residual memory for the days of feudalism? I have no answers, only questions.

[Fumesucker]

5. Anyone who has worked in the corporate world for any length of time knows it's mostly sham..

Competent people are few and far between and rarely have much power in the corporate world.

The corporate world by and large does not value competency so much as it does sycophancy.

In that it's rather like the world of politics, from which I think it was probably separated at birth.

[ladjf]

8. But their ability to dominate the lives of the "slaves" is absolute

with the exception of some Union efforts which are also subject to terrible corruption in some cases.

[glitch]

9. Absolutely agreed. It's probably true no matter what entity, the human condition. Scary ain't it. nt

[xchrom]

6. Political powers that set up these micreants as holding

All that is competent are equally guilty.