Taken to its extreme, if no one bought BP at all, not wholesalers or re-sellers or consumers of gasoline and other oil products, then BP's income would dry up and as a publicly owned company they would have to make some hard decisions about what to do to with their assets. At some point the company would have to declare bankrupcy, sell off their assets and shut down. If that happened, who would be responsible for the clean-up and compensation to individuals and businesses affected by this spill?

That's why we have bankruptcy courts. BP's creditors under legislation or regulatory fines or resulting from civil negligence move to the head of the list when it comes time to carve up the corpse.

A major, messy bankruptcy, with the traditional creditors like banks and major suppliers looking on helplessly as BP is cut up and fed to the masses, might be what we need to wake up the rest of the oil industry.

In any event, if we believe the BP CEO's public statements, thay have money in the bank right now to cover the cleanup costs. It would still be there if BP went bankrupt today. We just need to make sure the money is used for that, and not spirited away to the shareholders while nobody is watching.

Actually, something like Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today would be in the public's interest. This would allow the courts to control how BP spends the money in the bank, and how they shuffle other assets to avoid liability.

I think we all know, that in such a scenario, the 'legal eagles' and the so-called administrators would end up richer than their wildest dreams of avarice. Twenty or so years ago, I worked for a company in administration and the fees that Arthur Andersen were 'charging' would've made anyone's eyes water - even today! If it were not for the insanely high fees, for actually doing nothing (apart from staying in the best hotels in the county and eating extremely well), the company would've been OK. Still as it was only about 200 workers who were out of a job, I guess that made it OK, when they stripped it bare. The company being put into administration, only came about, through one large Japanese customer, not paying for what they'd received.....I won't name them, but I've never bought any of their products, even if they do make some nice digital cameras. I don't think the 'knock-on' effect has been considered, in this.

It should come tomorrow. In the meantime check this out...

Apple's Worst Security Breach: 114,000 iPad Owners Exposed

Another great reason to avoid iAnything.

Life is so short and so precious
that i just t wanted to take a moment
to send Best wishes to Qui-Gon, Sciurus Vulgaris, Fuzzy, Misfit, msattler, Champ
from Byron Vancouver Canada :-)

Creepy.

Yes it is. Having to run through the forums naked was my punishment for not getting the 1,000,000 post.

I really thought it would be in the LPTPW thread. It happened right around the time I was getting on my computer that morning, but I decided not to try for it.

You should have tried for it.

This was/is a busy week for me. Haven't had much time to look at the forums.

Unless there was a battle of spam he wouldn't have made it.

LOL

Fayvitt, your question angers me. Criminals who use weapons to do their crimes forfeit their right to bear arms. Hamas in Gaza is not being allowed to import arms that they would fire at Israel. They have done this in the past, over and over again, and the current Israeli response is a blockade. To be effective at finding arms, a blockade has to check all goods, even what are claimed to be "humanitarian" shipments (even you should understand that illegal weapons can be hidden in "humanitarian" cargo).

The blockade works. Rocket attacks from Gaza are way down. The alternative to the blockade is sending in military forces to destroy the arms, which was done in the past and caused casualties to both the Israelis and the Palistinians.

Unlike you, I am not angered at your post. I am rather confused. I am confused as to how you can possibly confound this group of people with criminals and gun runners. Are crutches lethal weapons? The wheelchairs did not appear to be armored. So far Israel has made no claim there were any weapons at all.

Israelis may be so abysmally retarded that they cannot tell the difference between these people and gunrunners but certainly we can tell the difference can we not?.

But as in the Cuban Missile Crisis inspections can be conducted at sea. As to entering Gaza, the Israeli dead were own goals. The 1200 Palestinians for 1 Israeli was an atrocity in the same vein as 1200 Poles being killed in reprisal for the assassination of General Heydrich.

Formed by "international consensus"? What about the bombing of the St Davids Hotel? An 'accident' involving people who've been senior politicians in Israel for decades, perhaps? Illegal use of arms to murder and maim innocent civilians.... please explain how Israel has NOT done this. How about 'ethnic cleansing' as per Israeli bull-dozers? Paint-ball guns? Over the years, the Soviets made some very odd looking and very effective weapons; Israel does have quite a large armaments industry. There is also, the deliberate killing of a UK citizen, some years ago, from Devon, who was trying to protect children. There is a rather high incidence of children killed by Israeli forces. Just how many 'wrongs' does it take, before you will admit that Israeli 'policy' is wrong? I dread to think how many it would take, before the Israeli 'government' admitted that!

Creepy.

Yes it is. Having to run through the forums naked was my punishment for not getting the 1,000,000 post.

Well, Liam. Or whatever. Your blind stupidity angers me. Israel has run rampant over the Palestinian people ever since 1948, when they were first given military hardware such as tanks. They TERRORIZED the local populations and went on a killing rampage. Massacres such as Deir Yassin.

Israel has been terrorizig Palestinians for over 60 years, and you're angry? You? Angry?

How'd you feel if Russia (example) forcibly moved US citizens to maybe 1/2 of your country, and settled Iraqis (example) in the other half? Took all your weapons, and armed the Iraqis to the teeth? Then sat idly by and watched them do freely with you as they will?

That is a deadset fair example of what happened to the Palestinian people.

And you're angry? Get a grip on yourself.

Edit: Removed insult + Israel should be begging Palestinians for forgiveness for the 60 years of atrocities committed against them.

Are the Palestinians not allowed to bear arms, as is the rest of the world?
I guess not. It's easier to deny them weapons, so they have to resort to the last resort, suicide bombings. Makes them look all terrorist like then, doesn't it?

And a couple of links to those filmed reports would be handy too. As they say, seeing is believing.

I once posted a winning caption, but I didn't post a picture fast enough. As a result I don't play any more, since I can't get in here often enough to meet the time restrictions. I would vote "yes" to longer limits. But if longer limits are imposed, the game will slow down for all.

Two things to think about. First is to change your preference to have updates e-mailed right away to your real e-mail box, so you get a notice you have a PM in time to do something about it. Second is to subscribe to the caption thread if you are playing. Again so you get updates at a real address.

I question if you aren't doing this, if you should be playing. Now if your issue is no net access ...

I wonder who's going to post message number 1000000.

Most likely someone sharing mundane details how he saved 4 cents on a bag of dirt he bought at a garage sale, going on to describe said garage square footage and use of space.

Maybe he will win a bumper sticker.