Gem of the day

Well, the verdict is in from the independent panel assigned to review the Deepwater Horizon disaster, and it's unequivocal:


“The blowout was not the product of a series of aberrational decisions made by rogue industry or government officials that could not have been anticipated or expected to occur again,” it concluded. “Rather, the root causes are systemic and, absent significant reform in both industry practices and government policies, might well recur.”


It would be difficult to produce a conclusion that contrasted more painfully with the testimony of BP and other industry folk thus far, who have gone to extreme lengths to contend that April's spill was essentially a random accident.


Here's an additional gem from the panel, as described by the NY Times today:


"[The panel] said the Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service (recently renamed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement) lacked the personnel, training and muscle to do its job and had essentially been captured by the industry it was meant to police."


Loving that the ID has gone ahead and renamed the MMS so that its title contains the words 'regulation' and 'enforcement'. That's how Capital Hill 'does' change, everyone.