Obama speaking NOW

[Poll_Blind]

MSNBC and I'm sure others are covering it.

PB

[Catherina]

1. What is he saying? I'm at work and can't watch n/t

[elleng]

2. Discussing BP 'fund.'

Feinberg running the fund/claims.

In all of our interests that BP remain 'strong.'

[CatWoman]

3. also, another fund will be established to aid out of work oil rig workers

[elleng]

4. 100M

[highplainsdem]

7. He said BP is voluntarily establishing that $100 million fund.

[AngryOldDem]

30. Good -- because the first amount I heard...

$20 million? I thought sounded woefully inadequate for what the Gulf is facing.

On edit: Amount was $20 billion; still not enough as far as I'm concerned.

[csziggy]

33. $20 billion is a lot more than the current $75 million cap

And twice as much as the $10 billion cap that Congress failed to pass because of GOP blocking.

That $20 billion is strictly for compensating victims - people who lost jobs, have damage to their businesses, loss of value for homes, etc. I did not hear any claim that that $20 billion is intended to pay the fines BP should owe for their "spill" - which at $4300 per BARREL is going to be a huge chunk of money considering now they are talking 60,000 barrels per day. So BP should be on the hook for a whole lot more than the $20 Billion and the $100 million agreed on for today.

[laughingliberal]

8. That was good news as they had resisted this. nt

[Duer 157099]

15. How the fuck is it "capitalism" if it's in "all of our interests" for BP to remain strong?

That flies in the very face of capitalism, that We The People have to compromise something in order to keep a certain corporate entity strong.

[elleng]

27. Capitalism is an economic system

in which the means of production are privately owned; supply, demand, price, distribution, and investments are determined mainly by private decisions and market forces rather than through a planned economy; and profit is distributed to owners who invest in businesses. Capitalism also refers to the process of capital accumulation.

There is no consensus on the precise definition of capitalism, nor how the term should be used as an analytical category.<1> There is, however, little controversy that private ownership of the means of production, creation of goods or services for profit in a market, and prices and wages are elements of capitalism.<2> There are a variety of historical cases to which the designation is applied, varying in time, geography, politics and culture.<3>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism

[Catherina]

31. Thank you!

Just got home and will look for the video.

[sandnsea]

6. Here's the released text

http://obama-mamas.com/blog/?p=1661

[Catherina]

32. Thank you!

I quickly read this at work, while one of our IT guys was remote peering through my computer. We were both happy. Thanks for posting that.

[Nite Owl]

5. 20billion is not

a cap. That's good.
Who is on the board to administer the funds? I hope it isn't some private claim company.

[elleng]

9. Ken feinberg.

20b fund; no cap.

[Nite Owl]

19. The one who did the 9/11

settlements right?
I hope they don't have sign on to no further claims or lawsuits like the workers in NY did.

[elleng]

29. Yes, 9/11 and TARP

Special Master for TARP Executive Compensation, popularly called the "pay czar."

[Poll_Blind]

10. Summation:

:graybox: 20 bln in escrow

:graybox: 100 m fund setup for oil workers affected by the moratorium

:graybox: Claims against these funds do not impact or affect an individual's ability to make further claims in the future

:graybox: Set up a panel of 3 folks (didn't catch the names) who would review appeals from rejected claims

:graybox: Said the standard he's judging the success of this by are the health of the communities and individuals affected.

I think that's about it. Very brief, no questions taken afterward.

I thought this was useuful, detailed and filled with some of the facts I was hoping for last night.

PB

[livetohike]

13. Thanks for the summary

:hi: Now I can hear all the pundits "Well what about this and that....?"

[Laelth]

14. He's obviously a very good lawyer.

He appears to have negotiated some good terms.

:dem:

-Laelth

[elleng]

16. no further dividends this year

[Nite Owl]

24. Great!!! n/t

[Skidmore]

17. I think the details had to wait for today because there was unfinished business

on the table as of last night. I told my husband this last night. Dotting "i's" and crossing "t's" had to be done.

[CatWoman]

22. BINGO!!!

There's enough egg dripping from some faces to make a 2 ton omelete.

[Nite Owl]

21. Ah, point 3 very important

"Claims against these funds do not impact or affect an individual's ability to make further claims in the future"

[Poll_Blind]

25. Yeah, I was really happy to hear that bit. n/t

PB

[Poll_Blind]

11. Chairman Carl Henric Svanberg of BP is on now, spinning like a top. n/t

PB

[Subdivisions]

12. This is the chairman. n/t

[Poll_Blind]

18. Thanks, as soon as I posted that I knew that wasn't right. n/t

PB

[Poll_Blind]

20. He's taking questions now, though, and that's good. n/t

PB

[Poll_Blind]

23. Ugh, only two....

...
One was if BP took shortcuts

The other was how long he met with the president

As to the shortcuts I think his answer was that the board was conducting its own investigation. To the second one, some praise for Obama and then "no comment" (IIRC) on a follow-up I didn't catch.

PB

[Obamanaut]

26. Is he talking to all of 'us', or just the people in the Gulf region?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=8571388&mesg_id=8571388

[sandnsea]

28. Was that really necessary?

Or have you just not been enough of a dick yet today?