animaux wrote:
On 15 Sep 2003 07:32:37 GMT, (Frankhartx) opined:

h*ck Exxon. Didn't you see what they did to our beaches and waters
back in '89? The fisheries *still* haven't recovered and we're still finding
oil on the beaches. (And Orca -- Killer Whale-- pod AB was killed by the oil

And did you ever consider the deep dark secret ignored during the whole furor?
The state of Alaska could have prevented that disaster by requiring pilotage in
that port. Your stupid government has to bear a share of the blame but i bet
you never heard of that aspect which has been well covered up. And I bet you
still don't require pilotage in your ports because to do so would highlight the
states role in the Valdez disaster--so you are ripe for another disaster.

What the **** is the difference? The damn captain was drunk. The state
government was wrong, who else can we blame? What's the difference how or why?
The point is, it happened and animal life is still dying from it.

Let me add a comment about "Your stupid government has to bear a
share..."

That is true, and one should not think it has been "covered up"
or that Alaskans are unaware of it. That is not the problem, as
such. The problem is that we have the best state government
that oil money can buy. And make no mistake, they *do* buy it!

The more important the election here, the more oil money is
involved. In recent weeks US Senator (by Daddy's appointment)
Lisa Murkowski has been engaging in fund raisers accompanied by
no less that the Vice President of the United States. They may
even visit Alaska someday, but right now Texas is where the
campaign financing money is coming from.

And rest assured that the Governor's huge campaign chest came
from Texas, as do many of the legislators as well as our
Congress Critter, Don Young. (Uncle Ted, US Senator Stevens
doesn't need it to be honest.)

Any time you hear an Alaska political hack say that ANWR is a
wasteland and that it can be drilled without harm just remember
the Exxon Valdez. Remember these folks in the early 60's said
the same thing about Project Chariot (to use an H bomb to make a
harbor at Cape Thompson), in the early 70's they did explode an
H bomb under Amchitka Island (which now is understood to be
about the worst possible place in the whole world to do
something like that). In the mid-70's they said the Exxon
Valdez could never happen. In the mid 80's they wanted to base
Star Wars technology in Alaska. In the late 80's the Exxon
Valdez did happen. And since the mod-90's they've been saying
ANWR wouldn't hurt anything.

"Your stupid government" *is* the oil industry. Those are the
same folks that are going to find WMD in Iraq real soon now too.

Scares the shit outta me...

--
Floyd L. Davidson http://web.newsguy.com/floyd_davidson
Ukpeagvik (Barrow, Alaska)