Chemical dispersants & GE bacteria STILL being used, illegally, in the Gulf

BP Mediator Feinberg Can't Call Himself Independent, Judge Says
By Jef Feeley and Allen M. Johnson Jr. - Feb 3, 2011 12:01 AM ET
A federal judge said Kenneth Feinberg, the lawyer paying victims of BP Plc’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill, can’t identify himself as an independent administrator of a $20 billion settlement fund.

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans concluded yesterday that Feinberg must fully disclose his ties to BP when communicating with potential claimants. Lawyers for oil-spill victims had questioned Feinberg’s handling of the $20 billion trust fund, known as the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, or GCCF.

“A full disclosure of the relationship between Mr. Feinberg, the GCCF, and BP will at least make transparent that it is BP’s interests” that Feinberg is promoting in his role as head of the fund, the judge said in a 15-page ruling.

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Attorneys for spill victims asked Barbier to order the fund to post information on its website declaring that Feinberg, his firm and the fund are acting as “BP’s agents.”

They contend Feinberg is using misleading tactics to persuade thousands of potential claimants to sign away their rights to sue the company in exchange for smaller payments than they might win in a lawsuit. Feinberg has encouraged claimants not to hire lawyers to evaluate their claims, spill victims’ attorneys contend.

More: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-02/bp-mediator-can-t-identify-himself-as-independent-court-rules.html

BP has yet to 'make it right' on Coast
10:20 PM, Feb. 5, 2011

News from Louisiana that a federal judge has held that Kenneth Feinberg - the Washington lawyer appointed to administer the BP's $20 billion oil spill compensation fund - should not be allowed to call himself independent is old news.

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BP pledged to "make it right" and to date, many Gulf Coast residents see that as a hollow, unkept promise. As there was in August, there remain some significant unresolved issues beyond the Gulf Coast's long-term restoration.

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Even more disturbing are reports that BP's compensation fund for Gulf oil spill victims has made a final settlement payment to just one of some 91,000 people and businesses waiting for checks - and that the $10 million payout in question went to a company after BP intervened on its behalf.

The feeling of many waiting on BP claims to be paid by Kenneth Feinberg is that they indeed already have been forgotten. State officials can expect to hear from those folks in the 2011 statewide elections.

More: http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/article/20110206/OPINION/102060331/0/LIFESTYLE/BP-has-yet-make-right-Coast?odyssey=nav|head