And the American media continues to ignore his reporting. Greg's been on this issue since the early 90's. A few things he's reported:

1. The drunk guy wasn't steering the ship at the time of the spill. He was sleeping off his bender.

2. The ship hit the reef because it's radar was turned off. Exxon wanted to save money instead.

3. There was no spill containment crew or equipment on board. They are also supposed to sail with a spill containment barge close by, which they didn't. Maybe some more cost cutting?

If this stuff is fit to print in RESPECTED, MAINSTREAM media in the UK, why not here? My guess is cowardice.

It's astounding to me that these charges don't even seem to have been addressed -- and are they not part of Fisher's case before SCOTUS? It seems the unquestionably appropriate rebuttal to the statement that Exxon gained nothing from the spill -- it gained years of cost-cutting that contributed to the spill and the inability to contain it (with the equipment that was legally required to be at the ready to contain spillls but was in fact at the dock surrounded by ice, if I remember Palast's reporting correctly).

Ms. Lithwick, don't suppose you could ask around at the court house why these issues aren't brought up ... by anyone?

The Alaska Pipeline terminus in Valdez is owned and opperated by the Alyseka Pipeline Co...A consortium of the 5 major oil companys that ship oil from the North Slope to be hauled by ships to refineries elsewhere. Alyeska Pipeline Co. was responsible by Alaska statute to have oil spill responce equipment(Barge(s), oil spill recovery equipment, and trained personel at the ready if and when 'an oil spill' should occour. I think there was much complacency among most all companies AND government agencies that; A) What responce equipment actually on site and (approved) was wholely inadequate for a spill anywhere nearing the magnitude of the EVOS. B) At the time of the spill(exactly 19yrs ago in 13 days!) the said and approved equipment was in connex containers covered with deep snow and frozen shut by ice while the "responce barge" was high and dry on land for repairs.....ie. it was 'there on paper' ready to go...but nowhere near at the ready in reality. C) In reality, according to statute the Exxon Valdez (as well as any other tanker loading crude at the terminal) was taking Alyeska Pipeline Co, oil illegally...as there was NO OIL SPILL RESPONCE EQUIPMENT AT THE READY...in the event of a spill. D) Reagan's 'War on Drugs' cut US Coast Gaurd budget enough to expend repair of a ship monitoring radar that, if was in working order and properly monitored by designe in this narrow and hazardous shipping corridor, would have been able to track this and any outgoing tanker to make certain ship courses were clear of hazzards.

So, Exxon cannot be burdoned w/all the blame. All Exxon did was illegally take oil onto thier vessle and allow a known drunk to con it as and where he would...come what may... over a three year period. Alyeska, on the other hand was completely left holding the bag in not having the 'required responce equipment at the ready(for how long?)...and the State inspector overseeing terminal opperations had some explaining to do....too. Alyeska(controlled in majority at the time by BP) wound up paying class-action claimants within a year some paultry compensation after swallowing the bitter pill of wrong-doing....just to get resolved of it's guilt...and put the ordeal behind it as quickly as it happened.

I hazzard to guess that this was a complacancy cluster-fuck by all involved(Feds, State reg. agencies, Alyeska Pipeline Co. and the oil corporations conning the whole mess) that probabally much was swept under the rug in the form of fines, penalties, legislation, pay-offs, media-manipulation, cronyism, and just plane lost in the shuffle(a very big and fast shuffle)...that what's left standing clear in the case is what you see at this point...near the end.

Exxon has all the money....they can hire ALL available lawyers(and perhaps a few of Bush's Justices) to get any result they want in any regard. Oh ya, they can hire MANY RIGHT WING SCIENTISTS to obtain any data pointing to thier resulting objective. It's thier culture. They've ALLWAYS BEHAVED LIKE THIS! Thats why they have ALL THE MONEY!

I was in the SCOTUS courtroom 2/27/08. I'm with garded optimism(marginally) that "We the People...." will prevail here.

Johnathan Wills of the Shetland Isl. Times flew direct to Cordova just a few days after the spill. His hunch was that BP had the major controlling interest in the Alyeska Pipeline Co. terminal...those charged with cleaning up should any TAPA(Trans Alaska pileline oil) get spilled.

BP opperates the Sollem Voe oil terminal in the North end of the Shetland Isls. That terminal was/is strictly regulated and overseen by a citizens advisory counsil....that monitors most all aspects of how oil is despensed from that hazardous port. Johnathan's hunch was right. BP KNEW HOW TO SAFELY OPPERATE AN OIL TERMINAL. By demand of the citizens of the community sponsoring the port there was total transparancy of opperation via community oversight and co-management. Pilots would be put aship via hellicopter, numerous massive tugs escorted each ship in and out of the port, a ROUGE'S GALLERY kept tabs on all aspects of ships requesting to call on the facility; information in the gallery included ship ownership, ship's safety record, ship's captain's record, ship's insurer, etc,...and ships were turned away that didn't make standards., Etc. BP opprated to this standard in thier own commonwealth....but treated shipping out of Alaska as they would out of any backward, unsuspecting, third-world country.

ALL THE OIL COMPANIES SAVED BIG MONEY BY RUNNING ALYESKA AS CLOSE TO BARE BONES FROM THE TERMINAL'S INCEPTION TO MARCH 24, 1989. It was a calculated risk. It was the cost of doing business in a manner sub-standard to what they practice in the UK. It coulda been any of the 5 majors opperating out of Alyeska. Exxon perhaps just had a recklass enough attitude to actually make it happen.....and the $$$$ moxy to game the justice system for all it's worth. Hell, any good capitalist would try and play the game the same, right? Who ever has the most money wins!