Hurricanes, Floods, Drill Rigs And The Oil Gestapo

"At least 20 oil rigs and platforms are missing in the Gulf of Mexico and a ruptured gas pipeline is on fire after Hurricane Katrina tore through the region, a US Coast Guard official said. "

...um, just missing? like they were there yesterday, but today they seem to have moved somewhere else? like the companies that own the rigs didn't bother to have an environmental assessment done before building them so that (in the case of a large hurricane) their legs would stay anchored? seems to me that our wonderful government is not the only entity to misunderestimate the perils of living and working within that great locale "anywhere within 1000 miles of the hurricane corridor". we teach our children to not live within 5 miles of a mobile home park in the midwest, because that park is a tornado magnet. but we don't seem to be so concerned about oil rigs in the gulf of mexico.
wow. 20 of them just gone. missing. presumed drowned. what the fuck, folks? we're the world's leader in engineering (and, yes, it is in part because we steal a lot of brain matter from india and japan), so why didn't we foresee this and makes the appropriate moves? louisiana is a conduit for water belonging somewhere else. new orleans has been living under the threat of something like this for a long time. mobil, exxon and shell have been raking in record profits for the last two years as supplies have dwindled (and spent money on commercials telling us why it isn't their fault). now, the south is suffering and disease may be on the upswing due to floodwaters, coffins, broken sewers and the general exodus of those who stayed too long. but the let's see how much money the oil giants kick in to the kitty to help these poor folk out. or do they continue telling us that they feel our pain and there's nothing they can do about it? remember that iraq is producing oil, but we're seeing none of it. easy way to push the alaska drilling for a paltry million barrels a day? we'll see. but i do think that new orleans and its surroundings will become political pawns in the domestic oil fight.