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Okay, first he takes down the Canadian flag at his own government buildings, fighting for his land's oil. Now he uses every stupid excuse he can to stop oil production? Is he just trying to cause trouble or what? What is this guys' problem? I've never ever heard of any boosters that fall back to earth ever hurting any humans. Doesn't mean it hasn't happened mind you, but a 1 in a trillion chance??? C'mon!!! I mean, I'm all for thinking the Americans are evil and all, but I don't think they'd do it if they truly felt they'd be endangering any Canadian lives seriously, our relations are strained as is. And if they wanted to kill Canadians, they don't need to launch rockets to do it, that's for sure... They have Maj. Fighter pilots dropping bombs for that!
In all seriousness though, is his pissing and moaning really helpful at all or needed? I think this guy just loves to make waves, nevermind avoid them...
U.S. rocket plan has Nfld.'s Williams fuming
CTV.ca News Staff
Newfoundland and Labrador's premier is advising hundreds of oil workers to evacuate offshore platforms beginning Thursday over fears of debris from a U.S. rocket launch.
The launch, now scheduled for April 17, will see a booster from a Titan IV rocket fall back into the North Atlantic Ocean.
The booster weighs about 10,000 kilograms and is seven storeys tall.
The risk of an accident harming humans has been placed by some at one trillion to one, with the Hibernia platform 11 kilometres from the furthest likely splashdown point. Hibernia is 315 km southeast of St. John's.
But Premier Danny Williams said Sunday: "It's the one is the number that's that important. ... if there's a one chance that something could happen out there ... with regard to human lives and human safety, that's simply not acceptable."
Williams also said, "We don't have any idea of what the consequences of that size of an object dropping in the ocean are.
"We have not been told what the effect would be on the wave action or the ocean floor. We haven't been given the full ecological impact, so at this point we're not getting answers to the question that I want answered."
Launch delays
The launch -- which is to place a satellite in orbit for the Pentagon -- was supposed to take place Monday, but then was pushed back to Wednesday after Williams went public.
However, citing unspecified "technical reasons," the U.S. Air Force has now delayed the launch even further.
But the delays have done nothing to allay Williams' anger.
After a meeting between Canadian and U.S. officials in Halifax on Saturday, the premier told reporters Sunday that he has more questions than answers.
"The Americans walked away from the meeting thinking that's it, Newfoundland and Labrador are going to be satisfied -- that we have enough information and they can go ahead. They're dead wrong," he said.
Williams was also miffed because oil executives and the province's risk analyst were excluded from part of the meeting.
"When they have the information and don't provide it and exclude half of the people invited for the primary meeting, I have some very serious concerns,'' he said.
The office of federal Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan, meanwhile, called it "a good discussion.
"The Americans have been very forthcoming and Canadian officials will consider the information,'' said spokesperson Alex Swann.
However, he said Canadian officials are still trying to convince the Americans to change the rocket's flight path.
American officials insist there is very little danger posed by the launch and have no plans to change the rocket's trajectory.
The Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board had already begun preparations to evacuate Hibernia and Terra Nova oil platforms, plus an offshore drill rig.
Production at both locations would have to temporarily stop and over 400 offshore workers would have to be moved to safety.
The shutdown would last at least two weeks. The economic impact of that is estimated at $250 million.
But U.S. officials point out that oil rigs off California's coast have faced similar risks from rocket launches, yet have never shut down production and evacuated.
Williams said he will be outlining his concerns in a letter to McLellan on Monday, plus consult with oil industry officials.
"We're going to maintain contact with both governments so we can understand exactly what is going on," said Alan Jeffers, a spokesman for ExxonMobil.
"If we felt it was necessary, we would have sufficient time to evacuate," he added.
With a report from CTV's John Vennavally-Rao and files from The Canadian Press
Okay, first he takes down the Canadian flag at his own government buildings, fighting for his land's oil. Now he uses every stupid excuse he can to stop oil production? Is he just trying to cause trouble or what? What is this guys' problem? I've never ever heard of any boosters that fall back to earth ever hurting any humans. Doesn't mean it hasn't happened mind you, but a 1 in a trillion chance??? C'mon!!! I mean, I'm all for thinking the Americans are evil and all, but I don't think they'd do it if they truly felt they'd be endangering any Canadian lives seriously, our relations are strained as is. And if they wanted to kill Canadians, they don't need to launch rockets to do it, that's for sure... They have Maj. Fighter pilots dropping bombs for that!
In all seriousness though, is his pissing and moaning really helpful at all or needed? I think this guy just loves to make waves, nevermind avoid them...
U.S. rocket plan has Nfld.'s Williams fuming
CTV.ca News Staff
Newfoundland and Labrador's premier is advising hundreds of oil workers to evacuate offshore platforms beginning Thursday over fears of debris from a U.S. rocket launch.
The launch, now scheduled for April 17, will see a booster from a Titan IV rocket fall back into the North Atlantic Ocean.
The booster weighs about 10,000 kilograms and is seven storeys tall.
The risk of an accident harming humans has been placed by some at one trillion to one, with the Hibernia platform 11 kilometres from the furthest likely splashdown point. Hibernia is 315 km southeast of St. John's.
But Premier Danny Williams said Sunday: "It's the one is the number that's that important. ... if there's a one chance that something could happen out there ... with regard to human lives and human safety, that's simply not acceptable."
Williams also said, "We don't have any idea of what the consequences of that size of an object dropping in the ocean are.
"We have not been told what the effect would be on the wave action or the ocean floor. We haven't been given the full ecological impact, so at this point we're not getting answers to the question that I want answered."
Launch delays
The launch -- which is to place a satellite in orbit for the Pentagon -- was supposed to take place Monday, but then was pushed back to Wednesday after Williams went public.
However, citing unspecified "technical reasons," the U.S. Air Force has now delayed the launch even further.
But the delays have done nothing to allay Williams' anger.
After a meeting between Canadian and U.S. officials in Halifax on Saturday, the premier told reporters Sunday that he has more questions than answers.
"The Americans walked away from the meeting thinking that's it, Newfoundland and Labrador are going to be satisfied -- that we have enough information and they can go ahead. They're dead wrong," he said.
Williams was also miffed because oil executives and the province's risk analyst were excluded from part of the meeting.
"When they have the information and don't provide it and exclude half of the people invited for the primary meeting, I have some very serious concerns,'' he said.
The office of federal Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan, meanwhile, called it "a good discussion.
"The Americans have been very forthcoming and Canadian officials will consider the information,'' said spokesperson Alex Swann.
However, he said Canadian officials are still trying to convince the Americans to change the rocket's flight path.
American officials insist there is very little danger posed by the launch and have no plans to change the rocket's trajectory.
The Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board had already begun preparations to evacuate Hibernia and Terra Nova oil platforms, plus an offshore drill rig.
Production at both locations would have to temporarily stop and over 400 offshore workers would have to be moved to safety.
The shutdown would last at least two weeks. The economic impact of that is estimated at $250 million.
But U.S. officials point out that oil rigs off California's coast have faced similar risks from rocket launches, yet have never shut down production and evacuated.
Williams said he will be outlining his concerns in a letter to McLellan on Monday, plus consult with oil industry officials.
"We're going to maintain contact with both governments so we can understand exactly what is going on," said Alan Jeffers, a spokesman for ExxonMobil.
"If we felt it was necessary, we would have sufficient time to evacuate," he added.
With a report from CTV's John Vennavally-Rao and files from The Canadian Press