The vilification of BP (by Obama) due to oil well leak

I have bitten my tongue for long enough on this and feel I must make comment.

I think the BP oil well leak in the Gulf of Mexico is disaster and I feel very sad and sorry about it and the damage it is causing, as indeed I am sure BP does.

However, it seems to me that every man and his dog in the US is seeking to make political capital out of the situation, with constant rhetoric and attacks.

I consider the remarks and personal attacks being made on the CEO of BP, Tony Hayward, by the President of the US, to be cheap shots, presumably intended to appease his political opponents in the US, and very inappropriate to be coming from a US President!!

Comments like:
"We need to keep our foot on the throat of BP".
"He wouldn't still be working for me" (after CEO Tony Hayward had made a couple of insensitive comments).
And on a TV interview "I know whose arse to kick".

I have to say I think Obama has shown a distinct lack of decorum and statesmanship, with these rude and personal remarks, and has demeaned himself greatly in my eyes.

(And not forgetting threats of Criminal action).

An American friend tells me it's all part of that of national culture, - America's national sport is the "blame game".

IN my view Obama should shut up and get on with his political wheeling and dealing and leave Tony Hayward to get on with the job of stopping the leak. I understand CEO Hayward is an Engineer, not a PR man or politician. So let him get on with what needs to be done, and get off his back.

And furthermore what the F--- has it got to do with the two US Senators who were saying that BP should suspend their share dividend payments? As long as BP fulfill their obligations in this matter, which they have stated they will do and they have the funds to do so, it's a matter for BP and its shareholder's whether they pay a dividend this year and if so how much!

The constant barracking, harassment and insults is destroying a reputable International company and impeding its key personal from getting on and doing the job that clearly needs to be done and that they are trying to do.

Obama should delegate the overseeing of the situation on a daily basis, and perhaps get on with formulating the USA's environmental policy, which his predecessor persistently blocked. He might then retain some of the credibility that he is currently losing by his loose tongued unstatesmanlike comments and attacks!!

Let's not forget either who is the world's biggest oil consumer, and who wants the oil from the Gulf, cheap oil, presumably so that they can drive round in their over-sized gas guzzling cars, - 2 or 3 to a family, and also which country refuses to engage in environmental policy. That should be No 1 on Obama's "To do List"!!!!

As a matter of interest RJ, on the news this morning they quoted some figures of safety breaches in the US with oil companies. Don't quote me but third was 20, second was 3, and BP came in at 745 in the last decade alone ?? Just because there British, doesn't mean there best

Just because there British, doesn't mean there best

Where did I say that Aardvark?

I'm not suggesting BP are blame free. My disgust is at Obama's rhetoric and comments, which as I said are neither statesmanlike nor productive in solving the situation, indeed if anything they are counter-productive!

Here's related link:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/w ... 145866.ece

AA I think the majority of those violations were centred around the safety failing surrounding the Texas City Refinery explosion in 2005. This was heavily critised by U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board which said the Texas failing could be directly linked back to management in London.
Indeed it was taken seriously by BP & the CEO was replaced by the current incumbent (Tony Hayward) in 2007.
BP's record with the authorities in the USA (aside from the Texas incident) have be fraught with problems - mainly of BP's own makings and certainly reading them does very little to show BP in anything but a VERY poor light. I feel that these past failings is probably the root cause behind the current critism.
It is a pity (apart from the economic & environmental damage caused) that this incident should have happened under Tony Hayward's stewardship as he has, undoubtedly, done much to improve the safety standards at BP. It is also worth noting that the actual incident was caused by an American sub-contractor rather than BP staff themselves - who are now rather left holding the baby...

Please ... If an American company fouled the beaches along Britain's south coast, from Plymouth to Brighton, this forum would be bloated with dozens of scathing criticisms of everything from American government to unscrupulous American oil companies to horrid American people.

Suck it up.

And tell British Petroleum, that incompetent, irresponsible, all-profit-no-risk bucket of greasy, nasty sh!t to get out of America NOW. BP's safety and environmental record is an absolute disgrace -- and getting worse by the minute.

This is a relevant New item:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/w ... 145866.ece

Texpat wrote:And tell British Petroleum, that incompetent, irresponsible, all-profit-no-risk bucket of greasy, nasty sh!t to get out of America NOW.

And one thing's for sure Texpat, if they did, neither you nor Obama would have the expertise to fix the leak!

I wouldn't have expected a more constructive response from Texpat. However Texpat it may interest you to know that such an event did occur some years back, though off Britain's northern coast, and yes an American company was indeed involved:

When the Piper Alpha rig exploded in the North Sea in July, 1988, no fewer than 167 workers died and environmental damage pushed insured losses to £1.7bn. It was the worst offshore oil disaster in the world at that time and feelings ran high in Aberdeen, where many families suffered bereavement and financial loss.

..And did Mrs Thatcher the then British Prime Minister seek to make political capital out of the disaster or indulge in/use inflammatory language! No, she did not.

...But of course we are not comparing like with like. Mrs Thatcher was an International stateswoman.

...And neither did Occidental Petroleum, the American oil giant which operated that rig become the target of any government-sponsored hate campaigns in Britain.

Greedy, glutenous, irresponsible pigs British Petroleum. They don't give a damn about any American, any US jobs lost, any environmental degradation due to their irresponsible, callous, reprehensible behavior.

Shocking and disgraceful.

Lets not forget the Bhopal disater in india caused by union carbide, that claimed over 3000 lives!!! makes a bit of spilled oil seem insignificant really!

IMO the best investment anyone can make at the moment is to buy BP stock ---- MARK MY WORDS --- I'm in.

AND Texpat --- you are a looser and will always continue to be so!

Comparisons with other disasters does little to salve the wound caused by British Petroleum.

Everyone realizes Brits are eager to find a way to assuage their guilt. Sadly, there is no quick and easy remedy other than admitting British Petroleum is an irresponsible, reprehensible, despicable excuse for a multinational corporation and hang your heads in shame.

Oh, and pay -- no more than that -- much more.

Texpat wrote:Greedy, glutenous, irresponsible pigs British Petroleum. They don't give a damn about any American, any US jobs lost, any environmental degradation due to their irresponsible, callous, reprehensible behavior.

Shocking and disgraceful.

It appears you have again ignored doctors orders, and have overdosed on your Hyperbole medication again.

I think Texpat has an identity crisis.

Ever noticed on CNN that the Yanks are so full of themselves that their NY stock exchange closes every afternoon with a big round of applause, some nights having crashed by 5%. Wackers.

Some 25 years after the gas leak, 390 tons of toxic chemicals abandoned at the UCIL plant continue to leak and pollute the groundwater in the region and affect thousands of Bhopal residents who depend on it!

SO texpat we will give BP a GREAT BRITISH company 25 years to sort out the spill and then we can start this debate again

Bandung_Dero wrote:IMO the best investment anyone can make at the moment is to buy BP stock ---- MARK MY WORDS --- I'm in.

AND Texpat --- you are a looser and will always continue to be so!