For Christ's sake, you people ... it's just a bloody oil spill

reply to post by soreshins


Two points.

1. When you invest in a company you run the risk that the company will fail, have no money, go bankrupt, screw up, or in this case destroy the gulf coast. That's capitalism. One can't say how they want capitalism and then say that when a company screws up, that the company (and it's capital owners) shouldn't have consequences.

2. You're absolutely right that most Americans and other western peoples are generally oblivious to oil spills and basically any other event that does not directly affect them in the world. That's a problem. And our country (as well as others) should have been building the needed renewables infrastructure 30 years ago. It could have been done. It can still be done. But we know it won't happen. Not until oil has absolutely run dry will it happen and by then it will be too late causing massive political upheaval.

Even I had forgotten that the Kuwait spill was THAT big. Of course in another couple months our spill will match that size and surpass it. Why? Because they can't shut it off.

So let me get this right, in a world that is 2/3rd's ocean, a tiny amount (in the global scale of things) of a natural substance has leaked out of its natural hidy hole (granted through fault of man), and the American government is kicking off calling it the worst disaster since whatever worst disaster came before?

Wont the oil be eaten by them tiny little critters I can't quite think of the name of right now?

It's all natural folks. That stuff will be in the earth long after we have gone, its not man made you know (the oil, not it getting out and about, that is mans fault).

Oh and for all you "it's BRITISH petroleum's" fault, let me introduce you to the board of BP:

* Carl-Henric Svanberg – Chairman SWEDISH
* Byron Grote – Chief Financial Officer AMERICAN
* Andy Inglis – Chief executive BRITISH
* Antony Burgmans – Non-executive director DUTCH
* Cynthia Carroll – Non-executive director AMERICAN
* Sir William Castell – Non-executive director BRITISH
* George David – Non-executive director AMERICAN
* Tony Hayward – CEO/MD BRITISH
* Iain Conn - Chief executive BRITISH
* Erroll Davis - board of General AMERICAN
* Douglas J Flint CBE - director -HSBC BRITISH
* Dr DeAnne Julius - director of Chatham House BRITISH
* Robert Dudley - Managing director AMERICAN
* Ian Davis - Non-executive director BRITISH

So thats 1 Swede
1 Dutch
5 Americans
7 Brits

OK the Brits take the lead, but its 7 for 7 if you combine the foreigners, and take into account that most of its top dogs aint British.

I know the majority of people aren't thinking like that, but that list is for the small amount of folks who do.

If anyone notices any mistakes in that list, please mention it, I got most of the info from the BP site itself, although had to go googling for a small bit.

[edit on 17/6/10 by woogleuk]

reply to post by Ulala


You obviously have done NO Research on the matter which makes me believe that you're yet another person that has nothing to corroborate a just and meaning full expose of what is happening, and what will happen based on REAL facts.

Do yourself a favor for the sake of future embarrassment and at least do your homework, as opposed to spouting from the lips on things that you obviously have not done thorough research on.

Have a nice day.



[edit on 17-6-2010 by overextended1]

Originally posted by truthseeker1984
Who let the kids out of school early again?

Why so much hate toward Americans? Most of us have nothing to do with what goes on in the Corporate US's military excursions.

This is the main problem.

Originally posted by randyvs
reply to post by Ulala

 

Last time I checked BP was still the logo for BRITISH PETROLEUM.
YA Just checked it again. You just got the crap scared out of you, huh?
You woke -up and thought you heard that we had declared war on your asses, huh? I can't wait til Germany is pounding at your door again.
Be funny to watch who ever has to come gravaling across the pond again.

Lol, idiot. If you lot had not been funding the Nazis in the first place then you would not have had to come and help us out. Hell, you even allowed your own naval fleet to be destroyed to give you an excuse to mop up the mess you made.

Originally posted by Boomer1941
reply to post by Ulala

 

For Christ's sake, you people ... it's just a bloody oil spill

I'd like to see the Moderator kick this idiot out of here and delete the thread.

Wow..Some people think that internet is also American.
Well, OP is 100% right, now get over it. Also try to get used to that we are probably in the last years of your empire.
You will not be able drive your huge jeeps to everywhere, not anymore huge dinner plates which half of the food goes to garbage, not anymore all other stupid American things. And this means there will be less idiocracy on the world.
And to them, who think generalizations are wrong, you can not compare the army of US and the people etc..Nooo....I was in U.S and visited many cities. It is exactly the people's attitude, life style, habits that U.S army is representing. Except a couple of poets and thinkers, it is a waste land of empty heads.
Normally I am as calm as seen in the my avatar, but when it comes to American culture and history, I can not hold my anger. You ruin the world with your Mickey Mouse attitude (see Adorno for this reference).

[edit on 17-6-2010 by deccal]

Originally posted by george_gaz

Originally posted by randyvs
reply to post by Ulala

Lol, idiot. If you lot had not been funding the Nazis in the first place then you would not have had to come and help us out. Hell, you even allowed your own naval fleet to be destroyed to give you an excuse to mop up the mess you made.

It is the biggest lie, myth and propaganda that Americans saved Europe. No, it is the Russians.

[edit on 17-6-2010 by deccal]

[edit on 17-6-2010 by deccal]

Obviously we have no christians on this thread, who are offended over the OPs choice of words in the title of this thread, hypocrisy is sometimes so overwhelming that you just have to laugh.
In fact it is sickening.

Originally posted by Essan
Okay, the well is deeper and the flow of oil may be more, but the very similar Ixtoc disaster in 1979 resulted in between 10,000 and 30,000 barrels of oil pouring into the Gulf for 10 months before it was finally capped.

Guess what? There was no ELE. We didn't all die. The world did not end. And today it's totally forgotten about.

Ah, finally we have a sound and rational response. This is exactly what I've been thinking since this has escalated. Of course we recognise the damage is huge, bloody awful in fact - and looks likely to get worse too, but because it's happening to America it's somehow more significant than the Ixtoc, well, according to the majority of Americans on this website it is.

Originally posted by Ulala
Biggest release of oil ever in the entire history of the whole wide world ? No, it isn't. And that's a fact.

And I would never claim it was. It is, however, the largest oil spill in U.S. history, and is situated in an economically and environmentally vulnerable location. People are, and will be, directly suffering as a consequence of this spill.

That the oil's going to pollute all the seas, spread to Europe, Africa etc … no, it isn't. The vast majority is going to wash up on the coastline of the Gulf, neighboring islands etc.

Is that not bad enough?

That we're all on this little blue planet and should look out for each other …. get stuffed. Tell that to Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Cambodia etc etc and all the other places you've wasted as part of your crusades to extend American corporate influence. You reap what you sow, don't come crying to me in your despair because I haven't done sympathy for Americans since 2003.

Ah, I understand now. You have no sympathy or empathy for human beings losing their jobs and livelihoods because you blame the United States as a whole - including those who opposed and continue to oppose its policies, doctrines, and actions in the world - for its transgressions. With all due respect, you are painting with an incredibly broad brush.

We've been telling you that you're poor for years, that all you were doing was living on borrowed money … but you were the ones insisting you were living the American Dream & ramming corporate capitalism and an unrestrained financial system on the rest of us

Again, you are making an enormous generalization in my opinion.

Now that will be a tragedy, the marine mammals, sharks etc and I've never said otherwise.

Isn't this reason enough to raise this, (your words) "tragedy" above the level of "just a bloody oil spill," then?

Yeah, I do feel sorry for them, as do many of you guys I assume … we'll let past the fact you ordinarily let diners pick the one of their choice, throw them un-stunned into boiling water etc. So much for animal welfare, you nation of multifaceted hypocrites.

I am truly sorry you feel this way about the fellow human beings who happen to inhabit the land commonly referred to as America. I can only ask and suggest sincerely that you honestly and genuinely consider the possibility that not all Americans hold the views or support the actions for which you seem to condemn them as a whole.

The flora & fauna. That'll recover. The birdlife … that's pretty grim, actually, you'd need a heart of stone not to feel upset looking at the pictures of birds struggling through all that oil.

So is it something worthy of being upset or it's "just a bloody oil spill?"

Thanks again. And back to bed.

I can only respectfully repeat what I said earlier in this thread:

Everyone of course has the right to assign whatever level of importance, calamity, or irrelevance they choose to this leak, and I can and do respect everyone's opinions in that regard. With that said however, to seek to invalidate the concerns of others by suggesting that they are somehow overreacting to something which they subjectively regard as highly important seems to me to be perhaps a bit less than sensitive and/or respectful in return.

As an additional addendum, and with the hope of convincing you that not all Americans vindicate your perception of them, I can promise you that if the roles were reversed, you would have my every sympathy and concern.

Originally posted by deccal

Originally posted by Boomer1941
reply to post by Ulala

 

For Christ's sake, you people ... it's just a bloody oil spill

I'd like to see the Moderator kick this idiot out of here and delete the thread.

Wow..Some people think that internet is also American.
Well, OP is 100% right, now get over it. Also try to get used to that we are probably in the last years of your empire.
You will not be able drive your huge jeeps to everywhere, not anymore huge dinner plates which half of the food goes to garbage, not anymore all other stupid American things. And this means there will be less idiocracy on the world.
And to them, who think generalizations are wrong, you can not compare the army of US and the people etc..Nooo....I was in U.S and visited many cities. It is exactly the people's attitude, life style, habits that U.S army is representing. Except a couple of poets and thinkers, it is a waste land of empty heads.
Normally I am as calm as seen in the my avatar, but when it comes to American culture and history, I can not hold my anger. You ruin the world with your Mickey Mouse attitude (see Adorno for this reference).

[edit on 17-6-2010 by deccal]

I do NOT know who you are speaking to, but i will tell you , you are WRONG , sir!

I, by no choice of my own, live in America. My parents came from Sweden and Ireland.
My choice? no..
But that's not even the point..the point is..you are GENERALIZING!!! And you've been fed some MIS-F*CKED INFO#!

I dont know what americans YOU have hung out with..but I for one..struggle every month just to keep the lights on in my house..to have internet and to have a meal that fills our bellies!!!

Now..I could care less what you THINK Americans are like..but I can tell you one thing..NOTHING like you described..at least not 95% of us!!!

Who the HELL gives you the right to even THINK you know us!!! Let alone, propagate LIES!!

Originally posted by Ulala
I awoke this morning thinking the USA had suffered another Pearl Harbour ... or September 11th ... who would have thought anything else on hearing the words of the US President on the subject of an oil spill off their Gulf Coast ...

Thank God Almighty we over here don't have to suffer interruptions to our tv schedules and be forced to suffer Obama's windy rhetoric ... you'd honestly think he was addressing the Battlefield at Gettysburg rather than talking about a miserably mundane oil spillage ...

battle we’re waging ... assaulting our shores and our citizens ... we will fight ... our battle plan ... catastrophe ... epidemic ... fighting for months and even years ... disaster ... 30,000 personnel ... thousands of ships ... deployment ... 17,000 National Guard members ... servicemen and women ... activate these troops as soon as possible ... mobilization ... siege ... jeopardy ... wrenching anxiety ... crisis of the moment ... Secretary of the Navy ... disaster ... precautions ... explosion ... disaster ... safety ... take action ... hostility ... corruption ... new leadership ... sense of urgency ... lack of political courage ... consequences of inaction ... our way of life being threatened ... menacing cloud ... tragedy unfolding ... seize control ... unprecedented action ... seize the moment ... rally together ... act as one nation ... national security ... planes and tanks in World War II ... determination to fight ... faith that sustains ... Blessing of The Fleet ... obstacles and dangers ... the midst of the storm ... crisis America will face ... hard times ... our strength ... our resilience ... our unyielding faith ... summon the courage ... pray for that courage ... guide us through the storm ... may God bless the United States of America.

www.whitehouse.gov...

You guys need to get such a sense of perspective on this. It's just an oil spill, the fact it affects your own shores is unfortunate ... but you didn't worry about that when you were driving your ever so economic gas guzzlers and their 20mph fuel efficiency ... as US corporations were so polluting the environments of other countries ... countries which most of your own citizens still can't even name, let alone identify on a global atlas.

So far the consequences of this spill have been what, exactly ? A few dirty beaches ... that's a shame. Dead fish, dead birds. That's a shame. A bad odor on the coast ... well, pardon me ... go inland or close the windows.

At least you've got the comfort of knowing the relief wells will be drilled, the leak stopped, the clean up carried out and within a few years you wouldn't even know there'd been a spill ... there's people in this world who'll never have that comfort, their nations have been polluted ... permanently ... by the incompetence of US corporations. They'll never get their environments back, unless Mother Nature's long term healing over decades can somehow restore the balance.

And over 400 threads on this spill ... how desperately self indulgent some of you people really are, thread after thread of more and more apocalyptic doom, you've so taken over the forum with your incessant gibbering about this utter trivia you've even managed to get your own forum set up ... with a neat little "BP" badge to reinforce the message that it's the foreigners who are subjecting your poor little defenceless nation to so much harm. Nice one, they'll be pleased with that, great to be on message, huh ?

So get it in perspective, it's an oil spill, it's an accident, it's unfortunate ... do something about it, plenty of you seem to have so much time on your hands, volunteer to help clean up, help at a wildlife centre, make a charitable donation ... do something ... do anything ... but get ove

[edit on 17-6-2010 by bittersylence]

reply to post by Yummy Freelunch


I look to the results, not what 1 or 2 person does. This is the logic of history written by Mickey Mouse. If your governements action must be paid by an entire population where it assaults, then it should apply to you too. At last the angel of history is awakening.

[edit on 17-6-2010 by deccal]

[edit on 17-6-2010 by deccal]

Originally posted by Yummy Freelunch

Originally posted by deccal

Originally posted by Boomer1941
reply to post by Ulala

 

Now..I could care less what you THINK Americans are like..but I can tell you one thing..NOTHING like you described..at least not 95% of us!!!

Who the HELL gives you the right to even THINK you know us!!! Let alone, propagate LIES!!

Why so angry facing with truths?
You are a FAT nation who eats the food and the soul of the world.

[edit on 17-6-2010 by deccal]

The disaster in the U.S so far is not even close to what happened when the Torrey Canyon crashed off the Cornwall coast.

The ship was was run by the Barracuda Tanker Corporation which was a subsidiary of the Union Oil Company of California but chartered to British Petroleum.

It dumped 120,000 TONNES of crude oil into the English channel. Did it cause the end of the world scenarios that you guys are talking about? No it didn't, it killed 15,000 birds and all marine life within a 75 mile radius.

So please people put this into perspective, it's a bad disaster but still not close to being the worst.

Wikipedia Article On the Torrey Canyon Disaster

Starred and flagged.

Iv been telling my mates that the oil is worse than they think it is and should take notice of it, but to be honets the only place iv heard that its gonna be a global disaster is on here, so now i think how stupid will i look if it turns out to be nothing much at all

I can hear them now "What was you saying about that oil spill mate? think you need to put your tin foil hat back on bud"

i am sooooo sick of hearing all these british jackasses coming on ATS sayin "hey, what's the big deal, it's just a little oil!", simply because the company that caused this is BP.

how would you like it if our offshore rig called USP exploded and completely drenched your coast, and then kept coming and coming, and you realized the situation is direly worse and out of control than ever even predicted, and we didn't give two craps, and made fun of you guys for reacting at all?

yo britain, stfu, it's just a little oil, what, we gotta bail you out again? yarite, 'merican idolz on. gl with that.

i seriously don't want to meet you, and you don't want to meet me either.

Originally posted by george_gaz

Originally posted by randyvs
reply to post by Ulala

 

Last time I checked BP was still the logo for BRITISH PETROLEUM.
YA Just checked it again. You just got the crap scared out of you, huh?
You woke -up and thought you heard that we had declared war on your asses, huh? I can't wait til Germany is pounding at your door again.
Be funny to watch who ever has to come gravaling across the pond again.

Lol, idiot. If you lot had not been funding the Nazis in the first place then you would not have had to come and help us out. Hell, you even allowed your own naval fleet to be destroyed to give you an excuse to mop up the mess you made.

And next time Japan decides do demolish a US naval base, don't come begging to us for the instructions on how to build a big bomb. US assistance was bought and paid for by British military secrets without which your pacific war would have quite possible lasted far longer than it did.

And another one for the record. Regardless of BP ownership (BTW BP is a company name not a country) it is a lack of stringent US environmental controls around drilling procedure that led to this. In the UK (and a lot of the world) this would have been far less likely to happen as certain fail-safes have to be built into the drilling method meaning the well would have automatically capped if a blow-out occurred. In the US this is not the case. YOUR government allow companies to drill without these fail-safes in an effort to get more companies paying for the right to drill.

Yes, the companies could fit these fail-safes themselves, but due to greed of its shareholders (BP is a plc meaning that anyone can hold shares, even you.) they don't, and will always drill where the cheapest opportunities are.

As a country, you whored yourself out in WW2 for secrets, and you've whored yourself out to any body willing to pay (in this instance) to rape your shoreline. You've caught a dose.

To the idiots who have constantly been calling for your leader to "demand the UK send its military to clean up" and similar rhetoric on here, I say grow up. And I repeat, for the hard of thinking BP, that is British Petroleum are a company. They are not run by the British government any more than American airlines are run by yours.

Stop whimpering and blaming the rest of the world. The company responsible is attempting to clean up and fix its mess, and if the procedure bankrupts them, all the better.

Even better still would be if the risk involved in drilling became so great that the profits were no longer worth it and companies stopped doing it. Lets see the US oil based economy start "grovelling across the pond" for the numerous alternative energy sources being developed in the rest of the world.

(Disclaimer - I am fully aware that the world economy is basically oil based. But it stands as fact that the US uses more than any other country for its energy and transportation needs. In some Nordic states the previous energy needs of a single building have been cleverly managed to provide certain energy needs for entire communities)building