THOUGHTS FROM ABROAD

I thought you might be interested in viewing the oil mess from another perspective, as seen from the U.K.

The British have taken the American reaction as anti-British. Some of the vitriolic rhetoric they have taken personally; in particular, President Obama’s statement a few weeks ago that British petroleum needs a real ass kicking. I think one problem is the President using the name British Petroleum instead of its actual name of B.P. (Yes, it does stand for British Petroleum, but the initials have become accepted usage and the actual corporate name for a long time, much as KFC is the actual name of the corporation even if it was originally derived from Kentucky Fried Chicken.) So, referring to British Petroleum becomes a bit too personal for the Brits.

I also think they did not appreciate the President of the United States using the term "ass kicking" As a matter of fact, I don’t like it either, not, God knows, because I’m a prude but simply because I don’t find it is appropriate from the President of our country. Obama is pretty good at keeping his cool, but I think he was under a lot of pressure at that time to show he was in charge, and tough language seemed the thing to do at the time, a kind of macho knee jerk reaction to show he was really pissed and was taking charge.

In discussing this whole ugly mess with my British friends, I mention the blog I wrote a few weeks ago when I put the shoe on the other foot and asked how they would feel if a rig exploded in the North Sea and spread oil south to the English Channel and then into the Irish Sea, probably comparable area to what is now covered in the Gulf of Mexico. They agree they would not like it one damn bit.

They also point out---and they are dead right on this---we are not exactly free from corporate negligence endangering the environment. In addition to the Exxon Valdez spill, where Exxon acted promptly to clean up the mess, they go back thirty or more years to the infamous Union Carbide chemical catastrophe at Bopal in India where the environment is still poisoned today. No argument on that one…

B.P. is a major British corporation and has been one of the linch pins for dividends and growth to support pensions and investors. It provides a ton of jobs in the U.K. And don’t forget, it’s also a major player in the American economy where 40% of the stockholders are American and B.P. is a major employer in the oil industry and provides a lot of jobs in our economy. David Cameron, the Prime Minister, was quite right in emphasizing while visiting America that it is to our mutual benefit for B.P. to survive, not only for pensioners and stockholders but so that they can pay for the damages they have caused.

I have stressed that I think most Americans like the British and our "special relationship" (except for some of the extreme right wing nut cases who don’t like anybody, including Americans who don’t buy their politics). We don’t think U.K. is the villain---just B.P.

I think another common interest we will share is when the British people discover, as we will, what kind of shenanigans were played by the Labour government formerly in power, B.P., Colonel Kadaffi, the Libyan leader,and the Scottish National party in the Oil-for-Hostage deal where the convicted Lockerbie bomber was freed "for compassionate reasons" due to his terminal cancer (which, we now learn, was not terminal and the son-of-a-bitch will probably be around for another ten years). I have a feeling this deal is going to turn out to be very messy for those involved, especially B.P. and the politicians involved. I think our shared "special relationship" will have a common bond in this imbroglio.

Emotions are high; tempers are hot; feelings are touchy. The economy in both countries is still suspect with a lot of belt tightening on both sides of the Atlantic in store. I still think we need each other and need to work together. Understanding each other is necessary.