# Brits tell US to lay off the oil spill rhetoric **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 11, 2010, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726 "2010-06-11T00:58:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Happy\_Poster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Happy\_Poster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Poster)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/21 "2010-06-11T06:28:20Z")
You don’t understand. We do not love BP. We do have shares in it, and want it to do well, but that’s by the by. Our major protest is the way that your president, for naked political advantage, is trying to shift responsibility for the reckless actions of Americans across the Atlantic onto us. The reality is, if he comes down hard on BP Americans will suffer far more than us. BP has more than twice as many American employees as UK employees. American shareholders own more of BP than British shareholders. And it’ll be your economy that suffers more. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/22 "2010-06-11T06:42:09Z")
> [@Happy\_Poster](#): > > You don’t understand. > > We do not love BP. We do have shares in it, and want it to do well, but that’s by the by. > > Our major protest is the way that your president, for naked political advantage, is trying to shift responsibility for the reckless actions of Americans across the Atlantic onto us. > > The reality is, if he comes down hard on BP Americans will suffer far more than us. BP has more than twice as many American employees as UK employees. American shareholders own more of BP than British shareholders. And it’ll be your economy that suffers more. How about we just seize all the company’s assets, fix the spill and then sell off enough assets to pay for _all_ the damage, assess a three times fine and give anything that is left back to the shareholders. Is the fucking invisible hand of the fucking market ever going to police these greed mongers? It won’t if they are never responsible. Let the shareholders sue the officers personally for negligence so that officers of other companies in the future will not dare be as reckless. And fuck the fucking shareholders if they can’t make their company safe. Every irresponsible officer of the whole company should be sued by the shareholders for their recklessness. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/23 "2010-06-11T06:48:53Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > “Over-paid, over-drilled, and over here, > Get smart, Briton, disappear, > The oil’s at the gates of Rome, > Briton, go home” \* > > - Reference available upon request \*\* > \*\* Ah forget it. Richard Thompson - “Yankee, Go Home” off _Amnesia_ Some of us don’t need the hint. And you forgot “Stock price going into a stall …” ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Poster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Happy\_Poster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Poster)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/24 "2010-06-11T06:55:44Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > How about we just seize all the company’s assets, fix the spill and then sell off enough assets to pay for _all_ the damage, assess a three times fine and give anything that is left back to the shareholders. Is the fucking invisible hand of the fucking market ever going to police these greed mongers? It won’t if they are never responsible. Let the shareholders sue the officers personally for negligence so that officers of other companies in the future will not dare be as reckless. And fuck the fucking shareholders if they can’t make their company safe. > > Every irresponsible officer of the whole company should be sued by the shareholders for their recklessness. You can seize all the **US** assets if you really want. It’s your country. I’ll take all UK assets of every US company over here in return. Let’s have a trade war so Obama can do not quite so badly in the elections. Should work. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/25 "2010-06-11T07:03:43Z")
> [@Happy\_Poster](#): > > You can seize all the **US** assets if you really want. It’s your country. > > I’ll take all UK assets of every US company over here in return. Let’s have a trade war so Obama can do not quite so badly in the elections. Should work. You seem to be under the misimpression that the UK is a sovereign nation and not the lap dog poodle of the United States. Did you learn nothing from Phony Tony Blair? Any government (or appropriate court) usually does have the power to put a company in receivership if it is being used for criminal purposes or if its liabilities exceed its assets and expected income. BP probably has not reached that point with the Gulf spill, but I expect the corporation to have all its assets, not just US assets available to liquidate to pay for bills. Full faith and credit clauses in treaties allow that, without retaliation. If the folks in Old Blighty put too many of their eggs in the BP basket and did not diversify, that is their problem. The idea that BP should not have to pay for all damages it causes is simply amusing. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/26 "2010-06-11T07:09:24Z")
> [@Happy\_Poster](#): > > You don’t understand. > > We do not love BP. We do have shares in it, and want it to do well, but that’s by the by. > > Our major protest is the way that your president, for naked political advantage, is trying to shift responsibility for the reckless actions of Americans across the Atlantic onto us. The company is based in the UK, its top circle of executives is British, how is it not a British company? Are the top execs in control of their company or not? If they are - well, yes, it’s a UK company run by British citizens. If not - they should be replaced as incompetent. Seems to me the UK was happy to claim BP as its own when all was well, but now - well, it’s those dirty colonials’ problem, isn’t it? > [@](#): > > The reality is, if he comes down hard on BP Americans will suffer far more than us. Our economy has ALREADY suffered more - or did it escape you that that the Gulf of Mexico fishing grounds are largely closed? You know, where the US gets almost half its seafood? You think that has no impact? This has also caused problems with Mississippi shipping - which is how MOST of the production of the central part of the country, particularly agricultural production, gets shipped out. It’s also how a lot of stuff gets shipped in. Not to mention it has killed the tourist industry. Along with a fuckton of wild life - but hey, those critters aren’t living in England (or dying there) so why would you care, right? They aren’t consumers, anyway. And those marshes, down around New Orleans? You know, the ones that buffer hurricanes? They’re DEAD. That’s right, BP wiped out the one major natural buffer between a major US city and hurricanes, nice going. That means the next time we get a Katrina-level storm they damage will be _even worse_. Thanks. :rolleyes: > [@](#): > > BP has more than twice as many American employees as UK employees. American shareholders own more of BP than British shareholders. And it’ll be your economy that suffers more. Only because BP bought out Amoco in the 1990’s. Gee, guess what - a lot of us were pissed off at that company being bought out by foreigners. Funny, too - the local BP refinery near where I live suddenly had a spike in violations after that. The only thing that changed was management - which was suddenly a bunch of absentee landlords living in another country on another continent - so guess what conclusion I drew? Although BP is doing its best to suppress what’s really going on down in the Gulf (which decision I also lay at the feet of management which… guess what… all seem to speak with a British accent) it’s a lot harder to sweep it under the rug when it’s not a bunch of brown people in a third world hellhole - although parts of the deep south might qualify as such. Our economy is _already_ suffering. Threatening us with financial disaster won’t work because _the Gulf is ALREADY a financial disaster because of this!_ More people are out of work down there because of this than the number of all the American BP employees. Folks stand to lose _everything_ - do you _really_ think they give a flying fuck about the stock prices of a British owned company responsible for the disaster, regardless of whether the stock is own by Brits, Americans, or wee creatures from Mars? Oh, right - that word “responsibility”. I forgot - modern corporations aren’t _responsible_ for anything any more. CEO’s aren’t _responsible_ for what their companies do anymore. Sorry - BP is a British company. It just fucked up the Gulf of Mexico. Yes, we’re unhappy about that. Don’t for a minute think American heads won’t roll over this (that’s already started, with Elizabeth Birnbaum’s forced resignation from Minerals Management Service), but if the British didn’t want to be held in part responsible for a oil well fuck up in the Gulf then either they shouldn’t buy shares in a company engaged in oil drilling in the Gulf, and/or British companies shouldn’t be drilling in the Gulf at all. If you take the risk (either as an employee or as a stock holder) don’t whine when things go “pear-shaped” as I believe people in your country say and complain about how unfair it all is. No one forced you to buy BP stock, no one forced British Petroleum to buy Amoco, no one forced British Petroleum to change its name to BP, no one forced BP to cut corners on safety and accident prevention, but no one is forgetting that all happened, either. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Poster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Happy\_Poster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Poster)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/27 "2010-06-11T07:24:20Z")
Nonononononononono you’re still not getting it. You can even see this crazy jingoism in your post. US company being taken over by a UK one indeed. This is being turned into a diplomatic issue for political advantage when there is absolutely no reason it ought to be. And this is going to bite you in the arse in the long run. ---
**Author:** ![PrettyVacant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/49beb7/32.png) [@PrettyVacant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PrettyVacant)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/28 "2010-06-11T07:53:56Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > it’s a lot harder to sweep it under the rug when it’s not a bunch of brown people in a third world hellhole - although parts of the deep south might qualify as such. You mean like Bhopal? That shameful episode in US corporate history that still continues today? Fwiw, I also don’t recall any fuss based on nationalism when the US owned Piper Alpha blew up in the North Sea killing 167. /cheese-eating old European ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/29 "2010-06-11T09:55:11Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > What the fuck is wrong with these people? The criticism is that the only reason the US is attacking BP is because it’s a British company, and they’re whining about losing money from their pension funds. Dear fuckheads: your precious company has had more safety and operating violations in the last two years than all the other oil companies combined. Now they’ve reaped a disaster that will likely have decades of repercussions and destroy the livelihoods of thousands of Gulf Coast residents and the incomes of those dependent on the tourism industry. Well, the hate is only beginning folks, and nobody is responsible for this except BP and its contractors, so get fucking used to it. Cite. Just so we can see who ‘these people’ are. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Poster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Happy\_Poster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Poster)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/30 "2010-06-11T10:14:58Z")
> [@tagos](#): > > Cite. Just so we can see who ‘these people’ are. [Here](http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/BP-CEO-John-Napier-Letter-To-President-Barack-Obama-Over-The-Oil-Spill-In-The-Gulf-Of-Mexico/Article/201006215647330) is an example of one letter sent by someone far more erudite than myself, which clearly sets out just how unreasonable Mr Obama is being. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Poster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Happy\_Poster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Poster)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/31 "2010-06-11T10:16:23Z")
He’s also a lot more diplomatic, when it’s obvious this is a fucking election thing and Obama is about as sincere as a donut. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/32 "2010-06-11T10:28:04Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > How about changing the name of the island to the Windsor Isles? This much bad publicity requires a re-branding of everything associated with the word British. Like the popular intertube exploit, the British Bangwanger, should probably be changed to “that chair from Burn After Reading” Zot. > > Leave the term British and Brit to BP and make them stick with it. In the light of this negative association with my country, I suggest the US renames various things: Freedom Muffins Freedom Whiskey To “freedom” on a deal Freedom measures And y’all need to start speaking Freedomish ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/33 "2010-06-11T10:29:14Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > What the fuck is wrong with these people? Because Obama’s anti-British attitude stinks. As a person, he’s entitled to it; as POTUS, he needs to rise above his personal animosity. > [@](#): > > The criticism is that the only reason the US is attacking BP is because it’s a British company, and they’re whining about losing money from their pension funds. Don’t forget all the American pension funds losing out. Americans own [39%](http://www.bp.com/extendedsectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9010453&contentId=7019612) of BP. All those American shareholders must be getting rather annoyed. > [@](#): > > Well, the hate is only beginning folks, and nobody is responsible for this except BP and its contractors, so get fucking used to it. Even the most cursory glance at BP’s finances would tell you that BP has all the funds necessary to cover the costs and more. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Poster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Happy\_Poster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Poster)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/34 "2010-06-11T10:48:00Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Don’t forget all the American pension funds losing out. Americans own [39%](http://www.bp.com/extendedsectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9010453&contentId=7019612) of BP. All those American shareholders must be getting rather annoyed. Even stupider than that, the industry is a huge part of that region’s economy. Obama is sacrificing the damaged region and the cleanup operation for personal political gain. And it’s taking **us** to have to point this out to them. The spin is incredible, I have to give him that! ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/35 "2010-06-11T10:57:02Z")
> [@PrettyVacant](#): > > You mean like Bhopal? That shameful episode in US corporate history that still continues today? > Fwiw, I also don’t recall any fuss based on nationalism when the US owned Piper Alpha blew up in the North Sea killing 167. This seems worth repeating. BP is a corporation incorporated in the UK. Union Carbide and Occidental Petroleum are incorporated in the US. Union Carbide India Ltd. and the Piper Alpha were staffed by native people in the country of operation, as was the BP rig that caused this catastrophe. Attacks on the above companies are legitimate. Attacks on the country of incorporation of the above companies are irrelevant. It seems, but perhaps it’s just paranoia, that many of the public criticisms of BP are implying that it’s shit because it’s British, or are attempts to deflect the true source of responsibility away from anything whatsoever to do with the US. I am putting forward the proposition that it’s shit because it’s a huge soulless corporation that will do whatever it can get away with where there isn’t enough regulation, or even act illegally, because that’s what huge soulless corporations do, regardless of their country of incorporation. Furthermore, the people at the operational end - in this case American workers and contractors, but in Bhopal, Indians and at the Piper Alpha, Brits - need to assume some responsibility too. ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/36 "2010-06-11T10:58:33Z")
> [@Happy\_Poster](#): > > He’s also a lot more diplomatic, when it’s obvious this is a fucking election thing and Obama is about as sincere as a donut. Ta. So just another Fat Friggin’ Cat whining because yet another Master of The Universe has been shown up as a lying, incompetent piece of shit leading other lying, incompetent pieces of shit. They should all be hanging from lamp-posts along with the Financial Terrorists of Wall Street and the City of London. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/37 "2010-06-11T11:01:07Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > This seems worth repeating. BP is a corporation incorporated in the UK. Union Carbide and Occidental Petroleum are incorporated in the US. Union Carbide India Ltd. and the Piper Alpha were staffed by native people in the country of operation, as was the BP rig that caused this catastrophe. > > Attacks on the above companies are legitimate. Attacks on the country of incorporation of the above companies are irrelevant. > > It seems, but perhaps it’s just paranoia, that many of the public criticisms of BP are implying that it’s shit because it’s British, or are attempts to deflect the true source of responsibility away from anything whatsoever to do with the US. I am putting forward the proposition that it’s shit because it’s a huge soulless corporation that will do whatever it can get away with where there isn’t enough regulation, or even act illegally, because that’s what huge soulless corporations do, regardless of their country of incorporation. Furthermore, the people at the operational end - in this case American workers and contractors, but in Bhopal, Indians and at the Piper Alpha, Brits - need to assume some responsibility too. Stop talking sense, you fool. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/38 "2010-06-11T11:22:22Z")
> [@Happy\_Poster](#): > > He’s also a lot more diplomatic, when it’s obvious this is a fucking election thing and Obama is about as sincere as a donut. Are donuts known for being unusually insincere? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/39 "2010-06-11T11:36:59Z")
> [@Happy\_Poster](#): > > You can seize all the **US** assets if you really want. It’s your country. > > I’ll take all UK assets of every US company over here in return. Let’s have a trade war so Obama can do not quite so badly in the elections. Should work. No fuck that. I don’t care if it’s called Butt Plugium, or who owns it, and where they’re from. You fucking just got screwed by them too, as we did. If you expect special consideration for the disaster you helped pay for just because you’re British then you’re an asshole nationalist rat bastard. It’s your fault for buying stock in a company that just trashed our part of the ocean. American or British. If personally you disagree surely you wouldn’t mind a tanker or two dropping off a full steaming load of your invest in your English channel, so it can be like our gulf, que no? ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726/40 "2010-06-11T11:51:28Z")
The disaster has fuck all to do with Britain. It was American employees, running an American owned rig, employed by an American subsidiary, working in concert with other American subsidiaries of corporate internationals, pushing an American agenda for deep water oil exploration, feeding an American greed for cheap oil, overseen by an incompetent American regulator, answering to the American government. The disaster was entirely American in origin. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-tell-us-to-lay-off-the-oil-spill-rhetoric/542726.md?page=3)