Crudely American

[davec]

The 'British Petroleum' disaster is actually a very American accomplishment. As Tony Hayward points out, 60% of BP employees are American. Much of their product is produced and consumed here. So, for starters, they're practically a British-owned American outfit these days. I couldn't swing a dead cat here without hitting one of their petrol stations.

(His comment 'I just want my life back' was a terrible PR gaffe on his part, no doubt due to sleep deprivation. Still, a major CEO ought to have others screen his words with more care, especially in times like these.)

We built and ran the platform and drilling equipment. We supposedly supervise offshore drilling here. Trying to work a mile underwater is a big leap forward, as the rig's name, Deepwater Horizon, directly indicates.

So, would it have been such a gigantic expense to at least test that blowout preventer and the maintenance robots first? Hook it up to a large tank and pressurize the tank with oil or some nontoxic substitute. See if it kicks in when the overhead pipe blows. See if the bots can shut it off. Find out about the icing problems. That test alone would have had multiple opportunities to make them stop and redesign the program and equipment. But, our developed world is a giant petroleum junkie. Gotta get that next fix now.

America elected a Chicago politician as President, and it's beginning to look like he's panning out to be one at the national level. Backroom deals and pay-to-play are the norm in Illinois, and in Chicago in particular. Just look at the stuff our nutter former governor, Rod Blagojevich, was into. Looks like America's getting a big dose of it now. Even as we charged off into mile deep water with little or no real testing, Obama was ready to sign us up for even more offshore drilling--a lot of it.

Our federal spin doctors just love that 'B' in 'BP', and will milk it for all it's worth. Time will tell who's really in the front seat here.

As you can see, this is how disaster-ready our nation has become in the wake of a previous Louisiana disaster, Hurricane Katrina. Spin doctors stand ready to swing into action to contain damage at a moment's notice. Otherwise, uhhh, anybody got any rags handy? And by the way, shrimp's high in cholesterol anyway.

Well, with BP having so much stake here, we really are paying for much of the cleanup ourselves, after a fashion. But I think this is still going to be an unfair hit on the British economy, not to mention the general disaster it is. After the spin dust settles, I think the US will owe Britain some reparations, to be honest. If we do pay up, it'll be done in typical American fashion, under the rug and out of sight, as we always do, correcting a booboo without admitting initial fault. It will be impossible to hide that much cash flow in funny expense account nonsense, so the spin doctors (on both sides of the Atlantic) will be busy again. Maybe we'll dress it up as 'balance of payments for the subprime mortgage crisis thingy'. Obama and Cameron will be waltzing together like drunks at a wedding reception, that much seems certain.

[SepticTone]

I agree.

It wasn't my fault, honest. The company's called 'BP', not 'British Petroleum', as some of the more redneck political commentators in the US term it to bat away blame from the US. 'Dodgy primitive low-tech Foreigners screw up American shrimps'

BP's a multinational, 80% owned by non-British shareholders, so playing the "Oh, it's a bunch of dumb limeys' fault" card as some US commentators have, is being disingenuous to say the least. Of course this wouldn't have happened had it been a 100% American firm which leased the platform.

Oil & petrol dependency is what needs to be tackled, as you say.

Incidentally, I note that some Americans are squealing that petrol ( I'm not going to call it gas, as that's a gas, is invisible & is different & it squirts out of your hob & you light it when you wish to cook sausages, etc.) costs some $4.40 a gallon when they put in their vehicles.

Try our cheapest petrol prices at the pump: $8.30 a gallon, converted @£1=$1.46.

However, our little Volkswagen does 65 miles to the gallon when I'm driving it ( about 45 mpg when the wife drives it, constantly in an inappropriate gear ), so maybe Americans should use smaller cars, if they can manage to squeeze themselves into one. It all gets more complex the more you think about it, doesn't it?

[davec]

Small cars are getting more popular here. You can't go anywhere in Evanston without seeing three or four Mini Coopers, along with Priuses and various tiny hybrids that look like wheelbarrows with car bodies on them. Hummers are disappearing, so their owners are dumping them, but who's buying? Many American used cars are getting shipped to China and Russia now!

As for the mpg thingy, I've noticed that some women feel intimidated by a properly running engine, and like to shift into second at 3mph and third at around 11, so the car lugs along in a nonthreatening, drugged-cat purr. My women friends who were raised in the country have no problem goosing those cylinders to do their stuff proper, but big city ladies are more likely to consider cars to be big heavy monsters to be tamed.

Something to keep in mind when fuel rationing starts up again. And it will...

[SepticTone]

As for the mpg thingy, I've noticed that some women feel intimidated by a properly running engine, and like to shift into second at 3mph and third at around 11,

Dead right. My wife revs the car up to drive the 60 or so feet from our drive to the end of our close where it joins the road & has it in 2nd by the time she declutches & slams the anchors on to stop at this junction! Does my head in, it really does.

& I see BMW just brought out an all electric Mini: the Mini E.

It develops amazing torque & can run 150 miles on a charge, but the li-ion batteries take up all the space where the back seats were, so it's a 2-seater