Blame BP

C

Canceled.LTroll.16

Banned
The heads of four of the country's largest oil companies told a House panel that the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon and subsequent oil disaster was merely a fluke, and their companies operate safely and are adequately prepared to deal with any accidents that may occur.

"This incident represents a dramatic departure from the industry norm in deepwater drilling," ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson told a subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce panel.

When proper procedures, redundancy, inspections, maintenance, and training are in place, "tragic incidents like this one in the Gulf today should not occur," said Tillerson.

He called the Exxon Valdez spill of 1989 a "low-point" in the company's history and said it had "launched a full-scale, top-to-bottom review of our operations." Now, he said, "we do not proceed with operations if we cannot do so safely."

The other executives, representing Shell, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips, offered similar claims; the Gulf disaster was an aberration, one created by BP's lack of oversight. John Watson, chairman of Chevron, testified that his company's "drilling and control practices for deepwater wells are safe and environmentally sound" and that a commitment to safety is fundamental to who we are."

While Watson called the Gulf disaster "humbling," he argued that it should not be an impediment to future drilling.

"We strongly believe that responsible deepwater development must continue: America needs the energy, and we can produce that energy safely, including in the deepwater." said Watson.

James Mulva, CEO of ConocoPhillips, made a similar plea: "The business of offshore exploration will and must continue. It will continue because we can and will do it safely and responsibly, and it must continue, not only for what it yields for our nation, but also because that's what America does. We learn new lessons and move forward to higher levels of progress and achievement."

But as the executives testified about their safety and preparation, congressional Democrats pointed out that their companies' plans for a similar disaster were basically "cookie cutter" copies of BP's spill plan, all prepared by the same group, the Response Group.

The plans include an assessment of the impact of a possible spill on walruses (which don't live in the Gulf) and the phone number of an expert who died in 2005 (well before the plans were submitted).
 
Topspin said:
Britain is a dirty small island
Click to expand...

The oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico is an onslaught launched from the moldering grave of British colonialism, perpetrated by a greedy British corporation that, like it's nation, has blamed for creating much misery around the world.

One of the pivotal moments in world history came in 1953, when the CIA and British intelligence forces staged a coup in Iran, overthrowing the democratically elected Mohammed Mossadegh, a national hero who was Time magazine's 'Man of the Year' in 1952.

Mossadegh earned the the scorn of perfidious Albion for nationalizing the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, which exploited Iran's oil reserves, shared little of the revenue with the Iranian people, and kept workers in slave-like conditions. Anglo-Iranian is now known as British Petroleum.

BP's role in Iran's descent into tyranny is no trivial historical coincidence.

That coup led directly to the Iranian revolution of 1979, which launched an era of Middle East revulsion against the West whose repercussions are still felt in deadly ways today.

How history would have unfolded had Iran's democracy been allowed to flourish can never be known.

The Shah, installed as leader, turned tyrannical, leading directly to the Iranian revolution of 1979. Within several years, the pluralist nature of the revolution receded and Ayatollah Khomeini tossed out the liberal element.

The hostage crisis was also an outgrowth of the coup.

Of greater consequence was the Islamist regime's financial and ideological inspiration of a global, anti-Western network of Islamic terror. The 1983 Beirut bombing, which was organized by the Iranian regime, has been cited by Osama bin Laden as an inspiration.

Would a democratic Iran have been a bulwark against Middle Eastern extremism?

If not for the coup, what would the Middle East look like today? We can't know.

But what we do know is that Iran's oil was a prize that BP had no plans to let go.

When Winston Churchill helped seize it in the 1920s he called it "a prize from fairyland beyond our wildest dreams." As an Englishman, he knew fairies.

The coup shattered Iran's nascent democracy and taught Middle Eastern leaders that the West cared more for access to resources and stability than human rights and democracy.

Woodhouse, the British agent who persuaded the U.S. to get involved, conceded years later that things had spiraled out of control in the effort to recover BP's oil.

It is easy to see Operation Boot as the first step towards the Iranian catastrophe of 1979.

So you have to consider that British Polluters may also have caused terrorism to to flourish.
 
British Polluter said:
The heads of four of the country's largest oil companies told a House panel that the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon and subsequent oil disaster was merely a fluke, and their companies operate safely and are adequately prepared to deal with any accidents that may occur.

"This incident represents a dramatic departure from the industry norm in deepwater drilling," ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson told a subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce panel.

When proper procedures, redundancy, inspections, maintenance, and training are in place, "tragic incidents like this one in the Gulf today should not occur," said Tillerson.

He called the Exxon Valdez spill of 1989 a "low-point" in the company's history and said it had "launched a full-scale, top-to-bottom review of our operations." Now, he said, "we do not proceed with operations if we cannot do so safely."

The other executives, representing Shell, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips, offered similar claims; the Gulf disaster was an aberration, one created by BP's lack of oversight. John Watson, chairman of Chevron, testified that his company's "drilling and control practices for deepwater wells are safe and environmentally sound" and that a commitment to safety is fundamental to who we are."

While Watson called the Gulf disaster "humbling," he argued that it should not be an impediment to future drilling.

"We strongly believe that responsible deepwater development must continue: America needs the energy, and we can produce that energy safely, including in the deepwater." said Watson.

James Mulva, CEO of ConocoPhillips, made a similar plea: "The business of offshore exploration will and must continue. It will continue because we can and will do it safely and responsibly, and it must continue, not only for what it yields for our nation, but also because that's what America does. We learn new lessons and move forward to higher levels of progress and achievement."

But as the executives testified about their safety and preparation, congressional Democrats pointed out that their companies' plans for a similar disaster were basically "cookie cutter" copies of BP's spill plan, all prepared by the same group, the Response Group.

The plans include an assessment of the impact of a possible spill on walruses (which don't live in the Gulf) and the phone number of an expert who died in 2005 (well before the plans were submitted).
Click to expand...

You tell em'!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top