Why are the Americans and media blaming BP for oil spill?

[Harleyman]

Did buck just call me a witch? I once got banned for 24 hours for saying that about someone, and she actually was a witch

 

We know so much about buck and Harleyman's deprived, misunderstand and colourful early lives now before they arrived in a better place. Barbara Taylor Bradford could probably use it as material for one of her blockbusters

 

*crosses fingers and calls Pax!*

 

 

 

You sound just a wee bit upset, bitter and sarcastic rubydazzlerall I Hope you're not having bad dreams about us expats. Talking of witches I'll be out east at the end of this year to see the New England fall foliage. I could stop off in Salem, Mass and get a rubydazzler doll custom made

[Alastair]

It depends where you go. I daresay your wife would have received exactly the same reaction had she walked around New York randomly saying "have a good day" to everyone she met.

 

It's the same in the UK, people in Sheffield (and the North in general) are much more friendly than those in London. It's the nature of a big city.

 

I'm not sure that north-south divide in friendliness exists anymore. It's more of a small place/big place divide or urban/rural. London is a special case as everyones in too much of a hurry and 90% of the people there aren't native Londoners.

 

The south is friendly enough.

[rubydazzler]

You sound just a wee bit upset, bitter and sarcastic rubydazzlerall I Hope you're not having bad dreams about us expats. Talking of witches I'll be out east at the end of this year to see the New England fall foliage. I could stop off in Salem, Mass and get a rubydazzler doll custom made

sarky, yes, what else? I am Sheffield, after all! Bitter and upset, no. But you have afforded me and others some amusement over the last few days, a good bite you have there

 

Ah, yes! Autumn, as we like to call it, or even the backend, is a wonderful time in Sheffield, with all the mature trees and ancient woodland we have.

 

I offered you pax, don't take it then, it matters not to me. You can wear the black hat, as it suits you so much

[MadnBad]

When i had to move from Sheffield to down south with the family as a teenager it was almost like moving into another culture. The people although not unfriendly were to me stiff and somewhat stodgy not to mention reserved.

 

Back then a lot of stage comedians in that part of England used to put on fake northern accents and poke fun at northeners with the implication that we were all some kind of backward bumpkins.

 

I took a great liking to London however and still think it's one of the most un-boring cities in the world. I've been back for visits quite a few times since moving to the US and it's still a great place to spend a vacation. The impression I cant help getting however is that it is suffering from some kind of "tourist burnout" probably due to the millions of overseas visitors who descend on it every summer. The service in restaurants can be indifferent, the servers seem to get flustered and impatient at times. Pubs are the same and some of the bartenders almost look like they'd wish you would just bu**er off.

 

Those kind of people wouldn't last long in similar jobs over here, the rule being if dealing with endless numbers of tourists gets you down then move onto another line of work

 

I've done a lot of traveling across the US and Canada over many years, stayed in hotels. motels, eaten in restaurants from 4 star to Mom and Pop greasy spoons and yet have not experienced rudeness or indifferent service in one single instance either in large cities or remote rural areas.

 

I haven't experienced New York city yet so that might be another story

 

I apologise for earlier my post it was a bit rude!.

You are right we can be a bit stiff and reserved with strangers but you will almost always get a smile and a polite hallo and a bit of conversation from people in most southern villages the exceptions being large towns.

And yes we still take the mick out of your accent and any other foreign accents but i'm sure that would happen to me if i was up north.

I'm surprised you took such a liking to london i have always thought of london as a interesting place to visit for the day but would hate to live there, but then i'm a country boy if i'm not within a couple of minutes walk of the countryside i start getting clostrophobic.

I have lived here most of my life in fact i live within three miles of where i was born and never had especially bad service from restaurant staff, but then i simply expect them to serve food and drink which any old halfwit can manage.

We don't deal with endless numbers of tourists in the south of england though i can not speak for london so expecting some sort of special treatment is absurd and being loud and rude will only get you ignored or despised.

I lived in canada specifically whistler for about six months and can't say i found that much of a difference in service in fact i found the people to be less friendly and polite in the shops better in the restaurants but not notably so.

In fact i found france to be a much more polite and enthusiastic place to live, as long as you make the effort to speak the language that is.

[MAMALOCHA!]

$69 billion bill for bp for clean up give or take a few quid...

[Wildcat]

This morning on the news there was talk of using a controlled nuclear explosion to seal the well. Jeeeez ! What next? The CEO of BP has also finally admitted that BP were not prepared for a situation of this kind.

The oil slick is nearing Pensacola beach in Florida. I've been to Florida several times. Their beaches and shorlines are pristine, full of wild life but not for much longer.

 

People are not only mad at BP but also at Obama. Some critics have accused him of not being "mad enough about it" as if a show of theatrics would help in any way But as he said "If standing on the roof of the White House and screaming my head off would do anything to help then I would do it"

 

Whilst Palin is arguing that what this means is that the US should "drill, baby drill" in Alaska.

 

http://climateprogress.org/2010/06/02/sarah-palin-facebook-drill-baby-drill-anwr-bp-oil-spill/

 

And Republican Governor Barbour continues to praise BP. He appears to be on another planet.. shortly after the spill, he was encouraging tourists to “enjoy the beach,” even as dead dolphins were washing ashore!

 

but then what do you expect from people paid so much money by the Oil industry....

 

http://climateprogress.org/2010/06/03/as-oil-arrives-on-mississippi-beaches-will-dirty-energy-lobbyist-turned-governor-barbour-continue-to-praise-bp-and-mock-news-coverage-of-the-spill/

[Wildcat]

Rep. Don Young (R-AK) says BP oil gusher is ‘not an environmental disaster.’

Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) adds, 'Acts of God are acts of God.'

 

http://climateprogress.org/2010/06/03/bp-oil-spill-don-young-tom-cole/#more-26573

 

What planet are these people from?

 

Are they trying to distract from their own responsibility for what has happened?

http://climateprogress.org/2010/06/02/bp-oil-disaster-is-cheney%E2%80%99s-katrina/

[Wildcat]

I'm reading about Louisiana rig inspectors receiving 'gifts' from drilling firms and falsifying records because they didn't actually do the inspections.

 

I'm reading about Senators fiercely opposing legislation to bring vehicle efficiency standards up to those in Europe.

 

I'm reading about Obama licensing new drilling in the sensitive east coast ecosystems.

 

I'm reading about the reckless cuts to safety by the CEO of BP.

http://climateprogress.org/2010/06/02/time-to-fire-bp-ceo-tony-hayward/

[mojoworking]

I'm not sure that north-south divide in friendliness exists anymore. It's more of a small place/big place divide or urban/rural. London is a special case as everyones in too much of a hurry and 90% of the people there aren't native Londoners.

 

The south is friendly enough.

 

By "south", I probably mean London.

 

Try speaking to a stranger (or even making eye contact) on the Tube and see how far you get.

 

I remember taking my wife to Sheffield for the first time. She was gobsmacked that in every shop we visited, the women behind the counter would be super friendly, calling her "love" every second word.

 

I didn't notice it, but it left a very strong impression on a stranger to the area.

 

You don't really get that in the South East and certainly not in London.

[Harleyman]

THey dont own it, they just lease it and are doing everything they can to sort the problem.

 

Let me tell you a little about what these big oil company rascals have been up to and what they havent been up to. After Exxon Valdez disaster in 1989 the technology to clean oil spills on the ocean surface came as a result of that. However in the following years the oil companies started to drill deeper and deeper into the ocean bed and it was a source of pride to them. Exxon boasted that they had drilled over 9,000 feet below the sea bed. In all that time however, (21 years since Valdez) no technology of any sort was developed to deal with the situation now taking place in the Gulf. Even the CEO of BP Tony Hayward who wanders around looking like a lost schoolboy in front of the cameras has admitted that they had not been prepared for this nor had they the tools to deal with it. It's not just BP but the whole freakin lot of these big oil companies who are as guilty as hell in sqaundering their time instead of carrying out technological research while reaping billions of dollars in profits instead.

 

I dont know why you continue to defend these incompetent assholes unless you're an oil company employee yourself.