Answer to Markus-not World Cup thread!

[Splitlink]

You are right, Markus. As someone who has worked at the sharp end of a major US oil company I know what all these companies will do to save a buck. Someone tried to save one, here, and used US law to do it. I must recall two old sayings, "There, but for the grace of God, go I"and "Who shall cast the first stone?"

Careers get lost for making mistakes like that.

Has anyone heard of acoustic shut-off valves? From what I have heard, they are a requirement on this side of the Atlantic. Not in the US, though. So BP's contractor did not fit one. Head office economics, it happens all the time and a lot of it happened in the New Labour government, which is why hospitals sub-contract work to cut costs. I have seen the same thing with electric fittings and food wrappings from one country to another.

 

[BSD]

Hi mate, yeah, it's all a bit of a tragedy !!!

Btw here's what I wrote earlier in the other thread:


"Hmm am I the only one here who likes Obama...

Anyone remember dubya Bush ?

Now that was a real lying, deceiving terrorist with the blood of thousands of innocents on his hands roaming the corridors of the White House !!!

I totally get that you Brits are upset over the way Obama is going after BP, but what else can he do as POTUS ?

What could you do differently in his place with all the public rage in his country at what happened ?

It's just bad luck it was BP and not an American firm, but if it would have been an American firm he would have been after them just as much. (Eg look at the SEC charging Goldman Sachs with fraud etc.)

It is a massive, massive tragedy after all what's happening there to all the animals and environment etc, and people are understandably extremely angry.

But it's really nothing anti-British at all, just anti the the company that was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

 

[BSD]

Has anyone heard of acoustic shut-off valves? From what I have heard, they are a requirement on this side of the Atlantic. Not in the US, though. So BP's contractor did not fit one.

That's quite amazing !!!

Hadn't known that.

 

[MrGecko]

Has anyone heard of acoustic shut-off valves?

I can remember something being shut down due to a "flange blowout".. must be a few years ago now though.

 

[Splitlink]

Hi Markus, thanks for quoting what you said before, which I forgot to do. I could sense the makings of a debate there, which might have wrecked the World Cup before it got started! That's why I separated it.

Split

 

[Splitlink]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704423504575212031417936798.html

Split

 

[BSD]

Yeah I totally understand how tempers can flare up over such things.

But I'm also convinced that BP is gonna survive this, they are far to big to let em fail, far too many jobs involved - on both sides of the Atlantic.

But the buck needs to stop somewhere, and they are after all responsible for what happened, so it's only logical that the outrage is being directed at them, just like the banks were targeted in the financial crisis.

Nobody would undersatnd if they'd be treated with velvet gloves.

Lets not forget, the outrage was just as great when the Exxon Valdez which belonged to a US company ran aground in Alaska in 1989 because the captain was drunk.

BP are gonna have to pay some fine, which I guess is really only fair, do as much as they can to clear up the mess which is a terrific tragedy for wildlife, I mean some of the pictures...

But then that's gonna be it.

Hopefully everyone will have learned sthg from this so that sthg similar won't happen again.