I don't know why a few Brits have such a massive bug up their butts that they have to turn this into a nationalistic issue. As I said above, the idea that "BP" stands for "British Petroleum" is incidental and irrelevant to this incident. BP is a member of the oil industry in general which is notorious for following a policy of cutting corners and putting profits over safety. It's that policy that caused this disaster, not the fact that BP is a British-based multinational company.

People like Teribus seem to be accusing Americans of trying to claim that this f**k-up was caused by an inherent flaw in the British character rather than the kind of reckless cost-cutting that is pandemic among oil companies in general, and then doing back-flips in an effort to try to minimize the nature and extent of the disaster.

Going back to the Torrey Canyon oil spill, a lot of folks on that side of the pond were not to happy when vast quantities of oil started washing up on the beaches in the south of England, the Channel Islands, and the north of France. And who got blamed and sued? The American company that owned the ship and had chartered it to BP, and thereby had no control over the operation, especially the incompetence of the Italian captain.

And if there is any connection betweent the two incidents, it is that those most responsible are trying to lay the blame on anyone and everyone but themselves.

As I also mentioned earlier, I don't have a dog in this fight. As far as any kind of animosity toward Britain, none here. My ancestry is Scottish, and a number of times I have seriously considered moving to England. I love the history, the high quality of arts, music, and drama, and the people in general, and if I were to suggest moving to the British Isles, I doubt that I would get any argument from my wife.

The problem is that BP is responsible for the spill, not that the company is British.

What the hell is the matter with you people*?

Don Firth

* "You people." Not the British people in general, but the handful of people who are pissing and moaning on this thread.