Should the British government bear any responsibility here at all?

[bluestateguy]

I'm not talking about full or even majority responsibility, but would it be reasonable to expect some degree of responsibility from our old mother country. Is there anything they could or should be doing to help here?

[donco6]

1. Their govt is even more conservative than ours at the moment.

So I'd not hold my breath.

[Captain Hilts]

8. Obama's political advisers helped Cameron win. nt

[donco6]

11. Well, that's even more depressing. n/t

[Deep13]

12. I don't know about that.

What constitutes conservative in the UK is to the left of most American Democrats.

[donco6]

14. Yes, I was reminded of that by the previous poster.

Kinda saddens me, but it's true.

[AllentownJake]

2. I say we bomb them nt.

[Ozymanithrax]

3. BP is a private corporation, owned by stockholdes from around the world...

In what way is the nation of England responsible for BP's screw up?

[yella_dawg]

4. One of the principle stockholders in a lady in London named Windsor.

I say shell Buckingham Palace.

[Captain Hilts]

6. Don't say 'shell', that's Dutch!

[dipsydoodle]

10. Exactly how do know that the Queen is a principle shareholder ?

.

[Captain Hilts]

17. It's logical to think Liz Windsor has some stock since 40% is owned by British, but

we need to put some pressure on the British government on this one.

[dipsydoodle]

21. Some stock maybe

as have numerous others no doubt.

In 1995, the final 1.8 percent government share in BP was sold to the public, making BP a fully-privatized company.

The British Government itself bears no responsibility here neither does it with regard to any other publicly owned private companies.

[yella_dawg]

26. Link

here

[dipsydoodle]

28. Did you read that yourself ?

It refers to the period to prior to nationalisation. It was subsequently privatised again after that.

So - currently what's the Queen's shareholding - if any ?

[Ozymanithrax]

22. So you want to hold the stockholders responsibile...Yea...I can see that...

But shelling Buckingham palace is a bit extreme. We should simply assume ownership of said palace and all its furniture and art objects.

[yella_dawg]

25. You win.

I'll settle for shelling BP's US headquarters in Houston. I never liked Houston.

[dipsydoodle]

7. 39% of shares are US owned

and I'm guessing that most of those are in pension funds.

[Captain Hilts]

9. 40% British. nt

[Captain Hilts]

5. 40% owned by British. 39% US. nt

[47of74]

13. If anything, our government should inquire of Her Majesty's Government

And ask if there's anything they can do on their end to pressure BP.

[Captain Hilts]

18. I said that right after this began. They deal with offshore off Aberdeen and have

more experience than we have.

[Deep13]

15. Only if we accept a radical different view of corporations.

If we realize that corporations are govt. creations designed to shield the owners and managers of companies from the natural consequences of their action, then corporations become quasi-public institutions and not private companies.

[liberal N proud]

16. I see your point

This is just 200+ year old retaliations for the revolution. They sure do hold their grudges, don't they.

:rofl:

[Ganja Ninja]

19. They aren't responsible for any of this. n/t

[meow mix]

20. the south will be out for thier blood anyways..

before this is over.. wether they should be responsible or not.

[hayu_lol]

23. Ummmm...the permits to drill came from us...

The nation of Britain and the government of Britain are not responsible for what a private corporation does anywhere in the world.

Be interesting to see if Carlyle Group owns some of BP.

Be interesting if some of our people in Houston took some really nasty used oil and poured it on BP headquarters...just small quantities of course.

[nadinbrzezinski]

24. In an ideal world yes,

in reality BP is treated as a semi private agency... far more private than PEMEX, which has direct contact with the government.

[KonaKane]

27. A little bone thrown our way would be nice.

We have come to their rescue and aid more than once. Come on Britannia, show a little love!

[dipsydoodle]

29. Not a big a bone as the rest of the planet

deserves from the USA for letting its own financial institutions fuck everyone over.

Wanna do a trade - we're talking trillions not billions.

[Lil Missy]

30. No.