{"id":57,"date":"2010-06-14T11:07:18","date_gmt":"2010-06-14T11:07:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/rabbishmuleyunleashed\/2010\/06\/bp-kaddafi-and-britains-oil-comeuppance.html"},"modified":"2010-06-14T11:07:18","modified_gmt":"2010-06-14T11:07:18","slug":"bp-kaddafi-and-britains-oil-comeuppance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/rabbishmuleyunleashed\/2010\/06\/bp-kaddafi-and-britains-oil-comeuppance.htm","title":{"rendered":"BP, Kaddafi, and Britain’s Oil Comeuppance"},"content":{"rendered":"

 Leading British politicians have been running to defend BP from unwarranted American attack and “bashing Britain.” First we stole their tea. Now we disparage their oil. The nerve.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/p>\n

Leading the charge was London Mayor Boris Johnson who said there is “something
\nworrying about the anti-British rhetoric that seems to be permeating from
\nAmerica.” Next up was Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg who, in a thinly veiled
\nattack against President Obama, said, “I don’t
\nfrankly think we will reach a solution to stopping release of oil into the
\nocean any quicker by allowing this to spiral into a tit for tat political
\ndiplomatic spat.” The biggest critic was <\/span>Lord Tebbit, a former Thatcher
\nCabinet Minister, who called Obama’s attitude toward BP “despicable.”<\/span><\/p>\n

 Curiously, none of those seeking to paint BP as a victim made
\nreference to its atrocious safety record prior to the Deepwater Horizon
\nexplosion on 20 April, 2010. An internal BP report of 2004 found “a pattern of the company intimidating workers who raised
\nsafety or environmental concerns,” and “managers shaved maintenance costs by
\nusing aging equipment for as long as possible.”<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 In 2005 an explosion at BP’s Texas City refinery killed
\n15 people. A ProPublica report found “significant process safety issues exist
\nat all five U.S. refineries, not just Texas City.” It added that “the
\nOccupational Safety and Health Administration fined the firm $87 million for
\nnot improving safety at the same Texas plant.”<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 Tyson Slocum of Public Citizen summed it up. “BP is a
\nLondon-based oil company with one of the worst safety records of any oil
\ncompany operating in America. In just the last few years, BP has paid $485
\nmillion in fines and settlements to the US government for environmental crimes,
\nwillful neglect of worker safety rules, and penalties for manipulating energy
\nmarkets.”<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 So why would the British defend this horrible safety
\nrecord by insinuating that American rage at BP is “British bashing?” And let’s
\nnot forget that BP itself changed its name in 2001 from British Petroleum,
\nalmost as if it were ashamed of the word “British.”<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 Britain does itself no favors by complaining about a
\nfalling share price and lost dividends while eleven Americans lie dead,
\nthousands of Gulf Coast residents have lost their livelihood, and innumerable
\nwildlife wash up ashore drenched in BP guck.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 Unfortunately Britain’s penchant of putting oil profits
\nahead of human life has a shameful and recent precedent.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 In an act of unforgettable infamy the Scottish
\ngovernment, in August of last year, released convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdel
\nBasset al-Megrahi, who murdered 270 people, on “humanitarian grounds,” saying
\nthat he had only three months to live. The mass-murderer was immediately
\naccorded a hero’s welcome by Kaddafi in Tripoli. FBI Director Robert Mueller
\npublished an angry letter to the Scottish government that said, “Y<\/span>our action makes a mockery of the rule of law.
\nYour action gives comfort to terrorists around the world.”<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 From the beginning there was
\nspeculation that al-Megrahi’s release was brokered by the British government in
\nexchange for lucrative British oil contracts with Libya. Kaddafi himself
\npublicly thanked Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Queen Elizabeth for
\nfacilitating the terrorist’s release. “<\/span>This step,” he said, “is in the interest of relations between the two
\ncountries…and of the personal friendship between me and them and will be
\npositively reflected for sure in all areas of cooperation between the two
\ncountries.”<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Kaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam went further, saying that in all his
\nmeetings with British officials to discuss oil contracts the subject of the
\nLockerbie bomber’s release was an absolute condition of any deal. “In all
\nBritish interests regarding Libya, I always put you on the table,” he told the
\nkiller.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 And which British companies were pushing hardest to strike a deal with
\nKaddafi? Reuters named BP and Shell at the top of the list.<\/span><\/p>\n

 A few weeks after this murky deal was concluded I hosted a protest on
\nmy front lawn against Kaddafi who was planning to pitch a tent immediately next
\ndoor to me in Englewood, New Jersey, in a mansion owned by the Libyan mission
\nto the United Nations. Those attending included New Jersey governor Jon Corzine
\nand Senator Frank Lautenberg. But the standout speakers were families of the
\nvictims of Pan Am 103 who described how their lives had been shattered by
\nKaddafi’s atrocity and their outrage at the British and Scots for releasing the
\nbomber after only eight years in prison.<\/span><\/p>\n

 Now comes word via the London Times that Kaddafi plans to pay \u00a32
\nbillion to victims of IRA bombs for his role in supplying shiploads of
\nexplosives. “Semtex supplied by Kaddafi’s regime,” the Times said, “was used by
\nthe IRA in at least 10 atrocities, including the bombing of Harrods in 1983 and
\nEnniskillen in 1987. The Real IRA used it at Omagh in 1998, killing 29 people
\nand injuring 220. It was used in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 at Lockerbie,
\nwhen 270 were killed.” The Times revealed that Gordon Brown had initially
\nbalked from pressuring Kaddafi to pay the victims “for fear of harming trade.”<\/span><\/p>\n

 But Kaddafi has now decided that a grand humanitarian gesture, without
\nany admission of responsibility, “will end the legal actions and build
\ndiplomatic and business relations with the UK.”<\/span><\/p>\n

 It is now ten months since the Lockerbie bomber’s release. It appears
\nthat miracles still happen because the previously terminally ill patient is
\nsomehow alive and well and, according to Kaddafi’s son, ‘greatly improved’ now
\nthat he is home in Libya. As for the reward to Britain, the Daily Mail reported
\nthat just five months after the bomber’s release “Libya announced plans to
\ninvest \u00a35 billion in the UK.”<\/span><\/p>\n

 In the aftermath of these shameful British actions, I continue to
\nfight what has become a lonesome battle against Kaddafi’s Ambassador living
\nnext door to me in a state where 30 people died aboard Pan Am 103. My pleas to
\nEnglewood Mayor Frank Huttle and City Council President Scott Reddin to take
\naction against the mission of a terror-sponsoring government living tax-free in
\na city strapped for cash, and in post 9\/11 America, have been met with little
\nresponse. Most shocking of all Congressman Steve Rothman of New Jersey’s Ninth
\ndistrict, now up for reelection, was quoted as saying that he expected us
\nresidents to act as “appropriately good neighbors” with the Libyan Ambassador.<\/span><\/p>\n

 Justice be damned.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n


<\/i><\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

 Leading British politicians have been running to defend BP from unwarranted American attack and “bashing Britain.” First we stole their tea. Now we disparage their oil. The nerve.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":203,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","category-religion-and-spirituality","category-values"],"yoast_head":"\nBP, Kaddafi, and Britain's Oil Comeuppance - Rabbi Shmuley Unleashed<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/rabbishmuleyunleashed\/2010\/06\/bp-kaddafi-and-britains-oil-comeuppance.htm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BP, Kaddafi, and Britain's Oil Comeuppance - Rabbi Shmuley Unleashed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\" Leading British politicians have been running to defend BP from unwarranted American attack and “bashing Britain.” First we stole their tea. Now we disparage their oil. The nerve.  \" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/rabbishmuleyunleashed\/2010\/06\/bp-kaddafi-and-britains-oil-comeuppance.htm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rabbi Shmuley Unleashed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-06-14T11:07:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rabbi Shmuley Boteach\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"BP, Kaddafi, and Britain's Oil Comeuppance - Rabbi Shmuley Unleashed","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/rabbishmuleyunleashed\/2010\/06\/bp-kaddafi-and-britains-oil-comeuppance.htm","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"BP, Kaddafi, and Britain's Oil Comeuppance - Rabbi Shmuley Unleashed","og_description":" Leading British politicians have been running to defend BP from unwarranted American attack and “bashing Britain.” First we stole their tea. Now we disparage their oil. The nerve.  ","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/rabbishmuleyunleashed\/2010\/06\/bp-kaddafi-and-britains-oil-comeuppance.htm","og_site_name":"Rabbi Shmuley Unleashed","article_published_time":"2010-06-14T11:07:18+00:00","author":"Rabbi Shmuley Boteach","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/rabbishmuleyunleashed\/2010\/06\/bp-kaddafi-and-britains-oil-comeuppance.htm","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/rabbishmuleyunleashed\/2010\/06\/bp-kaddafi-and-britains-oil-comeuppance.htm","name":"BP, Kaddafi, and Britain's Oil Comeuppance - Rabbi Shmuley Unleashed","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/rabbishmuleyunleashed\/#website"},"datePublished":"2010-06-14T11:07:18+00:00","dateModified":"2010-06-14T11:07:18+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/rabbishmuleyunleashed\/#\/schema\/person\/0621b4391203aa7af99ea2f3def86931"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/rabbishmuleyunleashed\/2010\/06\/bp-kaddafi-and-britains-oil-comeuppance.htm#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/rabbishmuleyunleashed\/2010\/06\/bp-kaddafi-and-britains-oil-comeuppance.htm"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/rabbishmuleyunleashed\/2010\/06\/bp-kaddafi-and-britains-oil-comeuppance.htm#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/rabbishmuleyunleashed"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"BP, Kaddafi, and Britain’s Oil Comeuppance"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/rabbishmuleyunleashed\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/rabbishmuleyunleashed\/","name":"Rabbi Shmuley Unleashed","description":"Rabbi Shmuley Boteach","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/rabbishmuleyunleashed\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/rabbishmuleyunleashed\/#\/schema\/person\/0621b4391203aa7af99ea2f3def86931","name":"Rabbi Shmuley Boteach","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/rabbishmuleyunleashed\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/rabbishmuleyunleashed\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/01f\/01f8c83e190b723e02d92a1ed9750af4x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/rabbishmuleyunleashed\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/01f\/01f8c83e190b723e02d92a1ed9750af4x96.jpg","caption":"Rabbi Shmuley Boteach"},"description":"Rabbi Shmuley Boteach is host of the award-winning national TV show, Shalom in the Home on TLC. He is also the international best-selling author of 20 books, including his most recent work, The Kosher Sutra: Eight Sacred Secrets for Reigniting Desire and Restoring Passion for Life (Harper One). His book, Kosher Sex, was an international blockbuster, published in 20 languages, and his recent books on the American family, Parenting With Fire and Ten Conversations You Need to Have With Your Children, were both launched on The Oprah Winfrey Show.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/rabbishmuleyunleashed\/author\/dbigbee"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/rabbishmuleyunleashed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/rabbishmuleyunleashed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/rabbishmuleyunleashed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/rabbishmuleyunleashed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/203"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/rabbishmuleyunleashed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/rabbishmuleyunleashed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/rabbishmuleyunleashed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/rabbishmuleyunleashed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/rabbishmuleyunleashed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}