Due Process

I watched as the CEO of bp, Tony Hayward, sat in front of a US committee looking into the Deepwater Horizon Gulf Oil disaster, and learned a few lessons, I was not expecting to learn. I know in advance that my thoughts are not universal, and may not be accepted, but they are mine and arrived at by reason, not emotion. 


Early in the hearing, Joe Barton, a Texan, apologised for the way Hayward had been treated, especially by the President in the White House, and likened it to a 'shakedown'. I confess I had to go and look that one up, and I found it means to extort money with menaces, or in other words bribery and corruption, and in the name of the highest office in the world! His apology was heartfelt, but withdrawn later when he was hustled by the other members of the committee.


The US law system is based on the principle of 'due process', which is the same as the UK basis of being innocent until proved guilty. Now this is where I learned my lessons. The process I saw yesterday was certainly not 'due process'. Guilt has already been established by the US people and their representatives. Now that may be true, and bp may be guilty of a serious breach of numerous safety procedures, but it appeared to be more of a lynch mob than a committee driven by getting the truth. On more than one occasion, bp was referred to as 'British Petroleum' in a deliberate ploy to take the focus away from the USA, in spite of the fact that they also have many rigs which use the same processes. Also, all actions taken were with the agreement of the relevant US safety agencies. Nothing was done outwith the agreed and accepted standards of the industry. 


Another lesson learned, is that there was a definite desire to lay blame fully and completely on Tony Hayward. Yes, he is the CEO, and the right person to have in the dock, but it is illogical and unreasonable to assume that he holds the key to all the answers, and knows everything about other peoples emails sent up to 7 years previously. I'm afraid due process and reason went out of the committee room as they all lined up to take the knife and plunge it repeatedly into a person who has not been found guilty of any crime. It became routine that the same things were asked, which appeared to be incriminating, by every member, some of whom could hardly put two words of a sentence together, as they passed the knife to each eager person. Mind you, when the lynch mob is throwing the rope over the branch of the tree, you don't have to be fluent in any language.


My perception of the US legal and judicial system has disappointed me recently, as has the behaviour of the President of the greatest gas and oil guzzling nation in the world. I also listened as I learned that every other oil company (bar none!) has the same safety processes in place should any deep water explosion or blowout happen. These other companies must be very happy that they are not being held to account, well, not yet! The phrase, "There but for the grace of God, go I", springs to mind.


Having said all that, I am NOT saying that bp is innocent of all charges. It may be guilty, and certainly should pay heavily for the coastal damage caused. The lives lost, however, will never be brought back, and are lost for ever. It saddens me to see that the core of the accusations from the committee focussed on the environmental damage. Only some small references were made to the lives needlessly sacrificed on the high altar of our global need for oil and gas. For me, the only good which might come of all this, is that the USA will waken up to the need for energy systems which do not rely on the love affair with for oil. Other nations would quickly follow. On that score, we are literally "out of our depth", and it is beginning to show! 

Gulf Oil Leak - The Blame Game

It seems we have now moved into the serious business of hanging blame for the deaths, accidental oil explosion and massive leak in the Gulf of Mexico. It becomes more apparent that there will be no quick fix for the problem, and nothing to stem the flow until the parallel drilling is completed sometime in August. So, what do we do meantime? We blame, and it all comes too easily to our lips.


President Obama has not been quiet. He feels strongly, and has already said the chief of bp would not be working for him. He obviously wants to lay blame on someone. It should be noted that 40% of all invested money in bp, comes from the USA. Not only that, but there are tens of thousands of employees of bp who live and work in the Gulf area. Oh, and the name of the company has not been 'British Petroleum' since the 80's, when it changed to bp, mainly because of its US, and multi national standing . President Obama's words have already caused millions of dollars to be wiped off the value of shares, both in the USA and across the world. Some people have even called for a boycott of bp and all their subsidiaries. Harsh talk, but is it justified?


It is worth defining the word accident. It is "any unplanned event that resulted in injury or ill health of people, or damage or loss to property", and worth remembering. We are beginning to look and sound like we have a company in the arena, and about to set the lions on them to see if they survive. They will be innocent if they live! Human nature needs, and wants us to blame so easily. It makes us feel in control, and in this case, we are not in control. Not the US President, not the Chairman of bp, no one.  


How would we feel if we were judged on those things which we accidentally did? Do we chastise our children when they have accidents? How about those times when they didn't know the full extent of their actions? Do we treat them in the same way as if they had deliberately set out to do wrong? No. What if we carry that same argument to our own judgement? Will God judge us the same as we judge others? I hope not. He 'will give mercy, not justice'. I would not wish to be judged by anyone in this life, and certainly not in the next life, by those things which were accidental wrongs. 


Why are we so quick to use a different set of laws in judgement here, when we have already been forgiven so many accidental crimes and sins, by a loving God? Maybe it's a sign of our humanity, and again, maybe it's a sign of our distance from the same God who will judge us some day. I like the verse which says, "Will not the judge of all do right"? I for one, am counting on it.  

Mexican Gulf Oil Leak

Oil Leak in the Gulf of Mexico. We can put a man on the moon, but we cannot put a plug in a leaky pipe. Crude analysis (sorry about that)! Apparently BP are doing their best to resolve the problem, but it's not good enough for the President.


Just a thought. Why is it that the biggest oil using country in the world, who want and need oil 'at any price', allow the oil companies to drill deeper than ever before, but (big BUT) when something goes wrong, and the (environmental) price for their oil usage gets too high, they get all filled with righteous anger and indignation? I can't help but wonder if there would have been the same Presidential intervention if the oil company was 'Exxon' or another of the US oil giants?


The USA needs the Gulf of Mexico oil, otherwise it becomes more and more reliant on the Middle Eastern Arab States oil countries, and they would not want that. So, the result? The USA will make a lot of noise over the mistake of a 'foreign' oil company, which is the politically easy thing to do, and when the dust settles, go back to drilling deeper than ever before! And all will be well again, because the USA will have their oil supply back to feed an insatiable appetite. Reducing the need for oil doesn't seem to be an option!