British Petroleum and British Attitudes

Ever since the explosion of Deepwater Horizon and subsequent oil spill, I have been glued to news reports about the progress being made to contain the spill, plug the leak, drill a relief well, and clean up the mess. Coincidentally, I was recently reading Collapse by Jared Diamond (which is an excellent book.)

In this book, Diamond is discussing Chevron and some of the reasons the company has taken such a pro-environment stance in New Guinea and why mining companies do not behave in a similar manner. "No one in the oil industry today would deny that spilled oil is harmful, but mine executives do deny the harm of spilled metals and acid." Mr. Diamond, I would like you to meet a scapegrace named Mr. Tony Hayward, CEO of BP.

Since the Deepwater Horizon explosion on April 20 (yes over two months ago), Mr. Hayward has repeatedly made comments that are repugnant to the senses. For example, Mr. Hayward was quoted as saying, "I want my life back." Well Mr. Hayward, so too do the residents of the Gulf. Unfortunately, your company created a mess that you and your colleagues seemingly cannot deal with.

While I have watched this environmental catastrophe unfold second by second, I am struck by the lunacy of the British public. I have seen numerous interviews on BBC where someone interviewed has stated something like this: "President Obama is treating BP too harshly."

This attitude is ridiculous! Let us think about this for a moment. A company is responsible for a disaster, cannot find a way to fix the problem, and the people affected ask for compensation. Hmmm. This sounds perfectly reasonable to me.

I recently expressed my frustration with BP to a British colleague. His response, "Remember that it was your government that asked and allowed BP to drill there." Fair enough. SAFELY. My astonished response included me asking him whether or not he would like it if Exxon had dumped this much oil in the North Sea, English Channel, or Irish Sea? I also pointed out that had this been a US company, nothing different would be happening. There would still be a public outcry. You would not see Americans discussing how poorly Mr. Obama was treating Exxon. Another difference is that BP stock forms a significant portion of many 401k retirement and pension funds. Therefore, the lack of dividend payouts is adversely affecting these funds. Guess what? If you own a stock, you own a piece of a company. If you own a company, you are responsible for what it does. Here is a newsflash: You own a company with an abysmal environmental record and this was bound to happen. Please stop complaining about the amount of money this is costing BP. It is not as if BP is a company with exiguous resources

In the time it has taken me to write this, approximately 43500 gallons (164,665.4126 liters for you metric types) of oil have spilled into the Gulf of Mexico. (Just for the sake of reference, that's enough fuel to drive a Hummer H2, one of the least efficient cars on the planet--using its worst case city MPG--around the circumference of the globe--at the equator--over 15 times.) Until BP can stop the spill, clean up the mess, and compensate those affected by this spill, BBC and the media, as well as the British public need to cease with this ridiculous spin and focus on fixing this mess.

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National Criminal Justice Commission Act (S.714)

This Senate Bill is designed to overhaul the current American penal system. Since its introduction in March 2009, the bill has garnered the bi-partisan support of 35 Senators and a broad array of organizations from across the political spectrum, including Human Rights Watch, American Jail Association, Prison Fellowship, American Society of Criminology, the Criminal Justice Section of the American Bar Association, and many other stakeholders.

If S.714 is passed into law, the National Criminal Justice Commission will be created. This commission will be comprised of experts from a diverse range of relevant fields, including criminal justice, law enforcement, public heath, national security, prison administration, social services, prisoner reentry, and victims' rights. Commissioners will be tasked with proposing tangible, wide-ranging recommendations for changes in oversight, policies, practices, and laws designed to prevent, deter, and reduce crime and violence, improve cost-effectiveness, and ensure the interests of justice.

So why is this law neccessary? Here are eight reasons why:

1. The United States has the highest rate of incarceration on the planet. We currently have roughly 5% of the world's population, yet our country contains 25% of the world's reported inmates. More than 2.3 million Americans are now serving time in prison. Another 5 million are on probation or parole.



2. During the past 20 years, our prison population has skyrocketed. More and more people have been incarcerated for non-violent acts driven by mental health related issues and/or drug dependence.



3. Despite the economic crisis, the cost of our current penal system continues to grow exponentially. Many of those incarcerated are repeat offenders. Thus, true rehabilitation could ease this financial burden on the taxpayer.



4. We currently lock up people who do not necessarily belong in prison, using valuable corrections resources that could be used against serious perpetuators of violent crime.



5. Transnational criminal activity has increased in the United States and resources need to be devoted to fighting this problem.



6. The incarceration of illegal drug users has done nothing to curb drug usage. This is a multi-billion dollar industry that has been largely unscathed. Despite the billions spent to combat the illegal drug industry, these drugs still reach our streets.
   
   
7. Incarceration of for drug crimes has had a disproportionate impact on minority communities, despite virtually identical levels of drug use across racial and ethnic lines.



8. It is extremely difficult for released inmates to become fully functioning members of society since post-incarceration re-entry programs either do not exist or are haphazard. This leads to repeat offenders and an undermining of public safety. Furthermore, the euphemism for prisons across the country is Department of Corrections. If we are to imply that prison corrects problems, then we need to ensure that rehabilitation has occurred when prisoners have completed their sentence.

What can you do to help? This bill is currently before the Senate Judiciary Committee. If a Senator from your state serves on this committee, write to him/her and ask for support for this important initiative.

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Russian Racism

This just blew my mind. I was watching the BBC earlier this afternoon when I saw a report on racism in Russia. The story led off with the candidacy of an African immigrant who is running for political office. This was followed up with an astounding statistic.

According to the BBC, 60% of all Africans living in Moscow have been attacked in racially motivated attacks. SIXTY PERCENT! These are figures that would make the Ku Klux Klan proud. The Klan did not pull that off that kind of statistic in their heyday in the United States.

This statistic is absolutely mind-boggling. There are at least 10,000 African immigrants living in Moscow. Thus, if this is accurate, then approximately 6,000 have been assaulted. So much for the socialist spirit that permeated Russia during the early days of the Bolshevik Revolution. To be honest, this story gives me the megrims. There goes my desire to see and explore the capital city of Russia!

For the entire story, check out BBC

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Kiva Loan

Hi Blog Readers!

I just made a loan to someone in Uganda using a revolutionary new website called Kiva. You can find the link under causes I support.

You can go to Kiva's website and lend to someone across the globe who needs a loan for their business - like raising goats, selling vegetables at market or making bricks. Each loan has a picture of the entrepreneur, a description of their business and how they plan to use the loan so you know exactly how your money is being spent - and you get updates letting you know how the entrepreneur is going.

The best part is, when the entrepreneur pays back their loan you get your money back - and Kiva's loans are managed by microfinance institutions on the ground who have a lot of experience doing this, so you can trust that your money is being handled responsibly.

I just made a loan to an entrepreneur named Isiah Kakuba's Group in Uganda. They still need another $700.00 to complete their loan request of $4,750.00 (you can loan as little as $25.00!). Help me get this entrepreneur off the ground by clicking on the link to make a loan to Isiah Kakuba's Group too!

It's finally easy to actually do something about poverty - using Kiva I know exactly who my money is loaned to and what they're using it for. And most of all, I know that I'm helping them build a sustainable business that will provide income to feed, clothe, house and educate their family long after my loan is paid back.

Join me in changing the world - one loan at a time.

Thanks!

Nomadic Richard

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