‘The Gulf of America’? Here’s What Mexicans and Cubans Think.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Following President Trump’s order renaming the Gulf of Mexico, at least in the United States, Mexicans and Cubans expressed annoyance, defiance, confusion and even amusement.

Francisco Javier Remes Sánchez was puzzled as he watched President Trump sign an executive order last week renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America as part of his pledge to honor “American greatness.”

“That man talks a lot and we have no choice but to defend Mexico,” said Mr. Remes Sánchez, 52, who manages a 15,000-member fishing association in Tamaulipas state in northeastern Mexico. He has fished in the gulf for 20 years and estimated that he spends 2,000 hours a year on its waters.

“He’s changing the name of a cultural and natural heritage of Mexico since the 16th century, when the United States hadn’t even been formed,” he added.

To be clear: Mr. Trump’s order renaming the world’s largest gulf only changed the name in the United States, where he has authority, not internationally. He asked the Secretary of the Interior to remove all mentions of the Gulf of Mexico in the government’s official geographic database and ensure that “all federal references,” including maps, contracts and other documents, reflected the new name.

On Friday, the Interior Department announced the switch. » | James Wagner | Reporting from Mexico City | Tuesday, January 28, 2025

Leer en español aquí.

This attempt to rename the Gulf of Mexico must be one of the dumbest, most childish things ever attempted by an American president. It is to be hoped that the rest of the civilised world will simply ignore Trump's stupidity. For me, at least, the Gulf of Mexico will forever remain just that: the Gulf of Mexico. – © Mark Alexander

Poking Fun at Trump, Mexico’s President Suggests Renaming the U.S.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico also said Donald Trump was ill-informed when he said Mexico was “essentially run by the cartels.”

Mexico’s president rejected several of President-elect Donald J. Trump’s assertions about her country and even joked that the United States should be called “Mexican America” after Mr. Trump said the Gulf of Mexico should be renamed the Gulf of America.

President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico used her Wednesday morning news conference to show a world map dating from 1607. The map labeled North America as Mexican America and already identified the Gulf of Mexico as such, 169 years before the United States was founded.

“Why don’t we call it Mexican America? It sounds pretty, no?” Ms. Sheinbaum said while pointing to the map and smiling.

In response to Mr. Trump’s comment that Mexico was “essentially run by the cartels,” Ms. Sheinbaum told reporters on Wednesday that, “with all due respect,” the president-elect was ill-informed. (+ video) » | Emiliano Rodríguez Mega | Wednesday, January 8, 2025

Oil Spill: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev Fears BP's 'Annihilation'
THE TELEGRAPH: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has expressed concerns that the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill could lead to the "annihilation" of BP.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev fears BP's 'annihilation' over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Photo: The Telegraph
Mr Medvedev stopped short of saying the disaster would prompt a review of Russia's partnership with BP, but he said: "This is a wake-up call."

"Certainly, we are not indifferent to their future... Hopefully, they can absorb the losses," he told the Wall Street Journal.

BP shares, which have fallen around 46pc since the spill began, rose 4.5pc in early tradiing on Friday.

BP is present in Russia through TNK-BP, the third largest oil producer in the country, accounting for roughly a quarter of BP's global production. It owns half of TNK-BP and the other half is owned by Alfa Access-Renova, a consortium of Russian businessmen.

When asked how the oil spill would affect Russia's view of BP as a partner, he said: "What I know is that BP will have to pay a lot of money this year.

"Whether the company can digest those expenditures, whether they will lead to the annihilation of the company or its breakup into pieces is a matter of expediency."

Mr Medvedev's comment come as estimates of the damage caused by the US's biggest environmental accident spiral[.] >>> | Friday, June 18, 2010

Medvedev Sees Risk to Euro
Russian President Dmitry Medvdev speaks with The Wall Street Journal. Photograph: WSJ
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: ST. PETERSBURG, Russia—Russian President Dmitry Medvedev expressed doubts about the future of Europe's common currency and said the Gulf of Mexico oil spill could threaten the survival of BP PLC.

Asked whether Europe's debt turmoil could threaten the euro, Mr. Medvedev said, "I don't exaggerate the threat, but it can't be underestimated."

The Russian president didn't rule out financial assistance to struggling European nations, but said the European Union should bear the burden of any major "financial injections."

"Russia's prosperity, to a large extent, depends on how well things are going on the European continent," Mr. Medvedev said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. "We are not a member of the EU, but we are a European country."

On the eve of his first state visit to the U.S. next week, Mr. Medvedev also questioned whether the Gulf oil spill might lead to the "annihilation" or breakup of BP, as the company faces billions of dollars in losses from the disaster.

He stopped short of saying Russia would re-evaluate BP's lucrative partnership in Russia, which represents almost a quarter of its oil production, but predicted the spill will prompt a fundamental rethinking of oil exploration around the world.

"This is a wake-up call," Mr. Medvedev said. Of BP's fate, he added: "Certainly, we are not indifferent to their future. ... Hopefully, they can absorb the losses." >>> Gregory L. White, Robert Thomson, and Rebecca Blumenstein | Friday, June 18, 2010

Donald Trump Isn’t Even In Office Yet and Silly Season Has Already Begun

THE GUARDIAN – OPINION: He wants to seize the Panama Canal, Canada and Greenland. And now wants to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America

Donald Trump’s silly season has already caused irreparable damage to United States national security. Despite not yet holding office for a minute, Trump has made it plain that in his second term the U.S. will be an unreliable partner swayed by his personal whim, that he has no respect for historic alliances and that he has contempt for the rule-based international order that the U.S. has led since the end of World War II to prevent the reemergence of catastrophic great power collisions.

Beginning with his “Merry Christmas to all” tweet that he wanted to seize the Panama Canal, Canada and Greenland, Trump has not relented in his absurd claims, extended to renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. His disdain for the sovereignty of independent nations—two of them NATO allies and Panama a fellow member of the Organization of American States—has undermined the credibility of opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s ambition to grab Taiwan. The soft power of the U.S., ultimately based on its democratic example and respect for international order, has been tossed away by Trump’s fantasy Manifest Destiny that is simply the latest wrinkle in his isolationism. Hardly the Rough Rider, if Trump were acting as Putin’s or Xi’s agent he could not have kowtowed more for their benefit. » | Sidney Blumenthal | Monday, January 13, 2025

Americans voting for Donald Trump is like American turkeys voting for Christmas! They’ll get roasted. Watching this spectacle is going to be lots of fun. – © Mark Alexander

Church Collapse in Mexico Kills 11 During Collective Baptism

THE NEW YORK TIMES: A church roof fell in a city on Mexico’s Gulf Coast as dozens of parishioners were at Sunday Mass. Rescuers said at least three children were among the dead.


Surveillance footage shows the moment the roof of a church in Ciudad Madero, Mexico, collapsed during Sunday Mass. | Secretary of Public Security Tamaulipas, via Reuters
Rescuers in northern Mexico recovered the bodies of 10 people who died after the roof of a Roman Catholic church collapsed during Sunday Mass in Ciudad Madero, an oil-refining city on the Gulf of Mexico. Among the youngest victims were three children, including a 1-and-a-half-year-old boy.

The roof collapsed during a collective baptism, according to the Diocese of Tampico. About 60 people were injured, and more than 23 of them were hospitalized on Monday morning, the Tamaulipas State security spokesman’s office said. One of those hospitalized died later on Monday, the spokesman said.

About 100 people were inside the Santa Cruz church at the time of the collapse, officials said. » | Emiliano Rodríguez Mega and Simon Romero, Reporting from Mexico City | Monday, October 2, 2023

Gulf of Mexico Oil Slick: Sarah Palin Fuels Anti-British Sentiment
THE TELEGRAPH: Sarah Palin has fuelled growing anti-British sentiment over the Gulf of Mexico oil rig disaster by saying "foreign" oil companies like BP were not be trusted.

The former Alaska governor and potential 2012 presidential candidate attacked the British oil giant over the recent Deepwater Horizon spill and a previous one in her state in 2006.

Her comments came despite the fact her husband Todd Palin worked for BP for 18 years, as a production supervisor, and only left the company last year to spend more time with his family.

Mrs Palin urged those in the Gulf of Mexico to "learn from Alaska's lesson with foreign oil companies." She added: "Don't naively trust – verify." As an oil slick the size of Luxembourg loomed off the US coast her intervention added to growing anger at BP among environmentalists and those who face losing their livelihoods. >>> Nick Allen in Louisiana | Thursday, May 06, 2010

BP's Tony Hayward Savaged by US Congressmen Over Oil Spill
THE TELEGRAPH: BP’s chief executive Tony Hayward has been subjected to a blistering attack by US Congressmen over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, who accused the company of “astonishing complacency”.

BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward was singled out for failing to ignore warnings signs before the fatal rig explosion. Photograph: The Telegraph
The boss of the oil giant was appearing before an influential committee a day after pledging a £13.5bn compensation fund to make amends for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Britain’s largest firm was condemned for increasing the risk of a “catastrophic blowout” by cutting “corner after corner”. It was accused of having a “cavalier attitude towards risk”.

Mr Hayward was singled out for failing to ignore warnings signs before the fatal rig explosion, which left 11 people dead and hundreds of thousands of barrels of oils spewing into the Gulf. BP has failed to contain the leak despite numerous attempts.

Henry Waxman, a California Democrat known as one of the toughest investigators in Congress, told Mr Hayward: “There is not a single email or document that shows that you paid even the slightest attention to the dangers at this well.

“There is a complete contradiction between BP’s words and deeds. You were brought in to make safety the top priority of BP, but under your leadership, BP has taken the most extreme risks.”

In a pointedly nationalist remark, Bart Stupak, from Michigan, said that while Mr Hayward could take “a golden parachute back to England, we in America are left to recover for years from the disaster”. >>> Alex Spillius, in Washington | Thursday, June 17, 2010

It really is difficult to see how Tony Hayward can remain in his position as BP’s chief executive. The buck stops with him. If the man had any honour, he’d resign; and without the golden parachute that these people have come to expect in recent years. The company, BP, has fouled up under his watch. The consequences should be faced. – © Mark

Dominic Lawson: Seventy Years On, We Are Still Appeasing Dictators
THE INDEPENDENT: In dealing with Libya the Foreign Office has been guilty of institutional cringe

In this, the week of the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War, British newspapers have published entire supplements, setting out once again how the policy of appeasing dictators showed a complete failure to understand the gangster psychology of totalitarian regimes.

Yet the unravelling tale of our current government's negotiations with the regime of Col Gaddafi is a more enthrallingly contemporary illustration of the unchanging institutional cringe known as the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office. We have learned – chiefly through the medium of government memos leaked to the Sunday Times – how the Foreign Office saw the release from Scottish custody of the convicted Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, as a way of earning us good favour in the court of Megrahi's patron and distant relative, Muammar Gaddafi.

In some of these memos you can hear the sound of Foreign Office ministers past and present patting themselves on the back for the results of their negotiations. There is much discussion of the alleged trade benefits, notably a deal between BP and Libya. But two days ago the Libyan Europe Minister, Abdulati al-Obeidi, admitted to that outstanding foreign correspondent Hala Jaber that even if the British Government had set its face against the release of Megrahi, it was "highly unlikely" that the deal with BP would have been cancelled: "Libya also looks out for its interests and to cease the BP deal is not in our interests." Indeed so: last week we learned of BP's astonishing discovery of a 3 billion-barrel oilfield 35,000ft below the Gulf of Mexico seabed, far and away the deepest well ever drilled. If you were the Libyan regime you would very much want the company with such technological leadership helping you to find oil on your territory.

There is a more particular sense in which the Foreign Office has played the hand of the appeaser in its negotiations. The Libyans had made dark noises about the likely reaction of their own population should Megrahi die in Scottish custody – something along the lines of "in such an eventuality we cannot guarantee the safety of British citizens in Libya". This unsubtle threat should have been greeted with the observation that it was the responsibility of the Libyan Government to ensure the safety of innocent British citizens on its territory. Instead we seem to have behaved like the weak tradesman confronted by an unscrupulous protection racketeer.

It is, of course, very embarrassing when craven behaviour comes to light via a leaked memo to the Sunday Times. Hence Gordon Brown's overnight conversion to the idea of asking the Foreign Office to assist with the claims for compensation of the victims of IRA bombs constructed from Semtex provided by Libya – having earlier told the victims' lawyers that the Government could have nothing to do with their campaign.

Yet this attempt to regain the high moral ground is even more contemptible than the decision to leave those victims of Libyan Semtex out of the original deal. When Britain and America did their separate deals over the reopening of normal relations with Gaddafi's regime, the Americans insisted that their own victims of Libyan-backed IRA atrocities be financially compensated; the British made no such demands, essentially declaring that bygones are bygones. >>> Dominic Lawson | Tuesday, September 08, 2009

BP Makes "Giant" Oil Find in Gulf of Mexico
REUTERS: LONDON - Oil major BP Plc said it has made an oil discovery in the Gulf of Mexico, which analysts believe could contain over 1 billion barrels of recoverable reserves, reaffirming the Gulf's strategic importance to the industry.

BP said in a statement on Wednesday that it had made the "giant" find at its Tiber Prospect in the Keathley Canyon block 102, by drilling one of the deepest wells ever sunk by the industry.

Further appraisal will be required to ascertain the size of volumes of oil present, but a spokesman said the find should be bigger than its Kaskida discovery which has over 3 billion barrels of oil in place.

Estimates of recoverable reserves range from around 20 percent of oil in place. >>> Tom Bergin | Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Libya Has Made Fools of Us All Over Lockerbie Bomber Megrahi, and Much Else Besides
THE TELEGRAPH: Gaddafi was playing Tony Blair long before the release of the Lockerbie bomber, argues Con Coughlin.

It doesn't matter how much money BP stands to make from its deep-water exploration off the Libyan coast – it is never going to compensate for the humiliation Britain has suffered over last year's decision to repatriate the Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi.

Britain's leading oil company says it has postponed plans to drill its first deep-water well in Libya's Gulf of Sirte until later in the year, because of the concerns that have been raised by the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. But that is not the only reason BP is holding fire: its senior executives fear that if work commences just as Megrahi is celebrating his first year of freedom, it would further infuriate the members of the US Senate who are already demanding a full Congressional inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Megrahi's release.

The fact of the matter is that Megrahi, according to what we were told at the time, should not be alive, and certainly not the subject of the sickening spectacle that has been arranged today by Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the Libyan dictator's son and political heir. This will see 500 teenagers, flown in from around the world at vast expense, acting as guests of honour at a ceremony to mark the one-year anniversary of Megrahi's return home from his Scottish prison cell.

Precisely what role BP played in securing Megrahi's release, or what bearing this had on its $900 million oil exploration contract, remains unclear. The company says it did no more than lobby the Scottish Parliament for a prisoner swap. But many senior officials in the Obama administration believe that BP was more deeply involved. They point to the role played by Sir Mark Allen, a former senior MI6 officer who headed the negotiations that persuaded Libya to stop work on its nuclear weapons programme, in late 2003, and wrote to the Foreign Office seeking Megrahi's release.

The lenient approach that Scottish officials adopted in dealing with Megrahi's case, in which no serious assessment appears to have been made of the terrorist's medical condition, certainly fits with the approach that Tony Blair encouraged British officials to adopt towards Libya following the nuclear deal. Colonel Muammar Gaddafi might remain one of the region's less appealing dictators, but that did not prevent Mr Blair from working tirelessly to bring him in from the diplomatic cold. Continue reading and comment >>> Con Coughlin | Friday, August 20, 2010

Barack Obama's Credibility Hits Rock Bottom After Oil Spill and Sestak Scandal
THE TELEGRAPH: The combination of Obama's passivity over the Gulf oil spill catastrophe and his cynical political manoeuvrings could spell disaster for him, argues Toby Harnden

The first thing Barack Obama probably should have done was to order the livestreaming Oil Spill Cam to be turned off. As the President insisted to Americans that he was "singularly focused" on staunching the flow, there was that mesmerising image on their television screens of plumes of hydrocarbons gushing relentlessly into the Gulf of Mexico.

When any political leader feels they have to declare that they are "fully engaged" in an issue, it is clear that they are in trouble. Talking about it undermines the very point you are trying to make - not to mention that pesky Oil Spill Cam showing that, 38 days into the Deepwater Horizon disaster, not a whole lot had been achieved.

Even judging Obama by his words, he has fallen woefully short over what has now eclipsed the 1989 Exxon Valdez wreck as biggest oil spill catastrophe in American history. He may have described it as an "unprecedented disaster" in last Thursday's press conference but a week into the crisis he was blithely stating that "this incident is of national significance" and rest assured he was receiving "frequent briefings" about it.

George W Bush's unpopularity and perceived incompetence was encapsulated by the way he dealt with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Candidate Obama branded it "unconscionable incompetence".

Central to Obama's appeal was his promise to be truly different. His failure to achieve that is now at the core of the deep disappointment Americans feel about him. At the press conference - the first full-scale affair he had deigned to give for 309 days - he appeared uncomfortable and petulant.

His approach to the issue was that of the law student suddenly fascinated by a science project. He displayed none of the visceral indignation Americans feel about pretty much everything these days - two-thirds now say they are "angry" about the way things are going - resorting instead to Spock-like technocratic language and legalese. "I'm not contradicting my prior point," he stated at one juncture. During those 63 minutes of soporific verbosity, about 800 barrels of oil poured into the Gulf.

Obama engaged in the obligatory populist bashing of Big Oil and, of course, demonstrated the Obama administration's version of Tourette's Syndrome, blaming the previous administration for the situation when, by my reckoning, it's a full 16 months since Bush left office. Read on and comment >>> Toby Harnden in Washington | Saturday, May 29, 2010

HT: Pastorius

Related articles here

Gulf of Mexico BP Oil Spill: Nick Clegg Warns Barack Obama Over 'Megaphone Diplomacy'
THE TELEGRAPH: Nick Clegg today warned that the BP disaster threatened to descend into “megaphone diplomacy” following Barack Obama’s fierce criticism of the British company.

Nick Clegg made the comments when asked for his response to President Obama's call for the sacking of BP chief executive Tony Hayward. Photo: The Telegraph
In a thinly veiled attack on the US President – who earlier this week said he was looking for “some ass to kick over the disaster” – the Deputy Prime Minister argued that a “tit for tat” attitude was not helpful.

But Mr Clegg stopped short of voicing support for the British company, which has seen billions of pounds wiped off its share value since the leak in the Gulf of Mexico.

“I’m not going to start intervening in a debate which clearly risks descending into megaphone diplomacy,” Mr Clegg told an audience at the Nueva Economic Forum in Madrid on Friday morning.

“I think everyone is united on both sides of Atlantic obviously, quite rightly, and understandably within US administration and I’m sure within BP itself, to deal with this problem. It is an ecological catastrophe – It does need to be dealt with."

Nick Clegg made the comments when asked for his response to President Obama's call for the sacking of BP chief executive Tony Hayward. >>> Fiona Govan in Madrid | Friday, June 11, 2010

BP Blunderer's Golden Goodbye: Hayward Exits with £10m Pension Pot as an American Replaces Him
MAIL ONLINE: The embattled head of BP is on the brink of bailing out today - with a golden parachute to break his fall.

Tony Hayward, who arrived at the company's headquarters in London this morning, will receive a seven-figure payoff and a pension estimated at £584,000 a year.

He will stand down today after three months of abuse left him described as the ‘most hated and clueless man in America’.

The enforced departure of the 53-year-old Briton will top the agenda at a crucial London board meeting today.

He has been widely seen as a ‘dead man walking’ ever since an oil-rig explosion led to the worst-ever environmental disaster in the U.S.

The focus will not be on if he goes but when, and how much it costs. During his 28 years at BP, he has built up a gold-plated £10.8million pension pot which he can start taking at 60.

He is also entitled to a year’s salary, equal to just over £1million.

His departure follows a disastrous series of PR gaffes since 11 died in an explosion on April 20 in the Gulf of Mexico.

One of his most notorious was to admit: ‘I want my life back’, at a time when millions of barrels of oil were gushing into the ocean, wrecking the livelihoods of thousands of Americans.

A few weeks later, his decision to go sailing on his yacht in the Isle of Wight added to suspicions that Mr Hayward was not being suitably contrite. But the level of the fury from America has been extraordinary and relentless despite the fact that BP was not solely responsible for the disaster.

President Obama warned: ‘He wouldn’t be working for me after any of those statements.’

Yesterday a BP spokesman insisted that Mr Hayward, whose family have been the victims of crank phone calls, hate mail and death threats, remains the company’s chief executive.

But his departure is inevitable, and will be the second headline-grabbing exit of a BP chief executive in just three years. In 2007, his predecessor Lord Browne dramatically resigned after admitting lying on oath to a High Court judge. >>> Becky Barrow and Daniel Bates | Monday, July 26, 2010

Facebook and Instagram to Get Rid of Fact Checkers, Mark Zuckerberg Announces | BBC News

Jan 7, 2025 | Meta is abandoning the use of independent fact checkers on Facebook and Instagram, replacing them with X-style "community notes" where commenting on the accuracy of posts is left to users.

Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said third-party moderators were "too politically biased" and it was "time to get back to our roots around free expression".

Zuckerberg and other tech executives are seeking to improve relations with US President-elect Donald Trump before he takes office later this month.

In a wide-ranging news conference on Tuesday, when asked whether he thought Meta was introducing the changes due to threats he had made towards the company, Trump replied, "Probably."

At the same event, he also said he wanted to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.


With Trump in the White House, there's trouble ahead. BIG trouble. Very BIG trouble. We have a rough ride ahead of us. – © Mark Alexander

Facing Congressional Wrath, BP Chief Apologizes for Oil Disaster
BP CEO Tony Hayward arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 17, 2010, to testify before the House Oversight and Investigations subcommittee hearing on "the role of BP in the Deepwater Horizon Explosion and oil spill. Photo:
FOX NEWS: In a congressional hearing Thursday that some have described as a public execution, BP chief executive Tony Hayward told Congress that he is "deeply sorry" for the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

Hayward's testimony came after members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's oversight and investigations subcommittee took turns in a long-awaited public flogging intended to capture the outrage of the nation.

Hayward sat grim-faced before the panel, which is investigating the explosion that killed 11 workers and unleashed a flood of oil that has yet to be stemmed.

Lawmakers accused Hayward, who has come to represent charges of corporate arrogance and greed, of being oblivious to the risks of the company's deepwater operations.

Some of the sharpest criticism came from Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich.

"We are not small people. But we wish to get our lives back," he told Hayward. "I'm sure you'll get your life back, and with a golden parachute to England."

It was a reference to Hayward's much-criticized earlier remark that some day he hoped to get "my life back" and to comments on the White House driveway on Wednesday by BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg that "we care about the small people" of the Gulf Coast.

Hayward sipped a beverage and jotted notes as one lawmaker after another scorched him. Read on and comment >>> | Thursday, June 17, 2010

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Trump Refuses to Rule Out Military Force to Seize Greenland and Panama | BBC News

Jan 7, 2025 | The US President-elect Donald Trump has ramped up threats to seize control of Greenland and the Panama Canal, calling both critical to US national security.

Asked at a press conference if he would rule out using military or economic force in order to take over the autonomous Danish territory or the Panama Canal, he responded: "No, I can't assure you on either of those two…. but I can say this, we need them for economic security.”

Both Denmark and Panama have rejected any suggestion that they would voluntarily give up their territory. Mr Trump also said he planned to use “economic force” when asked if he would attempt to annex Canada, calling the US-Canada border an "artificially drawn line".

During the news conference at Mr Trump’s Mar-a- Lago estate in Florida he also criticised environmental regulations, the US electoral system and suggested renaming the Gulf of Mexico the "Gulf of America”.

Reeta Chakrabarti presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Sarah Smith.


Make no mistake! This is a literal plan of action from a demented fool! – © Mark Alexander

NYT:

Trump Floats Using Force to Take Greenland and the Panama Canal: In an hourlong news conference at his Florida club, Mar-a-Lago, the president-elect delivered a hodgepodge of grievances, complaints and false claims. »

THE COPENHAGEN POST:

And Greenland’s Premier cancel visit to King Frederik amid growing tensions with the US: Greenland’s Premier, Múte Bourup Egede, has unexpectedly postponed a planned visit to Denmark’s King Frederik, originally scheduled for Wednesday. This happened while Donald Trump Jr. is heading to Greenland for an unofficial visit. »

BP Oil Spill: The British Backlash Has Begun
THE TELEGRAPH: Could the US backlash against BP extend to other British companies, asks Tom Leonard

Protest outside of the Washington DC headquarters of BP. Photograph: The Telegraph
When the US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar promised to keep “the boot on the neck of British Petroleum” over its giant Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the Republican Rand Paul rounded on the White House for being “really un-American” in attacking business.

If so, almost everyone is guilty of un-American activities, as the US has declared open season on the British oil giant. Just 50 yards up the street from The Daily Telegraph’s Manhattan office, the local BP petrol station had its sign daubed in paint the colour of drilling mud last week when 200 protesters turned up. “BP – a bunch of ----ing murderers!” said the message on a protester’s T-shirt. The chant was better: “BP, your heart is black, you can have your oil back.”

There have been similar protests at BP outlets across America and a call for a boycott which appears to have been roundly ignored. The demonstrations may be primarily anti-corporate and anti-oil but occasionally nationality of the corporation slips out. In New Orleans, a demonstrator stood on a Union flag. “We are all at the mercy of BP, a British-owned company,” wailed a Louisiana seaplane company boss in a letter to her senator after she was barred from taking US journalists to a possibly oily beach.

Notwithstanding the irony of a situation in which Americans are accusing a European corporation of putting “profits before people”, it is difficult to recall a more vicious backlash against a company here. The question of whether BP would have received so much vitriol if the initials had stood for, say, Boston Petroleum, has concerned those who worry about the implications for US-UK relations.

Although there is no sign of such a backlash at present, British officials in the US are concerned that if BP continues to fail to plug the leak or if it faces criminal charges, then other British businesses could suffer. >>> Tom Leonard | Saturday, June 05, 2010

Barack Obama Vows to Make BP Pay for Oil Spill 'Recklessness'
THE TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama has vowed to "make BP pay" for not only the multi-billion dollar clean-up of the Gulf of Mexico but also the restoration of the region's economy, undertaking to force the British oil giant to set aside the money he believes it owes as "a result of [its] recklessness."



The US President, in his fiercest rebuke against the company in the 58 days since the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana causing the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf, promised to get tough with BP and to ensure that it meets all costs he believes it should pay.

In a direct attack on the company's dividend policy, Mr Obama said that BP must place the money needed to cover the as-yet unquantifiable costs in an independent "escrow" account to be run by a third party.

The staunch words – which came in Mr Obama's first national address from the historic Oval Office in the 18 months since he took office – came ahead of his crucial meeting with Carl-Henric Svanberg, BP's chairman, and Tony Hayward, its chief executive, at the White House later today.

"We will make BP pay for the damage their company has caused", he promised the millions of Americans who were expected to watch the televised prime-time address.

"I will meet with the chairman of BP and inform him that he is to set aside whatever resources are required to compensate the workers and business owners who have been harmed as a result of his company's recklessness," he continued.

"This fund will not be controlled by BP. In order to ensure that all legitimate claims are paid out in a fair and timely manner, the account must and will be administered by an independent, third party." >>> James Quinn, US Business Editor | Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Severe Weather Threatens Eastern US States

BBC: Severe weather is threatening as many as 73 million Americans in the eastern states, after two days of powerful storms killed up to 34 people.

Government forecasters have warned of severe thunderstorms from the Gulf of Mexico up to the Great Lakes.

On Sunday and Monday, tornadoes cut a broad track of death and destruction through the southern US states.

The storms flattened buildings, overturned cars, and left thousands of residents without power.

"Widespread thunderstorms are forecast across the central Gulf Coast region, with several severe [or] supercell storms possible," the National Weather Service wrote in a morning forecast.

More than two million people are said to be at risk of tornadoes and high winds in parts of Alabama and Mississippi on Tuesday.

As the storm moves further east, parts of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina are expected to be under threat of severe weather, forecasters say. (+ BBC videos) » | Tuesday, April 29, 2014

BP Oil Spill: Tony Hayward Replaced by Bob Dudley as Oil Giant Slumps to Record Loss
THE TELEGRAPH: Tony Hayward has resigned as chief executive of BP, after the energy giant announced a record $17bn loss this year on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.



The oil company also said that Bob Dudley, the American in charge of BP’s oil spill response unit, will now take over on October 1 and lead the company through an accelerated programme of $30bn in asset sales. BP made “clean” profits of $5bn, stripping out the effect of inventory changes and exceptionals, but took a $32.2bn pre-tax charge on the oil spill.

This is made up of a $20bn compensation fund for victims, clean-up charges and provisions for funding costs. The “clean” profits are a 74pc rise in last year’s figure of $2.9bn, as a result of higher oil prices and more efficient operations. BP will now press ahead with becoming smaller and more profitable, selling $30bn of exploration and production assets in the next 18 months.

Mr Dudley will also have to navigate a criminal investigation into the spill, a slew of litigation and ward off rivals seeking to pounce on the company's trophy assets. Dudley, who ran BP's troubled Russian joint venture, TNK-BP, said last month that for BP to "remain strong and viable in the US, it has a great deal of work to do." >>> Rowena Mason | Tuesday, July 27, 2010

DAILY EXPRESS: BP Boss Tony Hayward Sent to Siberia in £12m Exit Deal: BP boss Tony Hayward is to be sent to Siberia in a £12million exit deal designed to quell outrage in the United States, it emerged last night. >>> Padraic Flanagan | Tuesday, July 27, 2010