Libyans celebrate the return of Megrahi
As the row over the release of convicted Libyan Terrorist Abdel Baset al-Megrahi rumbles on oil giant B.P is preparing to commence drilling off the Libyan coast in waters slightly deeper than those which have been so grossly polluted in the Gulf of Mexico.
Fueling the controversy this weekend it was reported by the Financial Times that “Michel Williams told a U.S government investigator that an important alarm, which could have detected the build up of natural gas, was disarmed so as not to wake people up at night”
In 2007 B.P signed a $900 million deal with the Libyan government allowing it to begin exploration in Libyan waters.
Megrahi was released in August 2009 on compassionate grounds by the Scottish Government having being convicted in 2001 for the bombing of PAN AM flight 103 in 1988 and the murder of 270 people.
He was given only 3 months to live before release but has made a remarkable recovery since returning to Libya, it is rumoured that he has taken up Highland dancing with gusto and is often spotted out and about wearing a kilt.
Interestingly Megrahi abandoned an appeal which would have disclosed a lot of evidence to the public shortly before his release on compassionate grounds.
The debate about whether there is any connection between the release of Abdel Based al-Megrahi and the commercial deals struck between Libya, B.P and the U.K Government will rumble on but……..
If it looks like a turd and smells like a turd……………………..
Recent data from the IMF supports the view that China and Africa are becoming increasingly entwined as trading partners as China exploits the vast mineral and material wealth of the African continent in return for Capital Investment, machinery and technological know how.
Whilst the U.S and Europe have been mired in recession the Chinese rescue package has ensured that growth in that country continues at a rate of around 10%.
This incident highlights the ethical dilemmas posed in Subcontracting. How do we deal with massive corporations which often dwarf our own ? How do we balance the need to reduce manufacturing cost with the need to deal with undemocratic regimes with questionable human rights records ?
The outsourcing market is a large, diversified and complex model but it is still possible to discern some notable trends:-
hustle and bustle I came across a memorial to Dr Martin Luther King Jr and read about that great man and the sacrifices he made for freedom and equality.
Several years later in 2005 I watched in horror as Katrina devastated New Orleans. What seemed worse was that it took the Federal Government 3 days to respond while the poverty stricken people of Loiusiana, the vast majority being black, fought for survival amid the rising tide and chaos. The area was like a Third World country, not The United States of America.