Thursday, July 01, 2010

Osama's Octel organolead octane outrage...


I bet that name got your attention but it's not who you think: Osama Naaman was the Lebanese agent of Octel, a chemical works in Liverpool. Osama has been extradited to the US and has agreed a deal with US prosecutors i.e drop his ex-employers in the deep, dark brownstuff. The UK's Serious Fraud Office is also trying to claim jurisdiction and I'm a bit surprised that not much seems to have been made of the story: bribery, corruption, 'trading in toxins', death. Basically, they recently admitted that they "bribed officials in Iraq and Indonesia with millions of dollars to carry on using TEL*, despite its health hazards"...health hazards; let's add some info:
"A decade ago, Octel decided to remain the world's ONLY manufacturer of TEL for cars, after it was banned in the US and Europe"
The bribes were around 2007/2008 throughout the UK-US occupation of Iraq but to put that in perspective, by the beginning of 2006 leaded petrol was banned throughout Africa [Indy]

* TEL: once a common additive of leaded petrol; '"Ethyl" brand leaded gasoline - tetra-ethyl lead - loony gas - one of the world's greatest environmental disasters.'

Why isn't this massive news? 

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4 comments:

Paul said...

Why isn't this massive news?

Possibly because of what I said the other day, the lack of proper journalism. That said I was reading a worrying article last week about the number of countries that the US/UK have infiltrated at various levels to try and get everybody in the middle east onside for their 'war on terror'

You can bet any brides scandal/SFO investigation will be the tip of the iceberg and it will be one company hung out to dry as an example so that the authorities can be seen to be doing something.

Span Ows said...

I've no doubt you are right (in both paragraphs)

I am very worried about the Iran thing, the people there just do not deserve to be on the receiving end of sanctions (and worse to come presumably) but I suppose they never do (the 'people' that is; I don't mean just Iran, I mean throughout history)

Paul said...

I'm worried about Iran as well and I have to say that was in the back if my mind when I asked you about Chavez endgame. I know they are different in many ways but at the heart of it is a nation being put under terrific pressure for no apparent sensible reason.

The idea of treating the population badly is that it will turn the public against the leaders, in some cases it works but in others, Cuba for example, it makes the country stronger, more resilient and more self sufficient. I really can't see that happening in Iran - Britain and the US cocked-up big time in the past.

Span Ows said...

Yes, classic "we don't want XYZ to happen so we take steps to prevent it"...steps that lead directly (and probably faster) to XYZ.