Hey Evening Standard: Bugger off

London's Evening Standard has seen fit to give us its two pence over the oil spill and BP's relationship to it.  In a screed entitled "BP spill crisis affects British pensioners," the British tabloid pitches what will, no doubt, soon be talking points for lawyer-hatin' Republicans.

Here are the lowlights:

• "..a characteristically American reaction to a crisis: if something goes wrong, sue."
• "...there was an accident and there can be no doubt that BP, which has most to lose from this crisis, has done everything possible to put things right." (Emphasis mine)
• "An attempt retrospectively to get tough with BP by bringing criminal charges will not help us now."

The editorial finishes with one of the more selfish comments I've seen in awhile:

 "One in every six pounds that UK institutions earn in dividends is derived from BP: a reduction will have a direct, adverse effect, not just on fat cats, but on British pensioners. This is bad for all of us."

So, the Evening Standard's take is that BP simply couldn't do more to help, and that by attempting to punish BP for possible criminal acts is wrongheaded because the perennially-suffering, downtrodden British pensioner won't be able to afford his afternoon spot of tea.  I'm sorry, but I'm about as sensitive to the Evening Standard's concerns for the British pensioner right now as Tony Hayward is to the people of Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and Florida.