(NaturalNews) The Gulf of Mexico oil catastrophe, now in its 35th day, has struck land, coating tourist beaches, marshes and shorelines with a greasy black filth that metaphorically represents the corporate greed that now dominates the U.S. economy. We are all awash in the dark slime of corporations gone bad, and now we're paying the price for allowing these companies to dominate our media, our government and our entire economy.
You might think government regulators could have prevented all this, but that's hardly the case. This disaster isn't merely about a
government regulation failure; it's about what happens when you let
corporations rule Washington.
Reporters threatened with arrest by U.S. Coast Guard under orders from BP
British Petroleum has been steamrolling both the federal government and the press over this
oil catastrophe in the Gulf. For starters, the U.S. Coast Guard is now threatening to arrest journalists who try to cover the story by invoking "
BP rules" that forbid journalists from conducting investigative journalism. (
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/05/18/national/main6496846.shtml)
As reported by CBS News: "When CBS News tried to reach the beach, covered in oil, a boat of BP contractors with two Coast Guard officers on board told us to turn around under threat of arrest."
In other words, the U.S. Coast Guard is now
protecting the financial interests of corporations by trying to censor a story the public needs to see.
At the same time, BP thumbed its nose at the EPA and flatly refused to use less-toxic chemical
dispersants in its cleanup efforts. So yesterday, the White House
ordered BP to cut its use of chemical dispersants by half. The chemical in question is called
Corexit, and so far BP has dumped
650,000 gallons of the toxic chemical in the
Gulf of Mexico.
And yet, as
the Guardian reports, "Scientists told congressional hearings last week that Corexit was more
toxic and less effective than other dispersants on the market. Conservationists fear the chemical could further jeopardize already depleted stocks of fish such as Atlantic bluefin tuna or
poison endangered species of turtle." (
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/may/25/bp-ordered-cut-in-dispersant)
Powerful corporations write their own rules
BP, of course, can simply ignore the order to ease off its use of chemical dispersants, just like it ignored rules and
regulations about drilling for oil in the ocean in the first place. And that's the problem here: When corporations are allowed to run the show, they will inevitably take shortcuts that compromise the
health of their customers or the
environment.
The same thing is true with
Big Pharma, which basically runs
the FDA, FTC and CDC.
What BP is doing to the Gulf of Mexico, Big Pharma is doing to the health of the world population. And yet because it is so incredibly profitable to poison people with dangerous prescription medications, the pharmaceutical industry has the financial influence to dominate the actions of government
regulators.
Similarly, the meat and dairy industries basically run
the USDA. That's why healthy raw
milk is being outlawed while pasteurized, processed dead milk is heavily pushed by the USDA (and the FDA). (
http://www.naturalnews.com/028757_raw_milk_FDA.html)
Time and time again, powerful corporations corrupt the system and turn it to their own advantage: Military contractors dictate foreign policy. Monsanto dictates
agriculture policy. Wall Street dictates banking regulations. And British Petroleum writes its own rules when it comes to offshore drilling.
It's not even a question of government regulators having too little
power, either... regulators have plenty of power. It's just that
they are using it against the People rather than to protect the people. They are purposely avoiding holding corporations responsible for their actions that are destroying our health, our
economy and our environment.
A crime against our planet
For example, if you or I dumped 650,000 gallons of a toxic chemical in the ocean, we'd be arrested and brought up on criminal charges that would probably include "terrorism" charges under the Patriot Act. But when BP executives do exactly the same thing, nothing happens to them. No arrests. No criminal charges. No consequences.
Heck, you know as well as I do that BP will get off with a slap on the wrist when this is all over. Every major
corporation that commits fraud (Big Pharma), steals from the People (Goldman Sachs) or causes an environmental catastrophe (BP) gets off virtually scot-free.
Well why is that? Why can corporations commit the most heinous crimes imaginable and yet never be held accountable? Big Pharma has engaged in so much price fixing
fraud, clinical trial fraud and fraudulent marketing that it would make your head spin. Yet the U.S. government continues to do
business with Big Pharma, buying up their dangerous drugs at monopoly prices, even though these
companies are essentially
corporate felons. Read my stories on Merck (
www.NaturalNews.com/Merck.html) or Pfizer (
www.NaturalNews.com/Pfizer.html) if you don't believe me.
Business as usual in the corporate world
The sad truth is that this disaster in the Gulf of Mexico isn't an aberration. It's just
business as usual in the corporatocracy known as the United States of America, Inc. The corporations run this country, and they do whatever they want, regardless of how many people are killed, how many laws are broken or how many miles of coastline are utterly destroyed by chemical contamination. They operate with utter disregard for anything resembling ethics or honesty.
Corporate greed knows no limits. If corporate executives could profit another billion dollars by destroying the entire Gulf of Mexico, do you have any doubt they would pursue that course of action? Your life has no value to them. Marine life has no value to them. The health of the world's oceans have no value to them. They only value one thing: The bottom line profit they can produce at any cost.
British Petroleum = Big Pharma = Big Food = Big Agriculture = the Military Industrial Complex.
It's all the same, folks. Do not be surprised that these criminal corporate operators are destroying our planet. They've been doing it for generations, and they absolutely will not stop unless We the People make them stop through force (by having these people arrested and imprisoned, for example).
If you
really want to clean up the planet, we should stop tossing chemical dispersants into the Gulf
and just start tossing greed-minded corporate executives into the ocean and see how far they can swim when they're coated with oil.
That would be planetary justice, my friends, and it would send a powerful message that corporate executives who cause harm to the world around them may end up swimming in the very same cesspools of greed they themselves created.
See the CounterThink cartoon
Be sure to check out the CounterThink cartoon about British Petroleum. It's one of the more hilarious cartoons we've ever published. You can see it at
http://www.naturalnews.com/028855_British_Petroleum_offshore_drilling.html or the new CounterThink cartoon website:
www.CounterThink.comWe've already published over 100 CounterThink cartoons here at
NaturalNews, by the way! See the full collection here:
http://www.naturalnews.com/Index-Cartoons.html
About the author: Mike Adams is an award-winning journalist and holistic nutritionist with a strong interest in personal health, the environment and the power of nature to help us all heal He has authored and published thousands of articles, interviews, consumers guides, and books on topics like health and the environment, impacting the lives of millions of readers around the world who are experiencing phenomenal health benefits from reading his articles. Adams is a trusted, independent journalist who receives no money or promotional fees whatsoever to write about other companies' products. In 2010, Adams co-founded NaturalNews.TV, a natural health video sharing site that has now grown in popularity. He also launched an online retailer of environmentally-friendly products (BetterLifeGoods.com) and uses a portion of its profits to help fund non-profit endeavors. He's also the founder and CEO of a well known email mail merge software developer whose software, 'Email Marketing Director,' currently runs the NaturalNews email subscriptions. Adams volunteers his time to serve as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and pursues hobbies such as martial arts, Capoeira, nature macrophotography and organic gardening. He's also author a large number of health books offered by Truth Publishing and is the creator of numerous reference website including NaturalPedia.com and the free downloadable Honest Food Guide. His websites also include the free reference sites HerbReference.com and HealingFoodReference.com. Adams believes in free speech, free access to nutritional supplements and the innate healing ability of the human body. Known as the 'Health Ranger,' Adams' personal health statistics and mission statements are located at www.HealthRanger.org
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Tuesday, May 25, 2010
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