Excerpt:
Sifting through the information, trying to make sense out of what is happening with the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico can be confusing. Trying to write an article about that is like trying to mix a cocktail with cognitive dissonance, misdirected anger, a little Chinaco Anejo, lime and bovine excrement.
So, I’m going to take the weekend off and just post a few articles you can read and sort out for yourself.
The first is from Greg Palast. He claims BP has failed to put safeguards and containment equipment in place in the past and will do that again. Read more here. Having been a fraud investigator looking into the Exxon Valdez spill, he probably knows what he’s talking about.
The second is from our beloved mainstream media, the AP. Apparently the containment box failed to cap the oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. Here’s a nice quote, “I wouldn’t say it’s failed yet,” BP chief operating officer Doug Suttles said of the containment box. “What I would say is what we attempted to do … didn’t work.” Ummm, if it didn’t work, how is that not a failure? Read more here.
The third is from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Apparently only 4.5 percent of the Gulf of Mexico is closed for fishing. Read more here. No biggie, shrimp has a better texture when coated with oil.
The fourth is from the Attorney General in Alabama. Apparently BP was offering $5000 to any Gulf coast fisherman that agrees not to sue them. While their livelihood and source of income, dating back in some cases to the 1800′s, is now cut off indefinitely, five grand will settle it, huh? Not so says AG Troy King. Read more here.
Meanwhile, tar balls are washing up on the beaches of Alabama. Read more here.
Oil rig workers are coerced into signing waivers.
The Houston Business Journal finally admits oil has washed ashore in Louisiana.
With confirmed sightings of oil across a 50-mile chain of islands that line Louisiana’s Southwestern coast, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) has ordered the affected area closed to public entry.
And the capitalist hagiography has little room for saints.
Lastly, the final question always is, “what can we DO about this?” The truth is not much, but some people are getting together and trying to do something: It’s called the Zeitgeist movement. Check it out. There is a video here that tells it like it is:
You can sort through it and come to your own conclusion. I have to BBQ some shrimp and enjoy them while I can still afford them. I promise better coverage on this disaster tomorrow.
Read more and check out the Zeitgeist video here: http://www.examiner.com/x-38220-Orlando-Independent-Examiner~y2010m5d9-Oil-slick-update
Get some kind bud and some time, because it will blow you mind…