I hear all about the fair taxes from the Tea Party people, Glenn Beck and the rest of the crew over at Faux . Well, BP doesn't pay taxes here, neither does Exxon but why bring up that little tid bit.
It is being discovered that safety standards were barely met if met at all - in an order to save money. That attitude, the attitude of fuck them, we don't live there, we don't pay taxes there, we only get over represented in their government and media. Yes, we've all thrown up at the Fox clips demanding the poor BP be left alone.
11 men died. 11 hard working men. 11 men with families. They were just like you - they had a job they HAD to have. You may not agree with how they earned their money, but someone has to do it, and they choose to.
They were promised safe work conditions, within the confines of nature. A rogue wave or storm could cost anyone their life, but they were assured that BP took every precaution so they would be as safe as humanly possible.
That is being proven to be a lie.
I hope my diary doesn't bum you out.
The NYT did a story about the blatant disregard for human and environmental life yesterday and CNN is now profiling one of the men . A hard working guy, 2 kids and a wife. I am sure the other 10 were similar - guys who did a job that wasn't their dream job but it paid well.
The man in charge of the rig refused to testify at a Coast Guard hearing yesterday (OK, he claims to have been sick) and the man who went in his place pleaded the fifth . I know the environmental damage is horrendous and the human toll on that end with lost tourism, livelihoods and plain old recreation is tremendous . I am sure the Benzene, Toluene and other wonderful stuff still in the crude will cause serious health issues in the near and distant future in the area.
I am not making light , nor am I ignoring the serious damage that is being done. But 11 men were murdered to save some money.
Think about that. 11 men went to work for 2 weeks (their schedule is 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off) with the understanding they'd be safe. Corners were cut, money was spared and profit was the almighty answer . I am not a communist, profit is important - but not at the expense of human life.
Families are without fathers, sons, husbands - to save a few dollars.
The Department of Justice should issue a warrant for the murder of the 11 men for whomever made the decision to save the money. The only way to assure this doesn't happen again is to prosecute.
Men were murdered for profit, their lives a joke for a couple bucks . Imagine if your computer screen at work was an explosion hazard but your boss could make another $1 by using it - should he or she not suffer for risking your life ? What if your hammer had the same problem ? Or your pencil ?
This has to be prosecuted to show the world that the rich do not live on a different system of justice. It needs to be prosecuted to show the world we are not Indonesia, China or some third world country where workers dying is just a joke. WE NEED TO SHOW THE WORLD CHANGE HAPPENED ! And the change is murder for profit is illegal !