Leaked: Pussy Riot, Greenpeace activists included in draft amnesty


The members of the Pussy Riot punk band, Greenpeace activists and protesters jailed after the May 2012 Bolotnaya demonstration will be freed in an amnesty dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Russian Constitution, Izvestia newspaper claims. Continue reading

Exxon’s terrible two weeks.


(CAV News) - First we shared the story that it appeared Exxon ,thanks to a technicality ,would be getting out paying for a spill that wasn’t technically considered “oil.”

FROM RT: 

The central Arkansas spill caused by Exxon’s aging Pegasus pipeline has reportedly unleashed 10,000 barrels of Canadian heavy crude - but a technicality says it’s not oil, letting the energy giant off the hook from paying into a national cleanup fund.

Legally speaking, diluted bitumen like the heavy crude that’s overrun Mayflower, Arkansas, is not classified as ‘oil’. And it’s that very distinction that exempts Exxon from contributing to the government’s oil spillage cleanup fund.

22 people were evacuated forced into hotels, with thousands of “oily like” barrels swarming the streets in an Arkansas town. This left many outraged as many didn’t even know the town of Mayflower had a pipeline.

Here’s what a resident told RT:

RT: Have there been any local protests against ExxonMobil regarding the spill? How are Mayflower residents reacting?

CH: There is some anger. There was some shock in the community. A lot of people weren’t even aware that the pipeline ran through the area. There was a community meeting on Saturday afternoon with some Exxon officials present, and there was a lot of frustration shown at the meeting. Very few answers were given, and the people in attendance were quite angry.

However, Exxon has come out to say they will pay for the clean up costs that flooded the Mayflower streets, killing four ducks and forcing over 20 evacuations. They also denied any claim that they were never going to clean up the spill.

Then today, according to AP, jurors in New Hampshire hit the Texas-based company, Exxon, with a $236 million in damages to fix groundwater contamination.  This is by far the states largest verdict.

 

Even though it appears that Exxon will be paying out of their ass with clean up costs, according to the article it only represents two days profit for the company.

FROM AP:

 

Fadel Gheit, managing director of oil and gas research and a senior analyst at Oppenheimer & Co., said the verdict won’t put a dent in Exxon Mobil’s bottom line.

“Exxon will probably make close to a $40 billion profit this year,” Gheit said. “That’s two days’ work.”

He said it’s no surprise that Exxon Mobil would take the state’s 10-year-old contamination lawsuit to trial, saying the company “will make you sweat for every dollar you think you’re going to get.” Company leaders view it as a matter of principle, he said.

Jurors found that Exxon Mobil was negligent in adding MTBE to its gasoline and that MTBE was a defective product. They also found Exxon Mobil liable for failing to warn distributors and consumers about its contaminating characteristics.

 

Sources: ABC News, RT, Associated Press

 

 

Whose Government, Whose President, Whose “People”? – That’s the Real Question


 

people

(Boiling Frogs Post) - Immediately after my recent interview at RT I began to receive hate-filled and ignorance-ridden e-mails and comments regarding one of my comments. Here is that comment: “I rather call him Mr. Obama since he is not my president.” Oh, according to these ignoramuses, saying that made me disrespectful, out of touch with reality, Un-American, and much worse.

Usually I don’t waste time and energy engaging in unending and unproductive communication. The blogosphere is filled with hollow discussions like that – really not even ‘discussions.’ More like getting wasted in a zombie-wonderland. In a way, it is a great benefit to the establishment- have people eat each other, spend their time and energy on trivial semantics, and lose sight of real ‘issues and discussions.’

However, I believe a certain aspect of this latest attack is worthy of a brief commentary post. I also believe it is good for me to get a few things straight on how I view and feel about certain things. Sure, as always, being straight about ‘things’ will royally anger some (bye-bye a few subscribers, twitter followers, and Facebook followers). And as surely, my strong stand on my views will garner support and strong nods from some (hello new subscribers, twitter followers and Facebook friends). Either way, by now, after so many years, you must know that I am neither after those kinds of approval or scandal-raising adversaries. I just say it as is- as I view and believe.

As most Americans are brought up to believe, as those first-generation immigrants were taught and told; one of our nation’s greatest marketing slogans has been the concept of a ‘Government of the People, by the People, for the People.’ It is a great notion. It is a wonderful concept. Yet, if you have a brain, eyes, ears, and a nose, you know it is a fantastical fantasy. Despite the marketing and mass ignorance, when push comes to shove, even the majority will tell you that this is not the case. They may not articulate and express it publicly, but hey, just check out the findings of hundreds of surveys out there, and see where the majority stands when it comes to viewing those in high offices and their trust and confidence in them- Congress, White House, and all the bureaucrats ‘up’ there. If I am not mistaken, for the last several years less than 25% have shown confidence or trust in the government.

I know, I am fully aware of the contradiction here: Yet, these same ‘people’ go out every other year and cast their vote for one of the two evils presented to them by the Evil-the-Grande establishment. They cast their vote knowing that neither evil will ever represent them. Then they come back and express their view on a congress that doesn’t represent them or stand for their interests, an executive that is working against their interests and is corrupt … It is a ludicrous and vicious cycle that keeps repeating itself.

The majority of the people in our nation do not feel responsible for the tens of thousands of civilian deaths (babies, nanas and pregnant mothers) due to our imperialistic wars. After all, they did not actually go out and kill them. According to them it is ‘THE’  government. And listen carefully, when they shrug it off as something they don’t have responsibility for or a part in, they say ‘THE’ government.’ They never say ‘MY’ government.

The majority of the people, if you were to ask them directly about sadistically torturing people, they would say it is not a good thing or that it is terrible, and that they wouldn’t engage in such practices. They would say ‘THE’ government or a ‘certain’ government evil is the responsible party in those sadistic mayhems.

The majority of our citizens would tell you that they did not have a say in a decision to bailout and reward big bad financial institutions with billions of their hard-earned dollars. They did not agree with it. They did not give their permission. It was ‘THE’ government or ‘THE’ president responsible for that awful deed.

I can list hundreds of examples. I can make the case with thousands of illustrations. In every case what we’ll witness is a notion of a government totally different than the one heavily advertised and marketed. It is ‘THE’ government: far from a “government of the people, by the people, for the people.” Same goes for the string-attached puppets placed in various nooks and crannies of this government.

I accept responsibility for the monstrosities committed by the government of my nation: I stand up and speak out against those actions. I fight against ‘it’. I fight ‘it’ for my nation, for me and for my people. It is my nation, but this is NOT my government; nor is Mr. Obama my president.

How about “People”: The People vs. My People

The next logical question in this discussion I am having here has to do with the notion of ‘people.’ What do we mean by ‘people’? What do ‘I’ mean? Are we talking about everyone? Are we referring to the majority? Whose people? Who do we consider our people?

Several hundred years ago people from different nations made their way to this country, where they intended to make it their home-their country. They used to have their countries.  They had one or another form of government. They had their ‘people’ as well. They did not perceive their home countries’ governments as ‘theirs.’ The kings aka governments did not represent them or their interests. Those governments were not theirs. Obviously the majority of ‘the people’ of their home countries were not ‘their people’ either. Those kings would not have continued to rule and hold on to their  crowns (seats) if the majority of the people there were ‘their people.’ If most people in their home countries were ‘their people’ then they wouldn’t have left their birth-home nations to come over here and make this back-then-new nation their nation.

You see, when the kings or governments are not “of the people by the people for the people” there are only two options: 1- Get rid of the kings-governments and replace them with real people’s representatives; 2- Get the hell out of there, and find a place that you can call your ‘home nation’, where you are not governed by ‘a king’ or ‘the government.’

Today, unlike 300+ years ago there seems to be no newly-discovered or colonized continent or country where one may have a chance for a new beginning with a environment conducive to establishing a liberties-oriented society. That option is out- not only for the lack of choices, but also for its short-time viability, as the current sad state of our nation proves.

That leaves option 1: Get rid of the kings-governments and replace them with real people’s representatives. Now, let me preempt my enemies with a couple of quotes from Thomas Jefferson:

“Every generation needs a new revolution.” – Thomas Jefferson

“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.” – Thomas Jefferson

“But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.” – Thomas Jefferson

Now, at this point, what happens when the majority of the people are not really ‘your people?’ Meaning: the majority are in the exact same position and mentality of the majority hundreds of years ago in the settlers’ home countries- willing to take sh.., living blindly and deafly and unfeelingly under the kings aka governments.

This is what I mean by going further and examining the notion of ‘people.’ There are ‘people’ or ‘the people’ and then there are ‘my people’ or ‘our people.’ Possibly one of our fallacies preventing putting our activism into real action-gear is this futile expectation of receiving support from the majority. Before I go any further let me preempt our enemies one more time with one of my all-time favorite quotes:

“It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people’s minds” – Samuel Adams

When I refer to ‘our people,’ ‘my people,’ I mean exactly that: the irate vigilant minority. Let’s get real and confess, and I go first:

Those who shrug off or even support our regime’s imperial pursuits costing hundreds of thousands of innocent lives are not ‘my’ people.

Those who condone incarceration without due process and sadistic torture practices in aptly-called black sites are not ‘my’ people.

Those who view our rape-like fondling in our nations’ airports as a necessary evil for some wrongly-perceived security are not ‘my’ people.

Those who see no violation in having the Stasi-Like government listening to and reading all our private communications and accept it are not ‘my’ people.

In short, I don’t naively subscribe to this too-generally-used notion of ‘the people.’ Don’t take me wrong. I am still for speaking out, informing, and help educating people. I am not giving up on our responsibility to ‘inform.’ In fact, it is not the ‘uninformed,’ but the ‘Accepting-Informed’ people who I really have a problem with. As indicated by the homepage of our website here at Boiling Frogs Post, our hope for future realistically depends on the truly vigilant irate minority.

Now that I have clarified the notion of ‘whose government, whose president, and whose people’ from my standpoint, I have a final message for the ignorant attackers who have taken issue with my statement on the US presidency:

If you believe in and respect the United States Constitution- Bill of Rights, if you are pro liberties, if you believe in the sanctity of human life, if you have any respect for human rights, if you consider sadistic torture a crime against humanity (with no ifs or buts), then, you do not consider this government yours, and that includes all the criminal entities heading it-in action or symbolically. If you do, then you are not a believer, and you are not part of ‘my people.’