BP Oil Spill A Crime

Language matters, especially at times of crisis. The explosion on BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig that released hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico has been called a “disaster” by many. It isn’t a disaster. It is a crime. Early estimates are that the spill will cost more than $14 billion to clean, will devastate local fisheries for generations and will result in untold damage to all parts of the ecology in the Gulf region. Corporations are the criminals here - British Petroleum (BP) and, a company that is no stranger to corporate crime, Halliburton. This massive spill highlights both the need for an immediate transition to clean energy sources and the need to apply democratic controls to inherently criminal multinational corporations.

The clean up of the area must begin immediately, it must be conducted with the consultation and best interest of local fishermen and environmentalists and it must be entirely paid for by BP. In addition, BP should be made to pay into a public fund that would be used for the continued clean up and preservation of the local ecology. Any failure to meet these demands should result in the seizure of the US holdings of BP and its banning from conducting business in this country. Anything less than this should be considered as a betrayal to the best interests of residents of region and the broader international community.

This massive oil spill demonstrates the urgent need to transition to clean renewable energy forms. Such a transition will not likely take place inside of a capitalist system where short-term profiteering dominates the allocation of capital funds. BP has fought the federal government on safety procedures that might have minimized the impact of the most recent spill for more than a decade. CEOs do not get bonuses based upon ensuring future generation’s access to resources, clean air, or a hospitable climate. The purpose of corporations is not to oversee the welfare of the people of the world, but to make money. Environmental damage is not factored into the corporate calculations of costs and profits. Instead, environmental damage is viewed as the collateral damage of the free market in operation.

Not surprisingly, BP had a partner in this crime – Halliburton. Fresh off their stint bilking US taxpayers during the war in Iraq, the company was contracted by BP to cement the drill, oil well and pipe into the ocean floor. The Los Angeles Times reports that this task was completed a mere 20 hours before the well exploded. Not surprisingly, Halliburton has also been accused of being responsible for another oil spill in the Timor Sea last August after completing a similar cementing job. Here was see the logic of capitalism in full display. BP wants to take the cheapest bid for the job and Halliburton wants to pocket the most money with the least costs. All with no mind paid to the environment, local fishermen, or the future of the planet.

Meanwhile, politicians from the Democratic and Republican parties serve as willing accomplices to the corporations. In 2008, the McCain/Palin ticket was run on the suicidal slogan of “Drill Baby Drill!” The campaign of now President Barack Obama softly dismissed these claims, but once in office, designed a plan to allow oil exploration off the coastline of North America. The current spill exposes the bankruptcy of Obama’s drilling plan and the futility of his cap-and-trade market based proposals to address carbon emissions. Corporations will continue to pollute the environment as long as they have political partners who will allow them to evade the desires of the vast majority of people in this country for clean energy and a safe environment.

The Socialist Party USA offers a clear eco-socialist alternative to the proposals of the two parties. By establishing a system of public ownership and democratic control over our natural resources, we will ensure that corporations are prevented from exploiting and spoiling our environment. By creating strong enforceable laws regarding endangered species that focus on habitat-centered protection, we propose to begin repairing the damage done by capitalist production. Finally, we intend to bring the United States back into line with the world by signing on to international environmental treaties and participating and supporting grassroots environmental justice efforts. In short, our goal is to create a cleaner, more democratic future where environmental preservation, instead of profit motive, becomes a primary part of economic decision-making.

Capitalist profit-motive will be the death of our planet. Democratic socialism, operating on an international basis, can save our fragile ecosystem and our health by defending the rights of future generations to clean water, clean air and a democratically run society.

from Socialist Party USA, National Action Committee
download this statement in pamphlet form click here

SPCT News- May 2010

Socialist Party of Connecticut News: May 2010



News:

+May Day on the New Haven Green was a tremendous success! Thanks to Kristin, Jim, Tiffany, Adam and Chris for joining me and distributing over 100 copies of TS to a mostly friendly crowd on a nice sunny day. Pictures and video footage to come on our FB page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Socialist-Party-of-Connecticut/194963850971



+SPCT Endorses Hutchinson Campaign*- Thanks to everyone who participated in the vote. While Socialist Action has different organizing strategies and vision from the Socialist Party, the majority of members who voted found the Hutchinson platform to be much in line with our own and wanted to support a working class political campaign that will hopefully bring class issues into the light of day. (*endorsement awaiting approval from SPUSA National Committee)



Our Calendar of Events:



Saturday May 1st:

*11:00am-7:00pm May Day New Haven Green, New Haven, CT- SPCT will have a table and be present all day, stop in to say hello, get a free copy of The Socialist magazine and more! http://www.maydaynewhaven.org

* 5:30 SPCT party chair Todd Vachon (aka Mista Mayday) will be performing with “The Hired Gun” and “West Road” at New Haven May Day on the green www.mistamayday.com

*12:00 May Day Hartford, Hartford, CT http://www.revleft.com/vb/may-day-2010-t128843/index.html



Friday May 7th:

*7:30-10:00 Fundraiser Dinner for Hutchinson for Congress- Church of the Sacred Heart, 49 Winthrop St. Hartford, CT- $20 regular, $12 Student/unemployed. http://www. votesocialistaction.org



Saturday May 8th:

*2-4pm: Marx’s Kapital Discussion Group- XXX---CANCELLED, RESCHED TBA---XXX http://groups.google.com/group/ct-das-kapital-discussion-group?lnk=srg



Saturday May 15th:

*The People Celebrate Howard Zinn
2:00- 4:00 pm @ the Old South Church (645 Boylston St., Copley Square). A People's Celebration of the life and contributions of Howard Zinn, 1922-2010, featuring music, action and readings of Professor Zinn’s work in the labor, anti-war, education and civil rights movements.
Info.: zinncelebration2010@gmail.com



Saturday June 5th:

*June Membership Meeting, Details to follow



June 22-26th:

*U.S. Social Forum. Detroit, MI Info: www.ussf2010.org



Saturday July 17th:

*SPCT Statewide Convention- nominations and elections for state and local executive committee, Details to follow



Saturday August 14-15th:

*SPUSA National Organizing Conference- Neighborhood House Community Center
29 S. Mills St. Madison, WI www.socialistparty-usa.org





Our Media Recommendations for the Month:



Video: The Corporation: www.thecorporation.com/



Print: From Capitalism to Equality: By Charles Andrews www.laborrepublic.org/



Audio: Don’t Ride The Fence: By The Coup http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v10nfUUqD48





Our Radical Quote of the Month:



Another Fun Plot Twist:

"I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. . . . corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed."

-U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, Nov. 21, 1864 (letter to Col. William F. Elkins)



Happy Birthday

No May Birthdays?



In Solidarity,



Todd Vachon

Statewide Chair

Socialist Party of CT

spcentralct@gmail.com

www.votevachon.com



State Secretary: Dr. James Marra

Intern: Felipe Valencia



Ps;

Don’t Forget to join us on Facebook: CT Socialists

And on Myspace at www.socialistpartyct.org

Repeal Arizona's Anti-Immigrant Law

Repeal Arizona's Anti-Immigrant Law


The Socialist Party USA calls for the immediate repeal of the “Support Our
Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act” (SB 1070) in Arizona. This law
sanctions racial profiling and gives cover to the repressive actions of
officials such as the racist Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Further, we call for an
immediate moratorium on all police raids of immigrant communities; we demand
the closure of the immigrant detention camps and an end to the militarization
of the US-Mexico border.

Arizona has become the epicenter of struggle for the rights of immigrants. The
state offers the clearest example of the abject failure of the current
immigration policies in the United States. These policies rely on the use of
force – ICE raids and the border police – backed up by an equally brutal
labor discipline that traps the undocumented in low-wage dead-end jobs. The
results are well known – the splitting up of families, the death and
criminalization of migrants and a race-to-the-bottom for work conditions and
wages. A 2009 mass march in Phoenix, Arizona led by young people who had been
separated from their undocumented parents and families highlighted the terrible
human costs of these systematic attacks on immigrants. SB 1070 seeks to take
this process a step further by transforming Arizona into the equivalent of a
police state where anyone with brown skin becomes a suspect. In response,
immigrant communities and their allies, all across the country, are mobilizing
to demand an end to the repression.

Such fervor has not, however, made it to Washington, where Democrats are
preparing reform legislation that amounts to more of the same. Much like the
recent healthcare reform, immigration reform has been watered down to suit the
needs of Republicans and employers. This is no surprise since, as a candidate,
now President Barack Obama never fully distanced himself from the Republican's
positions on immigration: the border wall, more military presence on the
border, and building more detention camps. Despite this, he still gained the
support of mainstream immigration reform groups who slowed down a vibrant May
1st Immigrant Rights movement. The now disarmed movement was left without any
commitments from Democratic candidates and with no plans to mobilize after the
elections.

The current legislation under consideration will do little to address the
problem. Bills such as “the Dream Act” of 2009, which would provide
conditional permanent residency to a few immigrants who entered the country as
minors or have “good moral character,” will not break the crisis in
Arizona. Instead, such reforms attempt to paper-over the demands from immigrant
communities in order to continue the cycle of militarization, repression and
wage slavery.
Socialists have something significant to offer to the immigration reform
discussion. We call for an unconditional amnesty program for all undocumented
people. This demand is based on our desire to create a world in which everyone
will be able to move freely across borders, to visit, to work and to live
wherever they choose. Amnesty will also allow workers, documented and
undocumented, to begin to advance serious demands for wages and benefits.
Amnesty will move us out of the current immigration crisis and towards a
society based on freedom.
Defeating SB 1070 is an urgent first step in this direction and the Socialist
Party USA encourages our members and allies to join in this struggle.

¡No somos criminales, somos trabajadores internacionales!
¡Que viva la justicia y la dignidad de los migrantes unidos sin fronteras!"


Passed by the Socialist Party USA People of Color Commission April 29, 2010