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Economy
In reply to the discussion: STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Monday, 23 July 2012 [View all]Demeter
(85,373 posts)50. How Whole Regions of America Have Been Destroyed in the Name of Quarterly Profits
http://www.alternet.org/economy/156410/bill_moyers_and_chris_hedges%3A_how_whole_regions_of_america_have_been_destroyed_in_the_name_of_quarterly_profits/?page=entire
...It's absolutely imperative that we begin to understand what unfettered, unregulated capitalism does, the violence of that system, which is portrayed in all of the places that we visited.
These are sacrifice zones, areas that have been destroyed for quarterly profit. And we're talking about environmentally destroyed, communities destroyed, human beings destroyed, families destroyed. And because there are no impediments left, these sacrifice zones are just going to spread outward....There's no way to control corporate power. The system has broken down, whether it's Democrat or Republican. And because of that, we've all become commodities. Just as the natural world has become a commodity that is being exploited until it is exhausted, or it collapses...The political system is bought off, the judicial system is bought off, the law enforcement system services the interests of power, they have been rendered powerless. You see that in the coal fields of Southern West Virginia. Now here, in terms of national resources is one of the richest areas of the United States. And yet these harbor the poorest pockets of community, the poorest communities in the United States. Because those resources are extracted. And that money is not funneled back into the communities that are sitting on top of, or next to those resources.
Not only that, but they're extracted in such a way that the communities themselves are destroyed quite literally because you have not only terrible problems with erosion, as they cause when they do the mountaintop removal, they'll use these gigantic bulldozers to push off all the trees and then burn them.
And when we flew over the Appalachians, and it's a terrifying experience, because you realize only then do you realize how vast the devastation is. Just as when we were both in the war in Bosnia, you couldn't grasp the destruction of ethnic cleansing until you actually flew over Bosnia, and village after village after village had been razed and destroyed. And the same was true in the Appalachian Mountains. And these people are poisoned. The water is poisoned, it smells, the soil is poisoned. And the people who are making tremendous profits from this don't even live in West Virginia--
...It's absolutely imperative that we begin to understand what unfettered, unregulated capitalism does, the violence of that system, which is portrayed in all of the places that we visited.
These are sacrifice zones, areas that have been destroyed for quarterly profit. And we're talking about environmentally destroyed, communities destroyed, human beings destroyed, families destroyed. And because there are no impediments left, these sacrifice zones are just going to spread outward....There's no way to control corporate power. The system has broken down, whether it's Democrat or Republican. And because of that, we've all become commodities. Just as the natural world has become a commodity that is being exploited until it is exhausted, or it collapses...The political system is bought off, the judicial system is bought off, the law enforcement system services the interests of power, they have been rendered powerless. You see that in the coal fields of Southern West Virginia. Now here, in terms of national resources is one of the richest areas of the United States. And yet these harbor the poorest pockets of community, the poorest communities in the United States. Because those resources are extracted. And that money is not funneled back into the communities that are sitting on top of, or next to those resources.
Not only that, but they're extracted in such a way that the communities themselves are destroyed quite literally because you have not only terrible problems with erosion, as they cause when they do the mountaintop removal, they'll use these gigantic bulldozers to push off all the trees and then burn them.
And when we flew over the Appalachians, and it's a terrifying experience, because you realize only then do you realize how vast the devastation is. Just as when we were both in the war in Bosnia, you couldn't grasp the destruction of ethnic cleansing until you actually flew over Bosnia, and village after village after village had been razed and destroyed. And the same was true in the Appalachian Mountains. And these people are poisoned. The water is poisoned, it smells, the soil is poisoned. And the people who are making tremendous profits from this don't even live in West Virginia--
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The whole scam is just so massive. It's just mind boggling how complicit the richest criminals have
mother earth
Jul 2012
#9
These 12 Hellholes Are Examples Of What The Rest Of America Will Look Like Soon
Demeter
Jul 2012
#25
How Whole Regions of America Have Been Destroyed in the Name of Quarterly Profits
Demeter
Jul 2012
#50
I know some do not appreciate Taibbi, but who else tells it like it is? Looking forward to "more".
mother earth
Jul 2012
#11
I know, seems like RS & Vanity Fair have stepped up enormously. I love MattT.
mother earth
Jul 2012
#17
Holding Off Armageddon: The Libor Scandal In Full Perspective By Paul Craig Roberts
Demeter
Jul 2012
#8
Exclusive: Prosecutors, regulators close to making Libor arrests (REST THE CASE)
Demeter
Jul 2012
#14
Raining like mad in the markets, too. US Futures looking UG-LEE. Italy down 5%
Roland99
Jul 2012
#40