News — corruption

Big Oil's paid lobbyists are countering the campaigns to fight climate change. This is because they gain so much power and money thru their existing business model-sort of a bigger is better trend towards oligopoly and monopoly. This started with the oil companies merging into ever bigger corporations. Also this was done by big banks, pharmaceutical companies, media companies, weapons companies, hospital chains, software companies, ....... At some point they spend more money on lobbying and on campaign contributions than on their products, research and development, sales, employees, and customers. They buy out their competitors and restrict competition, then they raise prices. They get bailouts, government contracts, PPP loans, favorable court rulings, etc.....  article

article  Often in Monopoly, No Bid contracts.  This increases the costs and gives the war profiteers tons of money to lobby and fund politicans.

article  These secret pro-corporate judges rule in favor of bogus claims filed by polluting oil, pipeline, mining, toxic chemical,  waste dump,  and such companies.  It was inserted into trade deals (NAFTA, TPP,...)to overrule national laws in favor of large pollution causing corporations. ow they also want to give high prces to drug companies.

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article  We need limits on the interest rates for loans.  States used to have such rules banning interest rates above some low percentage such as 20%. the deregulation  of banking and the take-over of local state regulations allowed Big Banks to come in and take over the local banks and to remove state regs.

Here is one interview.

The Water Knife is a detective thriller set amidst drought refugees and physical battles between cities over water.  It has romance, murder, gangs, chases, and journalists.

The Windup Girl is about a future of GMOs, rising sea levels, hunger, loss of species of food crops,  racial blaming, and hunger after terminator genes wipe out many food varieties.  Oil is gone.  It is a very violent.

Another interview.

Drowned Cities and Ship Breaker are about societies where the oil based energy system is gone, and people struggle in gangs over the spoils or else move on to wind-powered ships.

Zombie Baseball Beatdown is about middle schoolers battling GMO mad cows from a slaughter house.  It also touches on bullying, discrimination against  immigrants, corporate power over local government, and friendship.  

The Doubt Factory  is about radicals protesting against toxic products .  It focuses on a high school girl’s relationship to her father, who is doing the fake pr for tobacco, pesticide, drug,  and  oil companies.  She is attracted to rebellious radicals who want to expose the corporate PR.

Posted on September 22, 2015