Saturday, January 29, 2011

Corporate crime and no punshment

Great piece by Russell Mokhiber comparing the case of Leandro Andrades, a man imprisoned for life for stealing five videotapes worth $150, with the the failure of the US authorities to pursue criminal charges against any of the corporate executives responsible for two of the biggest crimes in US history- the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the financial meltdown of 2008-2009.

Two recent reports of inquiry into the Gulf Oil Spill and the 2008-2009 Financial crises failed to make any mention about corporate crime or criminal liability, despite finding massive systemic breaches of the law.

As Mohkiber writes:
"We live in a country with two systems of justice. One for the Leandro Andrades of this world and one for the Wall St Banks and their executives and the oil companies and their executives.... We have two systems of justice. One for the corporate class.. and one for the rest of us"

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Woodside personifies corporate power in Western Australia

When you are the most powerful corporation in Western Australia you can pretty much do what you like. Here are two examples:
  • Don Voelte, the CEO of Woodside was paid just $2,694,276 in 2009 (gee that must have been tough!). In 2010 his pay increased by a miserly 210% to $8,343,339.
  • The body of 55 year old man who died at Woodside's Pluto Project Gap Ridge Camp in Karratha was not discovered for two weeks. The body remained in his donga without being discovered for two weeks. Police are investigating the death and will provide a report to the Coroner. Worksafe cannot look at the death because " it was not work related".
I am currently writing a longer piece about the power that Woodside is able to exercise over this state. Very happy to receive suggestions and ideas.