Most Popular
1. It’s a New Macro, the Gold Market Knows It, But Dead Men Walking Do Not (yet)- Gary_Tanashian
2.Stock Market Presidential Election Cycle Seasonal Trend Analysis - Nadeem_Walayat
3. Bitcoin S&P Pattern - Nadeem_Walayat
4.Nvidia Blow Off Top - Flying High like the Phoenix too Close to the Sun - Nadeem_Walayat
4.U.S. financial market’s “Weimar phase” impact to your fiat and digital assets - Raymond_Matison
5. How to Profit from the Global Warming ClImate Change Mega Death Trend - Part1 - Nadeem_Walayat
7.Bitcoin Gravy Train Trend Forecast 2024 - - Nadeem_Walayat
8.The Bond Trade and Interest Rates - Nadeem_Walayat
9.It’s Easy to Scream Stocks Bubble! - Stephen_McBride
10.Fed’s Next Intertest Rate Move might not align with popular consensus - Richard_Mills
Last 7 days
Stocks, Bitcoin, Gold and Silver Markets Brief - 18th Feb 25
Harnessing Market Insights to Drive Financial Success - 18th Feb 25
Stock Market Bubble 2025 - 11th Feb 25
Fed Interest Rate Cut Probability - 11th Feb 25
Global Liquidity Prepares to Fire Bull Market Booster Rockets - 11th Feb 25
Stock Market Sentiment Speaks: A Long-Term Bear Market Is Simply Impossible Today - 11th Feb 25
A Stock Market Chart That’s Out of This World - 11th Feb 25
These Are The Banks The Fed Believes Will Fail - 11th Feb 25
S&P 500: Dangerous Fragility Near Record High - 11th Feb 25
Stocks, Bitcoin and Crypto Markets Get High on Donald Trump Pump - 10th Feb 25
Bitcoin Break Out, MSTR Rocket to the Moon! AI Tech Stocks Earnings Season - 10th Feb 25
Liquidity and Inflation - 10th Feb 25
Gold Stocks Valuation Anomaly - 10th Feb 25
Stocks, Bitcoin and Crypto's Under President Donald Pump - 8th Feb 25
Transition to a New Global Monetary System - 8th Feb 25
Betting On Outliers: Yuri Milner and the Art of the Power Law - 8th Feb 25
President Black Swan Slithers into the Year of the Snake, Chaos Rules! - 2nd Feb 25
Trump's Squid Game America, a Year of Black Swans and Bull Market Pumps - 24th Jan 25
Japan Interest Rate Hike - Black Swan Panic Event Incoming? - 23rd Jan 25
It's Five Nights at Freddy's Again! - 12th Jan 25
Squid Game Stock Market 2025 - 5th Jan 25

Market Oracle FREE Newsletter

How to Protect your Wealth by Investing in AI Tech Stocks

BP and Bhopal, U.S. Double Standards

Politics / US Politics Jul 01, 2010 - 08:07 AM GMT

By: Submissions

Politics

Bill Quigley and Alex Tuscano writes: When President Barak Obama went after BP and demanded a $20 billion dollar fund be set up for victims of the Gulf oil spill, the people of India were furious. They saw a US double standard. The US demonstrated it values human life within the US more than the lives of the people of India.


BP should pay $20 billion in compensation, probably even more. The people of India agree with that.

But people are angry because the US is treating the oil spill, called the worst environmental disaster in US history, in a radically different way than the US treated the explosion of a US-owned pesticide plant in Bhopal India, which some call the worst industrial disaster in history.

The 1984 Bhopal explosion released tons of toxic chemicals into the air, claimed the lives of between 15,000 and 20,000 people within two weeks, and disabled hundreds of thousands of others – many still suffering from physical damage and genetic defects.

The plant that exploded was operated by Union Carbide India Limited, a corporation owned by Union Carbide of the United States.

The disaster occurred in a thickly populated area close to the central railway station in Bhopal, an urban area of 1.5 million in the heart of India. Most people in the area lived in shanty huts.

Thousands of dead humans and animals filled the streets of Bhopal. Survivors complain of genetic damage which has caused widespread birth defects in children and even grandchildren of those exposed.

The soil and water of Bhopal remain toxic with heavy pesticide residue and toxic metals like lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium and chromium.

While President Obama displayed outrage at BP officials over the 11 deaths from the US oil spill, the US has refused to extradite Warren Anderson, the chair of Union Carbide, to face charges for his role in the Bhopal disaster.

Recall too that Obama advisor Larry Summers, then chief economist at the World Bank, stated in an infamous 1971 memo. “Just between you and me, shouldn’t the world Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the Less Developed Countries?... I’ve always thought that under-populated countries in Africa are vastly UNDER-polluted…”

Obsolete and hazardous industries have been systematically transferred to the third world countries to not only exploit the cheap labor but also to avoid disastrous impact of these industries on the advanced countries.

Union Carbide put profit for the corporation above the lives and health of millions of people. Dow Chemical, which took over Union Carbide, is attempting to distance itself from all responsibility.

In India there were two Bhopal developments this month. The Indian government announced a compensation package of $280 million for Bhopal victims, about $22,000 for each of the families of the deceased according to the BBC, and seven former Indian managers of the Bhopal plant were given two year jail sentences for their part in the explosion. These legal developments are a mockery of justice for one of the world’s greatest disasters.

We call on the people of the US and the people of India to join together to demand our governments respect the human rights of all people, no matter where they live.

Together we must bring about change in corporate development. We have to emphasize social production for the needs of people and improved social relations.

If we continue to value some lives more than others, and to allow corporations to spoil some areas with impunity, our world will not last.

Unless we respect the human rights of all people and demand corporations do that as well, we will be damned to live out the Cree Indian prophecy “Only when the last tree from this earth has been cut down, only when the last river has been poisoned, only when the last fish has been caught, only then will humankind learn that money cannot be eaten.”

Bill is the Legal Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights and a law professor at Loyola University New Orleans. You can reach Bill at quigley77@gmail.com  Alex directs Praxis, a human rights organization in Banglore India. You can reach Alex at alextuscano@gmail.com

© 2010 Copyright Bill Quigley and Alex Tuscano - All Rights Reserved
Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.


© 2005-2022 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.


Post Comment

Only logged in users are allowed to post comments. Register/ Log in