Sunday, July 22, 2007
Multinational corporations need not obey the law
This is a concept that should surprise no one with a Republican administration. What might surprise honest people is that this applies to laws meant to apply to he allegedly most important aim of government policy, the Great War On Terra. The LA Times reports on this little mentioned perk for multinationals.
For more than a decade, leftist guerrilla and right-wing paramilitary groups in Colombia have kidnapped or killed civilians, trade union leaders, police and soldiers by the hundreds and profited by shipping cocaine and heroin to the United States.The Justice Dept. says they are reviewing various allegations, but considering the rot at the head of that Dept. you have to wonder what that is worth. For the companies, it is just an expense that can be written off and if people get killed, well gee whiz sorry about that but profits come first.
In that time, several American multinational corporations have been accused of essentially underwriting those criminal activities — in violation of U.S. law — by providing cash, vehicles and other financial assistance as insurance against attacks on their employees and facilities in the South American nation.
But only one such company — Chiquita Brands International Inc. — has been charged criminally in the United States. Now, a showdown is looming that pits some members of Congress against the Justice Department and the multinationals — including an American coal-mining company and Coca-Cola bottlers.
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