THE SYSTOCRAT PAPERS

Fellow Systocrats:

Breaking news: BP corporate subhumans continue to make jackasses of themselves in the Gulf.  Shocking, I know . . .

I just learned that not only is BP using controlled burns to contain the oil in the Gulf, but they are burning endangered sea turtles in the process.  Word is that BP is using fire-resistant booms to enclose a certain quantity of oil and then setting the enclosure on fire. 

I dare say that this is BP jackassery at it's finest.  It's hard to know where to start, but I'm gonna take a stab at it anyway.  First of all, these controlled burns are obviously releasing toxins into the atmosphere.  According to one news source, burning oil releases "toxic gases such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, which result from the incomplete burning of carbon-containing materials such as oil; and volatile organic compounds such as benzene toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene."  It has also been reported that these controlled burns have resulted in huge clouds of black smoke, which carry the toxins on the wind to parts unknown. 

I don't know about you, but I certainly don't want to breathe in any of that crap.  I'm sure that the thousands of clean-up workers in the Gulf would agree with me.

Then there are the turtles.  According to Credo, members of the endangered Kemp's Ridley turtle species have been burned alive during these controlled burns.  Under the Endangered Species Act, each dead turtle can saddle BP with prison time and up to $25,000 in civil penalties. 

Of course, it's also just plain wrong to view turtlecide as an acceptable by-product of a corporate mentality which dictates that the cheapest, most expedient solution is the best, even if it results in toxic fumes and death by fire to innocent wildlife that happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

What really kills me is that BP has recently been presented with better options than burning the oil, namely Ozonix technology and Kevin Costner's sea vacuums.  Why burn oil when you can separate it from seawater and presumably still sell it?  Jackassery, my friends.  Pure and unadulterated jackassery.