Forum Post: The worst corporate thugs of 2014
Posted 10 years ago on Dec. 31, 2014, 7:59 a.m. EST by elf3
(4203)
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Forget celebrities in 2014... let's get to know our not so friendly global ceos!
The 2014 review list...corporations don't want you to see. They work hard to keep this stuff swept under a rug. Let's shake em out: http://ww.globalexchange.org/corporateHRviolators
http://www.globalexchange.org/corporateHRviolators
Per global exchange website:
RESOURCES Global Econ 101 Africa Americas Asia Middle East & Central Asia Top 10 Corporate Criminals List
2014 Introduction Many corporations are complicit in violating human rights and the environment. As the free trade market continues to push forward the global economy, holding corporations accountable for their poor practices becomes difficult. Unfortunately, corporations are working harder than ever to cover abuses instead of preventing them.
This does not have to be the reality. People can use their purchasing power to endorse Fair Trade and pressure companies and boycott those that violate human rights and the environment. In doing so there is potential to pressure these companies to put people ahead of profits.
Global Exchange has compiled a list of the top ten “most wanted” corporations of 2014 based on issues like unlivable working conditions, corporate seizures of indigenous lands, and contaminating the environment, just to name a few.
The Top Ten Corporate Criminals list is a guide to learn about what companies like Gap, PepsiCo, Carnival, and others you might have heard less about are doing to undermine human rights and the environment so that you can get informed and involved in combating the injustice. The more you know, the less corporations can continue to act unfavorably in the public eye. Share the list with friends, family, and co-workers. Click to the Take Action pages and email CEO’s, call executives directly, and network with other non-profit organizations doing work on the issue.
Where do you shop?
Where does your 401k invest?
Boycott!
Good list. Glad to see somebody is compiling a list like this. However, the corps and the crimes of these corps seem lke small time crimminals and petty theft compared to the really big financial/business syndictes and what they are doing. Like debasing our money supply, commiting currency and other fraud which ruin our social fabric and personal welfare not to mention making wars, overthrowing soverign (usually socialist) countries, and mucking up the Middle-East and the rest of the world for fun and profit. What I'm referring to are organizations like:
Goldman Sachs recognized by many as a "vast crimminal enterprize" who sets aside billions of dollars a year for paying off fraud fines levied against them just to keep the Feds "off their back."
The Carlyle group, that investment banking cartel that the Bush gang is mixed up with, who by their world political and military associations are complicit in fostering several of the wars going on around the world.
JP Morgan Chase who just got done paying some $9 billiion to cover up a massive crimminal securities fraud.
Citigroup complicit in drug money laundering as well as mortgage and securities frauds, and complicity in structuring the 2008 financial crisis.
Bechtel, a construction company influential in bringing about the Iraq war, (the company supposedly keeps to list of countries to overthrow which the U.S. government apparently does on their behalf), and is complicit in the subsequent war profiteering in overthrown countries. Bechtel is also in the business of privatizing world water resources among many other dubious adventures.
I doubt I touched upon the really really big boys as they remain hidden under so many cloaks of secrecy. But it would be interesting to see a top ten list of these, along with the names and addresses of those top people who run these organizations.
You're right Shule, but it's more difficult for us little people to boycott some of these corporations compared to retail businesses. I know that I would never buy another Hewlitt-Packard laptop because they manufacture the electronics that monitor Palestinians. And I asked my kids not to get me a SodaStream seltzer maker for my birthday. I did hear recently though that they were closing their factory in the illegal settlement of Mishor Adumim following the BDS campaign which caused retailers in North America and Europe to drop their brand.
Next, it's extremely unlikely that you would ever find me in a Starbuck's cafe. They are part of an association that has been suing Vermont for trying to enact (the first in the country) GMO labeling law.
I think the biggest thing is simply exposure; sort of like turning the lights on in a dirty kitchen to watch the cockroaches scamper.
Although I do entertain boycotts, I don't think ability to boycott need be a criteria to keep certain thugs off a list (for there may be other methods to use.) Against large multi-varient corporations, our little people boycotts are not really economically effective anyway. Little people boycotts though are effective in altering perceptions by making a statement. I have yet to drive into a BP station after that mess they made in the Gulf which they are still trying to cover up (but not really clean up.)
What good is "exposure," or "list[s]" without some sort of actions, whether it be "boycotts" and/or protests, or something? Admittedly without tons of people taking part, they will not be effectiveI, but I am banking on a lot of people... being persistent; more people awakening, and their power being realized when they act collectively aginst some of the worst perpetrators of injustice.
By not going into a BP station (which I respect), you are doing your thing, and I will do my best to match you. Weren't the boycotts on SodaStream effective? Distributors stopped carrying them. Someone orchestrating all this would be great, and I hope that happens because it will portend well for our cause.
If Monsanto and BP can't sell as much of their shit because far fewer people are going into Starbuck's, or gasing up at BP.... Well? Call it what you want, but resistance is paramount. We all need to get better at it, including me,
Of course action is the way to go, but we can start it with a list. Just because we may not know the course of action upfront, that should not be a reason not to start and put one on a list. Think of it like the FBI's 10 most wanted. The wanted are on the list precisely because the FBI does not know how to catch them, but the FBI also knows that once a wanted person's name is posted, somebody is going to figure it out and tip the FBI off. In the same way, though we may not know how to catch certain corporate crooks right away, once their names and crimes are out for everybody to see, somebody is going to figure out how to catch them. Thus, simply creating a well circulated list may make the corporate elite tremble in thier boots ( or tasseled shoes.)
As to mass action, don't hold your breath. Though it would be of benefit for most all people to join a movement, most are either too numb or busy with life to do so.
Agreed. Similar to the growing list of political elite that have been tried in absentia at the 'Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission'.
Namely; George W. Bush, Tony Blair, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, John Yoo, Jay Bybee, Alberto Gonzales, David Addington and William Haynes II, and the State of Israel.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuala_Lumpur_War_Crimes_Commission
Or, 'The International Tribunal into Crimes of Church and State' with Kevin Annett.
http://itccs.org/
It doesn't need to be internationally recognized at first. Taking the steps and moving towards legitimacy eventually start to gain traction and count.
A list of Criminal Oligarchs and other Elite hiding behind their corporations should have a tribunal for their special brand of deletarious enslavement of humanity, and killing of people and the planet for the purposes of profit and empire. Without a doubt.
I'm sure you heard the Berlin based Center for Constitutional and Human Rights filed a criminal complaint (war crimes) in Germany against the "architects of the Bush administration torture program" which includes Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, George Tenant as well as George Bush. The complaint is based on the CIA torturing a German Citizen in mistakein identity back in 2004 as described in the recently released CIA report.
The New York times recently called for the investigation and prosecution of people in the Bush administration for torture (that would include the former President), which follows a call by the ACLU for a special prosecuter to do the same.
Momentum is mounting.
Yes exposure...wallstreet is a rather general enemy. Perhaps it needs to become more focused on those individuals directly shaping corporate acts. Why should they enjoy the comfort of no exposure and no limelight. Id like to see them followed by paparazzi . I also think that creating the controversy of a ceo wanted list would gain media attention. I'm not advocating violence btw...I am advocating exposure ... if these individuals are worried their actions will invite violence against themselves...then perhaps they ought to weigh if their actions are so egregious they need to hire body guards to protect themselves by publishing what they do around the world...what does that say? Are they in fact causing themselves to become targets for it with their own private acts of war and violence against people? Should we be held accountable for the decisions they make and the anger they incite? That is an insane notion that we should be afraid to call them out for fear we will be targeted for exposing them . If the media won't investigate and expose these individuals and their crimes against humanity and nature as well as our rule of law which gives them status above reprisal perhaps occupy should initiate a more focused exposure. These people live in our cities and our states. They don't live in castles...they aren't celebrities...they go shopping and jogging and walk around in complete comfort ...celebrities don't enjoy such comfort...let's make these faces famous...let's make their lives less comfortable. Bring the protest to their home towns. Embarras them where they live.
The CIA just issued a prediction that corporate entities are becoming more powerful than goverments and will become more powerful than the US government in coming years, I saw this on msm this morning. At what point do their egregious actions become corporate terrorism? There are individuals for example in AlQueida or Isis responsible and held responsible for the actions of those groups. We don't fail to go after them simply because it may hurt our economy or profits ( which certainly war effects our national expenditures and deduct from local programs like road repair and education) or because they are part of a larger group. Corporations are directly and indirectly killing people...what is that if not terrorism? Would we let isis accumulate enough funds to takeover government...would we allow them to bribe politicians in order to keep committing acts of inhumanity without consequences or laws made on their behalf..would we allow them to poison our drinking water to entire cities and towns unabated or by fining them, laundering funds for terrorist groups as banks have done? Yet how are corporations exempt from fitting under this label when their actions become so inhumane and destructive? Polluting national waterways...polluting entire towns...bribing governments to displace populations for their land...inciting wars ...paying rebel armies...and on and on. How have they escaped this label for so long. My government is paid with my taxes to protect me from enemies both foreign and domestic. When can I say corpirations have become an enemy to the people? And that these individuals are responsible for driving those entities and their actions against us ?????And yet Occupy has been labeled a terrorist group and spied on by homeland security for simply daring to expose it....what does that tell us? It tells us our government has been taken over ...they no longer protect or work for the citizenry...they protect and work for corporations...and treat the people as enemies. We are experiencing the fall of democracy...this blog / forum is the diary of its downfall.
Aren't we tired of pleading with our government and corporations to please stop corporate atrocities? I no longer want to negotiate with terrorists...I want our defense department and commander in chief to step up against corporate terror.
The problem is our government is pleading with the corporations, more like getting on their knees and..... Forget the Comander-in-Chief. He is hired help. See my post about Blackrock below.
The argument that corporations should escape consequences in the name of free enterprise is no more ridiculous than than if Isis sued in our courts or defended themselves with the argument of freedom of religion.
On another note...The food industry is suing our government over our desire to know about ge foods and costing us taxpayer money to defend the laws forged by people. Perhaps to even torte we should require they may not sue with more funds than the defense has to defend with...that would even the scales of justice. I wonder what the public would do if Isis sued for the right to pay a fine for poisoning water or food or for their right to operate in secrecy due to freedom of religion rights? When put into context we can see the insanity of granting special rights to corporations. They have become separate under the law and we people have unequal rights ...including when it comes to taxes. I wonder if blacks had less write offs than whites how the public would react. Or if men had more deductions than women simply for their gender? Why aren't these arguments being made in the courts? How long will people ride in the back of the bus standing while corpirations are granted a cushy seat up front.??
And think about this...while corporations aren't guilty of beheadings yet...how long before they sneak a line into a 3000 page farm bill ( written of course by corporate farm giants) where it is legal to behead organic farmers or those caught with unauthorized gm seed? How long before they lobby politicians to make certain crimes like free speech worthy of a particular punishment? We are on a slippery and dangerous slope at this moment in history...what can we do to change this outcome? Making laws that make terrorism legal does not mean it is not still terrorism. In fact I would say corporations ability to legalize their atrocities is even worse than groups like Isis.
the CIA, grandpa 2 steps behind hiding 1 step ahead of congress
Absolutely agree! BTW, in addendum to my short list in a post above:
CEO of Goldman Sachs is Lloyd Craig Blankfein since 2006. Henry Paulson was the former CEO who went on to become the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury.
CEO of J.P. Morgan-Chase is James "Jamie" Dimon.
CEO of Citigroup is Michael Corbat since 2012. Former CEO Vikram Pandit.
Co-Founder & Co-CEO of the Carlyle Group is William E. Conway along with David M. Rubenstein and Daniel D'Aniello who are also Co-founders and Co-CEOs of the group.
CEO of Bechtal is Bill Dudley as of last year (2014). Prior CEO was Riley Bechtel who remains Chairman of the Board.
I won't go so far as to say all these folks are definate sewer scum, but I do say they are leaders of organizations that have some very dubious histories/reputations. Putting an eye on them would not be unreasonable.
I mentioned Goldman Sachs with its CEO Lloyd Blankfein, which having some $1 Trillion + in assets under it's supervision does a pretty good job in jerking our government around. But Blankfein is just the CEO. Who owns Goldman Sachs? Who does Blankfein work for? About a minute of digging on the internet, one comes to the largest (but not the only) investor in Goldman Sachs; this company called Blackrock Investments. Blackrock is interesting. It is run by this dude named Larry Fink (CEO). With over $4.3 trillion in assets under it's supervision, Blackrock is the worlds largest financial investment enterprize (and how many of us ever heard of it?) The U.S. Government's annual budget is only $3.8 trillion; some of which they don't even have. Blackrock's spending power is thus greater than the that of the U.S. Government! For all practical purposes Larry Fink has more power than the U.S. President. I'm sure when Larry Fink comes knocking on the White House door, Obama himself opens the door saying "yes sir."
BTW, Larry Fink is heavily supporting Hillary Clinton in her bid for the White House in 2016, 'cause she is going to make Larry Fink U.S. Treasury Secretary. Makes one wonder who is running the show here in the U.S.A. ???
CIA predicts corporation controls the money and work projects. The people are aware
Right...at least a confirmation of the obvious though...someone not gaslighting us. We aren't crazy after all?
stop killing people
would angora hair qualify as genetically modified ?
Where is the rabbit?
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Chairman+%26+CEO%3a+Kevin+S.+Crutchfield&FORM=HDRSC2
Well Kevin ...you certainly look tan and healthy...looks like you don't venture near too many of the communities your company Alpha Natural Resources pollutes on with toxic waste...you exemplify what it means to be in the ranks of the privileged class...brava brava! I mean if someone doesn't want to breathe in toxic air...they don't have to stay right? Dumb Appalachians. Why aren't they working as hard as you to be successful ( well aside from their poor health and weakening bodies which is obviously genetic and has nothing to do with the mines) what is stopping them from being as well off as you?
I'm suddenly getting a lot of negative points on this one...don't freak out lovely trolls you've been so stealth all this while...I know you don't want us to go in this direction but it has been heading here all along hasn't it? It is inevitable...we've been off topic long enough. Let's get back on WallStreet shall we?
''Democrats Bow Down to Wall Street'', by Bill Moyers (Video) :
radix omnium malorum est cupiditas ...
(love of money is the root of all evil) ..
The 2014 review list...corporations don't want you to see. They work hard to keep this stuff swept under a rug. Let's shake em out.
There are two things our overlords don't want us to know about.
How sausage is made.
How our exalted "Job Creators" make such huge profits for their 1% Club.
"What The 1% Don't Want You to Know" (Bill Moyers & co. re. Thomas Piketty etc) :
fiat lux ...
Let's dust off those guillotines and start knitting.
"Warren Buffett upset many of his "mega-rich friends" by what he stated categorically in a New York Times op-ed. He made it clear that he had never encountered any serious investor who decided whether or not to invest based on tax rates. It was always the prospects of profit that made the difference. He then urged Americans to raise taxes on the rich like himself. He also hinted – none too subtly – that it was becoming politically dangerous for the whole economic system's survival to keep having the minority of extremely rich people paying federal tax at lower rates than the middle- and low-income majority." from :
"The Truth about 'Class War' in America'", by Prof. Richard Wolff : http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/sep/19/class-war-america-republicans-rich & also consider :
"Capitalism Hits the Fan" - Prof. Richard Wolff (Video) : http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article32494.htm & finally :
"Chomsky On Adam Smith - 'What we would call capitalism he despised'!" : http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article22546.htm .
I'm no good at 'knitting' but I can do some 'sharpening' if you like ;-)
fiat justitia ruat caelum ...
(let justice be done tho' the heavens fall)
The hubris of rich people:
Thomas Piketty: Bill Gates Told Me He Doesn't Want To Pay More In Taxes
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/04/piketty-bill-gates_n_6413446.html?ir=Business
Evidently, Gates thinks he knows better how to spend his money in a "philanthropic" (I'd say controlling) way. God forbid you let the people decide how to spend the money. But, oh yeah, the people don't get to decide anyway, 'cause their government's been bought by corporations.
How about we don't allow people to earn those kinds of profits in the first place? How about we require profits to be shared with employees? And, how about we end the price gouging of the American people? I don't care how good your invention is, profits should be limited and price gouging should not be allowed.
Bravo Martin Thompson for finding innovative ways of getting that chocolate out to the world...children are most amenable to slavery after all...they are hardly capable of fighting back...great job and congrats on making our list. Swell hair by the way. So what's your latest read, I'm curious about the inner thoughts of those who are so capable of disregarding human beings in order to flourish. What a delicious legacy indeed. We're giving you a place to be recognized...you do deserve it.
http://www.ghirardelli.com/careers/executive-leadership/martin-thompson
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=martin+thompson+ceo+ghirardelli&FORM=AWIR
This article lists the names of these ceos ...I wonder how these men and women are viewed in their communities. We should get these names out there as much as possible. People should know what they are doing for the world...their neighbors most certainly should know. They are probably viewed as successful and respected in their communities when in all actuality they should be scorned and outed for their crimes against humanity.
Probably still the worst corporate thugs in 2015. Gotta keep fighting, elf.
Apple, because it bluffs it's followers, while it FUCKS the country by Tax Inversions (FRAUD), exploits slaves, and gouges customers. And manages a smug bunch of superficial followers who think THEY are on the right side ~ strangely like our POLITICS!!
What about Tim cook from apple?!? WTF, why isn't he the number one? The biggest corporation in the world, wage slave labor and massive pollution ( in china). Oh I get it, you like their phones, computers, and donor record. They get a pass, huh? Jeez, walk the walk
As bad as apple has been I guess in comparison they didn't make that particular list...( did you read it?!!) just tells you how monstrous they have all become. I've been advocating to boycott iphones for years...they make my list...when a company needs suicide nets in their factories yeah how does that slip by the news when jesus I've yet to seen a newscast not slip in a snippet on apple. The msm is basically their number one advertiser...hmmm who owns stock in apple? By the looks of it...id say Rupert is quite a fan.
Thank you pepsi for doing your part to help kill off orangutans in 2014!
And also..."there are 663 ongoing land disputes between companies like PepsiCo and indigenous communities. These disputes often lead to the use of violent private armies, which has resulted in deaths. "
Pepsi is a military force to be reckoned with...who knew?
Kudos to ceo Indra Nooyi for your ability to have no conscience at all and put profits and of course your own wealth first...bravo!
Who would guess there is so much evil lurking behind this smile...looks are deceiving indeed.
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=indra+nooyi&FORM=HDRSC2
Interesting I never knew a bank was actively involved in deforesting the planet...wow hsbc ...you have been busy this 2014!