Sunday, January 15, 2012

Why you need to know the Players

I started the spreadsheet about a year ago as a way to find out who is who, and where they would interact.  All corporations in any sector "talk" to each other, and it's not about how their golf game is going.  they talk business, coordinate PR, discuss issues/problems which effect the industry as a whole.

With any issue, it's just as important to know the "WHO" as well as the "HOW".  Corporations exist for two purposes:

  •     To protect the directors and management from personal exposure to liability
  •     Most importantly - to make money 

Just like the Watergate scandal - you have to FOLLOW The MONEY and CONNECT THE DOTS.

If you were to try and "map" out the "dots" it would look like many skeins of yarn, all tied together, and tangled by a herd of cats on speed.

Basic Components are:
  • Individuals (Management/Board of Directors)CorporationsFront Groups, AstroTurf Groups
  • Marketing (includes ads, universities, researchers)
  • Financial/investment interests
  • Political arena, including politicians, lobbyists, organizations .

All of these are coordinated to control the message, manipulate the markets, and pocket politicians to create the most "corporate friendly" environment to produce the most money.

Corporations are pieces of paper, it has no "human" characteristics, it do not rape, it has no conscience to direct concepts of right and wrong.  It exists to make money period.

Goodwin said there are limited ways to punish a corporation. “It is not a life. It is not a being. It can’t go to jail,” he said. “The only thing that it can do is help make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.” – U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin speaking about West Virginia Mine Settlement, December 6, 2011 

In Senate and House hearings, following the market crash of 2008, CEO's, one after another, stated "gee we didn't know".  How many were arrested?  ZERO.  Instead, these corporations were rewarded with billions of dollars.   Today, the corporations are working even harder to further deregulate and gut any oversight and standards of accountability.

Three books I strongly suggest you read:

This is what fracktivist groups need to understand.  Just like in a sport, you have to know the players, their strengths, their weaknesses in order to figure out how to use them to YOUR advantage

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