SWAMP DRAINING IN THE SOUTH SEAS

     The Trump Administration is not only cleaning up Obama-Era scandals, it's cleaning up the environment too. Last month, crooked software engineers were jailed and Volkswagen ordered to pay millions in fines for cheating on the Clean Air Act. That scandal had dragged on for two years under Obama was wrapped up by Trump in six months.

      The Justice Department and the EPA announced recently that Starkist---one of the world's largest fisheries---had agreed to pay over $6 million in fines and invest in corrective anti-pollution measures stemming from 2014. EPA authorities found that Starkist's fish processing facility in American Samoa. Starkist is the world's largest supplier of canned tuna and once a great American company. Today, it is a subsidiary of a South Korean transnational agribusiness cartel, Dongwon Industries.

      In 2014, a wastewater pipeline break led to an investigation which revealed that Starkist was dumping pollutants into Pago Pago Harbor at high levels; and that they had actually also dumped unreported contaminants into the sea. There were large quantities of hazardous chemicals also illegally stored at the plant. The company thumbed its nose at Obama, and went on with business as usual.

      But now, in addition to fines, Starkist agreed to purchase $88,000 in equipment for Samoan hazardous-waste removal teams and upgrade wastewater treatment systems. The proposed new system will reduce pollution by 85%. 

      Interesting that the Corporate Media tells us that Trump is anti-environment. The Volkswagen and Starkist cases are the largest environmental settlements, but not the only ones by far. In addition, the Trump Administration has also cracked down on illegal importation of endangered-species products; just yesterday an international ivory-smuggler was sentenced to 5 years in prison.

       But a better question is how these big companies got away with these activities during the green rule of the Deep State. The mystery is cleared up when we note that Starkist is listed as a top donor to the Democrat Samoan Congressional representative. Last year, Starkist spent $400,000 on lobbyists and $190,000 this year alone. The lobbying firm Manatt, Phelps, and Phillips is retained by Starkist and two of Starkist's lobbyists are Revolving-Door former federal bureaucrats. Both are Democrats.

        Volkswagen, for its part, donated to the Tennessee DNC in 2012, where its corporate headquarters in America are located. Democrat Congressman Joseph Kennedy III, of Massachusetts, is one of Congress' leading shareholders of Volkswagen stock. Not coincidentally, Volkswagen is Kennedy's largest corporate contributor.

        Volkswagen spent over $1.5 million on lobbyists last year, with lobbying firm Akin Gump. Five of their six lobbyists are also former Federal bureaucrats.

       It's always been Conservatives who take meaningful measures to protect the environment. Liberals do things like banning woodstoves and toilets with large water-tanks. But they look the other way when their chums on Wall Street pollute harbors and create smog.