Capitalism is Hazardous for Your Health

Or so the LA Times would have you believe (via Drudge)

First, the Nigerian oil fields are managed primarily by the Nigerian government. If they granted foreign companies better access and more autonomy, those oil fields would be much better neighbors.

Instead corrupt kleptocrats line their pockets with the oil wealth and mismanage the resources they have. Foreign companies do supply equipment and some expertise, but the 'on the ground' management of infrastructure and pollution controls is local.

These corrupt oil states, which Nigeria is just one example (Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Iran, even Russia fall under that category), are the problem, not the multinational corporations that are just trying to turn a profit and provide a service.

To suggest that the Gates Foundation should divest from oil, big pharma and chemical concerns is ludicrous and would lead to the kind of stupid politically motivated decisions towards large fund management that has lead to CALPERS to grossly under perform compared to other funds. The investment side of the Gates Foundation only responsibility is to grow their assets, by any legal means. Anything less than that would be malpractice.

Read the whole article if you dare, it's so naked in its hatred of capitalism and biased in its perception what 'good practices' would mean, that the term 'yellow journalism' doesn't even come close.

I guess the best way to summarize the article would be, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need." Anyone with their head outside of anyplace other than their own rectum know how well that philosophy works in the real world.