Oilsands 'acceptably clean': U.S. senator ... ummm not really.

Here's a great example I came across today of the raging divide emerging between politics and science, also known as perception vs. REALITY.

Because in case anyone still hasn't noticed the absolute obvious lately: there's been a massive political movement (mostly, but not entirely, perpetrated by the extreme right) to undermine anything to do with environmentalism. It's all of course been done in the interests of TPTB, so they can keep exploiting the planet's finite resources and continue to ensure our enslavement through them.

Normally I wouldn't even bother posting something as self-evident as this - but it never ceases to astound me how many people, especially those who like to claim they're "aware", continue soaking up all the political propaganda instead of the actual facts. I'm talking to you: brainwashed wannabe conspiracy theorists who think they're in the know now just because there's a democrat in the office so that automatically means corporatist bandwagon shills like Glenn Beck are telling you "the real story".

Here's one more piece of proof how full of it these people are, and that NO - environmentalism is not some over-hyped communist left wing hippie plot to scare everyone into giving up their freedoms and money. It's just a bunch of people who have the presence of mind to go beyond their TV set and their deluded sense of self-importance to understand it's probably a bad idea to crap where you eat.

Anyway here's the propaganda first, in an article published today (bold text added by me):
Oilsands 'acceptably clean': U.S. senator

A U.S. senator is rejecting the 'dirty oil' tag pegged on Alberta's oilsands by some environmentalists, saying that label should instead be applied to some oil sources in the Mideast. "That's one of the myths being perpetrated,” said South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham

Featuring gems from Senator Graham like:

"Dirty oil and dangerous oil come from rogue regimes in the Mideast. The oil coming from Alberta in my view is not only acceptably clean, it is safe," Graham told CBC News. "Dirty to me would be oil that you buy from parts of the world where the people that sell it to you hate your guts and part of the money winds up in the hands of terrorists."

He comes to his conclusion (Alberta oil is clean because of terrorists??) while admitting:

He said he didn't talk to environmentalists or aboriginal people who live downstream from the oilsands but that officials were "open and honest" about environmental and health-related issues surrounding the massive operations.

So this supposedly balanced conclusion came by talking only to oil industry officials (and the money they're stuffing into his pocket no doubt), while not even bothering with those pesky environmentalists or natives.

Let's see what kind of nonsensical alarmism they have to say, you know - just for fun:
Deformed fish found in lake downstream from oilsands

The fish are hard to look at.

One whitefish has a golfball-sized tumour bulging from its side. Another is simply missing part of its spine, its tail growing from a stumpy rear end.

One has no snout. Another is coloured a lurid red instead of a healthy cream. Others are covered with lesions and still others are bent and crooked from deformed vertebrae.

All were taken from Lake Athabasca, downstream from the oilsands in northern Alberta

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/35e45b9e7769.jpeg[/atsimg]


Yeah.

Anyway, my apologies to anyone who read this and went: "well, duh"...but the fact remains there are so many brainwashed rubes calling themselves conspiracy theorists these days who let their blind political allegiances get in the way of the facts.

Any self respecting real conspiracy theorist should completely understand and acknowledge the blatant connections between big oil/coal/consumerism/etc and the various puppets they have planted throughout the political spectrum, particularly on the right side of the fence. It's a cold hard fact - so anyone still parroting this ridiculous rhetoric please just deal with it, and stop polluting the world of legitimate conspiracy theories with your junk political propaganda.

I like your common sense approach, we should all demand clean water and food that is safe to eat. People should take the time to learn about an issue, and not just make a decision based on political preference.

This issue should not have anything to do with politics, as it is about our health and safety. We have been told we should choose sides and line up with one side or the other, while somehow the real issue gets lot in the ensuing debate. When will everyone start to wake up and realize that the very people polluting are the one fueling the arguments and as long as we are all arguing nothing will ever change.

reply to post by PacificBlue


Yeah absolutely.

It's sad and kind of scary how much intelligent discourse on ATS has been completely hijacked by team left vs. team right finger pointing and mudslinging. I hate both sides of politics, simply because as a conspiracy theorist I think they're all pretty corrupt, and whatever your ideology is doesn't really matter when it's exploited by people who use it to serve only their own agenda.

But as an environmentalist I'm pretty amazed at just how low the right in particular has sunk these days. They belittle anyone and anything to do with the environment while making it obvious to those of us who still have some shred of common sense left (very few apparently) how much these people are in bed with big oil companies and corporatism.

I think these two articles make that patently clear. And yet no one's paying attention because they're all arguing pointless arguments that do nothing but stroke their own egos and blame everyone but themselves for the problems we all face.

You're absolutely right PacificBlue - these sort of debates and distractions are purposely engineered by the same people. It's turning everyone into a sheep and yet none of them are noticing this obvious fact because they're too busy calling everyone else a sheep.

Seems like your thread kind of got ignored, that is sad as I thought this was an important issue. What a great example of twisted logic, Senator Graham does not need to ask any questions because the oil is from Canada, and we can trust oil company officials from a friendly country more than others, how does this make sense? What about the BP oil spill, using this logic, it is alright, because the CEO was British and we like England. Anyway..maybe no one bothered to try and defend such a ridiculous idea.

I agree that anyone who dares to ask a question like "Why are the fish deformed, why aren't we testing the water and making sure that companies are not releasing harmful chemicals into the water, would you want to drink this water or eat these fish?" is labeled as some kind environmentalist wacko.

It is frustrating, but all we can do is raise awareness, so thank you for your post. I will share this with friends, even if they do not agree or they want to pretend that this does not matter, at least I can make them think about things.