Yes, it’s true. Don’t believe me? Watch this…
And then read this, and tell me if you don’t think so. Here, I’ll even excerpt a few key passages for you…
Vancouver-based mining company Fortuna Silver says it has nothing to do with the shooting death of a protester in a town near the company’s mine site in Mexico.
Police have arrested the alleged shooter implicated in the death of Bernardo Mendez Vazquez, who was shot last week during a protest that news reports have linked to opposition to the gold and silver mine.
The shooting took place in the of San Jose del Progreso, where the mine is the chief employer.
The town and mine in the southwestern state of Oaxaca have been the sites of past conflicts involving groups who say the mine is an environmental threat to the arid region’s scarce water supply.
But Fortuna Silver president Jorge Ganoza said “misinformation” is behind media reports tying his company to the violence, which also left another protester with a leg wound.
“We, as a company, and our team in Oaxaca are saddened by these senseless and continued acts of violence in the town of San Jose, related to a long-standing political struggle for local power,” Ganoza said.
“It is not the first incident of this nature in the last few years. It is in no way related to our activities or involves company personnel, and we really hope that the people of San Jose, with the assistance of the state authorities, will find a long-term solution to this senseless violence.”
Isn’t that clever? They’ve even got local stooges working for ‘em, pretending it’s not the fault of their own greedy fucks. No, it’s the fault of the local natives, for getting in the way of some hired thug’s gun. Who, of course, is not “company personnel”. Duh, he’s a hired goon. Undoubtedly paid under the table, the way foreign companies all do it in these Latin American countries that they don’t give a fuck about.
And of course, this being in our lovely National Pest (yes, that’s sarcasm), the mining company’s viewpoint is front and centre, and the other side is handily dismissed:
Some Spanish-language media reports suggested the clash was related to protests over a project that was viewed as an attempt by the company to access the town’s water supply.
“This sad incident is related to an infrastructure project that was being handled by the municipality of San Jose and it’s related to the inter-connection of sewage and drinking water in the town of San Jose, and it has nothing to do” with the mine, Ganoza said.
He said rival groups, one linked to the municipal government and one connected to the opposition, have clashed around other projects such as road construction.
“There is constant misinformation because I believe there are groups interested in linking us to these issues,” he said.
“It always makes better news to have a foreign company involved in some of this, and some local groups can be more visible if this is linked to an international company.”
Notice that the other side are not even named here. Nameless opposition is so much easier for the Nasty Ass Honey Badger to eat up like a snake. A loose skin of vague rhetoric also makes it easy to shrug off just about anything.
But look, here comes a bird:
A spokeswoman for the Canadian group MiningWatch criticized the company’s position.
“There has been conflict over this project and worries over potential impacts on local water supplies for several years,” said Jen Moore.
“Instead of trying to deny any responsibility, the company should work to help diminish tensions.”
And that’s it for the bird. Three short paragraphs, whoopee! Thanks a lot, stupid!
Of course, the company would argue that it IS “working to diminish tensions”…by sending in hired guns to scare the townsfolk into handing over the precious water supply, and sending out the spokesdroid to say this isn’t the company’s fault, and the gringos from El Gran Norte (that’s CANADA, people) are all honest caballeros, and a whole lot of other mierda that makes no sense whatsoever.
But Honey Badger don’t care. Honey Badger don’t give a shit.
Fortuna Silver, a junior mining firm which also has a silver mine in Peru, announced in September that it began production at the $55-million mine in Mexico. It was expected to produce 1.7 million ounces of silver and 15,000 ounces of gold in 2012.
Because there’s silver and gold in them thar hills, and it ain’t gonna dig itself.
And besides, they’ve got an image as a major local job provider to uphold. 450 local workers, probably all quite underpaid to work in who knows how dangerous of conditions. Who cares if the town they come from has no clean water left to drink, wash with, or irrigate crops? Let ‘em eat gold and silver, eh Nasty Ass Honey Badger?
Fuck, I hate my so-called government (which is, remember, the Harper Government™, not the Government of Canada — Canada doesn’t exist anymore). I hate it for being complicit in this shit. I hate it for rolling back regulation holding Canadian corporations accountable no matter where they operate. I hate it for making us look like shit abroad. I hate it because it steals from the poor and gives only to its rich cronies.
And, also like the Nasty Ass Honey Badger, it just doesn’t give a snake’s ass. We can bite it, and bite it, and it still refuses to die. It just rolls over and starts to snore whenever its prey fights back.
Look at that sleepy fuck.