The head of BP struts around like a peacock as his company ravages nature, living things and jobs, while Greenpeace protesters are arrested and maybe charged with terrorism for painting an offshore drilling protest on the side of an oil company vessel. Where is the justice in that?

7 Greenpeace protestors were arrested in Louisiana for an act of civil disobedience: painting an offshore drilling message on the side of a ship that will assist Shell Oil in drilling in the Arctic.  They should have been given a parade and welcomed as heroes instead of being charged with "crimes" that could net them up to 7 years in prison.

The "Lafourche Parish sheriff's Office, Sgt. Lesley Hill Peters, suggested that the protesters could also face terrorism-related charges. The New Orleans Joint Terrorism Task Force 'is looking into the matter, she said." 

This is an unconscionable action on the part of local law enforcement in a parish directly impacted by the negligent and prosecutable behaviour of BP.

A Greenpeace representative argued that the charges were disproportionate. "It is outrageous that prosecutors would confront peaceful protesters with such a heavy hand while not a single BP executive has been charged for the devastation they have wrought on the Gulf of Mexico and the people and animals that depend on it," Phil Radford, the group's executive director, said in a statement.

If we are going to regain our nation from the tyrannical and destructive grip of mega-corporations, more of us will need to get off our laptops and commit acts of civil disobedience; signing online petitions isn't going to change the pernicious oligarchical grip on America.

meanwhile .....

It's been 37 days since BP's offshore oil rig, Deepwater Horizon, exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. Since then, crude oil has been hemorrhaging into ocean waters and wreaking unknown havoc on our ecosystem - unknown because there is no accurate estimate of how many barrels of oil are contaminating the Gulf.

Though BP officially admits to only a few thousand barrels spilled each day, expert estimates peg the damage at 60,000 barrels or over 2.5 million gallons daily. (Perhaps we'd know more if BP hadn't barred independent engineers from inspecting the breach.) Measures to quell the gusher have proved lackluster at best, and unlike the country's last big oil spill - Exxon-Valdez in 1989 - the oil is coming from the ground, not a rig, so the amount that could continue to pollute Gulf waters may be infinite.

The Deepwater Horizon disaster reminds us what can happen - and will continue to happen - when corporate malfeasance and neglect meet governmental regulatory failure.

The corporate media is tracking the disaster with front-page articles and nightly news headlines every day (if it bleeds, or spills, it leads!), but the under-reported aspects to this nightmarish tale paint the most chilling picture of the actors and actions behind the catastrophe. In no particular order, here are 10 things about the BP spill you may not know and may not want to know - but you should.

Transocean Ltd., the owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig leased by BP, has been flying under the radar in the mainstream blame game. The world's largest offshore drilling contractor, the company is conveniently headquartered in corporate-friendly Switzerland, and it's no stranger to oil disasters. In 1979, an oil well it was drilling in the very same Gulf of Mexico ignited, sending the drill platform into the sea and causing one of the largest oil spills by the time it was capped... nine months later.

This experience undoubtedly influenced Transocean's decision to insure the Deepwater Horizon rig for about twice what it was worth. In a conference call to analysts earlier this month, Transocean reported making a $270 million profit from insurance payouts after the disaster. It's not hard to bet on failure when you know it's somewhat assured.

10 Things You Need (But Don't Want) To Know About the BP Oil Spill