Oil Spill Raises Open-Borders, Open-Port Questions
11/15/2007
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Last week's 58,000 gallon oil spill by a Chinese (Cosco) owned container ship in the San Francisco Bay, which has migrated out of the Bay to nearby Pacific coast beaches and inlets, has various links to open borders related issues, foreign access to our shores, and China's most favored nation (free trade) status. Local media note the spill may have resulted from a "language barrier," ergo the crew possibly could not understand basic English instructions to safely guide the ship that foggy day. (The entire navigating crew was Chinese, but they're "required to speak English." Wanna bet?) [Human error blamed in Bay Area oil spill ,Los Angeles Times, November 11, 2007]

The American bar pilot required by law to board and navigate the ship out the Golden Gate, Capt. John Cota, today said that the foreign ship's radar "conked out" at various times, calling to mind that unsafe Mexican trucks are set to roll across America, no problema.

Angry letters to local newspapers express disgust that the Chinese container ship had probably delivered lead-painted toys, poopy seafood, and other shoddy, poisonous Chinese products threatening the health, safety and welfare of American consumers thanks to our own government's failure to screen imports. The oil's toxicity has resulted in emergency fishing bans that, ironically, could raise demand for tainted Chinese seafood.

Volunteers who rushed to local shores to help contain the oil spill, save ailing birds and protect pristine waters, reported being threatened with arrest, taser guns and criminal charges (some citizens were arrested and charged with misdemeanors in response to their well meaning efforts). Law enforcement officers—including National and State Park rangers—insisted that only the government could do that job. Create the problem, get paid to solve it. Hmmmm. Serious questions about the Coast Guard's failure to properly assess the size of the spill until hours after it happened, followed by a lengthy delay in their reporting and initiating emergency clean-up measures, remain unanswered.

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