Helei

Gomariz
October 12, 2015
ENC 2135
Research in Progress Report





How American corporations take advantage of the US government.


Chevron, BP and oil spills

"Hickel Asks Grand Jury Inquiry in Chevron Oil Spill." New York Times (1923-Current file):
21. Mar 26 1970. ProQuest. Web. 11 Oct. 2015 .

Just from reading the first paragraph this article from the New York Times shows what a
valuable source it will be. The article is from a major oil spill that happened in 1970 and
how the issue was taken to court. Chevron has failed to maintain storm chokes on 137 of
178 wells - Chevrons alleged violations had been committed knowingly and willfully.
Corporate disregard of government policy is not only a recent event. It has been happening
for over thirty years. This is so vital to my argument because it shows that the government
still has not learned from past mistakes and is letting these corporations continue to
manipulate them and break policy without serious enough repercussion. The source is
from the New York Times, and I have known them to report mostly fact with as little bias as
possible since they are one of the main news sources in America. There is probably some
bias in favor of the US, but since my topic does not extend beyond the united states that is
not really relevant.


Watson, Brendan R. "When Critical Voices Should Speak Up." Journalism Practice 8.6
(2013): 842-54. Web. 11 Oct. 2015.

This source is comprised of journalistic investigations of unofficial sources that have done
reports on the BP oil spill. It is very important to me that I get as wide a variety of sources
that I can.


Shafer, Don, and Phillip A. Laplante. "The BP Oil Spill: Could Software be a Culprit?" IT
Professional Magazine 12.5 (2010): 6-9.ProQuest. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.

This article discusses what could have caused the 2010 BP oil spill and how they are still
unsure of how it happened. The Chevron spill of 1970 was allegedly a method to try to get
more oil out of the well, but what about the BP spill? Was it really an accident or was it
caused by mismanagement for company profit?




Philip Morris

Kluger, Richard. Ashes to Ashes: America's Hundred-Year Cigarette War, the Public Health,
and the Unabashed Triumph of Philip Morris. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996. Print.

This source will be very biased but Im sure that the author based his bias on medical
research and scientific evidence. This book was written about the Philip Morris cigarette
corporation and the havoc it has wrecked on American health, yet it continues to survive,
even thrivewhy is this?

Eubanks, Sharon Y., and Stanton A. Glantz. Bad Acts: The Racketeering Case against the
Tobacco Industry. Washington, D.C.: American Public Health Association, 2013. Print.
October 11. 2015.

This book is similar to the previous book, but includes legal aspects as well. I believe that
for this company in particular books will prove more useful than articles because it is a
much more comprehensive aspect. Theres a psychology behind cigarette addiction as well
as the health aspects and it has been an ongoing struggle in America for over 50 years and
still we have not been able to put a ban on smoking.

Additional Documents Relating to the Committee's Hearing on the Proposed Tobacco
Settlement, November 13, 1997. Washington: U.S. G.P.O, 1998. Computer file.

These are a set of documents about the liability of cigarettes and an attempt to litigate
them. I think this source will be very useful because I dont yet have a primary source with
official documents.




Monsanto

http://www.naturalnews.com/051141_Big_Food_propaganda_front_groups.html#

This website provides information about the corporation Monsanto which produces most
of Americas genetically modified produce. Monsanto is in the process of genetically
modifying so much of Americas produce that they are attempting a total takeover and
ownership of any produce seeds. This source will be somewhat biased since it is a website
that promotes natural living and is not an official document or journal article.

David vs. Monsanto: Insights into Genetic Manipulation. Journeyman Pictures, 2009.

This source is a film that has been created about a lawsuit carried out against Monsanto.
This will be a good source because it is about an event that happened instead of
speculation.



Barboza, D. (2004, Jan 09). Bias issue arises for monsanto case judge. New York
Times Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/432633682?accountid=4840

This article is about another court case involving Monsanto and some funny business that
went on involving the judge. I think this will be the least biased of my Monsanto sources
since it is from the New York Times.

Stewart, James B. "Common Sense: Monsanto's Crops and Financials Contain
Promise." Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition ed.Dec 07 2005. ProQuest. Web. 12 Oct. 2015 .


This source provides an opposing view. Although I believe the source to be very biased I
also believe it could provide some valuable insight for my paper and I am curious to see
how much evidence they have found.





Section 3

I still need to find more court cases and law suits because those will definitely have
primary source information and definitely be as biased or close to non biased as I can get
since there will be two opposing view points. I am having the most difficulty in just putting
together the large quantities of information that I have and also sticking to my main thesis.