WV Mining Disaster CEO: "It's Survival of the Fittest"

In a video last year, Don Blankenship, CEO of Massey Energy, the company at the center of the tragedy at the Upper Big Branch coal mine in West Virginia, complained that it is "very difficult" to obey "nonsensical" safety rules.

The team at ThinkProgress posted it up and here it for all to see:

Here's Blankenship in the 1970's explaining that in a capitalist society it is the most productive that survive:

Here's a list (also compiled by Think Progress), showing just how many of these "nonsensical" safety rules Massey has violated at the Upper Big Branch coal mine where 25 miners lost their lives:

Since 1995, Massey's Upper Big Branch-South Mine has been cited for 3,007 safety violations. Massey is contesting 353 violations, and 127 are delinquent.

Massey is contesting over a third (34.7%) of the 516 safety citations the Upper Big Branch-South Mine received in 2009, its greatest count in the last 15 years.

In March 2010, 53 new safety citations were issued for Massey's Upper Big Branch-South Mine, including violations of its mine ventilation plan.

Pretty tough to survive when your workplace is a potential death-trap, let alone be productive.