'Outrageous': BP Ad Claims 'American Businesses' Real Victims of Gulf Disaster

[unhappycamper]

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/07/26-6



Advocates for Gulf coast communities respond to claims by industry that compensation process has been too harsh for oil giant

'Outrageous': BP Ad Claims 'American Businesses' Real Victims of Gulf Disaster
- Jon Queally, staff writer
Published on Friday, July 26, 2013 by Common Dreams

A full-page ad placed prominently in both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal on Thursday—paid for by BP and painting "American businesses" as the victim in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster—is just a bit too much for some.

Among those most angered by the BP-sponsored ad? The actual victims of the region's worst ever environmental disaster.

The ad, featuring comments from both the US Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers, criticizes the process by which local residents, small-business owners, and impacted communities have been compensated. Saying that BP "had bent over backwards to make amends for the catastrophe" the letter from the Chamber's CEO Thomas Donahue says that in the future, businesses will be smart to "litigate" rather than "settle" with communities following industrial disasters.

~snip~

According to Viles, making big business out to be the victim is absurd. "BP and their team of lawyers signed off on this deal, and now they are crying foul? The truth of the matter is that BP's historic release of oil and application of toxic dispersant made the Gulf and our communities the victims," he said. "BP needs to follow through on their commitment to our coast."

[limpyhobbler]

1. I've said before, fossil fuel industries should not be allowed to advertise.

Whether on TV, radio or print.

Their lying propaganda is a dangerous menace to public health in every way.

This can be regulated just like we regulate advertisements for tobacco, alcohol, weapons, drugs, etc.

Coal, oil and gas companies are terroristic, psychopathic entities driven by an extremist ideology that holds profit as its only value regardless of the cost to human beings.

These companies have no right to exist, much less to take out full page ads in the New York Times.

Also these ads amount to cash payments from the oil industry to the media. Consider whether that might impact the quality of environmental reporting we see in these news sources.

[adirondacker]

2. I couldn't agree more. Ban them like cigarette ads.

Do you remember the snuff films they provided for Public education?
The teacher in my school relied on them heavily to entertain our brains during earth science classes.

The power of multinationals is understated.

[Botany]

3. All of BP ads as per the gulf spill are nauseating

Right now they are running ads on news shows saying how they are committed to
the Gulf area "for the long run and that they will stay there until everything is O.K."
but at the same time they are in court trying to stop paying for damages and trying
to get out of their agreements w/ the federal and state governments.



american petroleum institute spokeswoman Brooke Alexander's ads that said deep water
drilling was so safe were pulled after the spill now this former Miss Universe contestant
is on telling how safe fracking is =

they have no shame

[gopiscrap]

5. Welcome to DU

[locks]

6. 24/7 BP lies

BP has bombarded the tv waves and newspapers with their lying ads every day since Katrina. If they had taken the amount of money they have spent on dirty commercials they could have made a start toward healing our beloved Gulf and some of the suffering the people and businesses there and many who have never been able to return.
Remember that this is our money they are using from their obscene profits.
The biggest problem is that we allow the huge oil corporations to not only continue their risky and dangerous practices that led to the BP disaster but we let the Repugs cut out the few government regulations in place.