YOU ARE NOT AUTHORIZED TO SEE THESE PICTURES OF THE OIL SPILL, CITIZEN… DO NOT LOOK!
July 15, 2010 – 11:33 am
On April 20, 2010, an explosion at the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 workers and injured 17 others. It also resulted in what is seen as the largest offshore oil spil in US history. It’s almost three months since the oil spill started and Jonathan Elinoff has rounded up pictures of the spill and its effects at Washington’s Blog.
For about three months there has been a drought of pictures documenting BP’s Gulf Coast oil spill. That will likely change very soon.
Due to popular rage at the ban on reporters and photographers from the vicinity of the oil spill, US Coast Guard admiral Thad Allen on July 12 has rescinded the ban (which came into force on July 1).
In May, Newsweek reported that local and federal officials - working with BP - were blocking access to the sites where the effects of the spill were most visible - “a CBS TV crew was threatened with arrest when attempting to film an oil-covered beach”.
On July 12, the NPR reported:
In early July, the freelance photographer Lance Rosenfield was standing on a public street in the town of Texas City, Texas, on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. He was taking shots of street signs and of a nearby BP oil refinery - one of the largest in the country.
A few minutes later, as he filled his car’s tank at a gas station, Rosenfield found himself penned in by police cars. A BP security guard was close behind. And, beckoned by his colleagues, a local police official assigned to an FBI task force arrived as well. They asked Rosenfield about the story he was working on. Over the next 20 minutes or so, the photographer gave his name, address, driver’s license and Social Security number - and was convinced - or pressured, take your pick - to show his photographs. All of the material was shared with the BP security guard.
For a more immediate report, CNN’s Anderson Cooper’s video clip on July 1, titled “Obama admin bans press from filming BP oil spill areas in the Gulf”, is widely watched on YouTube.
A dolphin pulled from the gulf…. [click on the pictures for a better view]
A Greenpeace activist steps through oil on a beach along the Gulf of Mexico on May 20, 2010 near Venice, Louisiana. (John Moore/Getty Images)
A Brown Pelican sits in heavy oil on the beach at East Grand Terre Island along the Louisiana coast Thursday, June 3, 2010. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Oil is seen on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico about six miles southeast of Grand Isle, Louisiana May 21, 2010. (REUTERS/Sean Gardner)
Crews try to clean an island covered in oil on the south part of East Bay May 23, 2010. (REUTERS/Daniel Beltra/Greenpeace)
An aerial view of the oil leaked from the Deepwater Horizon wellhead, May 6, 2010. (REUTERS/Daniel Beltra)
Note: For more pictures, visit Washington’s Blog.
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6 Responses to “YOU ARE NOT AUTHORIZED TO SEE THESE PICTURES OF THE OIL SPILL, CITIZEN… DO NOT LOOK!”
Hemorrhage, Bloody Shame.
By Yvonne Overton on Jul 15, 2010
History shows again and again how nature points out the folly of man.
Godzilla!
We are all sheep. New World Order is coming.
By Manlikefeline on Jul 16, 2010
And to think the BP CEO “wants his life back”. Hasn’t he suffered enough? Why should he or others on the BP board be bothered with such horrendous loss of animal life and environmental damage that may take generations to repair. Please, someone, give the poor man his life back!
By IndyRN on Jul 16, 2010
and to think the ‘environmental’ US administration is active in the cover up of the oil spill. they are threatening the media with a federal offense if they get to close.
Hows that for transparency?
By sick on Jul 24, 2010
…thankx obama (small letters intentional)
By joecolostrum on Jul 26, 2010
BP should be backrupted on purpose because of this…..no company that causes this kind of environmental damage should EVER be allowed to continue in any business field.
I think that the damage they’ve caused can’t be returned to what it once was, BP killed 11 men, thousands of animals, and destroyed thousands of livlihoods……FINISH THIS COMPANY OFF!!!!!!!
By todd on Aug 6, 2010