Oil Spill: U.S. allows BP to trample First Amendment rights of American journalists- VIDEOS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) July 5, 2010 -- In what would seem an unthinkable scenario in the United States, American journalists and photographers have been blocked from freely taking photos and getting near the oil spill cleanup area. The First Amendment states; Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Remarkably, the Coast Guard announced new rules that photographers, reporters or anyone, for that matter, cannot come within 65 feet from any response vessel or booms. To get closer, you need special permission from the Coast Guard Captain of the port of New Orleans. Even more outrageous is that the Coast Guard originally asked for an even larger exclusion zone of 300 feet. The penalty for breaking this rule? A $40,000.00 fine and being charged with a Class D felony.

For weeks BP’s private security thugs have been engaged in confrontations with reporters attempting to enter areas of public beaches, that only a law enforcement agency can deem off-limits. Now, it seems, the thugs have backing from the United States government.

Apparently, Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, the Federal government’s lead man in overseeing the oil spill, has done a complete about-face. This is the same Thad Allen, who when taking the reigns said in a press conference, “I’ve put out a written directive that media will have uninhibited access anywhere we’re doing operations except for two things, security or a safety problem. That is my policy.” There have been no reports of the media interfering with cleanup efforts or creating safety problems, so why the about-face?

The decision will seriously hamper journalists and photographers from reporting back to you, the American public, and your right to know. As Anderson Cooper of CNN said in a report, “we are not the enemy here.”

The latest fallout from BP’s muscle flexing occurred near a BP refinery in Texas. Photographer Lance Rosenfield was working on a story as part of a collaboration between PBS and ProPublica, a non-profit news organization in the United States. After taking pictures from a public road near the refinery, Lance said he was followed by a BP employee. Later, two police cars blocked him in at a gas station, where Lance was detained by a BP security official and local police. Another man identified himself as an agent of the Department of Homeland Security. The men told Rosenfield that they had the right to look at his pictures and if he did not comply he would be taken in.

BP released a statement regarding the incident saying, "BP Security followed the industry practice that is required by Federal law. The photographer was released with his photographs after those photos were viewed by a representative of the Joint Terrorism Task Force who determined that the photographer's actions did not pose a threat to public safety."

In response, ProPublica released a statement from editor-in-chief Paul Steiger: "We certainly appreciate the need to secure the nation's refineries. But we're deeply troubled by BP's conduct here, especially when they knew we were working on deadline on critical stories about this very facility. And we see no reason why, if law enforcement needed to review the unpublished photographs, that should have included sharing them with a representative of a private company."

Again, BP’s thugs were allowed to engage in overseeing or at least participating in a search conducted by law enforcement agencies of the United States. BP is a private company, as they are so fond of reminding the press when the announcement falls in their favor. Why are they being allowed to view photos alongside law enforcement agents?

Is BP too big and powerful to be bothered with little things like the First Amendment? The oil spill has been a lesson in the power this oil company wields. From the beginning and even now, BP continues to spray such large quantities of dispersants, that there is no historical nor scientific data on record to plan for possible long-term consequences. When the government asked the company to cut the quantities by as much as 80%, BP simply ignored the request and continued spraying. There were no repercussions. Simply put, no one knows what the detrimental health consequences will be. While all of this controversy continues to unfold, the oil continues to gush.

What is known, is that when the press and the voice of the people is silenced, at the very least, mistrust is fostered and at worst, the action reeks of tyranny. This country fought a war to defend these rights, breaking away from Britain. At least, for now, it appears that a British Company, BP, still rules.

COMPLETE ARTICLE AT: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-51590-Cultural-Issues-Examiner~y2010m7d5-Oil-Spill-US-allows-BP-to-trample-First-Amendment-rights-of-American-journalists-VIDEOS