(Erin Brockovich) "Stand up to BP and say: ‘You know, I’m not taking your s*** any more’"

Source: timesonline

It is 19 years since Erin Brockovich first went into battle against corporate America. She was a small-town single mum who stood up to an industrial Goliath and won. Now, as she champions a new case with a depressingly similar plot, it is clear that she has lost none of her fighting spirit or trademark candour.

“Stand up to BP and say, ‘You know what, I’m not taking your shit any more’ ,” she tells an audience of more than 300 anxious individuals in Pensacola, Florida, who have gathered to hear how they can seek legal redress for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

“If you stand down and you say nothing and you get complacent and let them run over you, they will do that. They are already doing that. I’m telling you: Don’t let them,” she continues, and is greeted with applause.
...
“In all my 19 years this is the first time I feel helpless,” she admits, wiping away a tear. “I’m the one that usually sends a message of hope and I’m feeling helpless in this scenario because it’s so big and so complex and so . . . just awful.”

Read more: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article7133508.ece

---

i do not know if it's news to you, probably not. to me it was, so sorry in case you have already had.

another article, on dailyindia, http://www.dailyindia.com/show/376655.php

Brokovich is in Pensacola as part of a Gulf Coast tour to help lawyers to connect with victims of the Deepwater Horizon disaster- fishermen whose boats are laid up because one fifth of the Gulf of Mexico's fisheries have been shut down; hoteliers inundated with cancellations from would-be guests who fear that oil is about to engulf the beaches; citizens worried not only by the oil but also by the 650,000 gallons of toxic dispersant that BP emptied into the ocean before the Environmental Protection Agency ordered it to stop.

"A poison is a poison. We're not supposed to be eating it, we're not supposed to be drinking it, and nor is our wildlife. I deal with this fallout day after day - chemicals that have caused autoimmune disease, asthma, children with problems - going from community to community seeing people point out this cancer and that cancer and going to way too many funerals," said Brockovich.

"This spill has the potential to be one of the worst environmental disasters in our lifetime. Every single night the whole thing that's happened with BP makes me sick to my stomach.

"It could be the ultimate battle. I don't think I have ever seen anything of this magnitude. I can't tell you how many times I pull my hair out because what I see in these cases is absolutely unnecessary. These corporations have an opportunity, instead of blaming everybody and dragging the 'little people' through lawsuits . . . step up, take control.

are a good thing.

:sarcasm:

Great woman. :patriot:

eom

"root cause" No need for a commission to study the spill.


Brockovich: BP oil damage will play out over decades
By ANITA LEE - calee@sunherald.com

Read more: http://www.sunherald.com/2010/05/22/2201972/brockovich-bp-oil-damage-will.html#ixzz0okbtDqMw

http://www.sunherald.com/2010/05/22/2201972/brockovich-bp-oil-damage-will.html

AMANDA McCOY/SUN HERALD Erin Brockovich speaks about potential damage the oil spill could cause during a meeting at the Grand Biloxi on Saturday. Brockovich has been making stops along the Gulf Coast as an environmental consultant to one of the leading law firms dealing with potential injuries from the spill and response.

* Link: Read more coverage of the Gulf oil spill from the Biloxi Sun Herald
* Link: NEW: Live video link to BP oil leak
*
* Gallery:Brockovich: BP oil damage will play out over decades_0
* Story: Is Deepwater Horizon different from Ixtoc 1?
* Story: Minerals Management Service has history of royalty collection trouble

She sees a common denominator in all the environmental cases she’s worked on since 1991.

“What I believe is that the underlying root cause of all of these problems and these disasters is deceit,” Brockovich said in an interview before she spoke Saturday morning to about 20 people in Biloxi who responded to a legal advertisement from The Cochran Law Firm.

Read more: http://www.sunherald.com/2010/05/22/2201972/brockovich-bp-oil-damage-will.html#ixzz0okbU88RD

She's a mover and shaker.

Here's the pic of Erin from the article:



And note this quote, which appears toward the end:

“The people stand together,” she told the audience of shrimpers and residents concerned about their health, property values, or both. “They never become complacent. Talk to your neighbors. Get your neighbors involved. That’s how you get a groundswell going.”

Organizing. Once these organizations are put together, they will become a powerful force. This is why Brockovich was there. If people join together, this is what could lead to permanent changes in the way we deal with these monster corporations.


Cher

But, but, but Ayn Rand Paul Says Doing That Stuff is Un-American!
What to do? Is Kentucky that stupid that it would even consider this stiff as their senator? Please say it isn't so!

... is un-American! :sarcasm: And by "Americans" I mean, of course, flesh-and-blood "real" Americans, not corporate "persons."

-----------

She is a she-roe to me, and I need to watch the movie again to reinfuse my courage.

Unfortunately, at least the last time I heard, she doesn't vote against the corporations... she is conservative. :(

Just for those who may not know... she has a cameo role in the movie..... in the restaurant scene toward the beginning of the movie, after Brockovich is hurt in the wreck, the real Erin plays the waitress. Much prettier than Julia!

It's what the left needs to get busy doing while we still have a President who isn't going to use the powers of government to destroy the movement.

:loveya:

Talk about change we could believe in!:evilgrin:

:applause:

:silly:

Anything less than that is meaningless. Standing up requires sacrificing everything you use oil for and any thing made with energy from oil. SItting around complaining and demanding action isn't standing up its empty chatter.

In the real world, EVERYTHING matters. Some things matter more than others, but even a phone call is 'doing something'.

Stop using oil then. And stop blaming everybody else. People ought to look in the mirror. They are Americans, living this lifestyle (at least, if they are middle class or higher).

food production is based on oil, farm machinery, herbicides, pesticides, transport to market etc, are you suggesting we stop eating. I have a better suggestion; stop blindly supporting "leaders" who are bought and sold in this greed based market, I think we know who they are...

BP would love nothing more. i doubt Erin would advocate this sort of nonsense.

we actually don't have the power to eradicate using ALL the, ONE HUNDRED percent of the petro products we come in contact with. what, turn off our electricity? refuse medicines that come in plastic bottles? quit our jobs that require a commute? how about give up your children b/c they require too much participation in the oil economy?

in other words, marginalize yourself to the point where you can't even make a phone call (because phones have plastic in them, and the parts were shipped on boats using oil), because THAT'S going to make a difference.

it's not an all or nothing game. we have to use the tools at our disposal to require that these corporations (which are a solid reality in our lives) behave in ways that all the continuation of human life. meanwhile, dial back your consumption and seek ways to live a more sustainable life (move closer to work to you walk, ride a bike or use public transportation), grow some food, participate in local economies. these are meaningful actions -- stamping your feet and proclaiming that everyone who doesn't cast off their fetters and go into the desert and eat bugs is part of the problem -- well that's just bullshit.

The problem is not that oil is involved in just about everything we use and take for granted...It is that we use it gluttonously for things other products are even better at. we all know what those solutions are, that have been glaring us in the face for decades. The real problem is that big oil has been blocking these solutions through our own government for those many decades.

can we change? Sure - but petroleum is in so many products today - the plastic in your keyboard has it for christ sake! I'm an old environmentalist and have been in tears over this catastrophe but we need to be honest when talking about oil products. It's not just for your car anymore! We had a chance to change big time in the 70's and then the oil barons took over the last 30 odd years to make sure we use oil, not matter what.

Cheers mate
Sandy

:rofl:

I'm an old environmentalist too, and I can tell you it was a whole lot about choices we the boomers made.

Thirty-five years of canvas bags at the grocery store. Thirty years of serious household recycling. Public transportation whenever possible. Eight years of wind energy. Patio gardening. Handmade soaps and grow-my-own herbal medicines. A minivan (oopsie).

I'm almost 40. So 25 yrs of recycling and public transport. No wind energy for me but obtaining full off grid is easier in Australia than the US. I've never owned a mini van or truck.
but go ahead and laugh.

no, it's not.... it's called communication, and is so effective that people try to intentionally prevent it from happening. Of course, it all depends on subject matter and the aims of that communication.

you know as well all the rest of us, that not using any oil is almost impossible at this point with the resources and technology that needs to be implemented. You point is actually ridiculous and telling.

I don't see everyone risking their jobs, homes and family trying to walk to work!

A very forceful, aggressive block btw which included destroy 4,000-5,000 cars which were

perform excellently in California! See: "Who Killed The Electric Car?" -- probably

at your library.

Let's also dismantle the insanity of our MIC by stop supporting war -- !!!

Now, there's an idea.

Btw, most of us are anti-war -- the entire world is anti-war, but corporations again have

the control.

And what have we gotten for turning our natural resources over to private interests --

and paying for wars bankrupting citizens and our Treasury . . . we got health care --

Oops! Seems we didn't --

and Social Security and Medicare under attack ...

Did GOP come back . . . ?

Eh . . . no . . . seems Obama is supporting wars, off-shore drilling, cutting Social Security,

and NOT MEDICARE FOR ALL ...

Co-opted by our own party!!

By car, plane, train, truck? Everything you buy is related to oil in one way or another.
What you are suggesting means:
No electricity.
No food that is harvested by machines.
No travel unless it's by foot, horseback, glider, sailboat, or bicycle.
No clothing unless it's entirely hand made.
No electronics including the computer YOU used to make your post.
No modern medicine.
etc..etc..etc...
So are you ready to follow by example?
Good luck with that.

This sends the MESSAGE=$$$ Talks. Boycotts Work...We Are 350 million People Strong!!
The Entire World Will Join Us If We Just Start to Massively Non-Cooperate W/ Big Crushing, Corrupt Business.
If We The People Sto Paying IRS, We Will Have Our Gov'ts FULL ATTENTION.
Not Violence, but Massive Non- Cooperation Is What Works!!
They=The Powers That Be- Always Win The Violence Scenario-having all the latest laser weapons, bio-terror etc etc etc.

Then let's organize something. Plan a date and repeat repeat Let's go to Washington dc and hold a sign saying Obama should step in. BP is NOT taking care of this at all. Other than getting more informed and depressed about this is there anything we can do? I've made my calls and done my emails, now I need to physically DO something. What website has information for me? Anything.

EVERYTHING has oil somewhere between its producer and its consumer. (And I notice you're online, which means you're using a computer that has plastic parts in it--and of course they contain oil.) Even a cotton t-shirt has oil in it--oil to grow and harvest the cotton (even organic cotton is harvested with a cotton picking machine powered by diesel), oil to power equipment to turn the raw cotton into a shirt, and oil to transport the shirt from the manufacturer to the store you bought it from. If you went to the store on your bicycle you rode on tires made from oil, lubricated the chain with oil, and the bike was painted with paint made from oil. If you walked to the store you went in shoes that were transported on a truck, and the shoes themselves probably contain oil in the form of rubber, leather, and fabric.

At work I use a LOT of oil-based products--press lubricants, some of the inks, and all the oil needed to make and haul the paper we print on. I don't know what's in diazo emulsion but it's probably oil-based. I know my two Macs are full of plastic parts. My computer to plate machines contain plastic parts. The plate finisher and fountain concentrate I use comes from the Sudan; they didn't bring that to the US on a sailboat. (Before anyone freaks: the US government allows people to import gum arabic from the Sudan because all gum arabic comes from the Sudan, and you cannot print offset without gum arabic nor can you make soft drinks without it.)

You make Palin look like The Thinker.

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I live in Santa Barbara County, California, and Erin Brockovich endorsed a Republican candidate for local office in the most recent election. She also sided with Republicans on one ballot proposition. Did TV ads for both. Nothing really serious or important, but supporting anyone in a political party that strongly favors offshore oil drilling in California after what she went through with PG&E really bugged me.

I'm still a fan of hers, though.

n/t

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we still had judges that were not crooks and were not always in the pocket of big business. KR

I saw her a few years ago on TV, and she was then engaged in a battle with an oil company that was pumping a well in a school yard, and kids were getting sick.

as a fellow paralegal - she is one of the FEW in our profession who commands respect. Typically, attorneys try to drag us down because we provide competition for them. They don't want people to know that we can do much of their job - more affordably, and probably with more integrity and professionalism.

I know this is Pollyanna...but it's my modus operandi: perhaps we can wring from this disaster some positivity. I read earlier that residents on the LA coast are getting their first dose of environmentalism; maybe Obama can engage Iran (if Iran truly has some productive ideas for clean up); and maybe this paralegal will show that all hands are needed, and welcome, on deck, in addressing social injustice in this country!

Thank you. She is now going to be a role model of mine!

I'm in Ohio and barely keeping my head above water but would find a way to be there.

Our lives are enriched by nature -- not by industry and "bus-i-ness" --

Maybe the younger generation will take charge and move campaign reform off the dime. It's their future.

Obama to Open Offshore Areas to Oil Drilling for First Time

By JOHN M. BRODER
Published: March 30, 2010

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is proposing to open vast expanses of water along the Atlantic coastline, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the north coast of Alaska to oil and natural gas drilling, much of it for the first time, officials said Tuesday.

The proposal — a compromise that will please oil companies and domestic drilling advocates but anger some residents of affected states and many environmental organizations — would end a longstanding moratorium on oil exploration along the East Coast from the northern tip of Delaware to the central coast of Florida, covering 167 million acres of ocean.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/31/science/earth/31energy.html



Obama's three fallacies: Big Oil's offshore drilling is safe, Big Nuke's tritium leaks are good, and there is such a thing as "Clean Coal."

Wait a minute, there aren't enough trees left for everyone to cook their microwave dinners. Not enough animals left to make clothes for everyone.
This shouldn't be necessary, but just in case -- :sarcasm:

Microwave ovens are necessary in anyone's life -- as are animal-factory farms ....!!

:sarcasm:

-- just in case!

I can't grasp the enormity of this disaster. The Gulf of Mexico is wiped out.

:crazy:

Obama is a corporatist, but not to the level of McCain.

same old shit, different container...

Just look at his god-damn "cabinet"...

she's always gets a big yawn from me.

:yourock:

:kick:

A national treasure of inspiration.

It's corporate capitalism!!!

www.movetoamend.org

No to corporate "personhood"!

NO to "money as speech"!

The People should finally TAKE THE POWER in this country -- not unelected kleptocrats!!!

And while we're at it, take control of our own communities: www.transitionus.org

She's the lobbyist we need representing us in DC --

While we wait to overturn corporate fascism, Americans need real representation!!

How many Erin Brockovich's can we afford to hire????

Let's go!!

Americans have NO leverage over our elected officials --

Corporation are baby sitting, BRIBING and BUYING candidates and our elected officials every minute

of the day!!

progressive sites to get her committed and the money would pour in; To start our own lobbying group with her at its head. I would send her all the money I send to Dems in a hopey changey kind of, totally wasteful, way. I can even see Cindy up there with her.

we are from Repugs --

well, close, anyway!!

:evilgrin:

can get greedy pug policy through without much of a whimper from a bribed "Dem" congress passing out rose colored glasses.

Whereas, the same crime done by Bush/Cheney created outrage!

getting ready to take our world back from corporates/elites!!

And put Nature back in the picture again, btw!!

President says it ALL.

should be impeachable.

There, I said it.

Can anybody help to add this information to the Wikipedia page for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaconda_Copper_Mining_Company ? It isn't listed as part of it's "history".

Wiki says this about the "Massacre": "The Anaconda Road Massacre was a deadly incident that occurred on April 21, 1920 during a miners strike in Butte, Montana's copper mines. A group of striking miners who were picketing near a mine of the Anaconda Copper Mining Company were fired upon by company guards, killing a miner named Tom Manning and injuring sixteen other miners. During the inquest into Manning's death, no one was found guilty, and his murder still remains officially unsolved."

And this about Anaconda Copper: "Anaconda Copper Mining Company (until 1915 known as the Amalgamated Copper Mining Company), one of the largest trusts of the early 20th century, owned all the mines on Butte Hill, Montana, USA. The Anaconda Company was purchased by Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) on January 12, 1977. At present (2007), Anaconda exists only as an environmental liability for BP, the current owner of ARCO."

How about a class action law suit for all residents of the gulf states. The message would be that any company that has anything to do with this kind of job-ruining, environment killing, animal eliminating screw up will be out of work.

Actually there are two prongs. Sue them out of business. The prosecute them into jails. Put ten BP execs in jail and eliminate their company and even corporations like Dow and GE would take notice.

Yeah, Yeah. I know.

:grr:

We own the three branches of government. You can either buy our product or walk".

That's what I want to know!

The people didnt win against Exxon for the Exxon Valdez disaster and the people wont win against BP. We the people have no power.

Not me. I have to show my kids that giving up is not the thing to do.

Erin didn't give up. She kicked some PG&E ass.

limited. Bless Ms. Brockovich and her perseverance. She gave a good kick in the shins to PG&E, but didnt slow them down one bit.

I want to fight back, but we need to figure out how. It is ok to talk about it, it's better to actually do something. If you have specific suggestions I am all ears.

NGU

as well as the BP don't give a hoot attitude

That's the only way to really punish BP.