We’ve heard rumors that Brad Pitt is working on some kind of documentary about the impact of the massive oil leak in the Gulf. Pitt is an avid environmentalist with ties to the area through both a mansion his family purchased in New Orleans and the Make it Right project, which builds sustainable homes for Hurricane Katrina Victims. Pitt does appear in a Spike Lee documentary on the area, which will air on HBO tonight. It’s a follow-up to Lee’s 2006 documentary on Katrina, When the Levees Broke. The film, called If God is Willing and Da Creek Don’t Rise, was meant to end with the happy news of the Saints winning the Super Bowl. Sadly, Lee had to continue filming to add on the whole BP disaster, which is where Pitt’s comments come in.
Brad Pitt has harsh words for BP in Spike Lee’s new documentary about New Orleans.
‘If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don’t Rise’ is a four-hour followup to Lee’s 2006 film ‘When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts.’
Lee landed an interview with Pitt, who owns a home in New Orleans with partner Angelina Jolie and whose Make It Right organization has built homes post-Katrina.
From a review of the film in USA Today:
Reflecting on those responsible for the oil spill, Pitt can barely contain his contempt.“I was never for the death penalty before,” he says. “I am willing to look at it again.”
The film premieres Monday night on HBO.
[From Huffington Post]
I don’t blame him although I would opt for life in jail without parole – or a lifetime scrubbing rocks for 12 hours a day. The way that whole crisis has been handled is abhorrent. Officials at BP, through their own well documented negligence, are responsible for the deaths of 11 workers along with an environmental crisis that has killed countless sealife and will lead to nearly incalculable effects on the ocean and surrounding area for decades. There are also reports of very troubling illnesses striking fisherman and workers around the spill. It’s not that much of a logical leap to wonder if people in that area are going to be struck with chronic illnesses, not just from exposure to the oil but also from dispersants that are toxic to humans and wildlife.
So for someone like Pitt, who cares deeply about the environment and the people in that area, this whole crisis has got to hit hard. It’s much worse for the people who live there and who don’t have the resources to leave. Pitt knows this, and believes someone should be held accountable. You know they won’t be, though. BP has even been allowed to run a $50 million PR ad campaign touting what a great job they’re doing down there handling the disgusting mess they created. So many people would disagree. Heads aren’t going to roll for so many reasons, but there are plenty of people more affected by this than Pitt who wish they would.
Note: these pictures are from last year, when Pitt was just starting to cultivate that mangy beard
Oh shut up Brad. You’re a little late to to the party anyway. We have real problems down here. Laying the blame can wait.
I’m probably going to catch hell for this but I’m a lot tire of all this environmental PC crap. Yes, 20 years ago we needed to clean things up but now the environmental movement has become a self serving industry. I buy those compact florecent lights that are suppose to last forever and burn less energy and well…bullsh!t. They cost $11 and burn out in 6 months. BP screwed up and they are paying dearly for it..just as it should be. Clean up the mess and move on. Wind and solar power costs 4 times what oil and nuclear does. Sorry about all this but rich environmentalist piss me off.
Really? Brad’s an environmentalist? Like in the same way Oprah is? Really? Lets count up all the homes and cars and airplanes, etc. that he owns. I’m more than a little sick of these part time do-gooders- esp. the ones who make damn sure that there’s plenty of media around to document their efforts.
scrubbing rocks for the rest of their lives (which BP could also put on streaming video) for 12 hours a day sounds like a good start.
there should be serious consequences for poisoning a large area of the planet, making our food more toxic, killing animals, endangering clean-up workers, the initial unsafe practices that caused this mess, etc…
It could set a dangerous precedent….if they shoot oil companies, can pretentious movie stars be far behind?
But then again maybe Pitt will be kind enough to grant them a stay of execution if they keep fueling his jets 🙂
If it wasn’t for the environmentalists BP wouldn’t have had to drill so deep in the first place. Will that be covered in the movie?
While I don’t agree with the death penalty and never have agreed with, I do think that if this was any other situation, someone would be jailed. It’s a shame to think that these people got away with a slap on the wrist.
@ jen – please educate yourself. b/c, girl, you need a clue. badly.
i live in houston which is an oil town, there are executives, office workers, field workers, pipeline and rig workers, refinery workers, etc… the general feeling most seem to have is: regardless of politics, drilling needs to be SAFE.
BP is known for unsafe practices yet great marketing.
Brad is an idiot and proves it once again. Oil spills suck but if people like us – and that includes Brad on all his fancy motorbikes and private jets and nannies driving to and from his place – didn’t use so much energy, the problem wouldn’t exist to begin with.
I would have respect for him if he actually practiced what he wants the rest of us to do. He wants the rest of us to drive hybrids while he indulges himself with his private planes and helicopters. He gorges himself on oil, to fuel his jets and multiple houses, but wants the rest of us to conserve.
And environmentalists are the ones who force drilling companies to drill so far off shore, and drilling at such deep depths is far riskier. The irony is that if they would have let the drillers put the platform closer to the shore, there would not have been this catastrophe.
I think that Brad Pitt is a wonderful actor, but he does not seem that bright to me, and I am not just saying that because I disagree with him. He just seems dim. Angelina seems to be the brains in that couple.
Brad should just shut up.
Why do people give these movie stars the opportunity to share their opinion on anything other than their latest film?
They rarely make reasoned, critically thought out statements, leaving their intellect suspect, and do themselves no favors by revealing the fact.
i’m quite sure his private jet/car/motorcycle use is offset by the green homes and architecture development projects in NOLA (which aside from helping some of it’s original residents, is basically R&D for green technology), contributions to organizations and attention he brings to the issues in that area.
The amount of money his charity alone has raised to help build NOLA (and build it green) offsets his petroleum use… and without his celebrity, it wouldn’t be possible. it’s a small price to pay.
Really? Cause I’m rethinking the death penalty for ADULTERERS. You can hold as many 3rd world babies as you want, you’re still a cheating lying scum bag.
It takes a special kind of barbarian to back the death penalty.
I’m sure if Captain Conscience really gave a shit he’d stop flying everywhere all the time.
@ a
Bullsh*t.
A ‘do as I say, not as I do’ approach to any problem is a redhot tip off that something ain’t quite kosher.
You gotta walk the walk.
Love the picture of Brad and Clinton looking soooo absolutely pleased with themselves. You know, they’re just so smart and caring and wise.
I agree with him and he doesn’t even know the half of it!
A: So since he’s offset the waste he causes it’s ok and not hypocritical? Oh, ok! Good to know. Guys, I’m going to go clean up the beach and then dump oil down a storm drain while I complain about other’s pullution. It’s ok! I’ll have offset what I’ve done!
most successful actors, politicians and CEOs use private planes, cars, etc.., to travel for work, television interviews, even vacations.
if they want to balance it out by using their celebrity to promote good causes and raise money for them, that’s fine by me. everyone has an opinion (even us) and celebrities working for various causes will have strong opinions.
it’s not like he put out an independent statement, someone asked for his honest option and he answered.
So as long as it’s balanced out, it’s ok. Just so long as us peons do what they say while they do what they want. Ok, totally makes sense.
@ Heather…I’m glad you said it! That was probably one of dumbest comments ever.
Doesn’t he drive a Beamer Hydrogen 7? I believe those cars run on hydrogen and only emit water vapors. Anyway, again, everyone is going to take what he says literally and jump all over him. I think he was just making a strong point to emphasize the disgusting actions of BP.
That’s nice Brad. Now go back to making movies.
Kitten: Disgusting actions? Sure! Jumping all over him? Why not? Shoot, let’s all support the death penalty why we’re at it. For everything we find disgusting. It’s just making a point. Like someone mentioned above, adultery is pretty disgusting. Should we start the death penalty for that? How about crappy movies or not practicing what you preach? Completely reasonable.
God, I wish celebrities would just shut up sometimes. Or maybe just practice what they preach.
Somebody at BP should be in jail, at least. They are literally getting away with murder. Eleven workers died a horrible death in that explosion and it was because of BP’s negligence. And all you people can do is criticize Brad Pitt for wanting justice for the people of the Gulf Coast. What idiots you are!!! The man was asked a question in a documentary filmed by Spike Lee. Is that quote all you plan to take away from what is a great piece of work? What a shame.
@Heather-Calm down. Seriously. It was just a comment made by a celebrity that you clearly don’t have a lot of respect for. If you’re so offended then why don’t you just avoid reading it? Why are you taking it so personally?
It is so amusing to me how people get so riled up over a comment a celeb makes then turn around and say that the celeb should just “shut up”. You understand that you are only empowering them and their words by getting so outraged over their comments right?
most of us here are unable to offset our oil use, yet have opinions on oil and the environment.
…and brad pitt too.
I’m sorry if you felt that I wasn’t calm by not defending this celebrity, I assumed the lack of exclamation marks and not typing in caps lock would make it appear civilly put. I’m merely stating my opinion on a comment section on a celbrity gossip blog. As for being married to a BP oil executive, nope. I didn’t realize thinking celebrities spouted garbage was something personal either. I suppose anyone who thinks Taylor Momsen is a twit is taking it personalyl as well. The more you know!
@Tess. I totally agree with you. The two of them are sitting there looking like their sh@t doesn’t smell. However, I would add that Brad has a look that says “Look at me. I’m a dumbf@@k actor and I get to sit with a former president and look like what I do is relevent. This is way cool!”
I wholeheartedly agree with Henriette.
And theoretically whilst nuclear is probably one of the most logical choices for maintaining our ever-increasing demand on energy, in practice there is no way I can fully trust any organisation to run a reactor 100% safely. I remember Chernobyl vividly and grew up hearing about Windscale (now Sellafield). I lived next to the Irish Sea which in the 80s and early 90s was considered to be the most radioactive stretch of sea on the planet due to the activities of Sellafield and the boats bringing radioactive materials for reprocessing. The rate of birth defects and certain cancers on the east coast (outside the capital) is markedly higher than the rest of the country
So, as the oil disaster has shown even .01% failure rate causes untold hardship , which is why much lower risk renewable sources, whilst more expensive, are safer in the long-run.
Just on the long-life lightbulbs – they really should last longer than 6 months (I do have some going for years) I would get the electricity supply checked in the house, it could be that you are getting mini surges in the current which is causing them to fail.
@ Jennifer, as hilarious as your comment is on first reading (because we can’t help but read the surname Aniston with it), on second it makes me very frightened for our society that there are people like you who will actively rejoice when groups such as the Taliban bury people up to their shoulders in the ground lynch mobs and pelt them with fist-size stones for hours on end. The problem with such hardline attitudes is that those that hold them forget that they will be visited on them just as easily.
Again, Heather, if you want to make a point about how offensive Brad Pitt’s comments are, you would be more effective to just ignore him entirely. It’s really not that difficult.
He proves he is a tool. He consumes more energy and oil than probably my whole town. Shut up and if you want to talk like that walk the walk….He will never do that he is too selfish and selfabsorbed. YUCK I have no respect for him or his other.
I didn’t realize dissent from a public figure’s opinion was such a terrible thing.
Ha ha! I don’t blame him for saying it. Death wouldn’t even be necessary though, if you wanna hit big oil people where it hurts, sentence them and their loved ones to POVERTY for 50-life.
Holy crow. The environmentalists? Really? They are to blame?
I smell a BP-WIFE, anyone else?
@ Mairead
I appreciate your point about the Taliban and commend you for making it.
I do believe the Taliban presents an enormous threat to societies around the world. Unfortunately, their enablers are cowards who choose to look away from their atrocities simply because it is politically incorrect to point them out.
I disagree that Pitt is an “avid environmentalist”. I think he likes to portray himself that way, but as others have said, when someone owns multiple, huge mansions that sit empty for a majority of the year, and flies in private jets all over the world all the time, it comes down to practicing what you preach.
I have some issues with his Make It Right program (and I wouldn’t call it R&D, the technology and methods have been in practice long before MIR), but am glad that the houses were built green. However, I don’t agree that offsets the other stuff. I wish celebs who promote themselves as environmentalists would be more willing to acknowledge that their lifestyle is at times contradictory to what they’re preaching, and that they’re aware of that but just do what they can otherwise.
Mairead, I have some of those bulbs that are going on 2-3 years and my bills have been lower, agree that if they’re only lasting 6 months, it’s some sort of elec. problem.
@aenflex – im totally with you. we are blaming “the environmentalists” for this now? makes total sense. (?)
I am sick to death of these self-important,obscenely overpaid celebrities who spout out every thought they have as if it had great significance to the world. Brad is not that bright – just read any interview he’s given. Not that should be held against him, but alot less genetically gifted, hardworking people are contributing more to society (without expecting a huge tax write-off and publicity) and *staying* with their wives than this bozo. STFU!
Our death penalty is having to live with these creeps. Theirs would be take their money away.
I’m not against Brad expressing his opinion which I guess is just that. I also don’t consider him an environmentalist just because his carbon footprint is far, far larger than mine without me even trying, but I also think this is more than just an environmentalist issue, this is an environmental disaster.
Brad’s all talk and no welly, time to sit down and shut up.
I know this isn’t a “light bulb” thread but I want to clarify. I’m responsible for ordering those damn compact florecent bulbs for my office complex. We have over 50 ceiling lights and in my “brand new” building I’ve replaced all of them in the past 2 years. It’s not an electrical problem or problem with the ballasts. The bulbs suck. One or two bulbs in a home is not exemplary of a building with 50. I’m glad your bulbs are lasting but what price for energy:
Regular Bulb-$0.50 for five years
Energy Efficient Bulb-$11.00 for 1-2 years.
I totally think that People and those mags should do a dedication to the workers that were killed – surely these people are more important to focus on than Lindsey Lohan and the duggars, etc. Also, I read that the workers were killed because the supervisor got the alarm turned down because he/she who ever it was, didn’t want their sleep interrupted. This person also should be totally chastized by the media.
Rita,
Actually, dim bulbs is exactly what this thread is all about.
He makes me ill. What an arrogant jackass. He doesn’t know shit about shit and this ignorant, faux-outrage he’s expressing makes me want to punch him upside the head.
The NOLA houses were a vanity project that was laughed at by most LA natives, and anyone with any sort of respect for the architecture of that part of the country. Pitt could have built many more homes with the money he raised and donated, but instead decided to build spectacularly expensive, individually designed houses by some of the nation’s premiere architecture firms. They do not look like anything else around, and they do not look like anything most people would want to live in. They are more like a tourist attraction than anything else. One NY Times columnist said “Indeed, the houses seem better suited to an exhibition of avant-garde architecture than to a neighborhood struggling to recover. A number of designers I talked to, some of whom had visited the neighborhood, lamented the absence of familiar forms that would have comforted returning residents.”
Regardless of what you think of those houses, however, that project most certainly does not make up for the vast amount of resources, wealth, energy, etc., that Pitt and his family consume. They lead a ridiculously extravagant, consumerist lifestyle.
And the last time I saw them in a vehicle, it was a black SUV, not some fuel-saver.
Everyone is America leads a “consumerist lifestyle” unless you are living off the grid. I haven’t had a car in 13 years, I walk to work and take public transportation when I want to go a little further out, I live in a modest 1-bedroom apartment, I recycle, and I buy my produce from the local farmer’s market. I do my part to soften the carbon footprint but really I am still a “consumer”.
@California Surfer — I agree whole heartedly that some attention needs to be paid to the people that died in the accident. I couldn’t care less about Brad Pitt’s opinions, or what excuses BP wants to give, but I do care about the people whose lives were lost and families they prematurely left behind. The tragedy in this disaster is the complete disregard for the men who died that night.
I wonder how much oil is used in the making of his action flicks 🙁
Intersting, wonder if some of u will take all this anger to the polls come November. Brad is a private citizen that is doing his part, what r y’all doing since u guys r sch strng advcate for the environment
I agree with Brad these guys are directly responsible for the deaths of 11 people and have directly effected the livelyhood of millions add that to all the wildlife destroyed and no one will go to jail or for any of it.
As for whether or not he is an enviromentalist or has too many houses it doesn’t matter did he kill anyone while sitting in his private jet? Nope.
He’s a great man.
I have to side with lucy2. If B&A and Al Gore are so into environmental issues and want to make an impression, why don’t they at least rent out their giant, unused houses to people who have lost theirs, or use them as retirement homes for the underprivileged, or offices or, anything?
I just don’t see any political figures or stars really giving up anything for their so-called cause. Attending summits are just fine, but again, not really giving up anything. Meanwhile, the regular people are forced to give up sometimes everything, suffering all over the country (not to mention, the planet).
Throw em a bone, Brad, or quit making statements like the above.
I’m not angry, just sorta sick and tired of the BS.
I really do not understand why people (READ KITTEN) on this thread try to shut others up.
That is very wrong. This is a public site. you have no right to censor someone else because you yourself are a visitor.
Act like an adult please. Not every one has to agree with you.
That said, Brad has the right to say what he wants to and we have the right to disagree and call him out on his bullshit.
P.S Hydrogen powered cars are expensive to both build and maintain. Also I read somewhere that while being made, they consume more energy than normal cars. If this is true then Brad should let more respected people do the talking.
At post #48, no kidding. As holier than thou as everyone is on this thread, we all take part in this cycle. Some people just sound like losers because they like to complaine.
And as for the energy efficient bulbs go; I replaced all the bulbs in my apartment when I initially moved in, its now three years Ive lived here and they are still going. Maybe Yall got a knock off brand? Or read the wrong labels? I use the Earth Bulbs by Energy Star. I also stocked up on them when H-E-B gave away free bulbs on Earth Day to all their customers.
I feel as cynical as the other posters on this.
I’d rethink my stance on the death penalty too, if it would get his crappy cinematic tastes and smug mug off the radar.
I totally agree with Marjalane.
#54 and #56 – – I wholeheartedly embrace consumerism to a degree (private jets and obscenely large mansions in multiple countries strike me as consummerism to the extreme, mind you, but that’s neither here nor there).
However, I greatly dislike hypocrisy, and that is what I’m accusing Pitt of. I may drive a non-hybrid car, but at the same time, I don’t go around giving the finger to people who make a living selling gasoline.
the oil spill sucks, the taliban sucks, the death penalty sucks, brad sucks, this thread sucks. seriously, for all of you getting so worked up over his comments, he’s a celebrity – who gives any credence to what celebrities say about anything? i mean, besides bill o’reilly.
oh, and bill o’reilly sucks too.
@mimi…haha and very bright of you i must say 🙂
team brad on this one
Lots of nasty people posting on a Monday morning. Brad Pitt may have a jet, but he is doing what he can to speak for a good cause, and he is not stupid. Remember this is a man who was something like 3 credits short of a university degree.
Oh, and you people on here blaming the environmentalists for the oil spill need to educate yourselves and STFU.
Gwen, it would be such a treat if folks like you would debate an issue rather than telling anybody who disagrees with you to “STFU.”
He’s a pseudo-intellectual and I can’t stand him.
Really, Brad? The death penalty? Soooo ignorant. Why is Angelina with him?
To the point….Good post Original Kate
I’m not an anti-America, and I never will, but I’m wondering what the reaction to this disaster would’ve been if BP was an american company.
Why do not people count the nuclear disasters, or the nuclear waste left by NATO? Do people really think that because you can see radioactive elements that means that they aren’t as dangerous as the oil?
That said, it is disgusting the way BP handled that crysis and it is disgusting the news that BP is going to drill on the southern side of the Mediterranean sea.
As for Brad Pitt, aehm, it’s no news that he is dumb (and I’m wondering what Angelina finds in him) and it is no news that he is an hypocrite. Considering his standards of living he’s not the right person who can avail himself of the right of free speech on this issue.
@originalkate-exactly! I am not trying to “shut anyone up” (READ: cutie) simply saying that Pitt is an actor, not the elfin president.
Yeah, Tony Hayward should totally be put to death. Too bad it’s not mob rule. I mean, if a big enough masked crowd of people got together and rounded him up, paraded him through the streets in tar and feathers, and ultimately drowned him in the gulf, what could the cops do? Arrest thousands of people?
Why doesnt everyone admit we’re all hypocrites and the last people who should be lecturing about enviromental intellegence?
This is truly a tragedy of epic proportions.
And as much as I’d love to be the first to assign blame, I know my consumerism ought to be the very first thing I ought to consider.
Um, Gwen, just because someone is “three credits short of a university degree” does’nt mean he’s intelligent. I always thought he was dumb,boring and shallow.
@ Originalkate-EXACTLY.
I am not trying to “shut anyone up” (READ:Cutie) simply saying that Brad Pitt is a ACTOR, not the president. And I don’t think that pointing out the fact that you empower him by putting such an emphasis on the importance of what he says is really trying to censor anyone.
Anyone here know anything about the Alberta Tar Sands? There’s another travesty, all for the sake of a dollar. It can never be cleaned up!
@ Mairead- It’s called sarcasm. Good grief, don’t even compare my lack of respect for this douchebag to the criminal actions of an extremist group. My point was- since I apparently need to spell it out- he has no business preaching about anything until he cleans up his own act and I believe he only pulls this crap to get publicity, same goes for that skank he’s with.
His really come into himself in the last few years,, I like the knew Brad Pitt, more and more.
I love how everyone is talking about the oil disaster as if it’s only about the environment. Wow. Talk about missing something important.
I watched 60 minutes and read up on how it happened. The oil executives pushed the drilling to go MUCH FASTER than it was intended, thereby damaging the drill and the safety valve. They knew about it too, but ignored it. They had somethign like 70 plus safety violations! Most of the other oil companies in the gulf had only 5-6 by comparison. They were behind schedule and renting that large platform was costing them money. BP risked everyone’s life on that rig. They KNOWINGLY placed profits as more important than lives or anything.
And, 11 people DIED as a result. They died by burning to death. Some jumped into oil-filled waters and burned when it caught fire. The survivor’s tales are horrible. And, many people went bankrupt after the disaster. A few of those bankrupt people committed suicide.
Why does everyone forget about the dead people? It’s not just the environment. They caused deaths with their greed and negligence.
In my opinion, the executives in charge should be charged with manslaughter.
If you or I drive a car recklessly and we kill someone, then we will be charged with manslaughter. There was a man in North Carolina who drove a Toyota into a crowd and killed 3 people. He was charged with manslaughter and sentenced to 8 years in prison. He told the jury that he couldn’t stop the car, and that the brakes failed. It didn’t matter what his intent was–he was still driving recklessly, according to the prosecution.
I doubt the BP executives will be charged, though. Our government bends over backwards for those oil companies, and have said it’s only an accident, etc. It’s another example of the favoritism our government holds towards oil companies. The whole thing is just sickening.
This is now different than Blankenship and the Massy Mine tragedy in West Virgina Where I am orginally from. Blankship was sooo very well aware of all the dangers that his mine posed, yet greed and power, led to the death of many of miner’s who leave family to fend for themselves, I say put all of them away for life.. Death may or may not be a strong enough answer, but they should not be walking the streets free, with out paying for what they did..
Somebody at BP should be in jail, at least. They are literally getting away with murder. Eleven workers died a horrible death in that explosion and it was because of BP’s negligence. And all you people can do is criticize Brad Pitt for wanting justice for the people of the Gulf Coast. What idiots you are!!! The man was asked a question in a documentary filmed by Spike Lee. Is that quote all you plan to take away from what is a great piece of work? What a shame.
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When people hate celebrities for “cough” whatever reason, they go negative on anything they do,, Brad could have jumped off a 200 story bridge and saved a bus load of infants, and people who “cough” dont like him for one reason or the other would complain about it and find fault,, hatred and jeaousy is such an ugly thing.
am sick to death of these self-important,obscenely overpaid celebrities who spout out every thought they have as if it had great significance to the world. Brad is not that bright – just read any interview he’s given. Not that should be held against him, but alot less genetically gifted, hardworking people are contributing more to society (without expecting a huge tax write-off and publicity) and *staying* with their wives than this bozo. STFU!
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I work for the Fed. Govt, and make around 80 thousand a year, when I donate its a tax write off for me as well, What is your point other than a dislike for a human being that has done zero to you. At least he gives some celeb dont give, dont do, and simply are selfish, and just dont give a crap, lets call a spade a spade,, smh
agree with Brad these guys are directly responsible for the deaths of 11 people and have directly effected the livelyhood of millions add that to all the wildlife destroyed and no one will go to jail or for any of it.
As for whether or not he is an enviromentalist or has too many houses it doesn’t matter did he kill anyone while sitting in his private jet? Nope
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Thank you millions of american’s private citzens, politicians, Actors, Pro sports figurs, musicians, are outraged at what BP has done, but if Brad Pitt express’s his outrage, then we have a problem, There are a lot of these same above people I dont like, but some of them do a good service for this country, and for that I take my hat off to them for, even though I may not like them,,
these posters on here just dont like Brad for “cough” one reason or the other, so whatever he does in the name of makeing this a better country to live in, they will find fault,, hate is a truly sad emotion to consume.
Moreaces,
Wow, you really took my post personally. When you donate to charity for a tax write off, do you announce it on Oprah? Most gazillionaires have to donate to get the write-offs – it actually saves them money. There are also alot of celebs who donate millions and don’t call a press conference everytime they do it.
On another note,
as a Federal employee, how do you feel about your guaranteed raises every year despite the Federal deficit now in the trillions??
I thought not. Afterall it’s in Canada so no big deal eh?
as a Federal employee, how do you feel about your guaranteed raises every year despite the Federal deficit now in the trillions??
___________________________________________
Oh please, like those piddly little raises are what’s breaking the budget. Gov’t employees are notoriously underpaid and it’s always been a concern in trying to attract talent. It’s the outrageous military spending that’s bled those trillions, for almost a decade.
Well I am glad he feels that for BP, the death penalty is ok, BUT obviously he feels that otherwise the death penalty is not okay. Hmm, tell that to families who are victims of some murderous serial killer who raped and killed their daughter.
So, polluting the environment is a death penalty offense to Pitt but rape, murder, and serial killers should be spared the death penalty! UNBELIEVABLE!
He needs to STFU and stick to acting or his version of acting.
“piddly little raises”
–says it all in an economy where many don’t even have a paycheck let alone yearly raises. Plus, *any raises* are ludicrous when your employer is trillions of dollars in debt. State employees (where the states are in debt) are getting laid off, furloughed and no raises for years.
“Gov’t employees are notoriously underpaid”. Did you happen to see the recent article in the Washington Post? Federal employees are on average paid 30% *more* than private employees. Plus they are guaranteed a pension. I have a close friend who runs a dept at one of the agencies – she was so frustrated at her staff who all make +90K and were not able to do their jobs that she had to leave the premises to cool off. No reprimands are effective as all federal employees are unionized and it is near impossible to fire them.
@ mimi
unionized federal employees will never admit that their pay and benefit packages are unrealistically bloated.
They’re on the inside. Part of the government apparatus. A growing and protected class that we, the idiot taxpayers, must fund but never question.
Exactly, Tess. Although, I will say my friend earns every penny of her salary. But she is not the majority.
When I think of all of the animals that have suffered and died, so am I, Brad. So am I.
I’m for the death penalty for people who rape, sodomize, torture, and kill people for no good reason beyond the fact that they’re animals.
Suggesting it for BP executives – even if it’s in jest – makes you douche of the week, Mr. Jolie.
That comment about being for the death penalty for adultery is really, really scary. What era are we living in? I think some people really want Brad and Angelina to be literally stoned to death or drowned like they did during the Salem witch trials. It’s funny reading all the comments about Brad being pretentious when this whole post is filled with pretentious, know it alls who tell others to shut up but then they turn right around to give their own pseudo intellectual comments. The height of hypocrisy! Thanks CB for the informational links.
Katija, British Petroleum company did kill people, 11 of them. They raped our ocean life and tortured the wildlife and people who live on the gulf who had to breathe those toxic fumes.
Katija: ‘I’m for the death penalty for people who rape, sodomize, torture, and kill people for no good reason beyond the fact that they’re animals.’
So…. you agree with the death penalty for gay people? What was that about killing people for no good reason?
You know, even as time fades, not a day goes by that I don’t mourn this disaster. I have never lived there, its just after so much has happened to Louisiana and the Gulf, and the reality that this contemptuous horrific oil spill will impact every last living being in the Gulf and the area for the next 50 or more years still makes me weep. I cannot think of the impacted animals or the sea life or children without getting choked up.
“OMG a *celebrity* calls a corporation out for killing people and wreaking havoc on the Gulf coast! This guy must be terrible!”
REALLY? You’re mad because he’s trying to stick up for people like us who aren’t in positions of power or celebrity, who think that what BP did sucked?
I don’t care if Brangelina donate millions to charity just to get a tax write-off. THEY STILL DONATE MILLIONS. It matters. (Just like my $35/yr each to my favorite charities, a pug rescue and Colonial Williamsburg, matter: because it’s what I can afford.)
Let’s get our priorities in line. Critiquing celebrities is FUN, yes, but not to the extent where you have to twist someone’s earnest intentions and actions 360 degrees just to make yourself feel better on a boring Monday. What matters, really, is what happened to the Gulf and to the people who died.
Makes me so sad. Let’s spend the energy against BP, okay?
Shawna,
I am a close relative to a high level oil executive (not BP). Oil companies are often demonized in the media and by the public at large. Yet nearly every facet of our existence has become dependent on oil. Food in grocery stores are shipped, clothing is shipped, heating our houses, etc.etc.etc. so much so that if our oil supply were to dry up, there would be mass chaos, starvation, etc. Everybody feels terrible about this spill. I especially ache for all the animals.
“you have to twist someone’s earnest intentions and actions 360 degrees just to make yourself feel better on a boring Monday” is quite a naive and uninformed comment. Brad Pitt’s wishing death on another person for screwing up there inherently,risky job that he benefits enormously from is an absolute vicious comment. It is pompous, self-righteous and stupid. He knew it would get the attention it did and he didn’t care. So, if he wants to judge another’s actions in the public, then he is fair game too.
Um, yeee-aaah, Brad PITT is the bad guy in all this. Stone the motherfucker for using a turn of phrase (and you ALL know it was) to say someone needs to pay big for what’s been done in the Gulf.
uh huh
I agree with: mln, a, Kitten, mslewis and Moreaces. Great comments guys, I agree with everything you have said.
No matter what this man says a certain group is going to try and crucify him over it. At least he has an actual opinion about something and isn’t just some bimbo who has nothing to say about anything. I agree with him actually. His sentiments are right.
Shawna,
Here’s another little oil inside info you and Brad can chew on. A close dear friend (an oil exec!) who brought me flowers in the hospital when i was a kid died a horrible death from cancer that he most likely contacted by working around oil refineries. His replacement got the exact same cancer a few years later. Brad and his brood can live in clean, “green” houses while consuming obscene amounts of oil flying all over the world just as long as he doesn’t have to get his own hands dirty. What an ass.
All the oil execs I knew growing up — and I knew alot – ALL of them stayed married to the same woman.
stayed married doesn’t mean they dont have side pieces
Just a small point. The spill and the deaths it caused may never have happened if George W Bush didn’t de-regulate the oil industry thus allowing them to do anything they wanted without anyone checking up on them and making sure their practices were safe
Shoe_Lover, have you heard, Bush isn’t the president anymore. The election was back in 2008.
You’re talkin’ old history. The Dems control the House, the Senate, and the White House.
Time to grow up. The politicians who are in office are responsible for what they do…or don’t do.
So Mimi’s point is that she knows an oil exec and they were a good person, therefore all oil execs all good and don’t deserve the shit they get when bad things happen?
Also, methinks Katija doesn’t understand what “sodomize” means.
No GatsbyGirl,
That’s a very simplistic summarization – just trying to present both sides..not that it would matter to you. Go ahead, hate ’em. Kill ’em. And don’t forget to fill ‘er up at the gas station.
Oil companies have financed and supported some wars in Africa just to get the market when the country government didn’t want them.
They are not the devil but to say that those big corporations are innocent is false.
They have blood on their hands, the same way that the diamond industry has and not just by spilling their oil in the ocean, they also indulge somehow in the destabilization of weak governments baking and financing rebel groups to take over one country so that they can get access tio their oil and eject their fellow competitor.
nnn,
not denying what you’re saying – not saying its true. But, our entire way of life is based on oil. So, by your logic, we all have blood on our hands.
no, we dont, we don’t go paying money to african renegates to destabilize an african country by killing some people so that the company can have that market for its own benefit.
This is a personal decision by individuals in those companies for their extra benefits and their own pockets, especially since that oil isn’t even the one we use in the US or in europe when i am from.
The oil used in the US and in Europe is mainly from american and us friendly middle eastern countries.
Oh, are we talking about who’s in favor of the death penalty and what for? Okay, here goes:
I’m usually against it, but I’d make an exception in the following cases:
Rape and murder of a child
Torture murder
Contract killing
Genocide
aww, you just hate him cos he’s Brad Pitt!
Another liberal douchetard actor spouting off about the injustice of it all.
Please stay in your fantasy land and SHUT UP!!
I’m with you Cheyenne, but I would say rape and murder of anyone scores the death penalty, not just kids.
i am so for the death penalty…….just saying!!!! and just because some1 stays married, means he has a side piece….seriously????
@Mimi, thanks for your side of the argument. I definitely am not trying to demonize all oil companies (although about many, you CAN find out very bad things they did), but in this case, BP has a documented history of gross negligence. The BP employees who ignored safety precautions should be fined or jailed.
How can we let companies put everyone – everyone in the globe, given our globalized world – in jeopardy and not have to pay for it?
It seems like the people you have encountered are trying to make amends. But diminishing carcinogenic work environments in the first place is better than flowers after the fact. One of my research specialties is the Industrial Revolution in Britain, the history of which is littered with the consciences of bosses who decided it wasn’t worth the investment to make mines safer, or huge machines less likely to slice arms off, or ventilate their factories better. The arguments big bosses use to claim that they couldn’t possibly make their workplaces safer are largely BS and are designed to maintain the status quo and maximize profits.
If the work places of today are this dangerous, then we should reconsider our dependence on oil. Your response assumed that I luv oil. I don’t. I walk two miles to work and back and diminish my driving as much as possible, and I have a very small car (a Honda fit). Before this car, I had another small, efficient vehicle. I limit my dependence on truckers by buying as few new goods as possible and by buying local dairy, meats, cheeses, vegetables, fruits, and breads. Politically, I support candidates who support research into other energy sources. And my personal battle is not ordering so many books from Amazon: getting those trucks to deliver my books is my personal “oil problem,” and I’m working on it.
So, although I think you are right to question the public’s apparent willingness to accept oil’s costs until a spill occurs, please do not assume that I am a person who, so long as there’s not a spill, freely consumes oil without understanding the havoc it wreaks.
@bite me:”stayed married doesn’t mean they dont have side pieces” 🙂
August 23rd, 2010 at 7:33
How much do you pay for motor oil change?