Dow vs. Parody

tres3 writes "I stumbled across this item on Wired about Verio cutting off The Thing's Internet access after seven years of service. It seems that The Yes Men have upset DOW Chemical with their parody press release concerning a poison gas leak at the Union Carbide plant (now owned by Dow) in Bhopal, India, in 1984, that killed thousands. It was posted by RTMark.com, one of hundreds of customers (mostly artists and political activists) of The Thing, but has gone missing following the DMCA claims by DOW. Some European sites are now hosting the site here and here (slightly different). What really sent me into orbit was Dow's response to all of this. While writing this submission I noticed that I have become a victim of The Yes Men and "Dow's" response is actually one of their parodies! :-) The story is still valid but the only thing I could find that really came from DOW was the DMCA complaint (pdf) to Verio. To add insult to injury (and death (pun intended)) Dow has committed a reprehensible act, even for corporate America, by suing the survivors for ten years of income ($10,000) for protesting Dow's failure to clean up the mess. Greenpeace has set up a site for you to protest this action." We did an earlier story on this.

Comments

Re:The Yes Men could be at fault

[Henry V .009]

Oh, God. Copying a website and changing it in small ways for humorous result. That wouldn't be something called parody would it? I've heard of parody. It sounds awful. I hope it's banned. I'm going to write my Congressman asking for a new division of the police force especially designed to break into people's houses looking for this thing called parody. I mean, a company could actually lose PROFIT over a thing like this!

USA - the world's biggest polluter. So what's new?

[WIAKywbfatw]

The United States is the world's biggest polluter. This isn't trolling. This isn't flaming. This is fact.

Four percent of the world's population, 25 percent of the pollution. Way to go, USA.

Recent American achievements in the "who cares if your kids got asthma?" race:

• Torpedoing any serious effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions in the 1997 Kyoto agreement (thanks, Bill Clinton).
• Later reneging on America's commitment to ratify that agreement, despite the fact that 178 other nations have done so (thanks, George W. Bush).
• Failing to tackle arsenic pollution in its own drinking water (currently at levels way above those that would be illegal in Europe and elsewhere) until 2004 (thanks again, Bill).
• Attempting to reverse that legislation, only to have it blow up in his face (thanks again, Dubya).
• Allowing Alcoa, the world's third largest Aluminium maker, to profit from a loophole in Texas environmental laws by further polluting that state with 60,000 tons of sulphur dioxide each year (from which Paul O'Neill, Dubya's Secretary to the Treasury profited).
• Cutting funding for research into cleaner, more fuel efficient cars by 28% (Dubya again).
• Reversing an age-old bi-partisan policy of demanding more fuel effieciency from car makers (Bill again).
• Carrying on that policy (Dubya again).
• Exempting SUVs from having to meet the same minimum mileage requirements of other cars (Bill again).
• Cancelling the 2004 deadline for car makers to develop prototype high-mileage cars (Dubya again).
• Breaking a campaign promise to invest $100 million into rain forest conservation (Dubya again).
• Vetoing a proposal to increase public access to information about the potential consequences of chemical plant accidents (Dubya again).
• Refusing to honour an international accord to enforce a 1972 treaty banning germ warfare (Dubya again).
• Cutting $500 million from the Environmental Protection Agency's budget (Dubya again).
• Ignoring campaign promises to regulate carbon dioxide emissions (Dubya again).
• Proposing the opening up of previously unspoilt national monuments in Alaska and elsewhere in the hunt for yet more coal, oil and gas (Dubya again).
• Permitting oil and gas developments off the coast of Florida and in Montana forests (Dubya again).
• Attempting to reverse legislation protecting 60 million acres of national forest from logging and road building (Dubya again).
• Promoting the development of "mini-nukes, in direct violation of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (Dubya again).
• 
  
  The list goes on and on.
  
  Not only is the US the world's biggest polluter, it's also the world's biggest consumer. Per capita, Americans use more energy, more oil, more gas than any other nation in the world.
  
  Even the most patriotic simpleton has got to see that this isn't something to be proud of - if nothing else, the shit's going to hit the fan sooner or later. Why not try and do something about it?