Ban On Photographing Near Gulf Oil Booms

boombaard writes "The day before yesterday CNN's Anderson Cooper reported that, from now on, there is a new rule in effect, which de facto bars photographers from coming within 65 feet of any deployed boom or response vessel around Deepwater Horizon (official announcement). The rule, announced by the US Coast Guard, forbids 'photographers and reporters and anyone else from coming within 65 feet of any response vessel or booms out on the water or on beaches. In order to get closer, you have to get direct permission from the Coast Guard captain of the Port of New Orleans,' while 'violators could face a fine of $40,000 and Class D felony charges. What's even more extraordinary is that the Coast Guard tried to make the exclusion zone 300 feet, before scaling it back to 65 feet.'" Read below for the Coast Guard's statement on the new rule. "The Coast Guard Captain of the Port of New Orleans has delegated authority to the Coast Guard Incident Commander in Houma to allow access to the safety zones placed around all Deepwater Horizon booming operations in Southeast Louisiana. The Coast Guard Incident Commander will ensure the safety of the members and equipment of the response before access is granted. The safety zone has been put in place to prevent vandalism to boom and to protect the members and equipment of the response effort by limiting access to, and through, deployed protective boom."

Comments

Re:20m, not 65 feet

[bigstrat2003]

If it's so easy to do the conversion, do it yourself rather than complain that a story about US policy, regarding an event happening right by the US, is using US units of measurement. If this were a story stemming from a nation where metric was the norm, I might agree with you... as it is, you're just being silly, and coming off as someone trying to pick a fight.

Honestly, I don't know WTF the rest of the world's obsessions is with our units of measurement. It's our own fucking business, leave it be already. I don't go and bother other countries that they shouldn't be using the metric system because "that's not what I use here, so it would be easier for me". It's their call what to use in their own country.

Re:Alternative interpretation of Summary Title

[Rophuine]

Except the comments have pretty much already established that the summary title was a load of shit. Thus, your alternative interpretation of a load of shit becomes, I suppose, a pile of turd.

Re:take a look around fark's politics section

[Anonymous Coward]

There's something below Fox News in integrity? That's very difficult to imagine -

slashdot.