Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

Following the advice of positive thinking gurus the world over, BP's PR team is in overdrive turning a tragedy into good news (http://blogs.wsj.com/source/2010/06/22/bp-magazine-discovers-a-bright-side-to-the-oil-spill/). The company's online, in house magazine, in fact, reports "Much of the region's [nonfishing boat] businesses — particularly the hotels — have been prospering because so many people have come here from BP and other oil emergency response teams." The glowing article continues with a quote from a Gulf seafood entrepreneur who points out that oil is THE industry in the region: "There is no reason to hate BP." Screw contrition, let's just pretend an oil spill already eight times as big as Exxon Valdez is a boom to the Gulf economy. CEO Hayward who was lambasted by some Congressmen (and apologized to by others) last week decided to take the weekend off to attend a Yacht race before heading out to Russia to convince Medvedev that BP is still a good company, before taking a bath in caviar and Crystal.