White House protest against oil pipeline ends with hundreds arrested

[News_Editor]

White House protest against oil pipeline ends with hundreds arrested

2011-09-04 05:54:57 GMT+7 (ICT)

WASHINGTON (BNO NEWS) -- A two-week demonstration outside the White House against a planned pipeline stretching from Canada through East Texas wrapped up on Saturday after hundreds of arrests.

Tar Sands Action, the group organizing the protest, said in a statement that over the course of the two-week sit-in, 1,252 Americans were arrested. Among those arrested were top climate scientists, former White House official Gus Speth, NASA scientist Dr. James Hansen, actress Daryl Hannah, and author Naomi Klein.

Bill McKibben, who spearheaded the protest and was also arrested, said that the group will intensify a nationwide campaign to push President Barack Obama to deny the permit for the new oil pipeline. "That movement is being born right here in front of the White House and reverberating around the country," he said.

The group has said that the Keystone pipeline is among the most important environmental decisions that confront the president. "President Obama must decide whether or not to grant a 'presidential permit' for a Canadian company, TransCanada, to begin construction of the Keystone XL, a 1,700 mile (2735 kilometers) pipeline from the Canadian tar sands to refineries on the Gulf of Mexico," the organization said in a statement.

A petition with 617,428 names opposing the pipeline was delivered to the White House on Saturday, the organization said. Thousands are expected to descend on Washington, D.C., for the final State Department hearing on the Keystone pipeline on October 7.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-09-04

[chuckd]

I wonder how many high paying jobs this proposed pipeline would generate in the US.

I think we need those jobs much more than worrying about saving some obscure beetles.

[spidermike007]

Though the country is supposedly a democracy, there has been a tremendous erosion of press freedom over the past several years, and now it may the beginning of the end, of the right of Americans to protest. It takes a lot to begin with, as most Americans are numbed by TV, to get them out there. If they start arresting them, that may be the beginning of the end of democracy as we know it. The US should stop preaching democracy, if it is unwilling to practice it, itself. All this is coming from an American, just so you know.

[drdoom6996]

<br />I wonder how many high paying jobs this proposed pipeline would generate in the US.<br /><br />I think we need those jobs much more than worrying about saving some obscure beetles.<br />

<br /><br /><br />

It will never happen. In the Colorado/Wyoming region there are more oil reserves than in Saudi Arabia. Remember what happened there. The Spotted Owl Man. Drill there and never import another barrel of oil into the US. Some people, no matter race color or creed belong in the line marked STUPID.

[chuckd]

<br />I wonder how many high paying jobs this proposed pipeline would generate in the US.<br /><br />I think we need those jobs much more than worrying about saving some obscure beetles.<br />

<br /><br /><br />

It will never happen. In the Colorado/Wyoming region there are more oil reserves than in Saudi Arabia. Remember what happened there. The Spotted Owl Man. Drill there and never import another barrel of oil into the US. Some people, no matter race color or creed belong in the line marked STUPID.

Agreed. It won't happen during the current administration but there is always hope for the future.

[Jingthing]

Protest is totally legal in the US. Often, you need a permit for a large gathering. It is not hard to get one. You always can't break the law during the protest. For example, blocking traffic or taking over entire districts like the redshirts here did. In that case, the police will move in, give a warning, and then make arrests. That's what happened -- the protesters refused to follow a lawful order. I reckon they did this deliberately to get more media. It worked. BTW -- I support their cause but don't get carried away and claim you can't protest in the US without getting arrested.

Edited September 4, 2011 by Jingthing

[Scott]

One off-topic post deleted. Please stay on the topic.

[rakman]

Though the country is supposedly a democracy, there has been a tremendous erosion of press freedom over the past several years, and now it may the beginning of the end, of the right of Americans to protest. It takes a lot to begin with, as most Americans are numbed by TV, to get them out there. If they start arresting them, that may be the beginning of the end of democracy as we know it. The US should stop preaching democracy, if it is unwilling to practice it, itself. All this is coming from an American, just so you know.

The US is not a democracy (mob rule), it's a republic (with the rule of law).

Its often confused.

[Jingthing]

Though the country is supposedly a democracy, there has been a tremendous erosion of press freedom over the past several years, and now it may the beginning of the end, of the right of Americans to protest. It takes a lot to begin with, as most Americans are numbed by TV, to get them out there. If they start arresting them, that may be the beginning of the end of democracy as we know it. The US should stop preaching democracy, if it is unwilling to practice it, itself. All this is coming from an American, just so you know.

The US is not a democracy (mob rule), it's a republic (with the rule of law).

Its often confused.

Not exactly. I think Wiki is good on this one --

The United States is the world's oldest surviving federation. It is a constitutional republic and representative democracy, "in which majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by law".

Edited September 4, 2011 by Jingthing