Saturday kicked off two weeks of sit-ins in Washington, D.C. for thousands of activists fighting the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.
On the first day, over 70 people were arrested at the White House fence, including protest organizer Bill McKibben.
Tar Sands Action is fighting against the Keystone XL pipeline, which is a pipeline from the tar sands in Canada to refineries on the Gulf of Mexico. Protestors are asking President Obama to reject a permit for the pipeline. According to the organization, the pipeline "will send 900,000 barrels a day of the world’s dirtiest oil to US refineries, allowing further development of the Alberta tar sands – development which could mean ‘game over’ for the climate in the word’s of NASA’s James Hansen."
Reminds me of when Chris Hedges led a protest in front of the White House over the Iraq and Afghanistan wars a few months ago and also got arrested. Given how hostile Americans have become trained to be at any form of protest (unless they are teabaggers), it's a pretty futile gesture.
But I greatly admire them for trying.
You can't stop what's coming. It ain't all waiting on you. That's vanity.
The Park Police were especially concerned that sit-ins would continue during the week of events beginning on August 28 surrounding the dedication of a new memorial to civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., one of the greatest exponents of creative nonviolence.
You know it gets serious when celebrities get involved.
ENTERTAINMENT CELEBRITIES
‘Lois Lane’ arrested at oil protest
Superman wasn't there to save Lois Lane when she ran into trouble outside the White House Tuesday morning.
Canadian actress Margot Kidder, who played the love interest in four of the five Superman films, was arrested in Washington, D.C. along with others protesting America's support of the Calgary-based TransCanada Corp.'s Keystone XL pipeline project.
The $7 billion project is planned to move oil from Alberta to the Gulf Coast and protestors are hoping to convince President Barack Obama to scuttle the plan.
The Washington Post reported the 62-year-old actress joined 20-30 others for a sit-in when U.S. park police arrived to break it up and toss the lot of them into the back of a paddy wagon.
As another 56 people headed to jail today in the largest civil disobedience protests in the environmental movement’s recent history, the leaders of groups as diverse as Greenpeace and the Environmental Defence Fund told the president, “there is not an inch of daylight between our policy position on the Keystone XL pipeline, and those of the protesters being arrested daily outside the White House.”
The letter to President Obama
Dear President Obama:
Many of the organizations we head do not engage in civil disobedience; some do. Regardless, speaking as individuals, we want to let you know that there is not an inch of daylight between our policy position on the Keystone Pipeline and those of the very civil protesters being arrested daily outside the White House. This is a terrible project–many of the country’s leading climate scientists have explained why in their letter last month to you. It risks many of our national treasures to leaks and spills. And it reduces incentives to make the transition to job-creating clean fuels.
You have a clear shot to deny the permit, without any interference from Congress. It’s perhaps the biggest climate test you face between now and the election. If you block it, you will trigger a surge of enthusiasm from the green base that supported you so strongly in the last election. We expect nothing less.
Sincerely,
Fred Krupp, Environmental Defense Fund
Michael Brune, Sierra Club
Frances Beinecke, Natural Resources Defense Council
Phil Radford, Greenpeace
Larry Schweiger, National Wildlife Federation
Erich Pica, Friends of the Earth
Rebecca Tarbotton, Rainforest Action Network
May Boeve, 350.org
Gene Karpinski, League of Conservation Voters
As of Wednesday, August 23, 275 people have been arrested at the White House protesting the Keystone XL pipeline.
Ah yes , protest in front of the White House in August when the congress is on summer recess and the president is playing golf on Martha's Vineyard. A strategy that is bound to work.
Here's an update: http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/08/2 ... ine-fight/[/quote]
Wait tell Congress comes back and protest where they can see the crowd and hear the displeasure. Go to the political campaign rallies and ask pointed questions. Raise a lot of money on the Internet and spend it getting a right thinking candidate elected.
That last one will really get their attention as money is the mothers milk of politics.
Yes indeed, but wasn't the point of the timing for this fortnight of protest because it ends on the day the President is due to take a critical decision (when he gets back from the golf I suppose)?
Ah yes , protest in front of the White House in August when the congress is on summer recess and the president is playing golf on Martha's Vineyard. A strategy that is bound to work. 
