Thursday, February 14, 2013

RFK, Jr. Arrested at White House


RFK, Jr. ARRESTED at WHITE HOUSE 





RFK Jr. arrested with 'Blade Runner' actress Daryl Hannah at White House protest
FEBRUARY 14, 2013






RFK, Jr. was arrested along with "Blade Runner" actress Daryl Hannah at a White House protest on Feb. 13, 2013. The son of the late Robert F. Kennedy and the former girlfriend of the late John F. Kennedy, Jr. were just two of the famous faces among those arrested at the protest against the Keystone oil pipeline, according to New York Daily News.

Activists from the Sierra Club cuffed themselves to a gate at the White House during the protest just prior to being arrested. RFK, Jr. was arrested after speaking to the crowd about the pipeline, which opponents say will contribute to global warming while transporting "dirty oil" from Canada to Texas Gulf Coast refineries. Protesters are also concerned about the potential for an oil spill along the proposed Keystone oil pipeline.
RFK, Jr. was arrested along with his son Conor Kennedy also. Conor was in the headlines quite a bit last year thanks to a whirlwind romance with country songbird Taylor Swift, but their relationship ended just as quickly as it began.

Tracey PareceBoston Celebrity Examiner

Tracey Parece is a professional writer, editor and photographer from Boston, MA who just happens to be an ordained minister. She has written thousands of articles on various topics for Examiner.com where she covers everything from UFO sightings and paranormal activity to romance and celebrity...





Daryl Hannah, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. arrested at White House protest against Keystone oil pipeline 

The 'Blade Runner' actress and political scion were arrested with activists from the Sierra Club protesting the $7 billion oil pipeline. The protesters tied themselves to the White House gate before they were arrested.


Prominent environmental leaders, including the head of the Sierra Club, were arrested Wednesday after tying themselves to the White House gate to protest the Keystone XL oil pipeline.

Executive director Michael Brune is the first Sierra Club leader in the group's 120-year history to be arrested in an act of civil disobedience. The club's board of directors approved the action as a sign of their opposition to the $7 billion pipeline, which would carry oil derived from tar sands in western Canada to refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast.

Activist Bill McKibben, actress Daryl Hannah, civil rights leader Julian Bond and environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also were arrested Wednesday, along with several dozen other activists.

The protesters are demanding that President Barack Obama reject the pipeline, which they say would carry "dirty oil" that contributes to global warming. They also worry about a spill.

Many business and labor groups support the 1,700-mile pipeline as a source of jobs and a step toward North American energy independence.

The 4-year-old project has become a flashpoint in the debate over climate change, with opponents labeling it a "carbon bomb" that could trigger global warming. Supporters call that rhetoric overblown and say Obama should approve the pipeline as part of his "all of the above" energy policy, which encourages a wide range of domestic energy development.

The high-profile protest came as the American Petroleum Institute is making a renewed push to convince President Obama to approve the project.

In an interview before his arrest, Brune said it was important that he engage in civil disobedience to show the depth of opposition to the pipeline among Sierra Club members. The club is the oldest and largest environmental group in the United States.
"We want to send a strong message that we expect the president's ambitions to meet the scale of the challenge and reject a pipeline that carries dirty, thick oil" that contributes to global warming, Brune said. The president's supporters want Obama to "fight with both fists" against climate change, Brune said.

Obama has called climate change a serious threat and urged Congress to combat the phenomenon in his State of the Union speech Tuesday night. If Congress fails to act, he will use executive authority to take steps to cut greenhouse gas pollution and encourage increased use of cleaner sources of energy, Obama said.

Obama has twice thwarted the Keystone XL pipeline because of concerns over its route through sensitive land in Nebraska, but has not indicated how he will decide on the pipeline now that Nebraska's governor has approved a new route. The State Department has authority over the project, because it crosses an international border, but most observers expect Obama to make the final decision.

Wednesday's protest came hours before the American Petroleum Institute, the largest lobbying group for the oil industry, again urged Obama to approve the project. The group said it will pay for ads supporting the pipeline and will mobilize grassroots events across the country urging Obama's approval.



RFK Jr., Daryl Hannah among 48 arrested at KXL protest


Media cameras and reporters outnumbered participants during the protest — a far cry from the 2011 protests.

“It feels odd to be back,” said Bill McKibben of the climate activist group 350.org, who had organized the earlier sit-ins. “Eighteen months ago, no one knew about the Keystone XL pipeline. I spent all of my time just explaining what it was. The other day, Daniel Yergin, the noted energy historian, said this was the most famous pipeline in history, and it hasn’t even been built yet. So in that way, we did our job if nothing else.”

For all the raised awareness about Keystone, President Barack Obama has stayed mum on the pipeline proposal, which is being reviewed by the State Department. Secretary of State John Kerry — known as a climate hawk during his years in the Senate — has refused to tip his hand since taking the helm at State, vowing only to follow the review process put in place under his predecessor, Hillary Clinton.

Obama didn’t mention the pipeline during his State of the Union address Tuesday evening, but he spoke extensively about the responsibility to do more to combat global warming.

The tough talk seemed to warm some hearts and puzzle others at the rally.

“Nobody talked about climate change in the campaign, so it was good to hear him say it,” said Bond, the NAACP’s chairman emeritus. “But now we want to see some action. We want to see him do something about the things he talked about so eloquently.”

Bond said the NAACP got involved because climate change isn’t just an environmental issue — it’s also a racial and human rights issue because minority communities are “mostly the victims of bad environmental policies.”

The protest is Bond’s fifth arrest in connection with civil rights, he said.

Hannah participated in the first White House Keystone arrests in 2011 and has also been arrested in Texas for protesting the pipeline.

“Unfortunately, because we haven’t responded to the crisis with the type of attention and action that we should have, we’re here again,” she said.

Protesters wearing “No KXL” buttons chanted, “Hey, Obama, we don’t want no climate drama” and “Barack Obama, yes you can stop the dirty pipeline plan” as they watched the other activists being arrested. Obama couldn’t hear the chants — he was in North Carolina visiting a factory.

Activists have kicked their efforts into high gear this week. On Monday, climate activists read and delivered an open letter and two petitions signed by roughly 280,000 people urging Obama to lay out a plan to tackle climate change. Many of the activists will return to Washington to participate in Sunday’s Presidents Day weekend rally to protest the Keystone XL pipeline. Activists from the Sierra Club, 350.org and the Hip Hop Caucus, among others, will march from the Washington Monument to the White House. That rally is projected to bring 30,000 people to the area, organizers have said.
Darius Dixon contributed to this report.

Media cameras and reporters outnumbered participants during the protest — a far cry from the 2011 protests.

“It feels odd to be back,” said Bill McKibben of the climate activist group 350.org, who had organized the earlier sit-ins. “Eighteen months ago, no one knew about the Keystone XL pipeline. I spent all of my time just explaining what it was. The other day, Daniel Yergin, the noted energy historian, said this was the most famous pipeline in history, and it hasn’t even been built yet. So in that way, we did our job if nothing else.”

For all the raised awareness about Keystone, President Barack Obama has stayed mum on the pipeline proposal, which is being reviewed by the State Department. Secretary of State John Kerry — known as a climate hawk during his years in the Senate — has refused to tip his hand since taking the helm at State, vowing only to follow the review process put in place under his predecessor, Hillary Clinton.

Obama didn’t mention the pipeline during his State of the Union address Tuesday evening, but he spoke extensively about the responsibility to do more to combat global warming.

The tough talk seemed to warm some hearts and puzzle others at the rally.
“Nobody talked about climate change in the campaign, so it was good to hear him say it,” said Bond, the NAACP’s chairman emeritus. “But now we want to see some action. We want to see him do something about the things he talked about so eloquently.”

Bond said the NAACP got involved because climate change isn’t just an environmental issue — it’s also a racial and human rights issue because minority communities are “mostly the victims of bad environmental policies.”

The protest is Bond’s fifth arrest in connection with civil rights, he said.
Hannah participated in the first White House Keystone arrests in 2011 and has also been arrested in Texas for protesting the pipeline.

“Unfortunately, because we haven’t responded to the crisis with the type of attention and action that we should have, we’re here again,” she said.

Protesters wearing “No KXL” buttons chanted, “Hey, Obama, we don’t want no climate drama” and “Barack Obama, yes you can stop the dirty pipeline plan” as they watched the other activists being arrested. Obama couldn’t hear the chants — he was in North Carolina visiting a factory.

Activists have kicked their efforts into high gear this week. On Monday, climate activists read and delivered an open letter and two petitions signed by roughly 280,000 people urging Obama to lay out a plan to tackle climate change. Many of the activists will return to Washington to participate in Sunday’s Presidents Day weekend rally to protest the Keystone XL pipeline. Activists from the Sierra Club, 350.org and the Hip Hop Caucus, among others, will march from the Washington Monument to the White House. That rally is projected to bring 30,000 people to the area, organizers have said.

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