On Tuesday, June 29, with less than 24 hours notice, a small but determined group braved the rain and stood in front of the New Orleans Unified Command Center to protest Vice President Joe Biden's visit and his tour of the Gulf. A tour which aimed at spreading the lie that the government is doing all it can to stop this disaster. As the motorcade drove up to the command center, protesters were right out in front with banners: "The People Must Act to Stop the Gulf Oil Catastrophe" and "Gulf Oil Disaster: System Not Fit to Be Caretaker of the Planet."
People from nearby stores came out to see what was going on, and applauded the protest as it marched through, flyering the crowd with the Mission Statement and Demands from the Gulf Emergency Summit. The mainstream media walked quickly past the protesters and into the building, showing little interest in even taking a flyer/press release from the group that had gathered. The protest was called for by the Emergency Committee to Stop the Gulf Oil Disaster (www.stopgulfoildisaster.org).
The action flowed from the Committee's mission of facing the catastrophe in all its enormity, recognizing the stakes for the planet, and acting accordingly by mobilizing a society wide battle -- with all hands on deck to fight on all fronts to stop this catastrophe. Much more of this spirit -- and much more active resistance and organizing independent of the government and BP -- is urgently needed.
The demonstration was mentioned in the Times Picuyne and by UPI:
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