Tech | August 31, 2011 | 44 comments

Keystone XL-NO!- Days 12&13: 706 arrests, and Obama's press secretary says he hasn't talked to him about this

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JanforGore
We just got some important evidence that this protest is working and that we’re breaking through to the mainstream media and the White House.
This morning, President Obama’s press secretary, Jake Carney, was questioned by reporters on Air Force One about our protest happening outside the White House. We’ve been trying to break through to the White House press corps for the last few days. Now, we know that we’ve struck a nerve.

Here’s the transcript from Air Force One:
Q: Also, anything on these protests outside the White House on this pipeline? Has the President decided against TransCanada’s permit for the pipeline? It’s the tar sands pipeline. There have been a lot of arrests outside the White House about it.
MR. CARNEY: I don’t have anything new on that. I believe the State Department has — that’s under the purview of the State Department presently, but I don’t have anything new on that.
Q: Is the President aware of the protests?
MR. CARNEY: I haven’t talked to him about it.

Now, here’s the thing: while it’s great to see the press corps pushing the Administration to recognize our demonstration, the fact that Carney hasn’t yet briefed the President on the protest and the pipeline is a worrying sign about how out of touch this administration is on this issue.

“Just in the last two days everyone from the president’s chief climate scientist to an 84-year-old grandmother was arrested on his front doorstep,” said environmental author Bill McKibben, who is spearheading the White House protest. “This is the largest civil disobedience action in the environmental movement in a generation, and if they really aren’t even discussing it with the president, that signals a deep disrespect for their supporters, especially young people who have demonstrated that the environment is a top priority.”

We’re going to be pushing Carney and the Administration to make sure President Obama is hearing directly from people across the country who are here in DC risking arrest, and the many hundreds of thousands more that support this cause.
more at the link
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That means either one of two things. He really hasn't told him because they already know what they are going to do and could really care less about this. Or this was just a deflection because he couldn't reveal anything more. Either way though, at least he didn't ask, what protest? He knew what was implied and that means they do know. Everyday more and more people are finding out about this and the toxic legacy it is bringing to our planet. And more and more people are standing up to say NO to this toxic carbon timebomb.

And that is because this is getting out through social media, the Internet and primarily because of the bravery and conviction of those who sit and stand in front of the White House. All of them. Some who I am sure thought long and hard of the residual effects this could have on their lives. And I thank them, because they also managed to do something I have wanted to see for a long time. They managed to bring the entire environmental movement together. I have always thought that we have not been as successful in getting this message out as we could be because we were too fragmented. Each organization with their own goals competing against each other rather then joining together for a common cause.

This now is the cause. Standing up at last for health, clean air and water, sustainability, climate balance, climate justice and the beginning of a time when our children will be able to look at us and say thank you for caring about the world they inherit from us.

This is what it is all about and President Obama, you know it too and you know what you need to do.

Keystone XL- NO!
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44 comments // Keystone XL-NO!- Days 12&13: 706 arrests, and Obama's press secretary says he hasn't talked to him about this

  • EdJoyProductions
  • JanforGore
  • JanforGore
  • JanforGore
    • +3
      JanforGore  
    • Image
    • http://www.350.org/

      This site has more information on other protests in solidarity with the DC protest. There is also a petition you can sign that will be delivered to DC on Sept.3rd and other information on how you can become involved in the climate activist movement.

    • 9 months ago
  • JanforGore
    • +3
      JanforGore  
    • Image
    • Large crowd today. First arrest made. President Obama, you don't need your press secretary to tell you about this, just look out the window!

    • 9 months ago
  • Anonmaly
    • 0
      Anonmaly  
    • I wish it were as simple as "gatekeepers"....

      The fact remains he is the president, & whether we like him or loath him he is entrusted with the safety, security, and well-being of this country... He is supposed to know what's going on, and a part of knowing is going beyond lobbyists, beyond the quite foul-able middle men/press secretaries delivering him the message...

      I realize that I've never lived in a time when a president actually took the job as seriously as he should (most of us haven't). But we should be getting beyond the moral relativism, past passing the buck, and into the nitty gritty of; We were promised "change"....

      I could run down the list of broken promises, or paste a politi-fact link and spare myself the typing...

      My point, beyond the talking points, Americans on either side of the isle are quite disappointed with his job performance, and a sacrificial press secretary won't appease the electorate gods....

    • 9 months ago
  • jubal
  • JanforGore
  • nashkildare
  • David_H
  • JanforGore
    • +2
      JanforGore  
    • David_H:

      Sorry, but regarding the effects of fossil fuels, especially tarsands, he is correct. And the "new" technologies he is pushing aren't really new, they have just been silenced by a lobby doing all in their power to control the energy markets and this conversation. And he did discuss this in length in his book Our Choice and has been discussing it for years. I think this statement was his way of showing solidarity with the protesters without appearing to try to steal any limelight regarding it.

    • 9 months ago
  • David_H
  • JanforGore
    • +2
      JanforGore  
    • David_H:

      Question: Are you here to state your feelings on this pipeline or to now derail this thread by trashing on Mr. Gore? If it's the latter, I decline to continue this conversation because actually what you mention are just old talking points that really have no merit regarding this important thread and are actually not entirely accurate. But just to add, I also don't think you have a clue about his "lifestyle" unless you follow him everywhere he goes, or you believe everything the corporate media tells you. I'll leave it at that.

    • 9 months ago
  • JanforGore
  • JanforGore
    • +1
      JanforGore  
    • Image
    • http://priceofoil.org/2011/08/31/report-exporting-energy-security-keystone-xl-ex...

      According to reports, this is an export pipeline. They would risk toxifying the heartland of America for a foreign company to use this country only as an export route!

      "Download the full report.

      In pushing for the Obama Administration’s approval of TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, the North American oil industry and its political patrons argue that the pipeline is necessary for American energy security and its construction will help wean America of dependence on Mideast oil. But a closer look at the new realities of the global oil market and at the companies who will profit from the pipeline reveals a completely different story: Keystone XL will not lessen U.S. dependence on foreign oil, but rather transport Canadian oil to American refineries for export to overseas markets.

      A new report from Oil Change International lays out the case, based on data and documents from the U.S. Energy Information Administration and the Canadian National Energy Board, corporate disclosures to regulators and investors, and analysis of the rapidly shifting oil market.

      The facts:

      •Keystone XL is an export pipeline. The Port Arthur, Texas, refiners at the end of its route are focused on expanding exports to Europe, and Latin America. Much of the fuel refined from the pipeline’s heavy crude oil will never reach U.S. drivers’ tanks.

      •Valero, the key customer for crude oil from Keystone XL, has explicitly detailed an export strategy to its investors. Because Valero’s Port Arthur refinery is in a Foreign Trade Zone, the company can carry out its strategy tax-free.

      •In a shrinking U.S. market, Keystone XL is not needed. Since the project was announced, the oil industry acknowledges that higher fuel economy standards and slow economic growth mean declining U.S. oil demand, even as domestic production is booming. Oil from Keystone XL will therefore displace American crude from new, “unconventional” domestic fields in Texas or North Dakota.

      “To issue a presidential permit for the Keystone XL, the Administration must find that the pipeline serves the national interest,” said Stephen Kretzmann, executive director of Oil Change International. “An honest assessment shows that rather than serving U.S. interests, Keystone XL serves only the interests of tar sands producers and shippers, and a few Gulf Coast refiners aiming to export the oil.”

    • 9 months ago
  • JanforGore
  • Vic_Romano
    • +1
      Vic_Romano  
    • Image
    • JanforGore:

      I really wish I could be in D.C.. I really do. I'm just very thankful for the people who have the courage to put their own liberty on the line.

      Thanks so much for posting these, JanforGore.

    • 9 months ago
  • JanforGore
  • BRAVATRAVELS
  • JanforGore
  • JanforGore
  • wolfess
    • 0
      wolfess  
    • JanforGore:

      I think another part of that puzzle is that people here in NE have been protesting the pipeline and he thinks maybe between the aquifer and the dissent he'd be wise to turn it down. Anyway, I'd like to think that our protests have had an effect :-)!!
      Pwr 2 the dissenting peons! Dismember the keystone pipeline!

    • 9 months ago
  • ptr23
  • JanforGore
  • JanforGore
    • +4
      JanforGore  
    • Kalamazoo River tarsands spill July 2010.

      And beyond the same spiel, it WILL happen again, only this time it will toxify the Ogalalla aquifer and the heartland of the US. The State Dept. has short term memory loss.

    • 9 months ago
  • JanforGore
    • +3
      JanforGore  
    • For those who will not see the ultimate price paid for not working in harmony with Mother Nature. We can have a clean energy future that works in harmony with the Earth to provide for our needs without sacrifing it all. This is also for all of those from the tribes in Alberta that respect the land to the farmers in the US banding together with people globally in solidarity for clean water, healthy soil and climate justice. Again, this is about more than the pipe that would be laid. This is also about the culture, the traditions, the spirit.

      NO to disrespecting culture.

    • 9 months ago
  • letsliveinpeace
  • figgdimension
  • dugdog47
    • +4
      dugdog47  
    • This protest has had some main steam coverage. When Darrel Hannah was arrested for sitting on the sidewalk in front of the a Whitehouse. I heard about it on C.B.S. news.

    • 9 months ago
  • bailey78
    • +4
      bailey78  
    • But if they don't put this pipeline in we will run out of oil in Texas and we will starve to death if you believe that then you are a shill for big oil.

    • 9 months ago
  • dugdog47
  • bailey78
  • dugdog47
  • bailey78
  • telcod
    • +6
      telcod  
    • Clearly one can see that the enemy is not the the Republicans. It is the Democrats and Republicans and the greedy corporate lords who guide them. "Death to every foe and traitor, rustle up the marching tune!" From "The Rising of the Moon."

    • 9 months ago
  • lazloman
    • +3
      lazloman  
    • Of course, they're promising that every precaution has been taken. Emergency response will be lightning fast. The oil will be used to help reduce our foreign dependence. Same old, same old.

    • 9 months ago
  • alexandrek
  • telcod
  • gypsysailor
  • chew_chew
  • Vic_Romano
  • JanforGore
  • JanforGore
    • +9
      JanforGore  
    • And it isn't just about the pipeline. It is about what happens before it even gets there.

      I stand with Fort Chipewyan and all those who now suffer the effects of this toxic insanity.

    • 9 months ago
  • figgdimension
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