11-15-2007, 01:02 AM
dvorak.org
Thereââ¬â¢s a weird story brewing over at Fire Dog Lake about the worst oil spill ever to hit San Fransiscoââ¬â¢s Bay. First, volunteers are being told not to help.
Hundreds of would-be oil spill cleanup volunteers who wanted to do something were told on Saturday in San Francisco to go home and do nothing.
Spilled oil is just too dangerous for ordinary citizens to clean up, the experts said.
Even more strange, volunteers are being made to sign ââ¬Åloyalty oathsââ¬Â before being sent home!
At the volunteer meeting, everyone at the gathering was given an official-looking state volunteer application to fill out, complete with a loyalty oath.
And if that isnââ¬â¢t odd enough, the state of California is arresting volunteers who are cleaning up public areas of their own state!
Beth Brown of San Francisco said she and her boyfriend spent about 15 minutes cleaning Baker Beach on Saturday morning, filling a couple of plastic bags with oily clumps. Then a park ranger and a cop appeared, told her the beach was closed and threatened them with arrest.
It was much the same in Marin County, where Sigward Moser led a 30-person volunteer group - including 20 monks-in-training from the Mill Valley Zen Center - onto Muir Beach on Friday. For his efforts, he was detained and handcuffed.
ââ¬ÅHe asked us to leave, and we said we needed to do what we were doing, so he put me in handcuffs,ââ¬Â said Moser, a communications consultant. ââ¬ÅI told him, ââ¬ËWell, there was nobody else doing the cleanup before we began,ââ¬â¢ but he just said I was breaking the law and this is hazardous material that I shouldnââ¬â¢t be dealing with.ââ¬Â
http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=14522=
Thereââ¬â¢s a weird story brewing over at Fire Dog Lake about the worst oil spill ever to hit San Fransiscoââ¬â¢s Bay. First, volunteers are being told not to help.
Hundreds of would-be oil spill cleanup volunteers who wanted to do something were told on Saturday in San Francisco to go home and do nothing.
Spilled oil is just too dangerous for ordinary citizens to clean up, the experts said.
Even more strange, volunteers are being made to sign ââ¬Åloyalty oathsââ¬Â before being sent home!
At the volunteer meeting, everyone at the gathering was given an official-looking state volunteer application to fill out, complete with a loyalty oath.
And if that isnââ¬â¢t odd enough, the state of California is arresting volunteers who are cleaning up public areas of their own state!
Beth Brown of San Francisco said she and her boyfriend spent about 15 minutes cleaning Baker Beach on Saturday morning, filling a couple of plastic bags with oily clumps. Then a park ranger and a cop appeared, told her the beach was closed and threatened them with arrest.
It was much the same in Marin County, where Sigward Moser led a 30-person volunteer group - including 20 monks-in-training from the Mill Valley Zen Center - onto Muir Beach on Friday. For his efforts, he was detained and handcuffed.
ââ¬ÅHe asked us to leave, and we said we needed to do what we were doing, so he put me in handcuffs,ââ¬Â said Moser, a communications consultant. ââ¬ÅI told him, ââ¬ËWell, there was nobody else doing the cleanup before we began,ââ¬â¢ but he just said I was breaking the law and this is hazardous material that I shouldnââ¬â¢t be dealing with.ââ¬Â
http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=14522=
