Protesters march to coal mining company's Richmond headquarters

[struggle4progress]

Saturday, July 9, 2005 6:16 PM CDT



RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Hoisting bed sheet flags and paper puppets, roughly 200 protesters marched to Massey Energy Co.'s headquarters Friday, full of sound and fury signifying - at least they hoped - a change in West Virginia coal mining processes.

Led by the Mountain Justice Summer campaign, it marked the latest showdown between the nation's fourth-largest coal mining company and the environmentalists accusing them of unsafe mining practices.

At the heart of the conflict is mountain top removal. The process involves blasting rock and dirt from mountain tops to expose precious ribbons of coal underneath. The leftover dirt is then deposited in nearby stream beds.

About 75 percent of Massey's coal mines are in West Virginia, said Katharine Kenny, vice president of investor relations. She estimated 67 percent of U.S. coal is produced through surface mining methods, which are cleaner and safer than ever. <snip>

http://www.picayuneitem.com/articles/2005/07/10/news/30coal.txt

[hatrack]

1. Why do these protesters hate freedom?

That's the only question I want answered! :sarcasm:

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

2. I witnessed this. One of the protesters wanted to interview me

about it (she was a student w/ a video camera), but I knew nothing about what the issue was so I wasn't prepared. I didn't want to look like a blathering idiot, but after asking her to explain the issue I told her I supported their efforts. I felt like a bonehead.

They stopped right in front of the Richmond Times Dispatch (or "Disgrace" as I call them; they're very conservative); they ran the story as "breaking news" on their website) and said there were about 300 protesters. They had puppets, signs, etc.).

Here's their article:

http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031783738485

<snip>

RAISING THEIR VOICES: Protest targets Massey
300 demonstrators rallied against the coal company's practices in Appalachia

BY GREG EDWARDS AND PAIGE AKIN
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITERS Jul 9, 2005

A four-hour demonstration in downtown Richmond against "mountain-top removal" strip mining, held in sympathy with protests at the G-8 meeting in Scotland, ended without incident yesterday.

For a while, it appeared it might not turn out that way.
About 20 protesters lay down on Fourth Street in front of Massey Energy Co.'s office with the intention of going to jail. Three of them stayed for two hours on the sidewalk with their arms bound together inside PVC piping to make it difficult to be hauled away.

But arrests for the planned civil disobedience were avoided when Massey sent two security guards to pick up a list of the demonstrators' demands.

A police squad equipped with riot gear at Fourth and Franklin, four horse-mounted officers and several other officers in the vicinity were readying to move in on the thinning crowd when the protest was called off about 4.

<snip>

[WhiteTara]

3. kick

:kick: