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Hidden with code "Submitted as Feature" |
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News :: Social Welfare |
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Banners Dropped Today Against Biolab |
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by Op: Over Participant
(No verified email address) |
25 Jul 2006
Modified: 02:21:06 AM |
On Monday, July 24, Operation: Over participants hung two anti-biolab banners on bridges over the Mass Pike and Route 128. The banners were dropped at the beginning of evening rush hour.
In other biolab news, there will be a court hearing at 1:30pm this Wednesday,the 26th, for the lawsuit against the National Institute of Health, which is one of three lawsuits alleging the illegality of the proposed lab. Roxbury SafetyNet folks are urging people to come out for this, and so is Operation: Over. |
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“We dropped the banners in the suburbs because this is not just an issue for Bostonians. The B.U. biolab will effect all of us, especially if something goes wrong,” said one of the participants. “Considering that Boston University has over 80 environmental violations in the past three years and that leaks have occurred at similar labs around the country, it isn’t too farfetched that something would go wrong,” he continued.
At the same time as this action, others were taking part in Operation: Over’s second death procession in downtown Boston and spreading the word about the biolab on the streets. Dressed as the dead, they informed people about the dangers of having a biolab in the city.
This isn’t the first time Operation: Over has dropped banners off of bridges during rush hour: two anti-biolab banners were hung together this spring in Boston that read “Keep Ebola out of Boston” and “Stop the B.U. Biolab”. Another was dropped off of a B.U. building while school was still in session.
Two banners today were intended to be hung together, the first reading "B.U. plans to build a Level 4 biolab in Boston" and the second stating "That means ebola, the plague, and anthrax 8 miles from here." The first was hung on a bridge in Newton over Rt. 128, but unfortunately before the second banner was dropped from the next bridge (around 20 minutes later) two police cruisers had shown up at the first banner.
When called, the highway and transportation department stated that there is no law against hanging banners as long as it does not obstruct signs or pose any danger to motorists. Despite this, banners that do not read "Welcome home Sgt. ___" are usually removed by someone, though never with the haste displayed today.
Plans to hang the second banner in the pair were scrapped, but this did not keep participants from continuing on to Weston, where they hung a banner reading "No to the Biolab" over the Mass Pike in the middle of rush hour.
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In other biolab news, there will be a court hearing at 1:30pm this Wednesday,the 26th, for the lawsuit against the National Institute of Health, which is one of three lawsuits alleging the illegality of the proposed lab. Roxbury SafetyNet folks are urging people to come out for this, and so is Operation: Over.
The hearing is at the Joe Moakley Federal Courthouse, One Courthouse Way, Boston.
Courtroom of Judge Patti B. Saris.
MBTA Directions:
Red Line to South Station. Follow Signs to Silver Line. Take Silver Line to Courthouse Station.
The Operation: Over website has been recently updated and will be again soon so keep checking back! |
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See also:
http://www.operationover.freeyouth.net
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Copyright by the author. All rights reserved. |
