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A coalition of organizations is calling for another demonstration today against BP(aka British Petroleum) at the downtown Berkeley building site of UC’s new Helios building, which will house joint BP-UC research projects funded by BP’s $500 million grant to UC Berkeley. 

Organizers blame BP for the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and they call for complete reimbursement of damages caused by the oil spill, including 

1. restoration of the damaged Gulf environment, now and for the next 20years; 

2. compensation for workers and businesses; and 

3. complete retesting of all offshore oil rigs. 

The action is planned for today,Thursday, May 27, from 11 :30 a.m. to 1 :00 p.m., near the site of the BP Helios Building in front of the UC Campus at University Ave. and Oxford St., in Berkeley. 

It is supported by the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism, Peace and Freedom Party (State Central Committee), Communist Party of N. Cal, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (East Bay Chapter), the California Green Party Berkeley City Councilmembers Kriss Worthington, Jesse Arreguin, and Max Anderson and Berkeley School Board member John Selawsky, among others. 

Nathan Pitt has supplied the Planet with video footage of a previous protest outside the Helios construction site which appears in this week’s Reader Commentary section .