protest high gas prices

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German man torches car to protest high gas prices
By: Associated Press

BERLIN - A German man doused his BMW with gasoline and torched it on Friday in protest at skyrocketing fuel costs, police said.

The unemployed 30-year-old man drove the black 1995 BMW 3-series sedan onto the lawn outside Frankfurt's convention center grounds at about 7:30 a.m., police spokesman Karlheinz Wagner said.

He then jumped out, emptied a canister of gas over the vehicle, and set fire to it, Wagner said.

By the time the fire department got to the scene, the car was entirely burned out.

The Bavarian man, whose name was being withheld because he has not been charged with a crime, told police that gas prices were so high he could no longer afford to drive the vehicle.

As in many countries, gasoline prices have risen steadily in Germany; a liter of regular gasoline now costs about euro1.55, or $9.40 per gallon.

Police were investigating whether the man could be charged with violating German environmental laws with the stunt, Wagner said. Penalties range from fines to five years in prison.

 

[ProtoType5]

Test complete...$9.40 a gallon...I'd burn my car too...

 

[dmention7]

I bet that showed those oil companies!!!

 

[coolmazda5]

^^ LOL, oh no, gas prices are going to plummet now! (lol2)

Oh well, last time I made numbers while traveling there it was somewhere around $7USD per gallon...

Sad, but that may yet indicate another trend in the auto industry and a real push for alternative sources of energy...

 

[GT-Mazdaspeed 6]

Two truck drivers killed as European and Asian fuel protests spread:

Two truck drivers, one in Spain and the other in Portugal, have been killed during protests against fuel price increases that have rocked Europe as well as Asia.

The disputes involving fishermen and farmers, as well as truckers, have become increasingly bitter.

Self-employed truck driver Julio Cervilla Soto was killed outside the Merca Granada wholesale market in Granada, when a van he was trying to stop ran over him. A Portuguese trucker died when trying to stop a lorry in the town of Alcanena, north of the capital Lisbon.

The strike is being waged by self-employed truck drivers, who make up an estimated 20 percent of Spain’s 380,000-strong total. They say that the larger companies are better placed to offset the 36 percent fuel price increase over the last year by lowering their charges.

Juan Antonio, who owns two trucks, told El Pais, “I get 85 cents per kilometre. Of that, around 50 cents goes on diesel. On top of that, we have to pay social security, the driver and maintenance. Just changing the tyres, something that has to be done once a year, costs 6,000 euros.”....

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/jun2008/fuel-j13.shtml

 

[angie1313]

jesus...I was just protesting by not driving as much...kinda puts my dedication to the cause in perspective.

 

[evilmonkeyMSP]

so in protest of high gas prices he PURCHASED gasoline to pour all over the car then set his car on fire which probably had a full tank of gas in it to boot....way to show them buddy....

some people just got all the brains didnt they?

German man torches car to protest high gas prices
By: Associated Press

BERLIN - A German man doused his BMW with gasoline and torched it on Friday in protest at skyrocketing fuel costs, police said.

The unemployed 30-year-old man drove the black 1995 BMW 3-series sedan onto the lawn outside Frankfurt's convention center grounds at about 7:30 a.m., police spokesman Karlheinz Wagner said.

He then jumped out, emptied a canister of gas over the vehicle, and set fire to it, Wagner said.

By the time the fire department got to the scene, the car was entirely burned out.

The Bavarian man, whose name was being withheld because he has not been charged with a crime, told police that gas prices were so high he could no longer afford to drive the vehicle.

As in many countries, gasoline prices have risen steadily in Germany; a liter of regular gasoline now costs about euro1.55, or $9.40 per gallon.

Police were investigating whether the man could be charged with violating German environmental laws with the stunt, Wagner said. Penalties range from fines to five years in prison.

 

[nealric]

I really don't see the point of protesting high gas prices

The only thing you can do that will save you a dime is reduce your driving.