At approximately 5:55 p.m. yesterday, Sean Cormier, 21, of Westport, Kiean Lyons, 17, of Norwood, and Jeffrey Nunes, 17 of Westport, were arrested outside the Burger King at 553 Boylston Street across from Trinity Church in Copley Plaza.

A police spokesperson told the Boston Globe the three were masked when “they burst through the front door and ran through the main dining room, which was at capacity…(customers) cowered in fear, with a look of shock and disbelief on their faces.” The three are charged with disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace.

Minutes earlier, the trio broke from away from an Occupy Boston protest march heading west on Newbury Street and, carrying large banners with them, cut over to Boylston Street. Two Boston Police officers mounted on bicycles gave pursuit.

This freshly-painted banner, shown here the night before the arrests, was carried by one of the protestors. (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

An anonymous source at the Occupy Boston encampment later indicated the three were headed to Prudential Center to hang their banners before the arrival of the 100+ person march but may have chosen to run inside Burger King when police blocked their way. The same source said the protest march did make it to Prudential Center and demonstrated there (similar to as they have done at Fanueil Hall and Quincy Market Several times in the past) until a complaint to the Boston Police from a store manager led to the demonstrators’ departure.

When Blast caught up with the three protestors who had separated from the march, they were being detained on the sidewalk outside Burger King by approximately 10 uniformed police officers and several in plain clothes. Overhearing a policeman describe sticks the trio was carrying, Jeffrey Nunes (the most outspoken of the three) responded “are you kidding me.? It’s tied to a banner” before adding sarcastically, “those are definitely weapons.” He added, “You got to be fucking kidding me. This is what a police state looks like. This is what happens when police have nothing better to do.”

When a bystander asked him what happened, Nunes said “they think we’re about to commit a robbery or some other bullshit. We were just at a march.”

Minutes later, the three detainees began chanting “Show me what a police state looks like? This is what a police state looks like!” using the call-and-response pattern popular with Occupy protests nationwide. A man in a backwards baseball cap began heckling them asking, “Don’t you sound a little rehearsed?” causing Nunes to respond “What does that matter?” before starting the chant “from Boston to Greece, fuck the police” which the others joined. While “fuck the police,” “I smell bacon” and other phrases taunting police officers are vastly unpopular among Occupy Boston protestors, that community did (during its first week of occupation) decide through consensus to respect “diversity of tactics” as expressed through “autonomous actions.”

The heckler, later characterized by someone in the crowd as “that drunk guy,” continued making comments even after a policeman addressed him saying “Chill out…I don’t need you to get that fired up, alright?’ The protestors’ chant stopped when police turned Lyons to face the building and handcuffed him behind his back. Lyons asked several times, “what am I being arrested for?” before yelling “I was walking down the street; this is why I’m being arrested! My name is Kiean Lyons…I’m an American patriot. I’m being arrested for walking down the street and defending my rights!” He was then put inside a police car.

The vociferous bystander continued yelling at the two remaining detainees saying “You’re being arrested for disorderly (sic).” Nunes, wearing a keffiyeh (a traditional Arab headdress) loosely around his neck responded, “No, we’re being arrested for dressing in a Arabian scarf and walking down the street, or running down the street. We’re apparently about to commit a robbery…” As police handcuffed Cormier he repeatedly asked “how am I disturbing the peace?

As Nunes and Cormier awaited transport, the hostile sidewalk commentator shouted “everyone needs to do two years in the military or two years in prison” to which Nunes responded, “Yeah? I ought to kill people for unjust reasons? I ought to kill people for oil?” and, sarcastically, “that’s what I ought to do, right? That’s a real American right there.”

The heckler continued his taunts saying “you can get arrested for disorderly…you’re just shooting your mouth off, you can get arrested for that…yeah you can!” Nunes retorted “that’s what this country was built on: freedom of speech.” In the final seconds before Nunes was put inside a police car, the heckler asked him “so what do you have to say?” Nunes responded, “What do I have to say? This is what a police state looks like.”

Earlier this same day, during a separate Occupy Boston march around 1:30 p.m., Langston Peace, 29 of Boston, was arrested and charged with larceny over $250 during for allegedly walking off with a police officer’s departmental bicycle. It’s unclear whether this incident was an act of protest connected with Occupy Boston. If so, the arrest of Peace and the three men at Burger King brings the total number arrests since September 30 of Occupy Boston protestors to 170 (with some demonstrators — such as Nunes and Cornier who were arrested along with 141 others on October 11 — being arrested more than once during this time).

T-Pain‚ must have a thing for water: first he was on a boat and now he is starring in “Aqua Teen Hunger Force”s first ever live-action episode.

The live-action episode will be the season finale for “Aqua Teen”s current season and is set to air May 31 at 11:45 p.m.

The Grammy-winning rapper will portray Frylock in the episode, “Aqua Teen”s only sane and rational roommate who looks like a floating box of french fries in the animated series.

Actor Jon Benjamin will star as self-appointed leader Master Shake. Benjamin has been seen in “Sex and the City” and has done voice overs for shows like “Family Guy” and “Aqua Teen.”

Meatwad will “bare a striking resemblance to an exercise ball,” Adult Swim said in a press release. In the animated series, Meatwad is a depicted as a wad of meat and is as lovable as he is stupid.

To find the actor to play Carl, Aqua Teen’s neighbor, Adult Swim turned to a Burger King sponsored nationwide search and ultimately chose 23-year-old Dave Long Jr. from Edensberg, Penn. to play Carl in the live-action season finale.

“Aqua Teen Hunger Force” is created by Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis and follows the strange, everyday lives of three human-sized food products living in New Jersey. It airs on Adult Swim, the night-time alternate reality of Cartoon Network, Sundays at 11:45 p.m.

Dear EarthTalk: I really want to eat healthy and organic but am constantly traveling and on the go. How can I eat fast food without having to always end up at McDonalds and Burger King? – Dylan Baker, Seattle, Washington  

The latest trend in fast food is healthy and organic, and luckily for conscious consumers, several chains offering just such fare are taking root in different parts of the U.S. One of the leaders of this small but scrappy pack of fast food upstarts is O’Naturals. The small chain currently runs two stores of its own in Maine (Falmouth and Portland) and one in Acton, Massachusetts, and franchises out additional locations in Kansas and Florida. O’Naturals’ menu contains lots of vegetarian-friendly items, including “build-your-own” flatbread sandwiches, salads, noodle stir-frys and soups. The meat the restaurant does serve is grass-fed and hormone-free, while the chickens are free-range and the Alaskan salmon is wild.  

Another healthy option is EVOS, which currently runs five “quick-casual” restaurants in Florida and is planning a major expansion into the western U.S. Vegetarians can rejoice in the chain’s wide selection of vegetarian and vegan items. While its hormone- and antibiotic-free burgers are still only about as healthy as red meat gets, their soy burger satisfies without the guilt or the cholesterol. Also, EVOS uses organic field greens in its wraps and salads, organic milk in its milkshakes, and fresh fruit in its smoothies. Additionally, the restaurant air-bakes its fries and other typically deep-fried items to keep the fat content as much as 70 percent lower than the same kinds of foods found elsewhere. 

Meanwhile, Seattle-based Organics-To-Go, with five locations in Washington and California, lays out a wide array of “grab-and-go” organic and natural foods so customers can make up their own meals out of a cornucopia of healthy choices. Other fast food alternatives offering lots of health (as well as vegetarian and vegan) options include Au Bon Pain, Bruegger’s Bagels, Noah’s Bagels, and World Wraps, while Subway and Quizno’s alike can be good options for those willing to study the menu carefully.  

Even though many alternatives exist, it is hard to beat the reach of the major fast food chains, several of which are making small steps toward healthier menus and will undoubtedly continue to do so if consumers bite. McDonald’s, KFC, Burger King and Wendy’s have reduced or eliminated trans-fats. Burger King now offers a veggie burger, and McDonald’s is testing one in California. Taco Bell offers many non-meat options, including a bean and cheese burrito, a veggie fajita wrap, and a 7-layer burrito, which can be had without the cheese and sour cream. Carl’s Jr. also has many tasty and healthy vegetarian options despite an otherwise standard fast-food menu. Vegetarians and vegans looking for more ideas about what to eat when time is of the essence should consult any number of websites with pages devoted to the topic, including Vegetarian-Restaurants.net, VegCooking, FitWise and Vegetarian Resource Group.  

And remember, nothing beats seeking out local restaurants when you’re on the road, to soak up some of the local culture. And with trends as they are it shouldn’t be too difficult to find many that do serve healthy menus-just not quite as fast as “fast food” but probably fast enough. 

CONTACTS: O’Naturals, www.onaturals.com; EVOS, www.evos.com; Vegetarian-Restaurants.net, www.vegetarian-restaurants.net; VegCooking, www.vegcooking.com; FitWise, www.fitwise.com; Vegetarian Resource Group, www.vrg.org.  

Dear EarthTalk: Are sunscreens safe? Which ones do you recommend that will protect my skin from the sun and not cause other issues?     – Bettina E., New York, NY 

Getting a little sunshine is important for helping our bodies generate Vitamin D, an important supplement for strong bones, and f or regulating our levels of serotonin and tryptamine, neurotransmitters that keep our moods and sleep/wake cycles in order. Like anything, though, too much sun can cause health issues, from sunburns to skin cancer. For those of us spend more time in the sun than doctors recommend-they say to stay indoors between 11 AM and 3 PM on sunny days to be safe-sunscreens can be lifesavers. 

Getting too much sun is bad because of ultraviolet radiation, 90 percent of which comes in the form of Ultraviolet A (UVA) rays that are not absorbed by the ozone layer and penetrate deep into our skin. Ultraviolet B (UVB) rays make up the rest. These rays are partially absorbed by the ozone layer (which makes preserving the ozone layer crucial for our health), and because they don’t penetrate our skin as deeply, can cause those lobster-red sunburns. Both types of UV rays are thought to cause skin cancer. 

Yet while most sunscreens block out at least some UVB radiation, many don’t screen UVA rays at all, making their use risky. According to the non-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG), by far most of the commercially available sunscreens do not provide adequate protection against the sun’s harmful UV radiation and may also contain chemicals with questionable safety records. 

In all, 84 percent of the 831 sunscreens EWG tested did not pass health and environmental muster. Many contained potentially harmful chemicals like Benzophenone, homosalate and octyl methoxycinnamate (also called octinoxate), which are known to mimic naturally occurring bodily hormones and can thus throw the body’s systems out of whack. Some also contained Padimate-0 and parsol 1789 (also known as avobenzone), which are suspected of causing DNA damage when exposed to sunlight. Furthermore, EWG found that more than half the sunscreens on the market make questionable product claims about longevity, water resistance and UV protection. 

As a result, EWG has called on the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to establish standards for labeling so consumers have a better idea of what they may be buying. In the meantime, consumers looking to find out how their preferred brand stacks up can check out EWG’s online Skin Deep database, which compares thousands of health and beauty products against environmental and human health standards. 

The good news is that many companies are now introducing safer sunscreens crafted from plant- and mineral-based ingredients and without chemical additives. Some of the best, according to Skin Deep, are Alba Botanica Sun’s Fragrance-Free Mineral Sunscreen, Avalon Baby’s Sunscreen SPF 18, Badger’s SPF 30 Sunscreen, Burt’s Bees’ Chemical-Free Sunscreen SPF 15, California Baby’s SPF 30, Juice Beauty’s Green Apple SPF 15 Moisturizer, and Kabana’s Green Screen SPF 15. Natural foods markets stock many of these, or they can be found online at websites like Sun Protection Center and Drugstore.com. 

CONTACTS: Environmental Working Group, www.ewg.org; Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database, www.cosmeticsdatabase.com; Sun Protection Center, www.sunprotectioncenter.com, Drugstore.com, www.drugstore.com. 

GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/thisweek/, or e-mail: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php.