Stand with Water Protectors tommorrow! Take this action please . . .
DAPL: a class I pipeline: likely made of imported scrap metal with flimsy welded seams, under high pressures not forseen by deliberately antiquated laws, running through the drinking water supplies of millions. (self.Kossacks_for_Sanders)
submitted an hour ago by Sorrowforhumans*
There is no saftey inspection or oversight: FERC is a captured agency funded by the gas and oil industry; leaks and explosions happen nearly every day. Companies appear to profit from "accidents" through insurance.
Please include No DAPL in your Thanksgiving celebrations and support people under sadistic assault for exercising their rights under the first Amendment to peaceable assembly: and protecting their own lives. Please post photos of your inclusion to Facebook, or this or other sites: Honor their courage especially this day that has formerly celebrated conquest and genocide, by honoring the survival and righteousness of Water Protectors and our native brothers and sisters, as well as those who are fighting bravely and enduring suffering and loss with them. Special prayers for Sophia, Israel, and others who have come to support Water Protectors. These folks are heroes for humanity. Reports indicate that articles used for "terrorists" are being misused in brutal and obscene ways to harm peaceful protesters fighting genocide by poisoned water. Honor this effort because these folks have committed their lives to this cause.
Comments
O, the ironies of this day.
Many moons ago, a group of white people landed on the pristine shores of what they came to call America. The natives of the land welcomed them and celebrated their arrival (according to our American mythos) . These white settlers returned this welcome with a plan to extinguish all native life--be it human, flora or fauna--in the new land. So, far they have done a bang up job.
So, yes, let us give thanks and eat, drink and be merry and plan on supporting the corporations who endanger all of us now on Friday with buying things we really, really need.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass
Interview with the father
Of the protector hit by a grenade explosion. And more details. The comments -- look for MountainMan23 -- have links to stories of veterans gearing up to go stand with the protectors.
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I am not sure that adding war veterans (white people, mostly)
is such a good idea. Are they going as spiritual body shields? Or, are they going as triggers? The Sioux and other N American tribes see this as their stand, and do not want others pouring in to "rescue" or "teach" them. Fine lines, there.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
Agreed, it's tricky
But sometimes people show up because they can help without needing to be in charge. Sometimes we do the wrong thing for the right reason. Sometimes we do the right thing for the wrong reason. We'll see how it goes this time.
Edited to add: I am not a veteran. I don't think the Standing Rock protectors need a bunch of outsiders coming in and taking over. I dId send money. I did write to multiple officials. It's not just their fight even though they're currently one of the epicenters.
Now interviewing signature candidates. Apply within.
What evidence do you have
that they don't want white people there? How about Bernie, Jane Fonda and the rest of the white activists that joined them?
If it is true, shame on them. I am so sick of identity politics and the divisiveness they create. BLM shut out everyone including native Americans that had a higher incidence of police abuse, and pushed away white support for their movement.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
I have read that on FB, from some of the tribal leaders (?)
They do not mind more bodies, except for those who come unprepared and not bringing supplies (food/water/housing). And they OWN this, no white takeover. As for the white showbiz activists, it's partly about them. My opinion.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
I think some of this is inaccurate
I agree that there's no evidence that the Sioux and their allies have rejected white participation, and I think there's also no evidence that the people active in the movement for black lives (often lumped under the name BLM, but really not a monolith) have rejected white participation.
Personally, I have participated in many actions with BLM and its variants, in other anti-police-violence groups, in indigenous rights groups, and in Chicano groups working on border issues. I believe it is crucial for white people to do antiracist work on many fronts in order to dismantle the American war machine and the prison-industrial complex, which is directed against people of color who live here and who live around the world.
There is certainly is a diversity of opinions among people of color when it comes to white folks participating in liberation movements, but I think the main issue is that white people need to let the people of color lead. We need to listen and not push our own agenda, we need to respect that different people have had different life experiences, which results in different tactics and strategies.
I have heard nothing about white people not being welcomed at Oceti Sakowin, but I have heard critiques of white people showing up like the camp is another Burning Man and treating the whole thing like a lark. Or showing up thinking that they're going to "teach" the Native people how to protest or do civil disobedience. Their style is their style. White people need to respect that or stay home, imo.
People are fighting for their lives, and if we (white people) are standing in the struggle with them, we will need to let go of some of our preconceptions. When you're used to being the dominant culture, you think that your way is the best way, or sometimes the only way. But when we listen, we can learn. In my view, that is the only way things will change in this country.
There is no justice in America, but it is the fight for justice that sustains you.
--Amiri Baraka
Wes Clark Jr is organizing this in concert with one
Of the Elders. It is conceived to give the natives a break on the front lines, for a few days. It will be conducted with the same commitment to peaceful protest.
https://military.id.me/community-news/vets-flock-to-sioux-reservation-to...
"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X
As long as the elders are okay with it, fine
If the main stream media will only pay attention if white girls, celebrities, and veterans get involved, let it happen. Fight fire with fire. Let the public see how our multi-national corporations treat our own citizens when they stand in the way of their profits; they've treated other indigenous peoples around the globe even worse. They'd be machine gunning down their opponents if they could get away with it.
Really well put, blaze.
Thanks for your continued committment and erudite views on things. I think you're right on about everything you said here.
"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"
- Kurt Vonnegut
This is one of the best comments I've ever read!
You, Sir or Ma'am, have a level head, and provide extremely valuable information. Thank you so very much for keeping us informed and engaged!
Very Well
Since I am not Sioux or from a North American tribe, I'll respect their wishes and cease to care about this issue. My source of water is far from ND.
Passive aggressive? No, just respecting the wishes of others who believe in divide and conquer. Let them stand alone with their pride.
If we want progress, people have to change . People have to realize they have been and are being played by the 1%. The 99% make the 1% possible, not the other way around and there is no interdependence as shown by rentiers.
We all have to grow beyond the identity politics which is an exploitation of our biology. I feel it too. I feel the fears. I feel the prejudice. Every primitive thought button is being pushed for someone's agenda. It's only through higher order thinking that there is resistance.
The Sioux and N.A. tribes have to decide: do we let the past define our future or do we learn from the past to make a better future.
what?
Whose wishes do you think you're respecting by "ceasing to care"? The oil companies? the mercenaries?
There has been no statement from any leadership of Oceti Sakowin or any of the nations involved that says that we shouldn't care about this issue.
They're constantly, in almost every video and statement, asking us to share the info, to make phone calls, to boycott the companies involved, to get involved locally with water and other environmental issues.
I don't know where this idea came from -- but it's almost trollish.
We all live downstream. The Sioux and the other water protectors care deeply about YOUR water as well as their own. Of course, you should reciprocate that concern.
There is no justice in America, but it is the fight for justice that sustains you.
--Amiri Baraka
I'm Only Pointing Where the Path Leads, Where the Thinking Leads
If the Sioux and N.A. tribes want this to be their fight, I'll respect that. Why should I waste time or resources on something where I'm not welcome because of my race? That is what the original poster implied. If you want to contest anyone's opinion, contest what was offered by the original poster. My opinion is merely one of many potential responses.
Your trollish comment is an insult and accepted as such. I've been called worse by people who know and love me.
If what you say is true, your problem isn't with me, it's with the original poster, who is disturbed by white people trying to help. Your lack of this knowledge makes me question your credibility.
BitterHarvest is trolling us. Wink also.
Stirring the pot, eh? Aiming for discord? We can smell ya from a mile away. We are smarter than the average bear, here.
Hahaha ... No. You are Subject to Confirmation Bias. Others are
on the ball.
You don't think that is racist? FULL STOP. This is not a condemnation of the original poster, period! It shows how indoctrinated we are with divide and conquer by race. And I'm not saying the original poster's idea is not correct given the context of where people are mentally. It's not a denial of history. It's history polluting our future. White people don't care about clean water or clean air?
We all want clean water and clean air. We all want food we can trust. At least I do. So why is this not a common interest? Or why does the news suppress these ideas?
If humanity is to survive it has to shed the garbage it has been fed. It has to realize the first division, the first exploit of divide and conquer, is economic. To survive, we need to let go of the past propaganda, stop letting it shape our future, and make new connections.
On Nov 19, 2016 08:16:38 PST I donated to this site. Trolls don't donate.
I took the mention of war
I took the mention of war veterans maybe not being a good idea differently, because this is a peaceful prayer protest being violently attacked by militarized police and notorious private mercenaries employed against civilians in invaded countries by corporations, which could easily trigger ingrained reactions in veterans trained to automatically respond in war, and the mention specifically of White to indicate cultural differences, the combination creating the possibility of the protest not being pacifically run the way the protesters intended - and of this being used as a pretext for simply mowing down all protesters.
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
The most worthless and gutless president ever!
Obama is only the president because of the sacrifices of people like MLK and everyone who marched and fought with him for Blacks to get their civil rights. He knows this and that is what makes his silence of the brutally by the people who swore an oath to serve and protect people that much more heinous. The police and the national guard.
Obama swore an oath to protect the constitution and the people in this country from enemies foreign and domestic.
Foreign banks have used eminent domain to build this pipeline and have also used against 9 farmers.
Obama also knows that Bush signed an executive order against the use of eminent domain unless it benefits the community. This doesn't, it puts another essential body of water in harm's way and not to get the United States off from having to rely on foreign oil, but so that more oil can get to the oil facilities so that they can't sell it on the world market.
The cops, the national guard and the mercenaries are all guilty of assault and battery as well as attempted murder when they used the water against the people when it was below freezing. And when they deliberately aimed the rubber bullets at people's faces, their genitals and heads in order to inflict as much damage as possible. One person had most of his scalp removed when a rubber bullet hit him.
Some of them shot percussion grenades at people's heads and we are well aware that one of the percussion grenades exploded on a woman's arm ripping away all of her muscle, bone and her veins and arteries and she will be lucky to keep it.
The only people reporting the truth about what is happening are journalists from independent organizations. The MSM parrots what the sherif reports to them because they can't be bothered to send their own reporters to see what is actually happening. And the sheriff is lying his ass off when he says that the protectors are throwing burning objects at the police while we know that the protesters aren't doing any of those things. The police blocked the bridge that the people use to come and go to get to the camp to bring supplies to it.
And because they had blocked the bridge the injured woman had to drive over 50 more miles to get medical treatment which added more risk to her life.
What type of men can do these types of things to innocent women, children and men?
Seriously, what is wrong with the people who can intentionally inflict harm on their own citizens?
People keep saying how afraid they are about what Trump might do, while the current president is doing these things now.
Listen to Obama's and Hillary's hypocrisy in this video.
Obama said that Gaddafi had to be removed because he was doing these same things against the people protesting him and that he was arresting journalists who were covering the protests.
If Obama thought that Gaddafi should be removed for doing the same things that Obama is apparently okay with, then he too should be removed from office.
Listen to his and Hillary's hypocrisy in this video. It's beyond appalling.
I am so thoughtful disgusted with Obama's presidency after he raised our hopes that he would bring change to this country only to see him not even try to help bring the change that we were desperately needing.
You have done a heck of a job, Bsrack. I can not wait to see you leave the White House.
You have been nothing but a puppet to the elites, the corporations and the MICC.
And that is going to be your legacy.
There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?
Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.
Mums The Word
Quiet as a mouse:
http://www.alternet.org/obama-still-silent-police-violence-and-hundreds-...
"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn
For someone who has done nothing, I find him more
disgusting than the Clintons and Bush put together. Obama was a Trojan horse. He didn't win anything despite who he was, he cheated and lied his way in. I am so sick and tired of my tax dollars supporting these crooks.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
I share your disgust. I don't recall reading of any president
who lied about his intentions as blatantly as Obama... not Clinton or Bush or Reagan. What are Obama's principles? What are his core values? Does he have any?
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
Morph it into a harvest festival.
The world has them and it is something to be thankful for. So f* the pilgrims, they were a bunch of rancid, psychotic, trouble makers that were kicked out of their own country. Where, let me tell you, they were up against some right stiff competition given the levels of torture and genocide they were inflicting on just the Irish, let alone everywhere else in their incipient empire.
/rant off now enjoy the fruits of the harvest and honour the land it comes from. Remember what was done and then work to stop it continuing.
3,800 miles of pipe would seem to be very vulnerable to widespread applications of thermite. The only way it runs is if we let it.
livestream action happening right now in Mandan, ND
https://www.facebook.com/kevin.happychappy/videos/vb.100007875630375/180...
https://www.facebook.com/rosestiffarm/videos/10207483529598041/?permPage=1
https://www.facebook.com/unicornriot.ninja/videos/379722142362013/?permP...
There is no justice in America, but it is the fight for justice that sustains you.
--Amiri Baraka
Free Leonard Peltier
I've been surprised that although I've been following Standing Rock closely, I haven't seen a single mention of Leonard Peltier. Perhaps most people don't remember this Sioux political prisoner incarcerated since the early 70s at a prison in Florida, so far away from his home that friends and family have a difficult time visiting him. He was a leader of the American Indian Movement when it was attacked by J. Edgar Hoover's FBI. The Sioux fought back, people died, including an FBI agent. Leonard Peltier was charged with murder. The all-white jury agreed, although evidence was scanty. After the guilty verdict, when exculpatory evidence was discovered, the court refused to hear it.
This would be a good time to launch an attempt to persuade President Obama to set him free. It would mean a great deal to the Native Americans and there probably would not be any objection from the oil companies. I don't know how to launch such an attempt but I certainly would be willing to help. As Leonard signs his occasional letters from prison ... In The Spirit of Crazy Horse
Vermonter
he has not been forgotten
There are images of the camp (can't find it right now) with a "Free Peltier" banner.
People have been petitioning the president for years. Obama ignores them.
Thank you for sharing his history. He is a political prisoner, imo
**edited to say that on the livestream just now, two different people said "Free Peltier." They know their history.**
There is no justice in America, but it is the fight for justice that sustains you.
--Amiri Baraka
Standing Rock is only the beginning or perhaps
it is actually the middle of the campaign for profits over humanity. People have chosen not to protest US actions in the Middle East or slave shops in third world countries or fracking throughout the world, so now the corporations have brought the war home. The military-industrial-bank-oil complex started with the most vulnerable, but they will work their way up as they discover more ways to profit the select few.
--Martin Niemöller
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass