Standing Rock: The Fight Was Never Over
The Indigenous Environmental Network responds to Trump’s support for the KXCL pipeline and DAPL (my bold):
These actions by President Trump are insane and extreme, and nothing short of attacks on our ancestral homelands as Indigenous peoples. The executive orders demonstrate that this administration is more than willing to violate federal law that is meant to protect Indigenous rights, human rights, the environment, and the overall safety of communities for the benefit of the fossil fuel industry. These attacks will not be ignored, our resistance is stronger than ever before and we are prepared to push back at any reckless decision made by this administration. #NoDAPL
Spontaneous demonstrations against both pipelines sprang up in several cities after the announcement that he was going to try to proceed with these unnecessary, unwanted, and environmentally dangerous projects. This pic is from DC.
Here are links to the text of the executive memorandum (not executive order): page 1 https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C29pfp4VEAAhMm5.jpg and page 2 https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C29pfqAUkAAe3kT.jpg.
Several interpretations I’ve read indicate that this is encouragement for the oil companies but does not automatically change the Environmental Impact Statement process. Here's how you can comment on the EIS.
I’m not reassured, however, since ETP has repeatedly shown their lawlessness, and continued to drill despite not having permits.
Comments
It's my understanding that the land in question has never
been ceded to the federal government by treaty. Also, the land has not been incorporated into a reservation which still makes it American Indian land until a negotiation process is over and results in a treaty being passed.
If someone knows better, I would certainly like to be informed because this is a puzzle to me.
I also think that the Obama administration got around the EIS requirement by chopping the 1000+ mile pipeline into very small segments, administratively, which exempted these short stretches from the EIS requirement. If so, it's another underhanded Obama ploy. Again, I'd like to be corrected if that is warranted.
What I am sure of is that this is an atmosphere destroying oil sludge heated to a very high temperature and pumped under great pressure. It sounds like a recipe for a certain rupture somewhere in the line in the near future.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
The land USED TO BE
part of a greater Sioux reservation. The Federal government unilaterally (i.e. illegally) took the part that the pipeline is now routed through (along with other major chunks of South Dakota) away from the reservation in 1868, with another Treaty, not signed by all the tribe, and that land is considered "unceded".
"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X
@Bisbonian Thank you. This is the
Thank you. This is the information I was seeking.
Cheers.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
@Bisbonian
Indeed, I just did not sign a Move On petition I came across which was seeking to have what is Indian land declared a heritage site to protect it from the pipeline by placing it under the protection of corporate-controlled government.
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.
thank you, Ellen
I've been fighting against that "heritage site" move since it first surfaced. It would be just another land grab, removing the indigenous people from their rightful territory.
How about this, America? let's honor the treaties that our government signed. They are legal contracts, so any "rule of law" argument should include those documents first.
There is no justice in America, but it is the fight for justice that sustains you.
--Amiri Baraka
@blazinAZ I think treaties are
I think treaties are more than a law. A treaty is a pact between two or more nations and a president can negotiate a treaty and it has to be approved by 2/3 of the Senate as per the Constitution. It should have, and was intended to have by the framers, more force than a federal law.
This is one of the things that is so galling: The whole abrogation of treaties by the president and Congress for the greed imperative of capitalism plus the arrogance to declare that American Indians just plain don't count.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
Major Pipeline Break Near Governor Terry Branstad's Home Town
I posted this as a comment to another essay, but I believe it is important here as well. I think the noDAPL activists need to seize this opportunity to expose the danger of pipelines. Someone needs to get out there with a video drone to record it.
*****
Pipelines always break
UPDATE 1-Magellan Midstream shuts Iowa pipeline after 3,300-bbls diesel spill
http://www.reuters.com/article/pipeline-operations-magellan-mids-iowa-id...
This is less than 10 miles from my family farm in Iowa. The reports say it is in Hanlontown, but if you link to the map below you can see it is really right next to Joice, Iowa. And you can see it is next to the Hanlontown Slough Waterfowl Protection area and Willow Creek. Willow Creek Runs into the Winnebago River, which runs into the Shell Rock River, which flows into the Iowa River, which runs into the Mississippi River. They might be masking the true location because this part of Iowa is where Governor Terry Branstad grew up. He was my next door neighbor when I was a teenager. I have not read any articles that talk about the farmer who has been totally fucked by this. They are removing the oil and the contaminated soil. Wow. Spring crops? Governor Branstad might know this farmer. He was our local attorney before he went into politics.
http://www.openscreenshot.com/rkhbGaUvx
There is no way that this is not causing major ecological damage.
Ironically, this is in the middle of the Top of Iowa Wind Farm.
Marilyn
"Make dirt, not war." eyo
@mhagle Slow leaks are also a big
Slow leaks are also a big problem. This is especially serious when the pipeline or a tank is below ground. Getting petroleum out of an aquifer is problematic. Oil can get trapped in pockets where it floated. Oil can adsorb to soil and some types of rock. Then it is slowly released to recontaminate the aquifer.
Although most chemicals in oil are not water soluble, small but toxic amounts of many substances can become mixed with water. This includes benzene, a known human carcinogen.
Video from Prolific TheRapper
https://www.facebook.com/ProlificTheRapperOfficial/videos/604811626379150/
Powerful stuff.
"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X
"500 years and counting"
Thx for reposting this. I didn't know he had updated and was glad to be able to watch it again.
In solidarity,
blaze
There is no justice in America, but it is the fight for justice that sustains you.
--Amiri Baraka
Any way this can be copied
so those without Facebook can see the vid?
you don't need FB to see video
I don't use FB, and I was able to simply click on the link and watch.
But here's a pro-tip. If you ever see a link to a FB vid that you can't access for some reason, pick some key words (including the name of the person featured, if you know it) and go to youtube and search along with the NoDAPL tag. I just did that for this Prolific the Rapper video, and found it immediately. Enjoy!
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdeHUrL1FEM]
There is no justice in America, but it is the fight for justice that sustains you.
--Amiri Baraka
Thank you
I did click and was met with the facebook sign up screen.
Thank you for your advise as to find alternative venues - I will be using that.
This probably isn't the best venue, but I want to tell you that my stepfather, who is a wholly innocent person asked me this question: why are all these young people willing to perform suicide bombings? He said, I bet you might find a treasure trove of the elderly willing.
Times are going to get rough. If you try to organize online you are doomed. So what is available?
"met with the facebook sign up screen".
Yes, but did you try clicking "not now"? It doesn't always work (depends on how the original poster classified their video), but when the video is labeled "public" then I will be able to see it even w/o signing in.
Give it a shot next time -- and I hope searching youtube will also help you see those videos.
I really didn't understand the story about your stepfather and suicide bombings. Was he talking about Standing Rock?
There is no justice in America, but it is the fight for justice that sustains you.
--Amiri Baraka
@asterisk
I have been involved in environmental assessment & remediation my entire professional career (30+ years), which has included cleanup of storage tanks and pipelines (some quite nasty). In my experience, there are only two kinds of tanks (by extension, also only two kinds of pipelines) --
1. Tanks/pipelines that already have leaked; and
2. Tanks/pipelines that are going to leak.
There is no other kind of tank/pipeline.
When Cicero had finished speaking, the people said “How well he spoke”.
When Demosthenes had finished speaking, the people said “Let us march”.
The third:
Tanks/pipelines that have leaked and are going to leak some more.
My second home was on an island, bigger than Bermuda.
One gasoline source, in the village. Tanks underground began to leak (next to the St Lawrence River, maybe by 200'. The gas station turned into a repair shop. The community (including me as a taxpayer there) paid to install above-ground fuel tanks, next to the retired dump 100' from the River. At least above ground leaks are visible.
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.
This is what I am more afraid of...
It must be below ground because it is under a farm field. How long has it been leaking? All farmers have wells that provide drinking water for humans and animals. Couldn't this leak be contaminating the ground water for miles around?
Marilyn
"Make dirt, not war." eyo
@mhagle Yes this leak is
Yes this leak is contaminating the groundwater.
It wasn't that long ago that gas stations all had underground tanks. Because they eventually leaked, many of the gas stations had to replace the underground tanks with above ground tanks. I don't know if this was a state matter or a blanket national matter, but in the few states that I know about, it's aboveground tanks now. Leaks can be detected sooner and fixed more easily.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
undergound tanks
It has been my experience that states required all old underground tanks to be replaced in the last ten years, at a major expense to the station owners. Many went out of business due to the cost. There was some sort of federal subsidy for the work, but not enough for the small opperators (sp). So the tanks are re-buried with some limited life span. My sister lived in a small town a mile up-hill from an old gas station. Her water was un usable, but nobody had to pay for that, except the drinkers. Sheesh
@QMS Thanks very much. I
Thanks very much. I think I have been wrong thinking they were banned and so far it seems like only a few states and many municipalities have banned them.
When I lived in the southeastern mountains, the nearby garage/mart had to stop selling gasoline because the owner could not afford to dig up the old tank and replace it with an above ground one. This is rural Appalachia and things don't change much so I got the notion that it was a large scale law. I can't find out that it is so maybe it's not.
I do know, like you know, that when they leak people with wells lose their clean water.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
Thank god. I was extremely demoralized by the
Tribal Council's decision, and their unwillingness to be honest about its real motivations. The cops, working for the oil companies, blockaded the bridge not just to hurt the protesters, but to put serious economic pressure on the tribe itself, and after a while, that worked. That's what it looks like to me. Instead the Council acted like the protesters were starting violence on that bridge, repeating establishment talking points.
That was pretty damned awful to watch.
Glad the resistance is ramping up again.
Birdie approves.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver