The return of wrath

Reader advisory: Coarse language below.


Most adults, regardless of age, are familiar with the Seven Deadly Sins: Wrath, Envy, Greed, Gluttony, Sloth, Lust and Pride.

Thanks to a longtime friend and follower of this blog, Bob Ehlers, I now know that Wrath is making a comeback among Boomers. In a piece recently featured on OpenSalon.com and titled "The Favorite Sin of the Middle-Aged" the blogger Monsieur Chariot declares that Boomers may no longer have the juice for Lust or the energy for Greed, so they've embraced Wrath instead.

"Wrath is the result of that souring of the attitudes in late maturity, when we run the risk of becoming testy, bitter, contemptuous, mean-spirited and resentful. Wrath is the wrong turn at the fork in the road of Middle-age," M. Cheriot writes.

With great delight, he pokes fun at the "scowling faces of wrath" -- Hannity, O'Reilly, Beck, Limbaugh and Coulter (above) -- and explains what's behind the bullying, bellowing and bigotry that poisons our political dialogue and even casual conversation.

Wrath automatically focuses on the most negative interpretation of events; it trades in contempt, sneers at hope. Confronted with innocence, the wrathful respond with sarcasm. Dialogue? Wrath shouts louder so as to drown it out. The wrathful "got theirs" and embrace the uncompromising attitude that you "Go Fuck Yourself". Wrath incites mobs and underlines the motivation to pointless -- and endless -- war.

It's a timely and insightful rant and one that, hopefully, sends you scurrying in the direction of The Seven Virtues: Wisdom, Justice, Moderation, Courage, Faith, Hope and Love.

Photos: OpenSalon

Arctic Summit told to leave it in the ground

Arctic Summit told to leave it in the ground


By IEN, Council of Canadians and REDOIL

Ottawa / March 26, 2010 – The Indigenous Environmental Network, the Council of Canadians, and the Alaska based REDOIL Network have issued an open letter calling for an international moratorium on all new exploration for fossil fuel resources in the Arctic region. The letter is directed at the Foreign Ministers of Canada, Norway, Denmark, Russia and the United States who will be present at the Arctic Summit in Chelsea, Québec, March 29, 2010.

The discovery of 90 billion barrels of oil and 1,670 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the Arctic region has triggered a rush to secure access that includes petroleum companies such as Shell and Exxon.

“New oil and gas development is anything but responsible in the face of a very serious climate crisis which requires governments like those meeting in Chelsea to rapidly reduce emissions,” says Andrea Harden-Donahue, Energy Campaigner with the Council of Canadians. “It is no small irony that increased access to exploit reserves in the fragile Arctic Ocean ecosystem is largely the result of melting sea ice.”

“We believe that a moratorium on fossil fuel development would be a first step to addressing the climate crisis we are in. Strong actions need to be taken now by Governments of the world to effectively address climate change. Indigenous peoples worldwide bear the consequences of Global Warming daily and we want concrete action now," states Faith Gemmill, Executive Director of the Alaska based Resisting Environmental Destruction on Indigenous Lands (REDOIL).

“Climate change is responsible for increased levels of contaminants like mercury, DDTs and PCBs in staple edible fish species near my home community,” says Daniel T'seleie, a K'asho Got'ine Dene from Fort Good Hope, Northwest Territories. “Increased development of Arctic oil and gas would not only contribute to the climate crisis that is devastating Arctic communities, it would also add more direct pressure to fragile ecosystems that are already stressed by the combined impacts of climate change and existing development. This would be an unconscionable infringement on the rights of Arctic Indigenous Peoples.”

Excellent photo opportunities: The IEN and the Council of Canadians will bring a message to Foreign Ministers to "leave it in the ground" Monday afternoon at the parking lot off of Meech Lake road near the road leading to the Arctic Summit meeting location.
For more information:
Clayton Thomas Muller, Indigenous Tar Sands Campaigner, Indigenous Environmental Network, monsterredlight@gmail.com, 1-218-760-6632
Andrea Harden-Donahue, Energy Campaigner, Council of Canadians, aharden@canadians.org, 613-218-5800

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Jennifer Aniston

A fabulous book

The last two novels I read fell short of my expectations, so it was an absolute pleasure to find myself on vacation last week totally immersed in a luminous work of fiction by Barbara Kingsolver.

Yes, I know, I should have read "The Poisonwood Bible" long ago, considering it was published in 1998. But, then, I've often lagged behind when a book is either new or at its peak of popularity. By the time I picked this one up, I really didn't know what to expect, given the unlikely storyline: An evangelical Baptist minister takes his wife and four daughters on a mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959, a year before it became an independent country and long before it became modern-day Zaire.

Over some 543 pages, the story is told in alternating chapters through the eyes of the mother and her four girls as the family's patriarch does just about everything wrong in trying to win over the indigenous population. He fails utterly and completely as a consequence of his own cultural ignorance and self-righteous arrogance. Meanwhile, his wife -- raised to be a traditional homemaker subservient to her husband -- copes with isolation and loneliness while the couple's four daughters try in their own ways to make the best of their situation as the only white family in their speck of a town.

Their strategies are as different as they are: Rachel, 15, is a Barbie-like princess who detests life in the village carved out of a jungle; Leah and Adah, 14-year-old twins, adapt to their surroundings with the resourcefulness of "gifted" children; and little Ruth May barrels forward with the pluck and innocence of a 5-year-old. (Adah's perspective is particularly compelling, as she was born mute and crippled -- her term, not mine.)

Kingsolver brings together so many different threads in such convincing fashion that you find yourself transported to this west-central African nation, marveling at her grasp of colonial history and politics, of culture, language and religious traditions. She creates a cast of memorable characters -- American, African and Belgian -- and calls on her training as a biologist to write authoritatively about the region's flora and fauna.

And the woman can flat out write. Here's a taste, written in the voice of Orleanna Price, the minister's wife:

That's how it is with the firstborn, no matter what kind of mother you are -- rich, poor, frazzled half to death or sweetly content. A first child is your own best foot forward, and how you do cheer those little feet as they strike out. You examine every turn of flesh for precocity, and crow it to the world.

But the last one: the baby who trails her scent like a flag of surrender through your life when there will be no more coming after -- oh, that's love by a different name. She is the babe you hold in your arms for an hour after she's gone to sleep. If you put her down in the crib, she might wake up changed and fly away. So instead you rock by the window, drinking the light from her skin, breathing her exhaled dreams. Your heart bays to the double crescent moons of closed lashes on her cheeks. She's the one you can't put down.

I could hardly put the book down myself. I started it on the ferry ride from Anacortes to Orcas Island and a week later finished it on the ferry ride back to the mainland. Though it took me 12 years to get to it, it's earned a spot on my list of ten favorite books. It's a marvelous novel that reflects Kingsolver's love of language and masterful storytelling.

My thanks to August, a fellow blogger who writes at Perfect Sand, for recommending the book. For an in-depth review, check out the take by Caribousmom, another blogger.

Photo of Barbara Kingsolver: http://bookpage.wordpress.com/2009/04/22/barbara-kingsolver-is-back/

(more) Brigitte Bardot takes a ride

(more) Brigitte Bardot takes a ride

(more) Brigitte Bardot takes a ride

Women on the Border Awards: Ofelia Rivas and Teresa Armenta Mendez

Congratulations to Ofelia Rivas, Tohono O'odham, and Maria Teresa Armenta Mendez of Altar, Sonora, as Women on the Border Award winners 2010, awarded by Borderlinks.
Photo: Ofelia Rivas receives award /Photo Borderlinks

Ofelia Rivas, founder of O'odham VOICE Against the Wall, was nominated by Censored News publisher Brenda Norrell.
“Ofelia repeatedly risks her life for the purpose of truth and justice. She has been the voice of grass-roots people on the border and struggled to protect ceremonies and sacred pilgrimage routes that have been divided by the border. She was the lone voice that exposed the destruction of the graves of O’odham ancestors by the construction of the border wall. Most recently, Ofelia served four days in jail in Chiapas for her support of the indigenous rights movement of the Zapatistas."

Women on the Border Award: The Results are In!
By Borderlinks
More photos: http://www.borderlinks.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=135:womenborder2010&catid=35:general
Our second annual Women on the Border Event was held last week in Sahuarita, AZ. Supporters came together to celebrate the impact persistent and powerful women have had in working towards the cause of justice, from both sides of the border.
While enjoying delicious food cooked by our staff and volunteers from the Hogar de Esperanza y Paz, participants listened to Dr. Norma Price speak about her experiences in the southwestern desert, and Kathryn Ferguson read excerpts from her book, "Crossing with the Virgin." Debbi McCullough, a long-time activist and artist, also displayed some of her latest work made from articles left behind in the desert.
Our list of very qualified nominees went as follows:Valerie James, Sarah Roberts, Laurie Jurs, Debbi McCullough, Annie Swanson, Ofelia Rivas, Bethia Daugenbaugh, Maria Teresa Armenta Mendez, Kat Rodriguez, Shura Wallin, Margo Cowan, Sisters of the Eucharist from Nogales, Sonora (Engracia, Lorena, and Imelda)
In the end, only two awards could be given, and they went to....drum roll please....
From the Tohono O'odham Nation, Ofelia Rivas!
Ofelia is a member of the Tohono O’odham Nation and founder of Women Against the Wall. “Ofelia repeatedly risks her life for the purpose of truth and justice.” “She has been the voice of grass-roots people on the border and struggled to protect ceremonies and sacred pilgrimage routes that have been divided by the border. “She was the lone voice that exposed the destruction of the graves of O’odham ancestors by the construction of the border wall. Most recently, Ofelia served four days in jail in Chiapas for her support of the indigenous rights movement of the Zapatistas.
And from Altar, Sonora, Mexico, Maria Teresa Armenta Mendez.
Tere first began noticing migrants taking over the local plaza in Altar, Sonora. At first, community members were angry that their recreational space was appropriated by these people, but Tere soon saw their desperate situation and mobilized to help. Her work, first to serve a sandwich and coffee soon expanded to attend the sick and seek shelter for them. She listened to their stories of human rights violations, spoke to them about the risks they would encounter in the desert, and educated them about their rights. Eventually, she and a group of volunteers saw the construction of CCAMYN – more than a shelter, more like a dignified place of respite for those who were recovering from their journey to or from the US. Tere’s husband was the director of CCAMYN and spent the rest of his life at the side of migrants.
Special thanks to Norma, Kathryn, and Debbi for the entertainment and insight. And a big heartfelt thanks to the rest of you who attended and/or have supported us in other ways.

(more) Brigitte Bardot takes a ride

Brigitte Bardot takes a ride

Words of encouragement

VECTOR ART | VECTOR MUSIC | RETRO DESIGN | RETRO GRAPHIC DESIGN

waiting for things to happen, go out and make them happen

stop saying lol

i like to make my life seem normal

i like people who smile when it's raining

dont's listen to anybody else but yourself

dont't let yor mind stop you from having agood time
Words of encouragement . image from jaysee
you need to looking more retro vector art?or just comment my blog..thanks dude :)

Lenny Foster: Illegal Imprisonment of Leonard Peltier

THE UNITED NATIONS UNIVERSAL PERIDOIC REVIEW

March 26, 2010

San Francisco, California

ILLEGAL IMPRISONMENT OF LEONARD PELTIER

Lenny Foster (Dine’)

Navajo Nation Corrections Project

Excerpt:

"I recommend the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples seek compliance through the Declaration of Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples and demand a congressional investigation into the human rights violations of Leonard Peltier. Invitations will be made to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous Peoples to visit Leonard Peltier at the United State Penitentiary in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. I request his petition for Executive Clemency is approved by the United States Justice Department and President Barack Obama."

Read document:

http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2010/03/lenny-foster-to-un-and-obama-release.html

Thanks to Tony Gonzales, AIM West, for sending this to Censored News.

Lenny Foster: Indian Religious Freedom and Spiritual Practices in US Prisons

THE UNITED NATIONS UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW

March 16, 2010
Albuquerque, New Mexico
(Photo: Lenny Foster on Earthcycles radio at AIM West San Francisco/Photo by Brenda Norrell)

American Indian Religious and Spiritual Practices in the United States Prison System
Lenny Foster (Dine’)
Navajo Nation Corrections Project

Excerpt:
"Recent studies show approximately 26,000 Native Americans incarcerated in twenty three states with significant Native American populations. In the thirty years I have counseled approximately two thousand American Indian prisoners by visits to various state departments of corrections; I have both witnessed and experienced the harassment, interference, indifference, intimidation and discrimination toward our Native traditional beliefs and the right to worship in a traditional manner as practiced by our ancestors. If Native prisoners are denied access to their traditional practices and beliefs, incarceration will be merely “warehousing” the Native prisoners and the emotional, psychological, and spiritual well- being will never be fully realized.
I have observed anger, rage, resentment and emotional pain exhibited by Native inmates that are the result of being reared in dysfunctional environments and exposed to and engaging in addictive behavior. The psychological and emotional pain has decimated the Indian Nations across the United States. The intergenerational trauma has had a very drastic impact on Indian communities which has resulted in many individuals lacking a strong sense of self identity and self-esteem."
Read article:
http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2010/03/lenny-foster-indian-religious-freedom.html
Thanks to Tony Gonzales, AIM West, for sending this to Censored News.

Bolivia: People's World Conference on Climate Change and Rights of Mother Earth

People's World Conference on Climate Change and Rights of Mother Earth

19-22 April 2010
Location: Cochabamba, Bolivia

Photo: Actor Danny Glover with Govinda (second from left) of Earthcycles grassroots web radio, at the end of the Longest Walk in DC. Glover has confirmed for the Bolivia climate summit, and Govinda will be broadcasting live, along with Censored News. Photo by Brenda Norrell.
.
Media advisory from the summit:
The Plurinational State of Bolivia will host an historic conference on climate change in April with an expected attendance of more than 10,000 people along with government representatives from more than 50 countries. Many more people are expected to participate via the Internet and in campaign actions on the final day of the conference, 22 April which marks UN Mother Earth Day.
Amongst the confirmed speakers are NASA scientist Jim Hansen, Bill McKibben, environmental journalist and leader of 350.org, Indian environmentalist Vandana Shiva, Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano, Miguel D'Escoto, former President of UN General Assembly, American actor, director and activist Danny Glover along with leaders from leading environmental organizations and communities at the frontline of climate change.
Bolivia has invited all 192 governments in the UN to attend the conference and is working closely with the United Nations Development Program to bring representatives from nearly all the 49 Least Developed Countries (LDCs), whose populations will be most vulnerable to climate change. Spain, Russia and France have also indicated that they will send representatives and others are still confirming.
The conference was announced by President Evo Morales of Bolivia in the aftermath of the widely denounced outcomes of the Copenhagen UNFCCC conference in December 2009. The aim of the Peoples' World Conference on Climate Change is to advance an agenda led by civil society organizations and in dialogue with proactive governments dedicated to preventing climate change. The conference aims to analyze the structural causes of climate change, and develop specific proposals and actions for addressing it.
All media and journalists are warmly encouraged to come to Bolivia to cover this event. Registration is free and can be done at the conference website at http://cmpcc.org (Spanish) or http://pwccc.wordpress.com (English)
Media: For more information, please contact:
Gadir Lavadenz – media@cmpcc.org or ring (+591 2) 2 113161 or (+591) 706 91367
Nick Buxton – nicholasbuxton@gmail.com or ring +530 902 3772

A week of paradise

Is there a more majestic sight than that of a pair of bald eagles, gliding silently directly overhead in a crisp, clear baby-blue sky?

I'm halfway through a Friday morning run, at the Land's End turnaround at the end of Outward Bound Road -- as far as you go on the trail before it yields to untamed grass and rock outcroppings looking out to Georgia Strait. I remove my earbuds and first soak up the sounds of expertly camouflaged songbirds in the trees and bushes around me.

Then I peer up above the treeline and spend the next few minutes watching these magnificent birds, with their unmistakable snow-white heads and thick bodies, dipping above and below each other as they do a series of tight circles.

It's a signature moment, just me and these birds, about a mile from the shore of Eagle Lake on Orcas Island.

Two days earlier, Lori and I had another signature moment, when we set out to hike part of the Turtleback Mountain trail. We entered from the north trailhead, just off Crow Valley Road, with Otto on a leash and a picnic lunch in my backpack. We were on the trail for four hours -- a 5-mile roundtrip that took us mostly up on a gently curving trail and gave us the opportunity to take three short detours to points offering breathtaking vistas, including Crow Valley and Waldron Island (both pictured here).

All of this is due to a partnership of conservation organizations, including the San Juan Preservation Trust, The Trust for Public Land and the San Juan County Land Bank, that raised $18.5 million to buy nearly 1,600 acres of undeveloped land.

Astoundingly, we were the only ones on the trail. We could fantasize for a moment and pretend this was our private slice of heaven. But, the truth be told, it's an experience we've had more than once, whether it's hiking at Obstruction Pass State Park near Olga or (while it was still open to the public) hiking at Madrona Point near Eastsound.

We hadn't been on the island since last August. As always, we left feeling emotionally cleansed and physically refreshed. What more could we ask for from a vacation getaway? We are so blessed...

Photo of Turtleback Mountain: San Juan Preservation Trust

Kristen Bell on BMW

(more) toni garnn

MNN: ZOO-OCRACY V. INDIGENOUS FREEDOM

ZOO-OCRACY V. INDIGENOUS FREEDOM

Mohawk Nation News

http://www.mohawknationnews.com/

MNN. Mar. 18, 2010.
Capitalists think they own every living soul, and that wealth and well-being are tied to race. These zoo keepers need captives to use and abuse. When they washed on our shores we resisted. We refused to forget who we were and are. Followed was one of the biggest holocausts in all humanity. Over 100 million of us in the Western Hemisphere were murdered. We wouldn’t die off. Their domesticated European flocks had to be brought over to slave for them.
Once upon a time all humans were part of the natural world. Europeans were turned into captive animals with a purposeless existence. Their intuition was dulled. They were dumbed down. Their homes are concrete slabs and iron bars. Their lives are purposeless. They have been convinced to live for the hereafter.
Domestication requires docility, submissiveness and ignorance to better serve the hierarchical system.
White centric civilization is unnatural and destructive to all people and the environment. 15th century European barbarism was brought to Great Turtle Island to poison, confuse and undermine us. The masses go along by crying about their hard beginnings, deprivation and losses while committing the same here.
Indigenous refused to submit to the capitalist invaders. Today we are displayed as exotic replicas of a prehistoric age. The colonial band and tribal councils kneel at their feet to try to kick, feed and control us. They are afraid to resist, be punished or lose their benefits.
The colonists feel insecure and uncomfortable unless caged or leashed. We are unfriendly. We once roamed thousands of miles of our territories and rivers. We refuse to be put in cages, infuriating the zoo keepers. True natural people are kept separate from and ignored by the “domesticated”.
Threats have to be constantly hurled at the masses to maintain mindless fear. Anti-depressants and medications blind them from unpleasant truths. Their masters tell them what to do. Those who notice this inhumanity are disappeared. Most take the easy way out – slavery and silence.
We Indigenous always had freedom of mind. The natural world is not a dangerous enemy. Free spirited people must be neutralized or devoured so as not to cause the zombified masses to flee, resist or become aware. We are labeled as “conspirators” and “terrorists”
In the natural world humans, plants, animals and the environment grow and live together. Can captivity-bred people be released into this? Not if incognito racism and eugenics underlay their agenda. Laws, technology and DNA insidiously set up this cult of death.
Multiculturalism is a white dominated hierarchy in all its forms. The zoo keepers fear living without privilege. They study natural people. Like greedy children, they run the pseudo shops that sell our “authentic wares”.
The zoo keepers planned and carried out the “final solution” of the Indian problem. Those who survived were to forget our people, to feel inferior and to thank the colonizers. They failed.
Our minds and spirit are stronger than ever. Some day these freeloaders will have to leave.
Kahentinetha, MNN Mohawk Nation News kahentinetha2@yahoo.com
 For more news, to order books on Mohawk issues, to donate and sign up for MNN newsletters, go to http://www.mohawknationnews.com/

Magali Amadei on Wheels

Exhibit: I Didn't Cross the Border, the Border Crossed Me

March 26, 2010
Contact: Bradley Pecore, 505.428.5912 (ph)
bpecore@iaia.edu

I Didn’t Cross the Border, the Border Crossed Me

Exhibit Explores Arbitrary Boundaries Drawn in Native Communities
By Bradley Pecore

SANTA FE, N.M. – When the United States was founded hundreds of years ago, Indigenous communities were presented with new and arbitrarily drawn borders within their ancestral homelands. A group exhibit, I Didn’t Cross the Border, the Border Crossed Me, at the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts’ Museum Store and Lloyd Kiva New Gallery will investigate the impact these borders have had on Native people. The exhibit opens Saturday, April 17 from 12 noon – 2:00 p.m. at the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts in downtown Santa Fe (108 Cathedral Place) and will continue until May 23. As with all Museum Store exhibits, art work is for sale, and proceeds go to the artists and the Museum.

The physical and cognitive constructions of the United States/Canada and United States/Mexico border have created multidimensional divisions in society associated with nationality, physical borders, family, identity, sovereignty, regional attitudes, human rights, documentation and more. Gallery Associate, Institute of American Indian Arts’ alumnus and show organizer Bradley Pecore says the show will investigate these “…varied perspectives regarding traditional lands and current national boundaries in the modern day Indigenous reality.”

Participating artists include Kimberly Hargrove, Hector Ruiz, Mike Zillioux, Irvin Morazan, Fausto Fernandez, Keary Rosen, David Sloan, Luis Gutierrez and Bob Haozous. Terry and Autumn Gomez are creating a special performance art piece for the exhibit’s opening on April 17 from 12 noon – 2:00 p.m.


For more information about the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, a center of the Institute of American Indian Arts, please visit www.iaiamuseum.org. For more information about this exhibit, please call 505.428.5912.

The Museum of Contemporary Native Arts’ Mission

A leader in the acquisition and presentation of contemporary Native arts, the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts advances scholarship, discourse and understanding through its innovative exhibitions, programs and dialog.
About the Museum
A center of the Institute of American Indian Arts, the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts is home to the largest collection of contemporary Native art in the world. A premier shopping destination, the Museum’s store offers the finest selection of contemporary Native arts and gifts from both emerging and established artists. The Museum is a center of the Institute of American Indian Arts.
Museum hours are Monday – Saturday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday: noon to 5 p.m. Admission has been waived while the main galleries are closed through July 2010.

Fernanda Tavares on Vespa

Canadian immigration halts Cynthia McKinney enroute to Splitting the Sky trial

Former US Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney was detained by Canadian immigration enroute to the trial of Splitting the Sky, Mohawk. Splitting the Sky was arrested as he attempted to make a citizens arrest of George W. Bush for war crimes. McKinney was unable to testify because of the delay.
YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNBgkZU5d9s
UPDATE ON TRIAL, VIDEO Interview with Splitting the Sky:
http://atomicnewsreview.org/2010/03/18/update-on-splitting-the-sky-trial/



Teaser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zzFTI0xzfU

Splitting The Sky Meets Cynthia McKinney in Calgary, Alberta, Canada

By Anthony J. Hall
Professor of Globalization Studies
University of Lethbridge

A Note on a Major Event in the Worldwide Movement to Arrest the Organized Crime of War Profiteers

Hello friends, associates and supporters. Hello, as well, to those who are new to the case of Splitting The Sky versus George W. Bush.
I have no hesitation in asserting that the brilliant content of these videos will be transformative for multitudes of global viewers. These videos contain poetry in You Tube. They offer sophisticated political analysis of the kind that should strike fear in the heart of the criminal class who are currently running the global apparatus of so-called national security. These presentations are studies of effective communication. They embody joy, love and skilled articulation combining classical motifs of ballet-like performance with the free form creativity of hip hop. They highlight two individuals at the top of their form who are leading an accelerating global revolt against the lawless war machine's broadening onslaught. More than any other force, the organized crime of the war machine threatens all humanity-- indeed, all life forms-- with imminent oblivion. Please take the time to study this set of amazing videos and disseminate them far and wide.
The event took place on March 9 only hours after the premature termination of Splitting The Sky's Calgary trial. As the trial was being hurriedly shut down by the state, the legendary Cynthia McKinney arrived in Calgary from London to show solidarity with the veteran Mohawk activist. In an event hosted by my own academic unit, Globalization Studies, and by the University of Calgary's Peace Consortium, STS and Ms. McKinney met for the first time. As they shared stories and joined forces, they came to personify the best spirit of defiance rooted in many generations of resistance towards the forces of colonization, enslavement and resource theft. Together STS and the martyred but still-strong former US Congresswoman, Cynthia McKinney, reflect on what humanity must do now that the heritages of slavery in America and the militarized dispossession of Indigenous peoples have been globalized in the name of the fraudulent Global War on Terror.
As I see it, the case of Splitting The Sky versus George W. Bush will become in the future, even more than it has been in the past, a test case to prove the utter bankruptcy of the censoring mainstream media. This professional malfeasance in the CIA-infested mainstream media stands in contrast with the propensity of activist researchers, publishers, journalists, academics, broadcasters and media artists to use the Internet as a vehicle to advance the revolution that we do intend to televise on You Tube.
Of course, the STS story highlights the media cover up of the lies and crimes of 9/11. But that is only the beginning. STS's story starts with the big cover up of the reality that the New World Order of America began in 1492 with a massive genocide that continues to this day. Add to this monumental cover up the continuing obfuscation of the underlying dynamics that compelled the Attica prisoners, including STS, to revolt against their jailers in 1971.
Similarly, the interests of power have good reason to want to suppress understanding of STS's central role in the Gustafsen Lake Indian War in British Columbia in 1995. There, the Canadian Armed Forces, including Joint Task Force Two (which is centrally involved in special operations in Afghanistan) played a major role in the conflict. The accompanying state-sponsored disinformation and smear campaign was brought to light in a court ruling on an extradition proceeding in Portland Oregon in 2000 entitled USA versus Pitawanakwat. The Canadian and B.C. governments' systematic campaign of media disinformation on the Battle of Gustafsen Lake offers a revealing prelude shedding light on the Cheney-Bush regime's strategy of psychological warfare employed to give a false-impresion of legitimacy to the lawless resource grab advanced in the name of Global War on Terror.
The ongoing genocide that began in 1492 continues to advance the theft of natural resources from Indigenous peoples around the world. The founding of America on this primal original crime extends these days to the creation of new forms of appropriation, domination, murder and enslavement. It finds expression in the sweat shops, forced labour camps, torture chambers and assassination squads of the privatized terror economy. The Big Obama Psy Op is elevating and expanding the 9/11 wars of terror that the new president took over from the Cheney-Bush cabal of war profiteers. Please do yourself a favour and explore these videos while making sure that others are given the same opportunity.
Basta! Enough is Enough
Anthony J. Hall
Professor of Globalization Studies
University of Lethbridge
Teaser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zzFTI0xzfU
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzDuXTFOR8g
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emO-EuF3-9Y
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMHiD8PWYzg
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iga_3f1kiWU
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L88fXyYtLMw
Part 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQ9UxPSxtaA
Part 7: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y-_VFXS540
Part 8: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yocqf0sTsW8
Part 9: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsXdA606DY8
Part 10: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dAp4kk5RZ0
Part 11: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV3AnyxcWEo
Part 12: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYhwbwpjxQA
Part 13: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2h5nteKLvA
Part 14: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wUl_wUDSGY

ROME: Aboriginal Elders Hold Pope Responsible for Residential School Abuse

AWitnesses to Murder in Catholic Indian schools to Protest at the Vatican, Testify before Italian Parliamentarians

By Hidden from History

http://www.hiddenfromhistory.org/

Published at Censored News

http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/

 

Breaking News:

ROME ( Thursday, March 25, 2010) Aboriginal elders from Canada will offer prayers for their friends and relatives who died or were killed in Catholic Indian residential schools, at the institution in Rome responsible for their death. And they will name Pope Benedict, Joseph Ratzinger, as the one ultimately responsible.

Lillian Shirt of the Cree Nation and Charles Cook of the Anishinabe-Ojibway Nation will gather with Rev. Kevin Annett and other members of The Friends and Relatives of the Disappeared (FRD) and Italian supporters at a memorial service outside the Vatican in St. Peter's Square on Easter morning, Sunday April 4 at 11 am.

Both of the native elders survived incarceration in Catholic Indian schools in Canada, and witnessed the deaths of other students.

"Like Jesus, thousands of innocent children were crucified by religious fanatics in the Christian residential schools. We will help to resurrect them this Easter by naming what killed them, and holding their murderers responsible" stated the FRD delegation today.

"Pope Benedict is personally responsible for aiding and abetting pedophile priests, so this is not a crime that he can sweep under the rug or blame on others" stated delegation member Rev. Kevin Annett.

"As we asked the Pope in an unanswered letter two years ago, we want to know where his church buried the children who died at their hands, and have their remains surrendered for a proper burial. The buck stops with Joseph Ratzinger."

While in Rome, the FRD delegation will take their campaign to Italian politicians. On April 7, they will make a presentation to a human rights committee of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, and ask them to endorse an international inquiry into genocide in Protestant and Catholic residential schools in Canada.

The FRD delegation will hold a press conference prior to these meetings, at 2 pm on Wednesday, April 7 outside the front entrance to the Italian Chamber of Deputies, at the Sala delle Colonne, Via Poli 19, in downtown Rome.

The FRD delegation will also speak at public meetings in Parma, Reggio Emilia, Turin, Genoa, and Florence. Their tour has been organized and endorsed by numerous Italian native solidarity groups - a complete list follows - with the support of the provincial government of Genoa.

For more information, contact the FRD through this email;

Elder Jeremiah Jourdain, convenor.

Further Information is below.

FRD International Media Advisory No. 2

.......................................................................................................

Itinerary and Other Information:

PROMOTERS, SUPPORTERS, ORGANIZERS

OF THE FRD TOUR IN ITALY

*(Note: political parties, groups and governments are listed for identification purposes only, and do not necessarily endorse all of the statements or positions of the FRD)

HUNKAPI (Genoa – Italy)
Cultural Association supporting Native Americans so that they can personally talk about their culture and history
Coordinator.
Supports, sponsors and partially finances the Delegation’s trip to Europe
It’s in charge for the event organized in Genoa, at the Provincial Government
KIWANI (Florence – Italy)
Cultural Association supporting Native Americans
Organizational and logistic support in Florence
It’s in charge for the meeting at the Baptist Church Headquarters in Florence
IL CERCHIO
Italian Network to support Native Americans
http://www.associazioneilcerchio.it/#gruppi
Organizational and logistic support in Rome
It’s in charge for some of the meetings to be held in Rome
NATIVI AMERICANI
Italian blog supporting Native American People
Organizational and logistic support in Florence
Main tool to spread information and communication on a national and international basis
MS. LARA CONGIU
Member of Hunkapi, she is connected to European Union Committee
Organizational and logistic support in Parma e Reggio Emilia
In charge for meetings to be held in Parma, Reggio Emilia and Turin
OTHER SPONSORS AND SUPPORTERS
PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY OF GENOA
Main financial sponsor
Supporter
ITALIAN RADICAL PARTY
Organizational, logistic, financial support to the Italian tour
In charge for the meetings to be held at the Chamber of Deputies
MS. MARZIA
In charge for logistic support and lodging in Rome


DATES AND SCHEDULE
29th March
Kevin Annett, Lori o’Rorke, Lillian Shirt and Charles Cook arrive in Italy
30th March, Parma
Conference (schools)
31st March, Reggio Emilia
Conference (schools)
1st April, Turin - 09:00 p.m. (21,00)
Cafè Liber, Circolo Arci, Corso Vercelli 2.
Conference
2nd April Genoa - 04:30 p.m. (16,30)
Provincial Government of Genoa, Council Hall, Piazzale Mazzini 2.
Meeting & Conference with the Civil Authorities of the Provincial Government
3rd April, Florence - 04:00 p.m. (16,00)
Baptist Church Headquarters, Borgo Ognissanti 4.
Conference
4th April, Rome - 11:00 a.m. (11,00)
St. Peter's Square, outside the Vatican
Memorial Service
7th April, Rome - 02:30 p.m. (14,30)
Italian Chamber of Deputies, Sala delle Colonne, Via Poli 19
Unrepentant documentary: Conference & Debate will follow
8th April, Rome
Private meeting at the Italian Chamber of Deputies.
TO BE CONFIRMED
9th April, Rome
Kevin Annett will continue the European Tour with other Natives (names still to be communicated), Lori O’Rorke, Lillian Shirt and Charles Cooke will fly back to Canada

Brigitte Bardot on almost-a-bike

First Nations Given Tainted Bison Meat

Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation
Tel: (780) 697-3730
Toll-free: 1-888-420-7011
Fax: (780) 697-3500

FIRST NATIONS OFFERED TAINTED BISON MEAT WITH LEAD AT LEVELS ABOVE WHAT IS SAFE FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION

First Nations have been given and offered tainted bison meat from a nearby Industry developer. The communities of Fort McKay and Fort Chipewyan were given and offered Free Bison Meat, only to have the bison meat recalled for lead levels above what is considered safe for human consumption. They claim that the poisonous meat came from one animal and The Fort McKay First Nation, Health Canada, Alberta Health and Alberta Agricultural are suggesting that the rest of the meat is safe. Yet as a precautionary measure, Dr. Brent Friesen, Medical Officer of Health, Alberta Health Services, Fort McMurray, and Dr. Simon Sihota, Regional Environmental Public Health Manager, Health Protection Directorate, First Nation and Inuit Health Branch, Health Canada, Edmonton, advise that any ground meat from the Dec 2009 harvest should be collected and sent for analysis for lead content.

The Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation is now asking how this could happen. Why is our First Nation offered free bison meat that turns out to be unsafe for consumption? “Generating contaminated meat and offering it to the First Nations people is a cruel act of total disrespect to the dignity of the people of Fort Chipewyan” Chief Adam said. This contamination casts a dark cloud upon the claims that the oil sands companies are able to safely reclaim lands destroyed by oil sands mining. This contamination comes after the discovery of heightened rare cancer rates in a 2009 report released by the Alberta Cancer Board and a report released by Dr. Schindler2009 showing Athabasca River contamination is improperly measured.

On a related note, there is a free roaming herd of Bison near the ACFN Reserve lands which our members use for consumption purposes. Yet Alberta chooses not to manage this threatened bison herd in a manner to protect it from development. “The buffalo are not protected and industrial developers are running them off the lands scaring them with helicopters and planes” Chief Adam said. Drilling and Exploration continues where these herds of bison roam and live.

The ACFN members are afraid to hunt traditional foods and consume waterfowl birds for fear they may be contaminated by Development. We fear that ducks and geese which have landed on a tailing pond continue to travel north and are consumed by our members. What does ACFNs’ future hold with regards to health and wellness of our Membership? What does the future hold for ACFN’s continued existence in the face of Alberta’s plans for Development? There is great uncertainty with the safety of the Traditional foods we consume.

For Further Information:
Chief Allan Adam, ACFN, 780-697-3730.

George Bush's Nuclear Backdoor Deals

FOIA shows: U.S. has agreed to store enough nuclear reactor waste to fill two Yucca Mountains...or face billions of dollars in new penalites


From: Kevin Kamps: kevin@beyondnuclear.org

EXPERTS: U.S. HAS AGREED TO STORE ENOUGH NUCLEAR REACTOR WASTE TO FILL TWO YUCCA MOUNTAINS … OR FACE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN NEW PENALTIES

“Under the Radar”: Outgoing Bush White House Hiked Likely Penalties Borne by Taxpayers By Inking Deals With Over a Dozen Utilities; 170 Groups in All 50 States Release Principles Urging an Upgrade in Spent Reactor Fuel Storage Safety to Withstand Equivalent of “9/11 Attacks.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 24, 2010) Between the output of existing commercial nuclear reactors and 21 proposed nuclear reactors covered by agreements quietly signed by the outgoing Bush Administration with more than a dozen electric utilities, the United States already has agreed to store enough spent (used) reactor fuel to fill the equivalent of not one, but two, Yucca Mountain high-level radioactive waste repositories, according to documents acquired under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Given that the U.S. is back to square one for the first repository, U.S. taxpayers would be on the hook for potentially tens of billions of dollars in penalties that would have to be paid to utilities if the 21 proposed reactor projects proceed.

This new information about the daunting scale of the challenge that faces the United States in disposing of spent fuel from commercial nuclear reactors comes one day before the first meeting of the Obama Administration’s “Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future.” In addition to highlighting the serious consequences of the eleventh-hour deals stuck by the Bush White House, experts also focused public attention on the fact that the recently cancelled Yucca Mountain repository – even if it were open today, 35 years after the process to create it started – would already be filled to its legal limit of 63,000 metric tons of commercial waste by this spring. A second repository the same size would be filled with the 42,000 additional metric tons of spent fuel yet to be produced by existing nuclear reactors and the 21,000 metric tons that would be produced by the 21 proposed reactors covered under the Bush-industry agreements.

Separately, over 170 groups in all 50 states today released the “Principles for Safeguarding Nuclear Waste at Reactors” calling for specific steps to protect the public from the immediate threats posed by the currently vulnerable storage of commercial spent fuel at nuclear reactor facilities. The principles call for safer on-site storage of spent nuclear fuel through the use of less densely packed reactor pools and “hardened on-site storage” (HOSS) designed to “withstand an attack by air, land, or water from a force at least equal in size and coordination to the 9/11 attacks.” (See below.) Now, after 10 billion dollars of ratepayer money has been wasted and Yucca has rightly been abandoned, even the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has not expressed confidence that a repository will open within ten years of the expiration of the first new reactor. In fact the NRC has not committed to any specific date for a repository; it has no logical or factual basis to come up with one. It was rash for the Bush Administration to sign contracts for new reactors while taxpayers are on the hook for billions due to default on existing waste contracts. These new contracts are likely to add billions more in damages at a time when the federal government is struggling with deficit containment.”

Beyond Nuclear Radioactive Waste Specialist Kevin Kamps: “The bottom line here is that we have an industry and a White House proposing to race ahead with new reactors when we haven’t figured out how to clean up the mess created by the first wave of reactors. Instead, 28 years after passage of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, 35 years after the repository search began, 53 years into commercial nuclear power, and 68 years after Fermi first split the atom during the Manhattan Project, the U.S. still has no safe, sound, permanent storage plan for high-level radioactive waste.”

Diane Curran, Esq., partner, Harmon, Curran, Spielberg & Eisenberg, LLP, said: “There was no apparent justification for the George W. Bush Administration’s rush to sign these spent nuclear fuel disposal contracts for new reactors. Having already paid out hundreds of millions in contract damages on spent fuel disposal agreements it could not fulfill, the government should have waited until it knew whether it could deliver on the contracts, instead of signing up for more liability. These corporations have already reaped tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded contract damages, and stand to get hundreds of millions more. The funds for the damages are coming from the taxpayer-funded Department of Treasury’s Judgment Fund.”

The utilities and the 21 reactor projects covered under the Bush Administration agreements are: Duke Energy in South Carolina (Lee 1&2); Southern Nuclear in Georgia (Vogtle 3&4); South Texas Project in Texas (South Texas 3&4); Nine Mile Point in New York (Nine Mile Point 3); UniStar Nuclear in Maryland (Calvert Cliffs 3); Virginia Electric in Virginia (North Anna 3); Florida Power and Light in Florida (Turkey Point 6&7); South Carolina Electric & Gas in South Carolina (Summer 2&3); Pennsylvania Power and Light in Pennsylvania (Bell Bend); Progress Energy in North Carolina (Shearon Harris 2&3) and Florida (Levy 1&2); Ameren UE in Missouri (Callaway 2); and Luminant in Texas (Comanche Peak 3&4).

A backgrounder outlining the “below the radar” Bush Administration deals with the nuclear industry and the implications of the same for taxpayers is available online at http://www.ieer.org/
.
ABOUT THE PRINCIPLES

Citizens Awareness Network Executive Director Deborah Katz said: “The Principles for Safeguarding Nuclear Waste at Reactors are based on the urgent need to protect the public from the threats posed by the current vulnerable storage of commercial spent fuel. The United States does not currently have a national policy for the permanent storage of high-level nuclear waste. The Obama Administration has determined that the Yucca Mountain site, which has been mired in bad science and mismanagement, is not an option for geologic storage of nuclear waste. Unfortunately, reprocessing proponents have used this opportunity to promote reprocessing as the solution for managing our nuclear waste. Contrary to their claims, however, reprocessing is extremely expensive, highly polluting, and a proliferation threat, and will actually complicate the management of spent fuel.”

Among the steps called for under the Principles are:

· Require a low-density, open-frame layout for fuel pools: “Fuel pools were originally designed for temporary storage of a limited number of irradiated fuel assemblies in a low density, open frame configuration. As the amount of waste generated has increased beyond the designed capacity, the pools have been reorganized so that the concentration of fuel in the pools is nearly the same as that in operating reactor cores. If water is lost from a densely packed pool as the result of an attack or an accident, cooling by ambient air would likely be insufficient to prevent a fire, resulting in the release of large quantities of radioactivity to the environment.”

· Establish hardened on-site storage (HOSS): “Irradiated fuel must be stored as safely as possible as close to the site of generation as possible. Waste moved from fuel pools must be safeguarded in hardened, on-site storage (HOSS) facilities … The overall objective of HOSS should be that the amount of releases projected in even severe attacks should be low enough that the storage system would be unattractive as a terrorist target. Design criteria that would correspond to the overall objective must include: resistance to severe attacks, such as a direct hit by high-explosive or deeply penetrating weapons and munitions or a direct hit by a large aircraft loaded with fuel or a small aircraft loaded with fuel and/or explosives, without major releases.”

· Protect fuel pools: “Irradiated fuel must be kept in pools for several years before it can be stored in a dry facility. The pools must be protected to withstand an attack by air, land, or water from a force at least equal in size and coordination to the 9/11 attacks.”
· Dedicate funding to local and state governments to independently monitor the sites.

· Prohibit reprocessing.

The full text of the Principles is available online at http://www.ieer.org/.

BACKGROUND ON THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION DEALS

In a period of less than three months, the Bush Administration signed contracts to accept irradiated nuclear fuel from 21 new commercial atomic reactors even though at that time, no repository for new sources of irradiated fuel existed or was planned. It also did so even though the U.S. government had already paid out $565 million in contract damages – and faced an additional $790 million of contract damages at that very same time – for its failure to dispose of the existing inventory of irradiated fuel in the United States. And it did so even though it already expected to face around an additional billion dollars of damage payments to nuclear power utilities each and every year for the next decade.

As the backgrounder notes: “Given that after 35 years of searching, the U.S. has failed to license a single repository, it is reasonable to predict that the siting of two new repositories will take at least 50 years, if not 75 or 100 years. Thus, there is a very real potential for defaults on the new irradiated nuclear fuel contracts signed in 2008-2009 ... Barring ‘unavoidable delays,’ DOE would face breach of contract charges for missing these contractual deadlines. Resulting damage awards could cost U.S. taxpayers billions, or even tens of billions, of dollars.”

Between 1983 and 1987, DOE signed radioactive waste disposal contracts with over 100 operating commercial atomic reactors in the U.S. DOE was contractually obliged to begin accepting waste from utilities on Jan. 31, 1998. When this deadline was missed, the first of a current total of 71 lawsuits were filed by nuclear utilities against DOE for breach of contract, seeking damages to compensate them for on-site storage costs. As of July 2009, $565 million in damages had been awarded, and paid, to five nuclear utilities pursuant to settlements, and one trial court judgment that was not appealed. The funding for these damage awards is ultimately coming out of the U.S. Treasury because the courts have ruled that the Nuclear Waste Fund (estimated to have $23.8 billion remaining at the end of Fiscal Year 2009) cannot be used to pay liability to nuclear utility waste contract holders.

DOE has estimated that by 2020, taxpayer liability for breach of contract damages will amount to $12.3 billion – thus, around a billion dollars of damage payments to nuclear power utilities each and every year for the next decade. DOE has not yet estimated liabilities beyond 2020. The nuclear industry itself estimates damages will top $50 billion of taxpayer money. Neither of these estimates reflects the impact of the 21 proposed reactor projects covered under the Bush Administration agreements with major utilities.

The new contracts signed in the waning days of the Bush Administration will add significantly to future liability. In addition to damages, the Department of Justice has, thus far, expended another $154 million of taxpayer money trying to defend DOE against breach of contract charges and damage awards. This “endless litigation,” at taxpayer expense, is expected to continue indefinitely for decades to come, unless Congress intervenes by changing the applicable laws.

Also called spent or used nuclear fuel, irradiated nuclear fuel is the high-level or highly radioactive waste which results when “fresh” nuclear fuel rods become a million times more radioactive after undergoing fissioning in atomic reactor cores.
ABOUT IEER

The Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (http://www.ieer.org/
) provides policy-makers, journalists, and the public with understandable and accurate scientific and technical information on energy and environmental issues. IEER’s aim is to bring scientific excellence to public policy issues in order to promote the democratization of science and a safer, healthier environment.

CONTACT: Ailis Aaron Wolf, for IEER, (703) 276-3265 or aawolf@hastingsgroup.com

EDITOR’S NOTE: A streaming audio recording of the news event will be available on the Web as of 6 p.m. EDT on March 24, 2010 at http://www.ieer.org/
.
Kevin Kamps, Radioactive Waste Watchdog, Beyond Nuclear, 6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite 400, Takoma Park, Maryland 20912 Office: (301) 270-2209 ext. 1 Cell: (240) 462-3216 Fax: (301) 270-4000 kevin@beyondnuclear.org
www.beyondnuclear.org
Beyond Nuclear aims to educate and activate the public about the connections between nuclear power and nuclear weapons and the need to abandon both to safeguard our future. Beyond Nuclear advocates for an energy future that is sustainable, benign and democratic.

Ebru Guzel goes to War

Jailing Cindy Sheehan

While Obama was focused on winning the health care vote, he was failing humanity inside a jail cell

By Brenda Norrell
Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com
Cindy Sheehan was jailed over the weekend as she rallied against the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq at the White House. What kind of a country jails a mother whose son was killed in an unjust and fraudulent war?
How is it that United States' politicians, with the aid of a morally bankrupt media, turn heroes into criminals and criminals into heroes? How is it that the puppet masters continue to control the president and congress, continuing the deceit and bloodshed in wars based on lies?
Cindy describes her arrest at Cindy Sheehan's Soapbox http://cindysheehanssoapbox.blogspot.com
"As soon as I crossed the barrier, I was slammed by a couple of cops, handcuffed and then actually run around the front of the White House while the cops tried to find a paddy wagon to stick me in—about 50 people were running with the cop and I, yelling: 'Let her go, let her go.'
Cindy also describes the jail cell:
"Well, those two days were some of the most miserable days of my life! We were taken to a lock-up and Elaine and I were put into a freezing room and I had a t-shirt and flip-flops on, being unprepared to be arrested. For four women, our cell had one cement block bench that was about 7-8 feet long, so at least one of us always had to be on the stone-cold floor. Sleeping was fitful as it was very chilly all night—and very noisy!
Thirty-six hours, and eight bologna-like and cheese-substitute sandwiches later, we were taken to the court for our arraignment and stayed in that cell for seven hours and were finally released at 5pm after we all pled 'not-guilty' and were scheduled for a trial on June 9th."
Cindy says, however, that even jail here is better than the conditions many people live in around the world because of the United States' militarization and greed:
"There are literally billions of people suffering all over this planet due to my nation’s militarism and greed and I know many people would have traded places with me in a heartbeat and think the conditions were pretty damn good."
Meanwhile, while President Obama was focused on winning the vote in health care, he was failing humanity inside this jail cell:
Cindy says, "This never happened to me when Bush was president."

Read more at Cindy's Soapbox:
http://cindysheehanssoapbox.blogspot.com
Photo: In memory of Casey Sheehan, 28.

Tsilhqot'in's 'Blue Gold' will not be censored

Public hearings on mine proposal will include Tsilhqot'in documentary
By Andrew MacLeod
March 23, 2010
http://thetyee.ca/Blogs/TheHook/Aboriginal-Affairs/2010/03/23/FilmPanel

Taseko Mines Ltd. has failed in its bid to prevent a documentary about the Tsilhqot'in people's connection to Teztan Biny, or Fish Lake, from being shown at a public hearing on a mine proposal southwest of Williams Lake.

The federal review panel this morning dismissed Taseko's motion that last week asked that the film Blue Gold: The Tsilhqot'in Fight for Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) not be shown at the public hearing, said Jay Nelson, a Victoria lawyer acting for the TNG, in an email. “It held that its rules of procedure did not prohibit presenting information in this form,” he said.

A lawyer acting for Taseko did not respond to a message by posting time. The submission to the panel said Blue Gold is a “propaganda film, produced to influence the opinions or behaviour of people, by providing deliberately biased content in an emotional context,” the Tyee reported.

The film's director, Susan Smitten, said she laughed when she heard the company's lawyer had called the film “propaganda.”

“The film's power comes in its authenticity,” she said. It was made as a way to help the Tsilhqot'in people express what the threatened lake means to them, she said. “They come from a position of love.”

Views of Blue Gold tripled the day after Taseko asked that the film be kept out of the hearing, she said. Filmed in two days with a budget under $10,000, it has been watched by people around the world, she said.

The film can be seen on the Hook or on Vimeo. It will be shown during the panel's evening hearings on March 24.

Andrew MacLeod is The Tyee’s Legislative Bureau Chief in Victoria.

Blue Gold: The Tsilhqot'in Fight for Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) from Susan Smitten on Vimeo.

Blue Gold: The Tsilhqot'in Fight for Teztan Biny
Blue Gold expresses the Tsilhqot'in peoples' unanimous rejection of Taseko Mines Ltd.'s proposal to drain Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) in order to stockpile mining waste.

"It is not possible for us to agree to the destruction of the land that sustains us." ~ Chief Marilyn Baptiste, Xeni Gwet'in First Nation.

This film was made possible through generous donations from several organizations including: Donner Canadian Foundation, Friends of the Nemaiah Valley and Small Change Fund.

The Tsilhqot'in Nation holds proven Aboriginal hunting and trapping rights in the area where Taseko wants to build its mine. Taseko's plan requires completely draining Fish Lake (which sits at the headwaters of the Taseko River and ultimately the Fraser River, 600 km north of Vancouver, BC) and filling it with waste rock. The company intends to create a reservoir to hold the 80,000+ trout. Much of the watershed to the south including Nabas (Little Fish Lake) would be used as a tailings storage facility. This is all in an area held as sacred by the Tsilhqot'in.

In the place of gorgeous, fish-bearing lakes in a pristine sub-alpine ecosystem, Taseko will leave behind an estimated 700,000,000 tons of tailings and waste materials, including arsenic, mercury, lead, cadmium and other toxic metals. These toxic creations will permanently scar the area, destroy habitat for major species like grizzlies, moose and deer, and potentially contaminate the largest wild salmon run in North America (the Fraser River).

Recent changes to Canada's Fisheries Act allow for the destruction of freshwater bodies - lakes and rivers can now be used as toxic dump sites for mining corporations. Teztan Biny is just one of many lakes slated for destruction.

We are now fighting to convince the federal environmental review panel which must decide on whether to allow Taseko to proceed of the significant and irrefutable impacts the project will have. The permanent destruction of the lake would be an unfathomable cultural and spiritual loss to the Tsilhqot'in people. And it cannot be compensated ecologically.

There is more information and a place to donate on the RAVEN website - http://www.raventrust.com/

H11 na estrada!

O Fotógrafo não pode perder o momento, era 3h30 e estavamos no meio de ITAMARAJU e TEIXEIRA DE FREITAS no estado da BAHIA, nosso carro passou por um buraco e lá se foram as duas rodas. Cláudio Henrique, o motorista, baixista e flautista pegou uma carona e encaminhou para Teixeira de Freitas em busca de Socorro. Fiquei no carro com mais 5 pessoas músicos da Banda Gospel MINISTÉRIO H11.

As 5h30 os raios solares realizaram um belo espetáculo, como a turma era animada, deu nisso.

Só Lembrando que as fotos foram registrada por uma câmera PANASONIC Lumix DMCLZ8. Gostei muito do resultado.

Fotos: Jonatas Rodrigues

Artsmith Salon Series

It's Monday night at Doe Bay Resort. Lori and I pull into the nearly empty gravel and dirt parking lot at 6 p.m. The sky is still light, the temperature is mild and we've arrived to have a light dinner before the start of the Artsmith Salon Series, a weekly get-together involving the literary community here on Orcas Island.

It's our first time attending one of these programs, though we've been here plenty of times before for Open Mic Pizza Night, a virtual grab bag of local musical performers.

Jennifer Brennock, the emcee for the night and someone I met last year during a writers' workshop she led), joins us for a quick bite and how-do-you conversation. She's an MFA student at Vermont's Goddard College, with both Oregon and California roots (Southern Oregon University, Saratoga High School), and worked briefly as a reporter for the island newspaper.

We bring an open mind to the program and leave feeling inspired, invigorated and even a little bit envious. If this is the qualtity of programming from week to week, boy, we're missing out on a lot that full-time islanders get to take in.

A local playwright named Bill Westlake reads two of his short stories -- both very well written with interesting narratives. During open mic, a guy named Carlos (at right) uncorks a wine bottle and pulls from it a scroll containing the short story he reads aloud. (He thought of the idea as a way to express his anti-Internet sentiments. How, he asked himself, could he formulate his story in such a way that it couldn't be replicated on the Web? Very creative.) Another guy recites a poem and a woman named Renee (sp?) reads three newly composed poems.

In between comes the program's highlight: a photographer and a writer from Lopez Island do a narrated slide show on their self-published book, "Hands at Work." A simple enough concept -- to portray in images and words the beauty, the dignity, the passion of what people do with their hands to earn a livelihood -- and one done with obvious respect for each of the subjects in the book.

Iris Graville reads from the book's introduction, plus three or four essays in the book, as photographer Summer Moon Scrivner projects a series of black-and-white images on the pull-down screen. Together, their words and photos convey the meaning and fulfillment -- and often a spiritual dimension -- that people find in their work. Some choices for the book are obvious: a physical therapist, a midwife, a baker, a weaver. Others, not so much: a vibraphonist, for instance.

What I enjoy most about their book and their presentation is knowing that every step in the process from idea to book is driven by integrity. The way they approach the subjects, reading each other's non-verbal cues during the interviews, editing the photos and words, framing and titling the book to give it a sharp focus -- all of this speaks to a coherent vision and an honest channeling of people's words and values.

I can't help but think of the contrast between a project like this, which involves so much human interaction, observation and engagement, and what we are subjected to nearly every day with the 24/7 news cycle, the me-me-me world of YouTube, the phoniness of "reality" shows and the shouting matches that pass for political talk shows.

As the clock turns to 9 o'clock, we get up to leave with nothing but good feelings about a great evening: A delicious seafood dinner, consumed at a table overlooking the water; a new friend in Jennifer; a pleasant introduction to the creative community on Orcas and Lopez islands; and a brand-new book, signed by Summer and Iris, to take back home to Portland before bringing it back up to rest on our coffee table at the Orcas cabin.

Photo: Photographer Summer Moon Scriven, left, and writer Iris Graville