Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

September 2, 2013

Today's news: The Good and the Ugly

By Brenda Norrell
Censored News

In the news today, the long walkers for Native American sovereignty on Longest Walk 4 left the arch in St Louis midday. The long walkers on their five-month journey across America are bound for Kansas City en route to Alcatraz.
Meanwhile, the Nobel Peace Prize winning US president and the anti-war Secretary of State are busy making war -- while the media spins the lies of the black ops.

Indian Country Today: Plagiarizers profiteer
In similar media deceit, Indian Country Today' Media Networks armchair plagiarizers continue to plagiarize and rewrite the hard work of others for profit.
Here's one of the many parts of the copyright law ICT plagiarizers are violating: "Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission."
The plagiarizers are no different than the other corporate exploiters for profit.
Readers, don't settle for crumbs, or feed the parasites.
The armchair journalists sit at home and wait for the news to come online. Then, they plagiarize it, or rewrite it with a phone call, and get a paycheck for it. Many of those actually present on news stories these days are not being paid. 
So these armchair journalists, and media like Indian Country Today Media Network, have found a way to deceive readers and exploit the sincere sacrifices of the good hearts, for their own profit.
As for reporters, it definitely won't do your career any good to become known as a plagiarizer and an armchair journalist who sits home and acts as a scavenger and parasite.
Reporters, copying and pasting blocks of info from the Internet -- and throwing it together -- is not journalism, regardless of how academic it looks to you, or how good it makes you feel.
The bottom line is why would anyone with integrity work for Indian Country Today. 
The Oneida administration that purchased Indian Country Today is founded on the oppression of traditional Oneida women. The clan mothers struggled to prevent the Oneida Nation in New York from becoming a casino corporation. The current Oneida leaders, who orchestrate the newspaper, have put the traditional Oneida women through years of abuse, including the Shenandoah women. 
Why would the Oneidas have a newspaper whose reporters are told to sit home and plagiarize others work? Why would they censor the truth in Indian country? Have you seen these reporters present on news stories? I haven't seen these reporters present on news stories in the past 30 years. 
The constant oppression and abuse of the clan mothers, including the Shenandoah women, is documented online and can be researched.
The demise of Indian Country Today, and the news in Indian country in general, will eventually be recognized as a result of the collapse brought on by the casino industry. 
The casino industry was initiated in Indian country by non-Indians who schemed to use tribal sovereignty for their own profiteering. The casino industry targeted traditional people that got in their way and relied on corrupt tribal politicians who could be bought. 
This continues to be one of the most censored stories.
Don't settle for crumbs. Don't support an industry that abuses women. If people have integrity about their work, then they would not work there or support it. 
You can't take the high ground and urge others to do the right thing, if you sell out for money, attention or publicity.

Why adhere to copyright law
Thanks to everyone who shares Censored News articles. 
For websites, the best way to share any article from another website is to post a paragraph or two and link back to the original website. The author and link should also be included on the brief post. This gives the original author and original website the credit due for their hard work. As always, website owners should ask permission before re-posting any amount of another person's work. Photographers should always be asked for permission before re-posting their photos.
There's several major reasons for these guidelines. The first is obvious. It is because of the profiteers, the plagiarizers who turn the sacrificial works of the good hearts online into profits for themselves. This is done by writers who get a paycheck for plagiarizing, and by websites who put advertising on their website, then load it with others work, and never leave their homes to do any real work.
Another reason to adhere to copyright law is because of cases of abuse. Photos of activists have been used by white supremacists on hate websites to target activists. In one case, years ago, Censored News made an emergency request to the New Zealand Human Rights Commission because photos of Zapatista supporters and other activists were being used on a hate website. The Commission responded and dealt with it. At the same time, an activist in Australia filed a lawsuit. In these cases, copyright law on photos can be used to protect people.
Ultimately, it is an issue of respect and honor to give people credit and recognition for their work.

More:
European coverage: Native Americans take the lead in the tar sands resistance:
http://www.iede.co.uk/news/2013_2885/native-americans-take-lead-tar-sands-resistance
NSA spied on Presidents of Brazil and Mexico:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/02/nsa-spied-mexico-brazil-presidents?CMP=twt_fd

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