Protesting Dirty Coal Power Plant Outside Navajo Nation Council Chambers

NOW!
DINE' CARE PHOTOS
Protesting dirty coal power plant, Navajo Generating Station, outside Navajo Nation Council Chambers.
The Navajo Nation government wants to keep this dirty coal power plant operating with coal from Peabody Coal mined on Black Mesa. Both drain precious water to produce electricity for Southern Arizona and poison Navajos and everyone in the Grand Canyon region. -- Censored News

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Water Protector Dion Ortiz Faces Up To 3 Years in Prison with Plea Agreement

Dion Ortiz Reaches Non-Cooperating Plea Agreement, 1 Charge Dropped –Recommendation of Up to 3 Years

Posted on July 17, 2018l

By Water Protector Legal Collective

Censored News

MANDAN, North Dakota -- Dion Ortiz appeared in federal court in Bismarck on July 17 for a change of plea hearing as per the terms of a non-cooperating agreement with prosecutors.

Water Protector Dion Ortiz (in tie) with attorney and family prior to his change of please hearing in Bismarck on July 17, 2018

Dion had been charged with Civil Disorder and Use of Fire to Commit a Federal Felony Offense, arising from events of October 27, 2016. Under this plea agreement, the second charge – which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and the possibility of up to 15 years in prison – will be dropped entirely, and Ortiz will take responsibility for committing civil disorder.

Presiding Judge Daniel L. Hovland accepted the plea agreement by prosecutors and the defense. At the time of sentencing, the prosecutors have agreed to recommend up to three years, while the defense is free to argue for any sentence they wish. The judge has the authority to go as high as five years. This is a non-cooperating agreement relating only to Dion's own actions and does not require any testimony or information about anyone else.

Dion and his legal team were facing monumental challenges including the prospect of trial with a hostile jury pool and the risk of a draconian 10-year prison sentence because of minimum sentencing.

In December of 2016, WPLC brought in an expert to poll the potential jurors to determine the extent of local bias against Water Protectors. The findings were clear: 77% of potential jurors in Morton County and 85% in Burleigh County had already decided that defendants were guilty and many potential jurors have close connections to law enforcement or the oil industry.

Dion is a member of the San Felipe Pueblo in New Mexico; he went to Standing Rock in September 2016 to participate in the prayer camp.

Dion's parents and siblings traveled to Bismarck to be in attendance at today's hearing, which was also attended by LaDonna Brave Bull Allard of the Standing Rock reservation and congregants from the local Unitarian Universalist church who came as "moral witnesses."

At the conclusion of the hearing three U.S. marshals took Dion from the courtroom in Bismarck to the Burleigh-Morton Detention Center to await sentencing. The family gathered with supporters to express their love and support for Dion.

"My son is always helping out people in need; he just puts the sunshine on a cloudy day," said his mother. "He will always be there to help out with anything that is asked of him, he has a big heart and puts others first," his dad added. Dion's sister said that Dion was known in the family "for always making jokes and bringing a smile to their faces," and his little brother described Dion as "a caring person who wants to make everybody happy and warm their hearts."

Information on how to support him during this difficult time is available on his Facebook support page: Justice4Dion.

He is represented by attorneys Robin V. Waters and Thomas Anthony Durkin of the Durkin & Roberts law firm in Chicago, and its pro bono arm, The Rerum Novarum Human and Civil Rights Center of Chicago, who will return to Bismarck for his sentencing hearing, currently scheduled for October 22.

"We think this was a fair resolution under the circumstances, especially in light of the 10-year minimum sentence that would have been imposed if Dion had been convicted of the second charge," Durkin said. "We look forward to being able to present an enormous amount of mitigation at the time of his sentencing hearing."

This agreement comes shortly after the sentencing of another Water Protector with federal charges: Red Fawn Fallis was sentenced to 57 months, to be followed by three years of federal supervision. Rattler (Michael Markus) will be sentenced on September 27. Water Protector Legal Collective is also currently handling 22 state cases that are still open and proceeding to trial, and another six cases being appealed.

Posted in Arrestee Updates, For Arrestees, Press Releases

Dine' to Protest Wall Street 'Vulture Capitalists' and Dirty Coal Power Plant -- July 18, 2018

The Navajo Nation government wants to keep this dirty coal fired power plant on the Navajo Nation, the Navajo Generating Station, operating. It has been one of the dirtiest coal fired power plants in the world over the past decade. NGS provides electricity for southern Arizona, while many Navajos go without electricity. NGS uses coal from the nearby Peabody Coal Mine, the primary reason for relocation. Both Peabody Coal and NGS drain the precious aquifer water. -- Censored News

   Dine' to Protest Wall Street 'Vulture Capitalists' and Dirty Coal Power Plant

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

By Lori Goodman, Diné CARE', Carol Davis, Diné CARE', and Percy Deal, Big Mountain Resident

Censored News

Navajo community members gather outside Navajo Council summer session to protest negotiations with Wall Street “vulture capitalists” on NGS

WHAT:    As the Navajo Nation Tribal Council convenes for its summer legislative session, members of the Navajo advocacy group Diné CARE and others will gather outside council chambers in Window Rock to voice their concerns about negotiations between Wall Street hedge fund traders and the Navajo government over continued operation of Navajo Generating Station past its scheduled December 2019 closure date. Navajo community members will “air the dirty laundry” of what will happen if Avenue Capital follows through to buy the plant, which is losing hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

WHY: The closure of NGS in less than two years is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Navajo Nation to move beyond 50 years of forced economic dependence on coal and toward a sustainable clean energy future. The purchase of the plant by Wall Street speculators – led by tycoon Marc Lasry – threatens to block that path. Lasry’s firm, Avenue Capital, specializes in scooping up “distressed” assets and squeezing profits from them for short-term gains. Navajo communities and leaders need to understand the significant losses that will befall the tribe if a predatory Wall Street hedge fund takes over at NGS.

WHO:  Members of Diné CARE and Navajo communities impacted by almost five decades of colonized dependence on coal

WHEN:  Wednesday, July 18, 2018, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Navajo Time (MDT)

WHERE: Outside the east entrance of Navajo Nation Council Chambers in Window Rock

VISUALS: Advocates will air the “dirty laundry” of NGS, with posters on topics such as: the harm the power plant and Kayenta coal mine have done to Navajo air, land and water; the hundreds of millions of dollars in assets from current owners that the tribe will lose if NGS is sold to new owners; the financial risks to workers and tribal revenue of a sale.

LOUISIANA -- Tree Sitters Occupying Sites on Bayou Bridge Pipeline Easement

LOUISIANA -- Tree Sitters Occupying Sites on Pipeline Easement

L'eau Est La Vie Camp - No Bayou Bridge
Censored News

BREAKING.

Deep in the Atchafalaya Basin, one of the largest swamps in North America, aerial blockades have been established directly on the path of the Bayou Bridge Pipeline.

Water protectors are currently occupying multiple tree-sits on the pipeline easement.

We have petitioned, filed lawsuits and demonstrated. We have carried our nearly 50 worksite actions. But despite these efforts, construction of the Bayou Bridge Pipeline has continued. We are left with no other choice but to put our bodies, and our lives on the line to stop this pipeline.

The tree-sitters and their support team are living in inhospitable conditions, with limited resources and under close watch of Energy Transfer Partners. THEY NEED YOUR SUPPORT.

Show your solidarity for those fighting on the frontlines, organize a solidarity action during the #RiseTogether Weeks of Action which kicks off today: www.NoBayouBridge.global/risetogether

During these Weeks of Action we are asking folks to target these banks which finance Energy Transfer Partners and other major pipeline companies:

Bank of America
Citi Bank
JP Morgan Chase
Wells Fargo
Bank of Tokyo
Credit Suisse
Royal Bank of Canada

Censored News

www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com

Zapatistas 'CompARTE for Life and Freedom' August 6 -- 9, 2018

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Sup Galeano (Marcos) in Sonora Photo by Brenda Norrell

Zapatistas 'CompARTE for Life and Freedom' August 6 -- 9, 2018
CIG Support Network Gathering Aug. 2-- 5, 2018
Caracol of Morelia

Convocation to a Gathering of Support Networks for the Indigenous Governing Council; to CompARTE 2018, “For Life and Freedom”; and to the Fifteenth Anniversary Event of the Zapatista Caracoles entitled, “Píntale Caracolitos a los malos gobiernos pasados, presentes y futuros”
Convocation to a Gathering of Support Networks for the Indigenous Governing Council; to CompARTE[i]  2018, “For Life and Freedom”; and to the Fifteenth Anniversary Event of the Zapatista Caracoles entitled, “Píntale Caracolitos a los malos gobiernos pasados, presentes y futuros” [ii]

July, 2018.
http://enlacezapatista.ezln.org.mx/2018/07/11/convocation-to-a-gathering-of-support-networks-for-the-indigenous-governing-council-to-comparte-2018-for-life-and-freedom-and-to-the-fifteenth-anniversary-event-of-the-zapat/
To the individuals, groups, collectives and organizations of the Support Networks for the Indigenous Governing Council:
To the National and International Sixth:
First and last point:
The Grand Finale.
You arrive at the grand stadium. “Monumental,” “colossal,” “an architectonic marvel,” “the concrete giant”—these and similar descriptors roll off the lips of TV broadcasters who, despite the different realities that they describe, all highlight the enormously proud structure.
To get to the magnificent building, you’ve had to wade through rubble, cadavers, and filth. Older folks say that it wasn’t always like this, that it used to be that homes, neighborhoods, businesses, and buildings were erected around the great sporting hub. Rivers of people would rush all the way up to the gigantic entrance, which only opened once in a while and on whose threshold was inscribed, “Welcome [Bienvenido] to the Supreme Game.” Yes, “bienvenido” in the masculine, as if what occurred inside was exclusively a men’s affair, as used to be the case with public bathrooms, bars, the machinery and tools sections of hardware stores…and, of course, soccer.

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Leonard Peltier's Unit out of Lockdown

Leonard Peltier's Unit out of Lockdown International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee Censored News Greetings Friends, Family and supporters We were hoping to share some good news about our visit with Leonard this week but that was short lived. Even though the Elder’s Unit where Leonard is housed is no longer locked down, Coleman 1 is in a lock down status thus preventing visits. However, the prison stated there may be visits next week-end, we’ll see! We are still actively pushing to get a special legal visit! In fact, we had to speak to the Bureau of Prison’s Regional office in order to have the legal department in Coleman respond to our attorney. If this denial of a Legal Visit continues, we will pursue the matter in court! Leonard’s freedom depends on his ability to work closely with his legal team. While we have been building up a legal fund, filing a brief can be very, very costly, so we need your continued support. You can help by purchasing merchandise from the website shop or check out the new paintings on Peltier Art. We were able to speak with Leonard over this last week. He was extremely pleased to hear so many folks called the office requesting post cards to send to President Trump. We have a new front image on the post cards and have successfully distributed over 3,500 cards. We still have post cards in stock, so please e-mail us your physical mailing address, the number of cards you are requesting and we will put them in the mail for you.

Leonard is optimistic that reaching out to President Trump at this time may garner his freedom. He encourages those of you that enjoy writing to take some time to write a letter to President Trump. He suggests discussing the FBI lies and government misconduct that has been used to keep him in prison for 44 years. On our website is an example letter with information on these subjects. For our wonderful Oklahoma supporters, we have a booth at the Woodie Guthrie Festival this week end. On July 27-29th we will also have a booth at the 68th Indian Hills Powwow and August 10-12th at the Tulsa Powwow of Champions. So please stop by and say hello to our board member, Mark Maxey. We recently installed a landline in the National Office, please make note of our new telephone number; it is 813-488-7851. We are always thinking of new ways to reach out to Leonard’s supporters to make it easier for you to receive the most current information about Leonard, our campaigns, fundraisers and events. Thank you again for your support. The ILPDC National Office and Board