Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

January 31, 2010

Spooks and Apartheid Maker Team Up in Haiti


Spooks and Apartheid Contractors Team Up in Haiti
Posted by
Brenda Norrell - January 31, 2010 at 8:49 am
Narcosphere

Evergreen and Elbit are flying surveillance over Haiti orphanages
By Brenda Norrell
Photo: Elbit drone

CIA contractor Evergreen International Aviation, Inc., and the Israeli border spy contractor Elbit Systems, have teamed up to fly surveillance drones over Haiti orphanages in the remote mountains of Haiti.
As Danske Bank divested in Elbit investments because of Elbit's ethics violations, Evergreen publicly announced it has teamed up with Elbit for air surveillance of Haiti orphanages.
Elbit, the Israeli defense contractor, built surveillance equipment on the Palestine border. Elbit was subcontracted by Boeing to construct spy technology on the Arizona border.
Evergreen, with long standing ties to the CIA, is based in McMinnville, Oregon.
In Haiti, Evergreen announced it has flown "missions to survey rural orphanages in Haiti employing Elbit Systems' Skylark® I LE Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. The team flew missions from the mountains of Haiti at 5,200 feet in the vicinity of Port-au-Prince."
"Evergreen Unmanned Systems was supported by Elbit Systems of Israel, using its Skylark® I LE System, to fly into these areas searching for signs of life. Evergreen Helicopters donated airlift support to position both teams into the region," Evergreen said in a statement, calling it a "pioneering effort" between Evergreen and Elbit.
The use of drones in Haiti follows the protest in November at Fort Huachuca Army Intelligence Center in Arizona. Human rights activists demanded a halt to US torture and the use of drones, unmanned aircraft, by the US military for rogue assassinations which are also killing civilians in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
More:
Danske divested of Elbit, because of surveillance provided at the wall between Israel and the West Bank, and Africa Israel investments:
http://www.cphpost.dk/component/content/48048.html?task=view
Evergreen press statement on teaming up with Elbit:
http://www.evergreenaviation.com/p_releases/012810.html

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

January 30, 2010

Detained in Oaxaca: Human Rights Violations

Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com
OAXACA, Mexico -- "On Thursday January 28, at around 9 p.m. Andrea Caraballo, Guadalupe Rodriguez Lopez, James Wells and Jennifer Lawhorne were eating ice cream in the zocalo of Oaxaca. At that time, one of us recognized the face of the governor of Oaxaca who was about nine feet away from us. As a friend of Brad Will, a U.S. journalist who was killed in Oaxaca in 2006, one of us took advantage of the governor's presence to ask him about the case of Mr. Will, which to this day remains unresolved. We didn't receive a response from the governor who continued walking and we continued strolling in the zocalo with our ice creams. Five minutes later, between six and eight police agents, some in official uniform and others dressed in plainclothes, surrounded us ...
Read article after their release from jail:
http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2010/01/detained-in-oaxaca-human-rights.html

LISTEN: Cheyenne River Sioux Chairman, First Voices Indigenous Radio

Chairman Joseph Bring Plenty's segment begins around 10:35ish.
To access interview:www.firstvoicesindigenousradio.org OR http://archive.wbai.org/ and scroll down to Jan.28th 10AM [EDT]
Thursday, January 28, 2010first_voices_01_28_2010.MP3
Dahoud Andre and Miriam Neptune Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees - speak regarding the relief efforts being denied by the U.S militarization in Haiti.
Joseph Brings Plenty- Cheyenne River (Lakota) Sioux Tribe- Chairman on the declared "disaster area" by the Governor Rounds of South Dakota - during the third of major ice and snowstorms that has devastated the CRSTs since early Dec. 2009. The noticeable effect of an "emergency" would be relief efforts by the Red Cross or Federal Emergency Management Agency, until this date 1-28-10 "FEMA has not shown up on Cheyenne River and what Red Cross aid there is for Natives on this reservation is sparse at best". The National Guard is assisting with restoring power and water resources but with 10-21 days. Meanwhile, subzero temperatures, no water, no gasoline, no stores or businesses, no schools and no power keep services inadequate for most of the members on and near the Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Sioux Reservations. For help and information, call the CRST Emergency Coordination Center at (605) 964-7711 (or -7712)
-- - Tiokasin GhosthorseOyate Tokaheya Wicakiye
FIRST VOICES INDIGENOUS RADIO Thursdays 1Oam-11amwww.firstvoicesindigenousradio.org
212.209.2800 switchboard
Broadcast Info
WBAI NY 99.5 FM120 Wall Street, 10th Floor New York, NY 10005 Streaming: www.wbai.orgPacifica Radio Network
WJFF 90.5 FM Jeffersonville, NYW233AH 94.5 FM Monticello, NY Streaming: www.wjffradio.org
WPKN 89. 5 FM Bridgeport - New Haven, Conn. Streaming www.wpkn.org
WPKM 88.7 FM Montauk, NY Westerly, Rhode Island New London, Conn. Streaming www.wpkn.org
COMING SOON!KVNF 90.9 FM Paonia, Colorado www.kvnf.org
99.1 FM Grand Valley, Grand Junction88.7 FM Lake City98.3 FM Hotchkiss Crawford 88.9 FM Ridgway 90.1 FM Ouray
KVMT 89.1 FM Uncompahgre Valley Montrose Delta
KUNM 89.9 Albuquerque, Santa Fe KBOM 88.7 Socorro KRRT 90.9 Arroyo Seco - Taos KRRE 91.9 Las VegasKRAR 91.9 EspañolaK220EM 91.9 NageeziK216CT 90.5 Eagle NestK216CU 91.1 Cuba
Please visit: www.Ghosthorse.bizwww.myspace.com/ghosthorseksa SKYPE: Tiokasin
CRAZY HORSE (His Horse Is Enchanted) 1877 said this smoking a pipe with Sitting Bull 4 days before his assassination. "Upon suffering beyond suffering: the Red Nation shall rise again and it shall be a blessing for a sick world. A world filled with broken promises, selfishness and separations. A world longing for light again. I see a time of Seven Generations when all the colors of mankind will gather under the Sacred Tree of Life and the whole Earth will become one circle again. In that day, there will be those among the Lakota who will carry knowledge and understanding of unity among all living things and the young white ones will come to those of my people and ask for this wisdom. I salute the light within your eyes where the whole Universe dwells. For when you are at that center within you and I am that place within me, we shall be one."

January 29, 2010

Disaster Declared: Cheyenne River Sioux

DISASTER DECLARED ON THE CHEYENNE RIVER SIOUX INDIAN RESERVATION IN SOUTH DAKOTA

Photo: Juanita Oros/West River Eagle News/Fallen power poles at a community pow-wow ground after a storm hit Ziebach and Dewey counties in South Dakota.

For Immediate Release:
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe
Incident Command System
For further information:
Joe Brings Plenty, Tribal Chairman (605) 964-4155
Leo Fischer, Tri-County/Mni Waste Water System (605) 365-6940
Natalie Stites, Public Information Officer, Incident Command System
(715) 896-0158,
Natalie.stites@gmail.com

January 28, 2010
Severe Ice Storms and Freezing Temperatures Have Knocked Down 3,000 Utility Poles – Tribal Residents Have Been Without Electricity, Heat and Running Water for Six Days.

EAGLE BUTTE, S.D. – The Chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe has declared a State of Emergency in central South Dakota, an Indian reservation approximately the size of Connecticut with nearly 15,000 Tribal members. The Tribe is still awaiting Presidential disaster declaration.

Days of ice storms and strong winds have downed over 3,000 utility poles across the reservation. Thousands of already impoverished tribal residents have been without electricity or heat for five days, with wind chill factors well below zero. Experts estimate it may be as long as a month before all areas have electricity restored.

“Making matters worse,” said Tribal Chairman Joe Brings Plenty, “the loss of electricity has also knocked out the Reservationʼs aging water system. We have no running water on the entire Reservation, it is also affecting of Reservation communities such as Faith, whose water is supplied from pipes running through the Reservation.”

The Tribe is working hard to bring families in, out of the cold and into shelters. The South Dakota National Guard, The Stateʼs Department of Public Safety as well as the Army Corps of Engineers have come to the reservation and supplied some emergency generators. The Tribe would especially like to thank Wal-Mart for providing emergency food and supplies, and the Navajo Nation for sending up a tribal utility crew to help with the downed electrical lines.

However, much more assistance is still needed. No one facility can host a shelter large enough for all the Tribal residents; additional generators are needed to set up additional shelters. The Tribeʼs one and only grocery store has lost all of its perishables; additional food is needed. Also, dialysis patients have had to be evacuated to Rapid City.

Donations Needed:

MEDICAL NEEDS: Dialysis Patients/Glucose Strips/Financial Support for Hotels

* The dialysis patients have all been evacuated three hours away to Rapid City, SD. They are staying in hotels for at least a week and half, probably longer. The Tribe is looking into reimbursement sources from CMS and IHS, but in the interim financial contributions are needed to help the families pay for their hotel expenses and food. An account has been set up at Wells Fargo to help with these expenses. You can contribute at any Wells Fargo or send to the Rapid City branch.
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/article_ec833f00-0a38-11df-a62b-001cc4c002e0.html
CONTRIBUTIONS:
Wells Fargo
Cheyenne Dialysis Patients (c/o Dew Bad Warrior)
Acct. #: 5815904338
1615 N 7th St.
Rapid City, SD 55701

* Medical Items Need on the Reservation itself (shipping address
below):
* Glucose Strips
* First Aid Kits
* Children’s Tylenol
* Children’s Cough Syrup

NEEDED SUPPLIES:
A big thank you to Wal-Mart for sending some initial food and supplies!!
Additional items are needed, especially for the communities whose
electricity is expected to be down for up to 30 days. Please forward to any
companies that manufacture these items that may be of assistance.

* CONTRIBUTIONS: Can be made directly to the Tribe’s emergency fund
listed below.
* IN KIND: Or if you prefer to make in-kind donations:

* Non-perishable food
* Cots
* Heat sources (heaters & fuel)
* Camp stoves & fuel
* Light sources:
* Lithium 1, 2 and 3 batteries for law enforcement
* Lamps/Batteries/Lamp Oil
* Toiletries
* Toilet paper
* Paper products for the shelters
* Pampers/formula
* Hand/baby wipes/Hand sanitizer

FINANCIAL DONATIONS:
The Tribe has depleted its emergency budget with the two blizzards that already hit the reservation since December. It needs funds to help buy food and supplies for the community and volunteers, to pay for gas and overtime for the workers, to replace the motor at the water pump station that was destroyed, etc. Any financial donations are much appreciated. The Tribe is
also trying to set up on-line donations but that may take some time.

WIRE DONATIONS TO:
Cheyenne River Sioux 2010 Disaster Account
Direct to: United Bkrs Bloomington ABA # 091 001 322
Beneficiary Bank: Account Number 250 3373
State Bank of Eagle Butte
Eagle Butte, SD 57625
Final Credit: Account Holder @ UBB Customers Bank
Account Holder: CRST 2010 Disaster, Account Number 103173

MAIL CHECK DONATIONS TO:
TO: Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe/2010 Disaster Account
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Chairman’s Office
Attn: Ice Storm Emergency Fund
PO Box 590
2001 Main Street (Tribal Offices)
Eagle Butte, SD 57625

SHIP SUPPLIES TO:
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Chairman’s Office
Attn: Ice Storm Emergency Supplies
PO Box 590
2001 Main Street (Tribal Offices)
Eagle Butte, SD 57625

CHEYENNE RIVER SIOUX CONTACTS:
Robin Le Beau, Chairman’s Assistant c (610) 568-2101
Joe Brings Plenty, Tribal Chairman c (605) 365-6548
CRST Emergency Coordination Center (605) 964-7711 (7712)

Cheyenne River Sioux waiting disaster declaration from Obama

CRST awaiting disaster declaration by president Obama
Rapid City Native American Culture Examiner Evelyn Broecher
Photo: Chairman Joseph Brings Plenty
The first Native Tribe to officially support Barack Obama for president is now waiting for him to declare the reservation a disaster. According to a Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (CRST) press release, 3,000 utility poles were downed during recent severe storms. CRST Chairman, Joseph Brings Plenty, has declared a state of emergency. Thousands of CRST residents have been without water, heat, and electricity for six days as of this morning. Experts relate it may be as long as one month to restore power across the reservation. Wind-chill factors in central South Dakota have been subzero. Read article:
http://www.examiner.com/x-34368-Rapid-City-Native-American-Culture-Examiner~y2010m1d27-CRST-awaiting-disaster-declaration-by-president-Obama

Cheyenne River Sioux Emergency Relief 2010

Cheyenne River Sioux Emergency Relief 2010
Robin Le Beau, Chairman’s Assistant: (610) 568-2101
Joe Brings Plenty, Tribal Chairman: (605) 365-6548
CRST Emergency Coordination Center: (605) 964-7711
Steve Abott, Harvard University Native American Program, steven_abbott@harvard.edu

Phone: 617/495-9058

January 28, 2010
Press statement
Photo Keloland TV
CAMBRIDGE, S.D. – Native American Caucus students at the Harvard Kennedy School are taking action in response to the inadequate national response to the crisis on Indian reservations in the Dakotas due to severe ice storms and freezing temperatures. Last weekend, a powerful snow and ice storm ripped through the region, felling power lines, and cutting off power and water to thousands of South Dakotans, many of them on the Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Indian Reservations. When full power and water will be restored remains in question.

The ice storms cut off electricity in an area about the size of Connecticut. With no electricity, no heat, no running water, and a wind chill below zero, a crisis is mounting. The Chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe has declared a state of emergency for his community and is calling for immediate assistance.

The tribes are working hard to bring families in out of the cold into shelters. The South Dakota National Guard, the State’s Department of Public Safety as well as the Army Corps of Engineers have come to the reservation and supplied some emergency generators. Help also is coming in the Red Cross and other tribes. But even with this assistance these tribes, among the poorest communities in the United States, are not able to meet the overwhelming needs of their communities.

Outside the frozen plains of the Dakotas, this human crisis has received little attention. The Native American Caucus student organization at Harvard Kennedy School would be grateful to American citizens to give the spotlight to their fellow Native American citizens. They are in great need of your help and aid. The American People need to be aware of this emergency situation.

To assist the Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Tribes, contact Stacy LaCompte at Wakpa Sica Reconciliation Place at (605) 280-8588.

MEDICAL NEEDS: Dialysis Patients/Glucose Strips/Financial Support for Hotels

The dialysis patients have all been evacuated three hours away to Rapid City, SD. They are staying in hotels for at least a week and half, probably longer. Financial contributions are needed to help the families pay for their hotel expenses and food. An account has been set up at Wells Fargo to help with these expenses. You can contribute at any Wells Fargo or send to the Rapid City branch. http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/article_ec833f00-0a38-11df-a62b-001cc4c002e0.html


CONTRIBUTIONS:
Wells Fargo
Cheyenne Dialysis Patients (c/o Dew Bad Warrior)
Acct. #: 5815904338
1615 N 7th St.
Rapid City, SD 55701
Medical Items Need on the Reservation itself (shipping address below):
Glucose Strips
First Aid Kits
Children’s Tylenol
Children’s Cough Syrup

FINANCIAL DONATIONS:
The Tribe has depleted its emergency budget with the two blizzards that already hit the reservation since December. It needs funds to help buy food and supplies for the community and volunteers, to pay for gas and overtime for the workers, to replace the motor at the water pump station that was destroyed, etc.
WIRE DONATIONS TO:
Cheyenne River Sioux 2010 Disaster Account
Direct to: United Bkrs Bloomington ABA # 091 001 322
Beneficiary Bank: Account Number 250 3373
State Bank of Eagle Butte
Eagle Butte, SD 57625
Final Credit: Account Holder @ UBB Customers Bank
Account Holder: CRST 2010 Disaster, Account Number 103173
MAIL CHECK DONATIONS TO:
TO: Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe/2010 Disaster Account
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Chairman’s Office
Attn: Ice Storm Emergency Fund
PO Box 590
2001 Main Street (Tribal Offices)
Eagle Butte, SD 57625
CHEYNNNE RIVER SIOUX CONTACTS:
Robin Le Beau, Chairman’s Assistant: (610) 568-2101
Joe Brings Plenty, Tribal Chairman: (605) 365-6548
CRST Emergency Coordination Center: (605) 964-7711

CNN & US Relief: Censorship and Scams

While CNN censors the emergency in the Dakotas, the US funnels relief dollars to the US military with George W. Bush taking the lead
http://narcosphere.narconews.com/notebook/brenda-norrell/2010/01/cnn-censors-dakotas-emergency-us-scams-dollars-relief
Posted by Brenda Norrell - January 29, 2010 at 11:37 am

Lakotas on Pine Ridge and Cheyenne River Sioux Indian lands are suffering, while the United States focuses on Haiti. Today, Lakotas have organized a telephone campaign to demand CNN cover the emergency in the Dakotas, where people have been without power and water for up to six days. Many elderly and children are suffering without heat, water, medicine and food.

Alex White Plume, Lakota on Pine Ridge, S.D., is taking water to Cheyenne River Sioux. "We are starting a group to haul water to the residents on the Eagle Butte rez. They have been without water and electricity for six days today. My brother Percy is collecting fuel money to haul water to the people from Bridger, S.D. We have it hard here, at least we have water. We have to help our relatives."

Meanwhile, 33 cents of each US dollar to Haiti is going to the US military. Bill Quigley, human rights attorney sleeping on the ground with everyone else in Haiti, reports that very little food and water is reaching Haiti communities. This comes as little surprise to those who noticed that Obama selected war criminal George W. Bush to cochair the Haiti relief with Bill Clinton. Instead of being held accountable for war crimes in violation of the Geneva Conventions, Bush is once again in a noble position, one which allows him to disappear US funds.

US Relief Scam: AP/Haiti Relief: "Each American dollar roughly breaks down like this: 42 cents for disaster assistance, 33 cents for U.S. military aid, nine cents for food, nine cents to transport the food, five cents for paying Haitian survivors for recovery efforts, just less than one cent to the Haitian government, and about half a cent to the Dominican Republic. "
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100127/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_haiti_us_aid

Bill Quigley in Haiti:
http://www.counterpunch.org/quigley01292010.html

CNN Censors Emergency in Dakotas

ONLINE ACTION FOR PINE RIDGE RESERVATION TODAY
FROM AUTUMN TWOBULLS:

Friends, Relative and supports of the Lakota Nations- Support us in this efforts to bring change.
To all my Relations, friends and supporters:

I have been told that your area news and the National news will not carry the story for my people unless and until CNN carries it. Each day someone has told me they have gone to CNN on Facebook, their website, or called into report our story, since the 12/20/09 State of Emergency was issued.

I am asking that we all come together TODAY, Friday, January 29th, 2010 at 6pm Atlantic; 5pm Eastern time, 4pm Central, etc. pick up your phone and call the direct line to the CNN News Room at 404-827-2658. Someone needs to post here all phone numbers into CNN. We want to inundate CNN with the voices of people who care and you must be relentless in your call. At the same time we want you to handle an email campaign listed below.

When you call, they will try to attempt to move your call to a computerized public info line.

First - tell them what state you are calling from and your name. Then ask them, When are you going to be reporting on the situation of the American Indians of North and South Dakota?

Second, do not let them try to forward you, let them know that you know that the National Guard and the Red Cross have been called into certain Reservations.

Lastly, when you hang up, pick up the phone and call again. The people of this country needs to let CNN know that while you empathize with the situation in Haiti and we know that many of you have rightfully done as the children on Pine Ridge had been doing and collecting food and money to be sent, that you are wondering why money is leaving this country while the only reporting on the AP wires has been from within the states of North and South Dakota AP Presses.

At the same time that those of you who can afford to call CNN are calling, to those of you who can multi-task or be online, please go now to cnn . com and click on the iReport button and register. If you are on or near one of the Reservations in South & North Dakota, please upload your pictures - but wait - lets all do this together for three full hours.

Do not worry about your grammar, do not worry about your spelling, simply tell the truth of the situation from your heart.
Wopila Tanka
Autumn Two Bulls
Lets Work Together!

Red Nation Film Festival Winners 2010

Congratulations to winners at the Red Nation Film Festival
Photo: Best Documentary Short: In the Footsteps of Yellow Woman, Camille Manybeads Tso, 13, interviews familoy about Longest Walk

Read article:
http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2010/01/red-nation-film-festival-winners-2010.html
Best Film: The Twilight Saga NEW MOON, Director: Chris Weitz
Best Director: The Ghost Riders, Director: V. Blackhawk Aamodt
Best Actor: Chaske Spencer New Moon /The Twilight Saga
Best Actress: Tinsel Korey New Moon /The Twilight Saga
Best Documentary Feature: Crude, Director: Joe Berlinger
Best Woman Documentary Feature: For The Next 7 Generation /The 13 Grandmothers, Director: Carole Hart
Best Documentary Short: In The Footsteps of Yellow Woman, Director: Camille Manybeads Tso
Best Editor: Red Nation Film Festival Short, Montano Rain
Best Music Video: Michael Jackson, Black or White
Red Nation Student Women Film Project Winners: Lumbini Park - Directed by Eve LaFountain (Turtle Mountain Chippewa)
A Thousand Unsaid Words - Directed by Katrina Montoya (Sault St. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians)
The Hand Drum - Directed by Stephanie Painter (Shoshone/Washoe/Oneida)

A NIGHT OF TRIBUTE AWARDS CEREMONY recipients were:
• "Red Nation Vision Award” – In Loving Memory to Michael Jackson “Black or White”
• “Edward Albert Jr Indigenous Film Award” – Edward James Olmos, Actor
• “Brando Award” – Joe Berlinger, director of Crude
• “Lifetime Achievement Award” – Graham Greene, Actor
• “Best Network Award” – CBS Corporation
• “Television Heritage Media Award” – James Ramos, San Manuel Tribe
• “Red Nation Theatre Playwright Award” – Richard Montoya, Culture Clash
• “Red Nation Humanartian Award” – Leonard Peltier, Activist
• “Red Nation Activists Award” – Atossa Soltani, Director of Amazon Watch
• “Red Nation Community Award” – Christine Padilla, Community Volunteer
Lakota Nation

January 28, 2010

Let Us Prey: A Tale of Two Clergymen

Let Us Prey: A Tale of Two Clergymen
By Hidden from History
http://www.hiddenfromhistory.org/
Reverend Russell Crossley raped women and even young girls for over thirty years before he was arrested. The truth is he was caught right away, in the mid 1960’s, when as a young clergyman in the United Church of Canada he was named as a rapist by one of the parishioners whom he had assaulted. Read article:
http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2010/01/let-us-prey-tale-of-two-clergymen.html

January 27, 2010

Venezuela forgives Haiti debt; CITGO ships 120 tons aid


By Alaska Inter-Tribal Council
Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com
ALASKA -- This is a very heartwarming and compelling story, that we felt should be shared. The Citgo / Venezuela heating oil relief program has literally saved lives here in Alaska, and the generosity of the Venezuelan people has provided great social change.
The President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez announced on Monday, January 25, that the Venezuelan government will forgive any Venezuelan debts held by Haiti.
During a meeting of the Political Council of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), the Venezuelan president said that in view of the tragedy suffered by the Caribbean nation, its debt will be not only be forgiven, but the Venezuelan oil supply to the country will continue.
President Chavez Proposes ALBA countries to Create Humanitarian Fund for Haiti.
Likewise, the Venezuelan head of state proposed the creation of a $100 million Humanitarian Fund to strengthen the aid offered by the ALBA countries to Haiti.
President Chavez explained that the fund will be financed by the governments, peoples and companies that integrate the Latin American organization.
As a complement to the Venezuelan Aid, CITGO Petroleum Corporation, and its charitable organization, the Simón Bolívar Foundation, havestarted the shipment to Port-Au-Prince of 120 tons of humanitarian aid, in coordination with the Embassies of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the Republic of Haiti in the United States. This effort complements the contributions of the Venezuelan people through their government, led by President Hugo Chávez, with the goal of alleviating the suffering of the thousands of people left homeless following the earthquake that struck the Caribbean nation on Jan. 12.
Read article at Censored News:
http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2010/01/venezuela-forgives-haiti-debt-citgo.html

Eagle Butte, SD: Without water and electricity for six days

Cheyenne River Sioux desperation ignored by most, but Lakotas from Pine Ridge are carrying them water

From Alex White Plume, Lakota on Pine Ridge, S.D.: "We are starting a group to haul water to the residents on the Eagle Butte rez. They have been without water and electricity for six days today. My brother Percy is collecting fuel money to haul water to the people from Bridger, S.D. We have it hard here, at least we have water. We have to help our relatives."

Water Woes Worsen On Reservation
Keloland News
The worst of the storm is over the lights are turning on for more people across keloland. But for some on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation there's another problem, no water.
“It is pretty serious. We have quite a few families that are without water at this point. And quite a bit of families that are, homes that are without electricity also,” tribal chairman Joseph Brings Plenty said. The power outage made water scarce on the reservation, but now the whole system is down. Eagle Butte has run out and so have other communities. Some could be without more than a week. It's already been days without water for Blaine Nordvold on his ranch south of Eagle Butte. It promises to be days more.
Read more:
http://www.keloland.com/News/NewsDetail6371.cfm?Id=
Rapid City Journal: "The power outages and water shortages plaguing most of north central South Dakota made refugees out of 35 kidney dialysis patients from the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and their caregivers, stranding them in Rapid City."
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/article_ec833f00-0a38-11df-a62b-001cc4c002e0.html
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe out of water after storm
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Filed Under: Environment National
http://www.indianz.com
The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe declared a state of emergency after thousands went without water following a severe winter storm.
The system that supplies water to 14,000 people failed when the power went out on the reservation. Generators that were brought in malfunctioned and water might not be restored until Friday.
“It is pretty serious. We have quite a few families that are without water at this point. And quite a bit of families that are, homes that are without electricity also,” Chairman Joseph Brings Plenty told KELO-TV.
The tribe has set up shelters across the reservation and imposed an 8pm curfew.
Get the Story: http://www.indianz.com
Families Relocating (KOTA 1/27)
Water Woes Worsen On Reservation (KELO-TV 1/26)
Thousands without water after storm (The Rapid City Journal 1/27)

Yucca Mountain: Native Americans Give Oral Testimony


Native Community Action Council
P.O. Box 140, Baker, NV 89311
Contact: Ian Zabarte
Telephone: (702) 423-2952
Press Release—January 27, 2010


By Ian Zabarte, Western Shoshone

Today, the Native Community Action Council (NCAC) will provide oral comments to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Atomic Safety Licensing Board Panel Construction Authorization Board on the ability of the Department of Energy to maintain the Licensing Support Network document collection. The NCAC is a party with standing to the proceedings in the Department of Energy License Application for a construction authorization to construct a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain 90 miles north of Las Vegas, Nevada.
“We are here on behalf of the land and people of the Great Basin to ensure we are heard,” said Margene Bullcreek, President of the NCAC. Ms. Bullcreek added, “A Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository will leak impacting the land and people of the Great Basin sooner or
later. That fact is lost in the technical legal arguing in the NRC hearing.” The NCAC is composed of Western Shoshone and Southern Paiute people of the Great Basin that have suffered adverse effects from exposure to radiation in fallout from US nuclear weapons testing. The NCAC has conducted research into the health effects known to be plausible from exposure to radiation that is the basis for one of the contentions filed by the NCAC in the proceedings.
Representing the NCAC in the proceedings, Ms. Rovianne Leigh of the law firm Alexander, Berkey, Williams, and Weathers, LLP, characterized the importance of the NCAC participation in the proceeding today. “The Native Community Action Council is the only party to the proceedings that does not receive federal funding for its participation besides the Nuclear Energy Institute, the nuclear industry representative.” Ms. Leigh went further, “There is no guarantee that the 80 million documents needed for the licensing proceedings can be maintained and ensure that the rights and interests of the NCAC are protected if the Department of Energy withdraws its Yucca Mountain License Application before the NRC. The matter should be dismissed with prejudice in that event.”
The proceedings continue today at the Las Vegas hearing facility of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Atomic Safety Licensing Board Panel Construction Authorization Board.

January 26, 2010

Softly stepping into prison, thank you

By Brenda Norrell, Censored News http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/
Photo Fort Huachuca torture protest 2009/Photo Brenda Norrell

It is bittersweet to hear that Fr. Louie Vitale is once again in prison. Now, at the age of 77, prison must be hard for him. I think of all these people who go to prison to expose and call for a halt to US torture. I remember Louie's gentleness and kindness at federal court in Tucson, as he faced prison in 2007, for stepping across the line at Fort Huachcua in Arizona, to bring attention to the US Army Intelligence Center's role in the torture at Abu Ghraib. That time he was sentenced to prison with Fr. Steve Kelly.
Steve was in prison before that, for literally beating a 'weapon into a plowshare,' some sort of nuclear weapon. I found voluntary imprisonment very hard to understand. I asked Steve how he spent his time and how bad it was. Steve said he continues his resistance in prison, refusing to go along with the rules. So he is placed in solitary confinement. So, I asked, how does he get through it. "Oh, there's never enough time," he said enthusiastically, explaining that he has so many letters to write and there's his reading, and prayers and all. I asked him if they gave him paper for letters, and he said he makes do with the margins of the letters he is sent.
During that time, Col. Ann Wright was there as well, the brave woman whose military service did not prevent her from being a voice of truth. Her voice against US torture led to her being denied entrance into Canada.
That year, 2006, I did not go with my friends to Fort Huachuca to face off with the military and to protest US torture. It sounded like pretty risky business when you don't have a quarter or a lawyer to call. But this November, I did join them. Govinda from Earthcycles and I provided video coverage on the web of the protest and the arrests. We stood a few steps away and watched those brave men and one young woman cross the line onto Fort Huachuca to bring attention to US torture.
I was a few steps away from those arrested, but miles away from those who voluntarily spend time in prison, and solitary confinement, to expose US torture.
So today, I offer a salute to Louie, Steve and all the others who peacefully walk across those lines and into prison to say 'No more torture and No more deceit.'
The School of the Americas, where Louie's protest gained him his current prison sentence, is where the US has long trained military torturers for Central and South America. Indigenous Peoples were tortured, raped, mutilated, disappeared and murdered by these torturers trained by the US, as their lands were stolen, their crops burned and their children stolen. Some of those who fled those torturers were rescued by the underground railroad of the Sanctuary Movement in Tucson in the '70s and '80s. Fort Huachuca was where the School of Americas torture manual was produced, according to the US.
So I write this now to let everyone know that hope is indeed still alive. There are still heroes out there, heroes who peacefully cross those lines, take the risks, and go to prison for the sake of humanity.
Thank you to each of you. --Brenda Norrell
.
SOA Protesters Sentenced to Prison: http://www.unobserver.com
Torture on Trial: Arrests for protesting torture training at Fort Huachuca:
http://tortureontrial.org/
Earthcycles web videos: http://www.livestream.com/earthcycles.net

UPDATE: Yesterday, January 26, Louie was transferred to the Crisp County Jail. His address, to write a note of support:
Louis Vitale
Crisp County Detention Cener
196 South Highway 300
Cordele, GA 31015

It's possible he might be transferred again, given his six month sentence. If your letter to him is returned, you can send it c/o The Nuclear Resister, PO Box 43383, Tucson, AZ 85733, and we will forward it to him.

For more information about supporting prisoners of conscience Louie Vitale, Nancy Gwin and Ken Hayes by helping to close the SOA/WHINSEC, go to http://soaw.org/. (Nancy and Ken will go to prison at a later date, still to be determined.)

Peace,
Felice and Jack
_____________________________________
the Nuclear Resister
"a chronicle of hope"
Jack & Felice Cohen-Joppa, editors
P.O. Box 43383
Tucson AZ 85733

HEROES: Prison for protesting US torture

The Heroes of Humanity continue to be sentenced to prison during the Obama administration for protesting US torture

2010-01-26 (SOA/WHINSEC) Judge Finds SOA Watch Activists Guilty for Carrying Protest against the SOA/WHINSEC onto Fort Benning, Issues Arrest Warrant for Michael Walli for Refusing to Appear for the Trial.
On Monday, January 25, 2010, U.S. Magistrate G. Mallon Faircloth sentenced three human rights advocates to six months in federal prison for carrying a protest against the School of the Americas onto the Fort Benning military base in Georgia. This school, re-named the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, is a controversial U.S. Army training school for Latin American soldiers. Father Roy Bourgeois, a Roman Catholic priest and the founder of SOA Watch, the organization that works to close the School of the Americas said, "Judge Faircloth has sentenced our sister and brothers to 6 months in federal prison for speaking the truth about the SOA/WHINSEC. We are saddened by the court's continued blindness and hardness of heart, but we are stronger than ever in solidarity. These sentences are symbolic of our nation's misdirection, but they are also great steps forward for our resistance movement. It is truer today, than ever before, that although they jail the resisters they have not, and cannot, jail the resistance!" MORE http://www.soaw.org/pressrelease.php?id=147
Nancy Gwin, long-time activist from Syracuse, New York - sentenced to six months in prison
Father Louie Vitale, veteran and priest from Oakland, CA - sentenced to six months in prison
Ken Hayes, SOA Watch Council member from Austin, TX - sentenced to six months in prison
Michael Walli, a member of the Catholic Worker movement from Washington, DC refused to appear for the trial in Georgia. Walli had told the court during his November arraignment that he would not pay any bail and that he would not voluntarily return for the trial. "I walk out and it's goodbye" Walli told Judge Mallon Faircloth. Michael Walli made good on his promise and on Monday, Judge Mallon Faircloth issued a warrant for Michael Walli's arrest.

Crow Creek Land is Not for Sale

YouTube Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptlH-f37ppQ&feature=player_embedded

January 25, 2010

Shame on the New York Times for Fueling Border Misery

Shame on the New York Times: The truth could have meant one less person would have been beaten, raped or murdered this year by US Border Patrol agents

By Brenda Norrell
Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com

(Photo: Angie Ramon at the site of her son Bennett Patricio's death/Photo Brenda Norrell; Photo 2: US Border Patrol spy camera focused on O'odham home; Photo 3: Migrant detention center called 'dog cage' by Indigenous on Tohono O'odham land. Photo Ofelia Rivas.)

SELLS, Ariz. -- Shame on the New York Times for failing to tell the real story of the Tohono O'odham border and the complicity between elected Tohono O'doham officials, tribal police and US Border Patrol agents. The truth could have meant that one less person would have been beaten, raped or murdered this year by US Border Patrol agents.
Today's article in the New York Times, "War Without Borders," is the typical mainstream article on the Arizona border, which supports more militarization and abuse at the border. News reporter Erik Echholm offers a superficial view of the situation, focusing on drug trafficking, rather than revealing the real story.
If the reporter had spent more time here, knew more Tohono O'odham, and listened more to the Tohono O'odham, instead of the profiteering politicians, the New York Times would have told a different story.
Ofelia Rivas, Tohono O'odham on the border, describes her encounter with the reporter and what he failed to include in the article.
"He came to my home under the pretense of writing about the real border issue. He tried to twist my words. He asked me the same question in several different versions so I told him that exactly, any written word about the ongoing American drug war will only justify in bringing more military and Border Patrol to my lands.
"The United States needs to stop their drug operations in South America, stop supplying arms to protect their drugs and stop using our lands for their passage way. Our people are sitting in prisons for drug smuggling charges as a result of American drug trafficking and their policies, which they hide behind. That is all I can say about the drug business. He didn't publish any of that.
"I told him do not twist my words to justify your story. I said, 'Are you going to write about all the Border Patrol abuses on the O'odham and that the American government waived all protective laws to justify all these violations?' I told him of the right of the O'odham to remain sovereign.
"I told him, 'The O'odham are endangered by these policies including our language and entire culture. Do not write anything that will further endanger my people.'
"It the same old business, nothing but that. And what does Ned (Charmain Ned Norris, Jr.) say, business as usual, justifying and verifying the loss of his authority to be a true leader for the people," Rivas said in response.
If you count the number of paragraphs written about drug trafficking in the New York Times article, then count the number of paragraphs quoting Ofelia Rivas concerning the human rights violations, you will discover that the reporter came in with a preconceived story to tell and did not listen.
If the reporter had spent time getting to know the Tohono O'odham and listened, he would have discovered that the Tohono O'odham elected leaders, the chairman and district officials, have been coopted by the United States government and work together with federal agents to violate the rights of the Tohono O'odham people. Since 9/11, a climate of fear has led the US Border Patrol and tribal police to ignore laws and basic human rights, and get away with it.
It is not just harassment. O'odham, including women traveling alone and the elderly, are terrorized and held at gunpoint by the US Border Patrol. O'odham are beaten and killed by the US Border Patrol.
Bennett Patricio, Jr., 18, Tohono O'odham, was walking home when he was run over and killed by a US Border Patrol agent. His family believes that he walked upon Border Patrol agents involved in a drug transfer in the predawn hours in the desert and was murdered. Patricio's family has taken the case all the way to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. (Nearby, the FBI had to shut down Operation Lively Green in Tucson because so many US soldiers, prison guards, military recruiters, etc., wanted to smuggle cocaine for cash, from Nogales, Ariz. to Phoenix.)
In federal court, in Bennett Patricio, Jr.'s case, as in the majority of cases filed against US Border Agents who have murdered people of color, injustice prevailed. The Border Agent was not held responsible. (The case files are in Arizona federal courts.)
The Tohono O'odham government is dependent on the US government for funding dollars and does not support the Tohono O'odham people who are abused by the US Border Patrol.
The testimonies at the Indigenous Peoples Border Summit of the Americas, held in San Xavier District on the Tohono O'odham Nation in 2006 and 2007, compiled for the United Nations, is available. (Audios at www.earthcycles.net) The summits were organized by Mike Flores, Tohono O'odham, to document the abuses of the US Border Patrol. This testimony reveals the long standing abuse by the US Border Patrol working in complicity with the Tohono O'odham government, including the chairman, legislative council, district officials and tribal police.
When members of the Mohawk Warrior Society visited the Tohono O'odham border, and witnessed the federal spy towers and arrests of Indigenous Peoples during the border summits, they were outraged, disgusted and saddened. An outdoor migrant detention facility, called "a dog cage," by Navajo Lenny Foster, was just one of the human rights violations.
Today, the US government has spy towers on the Tohono O'odham Nation and continues to arrest Indigenous Peoples. The Tohono O'odham Nation made it a crime for O'odham to offer water or aid to migrants, including Indigenous Peoples, even if they are dying. Still, many O'odham do offer aid to their fellow human beings.
"The US Border Patrol is an occupying army," says Mike Wilson, Tohono O'odham, who puts out water for migrants at water stations against the wishes of the Tohono O'odham Nation. Wilson points out that non-O'odham have failed to hold the Tohono O'odham Nation, the elected politicians, responsible for crimes against humanity.
Today's article in the New York Times only encourages the half-truths promoted by elected politicians and US federal agents. It fails to reveal the true story of the militarization of Tohono O'odham lands and the suffering of the people. Perhaps if this reporter had searched for one body, the body of a Mayan mother walking with her children from Guatemala in scorching temperatures over 115 degrees, his life and his story might have been different. Perhaps if he had talked to the family of one young man from Mexico, who was murdered at close range by a US Border Patrol agent, the reporter's story would have been different. Perhaps if he had seen the grave of one tiny child in the Sonoran Desert, draped with Mayan beads, his life and his story would have been different.
The New York Times article also fails to question the Tohono O'odham's lucrative Desert Diamond Casino, packed with crowds. The Times fails to question where the millions of dollars are going from this casino. It only takes a look around on the Tohono O'odham Nation to see that the millions are not going to the O'odham people. The people are suffering and in desperate need of housing and jobs. If you talk to O'odham, you will find that many need food and firewood, including women, children and the elderly.
The New York Times article fails to describe the abuse by the US Border Patrol when O'odham living along the border cross for family and ceremonial reasons.
The situation on the Tohono O'odham Nation is compounded by the fact that there is no freedom of the press here. In fact, news reporters who want to tell other than the politicians' side of the story are followed, detained and harassed by the US Border Patrol. (This was the case when I conducted radio interviews for BBC at the border and during other visits with news media.) In silence and secrecy, oppression and cruelty, these crimes against humanity flourish.
If the New York Times reporter had spent more time listening to Ofelia Rivas and other O'odham, he would have told a different story.
But that requires listening, and time. It requires spending years in an area and getting to know the people and the land. It requires knowing and listening to the people, instead of rushing in for a few days or a week and simply quoting politicians and US federal agents.

New York Times article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/25/us/25border.html

Olympics VOICES 2010: 'No One is Illegal!'


Take Back our City!
Join the "No One Is Illegal, Canada is Illegal" Contingent

No One Is Illegal-Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories invites our allies and supporters to join the "No One Is Illegal, Canada is Illegal" contingent in the lively Take Back Our City festival and march on February 12, 2010. "Welcome" the 2010 Olympic Torch with Free Games, Free Speech, and Free Food!
Friday Feb 12, 2010 @ 3 pm, Vancouver Art Gallery
Find us near the banners!
Bring your banners, placards, flags of resistance, drums, beats
With the start of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games on Feb 12, we must unite to show our resistance to the environmental degradation and negative impacts to our communities that are a direct result of these Games. Organized by the 2010 Welcoming Committee, endorsed by No One Is Illegal and many of our allies, the Feb 12th protest will include our own games and entertainment and will bring to light the greed of the corporate Olympic circus.
The "No One Is Illegal, Canada is Illegal" block stands against the ongoing colonization of this land, resists the racist and police state, opposes restrictive border controls and the exploitation of (im)migrant
workers, denounces the imperialist occupations waged across the globe by the Canadian government and military, and combats the violence, poverty, and environmental devastation inflicted disproportionately on women and children by corporate profiteers and the capitalist system.
We stand in solidarity with all those against the Olympics and those struggling for a liberated world. We stand for our dignity and self-determination, and rise in struggle against all injustice. Please join us.
~ raise the ground up ~ ignite resistance.
http://noii-van.resist.ca/
http://2010welcoming.wordpress.com/

Women's Earth Alliance VIDEO: Louise Benally on Big Mountain

Louise Benally, Navajo from Big Mountain

By Women's Earth Alliance

http://www.youtube.com/user/WomensEarthAlliance


January 24, 2010

Music Downloads: Haiti and Lakota Relief


Helping the Orphans & Children of Haiti and Put The Heat On! for the Children & Families of Pine Ridge
By Native American Music Association
UPDATE Monday:
"The contributions continue: Michael DeMaria, Michael Bucher and Jeff Ball have just donated their songs. Nadjiwan, NightShield and Saniya have just contributed music tracks too...Other artists interested in joining the effort to help can send an mp3 to Nammys@aol.com
.

.
Through the kindness and generosity of NAMA Artist of the Year, Jan Michael Looking Wolf and Donald Blackfox, CEO of Spirit Wind Records and their artists, NAMA is now featuring a Music Download page where purchased music tracks will go to assist the Native American Music Association with their efforts. Their spirit of generosity and compassion is now shared among other leading music makers, nominees, and Native American Music Award winners who have also donated their gift of song and are now available for 99 cent downloads.All the featured artists below have graciously offered to donate their gift of music where all proceeds from these downloaded songs will benefit the Native American Music Association, a federally recognized 501(c)(3) non profit organization and its 2010 programs. We would like to express our sincerest appreciation and thanks to these artists for their generosity, compassion and kindness.
By purchasing and downloading the tracks below, you will be directly contributing to two of the Association's current programs; Helping the Orphans & Children of Haiti and Put The Heat On! for the Children & Families of Pine Ridge Reservation Artists interested in contributing and donating a song to Help Haiti or Put the Heat On! are welcome. Just send your MP3 to Nammys@aol.com
MUSIC DOWNLOADS (go to link, then scroll down):
http://www.nativeamericanmusicawards.com/musicdownload.cfm

January 22, 2010

Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

New book out, shows the ML King, Jr. family's accusation is true: the United States government murdered Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
-- An Act of State - The Execution of Martin Luther King

Assassination of Martin Luther King
1/22/10
http://www.ratical.com/ratville/JFK/MLKactOstate.html]

The story of Martin Luther King's assassination, and the 1999 trial where the truth of this event was finally revealed in a court of law is now encapsulated in Dr. William F. Pepper's new book, released by Verso this month: An Act of State - The Execution of Martin Luther King. The dust jacket summarizes what many have intuitively known for more than thirty years:

"William Pepper, attorney and friend of Dr. King and the King family, became convinced after years of investigation that not only was Ray not the shooter, but that King had been targeted as part of a larger conspiracy to stop the anti-war movement, and to prevent King from gaining momentum in his promising Poor People's Campaign. Ten years into his investigation, in 1988, Pepper agreed to represent Ray.

While he was never able to successfully appeal the sentence before Ray's death, he was able to build an air-tight case against the real perpetrators. In 1999, Loyd Jowers and co-conspirators were brought to trial in a wrongful death civil action suit on behalf of the King family. Seventy witnesses set out the details of the conspiracy in a plot to murder King that involved J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI, Richard Helms and the CIA, the military, the local Memphis police, and organized crime figures from New Orleans and Memphis. The evidence was unimpeachable. The jury took an hour to find for the King family. But the silence following these shocking revelations was deafening. Like the pattern during all the investigations of the assassination throughout the years, no major media outlet would cover the story. It was effectively buried.

"Until now, the details, evidence, and personalities of all these nefarious characters have gone unreported. In An Act of State, you finally have the truth before you -- how the United States government effectively shut down one of the most galvanizing movements for social change by stopping its leader dead in his tracks."

*********************************************************************

WORLD VIEW NEWS SERVICE

To subscribe to this group, send an email to:
wvns-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Indigenous Peoples Assembly 2010 BC, Canada

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES ASSEMBLY 2010
Friday, February 5 - Monday, February 8, 2010
Neskonlith, un-surrendered Secwepemc Nation
(so-called Chase, British Columbia, Canada)
Contact: nymcommunications@gmail.com
Indigenous Peoples Only.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Weytk Xwexweytp. Greetings to the World.
The Secwepemc Peoples and the Native Youth Movement are inviting Indigenous Peoples throughout the Western Hemisphere and the World to come and join with us at an Indigenous Peoples Assembly at Neskonlith, un-surrendered Secwepemc Territory from Friday, February 5th to Monday, February 8th, 2010.

Considering that we, as Indigenous Peoples, have continued to resist the invasion and destruction of our Water and Territories for 518 years. That the last of our remaining Lands, Water and Territories are being plundered and raped and that it is our duty and responsibility to defend Life by any means.

We understand that our common oppressor has used all tactics to try to exterminate our Indigenous Peoples and Ways and by doing this they are waging War on the Earth itself.

All Indigenous Peoples are encouraged to come and share their history, stories and struggles of Resistance, so we may begin to know each other and build our alliance and unity of Resisting Red Nations.

At the time of this Indigenous Peoples Assembly, so-called British Columbia and Canada will be in the global spotlight, with the 2010 Winter Olympic Games taking place just days away in the neighboring Indigenous Nations of un-surrendered Coast Salish and St’at’imc Territories.

It will be an opportunity for Us, as Indigenous Peoples, to come together to send a clear and unified message and let our Struggles be known Worldwide.

We also call on all Indigenous Peoples and Peoples of the World to attend the 2010 Convergence, the mobilization against the 2010 Winter Olympic Games from February 10-15, 2010 in Vancouver, un-surrendered Coast Salish Territories.

All Indigenous Peoples, Communities and Nations are invited to demonstrate their clothing, songs, dances, and other traditional forms of expression, both at the Indigenous Peoples Assembly and the 2010 Convergence.

We hope to see you all there.
To get directions, discuss travel information and confirm attendance contact:
nymcommunications@gmail.com
To make a donation to the Indigenous Assembly contact:
Secwepemc Nation Youth Network
snyouthnetwork@hotmail.com
To get more information about the 2010 Convergence contact:
olympicresistance@riseup.net

Black Mesa Elders Need Help


Indigenous Resistance Communities of Big Mountain, Black Mesa struggle for Life, Land and Dignity
January 18, 2010
By Black Mesa Indigenous Support Collective
Photo Black Mesa Indigenous Support
BLACK MESA, Ariz. -- Although there’s been a recent victory against the reopening of the Black Mesa Complex, the Kayenta mine is still operating and elders on the front lines fighting the continued impacts of coal mining and forced relocation efforts are still requesting support.
We are writing with a request for direct on-land support on behalf of families of traditional resistance communities of Black Mesa, AZ.. One of the Big Mountain elder matriarchs, Blanche Wilson, the mother of Mae Tso, who hosted the 2008 caravan, passed away yesterday. Please hold her and her family in your thoughts and prayers. Mae and Samuel, two of Blanche’s children, and elders themselves, are living alone at their homesite. They are in much need of support–they will need to take four days away from basic necessities and work for the traditional funeral. Additionally Mae injured her back on Christmas day and has been in pain for the last three weeks and at a limited work capacity; Samuel has been working double what he normally does. There are supporters there now until Wednesday the 20th. The funeral will be after that so, as mentioned, they really need the help at this time.
If you are available for any days from this Wednesday on, please let us know ASAP, so we can tell the family that the homesite and sheep will be covered. Please forward this to anyone you know who could possibly be available to support.
Furthermore, after this year’s Caravan/Fall Wood Run to Black Mesa, BMIS is receiving an unprecedented amount of direct requests for on-land support from elders–we usually have about 2-3 per month and this month we have NINE requests, besides Mae and Samuel Tso. There are several sheepherders on-land right now, but nearly all of them are leaving by the end of the month. February is a difficult month for the elders to live out in the vast canyonlands of Black Mesa in such high altitude in the cold and snow without paved roads and supporters are much appreciated. One of the elders is undergoing knee surgery at the end of January and will be out of commission for several weeks. If you contact us we will give you details.
It is extremely important that we try as hard as we can to have supporters up there to honor these requests and make sure that we continue our support beyond the caravan. If you have come on a caravan or spent time on the land before please consider reconnecting with the struggle and staying with a family requesting support. If you can’t come out put the call out to your community and offer to talk to interested sheep herders about your experience before getting them in touch with us.
This is vital to remain connected to the struggle and to show our solidarity. Please consider coming out if at all possible. Let us know, and let anyone else who could possibly come out know.
Forward this widely.
Many Thanks,
Black Mesa Indigenous Support Collective
http://www.blackmesais.org/
VIDEO: Louise Benally on Big Mountain:
http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2010/01/womens-earth-alliance-video-louise.html

VIDEO: Ohlone Protecting Sacred Shellmounds

Video by Youth Outlook Media: San Francisco Ohlone Native American comment on the findings of shellmounds on sacred burial ground and not being notified in a timely fashion.

Ohlone Nation Fights to Save Ancestral Homeland
New America Media, News report, by R.M. Arrieta
San Francisco and much of the Bay Area is the ancestral homeland of the Ohlone nation.
Their ancestors lie in the land here. Remnants of their villages can be found deep beneath the soil. The blood runs deep. They have lived in the Bay Area for more than 10,000 years according to carbon-dated artifacts.
Early on, the Ohlone were included in the roster of federally recognized Indians. But, as has happened to many tribes, on a whim and with the stroke of a pen, they were crossed off the list in 1927.
Almost 75 years later, in 2003, San Francisco recognized the Muwekma Ohlone as the First People of San Francisco. The Muwekma Ohlone remain embroiled in a federal lawsuit with the United States for federal recognition.
Their burial sites and ancient villages were documented by archaeologist Nels Nelson in the early 20th century. Now, according to a draft Environmental Impact Report, a plan is underway to build on top of those sacred sites as part of the Candlestick Point/Hunter’s Point Shipyard Phase II Project being developed by Lennar Corporation.
Members of the seven bands of the Ohlone tribe say they were never contacted or consulted about the giant 700-acre development project in San Francisco –parts of which will be built over Ohlone villages and burial grounds. Read article:
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=781be13cccb6f5ac6b84abea9e8a632c

Earthcycles and Censored News: Grassroots Voices for the World

Welcome Vanuatu! The latest viewer from Vanuatu marks the 198th country to visit Censored News.
Censored News and Earthcycles plan to broadcast live from Evo Morales' Alternative Climate Summit in April. Currently, there are no financial sponsors or advertisers for Censored news or Earthcycles. Both are totally reader and listener supported.
The live broadcast from Bolivia is now seeking a sponsor to cover expenses, as each of the two roundtrip airfares are $900. Earthcycles plans to rent a house to establish a live broadcast center for the video and audio coverage, which will cost $600 for the month.
If you would like to become a sponsor, please contact Govinda at Earthcycles govinda@earthcycles.net or Brenda at Censored News brendanorrell@gmail.com
Earthcycles Live, now in archives:
VIDEOS: Fall of 2009: Acoma Pueblo NM Uranium Summit, US Torture Protest Fort Huachuca, Ariz., O'odham Solidarity Event Tucson and AIM West Reunion San Francisco:
http://www.livestream.com/earthcycles
Earthcycles web radio from the Acoma Pueblo Uranium Summit 2009, Western Shoshone Spring Gathering 2009; Longest Walk Talk Radio (five month live broadcast across America 2008,) Indigenous Border Summit 2007, Indigenous Environmental Network, UN Permanent Forum and more:
http://www.earthcycles.net/
Censored News articles and photos:
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/
Join us and be part of something that matters!
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Earthcycles audios, mp3 files, may be downloaded and rebroadcast on any radio station in the world for news, in whole or part, at no charge.
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January 21, 2010

Archaeology Society Calls for Halt to Auction of Human Remains


UPDATE: Christie's auction house removes skull from auction

By Brenda Norrell
Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/

NEW YORK (January 21, 2010) -- Christie's auction house in New York said a skull ballot box from the Skull and Bones Society has been withdrawn from an auction that began today. A spokesperson said the skull was removed due to a title dispute of ownership.
The Society for American Archaeology joined the World Archaelogical Congress and called for a halt to a planned auction of human remains, which could violate the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. The Society also refers to the theft of Geronimo's remains. (See letter below.) The sale began today, Jan. 21, and continues through Jan. 25.
In a separate interview with San Carlos Apache Councilman Raleigh Thompson, Thompson said the Skull and Bones Society attempted to give back a skull to a delegation from San Carlos. The Apache delegation attempted to retrieve the skull, which they were told belonged to Geronimo. Thompson was at the meetings in New York in the 1980s with Skull and Bones' attorney and Jonathan Bush. Thompson said the skull that Skull and Bones attempted to give them was not that of Geronimo, but was that of a child.
Skull and Bones attempted to silence the San Carlos delegation, comprised of San Carlos councilmen, the chairman and attorney. Geronimo had requested to be buried in the mountains of San Carlos in southern Arizona. (The interview was conducted by Brenda Norrell on Mount Graham during the Sacred Run.)
A logbook of Skull and Bones, a Yale secret society comprised of the Bush presidents and others who seek world domination, revealed that it was Grandfather Prescott Bush who led the army soldiers that robbed Geronimo's grave at Fort Sill, Okla.






World Archaeological Congress calls on Christies to halt sale of human remains used by Yale Skull and Bones Society.
The World Archaeological Congress calls upon Christie’s auction house to withdraw from sale a human cranium and two femora offered for sale as items once used by the Yale Skull and Bones Society. The Skull and Bones Society has long been accused of having the remains of the celebrated Apache chief, Geronimo, and WAC is concerned about the cultural origin of the remains being offered for sale, as well as the affront to human dignity resulting from the sale of human body parts.



"WAC asks Christie’s to cease trafficking in human remains and requests that all possible measures be taken to discover the cultural origin of this individual," stated WAC President Claire Smith. "We cannot overlook the possibility that it may be a skull of a American Indian, and the sale should be stopped in order to determine if federal laws apply." 



WAC also requests that US law enforcement investigate this proposed sale. If these remains are found to be Native American, then WAC urges Christie’s to comply with the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and/or applicable state laws. Regardless of the origin of the remains, WAC urges Christie’s to act in accordance with standards of human decency and withdraw these remains from the auction. 



The World Archaeological Congress bases its objection to this sale on the WAC Code of Ethics, which includes the Vermillion Accord on Human Remains and the Tamaki Makau-rau Accord on the Display of Human Remains and Sacred Objects. 



Dr. Smith noted that the first principle of the Vermillion Accord declares "Respect for the mortal remains of the dead shall be accorded to all, irrespective of origin, race, religion, nationality, custom and tradition." She stated "The buying and selling of human remains can not be considered respectful treatment. And the transforming of human remains into a ballot box is poor taste, as well as unethical."



Yale skull and bones to auction in New York
(AFP) – Jan 7, 2010

NEW YORK — Grisly trophies from Yale University's mysterious Skull and Bones society, whose members include former president George W. Bush, are to go on auction in New York this month.

The human skull and two large bones are estimated to sell for between 10,000 and 20,000 dollars on January 22 at Christie's.

The auction house said the human remains were used as a ballot box by the secret society. The skull includes a specially cut lid in the top -- apparently for ballots -- and one of the bones is inscribed "THOR."

The auction lot also comes with a black book listing names of Skull and Bones members back in 1831-1877.

"The ballot box and documents offer a rare glimpse into an organization in which membership has evolved into a closely guarded secret," Christie's said.

Members, dubbed "Bonesmen," have included Bush and his father, who also served as president, Senator John Kerry, the late conservative writer William F. Buckley, Jr, and a number of major businessmen such as Averell Harriman and H.J. Heinz II.

The society, joined by leading students at the university and which is said to maintain bizarre initiation rites, was founded at Yale in 1832. Women were admitted for the first time in the 1990s.

Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved.

Obama oil drilling in Alaska opposed




Alaskan Natives and environmental groups file federal lawsuit to halt Obama administration's approval of oil drilling in the Arctic

Point Hope, environmental groups challenge Chukchi Sea drilling
APPEAL: Natives fear oil company will be careless, harm sea life.

By MARY PEMBERTON
The Associated Press

A North Slope village united Wednesday with some of the heaviest hitters in the environmental community to challenge a plan by Shell Oil to drill off Northwest Alaska this summer.
REDOIL and the village are joined by The Wilderness Society, Sierra Club, the National Audubon Society and Defenders of Wildlife, as well as several other environmental groups.
The legal challenge to Shell's approved drilling plan for the Chukchi Sea was filed in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. Groups recently filed a similar challenge to Shell's plan for exploratory drilling for oil and gas in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska's northeast coastline.
"They have never demonstrated the ability to clean up oil in the Arctic Ocean," said Robert Thompson, chairman of Resisting Environmental Destruction on Indigenous Lands (RED OIL), a Native group that with the village of Point Hope hopes to stop Shell.
REDOIL and the village are joined by The Wilderness Society, Sierra Club, the National Audubon Society and Defenders of Wildlife, as well as several other environmental groups.
"Our culture is based on hunting and we see major species disappearing right before our eyes," he said. "What would the potential pollution do to the whales?"
Oceana, one of the groups requesting the review, said Shell proposes to bring icebreakers, a drill rig and other support vessels and aircraft to the Chukchi, an area already challenged by the impacts of climate change and the loss of sea ice.
"We all know ... that the polar cap is melting. No scientist in the world challenges that," said Jim Ayers, vice president of Oceana. "What is the potential impact of a spill in these sensitive areas?" http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/1101960.html

January 20, 2010

Bill Quigley: Ten things the US can and should do for Haiti

Bill Quigley: “Ten Things the U.S. Can and Should Do For Haiti”
http://www.democracynow.org

One. Allow all Haitians in the US to work. The number one source of money for poor people in Haiti is the money sent from family and workers in the US back home. Haitians will continue to help themselves if given a chance. Haitians in the US will continue to help when the world community moves on to other problems.

Two. Do not allow US military in Haiti to point their guns at Haitians. Hungry Haitians are not the enemy. Decisions have already been made which will militarize the humanitarian relief – but do not allow the victims to be cast as criminals. Do not demonize the people.

Three. Give Haiti grants as help, not loans. Haiti does not need any more debt. Make sure that the relief given helps Haiti rebuild its public sector so the country can provide its own citizens with basic public services.

Four. Prioritize humanitarian aid to help women, children and the elderly. They are always moved to the back of the line. If they are moved to the back of the line, start at the back.

Five. President Obama can enact Temporary Protected Status for Haitians with the stroke of a pen. Do it. The US has already done it for El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Sudan and Somalia. President Obama should do it on Martin Luther King Day.

Six. Respect Human Rights from Day One. The UN has enacted Guiding Principles for Internally Displaced People. Make them required reading for every official and non-governmental person and organization. Non governmental organizations like charities and international aid groups are extremely powerful in Haiti – they too must respect the human dignity and human rights of all people.

Seven. Apologize to the Haitian people everywhere for Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh.

Eight. Release all Haitians in US jails who are not accused of any crimes. Thirty thousand people are facing deportations. No one will be deported to Haiti for years to come. Release them on Martin Luther King day.

Nine. Require that all the non-governmental organizations which raise money in the US be transparent about what they raise, where the money goes, and insist that they be legally accountable to the people of Haiti.

Ten. Treat all Haitians as we ourselves would want to be treated.

San Francisco: No Olympics on Stolen Land!

From Mark Anquoe, Kiowa, AIM-West
Brothers and Sisters,

Indigenous Activists from Canada are on a West Coast speaking tour to raise awareness of the Native struggle against the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, B.C. They've been fighting the good fight north of the border for quite some time. Now is your chance to hear about the struggle from those at the front lines and get involved.

Wed Jan 20: SAN FRANCISCO at 7 p.m. Station 40, 3030B 16th Street (at Mission Street BART).
Hosted by the Institute for Anarchist Studies
Suggested donation: $5-10 sliding scale, to support tour (no one will be
turned away for lack of funds)
Why Oppose the 2010 Olympic Games
As part of a provincial and west coast speaking tour, join us in a series of events to learn more about the Olympic industry and its impacts, why opposition to the Games is growing, and how you can participate in and support the resistance. We will also hear about plans for a global Feb
10-15 anti-colonial and anti-capitalist convergence against the Games. No Olympics on Stolen Native Land!
in struggle,
Mark Anquoe
AIM-West
http://www.aimwest.info/
http://www.no2010.com/
http://olympicresistance.net/

January 19, 2010

Drug Companies Profiteering on Swine Flu Hoax


Pharmaceutical companies organized a campaign of panic

Officials profiteered, including CDC head from swine flu hoax, Rumsfeld from bird flu hoax

H1N1 swine flu hoax falls apart at the seams
by Mike Adams
Editor of NaturalNews.com
http://www.naturalnews.com/027984_swine_flu_vaccines.html
The great swine flu hoax of 2009 is now falling apart at the seams as one country after another unloads hundreds of millions of doses of unused swine flu vaccines. No informed person wants the injection anymore, and the entire fear-based campaign to promote the vaccines has now been exposed as outright quackery and propaganda.
Even doctors are now calling the pandemic a complete hoax. As reported on FoxNews, Dr. Wolfgang Wodarg, a leading health authority in Europe, says that drug companies "organized a 'campaign of panic' to put pressure on the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a pandemic. He believes it is 'one of the greatest medicine scandals of the century,' and he has called for an inquiry."
H1N1 swine flu was never dangerous, and it never should have been escalated to a level-six pandemic in the first place. It was all a big marketing scam whose purpose was to simply sell vaccines.
And it worked! Big Pharma made out with billions of dollars in profits for a useless vaccine that's now being dumped by the truck load. These vaccines were, of course, paid for with taxpayer dollars, making the Great Swine Flu Hoax of 2009 nothing more than an elaborate financial scam whose goal was to transfer wealth from the People to the shareholders of Big Pharma.
In just the fourth quarter of 2009, GlaxoSmithKline shipped $1.4 billion worth of vaccines.
A bailout for Big Pharma
Wall Street hucksters have nothing on Big Pharma, the CDC and the WHO, all of which conspired to mislead the public and generate irrational fear in order to make money selling people vaccine shots they never needed in the first place.
Actually, getting the vaccine may harm your health. Outspoken Dr. Wodarg even says that the full extent of the damage from the insufficiently-tested vaccines may not be known for years. "The vaccine developed by Novartis was produced in a bioreactor from cancerous cells, a technique that had never been used until now," he says.
Cancelling vaccine orders
The Swine Flu hoax has fizzled out, and countries like Greece, France and the UK have cancelled orders for vaccines that they now realize won't be needed. But even the fizzling of this hoax doesn't mean it was a failure from the point of view of Big Pharma.
The swine flu hoax was a huge success not only for drug company profits, but also for certain influential individuals including Dr Julie Gerberding, former head of the CDC who has now accepted a high-paying job as the president of Merck's global vaccine operations.
One minute you're running the CDC, warning the country about a pandemic while urging everybody to get vaccinated, and the next minute you're running the for-profit vaccine division of the world's largest drug company. Amazing how that works, huh?
Read full article:
http://www.naturalnews.com/027984_swine_flu_vaccines.html
.
Indian Country Today and the bird flu and swine flu hoaxes
By Brenda Norrell
Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com
Censored News is published by news reporter Brenda Norrell, censored and terminated by Indian Country Today, where she served as a longterm staff reporter.
One of Norrell's final articles in 2006 was on how Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's profiteering from the sale of Tamiflu during the bird flu hoax.
Indian Country Today editors distorted the content of the article by deleting the information on Rumsfeld's profiteering and changed the article so it appeared as an advertisement for Tamiflu. It was published with Norrell's name on it, over her objections.
Rumsfeld profiteered from the royalties from Tamiflu sales as states in the US, including California, stockpiled Tamiflu.
Today, the Oneida Indian Nation in New York, which owns Indian Country Today, is promoting the swine flu hoax.
The uncensored bird flu article 2006:
http://bsnorrell.tripod.com/id73.html

Center for Biological Diversity gives Obama 'C' for first year

Contact: Noah Greenwald, (503) 484-7495

Center for Biological Diversity Report Card Gives Obama Administration a “C” on Endangered Species, Climate, Energy, Public Lands and Oceans During First Year in Office

WASHINGTON DC—The Center for Biological Diversity today gave the Obama administration a grade of “C” for its handling of endangered species, climate, energy, public lands and oceans during its first year in office. While the Obama administration has not shown the ideological opposition to environmental protection of the previous administration and has taken a number of positive steps, the administration has fallen far short of delivering the promised “change” in overall environmental policies. Among the positives are issuing a finding under the Clean Air Act that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare and reinstating protection for millions of acres of roadless lands, while negatives include reducing protections for wolves and other endangered species and pursuing offshore oil development in polar bear habitat off Alaska.
“The Obama administration has begun to steer the ship in the right direction,” said Noah Greenwald, endangered species program director for the Center for Biological Diversity. “But has failed to provide the strong leadership to get us on the course we need to be to address the pressing problems of species extinction and global warming.”
On endangered species, the Center gave the administration a solid C, as for every positive action there seemed to be a negative action of equal scope. For example, the Obama administration rescinded regulations passed in the final days of the Bush administration that would have gutted enforcement of key provisions of the Endangered Species Act, but retained a rule weakening protection for the polar bear. The Obama administration also moved forward with a Bush initiative to remove protections for the gray wolf, and has only listed two new species as endangered, which is the fewest protected in the first year of any administration since the Reagan administration.
“The Obama administration has not prioritized protection of the nation’s endangered species, meriting their grade of a C,” said Greenwald. “After the dark days of the Bush administration, wholesale reform of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s endangered species program was needed and this has simply not occurred.”
On climate and energy, the Center gave the administration a C-. The administration has taken some very important positive steps, including issuing a seminal finding under the Clean Air Act that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare, which sets the stage for greenhouse reductions under several of the Clean Air Act’s successful pollution reduction programs. The administration also included millions of dollars of tax credits and subsidies for improving energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in the stimulus bill. However, the administration failed to advance the greenhouse emissions reduction targets that scientists believe are necessary to avoid the worst impacts of global warming either in the legislation being considered by Congress or at the international climate talks in Copenhagen last December. The administration has also continued to grant permits and leases for fossil fuel exploration and extraction, including mountain top removal in Appalachia, off-shore oil drilling off of Alaska, and expansion of coal mining in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming.
“We need bold, swift action to avert the climate crisis,” said Greenwald. “To date, the Obama administration has not delivered the leadership we need.”
The administration has done somewhat better on management of the nation’s public lands, where it received a B+ based on reinstatement of a Clinton era rule protecting millions of acres of roadless lands and withdrawal of the Bush era Western Oregon Plan Revision (“WOPR”), which would have allowed logging of tens of thousands of acres of old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest. At the same time the administration allowed logging of roadless areas in Alaska to proceed.
On oceans, the administration received a B- based on its acknowledgment that ocean acidification is a serious threat and initiation of a process for determining how to address the problem. However, the administration has also allowed oil drilling off Alaska and has weakened protection for endangered sea turtles from long-line fisheries near Hawaii.
“The administration has taken positive steps to address a number of severe environmental problems,” said Greenwald. “We hope in the next few years, however, that the administration will lead us towards the real change for which the American public voted.”

Roberto Rodriguez: Saving Haiti; Saving Humanity

Saving Haiti; Saving Humanity
By Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez

Haiti is changing the way we look at life and the way we look at each
other as human beings. All but the insane and the bigoted amongst us
understand that the people of Haiti are our fellow human beings. The
mere thought of borders is a seeming anachronism. Who amongst us is
questioning the collective responsibility of humanity towards our
neighbors in need?

At this time, with 200,000 dead and 1.5 million homeless, compassion
abounds; what it means to be human and the meaning of humanity is on
full display as we all are struggling to do our part. Yet people are
beginning to ask the obvious questions: Why is it taking so long to
bring in the emergency supplies, the nurses the doctors and the food
and the water? Where are the ships? Where are the airdrops?
Unfortunately, other questions are creeping in: Why can the military
easily get in, but not those bringing in the medicines and the
antibiotics?

These questions are being asked as despair turns into chaos and the
human instinct for survival is also clearly on display on our nightly
news. The desperate search for sustenance is described as
out-of-control rioting. And we are not supposed to ask questions;
simply contribute.

As a society, we are trained by governments and media not to see the
bigger picture, yet it is becoming difficult not to see a bigger
picture emerge. These questions were swirling and bothersome,
especially during this past weekend as the world celebrated Martin
Luther King’s birthday. They were also swirling as 20,000 people
descended upon Phoenix this weekend to protest the racial profiling
policies of Sheriff Joe Arpaio. All these events seemed unrelated, yet
they were clearly connected.

The crisis in Haiti is actually a crisis of humanity; it is becoming
obvious that assisting humanity and destroying humanity are two
radically different ideas. They are two ideas that seemingly have been
fused over the past decade. Since Sept. 11, 2001, as a society, we
have been goaded into believing that militaries are instruments of
justice and that the U.S. has the inherent and God-given right to go
to war with anyone it pleases.

During this past decade, former president George W. Bush, publicly
championed this bifurcated “You’re either with us or against us”
society. To be able to maintain that clear demarcation, bigger
militaries were needed as was the need to protect “our borders.”
Sadly, the current president, while more intelligent and a clearer
speaker, has one-upped his predecessor, championing the notion that
war is also an instrument of peace.

Wrong! War is the embodiment of evil. It destroys, it dehumanizes, it
takes innocent lives, it depletes the world’s resources, it
contaminates and it empties nations’ coffers. As Martin Luther King
often noted, whenever money is spent on war, it is money not being
spent on fighting poverty or on remedying the ills and injustices of
society. And as this particular tragedy edges toward permanent crisis,
where will the money to rebuild Haiti come from?

Why can’t the world marshal its resources to faster assist Haiti –
because the United States and its partners are still in the midst of
two senseless wars? Lest we kid ourselves, wars are hyper-expensive.
Our bloated military is virtually useless in times of humanitarian
emergencies for obvious reasons; they are overstretched and are
trained to kill and destroy, not to save and build. They are not an
emergency humanitarian response team, though it would be great if they
were. Even after Katrina, one would have thought that the nation or
world would be prepared for future crises. That ships were not fully
equipped, staffed and fueled means we in fact learned nothing from
Katrina. The only thing we have learned is that leaders of both
parties are willing to fight an extremely costly permanent worldwide
war. There is no money for such an endeavor, yet the frenzied military
buildup continues, constantly searching out new enemies and theaters
of war. Its justification also continues; demonization and
dehumanization; those we are fighting are less than “us.”

This is the same justification that Sheriff Arpaio and his supporters
use. It permits the building of bigger walls. It permits the
militarization of “our borders” and also permits human beings –
struggling to survive – to be categorized as “illegal aliens.” It
permits racial profiling and police to act as hunter battalions.

After Haiti, how can we as a humanity continue to view the instinct to
survive as a crime? Illegal aliens, indeed!


Rodriguez, an assistant professor at the University of Arizona, can be
reached at: XColumn@gmail.com