Uranium in Indian country: Paul Zimmerman releases 'The Cult of Nuclearists'

Zimmerman releases chapter of new book to Censored News to aid in the struggles of Indigenous Peoples

From author Paul Zimmerman to Brenda Norrell:

"I recently read your article on CounterPunch.com about proposed uranium mining in the Grand Canyon. It got me thinking as to whether or not I could make some small contribution to the struggle, being played out yet again, between native peoples and what I call the Cult of Nuclearists. I decided to release a chapter that I'm very proud of from my newly published book. When you read the attached document, and if you find it of worth, I would be honored if you would share it with whatever groups and individuals you are aware of who may find it interesting and informative."

A Primer in the Art of Deception
The Cult of Nuclearists, Uranium Weapons and Fraudulent Science
by Paul Zimmerman
Copies of this book can be ordered at http://www.du-deceptions.com/ or by contacting the author at either info@du-deceptions.com or P.O. Box 145, Lyndonville, NY 14098
Excerpts, read full chapter at link below:
"... Peoples of the Navajo Nation, Laguna Pueblo and Acoma Pueblo suffered the greatest impact from this invasion by the large energy companies. Their familiar pastoral economy was rapidly transformed into a mining-industrial economy,and they became a mining-dependent population (Kuletz). Recruited as a cheap source of labor for the mines, Native Americans were exploited economically, receiving two-thirds the salary of employees brought in from off the reservation (Churchill). During the uranium boom of the 1970s, the median salary for the Laguna Pueblo was 50 dollars per week(Kuletz). Maximum economic gain for the mining companies was the driving force for the abuses showered on Native American communities in the Four Corners region ..."

"The desecration of sacred lands by uranium mining interests is never ending. A particularly appalling example became public knowledge in 2008 when newspapers reported that VANE Minerals, a UK mining company, was petitioning the US government for mining rights in the Grand Canyon."
Read Zimmerman's chapter online:
http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2009/09/paul-zimmerman-cult-of-nuclearists.html

Read more:

Uranium mining in the Grand Canyon, CounterPunch

Photo: Havasupai Gathering to Halt Uranium Mining in the Grand Canyon/Photo by Brenda Norrell

Boeing contract extended for spy tower mess

By Brenda Norrell
Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/
Photo: Spy tower at Arivaca, Ariz. by Brenda Norrell

TUCSON -- Boeing's contract has been extended for spy towers at the border, with $6.7 billion pouring into the non-functioning equipment to spy on people along the US/Mexico border.
Earlier, Boeing subcontracted the Israeli Apartheid contractor Elbit Systems to install some of the spy mess.
The good folks at Arivaca, Ariz., protested the spy cameras pointed at their homes, flying their kites in front of the radar, which isn't working yet anyway.
It is hard to get WiFi to work in a coffee shop, much less to penetrate through the desert mountains on the Arizona border.
It probably doesn't matter much to Boeing whether the spy towers work or not. Boeing's only interest is to profit from the racist border hysteria, manufactured by television news.
The neutered US Congress could care less anyway.
According to the news article, "Early on, technicians had trouble with cameras that took too long to focus and radar images obscured by raindrops."
Duh, here's a no-brainer: If the cameras are distracted by raindrops, what will they do about cows, birds, coyotes and other animals like jaguars and pronghorns -- if there's any left when they finish destroying the Sonoran Desert.

Read article on contract extension:
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=319720
Maps of US spy towers on Tohono O'odham Nation land:
Note: These are public documents from the Pima County Library:
http://censored-news.blogspot.com/search?q=spy+tower
Elbit/Boeing border contract from Elbit's website
Elbit is also contracted by Israel, for security at the wall in Palestine:
http://www.elbitsystems.com/data/ESLT_Kollsman_Boeing_SBI_Project.pdf

MNN: Canada accidentally recognizes Mohawk Sovereignty

CANADA ACCIDENTALLY RECOGNIZES MOHAWK SOVEREIGNTY

Mohawk Nation News
http://www.mohawknationnews.com

MNN. Sept. 8, 2009. The colony of Canada has officially recognized our sovereignty on Great Turtle Island and has taken steps to abide by the Two Row Wampum agreement. Canada admits they have no jurisdiction over Indigenous people and territory.
On June 14, 2008, two women were peacefully crossing the illegal checkpoint in the middle of Kawenoke Island of Akwesasne. The Canada Border Services Agency CBSA called in 12 burly well-armed colonial goons to viciously attack the two women. One elder almost died of a trauma induced heart attack and the other was severely beaten and held incommunicado.
The two women live in the Mohawk communities of Akwesasne and Kahnawake. They filed formal complaints with the RCMP, OPP, Mohawk Akwesasne Police and the CBSA to investigate. All refused. The women were treated like enemy combatants with no rights. We are being falsely labeled as insurgents, terrorists and global risks. This violates the Geneva Conventions 1949 which set the standards in international law for humanitarian treatment of civilians and the victims of conflict. [See notes at end]
The women are not Canadian citizens as the Mohawk Nation never relinquished our territorial independence. The two women took it to the Federal Court of Canada, FCA T-1309-08, to address the human rights abuses. Canada is supposed to live up to its commitments under international law to respect human rights of all.
The Crown issued orders respecting our sovereignty. On October 23, 2008, Prothonotary Mireille Tabib ordered the two women to pay for Canada’s costs by depositing $19,460.00 with the court plus all subsequent costs. The reason! They live in Akwesasne and Kahnawake and are not residents of Canada. An appeal was filed. On January 29, 2009 Judge Francois Lemieux issued the same order. On Feb. 26, 2009 another case was filed by one of the women, T-288-09. On April 7, 2009, the same order was made because she lives in Kahnawake, making her a non-resident of Canada.
The Two Row Wampum agreement separates the colonists from the true original Indigenous jurisdiction. The Crown must fulfill our request to investigate our complaints against their agents. The CBSA acted outside its territorial jurisdiction when it assaulted the two women and cannot demand security for their costs.
The CBSA can never return to Kawenoke Island, the real name of Cornwall Island, which they abandoned on May 31, 2009. The Mohawks refused to allow these foreigners to carry guns in the middle of our community. The old Customs House sits empty and belongs to the Mohawks. CBSA needs to get their junk out of there. When Alcatraz was abandoned, it returned automatically to the Indigenous people.
The colony of Canada removed the CBSA checkpoint from Kawenoke to the foot of the bridge in the city of Cornwall Ontario. Cornwall is part of the Mohawk North Shore claim. A CBSA supervisor stated to Mohawk elders that the former Kawenoke Customs had to be officially de-designated as a Canada port of entry. The new one sits on Akwesasne land. CBSA has to remove its port-a-potties out of Cornwall to parts unknown, maybe back to England. Phew!
Our territory extends all across this land.In requesting Mohawks to report to them when leaving Kawenoke, which they formerly treated as part of the colony of Canada, they are respecting our sovereignty. They actually have no business asking our people anything. We cannot allow them to interfere with our natural birthright and our right to travel freely about our homeland or entering our communities.
The colonial pirates that are attacking and confiscating our legitimate products on our rivers are also out of their jurisdiction. They have no right whatsoever to interfere with our trade and commerce anywhere. All waterways are our highways long before the coming of foreigners to this land to be freely traversed by us.
These Federal Court of Canada orders recognize that Indigenous people on Onowaregeh retain international sovereignty. The demand for money is meant to discourage us from seeking justice against these brutal carpetbaggers. They are telling us we have to buy justice from them. Canada has no problems to dish out millions to the band and tribal councils to illegitimately sell us out and fraudulently try to settle our land claims. It violates the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Our political position does not allow them to assault or murder us, prevent freedom of speech or violate our human rights. These organized criminal cartels have no right to extort money from us. Everything they do falls under every kind of genocide known to humankind.
The checkpoint had to be removed. The border had to be removed. What’s next?
To stop the CBSA from coming in, we need to keep our fire going and to erect a building. To help, please contact akwpeoplesfire@bell.net 613-937-1813.
Kahentinetha MNN Mohawk Nation News, www.mohawknationnews.com kahentinetha2@yahoo.com Note: Your financial help is needed and appreciated. Please send your donations by check or money order to “MNN Mohawk Nation News”, Box 991, Kahnawake [Quebec, Canada] J0L 1B0. Or go to PayPal on website. Nia:wen thank you very much. Go to MNN “BORDER” and “AKWESASNE” categories for more stories; New MNN Books Available now! Purchase t-shirts, mugs and more at our CafePressStore http://www.cafepress.com/mohawknews; Subscribe to MNN for breaking news updates http://.mohawknationnews.com/news/subscription.php; Sign Women Title Holders petition! http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Iroquois
Background: Federal Court of Canada File No. T-1309-08, Kahentinetha et al v. The Queen: Order of madam Prothonotary Mireille Tabib, October 23, 2008 that the women give $19,460.00 security for the court costs from the beginning to the end, because they are “ordinarily resident outside of Canada” as they live in Akwesasne and Kahnawake [FC rule 416(10)a];On Feb. 26, 2009, Statement of Claim filed on the Reckless disregard for the safety and security of Indigenous Women at the Canadian Border, Akwesasne, FCC # T-288-09 between Kahentinetha, of the Kanion’ke:haka, and the Queen, Sec. 48 Federal Court Act. Filed Feb. 26, 2009, on Hon. John Sims, Deputy Attorney General of Canada 613-946-2774 Fax 613-952-6006. [Contact: Marieke Bouchard 613-952-6006; Cynthia Leaver, Regional Assistant 613-952-3653; Shurman Longo Grenier 613-868-9009; Vincent Veilleux 613-952-6006.]Art. 27, Geneva Conventions: protected persons are entitled to respect for their persons, honor, family rights, religious convictions, manners and customs. They shall be treated humanely especially against violence or threats and insults. Women should especially be protected against indecent assault based on race, religion and political opinions.

Uranium Mine threatens endangered species Grand Canyon

For Immediate Release, September 8, 2009
Contact: Taylor McKinnon, Center for Biological Diversity, (928) 310-6712, tmckinnon@biologicaldiversity.org
Roger Clark, Grand Canyon Trust, (928) 774-7488, rclark@grandcanyontrust.org
Stacey Hamburg, Sierra Club, Grand Canyon Chapter, (928) 774-6514, stacey.hamburg@sierraclub.org
Uranium Mine Threatens Grand Canyon's Endangered Species, Meets With Legal Challenge

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz.— The Center for Biological Diversity, Grand Canyon Trust, and Sierra Club today filed a 60-day notice of intent to sue the Bureau of Land Management over Endangered Species Act violations connected to Grand Canyon uranium mining.
The Bureau has failed to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the potential impacts of the Arizona 1 uranium mine, located just north of Grand Canyon National Park, to threatened and endangered species. The Bureau has been relying on old information and an outdated, inadequate environmental analysis, which violates the National Environmental Policy Act. The agency failed to supplement its 1988 environmental assessment for the mine and prepare a new environmental impact statement in light of new science and circumstances relevant to the mine’s potential impacts.
The Arizona 1 mine is located within the 1 million acres of land that were temporarily protected from mining via a segregation order enacted by the Department of the Interior on July 20. The segregation prohibits new mining claims and subjects the exploration and mining of existing claims to valid existing rights. That means the Bureau must not allow mining to begin until valid existing rights are established for the Arizona 1 mine’s claims. Because the mine has been closed for more than a decade, a new “plan of operations” is legally required, since Bureau of Land Management regulations hold that those plans are only in effect while mines are in operation. Mining officials have stated in the media that mining could resume at the Arizona 1 mine as early as this fall.
“Today’s notice affords the Bureau of Land Management both the opportunity and justification to correct its illegal course,” said Taylor McKinnon with the Center for Biological Diversity. “The Grand Canyon and its endangered species deserve complete protection from the uranium industry. And relying on outdated and incomplete reviews falls far short of that standard.”
In 1984, a flash flood swept four tons of high-grade uranium ore from a uranium mine near Arizona 1 through Hack Canyon and Kanab Creek into the Colorado River and Grand Canyon National Park. The 1988 environmental assessment states that the Arizona 1 mine, which is constructed in the bottom of a wash, is prone to unplanned releases that would follow the same water course.
Since 1988, four species of fish native to the Colorado River, as well as southwestern willow flycatchers, have been added to the endangered species list, and critical habitat has been designated for their recovery.
“Experience has shown that uranium development can permanently poison land and water in this arid region,” said Roger Clark with the Grand Canyon Trust. “Prohibiting uranium mining in Grand Canyon watersheds is essential to prevent further contamination of our nation’s irreplaceable resources.”
Spikes in uranium prices have caused thousands of new uranium claims, dozens of proposed exploration drilling projects, and proposals to reopen old uranium mines adjacent to Grand Canyon. Renewed uranium development threatens to degrade wildlife habitat and industrialize now-wild and iconic landscapes bordering the park; it also threatens to contaminate aquifers that discharge into Grand Canyon National Park and the Colorado River. The Park Service warns against drinking from several creeks in the Canyon exhibiting elevated uranium levels in the wake of past uranium mining.
“Uranium mining has great potential to contaminate water that flows into the Colorado River via various seeps, springs, and streams,” said Stacey Hamburg with the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon Chapter. “Our drinking water and all of the Grand Canyon’s wildlife is just too important to risk for the short-term profits of this mining company.”
Proposed uranium development has provoked litigation, public protests, and statements of concern and opposition from scientists, city officials, county officials, former Governor Janet Napolitano, the Navajo, Kaibab Paiute, Hopi, Hualapai and Havasupai tribes, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, and the Southern Nevada Water Authority, among others. Statewide polling conducted by Public Opinion Strategies shows overwhelming public support for withdrawing from mineral entry the lands near Grand Canyon; Arizonans support protecting the Grand Canyon area from uranium mining by a two-to-one margin.
The Bureau of Land Management has 60 days to correct its violations of the Endangered Species Act before being sued. Conservation groups may file suit sooner on claims relating to the National Environmental Policy Act and Mining Law of 1872 should the Bureau allow mining to start before that 60-day period expires.