American Activism too Privileged & Bogged: Europeans Maintain Efforts for Big Mountain
By Bahe Katenay of Big Mountain
Yea! for all dem beautiful Sweds. Read more at: http://sheepdognationrocks.blogspot.com
UPDATE from Big Mountain, March 21, 2009 "Happy Spring Equinox" and:
A message from Grandma and Chief of the Big Mountain resistance movement, Pauline Whitesinger:
"The BIA Indian police are intensifying their daily presence and intimidations. They have graded the main dirt roads that allows them to be on constant patrol. They are taking pictures of sheep herds and asking elders residents about the total number of animals they have corraled or roaming about.
"I think that they will be rounding up Dineh-owned cattle and horses. It is pretty likely that there will be livestock impoundments or confiscation.
"It has been mentioned to us by local Navajo officials that these Indian police operating out of the Hopi reservation do not have any real commanding-authority, because the Hopi tribal council is in defunct and is without a tribal chairperson.
"People world wide need to still support the resistance out here. The great evil wolves (U.S.A.) are prowling closer and all around us."
SDN-Rocks, 2009
"A very great vision is needed and the man who has it must follow it as the eagle seeks the deepest blue of the sky."
--The words of Crazy Horse (As remembered by Ohiyesa, Charles A. Eastman).
March 23, 2009
March 22, 2009
Western Shoshone Spring Gathering 2009
2009 Western Shoshone Spring Gathering
A gathering to protect the land, the people, and future generations with special focus on Youth and Elders
Friday April 17th - Sunday April 19th
Mt. Tenabo (Newe Sogobia)
Activities to include: Sunrise ceremonies, circle talks, speakers, films, youth activities, raffle, traditional foods, traditional singing, round dancing and sweats.
Please be prepared to camp out in a high desert region. The weather can be hot during the day and quite cold in the evenings. The gathering is free but donations of time, food, money and raffle items are welcome and very much appreciated.
Absolutely no drugs, alcohol, or firearms permitted.
Directions: Interstate 80 to the Beowawe/ Crescent Valley (exit 261) Follow the paved road 19 miles south to town of Crescent Valley and look for signs – or turn left on 2nd St. and go to 3rd building on left (WSDP office) – maps will be located on the door.
For more information, contact:
Grandmothers’ Fund: Joyce McDade: (207) 539-9544 ejmcdade20@wmconnect.com
Western Shoshone Defense Project: (775) 744-2565 or (775) 468-0230, email wsdp@igc.org
A gathering to protect the land, the people, and future generations with special focus on Youth and Elders
Friday April 17th - Sunday April 19th
Mt. Tenabo (Newe Sogobia)
Activities to include: Sunrise ceremonies, circle talks, speakers, films, youth activities, raffle, traditional foods, traditional singing, round dancing and sweats.
Please be prepared to camp out in a high desert region. The weather can be hot during the day and quite cold in the evenings. The gathering is free but donations of time, food, money and raffle items are welcome and very much appreciated.
Absolutely no drugs, alcohol, or firearms permitted.
Directions: Interstate 80 to the Beowawe/ Crescent Valley (exit 261) Follow the paved road 19 miles south to town of Crescent Valley and look for signs – or turn left on 2nd St. and go to 3rd building on left (WSDP office) – maps will be located on the door.
For more information, contact:
Grandmothers’ Fund: Joyce McDade: (207) 539-9544 ejmcdade20@wmconnect.com
Western Shoshone Defense Project: (775) 744-2565 or (775) 468-0230, email wsdp@igc.org
March 21, 2009
MNN: 'Dumb George Bush Woos Numb Canadians in Calgary'
DUMB GEORGE BUSH WOOS NUMB CANADIANS IN CALGARY –
Splitting the Sky jailed for trying to “citizen arrest” this war criminal!
Mohawk Nation News
http://www.mohawknationnews.com/
You Tube: Splitting the Sky Arrested
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62a53enMtA0
Mar. 18, 2009. Former U.S. President, George W. Bush, was in Calgary with “cowboy” hat in hand on March 17 to seek the affection of the men and women attending the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association meeting CEPA. It was sponsored by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce and law firms Ernst and Young and Bennett Jones. 1,300 corporate business types paid $400 a plate. One Bush fan cooed, “He must be intelligent to be so witty”. Doesn’t he know that a team of speech writers carefully crafted every word he said?
Bush came to “Texas North”, as Calgary is called, to help his international andAmerican cohorts scoop out more Indigenous resources such as water, gas and oil. He wants the corporations to stay in private hands so they can grab 6 trillion cu. ft. of natural gas; 950 million barrels of liquid hydrocarbons; lay 100,000 km. of pipe over our territory; and pocket $67 billion from exports of our resources while polluting all our territories and waters.
His topic appeared to be “Listen to George Bush on how to destroy and bankrupt countries, businesses and the people”. The enthralled audience heaped praise on this braggart who demolished countries through brutal wars, killing millions, doing away with civil liberties, breaking international laws, circumventing the Geneva accords and tearing down the global economy. He and his friends know how to take the cream when the economy melts down and the taxpayers are left holding the bag.
Gale Davidson of Lawyers Against the War of Vancouver crafted a legal position that under Canadian law Bush could be arrested for being a suspected war criminal.
Over 700 protesters stood outside the Telus Convention Center. 75 heavily armed, especially bulky, RCMP and private “Blackwater-type” security were there to guard Bush. They pointed guns at the crowd. Who knows how many others were in the crowd, on the rooftops, maybe even behind cameras and in the sky? Splitting the Sky, a Mohawk from Six Nations, evoked international law by asking the RCMP to arrest Bush. They refused. He told them, “I am serving you notice that you are protecting a war criminal and an international terrorist. You can be tried, convicted and executed as a collaborator before a Nuremberg-type tribunal”.
At the same time he tried to deliver a letter from Ramsay Clark, the former U.S. attorney general, who supports the broad coalition of peace, human rights, labor, law, environmental and other organizations that are seeking U.S. prosecution for Bush’s crimes. The U.S. people are responsible for Bush’s crimes against peace and humanity by failing to stop him. There is universal jurisdiction over such crimes, mentioning especially the crimes of aggression in Afghanistan and Iraq. [Bush’s Calgary rally to business interests will continue the usurpation of our resources and the environment.] Bush proclaimed himself to be the “decider” by seizing dictatorial powers. He deceitfully declared that national security was threatened and signed into law many unconstitutional Acts of Congress. He enriched favored corrupt predators by giving to them contracts for security services, war relief and reconstruction. At home mortgage lenders, banks, insurance companies and corporate executives exploited Bush policies to enrich the rich. He radically increased the national war debt and military spending which led to the collapse of the global economy. Corrupt Bush appointees committed crimes in various Executive Departments, including the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the Department of the Interior.
Splitting the Sky broke through the police line and advanced alone to arrest George Bush. He got 2 to 3 feet into the Center. He pushed his way through the police line with his hands over his head yelling, “I am not touching anyone”. They surrounded and pounced on him. He was brutalized, arrested and beaten over and over again in the police van and jail cell. He was kept for 24 hours and released on $500 bail. He sustained serious bodily injuries, including a partial concussion and a massive hernia.
Splitting the Sky is charged with three counts of assault and obstruction of justice. He must return to Calgary court on March 25th at 9:30 a.m. He plans to launch a legal campaign to indict the RCMP, Mayor of Calgary and others for complicity in war crimes for allowing Bush to enter without arresting him. These “banksters” better remember that all these resources they plan to steal and destroy are going to be defended by the Indigenous caretakers and our supporters. [Contact splitting_the_sky@yahoo.com or http://www.splittingthesky.blogspot.com/; Lawyers Against the war law@portal.caCalgary Defence Tavis Ford 403-606-7034].
MNN Staff Mohawk Nation News www.mohawknationnews.com katenies20@yahoo.com
kahentinetha2@yahoo.com Note: At this time your financial help is urgently needed and appreciated for the lawsuit against the Canadian government for assault of Indigenous women at the Cornwall border. Please send your donations to PayPal at http://www.mohawknationnews.com/, or by check or money order to “MNN Mohawk Nation News”, Box 991, Kahnawake [Quebec, Canada] J0L 1B0. Nia:wen thank you very much. Go to MNN “World” category 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
Calgary/Alberta [Bound] Douche Bags: Kim “Environmental-War-Criminal-Beneath-Contempt” McCuaig, CEO, Canadian Energy Pipeline Assn., http://www.cepa.com/, 403-221-8770; Calgary Cop Shop, 403-266-1234 http://www.calgarypolice.ca/ has an online report system; RCMP calgarydivision@hotmail.com; Alberta Premier Ed “Devastator-of-Athabaska-Basin-and-the-homeless” Stalmach, 780-427-2251 Fax 780-427-1349; http://www.premier.alberta.ca/; Mayor of Calgary Dave ”Frozen-between-the-ears” Bronconnier http://www.calgarymayor.ca/ the mayor@calgary.ca 403-268-5622 Fax 403-268-8130. Calgary Chamber of Commerce, 403-750-0400 chinfo@calgarychamber.com http://www.calgarychamber.com/; Prime Minister Stephen “Whose-father-worked-for-Imperial-Oil-in-Calgary” Harper pm@pm.ca;
Clients of Bennett Jones law firm are Husky Oil, Petro Canada and the Trans Canada Pipeline, which is owned by the Texas-based Terasen Gas, which owns B.C. Hydro, which has a pipeline from B.C. to southern Alberta and a vested interest in the Tarsands with Ormat, an Israeli oil firm.
Bennett Jones, Calgary 403-298-3100 http://www.bennettjones.com/; BC Hydro
http://www.bchydro.com/ 604-224-9376; Petro Canada 403-296-8000 http://www.petro-canada.ca/; Trans Canada Pipelines Ltd., Calgary 1-800-661-3805; Terasen Gas 604-576-7000 http://www.terasengas.com/; Ormat Industries Ltd, 1Szydlowski Rd., Yvavne, Israel 972-8-9433-777 ormat@ormat.com; Husky Oil, Calgary 403-298-6111/7464 http://www.huskyenergy.com/; Ernst & Young Global Ltd. [Toronto] 416-864-1234 http://www.ernstyoung.com/
Splitting the Sky jailed for trying to “citizen arrest” this war criminal!
Mohawk Nation News
http://www.mohawknationnews.com/
You Tube: Splitting the Sky Arrested
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62a53enMtA0
Mar. 18, 2009. Former U.S. President, George W. Bush, was in Calgary with “cowboy” hat in hand on March 17 to seek the affection of the men and women attending the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association meeting CEPA. It was sponsored by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce and law firms Ernst and Young and Bennett Jones. 1,300 corporate business types paid $400 a plate. One Bush fan cooed, “He must be intelligent to be so witty”. Doesn’t he know that a team of speech writers carefully crafted every word he said?
Bush came to “Texas North”, as Calgary is called, to help his international andAmerican cohorts scoop out more Indigenous resources such as water, gas and oil. He wants the corporations to stay in private hands so they can grab 6 trillion cu. ft. of natural gas; 950 million barrels of liquid hydrocarbons; lay 100,000 km. of pipe over our territory; and pocket $67 billion from exports of our resources while polluting all our territories and waters.
His topic appeared to be “Listen to George Bush on how to destroy and bankrupt countries, businesses and the people”. The enthralled audience heaped praise on this braggart who demolished countries through brutal wars, killing millions, doing away with civil liberties, breaking international laws, circumventing the Geneva accords and tearing down the global economy. He and his friends know how to take the cream when the economy melts down and the taxpayers are left holding the bag.
Gale Davidson of Lawyers Against the War of Vancouver crafted a legal position that under Canadian law Bush could be arrested for being a suspected war criminal.
Over 700 protesters stood outside the Telus Convention Center. 75 heavily armed, especially bulky, RCMP and private “Blackwater-type” security were there to guard Bush. They pointed guns at the crowd. Who knows how many others were in the crowd, on the rooftops, maybe even behind cameras and in the sky? Splitting the Sky, a Mohawk from Six Nations, evoked international law by asking the RCMP to arrest Bush. They refused. He told them, “I am serving you notice that you are protecting a war criminal and an international terrorist. You can be tried, convicted and executed as a collaborator before a Nuremberg-type tribunal”.
At the same time he tried to deliver a letter from Ramsay Clark, the former U.S. attorney general, who supports the broad coalition of peace, human rights, labor, law, environmental and other organizations that are seeking U.S. prosecution for Bush’s crimes. The U.S. people are responsible for Bush’s crimes against peace and humanity by failing to stop him. There is universal jurisdiction over such crimes, mentioning especially the crimes of aggression in Afghanistan and Iraq. [Bush’s Calgary rally to business interests will continue the usurpation of our resources and the environment.] Bush proclaimed himself to be the “decider” by seizing dictatorial powers. He deceitfully declared that national security was threatened and signed into law many unconstitutional Acts of Congress. He enriched favored corrupt predators by giving to them contracts for security services, war relief and reconstruction. At home mortgage lenders, banks, insurance companies and corporate executives exploited Bush policies to enrich the rich. He radically increased the national war debt and military spending which led to the collapse of the global economy. Corrupt Bush appointees committed crimes in various Executive Departments, including the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the Department of the Interior.
Splitting the Sky broke through the police line and advanced alone to arrest George Bush. He got 2 to 3 feet into the Center. He pushed his way through the police line with his hands over his head yelling, “I am not touching anyone”. They surrounded and pounced on him. He was brutalized, arrested and beaten over and over again in the police van and jail cell. He was kept for 24 hours and released on $500 bail. He sustained serious bodily injuries, including a partial concussion and a massive hernia.
Splitting the Sky is charged with three counts of assault and obstruction of justice. He must return to Calgary court on March 25th at 9:30 a.m. He plans to launch a legal campaign to indict the RCMP, Mayor of Calgary and others for complicity in war crimes for allowing Bush to enter without arresting him. These “banksters” better remember that all these resources they plan to steal and destroy are going to be defended by the Indigenous caretakers and our supporters. [Contact splitting_the_sky@yahoo.com or http://www.splittingthesky.blogspot.com/; Lawyers Against the war law@portal.caCalgary Defence Tavis Ford 403-606-7034].
MNN Staff Mohawk Nation News www.mohawknationnews.com katenies20@yahoo.com
kahentinetha2@yahoo.com Note: At this time your financial help is urgently needed and appreciated for the lawsuit against the Canadian government for assault of Indigenous women at the Cornwall border. Please send your donations to PayPal at http://www.mohawknationnews.com/, or by check or money order to “MNN Mohawk Nation News”, Box 991, Kahnawake [Quebec, Canada] J0L 1B0. Nia:wen thank you very much. Go to MNN “World” category 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
Calgary/Alberta [Bound] Douche Bags: Kim “Environmental-War-Criminal-Beneath-Contempt” McCuaig, CEO, Canadian Energy Pipeline Assn., http://www.cepa.com/, 403-221-8770; Calgary Cop Shop, 403-266-1234 http://www.calgarypolice.ca/ has an online report system; RCMP calgarydivision@hotmail.com; Alberta Premier Ed “Devastator-of-Athabaska-Basin-and-the-homeless” Stalmach, 780-427-2251 Fax 780-427-1349; http://www.premier.alberta.ca/; Mayor of Calgary Dave ”Frozen-between-the-ears” Bronconnier http://www.calgarymayor.ca/ the mayor@calgary.ca 403-268-5622 Fax 403-268-8130. Calgary Chamber of Commerce, 403-750-0400 chinfo@calgarychamber.com http://www.calgarychamber.com/; Prime Minister Stephen “Whose-father-worked-for-Imperial-Oil-in-Calgary” Harper pm@pm.ca;
Clients of Bennett Jones law firm are Husky Oil, Petro Canada and the Trans Canada Pipeline, which is owned by the Texas-based Terasen Gas, which owns B.C. Hydro, which has a pipeline from B.C. to southern Alberta and a vested interest in the Tarsands with Ormat, an Israeli oil firm.
Bennett Jones, Calgary 403-298-3100 http://www.bennettjones.com/; BC Hydro
http://www.bchydro.com/ 604-224-9376; Petro Canada 403-296-8000 http://www.petro-canada.ca/; Trans Canada Pipelines Ltd., Calgary 1-800-661-3805; Terasen Gas 604-576-7000 http://www.terasengas.com/; Ormat Industries Ltd, 1Szydlowski Rd., Yvavne, Israel 972-8-9433-777 ormat@ormat.com; Husky Oil, Calgary 403-298-6111/7464 http://www.huskyenergy.com/; Ernst & Young Global Ltd. [Toronto] 416-864-1234 http://www.ernstyoung.com/
Indigenous human rights activists unfairly detained in Mexico
Indigenous human rights activists unfairly detained in Mexico
Mexico prisoners of conscience video
Mexico prisoners of conscience video
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/indigenous-human-rights-activists-unfairly-detained-mexico-20090312
© Amnesty International
Photo: The five prisoners of conscience inside Ayutla de los Libres prison, Mexico, 5 February 2009
© Amnesty International
Five indigenous human rights activists in Mexico are still being held in prison nearly a year after their arrest, despite insufficient evidence against them.
The members of the Guerrero-based Me' phaa Indigenous People's Organization (OPIM) are held in a Guerrero state prison on charges of murder. They were arrested in April 2008.
By continuing to detain the five unfairly, the Mexican government is ignoring the human rights commitments it made to the United Nations Human Rights Council a month ago.
A federal review judge ordered the release of four of them on 20 October 2008, after ruling that the evidence presented did not implicate them. However the four remain in prison after Mexico's Federal Attorney General's Office filed an appeal against the ruling, despite not providing further evidence in the case. They now await a decision by a federal reviewing court regarding their possible release.
The fifth detainee, Raúl Hernández, was denied an injunction by the federal judge on the grounds that two witnesses testified to his presence at the time of the murder. However other eyewitness testimonies that Hernández was not present have been disregarded. He has appealed against the decision to deny an injunction in his case.
" Less than a month ago, Mexico made a commitment at the UN Human Rights Council that it will protect the life and physical integrity of human rights defenders in the country," said Susan Lee, Americas Program Director at Amnesty International.
"Amnesty International has established that the case against these five prisoners of conscience has been brought in reprisal for their work promoting the rights of their community and exposing abuses by a local political boss and local authorities.
"When social activists are punished for the legitimate work they do, the authorities are sending a message that protecting and promoting human rights carries a high price."
Manuel Cruz, Orlando Manzanarez, Natalio Ortega, Romualdo Santiago and Raúl Hernández were detained on 17 April 2008. They were charged with the murder of Alejandro Feliciano García on 1 January 2008 in the town of El Camalote, Guerrero. The five were stopped and taken into custody while crossing a routine military checkpoint in the area.
Over a number of years, Amnesty International has documented a pattern of harassment and intimidation in Guerrero state against members of Indigenous rights organizations such as the OPIM.
Most recently, both the Secretary and President of the Organization for the Future of Mixtec Indigenous Peoples (Organizacion para el Futuro de los Pueblos Mixtecos, OFPM) were found murdered late at night on 20 February in Tecoanapa municipality, Guerrero State. The bodies of Manuel Ponce Rosas and Raúl Lucas Lucía were unearthed 30 minutes drive away from where they were abducted by armed men seven days earlier. Both of the bodies were identified by their families who reported that they showed clear signs of torture.
Amnesty International has called on the Mexican authorities to immediately and unconditionally release the five prisoners of conscience in Ayutla de los Libres prison, Guerrero State and bring those responsible for the murders of Manuel Ponce Rosas and Raúl Lucas Lucía to justice.
Read More
Mexico: Further Information on Fear for safety (Document, 25 February 2009)
Mexican government's report to UN fails to acknowledge human rights reality (News, 9 February 2009)
© Amnesty International
Photo: The five prisoners of conscience inside Ayutla de los Libres prison, Mexico, 5 February 2009
© Amnesty International
Five indigenous human rights activists in Mexico are still being held in prison nearly a year after their arrest, despite insufficient evidence against them.
The members of the Guerrero-based Me' phaa Indigenous People's Organization (OPIM) are held in a Guerrero state prison on charges of murder. They were arrested in April 2008.
By continuing to detain the five unfairly, the Mexican government is ignoring the human rights commitments it made to the United Nations Human Rights Council a month ago.
A federal review judge ordered the release of four of them on 20 October 2008, after ruling that the evidence presented did not implicate them. However the four remain in prison after Mexico's Federal Attorney General's Office filed an appeal against the ruling, despite not providing further evidence in the case. They now await a decision by a federal reviewing court regarding their possible release.
The fifth detainee, Raúl Hernández, was denied an injunction by the federal judge on the grounds that two witnesses testified to his presence at the time of the murder. However other eyewitness testimonies that Hernández was not present have been disregarded. He has appealed against the decision to deny an injunction in his case.
" Less than a month ago, Mexico made a commitment at the UN Human Rights Council that it will protect the life and physical integrity of human rights defenders in the country," said Susan Lee, Americas Program Director at Amnesty International.
"Amnesty International has established that the case against these five prisoners of conscience has been brought in reprisal for their work promoting the rights of their community and exposing abuses by a local political boss and local authorities.
"When social activists are punished for the legitimate work they do, the authorities are sending a message that protecting and promoting human rights carries a high price."
Manuel Cruz, Orlando Manzanarez, Natalio Ortega, Romualdo Santiago and Raúl Hernández were detained on 17 April 2008. They were charged with the murder of Alejandro Feliciano García on 1 January 2008 in the town of El Camalote, Guerrero. The five were stopped and taken into custody while crossing a routine military checkpoint in the area.
Over a number of years, Amnesty International has documented a pattern of harassment and intimidation in Guerrero state against members of Indigenous rights organizations such as the OPIM.
Most recently, both the Secretary and President of the Organization for the Future of Mixtec Indigenous Peoples (Organizacion para el Futuro de los Pueblos Mixtecos, OFPM) were found murdered late at night on 20 February in Tecoanapa municipality, Guerrero State. The bodies of Manuel Ponce Rosas and Raúl Lucas Lucía were unearthed 30 minutes drive away from where they were abducted by armed men seven days earlier. Both of the bodies were identified by their families who reported that they showed clear signs of torture.
Amnesty International has called on the Mexican authorities to immediately and unconditionally release the five prisoners of conscience in Ayutla de los Libres prison, Guerrero State and bring those responsible for the murders of Manuel Ponce Rosas and Raúl Lucas Lucía to justice.
Read More
Mexico: Further Information on Fear for safety (Document, 25 February 2009)
Mexican government's report to UN fails to acknowledge human rights reality (News, 9 February 2009)
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