How Do You Feel About The No Dakota Access Pipeline Protest

The animals always respond to Native prayer.


A story you will probably never hear (except from a Lakota (Sioux) who was there) in regards to the 2nd Wounded Knee in the 1970's happened at a church where a bunch of Natives were holed up with a Medicine Man---who was one of the Spiritual Advisors to AIM (American Indian Movement). The church was surrounded by the FBI and cops who were in the trees around the church, rifles aimed, and according to the Indians, they would have shot anyone who tried to leave.

They weren't sure what to do, and many were afraid, so that night they performed a yuwipi ceremony---a spirit calling ceremony, and asked spirit for help. One of the spirits that came in, was an owl spirit, and it said that the owl people (or Owl Nation) would help them. They were told to wait for the owl call and to follow it.

After the ceremony they kept the lights off, and waited quietly. after a short time, they heard an owl by a door, so they opened it. Then they heard an owl by a nearby tree, and they all walked quietly to that tree. Then another owl call from another tree so quietly they walked to that tree. Then another call. Pretty soon they were far enough from the church that they could all head off safely on their own.

The next morning, the cops and the FBI waited and listened as they surrounded the church. At some point they decided it was too quiet and they decided to break in to see what was happening. They found, of course, that the church was empty.

 

https://youtu.be/aQW1MXtiREw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQW1MXtiREw

I think a pipeline is safer then running these oil Trains.

 

oil is not progress. water is life.

 

Work on the pipeline is being put on hold!


No easement will be granted to drill under the Missouri River to complete the Dakota Access Pipeline as the feds call for more study of concerns raised by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe.

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/dakota-access-pipeline-put-on-hold-as-government-studies-tribes-concerns/?utm_source=facebook

 

I just got back from Standing Rock. It's crazy out there. Keep the Water Protectors in your thoughts.

The impact of transporting crude oil via various methods is not the issue at hand. Yes, there are some people protesting for the environment, but the Natives are fighting for sacred lands that should have been protected under treaties. They are willing to fight and die for this cause. The fact that they were ignored from the beginning (there's audio from a meeting in 2014 from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe) really pisses me off. So much of their history and land has been destroyed by the American government. Must we take more? Reroute the pipeline. Protect the sacred.

 

Yes, the Indian plight of today's world is very sad indeed.....I often think of them....red lives matter....Make America red again were two thoughts that came to my mind earlier today.....as I was thinking of them. We often get little gits here in the mail of dream catchers and things....as we always donate to them.....

and I do care about the wild life and environment also....Man's greed is too hard to bear sometimes...

This song is for the native Americans and wildlife, also....


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejorQVy3m8E

 

As long as people accept the notion that they are children who need to be ruled, then they will be walked over and slapped down like children by those whom they elect to be their rulers. To step in the way of these rulers is to step out of line, and out come the water cannons. A government of the people, by the people, and for the people my fucking ass.

Needless to say, I am always stunned when someone addresses me in a post and, with a somewhat scolding tone, makes the comment: You don't even trust your own government. The scourge of another's self-inflicted blindness is just another thing to bear in this world. I wrote the following about six years ago. It seems to speak to what I'm saying here.
____________________________________________________________________________________________

It is obvious the "system" does not work. The reason for this is that, built into the system is a mechanism designed to insure the survival of the system. In fact, the system is nothing but a self-perpetuating and self-actuating mechanism. And as such, it will not take into account the flesh and blood issues of the human condition when solving its own internal and external problematic imbalances.

In a capitalist society, a human is simply part of an equation whose value is based on personal economic viability. In the interest of its own survival, this system will parasitically drain the very host it is presumed and intended to serve--the public domain. The past bailouts of insurance companies, banks, and car companies using public funds (taxes) certainly bears this out.

What is it when a government requires its citizens to replace the money lost by these for-profit entities? Certainly, a case could be made that corporations are now a branch of government, or government is now a branch of corporation. Either way, the result is the same; people starve and die because the rescue of fellow humans from such things as exposure, disease, and malnutrition is not in the best interest of the system. If there is such a thing as the Beast of Revelations fame, then money is that beast. Nothing moves and no one eats without the corresponding flow of tokens (money). An exchange system is all fine and well, but what do you call an exchange system that allows for the disenfranchisement of humans?

Interestingly, when the chief money-handlers/changers fell into hard financial times after somehow mis-managing and losing six-hundred billion dollars, they didn't face financial or personal ruin; they just created further financial and personal ruin for the already-strapped-for-cash taxpayers by telling them to kindly replace the money they themselves lost. To add insult to injury, the taxpayer is also told to put the replacement dollars into the hands of the very same people who lost the first bag of money.

And these money-handlers were so pompous in their acquisition of these funds that they actually said they would take more of our money only on the condition that there would be no oversight by anyone but themselves when it comes to what they will do with it. In essence, as ridiculous as it sounds, they were threatening to not take our money if we didn't close our eyes and turn around and count to ten after handing it over to them. At any rate, they got our money, and the game goes on. It goes on because, like children, we believe that we need to be ruled.

 

Odin is cutting ties with this pipeline!

http://www.ecowatch.com/divest-dakota-access-pipeline-norway-2110373927.html

 

Storch said:"And these money-handlers were so pompous in their acquisition of these funds that they actually said they would take more of our money only on the condition that there would be no oversight by anyone but themselves when it comes to what they will do with it. In essence, as ridiculous as it sounds, they were threatening to not take our money if we didn't close our eyes and turn around and count to ten after handing it over to them. At any rate, they got our money, and the game goes on."

Okie asks: Have you looked at the folks Trump has picked for his economic team. Billionaire Steve Mnuchin, 17-year-veteran of Goldman Sachs who now works as the chairman and chief executive of the private investment firm Dune Capital Management, will be Treasury Secretary. Hillary was pilloried for giving speeches to Goldman Sachs..One West Bank, a mortgage lender company built by Mnuchin was able to make huge profits during the 2008 fincancial crisis by buying up parts of failed banks, and then becoming a forclosure machine in forcing struggling borrowers from their homes. Trump's pick as Commerce Secretary, billionaire Wilbur Ross, founder of the private equity firm W L Ross & Co., is know for re-sstructuring failed companies in distressed economic sectors, but his restructuring has sometimes come at the expense of worker safety, like those killed in the Sago, West Virginia mine explosion. So I hope the new regime works out, but I'm not optimistic. And Trump owns stock in the South Dakota pipeline company! http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/trump-s-financial-ties-to-dakota-pipeline-794574403587
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trumps-stock-in-dakota-access-oil-pipeline-raises-concerns/

 

Obama said he would close Guantonamo. He lied. Obama said Israel should stop building settlements on Palestinan territory. Instead of stopping them or penalizing them for continuing their illegal activity, he continues to reward them. Obama said we have a right to know whether or not we're buying genetically modified foods. He then signs a bill overturning Vermont’s GMO labeling law.

Only children would continue mindlessly believing that presidents are something more than figureheads owned by money. I mean, it's so in your face. Trump will do exactly what he is told to do, just like Obama.

 

Poor Obama. You call him a liar for not closing Gitmo. Conservatives call him a liar for releasing inmates he said were safe. Of the 676 detainees released thus far by Bush and Obama, 30% are known or suspected to have returned to terrorist actions. There are 91 detainees left in the facility. Earlier this year Obama announced a proposal to transfer 35 of them to other countries and ship the rest to prisons in the U.S.--a proposal that went over like a lead balloon. The biggest obstacle to closing Gitmo is where to put the inmates. Congress passed legislation barring the federal government from funding tirals for them, or building new prisons in the U. S. to house them. International and U.S. law prohibits sending them to places where they are likely to be tortured, and most countries simply don't want them. Congress also passed a law that any country accepting them must guarantee they won't return to terrorism. So what's a President to do? Trump pledges to re-stock Gitmo with new domestic terror suspects. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guantanamo_Bay_detention_camp

As you say, Obama said Israel should stop building settlements on Palestinian territory. But they still do, and he hasn't stopped them. Why do you think that is? Israel, last I looked, is a sovereign nation and a favorite of both Republicans and Democrats in Congress because of the Jewish vote. The Republican House took the extraordinary measure of inviting Israel's Prime Minister to address it, and he took the extraordinary step of attacking Obama's proposed nuclear deal with Iran. In other words, Obama has no leverage over Israel at all--given unprecedented undercutting of his position by Congress.

On the GMO labeling law, score another victory for agribusiness. Please note, however, that the bill Obama signed was passed by both houses of Congress, both controlled by Republicans. Trump is a "dream come true" for agribusiness. http://theweek.com/articles/663646/why-donald-trump-dream-come-true-agribusiness

How would you solve these problems? Wait for the revolution? Or make choices between relative evils. Bernie Sanders correctly identified the problem of corporate lobbying, which has become more virulent as a result of the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United. Hillary promised to appoint Justices to the Supreme Court who would reverse that decision. You can be sure that the Justices Trump will pick will not do that, and will do just the opposite.

 

This will not be a popular opinion, but I fundamentally disagree with the protest. The tribe fucked itself over by signing a bad deal. Now it's become a shitshow where a bunch of activists stand in a circle and ideologically jack each other off while being blasted by water cannons to no real avail. Soon enough it'll get ever colder, they'll get tired of protesting, and all of this noise will blow over...

 

The use of water canons on demonstrators at those temperatures is barbaric, and surely a human rights abuse!

 

"Human rights abuse" is an empty canned term. You could just as easily argue that the protesters' blocking of a perfectly legal pipeline project is "barbaric."

 

You could argue that. I couldn't.

 

Touche.

 

You forgot to mention that as of October of this year, there are sixty prisoners being held at Guantanamo; and of those sixty, twenty have been cleared for release, and thirty-one have never been charged with a crime. You say that the biggest obstacle to closing Guantanamo Bay prison is where to put the inmates. You mean you really don't know what should be done with the fifty-one prisoners who have been cleared or never charged with a crime? Really?

What does stating that Israel is a sovereign nation have to do with their building of illegal settlements on Palestinian territory? If Obama is at the mercy of Congress, then he is just a figurehead--a puppet. Makes you wonder what use a president has, doesn't it? No one should worry about Trump, then. Congress will keep him in line, right? So, if Congress consists of ass-kissing suck-ups for Israel, then Israel's violation of International Law will continue to be supported by the U.S. What should be done about a bunch of ass-kissing suck-ups? Wait for them to stop kissing ass and sucking up?

And the GMO labeling law is just more proof that politicians are ass-kissing suck-ups who cannot be trusted to follow the law or to support the interests of the public. As I have said, only children would continue mindlessly believing that presidents are something more than figureheads owned by money, and that Congress is anything more that those who support violations of International Law in the interest of sucking up to Israel for votes. I mean, it's so in your face.

The problem cannot be solved by choosing the lesser of two evils. Seeking to solve a problem within a system is useless when the system itself is the problem. Money rules the people who rule you.

 

Within twenty years commercial fishing will no longer be possible, there simply won't be enough wild fish left anywhere in the oceans. Within fifty years every wild land animal larger than a dog will either be extinct or only exist in zoos. People have been protesting these things for over sixty years and all of our protests have fallen on deaf ears or, at best, severed to delay the inevitable by a few years. When the billionaire mayor of NYC arrested 26 reporters in one day nobody said boo. When congress suspended our constitutional rights indefinitely our protests fell on deaf ears. When the Russians threatened nuclear war and to overthrow the US election and, then, Trump won when all the polls said he was 20 points behind and didn't stand a chance nobody said boo again. Now we have people executing cops in broad daylight and rioting across the country because it has become obvious peaceful protests are pointless.

Words and peaceful protests are meaningless when the gun is telling everyone what their money and lives are worth and almost nobody can tell me the difference between mob rule and a democracy.

 

So what would you do with them? Turn them loose on the streets of New York City? Congress has tied Obama's hands by law. If they can't be tried or imprisoned in the U.S., or sent to countries that might re-imprison or torture them, and if other countries don't want them, what's Obama gonna do?

Same goes for Palestinian settlements. International law doesn't enforce itself in these areas. Yes, indeed, we have an ass-kissing Congress. You ask what should be done about them, but haven't provided an answer. Trump was more pro-Israel than Hillary and Obama, so don't expect him to help.http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/169805

Elections have consequences, and you didn't vote. So long as most of the public ignores politics, dismisses news, and absorbs itself in the pursuit of consumer goods, nothing will change for the better, but it could change for the worse. If you're presented only with two evils and don't chose the lesser, you choose the greater of evils--as you may have done, depending on your state, by not voting. It's simply not true that it made no difference whether Nixon or Humphrey, Bush or Gore, Romney or Obama was elected.

As for the influence of corporate megabucks on our elections,Congress has passed several acts to restrict the role of corporate money in our elections, and all of them have been overturned by the Supreme Court, almost literally on the principle that "money talks" so corporate campaign donations are protected speech under the First Amendment. The court is now about equally balanced and the new President will tip that balance by his judicial appointment. Hillary promised to appoint a Justice who would overturn Citizens United. Trump promised to appoint one in the mode of Scalia who supported it and saw big corporate money in politics as not a problem. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/169805


You say "the system" is the problem. What specifically do you mean by that? I agree that the U.S. is, like other political systems, a quasi-oligarchy or polyarchy (as Robert Dahl put it) in which ordinary voters, along with plural elties, provide input, especially through elections. It's elite is more pluralistic than most, and a variety of interest groups with grassroots ties participate, but it's easily manipulated by corporate interests like the Koch Brothers, the Mercer interests (Breitbart & Giuliani), Goldman-Sachs, and Trump. In relative terms, the U.S. more democratic than the Founding Fathers intended, and compares favorably with the systems of other major powers, which are having their own problems with demagogues and ethno-nationalism. I'd like to see it become more democratic, but i 'm afraid the Trump victory may make it a full-blown plutocracy, despite the populist pretensions. Let me ask you this. Is there, or has there ever been, a government that meets your high standards of perfection? If so, what is (was) it? Once we get that straight, it will make more sense in talking about how we might possibly get from here to there. If that system lies in Heaven, we'll just have to wait until we get there. Otherwise, we make the perfect the enemy of the good.

 

The first thing Obama should have done is order his administration to end indefinite detention and close the Guantanamo prison. Why are you talking about the danger of re-imprisonment concerning those prisoners who were never guilty of anything in the first place?

Concerning the illegal Israeli settlements and your statement that International law does not enforce itself, the U.S. wields its veto power in the United Nations Security Council when it comes to doing something about Israel's illegal settlement. So the hands of the U.S. is not as tied as you make out. But it did tie the hands of others who saw fit to do something about it.

For whatever reasons, you don't understand that voting is pointless while elected officials bow to money. What do you hope to gain by favoring one candidate over another when both are limited in what they can do by the controllers of money. Presidential elections are designed to make you believe that this time, something good is going to happen. And everyone falls for it every time.