Navajo Family Fights New Casino and Obama: Too Little, Too Late
By Brenda Norrell
Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/
In today's news, Calvin Johnson, Navajo, writes about the Scott Family's fight against the Navajo Nation's plan for a new casino, east of Flagstaff.
Traditional Navajos have a saying: "Gambling will steal the future from the children."
While some Indian Nations in the US have used their revenues generously for charities and the betterment of their own people, in Arizona that has not always been the case.
The Scott family's statement of opposition comes as the National Congress of American Indians announced its support for the Tohono O'odham Nation's plan to build a casino in Glendale, in the Phoenix region.
However, NCAI should talk to the Tohono O'odham people, who are living in desperate poverty despite the Tohono O'odham's longtime lucrative Desert Diamond Casino near Tucson.
Tohono O'odham are desperate for housing and jobs, even food, and question where the millions of dollars in revenues are going from the casino.
Anyone who drives by the packed casino, then drives through the Tohono O'odham Nation, can see that something is extremely wrong.
Reporters covering Indian issues know that one of the most censored issues is the extensive poverty in southern Arizona Indian communities, where there are lucrative casinos.
In other news, President Obama announced he will give $125,000 of his Nobel Peace Prize award to the American Indian College Fund.
First of all, no amount of money can ever bring back a mother's son or daughter killed in these wars, wars based on the lies of politicians. The Nobel Peace Prize for a warmonger is essentially blood money, blood money which continues the deceit of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Further, the American Indian College Fund receives a mediocre rating on the charity rating charts. In simple language this means that the people who operate the American Indian College Fund spend far too much money on themselves, and too little on American Indian scholarships.
(The chief executive officer received compensation of $213,000 in 2008 and nearly $2 million was spent on fundraising.)
President Obama's announcement comes as the Obama administration declared a winter storm emergency in South Dakota for the storm in December, months after the disaster. Lakotas, repeatedly blasted by winter storms, pleaded for aid in January and February and were ignored. Cheyenne River Sioux in central South Dakota were without electricity for weeks and water for more than six days. Indian Nations and individuals rallied to their aid with online campaigns to deliver aid and buy propane. A telephone campaign, that was organized online, urging CNN to cover the disaster in the Dakotas resulted in less than a minute of news.
Read more on Censored News Homepage:
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com
References:
Navajo Family Stands Strong Against Casino:
http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2010/03/navajo-family-stands-strong-against.html
Charity rating for American Indian College Fund:
http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=3263
Showing posts with label censored. Show all posts
Showing posts with label censored. Show all posts
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Censored: Forgotten People on Black Mesa
Censored: Forgotten People on Black Mesa
By Brenda Norrell
Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com
The mainstream media continued aiding and abetting the dirty coal industry this week, in the genocidal targeting of American Indian lands for toxic and polluting industries that the rest of humanity doesn't want in their backyards.
Hopi and Navajo fighting Peabody Coal mining on Black Mesa celebrated a victory this week when the US Interior Dept. rejected a coal mining permit for Peabody Coal on Black Mesa. It is a victory that the majority of the mainstream media is ignoring.
Hopi and Navajo have made it easy for even the laziest journalist, or the newspaper without a dime for travel, to cover the story. There are press statements online with abundant quotes from the Hopi and Navajo who took the action and live on the land. Their phone numbers are also on their press statements, so the mainstream media has no excuse. Censored News will even send the judge's order by e-mail to anyone that requests it.
It seems the mainstream media doesn't want to admit the truth about mining on Black Mesa. Journalists do not want to take the time to understand the facts. One of these facts is that the elected Navajo and Hopi tribal councils were created by the United States for the purpose of signing energy leases. These councils are not the traditional Navajo and Hopi forms of governance. Today, the revenues go to the tribal governments, while the people living on the land continue to fight to protect the land, air and water and live free from the diseases of these pollutants and the draining of their aquifers.
The Navajo Nation Council, in its own history published in the 1980s, stated that the Navajo government was established by the US for the purpose of signing energy leases. Hopi Dan Evehema, at the age of 104, stated that the Hopi Sinom never authorized or recognized the Hopi Tribal Council. These councils became "US puppet governments" to the people living on the land and fighting to protect the land and the people.
The number of diseases and deaths related to the coal-fired power plants, coal mining, oil and gas wells and Cold War uranium mining on the Navajo Nation have never been documented. Secrecy and censorship have aided in this crime against humanity.
Individual Hopi and Navajo, and organizations and chapters, fought Peabody's coal mining permit and won a victory.
Vernon Masayesva, Hopi, said it is a new day for Native peoples.
"A great new day is dawning for the Hopi and all Native peoples in this country," said Masayesva, executive director of the grassroots organization Black Mesa Trust. His comment came in response to the news that an Office of Surface Mining administrative law judge rejected the permit issued by OSM for the Black Mesa Complex. The permit would have allowed Peabody Coal to continue mining-as-usual at the Black Mesa and Kayenta Mines on Hopi and Navajo lands.
Masayesva and former Hopi Tribal Chairman Ben Nuvamsa met with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar's staff in November to ask that decision-makers at Interior be more responsive to Native American concerns and more mindful of their trust responsibilities for the 560-plus Indian tribes in the U.S.
"The Interior Secretary and the agencies under his oversight are to be commended," Masayesva said in a statement.
Wahleah Johns, co-director of Black Mesa Water Coalition, one of the petitioners in the appeal, responded to Judge Robert G. Holt's ruling. "As a community member of Black Mesa I am grateful for Judge Holt's decision. For 40 years our sacred homelands and people have borne the brunt of coal mining impacts, from relocation to depletion of our only drinking water source. This ruling is an important step towards restorative justice for Indigenous communities who have suffered at the hands of multinational companies like Peabody Energy. This decision is also precedent-setting for all other communities who struggle with the complexities of NEPA laws and OSM procedures in regards to environmental protection. However, we also cannot ignore that irreversible damage of coal mining industries continues on the land, water, air, people and all living things."
The Administrative Law Judge's order decides issues raised by members of the Hopi Nation in one of many appeals brought in response to OSM's final permit, which was issued in the waning days of the Bush Administration. The "life of mine" permit issued by OSM authorized and expanded mining operations at Black Mesa beyond the year 2026 for the remaining portion of an estimated total of 670 million tons of coal. The order cited violations of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA,) the Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity and Black Mesa Water Coalition said in a joint statement.
"This is a huge victory for the communities of Black Mesa impacted by coal mining and proof that Peabody can't have its way on Black Mesa anymore," said Sierra Club's Hertha Woody, a member of the Navajo Nation. "Coal is a dirty, dangerous and outdated energy source that devastates communities, jeopardizes drinking water and destroys wildlife habitats. This decision is yet another example of why it no longer makes sense to burn coal to get electricity."
The Black Mesa Coal Mine Complex has a long history of controversy stemming from concerns about air and water pollution, impacts to local residents, the drying of aquifers and sacred springs, and coal's contribution to global warming. Heavy metals and pollutants that result from mining operations are toxic to humans and harmful to wildlife.
On the Navajo Nation, The Forgotten People, a Navajo group working toward human rights, raised new questions about the dangerous and unregulated coal transport train that passes through their communities enroute to the Navajo Generating Station at Page, Ariz., one of the coal-fired power plants on the Navajo Nation.
The Forgotten People and three Chapters, Tonalea Chapter, Coal Mine Canyon Chapter and Leupp Chapter joined Californians for Renewable energy, Kendall Nutumya, Victor Masayesva, Jr., and Black Mesa Water Coalition to oppose the U.S. Department of the Interior's Office of Surface Mining decision to approve a controversial life-of-mine permit for Peabody Coal Company's Black Mesa mine in the final days of the Bush Administration.
Chester Claw, President of Tonalea Chapter said, "All these years our people suffered from adverse health effects and pollution of the environment. I am speechless, at a loss for words about what Forgotten People and the other groups are doing against a big company while all the Navajo Nation has done for decades is think about money and forget about the people's health and the environment. This is 'David v. Goliath' and David prevailed."
"Now we need to focus on Salt River Project and Navajo Generating Station so they get a transportation permit to carry Peabody's Kayenta coal like they do at all other mines to ensure safety. SRP and NGS must install warning lights and barrier arms so no more people and livestock die at the railroad crossings," Claw said.
Don Yellowman, President of Forgotten People said, "What SRP and NGS are doing with an unpermitted railroad is equivalent to an unsafe semi truck driving on a highway without warning lights and improperly functioning brakes. Are they doing this because the life of our people and livestock are less important?"
The Forgotten People said that in light of US EPA initiatives, the uncertainty of the NGS, and an increasing awareness of climate change, they are urging the Navajo Nation Council to take action. The Council was urged to hold a public hearing on the Kayenta mine in a Hogan in Black Mesa, Vote No to an extension of Peabody's Kayenta mine lease, develop an alternative energy policy, and "Go Green."
While most of the electricity produced in coal-fired power plants on the Navajo Nation goes to Southwest cities, many Navajos continue to live without electricity. Many Navajos living beneath dangerous electric transmission lines which transport power to Phoenix, Tucson and Los Angeles, have only the light produced by kerosene or battery-operated lanterns.
While Peabody Coal mining drains the aquifer, many Navajos live without running water. Hauling water is expensive and requires transporation. For elderly, there is often no one to haul water for them over the rutted dirt roads, roads often impassable in winter and during rains.
For those struggling to protect the aquifer and sacred springs, the Interior ruling came as good news.
"It is good news that our concerns were heard. Water is very precious that should not be used for coal mining but instead should be used for our people. I am pleased with this outcome," said Calvin Johnson of the grassroots organization C-Aquifer for Dine'.
"Dine' C.A.R.E. commends DOI Judge Holt," said Anna Frazier of Dine' C.A.R.E. "This is a hopeful step toward a better consultation with OSM and other regulatory entities. The ultimate goals for our people and our land are for OSM to withdraw the life of mine permit, as there is no purpose and need for it, to move toward permanent closure of the existing Kayenta Mine and transportation complex and to begin total reclamation on Black Mesa."
The coalition of tribal and environmental groups who filed a related appeal of OSM's permit included the Black Mesa Water Coalition, Diné C.A.R.E., Dine Hataalii Association, Inc., Center for Biological Diversity, Natural Resources Defense Council.
Earlier, in the 1970s, Peabody Coal orchestrated the so-called Navajo Hopi land dispute, to remove Navajos and make way for coal mining. The US relocated more than 14,000 Navajos. While coal mining destroyed the land and poisoned the air at Black Mesa, water was drained from the aquifer.
Coal-fired power plants are cited as a primary reason for global warming. US coal-fired power plants -- including those on the Navajo Nation at Page, Ariz., and in the Four Corners region -- are a primary reason for global warming, resulting in the melting Arctic ice and destruction of Arctic homelands for Indigenous Peoples and wildlife.
Peabody Coal orchestrated the so-called Navajo Hopi land dispute and coal mining on Black Mesa, carried out without a proper EIS or permits. Peabody Coal, attorneys, US senators, including John McCain, and tribal councilmen, cut backdoor deals which has resulted in more than 30 years of suffering for Navajos living on Black Mesa. Navajos resisting relocation live without basic necessities, with no one to turn to when they are cold, hungry and sick. Ultimately, the Navajo Nation government abandoned its own people on Black Mesa in favor of revenues from coal mining.
The complete copy of order is available from brendanorrell@gmail.com
The complete statements from Hopi and Navajo are at Censored News: http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com
Excerpts from order:
United States Department of the Interior
Office of Hearing and Appeals
Departmental Hearings Division
405 South Main Street, Suite 400
Salt Lake City, Utah 84111
Telephone: (801) 524-5344
Facsimile: (801) 524-5539
January 5, 2010
ORDER
In Re Black Mesa Complex Permit Revision.
DV 2009-1-PR thru DV 2009-8-PR
Significant Permit Revision
Permit No. AZ-001D
NUTUMYA'S NEPA MOTION GRANTED
(Docket No. DV 2009-4-PRJ)
OSM DECISION VACATED
OTHER PENDING MOTIONS DENIED AS MOOT
OTHER REQUESTS FOR REVIEW DISMISSED AS MOOT
(Docket Nos. DV 2009-1-PR, DV ... DV 2009-8-PR)
HEARING CANCELLED.
Conclusion
OSM violated NEPA by not preparing a supplemental draft EIS when Peabody changed the proposed action. As a result the Final EIS did not consider a reasonable range of alternatives to the new proposed action, described the wrong environmental baseline, and did not achieve the informed decision-making and meaningful public comment required by NEPA. Because of the defective Final EIS, OSM's decision to issue a revised permit to Peabody must be vacated and remanded to OSM for further action.
Having considered the motion, the other papers on file, and for good cause, it is ordered that:
1. The Motino by Petitioners, Kendall Nutumy, et.all, in Docket No. DV 2009-4-PR, for Summary Disposition Based on OSM's Violation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), is granted.
2. The Decision, dated December 22, 2008, of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, approving the Application for Significant Permit Revision (Project AZ-001-E-P-01)(Permit AZ-001D) filed by Peabody Western coal Company for the Black Mesa Complex, is vacated.
3. The other pending motions in this consolidated preceding are denied as moot or not ripe for review.
4. The request for review filed by the following applicants are dismissed as moot.
Californians for Renewable Energy
Victor Masayesva, Jr.
Black Mesa Water Coalition
The Forgotten People
Coal Mine Canyon Chapter
Tonalea Chapter
Leupp Chapter
5. The prehearing conference scheduled for March 9, 2010, and the hearing scheduled for March 16, 2010, are cancelled.
Appeal Rights
Any party aggrieved by this decision may file a petition for discretionary review with the Interior Board of Land Appeal, or seek judicial review pursuant to the provisions in 43 CFR Section 4.1369.
--Robert G. Holt
By Brenda Norrell
Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com
The mainstream media continued aiding and abetting the dirty coal industry this week, in the genocidal targeting of American Indian lands for toxic and polluting industries that the rest of humanity doesn't want in their backyards.
Hopi and Navajo fighting Peabody Coal mining on Black Mesa celebrated a victory this week when the US Interior Dept. rejected a coal mining permit for Peabody Coal on Black Mesa. It is a victory that the majority of the mainstream media is ignoring.
Hopi and Navajo have made it easy for even the laziest journalist, or the newspaper without a dime for travel, to cover the story. There are press statements online with abundant quotes from the Hopi and Navajo who took the action and live on the land. Their phone numbers are also on their press statements, so the mainstream media has no excuse. Censored News will even send the judge's order by e-mail to anyone that requests it.
It seems the mainstream media doesn't want to admit the truth about mining on Black Mesa. Journalists do not want to take the time to understand the facts. One of these facts is that the elected Navajo and Hopi tribal councils were created by the United States for the purpose of signing energy leases. These councils are not the traditional Navajo and Hopi forms of governance. Today, the revenues go to the tribal governments, while the people living on the land continue to fight to protect the land, air and water and live free from the diseases of these pollutants and the draining of their aquifers.
The Navajo Nation Council, in its own history published in the 1980s, stated that the Navajo government was established by the US for the purpose of signing energy leases. Hopi Dan Evehema, at the age of 104, stated that the Hopi Sinom never authorized or recognized the Hopi Tribal Council. These councils became "US puppet governments" to the people living on the land and fighting to protect the land and the people.
The number of diseases and deaths related to the coal-fired power plants, coal mining, oil and gas wells and Cold War uranium mining on the Navajo Nation have never been documented. Secrecy and censorship have aided in this crime against humanity.
Individual Hopi and Navajo, and organizations and chapters, fought Peabody's coal mining permit and won a victory.
Vernon Masayesva, Hopi, said it is a new day for Native peoples.
"A great new day is dawning for the Hopi and all Native peoples in this country," said Masayesva, executive director of the grassroots organization Black Mesa Trust. His comment came in response to the news that an Office of Surface Mining administrative law judge rejected the permit issued by OSM for the Black Mesa Complex. The permit would have allowed Peabody Coal to continue mining-as-usual at the Black Mesa and Kayenta Mines on Hopi and Navajo lands.
Masayesva and former Hopi Tribal Chairman Ben Nuvamsa met with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar's staff in November to ask that decision-makers at Interior be more responsive to Native American concerns and more mindful of their trust responsibilities for the 560-plus Indian tribes in the U.S.
"The Interior Secretary and the agencies under his oversight are to be commended," Masayesva said in a statement.
Wahleah Johns, co-director of Black Mesa Water Coalition, one of the petitioners in the appeal, responded to Judge Robert G. Holt's ruling. "As a community member of Black Mesa I am grateful for Judge Holt's decision. For 40 years our sacred homelands and people have borne the brunt of coal mining impacts, from relocation to depletion of our only drinking water source. This ruling is an important step towards restorative justice for Indigenous communities who have suffered at the hands of multinational companies like Peabody Energy. This decision is also precedent-setting for all other communities who struggle with the complexities of NEPA laws and OSM procedures in regards to environmental protection. However, we also cannot ignore that irreversible damage of coal mining industries continues on the land, water, air, people and all living things."
The Administrative Law Judge's order decides issues raised by members of the Hopi Nation in one of many appeals brought in response to OSM's final permit, which was issued in the waning days of the Bush Administration. The "life of mine" permit issued by OSM authorized and expanded mining operations at Black Mesa beyond the year 2026 for the remaining portion of an estimated total of 670 million tons of coal. The order cited violations of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA,) the Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity and Black Mesa Water Coalition said in a joint statement.
"This is a huge victory for the communities of Black Mesa impacted by coal mining and proof that Peabody can't have its way on Black Mesa anymore," said Sierra Club's Hertha Woody, a member of the Navajo Nation. "Coal is a dirty, dangerous and outdated energy source that devastates communities, jeopardizes drinking water and destroys wildlife habitats. This decision is yet another example of why it no longer makes sense to burn coal to get electricity."
The Black Mesa Coal Mine Complex has a long history of controversy stemming from concerns about air and water pollution, impacts to local residents, the drying of aquifers and sacred springs, and coal's contribution to global warming. Heavy metals and pollutants that result from mining operations are toxic to humans and harmful to wildlife.
On the Navajo Nation, The Forgotten People, a Navajo group working toward human rights, raised new questions about the dangerous and unregulated coal transport train that passes through their communities enroute to the Navajo Generating Station at Page, Ariz., one of the coal-fired power plants on the Navajo Nation.
The Forgotten People and three Chapters, Tonalea Chapter, Coal Mine Canyon Chapter and Leupp Chapter joined Californians for Renewable energy, Kendall Nutumya, Victor Masayesva, Jr., and Black Mesa Water Coalition to oppose the U.S. Department of the Interior's Office of Surface Mining decision to approve a controversial life-of-mine permit for Peabody Coal Company's Black Mesa mine in the final days of the Bush Administration.
Chester Claw, President of Tonalea Chapter said, "All these years our people suffered from adverse health effects and pollution of the environment. I am speechless, at a loss for words about what Forgotten People and the other groups are doing against a big company while all the Navajo Nation has done for decades is think about money and forget about the people's health and the environment. This is 'David v. Goliath' and David prevailed."
"Now we need to focus on Salt River Project and Navajo Generating Station so they get a transportation permit to carry Peabody's Kayenta coal like they do at all other mines to ensure safety. SRP and NGS must install warning lights and barrier arms so no more people and livestock die at the railroad crossings," Claw said.
Don Yellowman, President of Forgotten People said, "What SRP and NGS are doing with an unpermitted railroad is equivalent to an unsafe semi truck driving on a highway without warning lights and improperly functioning brakes. Are they doing this because the life of our people and livestock are less important?"
The Forgotten People said that in light of US EPA initiatives, the uncertainty of the NGS, and an increasing awareness of climate change, they are urging the Navajo Nation Council to take action. The Council was urged to hold a public hearing on the Kayenta mine in a Hogan in Black Mesa, Vote No to an extension of Peabody's Kayenta mine lease, develop an alternative energy policy, and "Go Green."
While most of the electricity produced in coal-fired power plants on the Navajo Nation goes to Southwest cities, many Navajos continue to live without electricity. Many Navajos living beneath dangerous electric transmission lines which transport power to Phoenix, Tucson and Los Angeles, have only the light produced by kerosene or battery-operated lanterns.
While Peabody Coal mining drains the aquifer, many Navajos live without running water. Hauling water is expensive and requires transporation. For elderly, there is often no one to haul water for them over the rutted dirt roads, roads often impassable in winter and during rains.
For those struggling to protect the aquifer and sacred springs, the Interior ruling came as good news.
"It is good news that our concerns were heard. Water is very precious that should not be used for coal mining but instead should be used for our people. I am pleased with this outcome," said Calvin Johnson of the grassroots organization C-Aquifer for Dine'.
"Dine' C.A.R.E. commends DOI Judge Holt," said Anna Frazier of Dine' C.A.R.E. "This is a hopeful step toward a better consultation with OSM and other regulatory entities. The ultimate goals for our people and our land are for OSM to withdraw the life of mine permit, as there is no purpose and need for it, to move toward permanent closure of the existing Kayenta Mine and transportation complex and to begin total reclamation on Black Mesa."
The coalition of tribal and environmental groups who filed a related appeal of OSM's permit included the Black Mesa Water Coalition, Diné C.A.R.E., Dine Hataalii Association, Inc., Center for Biological Diversity, Natural Resources Defense Council.
Earlier, in the 1970s, Peabody Coal orchestrated the so-called Navajo Hopi land dispute, to remove Navajos and make way for coal mining. The US relocated more than 14,000 Navajos. While coal mining destroyed the land and poisoned the air at Black Mesa, water was drained from the aquifer.
Coal-fired power plants are cited as a primary reason for global warming. US coal-fired power plants -- including those on the Navajo Nation at Page, Ariz., and in the Four Corners region -- are a primary reason for global warming, resulting in the melting Arctic ice and destruction of Arctic homelands for Indigenous Peoples and wildlife.
Peabody Coal orchestrated the so-called Navajo Hopi land dispute and coal mining on Black Mesa, carried out without a proper EIS or permits. Peabody Coal, attorneys, US senators, including John McCain, and tribal councilmen, cut backdoor deals which has resulted in more than 30 years of suffering for Navajos living on Black Mesa. Navajos resisting relocation live without basic necessities, with no one to turn to when they are cold, hungry and sick. Ultimately, the Navajo Nation government abandoned its own people on Black Mesa in favor of revenues from coal mining.
The complete copy of order is available from brendanorrell@gmail.com
The complete statements from Hopi and Navajo are at Censored News: http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com
Excerpts from order:
United States Department of the Interior
Office of Hearing and Appeals
Departmental Hearings Division
405 South Main Street, Suite 400
Salt Lake City, Utah 84111
Telephone: (801) 524-5344
Facsimile: (801) 524-5539
January 5, 2010
ORDER
In Re Black Mesa Complex Permit Revision.
DV 2009-1-PR thru DV 2009-8-PR
Significant Permit Revision
Permit No. AZ-001D
NUTUMYA'S NEPA MOTION GRANTED
(Docket No. DV 2009-4-PRJ)
OSM DECISION VACATED
OTHER PENDING MOTIONS DENIED AS MOOT
OTHER REQUESTS FOR REVIEW DISMISSED AS MOOT
(Docket Nos. DV 2009-1-PR, DV ... DV 2009-8-PR)
HEARING CANCELLED.
Conclusion
OSM violated NEPA by not preparing a supplemental draft EIS when Peabody changed the proposed action. As a result the Final EIS did not consider a reasonable range of alternatives to the new proposed action, described the wrong environmental baseline, and did not achieve the informed decision-making and meaningful public comment required by NEPA. Because of the defective Final EIS, OSM's decision to issue a revised permit to Peabody must be vacated and remanded to OSM for further action.
Having considered the motion, the other papers on file, and for good cause, it is ordered that:
1. The Motino by Petitioners, Kendall Nutumy, et.all, in Docket No. DV 2009-4-PR, for Summary Disposition Based on OSM's Violation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), is granted.
2. The Decision, dated December 22, 2008, of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, approving the Application for Significant Permit Revision (Project AZ-001-E-P-01)(Permit AZ-001D) filed by Peabody Western coal Company for the Black Mesa Complex, is vacated.
3. The other pending motions in this consolidated preceding are denied as moot or not ripe for review.
4. The request for review filed by the following applicants are dismissed as moot.
Californians for Renewable Energy
Victor Masayesva, Jr.
Black Mesa Water Coalition
The Forgotten People
Coal Mine Canyon Chapter
Tonalea Chapter
Leupp Chapter
5. The prehearing conference scheduled for March 9, 2010, and the hearing scheduled for March 16, 2010, are cancelled.
Appeal Rights
Any party aggrieved by this decision may file a petition for discretionary review with the Interior Board of Land Appeal, or seek judicial review pursuant to the provisions in 43 CFR Section 4.1369.
--Robert G. Holt
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Hate Crimes for Christmas
Hate crimes for Christmas
By Brenda Norrell
Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/
Photo: Cross burning at nighttime Ku Klux Klan (KKK) rally, Photo by Hank Walker, 1946, Time Life
Hate crimes against African-Americans and the number of hate groups increased in the United States during this decade, according to US statistics. But what of the hate crimes on the US/Mexico border, where white Border Patrol agents kill people of color in cold blood, as was the case with Francisco Javier Dominguez Rivera, 22, from Morelia, Mexico?
Why is it not a hate crime when white Border Patrol agents and white police officers beat and murder Tohono O’odham, and other people of color, on the backroads near the US/Mexico border?
Why is it not a hate crime when the US federal court prosecutes volunteers for giving water to a dying person on the southern border?
Why is it not a hate crime when the United States kills civilians with drones during rogue assassinations in Iraq or Afghanistan? Why is it not a hate crime when Navajo, Lakota, Tohono O'odham and other Indian women, children and elderly go to bed cold, sick and hungry -- without food, medicine and firewood -- ignored by the United States and their own elected councils?
Television news, especially CNN, can be singled out for the rise of institutionalized racism and nationalism. CNN champions the rights of white victims in mind-numbing repeated broadcasts. When was the last time CNN sought justice for a black, American Indian or Asian missing or murdered child or desperate parent? CNN's chosen victims are more often than not, fair-haired blondes. The people that CNN and other television news focus on to shame and vilify are more often than not people of color.
Television news was responsible for fueling the border xenophobia, which resulted in billions of dollars of profits for Boeing border wall builders and surveillance profiteers. Over the past decade, it was television news, particularly CNN, that fueled global intolerance, racial and religious prejudice toward people from the Middle East. This institutionalized religious prejudice targeted the followers of the Prophet Mohammad. It was primarily CNN that manipulated the facts and swayed public opinion concerning the United States’ oil and opium rich wars in the Middle East.
Instead of calling for the prosecution of Bush and Cheney for war crimes, in violation of the Geneva Conventions prohibiting torture, television news anchors broadcast Cheney’s book tour.
The newsmakers, including global wire services, treated press releases written by politicians and corporations as facts, fictionalizing the news on issues ranging from the war and the US borders, to uranium mining and power plants on American Indian lands.
Canadian mining companies assassinated Indigenous Peoples in Guatemala and elsewhere. Canadian mining companies, including Barrick Gold and Cameco uranium, targeted Indian lands in the US, and around the world, to poison their land and water with gold and uranium mining. Television news ignored the facts.
What were the most censored news stories in 2009? It was all censored. The media stopped questioning the reasons for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. The United States continued its covert drug operation for opium and other drugs in Afghanistan, issued oil contracts in Iraq in 2009, after smuggling yellowcake out of Iraq for the private company Cameco in Canada in 2008. The news media failed to expose the United States role in the drug violence of northern Mexico, both in trafficking and the demand for drugs. News makers failed to expose the fact that the most brutal torturers in Mexico, the Zetas, were originally trained as US Special Forces.
People of color, considered expendables by the US, continued to be targeted in television commercials and by military recruiters to die in Iraq and Afghanistan, a war with no real purpose and no possibility of victory. Military recruiters are masters of deceit. The lies of military recruiters seldom become public after enlisted men and women become soldiers. Women, who military recruiters promised would return to their home communities as recruiters, quickly find themselves on the battlefield, fearing they will be raped by their fellow soldiers in the bushes. These reasons, including the purposeless of the war, are among the reasons that the US now has its highest ever rate of suicides in the military.
The number one censored issued in 2009 was the escalation of human rights violations during the Obama administration, including the escalation of the war, continued approval of CIA kidnappings (secret renditions,) repression of the US torture photos, failure to hold Bush and Cheney accountable for war crimes, and the use of drones for assassinations and killing of civilians.
One pivotal turning point occurred late in 2009, according to statements from Native Americans. The Obama administration approved oil drilling in the Arctic. Alaska Natives from the Chukchi Sea were in Copenhagen for the Climate Talks when the Interior announced the decision to devastate the Arctic.
Already, the Obama administration had bailed out the billionaires, the stockholders, bankers and carmakers, leaving homeowners homeless and Native Americans with less than ever. The much-publicized Obama invitation to the White House extended to American Indian leaders, turned out to be an invitation to stand in line to get into the Interior Building, without even a handshake from the president.
There were victories. The Indigenous Environmental Network at the Climate Summit in Copenhagen proved that a dedicated group of people could make a difference, delivering a powerful message for the protection of Mother Earth, to the world. Indigenous voices, including those to halt the Tar Sands in Canada, were carried around the world, by Democracy Now! ABC Nightly News and other media.
The Mohawks at the northern border, stood firm against the oppression of the colonized governments in the US and Canada at the border. In their homelands, Western Shoshone, Navajo, Lakota, Pueblo, Supai, Gwich’in and other Indigenous Peoples stood firm against coal fired power plants, oil drilling, uranium mining and gold mining in their homelands.
There were more victories in desperate times. Ben Carnes, Choctaw, fasted for freedom for Leonard Peltier, outside the White House. Crow Creek Sioux Chairman Brandon Sazue established a solitary stronghold in a snow blizzard of central South Dakota after the IRS seized lands of the economically desperate Indian Nation. Havasupai and Acoma Pueblo hosted gatherings to halt uranium mining in the Southwest. A delegation of Native Americans visited Palestine.
Clan Dyken and friends brought food and chopped wood for Navajos resisting relocation and Peabody Coal mining. Dooda (NO) Desert Rock fought against another coal-fired power plant in their Navajo homeland. Western Shoshone fought to protect sacred Mount Tenabo from Barrick Gold's mining and won a victory in the Ninth Circuit federal court. O’odham struggled against the oppression of the Border Patrol/Homeland Security and their own elected legislative council. Save the Peaks continued to fight to protect sacred San Francisco Peaks from snow made from sewage water.
The campaign "No Olympics on Stolen Land," was launched in Canada. The effort received a boost when border officials detained and harassed Amy Goodman of Democracy Now. Canada's effort backfired when Goodman was interrogated as to whether she would speak out against the 2010 Olympics. The oppression triggered global media and the message: "No Olympics on Stolen Land."
When President Lyndon Johnson wanted to censor voices against the war in Vietnam, Johnson censored Buffy Sainte Marie and drove her out of the music business in the US. Who will sing those songs now? Who will sing for the men and women dying without purpose in Iraq and Afghanistan? Who will sing of the “Universal Soldier” dying because of the lies of politicians?
Racism has not been eradicated in the US; it has been covered up.
The US is a society built on the blood of Africans kidnapped and tortured in slavery. The US society is built on the genocide of American Indians. Entire Indian Nations were massacred and others driven far from their homelands. Texas, which continues its legacy of lynching of blacks and the genocide of Native Americans with the death penalty and executions, is a state where racism and hate crimes grow like fungus. California and Texas have the largest number of hate groups in the US, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. There are 84 hate groups in California and 66 in Texas. The region with the largest number of hate groups is the Deep South.
Hate crimes continued on and around Indian lands in this decade, with beatings and murders of Native Americans, the targeting of American Indians by police officers in bordertowns and the targeting of American Indian women as victims of crimes. In the Deep South in 2009, arrests continued for cross burnings at the homes of blacks. There were arrests for hate speech and the exposure of a justice of the peace that refused to marry an interracial couple.
Knowledge is power. On Christmas Day, Showtime broadcast the movie, “The Great Debaters,” the true story of a black debate team from Marshall, Texas, in northeast Texas, that debated Harvard in the 1930s.
There is a powerful scene when the debate team arrives at the scene where a black man has just been lynched by a white mob. The team narrowly escapes an attack by the mob. It is this experience of witnessing the lynching and the man’s charred remains that ultimately leads to the debate team's victory.
The debate team teacher delivers this riveting advice: When one is slammed to the ground, again and again, get up again and never give up.
References:
By Brenda Norrell
Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/
Photo: Cross burning at nighttime Ku Klux Klan (KKK) rally, Photo by Hank Walker, 1946, Time Life
Hate crimes against African-Americans and the number of hate groups increased in the United States during this decade, according to US statistics. But what of the hate crimes on the US/Mexico border, where white Border Patrol agents kill people of color in cold blood, as was the case with Francisco Javier Dominguez Rivera, 22, from Morelia, Mexico?
Why is it not a hate crime when white Border Patrol agents and white police officers beat and murder Tohono O’odham, and other people of color, on the backroads near the US/Mexico border?
Why is it not a hate crime when the US federal court prosecutes volunteers for giving water to a dying person on the southern border?
Why is it not a hate crime when the United States kills civilians with drones during rogue assassinations in Iraq or Afghanistan? Why is it not a hate crime when Navajo, Lakota, Tohono O'odham and other Indian women, children and elderly go to bed cold, sick and hungry -- without food, medicine and firewood -- ignored by the United States and their own elected councils?
Television news, especially CNN, can be singled out for the rise of institutionalized racism and nationalism. CNN champions the rights of white victims in mind-numbing repeated broadcasts. When was the last time CNN sought justice for a black, American Indian or Asian missing or murdered child or desperate parent? CNN's chosen victims are more often than not, fair-haired blondes. The people that CNN and other television news focus on to shame and vilify are more often than not people of color.
Television news was responsible for fueling the border xenophobia, which resulted in billions of dollars of profits for Boeing border wall builders and surveillance profiteers. Over the past decade, it was television news, particularly CNN, that fueled global intolerance, racial and religious prejudice toward people from the Middle East. This institutionalized religious prejudice targeted the followers of the Prophet Mohammad. It was primarily CNN that manipulated the facts and swayed public opinion concerning the United States’ oil and opium rich wars in the Middle East.
Instead of calling for the prosecution of Bush and Cheney for war crimes, in violation of the Geneva Conventions prohibiting torture, television news anchors broadcast Cheney’s book tour.
The newsmakers, including global wire services, treated press releases written by politicians and corporations as facts, fictionalizing the news on issues ranging from the war and the US borders, to uranium mining and power plants on American Indian lands.
Canadian mining companies assassinated Indigenous Peoples in Guatemala and elsewhere. Canadian mining companies, including Barrick Gold and Cameco uranium, targeted Indian lands in the US, and around the world, to poison their land and water with gold and uranium mining. Television news ignored the facts.
What were the most censored news stories in 2009? It was all censored. The media stopped questioning the reasons for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. The United States continued its covert drug operation for opium and other drugs in Afghanistan, issued oil contracts in Iraq in 2009, after smuggling yellowcake out of Iraq for the private company Cameco in Canada in 2008. The news media failed to expose the United States role in the drug violence of northern Mexico, both in trafficking and the demand for drugs. News makers failed to expose the fact that the most brutal torturers in Mexico, the Zetas, were originally trained as US Special Forces.
People of color, considered expendables by the US, continued to be targeted in television commercials and by military recruiters to die in Iraq and Afghanistan, a war with no real purpose and no possibility of victory. Military recruiters are masters of deceit. The lies of military recruiters seldom become public after enlisted men and women become soldiers. Women, who military recruiters promised would return to their home communities as recruiters, quickly find themselves on the battlefield, fearing they will be raped by their fellow soldiers in the bushes. These reasons, including the purposeless of the war, are among the reasons that the US now has its highest ever rate of suicides in the military.
The number one censored issued in 2009 was the escalation of human rights violations during the Obama administration, including the escalation of the war, continued approval of CIA kidnappings (secret renditions,) repression of the US torture photos, failure to hold Bush and Cheney accountable for war crimes, and the use of drones for assassinations and killing of civilians.
One pivotal turning point occurred late in 2009, according to statements from Native Americans. The Obama administration approved oil drilling in the Arctic. Alaska Natives from the Chukchi Sea were in Copenhagen for the Climate Talks when the Interior announced the decision to devastate the Arctic.
Already, the Obama administration had bailed out the billionaires, the stockholders, bankers and carmakers, leaving homeowners homeless and Native Americans with less than ever. The much-publicized Obama invitation to the White House extended to American Indian leaders, turned out to be an invitation to stand in line to get into the Interior Building, without even a handshake from the president.
There were victories. The Indigenous Environmental Network at the Climate Summit in Copenhagen proved that a dedicated group of people could make a difference, delivering a powerful message for the protection of Mother Earth, to the world. Indigenous voices, including those to halt the Tar Sands in Canada, were carried around the world, by Democracy Now! ABC Nightly News and other media.
The Mohawks at the northern border, stood firm against the oppression of the colonized governments in the US and Canada at the border. In their homelands, Western Shoshone, Navajo, Lakota, Pueblo, Supai, Gwich’in and other Indigenous Peoples stood firm against coal fired power plants, oil drilling, uranium mining and gold mining in their homelands.
There were more victories in desperate times. Ben Carnes, Choctaw, fasted for freedom for Leonard Peltier, outside the White House. Crow Creek Sioux Chairman Brandon Sazue established a solitary stronghold in a snow blizzard of central South Dakota after the IRS seized lands of the economically desperate Indian Nation. Havasupai and Acoma Pueblo hosted gatherings to halt uranium mining in the Southwest. A delegation of Native Americans visited Palestine.
Clan Dyken and friends brought food and chopped wood for Navajos resisting relocation and Peabody Coal mining. Dooda (NO) Desert Rock fought against another coal-fired power plant in their Navajo homeland. Western Shoshone fought to protect sacred Mount Tenabo from Barrick Gold's mining and won a victory in the Ninth Circuit federal court. O’odham struggled against the oppression of the Border Patrol/Homeland Security and their own elected legislative council. Save the Peaks continued to fight to protect sacred San Francisco Peaks from snow made from sewage water.
The campaign "No Olympics on Stolen Land," was launched in Canada. The effort received a boost when border officials detained and harassed Amy Goodman of Democracy Now. Canada's effort backfired when Goodman was interrogated as to whether she would speak out against the 2010 Olympics. The oppression triggered global media and the message: "No Olympics on Stolen Land."
When President Lyndon Johnson wanted to censor voices against the war in Vietnam, Johnson censored Buffy Sainte Marie and drove her out of the music business in the US. Who will sing those songs now? Who will sing for the men and women dying without purpose in Iraq and Afghanistan? Who will sing of the “Universal Soldier” dying because of the lies of politicians?
Racism has not been eradicated in the US; it has been covered up.
The US is a society built on the blood of Africans kidnapped and tortured in slavery. The US society is built on the genocide of American Indians. Entire Indian Nations were massacred and others driven far from their homelands. Texas, which continues its legacy of lynching of blacks and the genocide of Native Americans with the death penalty and executions, is a state where racism and hate crimes grow like fungus. California and Texas have the largest number of hate groups in the US, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. There are 84 hate groups in California and 66 in Texas. The region with the largest number of hate groups is the Deep South.
Hate crimes continued on and around Indian lands in this decade, with beatings and murders of Native Americans, the targeting of American Indians by police officers in bordertowns and the targeting of American Indian women as victims of crimes. In the Deep South in 2009, arrests continued for cross burnings at the homes of blacks. There were arrests for hate speech and the exposure of a justice of the peace that refused to marry an interracial couple.
Knowledge is power. On Christmas Day, Showtime broadcast the movie, “The Great Debaters,” the true story of a black debate team from Marshall, Texas, in northeast Texas, that debated Harvard in the 1930s.
There is a powerful scene when the debate team arrives at the scene where a black man has just been lynched by a white mob. The team narrowly escapes an attack by the mob. It is this experience of witnessing the lynching and the man’s charred remains that ultimately leads to the debate team's victory.
The debate team teacher delivers this riveting advice: When one is slammed to the ground, again and again, get up again and never give up.
References:
New York Times: Federal Hate Crimes Cases Highest Since 2001
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/18/us/18hate.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/18/us/18hate.html
Hate Crimes on the Rise
http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2009/12/hate_crimes_on_the_rise.html
Buffy Sainte Marie Uncensored:
http://bsnorrell.tripod.com/id99.html
The Great Debaters
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0427309/plotsummary
http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2009/12/hate_crimes_on_the_rise.html
Buffy Sainte Marie Uncensored:
http://bsnorrell.tripod.com/id99.html
The Great Debaters
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0427309/plotsummary
Also see: The Nation: Secret ICE Facilities
ICE can make people disappear:
National: Secret ICE facilities
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100104/stevens
Send comments to brendanorrell@gmail.com
Brenda Norrell began publishing Censored News after being censored and terminated by Indian Country Today in 2006. She has been a news reporter in Indian country for 27 years, serving as a staff writer for Navajo Times and Lakota newspapers and a stringer for AP and USA Today. She lived on the Navajo Nation for 18 years.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100104/stevens
Send comments to brendanorrell@gmail.com
Brenda Norrell began publishing Censored News after being censored and terminated by Indian Country Today in 2006. She has been a news reporter in Indian country for 27 years, serving as a staff writer for Navajo Times and Lakota newspapers and a stringer for AP and USA Today. She lived on the Navajo Nation for 18 years.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
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 ..."
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:Read Zimmerman's chapter online:
http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2009/09/paul-zimmerman-cult-of-nuclearists.html
Photo: Havasupai Gathering to Halt Uranium Mining in the Grand Canyon/Photo by Brenda Norrell
Monday, September 7, 2009
Censored Radio: Carnes fasting at White House
UPDATE from Ben Carnes: Dehydration
Censored Radio: Ben Carnes live from the White House
By Brenda Norrell
Photo by Kitty Carnes
Ben Carnes is fasting in Lafayette Park across from the White House in solidarity with freedom for Leonard Peltier. Peltier is a citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians who has been held as a political prisoner of the Government of the United States of America for over 33 years.
Carnes, Choctaw from Oklahoma, speaks on Censored Blog Radio, while fasting for justice for Leonard Peltier outside the White House. Wanbli also joins the show live by phone with more details on Peltier's case and the appeal to Obama for freedom for Peltier. Carnes and Wanbli speak of FBI misconduct, assassination attempts on Peltier, the beating of Peltier in a Pennsylvania prison in 2008 and more than 500 years of genocide for Indian people. Calling for clemency, Wanbli said Obama promised Peltier's release during his campaign. On today's show, the music is by Keith Secola, with poet Cleo Apache, recorded live at the Havasupai Gathering to Halt Uranium Mining in the Grand Canyon by Earthcycles.
Wanbli said, "Carnes is standing there in fast and in prayer for 7 days in the hopes of gaining attention of the President of the United States of America to the plight of Leonard. During his fast he will not take food or water and he will remain in a prayerful attitude for the next 7 days. Those who make stands to fight injustice such as Ben is doing should have all of our respect and prayers. There are many who make smoke and kick up dust but few who actually have the will to make a stand such as this."
Wanbli said Obama could see Carnes if he would look out the window. Carnes began his fast Saturday and will continue to fast through Sept. 12. Amnesty International has already called for the immediate release of Peltier.
CW Gayle, Choctaw, thanked Carnes. "Halito! Ben. Many years ago my friend Rocque Duenas was standing vigil for Leonard in the very place you are. Rocque was a tribal fisherman in Washington, this was 1978. You carry the torch," Gayle said in a message.
UPDATE:
I wanted to announce that on Wednesday afternoon, I ceased the liquid portion of my fast due to dehydration. I had taken that as far as I could without endangering my health. Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, when I relieved my self, I experienced a burning sensation and around Noon Wednesday, I began to feel as if my kidneys were tightening up. I made an attempt to contact a physician, but after a period of time with receiving a response.
At 2:40 PM (Eastern), I consumed some liquids to hydrate myself. It was a promise I made to Chief Tayac when he visited me at Lafayette Park. He told me that day that I needed to hydrate myself. He said, “You are a Chief! Don’t you dare hit the ground! There are a lot of people depending upon you to be here for them, and if you die what good would that serve them?”
I assured him that when my body told me that I was beginning to have problems, I would take care of myself.
Still, I will continue to fast without food until 8:45 AM Saturday. I can assure you that Leonard would appreciate and respect this decision. He has suffered so much pain and loss of allies and relatives, that it would only grieve him had I continued and possibly caused irreparable harm to my health.
My personal prayer will continue on, and I will continue to conduct myself in a honorable and respectful manner befitting my position. I knew that when I decided to publicly announce to that I am a Sun Dance Chief and would be taking this course of action. I would open myself up to criticisms, but that in itself is a sacrifice I willingly accepted. And there has been none, just messages of respect and support. It was never my intention to promote myself, but to show my love and support for my Sun Dance brother.
I had contacted Arvol Looking Horse about the possibility of coming to DC. He could not since he already had an earlier commitment, but he supported what I was doing and that he would support me through his prayers from over there. I am very thankful to have those prayers from the Keeper of the White Buffalo Calf Pipe in this way.
I know that there are many more people who have joined in this fast as an act of solidarity for me and for Leonard. This simple course of action has aroused so much supportive action from around the world. It has done so much more than if we had tried to have everyone come to DC.
Many of you are organizing in your communities and creating so much awareness everywhere and that is so important.
The results of this prayer and sacrifice may not be immediately, I feel something is taking place on a larger spiritual level and we will need to keep that in mind in all that we do for Leonard. We know that we will prevail, and it would have been difficult without your support.Send your cards and letters to Leonard.
Let him know how your event went and let him know that we are all here for him and that we will continue to do all we can to bring him home.In the Spirit of Crazy Horse,Ben Carnes
Listen at Censored News Blog Radio
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Brenda-Norrell/2009/09/07/Carnes-fasting-White-House
More information:
http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/
Contact:
Ben Carnes:
bencarnes@eaglecouncil.com
Wanbli:
wanbli@gvtc.com
E-mail:
contact@whoisleonardpeltier.info
Brenda Norrell, Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/
Censored Blog Talk Radio
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Brenda-Norrell
Earthcycles
http://www.earthcycles.net/
RADIO STATIONS MAY REBROADCAST
This radio show is available to radio stations around the world at no charge. The mp3 download may be used in whole or part. Please credit Censored News Blog Radio for interviews and Earthcycles for Keith Secola's recording.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Indigenous Peoples Censored at UN Climate Conference
By Brenda Norrell 
Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/
Dec. 10, 2008
POZNAN, Poland -- Indigenous People trying to speak at the UN Climate Conference were slamdunked by proponents of the global carbon market scam, designed to enrich the World Bank and chosen corporations by way of the sale of fictitious carbon credits. The following video shows statements by two non-governmental organizations, before Indigenous Peoples were denied a voice. The Indigenous Peoples' censored statement, which was not read, follows the video.
Indigenous Peoples lands and forest are at risk in the carbon market schemes, which allows the world's polluters to continue polluting. In the censored statement, Indigenous Peoples point out that four countries -- the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand -- refused to vote in favor of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Declaration, adopted by the UN, states that Indigenous Peoples have the right to "free, prior and informed consent," a right which is currently being denied to Indigenous Peoples in UN climate summits.
The censored statement points out that Indigenous Peoples denounce the "outdated colonial structures" of these four countries.
The carbon market scam is the latest corporate profiteering scheme, promoted by a duped media, which seeks to seize Indigenous Peoples land and forests around the world. The censorship of Indigenous Peoples at the previous UN Climate Summit in Bali in 2007 was one of Project Censored's most censored stories of the year.
The group of Indigenous Peoples are among the delegates attending the UN climate change gathering in Poznan. The forum is the half-way mark in the negotiating process leading up to Copenhagen, Denmark in 2009, where an a climate change deal will be finalizeed to follow on the first phase of the United Nation's Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.
Video from: Reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries: Approaches to stimulate action, of the 29th Session of Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA)
Watch video by Rebecca Sommer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brsqUgbBHu0
The following statement was NOT read:
Statement of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change
SBSTA
December 10, 2008
Chair,
We acknowledge the efforts of some Parties who have supported and worked with us to reflect our rights and our full and effective participation in this COP14. However, we DENOUNCE those Parties, including Canada, the United States, New Zealand and Australia who continue to exercise, outmoded, outdated colonial power structures that the rest of the world left behind decades ago.
We remind the parties that UNFCCC is NOT a consensus document AND perhaps a time has come for a simple majority vote that lets these four nations know how isolated their position is.
On the 60th Anniversary of the adoption by the United Nations of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights IT IS APPALLING that any UNITED NATIONS BODY is still denies extending the Rights enshrined in this document to the Indigenous Peoples of the planet. It is a abrogation of BOTH the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
Reference to the draft text ON SBSTA 29 agenda item 5, on REDD (Reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries: approaches to stimulate action]. In the annex of this document, 1 (c ), we are profoundly disappointed that the Indigenous Peoples fundamental rights, INCLUDING the UNDRIP and other existing Human Rights instruments (Convention ILO169) are not included in the operative paragraphs of the latest document of SBSTA29 .
We, are just not ONE SINGLE indigenous people, as the document states. WE ARE a multitude of indigenous Peoples from multiple countries, with multiple languages, diverse cultures and background and experiences. TO REDUCE all this, to the concept of a singular unitary experience IS A DENIAL OF THE RICHNESS OF DIVERSITY THAT EXIST WITHIN, the framework of indigenous peoples as a collective of individual nations.
For this reason, WE, appeal to the UNFCCC and Parties take affirmative action to reaffirm the rights of Indigenous Peoples as codified in UNDRIP and other relevant Human Rights instruments (EG. Convention ILO 169). Any decision or measure that will be adopted at this COP, in particular the REDD process, must reaffirm the principle of free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples AND OUR RIGHT of the Indigenous Peoples TO SAY NO,. In that regard, Indigenous Peoples must be included as parties to official decisions, should be centrally involved in and benefit from, all climate change and forest programs and policies at all levels to ensure that they deliver justice and equity and contribute to sustainable development, biodiversity protection, and climate change mitigation and adaptation.
We, demand an IMMEDIATE SUSPENSION of all REDD initiatives and carbon market schemes in Indigenous Peoples territories UNTIL Indigenous Peoples Rights are fully RECOGNIZED, PROTECTED AND PROMOTED.
Thank you.
Currently, the 14th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is underway in Poznan, December 1 - 12. It is the half-way mark in the negotiating process leading up to Copenhagen, Denmark in 2009, where an a climate change deal will be finalizeed to follow on the first phase of the United Nation's Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.
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Impromptu protest by indigenous peoples to oppose draft REDD text
Over a 100 indigenous group leaders, including three members of the Papua New Guinea’s Eco-Forestry Forum, held placards outside the European Union pavilion
Wed, 10 Dec 2008
A PACNEWS SPECIAL REPORT
By Makereta Komai
POZNAN, POLAND --Local and international indigenous peoples groups staged an impromptu protest this evening (Tuesday), an hour before a contact group was to discuss the proposed new carbon trading mechanism, reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD).
Over a 100 indigenous group leaders, including three members of the Papua New Guinea’s Eco-Forestry Forum, held placards outside the European Union pavilion to protest against four Annex 1 countries attempt to remove their rights from the legal text of REDD.
PNG’s Ken Mondiai said they are ‘outraged’ by the actions of United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand’s ‘opposition to including the recognition of indigenous people’s and local communities in a decision drafted today.’
The 45 minutes contact group session scheduled from 4.30pm was cancelled without an explanation.
Both Australian and New Zealand delegates refused to comment on the claims of the indigenous people’s groups.
“These four countries want to include REDD in the future climate change agreement, but they oppose protecting the rights of indigenous and forest peoples who will be directly affected by REDD measures, said Mr Mondiai.
The NGO’s claim that during discussions this morning, the four countries insisted that the word ‘rights’ and references to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples be struck from the text.
“This is totally unacceptable for indigenous peoples, local communities as the forests being targeted for REDD are those which have sustained and protected them for thousands of years.
“Any REDD mechanism that does not respect and protect the rights if indigenous people’s and local communities will fail.
“We, therefore demand that an unequivocal reference to rights and to the UN Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous People’s be reinserted into the draft COP14 decision text on REDD,” the group said.
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**Ms Makereta Komai is part of the Pacific Communications Team covering this event in Poznan, Poland
This event is officially known as the "14th Conference of the Parties (COP14) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 01 – 12 December 2008 Poznan, Poland."
PACNEWS coverage is made possible with funding from the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).
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REDD may harm forest people
Rhett A. Butler, http://www.mongabay.com/
December 2, 2008
A new report finds that the World Bank is not doing enough to protect indigenous rights under its mechanism to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD).
REDD is a proposed mechanism to compensate developing countries for protecting their forests. The report — titled "Cutting Corners: World Bank's forest and carbon fund fails forests and peoples" — was issued by the Forests and the European Union Resource Network (FERN) and the Forest Peoples Program (FPP) at the start of UN climate negotiations in Poznan, Poland. "Cutting Corners" alleges that the Bank's Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) — which provides seed funding for REDD projects — has rushed its review process and is failing to follow its own rules set to protect indigenous people and forest communities.
Such groups fear that without a proper framework, REDD could be used by governments and carbon traders to force forest people off their lands. "In this flawed process forest communities have not been properly consulted. As a result, donors could be complicit in a new global drive reinforcing old top-down policies that will only lead to more forest destruction," said Saskia Ozinga, Coordinator of FERN. "We have seen from the EU's FLEGT process, which aims to control illegal logging, that a proper consultation process will take years, but trying to shortcut consultations will just lead to long-term failure."
"If measures to respect the rights of forest peoples are at the heart of efforts to combat deforestation, then forest and climate policies could do some good," added Tom Griffiths, Coordinator of the Forest Peoples Program's Responsible Finance Program.
"It is alarming that the early government plans, approved by the World Bank, are simply business as usual. None of these REDD plans deal with the critical issues of governance, human rights, land tenure reforms and Free, Prior and Informed Consent. "To attain sustainable forest and climate initiatives, forest peoples must be fully consulted about their design. International donors must also ensure that human rights and forest sector reforms are guaranteed before any international funding is released to developing countries for their national actions on forest and climate issues."
"Cutting Corners" comes shortly after Friends of the Earth International (FOE), an environmental activist group, announced its opposition to REDD via a report titled "REDD Myths". At the UNFCCC talks in Poznan, FOE says it will oppose attempts to include forests in carbon markets. "During the climate talks, we will be demanding that forests are kept out of carbon markets, that plantations are entirely excluded and land rights are enforced as the basis of any forest policy," said Joseph Zacune, Climate and Energy Coordinator with FOE.
"If governments are serious about tackling climate change, deforestation must be stopped once and for all. To do this we need to tackle the consumption of agrofuels, meat and timber products which is driving deforestation and support good governance of forest resources."
Other analysts say REDD — in a form that recognizes rural peoples' rights — offers the best hope for preserving forests in the future while simultaneously fighting global warming. "REDD can benefit biodiversity conservation as well as indigenous and rural peoples," wrote Daniel Nepstad, Stephan Schwartzman, and Paulo Moutinho in a report published last year. "To succeed, national REDD programs must be consistent with UNFCCC and other UN principles, be transparent and have the active involvement of indigenous peoples and forest communities."
"Rejecting REDD will not defend indigenous rights. Substituting official aid from developed countries for carbon market funding will not be a better, less risky alternative for reducing deforestation. Indigenous rights abuses, often caused by the same activities that drive deforestation, must be addressed directly."
References
Kate Dooley, Tom Griffiths, Helen Leake, Saskia Ozinga. Cutting Corners - World Bank's forest and carbon fund fails forests and peoples. FERN. November 2008.
Kate Dooley. An overview of selected REDD proposals. FERN. November 2008.
Ronnie Hall. REDD myths: a critical review of proposed mechanisms to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation in developing countries. Friends of the Earth. December 2008.
Stephan Schwartzman, Daniel Nepstad, and Paulo Moutinho. GETTING REDD RIGHT - Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Environmental Defense / The Woods Hole Research Center / Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia (IPAM). December 2007
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Breaking news
Repairing our reputation on human rights
ABC Online, Australia - By Elizabeth Evatt The language of the declaration is inspiring, starting with article 1: "all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights". Australian gov't intends to endorse indigenous rights declaration
Xinhua, China - Dec 9, 2008 CANBERRA, Dec. (Xinhua) -- The Australian government has indicated it still intends to endorse a United Nations declaration on the rights of indigenous ...
PMA: Indigenous Rights Petition to Parliament
Scoop.co.nz (press release), New Zealand - The first signatures on the national petition calling on the government to support the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples will be presented ...
Canada's opposition to the human rights of Indigenous People at UN ...
Canada NewsWire (press release), Canada - OTTAWA, Dec. 10 /CNW Telbec/ - This International Day for Human Rights on December 10 marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of ...
Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/
Dec. 10, 2008
POZNAN, Poland -- Indigenous People trying to speak at the UN Climate Conference were slamdunked by proponents of the global carbon market scam, designed to enrich the World Bank and chosen corporations by way of the sale of fictitious carbon credits. The following video shows statements by two non-governmental organizations, before Indigenous Peoples were denied a voice. The Indigenous Peoples' censored statement, which was not read, follows the video.
Indigenous Peoples lands and forest are at risk in the carbon market schemes, which allows the world's polluters to continue polluting. In the censored statement, Indigenous Peoples point out that four countries -- the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand -- refused to vote in favor of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Declaration, adopted by the UN, states that Indigenous Peoples have the right to "free, prior and informed consent," a right which is currently being denied to Indigenous Peoples in UN climate summits.
The censored statement points out that Indigenous Peoples denounce the "outdated colonial structures" of these four countries.
The carbon market scam is the latest corporate profiteering scheme, promoted by a duped media, which seeks to seize Indigenous Peoples land and forests around the world. The censorship of Indigenous Peoples at the previous UN Climate Summit in Bali in 2007 was one of Project Censored's most censored stories of the year.
The group of Indigenous Peoples are among the delegates attending the UN climate change gathering in Poznan. The forum is the half-way mark in the negotiating process leading up to Copenhagen, Denmark in 2009, where an a climate change deal will be finalizeed to follow on the first phase of the United Nation's Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.
Video from: Reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries: Approaches to stimulate action, of the 29th Session of Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA)Watch video by Rebecca Sommer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brsqUgbBHu0
The following statement was NOT read:
Statement of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change
SBSTA
December 10, 2008
Chair,
We acknowledge the efforts of some Parties who have supported and worked with us to reflect our rights and our full and effective participation in this COP14. However, we DENOUNCE those Parties, including Canada, the United States, New Zealand and Australia who continue to exercise, outmoded, outdated colonial power structures that the rest of the world left behind decades ago.
We remind the parties that UNFCCC is NOT a consensus document AND perhaps a time has come for a simple majority vote that lets these four nations know how isolated their position is.
On the 60th Anniversary of the adoption by the United Nations of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights IT IS APPALLING that any UNITED NATIONS BODY is still denies extending the Rights enshrined in this document to the Indigenous Peoples of the planet. It is a abrogation of BOTH the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
Reference to the draft text ON SBSTA 29 agenda item 5, on REDD (Reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries: approaches to stimulate action]. In the annex of this document, 1 (c ), we are profoundly disappointed that the Indigenous Peoples fundamental rights, INCLUDING the UNDRIP and other existing Human Rights instruments (Convention ILO169) are not included in the operative paragraphs of the latest document of SBSTA29 .
We, are just not ONE SINGLE indigenous people, as the document states. WE ARE a multitude of indigenous Peoples from multiple countries, with multiple languages, diverse cultures and background and experiences. TO REDUCE all this, to the concept of a singular unitary experience IS A DENIAL OF THE RICHNESS OF DIVERSITY THAT EXIST WITHIN, the framework of indigenous peoples as a collective of individual nations.
For this reason, WE, appeal to the UNFCCC and Parties take affirmative action to reaffirm the rights of Indigenous Peoples as codified in UNDRIP and other relevant Human Rights instruments (EG. Convention ILO 169). Any decision or measure that will be adopted at this COP, in particular the REDD process, must reaffirm the principle of free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples AND OUR RIGHT of the Indigenous Peoples TO SAY NO,. In that regard, Indigenous Peoples must be included as parties to official decisions, should be centrally involved in and benefit from, all climate change and forest programs and policies at all levels to ensure that they deliver justice and equity and contribute to sustainable development, biodiversity protection, and climate change mitigation and adaptation.
We, demand an IMMEDIATE SUSPENSION of all REDD initiatives and carbon market schemes in Indigenous Peoples territories UNTIL Indigenous Peoples Rights are fully RECOGNIZED, PROTECTED AND PROMOTED.
Thank you.
Currently, the 14th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is underway in Poznan, December 1 - 12. It is the half-way mark in the negotiating process leading up to Copenhagen, Denmark in 2009, where an a climate change deal will be finalizeed to follow on the first phase of the United Nation's Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.
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Impromptu protest by indigenous peoples to oppose draft REDD text
Over a 100 indigenous group leaders, including three members of the Papua New Guinea’s Eco-Forestry Forum, held placards outside the European Union pavilion
Wed, 10 Dec 2008
A PACNEWS SPECIAL REPORT
By Makereta Komai
POZNAN, POLAND --Local and international indigenous peoples groups staged an impromptu protest this evening (Tuesday), an hour before a contact group was to discuss the proposed new carbon trading mechanism, reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD).
Over a 100 indigenous group leaders, including three members of the Papua New Guinea’s Eco-Forestry Forum, held placards outside the European Union pavilion to protest against four Annex 1 countries attempt to remove their rights from the legal text of REDD.
PNG’s Ken Mondiai said they are ‘outraged’ by the actions of United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand’s ‘opposition to including the recognition of indigenous people’s and local communities in a decision drafted today.’
The 45 minutes contact group session scheduled from 4.30pm was cancelled without an explanation.
Both Australian and New Zealand delegates refused to comment on the claims of the indigenous people’s groups.
“These four countries want to include REDD in the future climate change agreement, but they oppose protecting the rights of indigenous and forest peoples who will be directly affected by REDD measures, said Mr Mondiai.
The NGO’s claim that during discussions this morning, the four countries insisted that the word ‘rights’ and references to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples be struck from the text.
“This is totally unacceptable for indigenous peoples, local communities as the forests being targeted for REDD are those which have sustained and protected them for thousands of years.
“Any REDD mechanism that does not respect and protect the rights if indigenous people’s and local communities will fail.
“We, therefore demand that an unequivocal reference to rights and to the UN Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous People’s be reinserted into the draft COP14 decision text on REDD,” the group said.
---
**Ms Makereta Komai is part of the Pacific Communications Team covering this event in Poznan, Poland
This event is officially known as the "14th Conference of the Parties (COP14) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 01 – 12 December 2008 Poznan, Poland."
PACNEWS coverage is made possible with funding from the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REDD may harm forest people
Rhett A. Butler, http://www.mongabay.com/
December 2, 2008
A new report finds that the World Bank is not doing enough to protect indigenous rights under its mechanism to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD).
REDD is a proposed mechanism to compensate developing countries for protecting their forests. The report — titled "Cutting Corners: World Bank's forest and carbon fund fails forests and peoples" — was issued by the Forests and the European Union Resource Network (FERN) and the Forest Peoples Program (FPP) at the start of UN climate negotiations in Poznan, Poland. "Cutting Corners" alleges that the Bank's Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) — which provides seed funding for REDD projects — has rushed its review process and is failing to follow its own rules set to protect indigenous people and forest communities.
Such groups fear that without a proper framework, REDD could be used by governments and carbon traders to force forest people off their lands. "In this flawed process forest communities have not been properly consulted. As a result, donors could be complicit in a new global drive reinforcing old top-down policies that will only lead to more forest destruction," said Saskia Ozinga, Coordinator of FERN. "We have seen from the EU's FLEGT process, which aims to control illegal logging, that a proper consultation process will take years, but trying to shortcut consultations will just lead to long-term failure."
"If measures to respect the rights of forest peoples are at the heart of efforts to combat deforestation, then forest and climate policies could do some good," added Tom Griffiths, Coordinator of the Forest Peoples Program's Responsible Finance Program.
"It is alarming that the early government plans, approved by the World Bank, are simply business as usual. None of these REDD plans deal with the critical issues of governance, human rights, land tenure reforms and Free, Prior and Informed Consent. "To attain sustainable forest and climate initiatives, forest peoples must be fully consulted about their design. International donors must also ensure that human rights and forest sector reforms are guaranteed before any international funding is released to developing countries for their national actions on forest and climate issues."
"Cutting Corners" comes shortly after Friends of the Earth International (FOE), an environmental activist group, announced its opposition to REDD via a report titled "REDD Myths". At the UNFCCC talks in Poznan, FOE says it will oppose attempts to include forests in carbon markets. "During the climate talks, we will be demanding that forests are kept out of carbon markets, that plantations are entirely excluded and land rights are enforced as the basis of any forest policy," said Joseph Zacune, Climate and Energy Coordinator with FOE.
"If governments are serious about tackling climate change, deforestation must be stopped once and for all. To do this we need to tackle the consumption of agrofuels, meat and timber products which is driving deforestation and support good governance of forest resources."
Other analysts say REDD — in a form that recognizes rural peoples' rights — offers the best hope for preserving forests in the future while simultaneously fighting global warming. "REDD can benefit biodiversity conservation as well as indigenous and rural peoples," wrote Daniel Nepstad, Stephan Schwartzman, and Paulo Moutinho in a report published last year. "To succeed, national REDD programs must be consistent with UNFCCC and other UN principles, be transparent and have the active involvement of indigenous peoples and forest communities."
"Rejecting REDD will not defend indigenous rights. Substituting official aid from developed countries for carbon market funding will not be a better, less risky alternative for reducing deforestation. Indigenous rights abuses, often caused by the same activities that drive deforestation, must be addressed directly."
References
Kate Dooley, Tom Griffiths, Helen Leake, Saskia Ozinga. Cutting Corners - World Bank's forest and carbon fund fails forests and peoples. FERN. November 2008.
Kate Dooley. An overview of selected REDD proposals. FERN. November 2008.
Ronnie Hall. REDD myths: a critical review of proposed mechanisms to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation in developing countries. Friends of the Earth. December 2008.
Stephan Schwartzman, Daniel Nepstad, and Paulo Moutinho. GETTING REDD RIGHT - Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Environmental Defense / The Woods Hole Research Center / Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia (IPAM). December 2007
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Breaking news
Repairing our reputation on human rights
ABC Online, Australia - By Elizabeth Evatt The language of the declaration is inspiring, starting with article 1: "all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights". Australian gov't intends to endorse indigenous rights declaration
Xinhua, China - Dec 9, 2008 CANBERRA, Dec. (Xinhua) -- The Australian government has indicated it still intends to endorse a United Nations declaration on the rights of indigenous ...
PMA: Indigenous Rights Petition to Parliament
Scoop.co.nz (press release), New Zealand - The first signatures on the national petition calling on the government to support the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples will be presented ...
Canada's opposition to the human rights of Indigenous People at UN ...
Canada NewsWire (press release), Canada - OTTAWA, Dec. 10 /CNW Telbec/ - This International Day for Human Rights on December 10 marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of ...
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Censored News welcomes readers from around the world
The World is Watching
By Brenda Norrell
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/
SAN FRANCISCO -- A warm welcome to our readers from around the world. Our latest readers are from Benin in West Africa, Morocco, Latvia, Serbia, Ghana, Poland, Malta, Korea and Thailand. All together, readers from 70 countries have viewed Censored News this week. Special thanks to all the contributors!
A very special thanks to the U.N. OBSERVER & International Report at the Hague, for publishing Censored News articles, and to Paul Rafferty for his longtime support.
Thanks also to Victor Rocha at Pechanga Net and Narco News, Counterpunch and Indymedia for publishing the truth. Mohawk Nation News is peerless in the industry, published by resolute women warriors.
The Mohawk Nation News publisher, editors and writers, all Mohawk women, have been beaten by border guards, arrested, followed and harassed by police. Publisher Kahentinetha Horn continues to recover from a heart attack induced by the stresshold of Canadian border agents.
Since Saturday, Nov. 15, Censored News was visited by thousands of readers from 70 countries, from all regions of the earth, from Poland, Bolivia, Vietnam, Croatia, Italy and Turkey to Yemen, Russia and China. Welcome to our readers from Norway, Singapore, Philippines and Kazakhstan. Click on the country counter, on the left, for more details.
I began Censored News because of the censorship of news of Indigenous Peoples and international human rights. What began as alarm when I worked for the national news media, turned to horror in recent years as some of the editorial staff at Indian Country Today, where I served as a longtime staff reporter, manipulated the facts, censored the content and distorted the truth.
Now, Earthcycles producer Govinda Dalton, from northern California, and I are gearing up for the weeklong radio talk show in San Francisco. The live show, which will also be archived, will cover the weeklong AIM-West 40th year reunion; the Alcatraz Island Sunrise Gathering hosted by the International Indian Treaty Council on Nov. 27; the Shellmound and Peace Walkers arriving from their two week walk to the sacred shellmounds.
We'll be following up on the issues revealed on the Longest Walk, northern route across America, including protection of sacred places, climate change, mining and the destruction of Indian country lands, air and water.
We'll have interviews with all the great people attending for the week. Listen Nov. 24 -- 28, 2008, at http://www.earthcycles.net/ We will also be broadcasting live all week on a local FM radio station in San Francisco. If you would like to be a sponsor of a radio show segment, please contact govinda@earthcycles.net/
We will also be linking with other Native radio stations to provide coverage around the United States and globally on the Internet.
On this page for Censored News readers, there's an archive of articles on the lower left, and a blog search for key words, above on the left. On Censored News Page 2, there's the full-text of articles which might not be elsewhere on the web, in large text.
Please keep in your thoughts that Mohawk Nation News and Censored News are both advertising free news sites, with no source of revenue, and depend on reader's donations to survive. Both are labors of love, published by women, from the northern and southern borders. Both have PayPals on their websites.
Thanks to all of you!--Brenda
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