"This is sacred land": noting Lakota resistance at Standing Rock, Dakota, U.S.A.

A reminder that standing up for community and against powerful mining interests is never easy no matter where in the world you live.

Inquisitr, 29 October 2016:

Amnesty International and the United Nations have announced that they are sending officials to investigate allegations of human rights violations at the site of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota.

Amnesty International announced Friday that they were sending a delegation of human rights observers to monitor the response of law enforcement against DAPL protesters after concerns mounted about increasingly violent actions towards the peaceful protesters.

Telesur, 29 October 2016:

Owners of the North Dakota Access Pipeline have been warned that they risk legal liability over several instances of human rights abuses against peaceful Native American and environmental activists opposing the US$3.8 billion pipeline, as militarized law enforcement have increasingly used violence and repression at protest camps.

The joint letter released Friday by five environmental and legal advocacy organizations said that the joint owners of the pipeline “have a corporate duty under international law and the laws of the United States to respect human rights and to avoid complicity in further human rights abuses.”

The advocacy groups said that in recent weeks the situation in the Standing Rock camp “has deteriorated further,” making reference to recent violent crackdowns by law enforcement and security personnel on peaceful protestors.

Twitter, 31 October 2016:

  

I was shot by militarized police WHILE interviewing a man on camera at #StandingRock…and here's the footage. #NoDAPL  pic.twitter.com/4DRwNPkfZ9

— Erin Schrode (@ErinSchrode) November 3, 2016

Facebook post:

Erin Schrode at Standing Rock, ND.

52 mins · Cannon Ball, ND, United States 

Speechless. I was shot by militarized police WHILE interviewing a peaceful man at Standing Rock live on camera. I woke up this morning with the thought that I may have that very footage – and broke down in reliving the 40-second horror before my own eyes. Warning: it's very very difficult to watch and sent me into quivers and tears, even without the compounding historic trauma that Native Americans face.

I do not wish to divert focus away from the bravery of the Water Protectors, from the power of nonviolent direct action, from the people fighting for their lives and for our futures – but I want you to witness the indiscriminate use of excessive force firsthand. Many have said that militarized police firing a rubber bullet at a female reporter was a fabrication, provoked by violence, or otherwise merited, including a Morton County, North Dakota press release. That is a lie; we have proof and eyewitnesses (cc Josh Fox, Matt McGorry, Jordan Chariton, Josue Rivas, Evan Simon, Josh Fox, Wes Mekasi Horinek, Kendrick Sampson, Doug Pineda, Doug Good Feather and countless more).

I was standing innocently onshore, not making any aggressive gestures, never exchanging a single word with the police who fired at my lower back from their boat. Peaceful souls were seeking to cross the river to hold a prayer circle on Army Corps public land, but halted by over one hundred hostile military police armed with and deploying tear gas, pepper spray, batons, and rubber bullets, as well as assault weapons and the threat of jail, only one week after 141 individuals were brutally arrested. I was shot at pointblank range, dozens were maced and pepper sprayed in the face, hundreds faced freezing waters. There were no arrests or deaths and I will be okay physically, but the safety and wellbeing of many peoples and lands remain in danger, for present and future generations.

Thank you for your prayers, for your action in calling upon our President, government and Department of Justice to halt this atrocity immediately, for showing up and donating to support this fight for human rights, for the environment, for peace. Please continue to pray for the strength and protection of all peoples, for the physical pain, for the emotional trauma, for the desecrated land. #StandWithStandingRock #NoDAPL

Maced. Tased. And put into cages.

The UN is investigating human rights violations against #NoDAPL activists at Standing Rock: pic.twitter.com/OqmcUUZLCs

— Fusion (@Fusion) November 3, 2016

America begins to imagine Trump as US president

The Boston Globe, 9 April 2016:

The GOP must stop Trump

PDF: A front page in Trump’s America

DONALD J. TRUMP’S VISION for the future of our nation is as deeply disturbing as it is profoundly un-American.

It is easy to find historical antecedents. The rise of demagogic strongmen is an all too common phenomenon on our small planet. And what marks each of those dark episodes is a failure to fathom where a leader’s vision leads, to carry rhetoric to its logical conclusion. The satirical front page of this section attempts to do just that, to envision what America looks like with Trump in the White House.

It is an exercise in taking a man at his word. And his vision of America promises to be as appalling in real life as it is in black and white on the page. It is a vision that demands an active and engaged opposition. It requires an opposition as focused on denying Trump the White House as the candidate is flippant and reckless about securing it…..

That’s not a pretty picture. But then nothing about the billionaire real estate developer’s quest for the nation’s highest office has been pretty. He winks and nods at political violence at his rallies. He says he wants to “open up” libel laws to punish critics in the news media and calls them “scum.” He promised to shut out an entire class of immigrants and visitors to the United States on the sole basis of their religion.

The toxic mix of violent intimidation, hostility to criticism, and explicit scapegoating of minorities shows a political movement is taking hold in America. If Trump were a politician running such a campaign in a foreign country right now, the US State Department would probably be condemning him.....

Read the rest of the article here.

Hong Kong thumbs its nose at Internet super spy, the United States of America

   

HKSAR Government issues statement on Edward Snowden 
***************************************************

      The HKSAR Government today (June 23) issued the following statement on Mr Edward Snowden:

     Mr Edward Snowden left Hong Kong today (June 23) on his own accord for a third country through a lawful and normal channel.

     The US Government earlier on made a request to the HKSAR Government for the issue of a provisional warrant of arrest against Mr Snowden. Since the documents provided by the US Government did not fully comply with the legal requirements under Hong Kong law, the HKSAR Government has requested the US Government to provide additional information so that the Department of Justice could consider whether the US Government's request can meet the relevant legal conditions. As the HKSAR Government has yet to have sufficient information to process the request for provisional warrant of arrest, there is no legal basis to restrict Mr Snowden from leaving Hong Kong.

     The HKSAR Government has already informed the US Government of Mr Snowden's departure.

     Meanwhile, the HKSAR Government has formally written to the US Government requesting clarification on earlier reports about the hacking of computer systems in Hong Kong by US government agencies. The HKSAR Government will continue to follow up on the matter so as to protect the legal rights of the people of Hong Kong.

Ends/Sunday, June 23, 2013
Issued at HKT 16:05

NNNN

BACKGROUND:

EU ratchets up pressure on US over Prism spy scheme

EurActiv-20/06/2013

EU lawmakers want to forbid the United States from accessing European citizens' data without the approval of a judge or equivalent authority, ...

US spy scandal prompts redraft of EU data bill

EUobserver.com-19/06/2013

PRISM: EU citizens' data must be properly protected against US ...

European Parliament (press release)-19/06/2013

all 18 news sources »

PRISM, meet Tempora: the British spy agency's program to capture ...

VentureBeat-by John Koetsier-21/06/2013

As is the case with PRISM in the U.S., the companies are forbidden by law to either decline to participate or to reveal the spying to their ...

US PRISM spying programme rattles EU lawmakers

Reuters-11/06/2013

U.S. officials have confirmed the existence of a huge, secret U.S. Internet spying programme, codenamed PRISM, which according to ...

EU 'assessing US relationship' amid PRISM spying claims

ZDNet-by Zack Whittaker-13/06/2013

The U.S. National Security Agency, which has been at the center of a privacy storm, after details of itsPRISM program leaked. The EU is ...

UK government is allegedly involved in US internet spying program ...

The Verge-by Carl Franzen-07/06/2013

A major intelligence agency in the United Kingdom is part of the US government's massive secret internet user spying program PRISM, ... 

US Government Spying Extends Far Beyond PRISM

SiliconANGLE (blog)-13/06/2013

Just when we thought these spying shenanigans couldn't get any worse, well… They just did. A report by Michael Riley in Bloomberg today ...

Prism: GCHQ 'penetrated BlackBerry security' to spy on G20 attendees

ITProPortal-18/06/2013

Prism, meanwhile, lets the NSA "obtain the specific communications of foreign suspects from U.S.companies with a court order. This program ...

How PRISM Sends Your Private Data Overseas

TechNewsDaily-18/06/2013

United States "persons" — citizens and residents protected by the Fourth Amendment — were said to not be part of its scope. Yet PRISM data ...

William Hague pressed to make statement on Prism internet spy ...

Telegraph.co.uk-08/06/2013

It comes after senior ministers were challenged over their alleged role in authorising use of a covert USgovernment spying project, Prism, ...

US spy programme: SC admits PIL against companies that aided ...

NitiCentral-19/06/2013

In his plea, Singh has alleged that such large-scale spying by the US authorities is detrimental to national security and urged the Apex court to ...

UPDATE:

CBS NEWS 24 June 2013

The NSC issued a statement early Monday saying it is "disappointed by the decision of the authorities in Hong Kong to permit Mr. Snowden to flee despite the legally valid U.S. request to arrest him for purposes of his extradition under the U.S.-Hong Kong Surrender Agreement. We have registered our strong objections to the authorities in Hong Kong as well as to the Chinese government through diplomatic channels and noted that such behavior is detrimental to U.S.-Hong Kong and U.S.-China bilateral relations." The statement continued, "We now understand Mr. Snowden is on Russian soil. Given our intensified cooperation after the Boston marathon bombings and our history of working with Russia on law enforcement matters -- including returning numerous high level criminals back to Russia at the request of the Russian government -- we expect the Russian Government to look at all options available to expel Mr. Snowden back to the U.S. to face justice for the crimes with which he is charged."

My day of reckoning is upon me......

Tomas Young’s letter published in Dangerous Minds 19 March 013:

To: George W. Bush and Dick Cheney
From: Tomas Young

I write this letter on the 10th anniversary of the Iraq War on behalf of my fellow Iraq War veterans. I write this letter on behalf of the 4,488 soldiers and Marines who died in Iraq. I write this letter on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of veterans who have been wounded and on behalf of those whose wounds, physical and psychological, have destroyed their lives. I am one of those gravely wounded. I was paralyzed in an insurgent ambush in 2004 in Sadr City. My life is coming to an end. I am living under hospice care.

I write this letter on behalf of husbands and wives who have lost spouses, on behalf of children who have lost a parent, on behalf of the fathers and mothers who have lost sons and daughters and on behalf of those who care for the many thousands of my fellow veterans who have brain injuries. I write this letter on behalf of those veterans whose trauma and self-revulsion for what they have witnessed, endured and done in Iraq have led to suicide and on behalf of the active-duty soldiers and Marines who commit, on average, a suicide a day. I write this letter on behalf of the some 1 million Iraqi dead and on behalf of the countless Iraqi wounded. I write this letter on behalf of us all—the human detritus your war has left behind, those who will spend their lives in unending pain and grief.

I write this letter, my last letter, to you, Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney. I write not because I think you grasp the terrible human and moral consequences of your lies, manipulation and thirst for wealth and power. I write this letter because, before my own death, I want to make it clear that I, and hundreds of thousands of my fellow veterans, along with millions of my fellow citizens, along with hundreds of millions more in Iraq and the Middle East, know fully who you are and what you have done. You may evade justice but in our eyes you are each guilty of egregious war crimes, of plunder and, finally, of murder, including the murder of thousands of young Americans—my fellow veterans—whose future you stole.

Your positions of authority, your millions of dollars of personal wealth, your public relations consultants, your privilege and your power cannot mask the hollowness of your character. You sent us to fight and die in Iraq after you, Mr. Cheney, dodged the draft in Vietnam, and you, Mr. Bush, went AWOL from your National Guard unit. Your cowardice and selfishness were established decades ago. You were not willing to risk yourselves for our nation but you sent hundreds of thousands of young men and women to be sacrificed in a senseless war with no more thought than it takes to put out the garbage.

I joined the Army two days after the 9/11 attacks. I joined the Army because our country had been attacked. I wanted to strike back at those who had killed some 3,000 of my fellow citizens. I did not join the Army to go to Iraq, a country that had no part in the September 2001 attacks and did not pose a threat to its neighbors, much less to the United States. I did not join the Army to “liberate” Iraqis or to shut down mythical weapons-of-mass-destruction facilities or to implant what you cynically called “democracy” in Baghdad and the Middle East. I did not join the Army to rebuild Iraq, which at the time you told us could be paid for by Iraq’s oil revenues. Instead, this war has cost the United States over $3 trillion. I especially did not join the Army to carry out pre-emptive war. Pre-emptive war is illegal under international law. And as a soldier in Iraq I was, I now know, abetting your idiocy and your crimes. The Iraq War is the largest strategic blunder in U.S. history. It obliterated the balance of power in the Middle East. It installed a corrupt and brutal pro-Iranian government in Baghdad, one cemented in power through the use of torture, death squads and terror. And it has left Iran as the dominant force in the region. On every level—moral, strategic, military and economic—Iraq was a failure. And it was you, Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney, who started this war. It is you who should pay the consequences.

I would not be writing this letter if I had been wounded fighting in Afghanistan against those forces that carried out the attacks of 9/11. Had I been wounded there I would still be miserable because of my physical deterioration and imminent death, but I would at least have the comfort of knowing that my injuries were a consequence of my own decision to defend the country I love. I would not have to lie in my bed, my body filled with painkillers, my life ebbing away, and deal with the fact that hundreds of thousands of human beings, including children, including myself, were sacrificed by you for little more than the greed of oil companies, for your alliance with the oil sheiks in Saudi Arabia, and your insane visions of empire.

I have, like many other disabled veterans, suffered from the inadequate and often inept care provided by the Veterans Administration. I have, like many other disabled veterans, come to realize that our mental and physical wounds are of no interest to you, perhaps of no interest to any politician. We were used. We were betrayed. And we have been abandoned. You, Mr. Bush, make much pretense of being a Christian. But isn’t lying a sin? Isn’t murder a sin? Aren’t theft and selfish ambition sins? I am not a Christian. But I believe in the Christian ideal. I believe that what you do to the least of your brothers you finally do to yourself, to your own soul.

My day of reckoning is upon me. Yours will come. I hope you will be put on trial. But mostly I hope, for your sakes, that you find the moral courage to face what you have done to me and to many, many others who deserved to live. I hope that before your time on earth ends, as mine is now ending, you will find the strength of character to stand before the American public and the world, and in particular the Iraqi people, and beg for forgiveness.

—Tomas Young

 

Looking back at this day in 1999

The New York Times

 

Memphis Jury Sees Conspiracy in Martin Luther King's Killing

By EMILY YELLIN
Published: December 09, 1999

A jury in a civil suit brought by the family of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. decided today that a retired Memphis cafe owner was part of a conspiracy in the 1968 killing of Dr. King.

The jury's decision means it did not believe that James Earl Ray, who was convicted of the crime, fired the shot that killed Dr. King.

After four weeks of testimony and one hour of deliberation, the jury in the wrongful-death case found that Loyd Jowers as well as ''others, including governmental agencies'' had been part of a conspiracy. The jury awarded the King family the damages they had sought: $100, which the family says it will donate to charity.

The family has long questioned Mr. Ray's conviction and hoped the suit would change the legal and historical record of the assassination.

''This is a vindication for us,'' said Dexter King, the youngest son of Dr. King.

He said he hoped history books would be rewritten to reflect this version of the assassination.

SNAP!

 

Friday 13^th July 2012

“MY WIFE’S LOVER

My wife is having an affair with a government executive. His role is to manage a project whose progress is seen worldwide as a demonstration of American leadership. (This might seem hyperbolic, but it is not an exaggeration.) I have met with him on several occasions, and he has been gracious. (I doubt if he is aware of my knowledge.) I have watched the affair intensify over the last year, and I have also benefited from his generosity. He is engaged in work that I am passionate about and is absolutely the right person for the job. I strongly feel that exposing the affair will create a major distraction that would adversely impact the success of an important effort. My issue: Should I acknowledge this affair and finally force closure? Should I suffer in silence for the next year or two for a project I feel must succeed? Should I be “true to my heart” and walk away from the entire miserable situation and put the episode behind me? NAME WITHHELD”

ABC News 10^th November 2012:

David Petraeus: FBI Probe Said to Have Revealed Affair With Biographer Paula Broadwell

 

"I suspect it may be dawning on a few white men as I write this that giving women the vote was a seriously bad idea."

 

Jane Caro at Crikey 9 November 2012:

 

Barack Obama won 55% of the female vote, meaning it was women who decided this year's presidential election. Politicians who refuse to take women's concerns and freedoms seriously are now on notice.

I suspect it may be dawning on a few white men as I write this that giving women the vote was a seriously bad idea.

Suddenly the constituency that used to rule the world — because they ruled America — are getting a sense of just what it feels like to be a minority group. And I don't think they like it much.

According to numbers that are being crunched as I write, Barack Obama outpolled Mitt Romney in every group except older white men. Based on these admittedly preliminary figures, the President won 55% of the female vote, 93% of the African American vote and 71% of the Latino vote. He also outpolled Romney in every age group up to 45 and won the votes of most Americans who live in cities.

But if these early figures are correct, it is women who have really decided this election. That's because they are 53% of the population, while blacks are 13%, Latinos 10% and Asians 3%. Even younger people only add up to 46% of the American population.

In other words, women voters in the US have become the kingmakers and let's hope one day soon, the queenmakers.

And you thought Aussie politics was poisonous right down to its rightwing grass roots!

Post-Presidential Election Republicanism in the US of A:

“You come upon a neighbor — whom you know to be a Democrat — drowning in a lake. You're the only person in the vicinity. Do you help him?
Whew!Now that one is really, really tough. I honestly do not have an answer for thatone. You could always be a smartass about it I suppose. Scream: "Hey Joe,you sure you're a Democrat? Just say the word, 'Obama sucks,' simple as that.Just mouth the words 'Obama sucks' and I'm in the water."

At LibertarianRepublican.net on 7th November 2012:

“Now, that said. Firstly, I was wrong. I let my optimism get the best of me. I even lashed out at Thomas L. Knapp a time or two, saying he was nuts for his predictions. Tom was right. I was fantastically wrong. We were crushed last night at all levels, most especially in the Senate races. There is virtually no good news from last night's results for the libertarian wing of the GOP. I apologize Tom. I hope you can see fit to accept my apology.

Secondly, today starts a new course for my life. I've soured on electoral politics given what happened last night. I believe now the best course of action is outright revolt. What do I mean by that?

Well, to each his own. Some may choose to push secession in their state legislatures. Others may choose to leave the U.S. for good (Costa Rica, Switzerland, Italy, Argentina, Hong Kong, Israel). Still others may want to personally separate themselves from the United States here in North America while still living under communist rule' the Glenn Beck, grab your guns, food storage, build bunkers, survivalist route. I heartily endorse all these efforts.

Express your hatred, shame, and outright disgust with anyone you know who voted Democrat

However, for me, I'm choosing another rather unique path; a personal boycott, if you will. Starting early this morning, I am going to un-friend every single individual on Facebook who voted for Obama, or I even suspect may have Democrat leanings. I will do the same in person. All family and friends, even close family and friends, who I know to be Democrats are hereby dead to me. I vow never to speak to them again for the rest of my life, or have any communications with them. They are in short, the enemies of liberty. They deserve nothing less than hatred and utter contempt.

I strongly urge all other libertarians to do the same. Are you married to someone who voted for Obama, have a girlfriend who voted 'O'. Divorce them. Break up with them without haste. Vow not to attend family functions, Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas for example, if there will be any family members in attendance who are Democrats.

Do you work for someone who voted for Obama? Quit your job. Co-workers who voted for Obama. Simply don't talk to them in the workplace, unless your boss instructs you too for work-related only purposes. Have clients who voted Democrat? Call them up this morning and tell them to take their business elsewhere.

Have a neighbor who votes for Obama? You could take a crap on their lawn. Then again, probably not a good idea since it would be technically illegal to do this. But you could have your dog take care of business. Not your fault if he just happens to choose that particular spot.

And start your boycott of your Democrat friends and family today. Like this morning. First thing you can do, very easy, is to un-friend all Democrats from your Facebook account”

Read this wingnut rant at length right here.

Trump melts down as Obama romps back into the White House

 

Nymag.com

 

Donald Trump went into Twitter meltdown when it became evident that Barack Obama had been re-elected as President.

 

He may have deleted one or two of those tweets, but what remains courtesy of Topsy may haunt him in the future:

 

realdonaldtrump Donald J. Trump

Our country is now in serious and unprecedented trouble... like never before.

22 hours ago Reply Retweet Favorite 195

realdonaldtrump Donald J. Trump

House of Representatives shouldn't give anything to Obama unless he terminates Obamacare.

22 hours ago Reply Retweet Favorite 5,813

realdonaldtrump Donald J. Trump

Hopefully the House of Representatives can hold our country together for four more years...stay strong and never give up!

23 hours ago Reply Retweet Favorite 6,556

realdonaldtrump Donald J. Trump

The electoral college is a disaster for a democracy.

23 hours ago Reply Retweet Favorite 11K

realdonaldtrump Donald J. Trump

Our country is now in serious and unprecedented trouble...like never before.

23 hours ago Reply Retweet Favorite 15K

realdonaldtrump Donald J. Trump

This election is a total sham and a travesty. We are not a democracy!

23 hours ago Reply Retweet Favorite 12K

realdonaldtrump Donald J. Trump

More votes equals a loss...revolution!

23 hours ago Reply Retweet Favorite 2,777

realdonaldtrump Donald J. Trump

Lets fight like hell and stop this great and disgusting injustice! The world is laughing at us.

23 hours ago Reply Retweet Favorite 6,597

realdonaldtrump Donald J. Trump

We can't let this happen. We should march on Washington and stop this travesty. Our nation is totally divided!

23 hours ago Reply Retweet Favorite 6,779

realdonaldtrump Donald J. Trump

The phoney electoral college made a laughing stock out of our nation. The loser one!

23 hours ago Reply Retweet Favorite 3,441

realdonaldtrump Donald J. Trump

He lost the popular vote by a lot and won the election. We should have a revolution in this country!

23 hours ago Reply Retweet Favorite 12K

realdonaldtrump Donald J. Trump

Well, back to the drawing board!

23 hours ago Reply Retweet Favorite 4,820