(I really wanted to take some time off, but there is just too much stuff going on…)
Natives protesting fracking on their land have been run over. I’m unclear about the first paragraph and whether the persons were run over by SWN vehicles. In the posted tweets, note the upside down Canadian flag (on the mylar balloon)–I have to wonder if that were purposeful, as they have flown the U.S. flag upside down as a signal of distress. And support is growing around the world, with Ireland expressing their solidarity with the Elsipogtog. Bless the Irish 🙂
In this link, the journalists have rallied around Miles Howe, the journalist arrested three times so far:
The Canadian Association of Journalists issued a press release Monday calling on “the RCMP to either lay charges or stop harassing a journalist working in New Brunswick arrested for the third time on Nov. 28,” referring to Media Co-op’s Miles Howe.
“RCMP behaviour suggests they are unfamiliar with the charter rights of a free press and the allowances those rights permit journalists while covering controversial and volatile situations,” CAJ president Hugo Rodrigues said.
Caption: “Well, that about sums it up.” Yep….except the politician needs to be wearing a blazer with all the corporate logos that sponsor him/her on it…..and their pockets full of cash they bribe with…
On a hot summer day, nothing sounds better than a cool drink of water….
(sorry for the visual, but you get the point…contaminated water is unappealing to look at as harmful to the body.)
Ways to help the Elsipogtog. You can click on the picture to enlarge. More here.
His arrest, for the third time (he was not charged in either of the two previous arrests) is unacceptable and it appears to be the state’s preferred strategy for stopping him from getting the word out about protests in Elsipogtog.
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I think this is as clear a case as any for harassment. Howe was not charged in the previous two arrests…so they’re going for a third…?
Here’s the video of his arrest. Note the officer taking a video of the person who is taking the video of the officers arresting Howe. Three officers for an unarmed person who is not resisting arrest? Really?
The update below the video link states Howe has been released and is in good spirits.
Another article on more arrests. What I don’t understand is that they had left the protest…and then they were arrested.
Petula Dvorak has this up on the Native Americans and this holiday we celebrate.
The Native Americans I talked to said they’ve all heard of someone who doesn’t celebrate the holiday the way it’s presented in food magazines and Hallmark television specials. But all the people I talked to said they hold on to the original message that the Wampanoag had that day — a harvest feast to give thanks.
“Thanksgiving is like every day for us. Giving thanks is a big part of the native cultures. So the basic message of the holiday, that’s still part of who we are,” said Ben Norman, 32, a member of the Pamunkey tribe in Virginia.
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And that’s what it means to me, too—being thankful for every day and every meal and all that is provided for us.
The Native Americans recognize that all is connected. What we do over *here* affects something over *there*. We cannot take and take and take without there being repercussions. The traditional Native Americans humbly acknowledge that with taking only what they need.
The Europeans described America as a wilderness. The Native Americans knew better and carefully managed the great ecosystem–you could drink from any river or stream….the fish were plentiful because they weren’t overfished and they didn’t contain mercury and other toxins…you could breathe…
They were portrayed as heathens that needed “saving” by missionaries. Instead of trying to understand their spirituality, the Europeans sought to force their religion upon them. Native Americans don’t have Churches where one goes to pray once a week and then forget everything that is taught…rather, they see spirituality in everything they do—everything is connected to the Creator.
I just wanted to acknowledge their culture and all that was lost.
Harper spies on the peaceful group. Note that their own intelligence says they do not see them as a violent threat….yet, they show up in riot gear and tear gas the peaceful protestors. I’m glad to read that they are also protesting Enbridge, which is in my own backyard. “We want to keep the people and environment safe…” bwahaha, that’s rich. If you really cared about the environment, you wouldn’t be building a pipeline to begin with.
(DN also covered this happening in the U.S. towards nonprofit groups that big business perceives as threats. Big Brother has arrived.)
Keeping up with the First Nations protests in Canada–
A judge has ruled that indigenous protestors are not to interfere with fracking by SWN….even though it is on Mi’kmaq land.
There are other ways to silence free speech and protests.
A video here on the damage already being done just by exploration. He describes the water from the broken aquifer as having an oily consistency. I hope that he has taken samples of the water for testing. And that he goes back in the Spring to access the damage to the Earth, plants, and wildlife.
From the piece:
Water Flowing from Shotholes or Testholes
Requirements when water comes to surface or flows from shotholes or testholes
1(1)If water is released from an aquifer or stratum while drilling a shothole or testhole and comes to the surface or flows from the shothole or testhole, the permittee shall, without undue delay, notify the Minister and ensure that all drilling on the flowing hole is discontinued, that no explosive charge is loaded into the shothole and that the flow of water is confined to the aquifer or original stratum in accordance with section 2 of this Schedule or in a manner proposed by the permittee and approved by the Minister.
1(2)If water is released from an aquifer or stratum and comes to the surface or flows from a shothole or testhole following the drilling of the testhole or the drilling or detonation of the shothole, the permittee shall, without undue delay, notify the Minister and ensure that the flow of water is confined to the aquifer or original stratum in accordance with section 2 of this Schedule or in a manner proposed by the permittee and approved by the Minister.
1(3)If a shothole is flowing before an explosive charge is detonated, the permittee shall ensure that the charge is detonated.
1(4)Without undue delay, the geophysical licensee shall submit to the Minister a report, on a form provided by the Minister, with respect to each flowing shothole or testhole
(a)after the flow of water has been confined to the aquifer or original stratum under subsections (1) and
(2), or (b)after reasonable attempts have been made to confine the flow of water to the aquifer or original stratum under subsections (1) and (2).
1(5)If, after reasonable attempts have been made, the flow of water from a shothole or testhole cannot be confined in accordance with section 2 of this Schedule, the geophysical licensee shall, as soon as possible, submit to the Minister for his or her approval a plan for the control and management of the flow of water.
1(6)If water flows from a shothole or testhole when drilling operations are in progress, the permittee shall ensure that the process referred to in subsection 2(2) of this Schedule is complied with when any subsequent shotholes or testholes in the sequence are drilled.”
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Anonymous has this posted on the Warriors being held in solitary confinement.
Parents being arrested for protecting their children’s water….for protecting the future.
Finally, Idle No More has this up for anyone wishing to help the Elsipogtog.
I saw recently where James Taylor was supposed to sing the Star Spangled Banner, and started singing “America, the Beautiful”…God Bless him. I want to put a vote in for America, the Beautiful for our national anthem. The Star Spangled Banner sings of war and bombs but America the Beautiful sings of the beauty of our country, the abundance, and the brotherhood (as yet to be realized, but a worthy goal).
A beautiful, crisp morning as the sun rises….now moved across the horizon for the winter sleep…
I saw six deer this morning. Sometimes they will stop and just observe me, but mostly they just run off, with white tails bobbing up…it never ceases to amaze me how they can be standing still in front of a four foot tall fence and leap over it with such athletic grace. They like apples, by the way. A momma deer and baby were seen nibbling apples one morning while they hung from the tree. You’ll see a half-eaten apple on the ground and know that it was lunch for a deer.
I went out the other morning, and the birds were singing as if it were a Spring day. It caught me off guard….this is Fall, right…? :p
There were cardinals singing, Blue Jays sounding the warning, and another bird I couldn’t identify singing its little heart out. Funny.
I’ve seen a bird that is mostly grayish black that at first I thought was a junco, but it’s tail looked like a sparrow’s and it was too big to be a junco.
The hummingbirds have long since sought warmer climates. I miss their antics. They spend more energy fighting over the food, when there is plenty there, rather than conserving the energy they used fighting so they wouldn’t need so much food….I know there is a lesson for mankind in there, somewhere….
You remember the hornet’s nest I mentioned? Something happened to it–we had about three days of rain (no chemtrails to interfere), and then we had really windy days….so it may have been the combination that caused the nest to lose its outer wrap (for want of a better word). It literally had torn off the wrap down to the honeycomb-like inner chambers. I guess birds could have gotten to it, too, but I’ve never seen that. Not that I’ve seen that many hornets’ nest….in my youth, when I lived around the woods, but not since moving to the city.
Here’s an informative blog on hornet’s nests. I learned something today–I saw the honeycombs of the torn hornet’s nest but I did not realize they actually made honey! It makes perfect sense, though, because they need something for the pupae. However, I wanted to double check this, and another site said they did not make honey.
Continuing the search, I found this:
I also learned that the Maya believe hornets/wasps learn the hut owner’s scent and leave them alone….but may go after visitors. Interesting. Hornets generally do leave people alone….unless they mess with them. There was one story of my childhood where one of the neighborhood kids thought it would be funny to poke a hornet’s nest. Um-hmm….you can guess what happened…hornets mad as hell swarmed him. They had to get a hose to get them off. Yep, he never did that again…
I found this interesting blog on hornet nest destruction. Apparently, bears will tackle anything. This site is pretty interesting with discussions on biodiversity. Someone posted a video on biodiversity but it advocates eco-tourism, and setting aside small tracts of land for preservation. I think both of these ideas send the wrong message. Tourism is tourism and the more people that trample the ground, disturbing the wildlife, the more stress they bring to resources and the life forms there–not to mention more pollution by using motorized vehicles. I shake my head at folks who drive up in SUV’s to the parks….the irony seems lost on them on the damage their vehicles cause by consuming gas and polluting with exhaust, which are destroying the nature that they seek.
And the setting aside tracts of land is a noble idea–but in my view, it absolves the rest of the occupants of the land their responsibility to take care of the land they’re on. In other words, it’s like they’re saying “we have this land over here that is being preserved, therefore, you can pollute the hell out of the other land that isn’t in the preserve.” It’s still missing the HUGE point that we cannot separate the land by lines….as much as we have been brainwashed into thinking that it is possible to do just that.
Water runoff polluted with pesticides, herbicides, genetically modified forms, mercury, etc., will migrate from the unprotected land to the protected land. Toxic air will flow over the protected land. There is no way to keep a tract of land pristine while the land surrounding it is poisoned. Just like we see with the nuclear accident in Japan–what happens in one area affects another that has nothing to do with it. We have to see that everything we do affects another–to take care.
Another link someone posted is something near and dear to my heart–natural water filtration a la natural swimming pools. Pretty cool, eh? Last one in is a rotten egg! 🙂
Also, there is a thread on endangered invertebrates. Interesting read.
Global News features a homeowner who installed solar panels and is now seeing the benefits. He requested a meter that would feed the excess energy he doesn’t need back into the utility grid, but didn’t see it for months. The power company exec offers no explanation, only to say that the problem has been fixed. And the reporter stated that someone refused to be interviewed…I’m assuming it’s the power company’s representative?
Anyway, I thought about all the excuses used for not pushing solar energy for the northern states–that there’s just not enough sunlight to make it economically feasible—and here we have someone in Canada, which has even less sunlight and because of the shape of Earth, is less intense energy from the sun, and yet they are still able to absorb enough energy to power their homes and have more to send back to the utility company. Kind of blows that excuse, doesn’t it?
There are others here in the U.S. who go completely off-grid, where they’re not attached to the public utility, and they use batteries to store the excess energy for days that the sun doesn’t shine.
The time has come for solar. Cheap–when you factor in environmental damage by all other means of producing energy: coal (mercury, lead, arsenic), oil (cancer), nuclear (cancer), gas (fracking–mercury, cancer, and God only knows what else).—plus their detrimental effects on climate change.
Clean. Unlimited power source.
I did a web search and found a national geographic video on a solar farm–but the narrator states that unlike solar panels, they use mirrors that reflect light upward, and then a tube with synthetic oil captures the heat, to transport it. With that information, I clicked off the video. Why on Earth would they use synthetic oil?? It just seems that we are so creatively challenged that we can’t think outside the oil box.
It’s just so harrrrd to think sustainably!! /said with dripping sarcasm
A member of the mercury support group posted a link to this video:
Another member questioned this guy’s assertions, because it seems like he is promoting his website and services and trying to scare people. Good Grief, I wouldn’t be able to eat anything according to this guy. He also fails to mention toxins in the body, and specificallly, heavy metal poisoning, which causes many of the autoimmune symptoms. And he doesn’t advocate for organic food consumption as a way to regain one’s health.
He doesn’t state whether he has additional training with a degree in nutrition, as Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride does, so I’m not as inclined to believe all of his assertions.
Rice is allowed on the GAPS diet, but I react to it. Same with corn. It’s an individual thing that everyone has to figure out for themselves. I get a tell-tale red rash around my neck (redneck, heh) that shows up when I eat something that causes my body to react.
I do agree with his assertions that gastrointestinal symptoms are not the most prominent symptoms, as I did not have huge symptoms there, but do have more of the neurological with the migraines and such.
I posted these links in a comment on Diane Ravitch’s blog yesterday, but they are still awaiting moderation….so I thought I’d post them here:
Bill Clinton’s Big Ideas for education. Note the mention of Eli Broad in the audience.
From the article:
One of his big ideas for U.S. education: “We have to move toward somewhat local operational control but a national commitment to a longer school year, better trained and better paid teachers, to principals and superintendents who can actually be held accountable for results
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What the hell does that mean? Oh, I forgot for a second that he’s a politician speaking doublespeak….let’s try to deconstruct, shall we?
“local operational control for a national commitment” = we have to be sure we have toadies willing to foist this crap onto the kids even when it’s evident that it is detrimental to them, by holding onto tax dollars paid by the public and not releasing them until these schools follow our mandates.
“better trained” = teachers that are pressured into teaching to the test so that their kids will pass (and not feel like idiots) so their school won’t “fail” and be closed…..to reopen with for charter profiteers.
“better paid” = bwahahahahahahaha
“principals and superintendents who can be held accountable” = what does “held accountable” mean, anyway? By what standards? Who decides? Gates? Broad? Clinton? Rhee?
Note the Big Brother aspect of videotaping teachers….always done with a positive twist–to “improve” the teachers’ performance. Um-hmmm….to monitor the teachers to ensure that they teach only the rigid No Child Left a Mind.
And the final sentence says it all:
It is startling, however, to hear Gates state so bluntly the power of teachers.
He is concerned that they may be able to thwart his plans. And Gates isn’t someone who is used to being thwarted.
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Joanne Barkan’s excellent piece that I’ve posted before but bears repeating.
More news from Diane: Eli Broad secretly funded anti-public school, and anti-union initiatives. I see that Broad has the politician doublespeak down: he publicly states he is for something, but then he funds efforts against that very thing. Yep–keep people off balance and questioning, that’s the key. Note that Gov. Brown felt compelled to be “nice” to Michelle Rhee to keep in good favor with Eli Broad to get the tax increase passed. That’s how they work it, folks….kiss the toad and he just might turn into a prince….
This is also more proof that these folks are not paying enough in taxes if they have this kind of money to throw around….and why Citizens United needs to be overturned.
Someone posted this quote:
“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” –Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Absolutely, Dr. King. Absolutely. And the ability to think critically with creativity with character is not going to be had with a for-profit school run by hedge fund managers who see kids as machines to be built with little regard for humanity, democracy, and potential.
This is sobering news. Note that the article doesn’t go into diet, but if GMO’s were introduced in the 90s, and strokes started increasing at that time….is anyone going to look into the connection?
Also, colorectal cancer has increased in youth at the rate of 13% from 1992-2005. The article goes for the easy blame of fast food….without exploring the GMO connection or toxic environment. I’m not saying that fast food isn’t a factor, because it is not healthy, but they need to go more deeply.
Also, neither of these articles explore economic factors where the families buy processed food because it’s cheaper, and the family’s health suffers because of it.
Breast cancer rates among the young, and especially young black women, are rising, too–tripling from 1976 to 2009. Red flags all over the place, folks.
For me personally, one of my lumps has shrunk, the other has stayed the same, a little over a year after discovery. Interestingly, I had read somewhere that women with fibrocystic breast disease respond well to iodine. If you recall, last year, about this time, I had three breast lumps and they were increasing in size. After increasing my iodine, one disappeared and the other stayed the same size.
Within the mercury poisoning group, there is great debate about low thyroid and iodine. Some folks are adamantly against iodine, saying if one has Hashimoto’s (which I suspect I have because it is autoimmune and goes with Celiac), that iodine will make it worse. That hasn’t been my experience. With the shrinking breast lumps, I would say that my intuition has been right in increasing the iodine.
Mercury interferes with iodine absorption. the Barium sprayed from chem trails interferes with iodine absorption. These are most likely factors in the increases in cancer, since the thyroid is a master gland controlling nearly every important body function, from the pituitary to the adrenals, to the gut, to brain function. This is serious stuff, and messing with the environment is coming around to bite us in the arse.
Eagle 
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