Anne Clair, an Elsipogtog mother, wrote this about her son being jailed while protesting SWN trespassing on the native owned land.
Again, I ask– If most of the taxpayers are against fracking and tar sands, then why are the oil companies allowed on that land? Why were the police there and who are they working for if the taxpayers do not want this?
Really not trying to be a downer on Valentines Day, but just wanting to give balance to the dripping love fest–
First, the national hotline for domestic violence: 800-799-7233
War and Domestic Violence connection.
Verbal abuse is just as damaging.
Laws and lawmakers that don’t protect and support women.
VAWA and Native American women. Update here. Thank you, President Obama.
Tribal governments — police, prosecutors, and courts — are essential to the response to these crimes, but have long lacked the authority to address them effectively. Prior to TLOA’s enactment, no matter how violent the offense, tribal courts could sentence Indian offenders to only one year in prison. Even worse, since a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1978, tribal courts have had no authority to prosecute a non-Indian who commits domestic violence, even if he lives on the reservation, works for the tribe, and is married to a tribal member.
Not surprisingly, abusers who are not arrested are more likely to repeat, and escalate, their attacks. Research shows that law enforcement’s failure to arrest and prosecute abusers both emboldens attackers and deters victims from reporting future incidents. In short, the jurisdictional framework in Indian country has left many serious acts of domestic violence and dating violence unprosecuted and unpunished. The reauthorization of VAWA signed by President Obama will empower Indian tribes to protect all Native American women in Indian country, at long last.
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To go a little further with my post from yesterday, on missing Native American women, here is a map of women missing and murdered. Pretty sobering. (click on the red spots, and a list will pop up).
Black women and domestic violence.…same sad story of an intimate partner abusing them.
Shelah Harper knows all too well the reality behind all those numbers. On Nov. 7, 2004, her daughter, Asia Adams, a 21-year-old West Chester University student, was brutally murdered by an ex-boyfriend and his friend. It was in the basement of Harper’s Philadelphia home (she was out of town at the time) where Thomas Strode, who Adams had been dating for four months, and his accomplice, Simeon Bozic, beat Adams with a shovel before cutting her throat several times. A day later, the two would set the house on fire to cover up their crime. They also withdrew money from Adams’ ATM card and went on a shopping spree.
Lastly, the post of the recent show on DN! about domestic violence and how women are still not believed, still not taken seriously, and blamed for their abuse.
The next question with this is what makes a good relationship? Well, I don’t pretend to have the answers to that one–but here are some thoughts:
–He recognizes that you are a separate person in your own right. This means you have a right to your own opinions.
–He recognizes that you have a right to say “no” to intimacy and that he is not entitled to sex.
–He values your opinion. He asks for your advice and considers your thoughts on an issue.
–He doesn’t put you down, in public or in private.
–He sees you as his equal, as much value as he, whether you work in or out of the home.
–He compromises.
–He genuinely likes you, honors you, respects you.
Basically, it’s the golden rule–treating you as he wishes to be treated. Pretty simple.
Idle No More has this up on a day to honor dead and missing Indigenous women. I would like to expand that to all women—missing, dead, beaten, and raped.
Unfortunately, it’s in Canada…but yeah, if you’re not there, perhaps you could just take that time from 10:00 to 12:00 p.m. to meditate on that. Not only on that, but how we can heal our society so that women are not seen as second class or “less than” for being….women.
Some suggestions:
–Say a prayer.
–Make a list of what you can do personally to stop the rape/violence against women culture.
–Change your thinking of hierarchy–that one must be “above” or “below” another. And that one’s material wealth is equal to their spiritual worth.
–Examine the media. Truly examine how the media sends messages of women’s worth.
–Listen to women. Listen to what they tell you they want–don’t try to put your own ideas on to women. And don’t, for pete’s sake, make us all one homogenous group….we are all individuals with different ideas, needs, wants, and goals.
The NY Times has a rebuttal by Woody Allen on the child molestation allegations. Since I posted Dylan Farrow’s letter, I feel it only fair to give the same to Allen.
The piece not only doesn’t change my mind, but reaffirms my belief that he most likely did molest Dylan Farrow. Allen attacks Mia with the tired “scorned woman” defense with “evidence” that is questionable. Mia acted as any mother would act if she found the father in a sexual relationship with the daughter (Soon-Yi) . What kind of deviant takes nude pictures of his girlfriend’s daughter?
He stated that he “passed” the lie detector test, but fails to state that his own lawyer had a friend do the test–it was not administered by police. And they are notorious for giving false results.
A commenter provided a link to the court documents of their custody battle. It’s pretty damning. Woody Allen had been giving sole attention to Dylan, while ignoring the other children. Others noted inappropriate actions towards Dylan BEFORE the affair with Soon-Yi, Mia’s adopted daughter, most notably the event in the TV room.
Even before the Soon-Yi affair, Allen was not giving Dylan appropriate physical space–he was not honoring boundaries–a red flag. The judge stated that Allen’s behavior with Dylan was inappropriate.
The conclusion stated that Allen had not demonstrated any parenting skills that would allow him to have custody of any of the children. He did not consider the consequences of his actions with Soon-Yi. He was oblivious to it.
Additionally, Allen had an affair with a girl of 17 years of age while he was 42—a twenty-five year difference….so there is history there of him with much, much younger women who are more vulnerable to manipulation and/or abuse. I’m not saying that age difference is a sole factor–if a 40 year old woman is seeing a 65 year old man, that is hugely different than a young woman of 17. Choosing vulnerable women of that age speaks volumes.
It’s a movie about Hitler stealing art during World War II. My posts on it here. And here.
National Geographic channel is featuring the story with an interview with the book’s writer, Robert Edsel.
The tale is intriguing…in the days before email and computers, tracking down the artwork had to be through footwork—a phenomenal task. I love good mysteries and good detective work, and so wish I could see the movie as it opens today.
Warrior Publications has this up on the Munduruku People fighting the centuries old fight against the dark side. I will never understand someone thinking they can just go and take what they want with no regards to the rights of others.
This article doesn’t mention it, but mercury is also a factor in gold mining. It was wise of them to protect their land and kick them off.
If you want to know more about the indigenous fight to be let alone, see Joe Kane’s book, Savages.
Warrior Publications has this up on a report of yet another pipeline rupture that was buried since 2009. Accidentally, of course…/snark
Nathan Lemphers says “it’s hard to guess intentions” as to why this report was buried….
…yeah, I’m not buying it, either, that it was an “oversight” that the damning report was never to see sunlight. There are too many incidents of the oil industry interfering with freedom of the press and freedom of speech for it to be unintentional.
Let’s not forget the Arkansas oil spill that we wouldn’t have heard about, if it were up to the mainstream media. Or the massive devastation of the Gulf that BP tried to hide (and unfortunately, did a pretty good job of interfering with photographers and having dead dolphins carted away before they could document them.)
The tide was turned against the Vietnam war through the media…once one sees how devastating it is, it makes it harder to look the other way.
…and so it is with the devastating effects of the energy companies on the environment….hard to look the other way once one sees how devastating it is to the Earth and to the wildlife.
Neil Young’s song and the accompanying video haunt me–it shows in stark contrast how beautiful this Earth truly is until the oil and gas companies move in…
Ed Shultz (MSNBC) has now two nights in a row yelled into the screen about how we should be in favor of the XL pipeline for *cough* safety reasons. Um-hmmm…
You know, I might have believed him if he wasn’t leaving out one important factor of tar sands: pet coke. Pet coke being the highly toxic byproduct of tar sands….which they want to dump in my already toxic state…
He is adamant that the “oil is going to come out, anyway” so it might as well be us, because if China or anyone else does it, well, it’s just not going to be as environmentally friendly.
I say let them. It will be blood on their hands, not ours.
Better yet, leave the oil in the Earth where it belongs. As the Sierra Club stated, if the XL is not built, then there is high probability that the tar sands will remain in the Earth.
Additionally, I thought it was disingenuous of Ed Shultz not to mention the Mi’kmaq or other First Nations of Canada whom have rights to the lands that are being destroyed.
Not a peep. That speaks volumes!
And it also speaks to why MSNBC and Ed Shultz are still trying to convince people, almost on a daily basis, that Hillary Clinton is the front runner for the 2016 presidential race. Hillary Clinton is all for the XL.
Lastly, Ed and his backers would still like to downplay how devastating XL would be on the environment.
He says we “have to” have XL in order to turn on our lights…and other scare tactics.
I don’t think we have *even* begun to truly use our brain cells to discover sustainable ways of creating energy.
…and Ed, we can always light a candle instead of cursing the dark…
Idle No More has put up links to several folks speaking out against XL and Enbridge Pipelines:
Honor the Earth:
Rise Up Mother Earth:
Note how they characterize Mother Earth as crying–Earth isn’t a big ball of dirt, but a living, breathing organism.
Here’s a list of nationwide vigils.
The Black Snake will face mounting opposition.
What did Big Oil know and when did they know it. Jack Gerard, head of the American Petroleum Institute, thought the pipeline was dangerous to the environment…bwahahahahaha *snort* /just a little joke there, folks
Finally, Democracy Now! featured the XL in a debate with an industry insider and Friends of the Earth:
http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/3/debate_state_dept_moves_keystone_xl
http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/3/environmental_groups_shocked_by_reports_of
And this on Enbridge’s infamous 2010 Kalamazoo spill, with cleanup still not done.
http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/3/michigan_activists_face_up_to_2
This is difficult to read….her pain is evident. I am glad she had good support from those around her–many times victims of abuse are accused of “leading on” their abuser–so they suffer twice…
Good on Mia for finding the strength to hold the family together. Some may find fault with her for not pressing criminal charges, but given Allen’s celebrity and the culture of rape/violence against women that almost guarantees she won’t be believed, I think it was wise of Mia not to press charges and put her daughter through yet more abuse. As Dylan states, she was repeatedly questioned about the abuse, having to tell the story over and over and over again…trying to find some way to get her to flub up.
And for those who don’t know what “gaslight” means…it’s a term used to describe the most despicable psychological games to throw someone off and make them think they are crazy. An example: a woman places her keys on the table next to the door when she comes home. The keys are not there when she goes to leave. She looks all over and finds them in the refrigerator. The next time, they’re in the bathroom cabinet. This goes on until she thinks she is truly “losing it”….when all the time it’s been her psycho husband playing mind games with her. If you need more of an example, see the film Gaslight.
The hardest part to read is her account of cutting herself…sadly, this seems to be standard for those abused who don’t have any other outlet to express their pain.
Here’s to you, Dylan, for the courage to come forward because you already know the flaming will come next from those defending Allen. And here’s to your mama….God Bless the mothers of the world.
She addresses the situation in Canada and how the indigenous’ rights outlined in the law have not been honorably enforced. She speaks with heartfelt passion towards the land. She sees this as a fight for her children.
We are all borrowing this land while we are here–no one owns the land, truly. One cannot own what one did not create…and one cannot take without giving equally in return…
Eagle 
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