Category Archives: women

Anti-fracking activists struck by vehicle

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(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.

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More here.

This just in:  RCMP arrests Santa.  For shame.

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.

The Warriors send their greetings and Thanks.

Blessings to the defenders of the water and land…

The Native American holiday

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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.

My other posts on Native Americans here, here and here.

 

 

Suzuki showing support for First Nations

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David Suzuki is supporting the Elsipogtog protests.  Thank you, David!

Meanwhile, the trucks arrive in convoy. Another pic here.

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.)

Lastly, this pic of a smiling female Warrior.

My other blogs on energy and fracking here, here, and here, and here.

 

The War against Teachers

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Reclaim Reform has this somber post up on the worldwide attack on the teachers, the teacher’s unions, and free speech, as well. The last video (world wide) really got to me–treating these folks like animals!  Take note that World Bank demanded the austerity measures….

The Good Enough Student

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Assailed Teacher has a great blog up on a student “Tammy” who does okay in school….but is struggling to pass a global test.  She must pass this one test in order to graduate.  Again, the “good enough” mothers analogy of Phyllis Chesler passed into my head…and I thought that “Tammy” is a “good enough” student.  Not perfect, but okay.    What really bothers me about all of this is that they are labeling kids as stupid who are quite all right.  They’re fine.  They understand concepts appropriate for their ages.  And yet, they are being put in categories that are not a true definition of their abilities.

Also, beneath this piece is an “interview” with Arne Duncan that’s pretty funny.  Too bad that it gets a little too close to the truth.

Money for me, not for thee

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Continuing the saga of the Food Stamp *cough* savings….

Here’s another article on it.

The comments are interesting, and someone links to this page on Stephen Fincher, whose family farm received…wait for it…$8.9 million in farm subsidies…

…they must be the farmers Joe Donnelly consulted with for the farm bill. /snark

Oh, and Jesus gave loaves and fishes to the hungry.   It’s interesting what portions of the Bible the so-called religious choose to quote to justify their meanness and cruelty.

 

 

 

 

 

Scrooge’s children

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…must be republicans…and some democrats.  Joe Donnelly was on the local radio station this morning, talking about the Farm Bill.  I guess the new catch word is “savings” when describing cuts to food stamps.  Yep, he actually was promoting the idea of “savings” when taking food away.  He stated that farmers helped write the bill….that he was big on farmers having a say in the bill.

….and then, after stating there would be savings in the farm bill, (from food stamps), he ends his talk with the radio host with “Have a Happy Thanksgiving”.  I kid you not.  Utter callousness and indifference.

Meanwhile, we spend $$$ on overpriced defense suppliers:

Makes you sick, doesn’t it?  Republicans, who are always whining about the budget, never mention this.  They would much rather take food out of someone’s mouth than hold contractors accountable, and save millions in the process.

The witch hunts of teachers

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The latest from Teacher’s Letters to Bill Gates.  Queen Melinda seeks to rule education high atop her perch in her gated castle.

I’m glad that someone else has noticed the disturbing similarities between the Puritan witch hunts of Salem and what is happening to teachers.

Again, I say that it has been happening in the private sector for awhile now, but unrecognized by others.  As I read this disturbing piece, from the above link, the “good enough” mother espoused by Phyllis Chesler** popped into my head.  Teachers will never be perfect.  None of us will ever be perfect, even though some of us might try to reach for it. Again, there are disturbing similarities between the demands for teacher perfection and motherhood perfection.   The demands against mothers has largely gone unreported and unnoticed by the mainstream media…except to pile on the negative.  Mothers and teachers both have been pilloried by the media.

**A side note~ Wilson mentions in her article that uppity women and lesbian/bisexuals are likely to lose custody.  One doesn’t even have to be a lesbian in order to lose custody–all the ex has to do is allege she is lesbian in order to lose custody.  A woman who does not have a gentleman friend can be alleged to be a lesbian….and on the flip side, if she is a party girl and has dated frequently, she will also lose custody.  In other words, if she isn’t screwing around, there’s something wrong with her.  If she is screwing around, there’s something wrong with her.  She can’t win.

Also mentioned in the Teacher’s Letters articles are the tent cities.  They’ve been on my mind, lately, especially with all the happy, happy news that the economy has turned a corner and the jobs are flowing again….yeah, I’m not seeing it, either…

Here’s a list of Bush/Clinton cities.

A good article here.

Another here:

They fail to go into more depth about all the factors leading to the economic collapse, which is so important because those factors–deregulation of the banking/insurance industry, NAFTA, ignoring antitrust laws, not taxing corporations nor the rich, 40% of the budget going towards the defense department,  and stagnant wages–have not been dealt with and the economy will not become robust again without correcting them.

 

 

 

The knockout game

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Well, I think society has reached an all time low.   I can’t believe the psychobabble that the area of the brain for excitement develops sooner than other areas of reasoning, therefore, these teenagers are not in control….what utter b.s.  Little children know right from wrong at an early age.  They know if they hit someone, there will be consequences.

These kids are sociopaths with no regard for others. Only a sociopath would enjoy hurting someone.

And they’re cowards, too, who pick on people unaware of the violence about to befall them, so they can’t fight back.

But, hey, when they see adults using drones…well…it’s hard to argue that we’re setting a good example.