Thursday, October 28, 2010

France on Strike! (photos)/La Haine (film)

Rebellions in France always remind me of one of my all time favorite films: La Haine / Hate (French)



http://stagevu.com/video/tpqiyjgvxapt



France on strike

Weeks of strikes, protests and demonstrations have brought much of France to a standstill as workers, students and others voice their strong opposition to a government proposal to raise the age for a minimum pension from 60 to 62. A quarter of the nation's gas stations were out of fuel, hundreds of flights were canceled, long lines formed at gas stations and train services in many regions were cut in half. Protesters blockaded Marseille's airport, Lady Gaga canceled concerts in Paris and rioting youths attacked police in Lyon. The unpopular bill is edging closer to becoming law as the French Senate is preparing to vote on it today. Collected here are recent images of the unrest around France. Update: Pension reform bill just now passed by French senate. (40 photos total)

A man holds a placard which reads "Listen to the public's rage" during a demonstration in front of the French Senate in Paris October 20, 2010. French trade unions kept up their resistance on Wednesday to an unpopular pension reform due for a final vote in the Senate this week. (REUTERS/Charles Platiau)

People march during a protest in Marseille, southern France, Saturday Oct. 16, 2010. (AP Photo/Claude Paris) #

A truck driver walks past a line of lorries as he waits outside a fuel depot of the society SFDM near the oil refinery of Donges, near Nantes, October 22, 2010. (REUTERS/Stephane Mahe) #

Aerial view of Tankers and other vessels waiting off shore near Marseille's port in Martigues on October 17, 2010, where two oil terminals are blocked by strike action. (ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP/Getty Images) #

Demonstrators gather around a puppet symbolizing the French Republic during a protest in Paris, Tuesday Oct.19, 2010. (AP Photo/Francois Mori) #

Workers demonstrate in front of the Senate on October 20, 2010 in Paris, France. President Nicolas Sarkozy's plan to raise the retirement age to 62 has prompted Oil workers to protest crippling the transport system and triggering gas shortages. Students are also attending demonstrations and have in some cases barricaded entrances to schools. (Franck Prevel/Getty Images) #

Arcelor Mittal steel workers dressed in protective work suit demonstrate over pension reforms in Marseille October 12, 2010. (REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier) #

Youths scramble outside a looted store during clashes with police forces in Lyon, central France, Wednesday Oct. 20, 2010. France's interior minister threatened Wednesday to send in paramilitary police to stop rioting on the fringes of protests. Months of largely peaceful demonstrations against the pension reform have taken a violent turn in recent days. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler) #

A gendarme helicopter circles overhead at low altitude during clashes between youths and police forces in Lyon, central France, Wednesday Oct. 20, 2010. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler) #

People demonstrate on October 12, 2010 in Paris, to protest against President Nicolas Sarkozy's plan to up the retirement age to 62. (FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images) #

High school students shout slogans as striking railway workers burn railway tracks during a demonstration at the old port of Marseille October 21, 2010. (REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier) #

Passengers wait for a train on a platform at the Gare du Nord railway station in Paris October 19, 2010 during a nationwide strike by public sector workers to protest against pension reform. Airport staff, bus and train drivers, postal workers and the armored truck drivers who keep cash machines stocked up could join refinery workers and others in a day of nationwide strikes against the plan to raise the retirement age. (REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes) #

Passengers walk on the highway as French striking workers block the Charles-de-Gaulle airport in Roissy near Paris October 20, 2010. (REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes) #

People block the access to the Nice airport on October 19, 2010, as they demonstrate during the sixth day of coordinated nationwide protests. (VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images) #

French police secure an entrance at Orly airport, south of Paris, as striking airport workers blocked the access to roads October 20, 2010. (REUTERS/Guillaume Bertrand) #

Striking workers clash with police as they block the Charles de Gaulle airport in Roissy near Paris October 20, 2010. (REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes) #

French police take position during clashes with youths after a demonstration over pension reform in Lyon, October 19, 2010. (REUTERS/Robert Pratta) #

High school students shout during a demonstration against retirement reforms in Paris, Thursday, Oct. 14, 2010. (AP Photo/Francois Mori) #

French high school students kiss on the road in front of the police at the end of a demonstration over pension reform in Paris October 21, 2010. (REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes) #

Youths overturn a car in a street in Lyon, central France, Thursday Oct.21, 2010. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani) #

Plainclothes police officers, right, try to detain a youth during a protest in Paris, Thursday Oct. 21, 2010. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) #

Riot police officers detain a youth during clashes in Lyon, central France, Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2010. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani) #

A demonstrator holds a flare aloft as private and public sector workers demonstrate over pension reforms in Nice October 19, 2010. (REUTERS/Eric Gaillard) #

Civil security members requisitioned by the French government clean the streets and pile up garbage in Marseille October 20, 2010 on the ninth day of a strike by rubbish collectors. (REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier) #

Oil trucks leave an oil depot escorted by french riot police in Bassens, near Bordeaux, southwestern France,Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2010. (AP Photo/Bob Edme) #

Riot policemen push demonstrators who blocked the fuel storage depot of Douchy-Les-Mines, northern France, to protest against French government pensions reform on October 19, 2010. (FRANCOIS LO PRESTI/AFP/Getty Images) #

A nurse denounces the anticipated 67-year-old age for retirement during a workers and students demonstration ending at Place de la Bastille on October 12, 2010 in Paris, as part of a nationwide action to protest against the government reform bill on pensions. (JOEL SAGET/AFP/Getty Images) #

A child holds a banner on the shoulders of a man during a demonstration in Lyon, central France, Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani) #

French high school students, with the message "No to the reform", attend a demonstration over pension reform on October 21, 2010 in Paris, France. (Franck Prevel/Getty Images) #

A woman holds a sign as she demonstrates during a National Union-Led protest against retirement reform on October 16, 2010 in Paris, France. On the sign, an old woman says "When I was your age, I was already working", and a girl replies "When I am your age I'll still be working." (Julien M. Hekimian/Getty Images) #

French high school students block the entrance of the Dorian high school in Paris October 15, 2010. (REUTERS/Charles Platiau) #

French Youth run from riot police forces during clashes on October 20, 2010 on the sideline of anti pensions reform protests in Lyon. (PHILIPPE DESMAZES/AFP/Getty Images) #

A French high school student faces riot gendarmes during a student demonstration at the Place de la Republique in Paris October 19, 2010. (REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes) #

A tear gas canister explodes near hooded youths during a confrontation with French police at a demonstration against pension reform in Lyon October 21, 2010. (REUTERS/Denis Balibouse) #

Riot police officers detain a youth during a student demonstration in Lyon, central France, Monday, Oct.18, 2010. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani) #

A fireman tries to extinguish a burning car during riots in Nanterre, a suburb of Paris, on October 20, 2010. (Franck Prevel/Getty Images) #

A woman walks past a message written on a road saying "Tous en greve" (everybody on strike) as part of the demonstrations by railway workers from state-run company SNCF during the nationwide day of protest against pension reform on October 13, 2010 in Chenove, eastern France. (JEFF PACHOUD/AFP/Getty Images) #

Students vote during a students' general assembly, to extend the closure of Naterre's university, near Paris, to protest the government retirement reforms, Friday, Oct. 22, 2010. (AP Photo/Michel Euler) #

French gendarmes charge to unblock the entrance of the Grandpuits oil refinery southeast of Paris October 22, 2010 as striking workers unsuccessfully attempted to continue their blockade. (REUTERS/Benoit Tessier) #

A view of the French Senate, in Paris, Friday, Oct. 22, 2010. The French Senate prepared to vote on a pension reform, after the government short-circuited a protracted debate. The Senate is near certain to approve the measure, which raises the minimum retirement age from 60 to 62 later Friday, despite months of strikes and protests. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon) #

Cain Velasquez!

Check out the full championship fight vs. Brock Lesnar here:
http://www.mmalinker.com/videos/view/35606/Brock-Lesnar-vs-Cain-Velasquez-UFC-121

Cain Velasquez: Brown Pride


Cain Velasquez in Los Angeles - La Placita

"I Live, I Die, I Organize": Letter To My Son by Mr Don Trip

Haha I feel this! :)

"I Live, I Die, I Organize": Letter To My Son by Mr Don Trip: "i use music as an outlet so i say whateva i feel like sayin no matter who or what it involve twitter.com/MrDonTrip"

Condenamos el asesinato del compañero Catariono Torres Pereda


Consternados por el artero y cobarde asesinato del compañero Indígena Catarino Torres Pereda del Comité de Defensa Ciudadana (CODECI) el día 22 de octubre a las 2pm, quienes integramos el Colectivo Autónomo Magonista hacemos llegar nuestra más sentida y sincera solidaridad para los familiares de Catarino así como a la organización hermana de CODECI.

De la misma forma nos unimos a la vos popular para exigir y luchar hasta hacer justicia a Catarino y a la organización de CODECI contra éste infame asesinato que busca silenciar mediante el asesinato a la palabra rebelde que ha florecido en casi todos los corazones del pueblo oaxaqueño.

Fraternalmente: Colectivo Autónomo Magonista



Colectivo Autónomo Magonista (CAMA)
Vivir para ser libres o morir para dejar de ser esclavos
Visita nuestro Blog: http://colectivoautonomomagonista.blogspot.com/

Correos electrónicos:
camadf@yahoo.com.mx
Dirección provisional:
Cerrada de Londres, no. 14, int. 1, col. Juárez, Del. Cuauhtémoc, México, D.F.
(A unos pasos de la estación del metro Sevilla)

Sweeps in Los Angeles Suburbs Create Fear, say Anti-Police Brutality Activists

Leilani Albano,

Probation violators received some unexpected guests on Thursday after county probation officers, along with state and federal agents, descended upon multiple locations throughout Covina, Glendale, Monrovia, Pasadena and San Gabriel, leading to 35 arrests.

Three children, whose family members were probationers, were also taken into custody by the Department of Children and Family Services.

In all, the raids resulted in authorities retrieving

18 weapons and undisclosed amounts of methamphetamines and marijuana, according to the LA County Probation Department.

The raids were enormous, with 315 county probation officers and members of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Secret Service, and parole officers joining in on the arrests at 117 locations.

While they were an incredible show of firepower, brass and testosterone, they weren't the only police gun-toting shows in town...nor the biggest.

On the same day, about 250 Los Angeles police officers, federal agents from Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and I.C.E. raided about 60 homes and arrested scores of gang members in an effort to stamp out Wilmington's burgeoning cocaine trade.

Also on Thursday, 800 law enforcement officials arrested 41 people in connection with a weapons, methamphetamine and cocaine ring in Long Beach, Los Angeles and La Puente.

A lot of toil and money has been spent over the years battling crime in the area. But the question remains: Are we any safer yet?

For CopWatch LA organizer Joaquin Cienfuegos and others, the answer is an emphatic "no." Such police actions "are part of a culture that terrorizes communities," he said.

Coincidentally, the crackdowns occurred a day before this afternoon's October 22nd National Day of Protest Against Police Brutality, taking place in Pershing Square until 8 pm.

While keeping guns, drugs and thugs off the streets may be a noble cause for law enforcement, some participants of the annual march say the city's young, poor and minority communities are often victimized in the process.

"The way the cops approach it isn't right," said 19-year-old Claudia Gomez, an organizer with the Youth Justice Coalition.

For one, she said sweeps pose dangers for all those involved, including neighbors and "little kids" who get caught up in the raids.

Second, people with suspected gang ties are also mistakenly rounded up during raids. Cienfuegos said that's because so-called gang affiliations often have less to do with one's connections with gangs than with having a cousin who happens to be a gang member.

"It just means you're related to somebody or know somebody" in a gang, he said.

Furthermore, with the large show of weaponry and trigger-happy officers bandying about during sweeps, raids do nothing to protect us from the very people who commit the most egregious criminal acts, namely the police themselves.

Just ask grieving Mashia Lewis, the mother of James Davis, who was shot during a confrontation with police at a South Los Angeles housing project in October, as well as family members of Manuel Jaminez, who was shot in MacArthur Park in September.

Both families attended today's protest.

Instead of escalating firepower and manpower, as is often the case in raids, Gomez thinks its time for the police to find non-violent solutions to crime.

Authorities "need to restore peace," she said. "Then the community will follow."

The families of Davis and Jaminez and others victimized by police violence would surely approve of that.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Slingshots and Ponies

Segments on Pico Union/Westlake Rebellion and Chile Resistance

Undercover pigs at October 22nd Police Brutality March and Rally (pictures

These are a few pics of some of the undercover cops at the march

They build a perimeter around the rally in McArthur Park, overing 360 degrees. They were in groups of 2-3- and 4.

The guy in the black hoody is a cop, and so is the guy in the Dodgers hat on the bench

The guy in a flanel jacket, black hat, and mask was identified as Officer Torres from the LAPD by comrades from LA CAN.

Build a movement to FIGHT police terrorism!


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Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Open Letter In Response To U.S. Infecting People in Guatemala with Syphilis and Gonorrhea

Open Letter to U.S. President Barack Obama in response to his apology to the Guatemalan people regarding the recent media coverage that a Wellesley professor through her research found hidden evidence that unethical “Tuskegee” like Syphilis and Gonorrhea experiments were being made in Guatemala by U.S. Health officials with the “suppose” acknowledgment of Guatemalan health department.

As a collected group, we want to publicly acknowledge the U.S. apology to the Guatemalan people and Guatemalan immigrants abroad. However, we, a coalition of Guatemalan nationals, immigrants and allies, also feel that the real contrition is for the U.S. to move swiftly in making reparations.

It is imperative that we demand a speedy and timely resolution to the U.S. appointed two study panels, and that the Guatemalan President Colom make a firm stand and take action for the people of Guatemala and not just provide lip service.

Today, more than ever, anti-immigrant sentiments, continued failed U.S. policies, drug-cartel wars, erratic climate produced by global warming are all directly affecting developing nations like Guatemala. Continued exploitation of the land, natural resources, and labor by U.S. funded industrialists as well as presently U.S. funded forced sterilization of Guatemalan marginalized and Mayan communities our presence and message is of the essence!

How many more apologies are needed to the Guatemalan people?

100 years of U.S. influence in Guatemalan economics and politics has had tremendous negative impact on the social and civil liberties of Guatemalans in the past and in the present.

According to information pulled from USAID.Gov today, Guatemala has a wealth of natural & cultural resources yet it is the third most unequal country in the world in terms of income distribution, and thus is a land of contrasts -- an estimated 58% of its people live in poverty. Most of the poor are rural indigenous people, often women of Mayan descent who have suffered a long history of repression and exclusion from fully participating in society and who were most seriously affected by the 36-year armed civil conflict. As a result of historical inequalities and the lowest health and education spending in the region, Guatemala struggles with some of the lowest social indicators in the hemisphere (http://www.usaid.gov/gt/history.htm).



In a press-release by the USA Guatemala Peace and Development Network and Red por la Paz y el Desarrollo de Guatemala. The organizations stated the following historical particulars:



In the early part of the 20th century, the U.S. Government helped the United Fruit Company (UFCO) to transform itself into what Miguel Angel Asturias, Guatemalan Nobel Prize in Literature, named the “Green Pope.” The Green Pope subsequently became known as “the octopus” in the country, with tentacles in all areas of Guatemala’s economy and politics.



In 1954, Washington intervened directly in Guatemala to abort the “Democratic Spring” brought about by the October Revolution of 1944, precisely, inter alia, to restore UFCO’s privileges and unlimited power. The overthrow of democratically elected president Jacobo Arbenz ushered in a long period of state repression and, eventually, armed resistance movements. After a 36-year internal armed conflict, state repression only came to a halt with the signing of the Firm and Lasting Peace Accord between the government and the insurgents on December 29, 1996.



During this long nightmare for the Guatemalan people, from 1954 to 1996, the armed and intelligence forces of the U.S. used Guatemala as a testing ground for counterinsurgency warfare. Guatemalan military and security officers trained at the School of the Americas and other military installations in Panama and the U.S., unleashed their version of state terrorism against the Guatemalan population. Torture and extra-judicial execution became common, and Guatemala became the first country in Latin America where “forced disappearance” appeared as a counterinsurgency tool. Guatemala is the Latin American country with the highest number of forced disappearances: 45,000. Washington supported successive militarized governments in charge of repression, and military aid was provided even after the U.S. Congress officially cut it.



According to the UN-supported Historical Clarification Commission (CEH), genocide took place in Guatemala at the same time that President Reagan was embracing the policies and actions of de facto leader General Efrain Rios Montt. The CEH concluded that “agents of the State of Guatemala, within the framework of counterinsurgency operations carried out between 1981 and 1983, committed acts of genocide against groups of Mayan people which lived in the four regions analyzed…” The CEH also pointed to the responsibility of the United States, stating: “The United States demonstrated that it was willing to provide support for strong military regimes in its strategic backyard.



In the case of Guatemala, military assistance was directed towards reinforcing the national intelligence apparatus and for training the officer corps in counterinsurgency techniques, key factors that had significant bearing on human rights violations during the armed confrontation.”



Along with this history, we now learn that the U.S. Government supported the multiple coup attempts against another democratically elected president, Juan José Arévalo, from 1945 to 1950, at the same time that U.S. medical personnel were deceiving Guatemala’s government by claiming to be carrying on health campaigns while actually experimenting with Guatemalan citizens.



President Clinton acknowledged the destructive political policies of his predecessors and apologized for them when he visited Guatemala, in March 1999. We have also heard the apologies from the Obama Administration for these medical experiments. But apologies are not enough. We believe that much more can and should be done. It is possible, just, and necessary to take action to repair part of the damages caused, and compensate some of the many victims and their families. It takes courage to recognize unethical policies and actions, but it requires wisdom and determination to respond to Guatemala’s needs by taking concrete steps.

Immigration does not happen in a vacuum. It is caused by internal conflicts whether by natural causes, or global warming, or human and civil rights violations made against marginalized and third world nations which have been and continue to be perpetuated by the United States government, institutions, industries and individuals.

It is these types of conflicts and the lack of action by those in power that have galvanized our energy and has urged us to move forward to address through this forum a resolve for the displaced and migratory diasporas of many Guatemalan and other Latin-America nationals.

As mentioned before, real contrition for all the wrongs Guatemala has suffered by the "tentacles" of failed US Foreign Policy can be shown by making speedy reparations. The real contrition will be by providing protection to a people who have lived in a state of repression caused by failed U.S. policies in Guatemala.

As a coalition of Guatemalan nationals, immigrants and allies we stand in solidarity with the Guatemala Peace and Development Network and Red por la Paz y el Desarrollo de Guatemala (GPDN/RPDG) in requesting the immediate action on the following measures:


1.

The U.S. Government must establish a fund for fair compensation of the victims of the experiments and their families.
2.

The U.S. Government, as a good-will gesture, should immediately respond positively to the request presented by the Guatemalan Government on June 4th, 2010, to grant TPS for Guatemalans in the United States. It is an administrative way, with no participation by Congress, that would help to cope with recent calamities in the country caused by the Pacaya Volcano eruption, the tropical storm Agatha, and the flooding rains in September.
3.

Finally, the U.S. should consider a sort of “Marshall Plan” for development, which many in Central America and the international community were expecting at the end of the internal wars. In fact, that is probably the only way to significantly decrease migration from Mexico and Central America into the United States.



As said before, even these steps cannot compensate for all the damage caused by the United States in Guatemala. However, it could mark a new beginning and a different policy toward Guatemala, Central America, and the entire Latin American region.



Signed by a coalition of Guatemalan nationals, immigrants, organizations and allies:



*

Shirley Aldana-Schwarz, USC Anthropology student and concerned Guatemalan citizen
*

Carlos Bautista, …..
*

Ana Castillo, Artist and Chapinas Unidas
*

Joaquin Cienfuegos - Cop Watch Los Angeles
*

Susana De Leon, Artist and President of Mujeres Iniciando en las Americas (MIA)
*

Freddie Hernandez, Canal Chapin
*

Lealani Montes, Film maker, Chapinas Unidas
*

Lucia Munoz, Founder of Mujeres Iniciando en las Americas (MIA)
*

Heidy Pineda, ….
*

Rebecca Ronquillo, ….
*

Azalea Ryckman, Proprietor of Hecho De Mano Store, Founder of Mujeres Abriendo Caminos, and Radio Voces de Mujeres

James Davis Shot in the Back by Police in Watts Imperial Courts Projects




Court Support and Witnesses needed for Pico-Union case



Greetings community,

I wanted to pass along a request for support.

On the night of the town hall 9.8.10 and severe police repression in response to the killing of Manuel Jamines there was a young man arrested by the name of Daniel Cortez. He was there with wife and child and was accused of assault on an officer with a slingshot. He was on the south side of 6th street by the Food 4 Less in a crowd of people.

He has court this Wednesday October 13th, at 8:30am 210 West Temple Division 40 and is in need of people to step forward as witnesses or may have video footage.

So far his charges have been reduced from a felony to misdemeanor and he also has an ICE hold putting him at danger for deportation.

The attorney is Andres Bustamante (213) 891-9009 if someone is serious about stepping forward.

The wife and family could also use moral support if you just wanted to show up in court.

In unity,

Allegra

Simpsons Intro by Banksy

Simpsons Intro by Banksy

Denounces human and animal exploitation

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Rebellion in LA after Rampart police murder indigenous man

Rebellion in LA after Rampart police murder indigenous man

Community responds to Mehserle request for retrial in the shooting of Oscar Grant

Community responds to Mehserle request for retrial in the shooting of Oscar Grant

Water Rights Settlement Tabled, Grassroots Dine’ (Navajo) Vow to Stand Against Oppression

Ya'a'teh!
Please forward far and wide!
Dine' People can take action today:

1. Call, email, or talk face to face with your Council Delegates
There is a great listing with contact info here: https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=0AuTy0AwDkD80dG5lbHQ4OThQbUdPeGZ2VTQ3VnEyU1E&hl=en&single=true&gid=0&output=html

2. Write letters to the editors.
Navajo Times: duane@navajotimes.com

Navajo-Hopi Observer (http://www.navajohopiobserver.com/Formlayout.asp?formcall=userform&form=1)

Gallup Independent: editorialgallup@yahoo.com

3. Sign the online petition to Protect Dine' Water Rights: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/dine-water-rights/

4. Help spread the word! Educate your friends and relatives about this issue.

Come to Window Rock for the next Council session!



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEWS RELEASE

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Contact:

Ron Milford

Email: Haskan1990@yahoo.com

Phone: 928-606-0787

www.dinewaterrights.org

Navajo Nation Council Tables Water Rights Settlement

Grassroots Dine’ (Navajo) Vow to Stand Against Oppression

WINDOW ROCK, AZ – Due to pressure from the community, the Navajo Nation Council decided to put off voting on the Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Agreement (NAIWRSA) and gave one week for public review but did not specify what the review would look like. The Council is set to consider the legislation again on Friday, October 8th but the date is subject to change.

Legislation No. 0422-10, also known as NAIWRSA, sponsored by Council Delegate George Arthur has faced increasing community criticism in the last few weeks.

More than 160 concerned Dine’ (Navajo) marched, rallied and then packed the council chambers to send the message for the council to “VOTE NO!” on the water rights settlement. Children, elders, parents, students and others from throughout the Navajo Nation joined together in chanting, “Water is life! Save our Future!”

NAIWRSA was created by lawyers including a non-native, Stanley Pollack, with the Navajo Nation as an attempt to resolve water rights claims of the Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe for water from the Little Colorado River and from the lower Colorado River.

Dine’ community members have raised concerns that NAIWRSA gives the Navajo Nation only 31,000 acre-feet per year of 4th Priority Colorado River water, which would not be available in times of drought, and would require more than $500 million of new federal funding to pay for pipeline infrastructure to deliver water to communities in need. The federal funding would have to be appropriated by U.S. Congress.

One pipeline would be built to send Colorado River water from Lake Powell on the Arizona-Utah border to the reservation.

During the special session Hope Macdonald Lonetree, Council Delegate from Tuba City, raised concerns on the council floor regarding the document as being flawed & different than what was presented to the Navajo Nation committees. Specifically, exhibit A was not located in the agreement and the issue of the agreement being distributed to delegates moments before the meeting. She motioned for the agenda item to be stricken from the agenda but failed to gain votes.

Delegate Amos Johnson motioned to table the legislation and to give one week for council delegates to take the agreement back to their communities for review. 49 voted in support, 32 against with 7 not voting.

“It is appropriate for the Navajo Nation to consider Hogan level family’s water rights and they have an obligation to do that, to take it to the communities for their input which has not been the case,” stated Milton Bluehouse Sr. former Navajo Nation President. “The more informed the people are the better the decision will be made, with respect to their rights.”

Hope Macdonald Lonetree asked, "Why would we waive our rights to the water for just a promise of federal funding, when we know historically the appropriations have not come to Navajo?"

“Why was there no deliberate and detailed consultation with the affected Dine' communities?” said R Begay a concerned Dine'. “Why has this process been so secret? What does Stanley Pollack have to hide? This is an extension of colonialism and genocide against our people. We will stand against this oppression.”

“The most important thing to show our leaders is that we are watching them, we are making sure that they are accountable to their communities and what we hold sacred as Dine’ people,” stated Kim Smith, resident of St. Michaels. “Water is an essential part of our way of life, our ceremonies, our livestock and most importantly, it’s our future. We are calling on all Dine’ people who value their future, their sacred water to join us when the council goes back into session and let them know we want them to VOTE NO!”

Concerned citizens for Dine’ Water Rights along with organizations such as Dine’ Care, To’ Nizhoni Ani’, Black Mesa Water Coalition, Council Advocating an Indigenous Manifesto, ECHOES, and others are calling for another rally and march at the next council session.

The date and time have not yet been set. Visit www.dinewaterrights.org for further details.

“This movement to oppose the Arizona Water Settlement is about our children, and we will not waive their water rights, not now not ever,” Stated Ron Milford, a concerned citizen with Dine’ Water Rights.

“Only one percent of the water in this world is water we can consume,” stated Daniel Tulley a Dine’ student from Phoenix who made the trip with a caravan of ASU students to Window Rock to voice his concerns. “Worldwide water shortages are facing us, we need to protect what we have here, because it is sacred and we need to protect it for future generations.”

###


Note to editors: High Resolution Pictures Available at www.dinewaterrights.org

Fwd: Alert - Snowbowl 'imminent start of construction

Jake Bacon The Aspen Nature Loop sits on a plot of ground that will be impacted by increased development of the Arizona Snowbowl. The loop is just below the lower parking area at the Arizona Snowbowl. Development maps show a new snow tubing area will be built at the site. (Jake Bacon/Arizona Daily Sun)

Arizona Snowbowl has been cleared to add a conveyor-belt-type device to carry beginning skiers uphill, and to log a new ski trail.

Coconino National Forest District Ranger Mike Elson signed off on the plans Sept. 24.

Arizona Snowbowl plans to add the 150-foot-long conveyor belt this fall and regrade a 1.5-acre area due north of its lower lodge with bulldozers to create a flatter teaching area.

The owners plan to use the conveyor belt to save beginning skiers a walk uphill during lessons. They also plan to widen a lift line at the Spur Catwalk.

Whether logging is feasible this year is less certain, given the late start to the project and the onset of winter weather in two months or less.

Despite the imminent start of construction, Snowbowl's owners remain in court with a second lawsuit. They are fighting a handful of local plaintiffs who assert that using reclaimed water to make snow might not be safe for skiers or the environment.

As part of that case, both sides have agreed that no snowmaking-related construction would begin until after a ruling in federal district court in Phoenix. That is expected to happen in late October, said attorney for the plaintiffs Howard Shanker.

Shanker has vowed to appeal any decision not in his favor to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Eric Borowsky, a Snowbowl part-owner, said that if he wins at the district court level this fall, he would start construction as soon as possible in order to make artificial snow in the winter of 2011-12.

"We're hopeful that the judge will rule in our favor," Borowsky said. "And if she does, we'll probably start construction. If it happens to be a dry winter, we would start construction on the (water) pipeline from Highway 180 back to Thorpe Park almost immediately."

Borowsky's attorneys are seeking to have the case thrown out on the grounds that some of the plaintiffs are obstructing any possible resolution by opposing either reclaimed or drinking water to make snow -- a position some of them openly acknowledged at the outset.

The plaintiffs suing the U.S. Forest Service since 2009 in this lawsuit are the Save the Peaks Coalition, Kristin Huisinga, Clayson Benally, Sylvan Grey, Don Fanning, Jeneda Benally, Frederica Hall, Berta Benally, Rachel Tso and Lisa Tso.

Tribes suing the federal government to prevent snowmaking lost their argument that allowing more development would infringe on their religious freedoms in June 2009, when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear their case, leaving in place a 9th Circuit ruling that allowed snowmaking.

Cyndy Cole can be reached at 913-8607 or at ccole@azdailysun.com.

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Posted in Local on Friday, October 1, 2010 5:10 am Updated: 11:25 pm. | Tags:



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