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Army Corps issues eviction letter to Standing Rock protesters; tribal leader issues response

Claire Bernish
The Free Thought Project
Sat, 26 Nov 2016 17:52 UTC
water protest
In response to the altogether shocking announcement the Army Corps of Engineers will be evicting water protectors from the Oceti Sakowin and any camps north of the Cannonball River, the Cheyenne River Tribe — co-litigants in a lawsuit seeking to halt the Dakota Access Pipeline — sharply condemned the plan as "a direct and irresponsible threat to the water protectors."

On Friday — unironically, the day after Thanksgiving — Army Corps District Commander Col. John W. Henderson sent a letter to Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairman Dave Archambault II and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Chairman Harold Frazier announcing the closure of Corps-managed land to all "public use and access" on December 5.

Henderson's letter and the Army Corps' plan is an affront to dignity and logic in multiple ways — most notably, the reason cited for clearing the peaceful camps.

"This decision is necessary to protect the general public from the violent confrontations between protestors and law enforcement officials that have occurred in this area, and to prevent death, illness, or serious injury to inhabitants of encampments due to the harsh North Dakota winter conditions," he wrote.

All confrontations with officers thus far only occurred after police escalated the situation — deploying brute and wildly excessive force against unarmed water protectors — including an incident last Sunday in which a tribal elder nearly died after suffering cardiac arrest, twice, Vanessa Dundon's sight might be lost thanks to a tear gas canister police launched at her head, and Sophia Wilansky is having her entire arm reconstructed after a concussion grenade tore it apart.

Comment: See also:

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Snowflake

Parents furious after London primary school introduces same-sex toilets for students over 8yo

Lucy Pasha-Robinson
The Independent
Sat, 26 Nov 2016 23:01 UTC
gender inclusive bathroom
© Reuters
An east London primary school has provoked a furious backlash from parents after it introduced same-sex toilets for pupils over the age of eight.

The controversy arose after a new £12m building at Leytonstone's Buxton School was equipped with the gender-neutral bathrooms.

Despite a petition protesting against the new toilets having nearly 700 signatures on Sunday, the school's headteacher Kath Wheeler welcomed the change.

She said the full-height unisex toilets created a safe space where pupils show respect towards each other and feel respected, according to the East London and West Essex Guardian.


Comment: The powers-that-be at the Buxton School in London apparently have decided to treat their children like precious snowflakes. Kids MUST be prevented from experiencing anything unpleasant about reality, including normal human interactions between kids. This strategy does NOT help children prepare for life in a world where they will undoubtedly be experiencing a great deal of unpleasantness.


She also noted the toilets meet Department of Education and Waltham Forest council regulations.
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Attention

Iran: Oil rig helicopter crashes into Caspian Sea; all five passengers killed


Radio Free Europe
Sun, 27 Nov 2016 17:43 UTC
iran flag oil rig
News reports say an Iranian helicopter based at a Caspian Sea oil platform crashed late on November 26, killing all five people onboard.

The helicopter belonged to the Oil Ministry and was carrying an engineer with heart trouble to the hospital when it crashed, the German news agency dpa reported, citing Iranian media.

The cause was not immediately clear.

Comment: More information:
A helicopter that crashed in the Caspian Sea early Sunday was a Mil Mi-17 chopper in possession of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force, and four of the five victims were servicemen, IRGC spokesman announced.

According to Head of the IRGC Public Relations Department General Ramezan Sharif, the IRGC helicopter was at disposal of Khazar Exploration and Production Company (KEPCO), a subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC).

The aircraft was dispatched to Amir-Kabir semi-submersible drilling rig in the Caspian Sea, 20 kilometers off the port of Amirabad, at around 4:30 a.m. local time, to rescue an employee suffering a heart attack, Sharif explained.

After picking up the individual, the helicopter began to fly back to shore, but crashed shortly after take-off and descended into the sea, killing all five people on board, he said.

The oil company's worker and four IRGC servicemen, all colonels, lost their lives in the crash, he noted.

The general said the cause of the incident is under investigation.

Amir-Kabir is the first Iranian facility for the extraction of oil and gas from the Caspian Sea.


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Compass

Cuba: Those dancing on Fidel's grave may soon be disappointed


RT
Sun, 27 Nov 2016 17:23 UTC
Residents take to the streets outside the restaurant Versailles in Miami on Saturday as they react to the news of the death of former Cuban President Fidel Castro.
© JOE RAEDLE / GETTY IMAGES
Residents take to the streets outside the restaurant Versailles in Miami on Saturday as they react to the news of the death of former Cuban President Fidel Castro.
While the death of Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro caused grief and sorrow worldwide, many could not hide their joy. Political analysts told RT who has been "dancing on the lion's grave" and why.

"Cuba was nothing more than a casino, a bordello before the Cuban Revolution led by the man who died yesterday," former British MP and host of RT's 'Sputnik', George Galloway, said. "And the people who fled Cuba for Miami, the Scarface generation, were the people disinherited by the Cuban revolution, when casinos were turned into schools and colleges, when bordellos were no more. And they are celebrating for the same reason [that] hundreds of millions of people around the world are mourning. The passing of someone, who ... was the star, who made Cuba the coolest place on the planet."

"There's no country on the Earth, where more people have been to, or would like to go to than Cuba. And the iconography of Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Camilo Cienfuegos and the Cuban revolution is really something that's pretty hard to beat."
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Ambulance

DAPL Protester's Retina Severed After Cops Fire Tear Gas Canister Into Her Face

Claire Bernish
The Free Thought Project
Sun, 27 Nov 2016 16:49 UTC
Vanessa Dundon Standing Rock protestor

Vanessa Dundon
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and other water protectors have faced heinously excessive force from the Morton County Sheriff's Department and assisting police agencies, who seem to be targeting specific people — such as Vanessa Dundon, whom police struck in the eye with a tear gas canister last Sunday.

Dundon, known as Sioux Z in the Oceti Sakowin camp near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, has acted as security and a first responder during incidents when police initiate violence against water protectors since her arrival at the camp on September 11.

Now, for months of venerable efforts to ensure the safety of water protectors on the 'front lines,' Sioux Z has a detached retina, which will require costly, delicate, and painful surgery to correct — but even then, it's likely her vision in that eye cannot be restored.

On November 20, the Morton County Sheriff's Department unleashed all its fury against water protectors trapped on Highway 1806's Backwater Bridge after several people attempted to clear the roadway of a police blockade obstructing access by first responders.

Police in riot gear and better prepared to fight a war than control a small crowd of unarmed people, launched tear gas canisters, concussion grenades, rubber bullets, bean bag projectiles, mace, pepper spray, and — disgustingly reminiscent of attacks on black civil rights activists in the 1960s — deluged the crowd with a makeshift water cannon from the turret of an armored vehicle. That, with temperatures hovering in the low 20s Fahrenheit.

Hundreds were injured, 26 badly enough to be transported to the hospital; dozens became hypothermic when the police relentlessly hosed the crowd of 400 with icy water; a tribal elder went into cardiac arrest, twice; a 13-year-old girl was reportedly shot in the head with a rubber bullet; and one young woman, Sophia Wilansky, suffered a horrific trauma when a concussion grenade containing rubber pellets exploded on her arm, which might have to be amputated.

Comment: Army Corps will close anti-DAPL protest camp at Standing Rock by Dec. 5 to protect the public

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Whistle

Canadian professor: Ideological authoritarianism, assault on pursuit of truth have caused universities to lose their way

Frances Widdowson
Ottawa Citizen
Fri, 25 Nov 2016 16:00 UTC
Jordan Peterson
© Dave Abel/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network Dave Abel / Dave Abel/Toronto Sun
U of T Professor Jordan Peterson debates Bill C-16 and the gender provisions in the Ontario Human Rights Code at at the Sandford Fleming Building at the University of Toronto on Saturday November 19, 2016.
Last weekend, the University of Toronto undertook what should be the norm in all academic environments: it held a debate on a controversial subject. The debate concerned including "gender identity" and "gender expression" in Canadian legislation, and, more specifically, whether or not professors, or any citizen for that matter, should be compelled to use made-up, gender-neutral pronouns.

Arguing against compelled speech was Jordan Peterson, a psychology professor at the University of Toronto, who maintained that this reflected an ideologically pernicious and scientifically invalid attempt to control thought. Peterson's position was contested by Brenda Cossman, a law professor at the same university and director of the Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies; and Mary Bryson, an education professor at the University of British Columbia. Peterson's opponents essentially argued that compelled speech was justified if it helped to reduce inequality and show respect and compassion for marginalized groups.

Comment: See also:

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Light Saber

Peace, Prayer and Community: 90% of the Standing Rock Story is Missing

Raul Garcia
Earth Justice
Sun, 27 Nov 2016 16:41 UTC
Standing Rock, #NoDapl
© Tony Webster/Flickr CC 2.0
Dakota Access pipeline protest at the Sacred Stone camp near Cannon Ball, North Dakota.
Over the past few months, the Dakota Access pipeline and the Standing Rock Sioux tribe that opposes this oil project went from anonymity to full blown national news coverage. Since August, the news media has been reporting on the Native Americans who have gathered in camps in North Dakota to protect sacred land and the Missouri River, the Standing Rock tribe's sole water source. For months, we have been informed only about the most dramatic developments, but I discovered after a visit to the Sacred Stone camp two weeks ago that public understanding of what this movement is all about is based on misrepresentations. We are missing how peaceful, respectful and solemn this struggle is.

This is unfortunate because what's happening at the confluence of the Missouri and Cannonball Rivers is a solemn struggle to protect water and culture. As I prepared to make the trip, I read articles about the risks. And I fell for it. When I was flying into Bismarck, North Dakota, with a delegation from GreenLatinos—a group of Latino advocates committed to addressing environmental issues—I was on edge. We had gone to North Dakota to learn how GreenLatinos might be able to help the tribe, yet at first I concentrated on myself. I relentlessly googled "Standing Rock Sioux tribe arrests" and related key terms to figure out where I could or couldn't go and what I could or couldn't do.

But all that anxiety quickly evaporated when I reached the camps. I saw that this assembly of indigenous tribes and supporters is among the most serene and peaceful groups of people I have been around. They are not unified by indignity. What unifies the thousands of water protectors who are bracing for the incoming winter is devotion and prayer. In fact, elders and tribal leaders told us repeatedly that tribal camps aren't protests; these are ceremonies being held at a sacred place. And, they told us, they expect the behavior of their brothers and sisters to reflect that.

Comment: It is truly a shame that these gatherings are being portrayed inaccurately. Especially given all the hullabaloo about fake news, we have major media companies bombarding us with one-sided stories and refusing to give objective coverage. That's why SOTT covers stuff like this, to bring you the objective information possible in an age where distortion, rhetoric and 'spin' is the norm.

For further coverage:

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Pistol

Ten people injured, one dead in New Orleans' Bourbon street shooting


RT
Sun, 27 Nov 2016 16:15 UTC
New Orleans police
© Lee Celano / Reuters
At least one person has been killed and nine injured in a shooting incident in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, police said. The shooting took place on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter, one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city.

"A total of 10 victims were shot in the incident on Bourbon Street. One victim has died from his injuries," the statement from police on Twitter said.
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Shopping Bag

Suspect caught in the act, detained in New Mexico 'suspicious devices & vandalism' spree - FBI


RT
Sun, 27 Nov 2016 05:00 UTC
Vandalism spree
The FBI is questioning a person who was reportedly "caught in the act" following a series of incidents in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which involved vandalism, fires and several "suspicious devices" planted at a local Starbucks and other shops.

No charges were filed after Albuquerque police took a person into custody Saturday and turned them over to the FBI, the bureau said in a statement.

Previously the FBI said that three Starbucks coffee shops were attacked after midnight on November 25. Suspicious devices were found at the stated locations after the coffee shops had closed. One of the devices exploded, causing minimal damage, according to the FBI.

"Suspicious devices were placed at three closed Starbucks coffee shops, and one caused minimal damage. Nobody was injured," the FBI said.

The FBI statement added that federal and local authorities are continuing the investigation into the Starbucks cases.
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Red Flag

Electoral voters deluged with death threats from Clinton supporters urging them to switch their votes

Leo Hohmann
WND
Sat, 26 Nov 2016 23:44 UTC
US Electoral map 2016

Final electoral map shows Michigan in Trump’s fold but Clinton supporters have been sending threatening emails to the state’s 16 electors, trying to get them to change their allegiance to their candidate.
Hillary backers: 'Hateful bigot, I hope you die ... I will put a bullet in your brain'

One of Michigan's 16 electors who will be called upon to cast a vote validating the election of Donald Trump in the Electoral College has testified on video that he and others in the state are receiving "dozens and dozens of death threats" from Hillary Clinton supporters urging them to switch their votes to Clinton.

On Dec. 19 the Electoral College will convene to cast their votes for either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, with each state's electors pledged to vote for the candidate elected on Nov. 8 in their state.

But more than a dozen states have no laws making it illegal for the electors to change their vote while others have only a minor penalty such as a fine for doing so. If Clinton's supporters can get enough of the 163 electors from states where Trump both won and votes can be legally switched on Dec. 19, Hillary Clinton becomes the next president of the United States.
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