Notices by DoomsdaysCW (doomsdayscw@kolektiva.social)

Norway’s Treatment of Sámi Indigenous People Makes a Mockery of Its Progressive Image

By Martine Aamodt Hess

March 13, 2023

"On March 1, global media outlets reported that #GretaThunberg had been arrested in #Oslo while protesting #WindTurbines. It wasn’t that the #ClimateActivist had suddenly taken a stand against renewable energy. Rather, she had joined forces with #activists standing up for #IndigenousPeople ’s plea to be able to continue practicing their culture in #Fosen, central #Norway. For hundreds of years, this land has been home to #ReindeerHerders — an important tradition, which helps preserve the Sámi’s endangered language. Yet today, the siting in Fosen of wind turbines, which frighten the reindeer, puts its continuation in doubt.

"Some five hundred days ago, #Norway’s supreme court ruled that the turbines are a violation of #IndigenousRights under international conventions. Yet they are still running even now — and indeed, even after the ebbing of the short-lived news attention surrounding Thunberg’s role in the protest. Once again, the Norwegian government has proven that it remains indifferent to Sámi lives.

"'What’s happening in Norway doesn’t surprise me — [there’s] this double standard of working to protect #indigenous groups around the world and presenting itself as this #progressive nation, yet not giving a shit about the indigenous people living within its own borders,' Elle Rávdná Näkkäläjärvi tells me. Between reindeer herding and her studies, the twenty-two-year-old is the leader of the Sámi Parliament’s youth committee and is a board member of the Norwegian Sámi Association youth group. During the recent eight days of protest in Oslo, she stood arm in arm with her Sámi sisters and brothers. “We are used to it but that doesn’t make it any less unjust. It’s about time Norway drops the mask. It’s about time the rest of the world sees Norway for what it really is,' she says.

"From the outside looking in, the Scandinavian country is often seen as a progressive social democracy. But — as Elle’s comments suggest — a story far less told is that of its #colonial past, also striking at indigenous people in Norway itself."

Read more:
https://jacobin.com/2023/03/norway-sami-indigenous-people-reindeer-herding-wind-turbines-dispossession-protest

#CulturalGenocide #Assimilation #IndigenousPeople #SamiPeople #SamiResistance #Colonialism #LandBack #IndigenousResistance

#Radiation is good for you? The fringe viewpoint gains ground in the Trump administration

by Patrick Malone February 27, 2019

"These assertions [of #Radiation #Hormesis"] stand scientific consensus on its head. Most experts say to the contrary that even low doses of radiation cause cell damage that years later can promote uncontrolled cell growth and replication, and that children and fetuses are particularly susceptible to harm. That seven-decade-old view was reaffirmed as recently as last April [2018] in a study by a congressionally chartered nonprofit organization, the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurement.

"The study, overseen by a dozen experts from the government, academia, and industry, and funded by the NRC, considered 29 contemporary scientific studies of the effects of low-dose radiation in reaffirming that even low-level radiation should be avoided to the extent possible.

"'There is clear evidence of excess risks for many cancer types, such as bladder, breast, colon, stomach and lung,' from exposure to excess radiation, the report said. It acknowledged that at lower doses the relationship is less certain, but noted that several long studies of medical outcomes for tuberculosis patients given x-ray imaging known as fluoroscopy collectively showed “a straight-line relationship between breast tissue [radiation] dose and breast cancer, adding substantial weight to the judgment on the use of the [existing] model for radiation protection.'

"It added that 'there was no conclusive evidence' to refute the linear, or direct cause and effect, 'relationship for many of the risks attributable to low-level ionizing radiation' – essentially endorsing the mainstream insistence on low-dose protections as a prudent, cautionary measure. The NRC members will consider the report as they deliberate about the SARI members’ petition, McIntyre said."

#LNT #RadiationHormesis #Nuclear #Industry #Propaganda #Fukushima #NoDumping #FukushimaDaiichi #NuclearPlants #Nuclear

https://publicintegrity.org/national-security/radiation-is-good-for-you-the-heretical-view-gains-ground-under-trump/

Study confirms #GulfStream warming, shifting toward #MaineCoast

December 19, 2023

"The latest research finds the Gulf Stream has warmed faster than the global ocean over the past two decades, and has shifted toward the #AtlanticCoast.

"Scientists say the ocean current, which carries tropical water up the #EasternSeaboard, has warmed two degrees Fahrenheit since 2001 and could be pushing warmer water into the #GulfOfMaine.

"Robert Todd, an associate scientist with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, said years of data collection confirm what climate models predicted.

"'Long-term ocean observing really is important,' said Todd, 'and we need to keep making those observations so we can understand what’s actually happening in the climate system.'

"Todd said #OceanTemperatures are steadily rising as a result of human activities. He said the findings could determine how changes in the Gulf Stream will impact Maine’s coastal industries.

"The Woods Hole study relied on more than 25,000 ocean temperature and salinity observations collected through the Argo Program — an array of some 4,000 floating robots throughout the global ocean.

"In addition, underwater gliders have slowly navigated the Gulf Stream — revealing warm rings of water, which Todd says could enter the Gulf of Maine and alter marine #environments and species.

"'You can imagine if you have an organism that likes cold water, and suddenly the water is a whole lot warmer because this ring was there,' said Todd, 'those organisms might not be there anymore or might suffer — and then, the fisheries associated with that would suffer.'

"The Gulf of Maine — which stretches from #CapeCod in #Massachusetts to #NovaScotia, #Canada — is already considered one of the fastest-warming ocean regions on the planet.

"Todd said the data collected is shared in real time with scientists around the world."

https://mainebeacon.com/study-confirms-gulf-stream-warming-shifting-toward-maine-coast/

#OceanWarming #ClimateChange #ClimateCatastrophe #Fisheries #MarineEnvironment

via @arizonamirror

If #Hobbs is serious about protecting #groundwater, she must work to close the #mining loophole

by Russ McSpadden
February 12, 2024

"In her first State of the State address just over a year ago, Gov. #KatieHobbs was unequivocal about her commitment to tackling one of the state’s greatest challenges: our dwindling #water supply.

“Our groundwater should be used to support #Arizonans, not foreign business interests,” she said in that speech, referring to the Saudi Arabian conglomerate #Fondomonte. Over the past few years, Fondomonte has been pumping unlimited amounts of groundwater in La Paz County for alfalfa crops that it ships to feed cows on the other side of the earth.

"Though the Hobbs administration has already canceled one of Fondomonte’s four leases and says it won’t renew the others when they’re up this month, the problem doesn’t end with Saudi agriculture.

"It’s also mining companies that take advantage of loopholes in the state’s water laws to maximize profit at the expense of Arizonans — including mining giants #RioTinto and# BHP.

"Because of intense pressure from #lobbyists, when lawmakers adopted the much-heralded #ArizonaGroundwaterManagementAct in 1980 they exempted #mines from groundwater regulation, even when located in #ActiveManagement Areas — state-designated areas where groundwater pumping is controlled. That means that mines can pump unlimited amounts of water without paying the state a dime.

"This exemption was controversial in 1980. Today it’s existentially dangerous.

#ResolutionCopper, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto and BHP, is a perfect example. Their proposed mine at #OakFlat — about 70 miles east of #Phoenix in the #TontoNationalForest and within the Phoenix Active Management Area — would pump 250 billion gallons of desert groundwater over the life of the project.

"That’s 17 million gallons of water every day for four decades.

"Under current water prices, that equates to $404 million worth of groundwater that Resolution Copper will get for free. Arizona won’t see a cent for it. And it’s more than likely that the copper ore from Oak Flat will be exported to China for smelting, again depriving local communities of economic benefit.

"This limitless pumping would happen even as the #megadrought that has plagued the #AmericanSouthwest for the past two decades is likely to worsen, straining the #ColoradoRiver and #Gila rivers even more and making us all more reliant on groundwater aquifers.

"If left intact, the mining loophole will facilitate construction of Resolution’s massive mine. The extreme water pumping from the #EastSaltRiverValley will lead to groundwater depletion and subsidence, threatening to deplete wells and damage infrastructure.

"The #CenterForBiologicalDiversity, where I work, has been fighting for decades to stop this mine, and Canadian mining company Hudbay’s disastrous plan to mine for copper in the #SantaRita Mountains south of #Tucson (in the Tucson Active Management Area).

"Both projects would devastate surrounding fragile #ecosystems, pushing endangered species like the #MexicanSpottedOwl closer to the brink of #extinction. They would also destroy sacred #TribalLands and gulp down massive amounts of water when other users are being asked to conserve.

"Handing mines unlimited access to Arizona’s precious desert groundwater would be an injustice to Arizona’s #Tribes and every resident of this state.

"Fortunately, Hobbs has the vision and courage to fight for a secure water future for Arizona. It is time for her to work with legislators to close the mining loophole in Arizona water law and subject mines to the same groundwater pumping limits that apply to other entities within the state’s Active Management Areas.

"We’re hopeful she will work to block #ResolutionCopperMine and other terrible mining projects like #Hudbay’s. At the very least, it’s time for mining giants to pay for the water they use just like the rest of us."

https://azmirror.com/2024/02/12/if-hobbs-is-serious-about-protecting-groundwater-she-must-work-to-close-the-mining-loophole/

#WaterIsLife #HumanRightsViolations #CulturalGenocide #CopperMining #Mining #CorporateColonialism #EnvironmentalRacism #IndigenousNews #SaveOakFlat #IndigenousRights #Apache

Mention of @centerforbiodiv ! Follow them here on Mastodon!

Lawmakers need statewide #lithium plan, says #conservation group

By: Jennifer Sollis, Nevada Current
February 20, 2024

"There are more than 80 lithium projects proposed on #Nevada’s public lands as the nation races to power the #GreenEnergy transition. Now conservation groups are looking to state lawmakers to establish a rule-making process that would help reduce the establishment of mines in areas of greatest conflict.

"Despite a growing interest in lithium mining, Nevada has not developed a state-level plan for where lithium production should – and should not – be permitted to avoid impacts on local communities and resources.

"The United States produces less than 1% of global lithium production, all from a single facility, Albemarle Corp.’s Silver Peak mine in Esmeralda County, according to the United States Geological Survey. But that may soon change, making a statewide plan necessary, say conservation groups.

"#Mining on public lands requires federal approval. However, state approval is also required for various permits needed to advance mining operations. States — including Nevada — generally regulate waste management, #groundwater use and impacts, reclamation, surface water use, and air quality operating permits.

"Conservation groups argue that those permit requirements give Nevada an opportunity to help shape the future of lithium development in the state.

"Earlier this month, the #CenterForBiologicalDiversity submitted a letter to the Joint Interim Standing Committee on Natural Resources, asking the committee to put forward a bill establishing a rule-making process that would help reduce the establishment of mines in areas of greatest conflict.

"The letter also includes a request that the bill include funding for a study by the #DesertResearchInstitute and state agencies to evaluate lithium resources in the state and determine which can be extracted with the least impact on communities and the environment.

"Lack of data around natural resources isn’t just an issue in Nevada, but nationwide.

"According to the Association of American State Geologists, the United States lacks an effective process for gathering, organizing, compiling, or publicly sharing geologic data that would help in the identification of valuable mineral deposits.

"Data collection on natural resources — like the one suggested by the Center for Biological Diversity — could improve the identification and development of critical minerals, while also identifying and avoiding sensitive resources that may be adversely affected by exploration or mining, according to a recent report on how to improve mining on public lands by the Department of the Interior.

"State Sen. Julie Pazina, the chairperson of the legislature’s Joint Interim Standing Committee on Natural Resources, said the committee has yet to make any determinations for what bill draft requests they’ll make for the next Legislative session in 2025.

"'Over the next year, we will discuss and vet policy with the goal of protecting Nevada’s air, water and land for generations to come,' Pazina said.

"In Nevada, the clean energy transition has been marred by conflict with numerous projects in high conflict areas attracting litigation and public outcry.

"Earlier this year, federal land managers pulled their approval for a controversial lithium exploration project less than a mile from a treasured #wetland habitat after getting hit with a lawsuit and fierce opposition.

"Other mining projects in the state have faced backlash and delays, due to their proximity to #cultural and #ecologically sensitive areas. In one case, a small wildflower has been a source of conflict between conservationists and an #Australian mining company, seeking to build an #OpenPit lithium mine on the plant’s only known habitat.

"Last year, Washoe County commissioners withdrew a permit for a #geothermal exploration project near #Gerlach, after locals voiced fears the project could negatively impact the town’s #water supply, the structural integrity of their homes, and nearby natural hot springs.

"Permitting roadblocks, like the ones in Nevada, have been a major source of frustration for the #Biden administration.

"The potential for conflict in the state due to lithium mining is only growing. About half of the projects currently proposed in Nevada are in Esmeralda and Nye County, surrounding the town of Tonopah, a sizable population center.

"'We support domestic lithium extraction as well, if it is done in the right places and with the right techniques. We oppose business-as-usual mining, dewatering of open pits, pit lakes, excessive water consumption, #extinction of species or severe #degradation of #habitat, and regulatory shortcuts to permit bad mines faster,' wrote Patrick Donnelly, the Great Basin Director for the Center for Biological Diversity, in the letter."

https://thisisreno.com/2024/02/lawmakers-need-statewide-lithium-plan-says-conservation-group/

#WaterIsLife #LithiumMining #EnvironmentalRacism #EnvironmentalDestruction #Extinction #CulturalGenocide #IndigenousLands

NOT #FederalLand -- #StolenLand !

#Gold, #silver and #lithium #mining on #FederalLand doesn’t bring in any royalties to the US Treasury – because of an 1872 law

Story by Sam Kalen, 2/25/2024

"Today, mining is a high-technology industry, but it is still governed by the Mining Law of 1872. As was true 150 years ago, companies can mine valuable mineral deposits from federal lands without paying any royalties to the U.S. Treasury.

"Even when lands that formerly were available for mining receive new protected status as national parks or monuments, the 1872 mining law protects existing mining claims on those lands. That’s why a company called Energy Fuels Inc. just started mining uranium in January 2024 at a site in Arizona 10 miles from the Grand Canyon and inside a new national monument.

[...]

"Reform advocates support adopting the type of traditional leasing model that is used for most other resources on public lands in the U.S. and elsewhere. As an example, for oil and gas production on federal lands and offshore in federal waters, agencies identify areas with development potential and hold competitive auctions to lease parcels for exploration and development.

"Reformists also favor tighter environmental safeguards that would address issues such as management and disposal of mining wastes. Finally, they argue that mining should be prohibited in areas that are ecologically sensitive or are important to Indigenous peoples or tribal nations."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/gold-silver-and-lithium-mining-on-federal-land-doesn-t-bring-in-any-royalties-to-the-us-treasury-because-of-an-1872-law/ar-BB1ik8FF

#LandBack #StolenLands #IndigenousRights #NoMining #EnvironmentalRacism #CulturalGenocide

When #RioTinto destroyed ancient caves at #JuukanGorge, the world got an unsightly glimpse of #WesternAustralia's outdated cultural heritage laws.

Here's everything you need to know about the WA government's backdown on its #Aboriginal Cultural Heritage laws

By Jake Sturmer
Posted Tue 8 Aug 2023

"The WA government's 2021 changes were supposed to prevent what it described as a 'global embarrassment' from ever happening again.

"Instead, the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act has left many farmers confused and traditional owners frustrated.

"After just five weeks in operation, the government has backflipped — trying to stem the political bleeding that is tainting WA's new premier and now muddying the waters of the Voice referendum debate.

So what's changing?

"It's important to remember that any activities that could damage Aboriginal cultural heritage still need approval.

"The old-but-soon-to-be-new 1972 act meant the minister had to tick off on every action no matter how minor — known as a Section 18 approval.
WA premier announces repeal of Aboriginal Cultural Heritage laws

"Just five weeks after being legislated, Roger Cook announces the WA government will be scrapping its #AboriginalCulturalHeritageLaws.

"The 2021 act created a system of tiers and approvals.

"Want to build a fence with no clearing? No approval required.

"New #mine site with deep excavation? You'll need a management plan that has to be ticked off by a local Aboriginal organisation at your expense.

"But the government acknowledged these tiers have caused massive confusion and will therefore be scrapped.

"There were reports the rules would have prevented everything from gardening to installing a swimming pool, building a garage or burying a pet in the backyard.

"In fact, such activities were exempt, as were all properties smaller than 1,100 square metres.

"So it's no surprise the biggest outcry came from farmers.

How will another Juukan Gorge be prevented?

"When landowners requested to damage or destroy heritage sites, they needed one of those #Section18 approvals from the minister.

"If the minister rejected that, developers had a right to appeal but traditional owners did not.

"As part of the government's backflip, it will amend the laws to give a right of appeal to the native title party whose cultural heritage is impacted.

"Developers will also have to bring any new heritage information to the government's attention."

Read more:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-09/wa-aboriginal-cultural-heritage-laws-backdown-explained/102704110

#Pilbara #Australia
#Mining #CorporateColonialism
#WaterIsLife #CulturalGenocide #EnvironmentalRacism

#Supai, #Ute, #Dine', #Arapaho, and #Lakota Testify on #Uranium #Exploitation before #InterAmericanCommission on #HumanRights

"The legacy of #UraniumMining in the #Southwest is death from #cancer and unreclaimed uranium mines. Now the contamination threatens the #ColoradoRiver. Tilousi urged the Commission to support the tribes efforts and pressure the #UnitedStates to change the #1872MiningLaw that allows international companies to seize #PublicLand for mining."

by Brenda Norrell, #CensoredNews
March 1, 2024

WASHINGTON -- "'There was no respect for the people living on these lands, and certainly no respect for #MotherEarth,' Edith Hood, Dine' from Red Water Pond Road community, told the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

"'The government was aware of the risks and the dangers but failed and neglected to inform our people.'

"Dine', Havasupai, Northern Arapaho, Oglala Lakota and #WhiteMesa Ute testified on uranium exploitation by the United States on Wednesday, during the session, 'Impacts of Uranium Exploitation on #IndigenousPeoples' Rights.'

"The #BIA, #EPA and #NuclearRegulatoryCommission praised themselves, and attempted to #CoverUp the legacy of death from uranium mining, strewn #RadioactiveWaste, and deadly uranium mills in Indian country.
Eric Jantz, legal director of the New Mexico Environmental Law Center, disagreed with the United States assertions.
Jantz pointed out that the U.S. appears to want Native people to sacrifice more for 'national security' -- rather than to deal with the devastation. As for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, it has not honored public comments. And as for the EPA, it's too late. There are more than 500 uranium mine sites waiting to be cleaned up on the Navajo Nation. Zero have been fully cleaned up, Jantz told the Commission.

"'Our ancestors remains were desecrated to build the mill,' Anthony Badback, Ute Mountain Ute at White Mesa, told the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights today in Washington. Badback testified that #EnergyFuels uranium mill has contaminated the #groundwater, plants, birds, #wildlife, and air in his community in southeastern #Utah.

"The young people are getting asthma, and the people can no longer use their spring water for ceremonies. Ute must buy bottled water to drink, and no longer hunt because of the contamination. Now, the mill is bringing in international waste and has become a low-level radioactive waste repository, because of the lax standards of the state of Utah. 'We want the mill to be shut down,' Badback told the Commission. 'Please help us.'

Read more: https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2024/02/navajo-ute-lakota-to-testify-on-uranium.html

#WaterIsLife #NuclearWaste #UraniumMills #Reprocessing #IndigenousActivism
#CulturalGenocide #EnvironmentalRacism
#NoNukes #NoNewNukes
#RenewablesNow #NoMining #UraniumMining

So, with all that's being revealed about what #ExxonKnew in the 1950's, I thought it might be relevant to post what #WalterRussell, artist, visionary and scientist in the 1950's posted about #AtomicEnergy and #ClimateChange...

LOSS OF OXYGEN GLOBALLY

"Walter Russell, a visionary artist and scientist, predicted in his book Atomic Suicide? published in 1957 that due to man-made radioactivity we would experience a loss of oxygen in the air that we breathe. In a similar way to the predictions of Andrei Sakharov in the 1950's, Walter Russell's foresight is now coming true. Our current oxygen resources are low. The percentage of oxygen in the air is down to about 19 percent. (BioTech News 1997) The expected amount is 21 percent oxygen. Some experts say that we may have originally evolved in an atmosphere of 38 percent oxygen. But now, due to the loss of forests and ocean plankton, our two sources of oxygen production, measurements of oxygen as low as 12 percent and 15 percent have been made in heavily industrialized areas. This oxygen-depleted condition is a contributing cause of the generalized lack of well-being that many are experiencing. And it does not look good for the future. We need oxygen to live!

"Trees and green plants provide about half, and plankton provide the other half of our oxygen. Phytoplankton, which are the base of the marine food chain, is declining. Various studies confirm this: plankton in parts of the Antarctic Ocean is declining up to 12 percent. (S. Weiler. Testimony to Senate Commerce Committee, November 15, 1991)

Trees absorb radioactive carbon-14 in place of stable forms of carbon and in this way they are gradually killed. The book, The Petkau Effect, by Ralph Graeub tells how radioactivity has harmed trees and forests: "It is assumed that the decisive physiological damage resulting in current forest death must have begun during the 1950's. This is depicted in a reduction in density and width of tree rings, and in reduced growth, which is true in the Northern Hemisphere and in the Himalayas.... Neither aging, location, nor climate can be considered as the possible sole cause of damage.... The growth ring of a tree shows exactly what effects the tree has experienced, both in terms of time and seriousness.... During the 1950's and 1960's, there must have been a global wave of air pollution which caused the initial damage."

"The author speculates that it could not be just the usual chemicals which are so damaging the trees. And he explains that these trees are mainly within the 30th to 60th parallels of northern latitude.

"This zone contains the most nuclear power plants -- over 300 -- and almost all nuclear reprocessing centers. Also, the vast majority of nuclear weapons tests occurred in this area."

https://ratical.org/radiation/HoLLR.html#p4

#ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #NoNukes #RethinkNotRestart #NoNewNukes

@vitaminsludge For a while, when I worked for an office, I had a sign hanging over my desk which read: "Lack of planning on your part does not justify an emergency on my part." My supervisor took it down. I gave my notice soon afterwards.

The #USGovernment’s Secret Inventions

Secrecy orders allow U.S. defense agencies to control patents, including those that are privately developed.

By Arvind Dilawar
May 09, 20189:00 AM

"Invention secrecy in the U.S. dates back to at least the 1930s, but it really took off in the ’40s, when the development of nuclear weapons was shrouded in classification. It became official policy in 1952 with the #InventionSecrecyAct, which allows USPTO to keep patents deemed ‘detrimental to the national security’ on lockdown. Under the act, USPTO’s commissioner of patents became empowered to flag patent applications—even those developed by private citizens—for review by government defense agencies, which could request that certain inventions be kept secret. Patents covered by such ‘secrecy orders’ may be restricted from export, made available only to defense agencies, or even classified. Patent holders can appeal secrecy orders, but the power to rescind those orders remains in the hands of the agencies that made the requests. While there may be a chance those agencies will reconsider, the statistics aren’t promising: According to figures from the Federation of American Scientists, from 2013 through 2017, an average of 25 old secrecy orders were rescinded each year—while 117 new secrecy orders were imposed annually. With so many inventions deemed secret, so few eventually publicized, and the entire process itself obfuscated in classifications, it’s no wonder that critics have questioned whether the current invention-secrecy regime is really working properly.

“FAS has been dogging the patent-secrecy system for three decades now. Founded in 1945 as the Federation of Atomic Scientists by the engineers of the #ManhattanProject, the organization was originally formed to promote nuclear disarmament. As time passed, it renamed itself the Federation of American Scientists and expanded its scope to address additional issues, like chemical weapons, arms sales, and government secrecy in general. In the ’80s, when the Reagan administration and the National Security Agency sought to limit discussion of cryptography using invention secrecy, FAS entered the fray, successfully fighting off government censorship and tracking the USPTO’s secrecy activity ever since."

https://slate.com/technology/2018/05/the-thousands-of-secret-patents-that-the-u-s-government-refuses-to-make-public.html

#Confiscation #GovernmentCensorship #AlternativeEnergy #AlternativeTechnology #NikolaTesla #WalterRussell

Supreme Court clears way for #MountainValleyPipeline construction to proceed

By Ariane de Vogue and Ella Nilsen, CNN
Updated 2:06 PM EDT, Thu July 27, 2023

"The Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for construction of the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline to proceed, granting an emergency request from backers of the project that has the support of Congress and the Biden administration.

"The justices agreed to lift lower court orders that froze construction of the project while legal challenges play out.

"The Supreme Court’s order is a victory for #WestVirginia Sen. #JoeManchin, a conservative Democrat who has championed the project and pushed for it during #DebtCeiling negotiations in June.

"In the brief order, the court offered no extensive reasoning and no dissents were noted.

"The order came as the White House announced new actions to combat #climate-fueled extreme heat, which has been baking cities in the Southwest for weeks before moving Northeast on Thursday.

"Despite #ClimateActivists urging the #Biden administration to stop approving #FossilFuel projects like the #MountainValley Pipeline, White House officials have been supportive of the pipeline since it was first introduced in Congress last year. More recently, administration officials including White House senior adviser #JohnPodesta and Energy Secretary #JenniferGranholm voiced support this year for the pipeline’s approval.

"The White House did not immediately return CNN’s request for comment on the Supreme Court allowing the pipeline to proceed."

Read more:
https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/27/politics/supreme-court-mountain-valley-pipeline?cid=external-feeds_iluminar_msn

#SCOTUS #Manchin #StopThePipelines #KeepItInTheGround #Oiligarchy #Oligarchy #BigOil #BigOilKnew #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis

Headline from Wired: First-Gen Social Media Users Have Nowhere to Go

Ummm... Ever hear of the #fediverse?

What #BigOil knew about #ClimateChange, in its own words

by Benjamin Franta, October 28, 2021

"Back in 1979, #Exxon had privately studied options for avoiding #GlobalWarming. It found that with immediate action, if the industry moved away from #FossilFuels and instead focused on #renewable energy, fossil fuel pollution could start to decline in the 1990s and a major #ClimateCrisis could be avoided.

"But the industry didn't pursue that path. Instead, colleagues and I recently found that in the late 1980s, Exxon and other oil companies coordinated a global effort to dispute #ClimateScience, block fossil fuel controls and keep their products flowing.

"We know about it through internal documents and the words of industry insiders, who are now beginning to share what they saw with the public. We also know that in 1989, the fossil fuel industry created something called the Global Climate Coalition—but it wasn't an environmental group like the name suggests; instead, it worked to sow doubt about climate change and lobbied lawmakers to block clean energy legislation and climate treaties throughout the 1990s.

"For example, in 1997, the Global Climate Coalition's chairman, William O'Keefe, who was also an executive vice president for the American Petroleum Institute, wrote in the Washington Post that 'Climate scientists don't say that burning oil, gas and coal is steadily warming the earth,' contradicting what the industry had known for decades. The fossil fuel industry also funded think tanks and biased studies that helped slow progress to a crawl."

Read more:
https://phys.org/news/2021-10-big-oil-knew-climate-words.html

#ExxonKnew #BigOilKnew #BigOilAndGas #Climate #ClimateEmergency

From 9/11 to Benjamin #Netanyahu: The world is learning that #ToxicMasculinity can't keep us safe

Feminists have long warned about men who hide incompetence with belligerence — #Israel proves them right

By Amanda Marcotte

"As feminists have long argued, that's one of the most maddening aspects of toxic masculinity: It dupes people into confusing big talk for real action. #Authoritarian men like Netanyahu — or like #DonaldTrump — love to preen about how strong and powerful they supposedly are. It's all a lie, of course, and they often expose themselves as cowards who cringe away from real challenges. But what's alarming is that sexism tricks large swaths of the public into voting for them, supporting them or otherwise putting their trust in men who brag loudly but fail to show any real competence."

Read more:
https://www.salon.com/2023/11/02/from-911-to-benjamin-netanyahu-the-world-is-learning-that-masculinity-cant-keep-us-safe/

As a friend of mine pointed out, they are releasing the names of the victims who had ID cards. The ones they aren't releasing were more than likely children.

Thousands of #JewishAmericans and Allies Demand Cease-Fire in #Gaza

"We as #AmericanJews believe that '#NeverAgain' means never again for anyone, and that includes #Palestinians," said #JewishVoiceForPeace

Julia Conley
Oct 14, 2023

"As the Biden administration's intent to silence dissent against the United States' backing of the Israel Defense Forces' onslaught in Gaza became increasingly clear Friday night, at least 80 #Jewish Americans and other supporters of Palestinians' #HumanRights were #arrested for #protesting outside the homes and offices of a number of Democratic lawmakers, where they demanded the U.S. government join growing calls for a cease-fire.

"The U.S. group Jewish Voice for Peace (#JVP) organized the mass action, along with calling on Americans to contact their representatives in Congress and demand that they speak out against the air assault Israel launched this week in retaliation for #Hamas' brutal attack last weekend.

"At least 2,215 Palestinians have been killed in airstrikes this week, and at least 8,714 people have been injured. The death toll in Israel has reached 1,300, according to Al Jazeera.

"Human rights advocates have warned that a looming ground offensive by the #IDF in Gaza could rapidly push civilian casualties far higher.

"On Friday, JVP led more than 2,000 protesters in five U.S. cities—#NewYorkCity, #SanFrancisco, #LosAngeles, #Chicago, and #Seattle—in demanding that senators and members of the U.S. House act to halt the '#genocide of Palestinians.'

''We as American Jews believe that 'never again' means never again for anyone, and that includes Palestinians," said JVP, referring to the refrain repeated by the Jewish American community regarding the need to prevent genocide. "'Never again' is this very moment."

"Thousands of people gathered at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn and marched to Senate Majority Leader Chuck #Schumer's (D-N.Y.) home, where they blocked the road. Approximately 60 people were 'dragged away by police,' JVP said.

"New York state Assemblymembers #ZohranMamdani (D-36) and #MarcelaMitaynes (D-51) were among those arrested."

Full article:

https://www.commondreams.org/news/jewish-americans-protest-gaza

'We Must Prevent Mass Atrocities and End This': US Jewish Group Calls on Congress to Halt #Gaza Carnage

"There is only one way to end violence: to address its root cause, 75 years of #Israeli military #occupation and #apartheid," said #JewishVoiceForPeace. "We must end U.S. complicity in this systemic oppression."

by Julia Conley, Oct 11, 2023

"The human rights group Jewish Voice for Peace on Wednesday issued an urgent call to the U.S. public, calling on Americans to pressure members of Congress to help end the ongoing airstrikes in Gaza, which have now killed at least 1,100 people and injured nearly 5,200.

"The Biden administration on Tuesday pledged to deploy military assets for #Israel to use in its assault on Gaza—which analysts say could involve even deadlier ground attacks in the coming days—and U.S. President Joe Biden said he would soon ask Congress 'to take urgent action to fund the national security requirements of our critical partners.'

"To counter that, said Jewish Voice for Peace (#JVP), Americans who oppose the killing of #Palestinian civilians in retaliation for Hamas' surprise attack over the weekend must make their voices heard by Congress as well.

"'The U.S. must work to immediately de-escalate to prevent the further loss of life, and not fuel and exacerbate the violence by sending more weapons to Israel,' said JVP. 'There is only one way to end violence: to address its root cause, 75 years of Israeli military occupation and apartheid. We must end U.S. complicity in this systemic oppression.'"

Full article:
https://www.commondreams.org/news/jvp-congress-gaza

#Palestine #HumanRights #HumanitarianCrisis #MiddleEast

#Tribal #sovereignty bill falters as #Maine lawmakers fail to override governor’s veto

By DAVID SHARP
Published 1:13 PM EDT, July 6, 2023

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — "Maine lawmakers failed Thursday to override the governor’s veto of a bill that would have expanded the sovereignty of #NativeAmerican tribes in the state by ensuring more federal laws apply to them.

"It’s a defeat for the tribes, which are bound by a land claims settlement that puts them on different footing than the nation’s other 570 federally recognized tribes.

"Both chambers had voted to enact the bill with big-enough majorities to override the veto, but some House members backtracked under pressure by Democratic Gov. Janet Mills. She contends the bill was vague and would lead to lengthy and contentious litigation in coming years.

"But the tribes increasingly see [Gov Mills] as standing in the way of changes they say are necessary to improve their lives. Last week, Penobscot Nation Chief Kirk Francis said he thinks the governor wants 'to protect an old guard and old mindset' by maintaining the status quo. And Dana, the tribal representative, said Thursday that some of the governor’s comments about the legislation were 'dangerous and misleading.'

"A bill to provide full sovereignty to the tribes this session is being held over, meaning it’ll be dealt with by lawmakers next year.

"Tribal leaders were optimistic about the future.
"'We were never going to take a step backwards when it comes to our sovereignty. We’re always going to be taking a step forward,' Dana after the vote.

"Francis of the #PenobscotNation added: 'Though today was a loss on the floor of the House, we’re confident moving forward we will only gain greater support.'"

#MaineTribes #Sovereignty #Penobscot #Passamaquoddy #WabanakiConfederacy #Maliseet #IndigenousNews #MaineSettlementAct #FirstNations #NativeAmericanNews

My friend was shot by a Trumper in a #MAGA hat at a peaceful #IndigenousRally. Please help.

by RL Miller, September 30, 2023

"I went to Santa Fe, NM this week for a US #ClimateAction Network conference. During the conference we covered #decolonization and how Santa Fe/NM has been stolen from #Indigenous, first by Spaniards and then by Americans. Several of us decided to attend a rally in opposition to re-erecting a statue of Juan de #Onate, a particularly odious Spanish #Conquistador who massacred an entire pueblo and cut off the right foot of every able bodied male Native. His statue was taken down in 2020 by #IndigenousActivists but the county of Rio Arriba was supposed to take up, on 9/28/2023, an agenda item of re-erecting the statue. We #USCAN folk, including my friend #JacobJohns who is Indigenous, showed up to support. It was a lovely, peaceful, prayerful rally. (The county shut down its building and kicked the agenda item over a week.)

"For two hours I observed a Trumper in a MAGA hat harass, troll, and disrupt the rally. Toward the end of the rally, the speaker asked for all the children to gather. At that point the #Trumper tried to charge the group. A scuffle broke out; they pushed him back behind a low stone wall; he jumped over the wall, pulled out a gun, and shot. My friend Jacob took a bullet to the chest, likely intended for the children.
Jacob was rushed by ambulance to a local hospital and airlifted to Albuquerque. He had his spleen removed, but he's young and strong with the heart of a warrior and was in stable condition undergoing surgery last I heard yesterday.
The Trumper was arrested and charged with attempted murder. We all gave statements to detectives, and one of my twitter pix is evidence showing that the Trumper was harassing us for two hours.

"Your inboxes are likely overwhelmed with appeals from political folk, but please do not look away from the political violence in this country. Donate and share this Go Fund Me to support Jacob and his family:"

https://gofundme.com/f/help-jacob-johns-recover-from-terrorist-shooting
USCAN is working with local Indigenous groups to amplify their voices, make sure this statue doesn't go up again, and bring the shooter to justice. I will have an additional ask in the coming days; this is an AND, not an OR request. Thank you."

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/9/30/2196520/-My-friend-was-shot-by-a-Trumper-in-a-MAGA-hat-at-a-peaceful-Indigenous-rally-Please-help

#IndigenousNews #Activists #NativeAmericanActivists