NDakota, A Pipeline Leaks. Again.

Workers unload pipes for the proposed Dakota Access oil pipeline. CREDIT: AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File.

Workers unload pipes for the proposed Dakota Access oil pipeline. CREDIT: AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File.

Everyone is really surprised, right?

The next day, North Dakota’s State Health Department spill investigation team was dispatched to the western part of the state — about 200 miles from the protest camps at Standing Rock — to contain a crude oil spill from a different pipeline.

The spill, which was detected Monday, has sent an unknown volume of crude oil into the Ash Coulee Creek. The pipeline is operated by Belle Fourche Pipeline Co., which has reported 10 spills since 2010, totaling 4,848 barrels of oil and costing $2.26 million in property damage. Belle Fourche’s parent company, True Companies of Wyoming, also has a history of major pipeline spills: In 2015, a pipeline operated by Bridger Pipeline, which is owned by True Companies, spilled around 1,200 barrels of oil into the Yellowstone River in eastern Montana.

[…]

But True Companies is far from the only pipeline company with a history of spills in North Dakota. According to new analysis released by the Center for Biological Diversity, North Dakota has averaged four pipeline spills a year since 1996, costing more than $40 million in property damage.

The potential for a spill was one of the primary reasons protesters at Standing Rock — who call themselves water protectors — opposed the Dakota Access pipeline. The pipeline had originally been slated to cross the Missouri River north of Bismarck; the water protectors at Standing Rock contend that the pipeline was rerouted due to concerns that a spill could taint the water supply of communities in and around Bismarck, which is predominantly white.

Gee, big oil is just so concerned about safety, spills, and are so rigorous in regard to construction, aren’t they? Insert one ginormous eyeroll here.

Full story is at Think Progress. Also up there: The next Standing Rock: Fossil fuel battles loom across North America.

Standing Rock: We Need To Go Home.

ict_editoon_120216new_size

We’re in the midst of a blizzard here in nDakota, and sub zero temps. Chairman Archambault has put out the call to go home.

Putting people at risk in that way is something the ancestral leaders would never have done, he said.

“I don’t want anyone to be living in an unsafe environment,” Archambault said. “We need to stay in prayer, believe in our prayer, and begin our journey home in prayer. I believe in my prayers and in the Creator. Take the lessons we learned here and apply them at home—unity, peace, prayer.”

The camps’ efforts to get the NoDAPL battle to this point have been essential, but “now it is time we pivot to the next phase of this struggle,” Archambault said. “That will be lead on different fronts like in court, with the new Administration, with Congress, and with the investors.”

He said the path is being laid down “to help the world understand that what we asked for, and what we got is the right decision. The world is watching us, and our behavior will determine the final outcome.”

Archambault suggested that each resident make a plan for closing and exiting the camp, leaving the land as it was when they got there, and to get home before the bitterest part of winter sets in.

“Pass this on—let everyone know that we are thankful for their passion and commitment and we are thankful for them all standing with us,” Archambault said. “It’s time now to enjoy this winter with your families. We need all to respect the host tribe’s wishes. We are asking all tribes to pass this on to their members.”

The winter, he added, has barely begun, and the current storm is tamer than what the worst of the season will bring. Temperatures drop even lower than they already have, and the shelters at the camps would be no match for blizzard conditions.

Acknowledging that people were socked in by the storm, Archambault said it was time to take the water protection battles beyond Indian country, to the rest of the U.S. and the world.

“I understand that folks cannot go at this moment, but as soon as this current storm has passed, we must execute an exit strategy and continue our battles to protect water,” Archambault said. “These efforts are not only needed in Standing Rock, but they are needed throughout Indian Country, across America and internationally. I want you to know that Standing Rock stands with you as you return home to carry this energy and movement into the future.”

That’s just a small bit from the full article, which is at ICTMN. People are unable to leave right now, roads are closed everywhere (we’re snowed in too), but this blizzard will pass eventually, then it will be time for people to make their way to safety.

There’s a good rundown of the current ETP financial woes, and the takeover by Sunoco here.

“(((Star Wars))) Is Anti-White Social Engineering.”

Star Wars Rogue One movie cast. Lucasfilm promotional pic.

Star Wars Rogue One movie cast. Lucasfilm promotional pic.

As I’ve said before, I’m not a Star Wars fan. I am married to one, who doesn’t expect me to watch the seemingly endless parade of movies, thankfully. I did read with interest that a woman was the lead in the recent flicks, and not in a love interest, uppity princess in a bikini role. Progress! Well, you’d think anyway. The white supremacist bros are all upsetty. Looking at the image above, I count 7 men and one woman. Okay, that’s not an overwhelming amount of women, so why are they whining now? It’s not just that there’s a woman protagonist, but all those dudes, they aren’t whitey-white! Let the whining commence.

White supremacists are continuing their call for a boycott of upcoming Star Wars film Rogue One, accusing the film’s producers of promoting multiculturalism and an “anti-white” agenda, forward.com reports.

“(((Star Wars))) Is Anti-White Social Engineering,” reads a Reddit post by GenFrancoPepe on the subreddit r/altright, including a gif showing the cast from the movie; according to the image, predominantly white characters fight with the oppressive Empire while an array of multicultural characters support the rebel fighters.

“So basically star wars was SJW propaganda from the beginning?” Another user, stanicpriest13 asked the forum. “Good now I don’t feel as bad about not watching the new films. The new films are going to flop big league anyway. You can push the female heroes as much as you like, but even most women don’t find it interesting.”

So basically star wars was SJW propaganda from the beginning?  :falls over laughing: Oh, the stupid. Star Wars was a bog standard story, and I don’t think you could call it SJW propaganda in any way. Yes, it was a very stunning film in terms of special effects, and it was fun, and there were some very good bits in it, but it’s hardly what you could call social justice centered, even if it was based on the age old “band of rebels vs evil empire”, as that is a fair summation of 90% percent of every story ever told. As for female heroes, I quite like them. Big fan of the current Thor, frinst. A female hero in Star Wars is one thing which might actually make me watch one of the movies. 

“This film should be boycotted. Episode 7 was bad enough featuring that retarded storm trooper Negro and another empowered White female in the lead roles,” InfoStormer wrote, later adding “It looks as if the Jew run company of Disney is going to pump out as many of these awful multicultural Star Wars films as possible.”

This bit ^ from the idiots at InfoStormer. I see they haven’t budged from that old, broken trope that all people of colour are less intelligent. I’ll bet they are seething that they can’t tack that onto the “empowered white female”.

In November, two Rogue One writers took up the cause of multiculturalism, digging at the alt-right calls for a boycott. “Please note that the Empire is a white supremacist (human) organization,” screenwriter Chris Weitz wrote in a tweet. Writer Gary Whitta retweeted his coworker’s statement, adding, “Opposed by a multi-cultural group led by brave women.”

I’d applaud this, loudly, if the writers hadn’t deleted their tweets. Hopefully, there are lots more people of colour and women than there are nazis running around, so have some courage, writers. Are white supremacist wannabe nazis staying at home sulking such a problem? After deleting their tweets, they went with this one:

Here’s the propaganda! Wait, I mean trailer.

Via Raw Story.

Santa vs Jesus, Oh the Blasphemy!

_92804746_svj

Santa vs Jesus, made by London company Komo Games, is played by two teams – one for each of the festive figures – who battle through challenges in an attempt to win the most “believers”.

It was funded via crowd-sourcing site Kickstarter which said it was the “most complained about game in history”.

But fans have called it “good fun”.

Danny Webster, spokesperson for the Evangelical Alliance, says he believes a board game helping people learn about Jesus at Christmas would be “a great innovation” but he has a problem with the Santa vs Jesus game because “it trivialises Christian belief and equates them both as fictional characters.

“With over 4 out of 10 people in the UK mistakenly thinking that Jesus was not a real historical person, this game won’t help correct that.

No, no, that’s not mistaken thinking. That’s actual thinking! There isn’t much evidence for the historicity of Jesus, and pretty much none for all those bloodsoaked fables in the bible.

“At its heart Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Jesus and the gift of life he brings.

No, no it isn’t. The church manufactured that nonsense about Jesus being born on 12/25, in order to destroy numerous winter solstice festivals, rituals, and the worship of other gods. When you’re relatively up on your mythology, you come across a considerable expanse of gods who all pre-dated the xtian mythos by hundreds to thousands of years, and it’s easy enough to see just how much the writers of various bits of the bible cribbed from earlier religions, because man, those stories were good! Khrisna of India. Thammuz of Syria. Esus of the Celtic Druids. Mithra of Persia. Quexalcoati of Mexico. All were crucified gods, and all met their fates hundreds of years before Jesus appeared on the scene. We’ll just have a look at Horus:

Born of a virgin, Isis. Only begotten son of the God Osiris. Birth heralded by the star Sirius, the morning star. Ancient Egyptians paraded a manger and child representing Horus through the streets at the time of the winter solstice (about DEC-21). In reality, he had no birth date; he was not a human. Death threat during infancy: Herut tried to have Horus murdered. Handling the threat: The God That tells Horus’ mother “Come, thou goddess Isis, hide thyself with thy child.” An angel tells Jesus’ father to: “Arise and take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt.” Break in life history: No data between ages of 12 & 30. Age at baptism: 30. Subsequent fate of the baptiser: Beheaded. Walked on water, cast out demons, healed the sick, restored sight to the blind. Was crucifed, descended into Hell; resurrected after three days.

So stuff the outrage and nonsense, Mr. Webster. Oh, don’t be celebrating that crass, paganistic xmas, either. No tree, gifts, or Santa for you. No.

Via BBC.

Runaway Bay, Jamaica.

From Saad: This photo was taken over 60 seconds on the coast at Runaway Bay in Jamaica. We also made an unexpected feline friend who decided to keep us company while I was setting up. Fortunately it was in the mood to sit for a portrait. :) Breathtaking! Click for full size.

runawaybay

jamaicacat

© Saad, all rights reserved.

Stocking Stuffers.

og-sithrackfacts_2

Just a little reminder, if you’re looking for little goodies this Saturnalia, to delight your favourite atheist, happy hedonist, or religious relative, remember Oglaf!*** There are the fabulous tracts, or this nifty Sithrak pin, because you don’t want to go upsetting Sithrak, as he is an insane god for an unjust world:

og-sithrak-pin

as well as many other wonderful goodies. I hafta get that pin. Actually, Dear Santa, I would like the whole Oglaf store… The Oglaf store is here.

***If you are new to Oglaf, never heard of Oglaf, do not open link at work. Lots of naked people, lots and lots and lots of sexy fun times with fully visible genitalia, and a whole lot of irreverence, intelligence, and biting wit, so if you’re sensitive about that sort of thing, don’t click.

 

Bujinga Sumi-e Star Wars.

star-wars-bujinga-fb-e1480478202940

Bujinga is a very specific Japanese art form that evolved in the Kamakura period. Bujin (武人) means warrior and ga (画) is painting. And so the bujinga portraits were depictions of samurai warriors intended to capture the legacy of the brave and pass them on to future generations.  In a contemporary iteration, bujinga artist Masayuki Kojo captures characters from Star Wars, creating versions of Darth Vadar and the Storm Troopers like never seen before.

You can read and see more at Spoon & Tamago.

“We’ve hurt you in so many ways. We’ve come to say we’re sorry.”

Understanding the Danger of Narcissism.

trump-afp-800x430

Mano Singham has an excellent post up about understanding what we are actually facing with a narcissist poised to be president. Highly recommended reading, just a bit here:

This is not someone who is merely narcissistic in the colloquial, casual sense of the term, meaning that he’s selfish or self-centered. This is someone with a psychiatric disorder in all its flagrant, florid particulars. To grasp its seriousness is to be staggered that someone too disordered and rancid to be a trustee of your condo association will be running our country. How is it possible that almost half the voters, even those who like his values and disliked his (conventional politician of an) opponent, could have listened to him taunt and lie and bully his way through a campaign and then said, “Yep. That’s who should be in charge of the country”?

The implications going forward are nothing short of chilling.

Go have a read about what we are truly facing: What having an extreme narcissist as president is going to entail.

After reading Alfie Kohn’s article, I’m going to add this from the beginning, because there’s something I want to hammer home.

Reporter: What do you think people will take away from the [Republican National]   Convention? What are you hoping?

Donald Trump: From the convention? The fact that I’m very well liked.

– New York Times, July 21, 2016

The initial shock has given way to a twofold horror. First, there is the unavoidable fact that more than 62 million Americans voted for this man. Most white college graduates preferred him. Most white women preferred him. Presumably many of those 62 million aren’t bigots or bullies or sexual predators or compulsive liars. But they knowingly voted for someone who is all of those things and more.

And then there are the sickening practical implications. During the campaign, novelist Adam Haslett remarked that “endless acts of verbal violence shock us into stunned passivity so we no longer register the horror of what we’re living through.” But that’s nothing compared to the horror fatigue that awaits us under a Trump administration. His election — along with Republican control of both Houses of Congress and more than two thirds of state legislatures — will almost certainly precipitate an assault on civil rights, civil liberties, environmental protections (including a reversal of early, tentative steps to deal with global climate change), consumer protections, reproductive rights, gay rights, workers’ rights, prisoners’ rights, humane immigration policies, aid to the poor, gun control, antimilitarism, support for public education, and on and on. It will be bad enough for an individual deeply committed to any one of these issues; for those interested in all of them, it will be difficult to absorb, let alone summon outrage about and become active in opposing, a tidal wave of reactionary policies likely to continue on a daily basis for many years.

The potential impact on official policy is staggering. And yet I can’t stop thinking about the man himself.

The emphasis is mine. For every single person who either voted for Trump, or who used their opportunity to avoid this catastrophe by writing in someone or something stupid while voting, or who didn’t bother to vote, you fucking did this. You. That’s where the responsibility for the ruin we face rests. And more than anyone else, it’s you who needs to read that article. After that, try to figure out how to become a human being, because we’re going to have one hell of a fight in front of us.

N’éteins pas la lumière.

n-eteins-pas-la-lumiere

If you’re a fan of Bernard Minier, and have read The Frozen Dead and The Circle, his latest, Don’t Turn Out the Light, is finally available to us ‘mericans, always the last to get the good stuff. For some strange reason, uStates publishers decided that light needed to be plural. Just got it downloaded, I has reading to do! I need to learn about 7 languages so I don’t have to wait years for uStates publishers to get off their collective arses.

lights

The GOP, So Busy…

jefferson-gathering-prayer-700x263

Praying. Yep. Driving that ol’ Demon-in-Chief outta the capitol. FFS, we are in so much trouble. Fascists are bad enough. 1% billionaire fascists worse. Religious fanatic fascism? Yeah, that’s gonna help. Be nice if these people could manage to work, and do something truly miraculous, like work for all people, rather than praying to their fictitious psychopath.

Two of the pastors who participated in the event, Dave Kistler of the North Carolina Pastors Network and Dale Walker of the Tennessee Pastors Network, discussed their experiences on the American Pastors Network’s “Stand in the Gap” radio program last Friday.

Kistler revealed that U.S. Senate Chaplain Barry Black preached to participants and reportedly prophesied that a revival is about to sweep America and “it will commence … in the halls of Congress” and Walker concurred.

“If God rules in the halls of legislation, it’s the pulpit’s benefit of being there, being on site and standing up and speaking the law of God to our elected leaders and praying for them,” Walker said. “It’s been the absence of the pulpits is the reason why Satan has ruled in the halls of legislation.”

Kistler also revealed that in addition to praying in the Kennedy Caucus Room in the Capitol, pastors were given access to the U.S. Senate chamber by Rep. Louie Gohmert. In the senate chamber, he said, “we got on our knees … and it sounded almost like a labor room as people were crying out to God for the revival that Chaplain Black believes is coming and that we believe is coming.”

“To do that in the Senate chamber was an absolutely astounding opportunity,” Kistler said, “and again it puts an exclamation point on the Senate chaplain’s assessment that revival is on the way and may indeed begin in the halls of Congress.”

All that showy bullshit, “oh look, I’m on my knees, fist on forehead!” “No, look at me, I’m bowed all the way down, with my head almost on the ground, but not like those other people do, no.” Why don’t these fanatical morons ever, just once, pay attention to their book of myths, where the sacrificed son of their psychopathic god specifically said not to pray in that manner?

Right Wing Watch has the full story.