Louisiana Floods, But Climate Change A Chinese Hoax.

CREDIT: AP Photo/Max Becherer.

CREDIT: AP Photo/Max Becherer.

…According to Elizabeth Crisp, a reporter for The Advocate in Baton Rogue, Trump drove through areas littered with flood debris in his motorcade, and then visited a local church where he spoke with both flood victims and disaster relief volunteers. He then signed autographs before leaving.

[…]

But Trump’s visit, coupled with his calls for sympathy for the victims of the flooding, is ironic, considering his denial of climate change, which is expected to increase the likelihood that devastating floods like the one in Louisiana will occur.

“Climate change has already been shown to increase the amounts of rain falling in the most intense events across many parts of the world, and extreme rainfall events like this week’s Louisiana storm are expected to grow increasingly common in the coming years,” Bob Henson and Jeff Masters explained over at Weather Underground. Which is to say that while climate change can’t cause a single weather event — and while floods certainly would occur in a world without climate change — global warming is making the odds of these extreme events more and more likely.

Trump, however, does not believe that climate change is a problem worth solving. He has called it a “hoax” and argued that it was concept “created by and for the Chinese.” He has called for the United States to pull out of the Paris climate agreement, which many view as the best chance for avoiding the most catastrophic effects of global climate change. Under a Trump administration, policies to cut greenhouse gas emissions would take a backseat to his promises to mine for as many fossil fuels as possible.

If Trump truly is concerned for the people of Louisiana, supporting policies that would make devastating flooding like this more likely is a strange way of showing it. Environmental groups took notice, with the Sierra Club decrying his visit as “campaign theatrics.”

“Let’s be clear: Donald Trump is taking his reckless and dangerous denial of climate science to the heart of a crisis fueled in part by climate change,” Sierra Club Political Director Khalid Pitts said in a statement. “That’s like a tobacco lobbyist offering health tips at a cancer ward.”

Trump’s running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence (R), asked Republicans in Congress in 2005 to cut spending before sending disaster relief funds to Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. In 2012, then-Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney faced backlash when he visited Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Isaac; Romney and running-mate Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) supported a budget that would have slashed federal disaster funding.

[…]

Trump apparently kept his own plans for a visit quiet, and did not call Edwards before planning his trip. Edwards welcomed Trump’s visit, but warned against using the visit as a photo-op, suggesting that instead Trump volunteer or donate money to the LA Flood Relief Fund. According to reporters in Louisiana, Trump’s visit included no volunteer time or announcement of financial contributions.

Trump isn’t just a con man who owes massive amounts of money to all manner of people and a habitual fraud, he’s a dyed in the wool conspiracy kook. This man makes only one life better, his own. As far as he’s concerned, the rest of us can go to hell, a hell he’d be more than happy to usher in.

Full story at Think Progress.

Solidarity Sings Along.

The Chief Big Foot Riders arriving in camp to support their Hunkpapa relatives. The riders honor the memory Mniconjou Lakota Chief Bigfoot and his band of 400 people who were massacred at Wounded Knee Creek by the U.S. Army 7th Calvary. In December 1990, they began a four-year commemoration on horseback over the same trail that Chief Big Foot's band followed in 1890, paying tribute and mourning those that died 100 years ago. Credit: Thosh Collins.

The Chief Big Foot Riders arriving in camp to support their Hunkpapa relatives. The riders honor the memory Mniconjou Lakota Chief Bigfoot and his band of 400 people who were massacred at Wounded Knee Creek by the U.S. Army 7th Calvary. In December 1990, they began a four-year commemoration on horseback over the same trail that Chief Big Foot’s band followed in 1890, paying tribute and mourning those that died 100 years ago. Credit: Thosh Collins.

In Iowa, residents are also suing the government, saying that Dakota Access LLC illegally wielded eminent domain to obtain rights of way on their land. That right rests solely with utility companies, they have argued in court. A ruling is pending on that as well, according to The DesMoines Register. Construction has begun in all four states.

Dakota Access Pipeline Standoff. – Feds Grant TRO Against Standing Rock Members. – Dakota Access Protest: We’re being sued – help us fight it! – Dakota Access Standoff Calls on Obama. – Among Those Arrested… – Sacred Stone Camp: Calling Water Warriors! – Dakota Access: About That Oil… – Dakota Access Purchaser Looking Like Enron. – Standing Rock and IITC File Urgent Communication to UN. – Sacred Stone Camp. – North Dakota: State of Emergency Declared. – Solidarity Sings! – Settling into Camp – Washington DC: Action Alert – Solidarity Sings Along. –

Via ICTMN and #LastRealIndians and Simon Moya-Smith.

Where is the f*cking check?

Republican presidential nominee makes campaign stop in flood-ravaged Louisiana (Screen capture)

Republican presidential nominee makes campaign stop in flood-ravaged Louisiana (Screen capture)

The Governor of Louisiana asked the President to stay put, because rescue efforts are still going strong, and there simply are not resources to deal with something like a presidential visit, so that’s what the President did, not being an ego-bloated ass. Speaking of ego-bloated asses, when Trump announced plans to go tromping about flood ravaged Louisiana, the Governor once again asked for officials to stay put, and said if Trump wanted to help, he could donate money.  One of Trump’s advisers with sense also attempted to explain that this would be a bad idea, but no, Mr. Ego just had to show up. Why, I don’t know. What I do know is he got the exact reception he deserved from Neva Butkus.

Where is the fucking check?

“Alright, y’all,” wrote Baton Rouge resident Neva Butkus, “I need to clear some things up.”

Butkus — a Chicago native who has worked with the City Year teaching program — said that she “has spent this entire week running donation centers, organizing volunteer efforts, and will be doing demo work on houses all this weekend.”

She wrote, “Our Governor has explicitly asked Obama to NOT VISIT at this moment because our first responders are STILL saving people’s lives. YES, It has been a week and there is still standing water. Tens of thousands of people are displaced. This is a NIGHTMARE and our governor does not want to shut down interstates that are BRINGING IN SUPPLIES just to escort our President into the city.”

She went on to say that Donald Trump’s visit was not welcomed by any residents she knows because it tied up precious resources that could be used in rescue and relief efforts.

“He is exploiting an opportunity to look as if he is welcomed during a tragedy,” she said.

“Our Governor literally told him (as this article shows) that Trump is welcome in our state but if he’s coming he better be volunteering or writing a sizable check to assist with recovery,” continued Butkus. “A 60 second video of him unloading play-doh from a truck does not count.”

Finally, she demanded, “Trump. Seriously. Where is the check. Like where is the fucking check. My people are drowning. My co-workers and family and friends have lost everything. My friends and co-workers that haven’t lost everything are taking off work (my boyfriend is taking PTO) to clean out people’s homes and rip out sheet rock and carpet. Give us money or GTFO. I don’t want to see you in your suit in AUGUST carrying boxes off a truck like you care about us. Louisiana is an incredible place. Baton Rouge is my home and I have watched people drop EVERYTHING to help one another during this time. The whole country seems to be floored by the generosity and love that our residents show each other during tough times, but to us this is normal. This is Louisiana. And you do not belong here.”

Via Raw Story.

Washington DC: Action Alert.

To drive this home a bit, these are all the water ways at risk:

If you can be there, please, stand with us. Stand for all people. Stand for our right to say no. Stand for our right to clean air, clean, healthy water, healthy land. We should not have to fight for these things, these are necessary for all life. Water is life. We must care, because corporations do not. We must insist on responsibility and accountability. We must not be resigned. We must fight. Join us.

#LastRealIndians. #NoDAPL. #IndigenousRising.

Dakota Access Pipeline Standoff. – Feds Grant TRO Against Standing Rock Members. – Dakota Access Protest: We’re being sued – help us fight it! – Dakota Access Standoff Calls on Obama. – Among Those Arrested… – Sacred Stone Camp: Calling Water Warriors! – Dakota Access: About That Oil… – Dakota Access Purchaser Looking Like Enron. – Standing Rock and IITC File Urgent Communication to UN. – Sacred Stone Camp. – North Dakota: State of Emergency Declared. – Solidarity Sings! – Settling into Camp – Washington DC: Action Alert –

No DAPL: Settling into Camp.

Arvol

Arvol Looking Horse, the 19th successive keeper of the sacred White Buffalo Calf pipe leads hundreds from the Oceti Sakowin camp. Credit: Lauren Donovan.

An upside down flag hangs in the center of a new community larger than most small towns in North Dakota. It’s a protest camp near the Cannonball River at the border of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.

The flag is a symbol of distress, that the area had been taken over by an enemy. But the atmosphere Thursday afternoon at the Seven Councils or Overflow Camp, where hundreds are staying in Morton County, hardly feels urgent. Rather, it’s joyful and cooperative.

The setup is an extension of the Camp of Sacred Stones, located on the reservation at the confluence of the Cannonball and Missouri rivers, where people have been protesting an oil pipeline since April. During the past week, the once-small effort has grown to an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 people.

WalterBrave

Walter Brave. Credit: Tom Stromme.

[Read more…]

Solidarity Sings!

Via #LastRealIndians and #IndigenousRising. Seeing such an outpouring of love, prayers, support, donations, and supplies from our allies around the world at Sacred Stone Camp. There are two camps now, so we can use all the help we can get. Thank you all, so very much. Keep standing. Join hands. Join us. Together, we are strong. Together, we can say no. Together, we can protect our land and water. Together, we can make sure we have a good legacy for our children and grandchildren.

North Dakota: State of Emergency Declared.

Sheriff's deputies from Cass County man a northbound checkpoint south of Fort Lincoln State Park on Thursday. Cars traveling south on Highway 1806 are diverted to Highway 6. Cars traveling north on Highway 1806 must go through the checkpoint. Officers were recording license plates of cars traveling north. Credit: Will Kincaid.

Sheriff’s deputies from Cass County man a northbound checkpoint south of Fort Lincoln State Park on Thursday. Cars traveling south on Highway 1806 are diverted to Highway 6. Cars traveling north on Highway 1806 must go through the checkpoint. Officers were recording license plates of cars traveling north. Credit: Will Kincaid.

North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple issued an emergency declaration for southwest and south central North Dakota in response to protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline near Cannon Ball.

The declaration starts a process by which state agencies can get additional funding, said Greg Wilz, director of the Homeland Security Division of the state Department of Emergency Services.

Dalrymple said in the declaration that the state is committed to protecting the right to lawful protests, but recent events have created a “significant public safety concern.”

The protests have grown substantially over the past week as about 1,500 people have gathered to demonstrate against the pipeline being drilled under the Missouri River. Large campsites have been established for the protesters. Twenty-nine people have been arrested during the demonstrations.

The Morton County Sheriff’s Department has been the central law enforcement agency involved in monitoring the protests, but several state agencies have gotten involved.

North Dakota Highway Patrol has sent officers to the protest site, Wilz said. The health department has provided portable water trailers and a medical trailer at the protest camp. The transportation department has assisted with the road detour on Highway 1806 and put up barriers and signage.

Wilz said he will be looking at funding requests from the agencies, make an estimate and ask the emergency commission for an appropriation. The commission can authorize emergency services to get a loan from the Bank of North Dakota.

He estimated the additional resources could cost from $750,000 to $1 million, if the protests continue for the next few weeks.

[…]

Morton County declared its own state of emergency on Monday, for the purpose of tapping into its emergency fund and creating public awareness, said Cody Schulz, chairman of the county commission.

Schulz said the biggest expense for the county has been law enforcement, including overtime for the sheriff’s deputies and assistance from other agencies, including the Mandan Police and the Cass and Mercer County Sheriffs.

The governor’s emergency order does not include activation of the National Guard.

The governor is so damn deep in big oil’s pockets he couldn’t tunnel himself out, so naturally, he’s going to start spending money the state doesn’t have to corral all of us evil Indians and allies, and point the finger of blame at us. Thanks, gov.

Via Bismarck Trib.

Standing Rock Chairman Dave Archambault II has responded…

[Read more…]

Standing Rock and IITC File Urgent Communication to UN.

Dakota Access Pipeline Protest In North Dakota. Photo Credit: “No Dakota Access in Treaty Territory – Camp of the Sacred Stones”.

Dakota Access Pipeline Protest In North Dakota. Photo Credit: “No Dakota Access in Treaty Territory – Camp of the Sacred Stones”.

Ft. Yates, North Dakota, United States: On Thursday, August 18, 2016 the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the International Indian Treaty Council (IITC) jointly submitted an urgent action communication to four United Nations (UN) human rights Special Rapporteurs. It cited grave human rights and Treaty violations resulting from the construction of the Dakota Access crude oil pipeline in close proximity to the Standing Rock Reservation by the United States Army Corps of Engineers and Dakota Access LLC, a subsidiary of Texas-based Energy Transfer.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe (SRST) stands in firm opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline. The pipeline would carry nearly half a billion barrels of crude oil a day, and would cross the Missouri River threatening the Tribe’s main water source and sacred places along its path including burials sites. The urgent communication was submitted to UN Special Rapporteurs on the situation of human rights defenders; the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation; and Environment and Human Rights, as well as the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. It requests that they urge the United States to halt the human rights violations and uphold its human rights and Treaty obligations to the Standing Rock Tribe. It was also forwarded to key officials in the U.S. State Department, Department of Interior and the White House.

[Read more…]

Dakota Access Purchaser Looking Like Enron.

The standoff continues, at Sacred Stone Camp and in Bismarck. Winona LaDuke ( Anishinaabe) has an interesting column up at ICTMN, as further information comes to light.

The recent announcement of Enbridge’s purchase of the Dakota Access Pipeline came as a surprise to most of us. For the past four years, Enbridge has told the people of Minnesota that the proposed Sandpiper route (Clearbrook to Superior) was essential. It turns out that was not true. Let me try to translate what I think happened.

[Read more…]

Dakota Access: About That Oil…

DAS

Brandon Ecoffey at The Lakota Country Times has a good article up about the current fight against Dakota Access pipeline.

For many Americans the fact that the poorest people in the United States have promised to lay their lives down to stop the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline is a bewildering experience. The shock that comes along with the realization that the Oceti Sakowin have come together once again as a united front against one of this country’s most powerful lobbies should come as no surprise for we have been fighting big industry since the arrival of colonial powers in the western hemisphere.

Native people of this country have both experienced and resisted the will of corporations for the entirety of our shared history. We saw the devastation that came with the early fur trade that began with beaver pelts that were eventually replaced by buffalo robes. We witnessed the atrocities that accompanied the powerful cotton lobby and their thirst for slave labor and cheap lands. We foresaw the arrival of settlers in the heart of Lakota Country, who came to take gold from our most sacred lands. Today, the “Horse Nations” are prepared for yet another battle against corporate powers and their allies in the United States Congress.

Most Americans have been taught to believe that the federal government and our elected officials have been put in place to protect our freedoms and way of life. For Native people the truth is the opposite. Since the inception of this republic the policies drafted regarding us have been crafted to take from us our culture or the resources we live on. For these reasons we are conditioned to question all that is offered us by both the government and big oil.

There are two promises that have been made by the oil industry that have proven to be categorically false.

[Read more…]

Sacred Stone Camp: Calling Water Warriors!

SSCww

Oh, so sorry to be late with this, it’s been difficult to keep up.

AHO! Sacred Stone Camp is calling on all water warriors, canoeists, kayakers, paddlers, all water warriors, bring your boats, and join us on the Missouri River, Saturday, August 20th. People are coming from all four directions to stand with us, to defend our right to say no, to defend healthy land, healthy water, healthy people, healthy animals. If you can stand for all Turtle Island, please stand with us.

Bring boats, paddles, life jackets, and banners.

Lawsuits are pending, brought by the Oceti Sakowin, but Dakota Access is aggressively pushing the pipeline anyway, not waiting for the hearings next week.

Sacred Stone Camp. Sacred Stone Camp Po. Box 1011 Ft. Yates, ND 58538 A good drop-off for supplies would be the actual camp located on the banks of the Cannonball and Missouri, north of the community of Cannon Ball. Follow the Facebook page for the most frequent updates: https://www.facebook.com/CampoftheSacredStone/

Show up, donate, signal boost, please help! Pilamayaye.

SSCneed

The city of Bismarck has closed off streets for a round dance.

We’ve been given the road so a round dance is starting. Thank you so much, Bismarck! This support is so beautiful to witness.

A video posted by Sacred Stone Camp (@sacredstonecamp) on

I should add that cops have set up concrete roadblocks, and are checking license plates of all those heading into the camp, saying they are only allowing Standing Rock rez people in, but you can still get by. Be persistent, but no confrontations, and no violence – the cops are busy making up lies as it is. You can keep up with that at https://twitter.com/sacredstonecamp – so go if you can, but put your stealth on! You water warriors already have your way in, and past cops.

Cool Stuff Friday.

rare-blue-swallowtail-pipevine-butterfly-repopulation-tim-wong-25

The California Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor hirsuta) is a locally rare butterfly within San Francisco. Now, thanks to California Academy of Sciences aquatic biologist, Tim Wong, the butterfly species is gradually repopulating in the area again.

The biologist built a greenhouse for the butterflies in his own backyard. It had all the perfect conditions for butterflies to grow – sunlight, temperature fluctuations, and an occasional nice breeze. He also learned that the butterflies only feed on one plant – the California pipevine (Aristolochia californica), which was pretty hard to track down. After a while, Wong found the plant in a botanical garden, which allowed him to take a few clippings of the plant. Once his butterfly paradise was built, Wong transported 20 caterpillars to it and let them grow. Now, around 3 years later, his butterfly home is thriving, and he’s not stopping yet!

rare-blue-swallowtail-pipevine-butterfly-repopulation-tim-wong-18

rare-blue-swallowtail-pipevine-butterfly-repopulation-tim-wong-20

rare-blue-swallowtail-pipevine-butterfly-repopulation-tim-wong-9

This is just so very cool. You can see more here.

Among Those Arrested…

Scatter Their Own Juliana Brown Eyes-Clifford and Scotti Clifford get arrested during the Dakota Access Pipeline confrontation. Photo courtesy of Arlo Iron Cloud.

Scatter Their Own Juliana Brown Eyes-Clifford and Scotti Clifford get arrested during the Dakota Access Pipeline confrontation. Photo courtesy of Arlo Iron Cloud.

Juliana Brown Eyes-Clifford and her husband, Scotti Clifford, were among the arrested on Monday at the Sacred Stone Camp.

“This is about water and land,” said Juliana Brown Eyes-Clifford who along with her husband Scotti Clifford, both from the band Scatter Their Own, were arrested. “We have to take a stand to protect the water and land for generations to come.”

Via Lakota Country Times.

ETA: The latest update from Sacred Stone Camp:

Aho ma relatives wopida dida tanka for all your support as you know many of our defenders have been arrested and the camp has grown considerably in size we are struggling to feed everyone and to get our defenders bailed out things we could not do without your support.. pls contribute in any way that you are able. prayers and donations we are very grateful for everyones help.. water is life the most sacred elder of creation without her all life stops..

If you can help, with money, signal boosting, your presence, supplies, please do.

I featured their music some time ago, and here it is again.

Scatter Their Own, Scotti Clifford and Juliana Brown Eyes-Clifford (Oglala Lakota). Scatter Their Own website.

Scatter Their Own, Taste The Time.

Scatter Their Own, Don’t Fear to Tread.

Scatter Their Own, Earth & Sky.

You can read more about Scatter Their Own here.