News Summary Diary for posting Saturday, March 6th


Please post your links below to be gathered and posted by Oke at Daily Kos on Saturday, March 6th.

We are looking for a catchy name for this news summary.  Please leave your idea in individual comments below like I did.

Red Hedz was Aji’s idea and The News Lodge was Deep Harm’s.

45 Comments

  1. I copied this from an email before I saw Navajo’s instruction to post links so since it’s important I decided to post it anyway and find the link later :). CC

    Cashing in on the TAR SANDS:

    Taxpayers’ money involved in financing controversial tar sands companies

    New report exposes RBS involvement in Canada’s “blood oil”
    Bank executives meet in Toronto and discuss concerns about public backlash over involvement in tar sands
    Environmental and development groups announce a week of protest around the RBS AGM in April over the bank’s tar sands investments

    It’s been revealed that RBS have been involved in providing loans worth $7.5 billion in the last three years to companies carrying out highly controversial ‘tar sands’ mining [1] in Canada.

    A coalition of NGOs including PLATFORM, the World Development Movement, People & Planet and Friends of the Earth [2] are tomorrow releasing a report, ‘Cashing in on Tar Sands – RBS, UK Banks and Canada’s ‘Blood Oil’ which shows that outside of North America, RBS is involved in the highest quantity of loans to tar sands-related companies, equivalent to 8 per cent of the global total.

    Exploitation of tar sands have been the subject of international criticism for its negative impact on climate change, Canadian ecosystems and the Indigenous communities that live in the region. On the 1st of February, executives of European and North American banks, including RBS, met in Toronto to discuss concerns over a public backlash over the banking sector’s involvement in the increasingly controversial projects. [3]

    The report is being released on Monday, the day three of the groups are in court challenging the Treasury over RBS’ use of public money to provide finance for companies that exacerbate climate change and disregard human rights, including tar sands, coal, oil and gas and other forms of mining, for examples Vedanta’s bauxite mines in India.

    Mel Evans from PLATFORM, one of the authors of the report said: “RBS has been involved in providing more money in loans to destructive tar sands companies than any other UK bank. When RBS executives get their bonuses, they are being rewarded for enabling oil companies to devastate traditional ways of life for Indigenous communities in Canada, while making the problems of climate change much, much worse.”

    Clayton Thomas-Muller, an Indigenous activist from Canada said:

    “”RBS must publicly commit to not providing finance to Canada’s Tar sands. Failure to do so would be morally bankrupt given that the developments entail massive ecological destruction and human rights abuses particularly in First Nations Lands. Now that RBS is owned by the public, the bank should be transformed into a leader in the emerging green energy economy in the UK rather than causing so much destruction to the lands of Indigenous Peoples in Canada.”

    The World Development Movement and People & Planet are today announcing a week of protests to be held simultaneously with the RBS AGM on Wednesday 28 April. This will involve protests outside the AGM centre and branches across the UK calling for a moratorium on RBS investments in tar sands because of their devastating impact on human rights and the climate.

    Deborah Doane, director of the World Development Movement said: “It’s deeply concerning to learn that so much of our money is being used to provide finance for tar sands extraction. These investments have a devastating impact on the lives of Indigenous communities in Canada, while fuelling climate change, just to service the rich world’s unquenchable thirsty for dirty energy.  The consequences of climate change are already hitting the world’s poorest people the hardest, and this completely cancels out efforts we take nationally to prevent catastrophic climate change. This is a huge injustice and during our week of protest we will be demanding that investment of our money into this ‘blood oil’ be stopped immediately.”

    For more information and interviews, please call:

    Mel Evans PLATFORM 07790 430620

    Kate Blagojevic – World Development Movement – 0207 820 4900 / 07711 875 345

    Clayton Thomas-Muller – Indigenous Environmental Network – +1 218 760 6632

    Darek Ubaniak – Friend of the Earth Europe – +32 495 460 258

    [1] Tar sands are a type of oil that is mixed up with a particulate matter that needs to separated. The process of obtaining the oil is around three times more carbon intensive than obtaining conventional oil. In addition the process creates enormous lakes of toxic byproducts that are leaking into water sources, and are being blamed by local communities for the abnormal rates of rare cancers they are experiencing.

    [2] The full list of groups publishing the report is PLATFORM, the World Development Movement, People & Planet, the Indigenous Environmental Network, Friends of the Earth – Scotland, Friends of the Earth – England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Friends of the Earth – Europe, the New Internationalist, Indigenous Peoples Links, BankTrack and the Rainforest Action Network

    [3] The meeting was hosted by the Royal Bank of Canada and was held at the RBC Plaza in Toronto Canada and attended by 41 banking executives from around the world, including Baba Abu, the RBS Head, Sustainable Business, Global Banking. The day included presentations by Jim Ellis, the Albertan Deputy Minister for the Environment, and Peter Watson, the Deputy Minister for Energy, and a presentation on ‘Public Opinion on Canada’s Oil Sands’ by Bruse Anderson of  National Public Relations.

    (3) Investments were scrutinized of 26 banks from across the world, including Barclays, RBS and HSBC. The report looks at looks at the finance that RBS, Barclays and HSBC have made to companies that (a) have an ownership stake in existing tar sands projects and projects under development; or (b) own, operate or are developing pipelines primarily being used to transport tar sands oil over a three year period from January 2007 through to December 2009 and has been collated using a Bloomberg terminal

    The Indigenous Environmental Network • PO Box 485 • Bemidji, MN 56619  

  2. We could do like blackkos and use “Redkos News Digest” or just plain “Native News this Week” or “News from Native America” or “American Indian News This Week” or “News from Indian Country”.

    I’m glad to see this feature coming together I know people will be surprised about just how much news is going on in ndn country it could easily be a daily digest. I guess we could call it “Look at All the Bullshit Indians Have to Put Up With Every Week!”.

  3. Sacred Wind Communications Inc. is donating $10000 to the American Indian Graduate Center and $15000 to the Navajo Technical College. …
     

  4. A bill that would double the state’s administrative budget in overseeing the Navajo Revitalization Fund cleared the Senate 24-0 on …
    Salt Lake Tribune

  5. This news service doesn’t supply links

    Today’s Headlines –
    Tuesday, March 2, 2010

    South Dakota tribe settles tax debt with IRS

    Health and Human Services announces tribal consultation plan

    American Indian Graduate Center receives scholarship money from communications company

  6. SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Crow Creek Sioux Tribe has settled its tax debt with the IRS and lined up a loan that will enable it to buy back the 11 square miles of land the IRS sold at auction in December, the tribal chairman said.

  7. Snow operations are standing down, however work to start addressing the impending mud and flooding issues will begin, the Navajo-Hopi Observer reports. …

    New California Media

  8. I noticed the newspapers name first. Also you’ll notice how many of the news articles are about native people fighting for the environment. We have always been tree hugging environmentalists who love the land, always. CC

    Native protesters block road between Crofton and Chemainus

    Canwest News Service; Times Colonist February 27, 2010

    Members of the Halalt First Nation have erected a blockade in front of their Chemainus Road band office as part of an ongoing dispute with the District of North Cowichan.

    North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP Cpl. Kevin Day said the Halalt blocked the road between Crofton and Chemainus Thursday afternoon by parking several vehicles across it. A provincial negotiator has been called in, Day said.

    The Halalt are peacefully protesting the Chemainus Wells project, said Tyler George, a Halalt Tribe councillor.

    North Cowichan began constructing a new well after being told by the Vancouver Island Health Authority to fix ongoing turbidity problems in the Chemainus water system. Residents, who currently use surface water, have for years endured murky and potentially unsafe water after heavy rains.

    But the Halalt First Nation is concerned about the environmental impact of the $6.5-million project, which will pump water from the Chemainus River aquifer. The Halalt argue they have been working to restore the Chemainus River’s salmon stocks, and since the river is on their traditional territory, they should have been a partner in the project.

    The band launched legal action against the municipality last year, but court delays have pushed back the hearings until April or May, when work on the project is slated to be finished.

    The Halalt blockade is a last resort, George said, adding the group plans to be there “indefinitely.” “We feel we need to make a stand because this could be a precedent-setting move if lower forms of government such as municipalities are allowed to tap into anyone’s aquifer at any time,” George said.

    Police recommend motorists use the Herd Road intersection to access Crofton and Henry Road to access Chemainus.

    © Copyright (c) The Victoria Times Colonist

  9. CITGO TO PROVIDE FUEL ASSISTANCE TO TRIBE
    Applications Currently Available
    AKWESASNE TERRITORY – The long-awaited fuel assistance program in
    partnership with the CITGO Petroleum Corporation will once again be a
    reality for the Mohawk Tribe. CITGO’s partnership with Citizens
    Programs Corporation recently confirmed that they will be providing
    $1,081,000 of financial support for the Akwesasne Community for home
    heating.

    http://www.srmt-nsn.gov/…/CITGOToProvideFuelAssistanceToTribe_040709.pdf

    “It’s for tribes in the north for whom heating becomes a survival
    issue,” said David T. Staddon, director of public information for the
    tribe. “We are the northernmost tribe in the state.

  10. This news service doesn’t supply links

    Google any topic you want to include to get links.

    Today’s Headlines –
    Thursday, March 4, 2010

    Report shows South Dakota has worst record for Native student graduation rates

    Improved safety and security goals of Homeland Security Department initiative

    San Ildefonso Pueblo receives rural broadband funding from Recovery Act

    Canadian government pledges to take action on cases of missing and murder Aboriginal women

  11.  
    Today’s Headlines –
    Wednesday, March 3, 2010

    Former Cherokee chief diagnosed with cancer

    Much needed Indian housing funding faces cuts in 2011 budget

    Utah man involved in Indian artifacts case apparently commits suicide

  12. Navajo Nation Announces New Resort-Casino
    OfficialWire
    by EU News Network The Navajo Nation has announced plans for a $180 million “green” and “environmentally friendly” resort and casino near Flagstaff, Ariz., …

    Transition from Coal to Clean Energy Makes Good Business Sense: Study …
    AltEnergyMag (press release)
    Using the 35-year old, 2250-megawatt Navajo Generating Station near Page, Ariz. as a case study, the analysis examines the costs and benefits of the plant’s …

  13. Already being used by a non-Native, and one who posts pix like that?!

    My discomfort with this phrase is that I mostly see it used in novels by non-Native writers writing about Native cultures – e.g., Hillerman, or those awful Thurlos.  (Saw them speak once; the racism rolled off them in waves.)

    WRT the names generally, though, I have no strong feelings either way.  I suggested Red Hedz mostly in jest, riffing off the journalism-ese of “heds” for “headlines.”  But I’m cool with whatever everyone else wants, so just put me down as a vote for whatever the majority decides.

    And BTW, I’m working on Part II of the uranium mining post, for sometime next week.  (I’m going to X-post Part I at DK Greenroots on Sunday, so I’m saving Part II for thereafter to boost readership.)  Part II will cover mining on the Navajo rez, in the Black Hills, at Badger-Two Medicine, and a couple others.

  14. Alamo receives funding for YCC
    El Defensor Chieftain
    A dozen Alamo Navajo students will go to work next week – and get some schooling – thanks to a $115000 grant awarded to Alamo Navajo School Board Inc. The …

  15. “Look at All the Bullshit Indians Have to Put Up With Every Week!”

    That so works for me. Don’t think it will fly, though.

  16. I’m torn; for me, it’s a tie between NDN News and the one in the suggestion just below. I’ll post a reply to both with that caveat.

    I am content with either, but for the life of me, Carter nailed it with a precision nailgun above and I’d vote for that name in a hot second. But I can be a hothead at times, usually when I get my passions aroused about injustice. 🙂

  17. For me, it’s a tie between this and NDN News. I can be content with either but you nailed it to the wall above and I wish we could use that. “Look at all the Bullshit Indians Have To Put Up With Every Week”, yep, that’s about the size of it.

    Can you tell I come from a family of very opinionated women? 🙂

  18. This proposal wasn’t accepted in the first round of Federal funding for “Race to the Top” but it may be resubmitted.

    Under South Dakota’s proposal, partners would have established a year-round, residential school — likely in the Black Hills — for ninth through 12th grades and two years of postsecondary education. Curriculum would have focused on science, technology, engineering and math to address the need for scientists and engineers, while infusing Native American family culture…The school is the brainchild of the American Indian Institute for Innovation, with a mission of educating students to apply science, technology, engineering, and mathematics based solutions to tribal challenges.

    is the information I found about the group behind the plan.  

  19. Today’s Headlines –
    Friday, March 5, 2010

    Tribal school opens weeks after winter weather hit South Dakota reservation hard

    U.S. Department of Education passes over South Dakota for Race to the Top funds

    Legislation introduced in Congress to ramp up federal efforts to prevent and treat diabetes among Native people

    Justice Department to hold symposium next week on Child Protection in Indian Country

  20. American Indian News This Week or Redkos News Digest.

    or to take the Redkos ending to shorten the others

    Native American News Digest
    American Indian News Digest

    would be ok too.  Just so it’s clear who it’s about.  

  21. It’s been a busy week and I haven’t spent much time online, but a quick check tonight turned this up:

    Release Date: March 3, 2010
    Release Number: HQ-10-028

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate today addressed the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) at their Executive Council Winter Session, discussing ways FEMA coordinates with its tribal partners on preparedness and disaster response…
    FEMA has worked closely with a number of tribal nations recently following severe winter storms affecting the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North Dakota, flooding in New York in August, and the Alaska floods along the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers last spring.

    President Declares Major Disaster For Iowa  
    Release Date: March 2, 2010
    Release Number: HQ-10-026
    President Declares Major Disaster For West Virginia  
    Release Date: March 2, 2010
    Release Number: HQ-10-027
    President Declares Major Disaster For The District Of Columbia  
    Release Date: March 3, 2010
    Release Number: HQ-10-029
    has more but SD isn’t on the list. Ten other states have major disaster or emergency declarations made in Jan – Feb 2010.

    On a more positive note there was this: but half of the funds are for research related to type 1 (juvenile) diabetes when the epidemic is type 2 diabetes (even in Native  American children.)    

  22. LAATBIHTPUWEW.  (Define the acronym once; thereafter, just tell everyone it’s an Indian word that means “Native News.”  They’ll never know the difference. 🙂

  23. Report: Prospects good for 2010 spring runoff
    New Mexican
    Northern reservoirs, except for Navajo Lake, are still behind their 30-year average levels for this time of year, but the main spring runoff is still a few …

    [did not read article but thought interesting; if there is flooding predicted, is this spin?]

  24. If we just add a few glottal-stop apostrophes, they really won’t know the difference:  laat’biht’puw’ew.  And when people ask, just say, “It translates to ‘Native News.'” Which is entirely true. 🙂

  25. Leader of Indian trust land lawsuit to visit Kyle next week

    The lead plaintiff in a 14-year-old Indian trust land legal battle will be in Kyle on Sunday and in Mission on Monday to answer questions from tribal members and trust land owners about the $3.4 billion settlement she helped negotiate with the federal government.

    Elouise Cobell, a Blackfoot from Browning, Mont., filed a class-action lawsuit in 1996 on behalf of an estimated 500,000 Native Americans whose trust land accounts alleged to have been mismanaged by the federal government. She reached a negotiated settlement in the case of Cobell v. Salazar in December of last year that has yet to be approved and funded by Congress.

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