NODAPL Daniel Sheehan and Larry Sinkin give Update on Chase Iron Eyes Case
Daniel Sheehan and Lanny Sinkin give an update on some very positive developments in the latest hearing of the Chase Iron Eyes NoDAPL case.
There were 800 cases against DAPL protestors but most were dealt with and very quickly dismissed. The Iron Eyes case is being used as a flagship case and done in detail to expose what really happened at Standing Rock.
(Chase Iron Eyes was jailed for “inciting a riot” and “trespassing” – on land that has belonged to the Native American peoples for hundreds of years)
Larry Sinkin explains what was actually taking place when the protesters were attacked by police:
‘What was going on on February 1st was the Lakota People were establishing a new Sacred Site, so they were up at the Last Child Camp on a hill, they built the Sacred Fire, they put up the Seven Sacred Teepees and they were beginning to do a religious ceremony calling upon their ancestors to come and help them stop the Black Snake – the pipeline and the police came and arrested them for engaging in a riot.
The only confrontation that went on at all was the Police trying to break people apart who had locked arms and the police engaging in violence in doing that, and they put this totally phony charge against the prayerful people of the Lakota Nation. In order to “prove their point” that these were terrorists, they had to attack them and try and provoke them. And they were not provoked, they went peacefully, they were arrested and now are being defended by us and the Water Protectors Legal Corps.”
Daniel Sheehan explains why the Iron Eyes case is such a historical and important case:
The attempt on the part of the Petroleum Industry to establish a working partnership with one of the private military corporations made up of retired special forces who have now become employees of the private military corporation. These forces have been very active overseas in the Middle East but this is the first time they have come home to the US and deployed against American Citizens.
Their targeting the Native American people charectarises them as anti Christian, religiously driven jihadist terrorists – trying to invoke the Terrorism statute against the Native People to keep them from organising against these pipelines.
This template that they are attempting to establish in North Dakota has to be confronted by our people, it has to be revealed to the court and we need to be able to develop the legal precident that will allow the discovery against these corporations to show the type of tactics that they engaged in.
That they are engaged in these anti-terrorism tactics of infiltrating the organisations, surveilling them, monitoring their cellphone conversations, their internet communications. They are inserting agents provocateur into the organisatons trying to instigate them to engage in unlawful activities.
They are engaged in a huge public diplomacy campaign, they’ve hired private PR firms that were involved in being hired by the George Bush junior administration to try to sell the war in Iraq, to try to convince people here in our country, falsely that Iraq was in possession of Nuclear weapons. They instigated a completely false invasion of the Middle Eastern Oil Fields.
These are the soldiers of that effort and they are invoking the same procedures that they used against the indigenous people and tribal people of the Middle East, now against the indigenous people here in North America.
This is extremely important that it be stopped, that there be an effective counter strategy developed to stop that type of activity and to stop that alliance between the major Oil Corporations and these private Military Corporations.”
Dolphins don’t express emotions with their facial muscles. Their mouth is just shaped in a way that we humans misinterpret as a smile. So even when a dolphin is suffering from high stress, visitors to marine parks often come away thinking that the dolphin is having a good time. This is usually far from the truth.
Captive dolphins are abducted dolphins. Dolphins are highly intelligent social creatures that live in pods, forming close bonds with family members. Humans visitors to marine aquariums often fail to see that the dolphins there had to have been ripped from their natural ocean environments, snatched away from their family and pod mates, held in nets, carried in trucks, hoisted into planes and flown for hours.
Most dolphins die during capture. 30% to 80% of dolphins die during the capture itself, mostly from drowning in the nets and from wounds sustained during the process. Others may die pretty soon after, from the stress, panic and trauma. Think about it this way. To bring a single dolphin into an aquarium, the captors may have caused the death of four of her pod mates.
Transport is traumatic. A dolphin’s body is not adapted to air temperatures or the effects of gravity on land. So when a dolphin is hoisted out of the water, she can overheat very quickly. And the sudden pressure of her own body weight over her inner organs can cause severe pain and sometimes permanent cramps all over its body. Imagine going through such agony for ten to twelve hours while being transported to a new water tank. These cramps can even make the dolphin incapable of moving when lowered back into the water, resulting in death by drowning.
Captivity is sensory deprivation. Dolphins in the wild are very curious animals and live in a world full of sounds, sights, movement, colour, varying landscapes and changing currents. Contrast this with the captive environment – often four walls in a land-based lagoon devoid of visual or auditory stimuli. There’s nowhere to go except back and forth. And nothing to do except turn round and round. The food is now dead fish, and it arrives in a bucket. The dolphins in concrete-walled pools face the worst hell of all, with their sonar bouncing back and forth deafeningly.
There’s nothing natural about their new lives. The late ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau said: “No aquarium, no tank in a marine land, however spacious it may be, can begin to duplicate the conditions of the sea. And no dolphin who inhabits one of those aquariums or one of those marine lands can be considered normal.” Free-living dolphins from the ocean are accustomed to three-dimensional surroundings, to diving deep and travelling great distances. These conditions cannot be duplicated in captivity, where natural feeding and foraging patterns are lost and even behaviours associated with mating, dominance, and maternal care are severely altered.
Captivity leads to insanity. Prisoners in solitary confinement, caged zoo animals and captive dolphins develop similar behaviour patterns. They pace back and forth, rock and sway, bang their heads and in the case of dolphins, swim endlessly in tight circles. This is called stereotypical behaviour and it’s a sign of neurosis. It stems from the destruction of the dolphin’s sophisticated social structure, the feelings of intense claustrophobia and the profound frustration from being unable to hunt or behave naturally. The symptoms may even include suicidal behaviour and unnatural aggression.
Keeping dolphins in captivity shows a lack of intelligence in humans. Dolphins are incredibly clever creatures, even brighter than chimpanzees according to some scientists. They are capable of great emotion and sensitivity. Some researchers have suggested that they should be treated as “non-human persons”. We have to ask ourselves if it is morally acceptable, or even clever of us humans, to confine such amazing animals in amusement parks.
A call for celebration. The campaign to stop the government from selling off the English forests has surprised the coalition with its depth of support and they have announced that the program has been scrapped.
Some of the responses from campaigners are below, and as is pointed out “the government is still allowed to sell-off 15% of forest and woodland every 4 years…. if you thin about it, that could be 45% after 12 years!”
Below are some of the responses to the success of the campaign on the 38degrees Facebook page
Eileen Nicholson: A large percentage of woodland workers have already been given their notice.
The next thing is, the ‘powers that would be’ will say the woodland aren’t being mantained well enough and will us that as an excuse to take over. Are there any woodland workers out there prepared to share their story with us? Horse’s mouth and al…
David Clarke: I don’t think they believe they got it wrong… this was just to test the water and we must not be complacent as the government is still allowed to sell-off 15% of forest and woodland every 4 years…. if you think about it, that could be 45% after 12 years!
Vanessa Mordin: Not so fast with all the congratulations!!! There are changes due with the planning laws which will make it possible for local authorities to allow woodland to be built on. Please go to the Woodland Trust website for more information and sign up to that campaign.
Victoria Taylor: Knew they would find a way to do it……together we have to stop them. They are using a psychological method that they used when they were trying to close the coal mines, tell the miners that they were going to close 8 pits, debate it and then only close 3…..the miners thought they were victorious, but really the government had only ever intended to close 3 pits. This is the same kind of psychological warfare that they are using with our woodlands.
Neil Hughes: What fantastic news. This policy, as in the case of the NHS reforms and cuts in welfare services, was driven by pure ideological hatred of either public or common (despite the big society rhetoric) alternatives to private property.
It’s exactly the same struggle as is being waged by indigenous groups in the Amazon rain…forest against state attempts to undermine their collective property rights and privatise their land. Thanks to 38 degrees for organising the campaign and congratulations on its success. Looking forward to the next one!!!!
Mickey Modern: This is the way the UK Britain should be run. By the people for the people! After the fuss has died down, shouldn’t 38 Degree appoint a ‘green’ Lawyer to go through any new Government ruling on this issue?
Dean Bromley: The problem is this doesn’t stop governments selling our forests and woods they will just sell them off bit by bit as they have been doing for many years, before we know it in 10-20 years time we will find out they have sold them all off behind our backs, what we need to do is make sure they cannot sell any more forest…
Flangela Pangela: If you want evidence of what our forests would be turned into, if they were leased out or sold off to private companies, take a look at Parkhurst Forest on the Isle of Wight. This ancient forest HAS been leased out to European logging firm “Euroforest” and it is being unsympathetically ripped up at an alarming rate.
Where once there was dense forest, there is now torn up waste land. I understand it is the commercially grown pine that is being logged, but there is a lot of damage to the native trees and the rate at which the forest is disappearing is worrying. I have also seen no evidence of replanting.
The Isle of Wight is well known as one of the last havens for red squirrels in Britain and Parkhurst forest was the largest habitat they had. It is so upsetting to see this happening here on our beloved Isle, but it is heartening to hear that people’s voices have put a stop to this happening elsewhere.
Emily Parry: I don’t trust any of them – not one bit. I feel almost ashamed I voted at all, as I voted LibDem, but I also feel ashamed that I voted at all, as all of them have been involved in this except perhaps the greens or a few independents.
How dare they even think of this sell off of forests?! I looked at the stakeholders list – there were housing developers on it. It was disgraceful – the stakeholders should not have included them, because the forest should have at least have been assured legal protection against having housing put over them!
Can anyone tell me – is there a way to have a “vote of no confidence” in our current political system?
Julia Neesham: Overwhelmed with a sense of being part of this monumental movement towards protecting our environment, power to the people and trees!!!!
Shane Beaver: Proof that people out there really do care about the environment of the UK, and are determined to do something about. Another defeat for greed! That can’t be bad!
Patricia Rutt: So pleased, we helped plant a wood in our village for the Millenium and it is looking lovely now so great. Our MP was all for the sell off ( tory ) and is now sending out emails saying how pleased he is we have won, how hypocypical. Have signed the coast guard petition, lets get that one going and remember folks they …are going to try and bring fox hunting back !! Please keep an eye on that one. We are now going out of our way to look for any just causes that we can sign for.
David Clarke: I don’t understand why they have to waste millions on feasibility studies BEFORE they’ve actually asked the public what they think….
Joanna Newbold: FANTASTIC…..hip hip hooray to everyone who stuck up for their rights.People Power does work and so does the support of M.P’s fighting for the same cause. Thank you 38 Degrees team, your efforts and attention have been tireless. Inspiring outcome BUT we must make sure the Government does not blind side this decision and be vigilant, as a National Team we know we can make it work, it has up till now!
Kathleen Basiewicz: People power emerges, what is next for us to conquer
Julia Neesham: Overwhelmed with a sense of being part of this monumental movement towards protecting our environment, power to the people and trees!!!!
Andy Plummer: Was becoming very cynical about trying to object to things that seem beyond our control. This result has gone part way to reinstate belief in POWER TO THE PEOPLE. Good old Wolfie 🙂
Peter Wallace: It’s great to feel heard! Long may it continue! Thanks 38 degrees for making it possible……….
Sylvia Barham: great!!! about time we the people had our say.
Ed Hooper : Well done everyone it would seem that people power can make a difference. Now can we please have our country back?
Joanna Newbold: Too damn right..it’s time we let our combined voices/thoughts heard..fed up with being a ‘sheep’ herded round and penned up. Time to make a change and put right the massive wrong in our system.
Helen George: How fantastic that we actually got somewhere with the government! This was the only time I have ever written to my MP about anything so I am thrilled that it worked. Thanks for bringing such an important campaign to my and everyone else’s attention. I think without your campaign, this proposal could very well have slipped under the radar. God forbid!
Evelyn Corney: Forests can never be rightfully “owned” – instead, we all share a joint responsibility to keep them and preserve them so that everyone can enjoy them! Thank God that sanity prevailed on this occasion.
Anne Bell: Like it I love it. I didn’t spend Sundays with Brownies and Guides planting trees to have someone tell me I can’t stand next to them. a wonderfully well done everyone who bothered to speak out.
Ronnie McInnes: Superb news – I’m based in Scotland but was dead opposed to this happening anywhere in UK. I also used 38 Degrees great pages to get access to my local MP to find out why he had abstained. More than a week later I’m still waiting for his promised return call… Guess who’s vote he and his LIBDEM party will be losing at next election 🙂
Mary Woodfield: Absolutely brilliant news. I feel really proud to have been part of the campaign. Congratulations 38 degrees.
Ray Riley: Just a thought, when people in previous governments got things as wrong as this they resigned. Usually stating it was the honourable thing to do. Does this ramshackle ConDem bunch of miscreants know anything about honour or decency or fairnes or ……
Wendi Jarrett: Seriously excellent news. We the people CAN make our voices heard. all over the world ORDINARY PEOPLE are STANDING UP AND SPEAKING OUT… and democratically changing things. Excellent … Walk good x
Krystyna Boswell: So delighted over the success of the forest campaign. In dark times it is hard to imagine we, the people, can have an effect on government policy. But we did. Next battle…..
This is what makes environmental campaigning all worthwhile – the planned mining on the sacred Indian Mountain the tribal land of the Dongria Kondh has been stopped, afte four years of protests by locals and environmental organisations.
Controversial plans to develop a bauxite mine on sacred tribal land in India have been cancelled by India’s environment ministry. The Dongria Kondh’s – an indigenous tribe who have lived since time immemorial around the mountain Niyamgiri in the Indian state of Orissa – demands have been met, and the area will remain wild, lush and sacred. Multi-national company Vedanta’s existing aluminum refinery in the area had polluted local rivers, damaged crops and disrupted the lives of the local tribe; and will now not be able to expand six-fold. This is a Dongria Kondh victory first and foremost.
The project has been delayed by four years because of the Dongria Kondh’s intense opposition locally – including the brandishing of bows and arrows – as well as from environmental and tribal rights group. Globally, a loosely coordinated campaign sought to persuade multi-national Vedanta’s shareholders and financiers to distance themselves from the company. This is their magnificent victory as well – for Survival International and Amnesty International, various celebrity activists such as Bianca Jagger and Michael Palin, and numerous other loosely affiliated affinity campaigns, including most recently from Ecological Internet working with the Rainforest Information Centre.
“Yet again global people power has come to the aid of small, intact communities battling the ecosystem destroying economic growth machine. The Dongria Kondh’s amazing efforts should be placed in the context of a global people’s power movement to protect and restore ecosystems, and wrest control of land from industrial and speculative capitalism,” asserts Dr. Glen Barry, Ecological Internet’s President.
Lewis Gordon Pugh is probably best known for becoming the first person to undertake a long distance swim across the Geographic North Pole in 2007 and has come to be known as “the Human Polar Bear”.
He studied law at the University of Cape Town and Cambridge University and then worked as a maritime lawyer in London. He always wanted to be a pioneer swimmer and to swim where no-one else had swum before, inspired by explorers such as Roald Amundsen, Robert Scott, and Edmund Hillary
He has pioneered more swims around famous landmarks than any other swimmer and is the only person to have completed a long distance swim in every ocean in the world.
He is a passionate environmental campaigner who has used his pioneering adventures to draw attention to issues such as climate change and pollution, and now spends his time public speaking and campagning to world leaders to protect the environment.
On May 22nd 2010 he swam 1 km across a glacial lake on Mt Everest, with a water temperature of 2 degrees, an altitude of 5,300m and the fact that fresh water is less buoyant than salt water made it one of the most difficult swims he has ever undetaken.
Lake Imja was first seen in 1958 and is now nealy 2km long due to the melting Imja Glacier.
“These glaciers are not just ice. They are a lifeline. They provide a constant water supply to some 2 billion people – nearly a third of the world’s population. The peoples of India, China, Pakistan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Bhutan depend on the melt water from the Himalayan and Hindu Kush glaciers. But they are melting due to climate change. And without a regular supply of water, there is a real risk of instability in the region.
This is a plea to every nation, to do everything it can, to put a stop to climate change. We live in a global environment. What happens in one part of the world will impact every other part. And when it comes to cutting carbon emissions, we must stop arguing about whether China, the USA or the EU should act first. Given the urgency of the situation every country needs to put in place every solution at its disposal. There is no time for delay.”
– Lewis Pugh –
“We stand at a critical point in the history of the planet and the steps which we take over the next few years will determine the future of the natural world and the sustainability of mankind.”
– Lewis Pugh –
“Conservation of the environment is no longer their problem or my problem but our problem”
– Lewis Pugh –
“Bodies heal themselves. What matters most is the state of your spirit.”
– Lewis Pugh –
Gardenia (Cape Jasmine) – Better than Barbituates …
It’s official – if you take medication to calm you, relieve anxiety and tension or help you sleep, it would be just as effective (and a lot healthier) to throw away those tablets and buy some flowers.
Researchers from Ruhr University Bochum led by Prof. Dr.Hanns Hatt in collaboration with Dr. Olga Sergeeva and Prof. Helmut Hass from the Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf, have discovered that the scent from the Gardenia “Gardenia jasminoides” has the ability to soothe, relieve anxiety and to promote sleep, with the same effectiveness as commonly prescribed medication (barbituates or propofol)
Newspapers and online articles have been covering this story over the past few days but because of a translation problem from the German universities which ran the scientific investigation the qualities are being ascribed to Jasmine, but are correctly referring to the flower “Gardenia jasminoides” which is known also as Cape Jasmine but is actually Gardenia rather than Jasmine.
The report appears in the online issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
The researchers have been granted a patent for their discovery.
GABA Gardenia – Nature’s Own Healthy Barbituate
Sleeping pills, sedatives and relaxants are the most frequently prescribed psychotropic drugs with mild dosage having a calming effect and heavier dosage a hypnotic effect.
This class of substance includes alcohol, barbituates and opiates and are prescribed for anxiety and stress-related issues as well as being used as anaesthetics. They do have many side effects such as dizziness, hypertension, muscle weaknessand impaired coordination) and are potentially addictive.
These kinds of drugs (Benzodiazepines, barbituates and anaesthetics) work via adhesion on the site of receptors on the contact-points (synapses) of nerve cells by increasing the effect of GABA (gamma-amniobutyric acid)
The research included testing hundreds of fragrances to explore their effect on GABA receptors, and discovered that the two fragrances vertacetal-coeur (VC) from Gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides), and the chemical variation (PI24513) had the strongest effect – increasing the GABA effect more than five times, thus equaling the strength of known prescription drugs.
The usual United States response will be a potential availability in ten years and the DEA will make jasmine illegal and jail people for possessing it. The creation of another banned substance will increase court backlogs, burden the already overloaded penal system, and create a whole new “flower underworld.” That is how it is done in the United States.”
