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Tag: NoDAPL

Standing Rock Isn’t The Only Pipeline Fight: West Texas Activists Resist Trans-Pecos Pipeline
A sign at a San Francisco rally for Standing Rock water protectors reads, "No Trans-Pecos Pipeline." November 15, 2016. (Flickr / Peg Hunter, CC NC)
January 10, 2017
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Standing Rock Isn’t The Only Pipeline Fight: West Texas Activists Resist Trans-Pecos Pipeline

Posted in Journalism, and Lee Camp

After the recent, short-term victory in the battle against the Dakota Access Pipeline, a pair of new encampments led by Native Americans opposed to the Trans-Pecos Pipeline in West Texas show that the tactics of the #NoDAPL water protectors have spread nationwide.

The Army Corps of Engineers denied a critical permit to the Dakota Access Pipeline on December 4, delaying completion of construction until Donald Trump takes office, and giving opponents more time to target the pipeline’s financial sponsors. On Saturday, one Native American water protector and one local resident of Alpine, Texas, a community threatened by the Trans-Pecos Pipeline, locked themselves to construction equipment owned by Energy Transfer Partners, the Dallas-based company behind both pipelines.

Read moreStanding Rock Isn’t The Only Pipeline Fight: West Texas Activists Resist Trans-Pecos Pipeline
How To Break Rules In 2017 (Gonzo Notes 03)
Police shut down a subway station to prevent anti-poverty activist Cheri Honkala from delivering baked beans to the Democratic National Convention. Philadelphia, July 27, 2016. (Kit O'Connell, CC)
December 24, 2016
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How To Break Rules In 2017 (Gonzo Notes 03)

Posted in Creative Commons, Gonzo Notes, and Journalism

Here in Austin, Texas, activists love to hold rallies at the state capitol building.

It’s a magnificent edifice of pink granite and the symbolic center of our state, so I can understand the impulse. Yet the grounds are so massive that all but the biggest crowds become visually lost among the monuments, and for about 18 months out of every 24 the building is empty (“a big pink tourist trap”).

I’m tired of attending protests outside an empty building. The bigger issue is that strongly worded speeches alone won’t solve the immense problems we face. Neither will petitions or angry letters.

Read moreHow To Break Rules In 2017 (Gonzo Notes 03)
#GonzoNotes 02: Celebrate Every Victory
Marchers take the streets in solidarity with the Standing Rock water protectors in San Francisco. September 30, 2016. (Flickr / Peg Hunter)
December 9, 2016
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#GonzoNotes 02: Celebrate Every Victory

Posted in Creative Commons, Gonzo Notes, and Journalism

During the first meeting of Occupy Austin, the general assembly agreed that the movement would “celebrate every victory.”

It’s an idea that I’ve often returned to in the years since OWS ended, and I was thinking about it when the water protectors of Standing Rock won an unexpected but hard-fought victory last weekend.

On Sunday, the Army Corps Of Engineers refused to grant a permit for the pipeline to continue under a river that passes through sacred lands in Sioux territory, temporarily preventing completion.

As thousands of veterans streamed into Standing Rock, promising to put their bodies in between cops and Native Americans, “the power structure itself blinked in the face of our unity,” Kelly Hayes wrote, eloquently, on Monday.

Read more#GonzoNotes 02: Celebrate Every Victory
Private Corporate Armies Oppress From Colombia To Standing Rock (Black Tower Radio Interview)
A group of water protectors gather at the entrance to the Standing Rock encampment, lined with the flags of tribal nations. December 4, 2016. (Flickr / Joe Brusky, CC NC)
December 7, 2016
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Private Corporate Armies Oppress From Colombia To Standing Rock (Black Tower Radio Interview)

Posted in Audio, Journalism, and MintPress News

During decades of civil war, U.S. and multinational companies used the right-wing paramilitaries of Colombia as their private armies. Though mining companies were major culprits, other corporate criminals include Coca-Cola and Chiquita. Only the peace process, which was tentatively finalized last week, might reduce the ability of foreign companies to oppress the indigenous people and Afro-Colombians.

Of course, the same corporate power is on display in North Dakota, where Energy Transfer Partners is using both the police and private security to brutalize the Native American water protectors and their allies. The recent decision by the Army Corps of Engineers to reject an important permit needed to complete construction is a setback for the Dakota Access Pipeline, but the struggle is far from over.

Read morePrivate Corporate Armies Oppress From Colombia To Standing Rock (Black Tower Radio Interview)
#NoDAPL: Both Dakota Access Pipeline Builder & Water Protectors Refuse To Back Down
A group of water protectors raise their fists at Oceti Sakowin Camp. November 21, 2016. (Flickr / Oceti Sakowin Camp)
December 7, 2016
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#NoDAPL: Both Dakota Access Pipeline Builder & Water Protectors Refuse To Back Down

Posted in Archive, Journalism, and Lee Camp

On Sunday, the Army Corps of Engineers denied a permit to allow Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), the Dakota Access Pipeline’s builder, to cross under Lake Oahe in North Dakota, a key step necessary for completing the pipeline through Sioux sacred lands. The Army also promised to begin a new environmental impact investigation and consider alternate routes for the pipeline.

Undeterred by the Army’s press release, ETP and their partners in fossil fuel crimes, Sunoco Logistics Partners, shot back with a fiery statement of their own on Sunday night, promising to complete the pipeline along the current path. “ETP and SXL are fully committed to ensuring that this vital project is brought to completion and fully expect to complete construction of the pipeline without any additional rerouting in and around Lake Oahe. Nothing this Administration has done today changes that in any way,” the corporate stooges wrote.

Read more#NoDAPL: Both Dakota Access Pipeline Builder & Water Protectors Refuse To Back Down
#NoDAPL Isn’t Over Yet: Energy Transfer Partners Vows To Build Dakota Access Pipeline
A sign in Oceti Sakowin camp reads "Indigenous sovereignty protects land, air, water. " (Flickr / Oceti Sakowin)
December 6, 2016
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#NoDAPL Isn’t Over Yet: Energy Transfer Partners Vows To Build Dakota Access Pipeline

Posted in Archive, Journalism, and MintPress News

Native American opponents of the Dakota Access pipeline and their allies celebrated after the Army Corps of Engineers denied a key permit to the pipeline builder on Sunday.

Citing concerns raised by the leaders of the Standing Rock Sioux nation that the pipeline would endanger tribal sovereignty and limit access to fresh water in the event of a spill, the Army Corps of Engineers denied Energy Transfer Partners, the pipeline builder, a permit to cross under Lake Oahe in North Dakota.

Energy Transfer Partners and Sunoco Logistics Partners, one of several corporate partners in the pipeline’s construction, rejected the Army’s decision in a sharply critical press release published on Business Wire on Sunday night.

“This is nothing new from this Administration, since over the last four months the Administration has demonstrated by its action and inaction that it intended to delay a decision in this matter until President Obama is out of office,” the statement read.

Read more#NoDAPL Isn’t Over Yet: Energy Transfer Partners Vows To Build Dakota Access Pipeline