[Magdalen] Something we should probably all be praying about (LONG)

[Jay Weigel]

The so-called "mainstream media" is pretty much ignoring this story. I
don't know whether they don't consider it important, whether they are
afraid of offending Big Oil, or what. About the only outlets that are
covering it are NPR and some of the progressive ones such as the Lawrence
O'Donnell show on MSNBC and various shows that are available online. It is,
however, getting fairly extensive publicity via Facebook and Twitter.

I'm speaking of the Native American protest of the pipeline across Indian
land in North Dakota. This is important on a number of fronts, not only
because it is peaceful (strictly enforced rules in the camps against
alcohol, drugs and firearms) but because of the cooperation among tribes on
a scale not seen before, and because of what they are  protesting. This is
a good account of what is going on there;
http://www.outsideonline.com/2111206/whats-happening-standing-rock

"Security forces" in the pay of the oil company attacked the protesters
Saturday with dogs and pepper spray while police stood by watching. Several
protesters were injured and had to be taken to hospitals. The Standing Rock
Sioux Nation has a hearing scheduled for a restraining order against the
oil company in Federal Appeals Court, but of course the Labor Day holiday
got in the way of that, and meanwhile the oil company bulldozed ancestral
graves on Indian land. Yes, you heard that...on the reservation. And the
Corps of Engineers has admitted there is no "right of eminent domain" to
that land.

Here in Virginia people are protesting against a pipeline that would take
private farmland and also go through national forests and national parks,
and pretty much for the same reasons.....pipelines have been proven unsafe.
They break frequently and pollute the land and most importantly, the WATER.
Sneer at Wikipedia if you want, but it's invaluable for this kind of
thing--here's a list of pipeline accidents *just since 2000*:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pipeline_accidents_in_the_United_States_in_the_21st_century

Nobody wants their water source polluted, and least of all in the
water-poor areas of North Dakota and on the reservations. That's the main
thing our Native brothers and sisters are protesting and we should ALL be
protesting. The other is that once again, treaties are disregarded and here
comes someone to take their land, this time a big corporation.

There are some hard questions here, people. Why do big corporations get to
run over the rights of people to clean water and clean air and unpolluted
land? Why are they allowed to take land that was given to people *by the
government*, supposedly "in perpetuity"? Why are peaceful protests ignored
by the media? Why are "private security forces" allowed to attack peaceful
protesters?

Oh, and by the way, the protests in Virginia don't get any coverage either.

<rant mode off>

Jay, getting off the soapbox but feeling very strongly about this one thing
today