The God That Failed: The 30-Year Lie of the Market Cult.
"... The effectiveness of this unprecedented transfer of wealth from ordinary citizens to the top tiers of the business world remains to be seen. It will certainly insulate the very rich from the consequences of their own greed and folly and fraud; but it is not at all clear how much these measures will shield the vast majority of people from the catastrophe that has been visited upon them by the elite... government after government... fell to the onslaught of an extremist faith... the rigid doctrine held that an unregulated market would always "correct" itself... This was of course an absurdly reductive and savagely ignorant view of history, money and human nature; but because it flattered the rich and powerful, offering an "intellectual" justification for rapacious greed and ever-widening economic and social inequality, it was adopted as holy writ by the elite and promulgated as public policy.... took its strongest hold in the United States and Britain, and was then imposed on many weaker nations through the IMF-led "Washington Consensus"... not only were markets to be freed from the constraints placed on them after the world-shattering effects of the Great Depression, but all public spending was to be slashed ruthlessly to the bone. (Although exceptions were always made for the Pentagon war machine.) After all, every dollar spent by a public entity on public services and amenities was a dollar taken away from the private wheeler-dealers who could more usefully employ it in increasing the wealth of the elite -- who would then allow some of their vast profits to "trickle down" to the lower orders... Regulation and oversight of financial markets were systematically stripped away or rendered toothless. Essential public services were sold off, for chump change, to corporate interests. Public spending on anything other than making war, threatening war and profiting from war was pared back or eliminated... ordinary citizens were told by their governments: we have no money to spend on your needs, on your communities, on your infrastructure, on your health, on your children, on your environment, on your quality of life. We can't do those kinds of things any more... But now, as the emptiness and falsity of the Chicago cargo cult stands nakedly revealed, even to some of its most faithful and fanatical adherents, we can see that this 30-year mantra by our governments has been a deliberate and outright lie. The money was there -- billions and billions and billions of dollars of it, trillions of dollars of it. We can see it before our very eyes today -- being whisked away from our public treasuries and showered upon the banks and the brokerages."
Please read entire article at the linked blog, Empire Burlesque
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Article at The Dominion, Criminalizing Indigenous Rights in Canada.
"The Canadian state, built on the theft and occupation of indigenous lands, continues to benefit from its unjustly acquired assets. Equipped with an ultra-security state apparatus, Canada's repressive and suppressive anti-terrorist and security measures have historically struck hardest against those that have the most to gain, namely aboriginal nations and their legitimate claims for their rights to land and dignity... Indigenous resistance to Olympic development has been criminalized... resulted in the punishment of Harriet Nahanee... She died of pneumonia and complications at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver on Feb. 24th, one month after her sentence. It is suspected that Nahanee's condition worsened during her incarceration at the Surrey Pre-Trial centre. Solicitor-General John Les denied any government responsibility and refused requests for an inquiry..."
Cool pics of the sun.
Indigenous protesters in Colombia under siege.
"... the president of Colombia has declared a state of emergency and sent in the para-militarises and the police. Already 35 indigenous activists have been injured in the area, of whom two seriously. Security forces have attacked the unarmed indigenous protesters with everything from machetes to long-range rifles."
Joe the plumber: Charles Keating operative?
Coming full-circle through Indian Country. Interesting article.
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Graffiti portrait; "King of the Hill". Painted on the fort at my friend Zzzorhn's Spiritfire Paintball Park.
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New Native mag to check out, Aboriginal Hunter Magazine.
"The Aboriginal Hunter Magazine online version will change each month... The print version of The Aboriginal Hunter Magazine will appear quarterly..."
Pine Ridge Reservation Radio Station KILI-FM Brings Its Renewable Energy Vision to Life.
"... will dedicate the installation of a single wind turbine which will entirely power the station through renewable energy... Expected to produce more than 92 MWh of electricity annually, the turbine will save the radio station $12,000 in energy costs..."
Tim Giago article, Voting for Deeds over Promises.
First Nation ex-Olympian calls for Pound to resign over 'savages' remark.
"... We must not forget that 400 years ago, Canada was a land of savages, with scarcely 10,000 inhabitants of European origin, while in China, we're talking about a 5,000-year-old civilization," said Mr. (Dick) Pound in the interview..."
New laws recognizing Native Americans penned by Inland lawmakers.
"... The first, a measure to transfer more than 1,000 acres of federal land to the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians... A second bill... establishes the day after Thanksgiving as Native American Heritage Day..."
Native Arts Community, at LiveJournal.
Book review of Spirited Encounters: American Indians Protest Museum Policies and Practices, at Indian Country Today.
"Tahlequah author Karen Coody Cooper, a retiree from the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., has researched American Indian activism and the ensuing protests regarding museums... American Indian protests caught the attention of the U.S. Congress in 1987 when hearings disclosed that the Smithsonian Institution alone possessed 34,000 American Indian remains. Native activists pushed for passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.The enactment of NAGPRA in 1990 served to transform museums by requiring them to release information about their holdings to pertinent federally recognized tribes and to return Native remains, burial goods and ceremonial objects to their homeland governments."
Show signals cultural renaissance for Coast Salish. Until January 11, 2009; Seattle Art Museum.
"... The symbols of civic pride placed at the Pike Place Market and Pioneer Square actually trace to the Haida people, of southern Alaska and coastal British Columbia... Coast Salish people hope to set the record straight when an unprecedented exhibition opens Friday at Seattle Art Museum. "S'abadeb — The Gifts: Pacific Coast Salish Art and Artists" showcases the living culture of some 70 tribes and groups... whose territory once encompassed the Puget Sound region, together with the sites of Seattle and Vancouver and Victoria, B.C."
Daphne Odjig opening two shows in Toronto area.
Influential Family of Artists Presents Traditional Native Themes through Modern Eyes.
"Unconquered- Allan Houser and the Legacy of One Apache Family" opens at the Oklahoma Historical Society on October 24, 2008. The exhibition of artworks, artifacts, and photographs will illustrate cultural survival and expression through five generations of one Apache family – the Haozous/Houser family. Spanning the years of 1886 to 2008 the exhibition will trace the family’s history in Oklahoma. Allan’s father, Sam Haozous, was among the Chiricahua Apaches forced from their New Mexico homelands, imprisoned in Florida, then Alabama, and finally assigned to the Ft. Sill Army base in Oklahoma..."
Padilla: Combating fake Indian Arts and Crafts: a proposal for action.
March Point
"Cody Nick and Travis, three teens from the Swinomish Indian Tribe, wanted to make a gangster movie or rap video. But instead they were asked to investigate the impact of two oil refineries on their tribal community. March Point follows their journey as they come to understand themselves, the environment and the threat their people face... March Point is the story of three boys awakening to the destruction these refineries have wrought in their communities. Ambivalent environmental ambassadors at the onset, the boys grapple with their assignment through humor, sarcasm and a candid self-knowledge..."
Waterbuster
"A personal story of how a multimillion dollar project displaced the Mandan/Hidatsa/Arikara Nation in North Dakota. Producer J. Carlos Peinado returns to the Fort Berthold Reservation and discovers stories of the past as he assesses tribal identity. Through interviews and archival footage, a uniquely Native American perspective emerges, giving light to a portrait of resilience and survival in the face of catastrophic change."
River of Renewal.
"... a feature-length documentary film that tells the story of Jack Kohler, a city-born American Indian who travels through the land from which his ancestors came. His journey of self-discovery reveals to the public a region, a people, and the river that gives life to both..."
NewsForNatives.Com
Freida Jacques of Onondaga Nation Opens Native American Film Series with Oct. 27 Lecture
"Onondaga Nation leader Freida Jacques will give a talk on "Haudenosaunee Culture, Life in the Long House" on Monday, Oct. 27, at SUNY Cortland, as the College’s Native American Studies launches a cultural events series during November. Events are free and open to the public..."
OVIDE MERCREDI, gives alecture on TVOntario's Big Ideas lecture program. Audio and Video downloads available.
"The legacy of residential schools in Canada lives on, and the historic Truth and Reconciliation Commission will soon commence its work to contribute to truth, healing, and reconciliation. In this lecture, Ovide Mercredi, chief of the Misipawistic Cree nation and former chief of the Assembly of First Nations, reflects on what true reconciliation means and explains that it will only work if the reconciliation process engages aboriginals as equal partners..."
Tim Giago article. An Election on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
"On November 4, 2008 the people of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota are looking at new choices. Neither of the top two candidates has ever served as president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. Russell Means, commonly known as an Indian activist, and Theresa "Huck" Two Bulls, the current South Dakota State Senator, former Vice President of the Tribe and four-time elected Tribal Secretary are facing off for the office of President of the Oglala Sioux Tribe..."
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