Sovereignty

Lubicon Lake Nation Wins Early Victory In Anti-Fracking Case

June 12, 2015 Alberta Native News, www.albertanativenews.com Resist! Canada, First Nations, Fracking, Oil & Gas, Sovereignty

By Alberta Native News - On June 5, 2015, the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta released Justice Simpson’s decision rejecting in part the Application to Strike brought by the defendant, oil giant PennWest Petroleum Ltd.(NYSE: PWE, TSE:PWT), who is being sued by the Lubicon Lake Nation, as represented by Chief Bernard Ominayak and the Lubicon Council in Ominayak v Penn West Petroleum Ltd. In March 2015, the parties had appeared before Justice Simpson in Peace River, AB, where PennWest argued that the entire action should be struck because it amounted to an abuse of process, pleading that the action was duplicative of a proceeding brought against Alberta and Canada and that the action constituted a collateral attack on the oil company’s authorizations.

Indigenous Name Change Considered For Fort George Park

June 12, 2015 Charelle Evelyn, www.princegeorgecitizen.com Resist! Canada, First Nations, Sovereignty

By Charelle Evelyn in Prince George Citizen - Fort George Park may get a new moniker if city council backs a recommendation to rename it in honour of the local First Nation. Coun. Murry Krause has suggested changing the name to Lheidli T'enneh Memorial Park as a step towards acknowledging "historic wrongs that have profoundly impacted generations of the Lheidli T'enneh people." Before it was a city space, Fort George Park was part of a Lheidli T'enneh village that was destroyed in 1913. A cemetery is all that remains of the settlement that was burned down to forcibly remove people from their homes. In a report to council, Krause - who chairs the Union of B.C. Municipalities' First Nations relations committee - said the city's centennial celebrations provide a strong opportunity for Prince George to "strengthen its relationship with the Lheidli T'enneh through meaningful acts of reconciliation."

The Rigged Trade Rebellion To Stop Fast Track Begins!

June 4, 2015 Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, www.popularresistance.org Resist! fast track, Sovereignty, TPP, Trade

By Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese. Washington, DC - The movement to stop Fast Track, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and other rigged trade agreements is huge and very diverse. It has delayed previous attempts over the past few years by Congress to pass Fast Track legislation that would allow the President to sign international agreements like the TPP, Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) into law before they go to Congress for restricted review, no amendments and only an up-or-down vote. This year, the President and Republican leadership are doing all that they can to get Fast Track. They want to complete the TPP but final negotiations have stalled until Congress passes Fast Track.

Native Tribes Declare Sovereignty From Maine

June 1, 2015 Alex Freeman, www.thefifthcolumnnews.com Resist! EPA, Indigenous People, Law, Maine, Sovereignty

By Alex Freeman in The Fifth Column News - The new Order maintains that native tribes in Maine retain their sovereignty, but holds that they now have a “relationship between equals with its own set of responsibilities,” yet declares that tribal lands, forms of tribal governance and natural resources controlled by the native tribes are subject to the laws and jurisdiction of the State of Maine. The takeover of lands was prompted by an EPA letter to the State, and claims that lack of Tribal participation in “the State’s interests” required the usurpation of Tribal sovereignty. The Letter, in fact, actually supports the Tribal position, as the Tribal standards of environmental protection are much stricter than those of the EPA or the State of Maine. Those close to the Penobscot Tribe tell The Fifth Column that LePage threatened to sue the EPA over the proposed new regulations, leading the Agency to back down.

Hypotheticals On The TPP

May 17, 2015 BadBoyScientist, www.dailykos.com Resist! Democracy, Sovereignty, TPP, Trade

This isn't as much a diary as a few questions to start a discussion. Supposing the TPP gets rammed through and American states, counties and cities lose some of their autonomy to the 'Star Chamber' of multinationals. I suspect they won't like it - and their constituents won't like it. 0) Can state and local governments practice 'civil disobedience' to protest an unjust law? 1) Could a state use this as a basis to secede from the United States since it will be placing the State under 'foreign rule' with no way to petition this 'shadow gov't'? 2) Could a city or state just ignore the ruling of this 'court'? I mean, how much power does that court have? Who enforces it? What could they do if a state said "Try to stop us from prohibiting the sale of those products and good luck collecting your settlement from us."

Tribes “Disrespected” By Officials In Grizzly Fight

May 11, 2015 Sara Atiqtalik, www.goaltribal.org Educate! Animal Rights, Indigenous Rights, Racism, Sovereignty

CODY, WY. 05-08-2015 -- James Walks Along was forced to abandon an address to the Yellowstone Ecosystem Subcommittee (YES) of the joint federal and state Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC) by Brian Nesvik, IGBC Chair and Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) Wildlife Division Chief, at the committee’s meeting in Cody, Wyoming on April 30, 2015. “This has never happened before,” said James Walks Along, the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Northern Cheyenne Nation. “I was shocked by the disrespect I was shown.” The YES-IGBC is a joint federal and state agency cross-jurisdictional body that takes the lead on grizzly bear management in Greater Yellowstone. In 2013 the YES-IGBC voted to delist the Yellowstone grizzly bear from the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and supports opening trophy-hunting seasons on the grizzly.

Release The TPP Text: Light Brigade And Sit-In

December 5, 2014 Staff, www.popularresistance.org Petitions and Online Actions Democracy, Sovereignty, TPP, Transparency

In Australia and New Zealand last month, tens of thousands of people turned out to protest the TPP. Most of the anti-TPP protests in Japan have been attended by thousands of people too. Can we do the same in Washington,DC? The more of us who show up, the stronger our message will be to the negotiators and the administration that the era of trade deals that undermine our democracy and sovereignty and that threaten human rights and the future of the planet is over. It's time to stop trying to sneak these corporate give-aways through Congress and move to an era of trade that works for everyone, that protects people and the planet rather than destroying them. Our focus while the trade negotiators are here is to release the text of the TPP to the public so we can understand what is being written in our name.

The Other Spotlights On Fighting Hunger

October 15, 2014 Rekha Basu, www.desmoinesregister.com Create! Food and Agriculture, Hunger, Poverty, Sovereignty

The World Food Prize is being awarded this week at a glitzy event that draws international dignitaries to Iowa and showcases Norman Borlaug, the Iowa native who founded the Green Revolution. Also being awarded are the Food Sovereignty Prize and Strong Feisty Woman Award, which honor grassroots efforts to fight hunger. These other awards also challenge the premise of the World Food Prize, with its reliance on high-yield, genetically modified seeds. These groups, which include Occupy the World Food Prize, say the GMO model can actually increase hunger, and the goal should be to make it easier for people to produce food. The difference in approaches is well illustrated by the people being honored.

Tribe In North Carolina Bans Fracking

September 28, 2014 Holly Kays, www.smokymountainnews.com Resist! Fracking, Indigenous Rights, Sovereignty

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has joined a growing number of local governments opposing the state legislature’s decision to allow hydraulic fracturing, called fracking, in North Carolina. Earlier this month, tribal council passed a resolution outlawing the practice on tribal lands, a force of authority stronger than what county and municipal governments possess. The June legislation that lifted the state’s moratorium on fracking included a clause keeping local governments from outlawing the practice in their jurisdiction, so their resolutions are an expression of opinion rather than an act of law. But the Eastern Band is a sovereign nation, so the tribal council is able to completely prevent drilling on Cherokee land.

Berkeley Says No To Corporate Trade Takeover

September 12, 2014 Phoebe Anne Sorgen and Ruth Caplan, www.popularresistance.org Resist! Democracy, Sovereignty, TAFTA, TPP

The resolution declares Berkeley to be a TPP and TAFTA Free Zone where Berkeley will not recognize trade provisions and tribunal rulings related to these agreements. Specifically, it states: “to every extent allowable by law, rules which do not promote the interests of workers, protect the environment, and improve the quality of life in all participating countries and which were negotiated without transparency as well as meaningful congressional and public input, and related tribunals’ rulings, will not be recognized.” The City Council resolution, which follows similar resolutions passed by Dane County WI and Madison WI on the TPP, encourages communities to take “peacefully powerful actions for self-determination such as becoming TPP/TAFTA-Free Zones.”

Global South Calls For Respect Of Sovereignty & Economic Justice

July 15, 2014 Staff, www.g77.org Organize! Democracy, Environment, Inequality, Poverty, Racism, Sovereignty, wealth inequality

1. We, the Heads of State and Government of the member States of the Group of 77 and China, have gathered in the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Plurinational State of Bolivia, for the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of the Group. 2. We commemorate the formation of the Group of 77 on 15 June 1964 and recall the ideals and principles contained in the historic Joint Declaration of the Seventy-Seven Developing Countries, signed at the end of the first session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), held in Geneva. 3. We recall that the first ever statement of the Group of 77 pledged to promote equality in the international economic and social order and promote the interests of the developing world, declared their unity under a common interest and defined the Group as “an instrument for enlarging the area of cooperative endeavour in the international field and for securing mutually beneficent relationships with the rest of the world”.

Does Kingdom Of Hawaii Still Exist?

May 29, 2014 Australia Network News, www.abc.net.au Educate! Hawaii, Law, Sovereignty

The CEO of the Hawaiian Affairs Office (OHA) has retained his job and gained public support to challenge the US on whether the Kingdom of Hawaii still exists as a sovereign country. Kamanaopono Crabbe sparked an internal crisis when he sent a letter to US Secretary of State John Kerry, asking for a ruling on whether the Kingdom of Hawaii still legally exists. The letter, which was quickly rescinded by the OHA's trustees, was prompted by the US Government's acknowledgment that the overthrow of the kingdom in 1893 was illegal. Political scientist Dr Keanu Sai, from Windward Communtiy College in Honolulu, told Pacific Beat the OHA board thought Dr Crabbe had violated their policy by sending the letter without approval, but later realised they were mistaken. "[Dr Crabbe] was not in violation of any policy of the board but rather was operating on his diligence and risk management," Dr Sai said. Mr Crabbe has now won the support of the OHA trustees, who have moved to send the letter again and retain him in his role as CEO. "They're in full support and they say that his questions definitely do have merit."

EU Rejecting Core Of TAFTA, Unwilling To Cede Protection

January 22, 2014 BBC News, www.bbc.co.uk Educate! Sovereignty, TAFTA

Last week 10 European NGOs issued a joint statement raising doubts about the TTIP's mechanism for legal disputes, called the "Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS)". The statement said there was a risk the mechanism could "open the gates for multinationals and investors to sue EU member states if new environmental or health legislation is introduced that adversely affects their business prospects". It warned of a "chilling" effect - the fear that legislating in certain areas of public health or the environment could trigger expensive lawsuits with US companies.

Ten Days To Stop Fast Track And The TPP!

January 22, 2014 Staff, www.popularresistance.org Resist! Corporatism, Democracy, Sovereignty, TPP

January 22 marks the beginning of a ten day push by groups who work on a wide variety of issues to stop Congress from granting the President Fast Track for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). These groups are working together because all of our work to protect people and the planet will be undermined if the TPP is signed into law. Why? Because the TPP will give corporations the right to sue governments even down to the local level for loss of expected profits (read billions of dollars) if laws to protect people and the planet interfere with profits.

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