Excerpt: "The film is meant to be both a celebration of the blockades' achievements and a primer for those interested in joining the campaign. It explains the dangers of tar sands extraction and the risks to public health posed by the pipeline as well as the strategy of non-violent direct action that has been delaying the pipeline so far."
Concerned residents of Texas and Oklahoma resist the start of TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline construction. (photo: Tar Sands Blockade)
New Documentary Celebrates the Voices of the Tar Sands Blockade
26 February 13
Blockadia Rising: Voices of the Tar Sands Blockade is an hour-long documentary film written and directed by Garrett Graham in collaboration with the Tar Sands Blockade and features exclusive video footage shot by the blockaders during the course of more than six months of sustained resistance.
n 2012, Texas landowners and environmental activists came together to organize resistance against a dangerous pipeline being built by a Canadian corporation to bring tar sands oil from Alberta Canada to refineries near the Gulf of Mexico. This project continues despite unprecedented opposition from indigenous communities, local farmers and even global environmental movements. From this struggle, a community of resistance was born that has attracted volunteers from around the continent who have successfully defied this multi-million dollar corporation with the power of non-violent direct action.
The film is meant to be both a celebration of the blockades' achievements and a primer for those interested in joining the campaign. It explains the dangers of tar sands extraction and the risks to public health posed by the pipeline as well as the strategy of non-violent direct action that has been delaying the pipeline so far.
The story takes place in the backwoods of East Texas where the pipeline crosses farmlands and homesteads as well as aquifers and old growth forests. You will hear the voices of the blockaders who are risking their lives to stop this pipeline. In the Texas heat, they have locked themselves to heavy machinery and braved the elements by living in trees. Hear these courageous folks in their own words.
Blockadia Rising is just the opening chapter in this ongoing movement to stop this pipeline and halt the extraction of the Canadian tar sands, but the blockaders see themselves as a part of a larger struggle against the consequences of runaway climate change caused by unchecked extraction of natural resources by industry at the expense of both human and non-human communities. This film speaks to all movements for environmental and social justice and showcases direct action techniques that have never been attempted before.
Blockadia Rising: Voices from the tar Sands Blockade was written, edited and narrated by Garrett Graham, an active participant of the Tar Sands Blockade who continues to support their efforts. This film is dedicated to them, and everyone fighting for environmental and social justice.
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The Art of Sophistry lives in Washington DC.
With a hammer.
I think that this is what the article is trying to explain in part (and don't forget the former "Dixiecrats").
It doesn't help that what passes for news rather than public education for poor folks, is sucked up from the flick'rin' screen owner-media's shallow focus, personality cultism, sound-byte short, detail-lite major issue avoidance, fear and hate-mongering, especially of "the other" -and a long simmering residual resentment over the Civil War from what I've seen of the South, that they've never gotten over.
I mean, they still have heavily-attende d Civil War "re-enactments" for Gawd's sake!
I don't mean to seem simplistic and of course it's never just that easy but then I'm not even a citizen, certainly not a pundit; just an observer writing from personal experience which is all I can offer.
So far as the South is concerned, all that changed in the past 50 years is the name of the White People's Party the idiots knuckle their brows to, to be loyal to "ol' Massa."
--- If the Right-wingers are willing to spend billions getting candidates into office, do you really think they stop there? Or is it possible you need to be a registered Republican just to get a job. One of my favorite conspiracy theories is that the NeoCons keep online lists of people who are not of their ilk and when there is a job opening or any other kind of opportunity, those who have the job or whatever consult this list and if they find your name you get zero.
Continued
When I went into the loan officer's office, he was effusive. Then he excused himself for a few minutes. When he came back his demeanor had totally changed; he was cold, short and rude. He all but threw me out of his office. You can't tell me they don't have a data base somewhere that allows them to pick and choose who they will do business with or advance. Don't forget, these people are as dishonest as the day is long and for us to trust them is totally foolish. We need to get RID of them and put the rest under strong and severe regulation if we are going to survive.
PS Read the Chris Hedges recent article on just this subject:
http://www.truthdig.com/chris_hedges/
The power companies know whether or not you conserve energy, the telephone company knows who you talk to, and the oil companies know how much you drive. At some point, someone knows about your social life, like how often you go out to dinner.
For whatever reason, the analysis drives the decisions to approve your requests for financing, and the salesman is not the decision maker. We're just "at the mercy" , and until someone like Glenn Greenwald gets into this cross-conflagra tion, we will remain at the mercy.
This doomed the country to haves and have-nots, regardless of how hard a person worked.
"We think you're too stupid to figure out the issues on your own. We know what's best for you because you are clearly unable to determine your own interests yourself. We think you're too stupid to understand issues.
The phrase may work well with the already-convert ed, but it almost certainly turns off other people.
--Peabody and Sherman
the Republican party was created to represent the interests of big business and big money in the 1850s. It has always represented only big corporations and banks.
95% of mass media in the US is owned by about 6 huge corporations. They only report favorable things about the republican party movement because that is the kind of political culture that corporate media wants.
It is really weird that Paul Ryan is such a moron and yet he is taken seriously on budget issues. He worships Ayn Rand. He's been a moocher off of public money for his whole life and made millions of dollars at it. But this is not reported. Instead he is made to seem like an economic genius. In reality, he's the only one who is stupid enough to make the insane and audacious proposals that he is making.
Ha! TR was put in by the JP Morgan banking interests and pledged allegiance all the way. To the extent that he understood economics at all, he is best described as a mercantilist.
Mark Twain, who knew a thing or two about people, met him twice and called him "clearly insane".
He never met a war he didn't want to pursue, was an imperialist at heart and if that's not enough for you...he was Richard Nixon's favorite president.
To be honest, I've had it. I awoke a Democrat, but will end the day as a registered Independent. I simply can't tell the two major parties apart any more.
American greatness"??? I mean, honestly, were you guys born yesterday?? Didn't you real Peggy Dennis' [widow of the CPUSA's General Secretary] Autobiography of an American Communist, after she fled to Reaganist "Conservatism"? The entire NEOCON strategy is straight out of Marx and Lenin!
EEWC