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For me it is All About Being of Service & Living the Life of the Give-Away....

Being Mindful of those who are unable to speak for themselves; our Non-Two Legged Relations and the Future Generations.

It's about walking on the Canka Luta Waste Behind the Cannunpa and the ceremonies.

It's about Mindfulness and Respect. It's about Honesty and owning up to my foibles.

It's about: Mi Takuye Oyacin

Saturday, May 30, 2015

Homeopathic Remedies: The FDA Wants to Hear From You


Do you think people should have the right to choose homeopathic medicines over other remedies? The FDA wants to hear public opinion and knowledge about homeopathy. TAKE ACTION: Send in your comments by June 22! Learn more about this process:http://orgcns.org/1HSIzJJ

U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Friday, May 29, 2015

"Clean Water Rule": You Lose Your Water Rights


http://www.patriotnetdaily.com/obama-admin-takes-power-over-private-land-claims-all-nations-waterways-creeks-wetlands-ditches-and-ponds/

Obama Admin Takes Power 

Over Private Land: 

Claims all Nation’s Waterways; 

Creeks, Wetlands, Ditches, 

and Ponds

By   /   May 29, 2015  /   No Comments
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Obama Admin Takes power over Private Land- Claims all Nation’s Waterways; Creeks, Wetlands, Ditches, and Ponds
The Obama administration on Wednesday claimed unprecedented power over this nation’s waterways; laying claim to all of America’s creeks, wetlands, rivers, lakes, and yes even ditches and ponds.
Through the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corp of Engineers the Obama administration says they have the authority to control all U.S. waterways – and they plan to use this power to claim control and authority of even the smallest body of water on private land.
Under the new EPA regulations, which were unconstitutionally granted by President Obama, The EPA has decided that it can regulate isolated wetlands and ponds on private lands and in farmer’s fields by designating them “regional treasures.”
- See more at: http://www.patriotnetdaily.com/obama-admin-takes-power-over-private-land-claims-all-nations-waterways-creeks-wetlands-ditches-and-ponds/#sthash.hXROyCOf.dpuf

“We’re finalizing a clean water rule to protect the streams and the wetlands that one in three Americans rely on for drinking water. And we’re doing that without creating any new permitting requirements and maintaining all previous exemptions and exclusions.” EPA head Gina McCarthy told reporters Wednesday.
While some hardcore environmentalists may think these new powers are a good thing, even some Democrats are trying to stop the Obama administration’s bizarre power grab. Three moderate Democrats in the Senate and 24 in the House have joined the Republicans in opposition.
Sen. Jim Inhofe, chairman of the Senate Committee on Environmental and Public Works (EPW), warns that the EPA’s final rule on the “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) represents an “unprecedented land grab” of private property – and says he “will not allow it.”
“This makes it more important than ever for Congress to act.  Last month, I stood with a bipartisan group of Senators to unveil S. 1140, the Federal Water Quality Protection Act, to rein in EPA’s attempt to use the Clean Water Act to expand federal control over land and water.  Sen. Dan Sullivan, Chairman of the Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife Subcommittee, held a legislative hearing on the bill last week that underscored the importance of keeping the focus of the Clean Water Act on clean water and called out EPA’s attempt to use the rule as a tool for habitat protection. The EPA has set themselves up to increase federal control over private lands, and I will not allow it.
“Our committee is planning for a markup on S. 1140 this summer, as we continue our work to halt EPA’s unprecedented land grab and refocus its job on protecting traditional navigable waters from pollution.”
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise said:
“EPA’s attempt to redefine ‘navigable waterways’ to include every drainage ditch, backyard pond, and puddle is a radical regulatory overreach that threatens to take away the rights of property owners and will lead to costly litigation and lost jobs. The House is committed to fighting back against this radical policy, which is why we passed bipartisan legislation earlier this month to stop the EPA in their tracks from moving forward with this misguided proposal. It’s time for President Obama’s EPA to abandon these radical proposals, all in the name of protecting wetlands and waterways, that instead will only lead to more American jobs being shipped overseas at the expense of the American economy.”

EPA & Obama’s Power Grab for Private Land

This is something that I have been writing about for quite some time. Over the last couple of years I’ve covered a number of stories on how the Obama administration and the EPA have used the Clean Water Act to take land from private property owners.
By redefining the term “Waters of the United States,” the EPA has essentially laid claim to all private land, and can seize that land by government order.
From the story of the story of Chantell and Mike Sackett, a couple who were harassed and fined off their land after the EPA claimed their dry land was actually wetland, to the Obama administration seizing the entire town of town of Riverton, Wyoming, this abuse of power was already in full swing even before these new rules officially to hold.
The Pacific Legal Foundation, a leading litigator in support of property rights and balanced environmental regulations, warns the new regulatory rule would vastly expand federal Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction in a way that goes beyond the limits of the law and the Constitution.
“Today, the Corps and EPA released a new rule that would vastly — and illegally — expand federal regulatory power under the Clean Water Act through a practically open-ended new definition of the term, ‘waters of the United States,’” said PLF Principal Attorney M. Reed Hopper.
“Under this new rule, the only waters that are clearly not subject to federal regulatory power are the few that are exempted or expressly excluded from the Clean Water Act, including artificial reflective pools, ornamental waters, ground water, and gullies, non-wetland swales, and puddles,” Hopper noted.  “In the wake of this new rule, prudent lawyers would have to advise their clients that unless the waters or ditches on their land are exempt or expressly excluded under the letter of the Clean Water Act, they may be subject to federal regulation.”

American Dream of Land Ownership is now an American Nightmare

farmland
Sadly, these types of abuses have been happening for years; and it’s not just the Obama administration that is killing the American dream of Land Ownership.
From a WWII vet who was forced out of his 88-year-old family owned grocery store; to the heartbreaking story of Andrew Wordes, who took his life after code enforcement teams seized his home; to the Off-Griders in California who were threatened with arrest for daring to live an off the grid lifestyle, these stories highlight how out of control these bureaucrats have become at every level of government.
Our basic Constitutional rights are being shredded right before our eyes, and the once great American Dream of owning your own little piece of land is quickly becoming an American Nightmare.

Property owners livid after feds seize their private land

North Carolina Woman Being Evicted From Her Own Land For Living in Tent

GOP, Farmers Battle EPA Over Waterway Land Grab

Obama Green Lights Another BLM Land Grab – Half Million Acres

Harry Reid’s BLM’s Next Victim: Red River Land Grab Happening Now, 

First Bundy Ranch Now This! (Video)

Map Showing Stunning Extent Of Federal Controlled Land

Obama has created his private army

- See more at: http://www.patriotnetdaily.com/obama-admin-takes-power-over-private-land-claims-all-nations-waterways-creeks-wetlands-ditches-and-ponds/#sthash.hXROyCOf.dpuf

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Hold Plains All-American Pipeline Accountable

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/santa_barbara_oil_spill_loc/?fmbStjb&pv=64

Dolphins drowning in oil

I live on the California coast, and I'm crying as I write this. Last week a massive oil pipeline burst off of Santa Barbara, and now thousands of dolphins, sea lions, and pelicans are drowning in slick rivers of oil. But my rage and sadness is also hope, because I know together we can make sure this never happens again.

While our rocky shores are awash in oil and dead fish, Plains All American CEO Greg Armstrong raked in over $5 million compensation last year, and is guaranteed a $29 - $87 million golden parachute. These guys broke the law to make a quick buck. But if we hold them accountable, we can prevent another catastrophe by putting oil company executives everywhere on notice that they can’t get away with these kinds of shady games on our watch.

Let's tell California Attorney General Kamala Harris and local District Attorney Joyce Dudly to file civil and criminal charges against Plains All American and its shady CEOs! 

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/santa_barbara_oil_spill_loc/?fmbStjb&pv=64

- Terra Lawson-Remer, Avaaz Campaign Director. San Diego, CA.

Clean Water Rule? Where?


Seriously, how does the president declare a "Clean Water" Rule, when he actively supports: Drilling in the Arctic, Fracking, Monsanto, & Pipelines ALL which Actively Contribute to the Poisoning of our Water?


Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Moon River: Bala Falls: Grannie Laughing Eagle

The Moon River that runs through the small community of Bala, Ontario has long been one of the main routes between Georgian Bay and the Muskoka Lakes for the indigenous people who lived and traveled through the area including the Wendat, the Anishnabe, the Haudenosaunee and the Metis. Early explorers and settlers in this region also used this route, first by canoe, later by steamship, transferring at Bala. The are several portages along the route including the now spectacular one at Bala Falls (Originally Bala rapids).



For various reasons the local first nations and Metis communities have not been particularly obvious & forthcoming in their support for those honouring the water, protecting the land and the endangered species in the area. Folks including my good friend Peggy Peterson, the Save the Bala Falls team, the Friends of Muskoka among others who are working to prevent the destruction of this community and the beautiful Bala Falls through the construction of a new hydro dam at the falls by Swift River Energy Ltd (SREL) 

May 10th however this changed...the Right Honourable James Barlteman, former lieutenant governor of the Province of Ontario, and a member of the Rama Chippewa FN has come on board. He has formally requested a Part II individual EA order for the proposed Bala small hydro project. (and I quote from his email)

"....Bala falls may not be the rain forest. And the threatened Blanding’s turtle is not worth poaching for ivory. But it is the same thing on a smaller scale. It is exploitation of the environment and the local people for private profit at the bidding of a distant government (remember Oakville?).

Ontario has precious few uncluttered water falls left. This Muskoka gem is not yet lost. The proponent is not meeting their environmental commitments. The government needs to be roused to realize this.

-The Wynne government is still dogmatically determined to sacrifice the Bala falls, and Bala, to a redundant small hydro plant and higher hydro bills. The power will be subsidized. It is unneeded. The plant is therefore not cost effective.

-After a 10-year battle, the developer still does not have all the necessary approvals (until May 15 anyway, but still no mitigating permit for the Blanding’s turtle) to begin construction. .

Appropriately, Heritage Canada listed the Bala falls as an Endangered Natural Site in 2012, the same year that the province approved the damage that the contractor then intended to inflict on the falls.
-However, that approved planned damage has now escalated! My letter below lists the planned modifications and other changes. Because of these unapproved changes, I (and others) have requested a Part II Individual

Environmental Assessment to be required before these modifications receive authorization. As a socially and environmentally responsible voter and taxpayer, I am entreating you to forward this letter to register your objection to these changes. These significant modifications are intended despite climate change and the increased Muskoka flooding; unanswered disaffection expressed by neighbouring First Nations; and building in the habitat of the protected Blanding’s turtle.

Dear Minister Murray:
In view of circumstantial and unapproved significant modifications planned subsequent to approval of the 2012 Addendum, I hereby also request a Part II individual EA order for the proposed Bala small hydro project.

In accordance with stated government policy, please furnish me with a reply by mail or via my email below.

Yours Truly,
Jim Bartleman jkbartleman@gmail.com
Perth and
C/O Chippewas of Rama First Nation
5884 Rama Road, Suite 200
Rama, Ontario
L3V 6H6"

Thank you, your honour. Your support is very much appreciated.

USA: Fun FACTS!

CA Against Water Bottling Companies

http://money.cnn.com/2015/05/26/news/companies/california-bottled-water-drought/index.html

Drought turns Californians against water bottling companies


As California residents are forced to cut back their water use, some are outraged that companies bottling water there aren't asked to do the same.

They've made a scapegoat of big names like Nestle, which operates five water bottling plants in California. Dozens of activists protested outside two of the plants last week and online petitions have garnered thousands of signatures demanding Nestle (NSRGF) halt its bottling operations.
In fact, there are 110 water bottling plants in the state. In addition to Nestle, others big bottlers include Pepsi (PEP), which bottles Aquafina; Coca-Cola (CCE), which bottles Dasani; and Crystal Geyser.
But the thing is, the amount of water bottled in California is a tiny fraction of what the entire state uses.
"It's a pretty small amount," said Tim Moran, a spokesman for the state's Water Resources Control Board. The state doesn't actually track how much water is bottled there.
The International Bottled Water Association says that about 3.1 billion gallons of water are bottled in California annually. Nestle, for example, uses 725 million gallons of water annually at its California bottling plants.
But that volume is dwarfed by the 4 trillion, (with a "t,") gallons used by residents every year.
Those figures don't include the biggest users in California: farmers. Agricultural use accounts for about 80% annually.
Still, people are angry that companies continue to bottle water during the fourth year of the drought, making money off of it. Meanwhile the governor has imposed mandatory water restrictions on residents for the first time in the state's history. Water districts must reduce the amount customers use by an average of 25%, or face fines. That means Californians need to pull back on watering their lawns.
bottle-water-california
Nestle said it won't stop bottling water in California because, chiefly, "people need to drink water."
The State Water Resources Control Board agrees.
"We've determined that bottled water serves a good use, especially in drought-stricken areas where people's wells have gone dry," said spokeswoman Miryam Barajas.
While the board implements regulations on residents, it doesn't regulate bottled water companies, which collect surface water, pump water from the ground, or buy water from local providers. In some areas, bottlers don't need any kind of approval to use ground water.
Nestle, as well as Pepsi and Coke, say that they are conserving water by making their plants more efficient.
Starbucks (SBUX) did bow to public pressure, and said it would stop producing its Ethos bottled water in the state. It's moving those operations to Pennsylvania in the next six months.
Even if every bottling company moved out, that wouldn't solve the drought.
But that doesn't mean it wouldn't have an impact at the local level, said Peter Gleick, president of the environmental think tank called the Pacific Institute.
"We're in a really bad drought," he said, "and it's reasonable to take a look at all water uses." 

Pipeline Incidents Since 1986


AMERICA’S DANGEROUS PIPELINES

Analysis by Richard Stover, Ph.D., and the Center for Biological Diversity


A new analysis of oil and gas pipeline safety in the United States reveals a troubling history of spills, contamination, injuries and deaths.



This time-lapse video shows pipeline incidents from 1986 
to 2013, relying on publicly available data from the federal 
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. 
Only incidents classified as “significant” by the agency 
are shown in the video. “Significant” incidents include 
those in which someone was hospitalized or killed, 
damages amounted to more than $50,000, more than 
5 barrels of highly volatile substances or 50 barrels of 
other liquid were released, or where the liquid exploded 
or burned.

Popular viral website Upworthy calls this video 

"One Time-lapse Big Oil Doesn't Want You to See."

According to the data, since 1986 there have been nearly 

8,000 incidents (nearly 300 per year on average), resulting 
in more than 500 deaths (red dots on the video), more 
than 2,300 injuries (yellow dots on the video), and nearly 
$7 billion in damage. 

Since 1986 pipeline accidents have spilled an average 
of 76,000 barrels per year or more than 3 million gallons. 

This is equivalent to 200 barrels every day.   



Oil is by far the most commonly spilled substance, 
followed by natural gas and gasoline. The data does 
not separate oil by whether it is light crude or heavy 
crude typical of tar sands oil, which has proven 
exceedingly difficult to clean up and is the variety 
that would flow in the Keystone XL pipeline. 



There are a number of reasons for pipeline spills, 
including damage during excavation operations, 
metal failure, improper operation and corrosion.



Pipeline failures are concentrated in states with a long 
history of oil and gas development like Texas and 
California, but have caused damage to people, 
property and the environment in all 48 contiguous 
states. 



In most cases, cleanup of pipeline spills is only 
partially successful, leaving tens of thousands of 
barrels of oil on our land or in our water.  On average, 
the government’s data shows that more than 31,000 
barrels of oil or other substances are not cleaned up 
following pipeline incidents, and in some years many 
more barrels are left, polluting our environment for 
years to come.   

Kalamazoo pipeline spill photo courtesy Flickr/k6martini



Bala Falls: The Children Come Forward

Students from Holy Trinity Catholic School in Oakville were at Bala Falls today to film a music video to Fight for Bala and Save the Bala Falls.







Jonah Bryson


Had a blast filming a music video in Bala today, to help #SaveTheBalaFalls, with such amazing and talented students. Gives me great hope when I see other kids my age caring and fighting for the future.

Global TAKEOVER: Monsanto

http://action.sumofus.org/a/monsanto-syngenta-takeover/rd=1&sub=fwd&t=1&referring_akid=10833.3023905.v8XC7_



This is the deal that could create the ultimate super villain. Monsanto wants to launch a takeover bid of Syngenta, one of the biggest pushers of bee-killing pesticides in the world. The new megacorp would boast a colossal combined revenue of $30 billion and control over 35% of the world's seed supply.
Imagine this: Monsanto eliminates one of its biggest competitors and tightens its grip on the global farming industry. Our precious wildlife like bees, birds, and butterflies suffer as Monsanto spreads its pesticides further and wider. More and more small-scale farmers are bullied if they refuse to buy Monsanto's seeds.
The deal's not sealed and we can stop this now. Syngenta shareholders have already rejected Monsanto's initial $45 billion offer, but Monsanto's planning a new offer. Anti-trust regulators in the US and Europe are already skeptical of big corporate mergers, and have the power to stop this. With strong, targeted pressure from a concerned public, we can make this deal unravel.
Tell European and US regulators to stop this ridiculous takeover.
No single corporation should be allowed to wield the sort of power that comes from a near-monopoly on our global food system. And from the very beginning,the SumOfUs community has been working hard to fight back against both Monsanto and Syngenta and limit the power of massive agribusiness corporations.
We've been piling pressure onto Monsanto and its toxic pesticides, terminator seeds, and chronic, aggressive abuse of local farmers -- and we've been making waves. In January, a whopping 1 out of 5 shareholders (that's 20%!) supported a SumOfUs-backed shareholder proposal calling out Monsanto's CEO for being his own boss and pushing for independent management oversight.
And what about Syngenta -- Monsanto's soon-to-be partner in crime? Syngenta asked United States regulators for a 40,000% increase in the legal limit of bee-killing neonicotinoids. But we're well on the way to curbing its destructive practices -- nearly a million SumOfUs members stood up to home improvement chain Lowe's and got it to drop neonics from its stores worldwide.
Together, we've stopped monster mergers that would give way to massive monopolies. Recently, we helped stop a potential monster merger between Time Warner and Comcast in the United States, which would have given Comcast a monopoly over the Internet.
Monsanto already had its initial offer rejected, but it's not backing down. Our impact is in numbers, and we can stop this nightmare of a merger if we come together to demand that international regulators stop Monsanto's destructive ambitions in its tracks now.
Tell antitrust regulators to say no to this monster merger and stop Monsanto's takeover now.

**********
More information:

Saturday, May 23, 2015

Memorial Day & Dick Cheney



Read more Here:  

Cheney's Halliburton Made $39.5 Billion on Iraq War

By Angelo Young, International Business Times
20 March 13

he accounting of the financial cost of the nearly decade-long Iraq War will go on for years, but a recent analysis has shed light on the companies that made money off the war by providing support services as the privatization of what were former U.S. military operations rose to unprecedented levels.
Private or publicly listed firms received at least $138 billion of U.S. taxpayer money for government contracts for services that included providing private security, building infrastructure and feeding the troops.
Ten contractors received 52 percent of the funds, according to an analysis by the Financial Times that was published Tuesday.
The No. 1 recipient?
Houston-based energy-focused engineering and construction firm KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR), which was spun off from its parent, oilfield services provider Halliburton Co. (NYSE:HAL), in 2007.
The company was given $39.5 billion in Iraq-related contracts over the past decade, with many of the deals given without any bidding from competing firms, such as a $568-million contract renewal in 2010 to provide housing, meals, water and bathroom services to soldiers, a deal that led to a Justice Department lawsuit over alleged kickbacks, as reported by Bloomberg.


Who were Nos. 2 and 3?
Agility Logistics (KSE:AGLTY) of Kuwait and the state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corp. Together, these firms garnered $13.5 billion of U.S. contracts.

                 
As private enterprise entered the war zone at unprecedented levels, the amount of corruption ballooned, even if most contractors performed their duties as expected.
According to the bipartisan Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan, the level of corruption by defense contractors may be as high as $60 billion. Disciplined soldiers that would traditionally do many of the tasks are commissioned by private and publicly listed companies.

Even without the graft, the costs of paying for these services are higher than paying governement employees or soldiers to do them because of the profit motive involved. No-bid contracting - when companies get to name their price with no competing bid - didn't lower legitimate expenses. (Despite promises by President Barack Obama to reel in this habit, the trend toward granting favored companies federal contracts without considering competing bids continued to grow, by 9 percent last year, according to the Washington Post.)
Even though the military has largely pulled out of Iraq, private contractors remain on the ground and continue to reap U.S. government contracts. For example, the U.S. State Department estimates that taxpayers will dole out $3 billion to private guards for the government's sprawling embassy in Baghdad.

The costs of paying private and publicly listed war profiteers seem miniscule in light of the total bill for the war.
Last week, the Costs of War Project by the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University said the war in Iraq cost $1.7 trillion dollars, not including the $490 billion in immediate benefits owed to veterans of the war and the lifetime benefits that will be owed to them or their next of kin.

Bala Falls: The Latest

Monday May 25 is the beginning of a showdown week in Bala. Many are convinced that the Proponent Swift plan is, get in and get started before June 

The are a relentless lot and we will be prepared to peacefully and effectively STOP THEM

They do not have all the paperwork for starting construction but they can sure put up fences on all the Public Crown Land around the falls including Margaret Burgess Park and tell people not to TRESPASS for the next many years.

 
They have limited permits and this week we need public outcry medai messages and LOUD public outcry.

Of course the lucrative contract with Provincial Government for 100 MILLION dollars is pretty motivating.

If you want to save money on your electricity bill help us stop the Bala Falls Hydro Project on Lake Muskoka at the Moon River in Bala


Don't forget to go to Save the Bala Falls for more good info from the fellas... the goal is to stop the project and protect this valued ecology and the Muskoka Watershed.

The people from STBF are great , it is the leadership that is a little lost on that point. We have always been in this together, they just do not get it yet.

Many thanks for sharing the message and supporting this incredibly important cause.,