Why are We Blue About “Blue Wolf†and “Bold Eagle?â€
Canada votes to reopen deadly leaking nuclear reactor
in unceded Algonquin Territory
by Jennifer Tsun
When something happens at 6 Nations Iroquois territory, there is usually an echo at Sharbot Lake in Algonquin territory [28 miles north of Kingston Ontario].
What do these two unconnected places have in common?
The struggles are both about our land. Since the Cabot Charter of 1496, the common goal of the colonial system has been and continues to be the elimination of the Ongwehonwe/ Nishnaabe people.
GUEST EDITORIAL: WHY ARE WE BLUE ABOUT “BLUE WOLF†AND “BOLD
EAGLE†- CANADA VOTES TO REOPEN DEADLY LEAKING NUCLEAR REACTOR IN
UNCEDED ALGONQUIN TERRITORY
Algonquin Territory - Dec. 14, 2007 - We are seen as mere impediments to the greedy desire to appropriate all our resources.
In
mid-September, when the Ardoch and Shabot Algonquins and allies were
anticipating an invasion, the 6 Nations were attacked by hundreds of
police. Nine men and women were beaten and arrested. They face court
appearances in January 2008.
We
can bet they won’t be tried by a jury of their peers. Instead the judge
will be appointed by the very same colonial regime that issued the
Cabot Charter saying it was okay to “conquer all non-Christian peopleâ€.
Same old, same old.
Indigenous people have always tried to be accommodating to the
poor ruffians who mismanaged their own resources so poorly that they
had to cross an ocean to survive.
The Algonquin protestors
against uranium mining quickly dismantled their camp three weeks later
as an act of "good faith". Judge Cunningham has called for mediation
to discuss the illegal uranium mining that Frontenac Ventures plans to
start on Algonquin land in January 2008.
When crimes are
committed against people in European society, do the Europeans mediate
with those who have trespassed on their land, stolen their resources or
assaulted them? Not likely.
The Ardoch and Shabot Algonquin
“leadership†now appear to be putting all their eggs into the farcical
mediation basket that began this past week. We still don’t know if the
December 17th meeting will even let our people in to observe those who
pretend to represent us.
No one is monitoring Frontenac
Ventures. No one has asked the Canadian people or the rightful owners
of Turtle Island whether they want to deal with the waste products this
will produce. A small group is watching close by while others are on
standby.
THE THREE STOOGES AND ‘ATOMIC ENERGY OF CANADA
LIMITED’ AECL. Chalk River Laboratories “CRL†is on the Ottawa River
at the heart of Algonquin land. It’s a big nuclear bomb waiting to go
off. CRL is tied to the U.S. nuclear weapons industry through the
medical “isotope†business. Medical isotopes are made from a
radioactive substance for imaging and treating diseases, which are made
in nuclear reactors. At least 2/3 of the world’s supply is made at
Chalk River. About one month ago production was stopped because of
dangerous radioactive leakage from these old reactors.
The
“nuclear police†force will soon move into Chalk River. Many
"Aboriginal youth†are being aggressively recruited and “groomed†to
serve on the front lines. Remember what happened at the Chernobyl
disaster in the Ukraine. The front line did not survive. Neither did
a large number of people in the immediate area and throughout the
world.
Some police forces are even trying to snag our boys at
pow wows. The Ontario Provincial Police's “Blue Wolf Drum†is a
state-financed propaganda ploy that sends our boys to drum throughout
the land to attract more of them into policing and the military called
the “Bold Eagle†Program. Is this residential school pogrom #XVII? Do
the assaults on our youth ever stop? Why haven’t we been given the
resources we need to rebuild our communities from the destruction
created by the colonists?
Remember the 1950's comedy trio,
"The Three Stooges"? The new version is Julian Fantino as “Moe†[OPP
commissioner], Jim Potts as “Larry†[big pubah advisor on policing] and
Randy Cota as “Curly†[the Uncle Tom of the Algonquins]. Moe gets to
abuse Larry. Larry gets to abuse Curly. Curly doesn't get to abuse
anyone, except his own people.
Curly gets slapped in the face,
poked in the eyes and hit on the head with a hammer. He gets his nose
tweaked with pliers and his butt hit with a spiked 2x4.
One
Stooges episode involves a disaster at a nuclear reactor plant. Can
you see today’s 3 "nuclear police inspectors" arriving at Chalk River,
being met by Homer Simpson played by Bob Lovelace, the elder of Ardoc
Lake and and AECL Chairman of the Board, Mr. Burns, played by his
look-alike George White of Frontenac
Ventures?
The Stooges trudge around in their defective “protectiveâ€
gear. It’s made by Ottawa-based “Med Engâ€, a subsidiary of
Allen-Vanguard, known world wide as the foremost in private high tech
security. It’s tested at Mining Resources Engineering Limited, MREL's
facilities near Sharbot Lake. MREL has been making, testing and selling
bombs worldwide from Sharbot Lake. Yes, these are Canada’s partners in
crime.
The
Stooges wear their “gamma watches†bought from Environmental
Instruments Canada Inc., of Saskatoon. The Stooges ignore the alarms
on the watches that are singing “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas†in
B-. Then they take a long shower in MREL's aqua ram foam, all taped
with MREL's fast cameras that capture every little radioactive fart and
other explosions.
After whacking Larry and Curly in the ears,
cranky Moe dances from one reactor to another. There are 5 at Chalk
River. Two are nearly 60 years old, long overdue for
retirement.
One is the National Research Universal NRU reactor which has been shut
down for the past month that is causing a global shortage of medical
isotopes. Parliament met Tuesday December 11th to re-open this
reactor. There’s little concern about leaking radiation and a possible
nuclear explosion. Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he got
“independent advice†that it’s safe and they’re waiting for parts.
AECL's
spokesman and expert, Brian McGee, senior VP and Chief Nuclear Officer,
says he didn't know the reactor needed scheduled maintenance since 2005
to keep its license. Maybe the radiation is making them all forgetful.
Stooge
Larry is down in the pits taking samples from the leaking fuel that’s
seeping halfway to Ottawa by now, in a colorful glowing radioactive
plume. He'll have to explain this to their bosses in Washington and
London.
Curly and his buds are doing security and cleanup.
Accidents and spills at Chalk River are part of history. Hundreds of
soldiers from Petawawa who cleaned up the mess later got cancer. The
government refused to help them. Those who pursued this were told it
never happened.
AECL's web site won't tell you about the
1952 accident with National Research Experiment reactor NRX, or the
1958 accident with NRU, both at Chalk River. [ccnr.org].
GNEP GLOBAL NUCLEAR ENERGY PARTNERSHIP
Last
week, "Lying", Gary Lunn, Canada’s Minister for the Depletion and
Exploitation of Natural Resources, quietly signed Bush's GNEP (Global
Nuclear Energy Partnership). Last September, when all eyes were on the
International Atomic Energy Association IAEA meeting in Vienna, Prime
Minister Stephen Harper emphatically refused to sign to bring nuclear
waste back to Canada. When backs were turned, Stephen “Gerda
Munsinger†Harper signed like the whore who coyly says “no†when
everyone is watching and later sneaks off into the bushes to do the
deed.
Gary Lunn and the US Department of Energy secretary
Sam Bodman claim nuclear energy is a clean, sustainable source of
electricity. What corporation is telling them this, GE? GE wants
controlling interests but foreigners are presently not permitted to own
majority shares in a Crown corporation. Rumors have it that after a
review AECL is going to be “privatizedâ€.
The Global Nuclear Energy
Partnership GNEP document is meant to “repatriate†Canada’s nuclear
waste. Lunn reassures everyone, “This will not happen. In any case,
the agreement is not bindingâ€. Italy signed on November 13th. There
are now 18 members. Of course, they all want to dump on our Indigenous
lands without our prior informed consent. Why do you think Canada
refused to sign the UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights? They don’t
want to consider the health and well-being of the people for seven
generations to come.
Neither the press release nor the GNEP
agreement appeared on the Natural Resources web site until Wednesday,
December 5th, after we called about it. The press release did appear
at U.S. Department of Energy and the Canadian Nuclear Association CNA
web sites last week and was announced in a short clip on CBC and other
media. Don’t you just love the media that slips in little blurbs in
between distracting stories like serial killer “Robert Pickton†found
guilty of murdering dozens of women in British Columbia. The media
pretends this is full disclosure to the public.
Note how they
focused on the dangerous NRU reactor for medical isotopes products.
They know damn well that some of their other uses are much less likely
to win public approval. The isotopes are sold by “MDS Nordionâ€, an
Ottawa company.
The aim of the agreement is "to accelerate
development and deployment of advanced fuel cycle technologies to
encourage clean development and prosperity worldwide, improve the
environment and reduce the risk of nuclear proliferation." Note how
they used the word “aimâ€. They know very well that it is dangerous,
that such aims cannot be achieved through this kind of science fiction
fantasy. Even George Orwell wasn’t this cynical.
One of GNEP's
seven objectives is to "develop and demonstrate, inter alia, advanced
technologies for recycling spent nuclear fuel for deployment in
facilities that do not separate pure plutonium with a long term goal of
ceasing separation of plutonium and eventually eliminating stocks of
separated civilian Plutoniumâ€.
Plutonium is used for making
bombs! This raises the question. Would there be a shortage of medical
isotopes if they weren’t using these resources to make bombs? Don’t be
fooled! The hawks are in full flight. This is not a “cold war†era.
Little
kids in school are being told that they are “peace pals†when they
prepare Christmas boxes for the troops overseas. Those are boys with
guns defending capitalist interests at the expense of whatever civilian
population happens to get in their way. There has been no decent
attempt to sit down and make peace among the people in the countries
where war is being waged. They’re leaving it all up to adolescent boys
with guns and no education.
This shortage of isotopes is closely
connected with the “hot war†that has pushed the military agenda in
Canada higher than it ever was in World War II without the knowledge or
consent of the Canadian people. It’s crazy. The UN was founded to
create peace. World institutions have been corrupted and co-opted.
Ours are being ignored.
BILL C-5: NUCLEAR LIABILITY
Canada's
Parliament is debating Bill C-5, "An Act respecting civil liability and
compensation for damage in case of a nuclear incident". This is to
raise the Nuclear Liability limits from $77 million to $650 million.
No other industry is legislated in this way.
Should there be a
large nuclear accident, the “operator†is liable, not the
manufacturer. Canadian taxpayers would foot the bill for generations
to come. However, according to the fine print, the liability and
personal insurance are VOID in the event of “war or a terrorist
attackâ€.
Canadian MP's that were formerly critical of the bill
like NDP Dennis Bevington (Western Arctic) seem fatalistically ready to
accept it. He represents “Port Radium†where uranium was first mined
using Dine people to carry the ore in burlap bags. Later a majority of
them died from horrible cancers.
Nathan Cullen (Skeena—Bulkley
Valley, NDP) says, "… there are serious and significant implications
when dealing with a nuclear accidentâ€. He asked why does the government
need “to list bodily injury, psychological trauma, close personal
relationships to somebody affected, liability for economic loss, costs
of wages, power failure and environmental damage." They want to limit
their liability on these very afflictions as they are a “limitedâ€
company.
Brad Trost (Saskatoon—Humboldt, CPC) expounds that:
"In 2003 the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission ..found the economic
loss, the personal loss, cetera from a major incident… at $100
million."
On the other hand, a paraplegic as the result of a
car accident recently got $7 million for loss of use of his legs, his
pain and suffering and loss of income.
Let’s do the math. $650
million divided by $7 million means they have made provisions for less
than 93 people. Looked at another way, a serious nuclear accident
which would affect about 3 million people, would divide up $650 million
and each would get $213.33. Hmmm... So who’s making the billions
while we take the risks? The land and the people are being put up as
the collateral.
With this in mind, remember that government
agencies like the Department of Veterans Affairs are notoriously bad at
looking after their own. The compensation packages look great on
paper. Even when the injury is of an anticipated kind, just try and
collect it. You’ll find all kinds of loop holes and nonsense that boil
down to no help at all. You’ll be SOL [Shit out of luck!] The
nightmares are real to those who live in them.
Mario
Laframboise [Argenteuil-Papineau-Mirabel, Bloc Quebecois], says of the
“secret†talks of the Prime Minister with the U.S. on the Global
Nuclear Energy Partnership, “I find it very inconsistent of the
government to introduce a bill to increase compensation for damage
while the prime minister is currently prohibiting his ministers from
discussing the entire nuclear energy planâ€. Laframboise seems to have
blanked out on his government’s push for a deadly niobium mine in his
riding at Kanehsatake Mohawk Territory.
People need to hear it loud and clear:
(1) Stop nuclear development. We don't need it.
(2) We already have more nuclear waste than our coming generations can reasonably be expected to deal with.
HUNGER STRIKE CONTINUES
"Where
will AECL be in 2107?" We’ve learned they plan to leave Chalk River by
2080. They don’t plan to be around when our grandchildren’s skin starts
falling off their bones!
Donna Dillman is still on a hunger strike
protesting uranium mining. She shows no signs of quitting. Donna’s now
in a wheelchair and could be force fed when she is finally bed ridden.
That's what the Brits did to the Irish and that's what the Americans
are doing at Guantanimo Bay, even though it is illegal by international
law.
On Tuesday, December 11th, Donna will go to water only.
She asks that people flood Ontario Premier McGuinty's office with calls
and emails.
As Aaron Neville, said;
"There's been times that I thought I couldn't last for long.
Now I think I'm able to carry on
It's been a long time comin’,
but I know a change is gonna come."
Jennifer Tsun, McDonalds Corners, Algonquin Territory
Notes and Sources:
Premier Dalton McGuinty
Queen's Park, Rm 281,
Main Legislative Building
Toronto ON M7A 1A4
Tel 416-325-1941
Fax 416-325-3745
dmcguinty.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org and/or
dmcquinty.mpp@liberal.ola.org
See:
https://www.premier.gov.on.ca/feedback/feedback.asp
- for an online form.
Emails for Canadian MP's
involved in nuclear liability debate:
ThibaLo@parl.gc.ca, ChongM@parl.gc.ca,
TrostB@parl.gc.ca, BigraB@parl.gc.ca,
CardiS@parl.gc.ca, LafraM@parl.gc.ca,
CulleN@parl.gc.ca, GallaC@parl.gc.ca,
HawnL@parl.gc.ca, McTeaD@parl.gc.ca,
AlghaO@parl.gc.ca, AnderDa@parl.gc.ca,
BevinD@parl.gc.ca, DebelC@parl.gc.ca,
OuellCh@parl.gc.ca, CrowdJ@parl.gc.ca,
ChowO@parl.gc.ca, LunnG@parl.gc.ca,
BerniM@parl.gc.ca,
Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility <http://www.ccnr.org>
MNN "Boy War Toys Club: Members Only" <http://www.mohawknationnews.com>
(click on news and then go to sharbot lake section)
GNEP <http://www.gnep.gov/default.html>
Hansard on nuclear liability debate
We welcome your feedback.
Send email to <kittoh@storm.ca>
We intend to connect the dots between a number of issues.
Post by MNN Mohawk Nation News
www.mohawknationnews.com
kahentinetha2@yahoo.com
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