Tag Archives: native

America Didn’t Get to See John Oliver’s Latest Work of Comic Genius. Here It Is.

by RobertoNichols Posted on June 10, 2015

Mother Jones

Since last year’s World Cup in Brazil, comedian John Oliver has used his Last Week Tonight perch to sound off about the ongoing allegations of corruption and human rights abuses involving FIFA, soccer’s governing body. On Tuesday night, he brought that criticism to a new venue: Trinidadian television.

His target? Former FIFA vice president Jack Warner, who is among those accused of facilitating bribes—and who bought airtime in his native Trinidad and Tobago just last week to claim he would expose his co-conspirators in a paid advertisement called “The Gloves Are Off.” (Warner, you might remember, is the same guy who recently took an Onion article a bit too seriously.)

In a four-minute segment called “John Oliver: The Mittens of Disapproval Are On,” Oliver called on Warner to follow through on his warning and release all his proof of FIFA’s wrongdoing:

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America Didn’t Get to See John Oliver’s Latest Work of Comic Genius. Here It Is.

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CNN Plans to Feature Peanut Gallery Debate as Warmup for Main Event

by CecilaCardell Posted on May 21, 2015

Mother Jones

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CNN will be hosting the second Republican debate, and they’ve come up with a….unique way of dealing with the fact that there are just too damn many candidates. To handle the crowd, they’re going to have two separate debates:

“The first 10 candidates — ranked from highest to lowest in polling order from an average of all qualifying polls released between July 16 and September 10 who satisfy the criteria requirements … will be invited to participate in ‘Segment B’ of the September 16, 2015 Republican Presidential Primary Debate,” the network states in its candidate criteria. “Candidates who satisfy the criteria and achieve an average of at least 1 percent in three national polls, but are not ranked in the top 10 of polling order will be invited to participate in ‘Segment A’ of the September 16, 2015 Republican Presidential Primary Debate.”

Did you get that? All the yokels—Carly Fiorina, Bobby Jindal, Rick Santorum, etc.—will go on first. They’ll be sort of the warm-up act. Then they’ll get shuffled off the stage and the big guns will have prime time all to themselves. This is pretty humiliating for the also-rans, but presumably if they play by the rules they’ll have a chance to move up, just like in English Premier League soccer. Perhaps Rick Perry will stumble and get relegated to the minor leagues for the next debate, while Jindal will knock everyone’s socks off and get promoted to the show. I don’t know if I’d quite call this “fun,” but it would certainly make for some interesting office pools.

The first debate, which is hosted by Fox, will feature none of this nonsense. The top ten candidates will be invited to the debate, and that’s that. If you’re outside the top ten, you can watch the debate on your big-screen TV at home. Or, if Fox is feeling generous, perhaps the sad sacks polling at the 1% level will be allowed to while away their time in the spin room, where they can try to buttonhole reporters and explain why they really should have been up on the stage. Perhaps the saddest story will win a prize.

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CNN Plans to Feature Peanut Gallery Debate as Warmup for Main Event

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Rand Paul’s Latest Fundraiser Now Underway

by SteveBorrie Posted on May 20, 2015

Mother Jones

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I see from the intertubes that Sen. Rand Paul has begun another talking filibuster. This time it’s to protest any legislation that extends the NSA’s ability to access metadata from phone calls, even if the data is held by the phone companies and available only by court order. Paul’s filibuster will annoy a lot of people, but in the end I think I agree, for once, with John McCain: “He’ll get his headline and then we’ll move on.”

That’s pretty much the lay of the land. Paul will chew up some floor time, which might end up eating into Memorial Day weekend for the Senate, but since virtually no one agrees with his position, it’s simply not going to accomplish anything. I’m even a little skeptical about the headlines. Frankly, once you’ve done the Jimmy Stewart bit once, its entertainment value starts to plummet.

On the other hand, Paul seems to be mostly treating this as another great fundraising opportunity, and it might very well be. But that’s probably all it will be.

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Rand Paul’s Latest Fundraiser Now Underway

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Friday Cat Blogging – May 15 2015

by RogerToftfsj Posted on May 15, 2015

Mother Jones

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With Kevin continuing to concentrate on his (ever improving!) health, over the past week we’ve hosted guest blog posts from all-stars like Ruy Teixeira, Aaron Carroll, and Ana Marie Cox. But now that it’s Friday, it’s time for the humans to step aside for a real star.

It’s time to welcome Phelps.

Phelps linked up with MoJo senior editor Michael Mechanic around the time of the 2008 Beijing summer Olympics. While he’s not as much of a swimmer as his namesake, one of his favorite spots in his Oakland home is a perch near in the sink, where he can swat his paws through water. Mike reports that Phelps loves spending time nearby while he plays music (“maybe because my fiddling sounds like a cat”) and outside, where this “neighborhood tough guy” can face down cats, birds, and dogs.

From his front porch, Mike was witness to one such interaction when a dog got the best of Phelps and chased him up a tree. The incident spurred Mike to compose a little ditty (“Dog Treed a Cat”). Another tabby-inspired tune is “Phelps’s Favorite.”

And today, Phelps, you’re my favorite.

Continued:  

Friday Cat Blogging – May 15 2015

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Fox News Host Sees No Racial Factor in South Carolina Killing

by CandiceKuefer Posted on April 9, 2015

Mother Jones

Fox News host Greg Gutfeld is not racist. How not racist is Greg Gutfeld? Very not racist! You’re a racist. (You’re a racist.) But Gutfield doesn’t even see race. What’s race? A race? Are we running a race? The word “race” for Greg Gutfeld only has one definition: a competition of speed.

White cop guns down unarmed black man in cold blood: a thing that happens unbelievably often in the United States. Almost always the cop gets to walk away scot-free. But this time the cop is actually charged with murder! Not because South Carolina is so evolved (haha), but because a video emerges that puts on display the undeniable reality of the cop’s crime.

The Fox News chyron even calls it straight: “Video shows white police officer shooting black man in back.” But apparently the Fox News chyron is less evolved than Fox News host Greg Gutfeld. Because Greg Gutfeld saw something else:

“I didn’t see a black man killed by a white cop. I saw a man shoot another man in the back.”

If Greg Gutfeld were at Wounded Knee, he’d say he didn’t see white soldiers massacring Native-Americans.

If he were at Stonewall, he’d say he didn’t see straight cops beating gay men.

And if he were in Pleasantville, he’d say he never saw color.

(via TPM)

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Fox News Host Sees No Racial Factor in South Carolina Killing

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Alaskan tribes given tiny amount of cash for climate change resilience

by Teofil1vo Posted on February 20, 2015

Alaskan tribes given tiny amount of cash for climate change resilience

By on 19 Feb 2015commentsShare

Alaskan Native American communities are soon to be the happy(ish?) recipients of $8 million from the U.S. Department of the Interior in order to encourage climate resilience. If you think that $8 million sounds like chump change when it comes to federal disaster relief funds, and particularly piddling when you consider that the money will go to an area deeply in need of repair and protection in the midst of a climate-induced crisis — well, you are right!

The Office of the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs issued a press release on Tuesday announcing that U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell plans to make the money available for promoting “climate change adaptation and ocean and coastal management planning.” The press release also states that the Interior “must act to protect these communities” — because, we assume, Alaskan tribal communities are losing access to basic needs like food, water, and adequate shelter due to the effects of climate change.

That money isn’t, however, intended for rebuilding purposes. The Department of Interior notes that of these funds, $4 million will be available for “climate adaptation planning” and the other half for “ocean/coastal management planning” — essentially, it will all go to educate, train, and plan for climate adaptation. More funds could come from President Obama’s FY16 budget proposal, which included $50 million to support resilience projects in coastal areas.

A little background, now: Native American tribes occupy about 4 percent of U.S. land, and make up about 1 percent of the population — and for the part of that 1 percent living in Alaska, climate change is a significant health hazard. For the tribes that still practice traditional lifestyles, 80 percent of their diets are foods gathered from the immediate surrounding — but they can’t gather like they used to, because climate-change provoked coastal erosion is making food harder to come by. Other scary, climate-induced effects include aquatic changes, ecosystem shifts, and increased flooding due to melting ice shelves.

Native Americans have been making their case for relocation money for years. One coastal Alaskan town, Shishmaref, has sought funding since 2002. Homes lack running water and plumbing, beaches are shrinking, and houses are literally falling into the sea. How much would it cost to save the town by moving it inland? That’s estimated at a cool $179 million.

So, you get it: $8 million isn’t nearly enough to prepare Alaskan villages for rising seas and a warmer climate. With this federal money, tribal members will be sitting in on technical workshops about “long-term climate resilience” while they watch their homes slowly tilt towards the shore.

Source:
Interior Department Will Provide Millions To Help Native Americans Adapt To Climate Change

, ThinkProgress.

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Alaskan tribes given tiny amount of cash for climate change resilience

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Frackers can now frack faster on some public lands

by merinenty Posted on December 15, 2014

Frackers can now frack faster on some public lands

By on 15 Dec 2014commentsShare

As Congress moves to wrap up its year, a lot of important, must-pass legislation is moving quickly through the chambers. That creates the opportunity for politicians to sneak their pet projects into massive bills that most members don’t want to hold up or oppose. This year, that’s meant bad news for the environment — first in the federal budget (aka the Cromnibus bill) and now in the Defense Authorization Act of 2015.

The defense bill — which Congress passed last week and President Obama will soon sign  — is full of this kind of pork. Over at DeSmogBlog, Steve Horn digs into how a seemingly non-defense-related plan to expedite fracking on public lands ended up squirreled away inside the 1,616-page legislation.

Buried on page 1,156 of the bill as Section 3021 and subtitled “Bureau of Land Management Permit Processing,” the bill’s passage has won praise from both the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) …

Streamlined permitting means faster turn-around times for the industry’s application process to drill on public lands, bringing with it all of the air, groundwater and climate change issues that encompass the shale production process.

All that needed to happen to clear the way for this faster permitting was a small tweak to how some already-passed legislation was worded. Congress had already enacted a “pilot” program for permitting fracking on public land in the Bakken Shale region; with a few quick word changes in the Defense Authorization Act, that “pilot” program was expanded to all areas that the Bureau of Land Management oversees nationwide.

(Wisconsin Rep. Mark Pocan (D) submitted a bill last week to ban fracking from all federal lands, but in a Congress soon to be controlled by frack-happy Republicans, it doesn’t stand a chance.)

The defense bill contains other unpleasant anti-environmental provisions too. For instance: Michael McAuliff writes at The Huffington Post that Arizona Sens. Jeff Flake (R) and John McCain (R) succeeded in adding approval for a foreign-owned copper mine in their state that would not only be on public land but also stands to destroy a Native American burial ground.

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Frackers can now frack faster on some public lands

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Washington’s Football Team Would Like You to Know That It Just Doesn’t Give a Shit

by KelliFenston Posted on November 28, 2014

Mother Jones

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Here are three things the United States has:

1. An indefensible history of slaughtering Native Americans.

2. A holiday called Thanksgiving wherein we celebrate some of our earliest slaughterers, albeit not for their slaughtering.

3. A capital, Washington DC.

The football team in Washington DC has an offensive, racist name; a slur against Native Americans.

This Thanksgiving—the holiday that for many represents “hundreds of years of genocide and oppression against Native Americans”—that football team—the one with the awful racist name offensive to Native Americans—sent out the following tweet.

Dan Snyder: Just as the pilgrims intended.

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Washington’s Football Team Would Like You to Know That It Just Doesn’t Give a Shit

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Watch: John Oliver Destroys Washington’s Racist Football Team Name With New Video

by RoseS35zsysbowu Posted on June 16, 2014

Mother Jones

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Last week, a Native American tribe in Northern California ran a new TV ad during the NBA Finals that targeted the racist name of the Washington football team. “Unyielding. Strong. Indomitable,” a narrator intones at the end. “Native Americans call themselves many things. The one thing they don’t?” The ad then cuts to a picture of a helmet with the team’s logo.

On Sunday’s Last Week Tonight, John Oliver used President Obama’s first visit to American Indian land to segue into the battle over the R-word. “For the average American,” he joked, “that ad should tug at 1/16th of your heartstrings and make the rest extremely guilty.” But then Oliver & Co. went a step further: They made their own anti-Redskins video. Watch the whole segment here:

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Watch: John Oliver Destroys Washington’s Racist Football Team Name With New Video

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Washington NFL Team’s New Native American Foundation Is Already Off to a Great Start

by CarriNDQ Posted on March 28, 2014

Mother Jones

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The CEO of the Washington football team’s recently unveiled Original Americans Foundation also runs an organization that was criticized in a federal investigation for wasting nearly $1 million and providing “no benefit” after receiving a Bureau of Indian Affairs contract.

Gary Edwards, who was announced as head of the team’s foundation this week, is CEO of the National Native American Law Enforcement Association. In 2009, the NNALEA won a contract with the Bureau of Indian Affairs to “recruit for and hire critically needed law enforcement officers (police, corrections, and criminal investigator positions) to work in Indian Country.” According to a 2012 investigation into the contract, first reported by USA Today, NNALEA produced 748 applicants for law enforcement positions—only about 4 percent of which were Native American. Even worse, not a single applicant was qualified, meaning the $967,100 in funds amounted to absolutely nothing.

The investigation mostly comes down hard on Bureau of Indian Affairs officials for allowing Edwards to negotiate the terms of the contract into something essentially useless. While the contract’s original language called for “500 qualified Native American law enforcement applicants,” according to the investigation, it was later modified to “500 pre-screened potential applicants,” effectively removing the requirements that the NNALEA provide applicants who are Native American and qualified for law enforcement jobs. In its invoices to the Bureau, NNALEA reported holding a recruiting event at the 2009 Crow Fair Celebration and placing ads in South Dakota’s Aberdeen News, though according to the investigation an official who attended the fair saw no recruiting booth or NNALEA representatives, and the Aberdeen News had no record of NNALEA ever ordering the ads.

“The NNALEA believes it met and exceeded all of its obligations under the contract with the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Office of Justice Services, and subsequently was paid after the contract was completed,” Edwards said in a statement released Thursday night.

See the full investigation below:

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NNALEA contract investigation (PDF)

NNALEA contract investigation (Text)

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Washington NFL Team’s New Native American Foundation Is Already Off to a Great Start

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