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American Indian Rights, American Indians, ancestral gravesites, aquifers, archaeological sites, ASEAN, ASLB, Atomic Safety Licensing Board, Azarga, burial sites, Cameco, cancer, Cannonball River, Civil Rights, clean water, corruption, criminals, Crow Butte, Dakota Access Pipeline, dangers of nuclear, Dewey Burdock, Energy Transfer Partners, environment, Federal Court, flaunting the law, government to government consultation, health, historic preservation, historic resources, historic sites, historical sites, immigration, Laos, law, law enforcement, legal action, Malaysia, mining, Missouri River, Native American, Native Americans, Natural Gas & Oil Drilling, NEPA, North Dakota, NRC, nuclear accident, nuclear disaster, nuclear energy, Obama Townhall in Laos, Oglala Sioux, Powertech, prayer, prayer sites, President Obama, protectors, public health, radiation, radioactive water, religious sites, restraining order, sacred sites, Sacred Stone Camp, sacred tribal burial site, Sioux, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Tribal cultural resources, uranium mining, US NRC, violating the law, water, water protectors
A few days after American Indians were attacked and even bitten by dogs, Obama claimed to be clueless about the Dakota Access Pipeline situation, during a “Townhall” in Laos. During the 1973 Wounded Knee Standoff, American Indians wanted to speak with then Sec of State Henry Kissinger. When media questioned this, an American Indian wondered why Henry Kissinger should have time to go to Southeast Asia, but no time to speak to them. A similar question should be raised in this context.
An intelligent and compassionate lady from Malaysia asked the following about the Dakota Access situation during Obama’s “Townhall” in Laos: “what can you do to ensure the protection of the ancestral land, the supply of clean water, and also environmental justice is upheld?” In strange irony, even as this lady asked her question, Obama impolitely went to drink water (or coffee), even though it was the last question. After gulping his water, he appears taken aback by the importance and depth of her question. He probably choked on his water.
You judge Obama’s reaction to the lady’s question.
Video. Last question at around 1h06.40 http://youtu.be/_KO37LAshHg
His response, like many of his responses in this video, suggests that he is totally out of touch with reality: “As many of you know, the way that Native Americans were treated was tragic,” he said. How they WERE treated! Has Obama been absent during his own presidency? How about how they ARE BEING treated!
Now recall, that President Obama, not so long ago, made a really smart-alec statement that only the American Indians could have a say in whether there were too many immigrants. Yet, to my knowledge he never asked them. Many American Indians were chased westward with immigration. Yet, not satisfied with that, in the post-Civil War period, the American government poured overseas migrants into the American west to homestead and mine on American Indian land.
The same flood of legal immigration continues and has sped up recently. Much that is sacred has to do with landscape, and the environment. Thus, there is really no room for mining, injection of waste into aquifers, etc. And, continuous influx of surplus world population will cause increasing problems, over time, to landscape and the environment. Foreign mining companies are still allowed to come in and take gold, silver, uranium, copper, etc., and destroy the land without paying royalties, under the 1872 mining law.
Obama is technically head of the US government, outside of Congress and the Judiciary. The following statement by him has been ruled false by no other than the ASLB (Atomic Safety Licensing Board): “One of the priorities that I’ve had as President is restoring an honest and generous and respectful relationship with Native American tribes, ” Obama alleges. The truth is that the ASLB found that the US NRC failed to properly consider “Native American cultural, religious, and historic resources,” and failed to undertake, “the required meaningful consultation between the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the NRC Staff“. They found this to be the case for both the extension of the Cameco Uranium Mine at Crow Butte, Nebraska, and for the proposed Powertech-Azarga Dewey Burdock uranium mine – both foreign mining companies. They don’t even pay royalties under the 1872 Mining Act and only pay a nominal fee. No one should be shocked if this was also the case for the Dakota Pipeline, which is apparently a mostly US company, and some royalties are paid for oil and gas. So, this statement by Obama is either BS or is a “priority” that was never translated into reality, even after 8 miserable years. President Obama further claims that “We have done a lot more work on that over the last eight years than we had in the previous 20, 30 years.” While that may or may not be true, it’s a pitiful excuse for the child of an alleged anthropologist. And, given the terrible treatment of American Indian Nations by the US Government, to claim that his administration is better than previous ones, even as his government actively persecutes American Indians, is revolting. To favor mining companies, especially foreign ones, over the rights of the American Indians and make them fight it out in court is active persecution. The dog attack is simply visible proof of the persecution and lack of respect.
The Obama administration has concluded that in the event of a nuclear disaster that it’s ok for people to drink high levels of radiation in water. Although the DILs, which mean that US food isn’t even checked for radiation unless it is suspected to have levels which are more than 15 times larger than allowed in Japan and over double that allowed by the EU, seem to predate Obama, if he cared about public health, he could have changed these outrageous rules. Instead, Obama’s administration has decided that, in the event of a nuclear emergency, Americans should drink radioactive water, along with radioactive food. People shouldn’t have elected a smoker of his generation for President. Anyone of his generation and younger who smokes clearly doesn’t give a rats ass about health. Note that there were “no smoking” sections in NYC restaurants, including fast-food, by 1980, so the dangers of smoking were known in America.
But, what else does he claim: “And so we have made an unprecedented investment in meeting regularly with the tribes, helping them design ideas and plans for economic development, for education, for health that is culturally appropriate for them“.
So, is oil in water, and radioactive materials in food and water a “culturally appropriate” health plan for American Indians? For other Americans? How about dog bites? A “culturally appropriate” health plan? Even if Obama decides that since he smokes, or smoked, that any other carcinogens are fine too, does that give him the right to impose this view on American Indians, or anyone else, or plants, animals and future generations?
Obama greets boy at Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, Cannon Ball, ND, 13 June 2014, Off. Wh. House photo by Pete Souza
But, let’s give Obama a break – even though he should have had some science in the framework of his poli-sci degree, let’s suppose he slept through the science classes, gave BS answers, and brought the prof a bottle of wine to get a “D” rather than an “F” – after all science isn’t his major field. So, let’s just suppose that he thinks that radioactive food and water is ok, since apparently he thinks that smoking is ok.
So, culture and American Indian rights? Even the Atomic Safety Licensing Board gives his administration a fail.
From this alone we conclude that either Obama’s mother was a fake anthropologist, or that he learned nothing from her. If she wasn’t a fake anthropologist, he needs to show it, before it’s too late. He can start by offering a pardon to Leonard Peltier.
Complete excerpt from his “Town Hall” in Laos:
“AUDIENCE: Malaysia!
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Malaysia. Okay, go ahead, right here.
Q I’m from the state of Sabah in Malaysia. My question is, in solidarity with the indigenous people in — not my country, but in America itself. I just heard recently that this group of people is trying to protect their ancestral land against the Dakota Access pipeline. So my question is, in your capacity, what can you do to ensure the protection of the ancestral land, the supply of clean water, and also environmental justice is upheld? (Applause.)
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, it’s a great question. As many of you know, the way that Native Americans were treated was tragic. One of the priorities that I’ve had as President is restoring an honest and generous and respectful relationship with Native American tribes. And so we have made an unprecedented investment in meeting regularly with the tribes, helping them design ideas and plans for economic development, for education, for health that is culturally appropriate for them.
And this issue of ancestral lands and helping them preserve their way of life is something that we have worked very hard on. Now, some of these issues are caught up with laws and treaties, and so I can’t give you details on this particular case. I’d have to go back to my staff and find out how are we doing on this one.
But what I can tell you is, is that we have actually restored more rights among Native Americans to their ancestral lands, sacred sites, waters, hunting grounds. We have done a lot more work on that over the last eight years than we had in the previous 20, 30 years. And this is something that I hope will continue as we go forward. But it’s an excellent question.” https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/09/07/remarks-president-obama-yseali-town-hall
Wait, can’t give him a break. Even though his administration just undermined the Clean Water Act by saying it’s ok to drink radioactive water in the event of a nuclear accident (See for instance: https://miningawareness.wordpress.com/2016/07/22/gina-mccarthy-says-let-them-drink-radioactive-water-100s-and-1000s-of-times-the-legal-limit-or-dehydrate-gina-and-moniz-dance-the-nuclear-waltz/ ), he stated in the same Town Hall Meeting: “… we used to have terrible pollution everywhere. And we ultimately passed laws like the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act, and what we discovered was when you set rules to preserve the environment, that companies will adjust, and they’ll find new and innovative ways to make the same products and make the same amount of money, but do it in a way that actually is good for the environment. So usually, if you see the environment destroyed, it’s not because that’s necessary for development. It’s usually because we’re being lazy, and we’re not being as creative as we could be about how to do it in a smarter, sustainable way.” https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/09/07/remarks-president-obama-yseali-town-hall Did President Obama just say that he and his administration are lazy and lacking in creativity?
From the ALSB on April 30, 2015:
“CONCLUSION AND BOARD ORDER
Pursuant to 10 C.F.R. § 2.1210, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board assigned to hear the contentions raised in this case resolves all issues pending before it and terminates this proceeding as follows:
A. Contention 1A is resolved in favor of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Consolidated
Intervenors. The Board finds that the NRC Staff has not carried its burden of demonstrating that its FSEIS complies with NEPA and with 10 C.F.R. Part 40. The environmental documents do not satisfy the requirements of the NEPA, as they do not adequately address Sioux tribal cultural, historic and religious resources. The NRC Staff can remedy this deficiency in the Record of Decision in this proceeding by promptly initiating a government-to-government consultation with the Oglala Sioux Tribe to identify any adverse effects to cultural, historic or religious sites of significance to the Oglala Sioux Tribe which may be impacted by the Powertech Dewey-Burdock project, and to adopt measures to mitigate such adverse effects, as necessary. The FSEIS and Record of Decision in this case must be supplemented, if necessary, to include any cultural, historic or religious sites identified and to discuss any mitigation measures necessary to avoid any adverse effects.
B. Contention 1B is resolved in favor of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. Meaningful consultation as required by statute has not occurred. The NRC Staff can remedy this deficiency in the Record of Decision in this proceeding by promptly initiating a government-to-government consultation with the Oglala Sioux Tribe to identify any adverse effects to cultural, historic or religious sites of significance to the Oglala Sioux Tribe which may be impacted by the Powertech Dewey-Burdock project, and to adopt measures to mitigate such adverse effects, as necessary.” UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD Before Administrative Judges: William J. Froehlich, Chairman Dr. Mark O. Barnett In the Matter of POWERTECH USA, INC. (Dewey-Burdock In Situ Uranium Recovery Facility) Docket No. 40-9075-MLA ASLBP No. 10-898-02-MLA-BD01 April 30, 2015 PARTIAL INITIAL DECISION http://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1512/ML15120A299.pdf
Excerpts from the May 26, 2015, OGLALA SIOUX TRIBE’S PETITION FOR REVIEW OF LPB-15-16 AND DECISIONS FINDING TRIBAL CONTENTIONS INADMISSIBLE:
“The ASLB found that the FSEIS “has not adequately addressed the environmental effects of the Dewey-Burdock project on Native American cultural, religious, and historic resources, and the required meaningful consultation between the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the NRC Staff has not taken place.” LPB-15-16 at 42. Despite this finding of violations and a lack of compliance with both NEPA and the National Historic Preservation Act, the Board nevertheless allowed the Record of Decision and the license itself to stand. Federal law prohibits such a result, as it is contrary to the statutory requirement that NEPA and the NHPA compliance precede and inform the agency action, which here, is the license to conduct operations and possess/dispose of 11e2 Byproduct Material. The Commission should exercise review over this important issue to ensure that its programs maintain compliance with federal statutory mandates…” (p. 18)
“This case involves Powertech’s application to conduct In Situ Recovery (ISR) mining in Custer and Fall River Counties, South Dakota. The proposed mine is within the ancestral land of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and threatens the Tribe’s cultural and groundwater resources, among other substantial impacts. As a result, the Oglala Sioux Tribe petitioned for, and was granted, intervention in the proceeding, along with individuals and organizations collectively referred to as the Consolidated Intervenors. The Tribe was granted standing by the ASLB, which admitted several contentions based on Powertech’s application materials as well as the subsequent Draft and Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS and FSEIS). The ASLB also excluded a number of the Tribe’s contentions as inadmissible.
The ASLB held a multi-day adjudicatory hearing on August 19-21, 2014 in Rapid City, South Dakota. During the hearing, it was established that Powertech had failed to disclose a substantial amount of geological data in the form of borehole logs from thousands of holes and wells drilled in the project area. The ASLB ordered the production of the data and provided a narrow opportunity for additional testimony related to the newly-disclosed information.
The ASLB issued a Partial Initial Decision on April 30, 2015 resolving seven admitted contentions, five in favor of the NRC Staff and Powertech, and two in favor of the Tribe and
Consolidated Intervenors. This Petition for Review seeks Commission review of three contentions resolved in favor of NRC Staff and Powertech, four of the contentions the ASLB excluded from the proceedings as inadmissible, and two contentions on which the Tribe prevailed, but the ASLB did not provide effective relief.” (p. 2)
…
“The ASLB held that the Tribe had not successfully articulated a contention because it had “not identified a regulation that requires a disposal plan be included in an application.” (p. 3)
…
“The ASLB further disregarded the Tribe’s allegation that the environmental report failed to meet the standards of the National Environmental Policy Act, because in the ASLB’s view “it is settled law that an applicant is not bound by NEPA, but by NRC Regulations in Part 51.” (p.4)
…
“The OIG’s Audit Report concluded, with specific reference to the Dewey-Burdock project, that “NRC did not fully comply with the scoping regulations because of incorrect understanding of the regulations related to scoping for EISs that tier off of a generic EIS.” (p. 7)
…
“the testimony submitted by Dr. Hannan LaGarry (Exhibit OST-029)(ML14325A866) demonstrated that the data shows significant problems associated with the geologic setting that were not evaluated or reviewed in any NEPA document.” (p. 9) Excerpted from “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE COMMISSION In the Matter of POWERTECH (USA) INC. Docket No. 40-9075-MLA ASLBP No. 10-898-02-MLA-BD01 (Dewey-Burdock In Situ Uranium Recovery Facility May 26, 2015 OGLALA SIOUX TRIBE’S PETITION FOR REVIEW OF LPB-15-16 AND DECISIONS FINDING TRIBAL CONTENTIONS INADMISSIBLE” (29 pp. Emphasis added) http://www.powertechexposed.com/2015.05.26%20OGLALA%20SIOUX%20TRIBE’S%20PETITION%20FOR%20REVIEW_ML15146A500.pdf
“Having found by a preponderance of the evidence that the NRC Staff failed to meet its Identification Obligations under the NHPA, we further find, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the EA is deficient under NEPA because it fails to take a “hard look” at potential TCPs within the Crow Butte License area, including failing to analyze the objections raised by the tribes with respect to the inadequacy of the open site TCP survey;…. We have found that the NRC Staff satisfied neither the NHPA’s requirement to identify, assess, and to attempt to mitigate impacts on TCPs within the license area, nor NEPA’s requirement to take a hard look at cultural resources within the license area. This failure prevents us from determining whether renewal of the license will result in “no significant impacts,” and therefore places the NRC Staff’s FONSI determination in doubt.540 The question we face here is what actions are possible to address this deficiency.
Where an agency fails to comply with procedural statutes such as NEPA or the NHPA, an injunction is sometimes the proper recourse.541 The equivalent of an injunction here would be not granting the license extension. The United States Supreme Court has made clear that such injunctive relief is only warranted when the traditional test justifying it is met, i.e,
(1) that [Intervenors have] suffered an irreparable injury; (2) that remedies available at law, such as monetary damages, are inadequate to compensate for that injury; (3) that, considering the balance of hardships between [Intervenors] and [Crow Butte], a remedy in equity is warranted; and (4) that the public interest would not be disserved by a permanent injunction.542
We first examine monetary damages. Monetary remedies are not possible in the NRC licensing context, and a failure to comply with NEPA presumptively implies environmental harms that money cannot fix.543 The loss of historic properties represents irreversible damage to our “American heritage,”544 and damages to TCPs are “deeply offensive” to Indian tribes.545 Accordingly, this prong weighs towards the Intervenors“.
http://adamswebsearch2.nrc.gov/webSearch2/view?AccessionNumber=ML16147A587
An Anthropologist? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Dunham Obama should prove it by his actions.
Mining Awareness + 
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