Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

cbabe

cbabe's Journal
cbabe's Journal
March 20, 2024

New Federal Rules for Native Remains and Artifacts Give Power to Tribes

https://truthout.org/articles/new-federal-rules-for-native-remains-and-artifacts-give-power-to-tribes/

New Federal Rules for Native Remains and Artifacts Give Power to Tribes

The rules apply to public universities and museums, as well as private institutions that have received federal funds.

By Mary Annette Pember , ICT
Published March 19, 2024

Changes to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act were announced in the dry language of the Federal Register in December and quietly went into effect earlier this year.

But contrary to the ordinary unveiling, the NAGPRA final rule, as it is called, represents a tectonic shift in how museums, universities and other public institutions interact with Native peoples in repatriation of ancestral remains as well as sacred and cultural objects.

The new rules — which give deference to Indigenous knowledge — have sent museums across the country scrambling to hide Indigenous exhibits from public view as officials work to interpret the changes in the law.



Some institutions offer financial support to tribes for travel and associated repatriation costs, but several tribal leaders suggested that the institutions should shoulder more of the costs. “Not only the Field Museum, but others, have profited quite a bit from possession of our ancestors,” Wahwassuck said. Chief Ben Barnes of the Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma wondered about the untold profits that collections of Indigenous remains and objects have provided to universities. “How many undergraduate and graduate degrees have been bestowed, how many research grants have been gained, based on our patrimony?” he asked.

…more… long read…
March 20, 2024

After Years of Indigenous-Led Campaigning, Court Grants Rights to Peru's Maran River

https://www.commondreams.org/news/peru-river-rights

After Years of Indigenous-Led Campaigning, Court Grants Rights to Peru's Marañón River

The decision "establishes a groundbreaking legal framework that acknowledges the inherent rights of natural entities," said one campaigner.

JULIA CONLEY
Mar 19, 2024

After years of campaigning, an organization of Indigenous women in Peru's Loreto province celebrated "a landmark decision" on Tuesday by a court in Nauta, which found that the Marañón River has "intrinsic value" and that its "inherent rights" must be recognized by the government.

The Mixed Court of Nauta ruled that specific rights of the river must be codified, including the right to exist, the right to ecological flow, the right of restoration, the right to be free of pollution, the right to exercise its essential functions with the ecosystem, and the right of representation.

Led by Kukama women, the Huaynakana Kamatahuara Kana Federation in the Parinari district of Loreto began its legal fight on behalf of the Marañón River in 2021, demanding that the state and federal governments protect the waterway from "constant oil spills."

Petroperu's Oleoducto Norperuano, or Norperuvian oil pipeline, caused more than 60 oil spills between 1997-2019, and the 28 communities represented by the federation are still recovering from a 2010 oil spill that sent 350 barrels of oil into the river near Saramuro port. Indigenous groups blocked the river in protest in September 2022 after another spill sent 2,500 barrels of crude oil into the Amazon, of which the Marañón is a main tributary.

…more…



March 17, 2024

'Longing for home': letters of Irish emigrants to US reveal 400 years of trials and triumphs

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/17/longing-for-home-letters-of-irish-emigrants-to-us-reveal-400-years-of-trials-and-triumphs

‘Longing for home’: letters of Irish emigrants to US reveal 400 years of trials and triumphs

A collection of more than 7,000 letters will form a publicly accessible digital archive that offers a window to the past

Rory Carroll Ireland correspondent
Sun 17 Mar 2024 04.00 EDT

In the week that Ireland turns ­everything green and celebrates its diaspora, a new online archive has given voice to the human cost paid by generations of emigrants.

More than 7,000 letters from emigrants to North America spanning four centuries have been collected and digitised, giving poignant insight into the homesickness, tribulations, and occasional triumphs, of those who crossed the Atlantic. They tell of Pennsylvania coal­mines, Minnesota winters, Boston slums, and the desperate struggle to adapt and survive – and to make peace with the likelihood of never seeing home again.



The letters reveal struggles and heartache, said the historian. “A common theme is the longing for home and the sadness that they probably will never be able to return home. Another is the obligation to send money back, which often they can barely afford, and also to pay for the passage of younger brothers and sisters.”

Letters sent home – a key plot device in Colm Tóibín’s diaspora novel Brooklyn, later made into a film starring Saoirse Ronan – also showed hope and pride, said Miller. “Many immigrants were happy to be in America. They felt they had more opportunity to be independent – that’s a word they often used. For instance, owning their own farm or shop, not having to take their hats off in the presence of the landlord, or obey the wishes of a priest.”

…more…


March 17, 2024

Irish PM calls for cease-fire during remarks with Biden

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/irish-pm-calls-for-cease-fire-during-remarks-with-biden/ar-BB1k0CpU

Irish PM calls for cease-fire during remarks with Biden

Story by Lauren Irwin

President Biden met with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar Friday, where the leader said he thinks there should be a cease-fire “as soon as possible” between Israel and Hamas.

Varadkar said he was “keen” to speak with Biden about the war in Gaza, as the two leaders met at the White House to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

“You know, my – my view that we need to have a cease-fire as soon as possible to get food and medicine in, to get the hostages out,” Varadkar said. Biden interjected, saying “And I agree.”

The Prime Minister continued, saying he and Biden “need to talk about how we can make that happen and move towards a two-state solution, which I think is the only – the only way we’ll have lasting peace and security.”
“I agree,” Biden responded.

…more…
March 16, 2024

'I'm so happy you're here': the California librarian who found fame on TikTok

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/16/california-librarian-mychal-threets-tiktok-mental-health

‘I’m so happy you’re here’: the California librarian who found fame on TikTok

Mychal Threets, 33, shares sunny videos about library patrons, affirmations and forthright commentary on mental health

Dani Anguiano in Los Angeles
Sat 16 Mar 2024 07.00 EDT

Mychal Threets has spent most of his 34 years in libraries – first as a homeschooled kid finding community and refuge in the world of books and then as an adult working as a librarian.

“I grew up in libraries, raised by libraries, loved everything about libraries,” he said in an interview. “It is a place where you can just be as you are, you can come on inside, you can take joy in that as an introvert [or] an extrovert.”

Threets has become a TikTok star thanks to his tales from life in the stacks, along with affirmations and forthright commentary on mental health that have brought him nearly 800,000 followers and millions of views. His sunny attitude – the California librarian is frequently compared to Mr Rogers, LeVar Burton and Bob Ross – and openness about his own struggles have resonated in a way he never imagined.



His videos about his interactions with library patrons highlight what he views as a crucial purpose of a library: a place where everyone is welcome and free to be themselves and can sit in solitude or find community. Threets also posts encouraging messages to his followers: you’ve always belonged. I’m so happy you’re here in this world.

…more … x video links…

YouTube compilation of shorts
https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRMwV-JYP7f4pEjT-v42fCknxoiQVevML

(What is going to happen to best people like him if tiktok is canceled?)
March 15, 2024

Scam warning: Took my laptop in for repair. When I

got home there was an email asking me to update my credit card info so ‘they’ could renew my store ‘membership’.

Very plausible site and $amount.

I don’t have a store membership.

Must’ve gotten my info off the laptop when at the store.

Careful. Scammers and hackers are everywhere.

March 15, 2024

Claims of Mass Rape by Hamas Unravel Upon Investigation

https://www.yesmagazine.org/social-justice/2024/03/05/israel-hamas-oct7-report-gaza

Claims of Mass Rape by Hamas Unravel Upon Investigation

ARUN Gupta
March 5, 2024

This investigative report uncovers questionable sourcing and a striking lack of physical or eyewitness evidence in two early reports that have been widely cited to bolster claims that Hamas committed mass sexual violence in its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.



Ziv admitted credibility problems with sources and that she did not review all available evidence. She was “unaware” numerous sources had fabricated atrocity stories about Oct. 7. Ziv said, “Yeah, that’s a problem,” about a soldier she quotes whose claim of rape was changed by the government. She quoted volunteers from Zaka, a scandal-plagued organization that collected human remains after Oct. 7, but Ziv did not realize Zaka openly talks of inventing stories. When discussing claims that women’s sexual organs were deliberately mutilated, Ziv conceded, “OK, if there’s alternative explanations you can’t say that.”


As for evidence, two reports have thrown cold water all over it. First, Ha’aretz reported on Dec. 24 that Israeli police sent a court order to “general and psychiatric hospitals” to “provide information on the victims of sexual offenses committed by Hamas terrorists on October 7.” It was a tacit admission that police lack survivor testimony. The court order also undercut claims that alleged survivors were not being identified to protect them as unique details would make it simple to identify them.

Second, an even more revealing Ha’aretz report published on Jan. 4, 2024, pointed out that “[t]he police are having difficulty locating victims of sexual assault or witnesses to acts from the Hamas attack, and are unable to connect the existing evidence with the victims described in it.” Police are so desperate they appealed through the media, without success so far, “to encourage those who have information on the matter to come and testify.”



On top of serving as war propaganda, stories by Zaka volunteers appear invented. This author described in a recent Intercept investigation how Zaka officials say “we’re using our imagination” when they recount atrocities and “the bodies is telling us the stories that happened to them.” Western media is full of Zaka atrocity claims, nearly all of which are fabrications, dubious, or unsubstantiated.

…more… long read… meticulous detail… Zaka founder as pedophile, using the dead as fundraiser… fabricated stories as propaganda…

March 14, 2024

Sanders and Senate Dems Warn Louis DeJoy: Don't Mess With USPS Workers or Mail Delivery

https://www.commondreams.org/news/louis-dejoy-usps

Sanders and Senate Dems Warn Louis DeJoy: Don't Mess With USPS Workers or Mail Delivery

"The Postal Service is at its best when it treats its workers right and delivers mail in a timely fashion. We therefore urge you to prevent facility changes or outright closures that will result in any job losses and slower mail."

JESSICA CORBETT
Mar 13, 2024

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday led a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy about the potential impacts of mail processing facility reviews that are underway as part of the United States Postal Service leader's controversial decadelong Delivering for America plan.

Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), and 19 Democrats explained that the process is underway at 59 locations across 35 states, and while the USPS claims "there will be no career layoffs or slowed service, we are concerned these facility reviews will functionally result in both."

"In many instances, outgoing mail processing will move hundreds of miles to a regional facility, outside reasonable commuting distance and, in some cases, to another state entirely," they noted. "In Vermont, mail processing at the Burlington and White River Junction facilities will likely transfer to a facility in Hartford, Connecticut, distances of around 230 and 145 miles, respectively."

"Wyoming, Vermont, and New Hampshire are set to lose all outgoing mail processing from within the state," the letter highlights. Along with offering more examples from Colorado, Illinois, Nevada, and Oregon, it warns that possible reassignments and layoffs come "at a time when the Postal Service is struggling with both turnover and ensuring consistent service across the network."

…more…

(Cancel DeJoy.)

Profile Information

Member since: Wed Jun 2, 2021, 01:24 PM
Number of posts: 3,541
Latest Discussions»cbabe's Journal