Alex Akselrod
boosted
One of the folks I had the opportunity to talk to at a #MaineRivers conference some years ago was #PenobscotNation member #JohnBanks. So glad to see him being honored... He has been a tireless advocate for the #PenobscotRiver!
"Banks was the Penobscot Nation’s representative on the Maine-Indian State Tribal Commission from 1987 to 2021, making him its longest-serving member. He also served on many local, regional and national organization boards, including the National Tribal Environmental Council, Native American Fish and Wildlife Society, National Indian Policy Center, and the Tribal Operations Committee with the federal EPA.
"But arguably Banks’ most noteworthy accomplishment involves bringing a Wabanaki voice and leadership to the historic #PenobscotRiverRestorationProject (1999-2016) in which two dams nearest to the sea were removed and a stream-like bypass channel was completed around a third dam at Howland.
"Completed in 2016, the $63 million restoration project opened almost 2,000 miles of habitat for 11 species of sea-run fish that had been choked off from their spawning grounds for almost two centuries by dams across the river.
"Since then, the river has come back alive with millions of river herring joined by Atlantic salmon, shad, sturgeon and other species in numbers that hadn’t been seen on the Penobscot River for nearly two centuries. Laura Rose Day credits Banks with a key intervention in 2002, when it looked like negotiations that had been going on for three years between #EnvironmentalGroups and the #hydro company owner were about to collapse.
" '[John] asked for a few minutes,' she wrote in a 2014 Christian Science Monitor commentary recalling the moment. 'Removing an eagle feather from a cloth wrap, he circled the table, laying the feather on each shoulder. He reminded us that, no matter whom we served, we were also responsible for being the voice for all the creatures of the river – the birds, the fish, and all of the people as well. The common goal had to be the health of the river.' "
Read more:
https://www.wabanakialliance.com/nihkaniyane2025-johnbanks/
#WaterIsLife #WabanakiAlliance #Wabanaki #Nihkaniyane #MaineRivers #DamRemoval #RiverRestoration
Another 2025 #Nihkaniyane honoree -#BrianneLolar!
"Brianne Lolar is one of three individuals honored by the #WabanakiAlliance at the 2025 Nihkaniyane event. A citizen of the #PenobscotNation, Lolar is a beloved elementary school teacher who left the classroom four years ago to begin doing equally important work as the first #WabanakiStudies Specialist for the Maine Department of Education. In that work she is bringing voice and representation to the Wabanaki people through partnerships with Indigenous and non-Indigenous educators and organizations who’ve been working together to achieve unmet goals and objectives of the 2001 requiring that #WabanakiHistory and culture be taught and integrated into the K-12 curriculum.
"A 2022 report from the Wabanaki Alliance, #AbbeMuseum, #ACLU of Maine, and Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission noted the law has not been implemented meaningfully across the state. Those findings and the work of a task force leading up to the report are what led Lolar to leave her 'happy place' of teaching in the classroom and enter the challenging give-and-take realm of state government where she’s been working on year-to-year contracts to help teachers and school districts fulfill the goals of the 2001 law.
" 'I knew I can’t complain about nothing being done if I’m not going to step up and sacrifice,' she says. 'My thinking was ‘It’s just a year and I’ll go back to teaching. It could go away again at any time. So I need to make the most of this opportunity.'
"Her sense of urgency motivated a 'can-do' approach that made sure yearly progress was being made to create a solid foundation for Wabanaki studies being taught across the entire state."
Read more:
https://www.wabanakialliance.com/nihkaniyane2025-briannelolar/
#WabanakiAlliance #Wabanaki #LanguagePreservation #WabanakiLanguage #CulturalPreservation #PreservingHistory #IndigenousLanguage #IndigenousHistory #Teachers
#LeeGelernt, who argued the case for the #ACLU, said Tuesday: “The #Trump administration’s use of a wartime statute during peacetime to regulate #immigration was rightly shut down by the court. This is a critically important decision reining in the administration’s view that it can simply declare an emergency without any oversight by the courts.”
#law#AlienEnemiesAct#ImmigrationLaw#5thCircuit#ExecutiveOverreach#AbuseOfPower#Constitution#DueProcess #rendition#StateSponsoredAbduction
“What the federal government would have this Court believe — in the face of a mountain of evidence presented in this case — is that none of this is actually happening,” the judge wrote.
She said that “roving patrols” without reasonable suspicion violated the #FourthAmendment of the #Constitution & that denying access to lawyers violated the #FifthAmendment.
#law #immigration#DueProcess#CivilRights#Judiciary#Trump#Gestapo#AbuseOfPower #tyranny
The ruling remains in place for 10 days. A coalition of #CivilRights groups, led by the #ACLU of Southern California & the nonprofit #PublicCounsel, is seeking a more durable order, known as a preliminary #injunction.
…During a hearing Thurs, the judge was skeptical about the govt’s assertions that it was not violating people’s constitutional rights & that agents were stopping #immigrants based on “the totality of circumstances,”rather than relying on race.
joene 🏴🍉
boosted
WTF!!! #DHS Tells #Police That Common #Protest Activities Are ‘Violent Tactics’
DHS is urging law enforcement to treat even #skateboarding and #livestreaming as signs of violent intent during a protest, turning everyday behavior into a pretext for police action.
By Dell Cameron, Jul 10, 202
"The #DepartmentOfHomelandSecurity is urging local police to consider a wide range of protest activity as violent tactics, including mundane acts like riding a #bike or livestreaming a police encounter, WIRED has learned.
"WIRED has made this article free for all to read because it is primarily based on reporting from Freedom of Information Act requests [#FOIA]. Please consider subscribing to support our journalism.
"Threat bulletins issued during last month’s '#NoKings' #protests warn that the US government’s aggressive immigration raids are almost certain to accelerate domestic unrest, with DHS saying there’s a 'high likeliness' more Americans will soon turn against the agency, which could trigger #confrontations near federal sites.
"Blaming intense media coverage and backlash to the US military deployment in #LosAngeles, DHS expects the #demonstrations to 'continue and grow across the nation' as #protesters focused on other issues shift to #immigration, following a broad 'embracement of #AntiICE messaging.'
"The bulletins—first obtained by the national security nonprofit #PropertyOfThePeople through public records requests—warn that officers could face assaults with fireworks and improvised weapons: #paint-filled fire extinguishers, smoke grenades, and projectiles like #bottles and #rocks.
"At the same time, the guidance urges officers to consider a range of #nonviolent behavior and common #ProtestGear—like #masks, #flashlights, and #cameras—as potential precursors to violence, telling officers to prepare 'from the point of view of an adversary.'
"Protesters on #bicycles, #skateboards, or even 'on foot' are framed as potential 'scouts' conducting reconnaissance or searching for 'items to be used as weapons.' #Livestreaming is listed alongside ' #doxxing' as a 'tactic' for 'threatening' police. Online posters are cast as ideological #recruiters—or as participants in 'surveillance sharing.'
"One list of 'violent tactics' shared by the Los Angeles–based Joint Regional Intelligence Center—part of a post-9/11 fusion network—includes both protesters’ attempts to avoid identification and efforts to identify police. The memo also alleges that face recognition, normally a tool of law enforcement, was used against officers.
"Vera Eidelman, a senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union [#ACLU], says the government has no business treating #constitutionally protected activities—like #observing or #documenting police—as threats.
"#DHS did not respond to a request for comment."
Read more:
https://www.wired.com/story/dhs-tells-police-that-common-protest-activities-are-violent-tactics/
#ACAB #FusionCenters#Fascism#Authoritarianism#Resistance#Journalism#PoliceState#CriminalizingDissent#Protestors#Protest#USPol#CriminalizingProtest#Orwell#BigBrother#DoublePlusUngood#SurveillanceState#NaziPatrol#NineteenEightyFour
WTF!!! #DHS Tells #Police That Common #Protest Activities Are ‘Violent Tactics’
DHS is urging law enforcement to treat even #skateboarding and #livestreaming as signs of violent intent during a protest, turning everyday behavior into a pretext for police action.
By Dell Cameron, Jul 10, 202
"The #DepartmentOfHomelandSecurity is urging local police to consider a wide range of protest activity as violent tactics, including mundane acts like riding a #bike or livestreaming a police encounter, WIRED has learned.
"WIRED has made this article free for all to read because it is primarily based on reporting from Freedom of Information Act requests [#FOIA]. Please consider subscribing to support our journalism.
"Threat bulletins issued during last month’s '#NoKings' #protests warn that the US government’s aggressive immigration raids are almost certain to accelerate domestic unrest, with DHS saying there’s a 'high likeliness' more Americans will soon turn against the agency, which could trigger #confrontations near federal sites.
"Blaming intense media coverage and backlash to the US military deployment in #LosAngeles, DHS expects the #demonstrations to 'continue and grow across the nation' as #protesters focused on other issues shift to #immigration, following a broad 'embracement of #AntiICE messaging.'
"The bulletins—first obtained by the national security nonprofit #PropertyOfThePeople through public records requests—warn that officers could face assaults with fireworks and improvised weapons: #paint-filled fire extinguishers, smoke grenades, and projectiles like #bottles and #rocks.
"At the same time, the guidance urges officers to consider a range of #nonviolent behavior and common #ProtestGear—like #masks, #flashlights, and #cameras—as potential precursors to violence, telling officers to prepare 'from the point of view of an adversary.'
"Protesters on #bicycles, #skateboards, or even 'on foot' are framed as potential 'scouts' conducting reconnaissance or searching for 'items to be used as weapons.' #Livestreaming is listed alongside ' #doxxing' as a 'tactic' for 'threatening' police. Online posters are cast as ideological #recruiters—or as participants in 'surveillance sharing.'
"One list of 'violent tactics' shared by the Los Angeles–based Joint Regional Intelligence Center—part of a post-9/11 fusion network—includes both protesters’ attempts to avoid identification and efforts to identify police. The memo also alleges that face recognition, normally a tool of law enforcement, was used against officers.
"Vera Eidelman, a senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union [#ACLU], says the government has no business treating #constitutionally protected activities—like #observing or #documenting police—as threats.
"#DHS did not respond to a request for comment."
Read more:
https://www.wired.com/story/dhs-tells-police-that-common-protest-activities-are-violent-tactics/
#ACAB #FusionCenters#Fascism#Authoritarianism#Resistance#Journalism#PoliceState#CriminalizingDissent#Protestors#Protest#USPol#CriminalizingProtest#Orwell#BigBrother#DoublePlusUngood#SurveillanceState#NaziPatrol#NineteenEightyFour
ACLU is hiring a IT program manager
https://www.aclu.org/careers/apply/?job=8036945002&type=national
Tim Chambers
boosted
To those who are participating in a #NoKings #protest tomorrow, thank you for standing up for #democracy. 💙 Please stay nonviolent, know your exits, and know your rights. Above all, please stay safe, my friends. ❤️
No Kings: https://www.nokings.org
Know Your Rights: https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/protesters-rights
Safe Protesting: https://www.hrc.org/resources/tips-for-preparedness-peaceful-protesting-and-safety
#ResistFascism#SaveDemocracy#ACLU#KnowYourRights #HumanRightsCampaign
To those who are participating in a #NoKings #protest tomorrow, thank you for standing up for #democracy. 💙 Please stay nonviolent, know your exits, and know your rights. Above all, please stay safe, my friends. ❤️
No Kings: https://www.nokings.org
Know Your Rights: https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/protesters-rights
Safe Protesting: https://www.hrc.org/resources/tips-for-preparedness-peaceful-protesting-and-safety
#ResistFascism#SaveDemocracy#ACLU#KnowYourRights #HumanRightsCampaign
Tim Chambers
boosted
Going to a #NoKings protest? ACLU is doing virtual "Know Your Rights" trainings in preparation.
WHAT: June Know Your Rights Training
WHEN: Tuesday, June 10th at 7 PM ET
WHERE: On Zoom - RSVP for the link!
Going to a #NoKings protest? ACLU is doing virtual "Know Your Rights" trainings in preparation.
WHAT: June Know Your Rights Training
WHEN: Tuesday, June 10th at 7 PM ET
WHERE: On Zoom - RSVP for the link!
Update. "Scientists sue #NIH, saying politics cut their research funding"
https://apnews.com/article/nih-funding-trump-dei-research-094ed2abe5ba529cdb74f7e0b429c4f3
"A group of scientists and health groups sued the NIH on Wednesday, arguing that an “ideological purge” of research funding is illegal and threatens medical cures…The suit was filed by the American Public Health Association [ #APHA], unions representing scientists and some researchers who were stripped of grants."
A similar suit has been filed by the American Civil Liberties Union ( #ACLU), the Center for Science in the Public Interest ( #CSPI), and the Protect Democracy Project ( #PDP).
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/aclu-sues-national-institutes-health-ideological-purge-research-projec-rcna199360
#Censorship #DefendResearch #Medicine #Trump #USLaw #USPol #USPolitics