You know, Jill Stein and Ajamu Baraka got arrested at Standing Rock when they joined the protests.

What, you STILL can't think of something nice to say about those two?

Hillary Clinton didn't go anywhere near Standing Rock. She wouldn't even talk about it. Just pretended it wasn't happening, that those people weren't even there.

Come to think about it, you didn't say one fucking thing about it during the election, either. I guess that would've been politically inconvenient, since you might have noticed the Green Party doing what YOUR favorite party never had the spinal column to do.

But you're so much better than the Green Party. You've never risked your necks for anything, but you're so morally superior to people who do.

Yeah. Right.

The term "free speech zone" makes me see red.

@1, was Jill Stein risking her neck for something? If she was, then Sydney was also, since she was there and presumably is part of the "you" in your post..

..@1..
yeah what @3 said.sydney's been on it for a bit now..no fake news here.

If you check out @1's comment history, you will see that the poster is just repeating the comment.

The comment is generic enough to appear at other sites, too.

"If you move your camp to the [ free speech zone ] we will give you blankets and food." Where have I heard that before?

Hey, I hear the new Texas high school US History books changed the wording on WW II Japanese-American "internment camps" to "Japanese Free Speech Zones."

@5, Look for every excuse and every dodge you can. The Stranger's headlines are ll bout "Oh, we're so fucked", and say nothing about "Let's go fight the sonsabitches".

And you know what? The Green Party is fighting the sonsabitches. Why aren't you?

I thought the entire damn fucking country was a "free speech zone"?

"And the land where it is located was, of course, inhabited by the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota peoples for several thousand years before the creation of the US government and the Army Corps of Engineers."

Bullshit.

We know this because the Sioux were originally from Canada and - once they traded/stole horses from the "white man" - descended in a reign of rape and terror onto the Northern Plains after 1700 conquering the land from its original inhabitants which included the Pawnee.

This so-called "sacred" land the Sioux believe is there was in fact taken by military force from its original inhabitants well after 1700 and was probably only in their possession for 100 to 140 years tops.

So until the Sioux pay reparations to the Pawnee, they can either move back to Canada or go back onto their reservation and stop trespassing on other people's lands.

@10

And can someone please tell me what impact Obama could have on this if he so chose? As his tenure comes to a close, it sure seems like an odd move to be on the wrong side of history here.

@11 None of what you wrote is true. In the future it would be wise to educate yourself before illuminating such ignorance publicly. That is unless you enjoy playing the ignorant fool. The good news Don Ward, is that ignorance is not permanent. I hope you choose to alleviate your ignorance for you seem like an intelligent fella. All things considered. Have a great day!

Not just the Sioux will be affected by the DAPL

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/a-no…

@13 That's nice studly. Guess what? Dances with Wolves was not factual and the Sioux were a warrior culture.

The Sioux/Lakota people swept out of Canada and conquered the Northern Plains over a hundred year period while waging a Total War against the peoples occupying those lands, including the Pawnee.

Your ignorance of basic Native American history is not an argument.

@10 - The Army Corps of Engineers isn't quite the same thing as the U.S. Army. There is some overlap, but its more like the construction division of the federal government. They are responsible for flood control projects, inland waterways, dams, locks, and things of that nature.

If these people are removed by force, the force will be applied by civil police.

@15 Their claims aren't based on thousands of years of anything. They are based on formal treaties to which the US Government is a signatory. And to basic principles of justice - if the people of Bismark N.D. are entitled to clean water, than so are they.

@10
The federal government is empowered to enforce federal law. And unlike the local law enforcement bodies that have been coming from all over to help their comrades in N.D., the federal law enforcement agencies don't have to rely on surplus military equipment from the federal government to militarize themselves and their enforcement. They can get the good stuff.

#17 well said. Just want to emphasize that civil police includes federal civil police, although I believe local civil police can enforce some federal laws within the limits of their jurisdictions.

Anyway, this is one of the things I kept trying, and failing, to explain to Trump voters, 3rd party voters, and not voting voters. The executive branch can't make law, but it has immense control over how it deploys the violent forces of the federal government internationally - and domestically. Obama has the legal power and political legitimacy to hold off on violent action by federal forces regarding DAPL.

Obama will be doing Trump and pipeline developers a huge HUGE favor if he directs the forceful, even violent, clearing of the protesters and stopping from hampering the physical progress of the pipeline's construction. Any violent action on this scale by the newly installed Trump administration would galvanize both opposition to his administration and to pipelines in general.

Unfortunately, already economically unviable coal not withstanding, helping the energy industry extract and move product has been an under-reported tenet of the Obama administration. Wouldn't surprise me if he did come to their rescue here. (There is lots more to be discussed about Obama's reasoning and motivation in wanting to legitimize the incoming Trump administration, but we'll have plenty of time to discuss that as we watch it play out in real time in other areas)

@10 Oh, and furthermore, the feds won't have the budget constraints that have brought North Dakota, despite help from police outside the state, to the limit of their ability to help the pipeline industry with DAPL.

Sydney's doing some damn fine reporting on this. Her September piece--brimming with context--was one of her best. This is a fine addition. Thank you Sydney.

LOL http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016…

@23 When the "hippie punching" starts, that odds that you are doing the right thing increases dramatically!

This "burning man" white people meme has been pushed forward with extra energy in the last couple of weeks in the energy industry's professional PR campaign to discredit the DAPL protests and delegitimize linking of the Sioux with the broader world community.

Opponents of the Iraq war, no matter who they were or how many 100s of thousands or millions they marched in the streets, were hippie punched as if they were raving loons.

@24, at least they prevented Dan's Iraq War from happening.

@8 - The entire country? Nah. That ended in 1996 during the DNC when the cops first built chain-link cages as "Free Speech Zones" to keep the massive street protests away from the delicate politicos.

Hey, come to think of it, has anyone else noticed that every time the DNC and RNC do their thing they consistently face tens of thousands of people marching in the streets against them? And have for at least 20 years now?

Interesting phenomenon.

"This decision is necessary to protect the Dakota Access Pipeline from the deadly violent confrontations perpetrated against unarmed protesters by heavily armed, militarized law enforcement officials that have occurred in this area that we have unilaterally taken from the Sioux Nation, and to prevent death, illness, or serious injury to inhabitants due to excessive police violence, enforced misery, and a general siege of the encampments, now forcibly exposed to the harsh North Dakota winter conditions, which was our plan all along." -- Colonel John W. Henderson, US Army Corps., Occupying Forces

Fixed it.

@23 - The irony, of course, is that Burning Man is a 'leave no trace', 'radical self-reliance' encampment, where everyone --and every theme camp-- is on-point to specifically come with all their own resources (incl. water), and not trash the place, picking up all 'matter out of place' wherever they find it. Most people have a pocket or small bag to put trash into when they are out and about. That's one reason why that art festival is so successful.

Moochers & slackers are the polar opposite of repeat attendee Burning Man people.