No Tar Sands Port in Portland!

Figured I'd share a quick update with you about today's action in Portland.   I'd say at least 1300 people were there from all over the Northeast, with lots of wonderful banners, flags, chants (and a giant rolling drum!) and lots of high energy despite the rather brutal cold!  We marched through Portland and ended at a pier (some of my friends half-joked about it being a trap, like the end of the movie "300" - but we survived - and I'm sure the areal photos they will be quite powerful).  

These fossil fuel companies are going to have a hard time piping their dirty product through this port!  Even the Mayor of Portland (who spoke at the rally) is apparently acting to stop the tar sands.  Pretty exciting!

Here's some great news coverage of the protest and the issue, in general.  I'm rather impressed with it.  I'm also favoring this particular coverage because I used my trick for getting interviewed by the media - thank them for covering the story -  and it worked!   You'll hear/see me in the video included with this story :-0

http://www.wcsh6.com/news/article/229043/2/Hundreds-of-protestors-rally-for-an-end-to-tar-sands-oil-extraction-

If you're bummed about missing the largest Tar Sands protest the Northeast has ever seen, you should join me for the largest that D.C. has ever seen!  20K+ of us will be descending on D.C. this Presidents' Day. We are going to stop the Keystone XL Tar Sands pipeline, but to do so we need as much people power as we can muster!  Obama is putting off his decision until at least March.  So let's give him a strong reminder who he works for!

Signup/details here: http://act.350.org/signup/presidentsday  There will be buses going down there from Western MA (and all over)!

Settler in Support of #IdleNoMore

And for those who are not aware, #IdleNoMore is a recent iteration of indigenous resistance to colonialist exploitation of Mother Earth and Her people. First Nations of Canada are the most heavily impacted by the Tar Sands operations (ie. poisoned bodies and land). Indigenous populations have been the on the frontline of resistance to the tar sands and I am proud to stand with them as a "Settler in Solidarity."  Together we can stop this travesty!

This beautiful (and mobile!) drum kept the heartbeat of the march.

Exciting Update re: indigenous resistance to the Tar Sands!!!~

International Treaty to Protect the Sacred from Tar Sands Projects
Signed on January 25th 2013

The representatives from sovereign Indigenous Nations, tribes, and governments, participating in the Gathering to Protect the Sacred on January 23 – 25, 2013, on the 150 year anniversary of the Treaty Between the Pawnee and Yankton Sioux, have gathered on the Ihanktonwan homelands, and have resolved by our free, prior, and informed consent to enter into a treaty to be forever respected and protected. We agreed upon the following articles...

 http://www.protectthesacred.org/international_treaty

We are the ones we've been waiting for... so let's stop waiting.

I saw these beautiful words posted on facebook, but felt that they were incomplete:

Don't freak out, Beloved. Everything is going to be alright. Truth is being revealed to your Soul- and it can be a painful process. Just remember that the Good God of Love is seeking to awaken within you the remembrance of your divine origins, to awaken your angelic spark and return you to the Land of Pure Light.

For now, be harmless, be kind, seek God and find the others- all will be well. Breathe deep, relax your mind and body, practice Yoga and vegetarianism, don't worry or fear anything, drink pure water, read holy books, listen to sacred music, hang out with other seekers, find the wisdom teachers and listen to them, stay in the Light, vibrate in Love and laugh often.

We are about to witness the birth of a New Earth!

So I added the following comment:

Beautiful!!! I totally agree, we need to do all that! But let us also put our compassion into action. Many of our brothers and sisters to not have the privilege of relaxing, doing yoga and reading sacred texts all day. We must actively dismantle all systems of oppression and exploitation and stand in solidarity with all Life! There is much work to do! Support the #IdleNoMore movement and indigenous struggles worldwide, oppose the Tar Sands Pipelines, Mountaintop Removal and Hydrofracking, protect a free and democratic internet, challenge corporate power, get the GMOs out of our food supply, decolonize our minds, challenge colonialism and patriarchy wherever we see it, build strong communities and alternative economies, reduce the environmental impact of our daily lives and our communities, support ecological innovations, grow our own food, practice permaculture, learn to live in right relation with Mother Earth, the list goes on..... Everything you describe will help us do these things, but let us not fool ourselves into thinking that all we have to do is live in love and light and wait for the New Earth to emerge. We are the ones we've been waiting for... so let's stop waiting and do something. :) In Lak'ech and Namaste.

I'd like to hear your thoughts?  How do you balance living in peace with taking action to stop the bad things in the world?  This is perhaps one of the oldest questions... perhaps never as relevant as it is today....