Episode 36 Justice Without Peace?
Hello from Dave and Mike Reach our show: hosts@nativeopinion.com Twitter: @nativeopinion Facebook.com/nativeopinion Leave us voice mail: https://www.speakpipe.com/nativeopinion Special Segment Today We ask this question….. Can there be peace…when there is no justice? this past week we saw, yet again, another example of SENSELESS loss of life. Will we see these two police officers let off the hook, for what looks to many, like complete abuse of power? When we see white officers of the law, in most of these cases, overpowering a black man either by physically wrestling him to the ground with three or more people and then shooting or taking him, or as in other cases, shooting them dead in the street….you have to ask the question…. are these cases of an abuse of power and authority? Or are they….simply mistakes? Tonight there is a distinct theme as we look at how is justice actually carried out in this country? Because there seem to be different rules for different people…. Native News: Medical Marijuana Company Lead Sponsor at Gathering of Nations Vincent Schilling 7/6/16 Ultra Health, a national provider for the healthcare cannabis industry with operations and facilities in Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico, and retail dispensaries to commercial-scale cannabis production in New Mexico and Las Vegas has become the title sponsor for the Gathering of Nations Powwow for 2017. In addition to the sponsorship, the official name of the event will be the "Ultra Health - Gathering of Nations." This marks the first time a medical cannabis company has sponsored such an event. Ultra Health has agreed to the title sponsorship for the next five years and holds an option to consider sponsorship through 2027. "The Gathering of Nations Powwow is a very spiritual and social celebration," said Duke Rodriguez, CEO and President of Ultra Health in a company release. "At Ultra Health we believe such components are vital to well-being, and sponsoring the event was an obvious decision in light of the importance Native people have historically put on healing and natural medicine." Deborah White Plume, whose husband, Alex White Plume has been an advocate for the growing of hemp for decades, says she has mixed emotions about the sponsorship. “First of all, I am curious what the organizers get for sponsorship. But ultimately though I use medical marijuana, I feel this is an exploitative and corporatizing of Native people. I think it would be friendly and respectful if Ultra Health took their name off of the event name, otherwise, it is just another exploitative and oppressive gesture to the red nation.” http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/07/06/medical-marijuana-company-lead-sponsor-gathering-nations-165042 A deconstruction of Ultra Heath’s promotional video On the Ultra Health website, they have a promotional video which is VERY pro-native. but not in a goo way. It features a slogan at the beginning which states “In an Industrial World, what is Healthy?”. From that point on, visuals include shots of the New Mexico countryside, then shots of native traditional drummers, and dancers, then a shot of what looks to be more like a coffee shop from new England, then back to shots of a white girl doing aerobics, and then of a black man running, then a bit more concerning is a shot of native children when the voiceover mentions “spirituality”. Then next transitioning to a shot and soundbite of a woman talking about the fact that cannabis is now legal and seen as a medicine.” As she is saying this, there is a shot of a Navajo woman who is unboxing what appears to be “Ultra Heath chocolate bars” which presumably have cannabis in them. it is also worth noting that the only people speaking or consuming cannabis in this video are white. But as these soundbites are used, shots cut back and forth to NATIVE people dancing, or drumming. There is even a tribal elder in a headdress dancing. The music in this video is also very questionable. Possibly a producers concept of what they think is “contemporary native music.” It’s way off base. Another concern: On Sept. 11, 2014, about four years after it earned one of the first nonprofit producer’s licenses in the state and set up shop in Santa Fe, New Mexico Top Organics founders—Peter Ferrara, Mark Baker, and their wives, Christina Ferrara and Annie Campbell—signed over 100 percent of the nonprofit dispensary’s revenue to Ultra Health, LLC, a for-profit management firm working in three states. At the helm of the Arizona-based business is Duke Rodriguez, a former chief financial officer for Lovelace Medical Center, who helped transition the hospital from a nonprofit facility to a for-profit organization and who also served as Human Services Department cabinet secretary under then-Gov. Gary Johnson. Dispensary and cultivation management contracts provided to SFR by the New Mexico Department of Health show that the parties agreed to a 30-year deal granting Ultra Health use of the nonprofit’s license to staff, manage and operate dispensaries around the state in exchange for Ultra Health returning up to $12,500 per calendar year to the nonprofit entity for its “exclusive use and/or charitable purposes.” Ultra Health wouldn’t say how the money was used last year, which individuals make that decision, or whether any other sums changed hands. See more at http://www.sfreporter.com/santafe/article-11802-growing-pains.html#sthash.uZpJYBHk.dpuf Title: INDIAN AFFAIRS APPROVES $23.5 MILLION LOAN GUARANTEE FOR NAVAJO TRIBAL UTILITY AUTHORITY BY NATIVE NEWS ONLINE STAFF / CURRENTS / 29 JUN 2016 WASHINGTON – Acting Assistant Secretary –Indian Affairs Lawrence S. Roberts today announced the approval of a $23.5 million loan guarantee to the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA) that will allow it to acquire a greater ownership interest in NTUA Wireless, LLC, a telecommunications services company serving the Navajo Nation. The company is a partnership of NTUA and Commnet Wireless, a rural wireless service provider based in Atlanta, Georgia. “I congratulate the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority on becoming the majority owner of the largest tribal telecommunications company in the United States,” Roberts said. “The goal of the Indian Loan Guarantee Program is to build strong, sustainable tribal economies by supporting business development and expansion throughout Indian Country. Thanks to that program, the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority can move forward in building out the reservation’s telecommunication network for the benefit of the Navajo Nation and its people.” The loan guarantee, issued by the Indian Affairs Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, enables NTUA to acquire a 51 percent interest in the telecommunications services company , making it America’s largest wireless/internet business primarily owned and operated by a tribal enterprise. Title: Comey: FBI didn’t put Clinton under oath By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times - Thursday, July 7, 2016 Hillary Clinton was not put under oath and there is no transcript of her interview with the FBI, Director James Comey told Congress on Thursday. Mr. Comey said it’s still a crime if she lied to his agents — though he said he doesn’t believe that happened. Republicans have called for the FBI’s interview with Mrs. Clinton to be released so her public defense of her secret email system can be stacked up with what she told agents. But Mr. Comey said no transcript exists. Testifying before the House Oversight Committee, Mr. Comey revealed other new details both about Mrs. Clinton’s secret email account and about the parameters of his bureau’s investigation into it. He indicated they did see evidence that foreign governments tried to gain access to Mrs. Clinton’s server, though it’s impossible to know whether they succeeded. He said they didn’t find definitive evidence one way or the other. Mr. Comey also said Mrs. Clinton agreed to make herself available for the interview on Saturday, which lasted three and a half hours and involved about half-dozen agents. Mr. Comey said he was not there. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jul/7/comey-fbi-didnt-put-clinton-under-oath/ Summary: My question would be: How can you conduct an effective investigation without recording the interviews? You can’t. You can’t use someone’s memory as evidence if it came down to indictments. Memories are not admissible. Bernie appears to be out of the presidential race News Source: CNN http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/06/politics/hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-democratic-platform/ Well, we have to say it’s official without saying it’s official…Bernie Sanders appears to be getting set to endorse Hillary Clinton as the democratic nominee. This is news that on this show we did not wish to have to give. We have this from two news sources…. CNN who wrote: “Bernie Sanders is poised to endorse Hillary Clinton at a campaign event Tuesday in New Hampshire, provided that final disagreements in the Democratic platform can be resolved during a weekend party meeting in Orlando, people familiar with the talks say. For three weeks, Sanders has been steadily walking closer to throwing his full support behind Clinton but has been withholding a formal endorsement until the platform is written. He repeated his pledge to help defeat Donald Trump again Thursday in an interview with Bloomberg View's Al Hunt.” Sadly, here on our show we truly held the belief that Bernie was staying in the race as there was the main question of Hillary Clinton possibly being indicted. I myself in particular (Michael) was completely convinced based on a recent chain of factual events: 1.) Bernie met with president Obama were (I believe) he asked Bernie to concede. Bernie didn't. I also believe that President Obama made it known at that time that he will campaign with Hillary. 2.) Bernie then met with non-presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton to discuss with her