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Activists Settle Out in Freshwater S.L.A.P.P. Suit
After dropping charges against PL-hired extraction climber Eric Schatz & Co., claiming to be going after Maxxam, several activists settle out, giving Eric Schatz's lawyer the chance to take a few pot-shots at the activists. Yes, trying to make a case based on squatter's rights would have been very difficult, yet proving assault, battery, unlawful arrest, etc. against Schatz and his employees wouldn't have been hard at all. Too bad the case against Eric Schatz was dropped...
BIG TREE HUG: Pacific Lumber and some local forest activists, entangled in the case Pacific Lumber Co. v. Remedy et al. and associated cross-complaints since 2003, have agreed to settle instead of going to trial. Palco had accused the treesitters of trespassing following a series of sits in the spring of 2003. Five treesitters filed cross complaints against Palco and treesit extractor Eric Schatz, alleging a number of things, including assault, negligence, forcible entry and battery.
Jeny Card — whose forest name is Remedy — dropped her cross-complaint earlier this year, but she was still facing Palco's charges and the potential of having to pay the company's legal fees and costs if she lost. Now she and Palco have settled, and they'll manage their own expenses. The other remaining cross-complainants have also settled. Only one defendant, Kim Starr (not a treesitter, but an activist associated with those events and others), has not settled and still faces Palco's charges.
Last week, in an e-mail noting the settlements, Schatz' attorney Andy Stunich said the treesitters "knew they would lose at trial," which had been set to begin June 19.
"It is too bad that the protesters wasted so much in the way of Sheriff Department resources and judicial resources," wrote Stunich. "However, at least they are not going to waste jurors' time with an unnecessary trial. That they dismissed their cases speaks volumes about the lack of merit of their cases."
Daniel Kosmal, who represented two other treesitters who had filed cross-complaints against Schatz and Palco — Kristi Sanchez and Scott Petersen — said this Tuesday that both sides agreed that they would not reveal the terms of the settlement, except for one: that in the future, Pacific Lumber would give treesitters 10 days notice before removing them.
The 10-day notice, he admitted, doesn't change things too much on the ground (or up in the tree) — there could still be these standoffs in the future. It just establishes the law more clearly and "buys everyone a little breathing time." During that time, the treesitter can go to court and try to obtain a preliminary injunction against the company, if the company "hasn't gone through the proper legal channels."
So why settle? Did the treesitters' case lack merit? "Absolutely not," said Kosmal. The case just had too much gray area, he said, that involved the tricky realm of squatters' law. "Both the company and my clients decided that this agreement was a step forward."
— Heidi Walters
Jeny Card — whose forest name is Remedy — dropped her cross-complaint earlier this year, but she was still facing Palco's charges and the potential of having to pay the company's legal fees and costs if she lost. Now she and Palco have settled, and they'll manage their own expenses. The other remaining cross-complainants have also settled. Only one defendant, Kim Starr (not a treesitter, but an activist associated with those events and others), has not settled and still faces Palco's charges.
Last week, in an e-mail noting the settlements, Schatz' attorney Andy Stunich said the treesitters "knew they would lose at trial," which had been set to begin June 19.
"It is too bad that the protesters wasted so much in the way of Sheriff Department resources and judicial resources," wrote Stunich. "However, at least they are not going to waste jurors' time with an unnecessary trial. That they dismissed their cases speaks volumes about the lack of merit of their cases."
Daniel Kosmal, who represented two other treesitters who had filed cross-complaints against Schatz and Palco — Kristi Sanchez and Scott Petersen — said this Tuesday that both sides agreed that they would not reveal the terms of the settlement, except for one: that in the future, Pacific Lumber would give treesitters 10 days notice before removing them.
The 10-day notice, he admitted, doesn't change things too much on the ground (or up in the tree) — there could still be these standoffs in the future. It just establishes the law more clearly and "buys everyone a little breathing time." During that time, the treesitter can go to court and try to obtain a preliminary injunction against the company, if the company "hasn't gone through the proper legal channels."
So why settle? Did the treesitters' case lack merit? "Absolutely not," said Kosmal. The case just had too much gray area, he said, that involved the tricky realm of squatters' law. "Both the company and my clients decided that this agreement was a step forward."
— Heidi Walters
For more information:
http://www.northcoastjournal.com/062206/ne...
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Pretty sad...
It is SO low (to say the least) to pass judgment on the PL v. Remedy slapp suit defendants' decision to settle. The decisions were both personal and practical and were based on numerous factors.
Anyway, this guy has no idea what would and wouldn’t be hard to prove in court having not been involved (thank god) in the past 3 years of litigation on the PL v. Remedy case. In his posts to his NCEF listserve regarding the mattole slapp suit he is on, he frequently mentions the possibility of settlement. Why is it benign for him to settle but not for others? is he going to blame these defendants next time someone gets ripped out of a tree?
can anyone else read the sub-text in his writing?
I am proud of the defendants/cross-compaintants for sticking it out thus far and am glad that they escaped the quarter million judgment and permanent injunction they were facing.
Live to fight another day, eh?
I've been asked to moderate the listserver more strictly, and when people send messages directly to me, I answer them directly.
If you want to start a discussion on the listserver, then phrase your opinion in the form of a discussion topic, not as a personal note to me.
As for the settlement topic, I've never dropped my cross-complaint against Maxxam/PL. I was never going after Schatz, because he never extracted me; if I had, I would never have dropped my case against him, because he is not an officer, has a history of physical violence, and has no legal right to lay his hands on people.
It's all the wasted time, energy, and resources, and a wasted chance to really hold Schatz & Co. accountable for their violent actions.
It's the fact that Remedy picked up a lawyer who is notorious for having ripped off EF! paralegals during the Stafford landslide lawsuit. I have a real problem with that, from a moral standpoint.
Yet you won't let that remain on this open bulletin board website, which supposed to be open for anyone to post. Now you have a supposedly open forum, censored against any facts or opinions that expose some of the garbage of the left.
Your version of free speech is a kind of green fascism, and the attitude of Remedy and Duff towards their films is more like a Hollywood mentality, not a true patriot's attitude, who would encourage people to copy and distribute their films for the good of the movement.
Hypocrites.
Dropping charges against Schatz also gave his lawyer the golden opportunity to discredit your case to the media, and it got printed, for sure. Way to go.
Alex Jones has made somewhere in the neighborhood of 14 films, and he practically begs people to make copies of it and distribute them, which I feel is a true activist filmmaker attitude.
It's never been an option to even see a copy of the footage, because Duff has some kind of personal grudge against me and my friends, maybe based on the fact that he was trying to sell a movie about "La Tigressa," while we were telling people about our horrible experience with her.
When you are an activist film collective, as in Headwaters Action Video Collective(HAVC), it's a little different than being a tv programmer; the idea is to share footage, to help get the word out, to expose Maxxam/PL, etc.
That's what we wanted to do, and the footage was OF US!
Why do we not have a right to a copy of footage that is OF US, DOING AN ACTION?
Why would anyone want to prevent footage of a masonic mansion and Charlie Hurwitz, getting chanted down in the rain by a group of very lively Earth First!ers?
It raises some interesting questions in my mind.
Then, after all that, I get demonized for helping to get the word out, by distributing copies of the film (which I paid full price for) at the Earth First! table!
I thought the point was to get the word out, too, yet I get my character brought into question for helping to distribute the film, making no money off of it for myself.
The donations that I did receive for the film went back into more recycled video tapes, labels, cases, etc. I would give them away to anyone who wanted to see them.
Ah, but this cuts into the profits of anyone who is planning to sell each and every copy.
That's the only reason I can think of for Duff and Remedy to demonize me for distributing the film, aside from mere petty personal prejudice, which seems unlikely.
You asked, so that's my answer...activist filmmaking morals should be different than Hollywood copyright morals, and people like Alex Jones are shining examples of that. He authorizes people to make copies of his videos and distribute them, and thanks people for doing so on his radio and webstream program.
Forever Wild,
Shunka Wakan
North Coast Earth First!
So, I should go out and film a bunch of activists doing actions, and then hold the footage for ransom, especially if I'm the only videographer on site.
I have never seen the footage, because it has always been hidden by Duff and the Headwaters Action Video Collective, yet I know that the action was powerful, and that mansion is creepy-looking, so I'm sure that a nice short video could be made, exposing the masonic Carson Mansion and Maxxam/PL.
If the footage wasn't good enough to make even a short film, then at least we would have it for our own personal archives.
An activist media/video collective should provide footage to activists, especially when that footage is OF THEM. Activists should not be expected to BUY the footage, especially when the video collective is SELLING OTHER VIDEOS, so they are making money, and could afford to burn the footage onto a DVD, which would cost less than a dollar.
Not only has Duff hoarded the video, he also SPIT ON ME when I asked for it.
Spitting on someone is violent; in fact, that's assault, and he's lucky that I didn't file charges, after he was admonished for spitting on me by a member of the Arcata Co-Op management, meaning that I have a witness.
From an activist perspective, Duff, Remedy, Headwaters Action Video Collective (HAVC) and EarthFilms are totally corrupt. It's all about selling activist footage to make money, and using video as some kind of power card...very juvenile, and totally corrupt.
Let the truth be known, and may the truth set us free!
Forever wild,
Shunka Wakan
It's been the rabid attitude of "you can't have it!"
It's the fact that Duff and others have been afraid of our crew, our involvement in ceremony, his perception of us as "hippies," etc.
It's been prejudice all along.
He's also guilty of ripping off Julia Butterfly, her image, her words, even after she asked him and "Penny," also of Headwaters Action Video Collective(HAVC) and EarthFilms, not to.
Duff & Penny were also selling and promoting a film about La Tigressa, a really sleazy film about a really discrediting lady, La Tigressa, who tried to infiltrate our group, separating women from men, lying to the media, doing shameless self-promoting, getting her facts wrong, conducting energy and ordering people around...in other words, a total nightmare and an embarassment to the movement.
Yet Duff & Penny were showing this film in conjunction with "Tree-sit:the art of resistance," even after being asked not to by NCEF! activists.
"We're not activists, we're film-makers" was the quote that let me know that they were totally out-of-touch with the movement, and had only one motive...to make movies, to sell, to make money.
Yet, after witnessing all of that, Remedy had no problem teaming up with Duff to make their "struggle in the woods" film, and then, consistent with the pattern, demonized me for making copies to distribute at the Earth First! table, to expose Eric Schatz & Co., not to make money.
I'm already doing all the things that you suggest that I do, and more, f.y.i.
What do you do, besides stick up for Duff? Or are YOU Duff?
Everone else seems too afraid to use a recognizable name...cowardly...
Forever Wild,
Shunka Wakan
If they were such terrible people I dont think they would have been able to pull off everything they did, that is, make such great docs. they had -and have- a lot of support from a lot of people. shunka is the only on I hear complaining.
shunka's motives look questionable.
Alex Jones, in his excellent documentaries (14 in all, most 2 hours or more), encourages people to make copies and distribute them, as any true activist would.
It's been a long time since I've distributed any videos by HAVC or EarthFilms, and they were fine with it when I was buying them, at an inflated price, before I found recycled VHS tapes on the internet. You can get 100 recycled VHS tapes for about $135, with labels and cases (made in the U.S.), which makes distributing information much more affordable for grassroots folks like NCEF!
That was not acceptable to Remedy & Duff, because they want everyone to buy the films from them, limiting the information to those who can afford it at full price.
My intentions have always been to expose the criminal activities of Maxxam/PL/Eric Schatz, and, nowadays, the global corporate elite, also known as the New World Order.
Having seen tremendous amounts of corruption WITHIN the movement, I now feel that it's my duty to expose that, as well.
As for the footage of our crew chanting down the Carson Mansion, a.k.a. the "Wicked Castle," that footage was never released; in fact, we've never even been able to see that footage.
Why would Duff want to cover up a protest against the masonic Carson Mansion, with Charles Hurwitz inside? Because we didn't like La Tigressa?
Because Duff just "doesn't like us"?
Is that a just reason for hiding footage of a very high-energy protest, at night outside the creepy-looking Carson Mansion, with PL inside, talking about Earth First! through loudspeakers that echoed out across Old Towne Eureka?
Why hide that kind of footage?
Our crew was in its prime, and some people did everything they could to rip that circle to pieces.
I'm sure you feel very accomplished, in a COINTELPRO kind of way, don't you?
I've included a picture of that creepy mansion, just to give you an idea of what that footage might have looked like, and here's a link about the Ingomar Club, who now owns the Carson Mansion. The Ingomar Club is a men's club, and so is the Bohemian Club; the Carson Mansion is a tribute to logging, had slave quarters, and Charles Hurwitz was inside when we were chanting it down. Why not expose this patriarchal New World Order clubhouse?
http://www.northcoastjournal.com/NOV95/ESSAY_NO.HTM
Alex Jones has the right attitude when it comes to activist films...distribute them as far and wide as possible, and encourage others to do the same.
http://www.infowars.com
http://www.prisonplanet.com
http://www.prisonplanet.tv
http://www.arnoldexposed.com
Forever exposing corruption on all sides,
Shunka Wakan
And how much does a tape or DVD cost? $1 or less, so that shouldn't be an issue.
I paid full price ($10) for the original copy of "Struggle in the Woods," as well, just as I have done with all the Alex Jones titles that I distribute.
The point is that an activist video collective, such as "Headwaters Action Video Collective(HAVC)," should provide raw footage of actions, to the person or persons who were videotaped, for free or at cost. Videos that a collective sells to the public should subsidize free raw footage to activists, or maybe a $1-$2 donation for the tape or CD/DVD.
You want to make it all about money, yet it's not...it's a personal vendetta against me and some of my friends, a childish power-play involving video, since that's their main thing.
Remeber the quote..."We're not activists, we're filmmakers."
The video footage is OF US, and when we first requested it, Duff said, "keep reminding me."
Then it turned into, "you're not getting the film because I don't like your ego."
Then it turned into spitting, and now I'm sure that Duff with keep that footage hidden forever, forever covering up a great chantdown of the Carson Mansion/Ingomar Club and Charles Hurwitz.
You say I'm corrupt? One finger pointing out, three pointing back.
Any decent activist video collective would be more than happy to give activists footage of their own protest.
Duff was not honest about his intentions, first placating us by acting like he was going to give it to us, and then getting more and more bitter and rabid about it as time went on.
It's been like The Ring, from Lord of the Rings, for Duff...the longer he keeps the footage for himself, the more it corrupts his being.
If Duff wanted to end this, he could turn over a copy of the video footage, and that would end it, plain and simple.
Oh yeah, one more thing that Duff did, when we were requesting the footage, years ago, he sent me a copy of his La Tigressa movie, "Strip Tease for the Trees" (how sleazy, eh?).
He has since apologized for that, as well, yet it's part of the story, and, if Duff were truly sorry for sending me that video, as an insult, and spitting on me, then he would send a copy of the raw footage, instead of hiding it and protecting this patriarchal men's club.
P.S. That's an artistic rendering of the Carson Mansion...if anyone wants to see the real thing, all you have to do is Google it...I didn't feel like posting one of the glorifying pictures of the house, there are plenty of those...you won't see this version of the "Wicked Castle" anywhere else, it's an original, by a good friend, who shall remain nameless.
i will always remember shunka from "Da Ali G. Show," where he made Earth First!ers look like asses. Since he claimed to be representing them, and then wasn't really able to talk about the issues. Nice one.
One more thing, since we're living under capitalism: if you don't like the media collectives that are out there, start your own. if the market can't bear it, you won't last. If the market will bear it, you can make money, too. See how far a couple hundred dollars from video sales gets you.
Many videos have been edited from this office, along with the listserver, the website, tabling materials, S.L.A.P.P. suit stuff, CDs, DVSs, and more.
Funny how everyone I've talked with about "Da Ali G Show" said that I did a fine job, including some of the old-school Earth First!ers. We defended our non-violence code, got a slam in on McDonalds, sang a little song, and didn't get angry when "Ali G" insulted the song.
You try to go up against Ali G, with no foreknowledge of who he is, see how you do...millions of people saw that, and it's opened the opportunity to talk about the forest movement with many, many people. Complete strangers, in other cities, have stopped me on the street, recognizing me from that show, and it offers a chance to talk about the issues.
A lot of what was said was edited out, too, I hope that's no surprise to you.
Pretty sad when you can't tell the difference between COINTELPRO agents and fellow activists.
I suppose that's the trademark of a dysfunctional movement, which the "Humboldt Forest Defenders" have become.
I still consider myself an "Earth First!er" and many people, I believe, are too afraid, or too individualistic, to identify with an international movement like Earth First!
People always want to re-invent the wheel, and pretend that they've started something completely new, even though their support is built on over 20 years of North Coast Earth First! activity.
People want to focus on my emotional outbursts, yet they never talk about why these outbursts happen...cause and effect...people like to tell half the story, and leave out their own contributions to emotional outbursts. And then it gets exaggerated...I get into an argument with someone, and everyone wants to focus on what I said, while leaving out what the other person said. It's a calculated defamation of character campaign, a sinister social manipulation, and it will be exposed, don't you worry.
Much of it already has, and there's more to come.
What ever happened to unconditional love?
What ever happened to trying to work things out?
Now it's war within the movement, and everyone seems to be ok with that.
Pretty sad, and a symptom of the war culture.
People who used to be lovers, now enemies.
People who used to be friends, now adversaries.
Do you even believe in the power of unconditional love anymore?
Or have you given yourself up to war?
If war is what you want, then war is what you'll get, it's just sad that it has to be this way.
It seems that people have forgotten a lot of what this movement was about, once upon a time, where people believed in talking things out, hearing each other, even though it may be painful to hear, forgiving each other, recognizing that we're all trying to save forests.
It's a really pathetic dynamic nowadays, with people pulling these little power-plays on each other, just for the satisfaction of "winning."
Everyone is losing here in Humboldt, as the fabrics that once held our movement together get ripped apart by greed, egos, competition, lies, mischaracterizations, unforgiving natures, vindictive vendettas, etc.
Corporate America and the New World Order love to see this level of division amongst the ranks, and the fact that it's showing up on indybay is merely an inevitable byproduct of the abuse that's been going on in this movement.
I'll be the first to admit that I get angry, yet saying that I "scream" at people is a mischaracterization. When people argue, often their tone and volume changes, and it escalates unless both parties recognize the anger rising and consciously de-escalate the situation.
It takes two to tango.
Judi Bari was notorious for getting angry and going off on people, yet she is practically idolized in this movement, yet I am demonized for getting angry sometimes.
Is it because she was a woman, or because she's dead now?
I haven't seen anyone exhibit perfect non-violence in this movement, so before you throw stones, make sure that you don't live in a glass house.
All this fighting will insure that more trees fall, and that the forest defense movement in Humboldt County, CA, falls as well...maybe that's what some people want, in this death culture.
When something dies, you don't have to worry about it anymore, right?
Is that what you want?
Funny how a lot of people romanticize Jungle, now that he's missing, when many of those same people had nothing good to say about him while he was around.
Or are you glad that he's missing?
Better think about how you treat people in this world, it might come back to haunt you.
Forever Wild,
Shunka Wakan
once upon a time a mediation facilitated by a professional (as in 'does it for a living') and experienced mediator was offered to those in humboldt co doing forest defense activism. shunka was there and had a typical "emotional outburst" (sic). After shooing him out the mediator exclaimed to the group "if that was my media representation, Id start a new group!" she noted that we were, by far, the most difficult group she had ever encountered.
I see a lot of activists trying to "start a new group" and distance themselves from NCEF!/Shunka (for the obvious reasons) but it can be difficult because Shunka doesnt let them off so easily. He (and his purported friends) frequently use other activist's work without their permission, claiming that the material "belongs to the movement". who is the one sitting, like a leech, on the legacy and credibility of NCEF?
The "mediator" was one of these New Age foo-foo mediators, and had us doing rediculous exercises for most of the day. I had made plans to go to a ceremony, and was meeting my ride after the 6-hour mediation; we didn't even begin to talk about the issues until the 5th hour or so, and then I had to go. People started berating me for leaving, insulting me as I prepared to go, and words were exchanged. The "mediator" started coming at me like she was going to do something, rushin' up on me, and I didn't appreciate that, either.
Even the Trees Foundation, who funded the mediation, agreed that the mediator was lacking, and that was directly expressed to me by the organizer from the Trees Foundation via e-mail, after the mediation.
Several people expressed frustration that we were spending too much time on a bunch of "exercises," instead of talking about the real issues.
I was frustrated, too, by what I felt was a big waste of time and resources, and I'm sure I was visibly irritated by the end of it, even more so when I was insulted for going to meet my ride to the ceremony.
I stayed as long as I had committed to stay, and people like Naomi Wagner couldn't even have the basic respect to not insult me on the way out the door.
She was probably angry because I was revealing the corruption of the newsletter that her and "Water" put out, against the wishes of everyone.
I have a few people who are working against me, for control of the funds that are supposed to keep a media office going for NCEF!, yet there are many people in the movement who come and use the office regularly. It seems that everyone, except for Water and Naomi, are against the so-called NCEF! newsletter.
It's very unprofessional of a mediator to make those kinds of comments, based on one meeting, if she was really trying to mediate. Those are divisive words, and a snap judgement, based on very little information about me and my work.
I know that I have many supporters, worldwide, so the petty comments from the small clique of control-freaks really doesn't bother me.
You're only exposing your own bitterness, and your little power plays of getting funding cut to this office only forces me to table more, engage the public more, do more internet stuff, to continue to represent North Coast Earth First!
People always need a scapegoat for their own laziness..."oh, I'm not involved anymore because of so-and-so"...please, what a cop-out. The truth is that you don't want to table, do supply runs, carry a bunch of heavy stuff through the woods, or work things out.
It's the run-away philosophy, where it's just easier to have your paid position, write your book, hang out, be cool, or whatever it is you do now.
You'd rather have it be all about you, not about the group.
Well, if North Coast Earth First! dies, maybe it was bound to happen, after NCEF!ers got on the local radio station and denounced Julia Butterfly in the early days of her tree-sit.
Maybe it had it coming all along...glad I was part of Julia's team, and that we at least saved that tree and a buffer zone, permanently, and got the word out to millions of people around the world.
I remember the bitter attitudes of local activists when I first arrived, too, and was always in solidarity with Julia, being a good friend of mine from years before the tree-sit.
Duff and HAVC have also been guilty of ripping off Julia, so maybe that's part of his bitterness towards me, knowing that I stand in strong solidarity with her.
I've always told people the truth about the people who tried to talk Julia out of the tree, and who publicly denounced her on local radio stations and within the community.
Yet she had, and has, a lot of supporters, despite the rabid negativity from some really jealous and misguided people within the movement.
You'd expect it from corporate america; hearing all the negativity and lies about Julia from WITHIN the movement is what really surprised me.
When I first found Earth First!, I had them romanticized as this great group of people who stood by each other for the forest, as a powerful political force.
What I saw was a lot of prejudice, sexism, ageism, corruption with money, competition, vicious backstabbing, social manipulation, classism, and cliques.
It almost went away, when the old schoolers dropped the torch, and us newer folks (myself, Remedy, Verbana, Amanita, and others) picked up the torch and kept running with it.
There were love relationships that went bad, causing division, disagreements over where the office should be (ignoring the fact that it's nearly impossible to find a landlord that will even rent to Earth First!, and then at an affordable price), situations that ended in divisions, and now power-plays, lies, social manipulation, etc.
It's pretty sad, and I'm sure that the corporations and the feds love it.
Anyone who knows me knows that I have worked tirelessly to keep this movement going, to re-establish an office for the movement, to keep donations moving, to continue to outreach to more and more people all the time, in other words, to keep the NCEF! movement existing.
I believe that many people who talk all this smack on here, about NCEF!, got their start in the environmental movement through NCEF!, and now find themselves in more priveleged positions, making money, having houses, etc.
Even I have a small room in a house, after living houseless for 6 & 1/2 years, and I did so voluntarily, so that I could dedicate 100% of my time to the movement, without being distracted by rent, bills, etc.
I have stuck with the movement, though, through thick and thin, always having faith that we would get through these situations, that things would be resolved in the end.
I'm losing faith in that belief, as I see the divisions getting deeper and deeper, and see more and more corruption unfolding daily.
The more I hear about what people are saying and doing, the more I feel that this movement will never heal, and will eventually die.
It's not my wish, it's just my gut feeling, based on the personalities that I have encountered here. It's not a family vibe, there are no family values left in the local movement in Humboldt County. All I hear is strife, and it's not always just directed towards me.
Ex-Earth First!ers continue to call up tree-sitters, in the tree, and tell them that "tree-sitting doesn't work" and that they should come down, leaving the trees completely vulnerable.
It doesn't matter if it's marbled murrelet nesting season to Maxxam/PL...when have you ever known them to obey the law? Cut the tree, take the fine, beat the tree-sitters...can you not see that happening if people come down?
It's Dave Foreman-ism...get involved in a movement, and then, when you get tired of it yourself, and things are going the way you want them in your own mind, then publicly denounce the movement to make yourself feel better about joining corporate america.
If/when I write a book about my experiences here, it won't be about denouncing Earth First!, yet it will expose the corrupt individuals that helped to kill North Coast Earth First!
Enjoy your cappucino.
The issues I have with Remedy's handling of this case is not about the fact that she settled, it's more about the fact that, after months of hard work by lawyer-friends of ours, and lots of paper, the cross-complaint against Schatz was dropped.
Why let Schatz off the hook that easy?
Many people have seen the brutal extraction footage of Phoenix, and, from the extraction stories I've heard from other tree-sitters, plenty of other damning evidence on the headcam footage from other extractions.
Damages could have been claimed against Schatz and some of his employees, and a permanent injunction against Schatz could have possibly been won.
Dropping Schatz from the suit gave his lawyer the opportunity to say that the tree-sitters' case against Schatz had no merit, which couldn't be further from the truth. Reference the article to see what I'm talking about.
Secondly, I see a real moral problem with Remedy taking Steve Schectman on as her lawyer, when she claimed to be going after Hurwitz and Maxxam, which was supposed to be the reasoning behind dropping Schatz. The lawyer Steve Schectman has a well-known history of firing a bunch of old-school Earth First! paralegals, right around the time of the Stafford Landslide Lawsuit, and denying them pay. The activists/paralegals had to go to the authorities to get the money that was owed to them; one of them is still in court with Schectman, yet apparently Remedy had no problem working with him. This, I feel, is immoral.
Remedy has also been dissing the Earth First! movement for a long time now.
When she first went up into Jerry, I was paying the phone bills for several tree-sits; I noticed that the minutes she was using was far exceeding other sitters' minutes, and it was costing a fortune, so I asked her to tone down her phone usage.
Remedy translated that into "Earth First! doesn't support the Jerry tree-sit," she got her own phone, and decided to start dissing on the whole movement.
I even went to bat, in solidarity with her, against some problems that existed within the movement, yet none of that matters to her, and she continues to diss me as well.
I tried to help distribute a film that she worked on, to expose Maxxam/PL/Eric Schatz, and, to my surprise, was demonized for it...I always thought that the purpose of making an activist film was to get it distributed to as many people as possible, not to have exclusive copyrights over it and demonize others for helping to distribute it.
Once Remedy dropped her cross-complaint against Schatz, all the other cross-complaintants dropped their cases as well, so she caused a real "dominoe effect" as well, letting Schatz off the hook completely.
Claiming to be "going after Hurwitz and Maxxam" seemed to be a smoke-screen for coming to an easy settlement.
It's all the posturing and acting like she's better than Earth First! that really bothers me, the fact that she has so many criticisms of Earth First!, yet won't come to meetings to talk things out face-to-face, and ultimately lets Schatz off the hook, picks up a lawyer with a bad EF! reputation, and ends up settling shortly after.
A real opportunity to expose Schatz's violence and shady behaviour was lost, and now Remedy spends her time calling up tree-sitters and trying to discourage them into coming down.
Since when has Maxxam/PL obeyed the law, enough for tree-sitters to trust them enough to abandon the tree-sits completely during marbled murrelet nesting season?
Remedy and Amanita like to tell tree-sitters that "tree-sitting doesn't work," yet the Jerry and Luna trees are only standing today because of tree-sitting, and the effects that tree-sits have on the overall political spectrum are impossible to quantify.
So don't give me that "tree-sitting doesn't work" garbage; would you rather people just be hanging out in towns and offices all the time, or on the ground where they are vulnerable to loggers, bears, mountain lions, etc.?
People like Remedy and Amanita won't be happy until they have destroyed the North Coast Earth First! movement. They come into the movement, do their little thing, and then spend their time putting down the movement that led to their elevated positions of today.
People like me have stuck with it, and have tried to deal with all the non-sense and chaos, and you wonder why I get angry sometimes?
It's easy to be politically correct in your paid and priveleged positions, isn't it?
I've seen plenty of people come and go, people who have tried to do all kinds of stuff to this movement.
I've seen and exposed greed and corruption within the movement.
Dave Foreman wasn't successful at destroying the Earth First! movement, and neither will the nay-sayers of today.
I will continue to defend North Coast Earth First! against lies and corruption, against hostile takeovers and power-plays, and for truth and egalitarianism.
Enjoy your climb up the socio-economic ladder...
Forever Wild,
Shunka Wakan
You'll say anything won't you? ...
What do you think you are accomplishing with all the trash talking?
Back to your condescending attitude.
The crooks have only begun to be exposed...wait till you hear what's next....
Freedom of speech has value of its own, and what will be "accomplished" has yet to be seen.
I have the right to my opinion, and you can call it "trash talking" if you like...don't hate me just because I'm not a bootlicker.
You have no answers for the questions that I present, so you result to personal attacks and insults...how typical and juvenile of you.
The effects and "accomplishments" of all this remain to be seen...let the truth be told, and may Free Speech live once again on indymedia!
Forever Wild,
Shunka Wakan
She was also told that the movement "didn't need her" when she first showed up, and she told the true story about how she was able to find people who knew that the movement needs all the people it can get, and helped her to get up into Luna.
Luckily, a group of people who believed in Julia formed Luna Media Services, and an independent ground support team was formed, which I had the pleasure of being a part of.
We saved Luna, and a buffer zone containing several trees, and it was a great victory for everyone who ever supported Julia and the Luna tree-sit.
Pacific Lumber went overboard to help save Luna a second time, after I discovered that someone had attacked Luna, by manufacturing the braces in their own machine shop, a move that was not in their contract. This landmark agreement continues to this day, with Pacific Lumber allowing the folks from Sanctuary Forests to freely monitor Luna's progress, and has been willing to work with Sanctuary Forests on timber harvest plans in the area, continuing to look out for Luna's well-being.
Luna would be long gone if not for tree-sitting, and the level of outreach attained by tree-sitting is unmeasurable. Tree-sitting is not an answer to everything, nothing is; tree-sitting is one tactic that can save the life of an old growth tree, exemplified by Luna and the old growth redwoods saved in Freshwater: Jerry, Everstine, Diversity, Anastasia, & Mariah (the one Nate sat in and saved).
Those are six old growth redwood trees that would otherwise be lumber, and tree-sitting saved them all. You can try to minimize this with your numbers and percentages, yet that's a numerologists' way of ignoring the particulars. Each old growth saved is a treasure for future generations, individually and in their own right.
I make sure that no one is turned away from NCEF! based on race, sex, age, religion, class, etc. I have also defended NCEF! from all kinds of infiltrators and disruptors.
I consciously make sure that what happened to Julia doesn't happen to new people trying to come into the movement.
I will also tell the true stories of the oppression and corruption that I have seen within this movement, and have a right to voice my opinion about the dynamics of the movement.
All the while, I will continue to tell the stories of my experiences with Maxxam/PL, such as the story of David "Gypsy" Chain, my experiences with the Luna tree-sit, WTO Seattle '99, IMF/World Bank in D.C., exposing the Bohemian Club, Skull & Bones society, 9/11 and other examples of government-sponsored terrorism, the Bilderbergs, Schwarzenegger and other Neo-Nazis, phony liberals, neo-liberals, the New World Order, and other real issues.
The only people afraid of the truth are those with something to hide.
Second, I heard and saw plenty of garbage from people who were representing themselves as NCEF!, plenty of "activists" talking trash about her, and even had Darryl Cherney trying to convince me that she was damaging the movement, to no avail, of course.
So I've seen plenty of trash-talking towards Julia in my day, and that's when the illusion of one happy forest family started breaking down for me.
I've seen other friends attacked in this movement, such as the time that Darryl Cherney, Naomi Wagner and others tried to demonize Four Winds for backing out of the 2nd La Tigressa action. He made a decision not to drum for her action, and almost all the sisters agreed that they didn't want to do the action, and so Four Winds was attacked and demonized at an Earth First! meeting.
Some friends and I were told that going up on Gypsy Mountain was an "action just for the sake of doing an action," a real insult to Gypsy, I felt, and to the people who held that area dear to their hearts to defend. Then, when PL did show up to log on Gypsy Mountain, NCEF!ers were on the phones to get people out to the gate, days late to stop anything, and took credit on the local radio station for being out there.
Look, money is almost always tight in Earth First!-land, and that's no good reason to get on the radio and publicly denounce a tree-sit, or tell a newcomer that they're on their own.
I believe the reason that it was denounced was because it didn't go through the control mechanisms of the "cooliarchy" that existed at the time, and Julia wouldn't do/say what people wanted her to do/say, so they decided that they were going to try to exert their power and influence in the community and bring the tree-sitter down.
Of course some EF!ers still liked her, because not everyone will fall prey to a demonization campaign, no matter how "cool" the person is who wages it.
Still, I saw and heard plenty of anti-Julia garbage in my days around the NCEF! movement, and I have always stood in solidarity with Julia, and always will. She's rockin' the revolution!
People have all kinds of different ideas about what revolution means, and some "activists" get all uptight about their personal philosophy on revolution.
Just because you don't agree 100% with someone, you should still encourage and respect the work that they do, when it's for the revolution.
You know that I reach out to thousands of people, with the real facts about corporate industrial liquidation logging, and the New World Order.
You know that I've been doing activist work for years, and have been involved with some great victories and horrible tragedies.
You know that I work endlessly to expose big corporations and government.
Yet you continue to throw stones at me, as I walk along my path.
Who needs COINTELPRO, with "activists" like the ones we have today?
You can only push someone so far before they push back, which is why I have chosen to talk openly about the oppression that I have seen, experienced, and am experiencing.
I will expose corruption wherever I find it, with no exceptions.
By the way, the ground support team paid their own way during the Luna tree-sit, with some reimbursement assistance from the Trees Foundation. That was back before the most recent situation with the Trees Foundation, which will be one of the next news stories to break...stay tuned....
If you knew what I knew, you'd be upset, too.
yeah, stay tuned for shunka's breaking forest defense news.
shunka is not informed about any real news (outside what he reads in the TS/ER) because he has alienated himself from the activist community.
So are you going to trash talk about the Trees Foundation now Shunka?
Who are you going to turn to when you have denounced everyone?
Alex Jones? get real...
You are now a threat to oldgrowth forests in this county because of your disruptive and inexcusable behavior.
You might as well ask the FBI to pay your bills because you are doing thier job for them.
In fact, we're all just people, whether you call yourself an "activist" or not.
There are times when people come together to do actions, and then there's one's personal life, which should at least be effected by whatever political campaign they are involved in.
For example, some people get drunk on their own time, even though "no alcohol" is part of the non-violence code. When someone is hanging out on the weekends, it's not the same as being on-site doing direct action.
Another example: I'm for the 2nd amendment, the right to bear arms, as part of the people's checks and balances with the government. The NCEF! non-violence code includes "no firearms or weapons," even though it's fully within the rights of the people to do so.
People make a commitment to abide by the non-violence code when they are on an action, or at a rally organized under the banner of NCEF!
People are not necessarily held to that non-violence code in their personal lives, although it is wise to do so, and many people work on perfecting that their entire lives.
Which brings me to this point...I haven't seen anyone conduct themselves in a purely non-violent manner since I've been here. Even being completely passive can put you in the role of an enabler of violence and oppression, which makes one part of the cycle of violence.
Nobody is perfect, and I'm the first one to admit that I get angry and spout off at the mouth sometimes. Judi Bari was notorious for doing that, yet she is worshipped and I am demonized.
Worse than that, people exaggerate my behaviour to the point of disinfo and defamation of character. I've raised my voice a few times, while others are passive-aggressive, and that gets turned into me "screaming at everyone." That's a rediculous mischaracterization, and anyone who knows me knows that I'm mostly a calm and collected individual.
Since I have committed to not hitting, kicking, biting, etc., even in my personal life, my emotions come out in the form of words, spoken from the heart, which is sometimes full of pain and anger.
It seems that what is expected of people is an emotionless, purely logical, almost sheepish persona. People like Alex Jones get attacked by "activists" based solely on the qualities of his voice, and the fact that he gets excited about what he's talking about. He's not some dry, emotionless, half-asleep academic who makes movies that will put you to sleep.
Alex Jones is bringing forth real information that people like Michael Moore won't even touch.
He exposes phony left gatekeepers like Noam Chomsky, who, in the interest of the environment, advocates giving up our power to a fascist government, if that would save the Earth.
Here's the quote from "Understanding Power, p.388):
"Suppose it was discovered that the greenhouse effect has been way underestimated, and that the catastrophic effects are actually going to set in 10 years from now, and not 100 years from now or something.
Well, given the state of popular movements we have today, we'd probably have a fascist takeover-with everybody agreeing to it, because that would be the only method for survival that anyone could think of. I'd even agree to it, because there's just no other alternatives right now."
The so-called leftist movement is infested with people who try to mislead the people, intentionally or unintentionally, and Alex Jones is keeping it real and down to Earth.
I will continue to stand up for truth and freedom, and will level the playing field.
I'm not your scapegoat, doormat, or whipping post, so if you try to treat me like that, you will hear about it; if you continue, then everyone will hear about it.
Plenty of people have said plenty of hurtful things, which are violent themselves, so you can't just focus on the volume or level of emotion as the guage of violence.
The content of your words, and how you use them to manipulate other people, can also be violent and oppressive. Denying someone the right to speak is also violence and oppression.
So look at yourselves, the next time you decide to throw stones...take an honest look.
Are you the Buddha? Are you the perfect example of non-violence, 100% of the time?
Talk about get real.
So you can let Eric Schatz off the hook, but not me...maybe I'm an easier target, eh?
If you're so hard-core, then why let a guy like Schatz off the hook, and continue to grind your axe against me?
Everyone who has participated in the attempted office coup has hurt the movement to save the old growth. Everyone who has ever disappeared thousands of dollars from their intended destination has hurt the old growth. You know who you are...
You could call anyone who wrote anything negative about anyone an unknowing FBI agent, and it's all just inflammatory rhetoric.
Get over yourself, realize that you're a regular human being, like everyone else, and that everyone has character flaws and makes mistakes.
You don't have to engage in a war-like mentality against your fellow activists, ok?
Think about your own behaviour as well...are you communicating openly, honestly, and friendly?
Can you deal with other people's emotions, enough to understand them and possibly de-escalate a situation when one party is getting upset?
Do you care enough about fellow activists to try to work things out, or are you happier with an ongoing battle?
Have you been honest about your own behaviour, past and present?
Ask yourselves these real questions, and see what you come up with...
We're all human here.
Remember, Judi Bari was notorious for going off on people at the drop of a hat.
The people you idolize were just as real as anyone, complete with imperfections and all.
Forever Wild,
Shunka Wakan
Can you say the same for yourself?
It's too easy to take potshots at you Shunka because you're a wide open target.
At least now you are beginning to admit that you get belligerent and scream at passive people.
Theres got to be a point when you look at your own actions and ask, am I helping or hurting?
Maybe next time you are screaming at some kid about pulling out a "gat" a blowing someones head off you'll think about that.
I wouldn't be at all suprised if cointelpro began to fund your office based soley on your disruptive behavior.
Perfect example of the disinfo campaign that has been going on.
Thanks for giving such a prime example.
Anyone who knows me know that this is rediculous, so your lies are a big waste of time.
Second, I have brought a lot of people here, over the years, including Remedy, who came to Humboldt after reading a post about the Mattole that I put on Indymedia.
You'll never hear her thank me for that, though.
I connect with thousands of people, on the regular, and have educated many, many people about the real issues.
Judi Bari, from what I've heard and seen on video and audio recordings of her and the stories I've heard from her friends, was a great activist and organizer.
Judi Bari was also known to go off on people, fully yelling at them, etc.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I do get angry, as humans do, and my emotions get vocalized, while others have the passive-AGGRESSIVE thing going, where they insult you with a smile on their face. I don't hide my emotions, and cover them up under a neo-liberal grin.
When I see violence and oppression, and feel disrespect coming from some of you self-righteous so-called "activists," I get angry, as any normal human would, and I express it, honestly.
You're New World Order schtick of two-faced slickness is disgusting to me.
I know when I'm being disrespected and oppressed, and I will call it out.
So it's ok to yell and scream at Maxxam and Eric Schatz, yet it's not ok to talk with emotion to each other?
Your exaggerations of my behaviour mount to a disinformation and defamation of character campaign.
I only get visibly upset from time to time, yet you like to go around and paint this picture of me running around just yelling at everyone.
Typical COINTELPRO-type activity...take real things and exaggerate them, to fan the flames of division.
People who know me know the truth, and understand why I get upset at the liars, thieves, capitalists, and power-mongers that have infiltrated this movement.
I will continue to defend this movement against such forces, and will continue to represent and give my time to the Earth. Earth First!
Whether you screamed or just talked it doesn't matter, I beleive the kid who you screamed at more than you.
So you think it's "neo-liberal" and "New World Order" to learn to control your emotions?
Oh, and now you "brought" Remedy here? So I guess you can lay claim to all she's done since then?
Why not accomplish something on your own for a change instead of trying to take credit for others actions?
The context of the conversation was about the police.
I was maintaining that not all police are bad, and that they do offer an incentive for people to not be violent towards each other, due to the consequences involved from being violent.
I have a friend who was locked up for years on an assault charge, just for getting into a fight outside of some bar one night.
That's the reality of the situation, despite what we're shown in Hollywood, where everyone fist-fights everyone else, and there are no real repurcussions.
I was saying that I'm ok with having police, it's the dirty and crooked ones that have to be watched out for.
I was saying that, if there were no police, people might resolve all of their conflicts with guns, and that I would be more prone to exercising my 2nd amendment right to bear arms, as well.
See, I'm not against all law enforcement...Earth First!ers go to the CDF, Fish & Game, the Board of Forestry, etc., to try to bust the big corporations on violations of environmental law.
If someone were threatening me with violence, I would rather call the police to de-escalate the situation, rather than get into a fist-fight and risk serious injury and/or going to prison for years of my life.
I've spoken with some of the Arcata police, in the past, after yelling "freeze!" at them for years (just for fun), and some of them are actually good people, interested more in keeping the drunken and spun out people of Arcata from killing themselves and each other.
This person you are referring to also said that, given a situation of being confronted by violence, that you fight the person...real non-violent, eh?
This same person was involved with "Trust," who was wipping up energy in the Mattole to "kick climbers in the face." I exposed that, and this same person you refer to hopped up in my face, in the Arcata Plaza, as if he were going to attack me. "Trust" also tried to send violent threats through other people, saying that "someone was going to get me" and that he was going to "take out Earth First!" This brother you so wholeheartedly believe was involved in that whole scene, and I thought that he had come out of it as a good brother.
Instead, he started calling me a "sell-out" based on the fact that I live in a house now.
So, according to that logic, everyone who lives in a house is a "sell-out," including the people who donate at the table to support him.
You don't get very far with that kind of attitude, and it's very immature and self-righteous.
He didn't mention that, did he?
The revolution is not about being houseless.
I voluntarily couch-surfed and slept outside for 6 & 1/2 years, so that I could do Earth First! work and not be distracted by bills and rent.
Then I got a bit older, and won a lawsuit, so I decided to rent a room in a house for cheap, which enables me to do more work for the movement, and to keep myself clean and non-stinky.
Again, if you think that everyone who doesn't live exactly like you is a sell-out, then you're alienating yourself from society, and people are not going to listen to you.
I have a great relationship with most people, and I usually trust people, until they give me a good reason not to.
Do you control your emotions? Or do your emotions control you?
Do you really think that you can logically control your emotions?
Do you think that it's healthy to deny your emotions, when they arise?
I haven't hit anyone, haven't physically hurt anyone, haven't pulled a weapon on anyone, etc.
I do have emotions, and I'm in touch with them, and I do express them.
Your little game is to take any kind of show of emotion and exaggerate it to the point of disinfo and defamation of character, which is itself an act of violence and oppression; it also just so happens to be textbook COINTELPRO.
The reality of the situation is that I have good interactions with 95% of the people I encounter on a day-to-day basis.
There are antagonists and disruptors, yet you are in the minority, the severe minority.
Your dirty dealings will be exposed, and you will find yourself alienated and miserable, if you haven't already. You're on a trip, and you think that you're so right and everyone else is so wrong. Get over yourselves and join the human race.
Do you drive a car? Pay for gas? Work a tax-paying job?
If so, then you're feeding into the war machine and extreme environmental pollution, aiding Bush, Cheney, and Haliburton, helping to invade sovereign nations and kill innocent people, with bombs and depleted uranium. Just the facts.
Everyone who lives on the grid, in any way, shape, or form, is contributing to something negative. That's just a fact, and I'm not innocent, either.
If you're reading this, then you're using a computer, which includes all kinds of environmental impacts just to make in the first place. And then where is your electricity coming from?
See, it's just about being real with yourself and each other.
Nobody is perfect, we all have our quirks, and anyone could be called a "sell-out" for a various number of reasons...do you make all your own clothes?
If you go around judging people constantly, based on dogma that you yourself don't adhere to, then you're just a hypocrite. So just be real, come back down to Earth, and realize that many of us have good intentions, and are doing the best we can do from our current situation.
Keep it real;)
Forever Wild,
Shunka Wakan
btw - you may have a "right" (like you say) to speak your mind about the slapp suit defendants decision to settle, but it doesnt make it any less f**ked up that you posted it as news with a condecending intro. if only you understood this concept...
hmmm. we really must have very different circles of friends. I know a lot of people and 99% of them think you have done no favors to the movement, to put it lightly - for the record.
Birds of a feather, eh?
Ever check in with the rest of the community?
Or do you even live in Humboldt?
I do understand, and I intended to express my opinion in the intro.
Too bad some egos just can't stand to think that maybe they dropped the ball too soon.
So you'll gather up your little clique of haters, and wage your little flame war against me.
At least the moderator has stopped deleting all of my posts; that was a real show of your intolerance for other opinions, and shows what you think of free speech.
You only show your true colors when you do the things that you do.
Too bad you can't convince the thousands of people out there who know me, love me, and know that I dedicate my life to revolution and civil rights.
My point about not wearing hand-made clothes and living off the grid was just an example of the hypocrisy of self-righteous "activists" (a.k.a. people, just like everyone else) who think that they're sooooo cutting-edge for one reason or another.
It's a dynamic I've seen ever since I got involved in activism...people backstabbing each other, going all the way back to when Julia was in the tree.
Then there's the history that I've heard through other activists, the people like Dave Foreman, who denounced EF! because it was getting too "hippie-fied."
There's also the oral history of Judi Bari, who was notorious for going off and yelling at people, and who would take donations and take the whole crew out to eat at a restaurant, for the sake of morale. Judi would also create jobs for activists, and pay them out of donations made to the movement, which would be considered immoral these days.
Yet Judi Bari is constantly referred back to, as if she were the perfect EF!er.
In contrast, I use 100% of the donations made to EF! to pay real bill associated with the campaign. An EF! office has been a part of the local movement ever since I arrived in '98, and is a legitimate part of any grassroots movement, unlike restaurant dinners.
Since the NCEF! Media office is protected under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, it's also a legal entity, and funds can be raised to support it, online and legally.
Locking down every day is not realistic over the long term...maintaining a presence online and in the community is, and that's what I've chosen to do.
There are many ways to support the ongoing tree-sits, and getting the word out to thousands of people is one of those ways.
Unlike some people, who make movies, sell them, and keep the money for themselves, or publish newsletters and keep all the money for their cell phones and their next unauthorized newsletter, I raise funds to pay real bills directly associated with direct action.
I think the reason you're too afraid to put your name on your comments is that you don't want to be sued for defamation of character.
You're too cowardly to stand by your words.
You're probably the same two or three people, posting under different names and writing styles to give the appearance of a lot of people.
You may find yourself in a defamation of character suit in the end, so you'd better check your facts before you make accusations.
I wonder if you can subpeona the IP addresses of comments from indymedia...we may have to find out someday....
CALIFORNIA CONSTITUTION ARTICLE 1 DECLARATION OF RIGHTS
"SEC. 2. (a) Every person may freely speak, write and publish his or
her sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of
this right. "
free speech is all well and good BUT you will still be held accountable for your abuses in the court of public opinion.
NCEF! has been attacked by ego-maniacs, control freaks, scam artists, capitalists and crooks; I will defend this movement, and myself, from the slander and thievery of a small group of elitist "activists" who feel that they can tromp all over us.
You've created an imaginary dynamic in your mind...there's still MAD support out there, and an ongoing campaign to save old growth, in case you hadn't noticed.
Instead, you'd rather throw rocks at me for exposing your crap.
What goes around comes around, and this abused child will not be silenced by a family who wants their abuse to be kept secret.
The cycles of abuse...push someone until they react, and then focus on the reaction as the problem, while denying the abuse that brought forth the reaction.
I will not be silent about abuse, in any way, shape, or form.
You want to make accusations?
I will respond to the accusations with the Truth, so that my side of the story gets told.
You can only push people so far before they retaliate, and this small clique of elitist fraud artists must be exposed, in order for the movement to maintain its original roots.
I will not sit idle while corrupt individuals try to bury the NCEF! movement.
I do not share your value system of silence.
Forever defending the truth,
Shunka Wakan
NCEF! has been attacked by ego-maniacs, control freaks, scam artists, capitalists and crooks; I will defend this movement, and myself, from the slander and thievery of a small group of elitist "activists" who feel that they can tromp all over us.
You've created an imaginary dynamic in your mind...there's still MAD support out there, and an ongoing campaign to save old growth, in case you hadn't noticed.
Instead, you'd rather throw rocks at me for exposing your crap.
What goes around comes around, and this abused child will not be silenced by a family who wants their abuse to be kept secret.
The cycles of abuse...push someone until they react, and then focus on the reaction as the problem, while denying the abuse that brought forth the reaction.
I will not be silent about abuse, in any way, shape, or form.
You want to make accusations?
I will respond to the accusations with the Truth, so that my side of the story gets told.
You can only push people so far before they retaliate, and this small clique of elitist fraud artists must be exposed, in order for the movement to maintain its original roots.
I will not sit idle while corrupt individuals try to bury the NCEF! movement.
I do not share your value system of silence.
Forever defending the truth,
Shunka Wakan