September 2016

At 7AM on the 12th of September, the Trump Hotel opened for business in the Old Post Office building,with a 99 year lease trump got thanks to help from DC Mayor Muriel Bowser. Protesters were outside opposing both the racism of Donald Trump and the giveaway of public property to this billionaire. Word is suites will be rented out for $500,000 a night on Inuaguration night, and normal rooms on normal nights for $800 with a 4 night minimum. None of those who physically rebuilt the Old Post Office building can afford to stay there.

Video highlights of the Trump Hotel protest

On the 9th of September, Judge James Boasberg denied the request by the Standing Rock Sioux for a preliminary injunction against further construction of the Dakota Access pipeline. The pipeline builders now have other problems though: The US Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of the Interior, and the Department of Justice are all calling for a construction halt anyway. Energy transfer has foolishly built a significant part of the pipeline well away from the area being defended by Native America land defenders and now stands to lose a large amount of money if the pipeline cannot cross the Missouri river. In short they will pay for their attempted aggression and their dog attacks by losing their shirts.

On Thursday, Sep 8, the governor of North Dakota activated the National Guard against Native Americans defending the Missouri River upstream of the Standing Rock Sioux reservtion from the Dakota Access Pipeline. Reports are the deployment is 6-8 soldiers at each of the highway checkpoints surrounding the protesters camps. There's just one problem for the pipeline builders: Unicorn Riot is reporting that most of their equipment was "unusable after being so heavily vandalized" on Tuesday!. Thus the National Guard cannot prevent protesters from monkeywrenching the bulldozers simply because it has already been done.

On the 7th of September, opponents of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) marched from Union Station to the Senate office buildings followed by the US Capitol. They gave Congress a simple warning: any attempt to ratify the TPP during a "lame duck" session will face severe disruption! Thousands of people were reported to have signed a pledge to obstruct and resist any proceedings on the Hill to ratify this "corporate coup" super-NAFTA.

Video highlights of the TPP Protest

On the 3ed of September, Native American protesters on foot and on horseback drove back the bulldozers of the company trying to build the Dakota Access pipeline for fracked Bakken oil. A private security contractor sicced dogs on the protesters and six people including a child received dog bites. Still more people were pepper sprayed. In the end, the contractor withdrew after one of the dogs was photographed with the blood of one of his victims in his mouth. For all their brutality the pipeline builders were defeated yet again.

Video of the dog attack originally published by Democracy Now