Krystalline Kraus

Water is life language project

Krystalline Kraus — Thu, 22 Dec 2016 19:13:03 +0000

Back in early December, I was feeling pretty sorry for myself that my ride had fallen through so I missed my chance to team up with the Saami delegation at Standing Rock.

But as I was following this story, I was becoming more and more aware of its global reach -- the Idle No More of 2016 and most likely of 2017.

While the recent activities of law enforcement have ratcheted up the interest in Standing Rock to the point it was getting one million search hits on Facebook.

This gave me the idea that I would love to compile a database of how we can great each other in our mutual solidarity as water protectors.

Building solidarity to out-trump Trump

Krystalline Kraus — Wed, 21 Dec 2016 15:22:02 +0000

Donald Trump's victory over Hillary Clinton could unapologetically be described as devastating. I in fact was dragged to bed at around 2:00 am by my partner the night of the election with the promise that, "everything will be ok, Hillary will win." (I'm not sure at what point we became on a first name basis with the democratic candidate).

Fire, water, oil and ice: An update on Standing Rock

Krystalline Kraus — Tue, 20 Dec 2016 15:36:03 +0000

Winter has descended on North Dakota, with biting snow and hard winds that buffet the Oceti Sakowin camp -- the main protest camp near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, where the Standing Rock Sioux band, their Indigenous allies and U.S. veterans have been protesting against the 1,885-kilometre Dakota Access Pipeline.

The pipeline project had been complete but for a segment planned to run under Lake Oahe, a reservoir formed by a dam on the Missouri River.

Potential for winter war at the Standing Rock camps

Krystalline Kraus — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 04:19:11 +0000

There have been long-standing concerns for the Standing Rock demonstrators that have been simmering for some time now and have not abated even when President Obama declared there should be a pause in the development of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

See, on the one hand there was the judge who denied the Standing Rock Sioux tribe's request for an injunction and therefore declared that the Dakota Access pipeline construction could legally proceed, and the other where the U.S. federal government then stepped in and temporarily halted the project.

One of the key concerns is demonstrating in the middle of winter, which was the all too familiar cause of most Occupy camps shutting down as temperatures dropped.

Obama doesn't have much time left to shut down construction of the Dakota Access pipeline

Krystalline Kraus — Mon, 28 Nov 2016 21:21:44 +0000

If you're still seething with anger over Trump's election win for the job title of most powerful man on earth, here is a way to stick it to that man -- like the literal man -- and at the same time, help protect Mother Earth. Wow! My two most favourite things to do!

I hope, President Obama will leave President-elect Donald Trump with a parting gift by shutting down the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline for good.

You can easily tweet Obama @BarakObama, @POTUS, and @WhiteHouse to tell him what you think and provide him with links that support your cause.

The beginning of Occupy and trying to find our way

Krystalline Kraus — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 00:46:47 +0000

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only activist in Toronto who felt that we were rushing into this Occupy after New York was launched on September 17, 2011. But it's easy to be carried away by their success, even if at first it was not getting much coverage on mainstream media. But we did try -- in fact, it was our first word: "OccuTry."

I'm pretty sure the first meetings I was invited to were not the actual first meetings because leadership, or an attempt to guide people using their hand signals and speaking stacks, wasn't going anywhere. So we missed out on a lot of important information on how to begin building Occupy when others were just looking to squeeze themselves into positions of power.

Occupy Toronto's historic 40 days and 40 nights nears five-year anniversary

Krystalline Kraus — Fri, 30 Sep 2016 21:53:53 +0000

Well, it's fall in Toronto and that can mean only one thing.

OK, it can mean a lot of things actually but since 2011, a small group of the 99 per cent can remember unzipping their tents in the chilly dew-filled mornings unsure of how many days they had left sleeping in those tents -- and how to stave off their eventual eviction.

I'm of course talking about Occupy, that phenomenon that taught the general public about concepts like "the 99%" -- even though they actually demographically comprised it but didn't yet know it. And maybe wouldn't ever know it.

But hey, what is a little cognitive dissonance from people when you are trying to talk to them about revolution?

Meet the Climate Warrior defending her land against a $58-billion pipeline corporation

Krystalline Kraus — Thu, 29 Sep 2016 15:37:15 +0000

Meet my friend Vanessa Gray.

This exceptional young, Indigenous activist from Aamjiwnaang First Nation -- in what is called Chemical Valley -- has been hard at work educating Canadians on what it's like to live in one of the most polluted areas of the country.

When you can top the toxicity of the tar sands, that means something very bad is poisoning the land, water and people who live near Sarnia, Ontario.

Gray, 23, along with two Guelph residents, Sarah Scanlon, 30, and Stone Stewart, 28, took direct action against $58-billion Enbridge Corporation's Line 9 pipeline on Monday December 21, 2015. The three shut down the pipeline carrying bitumen from Alberta's tar sands. They were released on bail the following day.

Uber has been authorized to operate in Toronto

Krystalline Kraus — Mon, 29 Aug 2016 18:48:21 +0000