UPDATE: 5:00PM – Mary’s Action Stopped All New Clear-Cutting Today
Lifelong Texan Mary Germanati remains quietly perched on top of her 40 foot pole in the middle of Keystone XL clear-cutting site. TransCanada workers and police, unsure of how to deal with Mary, avoided her all day and didn’t bring the heavy machinery back to the clear-cut they had begun the day before. About a dozen workers on foot and four-wheelers roamed around on the ground.
UPDATE: 1:00PM – TransCanada Workers in the Distance – Mary Holding Strong
After yesterday’s close encounters with TransCanada’s heavy machinery operating dangerously close to peaceful tree blockaders things are calm today. It seems that Mary’s presence on a 40 foot pole in the clear-cut path of the Keystone XL has deterred their operations for the day. Workers and police are still milling around on the ground. The only sound audible from the tree blockade is a wood-chipper and excavator moving slash piles of felled trees further away along the clear-cut scar. Hold strong Mary!
UPDATE: 11:00AM – Workers and Sheriff Unsure How to Get Mary Down – Situation is Steady
Blockaders on the ground have been talking with TransCanada workers to explain how they are unable to proceed with today’s clear-cutting operation because Mary is securely up a 40 foot pole in their pathway. Workers and the sheriff are unsure how to get Mary down from her blockade. A TransCanada worker is filming everyone, hence we’ve been wearing masks for our own legal protection.
UPDATE: 10:00AM – Livestream is Down Due to Technical Difficulties
Sorry folks, we’re doing our best down here in the backwoods of East Texas. Thanks for your patience as we attempt to bring you live footage of the tree blockade. You can help us buy the technical equipment we need to continually improve the quality of the coverage.
UPDATE: 9:00AM – Sheriff Arrives and Tries to Talk Blockader Down From Her Pole
___
After yesterday’s audacious move by TransCanada to cut around the west side of the tree blockade and completely outside of the designated Keystone XL pathway, or easement, blockaders have taken action. In the middle of the night blockaders erected a 30 foot high timber pole in the newly clear-cut pathway. Lifelong Texan Mary Germanati has climbed atop the pole and is refusing to come down until the Keystone XL pipeline is stopped for good.
The pole is a free standing structure that’s safely supported by numerous life-line ropes to keep it upright. If TransCanada moves to sever these support ropes it could seriously injure Germanati. Yesterday their machinery was operating so close that it shook the timber scaffolding wall and severed ropes attached to nearby trees intended to keep a safe buffer between the machinery and the blockaders. Now that we are livestreaming our hope is that the eyes of the world will prevent them from recklessly endangering peaceful protestors.
Mary is pictured on the right in the photo below.
After a mountain of technical hurdles we have managed to get a live stream out into the backwoods of our East Texas tree blockade! Some friends have arrived from a long journey and are doing their best to keep the livestream operational. Thanks for your patience as we attempt to bring you live footage of the tree blockade. You can help us buy the technical equipment we need to continually improve the quality of the coverage.
Watch @occupymusician stream here:
Streaming live video by Ustream
Watch @Undeditedcamera stream here:
Loading tweets...
26 comments
6 pings
Skip to comment form ↓
Kim Feil
October 2, 2012 at 1:47 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
yes…live streaming…woot woot!!!!!
Kim Feil
October 2, 2012 at 1:54 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I’ll keep this going and will record action items unless this technology has a way to record?
Kim Feil
October 2, 2012 at 2:01 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
ahhh “off air” whats happening..hope ya’ll R safe.
Kim Feil
October 2, 2012 at 2:40 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
careful on the catwalk!!!
jd
October 2, 2012 at 2:44 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I have a observation to make. Since we are all being “eco” friendly here, these people have been living in the trees going on 9 days, i am assuming that they are eating and drinking this stuff has to be in some kind of container. What are they doing with all their trash. I really don’t think they have garbage pick up. And since they are eating and drinking where is all the human waste going? And further more when all this is over with who is going to clean it up.
Kevin Gosztola
October 2, 2012 at 3:15 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
jd,
You realize that your concerns for the personal hygiene of the protesters appear to take precedent over concerns about TransCanada’s demolition of forests and family farms so that they can construct a pipeline that will only further contribute to pollution of the Earth? You seem to be trying to get Blockaders into a “gotcha” moment that could show they are not as pure as they would claim to be, which is adolescent.
This is how the powerful elites talk. They talk about public safety/personal hygiene. They used this on the Occupy movement to smear and undermine their ability to connect with members of the public.
Your comment is diversionary and aimed at undercutting the importance of the actions of the Blockaders. It is likely to be ignored by Blockaders, who are putting their bodies in the way of machines to save the environment.
Andy
October 2, 2012 at 5:16 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
well said Kevin,
JD,
personal purity is NOT the goal, 350 ppm is!
for that we need the systemic change. as of now, I think these blockaders are on the front line of the fight for systemic change.
my guess is that in the 80′s your refrigerator contributed to stratospheric ozone depletion.. GOTCHA!
Burkey
October 2, 2012 at 10:51 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Exactly Kevin G…what these guys are doing is far more important than where their allotment of daily waste goes. I’m sure it’s being taken care of by the activist effort. You do sound like a bit like a paid timber troll. Not that any timber trolls would come here, but ….
I love what this woman is doing.
I’m continually shocked by the rape of the earth, the radiation plume no one is talking about even though Tokyo markets are removing California produce from their shelves because it’s radioactive…by BP continuing to fill the gulf with Corexit after the feds told them not to….the ionospheric antenna array in Alaska shooting powerful rf into the ionosphere…
And everyone just goes about their day like it’s all good and doesn’t matter. This person didn’t do that.
She is a role model and an inspiration.
Kim Feil
October 2, 2012 at 3:28 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
JD, I trained with these folks a few months ago and because I cannot risk arrest I am here offering support and helping get the media to cover this…..they reminded us to clean up after ourselves….of course our mothers taught us that…but by your comments it seems your mother wasn’t there for you if you have to question in this manner. I’m so sorry you turned out the way that you did, I’ll pray for you.
Kim Feil
October 2, 2012 at 3:42 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
It is our sincere hope we have something left to clean up.
jd
October 2, 2012 at 3:53 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Whatever, my mother has nothing to do with it. I clean up after myself. But i have seen first hand the mess these people are making. I don’t care what they taught you. I have looked at several peoples facebook the names that have listed anyway, and a lot of them have tar sands blockade listed as their employment. So since osha deals with health and safety between employee and employer i have contacted the local office and give them my observations about the sanitary conditions not to mention the unsafe scaffolding and rigging they are using
They assured me that this does fall under osha and depending on what they find in their investigation tar sands will be looking as some hefty fines. Your welcome
Burkey
October 2, 2012 at 10:58 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
JD, first you express concern about the amount of trash generated by this bothersome prospect (never mind the environmental damage, that could take place, which is far greater).
Then you come back and talk OSHA and say you’re making phone calls about this, and the way you tell it you make it sound like your only concern is for the safety of the protesters…but THEN you talk triumphantly about the big fine they will have coming. Are you sure you’re not on the timber payroll? And do you have something against the fine American tradition of protest and civil disobedience, without which no social change can or will take place (just look in a history book sometime).
Because it sounds like you do, and that you’re disrespecting the peaceful work that’s being done here.
Nell Abram
October 2, 2012 at 3:58 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Greetings — Nell here with Free Speech Radio News. e did an interview with a spokesperson for your group last week. Any developments today?
jd
October 2, 2012 at 4:16 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I am sure it will be ignored by the blockaders I don’t care that they live in filth that is their choice.
Victor
October 2, 2012 at 5:06 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
JD, youre a small, small, person.
Oh, and I have been on site, and no it’s not filthy, and yes, there are people on the ground who resupply those in the trees, and help carry away any trash. No, they are not shitting in fresh water and having it sent to massive chemical treatment plants like you, but rest assured, their human waste is being buried and composted like the waste of every other animal in the woods.
Do you have any other asinine questions?
M
October 2, 2012 at 5:20 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Thanks so much for all your work on the livestream; it’s wonderful to see the site live. I’m amazed and grateful for your strength and tenacity in the face of such brutality and destruction from TansCanada. Keep up the good fight!
Kim Feil
October 2, 2012 at 5:48 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
JD, campers have rights to camp and this occurs on federal and state and LOCAL properties all the time, these are volunteers so stop wasting your time.
jd
October 2, 2012 at 6:01 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Touchy touchy, tsk tsk.
jd
October 2, 2012 at 6:14 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Camping would be fine if it were in any of the places you mentioned but it is not
Either by eminent domain or acquired by other means it is still a active construction site and they are trespassing not camping.
Crash
October 2, 2012 at 7:07 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
jd– Are you a troll or a spy? You’ve “seen the mess,” checked FB pages, and contacted OSHA. Sure. I am thinking troll. Get back under your bridge.
not lobbyist
October 2, 2012 at 10:04 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
a lot of paid pipeline lobbyist get on these pages to harras people…or maybe he/she is one of the construction crew…all they care is $$$$$…ignore damage THEY do and focus on trivial things to annoy people.
jd
October 2, 2012 at 9:18 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Kim i don’t think so, but whatever, sooner or later they’ll be out of there. The pipeline will go on, it progressive more and more each day. Crash and as for you don’t you wish you knew. But you know what they say keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Who knows i meet see you out there tonight since you’ve been there too, but you won’t see me.
jd
October 2, 2012 at 9:27 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Might
jd
October 2, 2012 at 11:39 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
You really think you stopped all clearing you need think again, according to my sources clearing did just fine today not mention the footage of pipe that went in the ground, don’t fool yourself you didn’t stop anything, hell you didn’t even slow it down.
Victor, now you are calling your comrades animals, i thought the dodo birds went extinct long ago. Quick call CNN you may have made the discovery of the century.
Doug Grandt
October 3, 2012 at 4:06 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Sad what has happened in just two weeks … http://bit.ly/ObstructEcocide
Hang tough my friends. We will prevail.
Julie
October 3, 2012 at 4:08 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I think the conversation has unfortunately gotten off on the wrong track here, so I suggest that since it is a peaceful protest, that we ignore those who slight and put down efforts, and congratulate these brave warriors fighting for our environmental health and the wellbeing of the planet.
Watch the Tree Blockade Live Stream (Day 9) | OccuWorld
October 2, 2012 at 2:44 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
[...] desktop streaming application by Ustream Source RELATED NEWSTree Blockade Weathers an Intense Week (Day 8)Heavy Machinery, Police Approaching Tree [...]
Love and Rebellion in the East Texas Woods « It's Getting Hot In Here
October 2, 2012 at 5:10 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
[...] Late last night, the Tar Sands Blockade erected a 30-foot free standing pole with lifelong Texan Mary Germanati sitting atop it to stop TransCanada’s heavy machinery who [...]
Maggie Arrested For Delaying Keystone XL Clear-Cutting for Two Entire Days » Tar Sands Blockade
October 4, 2012 at 4:16 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
[...] Texan Maggie Gorry—whom we had previously called Mary Germanati to legally protect her identity—climbed a 40-foot timber pole in the pathway of the Keystone XL clear-cut to prevent TransCanada’s heavy machinery from [...]
From the Trees: “Forever Wild, Forever Wild, Let it Stay Forever Wild” (Day 17) » Tar Sands Blockade
October 10, 2012 at 4:50 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
[...] than in jail, at least at that point in time. I climbed down her rope, grabbed my gear, watched the 40-foot pole being put up as one giant middle finger to TransCanada’s horrifying clear-cuts, then got the hell [...]
Long Walk to Freedom « Earth First! Newswire
October 18, 2012 at 10:42 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
[...] since the monopod was erected, the village has been under 24-hour police surveillance. TransCanada has been stuffing the pockets [...]
Tree Blockade Sustains an Entire Month of Resistance! » Tar Sands Blockade
November 6, 2012 at 8:52 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
[...] Day 9 – Tuesday, Oct. 2: Maggie Gorry climbs atop a 40-foot pole in the middle of the Keystone XL clear cut near the tree blockade. She stops construction for the day as floodlights are pointed at her all night when TransCanada implements its 24-hour security. Alejandro de la Torre is released from jail. [...]