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Accountability

‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’ Day 339: Israel Withdraws From West Bank

September 10, 2024 Qassam Muaddi, Mondoweiss. , , , , , ,
Israeli forces withdrew from Jenin and Tulkarem after almost two weeks of raids as part of “Operation Summer Camps,” targeting the cities of Tubas, Jenin, and Tulkarem in the northern West Bank. The Israeli army maintained its blockade of both cities by shutting down roads leading in and out of them. On Monday, Israeli forces raided Tulkarem again after several days of relative calm, only to withdraw later in the day. Israel’s latest military assault concentrated on the refugee camps adjacent to the three northern West Bank cities. For almost two weeks, Israeli troops destroyed large parts of camp and city infrastructure, bulldozing storefronts, tearing up streets, and unearthing electricity and water lines.

What Will It Take To Make Black Lives Matter?

September 3, 2024 Detroit Will Breathe, Left Voice. , , , , ,
This summer, the American Midwest has been the epicenter of several notable police murders of Black people including John Zook, Jr. of Wayne, Mich., Sonya Massey of Springfield, Ill., Sherman Butler of Detroit, and Samuel Sharpe of Milwaukee. While most of these tragedies occurred many miles from one another, they all share common threads in that the victims were poor, Black, and suffering from some version of a mental health crisis at the time of their deaths. Samuel Sharpe, a veteran and well-known resident of an unhoused community in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Milwaukee, was gunned down without hesitation, just blocks from the Republican National Convention (RNC), as he turned to run away from police after being approached by officers in the midst of an argument with a neighbor.

Do Civilian Review Boards Work?

September 1, 2024 Zina Hutton, Governing. , , , ,
In the years following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, states and localities across the country introduced hundreds of pieces of legislation meant to address police violence. Many of those new laws included the creation of civilian police accountability boards: civilian-led groups that receive complaints about police misconduct and have the power to advise police departments on potential consequences. These boards were a kind of low-hanging fruit for people looking to make immediate changes to policing, says Rachel Moran, founder of the University of St. Thomas School of Law’s Criminal and Juvenile Defense Clinic.

Workplace Safety Is Not A Game

August 24, 2024 United Electrical Workers Education Department, Labor Notes. , , ,
Employer-sponsored “safety games” or “safety contests” may seem benign on the surface, but there’s a deadly motive. Employers are rediscovering an old scheme to con workers into undermining their own job safety. These games are designed to reward employees for not reporting accidents. In one United Electrical Workers (UE) shop, management (without consulting with the union) announced a new safety game. Each month the names of employees are put into a pool for a $100 prize drawing, but only if their department has not reported any accidents. If your department has reported an accident, you’re not eligible. If more than three accidents are reported in the plant, the drawing is not held.

The Path For Abolishing The Police Already Exists

August 18, 2024 Joe Mayall, Scheer Post. , , , ,
America watched in horror this spring as armed phalanxes of police assaulted peaceful pro-Palestine protesters on campuses across the nation. The raids on student encampments ranged from dubious arrests to snipers on campus rooftops. This most recent episode of widespread police aggression only reinforced Americans’ belief that law enforcement is quick to violent escalation.  Last year, a nationwide ABC News-Washington Post survey of 1,003 adults found that only 39% of Americans polled were confident police were adequately trained to avoid excessive force, and only 41% believed they treated Black and white people equally.

Community Holds Public Hearing For Police Murder Of John Zook Jr.

August 4, 2024 Emma Boyhtari, Left Voice. , , , ,
On Wednesday, July 10 in Westland, MI, several organizations, along with family and community members, organized and attended a public hearing about a young Black man — John Zook Jr. — who was killed by police on June 18 after he called emergency services on himself in the midst of a mental health crisis. The event, organized and sponsored by several groups, including Survivors Speak, Black Coffee, Detroit Will Breathe, Washtenaw County General Defense Committee, and others, began with speeches by family members. Attendees heard from John’s sister, his brothers, and his father. John’s brothers were the first to arrive at the scene of the shooting.

Corporate Social Responsibility Leader Convicted Of Funding Death Squads

July 2, 2024 Margaret Flowers, Clearing the FOG. , , , , ,
In a landmark legal case, Chiquita Banana was convicted by a federal court in Florida of funding a paramilitary death squad, the United Self Defense Force of Colombia (AUC in Spanish), in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The AUC murdered thousands of workers and used Chiquita ports and boats to move cocaine and weapons. This is the first time a US corporation has been held accountable for committing human rights abuses in another country. Clearing the FOG spoke with Professor Terry Karl, who was an expert in the case, about what happened, how Chiquita will now work to cover up its misdeeds and the impact this case will have.

Chiquita Case Exposes Failure Of Voluntary ‘Social Responsibility’

June 21, 2024 Manpreet Kaur Kalra and Anna Canning, In These Times. , , , ,
Last week, Chiquita Brands International — one of the world’s largest banana distributors — was found liable in a Florida court for financing a Colombian paramilitary group. The ruling marks a landmark moment for corporate accountability: It is the first time a U.S. corporation has been held liable for human rights violations abroad in connection to their business operations. As momentous as this victory is in its own right, it also illustrates the ineffectiveness of voluntary corporate social responsibility initiatives — and the need for strong civil society institutions to protect human rights.  Chiquita Brands International has vast banana plantations throughout Colombia.

Hunter Biden’s Charge Of Lying Under Oath

June 20, 2024 Patrick Lawrence, Consortium News. , , , , ,
One reads regularly in the mainstream media, when events force them to report on the question, that the U.S. House Oversight Committee has hit a wall as it investigates Hunter Biden’s schemes to leverage his father’s power and Joe Biden’s potentially impeachable role in his son’s unseemly doings. The House hearings have stalled, or fizzled, or reached a dead end: This has been the standard theme in corporate media for months now. “Wouldn’t you know it,” Michael Goodwin asked in The New York Post as far back as March, “CNN, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Politico and others on the left all reached exactly the same conclusion at the same time.”

Shell’s Exit From Nigeria

June 17, 2024 Andy Rowell, and James Marriott Consortium News. , , , , ,
Nigerian activists believe Shell’s apparent end to its 87-year operation in the country is an effort to avoid its legal responsibilities while holding onto the potentially profitable side of the business. In January, the oil giant revealed it had “reached an agreement to sell its Nigerian onshore subsidiary” to Renaissance, a consortium of four Nigerian oil firms and one based in Switzerland. But despite the $2.8 billion deal, Shell will effectively still own part of the business and will continue to bankroll Renaissance’s onshore exploration in Nigeria going forward. The company’s press statement confirmed it will loan the new buyers up to $1.2 billion to help them buy their stake in the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC).

Chiquita Ordered To Pay $38 Million For Funding Colombian Death Squads

June 13, 2024 Robert Inlakesh, MintPress News. , , , ,
In a historic first, Chiquita Brands International has been ordered to pay the families of murdered Colombians after a court found the U.S.-based banana giant had privately financed death squads. After a lengthy legal battle spanning 17 years, a Florida court ordered Chiquita to pay $38 million to the families of death squad victims. This landmark case is the first in which an American corporation has been found liable for human rights abuses committed overseas, encouraging more victims to seek legal restitution. In 2007, Chiquita pled guilty to “one count of engaging in transactions with a specially-designated global terrorist” group, the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC).

Military Documents To Enter Into Evidence Of Trial Around Genocide Of Maya Ixil Indigenous People

June 4, 2024 Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala, Popular Resistance. , , , ,
Guatemala City, Guatemala - This and next week of the ongoing historic genocide trial against former Guatemalan military general Manuel Benedicto Lucas García, international experts will bring forth indisputable evidence about the military intelligence and operations of the Guatemalan armed forces during the genocide of the Maya Ixil indigenous people in the early 1980s. The trial against Guatemalan ex-general Manuel Benedicto Lucas García began on March 25, 2024 in the First Court of Criminal Sentencing, Drug Trafficking and Crimes against the Environment, for High Risk Proceedings, Group “A” in Guatemala City.

Police Make First Arrest For Assault On Pro-Palestine Protesters At UCLA

May 25, 2024 Edward Carver, Scheer Post. , , , , , ,
University of California, Los Angeles police on Thursday made their first arrest in the case of a violent mob attack on protestors at a peaceful pro-Palestine encampment at the university on April 30 and May 1. The police charged Edan On, an 18-year-old high school senior, with felony assault for attacking at least one person with a wooden pole. He was remanded to a Los Angeles jail, where he’s being held on a $30,000 bond, according to The Guardian. On was first identified for his role in the mob attack, led by so-called counterprotestors, in a CNN investigation published May 16. “Video shows On joining the counterprotesters while waving a long white pole,” CNN reported.

State Agency Met Privately With Oil-By-Rail Firm Ahead Of Permitting

May 14, 2024 Nick Cunningham, DeSmog. , , , , , ,
Oregon state environmental regulators are deciding whether to issue an air permit for a contested oil-by-rail operation in Portland, a site that received local approval after a deal worked out in private between the company and city officials. Now, new documents show that the state agency also met privately with the company before the application was submitted.  The agency said the meeting was informational and involved no commitments. But for groups that oppose oil-by-rail in Portland, the documents add to the sense that multiple layers of government are favoring the company’s interests over public health and safety. 

Vermont Could Become First State To Make Emitters Pay For Climate Damages

May 10, 2024 Paige Bennett, EcoWatch. , , , ,
Vermont’s House of Representatives has passed S.259, a state bill aimed at collecting recovery costs for climate-related damages from the biggest emitters, such as fossil fuel companies. The bill, called the Climate Superfund Act, was introduced to create a Climate Superfund Cost Recovery Program, in which fossil fuel businesses would undergo an assessment to determine their share of costs for fossil fuel extraction or refinement actions that led to increased greenhouse gases and related costs in the state. As reported by NBC News, the agency would measure extreme weather linked to climate change in the state and the cost of damages from extreme weather events through attribution science.
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