Law

With Obama Torture Admission, John Yoo Should Be Investigated

August 7, 2014 Sharon Adams, www.truth-out.org Organize! Barack Obama, Law, Torture

Obama just admitted that the United States tortured people. Apparently, he's softening up the public for the imminent release of the Senate Intelligence Committee's investigation of the CIA. The Committee's report "will reveal new and shocking details about the CIA's detention, rendition and interrogation program in the years following the 9/11 attacks," according to people who have seen or been briefed on the report. The media, in classic form, is distracting the public from the actual issue of torture by focusing on the issue of CIA spying on the Senate. However, internal disputes between the Senate and the executive branch are irrelevant, because both are complicit in torture. For example, immediately after 9/11, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was fully briefed on the use of so-called "harsh interrogation techniques" - what Obama now identifies as "torture." Predictably, John Yoo, a lawyer and adviser of President George W. Bush, is already part of this debate, stating that his "general sympathies" are with the CIA. That is not surprising since John Yoo's fingerprints are all over the legal memoranda allegedly justifying techniques Obama now identifies as torture. Yoo was the principal author on the memoranda that allegedly provided the legal basis for the CIA's use of enhanced interrogation/torture immediately after 9/11. This is the time frame during which, Obama says, torture occurred.

Dept Of Ag Cracks Down On Seed Libraries

August 6, 2014 Naomi Creason, www.cumberlink.com Educate! Food and Agriculture, Law, Seeds

It was a letter officials with the Cumberland County Library System were surprised to receive. The system had spent some time working in partnership with the Cumberland County Commission for Women and getting information from the local Penn State Ag Extension office to create a pilot seed library at Mechanicsburg’s Joseph T. Simpson Public Library. The effort was a new seed-gardening initiative that would allow for residents to “borrow” seeds and replace them with new ones harvested at the end of the season. Mechanicsburg’s effort had launched on April 26 as part of the borough’s Earth Day Festival, but there were plenty of similar efforts that had already cropped up across the state before the local initiative. Through researching other efforts and how to start their own, Cumberland County Library System Executive Director Jonelle Darr said Thursday that no one ever came across information that indicated anything was wrong with the idea. Sixty residents had signed up for the seed library in Mechanicsburg, and officials thought it could grow into something more. That was, until, the library system received a letter from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture telling them they were in violation of the Seed Act of 2004.

Army Corps To Disclose Oil Pollution From Dams

August 6, 2014 Nigel Duara, www.startribune.com Educate! Environment, Law, Oil, pollution, Water

For the first time in its history, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will have to disclose the amount of pollutants its dams are sending into waterways in a groundbreaking legal settlement that could have broad implications for the Corps' hundreds of dams nationwide. The Corps announced in a settlement Monday that it will immediately notify the conservation group that filed the lawsuit of any oil spills among its eight dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers in Oregon and Washington. The Corps also will apply to the Environmental Protection Agency for pollution permits, something the Corps has never done for the dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers. The settlement filed in U.S. District Court in Portland ends the year-old consolidated lawsuit by the conservation group Columbia Riverkeeper, which said the Corps violated the Clean Water Act with unmonitored, unpermitted oil discharges from the eight hydroelectric dams. No one outside the Corps knows how much pollution is being flushed into waterways every day. The agency doesn't have to track it and, before Monday, no one with sufficient authority compelled them to do so. The settlement reflects the recent tack of the EPA regulating the environmental impacts of energy. The agency recently came up with regulations of mountaintop removal for coal and fracking for oil and gas.

Laws That Kill Protesters In Mexico

August 4, 2014 Daniela Pastrana, www.ipsnews.net Resist! Law, Mexico, Repression

People in this town in the central Mexican state of Puebla found out the hard way that protesting can be deadly. A new law passed in Puebla makes it possible for police to use firearms or deadly force to break up demonstrations. Local inhabitants felt the impact of the measure during a harsh crackdown on a protest against another law that they say undermines their autonomy. A dead 13-year-old boy, another who lost three fingers, a third with a broken jaw and teeth knocked out, a driver who lost an eye, and 37 others injured by beatings and tear gas were the price this Nahua indigenous town of 3,900 people paid for blocking a road to demand the repeal of a state law that transferred responsibility over civil registries from local community authorities to the municipalities. “It’s not fair that they attack the people like this just because we are asking that our community life, our authorities, be respected,” Vianey Varela, a first year high school student, told IPS. On Jul. 9, when local residents blocked the Puebla-Atlixco highway some 150 km from Mexico City, the state police first used the powers given to them by the Law to Protect Human Rights and Regulate the Legitimate Use of Force by the police, which the state legislature passed in May. The “Ley Bala” or Bullet Law, as it was dubbed by journalists, allows Puebla state police to use firearms as well as “non-lethal weapons” to break up “violent” protests and during emergencies and natural disasters.

Lawsuit Filed To Block Deportation Of Youth

August 3, 2014 ACLU, www.aclu.org Resist! Children, Human Rights, Immigrant Rights, Law

The American Civil Liberties Union, American Immigration Council, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, Public Counsel, and K&L Gates LLP have asked a federal court to immediately block the government from pursuing deportation proceedings against several children unless it ensures those youth have legal representation. The move comes as immigration courts are speeding up deportation hearings against children in an expedited process sometimes referred to as "rocket docket." The groups filed a lawsuit last month on behalf of thousands of children challenging the federal government's failure to provide them with lawyers in their deportation hearings. The preliminary injunction motion filed late last night specifically asks that the fast-approaching deportation proceedings for several of the named plaintiffs be forestalled until those children are provided with attorneys. The groups also asked the court to hear their motion for class certification as soon as possible, so that other unrepresented children may be protected as well. "These children face an imminent threat of being deported, potentially to their death," said Ahilan Arulanantham, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project and the ACLU Foundation of Southern California. "To force them to defend themselves against a trained prosecutor, with their lives literally on the line, violates due process and runs counter to everything our country stands for."

Indigenous Defeat Gold Mine In Guatemala Court

August 3, 2014 Christin Sandberg, www.intercontinentalcry.org Resist! Guatemala, Indigenous Rights, Land, Law, Mining

A Guatemalan court ruled in favor of the indigenous people of the municipality of Sipacapa over transnational mining in the area. The court says the Guatemalan government must respect the right to information and consultation with the local population before granting any kind of mining permits. A Guatemalan court ruled in favor of the indigenous people of the municipality of Sipacapa. The court says the Guatemalan government must respect the right to information and consultation with the local population before granting any kind of mining permits, according to international conventions. As a consequence the mining permit named ”Los Chocoyos” is illegal, and should be withdrawn. ”This judgment states the obligation of the Guatemalan government to respect the indigenous people’s right to information and consultation before granting mining permits in indigenous territories, in accordance with both United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People and International Labor Organization Convention 169. Otherwise they are illegal,” said Esperanza Pérez, from the Mayan Council of Sipacapa during a press conference held July 23

Will This Homicide Result In A Prosecution?

August 3, 2014 Ben Mathis-Lilley, www.slate.com Educate! Law, NYPD, police brutality, Violence

New York City's medical examiner has ruled that Eric Garner—the 43-year-old Staten Island man who died after being put in a chokehold by an NYPD officer in an incident caught on video—was the victim of a homicide. Eric Garner's death ruled a homicide by medical examiner. "Cause of Death: Compression of neck (choke hold)" during restraint by police — jdavidgoodman (@jdavidgoodman) August 1, 2014 Goodman is a New York Times police reporter. From the New York Daily News: A spokeswoman for the medical examiner said Friday that Garner died from compression of the neck, which the office labeled a chokehold, and compression of the chest and prone positioning during physical restraint by cops. The Pix11 TV station reported this week that a police report on Garner's arrest did not mention that he was put in a chokehold. The NYPD's guidelines prohibit the move's use.

Prosecution Rates For Environmental Crimes Near Zero

August 3, 2014 Carey L. Biron, www.mintpressnews.com Educate! Corporatism, Environment, Law

While U.S. regulators are actively flagging and tracking corporate violations of federal environmental laws, the government is rarely pursuing criminal penalties for those infractions. The Environmental Protection Agency, the key department in safeguarding the country’s health from pollutants, pursues criminal charges in fewer than one-half of one percent of total violations, according to new research. Both the EPA and the Department of Justice do continue to score high-visibility accountability successes for environmental crimes every year, but most of these are civil charges, which require less evidence to prove and fewer resources to prosecute. Yet critics worry that civil proceedings, which typically result in fines but no jail time or restitution, don’t offer the robust deterrent effect necessary to substantively impact corporate decision-making or offer compensation to affected communities. “More than 64,000 facilities are currently listed in agency databases as being in violation of federal environmental laws, but in most years, fewer than one-half of one percent of violations trigger criminal investigations,” according to a newinvestigation from the Crime Report, a publication of the Center on Media, Crime and Justice at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.

Bhopal Victims Can’t Sue Union Carbide

August 3, 2014 Earthrights International, www.earthrights.org Educate! India, Law, pollution, Union Carbide

New York, NY – Last night a New York federal court found that Union Carbide Corp. (UCC) could not be sued for ongoing contamination from the notorious chemical plant in Bhopal, India, despite evidence that construction of the plant was managed by a UCC employee – evidence that the plaintiffs are confident will lead to a reversal of the erroneous decision on appeal. EarthRights International (ERI) filed the lawsuit Sahu v. Union Carbide Corp. on behalf of residents of Bhopal whose land and water are contaminated by waste from the plant. A poisonous gas leak from the same chemical plant killed over 5,000 people in 1984, and UCC largely abandoned the site, allowing toxic wastes to leach into the local water supply. UCC was intimately involved in the creation and disposal of toxic wastes at the Bhopal plant, and the manager who oversaw the construction of the plant confirmed that he worked for UCC, not for the Indian subsidiary that officially operated the plant. Nonetheless, federal judge John Keenan ignored this evidence, ruling that UCC was not sufficiently involved in the acts at the plant and that the project manager actually worked for the subsidiary. “The evidence demonstrates that Union Carbide was intimately involved in every aspect of designing and building the Bhopal plant, including the waste disposal systems that caused the pollution,” said Marco Simons, counsel for the plaintiffs and Legal Director for EarthRights International.

Protesters Sue Anaheim Police For Excessive Force

August 2, 2014 Claudia Koerner, www.ocregister.com Organize! California, Law, police brutality, Protesters Arrested

A man and a woman who took part in July 2012 protests in Anaheim filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday accusing the Anaheim Police Department of using excessive force and falsely arresting them. Richard Brown and Kristine Hedley, both Los Angeles County residents, are seeking unspecified damages from Anaheim, the police department and several officers, including payment of medical bills and legal fees. They were part of the protests against the Anaheim Police Department following the fatal police shootings of five people that year. Anaheim city officials have not yet responded to the suit’s claims. According to the complaint, Brown and Hedley were standing in front of the Anaheim Police Department headquarters on Harbor Boulevard on July 29, 2012 with cardboard signs. They were part of a group of 50 to 60 people who walked peacefully from the police headquarters toward Disneyland, the complaint said. Helicopters, motorcycle officers and mounted officers surrounded and outnumbered the group, the complaint said. After a mounted officer rode into the crowd, he claimed Brown had touched his horse’s head and bridle. Brown denied making any contact with the officer or horse, the complaint said. Brown allowed his picture to be taken in front of several SWAT officers, the complaint continued. The officers then formed a wall, isolating him from the other protestors. An unmarked van pulled up alongside Brown, and officers got out and ran toward him, the complaint said. They pursued Brown, grabbed him by the shoulders and threw him against a building, the complaint said. He was then thrown to the ground and punched before he was put into handcuffs, the complaint said.

Mercedes-Benz Violated Alabama Workers’ Organizing Rights, Judge Rules

August 1, 2014 Kathleen Burke, www.autonews.com Organize! Labor, Law, Unions, Worker's Rights

An administrative judge for the National Labor Relations Board ruled that Mercedes-Benz U.S. International Inc. violated the organizing rights of workers at its Vance, Ala., plant by not allowing the distribution of union literature in common areas during off-work hours. A charge initially filed Sept. 3 alleged the automaker violated the National Labor Relations Act, citing a number of complaints of unfair labor practices. Judge Keltner Locke dismissed all other complaints in the charge, saying Mercedes took “prompt remedial action.” But Locke in the ruling issued last week found Mercedes violated the act when it told employees they could not disseminate union materials in the plant’s atriums and team centers, which he determined were mixed-use areas. The company also was found in violation for “maintaining a solicitation and distribution rule which employees reasonably could understand to prohibit all solicitation in work areas.” The ruling did not impose any penalties but said Mercedes must amend its solicitation and distribution rule to make it explicit that employees off the clock may solicit other employees also not on work time.

Putin Passes Law Against Protests

August 1, 2014 Karoun Demirjian, www.washingtonpost.com Educate! Law, Protests, Russia, Ukraine

Think that Red Square could eventually go the way of Kiev’s Maidan? Not if the Kremlin has anything to say about it. Protesting on the streets of Moscow — or any other part of Russia, for that matter — will now not only cost a pretty penny, but also could land you behind bars, after Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday signed a law into effect criminalizing repeated street protests. The law was one of a few measures Putin signed that are expected to increase the Russian government’s ability to control public discourse and the free exchange of information. There was never really any question that Putin would endorse the measures, which have been going through the lawmaking process for months. But he made the measures official on a day when he also convened the Russian Security Council to discuss threats to the territorial integrity of the country, and at a time when international scrutiny is focused on what role Russia may or may not have played in the Ukrainian crisis that led to the shooting down of a Malaysia Airlines jet.

Police Who Fatally Shot 16-Year-Old Won’t Face Charges

July 31, 2014 John Marzulli, www.nydailynews.com Educate! Law, New York (NY), Police, police brutality

The NYPD cops who shot and killed a 16-year-old Brooklyn boy who was allegedly armed — sparking mini street riots — will not face a criminal prosecution, the Daily News has learned. Lawyers for the family of Kimani Gray, who died in an East Flatbush street on March 2013, notified a federal judge Tuesday that prosecutors informed them “that they are not pursuing criminal charges against the (officers) and will not be presenting case to the grand jury,” a court document shows. The decision came after a recently-completed investigation ordered by Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson, sources said. A DA spokeswoman confirmed the office will not present the case to a grand jury. Police have said Gray pointed a loaded .38-caliber handgun at the officers and claimed he was ordered to drop it. But his family and lawyers noted that out of seven bullets that struck the teen, three entered from his back, suggesting he was running away. Dozens were arrested in subsequent protests, including Kimani’s sister, and at least two officers were lightly injured in the fracas.

Vancouver Tent City Occupants Have Law On Their Side

July 31, 2014 Harsha Walia, www.westcoastnativenews.com Resist! Homelessness, Law, Vancouver

Vancouver city councillor Kerry Jang, appointed to the housing committee, has been slandering in recent interviews the people in Oppenheimer tent city as mobs and mischief-makers who are breaking the law. However, tent city residents are quite well-versed in the law, citing the B.C. Court’s Adams decision, the Supreme Court of Canada’s Tsilhqot’in decision, and inherent indigenous law as a defence for their stand. The city claims that camping and structures are not allowed because they “create barriers for other residents who want to use and enjoy the park space.” These seemingly innocuous bylaws about structures in parks and public enjoyment of green spaces, in effect, criminalize poverty. “The majestic quality of the law forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under the bridges, to beg in the streets and steal bread,” Anatole France said in the early 1900s. Pivot Legal Society launched a legal challenge two years ago to the city’s bylaws that prohibit homeless people from sleeping and sheltering outdoors. Instead of adhering to the significant Adams court decision — which ruled that Victoria bylaws that prohibited homeless people from sheltering outdoors when there is a lack of indoor shelter space were unconstitutional — our municipal government is considering increasing fines for homeless people sleeping outdoors to $10,000 per ticket.

Mudslinging At The FEC Over Disclosure

July 29, 2014 Julie Patel, www.publicintegrity.org Resist! Campaign Finance, FEC, Law

Federal Election Commission Chairman Lee Goodman and two of his fellow Republican colleagues skewered Vice Chairwoman Ann Ravel — a Democrat — on Thursday because she didn’t vote to defend the agency last month against litigation from campaign finance reform-minded organizations. “Not only does this effort derail longstanding Commission practice, but more troublingly, it contravenes well-established legal precedents and evinces a flippant disregard for judicial review,” wrote Goodman, along with FEC commissioners Caroline Hunter and Matthew Petersen. "Commissioner Ravel has gone to extraordinary and unprecedented lengths to try to censor presentation of the agency’s rationale for its prosecutorial decision in the Crossroads GPS matter," they continued. The blistering four-page statement came less than four months after Goodman and Ravel vowed to work together to improve the nation’s campaign finance watchdog and to overcome the bitter ideological divide that has for years plagued the agency. Whether abstaining from the vote draws “furor or not, I’m here to do what’s best for the public and to fulfill the purposes of the FEC,” Ravel told the Center for Public Integrity. “It’s about disclosure.”

«1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 »

assetto corsa mods

Daily movement news and resources