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Iwakuni Residents Fight Back Against US Military Presence

May 7, 2022 People's Dispatch. , , ,
Iwakuni, Japan - A group of residents of the city of Iwakuni, in the Yamaguchi Prefecture, announced plans to use a lawsuit to demand a ban on military aircraft flights in the city on May 2. Residents have long complained of noise pollution from both Japanese and US aircrafts in the city’s military base, and have sought a ban on their activities as well as damages. The group is expected to file the lawsuit at the Yamaguchi District Court later in the month. Once filed, the lawsuit will be the second of its kind to emerge from Iwakuni. According to reports, the same group of residents were plaintiffs or supporters of an earlier lawsuit in 2009 that won JPY 735 million (USD 5.66 million) in damages for the noise pollution. The earlier lawsuit failed to win the ban on military aircrafts that the petitioner had also demanded.

The Price Kids Pay: Schools And Police Punish Students With Costly Tickets

May 4, 2022 Jodi S. Cohen, Pro Publica. , , ,
The courthouse lobby echoed like a crowded school cafeteria. Teenagers in sweatshirts and sneakers gossiped and scrolled on their phones as they clutched the yellow tickets that police had issued them at school. Abigail, a 16-year-old facing a $200 penalty for truancy, missed school again while she waited hours for a prosecutor to call her name. Sophia, a 14-year-old looking at $175 in fines and fees after school security caught her with a vape pen, sat on her mother’s lap. A boy named Kameron, who had shoved his friend over a Lipton peach iced tea in the school cafeteria, had been cited for violating East Peoria’s municipal code forbidding “assault, battery, and affray.” He didn’t know what that phrase meant; he was 12 years old.

Drone Resisters’ Charges Dismissed ‘In The Interest Of Justice’

May 2, 2022 Upstate Drone Action Coalition, Popular Resistance. , , ,
On April 28, 2022, in DeWitt, NY night court, Judge David Gideon presiding, pro se defendants Mark Scibilia-Carver and Tom Joyce of the Ithaca Catholic Worker and the Upstate Drone Action Coalition, had their 2019 violation charges for blocking, with several others, the main entrance of Hancock drone base, home of the 174th Attack Wing of the NYS Air National Guard. dismissed “in the interests of justice.” According to Sujata Gibson, stand-by counsel and Cornell Law School faculty, the dismissal “was significant, not just to this movement but to our collective conversation about the role of non-violent peaceful action in our democracy.” Gibson continued, “It was an honor to witness the thought that Judge Gideon put into his decision and deeply moving to hear the words of those who put themselves on the line to bring attention to these issues.”

I Visited Biden’s MPP Tent Courts

April 24, 2022 Katy Murdza, Immigration Impact. , , ,
More than two years after visiting the Trump administration’s “Migrant Protection Protocols” (MPP) tent courts in Laredo, Texas, I returned to see how they had changed under the Biden administration. While some changes have been made, they haven’t resolved the program’s biggest flaws, such as the danger asylum seekers face in Mexico, low rates of legal representation, and barriers to adequately preparing a case. There is no way to reform MPP—the only way to end these violations of due process and human rights is to end the program. Under MPP, asylum seekers are returned to Mexico during their immigration proceedings, coming to the border for each hearing. In Brownsville and Laredo, Texas, temporary facilities were built for the hearings—large tents over a complex of shipping containers and trailers.

US’s Flaunting Of Diplomatic Immunity Challenged In Court

April 12, 2022 Roger D. Harris, Popular Resistance. , , ,
Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab’s case took a dramatic turn as his legal defense team denounced the US government’s flagrant failure to respect long-standing diplomatic immunity conventions. Saab’s lawyer, David Rivkin, called the US government’s arguments before the 11th Circuit Court in Miami “utterly dangerous.” “The implication,” he added is that “because you are a disfavored regime, because you're Venezuela under Maduro…we're going to treat you as somehow you lost the Westphalian entitlement to sovereignty.” And with that, Rivkin pretty much summed up the US imperial view of the world. At issue at the April 6 hearing was Saab’s claim to diplomatic immunity under the Vienna Convention on Diplomat Relations.

Venezuela Demands Recognition Of Alex Saab’s Diplomatic Status

April 8, 2022 Ana Perdigón, Orinoco Tribune. , , ,
This Wednesday, April 6, Venezuela’s National Assembly (AN) unanimously approved a draft agreement to demand acknowledgement of the diplomatic status of Alex Saab, who has been illegally imprisoned in the United States since October 2021. The AN statement establishes that Alex Saab has been serving as a diplomatic agent since 2018, as a special envoy for Venezuela in Russia and Iran, and since 2020 as ambassador plenipotentiary to the African Union. In addition, he was appointed in 2021 as permanent representative of the national government’s delegation for the Mexico Talks held with the opposition.

No Charges For Minneapolis Cop In Amir Locke Killing

April 8, 2022 Niko Georgiades, Unicorn Riot. , , , ,
Minneapolis, Minnesota - Two months after Minneapolis Police officer Mark Hanneman killed Amir Locke, 22, while executing a no-knock warrant, prosecutors say they won’t be charging Hanneman with a crime. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison released a 44-page joint report on April 6 explaining their decision in the case. Also released was a report by retired police officer John “Jack” Ryan. Locke was killed by Hanneman, who was part of a SWAT unit serving a pre-dawn no-knock warrant on February 2, 2022. Locke, a registered gun owner, was sleeping in a blanket on his cousin’s couch before being awakened by a SWAT unit at 6:48 a.m. after they entered the apartment with a key. 

Illegally Imprisoned Venezuelan Diplomat Faces US Court On April 6

April 1, 2022 Roger D. Harris, Popular Resistance. , , ,
In a world where the US believes it makes the rules and the rest of humanity must follow its orders – what President Biden euphemistically calls the “rules-based order” – Washington has now even appropriated the prerogative to tell other countries who they may appoint as their ambassadors. As a consequence, Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab is fighting for his freedom before the 11th District Circuit Court in Miami. US economic war against Venezuela Alex Saab was appointed a special envoy with diplomatic credentials by the Venezuelan government on April 9, 2018. The businessman had worked on the government’s food assistance (CLAP) and public housing programs. More importantly, he was assisting the government in trying to circumvent sanctions imposed on Venezuela by the US; sanctions intended to punish the people so that they would be motivated to overthrow their democratically elected government.

Groups File Suit To Compel Transparency On Lack Of Climate Action

March 24, 2022 Counter Punch. , , ,
Great Falls, Montana - Climate and conservation groups sued the U.S. Interior Department late last Friday for failing to release public records, including documents behind the development of a federal oil and gas leasing report, related to President Biden’s 2021 executive order to address climate change. “President Biden’s executive order directed Interior to complete ‘a comprehensive review and reconsideration’ of the federal oil and gas leasing program in light of its significant contributions to the climate crisis,” said Barbara Chillcott, a senior attorney at the Western Environmental Law Center. “Interior’s report merely discusses royalty rates, minimum bids and bonding rates. The people deserve to know why their president, who campaigned on strong climate action, is failing so ‘comprehensively’ to fulfill these promises.

Legal Action Against Shell Board Previews Wave Of Lawsuits

March 17, 2022 Isabella Kaminski, DeSmog. , , ,
Boards should prepare for legal action based on their response to climate change, a DeSmog investigation has found. Lawyers, insurers, and campaigners have been anticipating litigation against company directors for some time and say the chances are only growing as corporate requirements to address climate risks get tougher. Today, March 15, ClientEarth announced it was taking legal action against energy giant Shell’s board of directors, arguing that their failure to properly prepare the company for net zero carbon emissions breaches their legal duties. The environmental law non-governmental organization, which has bought shares in Shell, claims the company’s 13 executive and non-executive directors failed to adopt and implement a climate strategy that truly aligns with the Paris Agreement and says this is a breach of their legal duties under the UK Companies Act.

Court Rules New York Illegally Took Mohawk Land In 1800s

March 16, 2022 Last Real Indians. , , ,
Akwesasne Territory – The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Council is pleased to report that the decades-long dispute over the reservation boundary has been decided upon by the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. In a summary judgment ruling issued by U.S. District Judge Lawrence Kahn on Enniskó:wa/March 14, 2022, the court ruled that New York State’s purchase of reservation lands in the 1800s violated the federal Non-Intercourse Act. “To say that we are pleased is an understatement,” shared Tribal Chief Beverly Cook. Chief Cook added, “We should all be proud of the perseverance that our recent and ancient ancestors displayed, who stood fast in their determination to protect our lands. We stand in the footprints of our parents and grandparents who fought relentlessly to reclaim our land that was illegally taken.

100+ Groups Urge Biden To Pardon Steven Donziger

March 15, 2022 Brett Wilkins, Commondreams. , , , ,
More than 100 environmental and human rights groups on Tuesday sent a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden urging him to pardon Steven Donziger, the attorney under house arrest for refusing to hand over privileged client information in a high-profile environmental case. In the letter, the groups decry the prosecution of Donziger—who has been jailed in his home and federal prison since 2019—as "retaliation for his work in defense of the rights of Indigenous peoples in Ecuador who were victims of Chevron Corporation's oil dumping." Donziger represented tens of thousands of Ecuadorian farmers and Indigenous people in a class-action lawsuit against Chevron that resulted in a multibillion-dollar judgment—which the fossil fuel giant has never paid—for its subsidiary Texaco's dumping of more than 16 billion gallons of toxic wastewater into rivers and pits in the Amazon rainforest.

Lula Gains Access To US/Lava Jato Partnership Information

March 12, 2022 Brian Mier, Brasil Wire. , , ,
This week Brazil’s Superior Justice Court ordered the Justice Ministry to grant former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his defense team access to previously sealed information on the existence of partnerships between the US Department of Justice and the  Lava Jato investigation task force. As US Attorney General William Barr pointed out in his response to a 2019 US congressional inquiry led by Hank Johnson, the fact that the Lava Jato investigation represented a partnership between the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Brazilian Justice Ministry has been public knowledge in the US, available on the DOJ’s own website, since 2016.

US Supreme Court Declines To Hear Case On Dakota Access Pipeline

February 22, 2022 Earth Justice. , , , ,
The U.S. Supreme Court announced it will not take up a case brought by Energy Transfer, operator of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The pipeline operator sought to challenge a legal victory won by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, invalidating a key federal permit and requiring a complete environmental review. “The litigation concerning the pipeline is over, but the fight continues,” said Earthjustice attorney Jan Hasselman. Earthjustice has represented the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in litigation against the Dakota Access Pipeline since 2016.“We call on the administration to close the pipeline until a full safety and environmental review is complete. DAPL never should have been authorized in the first place, and this administration is failing to address the persistent illegality of this pipeline.”

A Growing Wave Of Litigation Spurs Climate Action

February 21, 2022 Stella Levantesi, DeSmog. , , ,
In France, three non-governmental organizations sued the oil company Total over alleged “inadequate” environmental and human rights assessments of its oil project in Uganda and Tanzania. In Australia, a student filed a consumer complaint with Ad Standards against the financial services organization HSBC for claiming to support the protection of the Great Barrier Reef despite its links to fossil fuel operations. In South Africa, three civil society organizations launched a case alleging that the government’s plans to obtain new coal power threaten various constitutional rights. These are just a handful of the hundreds of cases of climate litigation that have arisen worldwide over the past few years.
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