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Island States Meet To Discuss Suing Global North Over Climate Change

February 19, 2022 Aaron White, Open Democracy. , , ,
Leaders of small island nations met on Tuesday to discuss suing countries in the Global North for the damage caused by emissions. This week’s discussion, convened by the Commonwealth Foundation, was the first major meeting of the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law, a body formed to help small island developing states (SIDS) bring legal action against major carbon-emitting countries. The commission, announced last year at COP26 by Antigua and Barbuda with Tuvalu, has now called for as many countries as possible to join. Kausea Natano, the prime minister of Tuvalu, said it was “a platform for small island states to channel their grievances on the impact of climate change to legal bodies”.

The Growing Right To Repair Movement

February 18, 2022 Corporate Crime Reporter. , , ,
Earlier this month, a group of North Dakota farmers filed a class action lawsuit claiming that John Deere is illegally monopolizing agricultural equipment repair. The lawsuit alleges that Deere’s implementation of computerized engine control units and refusal to provide farmers and independent mechanics with needed software repair tools have forced farmers to pay millions more for service than they would have in a competitive market. A report from the US Public Interest Research Group (USPIRG) titled Deere in the Headlights demonstrated how these software tools are necessary to fix modern tractors. The lawsuit against Deere reflects a burgeoning Right to Repair movement.

Native Tribe Sues Bureau Of Land Management And Lithium Corporation

February 17, 2022 Last Real Indians. , , ,
Orovada, NV — The Winnemucca Indian Colony filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuits against Lithium Americas Corporation’s planned Thacker Pass lithium mine on Friday, February 11th, stating that “to build that Thacker Pass lithium mine on lands held sacred to Colony members would be like raping the earth and their culture.” They are the third Native American Tribe to seek to join litigation against the proposed mine, along with the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony and Burns Paiute Tribe. The tribes argue that Thacker Pass is a sacred and culturally significant site, and that the federal government failed to consult with tribes as required by law. The intervention is particularly noteworthy, as the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has claimed that it consulted with the Winnemucca Indian Colony (WIC) prior to approving the Thacker Pass mine.

Montana Plaintiffs Announce First Children’s Climate Trial In US History

February 9, 2022 Jessica Corbett, Commondreams. , , ,
Young Montanans and their lawyers announced Monday that the first children's climate trial in U.S. history is set to begin a year from now in Helena, Montana. The historic trial in the constitutional climate lawsuit Held v. State of Montana is scheduled for February 6 through February 17, 2023 at the First Judicial District Court. "Going to trial means a chance for me and my fellow plaintiffs to have our climate injuries recognized and a solution realized," said Grace, one of the 16 plaintiffs, in a statement. "It means our voices are actually being heard by the courts, the government, the people who serve to protect us as citizens, and Montana's youth," she added.

Caravan For George Floyd; Trial Begins For Officers Lane, Kueng, And Thao

February 1, 2022 Akičita Šuŋka-wakaŋ Ska And Niko Georgiades, Unicorn Riot. , , ,
With a caravan of dozens of cars, protesters in St. Paul continue to demand justice for George Floyd as the federal trial begins for the three former Minneapolis Police officers who assisted Derek Chauvin while he murdered Floyd. Thomas Lane, Alexander Kueng, and Tou Thao, all fired from the Minneapolis Police Department, face federal charges of violating George Floyd’s civil rights. Opening statements began Monday, January 24.

Court Allows Nestle/Blue Triton To Dodge Justice

January 31, 2022 Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation. Popular Resistance. , , ,
Ever since Nestle applied for the permit to increase pumping at the White Pine Springs well (PW 101)in Evart for its bottling operation in Stanwood in 2016, Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation has been contesting this outrageous water grab. We have argued in public forums, educated across the state about the injustices this grab represents to the people and ecosystems of Michigan, and worked with organizations and citizens who submitted thousands of comments opposing the more than 200,000 gallons a day increase. Failure of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) to deny this increase has left two former trout streams badly damaged. We have had a few victories along the way, but without strict enforcement by EGLE, the damage will continue.

Judge Annuls Gulf Of Mexico Oil Auction Over Climate Impact

January 28, 2022 Valerie Volcovici And Nichola Groom, Reuters. , , , , ,
A federal judge invalidated the results of an oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday saying the Biden administration failed to properly account for the auction's climate change impact. The decision has cast uncertainty over the future of the U.S. federal offshore drilling program, which has been a big source of public revenue for decades but also drawn the ire of activists concerned about its impact on the environment and contribution to global warming. The Gulf of Mexico accounts for 15% of existing U.S. oil production and 5% of dry natural gas output, according to the Energy Information Administration. In the decision, Judge Rudolph Contreras of the United States District Court of the District of Columbia ruled to vacate the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's Lease Sale 257, which offered about 80 million offshore acres (37.4 million hectares) in the Gulf of Mexico in an auction last November.

Trial Monitors Condemn Judges For Attacks On Donziger

January 26, 2022 IMPETUS, Popular Resistance. , , ,
This executive summary presents an overview of key findings of a international group of legal scholars and practitioners who conducted impartial monitoring of the case of United States v. Steven Donziger, No. 19-CR-561 (LAP); 11-CIV-691 (LAK). This summary sets a brief background, the principle findings of the monitoring group and the Panel's recommendations. The summary contains no footnotes; references to relevant sections of the fully-footnoted report are provided. The Panel has determined that the conduct of judges and prosecutors in Steven Donziger's case has led to numerous and serious violations of his rights with respect to liberty, arbitrary detention and fair trials under international human rights law, in particular Articles 9 and 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by the United States in 1992.

Latest Data On Unionization Is A Wake-Up Call To Lawmakers

January 23, 2022 By Heidi Shierholz, Margaret Poydock, John Schmitt, and Celine McNicholas, Economic Policy Institute. , , ,
Workers essentially have two sources of potential power vis-à-vis their employers: a union or the implicit threat that they can quit and take another job. During the last year, employers have been forced to compete for workers in a way that has not happened since the end of the 1990s. Workers gained leverage because the American Rescue Plan Act has generated a strong recovery from the COVID-19 downturn with substantial demand for workers at the same time that millions of workers are out of the labor force due to health and safety concerns or pandemic-related care responsibilities. As a result of this increased leverage, workers have seen strong wage growth and have been able to quit jobs in record numbers and take jobs that are better for them.

London Jury Acquits Three Extinction Rebellion Activists

January 18, 2022 Olivia Rosane, EcoWatch. , , ,
Three Extinction Rebellion activists who disrupted a London train during rush hour were acquitted by a jury Friday. The three defendants, who said they were motivated by their Christian faith, did not deny their actions. Instead, they argued that their protest was lawful under the Human Rights Act. ”When a jury hears the truth about the escalating climate crisis, with the depth and seriousness they won’t get from the government or the media, they understand the urgent need to act,” Extinction Rebellion’s Zoë Blackler said in a statement emailed to EcoWatch. “The real criminals here aren’t 3 committed Christians who are risking their liberty to sound the alarm on a threat of existential proportions. The real crime lies with a government failing to do what’s necessary to safeguard the future of the human race.”

Judge Rules Thousands Of Disputed DAPL Documents Are Public Records

January 6, 2022 Blake Nicholson, KPVI. , , ,
A state judge has ruled that thousands of documents related to security during the construction in North Dakota of the heavily protested Dakota Access Pipeline are public and subject to the state's open records law. The Friday ruling by South Central District Judge Cynthia Feland is a victory for The Intercept news organization, which sued in November 2020 to get access to the documents for investigative journalism on the topics of "environmental justice, the treatment of Indigenous peoples and workers, and government efforts to suppress First Amendment-protected activities."

After Largest Anti-Racist Uprising, Historic Trials Provide Important Lessons

January 1, 2022 Natalia Marques, Peoples Dispatch. , , ,
In the summer of 2020, the people of the United States witnessed the largest anti-racist struggle in the country’s history after a video of the brutal murder of George Floyd by officer Derek Chauvin went viral. While Floyd’s murder was the catalyst, the first year of the pandemic was marked by increased police and vigilante violence. Ahmaud Arbery, who was shot in a botched “citizen’s arrest” by vigilantes and Breonna Taylor, who was shot dead while asleep by police, were among the most egregious cases. In the year 2021, it was the turn of the US government, particularly its judicial system, to respond to the protests of 2020. Historic trials of the killers of unarmed Black people and protestors were set to answer an important question: how would the system respond to the outcry of millions against racist violence?

Governor Reduces Sentence Of Truck Driver To 10 Years

December 31, 2021 Norisa Diaz, WSWS. , , ,
Aguilera-Mederos, who was 23 years old at the time of the accident, was transporting lumber on Denver’s I-70 freeway when the brakes on his big rig truck failed on a downhill grade where he tried to hug the shoulder. His truck then slammed into stopped traffic that created an explosion and pileup. Governor Polis and the state’s political establishment were forced to respond to mass economic and political pressure by a powerful movement of truck drivers, who mobilized widespread support for Aguilera-Mederos within the working class. Since the December 13 sentencing, drivers refused by the thousands to enter the state of Colorado and deliver goods and circulated the issue widely on social media. Though little reported in the media, the powerful boycott shook the state’s economy to its core.

#NoTrucksToColorado

December 24, 2021 Luigi Morris, Left Voice. , , ,
Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos is a Cuban truck driver who was sentenced for 110 years in prison because of a vehicle accident on the I-70 in Denver in 2019. The brakes of the semi-truck failed and he crashed into traffic, causing a 28-car pile up, killing four people, and injuring several others. The accident occurred because the company Aguilar-Mederos worked for at the time did not properly maintain their equipment and permitted a driver to use a truck with faulty brakes.  “I ask God too many times why them and not me? Why did I survive that accident?” Aguilera-Mederos said to the court. “I am not a murderer. I am not a killer. When I look at my charges, we are talking about a murderer, which is not me.

Prisoners Sue Prison System Following Targeted Raid Against Black People

December 21, 2021 Claude Marks, Scheer Post. , , ,
California prisoner, Talib Williams, is bringing a class action lawsuit on his behalf as well as other Black incarcerated people who were targeted by a July 20, 2020 raid at Soledad, California’s Correctional Training Facility (CTF).  The suit seeks a reprieve from the state-sponsored terror that is their norm. Injunctive and declaratory relief, among other remedies, are necessary to stop the violence, change CDCR policy, and compensate the prisoners for the degradation they have suffered. The raid took place against the backdrop of nationwide Black-led uprisings that occurred after the murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020.  It was part of a white supremacist backlash against the demands for justice for Black people across the country.
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