+- +-

+-User

Welcome, Guest.
Please login or register.
 
 
 

Login with your social network

Forgot your password?

+-Stats ezBlock

Members
Total Members: 48
Latest: watcher
New This Month: 0
New This Week: 0
New Today: 0
Stats
Total Posts: 16867
Total Topics: 271
Most Online Today: 119
Most Online Ever: 1155
(April 20, 2021, 12:50:06 pm)
Users Online
Members: 0
Guests: 32
Total: 32

Author Topic: Fossil Fuels: Degraded Democracy and Profit Over Planet Pollution  (Read 30234 times)

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Legislators, Corporations Gather For Secret Meeting Against Clean Energy And You’re Not Invited 
Snippet:

Going into their annual meeting in Dallas, Texas on Wednesday, ALEC — the secretive organization that brings together conservative politicians and major corporate interests — is looking to recalibrate their approach to repealing or obstructing a range of clean energy initiatives after a year of state-level defeats. The 40-year-old group, which has been pushing a corporate-backed, free market-driven (Agelbert NOTE: see Orwell) agenda for decades, is beholden to a number of utilities and fossil fuel companies that bankroll them and they are expected to show results. At the same time, with renewable energy gaining momentum across the country and homeowners increasingly eager to get in on the rapid growth and falling prices, ALEC risks alienating itself from the public yet again.

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/07/28/3461743/alec-annual-meeting-energy-climate/

Some interesting comments that show the American people are AWAKE!   
 8)


Reply ·  · 1 · July 28 at 1:52pm

Mark Beresford ·  Top Commenter · Portsmouth

A handful of billionaires have owned the US since the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913 by some of the worlds wealthiest men. Including John D. Rockefeller, The second Baron Rothschild etc..

 Who do you think creates the boom and bust? Democracy in the US has been dead for years as the US population were led like sheep into a Plutocracy.

 The current Rockefeller vehemently believes in the creation of a new world order.

 here is a quote

 "We are grateful to The Washington Post, The New York Times, Time Magazine and other great publications whose directors have attended our meetings and respected their promises of discretion for almost forty years. It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subject to the bright lights of publicity during those years. But, the work is now much more sophisticated and prepared to march towards a world government. The supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national autodetermination practiced in past centuries." David Rockefeller [June, 1991]

 Let us not forget his father donated the land for the UN building in New York!

 Draw your own conclusions!


Reply ·  · 7 · July 28 at 3:32pm
Dave Pavlatos ·  Top Commenter · Owner at Delavan Martial Arts Academy

ALEC....the legislative branch of The American Taliban.


Reply ·  · 21 hours ago
Mike Roddy ·  Top Commenter · UC Berkeley

ALEC support of right wing politicians is the least of our worries. The oil companies have an excellent ground game, including using attorneys to delay and effectively kill renewable energy projects. The Salton Sea, for example, has some of the best geothermal resources in North America, is less than half developed, and the power is competitive with gas and coal right now, and often cheaper. It's needed for baseload to enable wind and solar.

 Only one small 50 MGW plant has been built in 20 years. In spite of being in a barren and toxic location, using proven technology, geothermal faces dizzying and endless approval processes. Plants over 50 MGW aren't even proposed, since timelines are extended even more.

 Progressives or global warming activists need a similar ground game, including pressure for entitlement reform at the state and local levels.


Reply ·  · 13 · July 28 at 1:32pm
Patrick Thompson ·  Top Commenter

you can also invest in solar companies, buying shares directly (SPWR, FSLR, SUNE, SCTY for a few). or you can invest through a crowd-funding site like solarmosaic.com (which has around 5% yield and so far, no delinquencies)


Reply ·  · 4 · July 28 at 3:44pm
Theodora Crawford ·  Top Commenter

I really don't think they can stop solar...it's obviously too good to remain ignored.


Reply ·  · 7 · July 28 at 4:22pm
dagj2·  Top Commenter (signed in using yahoo)

They can't stop it . . . but they can sure slow it down. The fact that several states don't yet have net metering laws is disturbing. They gotta keep that monopoly to themselves.


Reply ·  · Yesterday at 10:34am
Sara Ross ·  Top Commenter · Los Angeles, California

dagj2 - right, of course the big utility cos. sure don't want folks "going off the grid"


Reply ·  · 11 minutes ago
Charles Edward Pardue ·  Top Commenter

I find it strange that many Americans believe in conspiratorial organizations like the Illuminati, the Rothschild Bank, and such, yet they are totally ignorant of groups like ALEC, the Club For Growth, and others that present a very real and present danger.

 In fact most of these organization operate in plain sight, and a little basic research easily brings them to light. The bigger question to me is why they are so ignored by the media, and the citizenry, when their operations are presented in the clear light of day?


Reply ·  · 6 · July 28 at 5:07pm
Dam Spahn ·  Top Commenter

The Kochs want dictatorial powers, and with their money and mendacity, they might just already be there.


Reply ·  · 3 · July 28 at 8:36pm
Bruce Brown ·  Top Commenter · Works at Retired

Dirty energy's only competition is clean energy, and we know which side the big money is on.


Reply ·  · 3 · July 28 at 6:18pm
Peter Mizla ·  Top Commenter · Hartford, Connecticut

What Republicans have to offer America is no different that what they 'sold' to the unknowing public in the 1920s. Many Americans today still buy the same 'kool Aid'- only today we throw in the 'elephant in the tiny bathroom' Climate change-- 'what a way to go'.......

Agelbert NOTE: Not mentioned above (but SHOULD BE) by my lefty friends is that Dumocrats    are every bit as much part of the problem as Repuke-icans!

The only political parties that have real solutions in the USA are the Tax Wall Street Party and the Green Party. WHY? because they know EXACTLY WHERE TO GO to get the money needed to fund the 100% transition to renewable energy that would be  MEGA (permanent, not temporary) JOB BONANZA and infrastructure redesign and repair for SUSTAINABILITY instead of PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE as is the current engineering "accepted wisdom" idiocy in the USA. Amory Lovins has ALL the answers to the reset of engineering criteria for sustainability.    

« Last Edit: January 20, 2019, 03:18:24 pm by AGelbert »
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Satellite Map Shows Fracking Flares in Texas and North Dakota Equal to Greenhouse Emissions From 1.5 Million Cars  >:(

Anastasia Pantsios | August 22, 2014 12:32 pm

http://ecowatch.com/2014/08/22/flared-gas-fracking-texas-north-dakota/
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
The Fantasy of Distributed Generation, Efficiency, and Storage Raising Electric Rates  

 Scott Sklar, The Stella Group 
 August 29, 2014


http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/08/the-fantasy-of-distributed-generation-efficiency-and-storage-raising-electric-rates

Money Quote SNIPPET: 

Quote
Whether you’re in the Tea Party staunchly against government-supported monopolies or an environmentalist severely concerned about global climate change, the one thing the entire political spectrum should agree on is that spending trillions of rate payer dollars on generation facilities will not provide stable electric rates or lower costs for consumers. In fact, the opposite is true — saving energy and meeting a significant portion of one’s own needs through private investments will insure a more effective low-cost energy system.

In the early 1970’s, the management of MA BELL, our only phone company, said cellular was a whim in a country with 99.8 percent quality service — who would pay 15 times more for a unit of communication? It’s déjà vu all over again. I am hearing the exact same thing from many electric utilities and their regulators. Sorry Charlie, we’ve heard that all before.
 



Agelbert Comment:  

 A. G. Gelbert    August 29, 2014

Great article! This is sound reasoning that the fossil fuel "world" refuses to recognize.

I will add that the link between human health care costs and dirty energy costs far more to the economy than the "loss" of tax revenue from those who stop using fossil fuels for transportation and/or homes. Are they going to want to charge somebody a ridiculous surtax because they don't use heating oil any more!!?

It's time for people to make it clear to the government officials that the MATH of our economy includes ALL costs to the PEOPLE. This is supposed to be about the PEOPLE, not the welfare money for dirty energy welfare queens and politiicians looking for a revenue stream.

Health care is an enormous burden on municipal, state and national finances BECAUSE dirty energy is REWARDED for sickening our population through taxes and "subsidies" (institutionalized THEFT!). The politicians get some of the graft and the dirty energy corporations pay NONE of the costs that we-the-people have to carry.

That's not "doing the math"; that's CORRUPTION and suicidal insanity in the service of profit over planet.

Do your part. Raise your voice against this ridiculous, insane, corrupt and suicidal world view that babies the dirty energy producers destroying our environment.      

DEMAND a Government backed, World War Two style transition to 100% renewable energy in a decade or less!
Progress on: Petition to Demand a WORLD WAR TWO STYLE MASSIVE, ALL OUT EFFORT to transition to 100% Renewable Energy within a DECADE
Please Pass it on. People NEED TO KNOW THE TRUTH!

Ms. Jan Thomas, IL Aug 25, 06:51 # 359
OK--358 signers in two months. I guess that says something about how much we care about the most critical issue of our lives!

Ms. Pam Russell, CO Aug 08, 14:08 # 353
Please get moving on cleaning up the environmental damage; on putting all USA intellectual and technical energy, governmental funding into transitioning to CLEAN ENERGY! We the People are SO tired of waiting the "The change we can believe in." Fracking, deep sea drilling, nuclear power plants, spreading poisons over our farmlands, pouring poisons, filth, fossil fuels, etc., into our lakes and rivers, manufacturing SO MUCH JUNK THAT IS MOSTLY PLASTIC only to throw it into landfills, AND THE OCEANS - This ALL MUST STOP IMMEDIATELY!! PLEASE!

Mrs. Roshani Sahu, India Aug 08, 11:51 # 352

Dr. Zanne Thanarose, TX Aug 08, 06:00 # 351

Name not displayed, WA Aug 06, 18:01 # 350

Name not displayed, OH Aug 06, 13:18 # 349
For our sustainable civilization and prosperity, go EV and HEV plus PV!

Mr. Fred Delmer, CA Aug 05, 21:43 # 348
Grow Hemp and get paid under Farm Act to grow as biofuel herbacious feedstock.

Ms. Bonnie Jean Tucker, NC Aug 03, 15:38 # 347
President Obama if you would consider the American people over your campaign donors, this Liberty from fossil fuels could work and would help free people from the debt of rising energy bills.Fossil fuels are not sustainable and you should LEAD THE COUNTRY ON THE RIGHT PATH NOW!!!!!
Ms. Teresa Sumrall, FL Jul 31, 16:20 # 342
There is no reason that we can not move to renewable energies. We have plenty of sunshine in our country. We need to reign in the fossil fuel industry and the utility conglomerates.

Ms. Judith Mitchell, ME 0Jul 31, 16:03 # 341
This is THE most crucial, looming, unavoidable problem of our existence on this Planet, our home. There is simply no more time left for foot-dragging or dithering or catastrophic politicking -- we are hurtling toward a real doomsday. There is a huge need to educate the public, to make alternative energy available and affordable -- in my dreams, this corrupt, swollen, greed-based capitalist/oligarchic system will be supplanted by some more equitable and humane system, and solar, wind, tidal and geothermal energy will be basically everyone's birthright.

Mrs. Barbara Schumacher, NJ Jul 22, 19:52 # 329
Give it a chance, Mr. President.

Mr. Hank Stone, NY Jul 22, 05:15 # 326
My grandchildren and yours need renewable energy!

Mrs. Julie Giessler, NY Jul 22, 01:41# 324
Renewable Energy is less costly than our use of fossil fuels. Profit-driven greed is influencing our legislators. Do the research and get the truth about renewable energy.

Dr. v. E. Perkins, CO Jul 19, 18:02 # 315
This is our obligation to God and to our descendants and to our fellow creatures who should not be suffering at our hands.

Mr. Larry Gibson, CA Jul 19, 08:17 # 311
Stop the insane & corrupt oil industries (Koch brothers their minions. The Gift that is the Earth cannot sustain & in the short term heal this massive assault to all species on land & sea. These masters of insanity care only for themselves. We should be able to arrest them & their wealth they are using as an atomic bomb against Life on Our Earth.

Mr. Ron McCullough, TN Jul 18, 19:51 # 304
We as a nation have to free ourselves from the tyranny and boundless greed of the fossil fuel oligarchs that keep us in the Dark Ages of renewable energy. How is it good governance to destroy the Earth for short term gains for the 1%? It's not. It's the result of corruption and cowardice of elected officials and it must stop!

Mr. Troy Kilbourne, MN Jul 18, 18:48 # 303
A "Manhattan Project" for renewable energy is, I believe, the only thing that can reverse our course towards catastrophic climate change. We did it back then, and we can do it now.

Mr. Stephen Spaulding, NH Jul 17, 06:00 # 302
The fossil fuel industry knows its stranglehold on us inevitably has to end. It's feverishly trying every way it can to lock us into dependence for another half-century. We cannot allow this to happen.

Ms. Jean Elliott, IL Jul 16, 09:44 # 300
This is an emergency. Climate and pollution disasters loom unless we get off fossil fuels.

Please sign this petition. The Biosphere you save will be your own.
Here is the link to the petition: http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/Ai3Tb


It’s Official: USA is #1 at Climate Change Denial


http://www.care2.com/causes/its-official-usa-is-1-at-climate-change-denial.html#ixzz38Vkjei00

An intelligent comment by Gene J. on the above article:

Nothing about this issue and our denial of the evidence accruing every day before our eyes surprises me.

The money the 1% throw at this issue virtually guarantees many fools will have questions. The evidence, scientific evidence, is out there, available and unassailable - yet the republican party and its masters continue to value money over life.

Make no mistake that is what this is about. We change or we die. A mass extinction event making this planet uninhabitable for oxygen based life forms is coming, it may be a century or so before the full effects are seen, but the precursors are already here. But those who value money over human life think that because they will not be inconvenienced, it matters not.

These are the most selfish people in human history, they don't care at all about what their own heirs will face, they know they won't face it themselves and they don't care about anyone else, not even their own grandchildren.

They make me sick. Literally, because the foul effects of climate change are already affecting daily life with the ever increasing super storms, the incredible disruption in our oceans, the deteriorating quality of our air and the countless new and old diseases are children are already suffering from.

None of that matters as much as piling up money to them. Nothing will change until the people rise up.

But even that, I fear, is too little, too late at this point. We've done the damage, now we'll have to deal with the carnage to come.

I do not believe in hell, but there are times I wish I did. Because people like this deserve a special seat next to the fire for the hell they are creating for the generations to come who will live through the results of our stupidity now, until life ceases on this planet while it takes 50,000 or so years to cleanse itself of our presence. I just hope the next sentient species to arise can read, and believe, what the fossil record will tell them about how stupid we really were so that they do not repeat our mistakes.


Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/its-official-usa-is-1-at-climate-change-denial.html#ixzz38Vjj5xsi

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Fossil Fuelers have an incredible inability to do addition and subtraction, never mind any more advance mathematical operations. 

Consider the huge increase in Renewable Energy 24/7 global power generation if 900 BILLION DOLLARS was spent on THIS:


The above is a NO-BRAINER for logical thinking humans. The power is ENDLESS as long as the earth rotates, is available near LARGE METROPOLITAN AREAS and is built and serviced with the SAME technology developed for off shore oil platforms. There is NO EXCUSE for not building these EXCEPT you can NEVER CHARGE for fuel cost "increases" because of geopolitical fun and mayhem.  Free fuel is against fossil fueler's religion!


INSTEAD, the FOSSIL FUEL EROEI challenged MORONS "invested" (practically threw away because of the low profit margin! ONLY through "subsides" and other corporate welfare queen tax breaks can they make a profit on this STUPID search for more fossil fuels .)  nearly 900 BILLION BUCKS IN fossil fuel exploration. I have explained why these fossil fuelers continue to be one trick dirty energy "ponies". on the image below.  ;D

   

You just cannot fix STUPID.
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Exxon forced our first ad, Exxon Hates Your Children, off the air.   


Comcast and Time Warner refused to let us run Exxon Hates America.   


So this time, we’re taking Exxon Hates the World directly to the people, by launching a major ad campaign in the New York City subway system next week.


Watch. Tell five friends. Let Exxon know that we’ve got their number and help us make Exxon Hates the World go viral.

Thanks for everything you do to make this movement real. We couldn’t have done this with you.

Sincerely,
 John Sellers, Other 98%   

[embed=640,380]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juoJ_GwdeI8#[/embed]
http://exxonhates.com/




Have FUN on the INTERNET! Give Fossil fuelers an Excedrin HEADACHE! Press the VIRAL  button!
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Dirty Money, Dirty Fuels: Why Money in Politics Matters to the Environment

Politics Matters to the Environment

Lukas Ross, Friends of the Earth | April 30, 2014 10:09 am | Comments

What if fighting dirty money in our elections was the key to fighting dirty fuels in our economy?


That’s the question asked in a recent report released by the Sierra Club and Oil Change International. From the perspective of the fossil fuel industry, political contributions are just another form of investment. The only difference is that, for the millions polluters spend on elections, they see billions in bonus profits.

As the report says, “The return these polluters are getting on these political investments—in the form of billions in corporate tax handouts—exceed 5,000 percent, demonstrating that Congress remains the best ‘investment’ possible for the coal, oil, and gas industries.”


For dirty fossil fuel companies, a political contribution is just another investment.   >:(


The oil and gas industries are among the worst offenders. Between 2009 and 2010, the report estimates that they spent $347 million on lobbying and campaign contributions, and in return netted a handsome $20 billion in federal subsidies. Most of these came in the form of accounting gimmicks that help hide corporate profits and obscure tax breaks that help cover drilling and refining costs. Because of loopholes like these, the actual taxes paid by most big energy companies fall well below the top corporate rate of 35 percent.

You would think that at a time when both Democrats and Republicans are preoccupied with deficits and debt, cutting subsidies for polluters should be an easy move. After all, these are some of the most profitable companies in world history; surely they need government support like Bill Gates needs food stamps. The fact that many of these giveaways are nearly a century old, dating from a time when fossil fuel extraction was a much riskier game, only adds to their irrelevance. At a time of significant fiscal strain, decades-old free money for rich polluters should be the first thing on the chopping block.

Unfortunately, in the new world of campaign finance born after Citizens United and supercharged earlier this month by McCutcheon vs. FEC, money speaks much louder than fiscal and environmental sanity. The report points out that solid majorities of Americans support action on climate change, investment in renewable energy, and a repeal of fossil fuel subsidies. And yet, Congress is arguably in its most rabidly anti-environment phase in U.S. history, voting repeatedly to block action on climate change, cut support for renewable energy, and hobble enforcement of clean air and water provisions.

The only way to solve this disconnect is through a new system of public financing. As such, the Sierra Club and Oil Change International are throwing their weight behind the recently sponsored Government By The People Act, which would allow federal candidates to receive money from small donors matched on a six-to-one basis. This would not end money in politics, or even strip polluters of their ability to purchase influence.

Winning those fights has to be part of a much longer campaign against corporate personhood and the idea of money as free speech. But in the meantime, it would give candidates who share the increasingly pro-environment sentiments of the American people a chance to be heard. Friends of the Earth supports the Government By The People Act and its vision for a more healthy and just world.

http://ecowatch.com/2014/04/30/dirty-money-dirty-fuels-politics/
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Documentary Exposes Fossil Fuel Industries Assault    on the Wild West

http://ecowatch.com/2014/09/04/utah-tar-sands-oil-shale/

Excellent Comment:
Quote

AllenLadd 

"Sometimes it seems like there’s no frontier left unspoiled by greed and the potential for profit." This is a very interesting observation. The sudden onslaught of corporate assaults upon what is left of the "unspoiled frontier" makes one begin to wonder if it is truly being motivated simply by corporate greed or something even darker like a fear and hatred of "untamed" Nature itself.

It is reminiscent in fact of the Puritan's insistence on burning down primeval forests and slaughtering wild life and "wild Indians" as some how a "threat" to their salvation, a reminder that they belong to Nature first, only secondarily and belatedly to "Civilization".

What is really behind this increasing onslaught that forests, wolves, wild horses, anything original in its reminder of the innocence of Eden must be wiped out as a painful memory of Paradise Lost ? It is easy to explain the profiteer's motive behind wiping out primeval forest land in Alaska or our wild horses running free.

It is less easy to explain the public's willing apathy in the face of such relentless destruction. Have we/they become so infused with what Erich Fromm called the "fear of freedom" (also the fear of what is natural) that we are ready to bend the knee entirely to this complete domination by corporate hostility to all that is not yet tainted by its grasping taloned outreach for profit ?

Have we so receded from the memory of Eden itself, so to speak, that we now side with dark winged Lucifer himself, Mephistopheles who tempted us to choose Power over Nature instead of happy harmony within Nature ?
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tEuaj4h8dw&feature=player_embedded
LEARN WHY MOST of the Medals of HONOR awarded for one "battle" in U.S. History were awarded. Learn what you were never told about President Lincoln. Learn how the American Dream of PROPERTY OWNERSHIP worshiped by all "freedom loving capitalists" was USED to TAKE LAKOTAH PROPERTY AWAY FROM THEM!

Quote
The last chapter in ANY SUCCESSFUL GENOCIDE is when the oppressor can lift up his hands and say, "My God, what are these people doing to themselves? They are killing each other!  What is WRONG with these people?".    THIS is how we came to "own" these United States.

The Unity Concert is a gathering of members of the Pte Oyate (Buffalo Nation, also called the Great Sioux Nation), artists, performers and concerned global citizens committed to educating and raising support for the Black Hills Initiative. Its organizers and participants believe that the only way for the United States of America to be truly great is to honor its word. Honor the treaties. Join us in healing the Heart of a Nation by restoring the guardianship of the Black Hills to the Great Sioux Nation.

On September 13th and 14th, 2014, in the Black Hills of South Dakota, thousands of people will converge for a UNITY CONCERT -- bringing together Native American tribes with those on the right side of justice to return the guardianship of the Black Hills to the Great Sioux Nation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_ObmbahV2c&feature=player_embedded
http://www.theblackhillsarenotforsale.org/



To those whiteys that read this and rush to say the Lakotah have been HURT but it "wasn't MY FAULT"... Yes it IS your fault BECAUSE, as long as you think the Congressional District Boundaries in the Lakotah area are VALID, you are contributing to this ONGOING GENOCIDE. Live with it! USA! USA! USA!


No, I am not going to the concert. I am poor. But always remember, if you are white and you are well off,  it's NOT YOUR FAULT.  ;)


NOTE: The following is NOT addressed anyone here personally; It is addressed to people of good will, regardless of color:  8)


Both my wife and I are considered minority trailer trash here in Vermont. In many ways similar to the Lakotah, our lives are somewhat self destructive and counterproductive. We struggle with a Dysphoric Mood because we ARE REALISTS that whitey will ALWAYS blame on our "mental health" rather than on a SICK, GREEDBALL, PROFIT OVER PLANT, SUICIDAL SOCIETY.

My wife, who could pass for a (very tall  ;D) Lakotah any time, is used to being targeted by the cops everywhere she goes. For complaining about prejudicial treatment at a supermarket, she was FORCED to abide by an order to STAY AWAY FOR A YEAR WITHOUT HAVING COMMITED ANY FELONY OR MISDEMEANOR WHATSOEVER.

The police delivered the order to her when she tried to go grocery shopping about three years ago. The "grounds" were "creating a disturbance". She said complaining about treatment was NOT creating a disturbance and the (at this time SMIRKING) store manager (that had gotten the order through the cops) had no grounds to get a restraining order. The THREE police (two males and one female - ya always need  show of FORCE for these blackies and brownies, ya know! ) officers repeated that she could not come on the premises or she would be arrested.

One (SMIRKING) police officer gave her a card and said "You can give my name to your lawyer (GRIN)". She obeyed the order for a year and went RIGHT BACK to shop at the same Hannaford to the horror of ALL the employees that act like King Kong just walked in the door and scatter when she comes in. My wife is a TOUGH COOKIE. But it's on the OUTSIDE only. The scars and the pain of whitey injustice for a person that graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor in Science and a Major in Chemistry go DEEP.  I understand the Lakotah QUITE WELL. I hope and pray that God will reward their tenacity, decency and love of justice.


« Last Edit: September 06, 2014, 05:59:54 pm by AGelbert »
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution

Repeat after me: Mankind's technology  is a primitive, barbaric piece of planet trashing, eating where we ****, SUICIDAL STUPIDITY. :iamwithstupid:





It's time to use energy efficiently and sustainably. If we don't we die, period.  8) 


MESSAGE TO THE DEFENDERS OF THE STATUS QUO:
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Don't miss Naomi calling out the Fossil fueler's "IDIOTIC BUSINESS MODEL".     

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5YaqcPEUNc&feature=player_embedded

Quote
Truthdig columnist Chris Hedges, activist Bill McKibben, journalist Naomi Klein, Seattle City Councilwoman Kshama Sawant, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and public radio talk show host Brian Lehrer participated in a panel discussion the night before the People’s Climate March in New York City this month.
http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/what_will_it_take_to_save_humanity_and_the_planet_20140927
« Last Edit: September 28, 2014, 06:25:13 pm by AGelbert »
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
How to Make a “Perfect” Solar Absorber

New system aims to harness the full spectrum of available solar radiation.


 David Chandler, MIT 
 October 01, 2014

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/10/how-to-make-a-perfect-solar-absorber#comment-135615


Agelbert Comment to the latest empty promise of new technology that will SOON, real SOON, "solve our energy problems".  ::) And of course, NO MENTION of how our gooberment slaps the "national security" GAG on any patent that threatens the Fossil fuel and nuclear welfare queen gravy train.    
Dave,
Thank you for this article but I must point out the pro-fossil fuel government of the USA has, for over THIRTY YEARS, possessed a technology and the patent for it that would solve this heat storage problem. Insolation can easily be captured but not stored UNLESS you have a super insulator. The tiles on the space shuttle ARE THAT SUPER INSULATOR. Every building on the entire planet could be heated (and cooled using a heat pump) with the tile technology to save over 95% of required energy for the last 30 years!

WHY hasn't it been released to the public? Because our Fossil Fuel Loving Government deemed it a National Security Patent. Sure, a space vehicle with a bomb on it CAN use those tiles as a heat shield to re-enter the atmosphere. But there is no debate about whether countries capable of ICBMs need this or would use it to compromise our national security. They ALREADY have adequate re-entry shielding. But the fossil fuel Welfare Queen, over subsidized Industry would have lost, not billions, but trillions of dollars in profit over planet "profits" they made during the last thirty years.

Get that tile technology released and it's OVER for fossil fuel heating and cooling of every building on this planet (including those in Antarctica!).

I have been 2 feet away from a man holding a piece of a space shuttle tile about 8 inches square and about 3 inches thick in his bare, unprotected hand. He applied a blow torch to one corner until that corner turned cherry red. He was STILL HOLDING the tile in his bare hand.  :o His hand was less than five inches from the cherry red tile. It would NOT travel to where his hand was. Now THAT is a SUPER insulator solving most of the world's energy for heat and cooling problems.

And that demonstration took place in 1979.
The U.S. Government, thanks to the Fossil Fuel Industry, is STILL sitting on that patent.   

This tile technology would be a nightmare for the refineries  that crack crude oil for the fossil fuel welfare queens. When you crack crude , you get everything from heavy lubricants to gasoline to very toxic VOCs. You can tweak the cracking towers to get a little more of this and a little less of that but you ALWAYS get a certain amount of all the above. You cannot crack without getting the smorgasbord of petroleum "products". Those flaring torches on refineries polluting the **** out of the environment WOULD NOT be being burned if the fossil fuelers had figured out a way to get we-the-people to PAY for those poisonous, carcinogenic, toxic gasses (believe, they are ALWAYS trying to market "every part of the cow" so to speak - YOUR welfare is a marketing problem for them, not a concern.      ).

Rockefeller created a market for the waste product, gasoline  ;D, that was flushed down the rivers of Pennsylvania in the late 19th century  :P  by convincing car engine manufacturers to tune the carburetors to use gasoline instead of ethanol (the original fuel for the internal combustion engine in Henry Ford's cars). And by some strange coincidence, when Prohibition came about (After Rockefeller funded temperance movements for nearly a decade with millions of dollars), ethanol was illegal too!

Now if you don't think that ensuring a demand for heating oil and kerosene is not important enough for the fossil fuel industry back in 1979 to keep that shuttle tile technology out of the hands of consumers, you have a leak in your attic.   

More info on that technology:


Quote
High-temperature reusable surface insulation (HRSI) tiles, used on the orbiter underside. Made of coated LI-900 Silica ceramics. Used where reentry temperature was below 1260 °C.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_thermal_protection_system

And that is just ONE of the several technologies the U.S. Government, on behalf of the Fossil Fuel and Nuclear Profit over Planet industries, is SITTING on. This is NOT a conspiracy theory; it is Predatory Capitalism Polluting our Government and our Planet.

The U.S. Government CAN transition to 100% Renewable Energy NOW. They just don't want to.

Petition to Demand Liberty from Fossil Fuels through a 100% Renewable Energy WWII Style Transition Effort

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/420/529/456/demand-liberty-from-fossil-fuels-through-100-renewable-energy-wwii-style-effort/
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEGd1lDKfjM&feature=player_embedded
A town and its environment  destroyed by Big Oil. When the people sought a remedy in  court, our bought and paid for handmaidens in our Fascist Court system shafted them with a tiny settlement in the SERVICE OF PROFIT OVER PLANET.  




He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Fascist Victory on June 26, 2008 Supreme Court drastically cuts payouts for plaintiffs in Exxon Valdez oil spill

Hopes of fishermen throughout Washington and Alaska were sunk Wednesday when the Supreme Court slashed the amount of punitive damages that...
By Lynda V. Mapes

Seattle Times staff reporter

An oil-soaked loon awaits transport to a bird-rescue center after the Valdez spill.
Enlarge this photo (at link)
CRAIG FUJII / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Hundreds of beach cleaners work to hose off and mop up oil along the shores of Green Island, Alaska, part of 1,300 miles of shoreline soiled by the spill.
Enlarge this photo (at link)

The Exxon Valdez is refloated after running aground in Alaska's Prince William Sound and spilling nearly 11 million gallons of crude oil in 1989.
Enlarge this photo (at link)

The spill, by the numbers

The money:

• Original damage award in 1994: $5 billion

• Amount award reduced to on appeal: $2.5 billion

• Final amount ordered Wednesday by U.S. Supreme Court: $507.5 million 

• Valdez captain's punishment: $50,000 fine, plus 1,000 hours community service picking up trash and working at a homeless center  ::)

• Time it will take Exxon to earn current damage amount: about 12 hours of sales 

• Amount Exxon has already paid, including cleanup and compensatory damages: $3.5 billion

• Amount Exxon actually paid, after tax write-offs and collecting insurance: $1.7 billion

The plaintiffs

• Amount average plaintiff will receive: $15,000, including interest, not including attorneys' fees   ;) or taxes.

• Amount damage award is cut for attorney's fees: nearly 25 percent  ;D

• Number of plaintiffs: More than 32,677

• Number of plaintiffs who have died since case was filed: more than 3,000

• Number of plaintiffs in Washington: 4,700

• Years case has been in court: 19

• Number of law firms involved: more than 60
 



The environmental toll


• Species deemed recovered since spill: 9

• Species not recovered or still recovering: 11

• Workers deployed to clean beaches: more than 10,000

• Amount of oil estimated still on beaches: 200 tons

• Marine mammals estimated killed by spill: at least 2,662

Sources: Washington state Department of Ecology, Exxon Mobil Corp. ; Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council  ;) ; Seattle Times research

The spill and the aftermath

11 million gallons
Amount of oil spilled, enough to fill 125 Olympic swimming pools

1,300 miles

Stretch of Alaskan shoreline oiled by March 1989 spill

30,000 birds

Estimated killed

$5 billion

Original damage award


$507.5 million
Wednesday's reduced award     

$40.61 billion
Exxon's profit last year 


$15,000
Amount average plaintiff will receive, not including attorneys' fees or taxes 




Hopes of fishermen throughout Washington and Alaska were sunk Wednesday when the Supreme Court slashed the amount of punitive damages that Exxon must pay for the epic Exxon Valdez oil spill nearly two decades ago.


The high court, in a 5-3 decision, found that punitive damages could not be larger than the compensatory damages for actual losses from the spill, which totaled $507.5 million.

The justices rejected the amount — $2.5 billion — that a federal appeals court had granted to be shared by 32,677 plaintiffs who had claimed damages from the worst oil spill in U.S. history, including fishermen, Alaska natives, local businesses and others.

That amount had been reduced from the $5 billion that a jury awarded in 1994.

The anxiously awaited decision, delivered on the eve of the Supreme Court's summer recess, brings to a close one of the longest-running class-action lawsuits in the country.

But it was not the end that many had hoped for.

"Crime pays, and environmental crime pays really well," said William Rodgers, a professor of law at the University of Washington and an expert on the Exxon Valdez case.


"I am sure they [Exxon] are sitting down and having a toast of the town.    The other lesson they have taught is scorched-earth litigation pays. Just keep litigating, making up issues."


The fight over the punitive damages reached the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1999. Since then, Exxon filed more than 60 petitions and appeals, sought 23 time extensions and filed more than 1,000 motions, briefs, requests and demands. The company requested a reduction in the damages amount, a reversal of the verdict and a new trial, claiming jury misconduct and jury tampering, according to Rodgers.

More than 3,000 claimants died waiting for an outcome in the case.

The original jury award of $5 billion was intended to be the equivalent of about a year's average profits for the company. Last year, Exxon Mobil made $40 billion, the largest annual profit of any corporation in U.S. history.

Exxon has contended that it shouldn't be required to pay any punitive damages because it has already paid millions to clean up after the spill, plus criminal fines and restitution, compensation paid to more than 11,000 individuals hurt by the spill, legal fees and other costs.

"Obviously this was very much a tragic accident," said Tony Cudmore, an Exxon Mobil spokesman. "This case is not about compensation for loss, it is about whether further punishment is warranted, and in our view it is not."

As the plaintiffs took stock of Wednesday's ruling, some said they always figured that getting any payment out of Exxon was a longshot.

"I consider it kind of like buying a lottery ticket," Gig Harbor fisherman Ken Manning said.

"A lot of fishermen hate Exxon. The ill feeling I have is for the court system.  They have just strung everyone along for so long."

But other Washington state fishermen said the case wasn't about just money.

"This isn't about repaying a bunch of victims from 19 years ago," said Tom Copeland of Bellingham, who turned to farming bamboo after his fishing business suffered because of the spill.

"The important thing about punitive damages is telling them they have to clean up their act. It's important to give them the punishment they deserve, and they continue to deserve it."

Better handling of spills

The massive spill, which gushed 11 million gallons of crude into Alaska's Prince William Sound when the single-hull tanker hit a reef, transformed lives and an entire ecosystem seemingly overnight.

But it also forever changed the way government regulates spills and the transport of oil.

Congress has mandated that by 2015, all oil tankers have to have double hulls to reduce the risk of catastrophic spills.  ::) AGELBERT NOTE: Double hulls were proposed in 1980! Reagan deep sixed the proposals and contributed to the Exxon Valdez accident. We not only have a fossil fuel Government, we DO NOT have a functioning Court System EITHER! ONLY the lawyers and Exxon made out like BANDITS here!

Washington still endures some 4,000 oil spills a year, but the number of large spills has been reduced dramatically. That's because the Exxon Valdez disaster helped change the state's oil-spill prevention and response programs top to bottom, said Jon Neel of the state Department of Ecology.

In 2007, 182 tankers from all over the world called at Washington ports, 137 of them with double hulls. Petroleum products are also barged around Puget Sound and up the Columbia River, and pumped into vessels of every size every day on bodies of water all over Washington.

Some 20 billion gallons of oil move through the state as cargo and fuel each year, and some 14 billion gallons of oil are transferred, according to the Ecology Department.

Today, the state has one of the most rigorous spill-prevention programs in the country, including a 2006 initiative to place oil booms around large commercial ships and docks before transferring oil or fuel, except gasoline, when conditions allow.

The state also has a dedicated fund, staff, and full-time program to prevent and respond to oil spills — a focus that didn't exist before the Exxon Valdez spill.

The damage remains 

Two decades later, the fragile ecosystem of Prince William Sound has yet to fully recover, especially on the hardest-hit beaches. More than 200 tons of oil remain in beach sediment. Herring — which are vital as food to 40 species of birds, mammals and fish — have never returned to pre-spill populations.

"Until herring recover, we are kind of treading water," said Riki Ott, a scientist and author in Cordova, Alaska. "Prince William Sound is beautiful, but if you take a shovel all you have to do is dig down six inches and there is oil. It smells like a gas station, still, today."

The legal fights over the Exxon Valdez aren't completely over.

Still to be litigated is a claim against Exxon by the federal government and state of Alaska for $92 million in so-called "re-opener" damages, intended to help pay for environmental harm not detected at the time of the spill.

The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, a division of Alaska's Department of Fish and Game, last year said there are more species still suffering since the spill than have recovered.

Some Washington fishing families certainly put themselves in that category.

"Our life has been kind of on hold since the spill," said Katie Dexter, whose husband still fishes Prince William Sound.

"We have been in debt since the spill. We love Prince William Sound, and to see that kind of devastation has been hard on many levels. There is no amount of money that can really undo the damage."

Lynda V. Mapes: 206-464-2736 or lmapes@seattletimes.com. Information from The Associated Press was included in this report.


Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2008018035_exxon26m.html


Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes on what the LAW was ALL ABOUT

The Lady Justice Legal Scales mean the OPPOSITE of what you think they mean

Don't count on our Court System to defend Americans from Fascism - Here's why the solution to Corporate Profit over Planet is EX CURIA

How Lawyers  took the power from the King (for themselves) pretending it was FOR THE PEOPLE

Golden Rule Government: A Lawful System Based on Caring instead of Conquest
« Last Edit: July 18, 2017, 08:02:14 pm by AGelbert »
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
http://jenkinslaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Running-Aground-in-a-Sea-of-Complex-Litigation-a-Case-Comment-on-the-Exxon-Valdez-Litigation.pdf
Quote
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW [Vol. 18:151 
The purpose of this comment is to describe the history of the Exxon Valdez litigation and analyze whether the courts and corresponding laws are equipped to effectively handle mass environmental litigation.
Quote
Robert Jenkins is a J.D. Candidate, UCLA School of Law, 2000; Bachelor of Journalism, University of Texas, Austin, 1997

Agelbert NOTE: Such careful language. LOL! Notice that word, "equipped".  ::) They are EQUIPPED, alright! They are EQUIPPED to be HANDMAIDENS of Fascist Government Policies. Their coercive power shows its fangs every single time, without exception, that the state, in cahoots with a large corporation, wish to "limit" the liability.

But NO SUCH care is taken when an individual, say, starts a fire by accident on corporate or public land. This brazen display of a double standard is proof that there IS NO LAW, just service for those in power. Every law, statute, code and regulation, both civil and criminal, can be litigated around in a mockery of any ethical considerations whatsoever. The system is EQUIPPED quite well to DEFEND POWER.

So, although I understand the approach of the lawyer here to look for "reparable" flaws in the system BECAUSE he is, after all, PART of that system as a licensed attorney, I can only conclude that it is extremely myopic.

That too, is part of the design of the Court system and lawyer Training logical thought train. They wish to hair split everything down to tiny, manageable pieces of "liability" which TOTALLY IGNORES the MASSIVE Mens Rea in all planning and execution of activities in the corporate world. The Court system REFUSES to ASSUME that corporations are, by definition, GUILTY until proven innocent. Corporations have a "guilty mind" because their charter DEMANDS they eschew ethics in order to attain profits.

This hair splitting plays into the hands of lawyers because they have more to argue about and thus charge more for their services and thus limit a large portion of the population to NOT BEING ABLE TO AFFORD their services. The corporations (actually, the wealthy individuals that run the corporations - the whole "limited liability" SCAM is all about legal IRRESPONSIBILITY)  HAVE the power and the money so it serves THEM well. This corrupt, self reinforcing loop of money chasing power and shafting the poor degrades democracy and accelerates total fascist tyranny over the masses.

The end result is a Court System that is INCAPABLE (by design, NOT by accident of some "overlooked" flaw) of administering justice but coats all their pro-corporate skullduggery with the color of law (look what "color of law" means to understand that statement I just made;)).

Snippet 1:
Quote
Oil spills leave more than an environmental mess in their wake. They usually leave a mess of litigants and court dockets jammed with lawsuits filed by private and public parties, making claims for damages based upon a myriad of theories of liability.'

Snippet 2:
Quote
.. this comment focuses almost exclusively on the litigation between the numerous plaintiffs who suffered injuries as a result of the spill and the defendant Exxon. 15 Although this paper focuses on Exxon, it is important to note that plaintiffs filed suit against other defendants who played a role in the tragedy. 16 Despite these other suits, the plaintiffs'primarily focused their efforts on Exxon.

Quote
Snippet 3:
The analysis in Part II discusses the strategies chosen by the plaintiffs for pursuing their cases against Exxon, their goals, and the strengths and weaknesses of their choices.

Part III consists of two parts:

Section A discusses the substantive and procedural tools used by Exxon to minimize the number of plaintiffs proceeding with claims and their ultimate results;

Section B analyzes Exxon's use of settlements, particularly with the governments of Alaska and the United States to limit its liability to private parties.   

Part IV describes Exxon's numerous post-trial motions and appeals as well as allegations by plaintiffs that Exxon is using delay tactics to avoid payment.   :(  >:(

Finally, the conclusion to this paper contains a general analysis of how the court system  performed  ;D in handling this complex environmental litigation. ;)

Snippet 4:
Quote
THE PLAINTIFFS GATHER: MAY WE BE HEARD?
The litigants ... are as varied as the species of wildlife in Prince William Sound.17

The Exxon Valdez litigation began with more than 52,000 plaintiffs and 84 law firms filing more than 200 suits in both state and federal court in the first year alone. While the army of plaintiffs
were allies against a common enemy, they also had competing interests. Specifically, the plaintiffs were in disagreement on whether to proceed as individual claimants or to implement representative litigation through class certification. Those in favor of representative litigation believed it was the most effective way to combat a deep-pocket defendant like Exxon on behalf of plaintiffs who would otherwise lack the resources to pursue their claims. The plaintiffs favoring individualism through the pursuit of their own claims argued that representative litigation would be inefficient, take longer, and would deny them their constitutional right to the counsel of their choice.19 

Exxon, for its part, argued that "certification would unnecessarily complicate the case, lead to logistical and paperwork problems, and allow for frivolous claims. "20° Exxon wanted to continue their ongoing claims-settlement program which had already paid a total of $235 million to about 10,500 claimants.2' 17. Swisher,

Agelbert NOTE: Right off the bat, we have plaintiffs approaching the COURT SYSTEM from the assumption that there is more justice for a "deep pocketed" adversary than not. This is prima facie evidence of a DYSFUNCTIONAL COURT SYSTEM.
If the Court system WAS functional, the constitutionally protected individual approach would be the obvious choice to obtain justice, rather than mass litigation.
Exxon hemmed and hawed about "frivolous" lawsuits and such because they were persuing a divide and counquer strategy through individual settlements (out of court, if possible). Exxon's legalese LIE that "certification would unnecessarily complicate the case, lead to logistical and paperwork problems, and allow for frivolous claims. " was part of it's ethics free efforts to AVOID liabiliity.
Snippet 5:

Quote
Another reason representative litigation was the better choice for the plaintiffs in the Valdez litigation was because litigating against Exxon meant litigating against one of the world's largest corporations.43 Representative litigation enables plaintiffs to combine resources-a more effective way for individuals with limited funds to do battle against a deep-pocket defendant with seemingly limitless resources. For example, as of March 1999, Exxon spent more than $300 million in legal fees and appears willing to spend whatever it takes to litigate the matter through every possible level.44

Agelbert NOTE: More evidence that the so-called "day in court" that the Court System "guarantees" is a polite, but cruel, fiction. As above, MONEY, not justice or ethics, dictated the approach to REPRESENTATIVE (i.e. class action scattergun mass settlement). Even though Exxon made some noises about not wanting "certification" of classes for damage awards, in a mass settlement award, The CHIEF benefactor is the corporation being sued because its legal fees are much reduced AND its liability is GAURANTEED to be limited by the settlement. That is NOT justice.

And I find it absolutely insulting for an attorny to claim representative litigation is BETTER because a Corporation CANNOT BE EASILY BANKRUPTED by the "Race to the Courthouse" of many litigants. Say WHAT? So now, all of a sudden, the guilty party has to be PROTECTED if it is a large corporation, REGARDLESS of the damages? MORE PROOF of what our Court System is REALLY all about:

Quote
Representative litigation in a case of this magnitude may also have the advantage of preventing a race to the courthouse for a limited fund. Parties might fear that their interests will be impaired by other plaintiff's judgments. Exxon's company profits for the year of the spill exceeded $4 billion.45 While it is true that Exxon had tremendous economic strength, by September 1991,
252 private lawsuits were filed seeking a total of $59 billion.46

Agelbert NOTE: The counselor is concerned about all those lawsuits. Isn't that rich! Race to the Courthouse!!? Hello? You mean judges can't prioritize damages awards? You mean Courts cannot group lawsuits under one large umbrella? That's BS! I know they can! See the massive RIP OFF minuscule award to the Navajoes ($150,000) from Uranium mining.

NOW, all of a sudden, the "day in Court" for ANYONE who suffered damages that our COURT SYSTEM is SUPPOSEDLY BASED ON in order to provide JUSTICE on an INDIVIDUAL BASIS , has to take second fiddle to CONCERN for bankrupting a GUILTY AS SIN corporation or a more agile plaintiff getting all the money than the late coming, but better deserving plaintiff!!? Is this guy for REAL?

People DIED, animals DIED, nature was contaminated and people and animals are STILL suffering and dying from this but the LAWYER now claims that a REPRESNTATIVE settlement is a "Better deal" for the PLAINTIFFS (LOL!).

Soberly, he pulls out the legal FACT that punitive damages are designed to punish, not destroy. Yes that is true. That's why Exxon lawyers sought to avoid "compensatory" damages like the plague and agreed to a "punitive" damages type settlement. But our crocodile tear crying counselor does not mention that minor detail until he calls it a "victory" for Exxon further down. So this is a GAME?  ??? It's about WINNERS AND LOSERS, not Ubi jus ibi remedium?    ???

At any rate, that is an ADMISSION that, though the lawyer doesn't want to go there  ,  even though people, animals and nature were DESTROYED, the COURT SYSTEM cannot asset strip a corporation to the last penny, if need be, to provide an equitable damages award.

Quote

Even an economic giant like Exxon could be slain and bankrupted by massive litigation.  Thus, the possibility of a race for the courthouse suggests that representative litigation is a better approach for plaintiffs in environmental disasters of this magnitude To this end, the certification of a mandatory punitive damages class was also appropriate. After all, punitive damages are designed to punish and not to destroy. Courts have found that excessive damages awards can be a violation of a defendant's due process rights. These constitutional concerns could have come into play if Exxon had suffered unlimited multiple punishments.
47

Agelbert NOTE: SURE... The old "Courts have found" TRICK. Violation of the defendant's "due process rights" is code speech for limiting a corporation's LIABILITY under LEGALESE color of law. WHO, EXACTLY, decides, boys and girls, what an "excessive damages award" IS, anyway?  .

RIGHT! The JUDGE, not the jury! So this baloney about "excessive damages award threat" being a logical and practical reason to go the representative litigation route is pure sophistry. I am certain a study of the stare decisis involving "excessive damages awards" is 100% about CORPORATE defendants getting coddled by the judge while the individual plaintiff gets the shaft. "Due Process", MY ARSE! 

This ROT in or system goes back, once again , to the "limited liability" FICTION so loved by fascists the world over. So we have a logical train of thought here that claims Exxon has lots of money so it is prudent and practical to do representative litigation even though our legal system is "based on individual litigation". That is followed by the more "prudence" about individuals not having the money to go at it individually and the, really ridiculous, rationale that some individuals might have such "small" damages that they wouldn't "bother" to sue because the legal costs won't make it "worth their while".

WTF!? It's OBVIOUS that individuals in a damages lawsuit SHOULD have ALL legal costs paid by the losing party! Exxon was GUILTY from day one. The only thing to discuss was the damages, period. It should have been ASSUMED that all the plaintiffs' legal fees would be the responsibility of Exxon. But that's not how our DYSFUNCTIONAL COURT SYSTEM "works". So this lawyer is doing some "practical and prudent" pretzel logic to "justify" representative class action even though it A) will reduce the per person damages and B) the legal costs to Exxon while not helping the plaintiffs with THEIR legal costs AT ALL!   >:(

Snippet 6:

Quote
Unlike its resistance to the certification of plaintiffs' classes for compensatory damages, Exxon pursued and supported class certification for punitive damages. Exxon scored a big victory by getting a non-opt-out mandatory class for punitive damages. Thus, there would be only one trial for punitive damages to defend and no possibility for multiple punishments. This would reduce Exxon's litigation expenses and, more importantly, limit their exposure to punitive damages.

Agelbert NOTE: So Exxon pulled the fast one on the plaintiffs by getting "punitive", rather than "compensatory" damages. See what the counselor said about "punitive" awards are to punish, not to destroy according to the law. Ethics free Exxon and its ethics free lawyers KNOW how the Court System "works". So it goes. 

To be continued:  8)
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Quote
"How could we ever have imagined that the companies could turn water into sickness?” says Criollo, now 60. “When the drilling started, the oil stuck to our bodies. We cooked with poisoned water. Our children drank from the river. We were told it was safe.”


Meet the Amazon Tribespeople Who Beat Chevron in Court  —but Are Still Fighting for Clean Water

With the judgment in their favor tied up in a New York courtroom,
indigenous residents of Ecuador's oil-polluted rainforest are going back to basics.

Excellent photos and informative article on one more place and PEOPLE the fossil fuelers have DESPOILED for profit over planet at link below. These brave people ARE NOT waiting for lawyers. They know how that "works". They also have learned the hard lesson that oil companies are always trying to keep them dependent to the oil companies.
Quote

What they wanted was clean water. And they wanted to control it at the source. They told Anderson they were tired of being dependent on the duplicitous oil firms, which ran their communities as part reservation, part company town.  >:(

http://www.takepart.com/feature/2014/10/30/amazon-tribes-chevron-lawsuit-ecuador-oil-pollution
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

 

+-Recent Topics

Future Earth by AGelbert
March 30, 2022, 12:39:42 pm

Key Historical Events ...THAT YOU MAY HAVE NEVER HEARD OF by AGelbert
March 29, 2022, 08:20:56 pm

The Big Picture of Renewable Energy Growth by AGelbert
March 28, 2022, 01:12:42 pm

Electric Vehicles by AGelbert
March 27, 2022, 02:27:28 pm

Heat Pumps by AGelbert
March 26, 2022, 03:54:43 pm

Defending Wildlife by AGelbert
March 25, 2022, 02:04:23 pm

The Koch Brothers Exposed! by AGelbert
March 25, 2022, 01:26:11 pm

Corruption in Government by AGelbert
March 25, 2022, 12:46:08 pm

Books and Audio Books that may interest you 🧐 by AGelbert
March 24, 2022, 04:28:56 pm

COVID-19 🏴☠️ Pandemic by AGelbert
March 23, 2022, 12:14:36 pm