slap

<span class="submitted"></span><div><span class="submitted"><b>This has been a sort of orphan category, see FOIA/SLAPP, but it will concentrate more on corp use of law to intimidate </b></span></div><div><span class="submitted"><b>
</b></span></div><div><span class="submitted"><b>see slapp tag</b></span></div><div><span class="submitted">
</span></div><div><span class="submitted">=</span></div><div><span class="submitted"><p>=-</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.17647em; padding: 0px 15px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.70588; vertical-align: baseline; position: static; float: none; width: auto; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); max-width: 680px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">For protestors and activists unhappy with a particular company or industry, driving up the cost of doing business is a tried and true way to apply pressure. Think about the grape boycott in the late '60s for farmworkers rights. Or more recently, <a href="https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/05/social-movements-fight-for-15-occupy-civil-rights/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(71, 116, 204); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; text-decoration: none;">protests over worker wages at fast food restaurants</a>.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.17647em; padding: 0px 15px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.70588; vertical-align: baseline; position: static; float: none; width: auto; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); max-width: 680px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">But now some corporations are fighting back by putting financial pressure on activists.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.17647em; padding: 0px 15px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.70588; vertical-align: baseline; position: static; float: none; width: auto; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); max-width: 680px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Duncan Tarr is a 20-year-old junior at Michigan State University. He is also an activist.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.17647em; padding: 0px 15px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.70588; vertical-align: baseline; position: static; float: none; width: auto; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); max-width: 680px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">One of the things he cares deeply about is a pipeline, called line 6B. It moves tar sands oil from Canada through Michigan and has an imperfect safety record.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.17647em; padding: 0px 15px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.70588; vertical-align: baseline; position: static; float: none; width: auto; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); max-width: 680px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Last summer, while the pipeline was being replaced, Tarr was part of a group determined to get some attention.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.17647em; padding: 0px 15px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.70588; vertical-align: baseline; position: static; float: none; width: auto; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); max-width: 680px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">"We were picketing in front of where they parked all their construction vehicles, and then my co-defendant and I stopped a truck and we locked our necks to the truck with U-locks that you use like for a bicycle," he says.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.17647em; padding: 0px 15px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.70588; vertical-align: baseline; position: static; float: none; width: auto; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); max-width: 680px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Firefighters came and cut the locks. Both the protest and the detaching took about 90 minutes. Tarr and one other young man were arrested and charged with trespass — they expected that.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.17647em; padding: 0px 15px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.70588; vertical-align: baseline; position: static; float: none; width: auto; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); max-width: 680px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">What they didn't expect was that the company, Precision Pipeline, would use Michigan's crime victim restitution laws to assess charges to make up for the value of equipment and workers idled during their protest.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.17647em; padding: 0px 15px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.70588; vertical-align: baseline; position: static; float: none; width: auto; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); max-width: 680px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Tarr now owes more than $39,000. That's twice as much in restitution as he owes in student loans.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.17647em; padding: 0px 15px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.70588; vertical-align: baseline; position: static; float: none; width: auto; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); max-width: 680px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Bankruptcy won't get rid of a restitution order in Michigan. Precision Pipeline repeatedly declined to comment for this story.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.17647em; padding: 0px 15px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.70588; vertical-align: baseline; position: static; float: none; width: auto; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); max-width: 680px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Rashad Robinson heads up Color of Change, a civil rights group that successfully pressured the Mall of America to <a href="http://www.startribune.com/mall-of-america-won-t-seek-40-000-restitution-in-black-lives-matter-protest-case/299982321/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(71, 116, 204); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; text-decoration: none;">drop a restitution claim</a> against a group of protesters that disrupted business with an action tied to the Black Lives Matter movement.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.17647em; padding: 0px 15px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.70588; vertical-align: baseline; position: static; float: none; width: auto; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); max-width: 680px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">He says he's seen restitution used this way in California, Minnesota and Michigan.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.17647em; padding: 0px 15px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.70588; vertical-align: baseline; position: static; float: none; width: auto; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); max-width: 680px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">"It's a tactic that we're seeing especially as corporations continue to gain more and more power in our democracy," Robinson says.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.17647em; padding: 0px 15px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.70588; vertical-align: baseline; position: static; float: none; width: auto; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); max-width: 680px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">In some ways, what's going on between activists and their targets is a steady escalation on both sides.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.17647em; padding: 0px 15px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.70588; vertical-align: baseline; position: static; float: none; width: auto; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); max-width: 680px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Roger Pilon, vice president of legal affairs at the<b> Cato Institute </b>thinks it's only fair that protestors begin to bear some financial costs as well, particularly when they trespass to try to make a point.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.17647em; padding: 0px 15px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.70588; vertical-align: baseline; position: static; float: none; width: auto; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); max-width: 680px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;">
</span>"We've established rules for protest. If you violate them, you can't expect to get away scot-free," Pilon says. "After all, you can't impose the cost of your moral virtue on the backs of people who are just trying to run their own business."</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.17647em; padding: 0px 15px; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.70588; vertical-align: baseline; position: static; float: none; width: auto; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); max-width: 680px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">=</p><div>
</div></span></div><div><span class="submitted"></span></div><div><span class="submitted"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">In the newest variation of legal attacks on climate science, climate science blogger and computer scientist </span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=46d3564f64&e=15e3916d62" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: none; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">John Mashey</a><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> was recently sued in retaliation for his work to uncover academic misconduct by several researchers who disputed widely-accepted findings on global warming.  Two of these researchers, Edward Wegman and Yasmin Said, recently served Mashey with tandem complaints, claiming that his work connecting them with </span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=a22438d5a0&e=15e3916d62" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432485144547_419926" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: none; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">plagiarism, falsifications, errors, and funding misuse</a><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">constituted “tortious interference with contract” and “conspiracy” — and claiming that because of this, he owed them millions of dollars in damages.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Wegman and Said were among the authors of the 2006 “Wegman Report,” which has since been discredited by </span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=a7309b4664&e=15e3916d62" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: none; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Mashey</a><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=67237d7012&e=15e3916d62" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: none; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">and</a><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=f62de7db5e&e=15e3916d62" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: none; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">many</a><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=48c0dd79f4&e=15e3916d62" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: none; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">others</a><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, and which was originally commissioned by Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) as part of </span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=b70a161528&e=15e3916d62" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: none; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">a Congressional investigation of climate scientists</a><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.  Subsequent work by Wegman and Said, based on the Wegman Report, was later </span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=f702215874&e=15e3916d62" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: none; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">retracted for plagiarism</a><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> and the investigations themselves were criticized as “</span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=d0d251565d&e=15e3916d62" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: none; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">political intimidation</a><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.”</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">In their lawsuits, Wegman and Said claimed that because Mashey had voiced his findings of plagiarism and misconduct regarding the Wegman Report and other work, and otherwise “injured [their] reputation[s],” they were “forced to resign” from positions as editors of an academic journal, causing them to lose profits “as well as the ability to edit and publish, and the professional prestige and credibility such a position entails.”  Wegman and Said sought an astonishing $2 million in economic and punitive damages from Mashey, plus reimbursement for their legal fees. </span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The Climate Science Legal Defense Fund has stepped in to pay Mashey’s legal defense costs, which have totaled </span><span style="font-weight: 700; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">more than $15,000</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.  Sadly, legal bills in the tens of thousands of dollars – or more – are not uncommon for those subjected to harassing legal attacks, not to mention the substantial time drains and mental anguish such litigation can cause defendants (especially in cases that drag on for years, as is often the situation).  While Mashey was lucky in that Wegman and Said ultimately withdrew their complaints, it was still a time-consuming, expensive, and frustrating experience -- and Mashey’s litigation illustrates that the entire climate science community is at risk for becoming collateral damage in the “</span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=85c3842934&e=15e3916d62" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: none; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">street fight</a><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">” on climate science.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Unfortunately, legal attacks on the climate science community happen on a </span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=9fac17ae5e&e=15e3916d62" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: none; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">regular</a><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=15ab2e92b1&e=15e3916d62" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: none; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">basis</a><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.  Please help us fundraise so that we can continue to fight back against such attacks.  </span><span style="font-weight: 700; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=2d27d5786e&e=15e3916d62" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: none; word-wrap: break-word; font-weight: normal; background: transparent;">Support of $25, $100, or more</a></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> will go a long way to ensure that those advancing climate science can continue their important work without worrying about legal harassment slowing them down.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">For more on John Mashey’s case, please check out his blog post on the experience </span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=907fa0b2e0&e=15e3916d62" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: none; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">here</a><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, and our blog post </span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=fd309e0454&e=15e3916d62" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432485144547_419946" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: none; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">here</a><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.</span></span></div><div><span class="submitted">
</span></div><div><span class="submitted">
</span></div><div><span class="submitted"></span></div><div><span class="submitted">not exactly slapp, but </span></div><div><span class="submitted">
</span></div><div><span class="submitted">rush and beck (sues killed younggril)  fight free speech</span></div><div><span class="submitted">
</span></div><div><span class="submitted"><span style="color: rgb(36, 36, 36); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Oh, Rush Limbaugh. </span><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/rush-limbaugh-threatens-to-sue-democratic-congressional-campaign-committee-for-out-of-context-quotes-about-sexual-consent/2014/11/10/da5ffe30-68e8-11e4-b053-65cea7903f2e_story.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; color: rgb(124, 71, 12); text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">How far you have fallen</a><span style="color: rgb(36, 36, 36); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.</span><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; color: rgb(36, 36, 36); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><blockquote style="margin: 1.2em 0px; padding: 20px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-color: rgb(226, 226, 225); border-bottom-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(226, 226, 225); border-top-style: solid; color: rgb(36, 36, 36); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background: rgb(246, 243, 236);">The conservative pundit is threatening to sue the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for a series of fundraising e-mails that suggested Limbaugh was condoning campus rape in comments he made on his widely syndicated program on Sept. 15.</blockquote><span style="color: rgb(36, 36, 36); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">He wasn't condoning rape, you see, but you'd be surprised at how often Rush Limbaugh keeps getting broadsided by the unfortunate things that keep burbling out his mouth-hole. According to the DCCC, when discussing the horribleness of campus anti-rape policies Rush said "How many of you guys [...] have learned that 'no' means 'yes' if you know how to spot it?", but what the voice of all conservatism </span><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; color: rgb(36, 36, 36); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">really</em><span style="color: rgb(36, 36, 36); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> said was, well, exactly that. But it had context! Damn you non-conservatives, always taking things out of </span><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; color: rgb(36, 36, 36); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">context</em><span style="color: rgb(36, 36, 36); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">!</span><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; color: rgb(36, 36, 36); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><blockquote style="margin: 1.2em 0px; padding: 20px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-color: rgb(226, 226, 225); border-bottom-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(226, 226, 225); border-top-style: solid; color: rgb(36, 36, 36); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background: rgb(246, 243, 236);">“Seduction used to be an art. Now, of course, it’s ‘brutish’ and it’s ‘predatory’ and it’s bad,” he said on the air. Quoting the Ohio State policy, he said, “‘consent must be freely given, and can be withdrawn anytime, and the absence of ‘no’ does not mean ‘yes.’ ”<p style="margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.4; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal;">He then commented, “How many of you guys, in your own experience with women, have learned that ‘no’ means ‘yes’ if you know how to spot it? I’m probably. . . . Let me tell you something, in this modern [world], that is simply, that’s not tolerated. People aren’t even going to try to understand that one. It used to be said as a cliche, it used to be part of the advice young boys were given.”</p></blockquote><span style="color: rgb(36, 36, 36); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">So now you've got Sex Advice From Rush Limbaugh in your brain and are never going to get it back out again.</span><p style="margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(36, 36, 36); font-stretch: normal; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Anyway, so Rush Limbaugh, who is apparently still on the radio here and there even after his previous observations on sex and who in America was or was not clearly a slut landed him a ticket on the slow boat to deserved obscurity, has decided that what his brand really needs is a very public airing of his extended further comments on sex and rape and how to properly woo the womenfolk these days.</p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(36, 36, 36); font-stretch: normal; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Works for me. Rush Limbaugh was the voice of all true conservatism for a very long time, a kingmaker who could and would sink any Republican who dared criticize him and whose various conspiratorial fantasies were required elements of any Republican campaign. Have him spend his remaining days suing anyone who still takes note of what he says. That'll work out grand.</p></span></div><div><span class="submitted"></span></div><div><span class="submitted"><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19px; line-height: 28.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The tech world’s strange love affair with ultraconservative ALEC is unraveling.</p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19px; line-height: 28.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Over the past two months, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Yelp, and Yahoo have distanced themselves from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a Koch Brothers-backed think tank that’s pushed just about every controversial right-wing legislative initiative you can think of. Teaching climate change denial in schools? <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/2013/01/31/three-states-pushing-alec-bill-climate-change-denial-schools" target="blank" class="external" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(33, 59, 75); outline: none;">Check</a>. Advocating for Voter ID laws that disenfranchise minorities?<a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/161969/alec-exposed-rigging-elections" target="blank" class="external" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(33, 59, 75); outline: none;">Uh huh</a>. A national “Stand Your Ground” law? <a href="http://www.thenation.com/blog/166978/how-alec-took-floridas-license-kill-law-national" target="blank" class="external" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(33, 59, 75); outline: none;">Why not</a>?</p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19px; line-height: 28.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The breaking point for ALEC’s souring relationship with so many high-profile tech firms appears to be the group’s denial of strong, <a href="http://pando.com/2014/07/19/148877/warming%20trends%20over%20the%20past%20century%20are%20very%20likely%20due%20to%20human%20activities" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(33, 59, 75); outline: none;">widely-agreed-upon</a> evidence that climate change is real and humans are making it worse. (ALEC recently <a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/alec-responds-google-climate-change" target="blank" class="external" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(33, 59, 75); outline: none;">denied</a> its, uh, denial, but ALEC’s own model legislation directly contradicts its claims of innocence). But despite the <a href="http://pando.com/2014/07/19/148877/" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(33, 59, 75); outline: none;">risks</a> of aligning your organization with anti-sustainability interests, there’s one high-profile tech firm that still hasn’t denounced the organization: eBay, along with its billionaire founder and chairman Pierre Omidyar.</p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19px; line-height: 28.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Today, over eighty non-profits including the Sierra Club and Greenpeace <a href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/242117463/10-7-2014-EBay-Sign-on-Letter" target="blank" class="external" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(33, 59, 75); outline: none;">signed a letter</a> urging eBay to end its affiliation with ALEC. eBay, like Google and Microsoft in the past, is a member of ALEC’s Communications and Technology Task Force, an affiliation that costs the company $5,000 a year in membership fees and thus represents a direct form of financial support for the controversial organization.</p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19px; line-height: 28.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“The public knows,” the letter states, “that the ALEC operation which brings state legislators and corporate lobbyists behind closed doors to discuss proposed legislation and share lavish dinners threatens our democracy. The public is asking eBay to stop participating in this scheme.”</p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19px; line-height: 28.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">eBay spokeswoman Abby Smith has <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/bluesky/technology/sns-rt-us-climatechange-alec-20141007-story.html" target="blank" class="external" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(33, 59, 75); outline: none;">finally responded</a> to the letter, saying that ALEC promotes issues that are “material to the success of eBay Inc and our customers” and that “our team of internal stakeholders meets regularly to assess the best approach for resolving these issues.”</p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19px; line-height: 28.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">But would leaving ALEC really have a negative impact on eBay’s business?</p><p style="margin: 1.5em 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19px; line-height: 28.5px;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Possibly. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Yelp, for example, had a <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/08/15/yelp-joins-with-advocacy-group-alec-to-fight-slapp-lawsuits.html" target="blank" class="external" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(33, 59, 75); outline: none;">clear and legitimate legal interest</a> in aligning itself with ALEC. The organization crafted model legislation to fight SLAPP lawsuits, which could be used against Yelp’s users who post bad reviews. Indeed, eBay is currently <a href="https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140825/18001628317/patent-troll-sues-ebay-daring-to-ask-patent-office-patent-re-exam.shtml" target="blank" class="external" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(33, 59, 75); outline: none;">relying on an anti-SLAPP argument in a lawsuit that a patent troll filed against it</a>. But user-generated content, which is usually what anti-SLAPP legislation protects, is not as fundamental to its business as it is to Yelp. And again, even Yelp has cut ties with ALEC.</span></p></span></div><div><span class="submitted">===</span></div><div><span class="submitted"><div id="node-910941" class="node node-story view-mode-print clearfix" about="/food/junk-food-lobbyists-sued-money-laundering-washington-state" typeof="sioc:Item foaf:Document" style=" position: relative;">

<h1 property="dc:title" datatype="" class="node-title"><span style=" font-size: large;">Junk Food Lobbyists Sued for Money Laundering in Washington State</span></h1>

</div>

<div class="story-date"><em><span class="field field-name-field-date field-type-date field-label-hidden"><span class="field-items"><span class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2013-10-16T11:37:00-07:00">October 16, 2013</span></span></span></span> </em> |  </div>

<p>In the final weeks leading up to Election Day, the debate over measure I-522 in Washington State is getting even uglier. As I recently <a href="http://www.eatdrinkpolitics.com/2013/09/17/are-junk-food-corporations-hiding-behind-lobbyists-to-stop-ge-food-labeling-in-washington-state/" target="blank" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">explained</a> <span class="print-footnote" style=" font-size: xx-small;">[3]</span>, the Grocery Manufacturer Association, the nation’s largest trade group for the processed food industry, has been flexing its muscle to oppose the labeling of genetically-engineered food, both at the federal and state levels<b>. Now, a <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2013/09/17/1379461953-complaint.pdf" target="blank" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">lawsuit</a> <span class="print-footnote" style=" font-size: xx-small;">[4]</span> brought by a non-profit called “Moms for Labeling” alleges that GMA crossed the line by not properly disclosing who is behind the whopping $7 million-plus the trade group has <a href="http://www.pdc.wa.gov/MvcQuerySystem/CommitteeData/contributions?param=Tk81MjIgIDUwNw%3D%3D%3D%3D&year=2013&type=initiative" target="_blank" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">donated</a> <span class="print-footnote" style=" font-size: xx-small;">[5]</span> to the No on 522 campaign so far.</b>

The main goal of a lobbying organization like GMA is to pool the massive resources of its members, which include heavy-hitters such as Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and General Mills; each has a huge stake in this fight. While last year in California, these companies donated millions to stop Proposition 37, this year, the game plan has changed. GMA is now doing industry’s dirty work by donating on behalf of its members and possibly violating Washington State’s lobbying rules in the process. Here is how the Seattle <em>Post-Intelligencer</em><a href="http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2013/09/17/grocery-manufacturers-laundered-donations-suit/" target="_blank" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">explains</a> <span class="print-footnote" style=" font-size: xx-small;">[6]</span> the case:</p>

<blockquote>Under Washington’s public disclosure law, any organization that “bundles” contributions must declare itself as a political action committee. Moms for Labeling is citing underground industry sources to support its claim that the Grocery Manufacturers Association is fronting for the companies that gave heavily in <b>California l</b>ast year.</blockquote>

<p>While Superior Court judge Chris Wickham recently <a href="http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2013/10/04/corporate-laundering-suit-dismissed-for-now/" target="blank" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">dismissed</a> <span class="print-footnote" style=" font-size: xx-small;">[7]</span> the lawsuit, the attorney for the No on 522 campaign may have overstated the decision when she called it a “<a href="http://www.theolympian.com/2013/10/04/2759071/olympia-judge-rejects-lawsuit.html" target="blank" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">complete victory</a> <span class="print-footnote" style=" font-size: xx-small;">[8]</span>.” The judge did not actually rule on the merits of the case, so the allegations that GMA is fighting with junk food companies’ money still stands. Instead, <a href="http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2013/10/04/corporate-laundering-suit-dismissed-for-now/" target="blank" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">the judge said</a> <span class="print-footnote" style=" font-size: xx-small;">[7]</span> that the<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> timing of the case wasn’t right,</span> “not that there isn’t merit in the underlying claim.” In other words, as the <a href="http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2013/10/04/corporate-laundering-suit-dismissed-for-now/" target="blank" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><em>Post-Intelligencer</em> put it</a> <span class="print-footnote" style=" font-size: xx-small;">[7]</span>: “The basic issue of the suit — <b>the public’s right to know where money spent in the I-522 campaign comes from — remains unresolved.”</b></p>

<p>

While dismissing the lawsuit based on timing,<b><font color="#ff0000"> Judge Wickam also hit the non-profit with a $10,000 sanction (plus defendant attorney’s fees) under a statute meant, ironically, to protect against frivolous lawsuits brought by large corporations to stop public interest groups from speaking out. Known as Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, anti-SLAPP laws are designed to protect David from Goliath. But GMA turned the tables, accusing Moms for Labeling of making a<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> “strategic attempt to suppress [its] political speech.” </span>And the judge agreed.</font></b>

Still, the attorney who filed the suit on behalf of Moms for Labeling, Knoll Lowney, says he’s not backing down. Last week, he <a href="http://fusewashington.org/momsforlabeling/" target="blank" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">filed </a> <span class="print-footnote" style=" font-size: xx-small;">[9]</span>a legal notice to give the state attorney general’s office ten days to file its own case, after which Lowney says Moms for Labeling will have met the requirements to bring the lawsuit again themselves. According to the letter, newly released 2012 tax filings show that GMA received contributions from member companies that it funneled to the No on Prop 37 campaign in California last year. “The new evidence we delivered to the attorney general makes it even more clear that No on 522 is illegally concealing its donors,” <a href="http://fusewashington.org/momsforlabeling/" target="blank" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">says </a> <span class="print-footnote" style=" font-size: xx-small;">[9]</span>Pam Johnson, co-chair of Moms for Labeling.

In addition, Lowney says sources within these companies told him the $7 million is the result of GMA’s soliciting “voluntary special assessments” (donations on top of usual dues) from its members. While his whistleblowers can’t say with certainty that the special assessments are for I-522, “everyone knows where the money is going.” That GMA has yet to issue a flat out denial is also suspect, Lowney says.

It’s really not hard to figure out. Just take a look at the executives running the show at GMA. The Board of Directors is a veritable who’s who of Big Food. For starters, <a href="http://www.gmaonline.org/forms/meeting/Microsite/EmergingLeaders13,1" target="_blank" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Ken Powell</a> <span class="print-footnote" style=" font-size: xx-small;">[10]</span>, Chairman and CEO of cereal giant General Mills is board chair. Other notable GMA board members include:</p>

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.diversityinc.com/john-bryant/" target="_blank" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">John Bryant</a> <span class="print-footnote" style=" font-size: xx-small;">[11]</span>, President and CEO of Kellogg</li>

<li><a href="http://littlesis.org/person/1384/Brian_C_Cornell" target="_blank" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Brian C. Cornell</a> <span class="print-footnote" style=" font-size: xx-small;">[12]</span>, Chief Executive Officer, PepsiCo Americas Foods</li>

<li><a href="http://littlesis.org/person/107194/W_Anthony_Vernon" target="_blank" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">W. Anthony Vernon</a> <span class="print-footnote" style=" font-size: xx-small;">[13]</span>, Chief Executive Officer, Kraft Foods</li>

<li><a href="http://www.coca-colacompany.com/our-company/operations-leadership-j-alexander-m-douglas-jr" target="_blank" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">J. Alexander M. Douglas Jr.</a> <span class="print-footnote" style=" font-size: xx-small;">[14]</span>, Senior Vice President and Global Chief Customer Officer, Coca-Cola</li>

</ul>

<p>Each of these companies relies heavily upon on genetically-engineered ingredients to make its products, so it’s really no mystery what’s going on. During the California fight, food companies suffered significant backlash for opposing Prop 37. No wonder these corporations want to let GMA be the public face of their opposition this time around. But doing so just may be a violation of law. The question is: will they get away with it?

Meanwhile, overall the opposition has donated $17 million to keep Washington State consumers in the dark. You can help support the Yes on 522 campaign by <a href="https://secure.yeson522.com/page/contribute/default?source=site-header" target="_blank" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">donating here</a> <span class="print-footnote" style=" font-size: xx-small;">[15</span></p>

</div>

</div></span></div><div><span class="submitted">===</span></div><div><span class="submitted">coll exxon: accused sci of fraud, hacks in aud whenever they present;<b> exxon execs threaten to level your house if threaten legal (liability) </b>135 Short gov sci quit b/c of harrassment ch5</span></div><div><span class="submitted">
</span></div><div><span class="submitted"><div>big worry on punitive damages in valdez, so (paid research" submitted; judge won't read, but clerks are lawyers and/or econ degrees, so open to </div><div>
</div><div>our ideas 313. academics can be bought cheap; forum trickier b/c have to invite both sides.  Souter sided with exxon, tho noted they paid for res. </div><div>
</div><div>314</div><div><div>2006 cohen did climate review, for execs only, CTT's helped; somewhat dangerous b/c UCS has accused to replay tobacco, thus legal liability, class </div><div>
</div><div>action tort to get docs (tob co's thot no problem till it was) 337 even trickier b/c sci getting clearer and louder, est on temp rise 2x in a few </div><div>
</div><div>years ; </div></div><div><div>cohen started in exxon chem; risk analysis favored corp (used against kyoto) 479 shift burden of proof, vs precaut, funded harv bs shop even paul </div><div>
</div><div>thacker gop, said bs  pthalates</div></div></span></div><div><span class="submitted">
</span></div><div><span class="submitted">Tue, 2007-12-18 08:54 — <span class="username">Justin Lancaster</span></span>

      
      
        <p>Alex, the source is directly from Fred Singer, in his sworn testimony. See: http://home.att.net/~espi/S-F-Singer_Deposition.pdf</p>

This evidence is at the web site "The Cosmos Myth: The Real Truth

about the Revelle-Gore Story". See in particular Singer's deposition at

page 67 and page 125, where he acknowledges Balling's contribution to

the drafting. Singer admits he cannot recall any contributions or

feedback from Revelle during any of the drafting, but there were

numerous contributions from Balling, Michaels, Lindzen, Ellsaesser and

Nordhaus. Previous to this group act, it is documented that Singer,

Balling and Michaels had meetings hosted by factions of the energy

industry focused on "public relations", which was the cover for an

intentional misinformation campaign to sway the views of the public,

journalists and the U.S. Government.</div>