All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

‘Privatizing the coast’: are wealthy Californians seizing public beaches?

Beaches belong to the people! Period!

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As some try to seal off stretches of coastline for private use, the state wants to tackle a growing divide between rich and poor

Privates Beach is named not for its exclusivity but for its permissive stance on nude sunbathing. This small patch of paradise on the California coastline is adored by locals, and anyone is welcome to enjoy the clean and quiet spot. If, that is, they have a key costing $100 a year.

A 9ft iron gate blocks the path to a beach staircase, set among expensive hillside homes in the tony surf town of Santa Cruz, south of San Francisco. Yet by California law, all the beaches along its 840 alluring miles of coastline belong to the people, and the state is cracking down at Privates and elsewhere in a push to mitigate a growing divide between rich and poor.

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Trump demands Kavanaugh vote after lashing out at accuser | US news | The Guardian – Proof that he does not write all of his tweets – the first one written by someone who forgot to write down to Trump’s dumber than dumb level. but all are as creepy as can be from someone who brags about grabbing women!

“I have no doubt that, if the attack on Dr. Ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local Law Enforcement Authorities by either her or her loving parents,” Trump said. “I ask that she bring those filings forward so that we can learn date, time, and place!

Source: Trump demands Kavanaugh vote after lashing out at accuser | US news | The Guardian

The Brett Kavanaugh case shows we still blame women for the sins of men | Rebecca Solnit

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From Anita Hill to the victims of Cosby and Weinstein, women are disbelieved, powerful men excused. When will we learn?

We have been here before. We have been here over and over in an endless, Groundhog Day loop about how rape and sexual abuse happen: offering the same explanations, hearing the same kind of stories from wave after wave of survivors, hearing the same excuses and refusals to comprehend from people who are not so sure that women are endowed with inalienable rights and matter as much as men – or, categorically, have as much credibility. We are, with the case of Brett Kavanaugh, Donald Trump’s nominee for the US supreme court, who has been accused of sexual assault, revisiting ground worn down from years of pacing. Kavanaugh denies Christine Blasey Ford’s allegation that he forcibly held her down and assaulted her when both were at high school. We have only the accounts of the participants, and these, it seems, will always contradict each other. The allegation and the denial put us back in a familiar scenario.

The last five years have been an exhaustive and exhausting crash course in how abusers and rapists (and attempted rapists) and their victims behave, and how they are perceived and treated, but the learning curve of the wilfully oblivious resembles the period at the end of this sentence.

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Ice arrests more than 40 people trying to sponsor migrant children

Just run by neo-fascists!

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Authorities are using applications to pursue and deport would-be caretakers who are undocumented, an Ice official told Congress

The Trump administration, in its continued immigration crackdown, has arrested more than 40 people who came forward to help undocumented migrant children, in a move that is sparking alarm among advocates.

Parents, relatives and friends of children in federal custody can apply to become sponsors and take in minor detainees from government shelters – but authorities are now using their information to pursue and deport such would-be caretakers when they are themselves undocumented immigrants, an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (Ice) official told Congress this week.

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bellingcat – Skripal Suspects Confirmed as GRU Operatives: Prior European Operations Disclosed – bellingcat

In the previous part of a joint investigation, Bellingcat and The Insider – Russia established that: Alexander Petrov – a fake cover persona for a yet unidentified Russian individual – is not a civilian but linked to one of Russia’s security services. This assessment was based on an exhaustive analysis of “Petrov” passport dossier as…

Source: bellingcat – Skripal Suspects Confirmed as GRU Operatives: Prior European Operations Disclosed – bellingcat

Palestinian poet Dareen Tatour set free

Dareen Tatour, who was arrested and jailed for poems she published on social media, is released from prison. Tatour: ‘It will be impossible to stop my writing.’

By Oren Ziv

Palestinian poet Dareen Tatour was released from prison on September 20, 2018. She was arrested in October 2015, and later convicted of incitement to terrorism and violence for poems she published on social media. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Palestinian poet Dareen Tatour was released from prison on September 20, 2018. She was arrested in October 2015, and later convicted of incitement to terrorism and violence for poems she published on social media. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Palestinian poet Dareen Tatour was released today after serving 42 days in prison. Her five-month sentence was reduced by 97 days, the same amount of time she spent in jail following her arrest in October 2015, before being transferred to house arrest for nearly three years.

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“I am very happy to be free, finally, after three years. These were three years of suffering, but I am free now,” said Tatour upon her release.

Tatour, who hails from the village of Reineh near Nazareth, was convicted of incitement to terrorism and violence over a poem she published on her personal Facebook page, titled “Qawem Ya Sha’abi, Qawemhum” (“Resist my people, resist them”), as well as two other social media posts. The poet has become a symbol of the rise of state surveillance of social media.

Tatour was released one day earlier than expected, which came as a surprise to the family and friends who arrived to greet her upon her release. Her father, Tawfik Tatour, who had only seen his daughter once since she was detained in early August, said he did not expect to get a call the night before, informing him of the early release. “It is a joy, I am extremely excited,” he said. A celebration of Tatour’s release will take place on Friday, and her father invites the public to join.

Family and friends greet Palestinian poet Dareen Tatour upon her release from prison on September 20, 2018. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Family and friends greet Palestinian poet Dareen Tatour upon her release from prison on September 20, 2018. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Throughout her trial, the state summoned a string of experts on poetry and the Arabic language to analyze the words of a young poet who was mostly anonymous until her arrest.

Tatour promised to keep writing. “I regret being sent to prison for a poem, but it will be impossible to stop my writing,” she said.

This article was first published in Hebrew on Local Call. Read it here.

Bayer can’t greenwash away Monsanto’s mess

Big Ag Greenwashing



As the headlines of their corporate misdeeds pile up, the Monsanto name is becoming even more synonymous with shady dealings and the obfuscation of science, all at the expense of public health. Will the company’s recent mega-merger with fellow seed and pesticide giant Bayer erase Monsanto’s track record? Bayer seems to think so, as they made the decision to drop the Monsanto name completely post-merger. But we’re not too worried.

Monsanto in the spotlight

After decades spent dodging regulators and burying scientific findings that could hurt their profits, Monsanto is finally facing their day in court. Or rather, many days in court. Earlier this summer, the company lost the first of more than 4,000 lawsuits brought against their flagship weedkiller Roundup.

The public has been paying attention, as Bayer shares plummeted following the court defeat, even though the merger process hadn’t completely wrapped up yet.

And as it turns out, Bayer and Monsanto have actually been on the same page of the industry playbook for years. In fact, Bayer deserves special recognition for their own style of spreading misinformation.

Bayer’s class-act deception

Bayer’s corporate record book definitely isn’t clean. The pharmaceutical and chemical company best known for aspirin has spent time and resources protecting their brand through “greenwashing.” Bayer and many other corporations have perfected this PR strategy, spreading misleading information to promote themselves as champions of sustainability.

Minnesota bee advocates went head-to-head with Bayer’s greenwashing efforts in June, when vigilant organizers noticed that a Pollinator Week event, hosted by local blogger The Faux Martha, was co-sponsored by Bayer’s “Feed a Bee” program.

The event centered on making wildflower boutonnieres and planting flowers to help combat pollinator declines. But Bayer is the leading producer of neonicotinoid pesticides — a key driver of pollinator declines, in addition to other factors like disease and habitat loss. Bayer hosting this pollinator party focused on a problem they’re no doubt contributing to was a prime example of greenwashing.

PAN and partners rallied to expose the event’s corporate sponsorship and shut the event down, sending Bayer a strong message that their “bee-friendly” distraction tactics aren’t welcome in our neighborhood.

Everybody’s doing it

Bayer’s not the only one selling their corporate mismanagement as leadership. A few more top greenwashing offenders:

  • The Safe Fruits and Veggies program claims to help consumers make informed food choices, parroting language that PAN and partners use when talking about the risks of chronic pesticide exposure. Yet their “pesticide residue calculator” is actually a clever spin campaign from various produce industries masquerading as a helpful tool for consumers.
  • After Dow Chemical and DuPont merged in 2017, the company announced a rebrand, unveiling the new name “Corteva Agriscience.” Corteva comes from the words “heart” and “nature,” a supposed homage to the corporation’s commitment to consumer health and well-being. Puh-lease.
  • In the wake of last week’s Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, many are calling on the state to “walk the talk.” California’s economy is still securely tethered to extractive industries, especially oil—which makes any flashy leadership on climate action look a lot like greenwashing.

Greenwashing watchdogs

In a world of low corporate transparency, the burden falls on all of us to recognize dangerous greenwashing campaigns and boldly call them out. Spotting greenwashing takes persistence and a critical eye. Dig deeper into vague advertising claims, and be on the alert for industry-funded research. Ask yourself: does this showy sustainability plan distract from the core purpose of the company? Is an industry selling regulation or enforced cleanup as voluntary? You’ll start seeing greenwashing everywhere.

The good news? We know we’re doing something right when industry starts copying our tactics. Our fearless organizing for a food system that benefits everyone is only building momentum. It’s our job to keep corporations from using that power to boost their profit margins.

 
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