Month: November 2017

How a bankruptcy filing shielded a big coal company from California’s climate-change lawsuits

rjzimmerman:

Assuming this lawsuit would have been successful, Peabody Coal will be sheltered from financial exposure because of the way the Bankruptcy Code operates. Unfair? Yeah, it is, but few things are fair when the Bankruptcy Code is invoked.

Excerpt:

Peabody Energy, the nation’s largest private-sector coal company, joined several of its fellow coal producers in bankruptcy in 2016. Its main goal was to wriggle out from under more than $10 billion in debt it had incurred to expand, even as demand was sharply falling.

But its bankruptcy filing has provided a collateral benefit: Peabody has been ruled immune from a lawsuit brought by three California jurisdictions blaming it and dozens of other fossil fuel companies for a sea level rise related to climate change.

The ruling came last month from U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Barry S. Schermer of St. Louis, who presided over Peabody’s bankruptcy. On Monday, the California plaintiffs — the counties of Marin and San Mateo and the city of Imperial Beach — filed a notice that they’ll appeal Schermer’s ruling to federal court.

The lead lawyer for the plaintiffs, Vic Sher of San Francisco, says he’s confident Schermer is wrong. “We believe the cases were appropriately filed and brought in California, and look forward to having that resolved on appeal,” he told me.

But he may have a tough task bringing Peabody back into the lawsuits, bankruptcy experts say. That’s because most of the damage the cases lay at Peabody’s feet stems from activities prior to its bankruptcy filing. As a result, Schermer ruled, the company’s liability for those activities was extinguished by the bankruptcy.

“Does bankruptcy shield them from torts committed in the past? The answer is yes,” says Lynn LoPucki, a bankruptcy expert at UCLA law school.

How a bankruptcy filing shielded a big coal company from California’s climate-change lawsuits

spicyautism:

anguisintrepidus:

spicyautism:

unpopular opinion: mental health/suicide/self harm awareness does absolutely nothing for the people it intends to help if it doesn’t challenge the legal system that requires forced institutionalization of people who self harm and/or are suicidal, especially younger people like teens and kids

I’m sorry. I’m not sure I understand this post. It reads like, “Don’t require people who are suicidal to stay in a hospital,” but how else are you supposed to help someone who is actively trying to take their own life? As far as teens go. Someone, please explain….

someone reaching out and saying “i’m suicidal” doesn’t want to kill themselves. they’re taking the initiative to prevent that from happening.

but when you force a person to choose between suffering in silence and having their autonomy, freedoms, voice and opinions stripped away, being completely cut off from the outside world, putting themselves in a position that makes them even more vulnerable to mistreatment and abuse, and being plunged into debt, most people are going to choose the former rather than the latter.

and when asking for help essentially means being punished, suicide can often seem like the better option.

nostaalgicbabe:

A little back story.

So I’m tired of writing my story out in tweets, and I’m losing followers over it constantly.. so I’m just going to write it once. Here. Also, everything is kind of all over the place because I’m currently selling things for gas so I’m able to get back to Sioux Falls tonight… (Sorry)

My name is McKinzie Circle Eagle, I come from the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Rez. I’m 19, and I am currently pregnant with my first baby. (👶🏽💖) Normally, during your first pregnancy or any of your pregnancies it’s supposed to be the best time, right? Full of support, love, a warm home, and much other things. I haven’t gotten that in the slightest, except for a few of my friends and fam and of course my lovely twitter fam.

I have been homeless, car less, and just fucking clueless about what to do with my life during this pregnancy… and get this. I’m only 22 weeks. All of this shit has happened in a matter of 22 weeks, and yes.. I know there are people that have it way worse than me.. but it’s taken SO many people to try to convince me that it’s okay to ask for help.. So here I am.. Asking for help.

Currently, my car is my biggest issue.

I took it to get my tires rotated today, but they found at least 6 more problems today (not including the ones I already know about) The mechanic told me he really doesn’t think it’s safe to be driving, but I have to get to my ultrasound tomorrow.

I’ve slept in my car during this pregnancy, I’ve not showered for days during this pregnancy, and I’ve not had a job for most of this pregnancy. I did, back when I was around 13 weeks…but not since then. Trust me when I tell you that I am TRYING. I have never wanted a job so badly in my entire god damn life, this is the longest I’ve gone without one.

The reasons why it’s so hard for me to get one though is because:

1. I don’t live in a place long enough before some bullshit happens and I’m forced to move again.

2. My doctors appointments are often because I have gestational diabetes.

3. With my car being so shitty, I literally don’t have a solid way of transportation.

(No I cannot walk, it is winter now and I’ve got asthma. I’m not getting pneumonia again.)

I don’t know what I’m trying to prove honestly with this post, just a call for help really. I don’t want people to think I’m faking, or that I’m not doing all I can to actually help myself.. because if you want to know anything about Natives at ALL it’s that we are stubborn as shit when it comes to asking for help.

I’ve been through shit in my life, but none of it like this… and especially while being pregnant.

So right now, since I do not have a job I am literally so far behind in my bills that the bank is calling daily, my car is having more problems (cooling fans, brakes, and radiator), and my OB appt’s are 5 hours away from me.

I have an ultrasound tomorrow, plus a meeting with my doctor.. I cannot miss this. I need to see how my baby is doing, I’ve been through so much since my last ultrasound and I just want to know if my baby is doing okay… and my GD, god that is the thing I worry about the most.

The 5 hour thing, I’m currently trying to move back to Sioux Falls. I’ve got friends who think it is better for me there because they’ve got lung specialists (and since I’ve got asthma they think it’s going to get really bad during my pregnancy and they want me to be around people that know specifically about lungs).

I’ve applied for jobs there even though I’m still in Rapid City, but I’ve heard back from a dealership about a part time job. I’m praying I’m getting it, because I want nothing more than to just work my ass off for the rest of my pregnancy.

If you’ve been following me, you probably think that wow this girl has a ton of problems.. and I do. I don’t know why, I don’t know what I did to get all these problems especially NOW of all times, but if you really don’t have anything kind or helpful to say please do not say anything at all.

All I want for the holidays is to know my baby is okay and for my bills to be caught up.

If you’ve got questions or any helpful tips my Twitter is – iamlakotak

https://www.paypal.me/CircleEagle

lizardtitties:

gingerautie:

smolqueerkitty:

gingerautie:

rainbowloliofjustice:

soshinysochrome replied to your post “If you shoplift don’t reblog posts about respecting retail workers…”

IIRC, it’s super illegal for a company to cover losses by garnishing an employee’s wages. At least, in the US.

@soshinysochrome except they don’t garnish the employees wages…

The store covers the cost by reducing the number of hours they can allocate to employees. 

Shoplifting = money the story has to cover = store covers money by reducing the number of hours they can allocate to employees = less money for employees because they could only work 30 hours as opposed to 40 = less money in employee paycheck.

So at the end of the day shoplifters basically stole from employee paychecks because the store covers the loss by reducing the number of hours the employee can work. Retail workers have to survive too. 

How on earth is that in the shop’s interest? Aren’t they running on the minimum hours needed anyway? Pretty sure their losses will be bigger from closing a store for a few hours than any money they might gain by not paying staff.

they’re not employing the workers as a favour to the workers – they’re employing them because they need people to do a job.

this shit is why workers rights laws exist.

Shoplifting is a constant. Average loss from shoplifiting will be pretty constant year to year. It should be factored into the budget. 

Taking employees pay or cutting hours is a terrible business practice, and it’s really not ethical.

I worked at Walmart. Our yearly bonus was reliant on how much was stolen from us. If there is a lot of theft/shrink you get little to no bonus. If there is barely any theft/shrink you get a decent bonus.

I have NO sympathy for shoplifters.

They aren’t fucking over the company they are fucking over the employees who only get minimum wage.

I don’t have much sympathy for them either, but I’m way, way angrier at the unfairness of the business taking money from workers for something they can’t actually control.

I don’t think holding shoplifters responsible for the bullshit actions of employers is useful or sensible. 

The way I look at it is that I massively don’t like how large chain restaurants redistribute tips, or the whole “let’s not pay our staff enough and get the customer to pick up the slack” thing inherent to the tip system. But I also can’t stand people who don’t tip. Sure, the system is the main thing at fault but the guy who’s too cheap to tip or the guy who doesn’t tip “on principle” isn’t passively screwing people over. They aren’t as guilty as the system as a whole but they aren’t screwing over people by accident either. It’s the same kind of thing with jackasses who shoplift luxury goods, sure they’re less guilty than the store that screws their staff over but a good percentage of them have gotta figure that Walmart workers get fucked over by this and take shit anyway.

Investigation of fake net neutrality foes has been stymied by the FCC, New York attorney general says

route22ny:

By law, when a federal agency like the FCC proposes to change a rule
such as net neutrality, it’s supposed to call for public comment.


But apparently hundreds of thousands if not millions of comments
seemingly urging repeal of the FCC’s net neutrality rule have been
faked. Just days after the public comment process opened, reporters
began noticing identical comments critical of the Obama-era rule, and
many so-called “signers” say they never sent in comments.

In an open letter
to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman
charges that the FCC’s public comment process “has been corrupted by the
fraudulent use of Americans’ identities,” and that the “perpetrators
have attempted to drown out the views of the real people, businesses,
and others who honestly commented on this important issue.”


Yet the FCC has declined to cooperate with Schneiderman’s
investigation, rebuffing requests for logs and other records associated
with the comments. Schneiderman says he has made at least 9 requests for
records from the FCC between June and November that have gone
unanswered.

Once again, the integrity of the nation’s democratic
process is being threatened. And once again, it’s the Trump
administration that appears to be responsible – and refusing to
investigate. 

(from Robert Reich via facebook)

Investigation of fake net neutrality foes has been stymied by the FCC, New York attorney general says