Monsanto & Co. begins 2012 in court - again

The Charleston Daily Mail, 27 December 2011:

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Several hundred Nitro area residents gathered Tuesday at the Charleston Marriott as attorneys attempted to forge a mediation in a class action lawsuit against the former Monsanto Company.

Representatives of the West Virginia Supreme Court mass litigation department and the attorney's law firms would not allow media access to any of the plaintiffs, saying those settlement discussions were confidential.

The case is scheduled to begin trial Jan. 3 in Putnam Circuit Court before specially-appointed Circuit Judge Derek Swope. If a settlement is not approved before then, jury selection is expected to begin next week and the trial is predicted to take up to six months.

The mass-litigation mediation involving 193 cases of alleged personal injury and wrongful death is being presided over by Circuit Judges Booker T. Stephens of McDowell County and Circuit Judge Alan D. Moats of Taylor County…..

The Charleston Gazette, 3 January 2012:

As jury selection began Tuesday in the class-action lawsuit seeking medical monitoring for those who may have been exposed to hazardous chemicals produced at Monsanto's former Nitro plant, the judge expanded a gag order on the lawyers prohibiting comments to the media.

"No lawyer is to discuss anything about the case," said Mercer County Circuit Court Judge Derek Swope. "If asked, you are to have no comment, end of story."

Swope's comments came after Monsanto lawyers filed a motion Tuesday asking him to hold lead plaintiff attorney Stuart Calwell in contempt of court for comments he made concerning the case to the Gazette and other local media outlets.

The judge did not immediately rule on the motion, but indicated he would hear arguments and rule later.

Swope was appointed to hear the case after Putnam Circuit Judge O.C. Spaulding was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease and retired at the end of the year…….

Background

Court rejects Monsanto’s attempt to hide behind government contractor defence, 28 September 2011.

* This post is part of North Coast Voices' effort to keep Monsanto's blog monitor (affectionately known as Mr. Monsanto) in long-term employment.

What looks suspiciously like crudely constructed Japanese propaganda concerning the Forest Rescue protesters boarding of Shonan Maru 2

The YouTube legend accompanying the two videos shown below state that they were created by the Institute of Cetacean Research:

These videos were provided by Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR)

The first video shows boats launched by Sea Shepherd's vessel MY Bob Barker (between 4-6 January 2012) engaging with the Yushin Maru No. 3 which forms part of the Japanese Government-sponsored whaling fleet operating in the Southern Ocean.
Yet it is tiltled Three Australians board Japanese whaling ship.

If the video origin statement is correct, then it is a clumsy attempt by the whaling industry or its supporters to imply that the three Forest Rescue protesters - who boarded the Shonan Maru 2 in waters off Australia's west coast on 7 December 2012 - were involved in a physical confrontation with that ship.

The Australian protesters were many hundreds of miles away from the MY Bob Barker and were not engaged in anything but peaceful protest when they boarded the Shonan Maru 2.


http://youtu.be/GELv0KXv6zA

The second video titled How To Slow Down A Japanese whaling research vessel SS Style attempts to equate the crew of the Bob Barker with Third Reich SS personnel - who ironically were former allies of the Government of Japan during World War II and, presumably much admired by them then.


http://youtu.be/wCHmXkDjE_U

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott gets his industrial relations figures muddled yet again

On 6 January 2012 The Australian reported:

Speaking in Brisbane yesterday, the Opposition Leader said the rate of industrial disputation had increased since the government changed and the Fair Work Act was brought in and it was important the review of the act ordered by Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten addressed these problems.

On the same day The Sydney Morning Herald also reported:

THE crop of industrial disputes across the nation has been described as run of the mill by the Workplace Relations Minister, Bill Shorten.

Mr Shorten said the rate of industrial disputation was far lower in Australia than a decade ago - a claim challenged by the Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, who spoke of his pride in the Howard government's record on industrial relations.

In Australia the Federal Coalition Government under Howard was in power between the federal elections of 2 March 1996 and 24 November 2007. The Federal Labor Government under Rudd and Gillard has been in power from 3 December 2007 to the present day.

Work Choices was enacted over the period 14 December 2005 to 27 March 2006 and the Fair Work Act was enacted over the period 7 April to 26 May 2009.

So who is right, Abbott or Shorten? I am giving the point to Shorten.

Firstly because there was an equal rise and fall in the annual instances of industrial relations disputes in the four years since Labor gained government and disputes only rose in one year out of three since 2009 – Tony Abbott was in error in seeing an increased rate directly related to the 2009 Fair Work Act. Secondly, because Abbott misrepresents industrial relations disputes under the Howard Government - in those eleven years dispute instances randomly rose in five years and randomly fell in six years.

Thirdly, the industrial relations landscape was varied enough between 1996 and 2011 for Shorten’s overall assessment to be accurate.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS):

1996

http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/free.nsf/0/B66FAAFB13622C15CA25722500073791/$File/63210_1296.pdf

1997

The number of working days lost in 1997 was 528,800, a decrease of 399,700 (43%) from the 1996 calendar year.  The number of disputes  reported in 1997 (446) was 18% less than in 1996, with the number of employees  involved decreasing by 46% to 312,700.

1998

There were 518 industrial disputes reported in Australia in 1998, 71 more than the previous year according to data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. This is the first increase in the number of disputes for a calendar year since 1995.

Nationally the number of disputes (514) and number of employees involved (347,000) increased by 15% and 10% respectively in 1998 compared to the previous year.

1999

There were 717 disputes during 1999, the highest number since 1992 (728). The number of employees involved in industrial disputes (459,900) and working days lost (649,600) were the highest since 1996.

2000

There were 691 disputes during 2000, a decrease of 5% compared with 1999 (731).

The number of employees involved in industrial disputes decreased by 30% to 324,800 during this period.

2001

During the twelve months ended December 2001, there were 675 disputes, 23 less than in the twelve months ended December 2000 (698).

2002

During the twelve months ended December 2002 there were 766 disputes, 91 more than in the twelve months ended December 2001.

2003

During the twelve months ended December 2003, there were 642 disputes, 124 less than in the twelve months ended December 2002.

During the twelve months ended December 2003, there were 439,400 working days lost, 180,400 more than in the twelve months ended December 2002.

2004

During the year ended December 2004, there were 691 disputes, 48 more than in the year ended December 2003.

During the year ended December 2004, there were 379,800 working days lost, 59,600 less than in the year ended December 2003.

2005

During the year ended December 2005, there were 472 disputes, 220 less than in the year ended December 2004.

2006

During the year ended December 2006, there were 202 disputes, 270 less than in the year ended December 2005.  

2007

During the year ended December 2007, there were 135 disputes, 67 less than in the year ended December 2006.

During the year ended December 2007, there were 49,700 working days lost compared with 132,600 in the year ended December 2006.

2008

During the year ended December 2008, there were 177 disputes, 42 more than in the year ended December 2007.

During the year ended December 2008, there were 196,500 working days lost compared with 49,700 in the year ended December 2007.

2009

During the year ended December 2009, there were 236 disputes, 59 more than in the year ended December 2008.

During the year ended December 2009, there were 132,700 working days lost compared with 196,500 in the year ended December 2008.

2010

During the year ended December 2010, there were 227 disputes, 9 less than in the year ended December 2009.

During the year ended December 2010, there were 126,600 working days lost compared with 132,700 in the year ended December 2009.

2011

During the year ended September 2011, there were 197 disputes, 36 fewer than in the year ended September 2010.

During the year ended September 2011, there were 214,400 working days lost compared with 144,100 in the year ended September 2010.**

** December 2011 ABS industrial dispute statistics should be released in March 2012.

Battle of the Blogotariats

In the dying last quarter of 2011 that terrific Australian blog aggregate site, Blogotariat, decided to change its format and content and I’ve been groaning ever since.

Now before you rightly mutter than I’m a geriatric blogger who dislikes change which challenges my ability to read or negotiate a website easily, I have to say I’m not alone in my groaning – Maud up the Street is fair choleric over its metamorphosis into Punch & HuffPo Downunder (or any combination of the commercial media-owned ‘blogs’ you like to name) and she is not the only one.

But never fear, for those who liked the old Blogotariat (which actually promoted Aussie blogs) there is still hope of ol’ Bloggo goodness being read here.

Whale Wars 2012: Forest Rescue boards Japanese vessel Shonan Maru 2 off West Australia coast

Approximate position of Shonan Maru 2 on January 5, 2011
MarineTraffic.com
Click on map to enlarge

Statement from Forest Rescue on January 7, 2011

We have come from the forests of Australia to defend the whales being slaughtered in Australian territorial waters.

We are Australian citizens and we have boarded the Japanese flagged Shonan Maru #2 in Australian territorial waters at a position of (32 degrees zero minutes south and 115 degrees 21 minutes east) We have taken this action of boarding the Shonan Maru #2 to protest the fact that this vessel is part of a whaling fleet that is operating in contempt of the Australian Court and is in Australian waters in defiance of the Australian Federal court ruling and the will of the Australian people.

“We are onboard this ship because our government has failed to uphold its pre-election promise to end whaling in the Southern Ocean.” Said Simon Peterffy.

Forest Rescue has decided to take action to prevent the Shonan Maru #2 from tailing the Steve Irwin back to the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

Forest Rescue is making a stand to assist Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in their campaign to end illegal whale poaching in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

We are taking this action to remind the Australian government of their obligation to enforce existing laws pertaining to the prohibition of whaling ships in our waters.

We as Forest Rescue are insulted and disappointed in our government for allowing the transit of whale poaching vessels in Australian waters.

Forest Rescue Contact: Michael Montgomery 0451058005

Forest Rescue Media Contact: Amy Flee 0428048632

File photo of the Shonan Maru 2 from Sea Shepherd archives