Clarence B. Jones: Reflections on the 44th Anniversary of the Assassination of Dr. King

Clarence B. Jones: Reflections on the 44th Anniversary of the Assassination of Dr. King: 
April 4, 2012
"Forty-four years ago today, my beloved friend and America's soul and conscience, Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated while standing on a balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. The night before, April 3rd, 1968, during s speech at the Mason Temple, Church of God in Christ, in Memphis, he said:

"We got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountain top ... Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has it place ... I just want to do God's will. And he's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And, I've seen the promise land. I may not get there with you. But, I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land.""

Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, campaigning in Gary Indiana, said:

"I have some very sad news for all of you, and I think sad news for all of our fellow citizens, and people who love peace all over the world, and that is that Martin Luther King was shot and was killed tonight in Memphis, Tennessee.For those of you who are black -- considering the evidence evidently is that there were white people who were responsible -- you can be filled with bitterness, and with hatred, and a desire for revenge.
We can move in that direction as a country, in greater polarization -- black people amongst blacks, and white amongst whites, filled with hatred toward one another. Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand and to comprehend, and replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand, compassion and love.
For those of you who are black and are tempted to be filled with hatred and mistrust of the injustice of such an act, against all white people, I would only say that I can also feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man.
But we have to make an effort in the United States. We have to make an effort to understand, to get beyond these rather difficult times." 

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Bohai spill: Citizen journalism triumphs at China environmental press awards | Environment | guardian.co.uk

Citizen journalism triumphs at China environmental press awards | Environment | guardian.co.uk:

Winners list for the China environmental press awards

Journalist of the year: Feng Jie, Southern Weekend

Recognised for Bohai oil spill special report, north China cities facing water supply crisis and monitoring air quality for my country.

The citizen journalist prize is a new category in the awards, which are jointly organised by the Guardian, chinadialogue and Sina, the leading Chinese web portal, with funding from the Guardian Foundation and SEE, a Chinese charitable body.

Now in its third year, the awards highlighted the gains – and continued challenges – faced by Chinese journalists. The past 12 months have showed significant progress in the efforts to improve transparency, but also major obstacles.

Internationally, the highest profile success was a campaign by journalist-turned-environmental activist Ma Jun to make Apple provide more details about pollution and labour standards violations in its supply chain.

Domestically, the biggest breakthrough is probably on air pollution. Most ofChina's cities have been plagued by smog for more than a decade, but until now the authorities have provided scant information about the pollution that caused the haze and threatens the health of millions. This changed dramatically after Chinese bloggers and journalists picked up on tweets issued from the US embassy monitoring station and other sources, with environmental authorities in Beijing starting to release more detailed pollution data earlier this year.

Feng Jie, who was named environmental journalist of the year, wrote a darkly humorous piece on the efforts of Beijing citizens to set up their own monitoring stations. In another in-depth report, she revealed how a massive oil leak into the Bohai Sea was withheld from the public by the State Oceanic Administration and drilling platform operators, CNOOC and ConocoPhillips. Reporters in the state media were ordered to keep quiet but the problem emerged via microblogs and was then confirmed by local government and corporate sources.

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Gulf coast businesses, homeowners will receive compensation| InjuryBoard Ft. Myers

More details of the  still confidential agreement in principle of the BP Gulf oil spill suggest that the settlement include a scope of liability far beyond what maritime law historically  allowed (fishermen, property damage and bodily injury) thanks to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and BP's desire to achieve a broad, if not a global settlement.  - GWC

BP Settles Deepwater Horizon Lawsuit, Florida Meetings Planned | InjuryBoard Ft. Myers: "The Agreement, the details of which remain confidential until certified by the court after April 16, 2012, will likely streamline the process for filing a claim. In many cases it is believed the terms of the new Agreement will result in a greater financial benefit to a claimant than what is currently offered under the existing GCCF. Among other provisions, The Agreement will provide compensation to businesses located in the affected region that suffered an economic loss. Such areas include most of the Gulf coast, from Florida to Texas.
In addition to business losses, owners of residential properties in the affected region who sold between April 21, 2010 and December 31, 2010 will be compensated a fixed percentage of their sales price. There are several other compensation provisions for other types of losses, including medical benefits, losses related to seafood harvesting, and more."
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OTHERWISE: Flaws in St. Jude Heart Defibrillator Shake the Industry - NYTimes.com

OTHERWISE: Flaws in St. Jude Heart Defibrillator Shake the Industry - NYTimes.com:

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To Fill Out Its App Store, Microsoft Wields Its Checkbook - NYTimes.com

To Fill Out Its App Store, Microsoft Wields Its Checkbook - NYTimes.com:Kevin P. Casey for The New York Times
 "Nowadays, cellphones are all about apps. And Microsoft is so determined to have lots of brand-name apps for its Windows Phone app store that it is willing to pay for them.
Ben Huh, of the Cheezburger Network, said Microsoft asked him to make an application.
All an app maker has to do is sign on the dotted line."

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Securities Suit Filings Continue Apace in Year's First Quarter : The D & O Diary

Securities Suit Filings Continue Apace in Year's First Quarter : The D & O Diary: 
by Kevin LaCroix

"On an annualized basis, the pace of securities class action lawsuit filings fir the first quarter of 2012 ran above historical averages, although the pace of filings declined compared to  the prior month in the quarter’s second and third months. Merger-related cases, which were such a significant part of 2011 filings, remained an important factor in filings in the first quarter of this year, but other pronounced 2011 filing trends diminished in the year’s first three months."

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Cnooc, ConocoPhillips Agree On CNY345 Million Compensation For Bohai Bay Oil Spill

Cnooc, ConocoPhillips Agree On CNY345 Million Compensation For Chinese Fisherman -Report | Fox Business: "As the operator of the north China oil field, ConocoPhillips would provide the CNY1 billion to restore loss of fishing resources in the Bohai Bay area. Separately, ConocoPhllips together with Cnooc set up a CNY350 ecology fund to help restore and preserve fishing resources, from which Cnooc will be paying CNY250 million yuan while the rest is paid by the U.S. company.

In two accidents in June last year, 3,343 barrels of oil and mud used in drilling leaked through the seafloor near platforms at the Penglai 19-3 oil, China's biggest offshore oil field, a project which is 51%-owned by Cnooc's listed unit Cnooc Ltd. (CEO) and 49% owned by the U.S. company."

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BP: U.S. hiding evidence on size of Gulf oil spill | Reuters

BP: U.S. hiding evidence on size of Gulf oil spill | Reuters: "BP Plc  has accused the U.S. government of withholding evidence that may show the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was smaller than federal officials claimed, a key issue in determining the oil company's liability."
The United States has claimed a deliberative process privilege on documents which BP argues will show that the government's estimate of 4.6 million gallons is too high.  BP hopes that evidence reducing the estimate will hep in its fight against penalties under federal law.
Magistrate Sally Shushan on October 30, 2012 ordered sampling of documents identified in privilege logs, and briefings by the parties. (Document 6151 - MDL EDLA Case 2:10-md-02179-CJB-SS)

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Port City Compensated with $54m for Bohai Oil Spill

Port City Compensated with $54m for Oil Spill: "China National Offshore Oil Corp Ltd and its partner, ConocoPhillips China, have reached an agreement with the city's government of North China's Qinhuangdao port. They will pay 345 million yuan ($54.7 million) in compensation for the Bohai Bay oil spill on the Penglai 19-3 oil field, cnr.cn reported Sunday.

According to the agreement, the compensation will be paid for its impact on the livelihood of the fishermen and for restoring the maritime eco-environment."

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Zadroga Benefits Proposed By NIOSH for Some Cancers

Workers' Compensation: Zadroga Benefits Proposed By NIOSH for Some Cancers:


 Causal relationship is usually the central element of occupational disease cases.  In workers compensation it is framed as "arising out of an in the course of the work".  The shorthand for that is work-related.  In tort cases it is framed as "related to the exposure" - the exposure being to a toxic substance.  The problems are factually complex because most cancers do not  signal a particular exposure but rather are diseases that occur without the "exposure" at some "background rate".  So the challenge is to identify an increased rate (above background) and then identify the exposure as a "substantial factor" in the individual case.
A mass settlement like the Ground Zero cases - or a legislated fund - like the Zadroga benefits raises these issues.
The 9/11 clean-up case settlement includes a modest cancer benefit.  Many of those claimants will be eligible for Zadroga Act benefits from the re-opened September 11 Victims Compensation Fund.  But the Special Master (Sheila Birnbaum) still has to make individual assessments.  The first question is "general causation" - does exposure to this substance cause  the disease or "increase the risk".  That is particularly problematic because the toxic mix at the disaster site cannot be replicated.  And replication is, of course, the paradigmatic experimental method of modern science. 
The reopened 9/11 Fund faces unique difficulties of proof regarding cancer claims  Historical epidemiological data is organ specific or toxin specific - not site-specific.  But the only database is the one we have -the toxic exposure estimates and health histories derived from the World Trade Center Health Program.  So the authors of the draft report of March 22, 2012 by the WTC Health Program's Scientific Advisory Committee confronted a unique circumstance.  The   National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) unit's final report  is likely to be the key determinant for the Special Master and claimants' advocates.  Their new draft report recommends that  esophagus, stomach, colon, liver, skin, lungs, kidneys and other cancers should be recognized as causally related to exposure to the dust and debris of the fallen towers of the World Trade Center. - GWC

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