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Iceland: 'The world's best place to be a woman' is being sued for misogyny
A few months dated:
… Árnadóttir is one of several women collectively taking their government to the European Court of Human Rights over what they say is a misogynistic justice system that systematically violates the rights of victims of gender-based violence.
…
According to a 2018 landmark study into trauma, a quarter of Icelandic women have experienced rape or attempted rape over their lifetimes and around 40% have been subjected to physical or sexual violence by their intimate partners. That number is significantly higher than the global average -- the World Health Organization says around 27% of women globally have been subjected to violence from a partner.
…
The research revealed another worrying thing -- the proportion of women who have experienced violence was very similar across all sections of Icelandic society. "Different backgrounds, different levels of education, different levels of income ... so it's not class related," Valdimarsdóttir said.
…
In fact, the group thinks the real numbers might be even higher. "I don't have a single girlfriend that has not been sexually abused, harassed, molested or in a toxic relationship," Helga Ben, one of the activists, told CNN during an interview with the group in a cafe in central Reykjavik.
…
http://www.cnnphilippines.com/world/2021/12/20/iceland-domestic-violence.html
How tribes are harnessing renewable resources for energy -- and jobs
From Washington to Florida, the renewables industry allows tribes to grow revenue, reduce utility costs and fight climate change.
by Ted McDermott InvestigateWest / April 27, 2022
… From Florida to Alaska, dozens of tribes are working to harness energy from wind, sun and water to generate millions of dollars in revenue, create short- and long-term jobs and reduce utility costs for citizens, while also helping combat climate change and boosting energy independence.
Solar energy is leading the way in Indian Country, with projects underway by the Navajo Nation, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe in eastern Montana, the Spokane Tribe in Washington, the Seminole Tribe of Florida and others.
Tribes are also tapping the power of wind and water. In Alaska, tribes are pursuing hydropower to avoid the construction of invasive dams harmful to salmon. And in the Dakotas, a consortium of six Sioux tribes is working with a private firm to develop major wind farms that could power almost 1.5 million homes.
…
https://crosscut.com/environment/2022/04/how-tribes-are-harnessing-renewable-resources-energy-and-jobs
From WA to Alaska, coastal tribes face displacement with insufficient financial help Crosscut Doc
On April 11, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced it would invest $46 million in funding to tribal communities to address the unique impacts of climate change in Indigenous communities. The funding is a piece of the $466 million to the Bureau of Indian Affairs through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to address tribal infrastructure in Indigenous communities. Securing enough federal funding for relocation expenses, infrastructure investments or efforts to strengthen climate resilience and adaptation has been a major hurdle for many tribes. While these investments are appreciated, many tribal communities believe that ecological restoration still isn’t enough of a priority.
“While we celebrate the Biden Administration’s plans for restoring the broken infrastructure of this nation, we call for ecological restoration to be the top priority,” a Suquamish Tribal Council statement said on Earth Day in response to President Joe Biden’s visit to Seattle.
The Hoh, Makah, Quileute tribes and the Quinault Indian Nation have stewarded the lands on the Olympic Peninsula since time immemorial. But these communities are losing what ancestral lands they have left to climate change, seen in the eroding coastline and rising sea levels. Their reservation lands now face yearly flooding, something these tribes used to experience once every decade.
Crosscut’s 2019 documentary, The Rising, spotlighted Quinault leaders’ efforts to relocate the villages of Taholah and Queets from their homelands, where over a thousand people face increased tsunami risk as the sea rises inch by inch, year by year.
In Central Washington, the Colville Tribes are dealing with deadlier fire seasons than ever before. “The fire burned so hot in some spots that it burned the dirt,” Monique Bourgeau, a Colville teacher of the nxelscin dialect of Salish, told Crosscut.
https://crosscut.com/news/2022/04/wa-alaska-coastal-tribes-face-displacement-insufficient-financial-help
CA runs on 97% renewable energy/defund gas dictators like putin
California briefly runs on 97% renewable energy, showing a future in which oil and gas dictators like Putin are defunded
California’s energy mix was powered 97% by renewable energy on Sunday, April 3 at at 3:39 p.m., the highest contribution of renewables to the state’s grid on record, according to David Knowles at Yahoo News.
Although the milestone lasted only for a brief time, it points to a future in which California runs on 100% wind, solar, hydro and batteries, a future that will certainly arrive even faster than the state plans. As it is, California is ahead of its green energy goals.
The implication of these plans is that California intends to phase out methane gas as a source of power. The state is also trying to electrify transportation. A world of 100% green energy and electric cars is not only a healthier and more comfortable world, it is a world where oil and gas dictators like Vladimir Putin are defunded.
(More)
https://www.nationofchange.org/2022/04/21/california-briefly-runs-on-97-renewable-energy-showing-a-future-in-which-oil-and-gas-dictators-like-putin-are-defunded/
WA prosecutors who withhold evidence rarely face discipline
WA prosecutors who withhold evidence rarely face discipline
Legally and ethically, prosecutors are required to turn over evidence — even when it could hurt their case. Those who don’t, however, face few consequences.
by Melissa Santos / April 19, 2022
…
But that information arguably shouldn’t have been a secret. Like all prosecutors, the one who charged Young with theft was legally and ethically obligated to share evidence that could cast doubt on the deputy’s testimony, as well as other information that could hurt the state’s case and help exonerate Young.
Next: Nearly 200 cops with credibility issues still working in Washington state
That didn’t happen, Young’s lawyer said, causing Young months of stress and disruption before a jury eventually found him not guilty.
(Also became homeless and lost his business.)
…
Defense attorneys say prosecutors fail to share information that is favorable to defendants more often than people realize.
“I would say it has happened enough in my career where I now look for it,” said Ali Hohman, the director of legal services at the Washington Defender Association, which represents public defense attorneys.
At the same time, prosecutors rarely face discipline over such issues. In three recent cases in Snohomish County, judges ruled that deputy prosecutors engaged in misconduct, but none ended up being disciplined by the state bar association.
…
Even when there is a finding of prosecutorial misconduct, consequences for prosecutors are rare.
In Clark County last year, a judge ruled a deputy prosecutor interfered inappropriately by stopping a defense attorney’s attempt to get a crash victim’s medical records.
Yet the deputy prosecutor wasn’t sanctioned by the judge or the state bar association, and the case was allowed to proceed.
…
In Bang’s research, he found that, although Washington appeals courts affirmed 373 instances of prosecutorial misconduct between 2007 and 2016, judges reversed the rulings in only 16% of those cases.
Those numbers are incomplete and do not capture instances of prosecutorial misconduct at the trial court level, such as in Kerley’s case.
The other main avenue for prosecutors to be held accountable is through the Washington State Bar Association, which disciplines prosecutors who violate the rules of professional conduct for lawyers. This is where violations of prosecutors’ stricter ethical standards would be addressed.
Yet the state bar association rarely disciplines prosecutors for failing to turn over evidence. Records show that since 1984 it has severely disciplined only one prosecutor for this type of ethics violation.
…
(More)
https://crosscut.com/news/2022/04/wa-prosecutors-who-withhold-evidence-rarely-face-discipline
'Why not me?': the boot camp giving Indigenous women the tools to run for office
Indigenous women are underrepresented in the US Congress and other elected offices. The Native Action Network wants to change that
Hallie Golden in Washington state
Sun 17 Apr 2022 06.00 EDT
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/apr/17/indigenous-women-congress-native-action-network
Some state lawmakers calling it quits, can't afford to serve
Associated Press
Updated: April 16, 2022 1:55 p.m.
FILE - In this April
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — When trying to decide whether to seek a fourth term in the Connecticut House of Representatives, Rep. Joe de la Cruz ran the question by his wife, whom he jokingly refers to as his lawyer and financial adviser.
While Tammy de la Cruz didn't want to discourage her 51-year-old husband from stepping away from the part-time job he has grown to love, she acknowledged it didn't make financial sense for him run again in November.
“The retirement planner in her didn’t even have to use a calculator to do the math,” Joe de la Cruz, a Democrat, told fellow House members when he announced in February that he's not seeking reelection. “The $30,000 a year we make to do this illustrious job, the one that we all really care for, is truly not enough to live on. It’s truly not enough to retire on.”
Lawmakers in other states, often those with part-time “citizen” legislatures, have raised similar complaints. In Oregon, where the base pay is about $33,000 a year, three female state representatives announced in March they are not seeking reelection because they can’t afford to support their families on a part-time salary for what’s really full-time work. They called the situation “unsustainable” in a joint resignation letter. (More)
https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Some-state-lawmakers-calling-it-quits-can-t-17085162.php
Calls for US to issue visa bans for UK lawyers enabling Russian oligarch
Calls for US to issue visa bans for UK lawyers enabling Russian oligarchs
Anti-corruption campaigner Bill Browder says ‘whole class of British lawyers’ making money out of lawsuits against journalists, dissidents and whistleblowers
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/apr/16/calls-for-us-to-issue-visa-bans-for-uk-lawyers-enabling-russian-oligarchs
WA repeals 'parent pay' for incarcerated children
After more than three decades, a law that dramatically impacted families in the state of Washington was repealed. The policy, known as “parent pay,” which required parents to pay for their child’s time in incarceration, came to an end last month with overwhelming bipartisan support.
The executive director of the Washington State Stand for Children advocacy group, Kia Franklin, called the program “exploitative, inequitable, and destabilizing.”
“I know many folks, some really close to me, that have gone through the system and it’s hard to tell that story,” Franklin, who grew up in the South End, said.
Since 1977, families have had to pay a portion of their income to pay for the fees incurred by youth jailed in juvenile detention centers. More recently, even though the average cost of fees was $537, nearly $1.1 million in debt was collectively owed by just 242 families in the state.
Statistics provided by Stand For Children also show that a parent could be charged up to 20% of their gross household income, meanwhile nearly 72% of families earned less than the 150% rate under the federal poverty level — that’s an average income of $31,000 a year for a family of three.
The law was effective immediately, canceling the $1.1 million owed as of March 24, when Gov. Jay Inslee signed the legislation.
“This is just the beginning,” Franklin said. “The need for removing this is about minimum reform to the system; there’s system-wide transformation that needs to take place.”
Franklin adds there are still other accessory fees incurred by youth and families outside of parent pay that need to be examined as well, including, but not limited to, the DNA collection fee, victim’s penalty assessment, diversion, bail fees, and evaluation fees. (More)
https://southseattleemerald.com/2022/04/14/washington-ends-practice-of-parents-paying-for-their-childs-incarceration/
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