Notices by Matthew Rimmer (drrimmer@aus.social)

Families call for action on legacy asbestos as home renovators among those to contract mesothelioma https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-02/mesothelioma-asbestos-exposure-cancer-reform/104546126 #asbestos #healthlaw #auspol #auslaw

Wild weather today - Water spout forms on the Brisbane River as supercell thunderstorm brings hail to city
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-01/water-spouts-appear-in-brisbane-river-storm-brings-hail/104551466

WA Police seize largest collection of 3D printed guns in state’s history

WA Police have made the largest seizure of 3D printed guns in the state’s history, changing a Perth man with more than 40 offences including trafficking firearms. It has raised questions about whether regulations are keeping up with technological advancements.
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x981yny
https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/wa-police-seize-largest-collection-of-3d-printed-guns-in-state-s-history/vi-AA1sWOBZ with a brief comment from me. #3dprinting #guncontrol #health #safety #criminallaw #auslaw #auspol

Inciting rioters in Britain was a test run for Elon Musk. Just see what he plans for America
Carole Cadwalladr https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/aug/18/inciting-rioters-in-britain-was-a-test-run-for-elon-musk-just-see-what-he-plans-for-america

Sotomayor says immunity ruling makes a president ‘king above the law’ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/01/sonia-sotomayor-dissent-trump-immunity-case #uslaw #uspol

Investors awarded billions of dollars for losses related to climate laws, analysis finds
Fossil fuel firms are biggest beneficiaries of investor-state dispute settlement courts which have awarded $114bn of public money
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jun/06/investors-awarded-billions-of-dollars-for-losses-related-to-climate-laws-analysis-finds
#ISDS #climate

Gun reform advocate Walter Mikac celebrates 'bittersweet' win on 28th anniversary of family's death at Port Arthur https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-27/gun-reform-advocate-welcomes-firearm-register-funding/103776378 #auslaw #auspol #guncontrol #health #safety

Great Barrier Reef suffering ‘most severe’ coral bleaching on record as footage shows damage 18 metres down https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/11/great-barrier-reef-severe-coral-bleaching-impact
Marine researcher ‘devastated’ by widespread event that is affecting coral species usually resistant to bleaching

New bill would force AI companies to reveal use of copyrighted work https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/apr/09/artificial-intelligence-bill-copyright-art?CMP=share_btn_url

Adam Schiff introduces bill amid growing legal battle over whether major AI companies have made illegal use of copyrighted works. #copyright #AI

Judge dismisses ‘vapid’ Elon Musk lawsuit against group that cataloged racist content on X https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/mar/25/elon-musk-hate-speech-lawsuit “Sometimes it is unclear what is driving a litigation, and only by reading between the lines of a complaint can one attempt to surmise a plaintiff’s true purpose,” wrote Charles Breyer, the US district judge, in the ruling. “Other times, a complaint is so unabashedly and vociferously about one thing that there can be no mistaking that purpose. This case represents the latter circumstance. This case is about punishing the defendants for their speech.”
Center for Countering Digital Hate has chronicled rise of racist, antisemitic and extremist content on X since Musk’s acquisition

London-based artist raises copyright infringement issues when artworks go viral online and are recreated without credit https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2024/mar/25/its-not-banksys-its-mine-artist-says-bristol-plaque-to-adulterer-is-a-copy #copyright #streetart

Victorian MP Georgie Purcell criticises Nine News for ‘sexist’ image editing to make outfit more revealing https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/jan/30/georgie-purcell-mp-photoshop-automated-image-nine-news-apology-victoria-animal-justice-party #auslaw #auspol

Greta Thunberg goes on trial over London oil industry protests https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/feb/01/greta-thunberg-goes-on-trial-over-london-oil-industry-protests #climate #activism #ukpol #Uklaw The Swedish climate campaigner was one of five activists at Westminster magistrates court charged with “failing to comply with a condition imposed under section 14 of the Public Order Act” after they were told to leave the area.

How UK courts became the new climate protest battleground https://drilled.media/news/trfst-UK
Since the passage of a new law curtailing protest rights in 2022, the U.K. has been on a rapid path to repression. #climate #activism #UKlaw #UKpol

John Deere must face US farmers' 'right-to-repair' lawsuits, judge rules
https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/deere-must-face-us-farmers-right-to-repair-lawsuits-judge-rules-2023-11-27/ #righttorepair #agriculture #farming #uslaw #uspol The case is In re: Deere & Co Repair Service Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, 3:22-cv-50188.

Climate litigation - California sues oil giants alleging ‘climate risks deception’: Report https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/16/california-sues-oil-giants-alleging-climate-risks-deception-report
Five oil majors are accused of downplaying the risks posed by fossil fuels since the 1950s, The New York Times reports. #climate #deception #litigation

"California's decision to take Big Oil companies to court is a watershed moment in the rapidly expanding legal fight to hold major polluters accountable for decades of climate lies," said Richard Wiles, president of the Center for Climate Integrity, a group focused on holding fossil fuel companies accountable for their role in driving climate change.
https://www.npr.org/2023/09/16/1199974919/california-oil-lawsuit-climate-change
"Whether it's fires, droughts, extreme heat, or sea-level rise, Californians have been living in a climate emergency caused by the fossil fuel industry, and now the state is taking decisive action to make those polluters pay," Wiles added. #climate #deception #litigation

“For more than 50 years, Big Oil has been lying to us — covering up the fact that they’ve long known how dangerous the fossil fuels they produce are for our planet,” Newsom said. “California taxpayers shouldn’t have to foot the bill for billions of dollars in damages — wildfires wiping out entire communities, toxic smoke clogging our air, deadly heat waves, record-breaking droughts parching our wells.” https://apnews.com/article/climate-oil-gas-california-lawsuit-newsom-212d6d9873352f28094173a1974e3d90 #climate #deception #litigation

California Sues Giant Oil Companies, Citing Decades of Deception https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/15/business/california-oil-lawsuit-newsom.html #climate #deception #litigation

Twitter sues anti-hate speech group over ‘tens of millions of dollars’ in lost advertising https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/aug/02/twitter-accuses-anti-hate-speech-group-over-tens-of-millions-of-dollars-in-lost-advertising CCDH’s chief executive, Imran Ahmed, said: 'Musk is trying to ‘shoot the messenger’ who highlights the toxic content on his platform rather than deal with the toxic environment he’s created.' #socialmedia #hatespeech #advertising