#corporate criminality

[workersolidarity]

🇺🇲 🚨

SIX DRUMS FILLED WITH TOXIC CHEMICALS DEPOSITED BY NORTHROP GRUMMAN FOUND BURIED IN CANCER-PLAGUED LONG ISLAND TOWN

📹 Six 55-gallon drums filled with toxic chemicals, and encased in concrete coffins, some broken, were found buried under Bethpage Community Park in cancer-plagued Bethpage, a town on Long Island in New York State, which was deposited by U.S. military contractor Northrop Grumman.

Previously, the town of Bethpage had to contend with a 6-square mile toxic plume of hazardous waste resulting from Northrop Grumman's dumping of chemicals underground in the area.

At least one of the 55-gallon drums was found punctured, and some contained flammable chemicals.

The drums were found buried just 4-feet underground, underneath the Park's baseball field which was previously abandoned more than 20 years ago due to concerns over soil contamination.

According to a report in New York Post, a layer of clay was found under the drums, where authorities believe chemicals could have seeped into the ground.

Oyster Bay Supervisor, Joseph Saladino, called on authorities with New York's Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to clean up the park by collecting all the contaminated soil and removing it from Long Island. The community's tax payers previously paid $20 million to clean up the site to allow local residents to use the Park's skating rink.

Saladino also filed a lawsuit against Northrup Grumman 10 years ago to reimburse the community's costs for the cleanup, while a new lawsuit was filed in December to order the further cleanup and removal of the toxic soil.

Local residents have been complaining of higher cancer rates in their community for years, arguing that surrounding communities have far lower rates to their own, while the DEC claimed the discovery posed "no immediate threat to public health."

Still, local residents say they're fed-up, continueing to call for the immediate removal of toxic substances, along with demands for a full soil excavation in the park.

“I’ve had it. I’ve had it. I’ve been working on this for over 20 years as a New York state Assembly member and now as the supervisor of the fourth-largest town in America and I’m not going to sit by idly,” Saladino is quoted as saying.

Northrop Grumman, for its part, said it continues to work with the DEC to address the situation.

#source

@WorkerSolidarityNews

[bet-on-me-13]

Danny runs for Mayor

Simple Prompt: Danny runs for the Gotham Mayor position

Extended Prompt: Danny is an absolute little shit throughout his entire campaign but still manages to win because he is legitimately one of the best candidates around

Just imagine the crack that could come from this!

Reporter: What is your stance on Vigilantism? Danny: Well I agree that Vigilantes are helpful for the communities that need them, and they should work with the police at every opportunity, I feel like the idea will always be a city where Vigilantes are not needed. Also I fail to see the relevancy of the question, there are no vigilantes in Gotham Reporter: What do you mean? What about the Bat-Family? Danny: No, Batman isn’t a Vigilante. Batman is a Crime Lord.

Or

Danny: As mayor, I promise that I will not be infected by corruption. Not because of my moral standings, but because I absolutely fucking hate clowns and I will never accept a bribe as long as that guy is still alive. Yes this is me putting a hit out on the Joker. Crime Bosses, if you want to try and bribe me, you gotta kill him first or I won’t even consider it!

Or

Batman: Why is a Meta-Human running for Gotham Office? You know this city doesn’t have a very good track record with people like you. Even the Signal had a rough start. Danny: Well, I just had a strong compulsion to help this city reach the peak of it’s potential *looks over Batman’s shoulder to see Lady Gotham holding up Cue Cards telling him what to say. She promised to help with his paperwork for the next 50 years if he became Mayor and helped fix her city* Danny: Such a strong compulsion...

Or

Penguin: Look kid, I don’t care if you have enough power to destroy me at the subatomic level, I have enough money to ruin you, your sister, your parents, even your uncle! Danny: Oh really? I could get the souls of every person you have ever killed to get confessions out of them. Or I could give them the power to rip you apart. Or I could even just possess you and donate all your money to charity.

Or

Danny: Oh god dammit! Vlad: Hello Badger! Glad to see you followed in my footsteps instead of your fathers! Danny: This wasn’t because of you! Lady Gotham asked for help! Vlad: A WIN IS A WIN!

[socialjusticeinamerica]

[audhdnight]

Spanking is to parenting what prisons are to criminal justice. Allow me to elaborate:

What does spanking do? “It teaches kids to behave!” Actually, no. It teaches kids to fear their caregiver(s). But say we go with that line. How does spanking teach kids to behave? “It shows them the consequences of bad actions!” Actually, no. It shows kids that when the caregiver is displeased, the kid gets hurt. In the mind of the child, the sequence of events is not [misbehave:consequence]. It is [caregiver unhappy:pain]. And maybe you’ll say “But my kid stopped mouthing off after I started spanking them for it”. Okay, sure. Maybe they stopped responding when you argue, but only because the learned to fear what their response would bring. They’re not holding their tongue because they realized it’s disrespectful or rude or whatever else you believe it is. They’re holding their tongue because they know it won’t do any good and will only make the situation worse for them. I can guarantee they are still thinking all those rebellious naughty talk-backy thoughts. They just aren’t saying them out loud. Spanking did not teach your child to behave, it taught them to walk on eggshells.

Similarly, prisons do absolutely nothing to enforce laws. Prisons do nothing to fix the real crimes that do get committed. A shooter or rapist or embezzler being incarcerated does not bring their victim back to life, un-traumatize them, or make reparations for any damages. Additionally, it makes life a living hell for the innocent people who end up in jail (OF WHICH THERE ARE A HELL OF A LOT). And maybe you might say that the point of prison is to encourage good behavior, because no one wants to go to jail. I would ask, then, why there are so many prisons, of which so many are full or overcrowded. Clearly, the threat of incarceration is not keeping people out of jail. Additionally, much like a child who was spanked being afraid to do normal things in their own home for fear of displeasing their caregiver, regular non-criminal people are afraid of prison, even though they have done nothing wrong. They know they could be incarcerated because of falsified evidence, biased testimonies, unfair trial, or simply bigotry. Especially people of color. Even though they haven’t done anything wrong, they are scared of what could happen to them if the person in power (police) was unhappy with them.

Negative consequences unrelated to the actual incident do not discourage “bad behavior”. Just like a child who is spanked will simply learn to be sneakier, a thief who goes to jail will simply cover their tracks better next time.

Stop spanking your kids, and abolish prisons. Have a nice day.

[queerism1969]

[chains-of-others]

World's worst father/daughter relationship! Countless deaths, even more injured.

[fatestayyuri]

i realised i never posted the commission I had done by @sleepyfuyu

Mafu’s comms are open RIGHT NOW go give them all of your money

[nanpierce]

Meeting your soulmate at Waystar Royco might not be most people's ideal, but for GerriBaird it worked out perfectly 🥰💘

[giantkillerjack]

If media has taught me one thing, it's to never own a paperweight capable of causing traumatic brain injury.

My dad owned a heavy glass paperweight once that tapered into a sturdy sharp point on the top, and the fact that no one was murdered with this at all before his retirement from the lawfirm is the surest proof I have that this reality is in fact not fiction.

[mistgardens]

Binaaah

[zahri-melitor]

Also.

I don’t think Bruce was setting Dick or any other Robin to study the Priestley 11 (or whatever the US equivalent name for the core law subjects is). If he did have a legal boot camp it was probably more like ‘criminal law, evidence law, criminal procedure law’ maybe with a sideline over into torts just to point out how they could theoretically get sued by regular citizens.

Also what they need to know is more in the range of ‘what constitutes the elements of a criminal offence, how to legally arrest someone, how to not screw up police evidence, what constitutes legal testimony as a superhero in DC US Law (which is a thing! There is the capacity to give evidence as a masked superhero in DC!). It’s the POLICING STUDIES boot camp.

If they have practical university studies it’s in forensics and detective work.

(Also grumble grumble but the characters with the most practical experience and skills with the law, forensics and detective work are Dick, Babs and Tim. Dick and Tim because Bruce spent the most amount of time actually personally training them and Babs is the member of the family with an Actual Law Degree)

[cosmicmakos]

imagine holding your f/o when they need comfort from their lover (even if they don't make it known and/or try to deny it). they feel safe in your presence and can finally let their walls down and release all of their pent-up emotions while in your embrace.

[ciboriaadastra]

Having a thought about how the amount of wealth Bruce comes into and then amasses for himself changed over the decades of Batman media, and the reason he's beeen scaled up to be so impossibly wealthy is probably because cities and companies in DC lore are analogs to real life places and companies.

Wayne Enterprises probably reflects how homogenous American multinational corporations are now, where a single company can make and distribute almost all consumer goods because it has bought out/merged hundreds of smaller companies + purchased everything it needed from the ground up so it does not depend on many others besides itself.

Just something that crossed my mind when I was looking up what WE actually does and the Fandom (bleh) wiki listed so many branches. Wayne Shipping? Wayne Foods? Like...is this Amazon and Bruce is now Bezos? Wayne Entertainment? He's also Disney? Wayne Electronics? This is Apple? Wayne Aerospace? Boeing??? Bruce is trying to be in control of and monitor every single means of production and every production line fr

Feel like that should influence how people view Wayne Enterprises and Bruce himself. Steadily creeping in and taking root in every industry. People get curious about a new construction project in the city, but once it's revealed to be a Wayne Tower it's filling people with dread. Though, it was a long time coming...everything you order online comes in a box with a W on the tape delivered to your address in a black as night truck with a giant W emblazoned on the side. The meds in your cabinet were produced under Wayne Pharmaceuticals. The cable and streaming services were recently bought by Wayne Entertainment. The Wayne Foundation started offering scholarships at the major college campuses. Your phone is Wayne tech. Your car was built with Wayne Steel. Soon the hospitals will be all Wayne Medical, your insurance company bought out. The local newspapers and stations will be bought up. The libraries. The clinics. The orphanages. The schools. The grocery store. You're never going to scrub that b ig soulless W out of your head. The way the logo looks like the head of a pitchfork, ready to stab and capture the intended prey.

Thinking about how Wayne Medical seems so innocuous in what it does except for the bit on how Bruce has access to every person in Gotham's medical records, because he can access the Wayne Medical databases and use that information to track suspects. And the thing is WE does not just exist in Gotham, it's a multinational corporation with bases in major cities not just in the U.S. but around the world. This man has millions of people's medical records easily accessible to him which feels both extremely unethical and extremely illegal. Not that civilians can prove he can and does access those records though.

[socialjusticeinamerica]

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

A jury in Manhattan has found former President Donald Trump's company guilty of a long-running criminal tax fraud scheme that lasted into his presidency.

Though Trump and his company have repeatedly faced criminal investigations, this case marks the first time his company has been charged, tried, and convicted on criminal charges.

Trump built his political brand, in large part, on his claim that he was an aggressive and successful businessman.

In all, the jury found two entities controlled by Trump guilty on 17 counts of criminal tax fraud and falsifying business records. The maximum penalty is $1.6 million.

Prosecutors had previously secured a guilty plea last summer from Trump's former longtime Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg, who became the star witness for the prosecution in the case.

But Weisselberg's co-defendants, two Trump business entities, remained under indictment.

On Halloween, prosecutors made their opening arguments in the trial of the Trump Corporation (which encompasses most of his business empire) and the Trump Payroll Corporation (which processes payments to staff), arguing that the case was about "greed and cheating."

ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY SAID IN SUMMATION THAT TRUMP SANCTIONED TAX FRAUD

Trump Corporation attorney Susan Necheles told jurors in her opening statement that the trial is not a referendum on Trump, and asked them to keep an open mind.

Both sides emphasized that Trump was not a defendant, yet the former president's name came up frequently.

Some of the most attention-grabbing evidence presented to the jury were documents with Trump's signature: a rental agreement for a luxury apartment used by Weisselberg, a private school tuition check written for a grandchild of Weisselberg's. Weisselberg admitted he did not declare these benefits as income, as required by law.

In his summation, Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass pointed a rhetorical finger directly at Trump, saying Trump sanctioned tax fraud. The defense vigorously objected, and the objection was sustained by the judge.

During the course of the trial, outside the four walls of the courtroom, Trump declared he was running for president, and frequently lambasted Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on social media.

Weisselberg previously pleaded guilty to 15 felony tax charges. He admitted hiding the part of his salary that was paid through untaxed benefits like a luxury apartment, Mercedes-Benz leases for him and his wife, and private school tuition for his grandchildren.

The compensation was never reported to New York State or to the IRS.

As part of his plea deal, Weisselberg agreed to testify truthfully and to serve five months in jail.

During his testimony, which laid out the details of his criminal tax fraud, Weisselberg acknowledged that he still receives a $640,000 salary from the Trump Organization – though he has been placed on leave – and of hopes to receive an end-of year bonus.

At issue in this trial was whether Weisselberg and another top executive, Trump Organization Comptroller Jeffrey McConney acted "in behalf of" the corporate entities when they compensated Weisselberg and other top executives by paying for the apartments and luxury benefits that did not get reported to the tax authorities.

TRIAL UNFOLDED AT A MOMENT OF COMPLEX LEGAL PERIL FOR TRUMP AND HIS BUSINESS

In his instructions to jurors, before they reached a verdict, Judge Juan Merchan said that did not mean Trump's company benefited from the scheme, although there was evidence that it did.

Weisselberg acknowledged knowing taxes were owed on that compensation, but it was never reported.

Prosecutors argued that by compensating top executives in this fashion, the Trump Organization was able to save significant amounts of money.

This trial unfolded at a moment of complex legal peril for Trump and his business, with his attorneys playing defense in recent weeks in three different New York City courtrooms.

Last month, a judge required Trump's firm to submit to an outside monitor as part of an on-going $250 million civil case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

James' lawsuit claims Trump and his children fraudulently manipulated the value of its real estate holdings for more than a decade, deceiving lenders and and cheating tax authorities.

Trump and his attorneys have pushed back, arguing that prosecutors in New York have overstepped their authority and engaged in a a political witch hunt against the former President.

Trump also faces federal probes involving his role in efforts to block the peaceful transfer of power after he lost the 2020 presidential election and his decision to keep classified documents after leaving the White House.

Last month, the U.S. Justice Department appointed a special counsel to oversee those investigations. Trump has also described that process as politically motivated.

[generalstarkov]

OBSIDIO, The Illuminae Files_03

By Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff