Bobby Kennedy & the Glyphosate Trenches
Five summers ago, Dwayne Lee Johnson, a former school groundskeeper, won a lawsuit against Monsanto. He claimed that exposure to the weedkiller glyphosate caused his Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, and the jury agreed. Johnson ultimately won a multimillion dollar settlement, and over one hundred thousand more cases were settled out of court for over $10 billion. I…
The Elephant in the Blog
A Note from GG: My family is not one to hold back opinions, and all-hands interventions are not unusual. In the 80s, an intervention pried me from my beloved new Nintendo. Mario had begun to visit me in my dreams, which my mom deemed unhealthy. In the 90s, the family convened to express their disgust…
Lord What Fools These Mortals Be
It’s midsummer. The sultry hot nights of summer have me lazily distracted. While distressed that foggy Northern California summer days never used to be hot enough to truly be “sultry” until recently, it has been nice to let my mind wander a bit from the nuances of the trials and restock some creativity. I’m also…
Belly Flop
By AOJ – Johnson Juror #4 So here we are, back in Federal Court in San Francisco with Judge Vince Chhabria about to consider motions by Monsanto asking for him to toss the jury’s $80M verdict in favor of Edward Hardeman. I am actually getting used to hanging around courtrooms – a year ago I…
About That Monsanto Spy
The French and German activists are fighting a more successful fight against Roundup than the Americans are. Don’t get me wrong, there are many Americans who are fighting every single day to free our country’s food from toxic glyphosate. We just don’t seem to get very far – well, until environmental lawyers finally found a…
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS, MY FRIENDS
WE ARE ON A ROLL!! Now we have a grand trifecta. Here’s how it went down. Verdict Watch I don’t think I’ll ever get over missing the Hardeman Phase 1 Verdict by mere moments while getting tea. With that in mind, I have no intention of leaving the proximity of the courtroom at any point…
ANOTHER VERDICT FOR THE PLAINTIFF!
$2.055 Billion awarded today in damages in the Pilliod v Monsanto trial! Out partying tonight, will catch you up on details soon. Keep an eye on Bayer’s stock tomorrow – it will be interesting to watch. SO THANKFUL!!!
Get Out of Here
As you all know by now, I really like to keep my blog light, because the topic is so grave that it’s something of a coping mechanism. But today, I feel I am in a surreal state of mind. Today’s news headlined an article about whales dying and shoring on the California coast at unprecedented…
The Art of the Appeal
GG: Hold tight for the writeup on Closing Statements – working on it this weekend! In the meantime, AOJ has some news. Hey folks, AOJ here with a quick update on Monsanto’s Motion for Judicial Notice in the Johnson appeal. I recently wrote about my distinct displeasure with the Johnson letter writers’ private information going…
Comments on Comments
Today, I finally heard the word “microbiome” said OUT LOUD during the trial, in a context that so perfectly bridged NHL, immune system dysfunction, and our individual universes of intestinal bacteria. I am in a state of elated disbelief – I’ve waited through THREE trials and had all but given up hope to hear any…
According to Dr. Robot
BY: AOJ Pre-jury The discussion this morning is about the remarkable timing of the news that the EPA has made a preliminary determination that glyphosate is not a carcinogen. At one point, Judge Winifred Smith jokes about the long “reach of Monsanto,” and the courtroom has a good laugh. Brent Wisner is probably the least…
The EPA and Betsy Ross
I’ve read plenty of stories about the corruption of the US government, but always held on to the hope that things weren’t really so bad. After all, Betsy Ross happily quilted a team banner that has stood proudly for over two centuries. I presume this happy story to be true, but upon further research for…
Ready to Rumble
When I commute to Oakland or San Francisco, I pass many high-priced Silicon Valley billboards. The billboards most commonly advertise 1) Apple and 2) marijuana everything. People don’t have a “Pot Guy” anymore, it is rather a “Pot Concierge.” Cigarette billboards are outlawed, but the toned backside of two women wearing thong bikinis advertising “Best…
