By Laris Karklis, Bonnie Berkowitz and Tim Meko
President Trump (click here) drastically reduced the size of two national monuments in Utah on Monday, potentially opening about 2 million acres of public land to mineral extraction and other activities in a state in which about 65 percent of all land is federally owned. The sites, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments, contain rich troves of archaeological and paleontological finds in addition to large deposits of coal, uranium, oil and gas....
April 21, 2016
By Lorraine Chow
Do Charles and David Koch want to mine the Grand Canyon for uranium? (click here)
A "dark money" organization tied to the billionaire Koch brothers is allegedly aiding Arizona politicians' and special-interest groups' efforts to block a bill that would ban uranium mining around Arizona's iconic landmark, The Phoenix New Times reports.
Despite vast public support for permanent protection of the Grand Canyon area, "most of Arizona’s congressional delegation—including Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake, and Representatives Paul Gosar, David Schweikert, Trent Franks and Matt Salmon—want the gateway to the Grand Canyon open to uranium mining."
According to the Grand Canyon Trust, here's what Grand Canyon National Heritage Monument Act would do:
- Protects 1.7 million acres of tribal homeland around the Grand Canyon, including water sources and sacred sites
- Bans new uranium mining claims (making the current 20-year ban permanent)
- Still allows hunting, grazing, recreation and other uses to continue under existing law
The proposal, in so many words, deems the area around the Grand Canyon a national monument. The bill is supported by 80 percent of Arizonans as well as a number of environmental organizations and native tribes.
However, pro-mining Arizona Chamber of Commerce and the Koch-linked Prosper Foundation have co-authored a report calling the efforts a "monumental mistake" and that monument designation for the Grand Canyon "will only hurt—not help—Arizona."...
December 12, 2017
Republican Gov. Scott Walker (click here) signed a controversial bill into law on Monday that ends the state’s sulfide mining moratorium at the behest of powerful business and rightwing ideological interests that have spent more than $14 million to help elect him....
...In addition to dumping the mining moratorium, the new law:
- Loosens state groundwater and wetland protections;
- Relaxes procedures for mining companies to take ground site samples;
- Speeds up the Department of Natural Resources’ procedures for reviewing and approving mining applications and permits;
- Limits the ways the state can require mining operations to fulfill their financial responsibilities for reclaiming a mining site.
Environmentalists are chiefly concerned about mining precious minerals, like gold and copper, in sulfide deposits. That’s because sulfides create sulfuric acid when they are exposed to oxygen and water, and those acidic materials can drain into waterways....
...Special interest support for the new law was led by Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC), the state’s largest business group, and Americans for Prosperity, a dark money electioneering group created by the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch.
Both groups have been major players since 2010 on secret fundraising and spending to pay for their outside electioneering activities to support GOP and conservative candidates for legislative and statewide offices. WMC doled out an estimated $9.5 million to support Walker during his 2010 general, 2012 recall, and 2014 reelection campaigns. Americans for Prosperity spent an estimated $4.8 million to back Walker’s 2012 recall and 2014 reelections campaigns.
WMC and Americans for Prosperity praised Walker’s signing of the bill – here and here – claiming the new law will create jobs in northern Wisconsin.
In the Wisconsin election, the 4 legislators backed by the Koch's won. Iron is the base metal for steel.
March 21, 2014
By Steven Verburg
A well-funded Wisconsin conservative group (click here) is blasting seven County Board candidates in sparsely populated Iron County, calling them “radical anti-mining” environmentalists.
The campaign — launched this week by Americans for Prosperity, a group founded by billionaire conservative businessmen Charles and David Koch — isn’t the first time an advocacy group from the right or the left has waded into small-town politics.
But in a county where candidates seldom bother to campaign because there are almost never any challengers, people took note when they found, among the bills and junk mail, glossy, full-color flyers warning of “radicals” who were about to shut down businesses and put families on welfare....
And what exactly is the iron ore, made into steel going to be used for?
And what exactly is the iron ore, made into steel going to be used for?
January 20, 2018
By Greg Jaffe and Damian Palette
...The $716 billion figure for 2019 (click here) would cover the Pentagon’s annual budget as well as spending on ongoing wars and the maintenance of the U.S. nuclear arsenal. It would increase Pentagon spending by more than 7 percent over the 2018 budget, which still has not passed through Congress....
The proposed budget would be a 13 percent increase over 2017, when the United States spent about $634 billion on defense. In the absence of a budget, spending continues at 2017 levels....
Donald Trump hates liberals. He is also very corrupt and doesn't care who gets hurt along the way. It would seem as though the tariff is penance for Canada as Alberta and Canada lead the world in protecting Earth's climate. I fully believe Trump is corrupt to the core and demands loyalty for these very reasons.
Corruption cannot live without loyalty. I think Canada has every reason to protect it's economy and examine how best to do that. The EU is already imposing tariffs on things like, Kentucky Bourbon. Canada does not have a friend in Donald Trump or his family.
Corruption cannot live without loyalty. I think Canada has every reason to protect it's economy and examine how best to do that. The EU is already imposing tariffs on things like, Kentucky Bourbon. Canada does not have a friend in Donald Trump or his family.
Canada must continue it's leadership on the climate and it must do what it must to protect it's economy as well.
March 3, 2018
Canadians reacted with a mixture (click here) of anger, confusion and resignation this week to President Trump's promise to hit U.S. imports of steel and aluminum with hefty tariffs, upending decades of economic cooperation and integration.
"We're pretty consistently flabbergasted that Canada is at the top of the hit parade of trade villains" in Trump's eyes, said Douglas Porter, chief economist at the Bank of Montreal.
Under the Trump policies announced Thursday, steel imported into the United States would be slapped with a 25% tariff and aluminum with a 10% tariff. The announcement sent shudders through world markets and prompted a global outcry, with European allies and others threatening retaliation.
Trump often has accused China of forcing U.S. steel and aluminum companies to fold by inundating the market with cheaper materials. But Canada is the largest exporter of steel and aluminum to the United States, supplying $7.2 billion of aluminum and $4.3 billion of steel to the United States last year....
Trump is stating it is necessary for the USA to have it's own aluminum and steel for national security reasons. Alcoa has its smelter in Iceland and Canada has been a strong ally for hundreds of years. The iron and aluminum supply is not a national security issue, it is a KOCH issue.
By the way, what are the sales of Coke and Pepsi going to look like now with more expensive aluminum for their cans? I suppose the recycling is going to be more valuable than ever.
January 26, 2018
By Nicholas Confessore
The political network overseen (click here) by the conservative billionaires Charles G. and David H. Koch plans to spend close to $900 million on the 2016 campaign, an unparalleled effort by coordinated outside groups to shape a presidential election that is already on track to be the most expensive in history.
The spending goal, revealed Monday at the Kochs’ annual winter donor retreat near Palm Springs, Calif., would allow their political organization to operate at the same financial scale as the Democratic and Republican Parties. It would require a significant financial commitment from the Kochs and roughly 300 other donors they have recruited over the years, and covers both the presidential and congressional races. In the last presidential election, the Republican National Committee and the party’s two congressional campaign committees spent a total of $657 million....
"racketeering activity” (click here) means (A) any act or threat involving murder, kidnapping, gambling, arson, robbery, bribery, extortion, dealing in obscene matter, or dealing in a controlled substance or listed chemical (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act), which is chargeable under State law and punishable by imprisonment for more than one year;...
...sections 1831 and 1832 (relating to economic espionage and theft of trade secrets), section 1951 (relating to interference with commerce, robbery, or extortion...
By placing tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel, Trump is using intimidation and ridicule to obtain favors for the petroleum industry. Trump is attempting to unseat an elected government of free people and a dearly important ally. Donald Trump is an enemy to the national security of the USA. I demand Congress begin impeachment proceedings if he does not resign!
Most states define extortion (click here) as the gaining of property or money by almost any kind of force, or threat of 1) violence, 2) property damage, 3) harm to reputation, or 4) unfavorable government action. While usually viewed as a form of theft/larceny, extortion differs from robbery in that the threat in question does not pose an imminent physical danger to the victim.
