Xi Jinping was chosen as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party amid stepped-up repression and a wave of labor unrest in the Fujian and Zhejiang industrial zones.
The oil and energy industry are funding both candidates—but not equally. Romney has received $6 million from individuals and PACs linked to the industry; Obama $1.6 million.
Romney’s new energy plan is billed as a drive towards “energy independence”—yet ironically mirrors the plan Obama unveiled two years ago to lift current restrictions on offshore drilling.
A state of emergency has been declared in Barrancabermeja, the oil hub on Colombia's Río Magdalena, following a rupture on a pipeline delivering crude to the city's refinery. The spill at the Lizama 158 well, run by parastatal Ecopetrol, contaminated local waterways that flow into the Magdalena, and which local campesino communities depend on. The affected area includes habitat for jaguars and manatees. The Fracking-Free Colombia Alliance called it a "catastrophe of unequaled magnitude" in a long history of oil spills in the area, and said the impacts could last 30 years. Colombia's attorney general has opened an investigation to determine if there is criminal liability in the spill. (Photo: Contagio Radio)
