Oceania
Rival trade pacts vie for Pacific hegemony
China is proposing a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP) in a race with the US-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) for hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region.
Tag: petro-oligarchy
Mexico
Mexico: HP fined in latest Pemex scandal
Hewlett-Packard is being fined for bribing oil company officials in Mexico; meanwhile, the US is investigating possible corruption in Citigroup's Mexican operations.
Europe
Ukraine, austerity and gas
The IMF imposes austerity on Ukraine as Russia jacks up gas prices. Meanwhile, the global industry exploits the crisis to fast-track exports of fracked gas as a "lever against Russia."
Planet Watch
Gulf of Mexico: maybe you missed the bad news…
The gas rig fire off Louisiana is portrayed as a near-miss at worst—while researchers predict a record “dead zone” the size of New Jersey in the Gulf of Mexico this year.
Africa
Supreme Court rules against Nigerians in Shell case
The US Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum to reject a suit brought by Nigerian refugees against Shell Oil under the Alien Tort Statute of 1789.
Leak at tar sands plant fouls Athabasca River
Tainted water poured for hours into Canada's Athabasca River before a broken pipe was sealed at one of the Suncor tar-sands plants that it is to supply the Keystone XL pipeline.
Planet Watch
Peak oil apocalyptoids: eating crow yet?
The US Geological Survey estimates there is seven to eight times more oil in the ground than the human race has yet consumed—and this constitutes the real threat to the planet.
Planet Watch
Court upholds statutory protection for polar bears
A US appeals court upheld the listing of polar bears as a “threatened” species under the Endangered Species Act due to the threat to their habitat from global warming.
Planet Watch
Protesters occupy Keystone XL offices in Houston
More than 100 protesters stormed the lobby of TransCanada's Keystone office in Houston as a new tree-sit was established at the Texas town of Diboll to block pipeline construction.
Watching the Shadows
Chuck Hagel: revenge of the paleocons?
Leftists are ironically rallying around Chuck Hagel as Obama's apparent pick for Secretary of Defense—a conservative Republican who is wary of the neocons but close to Big Oil.
Planet Watch
National Intelligence Council predicts global climate disaster —again
The US National Intelligence Council issued a report, "Global Trends 2030: Potential Worlds," that emphasizes the rise of China and the risk of catastrophic climate change.
Watching the Shadows
Military coup d’état against Obama?
Was Rear Admiral Charles M. Gaouette sacked from his command of a Pacific carrier battle group last month because he was plotting a putsch against Obama?