Shell accused of lying over Nigeria oil spill clean-up

Shell has been accused of making false claims about the extent of its oil spill clean-up operations in Nigeria and urged to take more action to help worst-hit communities. Amnesty International and the Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD) charged the oil major with failing to implement recommendations from a critical 2011 UN report. Amnesty and the CEHRD's claims come in a new report, "Clean It Up: Shell's False Claims about Oil Spill Response in the Niger Delta".

The 38-page document said most of the recommendations of a UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report had not been implemented since its publication five years ago. Thirteen out of 15 areas visited between July and September this year were still "visibly polluted" or contaminated, despite claims to the contrary by Shell and the government. The inadequate clean up left thousands of people "exposed to contaminated land, water and air, in some cases for years or even decades," said Amnesty researcher Mark Dummett.

More at Al Jazeera English

Keep the Oil in the Ground

Humanity's survival depends on not burning two-thirds of our global oil reserves, so we must act now by limiting fossil fuel extraction. The highly biodiverse Amazon basin is a keystone area in combating climate change because it regulates our planet’s health and drives global weather patterns. Preserving regions most critical for our survival—from the Amazon to the Arctic—is the solution to avoiding climate chaos. That's why we are globally calling to KEEP THE OIL IN THE GROUND, starting with the Amazon.

amazonwatch.org

Biden’s Son Gets Ukrainian Oil Company Gig

Vice President Joe Biden’s youngest son Hunter Biden has joined the board of directors of Ukraine’s largest oil company at a time that the U.S. is urging Ukraine to develop energy independence from Russia and just days after the vice president visited Ukraine.

The vice president’s office and the White House rejected any suggestion that there was a conflict of interest. “Hunter Biden is a private citizen and a lawyer,” Vice President Biden’s spokeswoman Kendra Barkoff told ABC News. “The vice president does not endorse any particular company and has no involvement with this company.”

White House spokesman Jay Carney said, “Hunter Biden and other members of the Biden family are obviously private citizens and where they work … does not reflect an endorsement by the administration or by the vice president or president.”

ABC News

Tom Rhodes Interviews Willem Oltmans

Qatar's Agenda in Syria

Situation: Qatar continues to funnel weapons and facilitate other assistance to Syrian rebels and Salafi jihadists fighting the Assad regime in Syria.

Bottom Line: Determining the outcome of the conflict in Syria is very difficult due to the sheer number of private players in this theater and the varying agendas. Determining the extent to which Qatar is willing to go is made easier by understanding what it wishes to achieve: Global stature—and a pipeline through Syria.

Analysis: Right before the conflict in Syria broke out, Iran had cut a deal with Iraq for an Iran-Iraq-Syria pipeline to pump natural gas from the world’s largest gas field, South Pars, which is shared by Qatar and Iran. Qatar could not allow this to happen. It would have given Iran the upper hand in its perceived quest to form a “Shi’ite crescent”. Qatar wanted the pipeline first. Qatar’s original plan was a pipeline from South Pars through Iraq and on to Turkey, and then to European markets. This pipeline, however, would have to traverse southern/central Iraq and Northern Iraq. This has become problematic due to the oil-resources power struggle between the Kurds of Northern Iraq and the Iraqi central government. A pipeline through Syria would be much easier. It would also be convenient for Jordan, which has apparently been promised free Qatari gas for its help in training Syrian rebels on its territory and allowing them to use Jordanian territory to launch offensives…

Oilprice.com

Haiti and the 'Devil's Curse'

The true history of Haiti, and the role of foreign intervention in bringing about Haiti's poverty and political instability.

The Real News

Millionaire Boy Racers

Rolling Stones Expose Banksters, Endless Wars and the NWO

After 50 years in the Rock n’ Roll business, the Rolling Stones, the Heavy Weight Champions of Rock n’ Roll, have released a new greatest hits package that includes a hard-hitting, anti-establishment single titled, “Doom and Gloom.”

Just in time for the so-called apocalypse, “Doom and Gloom” proves once again that these guys can still deliver by sticking to their roots.

The music video depicts the destruction of the American empire as perpetual war and greedy bankers cast the population into an economic abyss. And there’s lots of symbolism in this piece, from the increase in poverty to the overcrowded prison system and even the poison in our food supply.

“We sell ‘em missiles, We sell ‘em tanks;
We give ‘em credit, you can call the bank;
It’s just a business, You can pay us in crude;
You love these toys, just go play out your feuds;
Got no pride, don’t know whose boots to lick;
We act so greedy, makes me sick sick sick.

“We walk the highwire, Sending the men up to the front line
Hoping they don’t catch the hell fire, With hot guns and cold, cold nights.”

“This is not about the war. It’s about how you build up some shaky dictator. You can’t build them up, ’cause then you’ve got to slam them down,” guitarist Keith Richards reportedly said at the time of the “Highwire” release.

Infowars

China slams US over South China Sea criticism

China has summoned a US diplomat to protest his government's criticism of a new military garrison in the South China Sea.

Zhang Kunsheng, the Chinese assistant foreign minister, summoned Robert S Wang, the deputy chief of the US embassy in Beijing, on Saturday to express displeasure with earlier US comments. The US State Department said on Friday that China's formal establishment of Sansha City, a garrison on a remote island about 350km from the country's southern-most province, was risking an escalation in regional tensions.

The garrison, created two weeks ago, is intended to administer hundreds of thousands of square kilometres of water where China wants to strengthen its control over potentially oil-rich islands that are also claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam and other Asian countries. The Philippines, a US treaty ally, has described the move as unacceptable, while Vietnam has termed it a violation of international law.

In Beijing, Zhang told Wang: "The [US State Department's] statement showed total disregard of facts, confounded right and wrong, and sent a seriously wrong message. It is not conducive to efforts by the parties concerned to uphold peace and stability in the South China Sea and the Asia-Pacific region at large."

Al Jazeera English

South Sudan faces economic disaster as cost of independence bites

One year after the euphoria of independence, South Sudan faces economic disaster that could reverse recent development gains after it shut down oil production in a dispute over pipeline fees with Sudan.

Preying on people's minds in Juba is the thought that the government is about to run out of money – shutting down vital services in an already impoverished country. A few months ago, some thought the government would run out of cash to pay teachers and health workers as early as August; now the prediction is September or the end of the year.

Khartoum is feeling the economic and political heat as well. Taking a leaf out of South Sudan's book, Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, is cutting the number of cabinet posts from 31 to 26. However, other austerity measures – a rise in transport costs and a doubling of fuel and food prices following cuts in subsidies – have provoked demonstrations and calls for Bashir to step down.

Analysts say the calamitous economic situation in both countries could force Juba and Khartoum – with prodding from outside, particularly the US and China – to cut a deal to start the oil flowing again.

"The fiscal picture in South Sudan is terrible, the socio-economic stress is harsh, there are protests in Sudan, there are border tensions," said Jason Mosley, an associate fellow at the Africa programme at Chatham House, the international affairs thinktank. "The economic picture is so bad it could push both sides towards some sort of compromise."

The Guardian

True Cost of Chevron

The True Cost of Chevron Website - More video on The Real News

China vows to defend island claim

A Chinese military newspaper has warned that the country's armed forces will not allow anyone to challenge China's sovereignty of a tiny island outcrop in the South China Sea. China and the Philippines have been involved in a tense standoff since April 10 when the Philippines Navy accused Chinese boats of fishing illegally in waters off the Scarborough Shoal, some 130 miles (200 kilometers) from the Philippines island of Luzon.

They attempted to arrest the crew but were blocked by Chinese surveillance vessels deployed in the area. Both countries claim the shoal, which China calls Huangyan Island. Analysts believe the area is rich in mineral resources, natural gas and oil.

CNN.com - Xinhua Insight: True story behind Huangyan Island dispute in South China Sea

Arctic Climate Change Opening Region To New Military Activity

To the world's military leaders, the debate over climate change is long over. They are preparing for a new kind of Cold War in the Arctic, anticipating that rising temperatures there will open up a treasure trove of resources, long-dreamed-of sea lanes and a slew of potential conflicts. By Arctic standards, the region is already buzzing with military activity, and experts believe that will increase significantly in the years ahead.

Last month, Norway wrapped up one of the largest Arctic maneuvers ever – Exercise Cold Response – with 16,300 troops from 14 countries training on the ice for everything from high intensity warfare to terror threats. Attesting to the harsh conditions, five Norwegian troops were killed when their C-130 Hercules aircraft crashed near the summit of Kebnekaise, Sweden's highest mountain.

The U.S., Canada and Denmark held major exercises two months ago, and in an unprecedented move, the military chiefs of the eight main Arctic powers – Canada, the U.S., Russia, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland – gathered at a Canadian military base last week to specifically discuss regional security issues.

Huffington Post - Planet Ark (2009) – CBC News

Iran War Hype Driving Up World Fuel Prices

The price of crude oil and growing tensions with Iran are bubbling to the top of economists’ and policymakers’ worry lists for 2012, as U.S. and European Union sanctions threaten to reduce the sales of Iranian oil and put pressure on one of the world’s largest petroleum exporters.

“It’s been in the background for quite some time,” said Edward Yardeni, a leading investment strategist. “I’ve characterized it as one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse for 2012. Now it’s come from behind to be at the head of the pack.”

The Washington Post

State of emergency after Kazakhstan clashes

The Kazakh president has declared a state of emergency and curfew in western oil city of Zhanaozen. Violence erupted on Friday as hundreds of angry oil workers went on the rampage and clashed with police in Zhanaozen, a town in the Mangistau region of west Kazakhstan, where a ceremony was being held to mark the 20th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s independence.

The presidential decree bans strikes and public protests, restricts freedom of movement around Zhanaozen and limits access to and from the city for 20 days. Reuters reported.

An independent source in Astana put the death count as high as 70, with more than 500 wounded, when police fired on protesters. The violence is a setback for Nursultan Nazarbayev, the authoritarian president of Kazakhstan, who hosted lavish independence day celebrations in Astana this week to burnish his country’s image as a global oil power and safe destination for foreign investment. Analysts said the unrest was likely to bring a security crackdown in Kazakhstan which is preparing to hold a parliamentary election next month.

FT.com

Shell oil paid Nigerian military to put down protests

Shell has never denied that its oil operations have polluted large areas of the Niger Delta – land and air. But it had resisted charges of complicity in human rights abuses.

Court documents now reveal that in the 1990s Shell routinely worked with Nigeria's military and mobile police to suppress resistance to its oil activities, often from activists in Ogoniland, in the delta region.

Confidential memos, faxes, witness statements and other documents, released in 2009, show the company regularly paid the military to stop the peaceful protest movement against the pollution, even helping to plan raids on villages suspected of opposing the company.

According to Ogoni activists, several thousand people were killed in the 1990s and many more fled that wave of terror that took place in the 1990s.

In 2009, in a New York federal court, that evidence never saw light during the trial. Shell had been accused of collaborating with the state in the execution in 1995 of writer Ken Saro-Wiwa and other leaders of the Ogoni tribe. Instead, Shell paid $15.5m (£9.6m) to the eight families in settlement.

Among the documents was a 1994 letter from Shell agreeing to pay a unit of the Nigerian army to retrieve a truck, an action that left one Ogoni man dead and two wounded. Shell said it was making the payment "as a show of gratitude and motivation for a sustained favourable disposition in future assignments".

The Guardian – The Independent – Nigeria 70 - Essential Action

Russia condemns EU oil sanctions on Syria

Russia has condemned the EU's move to step up sanctions on Syria by banning imports of its oil, amid ongoing protests against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the sanctions would "lead to nothing good".

Oil accounts for about 25% of Syria's income and EU member states take about 95% of its oil exports. At least 14 people were reportedly killed on Friday as protesters again came out in force across the country. Activists said seven had died in suburbs of the capital Damascus, four in the central city of Homs, and another three in Deir al-Zour in the east. The United Nations says more than 2,200 people have been killed since pro-democracy demonstrations began in mid-March.

BBC News

Western Oil Majors Will Get the First Crack at Libyan Oil Production

Countries that supported the overthrow of dictator Moammar Gadhafi's regime are likely to get first crack at post-war Libyan oil production, while those that sat on the sidelines are at risk of losing out.
"We don't have a problem with Western countries like the Italians, French and U.K. companies. But we may have some political issues with Russia, China and Brazil," Abdeljalil Mayouf, information manager at Libyan rebel oil firm AGOCO, told Reuters.

Talk like that has many Western oil companies licking their chops. Meanwhile, officials from China and Russia are foundering for ways to deal with the emerging Libyan government, the National Transitional Council (NTC).
Although Libyan oil production before the uprising comprised just 2% of global output, it is prized because it is of the light sweet crude variety - it contains less sulfur than most other oil and is thus cheaper to refine.
The deputy head of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce's trade department, Wen Zhongliang, tried to stay positive when asked about Mayouf's statement last week. "We hope that after a return to stability in Libya, Libya will continue to protect the interests and rights of Chinese investors and we hope to continue investment and economic cooperation with Libya," Wen told a news conference.
But other Chinese observers were indignant.
"I can say in four words: They would not dare; they would not dare change any contracts," Yin Gang, an expert on the Arab world at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, told Reuters.
Although China was getting only about 3% of its oil from Libya, the Asian giant's rapidly growing economy has given it a ravenous appetite for energy - including oil.
China abstained from the United Nations vote that authorized force to protect civilians during the uprising, and along with Russia and Brazil opposed sanctions against the Gadhafi regime.

Money Morning

Deadly Syrian crackdown continues

Syrian forces have killed nearly 142 people, including at least 100 when the army stormed the flashpoint protest city of Hama to crush dissent on the eve of Ramadan, political activists say.

A witness in Deir ez-Zor told Al Jazeera that government forces launched fresh attacks on the town early on Monday morning. "Military forces stormed the city from the west side and 25 people are killed and more than 65 injured," the witness said. "Artillery and anti-aircraft weapons are being used. The situation in the city is very bad, and medical and food supplies are low."

Deir ez-Zor, Syria's main gas and oil-production hub in the east, has become a rallying point for protests along with Hama. Sunday's attack on Hama was one of the "deadliest days" since the protests erupted, Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said

More on Al Jazeera

Atlantis-Like Landscape Discovered

Buried deep beneath the sediment of the North Atlantic Ocean lies an ancient, lost landscape with furrows cut by rivers and peaks that once belonged to mountains. Geologists recently discovered this roughly 56-million-year-old landscape using data gathered for oil companies.

"It looks for all the world like a map of a bit of a country onshore," said Nicky White, the senior researcher. "It is like an ancient fossil landscape preserved 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) beneath the seabed."

So far, the data have revealed a landscape about 3,861 square miles (10,000 square km) west of the Orkney-Shetland Islands that stretched above sea level by almost as much as 0.6 miles (1 km).  White and colleagues suspect it is part of a larger region that merged with what is now Scotland and may have extended toward Norway in a hot, prehuman world.

More on LiveScience