1000
Civilian border patrols watched U.S. warns Mexico about Minutemen
By Sara A. Carter Staff Writer
While Minuteman civilian patrols are keeping an eye out for illegal border crossers, the U.S. Border Patrol is keeping an eye out for Minutemen - and telling the Mexican government where they are.
According to three documents on the Mexican Secretary of Foreign Relations Web site, the U.S. Border Patrol is to notify the Mexican government as to the location of Minutemen and other civilian border patrol groups when they participate in apprehending illegal immigrants - and if and when violence is used against border crossers.
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman confirmed the notification process, describing it as a standard procedure meant to reassure the Mexican government that migrants' rights are being observed.
"It's not a secret where the Minuteman volunteers are going to be," Mario Martinez said Monday.
"This ... simply makes two basic statements - that we will not allow any lawlessness of any type, and that if an alien is encountered by a Minuteman or arrested by the Minuteman, then we will allow that government to interview the person."
http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_3800653
$10 will get you $20 that when the National Guard is deployed Bush will start arresting the "Minutemen" as well as illegal aliens.
1011
What's in a Murdoch-Clinton Alliance? Something for Both Sides
WASHINGTON, May 9 — Strengthening a pragmatic rapprochement, Rupert Murdoch has agreed to give a fund-raiser this summer for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, the latest sign of cooperation between the conservative media mogul and the Democratic lawmaker who has often been a prime target of his newspaper and television outlets.
Asked about her relationship with Mr. Murdoch, Mrs. Clinton described him as simply "my constituent," and she played down the significance of the fund-raiser. Both sides said that Mr. Murdoch and Mrs. Clinton were joining forces for the good of New York, where Mr. Murdoch's $60 billion News Corporation employs about 5,000 workers.
"I am very gratified that he thinks I am doing a good job," Mrs. Clinton said in the Capitol on Tuesday, according to a transcript made available by her office after word of the fund-raising event was first reported by The Financial Times.
1015
Sudan to award OVL two more blocks for oil and gas exploration
10-03-06 ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL) will be getting another two oil and gas blocks for exploration purpose in Sudan on nomination basis shortly because of its outstanding performance for exploration of oil and gas in the country, the Sudan Ambassador in India, Abdalmahmood A. Mohammad said, according to reports. Addressing a Seminar on “India-Sudan Economic Relations” organised by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), Mohammad said that the Sudan government was also planning to award several other projects on nomination basis to Indian entrepreneurs in other key areas of economic activities which include railways, cyber city, tourism and airports.
The Sudanese experience with Indian businessmen in the recent past has been so amazing and excellent and particularly with ONGC Videsh Ltd. which currently owns five blocks for oil and gas exploration that it has decided to award a good number of projects to Indian state owned and private businesses on nomination basis, said the Sudanese Ambassador. Deepak Vohra, Ambassador of India in Sudan said that Government of India has so far committed a credit line of $ 850 mm to Sudan and it would be the effort of Indian Embassy in Sudan to accelerate extension of credit line to Sudan as the country desperately needs funds to uplift its infrastructure for attracting foreign capital.
The Assocham Chief also stressed the need for having direct air linkages between India and Sudan as also added that the State Bank of India should open up its branch in Sudan so that profit repatriation of Indian businessmen to their mother country becomes easier.
http://www.gasandoil.com/goc/company/cna61290.htm
1018
Kenya stands on threshold of severe fuel crisis
24-02-06 Kenya is standing on the threshold of a severe fuel crisis following an order stopping the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) from supplying oil to 10 top petroleum companies in the country. Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) issued the order citing failure by the companies to pay taxes as required by law. The companies, including market leaders Kenya Shell and Kenol/Kobil, have been engaged in a bitter war with the taxman over the new rule that requires them to pay taxes within 30 days of collecting the oil from KPC.
Some of the oil companies have deliberately refused to pay up arguing that it was unfair for the taxman to demand that they pay taxes while it was sitting on billions of shillings in Value Added Tax and suspended duty refunds. Industry experts said the KRA order may throw the entire Eastern African region into a severe fuel crisis since some of the barred companies like Kenol/Kobil are market leaders in regional markets such as Uganda and Rwanda. In a letter to KPC, KRA Commissioner General Michael Waweru said the companies, including Mobil, the National Oil Corporation of Kenya (NOCK), Mobil, Total and Triton, be immediately barred from accessing oil from KPC depots until they clear outstanding taxes.
http://www.gasandoil.com/goc/company/cna61071.htm
1021
How Relevant is President Bush to Election 2006?
May 5, 2006--When it comes to issues they consider important, 44% of Americans say they trust Democrats in Congress more than President Bush. Just 36% prefer the President.
However, when the choice is between Republicans in Congress and Democrats in Congress, the result is a toss-up--42% say Democrats and 40% Republicans.
The Republicans do better in this second match-up among both GOP voters and unaffiliateds. When the choice is between Bush and Democrats, unaffiliateds break for the Democrats 38% to 26%. When the choice is between Republicans and Democrats in Congress, unfaffiliateds are more evenly divided (34% Democrat, 30% Republican).
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/2006/May%20Dailies/Is%20Bush%20Relevant.htm
1022
commercials
Bush's "Big Brother" Blunder
George W. Bush’s warrantless phone data collection may not only violate the U.S. Constitution but expend so much money and manpower that America is made less safe – by diverting resources away from more practical steps, like inspecting cargo and hiring translators.
Yet, because the operation is wrapped in layers and layers of secrecy – based on the dubious argument that al-Qaeda might not realize it’s being spied on – the public doesn’t know how much the project costs, who’s getting contracts and whether it does any good.
So far, however, what administration officials and computer experts have been willing to describe shouldn’t give Americans much confidence that their trade-off of Fourth Amendment freedoms for a little extra safety is a particularly good deal.
The project’s designers say the National Security Agency’s electronic warehousing of trillions of phone records from calls made by some 200 million Americans is intended to seek out “patterns” from conversations involving alleged terrorists and then to apply the digital outline to the stockpiled records.
That search, presumably, then spits out the phone numbers of other callers in the United States who fit into the “patterns.” These computer-generated tips then go to the FBI, which may question the suspects or use other investigative strategies.
There are, however, logical flaws to this “Big Brother” computer scheme, especially the idea that the project is likely to discern many usable “patterns” of phone calls that if applied to the population would detect much suspicious activity.
The 9/11 hijackers, for instance, made very few substantive calls about their plot, recognizing the risk of electronic surveillance and preferring face-to-face meetings as a way to avoid detection, according to the 9/11 Commission Report.
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2006/051206.html
1025
Ex-Aide With Abramoff Ties Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy
WASHINGTON, May 8 — A former top aide to Representative Bob Ney, Republican of Ohio, pleaded guilty on Monday to conspiring with the lobbyist Jack Abramoff to corrupt public officials and said gifts had been "corruptly offered to and accepted by" Mr. Ney.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/09/washington/09inquire.html?ex=1304827200&en=90e68ad6ae938234&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
1031
China's appetite for African oil grows
12-02-06 China, the world's second-largest energy consumer, now imports about 28 % of its oil and gas from sub-Saharan Africa, compared with about 15 % for the US. In the past few years, China's leading energy companies -- Sinopec, China National Petroleum Corp., and CNOOC -- have signed oil contracts from Equatorial Guinea to Algeria to Angola. Chinese President Hu Jintao's African trips have included pocket-sized Gabon, whose 1.4 mm people could fit into a corner of Shanghai but which has more than two bn barrels of oil reserves.
When China's Foreign Minister, Li Zhaoxing, toured the region in January, he spent several days in Nigeria. "We haven't been totally invaded by China yet, but it will come," says Iheanyi Ohiaeri, head of business development for Nigeria's National Petroleum Corp. "I get calls and e-mails daily from Beijing, from people looking to buy oil."
The calls are being answered, in part because African governments view China as a more cooperative partner than the West. China has refused to back regular Western rebukes of African corruption and human-rights abuses and last year used its permanent seat on the UN Security Council to block genocide charges against Sudan -- source of about 7 % of China's oil -- for the massacres in Darfur. "The US will talk to you about governance, about efficiency, about security, about the environment," says Mustafa Bello, head of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, who has visited China seven times. "The Chinese just ask, 'How do we procure this license?'"
http://www.gasandoil.com/goc/company/cna61086.htm
1032
Sasol signs deal for clean soy biodiesel
10-02-06 Sasol's slow progress with plans to build a plant to make diesel from soy took a step forward when the company said it had signed an agreement with the Central Energy Fund (CEF) for further studies. Sasol spokesman Johann van Rheede said that earlier speculation had prompted farmers in areas such as Newcastle to start planting soy. The speculation also had a knock-on effect in property prices in the area, he said. The group said the new feasibility study would be done by year-end. It said the study followed an earlier prefeasibility study that had been conducted together with the CEF and had spanned several years. The earlier study had indicated "potential for commercial-scale production, if supported by appropriate fiscal incentives".
A petrochemicals industry commentator said this probably meant Sasol would build the plant only if it received substantial support from government. The commentator said the biodiesel venture, which would produce small volumes of diesel, was unlikely to be highly profitable for Sasol, if at all. It would, however, win the petrochemicals group environmental kudos, among other things, as biodiesel made from soy is environmentally friendly. Soy contains less sulphur and is clean-burning, says Sasol. "This environmental initiative is in line with Sasol's value of continuous improvement."
http://www.gasandoil.com/goc/company/cna60950.htm
1034
CAN WE PLEASE STOP USING OIL? NOW ? Prolonging the use of oil only prolongs these countries from developing a real economy rather than one that continually expoits their natural resources.
Libya may hire foreign companies to help develop 300 oil fields
07-02-06 Libya, holder of Africa's largest oil reserves, is preparing to hire foreign companies to develop more than 300 untapped fields after an increase in energy prices made it an economically viable way of raising output. After awarding 41 exploration permits last year to almost 30 companies including ExxonMobil and Occidental Petroleum, the North African state is turning its focus to known fields that haven't been developed because they are too small, Energy Minister Fathi Ben Shatwan said. An “old'' study showed they hold at least 3 bn barrels in total, he added. “We're taking a break'' from exploration, Shatwan said on Jan. 30. “We're thinking about giving service contracts to develop existing fields.''
Oil prices have doubled in three years, prompting companies to return to deposits that weren't considered worthwhile before, from the North Sea to the old war zones of Sudan. Libya's oil industry, seeking to rebound from two decades of sanctions, has one of the world's lowest extraction costs, in cases as little as $ 1 a barrel, according to the US Department of Energy. “The companies stand to do some profit because the oil is already there,'' said Jason Schenker, an economist at Wachovia Corp. of Charlotte, North Carolina. “All they have to do is take it off the ground.''
http://www.gasandoil.com/goc/company/cna60959.htm
1038
If China is going to use Ethopian resources then support the Ethopian government to improve the quality of life for the people there as well. There is high incident of abuse and violence against women in Ethiopia as well as demoralized villages that once farmed and flourished but are now caught up in profound drought and/or flooding but never water management from dams.
The entire of Ethiopia needs rebuilding.
China can do this with the Ethiopian government if they sincerely want to be a leader in humane societies. Where private companies exploit other countries resources without conscience they are engaged in simply looking the other way for the sake of profits. That should never be allowed at an international level.
If Ethiopian companies were exploring for oil and managing their own fields with profits that benefit the Ethopian government and people, the justice of taking those resources is obvious.
For foreign interests to take resources from a country without reverence to the people those resources belong that is gross injustice. That is like saying Ethiopia is a desert without people losing their resources to others. It's wrong.
Whenever a third world country allows it's natural resources to be taken by private companies there needs to be an understanding the citizenry receives a majority of that profit to improve their quality of life. The need for health care alone is dire in Africa. There needs to be a 'conscience' in the oil business and the country receiving the benefit, in this case China, needs to enforce that conscience. Oil companies are 'soulless and they conduct their business interests in the same way, as stark example is Nigeria and the killing fields of the oil companies there.
If China needs the energy resource that is understandable. However, to allow oil companies to exploit for extreme profits to shareholders while conscienceless is a human rights violation. How can a capitalistic society use the natural resources of a country such as Ethiopia without conscience as to how that energy resource was obtained, the deaths that procurement cost and the existing and unchanging poor conditions of that society. That is imperialism. When a country's people suffers regardless the exploitation of it's natural resources by a First World country in need of an energy resource is gross misjustice and that is putting it lightly. Capitalism was never accused of having a conscience, quite the contrary. Any business interest that uses other country's resources needs to be accompanied by a State Department chaperone to insure the well being of the people of the other country is provided for. I know China will seek to do the right thing. China needs to outshine the very poor relationship established by teh West and Third World countries. How is Nigeria to see the USA as a benevolent entity when it's companies are ruthless and criminal? China should be 'the country of chioce' to do business with as it seeks not profit but energy while setting example to human rights in their business dealings.
Chinese firm embarks on oil exploration project in Ethiopia
30-01-06 Zhongyuan Petroleum Exploration Bearu (ZPEB) is to start drilling an oil exploration well in the Gambella region, in western Ethiopia. ZPEB is contracted by the Malaysian company, Petronas, which was granted a concession in Gambella two years ago. In June 2003, Petronas and the Ethiopian Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) signed a petroleum development and production sharing agreement that enables it to prospect and develop oil in the Gambella basin.
Recently, Petronas subcontracted ZPEB for the well-drilling project. Abiy Hunegnaw, head of the petroleum operation department with MME, said that ZPEB will start drilling the first exploration well in Gambell in February. He said the drilling work will take three to four months. "This is the dry season in the region convenient for well drilling. The company anticipates to finalize the drilling before the rainy season sets in," Abiy said.
Representatives of ZPEB said that they had imported an oil rig and other equipment required for the task from China. They said they were transporting the machines from Djibouti to Gambella. "Some of the machines have already arrived in Gambella and some of them are in Addis Ababa and Djibouti," they added.
http://www.gasandoil.com/goc/company/cna60966.htm
1051
The followers of criminals are brainwashed, Anderson. Ask the man if he thinks followers are brainwashed?
These families need help in settling into mongamous status even if that is defined as single parent families. The social workers need to report the change on a regular basis in the status of the movement to single families not interrelated in support either financial or emotional or religious. These families need to identify with the recognized Mormon Church and not their own ideas of Mormonism. If families fail to become mainstream then the children need to be placed rather than warehoused with dysfunctional families that will only propogate the same hardship generation after generation. The sad truth of begetting polygamy into generation after generation is noted today by the son of Jeffs.
ConocoPhillips to invest $ 700 mm in Libya
25-01-06 ConocoPhillips said it will invest about $ 14 bn in its businesses in 2006, including the cost of boosting its ownership in LUKoil to 20 % by the end of the year from the current 16.1 %. The capital budget also includes $ 700 mm it expects to invest in Libya, Chief Financial Officer John Carrig said. ConocoPhillips is one of three companies that were recently granted an extension of concessions suspended 20 years ago after the US declared sanctions against the country.
Increased spending in the exploration and production business reflects "quite a bit of pressure in terms of the cost of operations and maintaining production," Chairman and Chief Executive Jim Mulva told analysts and investors. Besides cost pressure resulting from the limited availability of oilfield-service contractors, "there are fewer lump-sum bids, and more that are cost-plus," which will drive finding and development costs higher across the industry, he said.
http://www.gasandoil.com/goc/company/cna60638.htm
1059
enough
