Foreign Intervention in Civil War 100x More Likely in Oil-Rich Nations
A new academic study has concluded foreign governments are 100 times more likely to intervene in civil wars if the troubled state is an oil-rich nation. Petros Sekeris of the University of Portsmouth said his research shows “clear evidence that countries with potential for oil production are more likely to be targeted by foreign intervention if civil wars erupt.” In related news, Royal Dutch Shell has signed an $11 billion deal with Iraq to build a massive oil plant in Basra.
NSA Embeds Spyware in Hard Drives Around the World
A new probe finds the National Security Agency has embedded spying devices deep inside hard drives in computers around the world. The Russian firm Kaspersky Lab says it uncovered the spyware in personal computers across 30 countries, from Iran, Russia, Pakistan and Libya, to China, Belgium, Ecuador and the United States. The targets include government institutions, oil and gas firms, Islamic activists and scholars, and the media.
1,000 Evacuated After Oil Train Derails in West Virginia
A CSX train carrying more than 100 cars of crude oil has derailed in West Virginia, sending a massive fireball into the sky and forcing 1,000 people to evacuate. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has declared a state of emergency. At least 14 tankers and a house caught fire, and at least one car went into the Kanawha River, where it was leaking oil. The train was transporting oil from the Bakken shale in North Dakota, where a fracking boom has increased oil-by-rail shipments more than 4,000 percent in recent years. The incident came after another oil train derailed in Ontario, Canada, Saturday night, sparking a fire that was still burning on Monday.
One Of US’s Most Respected Constitutional Scholars Sells Out To Largest Coal Company
Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe sent out a broadside he wrote with the world’s largest privately-held coal company attacking the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rule to regulate carbon pollution from existing power plants under the Clean Air Act. The document submitted by Tribe and coal behemoth Peabody Energy calls the proposed rule a “remarkable example of federal overreach,” that “lacks legal basis,” to regulate carbon, resting on a “fatally flawed interpretation of Section 111” of the Clean Air Act.
Heavy Blast at Exxon Refinery in California; Fire from West Virginia Train Derailment Continues
An explosion at an ExxonMobil refinery south of Los Angeles has rocked the surrounding area with the equivalent of a 1.4-magnitute earthquake. The blast in California happened as oil tank cars from a derailed train remained on fire Wednesday in West Virginia, two days after the accident. The derailment forced the evacuation of two towns and destroyed a house. [Still we love OIL]
U.N. Urges Israel to Unlock $127 Million in Taxes Owed to Palestinians
The United Nations is calling on Israel to unlock $127 million in taxes owed to the Palestinian Authority that were withheld after the Palestinians decided to join the International Criminal Court. A senior U.N. official, Jens Anders Toyberg-Frandzen, told the Security Council that the freeze was in violation of the Oslo agreements between Israel and the Palestinians.