It's ALWAYS about RESOURCES! CLG: Ukraine signs $10 billion shale gas deal with Chevron,

News Updates from CLG07 Mar 2014

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Previous edition: US prepares 1B aid package for Ukraine (Google subscribers: Google Filter Instructions for CLG Newsletter.)

U.S. Warship Crosses Bosporus Toward Black Sea - Official 07 Mar 2014 A U.S. warship crossed the Bosporus toward the Black Sea Friday afternoon, a Turkish official said, the latest symbol of heightened international tensions over Crimea. The USS Truxtun, a heavily armed guided-missile destroyer, sailed north on the Aegean Sea and passed through the Dardanelles toward Istanbul Friday morning, an official at the Directorate General of Coastal Safety in Istanbul told The Wall Street Journal. The Directorate declined to comment on the old and pending passages of other U.S. warships through Turkey's two straits that connect the Mediterranean to the Black Sea.

US Navy destroyer heads to Black Sea via Bosporus 07 Mar 2014 The USS Truxtun, a US Navy guided-missile destroyer, passed through the Canakkale Strait en route to the Black Sea on Friday for what the US Navy described as a "routine" deployment that was scheduled well before the crisis in Ukraine. One of the most important US navy destroyers, USS Truxtun entered the Canakkale Strait from the Aegean Sea at 8 a.m. on Friday. The USS Truxtun was accompanied by a coast guard boat after the destroyer entered the Canakkale Strait and arrived in Canakkale at 8:50 a.m.

Ah, then came the dawn. Ukraine signs $10 billion shale gas deal with Chevron --Agreement with Chevron, to extend for 50 years, foresaw an initial investment of 350 million by the U.S. major in exploratory work over two or three years 05 Nov 2013 Ukraine signed a 10 billion shale gas production-sharing agreement with U.S. Chevron on Tuesday, another step in a drive for more energy independence from Russia. The deal to develop its western Olesska field followed a similar shale gas agreement with Royal Dutch Shell in January and boosts Ukraine's leadership at a time of fraught relations with Moscow over gas supplies. "The agreements with Shell and Chevron...will enable us to have full sufficiency in gas by 2020 and, under an optimistic scenario, even enable us to export energy," President Viktor Yanukovich told investors shortly before the signing.

Kiev snipers hired by Maidan coalition: Leaked call 07 Mar 2014 A leaked phone call between EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, and Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet has revealed that the Maidan coalition in Ukraine hired snipers to kill both policemen and protesters. In the 11-minute conversation, whose authenticity has been confirmed by the Estonian Foreign Ministry, Paet said last month's deaths were to blame on the snipers hired by the Maidan coalition, which is the main provocateur of the crisis in Kiev.

Russia hits back at US 'barefaced cynicism and double standards' over Ukraine 06 Mar 2014 The Russian Foreign Ministry has accused the US State Department of double standards and low-level propaganda after it published a list of President Vladimir Putin's "false claims" about the events in Ukraine. "The State Department is trying to play on a shamelessly one-sided interpretation of the events," ministry spokesperson Aleksandr Lukashevich said on Thursday. "Surely, Washington cannot admit that they were nurturing Maidan [protests], encouraging the violent overthrow of the legitimate government, and thus clearing the way for those who are now pretending to be a legitimate power in Kiev." The United States has "no moral right" to lecture about observing international laws and respecting the sovereignty of other states, the diplomat added.

Obama: Crimea Referendum Would Violate International Law 06 Mar 2014 President Barack Obama said Thursday that there is a "path to de-escalation" for the crisis in Ukraine but that the United States and the international community believes that borders cannot "be redrawn over the heads of democratic leaders." "The proposed referendum on the future of Crimea would violate the Ukrainian constitution and violate international law," he said in remarks in the White House. [LOL! The *referendum* violates international law? How about invading, occupying, and droning Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen? Does *that* violation international law?]

Crimean parliament votes to join Russia, hold referendum in 10 days on ratifying 06 Mar 2014 The Crimean parliament has voted for the region to join Russia. The decision will only come in force if approved by the Crimeans at a referendum which will be held in 10 days. Crimean MPs voted on Thursday for the region to "to become part of the Russian Federation as its constituent territory," says the text of the regional parliament's statement. 78 MPs said yes to Crimea joining Russia, while 8 abstained from voting.

Ukraine crisis: EU leaders to hold emergency talks 06 Mar 2014 EU leaders are to begin an emergency summit to decide how strongly they should respond to Russia's troop deployment in Ukraine's Crimea region. Some members, particularly from Eastern Europe, want tough sanctions, while others, led by Germany, seek mediation. Ahead of the talks, the EU said it had frozen the assets of 18 former Ukrainian officials, including [illegally] ousted President Viktor Yanukovych.

Russia wants IMF to move ahead on reforms without U.S. - sources 06 Mar 2014 Russian officials are pushing for the International Monetary Fund to move ahead with planned reforms without the United States, which could mean the loss of the U.S. veto over major decisions at the global lender, sources said. Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov brought up the idea at a meeting of top finance officials from the Group of 20 nations in Sydney late last month, two G20 sources told Reuters this week.

Russia prepares bill on foreign asset freeze in reply to sanctions - senator 05 Mar 2014 A top Russian lawmaker has revealed he is working on a bill that would freeze the assets of European and American companies operating in Russia in reply to Western economic sanctions. The chairman of the upper house committee for constitutional law, Andrey Klishas, is sure that Russia must have an enough leverage to deal with the threat of sanctions coming from foreign countries. A team of lawyers are currently preparing a separate federal bill that would allow the Russian president and government to confiscate foreign owned property in Russia, including assets belonging to private companies, the senator told the RIA Novosti news agency.

Pentagon wants to keep war chest despite Afghan 'exit' 05 Mar 2014 The Pentagon wants to keep its US80 billion war chest even though most or all US troops are to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of this year, officials said on Tuesday. "Overseas contingency operations" [aka billions for 'Blackwater'] funds are separate from the main Pentagon budget and have financed wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and counter-terrorism efforts elsewhere for more than a decade. The Defence Department's proposed budget, released on Tuesday as part of the White House's annual spending plan, calls for US79.4 billion in war funding for fiscal year 2015. That represents only a small cut in the overseas operations fund accorded US85.2 billion this year's main budget.

Five Afghan soldiers killed in air strike by NATO-led force 06 Mar 2014 Five Afghan soldiers were killed on Thursday in an air strike by the NATO-led force in Afghanistan's eastern province of Logar, Afghan officials and the coalition said. The airstrike, at around 3.30 a.m., seriously wounded at least eight other soldiers, said district governor Khalilullah Kamal. A total of 17 people had been injured, his office said.

Rutgers University Faculty, Students Protest Condoleezza Rice's Commencement Ceremony Appearance --Rice will reportedly receive 35,000 and honorary doctorate for speech 06 Mar 2014 Rutgers University professors and students are up in arms over the academic institution's decision to invite former U.S. Secretary of State [war criminal and unindicted 9/11 co-conspirator] Condoleezza Rice to address this year's commencement ceremony, according to The Star-Ledger. Last week, Rutgers' New Brunswick Facility Council passed a resolution that called upon the university's governing board to rescind the invite that had been sent to Rice. The resolution mentioned how Rutgers should not bestow such an honor on Rice because of her political views with regards to the war in Iraq and former President [sic] George W. Bush's administrative rules on harsh interrogations torture such as waterboarding. According to the faculty resolution, "Condoleezza Rice...played a prominent role in the administration's effort to mislead the American people about the presence of weapons of mass destruction."

Gatwick Airport: Man Held Over 'Terror Training' 06 Mar 2014 A 21-year-old man has been arrested at Gatwick Airport on suspicion of training for terrorism overseas, Scotland Yard said. Officers from the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command arrested the man after he got off a flight from Istanbul at around 2pm on Thursday. He is being held in custody at a West London police station under section six of the Terrorism Act 2006.

CIA Accused of Spying on Senate Intelligence Committee Staffers 05 Mar 2014 We've discussed a few times how the Senate Intelligence Committee has been pushing to release a supposedly devastating 6,000 page report about the CIA's torture program, which cost taxpayers an equally astounding 40 million to produce. But, the CIA has been fighting hard to block the release of the report, arguing that it misrepresents the CIA's actions. However, things are getting even more bizarre, as the NY Times is reporting that the CIA is now accused of spying on the Intelligence Committee and its staffers in its attempt to keep that report from being released.

Attorneys for Barrett Brown want case on linking to hacked material dismissed 04 Mar 2014 Lawyers acting for Barrett Brown, the activist-journalist facing more than 100 years in prison for having posted a hyperlink to hacked material, have called for his case to be dismissed on grounds that it violates his First Amendment rights to free speech and would chill the internet. Brown, 32, is being held in Texas ahead of two scheduled trials on 28 April and 19 May. He is charged with a total of 17 counts in three separate indictments relating to his work uncovering online surveillance. The main allegation against him -- spanning 12 counts -- is that he posted a hyperlink on an internet chat room to a website containing material hacked from the private intelligence firm Strategic Forecasting, Inc, (Stratfor).

Edward Snowden exposed eroding civil liberties, former spy Christopher Boyce says 06 Mar 2014 When lawmakers in Norway nominated Edward Snowden for the Nobel Peace Prize this year, Christopher Boyce tweeted the news with this comment: "He has my vote." Snowden and Boyce share similarities. Both held top-secret security clearances and walked off with troves of U.S. files. Both gained a mix of fame and infamy. And both faced the government's wrath for their thefts and the exposure of government secrets.

Private license plate scanners amassing vast databases open to highest bidders 06 Mar 2014 Automated license plate readers used by car repossession companies, for example, collect billions of personal records per year, which contribute to vast databases that can be used by law enforcement, insurance companies, banks, and the like, with few limits... Digital Recognition Network, which works with New England Associates, says it collects plate scans of 40 percent of all US vehicles per year.

Nine Mile 2 nuclear reactor shuts down after losing on-site power supply 04 Mar 2014 (NY) The Nine Mile Point 2 nuclear power plant shut down early today following the an on-site electrical power failure, plant operator Constellation Energy Nuclear Group said. The cause of the power failure is still under review. The loss of the power supply impacted the flow of cooling to both of the plant's reactor recirculation pumps, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission reported. In response, the plant's operators manually scrammed the reactor at 1:43 a.m., which entails inserting all of the control rods to halt the fissioning process.

House passes SC bill that blocks coal ash lawsuits 01 Mar 2014 A bill that could shield [eco-terrorists] Duke Energy from having to clean out polluted coal ash ponds in two areas of South Carolina will move to the Senate for consideration. The State newspaper reported the House approved the bill 80-30 this past week. The bill would block lawsuit by citizen groups under the S.C. Pollution Control Act. Democratic Rep. James Smith calls the bill "amnesty for polluters."

Duke Energy could avoid coal ash lawsuit if SC bill passes 28 Feb 2014 South Carolina policymakers are moving ahead with a plan that could shield Duke Energy from having to clean out polluted coal ash ponds in two areas of the state. This past week, the state House voted 80-30 for a bill that will block lawsuits by citizens groups under the S.C. Pollution Control Act. The bill moves to the Senate, which signed off on a similar bill two years ago. "It is amnesty for polluters," Rep. James Smith, D-Richland said. While the bill would apply to any company, it's particularly relevant to Duke Energy, Smith and others said.

Idaho lawmakers pass bill allowing concealed guns on college campuses 06 Mar 2014 Idaho lawmakers on Thursday approved a measure allowing concealed guns to be carried onto university and college campuses. The legislation, which cleared the state House of Representatives by a 50-19 vote and was overwhelmingly approved by the state Senate last month, now heads to Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter for his signature. If the Republican governor signs the bill into law as expected, Idaho will be the seventh U.S. state that allows guns on college campuses, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Congressional Black Caucus calls for removal of Issa after cutting Cummings's mic 06 Mar 2014 Chair of Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, calls on House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to remove Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., from House Oversight Committee after Issa cut off Rep. Elijah Cummings's microphone during Wednesday hearing.

South Carolina Democrat slams Christie as hypocrite on Medicaid expansion 04 Mar 2014 A Democratic candidate for South Carolina governor has called out Gov. Chris Christie as a hypocrite after the Republican Governors Associate attacked the candidate for his stance on Medicaid expansion - a stance Christie himself has taken in New Jersey. Democrat Vincent Sheheen is the presumptive Democratic nominee and is set to challenge Republican Gov. Nikki Haley in the general election. In a recent attack add, the Christie-led RGA slammed Sheheen for advocating for the use of government dollars to expand Medicaid. But the problem, according to Sheheen, is that last year, Christie, who is chairman of the RGA, actually made the decision to accept federal dollars for expansion in New Jersey.

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