Events
Our coverage of worldwide events
from Hallie Seegal:
A local obstruction in the fracking pipeline
There are high hopes that the natural gas extraction technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, will boost the economy and bring the United States closer to energy independence, but if the energy industry expects to break new ground and fulfill a growing demand anytime soon, they need to make friends with the people who reside near the drilling rigs.
Two new reports out last week point to the potential of how fracking, the process whereby a highly-pressured mixture of water, sand and chemicals is blasted through underground shale rock formations to release natural gas, could positively benefit our economy. One study projects that natural gas will account for nearly one-third of total U.S. energy produced by 2040, and the other one, a government commissioned report which the Obama administration is expected to partially base its shale gas policy on, shows natural gas exports providing revenue to the struggling economy under every condition considered.
A natural gas well is drilled near Canton, in Bradford County, Pennsylvania January 8, 2012. REUTERS/Les Stone
The Obama administration has largely left regulation of private land up to the states, and for many landowners, the impacts of hydraulic fracturing don’t just hit close to home… they drill right into their backyards. Last month, voters in Longmont, Colo. became the latest in the country to ban fracking within town limits. The ballot initiative was passed via a bipartisan vote and the town will likely follow in the footsteps a handful of other municipalities, including the upstate New York towns of Dryden, Middlefield and Avon, that already passed bans or moratoriums and are in the midst of legal challenges to uphold them. While local ordinances may not typically make national news, the precedent set by these local governments cannot be overstated. At the most micro level, local residents came together and threw a wedge into the plans of private industry -- industry that by the way, already have allocated millions of dollars to harvest these towns’ natural resources.
What to watch in 2013 world news
Any opinions expressed here are the author’s own.
Online chatter and political dithering from every corner of the world can make it difficult to follow a narrative when it comes to international news. To cut through the noise, here are four important potential developments to watch next year. Coming up in 2013: “Drug war” frustrations hit a high, Syria groans on, U.S. foreign policy trips over its own feet, and war comes to a computer near you.
U.S. influence on drug policy goes up in smoke.
After six years of drug-related violence in Mexico that has terrorized local communities and killed at least 60,000 people, Latin American governments are fed up with the ”war on drugs.” In 2012, the U.S. government’s no-tolerance policy was challenged both at home and abroad.
from mirjam-donath:
How long can a Hungarian hunger strike go on?
A Hungarian TV journalist is nearing Mahatma Gandhi’s limit of 21 days for a hunger strike. 44-year-old Balazs Nagy Navarro has been sitting at the doorstep of Hungary’s Public Television Bureau for 19 days in below-freezing temperatures.
The protests that have swept through the world over the last year have finally reached Hungary. Christmas found thousands of Hungarians on the streets chanting DE-MOC-RA-CY! and FREEDOM-OF-THE-PRESS! at demonstrations against Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Navarro, a television journalist and vice president of one of the largest unions of broadcast journalists sees himself fighting for basic democratic rights such as fairness in public media.
Nobel salutes the slow unlocking of the universe’s secrets
By Richard Panek
The views expressed are his own.
For the first time in history our species has begun to answer some of the eternal questions about the universe: Where did it come from? Where is it going? We’re able to do so in part because of the discovery that is being recognized by this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics.
Before Galileo published the first discoveries he made with a primitive telescope, in 1610, cosmology—the study of the structure and evolution of the universe—was equal parts speculation and superstition. Even the subsequent, centuries-long discoveries of new planets, new moons, new stars, and new galaxies didn’t address the evolution of the universe. Not until Edwin Hubble’s 1929 discovery that, on a cosmic scale, galaxies appear to be receding from one another, carried along by the expansion of space itself, did the universe begin to acquire a narrative—a story that changes over time.
My September 11th
By Rudy Giuliani
The opinions expressed are his own.
The following is an excerpt from an essay written by former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former NY Governor George Pataki from the recently published, 9/11: Stories of Courage, Heroism and Generosity, a book compiled by Zagat Survey CEO and former head of NYC & Co., Tim Zagat.
September 11 was Primary Day, a semi-holiday for those of us in government. So I had planned for a relatively slow morning that included breakfast at Fives, the restaurant at The Peninsula hotel, with Bill Simon, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney who worked with me while I was United States Attorney. He wanted to talk about a possible run for Governor of California. But when Bill, my chief counsel and longtime aide, Denny Young, and I were finishing breakfast, Patti Varrone, a detective with the NYPD, who served on my police detail, interrupted us with news that an airplane had hit the World Trade Center. As Denny and I left, Bill said, “Good luck. God bless you,” and then hugged us.
Battling death at the World Trade Center
This is an excerpt from Unmeasured Strength, Lauren Manning’s account of surviving the 9/11 attack at the World Trade Center and her struggle to recover from severe burn injuries.
The flames were consuming me, and as the first searing pain hit, I thought, This can’t be happening to me.
Explosion rocks Oslo
July 25, 2011
Latest (12:46pm ET)
Norway killer tells judge two more cells exist : Johan Ahlander and Aasa Christine Stoltz, Reuters
Police updates via BBC liveblog
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Investigation into Mr Breivik’s links to Poland still going on – Norwegian police.
Nobody has been arrested in Poland with links to the Breivik case – Norwegian police.
Police point out that Mr Breivik appeared to contradict himself, saying variously he had acted alone and had worked with two other “cells”.
Police say today’s hearing was held in a closed court because they were “worried about giving out too much information”. “One of the reasons was that we thought that other people might be implicated.”
(9:39am ET)
from MediaFile:
Tech CEO turns to trusted adviser on key decision; 10-year old daughter
Anyone who thinks the word “executive” in CEO stands for a person who actually executes decisions and strategy should think again, at least according to Technicolor CEO Frederic Rose.
REUTERS/Charles Platiau
“It’s very funny, you get a job as a CEO and everyone says you’ve got this absolute power,” Rose told the Reuters Global Media Summit in Paris.
Merkel puts on brave face for CeBIT’s future
It’s that time of year when the tech industry flocks in droves to that dreary, grey German city called Hanover to celebrate the sector, to make deals, to network and connect and to round it all off in the evenings with swanky company dos, right?
Well, that used to be.
We know that CeBIT has lost its glam factor, its lustre — even if it still claims to be the world’s No.1 tech and IT fair. And, alas, we know that the industry is increasingly shifting its focus to the much hotter trade shows in Spain and the United States.
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The Wall
