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Iraq-Turkey oil export pipeline seen back in 72 hours after new attack

"A bomb placed under the Kirkuk-Ceyhan line in Iraq's Ninewa province exploded early Sunday halting flows, a senior Iraqi oil official told Platts. 'The exports were completely stopped from Kirkuk,' said the senior official with the state-run North Oil Company, who asked not be identified. The official said the explosion took place in Ain al-Jahsh, south of the city of Mosul, in the middle of an area increasingly rife with al-Qaeda and other militants. The pipeline had been operational for just two weeks since the last attack, on June 21, which kept the route offline until July 17." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIraq-Turkey oil export pipeline seen back in 72 hours after new attack

Bakken flaring burns more than $100 million a month

"The amount lost to flaring pales in comparison to the $2.21 billion in crude oil production for May in North Dakota. Still, energy companies are working to build more pipelines and processing facilities to connect many of the state's 9,000 wells - a number expected to hit 50,000 by 2030. But it is a process that takes time and is not always feasible. Roughly 29 percent of natural gas extracted in North Dakota was flared in May, down from an all-time high of 36 percent in September 2011. But the volume of natural gas produced has nearly tripled in that timeframe to about 900,000 million cubic feet per day." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBakken flaring burns more than $100 million a month

How Important Is The Spot Price of Uranium?

"Though the spot price of uranium has fallen to US$34.50/lb.—a far cry from the US$140/lb it fetched a few years prior—how important is the spot price of uranium? The answer: not as important as the long-term price. In fact, over six times more uranium is traded in long-term market prices than in the spot market price. Currently, the long-term price for uranium is over 50% higher than the spot price. The long-term uranium price is currently set at US$57 per pound, whereas the spot price as of this writing is US$34.50." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow Important Is The Spot Price of Uranium?

Police arrest more than 200 protesters for trespassing at Chevron plant

"Police arrested more than 200 demonstrators for trespassing at Chevron Corp in the California city of Richmond on Saturday to mark the one-year anniversary of a massive refinery fire and to protest a proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. The arrests came as a throng of sunflower-carrying picketers chanted, 'Hey hey, ho ho, fossil fuels have got to go,' as people of all ages walked onto Chevron’s property to draw attention to a growing movement against fossil fuel. The arrests included three people in wheelchairs and demonstrators as young as 18 years old. Media reports said most of those arrested were cited and released." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice arrest more than 200 protesters for trespassing at Chevron plant

The Hustlers of the U.S. Health Care System

"It doesn’t matter what pharmacy you go to. The middleman, called a pharmacy benefit manager (or 'PBM'), is there taking his cut. Two other big reasons these PBMs could become cash cows: Obamacare and baby boomers. Obamacare is going to bring another 38 million-some people into the health care system. Many will start using prescription drugs, and they’ll be put on generics through a PBM. Plus, 76 million-some baby boomers are going to become senior citizens in the next 20 years. They’ll use more prescription drugs as they get older. Lots of generics are going to be used by baby boomers." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Hustlers of the U.S. Health Care System

Get ready for the ‘War on Sugar’

"The 'metabolic syndrome' maladies associated with insulin resistance and obesity – many authorities now just use the term 'diabesity' – are expected soon to overtake tobacco as the leading cause of heart disease in the world. And perhaps of cancer, too. Farmer Mike Small has high hopes for the campaign for a Scottish tax on sugar-sweetened beverages: he and his sustainable food campaign, the Fife Diet, will launch a new manifesto for it in September. Forms of sugar-sweetened beverage tax have already started in Denmark, France, Finland and Hungary. Scotland, Small says, is in the mood to follow." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGet ready for the ‘War on Sugar’

Watch: How GPS spoofing can take control of drones and ships

"A University of Texas researcher who has hacked the navigational systems of drones and ships told PBS on Friday that anyone with his software could do the same. Humphrey’s and and his graduate students used a technique called 'GPS spoofing,' in which false GPS signals are broadcast that trick a vehicle’s GPS receiver. The researchers first used the technique to commandeer an aerial drone. More recently, they commandeered a ship. Milton Clary of Overlook Systems Technologies told PBS that spoofing attacks posed a huge threat." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWatch: How GPS spoofing can take control of drones and ships

Glenn Greenwald: Congress ‘forced to learn about what the NSA is doing’ from newspapers

"Guardian columnist Glenn Greenwald on Sunday chided the U.S. government for claiming it had provided 'robust oversight' of the NSA even though members of Congress were forced to go to his paper to learn about secret programs that gather data on American citizens. 'We keep hearing that there’s all kinds of robust oversight by Congress,' Greenwald said, adding that lawmakers had provided 'very detailed letters trying to get this information and they’re being blocked from getting it and they’ve said, and other members have said that they are forced to learn about what the NSA is doing from what they’re reading in our reporting.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: Congress ‘forced to learn about what the NSA is doing’ from newspapers

The concept of delusions gets a big — but unnoticed — overhaul

"It’s not clear who forcibly sedated her in 1972. It’s not certain that she was admitted to a psychiatric ward in the following year. Many people thought she was mad as she ranted about conspiracies in the White House during eccentric phone calls to the press. Questions about Martha Beall Mitchell’s sanity were encouraged by the Nixon administration, who consistently briefed against her and probably had her medicated against her will. But ultimately her claims were proven correct when the Watergate scandal broke. Claims against authorities are often dismissed by suggesting that the person has mental health problems." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe concept of delusions gets a big — but unnoticed — overhaul