Friday, October 2, 2015

A rig too far

Oct 2nd, 2015

Ben van Beurden, installed as Shell’s chief executive in 2014, could have halted the ill-fated project. But after a “personal journey”, he decided to go ahead.

Shell’s retreat from the frozen north shows the new realities of “big oil”: Reputation was another factor in Shell’s retreat

Oct 3rd 2015 | HOUSTON | From the print edition

OIL companies have a proud history of digging holes in inaccessible places and producing gushers of money. But in the Chukchi Sea, in the Alaskan Arctic, Shell has poured $7 billion into a single 6,800-foot exploratory well, making it possibly the most expensive hole yet drilled, only to admit this week that it had not found enough oil and gas to make further exploration worthwhile.

That was a big climbdown for a company that had spent seven years since acquiring the Chukchi licenses in 2008 in a highly public, drawn-out battle to drill in the Arctic. The decision boiled down to costs, financial and reputational. Most big oil firms face similar pressures. Some will take a lesson from Shell and put their Arctic plans on hold, though Eni, a big Italian oil firm, is vowing to press ahead with its efforts to drill in the Norwegian Arctic.

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

North Of The Fence: South Bay Politics and Events

Posted: 02 Oct 2015 11:42 AM PDT

By Barbara Zaragoza

Immigration and Crime

You might be surprised to learn that border cities continue to be among the safest in the country. Imperial Beach was ranked the second safest city in San Diego County.(Poway came in first.)

Also, you are least likely to be murdered in the two border cities of El Paso, TX and San Diego in comparison to 23 other cities in the U.S. Take a look at the FBI data that ranks cities by murder rate.

The Pew Research Center found that Asians have supplanted Hispanics as the largest group of newcomers. The organization also reports that views of immigrants are largely split along party lines in America. 71% of Republicans say immigrants in the U.S. are making crime worse, compared with 35% of Democrats.

[Read more...]

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San Diego Free Press

Oregon College Massacre, More Gun Nut Excuses

Posted: 02 Oct 2015 11:15 AM PDT

By Doug Porter A very disturbed 26-year-old man killed nine people and injured seven others at a community college in Oregon on October 1st. He was killed in a gunfight with police officers responding to 911 calls. The President made his 15th appearance to address the nation following a mass shooting. He was obviously very angry and frustrated. The blowback from the right edge of the flat-earthers was, as usual, both ignorant and infuriating. [Read more...]

Are Charter School Directors Bending Pension Rules?

Posted: 02 Oct 2015 08:55 AM PDT

By Rick Mercurio / Alianza North County Teachers and administrators in California’s public schools earn pensions based on several factors. For some, like Dennis Snyder, the founder of three charter schools in Escondido CA, it adds up to a healthy lifetime benefit, even though his final employer was not a public school district, and even though he found an apparent loophole in the regulations. Snyder’s situation Dennis Snyder worked as a teacher and football coach at Escondido High School starting in about 1965. In 1986 the principal fired Snyder as coach, citing the reason that he was not cooperative with the parent booster organization. Snyder appealed the firing to both the superintendent and the school board, and he lost both appeals. Although he was let go as head football coach, he retained his teaching position. However, in the early ‘90s Snyder switched jobs, becoming executive director of the Escondido Charter High School, which he founded. Heritage K-8 Charter School and Heritage Digital Academy were later founded by Snyder as well. Snyder’s salary as executive director eventually rose to almost $111,000. [Read more...]

SANDAG’s Gary Gallegos: ‘Transit is not going to work for every person in the region’

Posted: 02 Oct 2015 08:54 AM PDT

By Sam Ollinger / BikeSD “We are not going to put everybody on a bike, we are not going to take everybody out of their car, transit is not going to work for every person in the region.” – Gary Gallegos, executive director of SANDAG, San Diego’s Metropolitan Planning Organization. January 8, 2014. “the SANDAG plan is to spend more than half the $204 billion on mass transit, adding five new Trolley lines, 32 new rapid bus lines and 275 miles of new bikeways, as well as 160 miles of freeway lanes intended to help transit and encourage carpools and van pools. The net effect would be to reduce county greenhouse gas emissions by considerably more than state targets.” – UT Editorial Board I don’t know what sort of drugs the UT Editorial Board is consuming, because if they bothered to read SANDAG’s own analysis they would have seen that implementing the existing Regional Transportation Plan (scheduled for a SANDAG board vote on October 9th) in its current form is going to increase the region’s greenhouse gas emissions. [Read more...]

Geo-Poetic Spaces: Taken

Posted: 02 Oct 2015 08:53 AM PDT

Lashing out of imperial robes at Saint Paul's pillar where the founder of Christianity was whipped by its father Sun striking me with its scorpion tail One soft drink from heatstroke and Parousia when, "A fisher of men," limped toward me rattling small change in a paper cup [Read more...]

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

South Loop poised for big residential building boom

Live in the South Loop? Get ready to have a lot more neighbors.

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Market shakes off an early stumble, ends higher

DJIA 16,472.37 +200.36
NASDAQ 4,707.78 +80.69 | S&P 1,951.36 +27.54

TOP BUSINESS NEWS

United CEO talks coffee, bag fees and lousy flights

What Oscar Munoz learned from a dreadful flight.

South Loop poised for big residential building boom

Live in the South Loop? Get ready to have a lot more neighbors.

Griffin divorce ensnares high-finance execs, limo drivers, photographer

Many drawn into the 14-month-old case, according to court documents.

Cubs positioned to control more rooftops with judge's ruling

With judge's ruling, Cubs positioned to control more rooftops

The Cubs' winning on the field hasn't healed all wounds.

U.S. workers staying put, despite improved economy

They're wary of taking employment risks even as companies struggle to fill open positions.

Restoration Hardware opens new concept in Gold Coast

"If we build it, they will come," CEO says.

THE LADDER

Chicago business hires and promotions

HEADING OUT

Partly cloudy, but temperatures break 60

High 62, low 53

Mostly sunny, windy and continued cool.

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

President Obama called on Americans to demand Congress take action to stop gun violence.

I don't think I've ever seen President Obama this upset.

Last night he spoke from the heart about the tragic mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon. It was the eleventh time he's had to address the nation after a tragedy like this. He's tired of it. So are Howard and I.

President Obama called on Americans to demand Congress take action to stop gun violence. Will you answer his call?

Watch the president's powerful speech, then join Howard Dean and DFA members across America to tell Congress: Enough is enough. It's time to pass meaningful gun violence laws now.

The President Delivers a Statement on the Shooting in Oregon

Congress's ongoing failure to protect Americans from mass shootings like this is a national embarrassment. It's time to show those in Congress who prefer to side with the NRA instead of children and families that we won't rest until the president's reasonable gun violence prevention laws are passed.

As my brother said in the email he sent you below, this cannot go on. With your help, we can start to break the deadlock in Congress and stop the mass shootings. Add your name today: stand with President Obama in support of effective gun violence laws.

Thank you for refusing to take "no" for an answer from the gun lobby.

- Jim

Jim Dean, Chair

Democracy for America

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

‘Good Guy With A Gun’ Was On UCC Campus At Time Of Massacre

Despite conservative rhetoric, the Oregon campus where the tragic shooting happened yesterday was not a gun free zone -- and there was even a 'good guy with a gun' on campus at the time of the massacre. The Vatican has clarified that Pope Francis' meeting with Kim Davis should not be considered an endorsement. Everyone is outraged about the new 'people-rating app,' but not only is it completely legal, it may be the "next level of social media interaction."

‘Good Guy With A Gun’ Was On UCC Campus At Time Of Massacre

Umpqua Community College, the site of the massacre on Thursday that left at least 10 people dead, was not — in law or in practice — a gun free zone. ...(read more)

Why The Vatican Is Being So Weird About The Pope’s Meeting With Kim Davis, According To An Expert

Virginia Republicans Admit They Rigged The State’s Congressional Districts To Elect GOP Lawmakers

Silicon Valley’s Newest App Is Likely To Aid Bigots, Destroy Privacy

The internet is ablaze with rage over the prospect of a people-rating app that may come to iPhone users this fall. Peeple is the brainchild of co-founders Nicole McCullough and Julia Cordray, and would allow users to give honest feedback on people they encounter through romantic hook-ups, business connections, or just casual acquaintances. ...(read more)