Mexico Slowly Bringing Oversight To Its Oil Industry

Robert Hune-Kalter - Talk Radio News Service

The head of a new agency within the Mexican government tasked with regulating carbon extraction said Mexico will soon be getting tougher on its largest state-owned oil company.

Juan Carlos Zepeda Molina, President of the newly created National Commission of Hydrocarbons, told a panel gathered at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., that his department will bring necessary oversight to Pemex, one of the largest companies in the world, worth hundreds of billions of dollars annually.

(Click here for a more in-depth article from the Wall Street Journal)

“Our main focus right now, is to go into Pemex and check whether Pemex has all internal procedures according to best practices. The second thing is to assign a specific regulation. The third level of regulation, as I mentioned, we have the technical assessment,” he said.

One procedure Molina finds to be of the utmost importance is to implement a double-key authorization.

“Before a critical decision is taken, I believe we have to enforce a double-key procedure to make sure certain procedures are done and that you have the concourse of more than one judgement in order to take a final decision,” said Molina.

Lourdes Melgar, an independent energy consultant studying at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., worries that Pemex has future offshore drilling plans that exceed the company’s technologies and practices.

“How does a company such as Pemex, and how do we think we can do this with such a weak regulation or nonexistent regulation, do the quantum leap from 1200 meters to 2520 meters?” said Melgar.

Melgar also worries about Mexico’s lackadaisical response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

“One cannot just pretend nothing is going on,” she said. “Why has the Mexican government been so quiet about something that is happening right there in the Gulf of Mexico? After all it’s called the Gulf of Mexico, it’s something we share.”

Security Expert Warns That Hackers Could Destroy U.S. Money Supply

by Julianne LaJeunesse- University of New Mexico

The International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. held a conference Friday calling for more public and private participation to stop internet "hackers."

At the conference, former U.S. director of the National Intelligence organization Mike McConnell said that internet hacking isn't a laughing matter, that instead, hacking could have a global effect.

"I'm not worried about someone, some hacker, turning off your refrigerator and spoiling tomorrow night's dinner," McConnell said. "I'm worried about some terrorist group that has the capability to attack the U.S. money supply."

McConnell said "destroying data, not stealing data" could have worldwide effects because it could contaminate the country's accounting system.

McConnell and other experts said public support through increased firewall use and knowledge about hacking could help decrease the number of "hack jobs" in the country.

James Lewis, director of the Technology and Public Policy Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, added that hacking includes spying. He said in the United States, like it or not, spying is a part of people's everyday internet use.

Lewis noted that current proposed legislation aims to provide more internet protections, but said as of now, spying and a weak U.S. defense toward hacking are "a big problem."

Controls such as Sen. John Rockefeller's (D-W.V.) proposed cyber security bill S.773 has drawn some support for its safety measures, but many people believe the potential of decreased internet access as granted by the President is a step too far.

Congressmen: China Must Reevaluate Climate Change Policy

By Sam Wechsler - Talk Radio News Service

Just after returning from a trip to China, U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) and Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) disagree strongly with the Chinese government's current environmental standards and political policies.

The pair made their comments on Monday at the Center for Strategic & International Studies in Washington, D.C.

Larsen said that the trip was focused primarily on the economy and to understand the Chinese government’s response to the recent global recession. He believes that at the United Nations’ Copenhagen Climate Change Conference in December, China will try to mandate the compulsory licensing of all intellectual property pertaining to climate change and energy consumption. That would mean that U.S. energy companies must license new alternative energy technologies to all countries.

“If the treaty licenses the theft of U.S. intellectual property across an area that may encompass 15 to 20 percent of the U.S. economy, the effect of the legislation will be to increase energy prices in the United States,” said Kirk. He fears that compulsory licensing of green energy intellectual property will cause further unemployment within the United States due to job loss in that sector.

“It became very clear that the top three priorities domestically [in China] are the same that I have and that Mark (Kirk) has - jobs, jobs, and jobs,” said Larsen.

Kirk said that the Chinese government was most concerned about employing their massive number of unemployed new college graduates, adding that China is investing an enormous amount in commodities: China bought a petroleum reserve and $80 billion in gold. He believes that the only reason they would do so is speculation on U.S. dollar inflation.

Pending legislation threatens human rights in Ethiopia

“Internal stability and anti-terrorism are main focuses for the United States in Ethiopia,” said David Kramer, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. Kramer was part of a panel of experts at the Center for Strategic & International Studies who held a discussion today on “Human Rights and Governance in Ethiopia.”

“We have seen a number of efforts that are perceived in many circles, in Ethiopia and here, of trying to close the political space in Ethiopia. Of immediate concern is the latest draft of the Charities and Societies Proclamation as well as the Media Law. Both of these run the risk of curbing freedom of speech, civic development and capacity building that we feel are very important to development of a democratic system and a respect to human rights in that country,” said Kramer.

Yoseph Mulugeta Badwaza, Secretary General of the Ethiopian Human Rights Council, described the likely impact of the pending legislation known as the “CSO Bill,” which threatens non-governmental organizations that receive foreign contributions in support of human rights, civic education, and peace building activities. Ethiopia is currently the third largest recipient of U.S. aid in the African continent, and the panel agreed this legislation would severely hamper human rights regulation in the country.

Chris Albin-Lackey of Human Rights Watch said the draft of this legislation “isn’t just important in it of itself, it’s also very important as a bellwether and a very alarming signal about the overall direction that Ethiopia is moving in.”

President of Kurdistan: The terrorists have weakened and are losing ground

“Important things are happening in Washington today,” John Hamre of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said at a joint press conference with the President of Kurdistan, Masoud Barzani, concerning the future of Iraq.

President Barzani stated that his visit comes at a critical time, not only for the United States but for the entire world because the new president of the United States impacts the world. President Barzani said that his visit is intended to express his gratitude to the United States for their assistance in getting Iraq out of a dictatorship.

“A great opportunity has come to Iraq. An opportunity to have democracy and a free state but there are challenges ahead,” President Barzani said. He stated that the role of the Kurds is important and that they have shed blood fighting along side the United States. “The Kurds will continue to play a positive role to have a federal democratic state in Iraq,” President Barzani said.

He further stated that Kurdistan will stay committed and determined to make sure terrorists aren’t able to find foot ground in Iraq. He wants to make sure that Kurdistan maintains good relations with their neighbors. “ A lot of good meetings have happened with Turkey and Iran and we hope it continues for the sake of everyones freedom,” President Barzani said.

President Barzani assured that there is a current agreement being drafted between Iraqi officials and the United States. He said that the agreement has a timetable for withdrawal of troops in 2011 and that this agreement is better then any agreement that has been made in the past. “Fortunately the terrorists have not been able to gain a base in our region. If we look at the situation now, the terrorists have been weakened and are losing ground. If we do not continue on the successes we have had, there is always a chance of them gaining strength again,” President Barzani concluded.