Denmark: We Own the North Pole

Via the BBC:

Denmark has presented a claim to the UN, arguing that the area surrounding the North Pole is connected to the continental shelf of Greenland, a Danish autonomous territory. Foreign Minister Martin Lidegaard said it was a "historic and important milestone" for Denmark. Canada and Russia have already asserted their own sovereignty over the energy-rich Arctic territory. Arctic nations have agreed that a UN panel will settle the dispute. The focus of the dispute is the Lomonosov Ridge, a 1,800km-long (1,120 miles) underwater mountain range that splits the Arctic in two. Back in 2008, a US Geological Survey report estimated that as much as 22% of the world's undiscovered and recoverable resources lay north of the Arctic Circle, but the North Pole itself is unlikely to have much oil or gas beneath its deep waters.

A panel of UN scientists will evaluate Denmark's claim.

Federal Judge Rules BP Was "Grossly Negligent" In 2010 Gulf Oil Spill

Bloomberg News reports:

BP acted with gross negligence in setting off the biggest offshore oil spill in U.S. history, a federal judge ruled, handing down a long-awaited decision that may force the energy company to pay billions of dollars more for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico disaster. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier held a trial without a jury over who was at fault for the environmental catastrophe, which killed 11 people and spewed oil for almost three months into waters that touch the shores of five states. The case also included Transocean Ltd. and Halliburton Co., though the judge didn’t find them as responsible for the spill as BP. “BP’s conduct was reckless,” Barbier wrote in a decision today in New Orleans federal court. “Transocean’s conduct was negligent. Halliburton’s conduct was negligent.” Barbier apportioned fault at 67 percent for BP, 30 percent for Transocean and 3 percent for Halliburton.

BP faces fines of up to $18B. The judge did not rule on how much oil was spilled, which may affect the liability.

Putin Writes Off 90% Of Cuban Debt

Via the Wire:

Russian President Vladimir Putin is currently on a grand tour of Latin America. His first stop is in Havana, Cuba. Ahead of arriving in Cuba, Putin decided to bestow a gift upon the Cuban government. With one swift signature, he eliminated $32 billion of Cuba's debt, left over from the Soviet era. Cuba isn't completely off the hook. They will be required to pay back just $3.2 billion over the next ten years, a 90 percent decrease from what they previously owed. The first payment is due in October, and will be made from the National Bank of Cuba to the Russian lender Vnesheconombank.

And why did he do it? Probably because Cuba is sitting on $900B in oil reserves and Russia's state-owned oil company wants it.

ExxonMobil Rejects LGBT Workplace Protections For 17th Consecutive Year

Via the Washington Blade:

For the 17th time, Exxon Mobil shareholders rejected a resolution that would have instituted new policy within the oil-and-gas giant to prohibit discrimination against LGBT workers. According to the company, only 19.5 percent of shareholders voted to approve the proposed resolution at their annual meeting on Wednesday, which this year took place in Dallas, Texas. The resolution would have incorporated LGBT non-discrimination language in the oil-and-gas giant’s equal employment opportunity policy. This year, as in previous years, the resolution was sponsored by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. The resolution was one of eight measures to come up at the meeting; only three were approved by shareholders.

Freedom To Work reacts:

“An executive order by President Barack Obama would force Exxon Mobil to adopt LGBT workplace protections in order to continue profiting from hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded contracts,” Almeida said. “Exxon’s leadership has rejected these common-sense nondiscrimination policies year after year, even though their competitors at Chevron and BP understand that banning discrimination is good for business. It’s time for presidential leadership to move Exxon to accept the American value that everybody deserves a fair shot in the workplace.”

The company did institute domestic partners benefits following last year's partial overturn of DOMA.

GOP Appoints Climate Change Denier To Head House Environment Subcomittee

The GOP has appointed climate change denier Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ) to head the House Science subcommittee on the environment.

Schweikert will replace Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah), who moved to the House Appropriations Committee. He said he plans to use his new post to target the Obama administration's regulatory agenda. "Too often, this Administration has tried to bypass Congress and impose its will on the American people through regulatory fiat,” Schweikert said Thursday in a statement, The Hill reported. “We have a responsibility to provide a check-and-balance to ensure there is fairness and openness in the process and that taxpayers are not being subjected to onerous and unnecessarily burdensome rules and regulations." A main component of the Obama administration's environmental work is new limits on power plants' greenhouse gas pollution. Schweikert has argued that the idea of man-made global warming may be "folklore."

Democrats react: "By putting a climate change denier in charge of a subcommittee on the environment, congressional Republicans are further cementing the fact that their only real priority is protecting special interests and their big oil backers." (Tipped by JMG reader Joe)

Nigerian King: I Have A $1M Watch And Have The Same Cars As Queen Elizabeth

"I have a wrist watch that cost $1 million. I wear expensive wrist watches, shoes and chains, all made of diamond. First and foremost, I am very creative and secondly, I emulate the style of our forefathers, wearing royal beads as an old style. You know these days, if you want to become a popular and flamboyant king, you have to use diamonds, diamond chains, diamond wrist watches, diamond shoes, diamond ring and my muffler is also made of diamond or gold. And that will make you unique among other Obas and that doesn’t make you proud. I like to be the first in everything. I have the largest oil tank in West Africa today. I use the same type of automobile with the Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth. We use the same Rolls Royce and Bentley. Aside that, I have a seven-door limousine Mercedes, I want to be the first in everything." - Obateru Akinruntan, billionaire Obat Oil founder and tribal king of western Nigeria. (Via the Nigeria Daily Post)