“I’ll tell you this, I may be dead but my ideas will not die.” –Ken Saro-Wiwa 1995 Twelve years ago today, on November 10, 1995, after 17 months in custody, and a trial that was universally condemned as being a sham, Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists were hanged in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Their … Read More
Author: Steve Kretzmann
No War No Warming!
As part of the “No War No Warming” demonstration 68 protesters were arrested yesterday in Washington, after they blocked Capitol Hill employees from arriving to work. “The link between war and warming is oil” said Steve Kretzmann of Oil Change International. “The oil industry gave $10 million in campaign contributions to this Congress. Perhaps this … Read More
The bright side of 90 degrees in October. Sort of.
So, here we are in Washington, sweating away in what is being called Red October for its record temperatures. Fall is reportedly actually on the way soon, but its looking like a mild winter on the East Coast this year. According to the Wall St. Journal, seasonal forecasts from the the National Weather Service call … Read More
Why protest?
Its a very busy fall for us here at Oil Change International. As our concern over both the war and global warming is growing, we’re putting a lot of effort into manifesting that concern into protest. The connection between protest and change is real, and important to understand. In a recent academic study (pdf) of … Read More
What is holding up the Iraqi oil law?
This is a guest blog from Munir Chalabi, an Iraqi political analyst living in the U.K. As deadline after deadline and benchmark after benchmark passes and with all the pressure imposed by the IMF, the US Administration, the US oil lobby and International Oil Companies (IOCs) on the Iraqi government, the oil law, against all … Read More
Poll: Iraqis Oppose Oil Privatization
Iraqis oppose plans to open the country’s oilfields to foreign investment by a factor of two to one, according to a poll released today. Iraqis are united in this view: there are no ethnic, sectarian or geographical groups that prefer foreign companies. The poll also finds that most Iraqis feel kept in the dark about … Read More
Iraqi Oil Experts Critique Oil Law
WASHINGTON, July 17 (UPI) — More than 100 Iraqi oil, economic and legal experts sent a letter to Iraq’s Parliament urging it to consider their critique of the draft oil law. A senior Iraqi government official was also given a copy and agreed with the technocrats’ assessment. “With our conviction for the need of a … Read More
Iraqis Protest Oil Law
Basra, Iraq – On Monday, hundreds of Iraqis, led by the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions (IFOU), took to the streets of Basra to demand that the Iraqi Parliament reject the proposed Oil Law. [1] Simultaneous demonstrations took place in Amara and Nassiryya. Local governate officials made statements in support of the demonstration and, along … Read More
Iraqi Oil Law-lapalooza
A hectic two days for Iraq oil law watchers. It begins with headlines in all the major papers, and the wires, that the “oil law” has been passed by the Cabinet, and is now going on to the Parliament for a vote. Wire stories yesterday said the vote would be today. Now they say a … Read More
Nobel Women Speak Out Against Iraqi Oil Law
The Nobel Women’s Initiative (NWI) was established in 2006 by sister Nobel Peace Laureates Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Wangari Maathai, Rigoberta MenchĂş Tum, Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan Maguire. At NWI’s First International Conference two weeks ago, Oil Change International’s Antonia Juhasz joined Yanar Mohammed from Iraq to educate participants on the perils of the … Read More