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Ken Saro-Wiwa: the day of truth?
The Guardian by Kevin Smith Ken Saro-Wiwa: the day of truth? It will send shockwaves through boardrooms if the predictions of the executed campaigner are proved right in a US court. As shareholders gather today in London and The Hague for Shell’s annual general meeting the board is facing difficult questions over the company’s environmental and human…
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Whose Bank? Our Bank! – RBS & the Future
This article was first published in Platform’s Carbon Web newsletter, issue 11. Between October 2008 and March 2009, the Treasury pumped £33 billion of public money into ‘bailing out’ the Royal Bank of Scotland, to the point where the bank is now 90% owned by the UK taxpayer. Yet the government continues to insist that…
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RBS driving conflict in the Congo
This article was first published in Platform’s Carbon Web newsletter, issue 11. Despite relying on government funds and insurance for survival, RBS is still pumping millions into oil extraction in conflict zones. In March 2009, RBS was part of a consortium of 14 banks that lent $1,890 million to the Irish company Tullow Oil –…
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Iraq backs down to oil company pressure
Carbon Web Newsletter, Issue 11. The falling oil price has pushed the Iraqi government onto the back foot, allowing foreign oil companies to demand greater concessions. The Iraqi government has had to slash its 2009 budget from $80 bn to under $60 bn – and even this revised figure is based on an optimistic $50…
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Falling oil price opens new doors for BP & Shell
This article was first published in Platform’s Carbon Web newsletter, issue 11. The falling oil price will significantly reduce the bargaining position of oil producing countries. The dramatic crash from an all-time high of $147 a barrel in summer 2008 to $34 in January 2009 has already reversed the trend of resource sovereignty seen…
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RBS goes Arctic
This article was first published in Platform’s Carbon Web newsletter, issue 11. In mid-March 2009, after the most recent bailout, RBS financed exploration work in previously untouched regions of Greenland’s Arctic. Acting as joint bookrunner with Merrill Lynch on March 11, RBS placed shares worth £116 million for Cairn Energy, a Scottish oil company. Although…
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The Living Memorial: an update from Remember Saro-Wiwa
Sept/Oct 2008 – SABLE literary magazine – Ben Amunwa – The Living Memorial: an update from Remember Saro-Wiwa – feature article on Remember Saro-Wiwa Text & pdf to follow.
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Life in the Landscape of Hydrocarbons – Exit Strategy III
By James Marriott – This article was first published in Platform’s Carbon Web newsletter, issue 10. How was it that the marshes of Hoo St Werburgh – so good for grazing cattle and sheep, so rich in birdlife – were turned into a site for Kingsnorth Power Station – with its chimneys and access roads,…
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Oil & Violence in Turkey
This article was first published in Platform’s Carbon Web newsletter, issue 10. At 11pm on 5 August, a major explosion ruptured the BTC pipeline near Yurtbashi village in Turkey’s eastern Erzincan province. The blast sent flames shooting up to 160 feet in the air. Nearby residents told PLATFORM that they heard explosions, before a plume…
