World

Iraq's Oil Fields Open for Business (Soon)

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Iraq is cautiously opening its oil fields to foreign and domestic investment, but is trying to do it on their own terms.
In September, Iraq’s parliament is expected to ratify a law allowing Western countries to invest in Iraqi oil fields. The country is believed to have oil reserves of 115 million barrels, half of them unexplored. From now on, all previous oil contracts will be reviewed with an eye toward spreading the country’s oil wealth evenly among Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds and other groups, according to proposed legislation. Iraq’s national oil company will be given first access to the country’s enormous West Qurna field and decide which foreign companies to work with. Russian giant Lukoil is hoping an agreement they had under Saddam Hussein to drill there still holds.

Economy

Domestic Workers Abused Worldwide

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Hundreds of domestic workers commit suicide in Bahrain every year rather than return to their families in debt, according to rights groups and Western observers. The workers, mostly women from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, take out huge loans to pay their way to Bahrain, lured by the promise of good jobs and decent wage, according to Gulf News. But the jobs turn out to be lower quality, and the pay a fraction of what they expected. Broke and often abused by their employers, they cannot return home and often choose to end their lives. A report by Human Rights Watch titled “Swept Under the Rug: Abuses Against Domestic Workers Around the World” includes testimonials from hundreds of women from Asia to Africa.

Democracy & Civics

Security State's Brave New Tech

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The U.S. and Britain have been developing elaborate new tools to identify and subdue would-be terrorists at home and abroad. The Department of Homeland Security is developing a non-lethal weapon that emits a dazzling beam of light to incapacitate any suspect for a period of time. According to USA Today, the device has been dubbed the “puke-ray” for its tendency to induce nausea and vomiting. Rights groups worry it will be used not on terrorists but on Mexican immigrants crossing the border at night. Others worry that the instruments could enter the black market, forcing law enforcement to defend themselves against the weapon they developed.

Democracy & Civics

Your Words Betray You

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Marc Shultz couldn’t quite recall what he brought into the coffeeshop that Saturday morning, the day the last Harry Potter book hit the shelves. But as a worker at a local bookstore, a cup of coffee was a mandatory prelude to what would surely be a hectic day. In his hand, it turned out, was a printout of an article — a bit of media criticism to start the day and accompany his ritual caffeine boost. This he later recounted to the FBI agents who quizzed him at length on the topic. They were tipped off by someone at the coffeeshop who considered a critique of Fox News to be a risk to national security.

Economy

Cost-Cutting Hits Fund for Nuclear and Chemical Workers

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Two federal programs for nuclear workers with cancer and other diseases are under fire for cutting costs without regard for patient needs. In Colorado, Harold Hinton is dying of lung disease contracted while producing weapons-grade uranium 308, and under a Labor Department cost-cutting measure will lose the live-in nurse his doctor recommended. A government spokesman said Hinton’s medical provider pressured the doctor into calling for 24/7 home care. Officials have paid $1.8 billion to 20,000 claimants, and thousands of other cases are still pending. Advocacy groups are pressuring Congress to speed up the process.

Environment

THE ELECTRIC CAR: GM, Ford Pay the Price for Hype

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GM is trying to lower expectations that their much-anticipated plug-in electric car, the Volt, will reach consumers soon. A prototype was unveiled at an automotive show in January, but the real deal depends on a breakthrough in battery technology that may take years to achieve, despite the infusion of millions of dollars in federal research funding. Critics say that GM overhyped the Volt, creating more skepticism about electric cars. Ford also took a PR drubbing when it recently backed out of a promise to build 250,000 plug-in hybrids by 2010, according to the Detroit News. Environmentalists hope a commercially viable battery-powered car, capable of traveling 40 miles before recharging, will take the edge off rising corn prices as demand for ethanol spikes across the country.

Nation

Nation: Jan. 18-24

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Redwood Protections Run Deep

Protections woven into the deeds on 200,000 acres of old-growth redwood trees in Northern California may come in handy now that their owner, Pacific Lumber, has filed for bankruptcy. Taxpayers put up $480 million in 1999 to protect the smaller Headwaters Grove, but the deal came with extensive habitat protections covering the rest of the property. U.S. Attorneys “Fired” by White House

Sen. Dianne Feinstein says the federal attorneys who prosecuted the BALCO steroids case and the bribery trial of Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham have been forced to resign. She blames a provision of the Patriot Act that allows the president to replace U.S. attorneys at any time, and seeks its repeal. Christians-Only Health Plan Stands
A cost-sharing medical program that covers 19,000 churchgoers, and collected $42.8 million in monthly premiums in 2005, can continue to operate in Kentucky.