News from the land up top.

British Columbia Exploration Rights Auction Nets $610 Million Canadian
From the Globe and Mail:

British Columbia has raked in a record-breaking $610-million in an oil and gas rights sale, the latest in a series of windfalls driven by a rush of natural gas producers looking to lock up land in the northeastern part of the province.

The tally from the one-day sale smashes the old record of $441-million set in May, and puts B.C.’s total land sale proceeds so far this year at $1.58-billion. That surpasses last year’s record mark of $1.04-billion, and ranks as among the biggest to date in Canada.

Beyond the sale money pouring into government coffers, the dollars to be spent by producers on the ground will provide an important boost to the provincial economy. Northeastern B.C. is already getting a jolt from a ramp-up in exploration in the region that has culminated with recent discoveries such as the Horn River and Montney plays.

“We are pretty pumped in British Columbia about what just took place,” B.C. Energy Minister Richard Neufeld said.

Predictions for Canada’s Natural Gas Production
From The Oil Drum, a look at Canada’s natural gas production. Canadian natural gas is important in a number of ways: It provides 17% of total US NG consumption and today contributes roughly 11% of the energy content in a barrel of tar sands oil.

Crime in Canada at a 30 Year Low
From the CBC:

A drop in property offences such as break-ins and motor-vehicle thefts last year helped push Canada’s crime rate to a 30 year low, according to 2007 data released by Statistics Canada Thursday.

Colombian-Canadian FTA
Canada and Colombia concluded a free trade agreement on June 7, 2008. Here’s the Canadian view:

“The Government of Canada is delivering on its commitment to open up opportunities for Canadian business in the Americas and around the world,” stated Minister Emerson. “The free trade agreement will expand Canada-Colombia trade and investment, and will help solidify ongoing efforts by the Government of Colombia to create a more prosperous, equitable and secure democracy.”

Here is the full press release from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Canada.

How Canada stole the American Dream
Macleans compares life north and south of the 49th parallel.

To be an American is to be the best. Every American believes this. Their sports champions are not U.S. champions, they’re world champions. Their corporations aren’t the largest in the States, they’re the largest on the planet. Their armies don’t defend just America, they defend freedom.

Like the perpetual little brother, Canadians have always lived in the shadow of our American neighbours. We mock them for their uncultured ways, their brash talk and their insularity, but it’s always been the thin laughter of the insecure. After all, says University of Lethbridge sociologist Reginald Bibby, a leading tracker of social trends, “Americans grow up with the sincere belief that their nation is a nation that is unique and special, literally called by something greater to be blessed and to be a blessing to people around the globe.” Canadians can’t compete with that.

But it turns out that while they’ve been out conquering the world, here in Canada we’ve been quietly working away at building better lives. While they’ve been pursuing happiness, we’ve been achieving it.

Cocky those Canucks? With good reason, it seems. They live longer, get longer vacations, get free health care, have cleaner cities. We do have the Stanley Cup, however.

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Here’s a round of news and articles on Latin America.

Chávez To Announce More Constitutional Reforms
Freddy Bernal, head of the Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV), noted today in Caracas that President Hugo Chávez will introduce another round of proposed Constitutional reforms including indefinite reelection after the November regional elections. Chávez failed in his bid to seek indefinite reelection in a referendum held last year.

Chávez’s Frequent Flyer Miles
Out of the ten years in power, Chávez has spent over a year outside Venezuela. This week he attended a mini-summit in Manta, Ecuador with Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega. The purpose of the trip was to kick-off the construction of the largest oil refinery on the west coast of South America. Chávez intends to diversify Venezuelan oil exports by building a pipeline to Ecuador for processing and then for shipping to the far corners of the Pacific Rim. Tomorrow, Chávez leaves for Europe on state visits to Spain, France, Belorussia and Russia. King Juan Carlos will not offer a state dinner in case you were wondering. The highlight of Chávez’s Europe tour will be in Moscow where he will purchase more weapons including a new generation of tanks and where he and Russian President Dimitri Medvedev will sign a series of bi-lateral agreements including the establishment of a new Russian-Venezuelan Development Bank. In the last three years, Venezuela has purchased over $2 billion in arms from Russia including 24 Suzoi Jet Fighters and 50 Helicopter Gunships.

The Effect of Oil Prices on Latin America
The Los Angeles Times explores the question: Are exploding oil prices about to burn Latin America?

With the largest petroleum reserves outside the Middle East, the region has been on a roll in recent years. Record exports of crude and grain fueled economic growth not seen since the 1970s. The region’s stock markets roared. Easier credit spawned a consumer class that snapped up homes and cars. About 26 million Latin Americans climbed out of poverty between 2002 and 2006, United Nations figures show.

But the same forces behind that prosperity are now, paradoxically, creating misery in the midst of bounty. Surging fuel prices have ignited inflation throughout the region, driving up the cost of food, whose prices were already on the upswing thanks in part to ravenous global demand for Latin America’s farm products.

A gallon of gas now costs more than a typical day’s wages in some countries in the region. Food prices have escalated an average of 15% over the last year, according to the U.N. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. Prices of many staples have increased much more than that.

The inflation is leaching workers’ paychecks and eroding years of progress against hunger and indigence. At least 500,000 people in El Salvador and Guatemala toppled into poverty last year, the U.N.’s World Food Program estimates. Across Latin America, an additional 15 million people could join the region’s 190 million poor if prices keep rising at their recent pace, the commission predicts.

Police Chief in Coahuila Abducted
The commander of the police unit that investigates organized crime and kidnapping in Coahuila State was himself kidnapped on Monday, law enforcement authorities said. The commander, Gerardo Valdés, was seized by at least six men while he was driving in Saltillo, Coahuila’s capital, the state prosecutor’s office said. An anonymous caller told the police that Commander Valdés had been captured by the Juárez drug cartel, the prosecutor’s office said. Coahuila is in north-central Mexico, bordering Texas.

Argentina Takes Control of Its Air Carriers
The Spanish group Marsans has transferred control of Aerolíneas Argentinas and Austral to the Argentinian state. Combined these airlines account for 80% of Argentina’s internal air traffic. No dollar figure was released. A previous deal that fell apart earlier this year would have kept 36% of the stock in Spanish hands.

Uribe and Lula da Silva To Meet in Leticia
The Presidents of Colombia and Brazil will meet this weekend in the Colombian Amazonian port of Leticia. The two leaders will sign numerous bi-lateral agreements including a defense pact.

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It is certainly true that fact-finding missions have always come before major policy addresses. With Obama, it appears to be inverse though as is generally the case with Obama, what does it matter? He always changes his views even though he protests that he isn’t changing anything at all. He has always been on message. Still it is hard to regard Obama’s upcoming trip to Europe as anything but a major campaign rally. Generally, presidential candidates of any country when they venture overseas during a campaign treat such visits with circumspect respect. Meetings with foreign leaders are par for the course and are held behind closed doors. There are even addresses to forums, primarily chambers of commerce or economic associations that are not open to general public. Obama is going to change that.

Marc Ambinder in the Atlantic writes:

Obama’s trip to Europe will be a huge event…maybe as big as his convention, maybe as big as a debate. Sheer curiosity will translate into enormous crowds, even as most of Obama’s events will be small and pooled. The European press will go ga-ga, uncritically. If Obama does speak at the Brandenburg gate — and it’s unclear whether he will at this point — you could envision a crowd of more than 200,000 watching and cheering him.

I have no doubt that if Obama were running for President of Europe, he would win in a landslide. But he is not, he is running for President of the United States and delivering an address to foreign crowds represents a dangerous politicalization of an American campaign. What if Obama loses in November, something still in the realm of possibilities, what then becomes of US-European relations?

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Here is an overview of who is spending money where. This has been compiled from various sources including CNN, Advertising Age, Media Hot Line, ClickZ, Internet Age and Ad Week.

Here’s a state-by-state breakdown of campaign television spending in battleground states: Michigan: McCain, $2.6 million to Obama’s $1.6 million; Ohio: McCain, $3.2 million to Obama’s $1.7 million; Pennsylvania: McCain, $4.2 million to Obama’s $2.7 million. Additionally, McCain has dropped $1.5 million into Missouri and another $1.9 million on national cable. These are the totals to date.

Obama has spent $60,000 in Alaska; $3.5 million in Florida; $1.3 million in Georgia; $1 million in Indiana; $100,000 in Montana; $1 million in North Carolina; and $1.8 million in Virginia, according to a new analysis by TNS/Campaign Media Analysis Group, CNN’s political television advertising consultant. In terms of Internet advertising, the Obama campaign spent $329,100 in May. Obama’s campaign did purchase ads on an impression-basis in May. It spent $54,000 on CNN.com and $30,000 on Politico for CPM-based ads. Those buys were a validation and amplification of earlier strategies. Between January and April, it spent $24,000 on CNN.com and $36,000 on Politico. This ad spend is aimed more at getting supporters to sign up that to distribute a political message.

For the week of July 8 – July 14, the McCain campaign had media buys in Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Virginia, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Minnesota and Pennsylvania. The McCain Campaign is spending the most money in Michigan ($393,566.58), followed by Ohio ($373,357.71) and Pennsylvania ($310,630.01). In addition, the RNC is running ads on McCain’s behalf in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

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The McCain campaign tracks Obama’s own Iraq quagmire. This ad is Internet-only. It runs 8 minutes.

What amazes me is how often Obama stutters and is left gasping for air.

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The Mexican newspaper El Universal is reporting that the Sinaloa and Gulf drug cartels are sending its members for combat training in Iran. The training is arranged through Venezuela. Both Iran Air and Conviasa fly a Caracas-Damascus-Tehran route. It is increasingly clear that Caracas has joined an axis of evil that runs counter to the interests of the United States and the cause of freedom in the West. Meanwhile, El Universal also reports that the FARC is training the rival Juarez drug cartel.

Entrenan en Irán sicarios de Sinaloa — También viajan gatilleros del Golfo Advierte DEA sobre riesgos para seguridad nacional

Los cárteles de Sinaloa y del Golfo han contactado a grupos extremistas de Irán para enviar a ese país a sicarios de élite, generalmente ex militares, con el fin de que reciban entrenamiento en uso de armas y explosivos, de acuerdo con información del gobierno estadounidense.

Desde 2005 el narcotráfico mantiene relación con esas organizaciones, según reportes de circulación restringida de la Agencia Antidrogas (DEA) a los que tuvo acceso EL UNIVERSAL.

Para llegar a esa región asiática los integrantes del crimen organizado se desplazan a Venezuela, de donde parten vuelos cada semana. En algunos casos viajan con pasaportes venezolanos, mencionó un funcionario del Departamento de Estado.

Explicó que los sicarios se entrenan debido a que no han utilizado al 100% las armas de alto poder que poseen, como las bazucas.

Las dependencias estadounidenses consideraron que se trata de un elevado riesgo de seguridad nacional tanto para México como para Estados Unidos, debido a que el entrenamiento se enfoca en cinco áreas: tácticas, líderes, operaciones de comando, armas y explosivos.

Uno de los grupos que han sido contactados son las Guardias Revolucionarias Islámicas que dan adiestramiento avanzado en cohetes, armas automáticas, rifles para francotiradores y explosivos.

De acuerdo con el reporte, el cártel de Juárez envía a sus sicarios a Colombia para ser entrenados por las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias (FARC) o solicita a ese grupo entrenamiento en México.

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Talk about drama. In the clip below from Argentine television, the Vice President of Argentina Julio Cobos explains his vote on the government’s export tax policies. The clip is in Spanish but worth a look even if you don’t understand Spanish just to see Argentina’s government squirm literally. The vote was taken at 4:25 AM in Buenos Aires and set off celebrations across the country among those hardy enough to await the outcome.

Ganó el campo
In a severe blow to the government of Argentina over its export taxes on a wide array of agricultural products, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner tonight lost the vote in the Argentine Senate by one vote. Her own Vice President Julio Cobos cast the decisive no vote against her tax policy. The New York Times reports:

In a cliffhanging ballot after more than 18 hours of debate, Argentina’s Senate voted early Thursday to reject agricultural export tax increases that inspired months of protests by rebellious farmers.

The outcome — a severe setback for the government of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner — was uncertain to the very end, when Vice President Julio Cobos cast a tie-breaking vote to end a 36-36 deadlock between opponents and supporters of the legislation.

Mr. Cobos had angered Mrs. Kirchner in recent weeks by speaking out in favor of the farmers.

The vote was the climax of a saga that began in March when President Kirchner imposed the tax measures. Facing plummeting approval ratings, Mrs. Kirchner took the calculated risk last month of sending the measure to Congress for debate. Supporters of Mrs. Kirchner’s Peronist bloc control both house of Congress.

The lower house approved the tax system earlier this month by just seven votes after debating for 19 hours. But approval by the Senate was critical for the government.

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Según los registros que llevan los organizadores del las marchas por la libertad y contra las FARC en celebración del 20 de julio, solo en Estados Unidos hay previsto actividades en 25 ciudades, es el país donde más acogida ha tenido la convocatoria. En el Canadá, hay previsto actividades en Ottawa, Toronto y Winnipeg.

En Europa se están preparando movilizaciones en 12 capitales más, en tanto que en Asia y Oceanía se tramitaron los permisos para la manifestación en cinco ciudades.

“No ha sido fácil, por el poco tiempo que tuvimos, pero comprobamos que convocar a los colombianos no puede unir una causa común”, dijo Carlos Santiago, de la organización Colombia soy yo que ha organizado las marchas. Otra sitio que tiene información es Millones de Voces.

Marcha Contra el Secuestro y Contra Las FARC
La información sobres las marchas en diversos puntos del mundo se puede encontrar aqui por region:

Colombia
Latinoamérica y el Caribe
Estados Unidos y el Canadá
Europa
Asia, Africa y Australia

Guía de El Tiempo: Gran Concierto Nacional

Colombians will be marching on the 20 of July around the world calling on the FARC and other groups to release their hostages and end this war. If you care to join us, you may information on the marches above by world zone. The information is in Spanish but it is easily understood. It primarily gives a contact name, an email address for more information, a location and a time.

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Here is the Thursday, July 17th, 2008 edition of interesting reads from around the world.

Bush Claims Executive Privilege in Plame Case
President George W. Bush invoked executive privilege to avoid turning over records of an FBI interview of Vice President Dick Cheney and other documents subpoenaed by Congress in the CIA leak investigation. So much for that bravado that he would spare no effort in determing the source of the leak. More from the Washington Post.

Petrodollars and Geo-Politics
The Los Angeles Times examines how nations with vast oil wealth are gaining clout. It is actually the largest transfer of wealth in human history. Here’s the LA Times synopsis:

Some autocratic governments are challenging U.S. policies and silencing domestic dissent. But their increased spending raises the risk of inflation, which could erode popular support.

UK Unemployment Rate Rises Sharply
Unemployment last month rose at its fastest rate since the depths of the early 1990s recession, as the turmoil in the housing and financial markets continued to take its toll on the UK economy. The number of people claiming unemployment benefit rose for the fifth month in a row, the Office for National Statistics said. The rise – of 15,500 to 840,100 – is the biggest since December 1992. The jobless rate remained at a low 2.6%. The broader labour force survey measure rose 12,000 between March and May to 1.62 million. That was the third rise in a row although the unemployment rate stayed at 5.2%. Complete details from the UK Guardian.

China Economic News
China’s economy grew at a slower pace in the second quarter under the weight of slower exports and a drive by the central bank to tighten credit, but inflationary pressures remained uncomfortably high, the government said Thursday. Annual gross domestic product growth slowed to 10.1 percent in the second quarter from 10.6 percent in the first three months of the year and 11.9 percent in all of 2007, the National Bureau of Statistics said. While consumer inflation slowed to 7.1 percent in June from 7.7 percent in May, pipeline price pressures grew. More from the International Herald Tribune.

The Impact of High Energy Prices on Asia
The Asia Times looks at how Asian economies and Asian consumers are coping with the rise in energy prices.

When it comes to energy conservation, Japan provides a glaring counterpoint to the United States. Consider what has happened in both countries since the first oil shock of the mid-1970s when prices quadrupled.

That price hike initially led to a drive for fuel efficiency in the US, Western Europe and Japan. It also gave a boost to the idea of developing renewable sources of energy. Ever since, Japan has followed a consistent, long-range policy of reduction in petroleum usage, while the US first wavered and then fell back dramatically.

Under the presidencies of Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, the US modestly improved the fuel efficiency of its vehicles, as stipulated by a federal law. Carter also announced a $100 million federal research and development program focused on solar power and symbolically had a solar water heater installed on the White House roof.

During the subsequent presidency of Ronald Reagan, when oil prices fell sharply, energy efficiency and conservation policies went with them, as did the idea of developing renewable sources of energy. This was dramatized when Reagan ordered the removal of that solar panel from the White House.

In the private sector, utilities promptly slashed by half their investments in energy efficiency. President George H W Bush, an oil man, followed Reagan’s lead. And his son, George W (along with Vice President Dick Cheney, former chief executive of energy services giant Halliburton) has done absolutely nothing to wean Americans away from their much talked about “addiction to oil”.

Even now, instead of urging Americans to cut oil usage (and putting a little legislative heft behind those urgings), politicians of both parties are blaming soaring gas and diesel prices on “speculators”, conveniently ignoring how thin a line divides “speculators” from “investors”.

In Japan, on the other hand, the government and private companies have stayed on course since the first oil shock. Despite the doubling of Japan’s gross domestic product during the 1970s and 1980s, its annual overall levels of energy consumption have remained unchanged. Today, Japan uses only half as much energy for every dollar’s worth of economic activity as the European Union or the United States. In addition, national and local authorities have continually enforced strict energy-conservation standards for new buildings.

It is, again, Japan that has made significant progress when it comes to renewable sources of energy. By 2006, for instance, it was responsible for producing almost half of total global solar power, well ahead of the US, even though it was an American, Russell Ohl, who invented the silicon solar cell, the building block of solar photovoltaic panels, which convert sunshine into electricity.

Belgium: The World’s Most Successful Failed State
Leave it to Der Spiegel to come up with the clever headline. In this report, the German news magazine ponders:

Chaos has returned to Belgium’s capital: The government has collapsed, the prime minister has offered his resignation. German newspapers on Wednesday wonder if the linguistically divided country will ever get its act together.

I adore Belgium and I have one very good Belgian friend from Oostende. No doubt, Belgian beer and chocolates are the world’s best. Most European countries have a linguistic divide, the problem in Belgium is that the divide is also a significant cultural and economic one. I have been briefly to Wallonie but I am always more drawn to Brussels, Ghent, Antwerp and, above all, Brugge. It will be interesting to see how the Belgians resolve this divide.

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