One of the world's deadliest snakes found in shipping container sent from India

SNAKE ON A TRAIN, THEN A BOAT,THEN A TRUCK

This venomous snake was found in a British shipping container from India

Michelle Shen, USA TODAY
Thu, October 21, 2021,

South Essex Wildlife Hospital received a call from a local British stonemasonry firm about a long, spotted snake they found in a shipping container from India.

Turns out, the snake is a saw-scaled viper, one of the deadliest snakes in the world, according to South Essex Wildlife Hospital on Twitter. South Essex Wildlife Hospital is a wildlife rescue, treatment and rehabilitation charity​ in the U.K.

While most snakes are harmless to humans, the saw-scaled viper is a dramatic exception.

"It's dangerous because it's not native to us. It comes from India. They're highly venomous, and they're very, very aggressive." says Sue Schwar, founder and hospital manager of the South Essex Wildlife Hospital.

The saw-scaled viper is the smallest of the "Big Four" snakes, the four species of snake that cause the most deaths annually worldwide, according to AnimalResearch.info, a resource created by a U.K. not-for-profit organization focused on humane animal research.

"Because, they're small, they're more aggressive, they bite more people. As far as kill rates, they kill more people than other bigger snakes do," Schwar says.

If you're bitten, the venom could kill you unless you get access to an antivenom. Even with the antivenom, the toxins in its bite break down our ability to form blood clots, causing many survivors to intensely bleed and lose their limbs, according to National Geographic.

Schwar points out that it's especially dangerous to find them in Britain because most snakes from the region are harmless, so hospitals are not equipped with the antivenom needed to treat people bitten by these deadly snakes.

Snakes in grocery stores: 10-foot-long python slithers across grocery store shelves, curls up behind spices

Lucky for the British workers, the snake spent weeks on end in a chilly container, which likely subdued it since reptiles need warmth to be active, CNN reports.

South Essex Wildlife Hospital sent a reptile expert and vet to collect the specimen, and they put the snake in a locked box in a sealed room. To be extra careful, the vet taped the door shut. Several warning signs have also been placed on the door.

"We are glad not to have to deal with venomous creatures too often but feel sad for the snake that we can't give it is freedom and get it back home," said the South Essex Wildlife Hospital on Twitter.

It's not the first time the wildlife charity has found one of these snakes in Britain, Schwar says. Years ago, they found the exact same species, also in a stonemason's shipping container from India. The wildlife hospital followed a similar process of locking the snake up and securing the room. More experienced wildlife experts then came to pick up the snake and bring it to its new home.

The snakes are always kept alive, says Schwar, unless "it was injured, and we couldn't apply any veterinary care for it because it's too dangerous to handle."

Killing the snake would always be the "last resort," Schwar said.

One of world's last two northern white rhinos dropped from race to save the species


FILE PHOTO: Najin and her daughter Fatou, the last two northern white rhino females, graze near their enclosure at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Laikipia National Park

Thu, October 21, 2021

NAIROBI (Reuters) - One of the world's last two northern white rhinos, a mother and her daughter, is being retired from a breeding programme aimed at saving the species from extinction, scientists said on Thursday.

Najin, 32, is the mother of Fatu who is now the only donor left in the programme, which aims to implant artificially developed embryos into another more abundant species of rhino in Kenya.

There are no known living males and neither of the two remaining northern white rhinos can carry a calf to term.

Northern white rhinos, which are actually grey, used to roam freely in several countries in east and central Africa, but their numbers fell sharply due to widespread poaching for their horns.

A Biorescue team led by researchers from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Germany has been racing against time to save the world's most endangered mammal.

"The team has reached the decision to retire the older of the two remaining females, 32-year-old Najin, as a donor of egg cells," Biorescue said in a statement, citing ethical considerations.

Najin's advanced age, and signs of illness, were also taken into account, they said.

Scientists hope to implant embryos made from the rhinos' egg cells and frozen sperm from deceased males into surrogate mothers.

"We have been very successful with Fatu... So far we have 12 pure northern white rhino embryos," David Ndeereh, the acting deputy director for research at the Wildlife Research and Training Institute, a Kenyan state agency, told Reuters.

"We are very optimistic that the project will succeed."

The team hopes to be able to deliver its first northern white rhino calf in three years and a wider population in the next two decades.

(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Orion: Nasa's Moon-ship is attached to SLS megarocket



Paul Rincon - Science editor, BBC News website
Thu, October 21, 2021

Nasa's next-generation spaceship has been lifted onto the rocket that will launch it to the Moon this year or in early 2022.

On Wednesday, the Orion spacecraft was attached to the powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket at Nasa's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

For its upcoming flight, Orion will fly around the Moon without astronauts.

But it will eventually carry people as part of a US plan to return people to the lunar surface this decade.

This programme is called Artemis - after the sister of Apollo - and could help establish a long-term human presence on Earth's only natural satellite.

Artemis: To the Moon and Beyond

A crane lifted Orion and then lowered it onto the top of the SLS inside the cuboid Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at Kennedy.

Teams then began work to fully secure the spacecraft to its launcher.

On Monday, Orion was transferred to the VAB from another facility where it was being housed, ahead of the operation. It was the last significant piece of hardware waiting to be added to the launch system ahead of the planned test flight.

In coming weeks, engineers will also carry out tests on the assembled vehicle, including a rehearsal where the SLS rocket is loaded up with liquid fuel while a launch countdown is simulated.

The SLS will launch the Orion spacecraft as part of the uncrewed Artemis-1 mission. This three-week flight will test the SLS and Orion before astronauts are allowed aboard for Artemis-2, which will also loop around the Moon in late 2023.

Artemis-3 will see astronauts land on the lunar surface for the first time since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. Nasa has selected Elon Musk's Starship as the vehicle that will carry humans down from lunar orbit to the surface.

Orion will dock with Starship in lunar orbit. Astronauts will then float through a hatch from Orion to Starship to begin preparations to travel down to the lunar surface.

The landing mission is currently scheduled for 2024, though many observers expect that date to slip.

The metal structure for the Orion spacecraft that will be used for that mission also arrived at Kennedy Space Center this month.

This flight will carry the first woman to walk on the surface, along with the next man. The Artemis programme will also see the first person of colour travel to the Moon.

Meet the Air One, the New Two-Person eVTOL You Can Park in Your Garage


Bryan Hood
Tue, October 19, 2021, 


Not every eVTOL maker is focused on building the first viable air taxi. There are some that just want to help you have some fun.

Air, an aviation start-up based out of Israel, has just unveiled a two-person electric aircraft called the One designed for personal recreation. And, unlike other personal planes, you won’t need to rent out hangar space, as it has collapsible wings.

The One is meant to be a “buy ‘n’ fly” aircraft meant for personal everyday use, according to New Atlas. It features a fixed-wing design and is propelled by eight rotors on two sets of pods positioned at the front and rear of the craft. Its cabin opens like a clamshell and will have room for two people, both of whom will have access to the eVTOL’s controls. There’s also a glass bottom so you can see what you’re flying over. Maybe even more impressively, when the aircraft’s fold-up wings are raised, it will take up only one of the spots in a two-car suburban garage, according to the company.

Air One eVTOL - Credit: Air

It also sounds like something you’ll be able to have some fun with. Air says the craft will be able to cruise at speeds up to 155 mph and has a flying range of 110 miles. The company also says the One will be equipped with a “fly by intent” control system that will make piloting easy and accessible, though you’ll still need a license to take the controls. There will also be an AI monitoring system which will perform “frequent inspections” of the One to make sure its safe to fly.

As exciting as this all sounds, there are still a few hoops for Air to jump through before it can put its aircraft into production. Chief among these is certification, but the startup is currently working with the FAA to get that box checked. Regardless, you can still pre-order a One of your own now through the company’s website. One thing to note: pricing has yet to be announced.

Inside the Air One - Credit: Air

Air isn’t the only company with an eye on the personal eVTOL. This summer, iFly debuted a one-person aircraft that will fly you to your chosen destination at the push of a button. Meanwhile, Tetra, an aviation company out of Japan, is working on the Mk-5, a one-person electric plane you’ll be able to build yourself.

J&J Offered Talc Victims $4 Billion to Settle Claims Months Before Unit’s Bankruptcy

Jef Feeley
Thu, October 21, 2021, 

In this article:

(Bloomberg) -- Months before putting one of its units into bankruptcy, Johnson & Johnson offered $4 billion to settle with victims of its talc-based powder -- twice the amount it’s now proposing to pay through a forced resolution, according to people familiar with the matter.

The $4 billion offer was aimed at ending more than seven years of litigation over claims its iconic baby powder caused different types of cancers. J&J faces nearly 40,000 suits targeting its talc-based products, and has agreed to about $3.5 billion in settlements so far, according to court filings.

The world’s largest maker of health-care products wanted to split the $4 billion between trusts established to settle current and future suits, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. The trusts would have been created as part of the 2019 bankruptcy case filed by Imerys Talc America Inc., J&J’s talc miner, the people said. Representatives for J&J and Imerys declined to comment.

Lawyers representing a substantial number of talc plaintiffs rejected the $4 billion settlement offer as part of the Imerys case as too low, the people said. Plaintiffs would have each received about $40,000 for their cases on average, the people added.J&J last made the proposal in March. After it was rebuffed, the company’s attorneys told their counterparts to prepare for a bankruptcy filing by a J&J unit later in the year, the people said.

Bankruptcy Filing

On Oct. 14, a newly created J&J subsidiary filed for bankruptcy protection after arguing it was struggling to contain more than 38,000 suits blaming its iconic baby powder and other talc-based products of causing cancer. It’s planning to put $2 billion into a trust as part of the unit’s bankruptcy to resolve all of its talc liability.

J&J Baby Powder Bankruptcy Brings 50 Angry Lawyers to CharlotteIn a hearing this week in Charlotte, North Carolina, J&J lawyer Greg Gordon told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Craig Whitley that the $2 billion is the company’s opening bid in a new effort to settle the talc litigation. Gordon said the $2 billion is not intended to “set a ceiling” for any talc accord.J&J officials argue they had no choice but to turn to the bankruptcy process to corral the litigation, warning it could take decades to resolve all the cases. The company has said it’s already paid $1 billion in talc-related legal fees over the last five years. Last year, it pulled the talc version of its baby powder off the U.S. and Canadian markets.The New Brunswick, New Jersey-based company proposed using the Imerys case for the deal because it’s currently battling with the talc miner over its claims that indemnity agreements put the baby-powder maker on the hook for Imerys’ talc exposure. J&J offered to take over Imerys’ talc defenses and negotiated settlements of suits against both companies, according to court filings.

Trust Fund

J&J wants to use federal laws allowing companies to file for bankruptcy to deal with litigation that poses a threat. Once in Chapter 11, companies can set up trusts to pay current and future claims and plaintiffs’ are required to participate in the process.Such trusts were made popular during decades-long litigation over asbestos, a cancer-causing material used as insulation in construction and car brake pads. Some talc plaintiffs contend J&J’s baby powder was tainted with asbestos, which can cause a variety of cancers. Others say talc -- by itself -- can cause ovarian cancer.Elizabeth Burch, a University of Georgia law professor who follows talc litigation, said $4 billion wouldn’t provide proper payouts for women fighting an often-fatal disease such as ovarian cancer.

“That wouldn’t even cover most people’s economic damages,” such as health costs and lost wages, she said.J&J’s decision to turn to bankruptcy is also questionable, Burch added.

“J&J is trying to cram down a settlement that will give these folks pennies-on-the-dollar for their damages,” she added.

The case is LTL Management LLC, 21-30589, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of North Carolina (Charlotte).

LET US DIG ANYWHERE, EVERYWHERE
Low global copper supply imperils climate goals, Freeport CEO says
Thu, October 21, 2021

FILE PHOTO: Freeport-McMoran CEO, Richard Adkerson poses for a picture during an interview with Reuters at the CRU's World Copper Conference in Santiago
In this article:

(Reuters) -Low global supplies of copper - a key metal used in wiring, electric vehicles and other electronics - will crimp global climate ambitions unless regulators green light more mines, the chief executive of Freeport-McMoRan Inc said on Thursday.

The warning comes as global leaders plan to discuss climate mitigation efforts later this month at the COP26 conference https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/cop26-glasgow-who-is-going-who-is-not-2021-10-15, even as some host communities and environmentalists increasingly oppose new mines for so-called strategic metals.

"There's going to be a time when the world is going to be very short of copper," Freeport CEO Richard Adkerson told investors after the company posted better-than-expected quarterly results. "Supply is a real issue for this industry."

In an early warning sign, stockpiles of available copper https://www.reuters.com/article/global-metals-idUKL1N2RF0H7

 in the London Metal Exchange's global warehouse system fell last week to levels not seen for more than 25 years 

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/london-metal-exchange-has-restrain-disorderly-copper-andy-home-2021-10-21.

Governments in Peru and Chile https://www.reuters.com/business/freeport-ceo-encouraged-after-talk-with-perus-castillo-2021-10-08  the world's two largest copper producers - have recently threatened to increase mining taxes and regulations.

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration on Wednesday took steps to block https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/blow-twin-metals-us-proposes-mining-ban-boundary-waters-2021-10-20

a Minnesota copper mine from Antofagasta Plc, the latest in a string of mining projects his administration

 https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/biden-looks-abroad-electric-vehicle-metals-blow-us-miners-2021-05-25  has moved against.

Adkerson, who also chairs a global mining industry trade group, described the political situation in Washington as a "head-scratcher."

Biden officials understand the importance of copper to climate goals, Adkerson said, but are not likely to lessen mine permitting standards "because that just runs against the grain of their political situation."

Copper prices https://www.reuters.com/article/global-metals-idUKL1N2RF0H7 meanwhile are up 10% this month due to that low supply, with analysts expecting demand will increase alongside the global economy.

RISING COSTS

Freeport itself is not immune to that price rise. The Phoenix-based company aims to switch its truck fleet from diesel power to either electric or hydrogen. Adkerson said the move will "involve a lot of cost."

He said the switch was essential for the industry to show it is serious about fighting climate change via its own operations, which will soon include recycling operations in Spain. Freeport is also studying ways to leach copper out of waste rock piles stored at its mine sites across the globe, Adkerson said.

"The world needs more copper. And yet, more copper, until technology breaks through, is going to result in more carbon emissions," he said.

Freeport's average realized price for a pound of copper rose about 40% during the third quarter, while production of the metal increased about 17% to 987 million recoverable pounds.

The company's adjusted net income attributable to common shareholders was $1.3 billion, or 89 cents per share, compared with $430 million, or 29 cents per share, a year earlier.

Analysts on average had estimated a profit of 81 cents per share, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

Shares of Freeport fell about 2% on Thursday afternoon as copper prices pulled back from their recent gains. The company's stock has more than doubled in the past year.

(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder in Houston and Sahil Shaw in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta, Angus MacSwan and Daniel Wallis)

Umunna says JPMorgan to keep funding fossil fuel companies

Simon Jessop
Thu, October 21, 2021

Former British Liberal Democrat politician Chuka Umunna arrives at the BBC in London

By Simon Jessop

LONDON (Reuters) - JPMorgan plans to keep lending to the fossil fuel industry to help it transition to a low-carbon economy, despite campaigner calls for banks to phase out financing to the sector, an executive said on Thursday.

Chuka Umunna, who heads the bank's environmental, social and governance-related activities in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said oil and gas companies were "part of the solution" to climate change and would need support to develop renewable energy technologies.

"Of course we want to see as many new and funky renewable energy companies coming to the market, but they... do not have access to the scale of capital investment that would be required for us to, overall, 'green' (the world's) economies," Umunna told the Reuters ESG Investment Europe 2021 conference.

The commitment to fossil fuels comes as an energy crisis grips markets across Europe and governments worry about the potential for blackouts over the northern hemisphere winter.

It also follows a landmark report from the International Energy Agency calling for no more fossil fuel projects to be developed after the end of this year, if the world wants to reach its climate goals by mid-century.

In response, Dutch lender ING said it would look to align its business with the more ambitious net zero pathway, while French lender La Banque Postale said it planned to withdraw all financing from the oil and gas industry by 2030.

The report also galvanised climate campaigners keen to see banks take a more robust approach to cutting lending to the oil and gas industry.

Umunna said the bank would constantly "evaluate and recalibrate" its targets, but would not commit to changing them straight away, given it had only laid out a plan on financing the oil and gas industry earlier this year.

Under the plan, JPMorgan said it would cut the portfolio-weighted average carbon intensity of clients in the sector - a measure of emissions per unit of revenue - by 35% by 2030 for Scopes 1 and 2 - from companies' own operations; and by 15% for Scope 3 emissions, from the use of their products.

Pulling out of the sector too quickly would hit the world's poorest the hardest, he added.

"If we took out oil and gas right now, we don't have renewables at scale to replace that energy need and what will end up if we were to do that immediately this year, what would we see happen? We're probably likely to get blackouts and, frankly, the people who will suffer most are the world's less well off."

As global leaders gear up for the next round of climate talks in Scotland from Oct. 31, Umunna - a former politician for Britain's opposition Labour Party - said politicians needed to secure greater support for policy changes that will be needed.

"You know, the majority of the UK does not agree with Greta Thunberg. As much as... I think she's a fantastic advocate (and) I agree with a lot of what she says, I think many business leaders do too, but we have to get a consensus for action here and we have to show that everybody stands to benefit from this."

(Reporting by Simon Jessop; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

Oil-Rich Guyana Is Looking To Build A New Energy Economy

Editor OilPrice.com
Wed, October 20, 2021

One of South America’s poorest countries, Guyana, became a major holder of oil and gas reserves in 2015 when ExxonMobil found oil in its waters in what turned out to be a block with resources estimated at 10 billion oil-equivalent barrels and counting.

Now Guyana wants to capitalize on the large oil and gas discoveries over the past half-decade to build up an economy powered by its own energy resources.

The South American nation became a crude oil exporter in early 2020, thanks to Exxon’s huge discoveries offshore Guyana. Over the past two years, the U.S. supermajor and Hess Corp, its partner in the prolific Stabroek Block, have made a dozen more discoveries, while the Liza Phase 1 project is very profitable for the oil corporations and for Guyana.

Liza Phase 1 and 2 developments break even at around $35 a barrel and $25 per barrel Brent, respectively, Hess says. Liza Phase 2 start-up is expected in the middle of 2022 via a floating, production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) designed to produce up to 220,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd).

Guyana is looking beyond the oil export revenues from the Exxon-operated projects off its shores. It plans to have a natural gas pipeline built from the Liza 1 and Liza 2 developments to the shore for a gas-to-energy project to generate electricity and feed industries as it aims to capitalize on the huge oil and gas resources to develop its economy.

This summer, the government of Guyana said it was looking for partners to invest in a $900-million gas-to-energy project for a natural gas pipeline from the Liza developments to the shore. The planned 225-kilometer (140 miles) pipeline from the Liza area to the Wales Development Zone (WDZ) is expected to feed a gas processing plant and a natural gas liquids (NGL) facility, capable of producing at least 4,000 barrels per day, including the fractionation of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). A power plant with a total capacity to generate 300 megawatts (MW) of electricity and an industrial park that could use gas, steam and/or electricity are also part of the gas-to-energy project.

ExxonMobil’s affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) has guaranteed the government that a minimum of 50 million standard cubic feet of gas per day will be transported from the Liza projects via the pipeline by 2024.

The power plant construction is slated to begin next year, while financing is still being lined up, Peter Ramsaroop, CEO at Guyana’s government agency GoInvest, told Bloomberg in an interview this week.

“Guyana must have the gas and hydropower to be able to bring a competitive economy to the point where we can depend on our own energy to deliver our goods and services,” Ramsaroop told Bloomberg on the sidelines of the Dubai Expo.

During the same event, Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali told potential investors:

“Guyana needs to convert its abundant resources. We need you. We welcome you, and we urge you to remember the name Guyana and to keep the name Guyana in your plans for growth and development, both in country and by businesses and sectors.”

“We will continue to pursue oil production offshore, but onshore we will definitely intensify the decarbonisation of the economy,” Ali added.

Exxon, for its part, “expects to make significant progress over the next few years in cooperation with the Government of Guyana to advance a gas-to-energy project,” the supermajor told Bloomberg in a statement.

Guyana’s government bets on the project, which it expects to come on stream by late 2024, to more than halve its electricity costs, seen by the private sector as prohibitive to investment in the country, the South American nation says.

The government expects the gas-to-energy project to revolutionize and significantly improve the ease of doing business in Guyana, it said in July.

The gas from the recent massive oil discoveries could transform Guyana’s economic fortunes forever.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

Canada’s Oil Industry Is Facing Resistance On All Fronts

Editor OilPrice.com
Thu, October 21, 2021,

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), Canadian oil is set to decline within the next decade. That has not stopped funding from flooring into new projects however as producers aim to milk the country’s oil reserves for all they’re worth before that. The IEA foresaw this, predicting that Canada could be producing an additional 700,000 bpd of oil equivalent by 2030, before the eventual decline in demand and output.

The decline of Canadian oil should not come as a surprise for a country whose leader announced a net-zero carbon emissions target by 2050 in line with Paris Agreement aims at the end of 2020. Canada’s openness to green policy and the push for an electric vehicle (EV) revolution across the country means Canada will soon decrease its domestic reliance on fossil fuels.

Yet, the pessimistic outlook has not stopped the government and Canada’s private oil and gas companies from planning huge developments to ensure the industry remains resilient for as long as demand is high.

Oil shipments from Canada to the U.S. boomed earlier this month, reaching 4.04 million bpd, following the inauguration of Enbridge Inc’s expanded Line 3. The upgraded pipeline, which has been in the works for years but was constantly delayed, is capable of transporting 760,000 bpd of heavy and light oil, around double the capacity of the company’s previous pipeline.

With the combination of OPEC+ oil cuts and oil refinery outages following Hurricane Ida, America has come to rely more heavily on Canada for its oil supply in recent months. The expansion of the pipeline now makes it possible for Canada to deliver the much-needed supply. And it comes at a time when gas and petroleum prices are soaring and shortages are common, with the recent boost in supply offering hope

In addition, Enbridge has invoked the 1977 Transit Pipelines treaty to ensure its Line 5 remains active after the state of Michigan voiced opposition to the project for fear it could detrimentally impact the Great Lakes. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer revoked permission for operating pipelines in the region, which Enbridge continues to ignore due to the significance of pipeline. Line 5 transports 540,000 bpd of Canadian crude, as well as refined products, from Wisconsin to Ontario.

Enbridge is willing to invest yet more money on keeping its pipelines up and running while demand is high, proposing a $500 million tunnel to house Line 5, to be completed by 2024. The company hopes this infrastructure project will help lessen the fears around the aging pipeline and its potential impact on the environment.

Now that the treaty has been invoked, the pipeline issue will be escalated beyond local negotiation and will be addressed in a federal court. In addition, President Biden who has so far remained uninvolved may have to become entangled in talks around energy transport links between the U.S. and Canada.

The persistence by Enbridge to ensure energy connectivity between the U.S. and Canada comes following the cancellation of the $8 billion Keystone XL pipeline in June this year as the permit for the development was revoked by the Biden administration. Keystone XL, which had previously been approved by President Trump in 2017, was expected to transport oil from Alberta to Nebraska across a distance of 1,200 miles.

Canadian oil majors are no longer willing to leave the fate of their industry in American hands, as Enbridge is proving. Even President Trudeau, who has promoted many green policies and shares several U.S. climate change values, criticized President Biden for the cancellation, which was expected to cause the loss of around 1,000 construction jobs as well as prematurely damaging the North American oil and gas industry.

Unsurprisingly, the Canadian government is planning to increase its national oil production, with policies continuing to favor fossil fuels, according to the 2021 Production Gap Report. Despite enthusiasm around climate change policy, President Trudeau remains dedicated to the maintenance of an industry which continues to be lucrative and responds to regional demand, as well as contributing thousands of job opportunities. While plans for net-zero remain in place, Canada is not yet ready to give up its position as a global oil and gas leader, particularly because of so much uncertainty around OPEC+ production.

The Canadian oil boom cannot last forever, and the industry is facing many more hurdles as its allies look to tackle climate change and wean themselves off fossil fuels. However, at present, Canada’s oil industry remains strong, with no sign of giving up before it must.

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

Connecticut judge to sanction Alex Jones defense lawyers in Sandy Hook lawsuit after ‘unconscionable’ behavior during contentious depositions


Connecticut judge to sanction Alex Jones defense lawyers in Sandy Hook lawsuit after ‘unconscionable’ behavior during contentious depositions

Zach Murdock, Hartford Courant
Wed, October 20, 2021, 1:41 PM·6 min read

A Connecticut judge will sanction the defense attorneys for Alex Jones in the long-running civil lawsuit brought against the inflammatory online conspiracy theorist by the parents of children killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre.

Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis announced Wednesday morning that she will impose new sanctions on Jones’ attorneys for violating a court order when they included information from a confidential deposition this summer in a motion seeking to question former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, suggesting Clinton had arranged the families’ lawsuit as a vendetta against Jones after her 2016 loss to former President Donald Trump.

Bellis also will consider additional sanctions over what she called “highly inappropriate” and “abusive questioning” by Jones defense attorney Jay Wolman during a September deposition, during which he demanded the man being deposed search email records on his phone even though the subpoena issued by the court did not require it, she said.

The Connecticut cases are continuing this fall after a Texas judge’s decision late last month to hold Jones responsible for all damages in three similar defamation lawsuits filed there after Jones repeatedly ignored orders to turn over records to the families’ lawyers. Those cases now will be turned over to juries to decide how much in damages Jones must pay to the families while a jury trial in the Connecticut case is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2022.

Frustrated by Wolman’s responses to her pointed questions during the two-hour virtual hearing Wednesday, Bellis lambasted the defense attorney and warned Wolman and his co-counselors to be more cautious before “more damage is done,” she said.

“I think the arguments were baseless and I think the behavior really is unconscionable,” Bellis told Wolman. “There is no confusion, there can be no confusion, about a very straightforward protective order that (defense) counsel themselves filed and asked the court to approve. And I am concerned about a chilling effect on the testimony of other witnesses.”

The exact sanctions over the violation of the protective order will be determined at a hearing in the next few weeks.

Bellis also said she is considering whether to sanction Wolman herself over his September deposition conduct or refer the matter to the state’s Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel, which investigates complaints against attorneys. After issuing three warnings to Wolman in May and June, she said Wednesday she is “leaning toward” issuing a sanction herself, but that she will decide at a hearing scheduled for early November.

The sanctions are the latest turn in the highly contentious legal battle against Jones by parents of several children killed in the horrific 2012 shooting that left 20 first graders and six educators dead. The families sued Jones for defamation after he repeatedly portrayed the Newtown massacre as a hoax on his online Infowars show, ostensibly designed to prompt new gun control measures.

Jones has claimed his inflammatory monologues were protected by the First Amendment, even though he now admits he was wrong and has since conceded in court that the shooting did occur.

The Texas judge who ruled against Jones this month noted that he and his Infowars companies have engaged in similar, obstructive behavior in the Connecticut lawsuits, and Bellis has raised similar concerns throughout this year.

Depositions finally began in the Connecticut cases this summer. Attorney Chris Mattei, a lawyer representing the Sandy Hook families, revealed during the hearing Wednesday that Jones’ attorneys’ motion to depose Clinton came in the middle of that first deposition with Erica Lafferty. The filing contends Clinton orchestrated the Sandy Hook families’ lawsuit as a “vendetta to silence Mr. Jones” after her loss to Trump in the 2016 presidential election.

The filing includes two sentences that make reference to an unnamed plaintiff and witness — information available only from the deposition being taken that day that was supposed to be entirely confidential, Mattei contended. Wolman countered that the information did not name Lafferty directly and therefore did not violate the confidentiality rules as he understood them.

Bellis dismissed that argument out of hand, noting the protective order outlining those confidentiality rules was drafted by the defense team and chastised Wolman for not directly answering her questions. She agreed with Mattei’s contention that the filing could have a “chilling” effect on the testimony other witnesses may give during their depositions.

“It was designed to set a tone for their conduct for the rest of the case, and that’s what they did,” Mattei told Bellis. “These unconvincing pleas that somehow the protective order was unclear. ... It is, I think, inexcusable that our clients would give information to Mr. Jones and his attorneys when they have shown such disregard for the protective order.”

Bellis also lambasted Wolman for his conduct during a Sept. 17 deposition of Robert Jacobson, a former video producer for one of the companies that worked with Jones’ show who did not have an attorney representing him at the deposition.

Although Jacobson told Wolman he did not have any documents responsive to Wolman’s subpoena, Wolman “pressured and barraged” Jacobson to search his email accounts on his mobile phone for the phrase “Sandy Hook,” Bellis said. Even after the attorneys arranged to speak with Bellis about the dispute during the deposition, Wolman continued to “harass” Jacobson and may have misled him about whether he was required to search his phone — potentially violating several attorney conduct rules, she said.

“Had the court had any inkling of the abusive questioning that was being conducted by attorney Wolman, I would have immediately — immediately — stopped the deposition. And if I was going to permit any further questioning of that witness, it would have been done in open court,” Bellis said.

Bellis sanctioned Jones in 2019 for not turning over documents and unleashing a 20-minute, profanity-laced tirade about the case on his show, at one point referring to Mattei and a $1 million bounty “to put your head on a pike.” The Connecticut Supreme Court upheld Bellis’ sanction, which barred Jones from filing a motion to dismiss the case, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Jones’ appeal of the decision this spring.

“Because of the concerns I’ve voiced and because of what I’ve heard from counsel for the Alex Jones defendants ... I am very concerned that the defendants in this case, having expressed confusion of a very clear protective order, that there are going to be problems in the future,” Bellis said in concluding the hearing Wednesday. “I strongly suggest, for your own interests, as well as your client’s interests, that you are on the side of caution and seek advice from the court if you have any concerns about how to proceed ... so that you don’t get yourselves in a situation where more damage is done.”