1 THE LIMITS OF LIABILITY Starting sometime after the summer, fossil fuel corporations will apparently have to cover up to $1 billion in the cost of cleaning up an oil spill when they’re deemed not at fault. Until now, oil companies were only liable for up to $30 million in spill damage when they’re “not at fault”, and unlimited costs when they are. And also, excuse me? How can they ever NOT be responsible for an accident? Sure, there’s vast DEGREES of fault but ultimately, you spill it, you oughta pay for it. And here’s some food for thought: the majority (not all) of the Deepwater Horizon clean-up efforts only ended on Monday, June 10, roughly three years after the rig exploded in the gulf of Mexico. Who knows what the long-term effects of that spill will be. BP spent around $14 billion on clean-up. One million barrels of Oil are unaccounted for.
2 ALSO Northern Gateway pipeline boosters make their case for that thing.
3 ASTHMA IN SASKATCHEWAN Here’s a story on it.
4 STEP ASIDE, ROB FORD: THERE’S A NEW MAYOR IN TROUBLETOWN I’m a little late with this but whatever. Yesterday we learned that Montreal Mayor Michael Applebaum faces 14 charges including inappropriate shenanigans and conspicuous malarkey. Here’s the latest plus an editorial in the Montreal Gazette. Applebaum was appointed by Montreal City Council last fall after the previous mayor resigned amid allegations of hinky hijinks.
5 STORIES FROM AMERICA After, what, almost 12 years of war, the United States starts direct talks with the Taliban, the U.S. Supreme Court nuked Arizona’s racist voter ID law and a top spy defends spying on civilians,
6 A WARNING FOR THE WIFE CHOKER Multimillionaire art collector Charles Saatchi was given a police caution after he was photographed with his fingers around the neck of his wife, celebrity chef Nigella Lawson. I wonder how many times this happens every day to women who aren’t stalked by paparazzi.
SUPERFIT ARMY SUPERMAN I offer this without comment: