By CARLO PIOVANO Associated Press
LONDON (AP) — The price of oil surged Friday on concerns that Iran might respond to the killing of its top general by the United States by disrupting global supplies of energy from the Mideast.
If sustained, the rise in oil prices could lead to more expensive car fuel, heating and electricity bills, stifling the global economy at a time when it is already slowing.
News that Gen. Qassem Soleimani, head of Iran's elite Quds Force, was killed in an air attack at the Baghdad international airport prompted expectations of Iranian retaliation.
During past flare-ups in relations with the U.S., Iran threatened the supply of oil that travels from the Persian Gulf to the rest of the world. About 20% of crude traded worldwide goes through the Strait of Hormuz, where the shipping lane is only 3 kilometers (2 miles) wide and tankers have come under attack this year.
The international benchmark for crude oil jumped 3.7%, or $2.45, to $68.70 a barrel in London trading. The U.S. contract was up 3.6%, or $2.18, to $63.36.
"Revenge will come, maybe not overnight, but it will come and until then we need to increase the geopolitical risk premium," said Olivier Jakob, head of consultancy Petromatrix, in a note to investors.
He noted that Iran's response may not be limited to the Strait of Hormuz.
In September, Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels launched drone attacks on the world's largest oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia. The strike briefly took out about half of the supplies from the world's largest oil exporter. The U.S. directly blamed Iran, which denied involvement.
Launching attacks that can't be easily linked back to Iran limits the chances of direct retaliation.
However, Iran has also directly targeted tankers. This year it seized a British-flagged tanker, the Stena Impero, for several weeks. And it has shot down a U.S. military drone.
About 80% of the crude oil that travels through the Strait of Hormuz goes to countries in Asia, including China, Japan, India and South Korea.
But the rise in the global price of oil will likely have a wider effect, particularly in oil-importing countries with big manufacturing sectors like Germany. Its stock market fared worst on Friday, falling 1.3%.
Because the prices of fuels like gasoline generally reflect moves in the market for crude, that could mean higher costs for drivers and airlines, for example. Airline shares were down sharply across the world on Friday.
In the U.S., crude oil accounts for just over 50% of the price of gasoline, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
In the longer term, the rise in crude oil prices could be limited by the fact that the energy market is flush with oil while demand has softened as major economies have slowed. Crude-producing countries — particularly the Unites States — have been pumping oil at a high rate.
The OPEC cartel and its key ally Russia agreed last month to cut their oil production, but many countries have been pumping above their quotas.
That has, so far, kept the price of oil in check. On Friday, the Brent benchmark rose to its highest since May after largely hovering around $60 a barrel.
A gradual rise in renewable energy production could also limit the economic damage from a jump in crude prices. But experts note that fossil fuels like oil continue to provide the vast majority of energy that drives industry, transportation and heating, among other things.
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Immigration Legal Services At CSU
Editor’s Note: Twenty-two CSU campuses are offering immigration legal services for the school’s thousands of undocumented students, as well as its undocumented employees.
California State University (CSU) announced a systemwide plan for the provision of immigration legal services for CSU students and employees. “I am delighted that we will be able to increase the availability of immigration legal services to the California State University community. We remain committed to ensuring that all CSU students have the opportunity to pursue their higher education goals regardless of their country of origin. This inclusive foundation extends to our employees, who demonstrate their dedication to student achievement and success on a daily basis,” said CSU Chancellor Timothy P. White. “These thousands of Californians are pursuing their dreams for a better future every day on CSU campuses. The expanded services and resources that will soon be available will bring support, legal guidance and some peace of mind to enable our students and employees to focus on academic and professional pursuits.”
Hispanic National Bar Association
Jennifer Salinas, Esq. asked a room full of high school students interested in the law to close their eyes and conjure up the image of a lawyer. “Then I said to them, ‘I suspect that many of you saw a white man.’ They all (nodded) their heads yes,” she says. “We hope to change that so you see people of all different races and ethnicities.” For the duration of her presidency at the Hispanic National Bar Association, which wrapped on September 28, Salinas offered programs, held symposia and ran campaigns, all in the name of attracting more Hispanics to the profession to which she’s dedicated her life. One of those campaigns challenged Hispanic youth to imagine a different type of lawyer. It was called This is What a Lawyer Looks Like. “(We) would wear T-shirts that actually had that on the front. We’d go into heavily populated Latino schools and these kids were amazed. They’d say, ‘You’re a lawyer? You don’t look like a lawyer.’ And that’s kind of the point,” says Salinas. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, law is one of the least racially diverse professions in the nation. Hispanics comprise just 4.8% of U.S. lawyers, and Latinas are less than 2% of that.
In 1850, Jose Angel Navarro graduated as the first Latino alumnus of Harvard Law School. According to historian Dr. Daniel Coquillette, author of “On the Battlefield of Merit: Harvard Law School, the First Century,” Navarro returned to San Antonio after graduation and advocated for the downtrodden and exploited in Texas. He served on the San Antonio City Council, as a district attorney and city attorney in Laredo and, at 29, was elected to the Texas Legislature. He is widely credited with removing the word “white” from the new Texas Constitution’s voting requirements. In 1876, he was gunned down on Laredo’s main street. Coquillette cites how Navarro died a martyr’s death and deserves broad recognition and honor.
Trailblazing Influence
Giving Navaro that recognition and honor is exactly what current Latino alumni had in mind when they started contemplating a group gift to Harvard Law School (HLS). Every five years, an all-classes reunion known as the HLS “Celebration of Latino Alumni” (CLA) is held. Members organize the self-funded, 4-day event on campus. “Alumni had been talking about doing something for Latino students,” says Ricardo Anzaldua, JD ‘90, who served as a CLA chair.
The Dangers of Being ‘Under the Influence’
Imagine that you’re young and pregnant and more than a little anxious about the changes you are experiencing. And then “morning sickness” rears its ugly head. Looking for advice, you have a few choices: consult your Doctor, seek out an online Doctor for help, or see what Kim Kardashian says on Instagram and Twitter. As ridiculous as it sounds, Kim Kardashian was the “expert” of choice for many 18- to 24-year-olds. When she endorsed the Duchesnay Inc., drug Diclegis (used for morning sickness) online nearly a half of million people “liked” it. Kardashian is one of high profile “influencers” Big Pharma and other companies are recruiting to push their products. Product endorsements via social media by YouTube and celebrity influencers, the term used for social media product advocates, have always been powerful in the direct-to-consumer advertising for prescription and over-the-counter drugs. But social media has changed the rules of the road. While TV and print advertising is heavily regulated and must include risk factors and side effects, the same restrictions, which companies find onerous, are not yet in place for social media influencers. But the times, they are changing.
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Imagine finding a job where you not only earned more than enough to take care of yourself and your family, but also found success and fulfillment while bringing joy to others. Now imagine suddenly being diagnosed with a disease that even if you survive it could take away your ability to do that job. This is what faced voice actor Rob Paulsen when he was diagnosed with throat cancer. Known for his work on such series as “Animaniacs,” “Pinky and the Brain,” and two of the TV incarnations of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” Paulsen’s resume includes such top studios as Disney and Warner Bros., such legends as Steven Spielberg and Mel Brooks, and such accolades a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program. To an outsider, his career looked like it was hitting a new high with the probable reboot of “Animaniacs” on the horizon. But as he talks about in his book “Voice Lessons: How a Couple of Ninja Turtles, Pinky, and an Animaniac Saved My Life,” a small lump on his throat turned out to be stage III squamous cell carcinoma with occult primary, and the treatments for it could permanently damage his voice.
“The irony of me getting throat cancer was inescapable,” Paulsen writes.
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