Kindle Free Pick of the Week: Black Oil, Red Blood

One from Diane Castle that will make you think.

The thing about cancer is it’s hard to prove somebody gave it to you on purpose—but Chloe Taylor can prove it. In fact, she proves it for a living. She sues oil refineries that would rather save a buck than comply with safety regulations designed to do important things like, you know, keep people alive.

Chloe had a successful career until circumstances forced her to move to the bass-ackwards town of Kettle, Texas (human population: 4,000; gun population: 34,356). Big Oil industry giant PetroPlex employs half of Kettle’s population, and there’s no question the judge in the town’s got oil stains on his hands. It’s no wonder she’s been on a losing streak lately. She suspects she’s been litigating on an uneven playing field, but when her star expert witness turns up dead less than 48 hours before a make-or break hearing, she knows.

What she doesn’t know is the key piece of information that got her expert killed. It turns out PetroPlex is harboring a shocking secret—one that has the potential to skyrocket gasoline prices, spark an energy market meltdown, and trigger riots, chaos, death, and destruction on a global scale. Chloe must discover the secret and expose the villains before she is permanently silenced, all while juggling a troublesome ex-fiancé and a tantalizing new flame along the way.

**A portion of the proceeds benefits Gulf People Helping People, a fundraising initiative of the Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN), a non-profit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization to support people in financial hardship because of the BP 2010 Gulf Oil Disaster. Proceeds will go directly to those most in need including fishermen, oil spill clean-up workers and residents whose livelihoods and families are suffering from either poor health and/or dire economic hardships. This important effort will assist Gulf oil spill workers, residents, organizations and communities in making Louisiana and the Gulf Coast a safer place to live and work for us all.

A New Nation Will be Born on Saturday

Did you know that the world will give birth to a new country this coming Saturday?  South Sudan becomes the world's newest country this weekend. and its upcoming challenges will take a back seat to the euphoria surrounding the historic moment.

Before the young government can truly focus on the monumental task building a nation from scratch, it must first figure out a way to manage a range of pressing security issues.

If South Sudan's government does not seize the "independence moment" to begin a new chapter in the region's history, then it risks fulfilling the doomsday prophecies fueled by the northern government and other actors opposed to southern secession.

"Posturing along the border makes clear that [conflict] with the North is not over on July 9," says Zach Vertin, a Sudan analyst for the International Crisis Group, referring to ongoing North-South hostilities, such as running battles in the northern border state of South Kordofan and the tense stalemate over the contested Abyei region. "While there will undoubtedly be continued security attention in those areas, at the same time focus increasingly has to turn to the domestic situation both in political and security terms."

South Sudan will also have decisions to make with oil.  Oil represented 98 percent of total revenues for the year and 90 percent of export earnings coming into 2011.

Also, South Sudan will face the challenge of allowing multiple voices to speak. South Sudan will face international and internal pressures to move beyond the one-party model that allows the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) to dominate.

Experts and government officials will be keeping a keen eye on the happenings in South Sudan.  The coming weeks will tell us a lot.