New Orleans   Pulled out of Quito before dawn.  Crew continues to progress.  Close to another 100, ones and twos on assessments today from looking at the report.  It was interesting to go through security at the Quito airport and have the scanner, point to my t-shirt, say, Ruptura – Maria Paula! as we shared a thumb’s up.

Graffiti on Quito Walls

            Politics and art were in competition, perhaps, on the walls near several of the universities in the heights on Quito near the high rise business district.

 

Chevron and Ecuadorian Hot Mess

            Disturbing article about Chevron going all “Walmart” on a full court legal press, including RICO allegations about shareholders “working with nonprofit” to try and force it to finish cleaning up the mess its successor, Texaco, made in the Ecuadorian oil patch.

Our case is about a massive fraud and extortion scheme for billions of dollars. The conspirators enlisted a network of not-for-profits, so-called shareholders who were acting independently but really acting in collusion to get out their false story.

No matter what happens in the courts, this will not end well, Chevron’s fight to the last lawyer is dead, regardless of their technical claims, does no one any good.  I’ve written about this in the past, and will look for my subpoena in the office tomorrow.

Meanwhile in New Orleans:  A Ghetto Mug Shot Book for a Buck!?!

Don’t tell me you don’t remember the old “Wheels” newsprint “booklets” you would find at the supermarket checkout stands for free about “deals” on cars.  Returning to New Orleans, I just heard on a similar tabloid stile “mugshot” book with pictures and rap sheets of recent arrests being sold in New Orleans hoods for a book.  A weird sort of fame on one hand, and some street entrepreneurism in a city without a daily newspaper to keep everyone up to date on crime on the other hand.

Among others things….