A4
Randy Rickman Publisher 701-572-2165
Williston Herald
publisher@willistonherald.com
Thursday April 23, 2015
Today in History Today is Thursday, April 23, the 113th day of 2015. There are 252 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On April 23, 2005, the recently created video-sharing website YouTube uploaded its first clip. Titled “Me at the Zoo,” the video consisted of 18 seconds of YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim standing in front of an elephant enclosure at the San Diego Zoo, commenting on the animals’ “really, really, really long, uh, trunks.” (Today, YouTube claims more than 1 billion users and says that 300 hours of video are uploaded every minute.) On this date: In 1616, English poet and dramatist William Shakespeare, 52, died on what has been traditionally regarded as the anniversary of his birth in 1564. In 1789, Presidentelect George Washington and his wife, Martha, moved into the first executive mansion, the Franklin House, in New York. In 1910, former President Theodore Roosevelt delivered his famous “Man in the Arena” speech at the Sorbonne in Paris. In 1914, Chicago’s Wrigley Field, then called Weeghman Park, hosted its first major league game as the Chicago Federals defeated the Kansas City Packers 9-1. In 1935, Poland adopted a constitution which gave new powers to the presidency.
Williston Herald An Independent Newspaper
RANDY RICKMAN Publisher JERRY BURNES Managing Editor MARK JONES Sports Editor TAMMY BRITT Circulation Manager LAURI HELLER Business Manager BRIAN LAW Production Manager AARON HANSON Composition Manager SUBSCRIPTION RATES
For door delivery by carrier, $12 month, 1 year $132. For EZ Pay, $10 per month. By mail up to 150 miles from Williston, Postal Zones 1 and 2: 1 yr $143...........8 mos $104.......4 mos $52 By mail more than 150 miles from Williston, beyond Postal Zones 1 and 2: 1 yr $154...........8 mos $112.......4 mos $56 Electronic edition: 1 yr $78 . . . . 8 mos $56 . . . . 4 mos $28 . . . . 2 mos $14. Print and electronic editions combined: 1 yr $132. . . .8 mos $96. . . .4 mos $48. . . .1 mo $12 Postmaster: Send address changes to The Williston Daily Herald, P.O.Box 1447 Williston, ND 58802 The Williston Herald (USPS 685-040) is published daily except Saturdays, and New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Williston Daily Herald Inc. 14 W. Fourth St. Williston, ND Periodicals postage paid at Williston, ND.
Phone (701) 572-2165 Western N.D. Watts 1-800-950-2165
Official newspaper of Williston and Williams County, North Dakota Williston Herald guarantees delivery If you fail to receive your home delivered copy of the Williston Herald by 6 p.m. weekdays or 9 a.m. Sunday, please contact the Circulation Dept. Office Hours 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Monday-Friday Closed Saturday and Sunday The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for republication of all the local news printed in this newspaper as well as all AP dispatches. The Williston Herald reserves the right to refuse to publish any advertising it deems unsuitable.
WICK COMMUNICATIONS
Opinion Syndicated columnist
Editorial cartoon
2nd state ends certain abortion Earlier this month, National Right to Life declared that “pro-life Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin (R) signed into law the groundbreaking Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act” (“Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin Signs Dismemberment Abortion Bill,” nrlc.org, April 14). Kansas, I wrote last week, was the first state to enact such a law. And dig the size of the votes in the Oklahoma Legislature: “The bill passed the state House of Representatives, 84-2, in February, and the state Sweet Senate, 37-4, last week. The law, which will Land of go into effect on November 1, will prohibit dismemberment abortions in Oklahoma.” Liberty National Right to Life President Carol Tobias says that by protecting unborn children Nat from being torn limb from limb in the secHentoff ond trimester of abortion, “this law has the power to change how the public views the gruesome reality of abortion in the United States.” But that depends, of course, on how many of We The People are deeply disturbed by this abortion procedure’s ISIS-like gruesomeness. They must make their indignation known to state and federal legislators as well as the thus-far inattentive Supreme Court, religious leaders and passionate civil libertarians. Much credit for changing the American public’s views on abortion is due to National Right to Life and its 50 state affiliates and more than 3,000 local chapters. It is the nation’s oldest and biggest grassroots pro-life organization. Yet as Virginia attorney Scott Lloyd writes in the Winter 2015 edition of The Human Life Review, “Nowhere is the coarsening effect of this procedure more acutely felt than among those in the medical profession. The methodical dismemberment of a human fetus turns out in many ways to be its own punishment, as it is a traumatic event for the people who have taken it upon themselves to perform such a deed, who go on to experience nightmares and regret” (“Banning Dismemberment Abortions: Constitutionality and Politics,” March 24, Scott Lloyd, humanlifereview.com). He adds that “roughly 12 percent of all abortions nationwide are performed after the first trimester (up to 12 weeks after the last menstrual period), and of these, 95 percent are performed using the dismemberment method.” Furthermore, Lloyd argues, “The important question that will be determined in litigation is whether a majority on the Supreme Court believes a ban on dismemberment abortions ... constitutes an undue burden on the right to abortion ... “Even supposing a ban on dismemberment abortions did make second-trimester abortions more difficult to obtain, however, it does not necessarily follow that this would make a ban an undue burden, as women would still be free to obtain abortions by any means up to about 14 weeks and by other means until birth or until the point where it has been outlawed by a state -- 20 weeks in some, 24 weeks in others ... “If it becomes necessary to provide a rational reason for distinguishing between two late-term-abortion procedures (and there is a substantial likelihood that it will come to this), there is an expansive body of literature ... suggesting that there is a special gruesomeness and inhumanity to dismemberment abortions that have a particularly damaging effect on the psychological/spiritual well-being and moral standing of the people who participate in them ... “Several different accounts mention the phenomenon of feeling the sensation of tearing, of holding the limbs in the forceps, and of struggling to grasp the head, then crushing it, and often beholding a well-formed face in the process ...” Scott Lloyd then goes on to quote extensively from the accounts of Dr. Warren Hern, an abortion physician based in Boulder, Colorado: “There was clear agreement (among clinic staff) that D&E is qualitatively a different procedure, medically and emotionally, than early abortion. “Many of the respondents (staff at an abortion clinic) reported serious emotional reactions that produced psychological symptoms, sleep disturbances, effects on interpersonal relationships, and moral anguish ... (Most staff) thought that D&E was more difficult, tedious, risky, and painful than other procedures for everyone involved, and some feared major complications.” This is still civilized America? Will anyone dare to show videos and other depictions of unborn American human beings with their own DNA undergoing these horrible procedures -- and the eyes of those committing these undeniable crimes against humanity -- in classrooms around this complicit nation? Yes, classrooms. This is essential education for future generations. Meanwhile, if you are interested in a medical illustration of this procedure, it is at nrlc.org/abortion/pba/deabortiongraphic. Indeed, you ought to send a copy to vehement prochoice President Barack Obama. In more than 70 years of fact-finding reporting, I’ve never been so ashamed and angered that such a horror is being allowed to continue throughout these United States. Imagine the reaction if it had been proposed at our historic Constitutional Convention, even when huge inequalities were remaining. In America, we still have marches for justice to support various causes. So where is the march to end the dismemberment of these unborn Americans, whose facial expressions can be seen as they disappear? Nat Hentoff is a nationally renowned authority on the First Amendment and the Bill of Rights. He is a member of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, and the Cato Institute, where he is a senior fellow.
Odd news Massachusetts police receiving calls from Australia NORTHBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts police department has been receiving some curious calls from people with Australian accents. Police dispatchers in Northbridge say they have recently received several calls on their business line from people in an Australian community with the same name. Northbridge, Massachusetts, is about 35 southwest of Boston. Northbridge, Australia, is a suburb of Perth. Lisa Gaylord, who’s been a dispatcher for 16 years, tells The Telegram & Gazette) she got her first call from Australia in March. She thinks people there are probably searching online for “Northbridge police” and calling the first number that pops up.
Columnist
Strong demand to rebalance the oil market by early 2016 Global oil demand is set to rise by 1 million or even 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2015, according to a range of forecasters. Coupled with a fall in shale output in the second half of the year, as the decline in the U.S. rig count takes effect, that should be enough to bring the oil market near to balance by early 2016. Worldwide consumption will increase by a little over 1 million bpd in 2015, according to forecasts published this month by both the International Energy Agency and the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Ian Taylor, chief executive of Vitol, the world’s largest oil trader, has also predicted demand will grow by around 1 million bpd, at a conference hosted by the Financial Times. Paul Reed, who heads oil trading for BP, put growth at up to 1.5 million bpd, according to the Financial Times (“BP, Vitol: oil demand will be stronger than forecast” Apr 22). Consumption has increased by more than 1 million bpd in 11 of the last 20 years, according to the EIA, so growth of 1 million to 1.5 million bpd would not be exceptional. Moreover, a 1 million bpd increment in demand would represent a much smaller percentage increase than it did 10 or 20 years ago. Extra consumption of 1 million bpd would represent an increase of just 1.1 percent, a growth rate exceeded in 12 of the last 20 years. In the last two decades, oil demand growth has only failed to reach this rate when the advanced economies were in recession and in the immediate aftermath of the Asian financial crisis. In a normal economic expansion, oil consumption has almost invariably grown by at least 1 percent or 1 million bpd, sometimes much more. Forecasts by IEA, EIA, Vitol and BP therefore appear realistic, provided the global economy does not fall into recession, something which appears unlikely at this point. TRANSPORT Oil consumption is inextricably linked to the demand for transportation. The transportation sector accounts for 60 percent of oil consumption worldwide, OPEC estimated in its 2014 World Oil Outlook. In the United States, threequarters of the oil consumed was used as fuel for cars, trucks, railroads, ships and aircraft in 2012. The global aviation and shipping industries each consume more 5 million bpd of fuel moving people and goods around the world.
Private motorists and trucking firms in the United States consume more than 11 million bpd and the Oil Market global figure Report for road transport is John around 36 Kemp million bpd. Relatively small shifts in the demand for freight and passenger transport can therefore have a large impact on oil demand. In recent years, global transportation demand has been restrained, first by the sharp rise in fuel prices between 2004 and 2008 and then by the lingering effects of the recession in the advanced economies between 2008 and 2012. Many individuals and businesses traveled less and focused on traveling using less fuel to reduce costs. But the price of oil has halved since June 2004, thanks to the shale revolution, and the outlook for the global economy is of steady if not spectacular growth. With these sources of restraint removed, global transport demand is set to grow strongly in 2015 and 2016, and with it the demand for fuel. TRAVEL BOOM There are plenty of reasons to think that demand for both passenger and freight transport will grow strongly this year and next, provided oil prices remain low and the global economy avoids another slowdown. World trade volumes will rise by 3.3 percent in 2015 and 4.0 percent in 2016, the World Trade Organization has predicted (“Modest trade recovery in 2015 and 2016 following three years of weak expansion” Apr 14). This is below the longterm trend of 5 percent in growth in trade volumes per year since 1990, but it is still faster than the 2.8 percent achieved in 2014, when oil demand nonetheless increased by around 850,000 bpd. In aviation, the number of passengers is set to increase by more than 6.5 percent from 2014 to 3.53 billion in 2015, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Airlines will also carry an extra 2.2 million tonnes of freight, an increase of more than 4 percent compared with 2014. As a result, IATA has predicted airlines’ fuel consumption will rise by the equivalent of 260,000 bpd compared with 2014. At sea, fuel consump-
tion could rise by the same amount, or even more, as freight volumes rise. Cheaper fuel prices are also encouraging an end to slow-steaming, which was introduced as an economy measure during the years of high prices, which will boost fuel demand even more. On U.S. roads, traffic volumes are up by 3-5 percent compared with 12 months ago, according to statistics from the Federal Highway Administration and state tax collectors. If the increase in private motoring and freight activity is sustained, it could translate into an increase of 250,000 or even 500,000 bpd in gasoline and diesel consumption. REBALANCING Just these three sources shipping, airlines and U.S. roads - could easily account for between 750,000 bpd and 1 million bpd of extra oil demand in 2015. If cheaper fuel stimulates private driving and road freight in other advanced economies, and transport demand continues to grow in emerging markets across Asia and Latin America, it is easy to see how total oil consumption could rise by 1 million bpd or even 1.5 million bpd this year. In the first three months of 2015, U.S. crude oil stocks by an average of 1 million bpd and most analysts put the global supply-demand imbalance at around 1.5-2.0 million bpd. With global demand set to rise by 1.0-1.5 million bpd this year and U.S. shale output set to fall by perhaps 150,000-300,000 bpd in the second half, it is possible to see a pathway for the oil market to return near to balance by early 2016. Nonetheless, there are several potential obstacles to rebalancing. First and foremost is the potential rise in Iranian exports if sanctions are lifted. Iran could add an extra 500,000 to 1 million bpd of extra crude to global supplies within a fairly short space of time if and when sanctions are lifted. A second source of risk to the rebalancing scenario would come if the expected drop in U.S. shale output fails to materialize. Domestic oil prices have already risen by more than 20 percent from their recent lows and may be nearing the level at which much of the industry could breakeven. But subject to these risks, the oil market should return to balance by the end of 2015 or within the first half of 2016, provided oil prices remain relatively low and the global economy avoids another recession. John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR To submit a letter to the editor, email Managing Editor Jerry Burnes at editor@willistonherald.com