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Published May 15, 2015
Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:
On Second Thought
The Interior Department called off an annual luncheon scheduled for today in Houston to honor the oil and gas industry for its safety and pollution prevention efforts.
The department says it needs to devote its resources to the Gulf oil spill. British Petroleum, the company deemed by many responsible for the spill, was a finalist for one of the major awards.
Predators of the Press
They are not exactly awards, but the media watchdog group Reporters Without Borders has come out with its list of the world's top 40 predators of the press. They are accused of everything from censorship to murder.
On this year's roster: China's Hu Jintao, Cuba's Raoul Castro, Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Kim Jong Il of North Korea and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar makes his first appearance, while several Iraqi Islamist groups were taken off.
Industry Buzz
And the buzz in the honey industry is that China is shipping its product overseas for relabeling before sending it on to the U.S.
Texas A&M University professor Vaughn Bryant tells United Press International that China is trying to skirt U.S. tariffs of up to 500 percent, imposed two years ago, after China nearly ruined the U.S. honey market with its low-priced product.
Bryant says honey that is labeled as being from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos and Vietnam is often primarily from China, part of what he calls the country's shenanigans aimed at avoiding the tariffs.
— Fox News Channel's Lanna Britt contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/story/luncheon-honoring-oil-and-gas-industry-is-called-off