IN A QUANDRY

A showing of hands, please.
Who here likes paparazzi?
No one?
I think some of you aren't being exactly forthright.

Who here watches any of the entertainment news shows?
Wow!
A lot of hands went up for that one.

If it weren't for the vids & pics provided by the paparazzi, those "entertainment" shows would be very dull. And if they were dull, no one would watch them and then there would be no deep pocket producers to pay the paparazzi for their purveyed images.

Princess Di's death had paparazzi as a contributing factor. These folks often provoke situations where they hope to evoke a violent/emotional reaction from the celebs. Of course, sometimes the celebs fans base can turn the table on the paparazzi. But that is wrong also. Courts have ruled that a celeb in a public venue or activity has no right to expectation of privacy. And if it wasn't for the paparazzi, most of the celebs would be unknowns. I cite Paris Hilton as an example.

***

Another issue is the price of crude oil. We blame the Saudi's for its sudden rise but that isn't correct. We can't refine any greater volume of crude in the 1st world than we are now because our refineries are already running at capacity. So is it being caused by the surge in demand from the emerging nations (China, India, etc.)? Not really, they are wanting and needing more as might be expected but you don't build a refinery overnight and right now more would just have to be stored until it can be used. Easier to leave it in the ground at the source.

The big problem is in the trading of futures. Speculating where the price of crude, fuel and sundry other commodities will be at some point in the future. And if you are big enough, manipulating conditions where your guess will be correct. Think of what Enron did to the State of California and the availability of electricity about 5 years ago. There was plenty of electricity available but by shutting down power plants and lying about capacity loads, the movers and shakers created a totally artificial crisis for pure profit and political power.

So, IMO, you can thank Wall Street and its zoo of Bulls, Bears and Rats for the current situation.


"Let's all be careful out there!"