Rhinocrisy

Some of you may have casually noted that the price of oil is once again setting new records. Brent crude is at $41.22 a barrel, an all-time high. Most of this is the result of the woes of Russian oil giant Yukos, which is in the throes of bankruptcy and numerous court cases. That sordid tale is a saga of its own; the short version is that Yukos owns the Russian government a lot of money and probably can’t pay it, and so key assets (like a major subsidiary) are being forcibly sold off to pay the bills. Yukos produces 1.7 Mbd, 1/5 of Russia’s production.

The fate of the known universe hangs in the balance, and predictions are being made both ways: some are already moaning that the price will NEVER come down again, that high price is simply a fact of life now. The Saudis insisted that they have 1.5 Mbd spare capacity available NOW, and it will relieve the pressure before the end of the summer. Meanwhile, high US gasoline stocks (despite the tight supply and the peak driving season) suggest that gas conservation may already be coming into effect thanks to high prices.

I have to believe the Saudis are wrong - even if they have spare capacity, the galloping rate at which consumption is increasing suggests that very soon they won’t be able to save the day. The question is, where will economic contraction set in first? In the fuel-driven United States, or in the newly energy-hungry Asian countries cum China? Our economy is already sputtering and barely plugging along. One good blow to the solar plexus would kill it dead…

I’m sick of choking and gagging every time one of them walks by. I’m sick of suffocating when I get into an empty elevator which one of them had used a few minutes earlier.

We all know about whom I’m talking: people who wear way too much cologne or perfume.

Is this supposed to be a way of attracting someone? Or is it a way of weeding out people with a sensitive sense of smell? Or is it a way of announcing to the world that one smells so bad that one must use a whole bottle of cologne in order to counteract the diabolical effects of one’s natural body odor?

Please - one or two misty sprays is plenty. Subtle is seductive; excess is repulsive.

Recently there seems to have been a flurry of incidents of which I know all too well:

I’m walking down the street and encounter a woman who is a complete stranger. As she passes by, she gives me an unfriendly “once-over” and scowls, snickers or sneers. I am not sure if she is staring at my clothes, which I don’t think are offensive, or my face, or the rest of my body, which I can’t really change. And I don’t know why. It’s clearly unfriendly, and the look that she casts hints that she is sizing me up as competition and about to rip me apart, or that she disapproves of my very existence. And I *only* get this from other women… lately it’s been from other Asian women.

It’s as if some women view other women in their vicinity with automatic distrust and hatred.

In school, some girls try to cut others down. They’re really mean to girls who are smart and do well in their classes, as if it’s just not okay to be a smart girl. And if you’re a feminist, expect the worst treatment from some of your own kind. It’s repulsive to the very essence of these mean girls.

And then when it comes to boys - some women will sacrifice the best friendships for a dude who just isn’t worth it.

It’s so sad, because we women should be sticking together, not tearing each other apart.