The Bear Out There
So much has been written about Bear Stearns the past three days, much of it by the Wall Street Journal’s Kate Kelly, that it doesn’t seem like there’s much left to say. So I won’t, other than to provide links to yesterday’s and today’s stories by Ms. Kelly and note, once again, the quality of the reporting.

As a journalist, there’s a part of me that’s jealous she had the time to work on this—that the Journal has the resources to allow her to work on this. From the time of the merger announcement in mid-March on, Ms. Kelly’s byline appeared only a handful of times. Clearly she was spending her time working on this project, and the time she put in shows.

Because We Can
One aspect of the Journal’s coverage that doesn’t seem to work as well is the video the paper posts with the third installment of the series today on its website. It’s of Adam Najberg interviewing Ms. Kelly about the series and what she learned about Bear Stearns. It would have been revealing for her to discuss some of the reporting, or offer some broader insight as to what this all means going forward. Instead the short interview has the feel of something thrown together without much thought, just so the Journal could claim a “multimedia” component.

Taking it up a Notch
Just when you thought the insanity had reached a crescendo, along comes Rachael Ray: Celebrity Chef and Terrorist Sympathizer.

“Critics, including conservative commentator Michelle Malkin, complained that the scarf appeared to be traditional garb worn by Arab men. The ad’s critics say such scarves have come to symbolize Muslim extremism and terrorism.”

“… appeared to be?” And Dunkin Donuts backed down? Unbelievable. Talk about terrorism … apparently even wardrobe choices have been hijacked by the thought police.

I was going to go across the street for falafel after work, but you know, I’m sure people in Muslim countries—perhaps even some would-be terrorists—eat falafel, too and I’d hate to appear to be supporting terrorism. . . .

Back to the Journal for a Second
I wonder how they stumbled upon this scoop?

Oh, wait. Never mind.

Oil Boil
Interesting story today, again in the Journal (enjoy the free advertising while it lasts), about oil exports. A few key takeaways:

1. Note the word “unable” in the headline, as in “unable to keep up with demand.”
2. “At the same time, aging fields and sluggish investments have caused exports to drop significantly in Mexico, Norway and, most recently, Russia.” Russia? That new, isn’t it?
3. One of the reasons for soaring oil consumption in the Middle East is a shortage of natural gas to fuel power plants. Those power plants run the air conditioners water systems and other apparatuses that make daily life bearable in the desert.
4. “No big exporter is struggling more than Mexico, where net exports dropped 15% in 2007. Mexican officials announced Monday that output from the country’s once-mighty Cantarell field had plunged by a third in less than a year.” *Gulp.*

You Thought Your Traffic Was Bad
Once again Chicago is front-and-center as the nation’s transport hub, but this time not in a good way.

Just Asking
I know the weather in Chicago has been chilly lately, but are we coming up on April 1 or June 1? It’s not altogether clear to me.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 29th, 2008 at 6:15 pm and is filed under Thursday's Random Shots. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.