from the hip

The price of oil has now reached a new record high (in US dollar): 129.31.

Some experts think that a continued belief in even higher oil prices among some American investment banks and hedge funds is a major factor in driving the oil price higher and higher.

Also, the new record high for oil has been cited as a major reason for the drops in the major European stock markets Tuesday.

msnbc/AP writes that:

The June contract for light, sweet crude traded as high as $129.60 on the New York Mercantile Exchange before settling at $129.07, up $2.02 from Monday’s record high. The imminent expiration of that contract, which ended with the close of Tuesday’s trading, created additional volatility in the market.

They see no reason why oil should not hit 140 dollars a barrel.

See also (for a little fun): The Coming Oil Crash (LOL)
An Overview of Oil Prices from DOE
The Oil Price Conspiracy

PS: For the record - I share the view expressed in the first of these postings - about the oil crash - that oil prices will crash. But not in the very near future, I think. And only when the dollar starts to rise against other currencies, and then as a function of the strengthening of the dollar!

The Austrain Incest Case

Father Confesses to Horrific Crime. He held his daughter prisoner and abused her for decades. In the most spectacular kidnapping and incest case in Austrian history, a man has confessed to having held his daughter hostage for 24 years and siring seven children with her. (Der Spiegel)

Austria Stunned by Case of Imprisoned Woman. With his Mercedes-Benz and his fine clothes, Josef Fritzl looked every inch a property owner, neighbors in this tidy Austrian town said Monday. Even when running errands, they said, he wore a natty jacket, crisp shirt and tie. (New York Times)

The Family Man of Amstetten: Double life of a pillar of Austrian society. How did the perpetrator of one of modern Europe’s most horrific crimes convince his neighbours he was a respectable man? (The Independent)

Josef Fritzl: a shrewd liar and an obsessive tyrant. Casual acquaintances knew Josef Fritzl as a jovial fellow who liked to drink beer and enjoyed a bawdy joke.

But former neighbors say the man accused of imprisoning his daughter and fathering her seven children ran his household like a dictator. Piece by piece, a picture is emerging of a shrewd liar and an obsessive tyrant. (International Herald Tribune/AP)
(more…)

Ashley Alexandra Dupre became instantly famous over night when the world learned that she was the call girl visited by New York ex-governor Eliot Spitzer. Also, according to some, she may have sold similar services to Hollywood-playboy Charlie Sheen,  dressed up as  cheer leader.

Deservedly or not, she stood to make millions of dollars on her newfound fame. Books, interviews and such will come, for sure. But some wanted to pay for porn pictures of her as well. Hustler seems to have been willing to pay 1 million USD for that. Producer of “Girls Gone Wild” Joe Francis was too.

According to Associated Press:

Joe Francis had reached out to Ashley Alexandra Dupre, now 22, with an offer of $1 million to appear in a non-nude spread for his company’s new magazine, plus a chance to join the “Girls Gone Wild” tour bus, his company announced Tuesday.

But Francis said someone had a revelation at the Tuesday morning staff meeting: Did anyone think to check the archives?

They did, he said — and there she was.

“It’ll save me a million bucks,” Francis told The Associated Press on Tuesday. “It’s kind of like finding a winning lottery ticket in the cushions of your couch.”

Francis said at that point, his offer was off the table: “We actually had been dealing with her rep,” he said. “Our (offer) was the real deal. We just never made the connection.”

He said his employees got to work on pulling the footage and planned to offer it on the Web site by Tuesday evening, with a free sampling on the front page and the rest available with a $29.95 monthly subscription.

And off the video will come nude pics and internet videoes. All in high demand.

So that was a  cool million lost for having shown off her body on tape at the wrong time! Bad deal, if you ask me.

A Norwegian newspaper, Dagbladet, shows a video of her, showing some skin. Not that I think you’re interested, but just in case.

Timing is king!