Petroleum Jelling
The Washington Post and New York Times
lead with the decision by a coalition of some of the world's top oil exporters
to cut back production in an attempt to reverse a sharp price slide. USA Today ,
which runs the oil story as its off-lead, leads with the revelation that last
fall, the State Department shut down some of its worldwide computer systems
because of a suspected penetration by hackers. The systems contain unclassified
but sensitive information such as the travel schedules of U.S. embassy
officials. The Los Angeles Times goes with the first joint appearance of
the leading Democratic gubernatorial candidates at a state party
convention.
The oil news is that Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and Mexico, which together
supply about a fifth of the world's oil, issued a joint statement saying that
they and other oil producers plan a cutback amounting to about 2.7 percent of
world production. The move, which the WP calls "unusual solidarity," is
expected to send oil prices up. The NYT reports that the initial
reaction in the Asian markets on Monday was nearly a $4 up-tick.
The Times explains that having non-OPEC countries like Mexico on
board is important because in the past OPEC production cuts have often been met
with non-OPEC production surges. The paper also notes that many analysts had
been predicting the economic pain of low oil revenues would force the producers
to rein in production. Clear enough, but then the paper goes on to "illustrate"
that idea with the following passage from the joint statement, which is
anything but: ".[A] drop in oil prices could lead to a reduction in the
investments needed to secure international supplies, which would destabilize
the world economy in the medium term."
OSCAR NOTE I: The LAT says that "The Full Monty," made for a paltry
$3.5 million, could ultimately turn a profit of around $100 million. The
Wall Street Journal says the movie has already raked
in more than $200 million.
OSCAR NOTE II: This past Saturday's NYT reported that acting is on
the rise as an occupational choice for young people, and today's USAT
"Snapshot" reports that in a recent poll, 51 percent of men surveyed would
prefer their children grew up to be a Hollywood star rather than a U.S.
Senator. (Only 32 percent of the women preferred this.)
Curiously, the LAT lead puts in the second paragraph the information
that businessman Al Checchi criticized Rep. Jane Harman for appealing to
Republicans, that Harman sniped at Checchi for having a lot of position papers,
and that Lt. Gov. Gray Davis attacked them both as millionaires trying to buy
the election, but delays until the fifth paragraph the news that Checchi and
Harman said that as governor they would seek to repeal Prop. 209, the
California ballot measure outlawing racial and gender preferences in state
hiring and college admissions, and that Davis would not do this. Plus, the
reader has to wait to the sixth paragraph to learn that Davis also wouldn't
commit to signing a bill sanctioning gay marriage, while both Checchi and
Harman would do that.
The WP runs a piece inside reporting that according to Russian
sources, Russian intelligence agents have, for the past several years, quietly
recruited scientists to go to Iran and teach their Iranian counterparts how to
build missiles to carry deadly payloads as far as 1,200 miles. The piece goes
on to say that the Russians intend to stop this practice. Some observers,
remarks the Post , wonder if the Russian government can in fact stop the
flow of scientists to Tehran.
The WSJ brings evidence that not every conservative blindly supports
the many turns of Ken Starr's investigation of President Clinton. The "Rule of
Law" piece, by a former Reagan administration deputy attorney general, argues
that "it is time for a sober reassessment of the power we have concentrated in
the hands of prosecutors and the alarming absence of effective checks and
balances to prevent the widespread abuse of that power."
The two people in America who still think of the NYT as America's
sober "paper of record," are directed to Sunday's front section, page 20.
There, instead of the dozens of straightforward shots of Robert Bennett no
doubt available, the paper opts for a shot of him with a crazed smile and hands
not quite in front his face, making him look like a spastic Mafia don.
The WP reports on last Saturday night's Gridiron Dinner, that annual
Washington D.C. court masque in which bigfoot journalists entertain the
government's heaviest hitters and vice-versa. The centerpiece this year was
President Clinton's monologue, which featured the following joke he said had
been approved by his lawyers: "Knock-knock" "Don't answer that."
