With the current economic crisis we can now see what Thatcherism has wrought given its incubation period is over and the system is fully matured. Latvia and Lithuania are under great stress. Society and economy have been under a full spectrum assault. There has been no plan to develop Latvia’s economy, with Lithuania’s being somewhat better given they retained some industry. Regressive taxes have been increased, while areas of speculation remain relatively untaxed and undeterred. Credit has disappeared and will not return, and should not return in its old form. As people lose their jobs or fear losing them, the government has reduced the duration of unemployment benefits in Latvia and have displayed a callous disregard for labor. These events have combined to leave Latvia and Lithuania vulnerable to further societal disintegration. This week’s protests represented fear and anger over what has transpired since 1991, combined with an idealistic attempt to reconstitute society and recapture the goals of 1991. The protest in Latvia, which I attended, was well organized. Great attention was given to creating a positive, collective venue through which to voice their concerns and frustrations. From the start speakers spoke to Latvians tradition of measured, thoughtful, and disciplined protest. National choirs provided both a calming tone and reminder of the cultural equity stored among Latvians.

what's really driving the high price of oil?
Last week the price of crude oil reached about $130 a barrel after spiking to $140 briefly. The immediate cause? Guesses by oil man T. Boone Pickens and Goldman Sachs that the price could go to $150 and $200 a barrel respectivly in the near future. They were referring to what can be called the hoopla pricing party on the New York Mercantile Exchange. (NYMEX)
(...) Oil was at $50 a barrel in January 2007, then $75 a barrel in August 2007. Now at $130 or so a barrel, it is clear that oil pricing is speculative activity, having very little to do with physical supply and demand. An essential product—petroleum—is set by speculators operating on rumor, greed, and fear of wild predictions.
(...) Over the time since early 2007, U.S. demand for petroleum has fallen by 1 percent and world demand has risen by 1.3 percent. Supplies of crude are so plentiful, according to the Wall Street Journal, “traders of physical crude oil say their market is suffering from too much supply, not too little.” Iran, for instance, is storing 25 million barrels of heavy, sour crude oil because, in the words of Hossein Kazempour Ardebili, Iran’s oil governor, “there are simply no buyers because the market has more than enough oil.”
(...) In an ironic twist, the major price determinant has moved from OPEC (having only 40% of the world production) and the oil companies to the speculators in the commodities markets. What goes on in the essentially unregulated New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX)—without Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) enforced margin requirements, and, unlike your personal purchases, untaxed—is now the place that leads to your skyrocketing gasoline bills. OPEC and the Big Oil companies reap the benefits and say that it’s not their doing, but that of the speculators. Gives new meaning to “passing the buck.”
(...) He cites “some industry experts, who profit greatly from the high price of crude, and have stated openly that the worldwide economic price of crude, absent speculators, would be around $50 to $60 per barrel.