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Show Monday • August 11, 2008 AS! Making recession gold Spencer Shell Opinions editor | During recessions, the rich always profit — mainly because there's no one else who can put money into turning a profit. "Exxon Mobil reported the best quarterly profit ever for a corporation on Thursday, beating its own record," reports the New York Times on Aug. I. "The company's income for the second quarter rose I4 percent, to $l 1.68 billion, compared to the same period a year ago. That beat the previous record of $ IJ .66 billion set by Exxon in the last three months of 2007." With profits at approximately $90,000 a minute, how does an oil company get away with making record profits when the price of gas is taking devastating chunks out of the average consumer's wallet? As the price of a product rises, its producers become more able to glean profits by taking the opportunity to exploit the public, adding their own increase onto the already high price. The unprecedented cost imposed on the public is the reason for these profits, not the production volumes of gas and oilOil tycoons like Exxon Mobile are not going to suffer from increasing gas prices as long as consumers are still willing to pay. Not only is gas a commodity that this nation runs on, but on top of that, speculators are raising the price of gas by creating a feeling of hysteria, suggesting that there may not be enough oil to go around, and thereby justifying the price. The plain and simple fact is that eventually there will com£ a time when oil is not going to be as obtainable as it is now. Why are Exxon Mobile and other such companies not shifting more of their resources to finding renewable, eco-friendly energy resources, rather than pumping more money into finding more drill sites? If it's not broken, why try and fix it, right? The problem with that mentality is that soon it will be broken, and we will not be prepared for the consequences of little to no oil. For any company to survive, adaptation is needed. Right now proactive adaptation seems more important for not only the ordy Kirkman environment, but also for the upkeep of the standard of living that we all seem so inclined to keep. If companies like Exxon Mobile want to continue to makes such ridiculous profits, they need to corner the market on whatever the "oil of the future" will be, Being fat is not OK Thomas Rackliffel Opinions writer lishment of new fast food outlets in a particularly impoverished section of the city. The proposed one-year ban, if passed by a full council, would be a temporary stopgap designed to help the city's bloating obesity epi- Between underhanded corporate shenanigans and inept legislative tomfoolery, this country hasn't seen a day in years that wasn't brimming with reasons to fill up with furor. Realistically, whether it's a conservative senator being caught in the restroom of hypocrisy or an antique politician explaining to his tech-savvy audience about everyone's favorite ''series of tubes," there's no better place to turn to for entertainment than our very own government. But on the rare occasion when that gaggle of political clowns fi- Remember to chew before swallowing. nally does something right, it's critical that demic. the voting public doesn't see Opponents of the meathis serendipity as a laugh- sure, of course, are quick to ing matter. Perhaps you declare it an unnecessary, haven't heard, though, about even tyrannical, restrichow entirely right things can tion on personal liberty. be done. This perspective seems to A Los Angeles city be based on the assumption council planning commit- that any government hand in tee recently demonstrated how business is conducted that" even aside from laughs, necessarily means that the legislators can provide their consumer is losing the abilconstituency with something ity to choose. they desperately need. On Luckily, there is sanity. July 22, those at the meet- Through antitrust and moing unanimously approved nopoly laws, there are dea moratorium on the estab- cades of precedent for this But if we choose to eat unhealthily, or so the argument goes, why should the government stop us? Of course, for many, it isn't a matter of choice. Childhood obesity levels in L.A. County are positively astronomical, and it's infeasible to blame a grade school student for his poor diet. Furthermore, in the area that would be affected by the proposed moratorium, there is already an abundance of fast food outlets, to say the least. If the issue is providing citizens with the right to choose, leaving room in poor neighborhoods for grocery and convenience stores to develop only seems sensible. ixc.hu Ultimately,, it seems too many It's common knowledge people in this country equate that fast food is not healthful government action with a difood — Supersize Me, Fast rect threat to their freedom, Food Nation and their ilk and thus see the unhindered have driven this understand- molestation of consumers ing firmly into the public by corporate monoliths as realm. Though as a nation the truest form of personal we are largely satisfied with liberty. Hopefully, though, restrictions on other products we can begin to recognize that are immediately prone to when the men and women inducing serious health risk we elect are sticking up for — tobacco, alcohol and their us, as they're doing in L.A., less legal counterparts come instead of all too easily givto mind — for some reason ing in to pressure from lobwe've failed largely to ad- byists and the more easily dress the preponderance of brainwashed among us. health-harming food. decision. It has always been the responsibility of elected officials to intervene when a corporation's best interest interfered with the best interest of the public. The fast food moratorium in L.A. is no different. otherwise, when the switch inevitably occurs, they will be left in the dust. By doing this soon rather than later, not only will their business succeed, but the earth will also be left a somewhat better place, A pen fight without swords Diego Ibanez J | Opinions writer Writing about a medieval sword-fighting club at the park presents a difficult subject matter to engage in. Besides, BYU was also doing a piece on the matter and I could leave the unpretentious writing up to them. So I stepped onto the battlefield and as any curiously bossy foreigner would command, I said, "take me to your leader!" My inquiry introduced me to Reverend, a thin, slick, athletic character with leather armor. He not only looked like a leader but he spoke and smelled like a leader as well. His ponytail must do wonders for first impressions. His advice to me; "Don't make us look like dicks." Was that a threat I wondered? Was I to get hunted down and beaten with padded swords as 1 peacefully slept? I didn't want to find out, so I quickly made a mental note. At least now I had a reference point. Ever curious, I asked my way through the myriad warriors for information, but v hat more was I than a nosy college student? The fighting commenced with some armed with swords and shields and others armed with spears. These guys dramatically - some more than others- lunged at each other. I wanted popcorn or maybe those dissolving ice-cream bits that give you We're looking for you to join our staff Writers, photographers, designers always wanted. a major brain freeze. It was collaboration between hockey and chess, some strategy as well as brute force. I now began to pity the common passerby who showed callous towards this enigmatic occurrence. This wasn't rage. If a description was to be stipulated, this group had a surplus of a trait that most of us these days lack - passion. They were doing something they loved. Round after round they would change teams and carry on with such consistency that I'm confident to say ihat these guys were getting enough action for many people. There was something uniquely disturbing about my jealousy towards this group. Here I was trying to investigate something that many may not care about or even read let alone take me seriously, but in the end it all come down to passion. So many of us, even those reading right now, are walking through life with very little to drive us. The fact is that we tend to avoid symptoms of passion, which would include not giving a damn what others think. I don't mind making that mental note either. The group meets every Thursday at North Park in Provo. Come visit UVU Review in SC 220 to see the smiles on these faces, |