Shortages of petrol in Russia, world's largest oil producer

How can it be? Easy -- the Russian government's price controls on petrol. The government wants the public to believe it's market manipulation by the oil companies. It's the government is the one manipulating markets, and public opinion.

Meanwhile, in the US,

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, one of the federal agencies involved in the Obama administration's new investigation of rising gasoline prices, determined just a few days before being named part of the investigation that prices are going up because of normal market forces.

Dianne Rehm nailed Energy Secretary Chu on just this point Monday -- when gas prices go up, politicians posture that they'll do something about it by looking into market manipulation. But none is ever found -- because it isn't there. It's a case of politicians not wanting to admit they are impotent to stop the natural forces of markets, evidence to the contrary. Rehm asked Chu whether he had any reason to believe this time was different.