Why does the world watch US presidential elections so closely and with so much interest [COMPACTIDEA]

• No one in the world watches French or UK or Russian or Canadian or Japanese or German or Australian or Indian elections so closely. US presidential elections are watched closely, by both the power-brokers and the general public from the entire world.
• The reason is not only that the outcome of US presidential elections affect the lives of the people in the rest of the world. No. It's also because US presidential elections feel like a sort of reality show to the general public. The debates, the spit that candidates throw on each other, the revelations, the insults, the suspense, the polls, the advantage of English language, etc., together make for a very entertaining reality TV show from the standpoint of the general public. For the general public, the question isn't as much about the effect on their lives. It's the fun part, the part about betting on a horse and then watching its performance with keen interest. Like watching a cricket match. Or like watching Bigg Boss.
• US knows all too well that the rest of the world closely follows US elections. It can only feel happy about this, since this is yet another way in which US spreads its influence.

Winners of Academy Awards [Oscars] or Nobel Prizes aren't necessarily the best in their respective fields [COMPACTIDEA]

• Frequently, Oscars are politicized. So movies that support Western foreign policy will be awarded, and those that highlight Western crimes won't even be nominated.
• Oscars are inherently biased against non-English movies, since there's only one category/award for such movies. Hence the numerous excellent non-English movies being made all over the world each year hardly stand a chance, at least statistically.
• Nobel Prizes are also politicized to the extent that prominent Russian figures, for example, won't be acknowledged or awarded, just like Oscars are biased against nations which America considers its perennial adversaries. Not to forget lunatic decisions such as the award to Obama, or a lack of award to Mahatma Gandhi [presumably to not humiliate the British].
• Overall, just because a piece of work or a person gets an Oscar or a Nobel doesn't by itself imply necessarily that it is [or he is] the best in its/his respective category. Politics plays a major role. America plays a major role. Hatred of Russia, China, Iran, etc., plays a major role. Xenophobia plays a major role.

The illusion of the greatness of the PetroSheikhs

Many people praise the kings / rulers / sheikhs / sultans of the Arab world for the huge and magnificant structures they create [e.g., Burj Khalifa or the Kingdom Tower], the grand ideas they apparently have [discounting the fact that they employ top global consulting, design and construction firms], the large sums of money they spend, the "big thinking" they seem to have. Nonsense. Nothing great about it, if you analyze carefully.

Digging out oil bestowed upon them by nature, and selling it on the international market and earning money in the process doesn't equal intelligence or greatness. It's called luck. Or chance. Or just an accident. Absolutely nothing marvelous about it. It came to them for free. It was/is valuable for the entire world [like gold]. No brain was required. They didn't do anything about it. Anyone fortunate enough to be sitting upon trillions worth of crude oil like folks in the Middle East would automatically start to have "great" ideas to spend his easily-earned fortune. Let's not develop an illusion that these PetroSheikhs have something special in their brains which we don't. Look at South Korea, Japan, Singapore, etc., to understand what real greatness is - generation of immense wealth and prosperity in the face of considerable natural odds and an absence of natural resources.

Update [26-Sep-18]: Watched these two videos last night, showing opulent Saudi weddings. Big SUVs, lots of gold, luxury watches, top-grade accessories, and so on. Might give you an illusion that these folks are awesome. Nonsense. They're simply spending whatever they've won in the geographic lottery.