"The very idea that the same person can be a world class expert on tobacco, nuclear power, coal chemistry, global warming, social security and health insurance should ring alarm bells in the head of everyone with the minimum standard of education."
What makes you think there's only one person involved?
If I run a humanitarian project operating on the border between Thailand and Myanmar, I need current information. I don't have time to wait for "books or papers by experts". I need to know about the recent Burmese military activity likely to send a stream of new refugees in my direction. Maybe that's in the papers, maybe not, so it'd be useful to have an additional source of information like Stratfor.
Simply put, you don't seem to understand what sort of service an outfit like Stratfor provides.