The Kensington Review

1 September 2004

Latest Commentary:
Pentagon Analyst May Have Been Israeli Agent -- Last week, the FBI announced that a Pentagon analyst involved in Iranian issues was under investigation, as others may have been, for possibly working for Israel. Lawrence A. Franklin has worked under neo-con heavy-weight Douglas Feith, who. The FBI was very deliberate in saying that Colonel (for that is his rank in the Air Force reserves) Franklin was in no position to influence American policy. The Sharon Government in Israel was deliberate in saying it has done no spying on the US lately. And the Bush administration has been deliberately silent. The deliberation is the result of a need for everyone to be careful because there is no way to make this look good, especially if the colonel is innocent.

Australia's PM Calls Election for October 9 -- Australia's Prime Minister, John Howard, has called an election for October 9. It is one of the superiorities the parliamentary system has over America's presidential-constitutional one -- a campaign that doesn't take a year (polling day is six weeks off and that's the longest in Australia for 20 years). Mr. Howard has already said that the election is about trust. It is also about Iraq, where 800 Australian troops still work alongside the US. There was an election in Spain not too long ago while there were Spanish troops working with the US -- the government lost. Mr. Howard could be in trouble.

Greenspan Warns of Aging Work Force -- Alan Greenspan last week warned America that there are a load of baby-boomers about to hit retirement age, that they are going to suck all the benefits they can out of Social Security and Medicare, and that America can't afford it. Massive changes in taxation or benefits are needed to prevent a debt explosion, and Nero-like, the US government fiddles while the demographics light a fire that will burn for decades. Too wild a thought? The system can be saved, but it needs to be done right now.

Athens Games End a Qualified Success -- The nay-sayers will have crow for dinner, but only a small portion. The Athenians managed to pull of the Olympics without the organization disasters that seemed inevitable to some just a month ago. The stadium didn't fall down, and no bombs went off. There were also plenty of tickets as the Greeks lost a few billion euro on the games. Still, they provided enough memorable moments to make it worth going to Beijing in 2008.

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© Copyright 2004 by The Kensington Review , J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.