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Latest Commentary:
Senator Lugar Calls Detaining Suspected Terrorists for Life “Bad Idea” -- Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) represents the respectably thoughtful wing of the Republican Party from the chairman’s seat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He also has a talent for understatement. There are reports that the CIA and the Pentagon have asked the White House to decide on a “more permanent approach” for dealing with those suspected of terrorist ties other than returning them to their home countries or freeing them. One of the proposed options is locking them up for life without legal appeal. Senator Lugar called this “a bad idea.” The word “un-American” is a better fit. Britain Declassifies Documents under 30-Year Rule -- One of the lesser-known joys of the New Year is finding out just what the heck Whitehall and Downing Street were up to three decades ago. Britain, lacking the First Amendment that makes America such a bureaucrat’s nightmare, traditionally locks up most government papers for 30 years. Of course, to release everything exactly 30 years to the day later is problematic. So instead, the files are opened at the Public Records Office in the London’s suburb of Kew at the start of every year. This year, the world is treated to the secrets of 1974. Wolfensohn Likely to Leave World Bank -- Much has been made of President Bush’s capacity to influence the American court system for the next generation by the appointments he can make in the next four years. However, he also has an opportunity to change the world economy with a single appointment, a far more important change to the world’s poor. Naturalized American James Wolfensohn finishes his second five-year term as head of the World Bank this year, and by custom, the job goes to a Yank. Which Yank gets the job will heavily influence world capital flows for years. Dirty Dozen Make NFL Play-Offs -- The NFL regular season ended yesterday with a flurry of games to determine which teams squeaked through to the play-offs. A few teams had won-loss records good enough to have settled the matter already, and others were so bad that the issue was where to take their vacation. Yet, nine teams still had play-off hopes before the starting kick-off, and that’s just too damn many. © Copyright 2005 by The Kensington Review , J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.
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