| The Kensington Review |
25 March 2005 |
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Latest Commentary:
Army and Marines Miss Recruiting Targets -- For the first time since 1999, the US Army is in danger of coming up short on new recruits. The US Marine Corps has missed their recruiting goals for January and February, the first months that has happened in for over a decade. The Army is boosting financial incentives, and it has raised the age limit for National Guard and Reserves enlistment from 34 to 39, although the Regular Army hasn't changed to the higher age. Meanwhile, the Navy and Air Force are on target for their recruiting goals. Then, it should be noted that the Navy and Air Force are not sending people to patrol cities in Iraq. Kyrgyz Government Overthrown by Protesters -- Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan is not a typographical error. It is the site of the latest coup de la populace against a government that stole an election. The "revolution" in the former Soviet republic in Central Asia is being compared to the Orange Revolution that changed the politics of Ukraine in December; the people of Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, have adopted yellow and pink as the tones of their movement. The 'Stans aren't Eastern Europe, though, and yellow and pink don't make orange when mixed. Kyrgyzstan faces a slide back into feudalism, and Fascislam is a definite risk. Takafumi Horie Shakes up Japanese Broadcasting with Attempt to Buy Fuji TV -- Takafumi Horie is a 32-year-old entrepreneur. His company, Livedoor, is an Internet firm, and it has become his vehicle to take over other companies. Were he American, Mr. Horie, a college drop-out as is Bill Gates, would be a hero in his nation. But he's Japanese, and nothing bugs the old men who still run Japanese companies more than a young whippersnapper who threatens their way of managing things. Now that he is on the verge of taking over Fuji TV, a big and poorly run company, Japanese regulators are entering the fray. The question is which side are they one? Jared Diamond Asks Why Societies Fail in New Book Collapse -- Jared Diamond's earlier book Guns, Germs and Steel asks what causes lay behind the "Rise of the West" from a life sciences perspective. In Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, he asks the complementary question from the same perspective, what causes societies to decline? The environment, according to professor Diamond, constrains the limits of human actions, but in most cases, there is no pre-determined fate for a society. Hence the phrase "how societies choose to fail or succeed." Human actions matter, and the more fragile the ecosystem, the more they matter. © Copyright 2004 by The Kensington Review , J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux. |
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