| The Kensington Review |
28 March 2005 |
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Latest Commentary:
Guantanamo Terror Tribunals May Get Makeover -- There was news over the Easter holiday that did not have to do with end-of-life issues. Or rather, reports had it that America's terror tribunals were about to undergo a significant change -- to the point of taking on a new and better life of their own. The Defense Department is circulating among its legal teams a 200-page draft manual on the tribunals modeled on the Manual for Courts-Martial. This would be a major step forward for human rights in the war against terror, and so it is not surprising that Vice-President Cheney opposes the innovations proposed. France, Germany Seek End to Arms Embargo against China -- French President Jacques Chirac was in the Far East over the week-end trying to convince Japan that lifting the EU arms embargo against China won't harm Japanese interests. He and German Chancellor Schroeder want to lift the embargo that the EU imposed on the People's Republic of China after the 1989 murders of demonstrators in Tiananmen Square by elements of the People's Liberation Army. "The conditions are not the same as when it was put in place," the French leader said in a press conference. On this one, the American refusal to side with France is the right move. Liberian Businessmen Arrested for Price Gouging -- Sometimes, there are perfectly good reasons for prices to rise rapidly. The price of tomatoes in North America shot up in the winter because of Florida hurricanes and California floods, and it eased when the winter harvest came in. Oil prices have gone through the roof because of Chinese demand for oil, a cold winter in the Northern hemisphere and lousy planning for the reconstruction of Iraq. But, there are also times when prices rise because of cheating by market participants. And today, 30 businessmen in Liberia are under arrest for creating an artificial shortage of rice and gouging the consumer. Burger King's Breakfast Bomb Shows America isn't Serious about Weight Loss -- One of the great health issues in the US, and other western nations, is the spreading of the middle. An increasing number of Americans are just too fat for their own good. The diet industry makes billions on the US obsession with losing extra pounds without feeling hungry, gym memberships soar right after the winter holidays, and liposuction is no longer an odd-sounding and arcane medical procedure. But the marketplace is the best place to find out what people really want, or so says modern business economics. So, Burger King's new breakfast sandwich, at 730 calories and 47 grams of fat says Americans are only kidding about losing weight. © Copyright 2005 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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