The Kensington Review

6 May 2005

Latest Commentary:

Blair Re-Elected, Seven Straight Wins for Thatcher -- Yesterday's general election in Britain was never in doubt. It was almost Soviet in its predictability. Eight minutes after the polls closed, the BBC forecast a Labour win with a majority of 66. With just 19 more seats to declare (and almost all of those in Northern Ireland), Prime Minister Tony Blair has a majority of 68. This is the third straight victory for New Labour, or as Sir Simon Jenkins put it in The Times, the seventh consecutive win for Thatcherism. And yet, Mr. Blair is finished, Tory leader Michael Howard is quitting, and Liberal Democrat Leader Charles Kennedy has doubts about his style for the next election.

New York Bomb Probably Not Al Qaeda -- Around 3.35 am yesterday, there was an explosion in Manhattan. Since September 11, 2001, every loud noise has been suspected by hard-bitten, seen-it-all "New Yawkahz" as another possible terrorist attack. Up until yesterday morning, they had been manhole explosions caused by odd gasses that build up in the subway, substation troubles with power company Con Ed, or something equally nerve-rattling. Yesterday, though, a crude improvised explosive device exploded outside 845 Third Avenue, home of the British Consulate. Very little information is in the public domain at the moment, but one thing is 99.9% certain -- some local bozo and not an Al Qaeda sleeper cell is (ir)responsible.

Kerkorian's GM Bid Doesn't Fix a Thing -- General Motors, which despite everything remains the largest car maker in the world, posted a $1.1 billion loss in the most recent quarter. In the same quarter of 2004, the company earned $1.2 billion -- a $2.3 billion swing the wrong way. So, when Kirk Kerkorian, the 87-year-old billionaire, made an offer on 4.9% of GM's stock, which would bring him a total stake of about 9%, Wall Street ate it up. GM stock rose 18% in a day. But a bucket of cold water is on its way -- the offer doesn't change much.

Americans Celebrate Cinco de Mayo, Confuse Mexicans -- A substantial portion of Anglo Americans work up this morning with headaches from overindulgence in tequila and Mexican beer. Yesterday was May Fifth, which has been transformed into Cinco de Mayo in the United States. It is a day to celebrate the culture of America's next door neighbor, the United States of Mexico, in much the way March 17 celebrates the culture of Ireland (not very seriously). However, in Mexico, the day isn't much outside of the city of Puebla. Needless to say, the event confuses many Mexicans in the US.

© 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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