The Kensington Review

8 June 2005

Latest Commentary:

Court Upholds Gubernatorial Election in State of Washington -- When Winston Churchill said that democracy is the worst system of government except for all the others mankind has tried, he was merely pointing out that any system is flawed and that democracy’s flaws, while real, are relatively benign. In recent American elections, the flaws are becoming more malignant. In the State of Washington, the election of a Democrat as governor was upheld on Monday by a judge who refused to make new laws – and the GOP complained while the Democrats essentially crowed over a broken system.

Hezbollah Triumphant in South Lebanon Polls -- The Bush administration decided that, once there was no hope of finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the justification of the war against the Saddamite regime would be spreading democracy in the Middle East. “Democracy is on the march” the White House claims. Well, in South Lebanon, where ballot counting finished in the second of a four-stage national election, Hezbollah and its Amal movement allies won 23 out of 23 seats. When the supporters of Islamic fundamentalism vote, they seem to vote for Islamic fundamentalists. Is that, somehow, what Americans are dying for in Iraq?

GM to Pink Slip 25,000 Workers -- When Kirk Kerkorian bought almost 5% of General Motors a month ago to bring his total stake to around 9%, this journal warned that the warm feeling investors and workers got from that move would be short-lived. It turns out to have been shorter than expected. At the annual sharheolders’ meeting, Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner has announced 25,000 North American jobs will go by 2008.

Baby Urinates in Temple, Priests Show True Colors -- It sounds like a set up to a weak joke, “a lady is praying in a Buddhist temple when her baby pees.” However, priests at the Thrissur Hindu temple in the Indian state of Kerala didn’t find it funny when that very thing happened. The clerics decided that their temple had been desecrated and fined the six-month-old child’s parents 1,001 rupees. The $23 fine may not sound like much, but it represents 33% of father Amil Kumar’s gross monthly pay. Fortunately, the state government intervened and told the priests to forget about the fine. The whole episode raises the question, was it about the desecration or was it about the money?

© 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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