| The Kensington Review |
5 December 2005 |
| Latest Commentary: | Volume IV, Number 145 |
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America Still Unprepared for Terror Attack Says 9/11 Commission -- The 9/11 Commission’s final update comes out a bit later today, and a few of the commissioners were on the Sunday morning talk shows in advance of its release. In brief, they are pretty disappointed in America’s response to the Al Qaeda attacks 4 years ago. Commission Chairman Tom Kean, former Republican Governor of New Jersey, said, “A lot of the things we need to do really to prevent another 9/11 just simply aren't being done by the president or by the Congress.” Meanwhile, the head of the Transport Security Administration said last week that American air passengers can bring small scissors on the plane again.
Venezuela’s Boycotted Election Gives Chavez Complete Control -- Venezuela’s electorate went to the polls yesterday and elected 167 members to the national assembly. Initial results suggest that not one of them opposes the policies and governing position of President Hugo Chavez. Only 25% of the eligible voters showed up to vote because five of the main opposition parties pulled out of the race saying the poll wasn’t going to be fair. Unfair or not, Venezuela is that much closer to being a one-party state. Boston Scientific Counts J&J’s Guidant Bid -- Johnson & Johnson got some unwelcome competition in its attempted takeover of Guidant when Boston Scientific made a bid today valued at $25 billion, about what J&J had originally bid for Guidant. This bid would put Boston Scientific in the $10 billion market for implantable pacemakers and heart defibrillators. Most of all though, it will be embarrassing for J&J to compete. Red Crystal Symbol Should Replace the Cross and the Crescent -- The Geneva Conventions did a great many things to alleviate the stupid brutality of war, but the most obvious is the creation of the Red Cross/Red Crescent. Under international law, an ambulance or medic wearing either symbol is protected by the entire community of nations (which ought to be more protection that it is in practice). Because of certain political nonsense, a third symbol may be accepted, the Red Crystal. The whole debate proves that some people just can’t love their neighbors without setting some pretty stiff conditions. © 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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