| The Kensington Review |
27 January 2006 |
| Latest Commentary: | Volume V, Number 12 |
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Studies Say US Military Runs Risk of “Breaking” -- Two reports came out this week both of which concluded that the US military is under intense strain and that the current global military commitments could be unsustainable. Field Marshall Donald von Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense, disputed those findings. This is the same man who kept ordering the Pentagon to reduce the number of troops sent to Iraq in the first place. The difference between Pollyanna and Cassandra was that Cassandra was right.
Hamas Wins Palestinian Election -- In the first election held among the Palestinian people for 10 years, and the first that offered an alternative to the late Yassir Arafat’s Fatah Party, the Palestinians have given the reins of power to Hamas. Hamas refuses to recognize Israel, has provided hospitals, schools and suicide bombers, and has no record of holding power. It was a democratic choice (about 80% of the registered voters turned up at the polls) that forsakes any effort at peace and reconciliation. As this journal has always said, no one in the Middle East actually wants peace; they all want victory. UPN and the WB to Join Forces as CW -- UPN and the WB are America’s fifth and sixth broadcast networks, and neither has had the kind of financial success expected upon their launch. CBS, which owns UPN, and Warner Brothers Entertainment, which owns the WB (and the definite article is a marketing ploy that seems to have stuck), have opted to merge the two. They will own 50% each of the new network (the CW, C for CBS and W for Warner), and the owners hope it will reach 95% of the nation’s TVs. The question is whether merging two struggling entities merely creates a bigger struggling entity. Australian Couple Finds $300,000 Worth of Whale Puke -- Loralee and Leon Wright were minding their own business, walking along a rather deserted Streaky Bay beach in the State of South Australia when they found a strange lump floating in the sea. Mr. Wright thought it might be some sort of cyst from a marine animal and suggested they take it home. According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Mrs. Wright replied, “You’re not putting that thing in my car.” However, he persuaded her, and good thing, too. It turned out to be a lump of ambergris worth about US$300,000. © Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux. |
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