| The Kensington Review |
6 October 2006 |
| Latest Commentary: | Volume V, Number 119 |
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Rice Visits Baghdad Seeking End to Sectarian Violence -- Secretary of State neoCondoleezza Rice made a surprise visit yesterday to the Green Zone in Baghdad in an attempt to get the sectarian violence there under control. The day before, an entire Iraqi police brigade was taken off the streets for cooperating with Shi’ite death squads while the US Congress approved $20 million for a party to celebrate victory in Iraq. As Rod Serling would say, “welcome to the Twilight Zone.”
Tories Put on a Happy Face -- In his brilliant book, The Strange Death of Tory England, Geoffrey Wheatcroft explains that one of the features of the British Conservative Party is the ability to reinvent itself when its principles become problematic. In Bournemouth this week, the Conservative Party led by David Cameron entered a new phase, the Tories are now the Happy Party of Britain. Ryanair Offers €1.48 Billion for Aer Lingus -- The Irish flag carrier, Aer Lingus, had a fairly successful IPO a few days ago, priced at €2.20 a share. Then, along comes Michael O’Leary, founder of private Irish carrier Ryanair, with an offer to buy Aer Lingus to create a huge Gaelic airline, at a price of €2.80 a share. Mr. O’Leary said, “This offer represents a unique opportunity to form one strong airline group for Ireland and for European consumers.” Aer Lingus said it would make a statement later, but for now it was “considering” the offer “in the meantime, Aer Lingus Group shareholders are strongly urged to take no action.” Taking the money and running isn’t a bad idea. Aussie Sprinter Peter Norman Dies at 64 -- Mexico City, 1968, was a different kind of Olympic Games. Rather than an outburst of civic and national pride, the games were a pressure cooker. The Mexican authorities shot dead 25 student protesters (by official count, others say 350) just before the opening ceremonies. North of the border, there was an unpopular war aggravated by the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy. So looking back it’s no surprise that, on the medal stand, the winner and third place finisher in the men’s 200 meter race raised a “black power” salute during the “Star Spangled Banner.” Earlier this week, Peter Norman died, the Aussie who finished second and who didn’t have to pick a side in the racial politics of the times – but did anyway. © 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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