| Latest Commentary: | Volume VI, Number 51 |
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Congress Passes War Funding with Timetable for Withdrawal -- Yesterday, both chambers of the US Congress approved a bill providing $124.2 billion in spending. With the exception of a few pork barrel projects, the money would be spent fighting the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq-Nam. The bill also would require a withdrawal of US combat troops from Iraq-Nam to begin no later than October 1, 2007. The president has vowed to veto the bill. There does seem to be room for negotiation, but Congress has the upper hand, if it chooses to use it.
Putin Gives Russia Last State of Nation Address -- In the same week that his predecessor Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin died, Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin gave his last state of the nation speech to the Duma. To say that he is less friendly than Mr. Yeltsin to the West is an understatement. Indeed, parts of his remarks suggested a Cold War attitude that won't go away when he leaves the stage. While he reiterated his pledge to leave office in March 2008, he named no preferred successor. RBS Challenges Barclay's Bid for ABN AMRO -- On Monday, Barclay's Bank offered to buy Dutch bank ABN AMRO for £45 billion, which the board of ABN AMRO quickly accepted. This is the biggest bank deal in history. However, a consortium led by the Royal Bank of Scotland was well miffed (bordering on vexed) with the rapid approval. It has made a higher offer at £49 billion, and the Dutch bank has agreed to open its books to the RBS group. A bidding war lies ahead. Stephen Hawking Gets Zero-G Ride -- One of nature’s great cruelties is imprisoning a normally functioning human mind in a broken body. For more than forty years, Professor Stephen Hawking, one of the brightest astro-physicists to draw breath, has been trapped in a body suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Unable to walk or speak without the aid of a computer, he continues to work as Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, Sir Isaac Newton’s old chair. Yesterday, he got a ride on a zero-g airplane freeing him from the gravity that keeps him bound to a wheelchair on earth. © Copyright 2007 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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