| Latest Commentary: | Volume VI, Number 65 |
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Bush Levels Further Sanctions on Sudan over Darfur Genocide -- The deaths in Darfur don’t seem to weigh as heavily on the minds of most world leaders as they do on that of George “LBJ” Bush. As wrong as he has been about Iraq-Nam, he has been right about the murders in Darfur, in western Sudan. The government in Khartoum is colluding with Arab militias to kill or frighten off black farmers and other land holders, and it has done so for years. Mr. Bush has just announced new sanctions against Khartoum to apply new pressure to the government there. Most importantly, he is seeking to stop the Sudanese military from flying in Darfur.
US, Iran Discuss Iraq-Nam Security -- The last time the US and Iran held ambassador-level talks, Jimmy Carter was president, and Iran committed an act of war by violating US embassy territory and holding US diplomats hostage. Monday, the long silence broke so the two could discuss Iraq-Namese security issues. While the two didn’t raise any other issues, the progress in these narrowly focused talks suggests there could be a useful thaw ahead in their relations. Japanese Unemployment Rate Hits 9-Year Low -- To many in the West, Japan remains the land of jobs-for-life. If this was ever really true, it faded and died during the lost decade of the 1990s. The deflationary tidal wave brought the Japanese joblessness at rates that other societies might have found admirable but were beyond local tolerances. However, the April jobless rate unexpectedly dropped to 3.8% after resting at 4% the last five months. While this particular measure of economic well-being is volatile, suggesting a pinch or two of salt go along with it, it’s hard to make this look like bad news. Dutch TV Show Offers Human Kidney as Prize -- According to the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, the local TV network BNN is going to broadcast “The Big Donorshow” on Friday. The premise: a 37-year-old terminally ill woman is going to choose a recipient for one of her kidneys from three contestants who suffer one variety of kidney trouble or another. It is most certainly in poor taste, and it is dubious ethically. However, the question isn’t about the TV show as much as it is about the pitiful state of organ donor programs throughout the world. © 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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