| Latest Commentary: | Volume VI, Number 75 |
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Bush Vetoes Stem Cell Bill -- For the third time in his presidency, George “LBJ” Bush has vetoed legislation passed by Congress. On a previous occasion, he vetoed a bill to fund the war against reason in Iraq-Nam because it carried a withdrawal timetable. The other two, including a veto yesterday, had to do with stem cell research. The president, no doubt earnest in his belief that the legislation would allow for the destruction of human life, is appealing to the base he is alienating with his immigration policy. It is a mixed result at best.
EU Drops Constitution, Pledges New Treaty -- A few years ago, as the euro was proving itself a useful currency, the passion in many salons around Europe was for an EU constitution. Of the 27 member states, 16 have ratified it. However, it cannot enter into force without unanimity, and Dutch and French voters rejected ratifying referenda a couple of years ago. The agreement has been on hold since then, and this week, the EU great and good decided to take it off life support. Undeterred, though, they have promised a new agreement to make the Union work better. Germany, the current EU president, has already offered a draft “Reform Treaty.” Better still, leave well enough alone for a while. ICE Turns up Heat in CME-CBOT Merger Fight -- IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (and no, there is no space between the “l” and the “E”), better known as ICE, is an energy exchange that wants to buy the parent company of the Chicago Board of Trade [CBOT]. ICE has urged CBOT members and shareholders to vote against a CBOT sale to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. [CME]. ICE and CME are in a bidding war that got very serious after the Justice Department gave the CBOT and CME regulatory approval to proceed. It will make for an exciting shareholders’ vote on July 9. Lingerie Designer Turns Down MBE -- Joseph Corre, co-founder of lingerie brand Agent Provocateur, has decided that the MBE offered to him in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list isn’t for him after all. He has nothing against Her Britannic Majesty, and he thinks the recognition is wonderful. He just doesn’t think accepting it while Tony Blair is Prime Minister is ethically justified. Perhaps he should have decided that Mr. Blair was “morally corrupt” before he said “yes.” It isn’t like he’s the first to turn down an honour, but he has done it less gracefully than most. © 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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