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| This Week's Commentary: | Volume VIII, Number 21 |
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Labour Crushed at Local, European Polls -- Last Thursday, Britons went to the polls to elect local councils and Members of the European Parliament. Friday, Prime Minister Gordon Brown reshuffled his cabinet while ballots were counted. Last night, the results of the voting came out, and as expected, the Labour Party got crushed. While the final tally isn't known, The Guardian says Mr. Brown's party got but 15% of the vote. The Times claims it is Labour's worst result in 90 years. The writing is on the wall; Labour has run out of steam, and the next general election is the Conservatives to lose.
[June 8]
Coup Puts New York Senate under GOP Control -- Late yesterday, a rather foul political move put the Republicans back in control of the New York State Senate. While the Democrats held a 32-30 majority, two of their number, perhaps the most ethically challenged individuals in the chamber (which is saying something), voted to oust the Democratic leadership. The Dems are saying it was illegal, the governor refuses to recognized the change, but it appears that the coup succeeded. The questions now are what was promised and how badly will the business of the people suffer in the two remaining weeks of this session? [June 9] Treasury Lets 10 Banks Repay $68 Billion in TARP Funds -- The US Treasury has decided that 10 of the banks involved in the Trouble Asset Relief Program have sufficient strength to no longer need TARP funds. Consequently, those 10 may repay the Treasury what they accepted in October and rid themselves of the strings that were attached to the funds. The total to be repaid is in the ballpark of $68 billion, around one third of what the Treasury doled out last autumn. In addition, the banks can buy back the warrants the Treasury took in exchange for the TARP money, “at fair market value.” That means, Mr. and Ms. Taxpayer will make a profit for rescuing the financial system, and the "socialism" Wall Street whined about turns out to have been short-lived. [June 10] Dillenberg's New CD Exudes a Dark Elegance -- LA-based cabaret singer Nicole Dillenberg has recently released a new CD which she has chosen to call “The Heart of the Matter.” Her most recent show covered popular music of World War I, so it was something of a surprise to see that the songs on this disc were from the last third of the 20th Century rather than the first. However after a moment's pause, one wasn't surprised really given her wide-range of musical interests. Her alto voice has been described elsewhere as “velvet,” and that will do until a better word springs to mind. What really makes the CD interesting, though, is her rather dark interpretations of pop music classics. [June 11] Copyright 2009 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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