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| This Week's Commentary: | Volume VIII, Number 41 |
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Abu Dhabi Bails out Dubai World -- This morning, the world economy dodged a bullet when oil-rich Abu Dhabi bailed out its fellow emirate, Dubai. Technically, the bail out is for Dubai World, a holding company owned by the Dubai government. A $10 billion loan is sufficient to take care of payments due on an Islamic bond and to keep Dubai World afloat until it can restructure itself. If it means that the world economic situation doesn't take another hit, it will be cheap at twice the price.
[December 14]
Houston Elects a Lesbian Mayor -- While the health care kerfuffle lingers on and on in Washington, an election in Texas has shown that things in the US don't quite follow the media's preconceived notions of what's what. Houston, a city with a reputation of having redder necks than most metropolitan areas, just elected Annise Parker, a lesbian, as mayor. Apparently, being able to run a city of that size counted for more among voters than what she does in the privacy of her own home. [December 15] Iran Test Fires Missile with 2,000 Kilometer Range -- Iran has decided to up the ante in its confrontation with the West. In addition to enriching uranium for nuclear plants it doesn't need, today it launched a Sajjil-2 missile with a range of 2,000 kilometers. This puts Israel and US Mid-East bases in range. It also excuses the Obama administration from any further open-handed approaches, and it makes it harder for Russia and China to deny tighter sanctions. [December 16] Britain's Banks to Abolish Cheques in 2018 -- In an age when financial innovation has cost the world trillions, it is interesting to note that one of the 17th century's financial creations has outlived its usefulness and will pass into history in October 2018. The Payments Council of Britain has decided that the bank cheque (check to American readers) is more trouble than its worth. Copyright 2009 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.
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