Cogito Ergo Non Serviam
Latest Commentary:
US Economy Added 142,000 Jobs in August -- The United States created only 142,000 jobs in August 2024. Unemployment ticked down to 4.2% while the participation rate stayed stable at 62.7%. The reason for the lower unemployment number appears to be population growth and seasonal adjustments. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also reported that it revised the numbers for June and July, 61,000 fewer jobs in the former and 25,000 fewer in the latter. The Federal Reserve has had the labor market in its sights since its cycle of rate increases began. Finally, they seem to be content. The world is expecting a reduction in the Fed Funds rate week after next. It will be too late. (6 September)
NDP Withdraws Support for Canadian Liberal Government -- The government of Justin Trudeau is a minority one. It has remained in office thanks to an agreement between the Liberal of Mr. Trudeau and the New Democratic Party led by Jagmeet Singh. This agreement, known in parliamentary democracies as a "confidence and supply" deal, means that the NDP would vote with the government when it comes to the budget and to motions of confidence. After more than two years, much of what both parties wanted to do is accomplished. Mr. Singh announced rather abruptly and with only an hour's notice to the PM that he NDP was withdrawing from the confidence and supply deal. Mr. Trudeau remains as PM, but one should expect an election soon. (5 September)
Thuringia Gives Neo-Nazis a Plurality -- While Benjamin Netanyahu was busy putting the nazi in Ashkenazi, the people of Thuringia in Germany decided to go back to the 1930s and vote for the far right. Alternative fur Deutschland (the grandchildren of Hitler) finished in first place in the election for the lander (provincial) parliament. Finishing first is not the same, however, as winning in parliamentary politics. One must secure a majority. It appears that the AfD will not be able to form a government with any other political party because none of them find the AfD as an acceptable political partner. So, it may find itself the largest party in the assembly and the official opposition.. [3 September]
Busy Week Leaves Gaza Unchanged -- The last few days have seen a great many developments in the War in Gaza. On the plus side, the parties have agreed to partial ceasefires to allow humanitarian aid workers to administer polio vaccines to the kids in Gaza after the region had its first case in a quarter of a century. On the other side of the ledger, the IDF freed six corpses that had been living hostages a few days earlier. The outrage over the failure to free all the hostages then resulted in a general strike in Israel today. The Israeli Supreme Court ordered the strikers back to work, and it looks like that will hold. Yet there is no ceasefire prospects. [2 September]
Israeli Security Warns on Jewish Terrorism -- One of the things one discovered while studying the mess that is the Middle East was the broader range of opinion there than the international press discusses. Were one to read a dozen or so articles covering the region, there would be many references to terror and terrorism, but that seems only to apply to those fighting Israel. Israelis themselves are a bit more nuanced in their understanding of the situation. Indeed, the internal security service Shin Bet has identified the radical settlers engaged in attacking Palestinians in the West Bank (whom Shin Bet calls terrorists) as a significant threat to the security of the State of Israel. This journal agrees. [29 August]
© Copyright 2024 The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux
21 Years Online
Volume XXII, Number 132
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