| Kensington Review |
9 May 2024 |
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Cogito Ergo Non Serviam |
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Latest Commentary: Conclave Selects First American Pope -- The College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church sitting in Conclave has selected Robert Francis Prevost OSA of Chicago as the first American pope. His Holiness will be known as Pope Leo XIV. The selection was announced after the fourth ballot, and there were a few surprised faces, most of them happily so. This journal opposes organized religion in all its forms, but the political reality cannot be ignored. He leads 1.4 billion Catholics. That is about a sixth of mankind currently alive. His papacy is a political fact, and the truth is, the Church of Rome could have done much worse. [9 May] US, UK Announce Trade Deal Framework -- The US and UK have announced a trade deal that is not a deal at all. It is, at best, a framework for drafting an agreement some time in the future. The devil will be in the details. The framework requires the UK to buy more US beef and ethanol while streamlining the process by which American products enter the UK. The 10% tariff he has put on British goods persists, but the taxes on steel and aluminum entering the US fall to 0%. Sir Keir Starmer, the British PM, can claim a victory of sorts, and Mr. Trump has only 89 more deals to go if this one counts. It does not. [8 May] Fed Holds Rates Steady on Stagflation Worries -- The Federal Reserve had its Open Market Committee meeting yesterday, and it announced that US interest rates will stay right where they are for now. On the one hand, there is a genuine weakening in the labor market. This suggests lower rates are in order to maintain employment levels. On the other hand, inflation is ticking back up. That calls for higher rates to slow down price increases. Given the tension between the two policy goals, the Fed decided to let events take their course. Kicking the can down the road is occasionally the right thing to do, as it is here." [6 May] Australia Re-Elects Albanese -- The Australians went to the polls over the week-end, and they re-elected Anthony Albanese as their Prime Minister. They gave his Labor Party an increased majority in the House of Representatives. As in Canada a few days before, this was the result that was not on the cards three months ago. The right-of-center Liberal-National coalition was leading in the polls, and it was theirs to lose. Then, Donald Trump slapped tariffs on the world, and he stabbed Ukraine in the back. This upset the Australian sense of "mateship," while the leader of the coalition was tarred with the Trumpist brush. So, Mr. Albanese gets another three years at the top. [5 May] Waltz Moves to UN Job from National Security Advisor -- Mike Waltz has proved himself an embarrassment as National Security Advisor. He set up the Signal chat group in which Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth revealed information about an American attack on the Houthis in Yemen. National Security Advisor Waltz was responsible for Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic being in the group. Between the two of them, they told the press of an ongoing operation, and it is only the patriotism of Mr. Goldberg that kept a lid on it. So both are doomed, and Mr. Waltz was the first to go. But he will be fine. The President is making him UN Ambassador and giving the job of National Security Advisor to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Simply put, it is a mess. [2 May] © Copyright 2025 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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22 Years Online Volume XXIII, Number 78
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