| Kensington Review |
21 October 2024 |
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Cogito Ergo Non Serviam |
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Latest Commentary: Cuban Electrical Grid Fails, Hurricane Approaches -- The Cuban electrical grid failed on Firday, and the government has struggled to get it up and running again. Indeed, they have seen the grid collapse four times in as many days. As of this morning, Havana was about half restored, while the rest of the country did not have enough power to report on the situation with any accuracy. Not even the government of Texas is this inept (but it is close). A tropical island that is not run on solar, wind and tidal is the result of poor policy. The Cuban government has, yet again, failed the people for whom it allegedly fought the revolution (long enough ago that the revolution qualifies for a pension). Marxism always ends like this, in failure and suffering due to bad planning and poor execution. [21 October] IDF Kills Hamas Boss -- Yahya Sinwar was the head of Hamas. The Israeli Defense Forces killed him in combat on Wednesday in a small gun fight. The members of the 828th Bislamach Brigade who were on patrol and fired the killing shots did not realize they had killed the enemy's top dog until dental and DNA records were checked. The Israelis had this because Mr. Sinwar had been in Israeli prison for 22 years. With his passing, some see an opportunity to deliver a cease-fire, free the hostages and start building a new relationship between Gaza and Israel. While this journal sheds no tears for the late terrorist, one should not believe his removal from the chess board changes the overall picture. Iran will pick a new leader, and on the fighting shall go. [18 October] Brexit Cost London 40,000 Finance Jobs -- The Lord Mayor of London, not the same as the elected mayor of London, has issued a report that says Brexit has cost the financial sector, the City of London or just the City in the vernacular, some 40,000 jobs. Some 10,000 of those jobs are now in Dublin. Milan, Paris and Amsterdam also picked up extra positions. This was entirely predictable and predicted by those, including this journal, who believe leaving the EU was the biggest mistake any British government could have taken this millennium. Included in that noble group are 70% of the people who worked in the City at the time of the referendum. It is the result of bad policy badly done. [17 October] Government Matters Say Nobel Winners -- The Nobel Prize in Economics is probably the final word on economic research. This year, the winners of the award, in the words of the committee, "have demonstrated the importance of societal institutions for a country's prosperity. Societies with a poor rule of law and institutions that exploit the population do not generate growth or change for the better." Put differently, government matters in the growth of an economy. While their focus was mainly on ex-colonies, the lessons appear to apply across the board. A market economy cannot flourish without a stable and open government. [15 October] Alex Salmond, 1954-2024 -- Alex Salmond was the most effective British politician of his generation. In 2011, he lead the Scottish National Party to an overall majority in the Scottish Parliament, against the designs of the Labour government that devolved power to Edinburgh. It was not supposed to happen, but it did. In 2014, he led the fight for the Independence Referendum, and he damned near won it. He leaves behind a broken SNP (not his fault there) and a Scotland that is more sure of itself that a couple of decades ago. Not bad for a man whose fringe party had always just been a protest vote, a way of registering discontent with the government in London. His last public words were that Scotland is "a country not a county." [14 October] © Copyright 2024 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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21 Years Online Volume XXII, Number 154
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