Cogito Ergo Non Serviam
Sir Harold Evans, 1928-2020 -- To the great relief of the world's evil-doers, Sir Harold Evans passed away at the age of 92 yesterday. As Robert Woodward and Carl Bernstein were the finest example of American investigative journalism, Sir Harold was Britain's. In many ways, having been not just a reporter but an editor, he may have wielded a greater influence on Fleet Street than they had in the US. As the top man at the Sunday Times, he did what journalists do best with their words. Then, he moved to America and became a force at Random House, The New York Daily News and US News & World Report. His last years were at Reuters in the US. In two countries, he comforted the afflicted and afflicted the comfortable. [24 September]
Brexit Will Hurt UK Economy More than Covid -- UK in a Changing Europe (a British think-tank) and the London School of Economics have undertaken a study comparing the economic damage Covid-19 is doing to the UK to the damage expected from Brexit, both with a free-trade deal with the EU and with no deal at all. Throughout the Brexit farago, no one of any real economic credibility has suggest that no deal would be better for the UK economically than a departure that rested on a free-trade deal. What is new here is that the model suggests that both are going to be worse for the UK economy oni the long run than Covid-19 will prove to be. [23 September]
Deciding Who Gets a Covid Vaccine First -- Many, including the American president, believe that a vaccine for Covid-19 is on the way in a matter of weeks. Weeks, months, or years, the creation of a vaccine is not the end of the struggle anymore than creating a weapon that works in the lab ends a war. The thing must be deployed in huge quantities, and the production bottlenecks will make it necessary to prioritize who gets the shot or shots first. Science suggests medical staff globally should be first in line because they are the most exposed as well as the most valuable individuals in the fight. Politics will interfere and send the vaccine to old people in the rich countries at the expense of doctors and nurses in poor nations. As a result, the global response will fall far short of optimum. [22 September]
Courts After Ginsburg Need to Change -- Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on Friday, and the mourning of her death as well as the cheering of her life has been done better by others than this journal could hope to do. She changed America, and with it the world. Yet she leaves behind a court system that is no longer fit for purpose. The litigiousness of American society aside, the federal courts need reform, and this election and upcoming presidential term offer the ideal moment to undertake a huge overhaul. [21 September]
Bahrain, UAE, Israel Sign Deal on Relations -- At the White House yesterday, representatives of Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed a treaty on normalizing relations. Whether this counts as a peace treaty is hard to say as one can find no record of UAE or Bahraini troops ever fighting Israeli soldiers. Nevertheless, the deal is important because it moves Israel more clearly into the Sunni Arab camp in the regional cold war with Shi'ite Iran. As usual, the big losers are the Palestinians, but the Palestinian Authority has been politically irrelevant in the region for some time. [16 September]
© Copyright 2020 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.
Volume XVIII, Number 176
|
|
|
