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Showing posts from May, 2010

"Verboten"

Germany's President - a largely ceremonial figure - has resigned over some comments in which he gave the impression that he favors military intervention to protect his country's economic interests. I guess he must be dumbfounded at the reaction that his remarks has generated, because this is precisely what wars are usually about. Although he may have been too blunt, Germany's allies - with the U.S. leading the way - have done this throughout history. Oh, of course, they always say that they are fighting for democracy and freedom, but that is rarely the case. Invariably, military force is used to get more land, oil, other natural resources or to secure commercial and trading advantages. Candor in politics has a very high price.

Robbing the Poor to Give to the Rich

I say, old chaps, what the devil is going on in the U.K. with all those MPs and ministers claiming as reimbursable expenses all sorts of weird things? From fixing a toilet seat to a slice of pizza, people in Parliament and the government, some of which are either wealthy or have a reasonable income, seem to feel that public service entitles them to have their every expense covered by public funds. Some claims are outrageous because of the price tag on the item, be it an object or a service; others, for their pettiness, which reveals how cheap these people can be. In a world in which so many people are unemployed and having their mortgages foreclosed, it is truly offensive that individuals with second homes or more have the gall to expect that their constituents pay for having a chandelier installed or the grounds kept. Robin Hood, where are you!

A Crooked Policy

I always thought that the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy was a cop - out, to use a dated expression.  Instead of facing the issue of homosexuals - I refuse to call them gays - in the military head on, it was a way of avoiding it.  The notion that sexual preference has any bearing on military capability is simply ludicrous.  So, from the start, it should've  been up to the individual to acknowledge or not his homosexuality, but, in either case, that fact not being relevant to his or her status in the Armed Forces. Well, it seems that that coward's way out will no longer be available.  The time has come to end the hypocrisy of paying lip service to the "equal before the law" principle, while discriminating against homosexuals in uniform.  From now on, the policy should be "It doesn't matter."

Norway Shows the Way

Norway's Prime Minister has rightfully pointed to the private sector as the one that should bear most of the cost of cleaning up the pollution that it produces, mainly through its industrial processes.  Companies that make billions of dollars in profits all around the world polluting air, land and water, while cutting down trees that would counter global warming, should be held accountable for the enormous damage they cause.  As in many other issues, Scandinavia leads the way towards more progressive and rational public policies. Other countries, such as the U.S., could benefit from this example of enlightened policy-making, instead of using their economic clout to buy time and sabotage initiatives such as this one in favor of the public interest worldwide.

The "Wasteland" Gets Bigger.

I must admit that I've never watched one of the many so-called "reality shows", nor have  I seen the equally popular dancing shows in which the couples are made up of a professional dancer and a celebrity who is an amateur.  Real life is boring enough, and I have no inclination to see other people embarrass themselves in front of the camera, either by revealing their misery or by dancing miserably. This voyeuristic streak that is being exploited by TV is a sign of the times.  People have a morbid fascination with the lives of others; the meaner and grubbier, the better.  It used to be that we all wanted to see  Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Now, everyone wants to see Lifestyles of the Bitch and Heinous. We've come a long way down, baby! Trivial Pursuit, indeed.

Foreign Faults

I don't know; maybe it's just me, but I can't shake the feeling that part of the outrage over the oil spill in the U.S. has to do with the fact that it was caused by a foreign company, namely, British Petroleum. Of course, I'm not saying that had it been an American company, people and the government would've just said "oops!", but I think that there would've been more of a concern than a tirade at the company. The economy is bad, so, there's a lot of resentment against foreigners, either because they are seen as taking jobs away from Americans or because of the success of a company such as BP. We've seen the same thing in the Toyota case, which has been milked for all it's worth to the American car manufacturers. Any negative news from China is played up. The underlying message is the same: foreigners make faulty products or provide unreliable services. Buy American! Yeah, right.

"[Don't] Take Two Tablets."

In the last seven months, McNeil, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, which manufactures Tylenol and other over-the-counter pain relievers, has issued four recalls of these products, due to some serious side effects. Congress, so quick to jump on Toyota and British Petroleum for its problems, has finally decided to take a look into the matter. The company's CEO has excused himself from attending the hearings, due to "health reasons." Could it be that he had a headache and took two Tylenol tablets?

A Royal Scandal

I always thought that Sarah Ferguson had shown unusual enthusiasm in cashing in with her celebrity status as Duchess of York. All those commercials and TV appearances signaled a healthy appetite for money, in a way most unbecoming for someone of her station in life. Now, we've just found out how big her appetite really is. In apologizing for attempting to sell her influence over the Duke, she, nevertheless, tried to justify it referring to her financial situation. I suppose the Queen must feel sort of vindicated, after being portrayed as the evil and insensitive mother -in-law to Diana and Fergie who has made her sons miserable by meddling in their affairs of the heart.

The Next "Reich"

Germany's birth rate is decreasing fast; not bad news, unless you're waiting for the sequel to WWII.  It seems that the Germans find it very inconvenient to have children, given the high cost of taking care of them.  It could also mean that, having shelved the eugenics program that would have produced the "master race," they aren't interested in breeding inferior specimens.  In any case, Germany is growing old and will end up getting weak economically, unless something dramatic happens... In a beer hall, perhaps?

"Tour de Fraud"

Could it be that Floyd Landis is the José Canseco of cycling? The American athlete, who was stripped of his Tour de France title but had denied doping himself, has now admitted it and claims that Lance Armstrong and other members of the team cheated as well. Armstrong is the most likely suspect, having won the Tour seven times, even over testicular cancer, which puts him in a superhuman category. As happened with Canseco, whom everybody vilified when he accused some of baseball's biggest names, Landis is being crucified. In the Cuban's case, history has proven him right, in a big way. Time will tell if that will be the case with Landis.

"The Ashamed, the Phony...the Marines"

Life has a funny way of spoiling things or showing people up. The U.S., which is always claiming that theirs are the best systems and procedures, has been duped by a guy who went into the Marines and achieved a rank for which he wasn't qualified for, having no military experience whatsoever. In fact, he had falsified his records, and some time passed before he was caught. All this in this post 9/11 world, in which you have to take off your shoes and belt and pose "naked" for the X-ray machine to board a plane. So much, for all that security bullshit. No wonder the U.S. military hasn't been able to defeat the supposedly inferior forces in Irak and Afghanistan. At least those guys have combat experience...

The Pink Panther Strikes Again!

The major heist at the Museum of Modern Art in Paris has shocked the French and the art world. They say that the security system was disabled, thus allowing the thieves to do their thing quite comfortably. Could it be an inside job? Is this the work of the famous Pink Panther cat burglar? Get Inspector Jacques Clouseau!

"The [Mis]adventures of a Chinaman in China"

The Chinese may be new to the capitalist game, but they're showing that the play hardball, by convicting one of the richest men in the country and sentencing him to 14 years in prison. This is just the latest in a series of prosecutions against top businessmen who do what businessmen do everywhere: get involved in illegal dealings to make money the easy way. Greed may not be "good", but it sure is part and parcel of the human condition. So, the State needs to act swiftly and forcefully to tear up "the root of all evil." If the West had been less tolerant of misdeeds in the business and financial worlds from the start, things wouldn't have gotten out of hand. But, letting capital and private enterprise have its way, for fear that its regulation would be deemed "communistic", emboldened Wall Street and its counterparts all around the world into the mess we're in right now.

Knock on Woody

Woody Allen has come to Roman Polanski's defense, saying that the Polish director has suffered enough for what he did such a long time ago.  One can't help but remark that Allen is a sort of kindred spirit of Polanski, given the fact that Woody had the hots for his wife's adopted daughter...a long time ago.  Of course, Allen did the right thing, and married his stepdaughter.  Roman had kinkier tastes, and resorted to trickery or force to have sex with underage girls, depending on what one chooses to believe. Both men are great film directors, but have a questionable track record in their personal lives.  Some of the things that have been said in Polanski's defense give the impression that talent entitles people to a special treatment.  Not so.  Art is one thing; real life is quite another.

My Spanish Soul

Spending a couple of weeks in Spain gives one perspective on how similar are the basic problems that we face all around the globe. Unemployment, domestic violence and juvenile delinquency are three subjects that readily come to mind from a perusal of the Spanish news media. There is a growing dissatisfaction with how the government is handling the "crisis" that seems to be prevalent everywhere. The man on the street is permanently at odds with the State, feeling that things could and should be better, not being quite sure about how this could be accomplished, but willing to vote for anyone who promises to do so. Spain has its own set of problems, to be sure. There are unresolved issues with the Basques, the Catalonians and the Andalusians. But, as most of the rest of the world, it has the same major difficulties that all modern societies have, stemming from expectations that can't be met with dwindling resources. Still, they celebrate major and minor holidays by tak

A Grand and Good "Inquisidor"

As expected, the Far Right in Spain is having a field day with Judge Garzón's suspension by the Judicial Branch of that country. Fortunately, countervailing forces have assembled to support him in his quest to bring the Franquistas to justice, amnesty law or no amnesty law. That 1977 law, as others of that sort, is nothing but a travesty of justice, by making impunity legal. There is a world of difference between an amnesty for, let's say, tax evasion and one for kidnapping, torture and murder on a grand scale. The Judicial Branch in Spain ought to be ashamed of itself for resorting to technicalities to bring down Baltasar Garzón. Those who opposed him or, worse, supported his prosecution of Pinochet had to know that the day when he would turn his judicial eyes towards Franco's evil legacy was coming. It would've been the height of cynicism to go after Pinochet and not do anything against Franco's spiritual heirs. He is paying the price for daring to open the G