One Man's Opinion

Argentina has scored an important "goal" in the fight against the impunity of military and political leaders that abuse their power.  By striking down the shameful amnesty laws passed to protect them, it has made possible their prosecution and conviction.  No civilized society can countenance the use of the law to subvert its fundamental principles.  The military junta that took power during the seventies and early eighties in Argentina was incredibly cruel and inhumane, killing and "disappearing" thousands of innocent people.  There is no way that something like that can go unpunished. Spain should learn this important lesson from Argentina, and cleanse its soul from the horrors of Franco's regime, once and for all.

It keeps getting worse. Now, we find out that Dell, the computer manufacturer, sold close to 12 million computers fully aware that they were faulty, and did all kinds of things to cover it up, when the computers malfunctioned and clients complained about it.  This has all come out as part of a lawsuit against the company. I find it interesting that, at a time when Americans are so outraged at British Petroleum for the oil spill, an American company is caught red-handed cheating its own people by knowingly selling them damaged goods.  In an economy so dependent on computers for almost everything, this is no minor thing. Nevertheless, I very much doubt that we'll see much of an indignation over this on the part of the American public.

I've always felt that confirmation hearings are a waste of time, and only serve for grandstanding by the Senators. People have their minds made up way before the start of the proceedings, and it's improbable that they change their minds by anything that is said there.  The opposition more or less insults the nominee, and the party in power defends him or her.  The nominees say what's expected of them: a whole lot of platitudes about their respect and regard for the law and the system in general. It's all a show and a sham.

By now, everybody  should be aware that Arizona governor Jan Brewer is a racist.  But, if there was room for doubt, her latest comment on illegal aliens is proof positive: according to her,  most of the illegals are also involved in drug trafficking, mainly as "mules."  Now, there's absolutely no credible data to support her assertion, but she puts it out there to justify her actions and pander to the fear and hate of all Latinos in her neck of the woods. Of course there are cases in which what she says is true, but people in the know call her statement an exaggeration. It's as if we were to conclude that all Arizonans are racist, just because she is.

Keeping score on the economic debacle in the U.S., the bank failure count this year is up to 86 , and there are rumors that 775 other banks are on the brink of disaster.  So, the FDIC has its hands full trying to protect deposits in all these banks.  No doubt, the U.S. is heading for a financial catastrophe that will make the oil spill seem like child's play. Stay tuned.

Oh, come on, now! Almost a year after the fact, unnamed "witnesses" quoted by a writer that uses a pseudonym claim that the American "hikers" detained by Iran for having entered its territory illegally were really in Iraq. The "witnesses" can't be identified because they say that they fear for their lives. How convenient! We're supposed to believe this hearsay. Can you imagine what the U.S would say, if it was the other way around? I wouldn't put it past the families of these "hikers" to pay some Iranian hicks to come up with such a cock and bull story. Also, as I said a while back, why is it that Americans choose to go hiking in faraway places near the border of countries that the U.S. is hostile to? Don't they get some sort of warning from the U.S. State Department, which is always keeping tabs on dangerous situations for American citizens abroad? Unless, of course, they're not really "innocent hikers", but a...

What I found fascinating about the McChrystal affair was to hear some of the comments made on American TV, that almost totally disregarded the insults to the President and the Vice President, and concentrated in the supposedly major issue of whether firing the General would be best or worst for the war. Even if someone were to really believe that he was irreplaceable, there's no way that someone who publicly disrespects the Commander-in-Chief and makes fun of the Vice President can stay on the job. We have to remember that this was not a simple disagreement over policy or strategy - which, by the way, should've been discussed in private - but an outrageous display of mockery on the part of top military officers towards the highest elected officials in the land. Even if McChrystal were Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and Genghis Khan rolled into one, his head had to roll over this stupidity.