The Red Gorilla and Christopher Columbus

Chavez, Venezuela´s Red Gorilla, has decreed that Christopher Columbus was guilty of genocide and has ordered any statue dedicated to him, to be removed from public places.

It is typical of people who ignore their past and history, to invent categories and live according to their inventions and imaginations. Venezuela, and its President, are a product of their ancestors, which by the way, are only in a small part of Spanish origin. Their country was ignored in Imperial Spain as a worthless territory ( Oil was not apart of the equation then), and the only people who could travel and settle their were those who were not allowed elsewhere in the South American colonies. That is mainly outcasts and thiefs, prostitutes and murderers who escaped from justice and arrived to a remote area with no known riches at the time.

In any case, Mr Chavez, you have been independent for 200 years. If, in that time, you feel that not enough has been done for the indigenous peoples of the continent, I suggest you look for responsabilities at home. In those 200 years your people certainly have done very many wrong things. I myself cannot think of any good deed though...

Your ancestors ( if you know who they were that is) were the ones who emigrated to that small piece of the Empire, not mine. My family stayed back home and later had the good taste of moving to the US instead of into your mosquito ( the best of the land mind you) infested territory full of the most presumptous and unbearable people on earth. Like you, sir ( in low case, yes).

Mr. Chavez, you may be able to destroy statues of Columbus, but when you are long gone down the drains of History, good ol´ Cristoforo will still be remembered for what he did for the world, including laying the conditions for someone like you to enjoy brief notoriety for all the wrong reasons.

Why do things right...?

Spain has announced that Spanish  troops will be leaving Kosovo before the middle of the year. 

The very young and ambitious Minister of Defense, Carme Chacón, whose whole purpose in life is to have a photograph of her published daily, made the announcement while visiting the troops this week. 

She managed her purpose: her picture is everywhere. Every major paper and TV station in the world has carried it. 

But she also managed to surprise everyone. Secretary of State Clinton has ordered her Spokesperson to express that surprise in unusually strong terms. Once again, after Spain chickened out of Irak in 2004, serious doubts arise about how reliable an ally this country is to NATO and the US.

Zapatero ( remember he was the only leader to remain seated while the American flag paraded past him) has been trying for years to be invited to the White House. Maybe this time round, with Obama, he won´t be either. The good thing about the US is that an insult to a National symbol is an insult to the Nation as a whole. Nation is a concept Zapatero cannot understand.

Other NATO allies have also expressed their surprise and in some cases dismay. The Czech Presidency of the European Union has said that Spain is the wrong example to follow.

Once again Zapatero and his group of amateur leaders ( Carme Chacon went straight from the ailes of a Department store to the Ministry of Defense) have tried to prove that, if you try hard enough, they can accomplish the " leit motiv" of his Government since 2004: Why do things right when you can just as easily do them wrong?

Sarkozy is my hero!

Late last week, France announced that she would go back into the military structure of NATO. France left the organisation´s military branch because De Gaulle mistrusted the allies and developed his own nuclear arsenal. Up until then, the siege had been in France.

President Sarkozy said, replying to a question aboout his sudden departure from De Gaulle´s dogma, that France had to be represented where the real decisions were taken, rather than just having to go along with them.

Once again I have to express my admiration for a leader who does the job he is payed to do: lead his country! Not everyone in Europe is as lucky as a Frenchman in these times of crisis. Once again, France is blessed with a leader who has clear ideas about where their real interests are: the Transatlatic relationship.

The end of the newspaper

Last week the Rocky Mountain News folded. It shut down just 55 days short of its 150th birthday. There was nothing special about this paper, just its service to the Denver, Colorado area for so many years.

The New York Times has said that it will not be able to go on for long, in a situation where the cost of getting the paper to its million subscribers is over 600 million dollars. 

Is this the end of the printed press? If so, will it be missed?

I have heard it said that the newspaper simply has to go along with the times and go 100% digital on the web. Maybe, but is the web going to be able to raise enough money via paid ads to maintain the traditional newsroom? I don´t think so, and then, my last question for today: 

Who will pay for the investigative reporters who uncover scandals and corruption among our politicians?

I believe that a free and powerful press is essential to democratic government. If the current trend prevails, I think we shall have to do without it and then, who will control officials in our system?

Catch 22

Today is a big day in Spain. When I was young, it was called a Catch 22 situation.

Regional elections are being held in two areas of Spain, The Basque Country and Galicia. And whoever wins, Spain will lose.

If the Opposition wins in Galicia, their Leader, Rajoy, will come out of the process stronger and therefore will continue with his personal quest to prevent the Conservatives from coming back to power.

If the Socialists retain power, they will fell vindicated in their thrust to spend the way out of the economic crisis. We all lose. 

In the Basque country, there is, however a slight hope. If the Socialists come in front, they might do the sensible thing and oust the Nationalists from power for the first time in over 30 years, asking the conservatives to join them in the regional government. This would be a real change and we can hope that it will happen.

The problem is that, if Zapatero allows this to happen, he will lose the support of the Nationalists in  Parliament and his government may fall. So once again, Zapatero will have the dilemma between doing the right thing or taking the wrong turn. He has proven he is capable of making more mistakes than any other politician in Europe in the shortest possible time. He will do it again!

That is a Catch 22 situation if I have ever seen one!