Blame Canada!

Sometimes I wonder if Gen. Victor “Gene” Renuart, chief of Homeland Security’s Northern Command, wouldn’t be writing for Hollywood instead of doing his job. Ok, I understand that his job is stressing. Fair enough. Basically it is all about seeing risks where others just see safety. That’s it, basically it’s all about calling wolf all the time. All the time.

Usually it is enough with some wood to feed the fire of fear of what Michael Moore talked about in Bowling for Columbine. But everybody knows a fire needs constantly wood, and that people get scared less and less. That’s why they have to increase every time a bit more the fear sense. These have been the latest words from Gen. Renuart [the bold emphasis is mine]:

July 24, 2007: “"I believe there are [al Qaeda] cells in the United States, or at least people who aspire to create cells in the United States […] To assume that there are not those cells is naïve, and so we have to take that threat seriously." It is not like Gen. Renuart has proof for it, but he added: "Am I concerned that this will happen this summer? I have to be concerned that it could happen any day."

March 7, 2008: But "we need only to look at Spain and see that [terrorists] are certainly willing to try to do something that is significant that could effect an election process," Renuart says in the middle of Obama-Clinton fight. Not that there's any specific intelligence pointing to a pre-election attack. It is just that "it would be imprudent of us to let down our guard believing that if there's no credible threat that you know of today, there won't be something tomorrow." Or the day after.

December 17, 2008: "It would make news for a terrorist element or rogue element to interrupt that event," Renuart says of President Obama's inauguration. Again, there are no specific warnings to that effect. But "it is prudent to plan for the possibility of that event and to deter it or to respond to it."

January 27, 2009: At the end, it didn’t happen. Renuart said that a Department of Homeland Security warning of a Somali terror strike on the inaugural proceedings turned out to be bunk. Buuuut… he warned "that ongoing security concerns still face the Obama administration during its early days," according to the Associated Press. The proof? "If you look back in our history, every time we change an administration there has been some event seen to challenge the new administration," he says. "So “I wouldn't let down our guard to say we are past the period of vulnerability“." Whatever that means.

Of course, according to the latest press release from his office -and here we reach the point of the post-, we still aren’t safe. Not for now. And not only the US is not safe enough, but the threat comes from his neighbor -and 51st State: Canada.

Gen. Renuart crossed the border between a healthy vigilant attitude and a paranoid obsession when he stated that Canada, because of its too liberal immigration policy, is letting get into the country bad people from “Pakistan, Afghanistan and Egypt”. And that “huge population” so called “Special Interest Aliens”, or SIAs, represents the "greatest potential for foreign terrorists' access to the homeland”.

Maybe, and just maybe, as Spencer Ackerman notes “xenophobia directed at Muslim immigrants” is more dangerous than Canada’s immigration policies.

But, come on... When all else fails, make like the South Park moms, and blame Canada.

PS. By the way, talking about threats from US neighbors... Not too much ago, the new axis of evil stated Mexico’s narcos as the #2 threat to the US. Well, hands up the ones who know from whom they get their guns. Right! As the Spanish journalist Iñigo Sáez de Ugarte says, “Thanks to the Second Amendment of US Constitution and the liberalism of the markets, Mexico has now enough guns and ammo to dive into blood for many years”

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Over there... doing something...

From the same country that brought to you “Bin Laden is somewhere but where we know he isn’t”, comes a new announcement. This time is “Our man will do something somewhere”. ¿Is it clear?

Dennis Ross has been appointed by the State Department as the special envoy special advisor for the State’s Secretary for Iran the Gulf and Southwest Asia. Kind of. Because that is just what bloggers, journalists and analysts around the World believe that Robert Wood, speaker of the Department, said, when presenting Ross in his new role:

"QUESTION: Can you give us – well, what is the State Department’s definition geographically of Southwest Asia? What countries does that include?
MR. WOOD: Matt, I didn’t --
QUESTION: No, you guys named an envoy for Southwest Asia. I presume that you know what countries that includes.
MR. WOOD: Yes. Of course, we know. I just – I don’t have the list to run off – you know, right off the top of my head here. But obviously, that’s going to encompass – that region encompasses Iran. It will – you know, it’ll deal with --"

Of course. Why bring a list of the countries under Ross’ responsibility to the press conference for Ross appointment?

From all that forest of words we can say that Ross will be able to get into the affairs of the special envoys (these really are envoys) to Israel & Palestine (George Mitchell) or Pakistan-Afghanistan (Richard Hoolbroke). And according to the words of Mr. Word, even in the North African affairs. Who knows, maybe the Gulf means Biscay Gulf, because omitting the world “Persian” looks unlikely deliberated. Is just to avoid offending the Arabs?

Obama plays once again with the appointments. He sends to Iran, a country that denies the Holocaust the Gulf and Southwestern Asia a Jew very close to Israel. And to Israel, he sends Mitchell, a politician more neutral than Switzerland that was widely criticized when appointed because of his mentioned neutralism. The AIPAC can be relaxed for now, some others, not.

Back to the Ross issue, it looks like if he is going to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Or like some already nicknamed him, he’s going to be the Keyser Söze of American politics. With influence in everything, with power over anything.

These poor guys... You let them without Google for a few hours and they cannot find the correct words for their speeches -that's, by the way, the real reason because he wasn’t appointed until 9pm.

Photo: AP

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The Drone Wars

In Sci-Fi, drones are almost always humanoid robots for ground combat, leaving for humans the role of fighter pilots. However, in real world, it seems like it will be the air the first reign ruled by the machines.

Last war in Gaza and, mostly, the Afghan campaign, have shown being a perfect lab test for the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Until now, they just made surveillance and reconnaissance missions, but they are starting attacking ground objectives too.

In this last scenario, critics against Pakistani and American governments have arisen along with the increase of the operations of the killer drones. They operate now in border zones between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Until now, the policy was don’t-ask,-don’t-tell.

But the late civilian casualties made by the attacks are heating up the inks of Pakistani bloggers. Enough is enough, for them. In the end, America is supposed to be using Pakistan soil to attack Afghan Talibans, not Pakistanis.

The central Asian government has already urged the US to stop these attacks. But taking into consideration other words -and facts like the creation of a Pakistani independent commando to designate targets to the drones-, all that looks more like internal marketing more than a real complain.

The offense has gone further since rumors came along about the possibility of that the attacks on Pakistan where launched from the own Pakistani soil. Many felt then that their own government was selling them and making easier the job of killing Pakistanis in their own land, like blogger Teeth Maestro:

Drones parked in our own backyard, to Bomb our own People

For now the Government of Pakistan has a lot of explaining to do and just mere diversion tactics towards Musharraf might alone not help their case.

The final offense came alter knowing that for sure Pakistan had have drones operating from its own air bases. The squealer has been Google Earth. In an image from 2006 we can see at least three drones -the article identifies them as Global Hawks, but they are more likely Predators- outside in an air base in Balochistan, near Iranian border. Images from 2009 doesn’t show any drone, but they show more buildings and constructions.

Whatever it is, what it is for sure is that UAVs’ industry is set to deal with the financial crisis better than others. Israel, an expert in UAVs, was already during the summer selling unmanned vehicles to Georgia and probable they will do so with Rusia (define irony). Iran, on the other hand, goes locally -as usual- and recently announced a new own model able to reach the Jewish country. Industry revenue in numbers worldwide is estimated in $62 billions during the next ten years. And the projects go into new waters.

Of course, these robots are not subjected to Asimov laws. If only, to Adam Smith’s.


PS. Extra: The most famous mercenary company in the world changes its name. Goodbye Blackwater, hello “Xe”. PR. Although on the light of the new contracts, it may seems that neither they will suffer the financial crisis. Not much, at least.

Photo: Battlestar Galactica (Universal)





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USA looks under

Fidel Castro has survived another American President. And he may even manage to survive the American blockade.

Lately last year, the Cuban exile in Miami asked the already President elect to change his policy with Cuba. And to withdraw the embargo. The change in the Cuban-American relations was already in the agenda of the presidential team. Now it is as well in the agenda of the Senate, who just made public a document where criticizes that the isolationism policy with Cuba isn’t working. The document comes with the signature of Richard Lagar, the most important republican in the International Relations Committee of the Senate.

The paper comes into light just days after Castro reappeared again -and maybe he will do once more alter Hugo Chávez’s visit to the island- and it marks a crucial point for the new American policy with the Caribbean country. The report highlights, as some of the biggest problems of the blockade, that it difficults the cooperation in immigration and drugs trafficking policies.

But what it threatens more is the relations of America with his allies in Europe and Latin America, eager for more compromises with La Havana. Until now, and because of the embargo, Cuba is forced to make deals with Africa, China or Russia -with the latter and Venezuela they even have done military joint exercises last summer and the relation is growing.

With the new geopolitical map on the table, Obama’s team prefers to maintain friends back at home and enemies out of the neighborhood. So, renewing links with Cuba not only eliminates an old foe, but also attracts the prodigal sons of Europe (specially Spain, not too close to the US since 2004) And not only that, it also [tries to] isolates, a bit more, Chávez, Morales y Correa in a growing leftist Latin America.

A warning for the left in Europe who though Obama was one of their own. He won’t come to save them.

Photo: AP



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When Obama met Osama

Half world newspapers woke up today with the news of two UCLA geographers having narrowed Osama bin Laden’s location. Kind of. As they only suggested where he could be right now -there is a 10% possibilities he is in Madagascar or Andorra. Well, more precisely, where he cannot be:

"What we have attempted to demonstrate is that it is possible to narrow down where Osama bin Laden is by ruling out where he is unlikely to be," said Professors Thomas Gillespie and John Agnew.

That's like saying that he is "around there". Good work, guys.

It was too good for being true. Not only the two academic never claimed to have found the Top #1 terrorist, but to be able to locate where he is not instead; but also they did it based on wrong data. Like that bin Laden needs dialysis, therefore needs to be near a kidney dialysis machine and a generator. Well, wrong.

The study also undermines terrorists’ mind. The complexity of terrorists’ behavior escapes from the UCLA case. It could have worked, sure, if everything was as simple as the biogeographic theories —methods for "predicting how plants and animals distribute themselves over space and over time"- they used and Al Qaeda were idiots. But they aren’t.

Plus, Gillespie and Agnew name a location called Parachinar, a place full of Shii, almost as bad as infidels for the Sunni Al Qaeda. And it is frequently targeted by violent attacks.

"Admirable attempt, weaksauce methods," a military source stated. Anyway, the exact coordinates are N. 33.901944° E.70.093746°. Anyone want to go and check it out?

At least until then, the Osama-Obama encounter will have to wait.



Photo: UCLA

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The bill, please

On Tuesday, we just knew that the USA has approved an increase in the deployment of troops currently on tour in Afghanistan. That doesn’t surprise anyone. They will be 17,000 more soldiers to the ground, more than half of the promised 30,000 that will sum 60,000 boots in Central Asia. Of those, many will go from the Iraqi pan to the Afghan fire. We knew as well that the average tour will be of 12 months instead of 15, like it is now. Way longer still than the 6 months tours of British soldiers.

Afghanistan has been since the beginning of the presidential campaign a key and fair war for Obama, not like Iraq. Maybe because of that, the new president’s team is working hard on increasing not only the military aid, but also the coordination, the diplomatic efforts -and not just in Afghanistan- and the economic aid. Although the latter will have to be carefully controlled from now on.

There should be more carefully controlled as well the performance of these new troops. According to the last numbers, the toll for civilian causalities caused by the NATO has increased in a 30% from last year. On clear terms, that is 829 people. Talibans, allegedly the bad ones, killed 1.160 civilians in the same period. The gap is not so big.

Afghan society demands less promises and more action. Even more if the US military has exact numbers -30 seems to be it- for when a civilian death toll is aceptable and therefore, counted as an accident, not as collateral damage. And it is demanding more than just a $2.000 payment per death person. In the total numbers, that’s just the change.

This is more worrying taking into the table that from that economic aid we talked about at the beginning, apart from being wasted -as we already had said in this blog-, doesn’t go back into the local country, but into the donors in a 40%. In 2005, it was estimated that Afghans received $57 per capita; in Bosnia it was $679 and in Kosovo $526.

Photo: US MoD

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Out of the way! Incoming!

We knew yesterday of a collision between two nuclear-armed submarines in the North Atlantic Ocean.

The British HMS Vanguard and the French Le Triomphant collided at the beginning of this month while on rutinary patrol. The London Daily Telegraph reports that both vessels may have been "severely damaged" by the collision, but there was no casualties or danger of nuclear escapes.

However, this could have been a “national disaster” for both countries. Both Le Triomphant and HMS Vanguard are core part of the nuclear deterrent of each country (UK, France) and the 25% of the vanguard of the submarine nuclear capabilities frontline of them. To measure the potential damage we just have to go back to the Palomares incident, to get a sense of how serious it could have been.

According to both French and British sources, Le Triomphant was blinded, as its sonar dome on the front of the vessel wasn’t operative after the result of the impact of, possibly, a missed cargo container while submerging.

But why the British sub couldn’t detect the French one? Allegedly, the anti-detection systems on both subs worked so well that none of them detected the other until the French knocked at the door of the British.

My guess... I told you so! (Third paragraph)

First satellites. Now, subs. What's next?



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OK, let’s get started... Oh, wait.

The honeymoon between Obama and the Americans has just begun. The opinion polls show an approval rate of a 63% -it started at a 68%- for the new Executive’s policy. It’s high. It’s definitely far more than the one of George W. Bush when he took the job (57%) and way higher than the one he had just before leaving the office (24%).

But Obama’s Executive has its hands tied. Not at home neither abroad, is being able to start with the real work and disapproval of the people has increased from a 12% to a 22%.

At home, instead of the clear politics predicted -and hoped- by Obama what we have is a bunch of resignations in the new team. Bill Richardson, Tom Daschle, Nancy Killefer and last -but maybe not least- one was Judd Gregg, who have left Obama's team with a lot of holes to fill up. He needs now urgently someone who is not opposed to his policies and has no tax problems. Hard to find in a place like Washington. At least he will keep the agenda of his Blackberry.

Abroad, Obama’s policy depends highly on others guys’ policies -the ones of the “3i”s: Iraq, Israel and Iran. And he will have to wait until it is decided who those guys are. In Iraq the recent local elections were shown as an exam for PM Nuri al-Maliki. At the end, Mr. Maliki’s party boosted its support in the main cities, so the schedule for Iraq will remain according to the book for now. (Photos of the Iraqi elections in Financial Times)

What is most surprising is that the main news of these elections were that they weren’t any violent news. It’s Iraq already pacified by the appearance of holy-Obama? Well, not so fast. Said and done.

In Israel, on the other hand, results haven’t been so clear. The technical draw between the two main parties (Kadima, 28%; Likud, 27%) makes everything very interesting. Tzipi Livni, leader of Kadima, has offered a unity government to Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud. But it is uncertain if they will accept this, as Mr. Netanyahu can form a government with the seats from the right-wing parties. Avigsor Lieberman’s far-right party Yisrael Beiteinu seems to hold the key.

One could think that in the Palestinian Territories wouldn’t be so glad with these results, but there are already some Arab intellectuals -as well as some Israeli leftists- that are asking for a government in Israel lead by Mr. Netanyahu. Argument is clear: let the world see the real face of Israel.

Another important item in foreign policy for the US will be holding an election this summer. In June, current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (conservative) will face former president Mohammad Khatami (moderate) and the reformist Mehdi Karoubi (who wants direct talks with the US) in what is being considered a referendum on the performance of the actual government. From the results of that poll depends most of the future in the region.

Finally, in Afghanistan elections have been delayed until the end of August, due to the increase of insurgency. Until then, Obama has plenty of time to argue with his european partners about how to send more troops to Afghanistan. And even at home too. And plenty of time to lose more guns. And even at home too. And plenty of time to get in trouble with his electoral promises. And guess what, even at home too.

But until then, Obama cannot do much more. Just hope the next one he chooses won’t resign a week after.

Oh, by the way, I didn’t forget the problems with Russia. It is just that they are at the moment too busy with another poll. Important, yes, but not that way.

PS. Results of the World Press Photo contest and the winning photo, by Anthony Suau.

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Under siege

Australia is these days under fire. The high temperatures on record this summer have set up fires all around the South East of the country. The death toll has risen to more than 170 at the time of publishing this and the Government expects more bodies remaining in the ashes.

Human tragedies run along with the ecological loss. Not only for the obvious burnt of trees and bushes, but also for the animal deaths. However, hope sometimes appears in between firefighters’ desperation in the form of a survivor. Like Sam, a koala nationwidely famous after surviving the hell of the fires.

The material losses are of around $2 billion. Australian Government has started to do something by sending the Army to combat the bush fire and promising aid to the affected ones. It is more than what will get the 160 people that died in a fire blast in Kenya. But as almost always happens, it is the Australian people who has been more deeply involved from the beginning.

They were the own Australians the first ones to fight the fires, in the frontline just besides the firefighters and the Army. In a country isolated and used to deal for themselves with their own problems, its people learnt how to solve everything without waiting for the help from the Queen.

Even inter-county solidarity has been a keen example of what should be done. An example provided with some irony: the victims from Queen Island’s floods (after the cyclone Ellie) will donate some of the aid they got for their own reconstruction to the victims of the fires. They could lend them some water as well.

However, the fire continues growing. The high number of deaths and the suspicion of the provocated origin of some of the fires made the Australian executive make of the burnt areas a crime scene, waiting for the test that expert forensics will run in search for evidences. Some prefer not to wait for the evidences and start blaming the offender, with more imagination than wisdom, if I have to say.


Photo via Alex Coppel/News Limited.

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Africa

Last Sunday we knew of the paper written by Lt. Gen. Díaz de Villegas in January after resigning as Commander in Chief of the UN operation in Congo. Then many accused him of being a coward running away. Because of it, he lost his third star and was thrown into the forgotten realms of the reserve. However, a detailed read on the document reveals another truth.

Díaz de Villegas complaints about the lack of soldiers, the lack of foreseen and the lack of equipment that, according to him, made impossible to accomplish the tasks of the mission. His military code of honor made for him resignation the only option available if he didn’t want to risk the lives of the men under his command. The facts have given him the point: everything he predicted will happen, happened.

Africa is still a forgotten world for (almost) everyone. In the 90’s, the UN suffered probably the most painful shame on his history because of the late, inefficient and clumsy answer to the genocide in Rwanda. More than a decade after that, the blame is still going on, for different reasons but in the same part of the world and with a different background, as Lt. Gen. Villegas briefing reports.

It isn’t better neither in the north neither in the south of the Great Lakes region. In the south, Zimbabwe is a clear example of a failed country. With a Government under suspicion, more than a 94% of unemployment, inflation rising to more than 200.000.000% (that really is a poisoned sweet for Mr. Biti, leader of the opposition party and new Minister of Finance), the only thing that could make things worse was a cholera epidemic, that already has taken more than 3.400 victims. But, of course, Mr. Mugabe is over all that, especially on his birthday day.

In the north, things go a bit better. Not much, though. It’s a good idea to unite African countries under a political umbrella similar to that of the UE. But to try to get over such an empire by being crown as “king of kings” isn’t. It reminds us dangerously to those old dictators and emperors form previous centuries. But it is even worse if we try to head east into Somalia.

However, even if as I said before “almost” everyone forgets about Africa, there are a few that don’t. One of the biggest investors in Africa is China. The hunger of the Asian tiger for natural resources and the richness of the black continent make them perfect partners.

In exchange for oil, iron and other minerals, China invests in development. The boom of new technologies in Africa depends deeply in the work of Chinese firms, like Huawei Tech. Surely that name will appear in the new African tour Mr. Hu Jintao will made these days (the fifth one in five years since he was elected).

However, what China is doing in Africa isn’t anything but an updated version of the European pillage in previous centuries. Only the Magreb and South Africa escape (a bit) from that. In the case of the North of Africa, its close position near to Europe eases everything. For South Africa, the big opportunity will come with the 2010 World Cup. However, the racist incidents of a year ago –have they learnt from their masters?- are a long deep problem to eradicate. In some other areas, instead, they are ahead of us. There, i.e., Mr. George Bush has already died. It seems that bushisms won’t die with his creator.



Photo via muchapasta.com.

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Renewing the axis of evil

Neocons and republicans are out of office. But still are writing headlines. Last one was Mr. Leon Panetta, ex-director of the CIA under Bush Administration. Mr. Panetta has made a top ten list with the new coming risks for National Security. Apparently he is insisting in continuing the fear policy. Subversive elements change, the terror itself doesn’t. It is surprising the inclusion of Mexico in second place (Did they took seriously the identification Israel-Gaza versus USA-Mexico? Didn’t Jon Stewart persuade them about the unlikely of that to happen? Not to talk about a possible menace from Canada...) It’s surprising as well not to see Iraq in that list. Al Qaeda, on the other hand, is still the mega-hit of this top ten.

Another who doesn’t surprise anyone being on the list is Iran. And as if Mr. Ahmadinjad wanted to make right Mr. Panetta, the Persians just launched successfully their Omid (Hope) satellite. With their own rockets, infrastructure and space program. The timing couldn’t be better: just in the 30th Anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.

The problem is that the technology used to put in orbit satellites can be used as well for an ICBM programme. And the timing for this as well couldn’t be better too: just one day before senior officials from China, Russia, France, UK, US and Germany will meet in Frankfurt to discuss over the Iranian nuclear programme.

It’s still uncertain how this will affect the renewed relations between Iran and the US. If the love mail between Mr. Obama and Mr. Ahmadinejad Hill shuts down just before Valentine’s day it would be a step backwards.

That isn’t, however, the biggest problem for the new American administration. With an uncertain economic climate at the door and asking the banks to keep the ground, this week we know that Bush belicist adventures are not only expensive, but also, the Money is being wasted both in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It’s not unusual to meet that conclusion after having a look to the shopping list of troops abroad. It includes an Ultimate Fighting group, some celebrities (in the past some others already did it or tried to do it) or a group of NFL cheerleaders. I have to say that I also want the later. Although there were some that already cheered up enough during the Super Bowl Final.



Photo via Sports Illustrated.

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A perfect storm

Ireland, and Europe in general, are under one of the worst winters in years. It is like if the weather wanted to imitate the financial general climate. Bad times are in the forecast. And for Ireland, it will may be longer than for others.

Ireland brings some of the same problems as the US or the UK. But exponentially maximized. The burst of the house bubble was the detonator. But unlike the US or the UK, Ireland lacks of the tools to lower the interest rates and equilibrate the balance. There is another country with the exact same problem as Ireland: Spain. But at least, Spain has an internal market ten times bigger than the Irish, to keep economy going.

The Celtic Tiger was one of the firsts to show weakness signs. It was, for example, the first one to back up the banks fundings to inspire confidence. And even though, the 10th of September last year, Mr. Cowen’s Government had to launch a bailout of €400 billions for the Irish banks. A bailout that was finally unsuccessful for the third entity of the country, the Anglo Irish Bank, that was nationalized on the 16th of January this year.

Economic indicators aren’t too inspiring either. If in 2000, in the peak of the Celtic Tiger apogee, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the GDP growth was of a 15%, in 2007 that number dropped to half of that, less than 7.5%. Even worst, the GDP growth of 2008 registered negative numbers of more than a 2%. And according to the Irish Times and The Economist, for 2009 and 2010 it will drop by 4% and 5% respectively.

With the GDP in free fall, the national debt is ascending without control. According to the CSO, Ireland went from €35 billions of debt in 2007 to €38 billions in 2008. Fitch Agency estimates in €47 billions the debt for 2009, a 26% of the GDP. And this doesn’t include eventual bailouts or nationalizations.

The deficit isn’t either helping to equilibrate the balance. According to the Eurostat and the estimations of the Irish Times, Ireland will go from a superavit of almost a 2% of the GDP in 2006 to a forecasted 12% deficit in 2009.

Another worrying factor is the unemployment. During the Celtic Tiger years and up until 2007, the unemployment rate was of 4%, almost the one for a full employment society (full employment is considered to be a 3% of the active population). But according to the Eurostat, last year it almost doubled the size to a 6.7%. The Economist forecasts a 9.5% for 2009, while the Irish Times sees double digits (a 12% of unemployment) in 2010.

Inflation is as well falling free. The performance of this indicator is even more worrying in the last few months. According to the CSO and the Eurostat, in the last six years the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP, used to measure the inflation in Ireland) fluctuated between the 2 and the 4%, always in ascending lines. June 2008 saw the maximum value. Since then, it has dropped in six months what grew in six years, from a 4% to a 1.25%. And the forecast is that will continue descending.

Finally, the Stock Exchange index (ISEQ) is a good print of the performance of Irish economy in the last year. Even it is a general fall to hell in all the western economies. The ISEQ hasn’t recovered itself anytime, unlike other main indexes. If we focus our attention only in the financial market, the footprint is even more significative. The ISEQ had almost 18000 points in January 2007; in January this year it has only 760. It is a drop of more than a 95%.

With all this data, we can see Ireland is not under a heavy rain. It is a perfect storm. And the winter looks like if it will be long and hard.



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Our freedom paladin

If there is anything that nerves me that is people asking for something they don’t give first. Like old Bush Administration, fighting for freedom by cutting freedom everywhere, from Iraq to Newark Airport. I don’t like either extremists; they are dangerous, even more if they are intelligent. That’s why I don’t like the radical approach to the conflict of Hamas and Israeli government. The later also doesn’t like to be measured by the same standards he measures others.

There is, however, an institution that adds both extremisms and inequality. I’m talking about the Church. More specifically, Roman Catholic Church.

It’s right to say that all religions share, more or less, the same distinctive characteristics. The fact of being based in the faith makes for them easy to fall into extremism. And the will of divide the world between them and ours, good and bad, it’s a perfect field for the inequality to grow.

But the Catholicism, maybe because it always has been the closest, has been always specially unpleasant. And in the last month, they are doing even more merits to be a pain in the arse.

We could be inclined to think that the recent rehabilitation of Galileo -after four centuries!- may make things easier. But then you can find some few bishops (specially in the US) still defending the teaching of creationism in the schools, with the beneplacit of Ms. Palin, even though the Church already begged for pardon to Mr. Darwin and admitted that, again, they were wrong.

But it is even worse to see that more than half of the Britons don’t believe in evolution either. Or the fact that a scientist like David Attenborough is getting hate mail from creationists for defending evolution theories.

It is too funny hear the bishops talking from their pulpits about others’ intentions to cut the freedom of the believers. As everybody knows, the Church has been since 1888 the pioneer promoting all kind of freedom.

That’s why I find funny to hear Monsignor Rouco Varela, head of Spanish Church, saying that the so called atheist buses are a risk for the freedom of religion for the believers -only the Christians, obviously; nothing about Muslims or Jews. Of course, the fact that the same thing (advertise in and on public buses, as shown in the photo at the bottom; sorry for the quality) has been done for years by the Catholic Church in places like the US or Ireland, doesn’t affect them. It is something completely different.

With that and the suppression of Religion as an obligatory subject in schools -the laic “Education for Citizenship” will be taught instead-, it is understandable they aren’t really happy.

May God help us...




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