Archive for December, 2006


Capitulation, by Spain’s PM Rodríguez Zapatero

By: psr, 2006-12-31

Yesterday, December 30 2006, Spain suffered a new terrorist attack by ETA, a follow up to their usual practice of destruction, terror and killings. This time it’s been in Madrid, as several times in the past, and for the third time in the airport, this time using the shiny new Terminal 4 building as a stage.

At the very least, ETA is reminding all of us that giving up violence and weapons is not in their plans. They continue to attack and kill since some 40 years ago, despite declaring in the last 9 months a “pemanent cease fire”.

Spain’s prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, initiated a negotiation process with ETA after their announcement of the “cease fire”, because he understood ETA’s statement to hold a cease fire to …

Internet Censorship

By: psr, 2006-12-27

The poet recently awarded with the 2006 Premio Cervantes (considered as the Spanish language Nobel prize for literature), Antonio Gamoneda, has said that controls should be put in place on the Internet to verify and check what gets published. (news article in El Mundo)

He claims not to have used the Internet ever, but he deems it appropriate to install such controls to avoid things like a false interview with him which, he says, is published on the net.

Basically he is proposing censorship on the Internet. This is almost technically impossible, but the serious part in his proposal is even the thought of curbing freedom of speech on the Internet.

On the Internet there are false interviews, along with other false information, and side by side with lots …

Short-sighted opposition to change

By: psr, 2006-12-27

Since some time ago it is already clear that a company in a particular location is subject to the world-wide business and work environment conditions. It is not longer possible to take into consideration exclusively the near-by environment (a region or country) to function according to it.

Nowadays companies almost everywhere work in a global market which offers commercial and production opportunities, but which imposes also global competition.

Although this is nothing new, there are several structures in our societies which seem to overlook such fact, and continue to work as if such global competition did not exist.

In Spain in particular, there is strong resistance to admit changes in state and company provided social benefits for their citizens and employees respectively. Such benefits have progressively increased in quality and quantity …