tag:whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk,2009-11-07:/MokoFeed2009-11-07T14:21:46+01:00tag:whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk,2006-09-22:/2006/09/22/memento_mori~1151755/missymml2006-09-22T22:10:37+02:002006-09-22T22:10:37+02:00 <p>"I don´t know how long I´m going to live. I´m 38 now, and I´d like to become 68 at least. But I can´t count on that, I can´t be sure of it. I´d like to be old, to see my girls grow up and have grandchildren, so if you offer me now to be 68 and to have had a fulfilling life, I´d sign right now. I´m not ashamed of becoming older, don´t understand why anyone would be.</p> <p>On the other hand, if the Bigger Guy Up There decides to do me the honour of calling me to him sooner, I can´t be unhappy about it either. It´s such a big honour and an undeserved favor, that I wouldn´t be able to say no or complain. But I guess if I´m still here it´s because I have to soften some of my hard edges".</p> <p>I heard that yesterday from a man I´m quite fond of. His two-month-old baby girl, born in early July after a complicated pregnancy, is now in hospital, probably with a case of whooping-cough. But he´s dealing quite ok with it, and as a matter of fact we were joking lightly: a friend of mine, a priest, was teasing me about being 40 (am actually 24) and I was complaining about the "cruelty", when the first man became very intense and gave us that whole speach without realizing it. </p> <p>Later, he explained us how his faith had helped him through the difficult summer he´s having, and how those very problems had helped him grow in his faith, but he really didn´t need to. We just knew it from his testimony about facing his own death.</p> <p>I just hope that same faith could also help his wife, who´s having a much more difficult time.</p> <p>Those out there who believe, please pray for them. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk/2006/09/22/memento_mori~1151755/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk,2006-06-19:/2006/06/19/quote_of_the_week~892870/missymml2006-06-19T08:06:37+02:002006-06-19T08:06:37+02:00 <p>Saw that on a very old rerun on TV:</p> <p>"I´d give my life for my niece, but not my principles"</p> <p>(JAG 2X01, We the people)</p> <p>Good food for thought, isn´t it? </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk/2006/06/19/quote_of_the_week~892870/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk,2006-06-15:/2006/06/15/how_strong_are_you~883028/missymml2006-06-15T15:12:53+02:002006-06-15T15:12:53+02:00 <p>As I see it, there are three kinds of people, depending on how strong is their faith in their ideas. In two cases, their beliefs aren´t strong enough:</p> <p>- Some of them, at least unconsciously, feel their ideas can´t compete with others in equal conditions, so they feel threatened, and usually fight back, violently. That, taken to the extreme, leads them to kill, even at the cost of getting killed too. Since their mistake is the same, the only difference is how far they´ll go, although they tend to escalate too. In short, I include in this group terrorists, religious fundamentalists, some nationalists, and everyone with a totalitarian political view, even in a democratic system. The end justifies the means.</p> <p>- Others, under a misunderstood tolerance, don´t have a strong faith in any ideas, and despise people who do. It´s easy not to defend your ideas with the argument that no one should. And even easier when tagging your opponent´s ideas as totalitarian seems to inmediately legitimate your own. Nothing is right or wrong, so the end justifies the means. Spanish Government has been a great example this last weekend, criticizing victims of terrorism and their supporters, around one million people, who peacefully demonstrated in Madrid against negotiation with ETA murderers. They don´t seem to understand that some people would rather be killed by terrorists than live in a treacherous peace at the cost of giving in to the terrorists totalitarian goals.</p> <p>This two positions aren´t as far apart as it seems. Some people even combine them: you shouldn´t have strong ideas if they´re different from mine, but I have every right to impose mine. That´s what do some of the nationalists in Spain, especially Basque and Catalan ones. Their very narrow view of the world is the following: Everyone against nationalism is a "dictatorial fascist", but they are entitled to say who is/isn´t a true Basque/Catalan based on their political ideas, impose a language in a bilingual region, verbally and physically attack their oponents, and so on.</p> <p>- The third group of people, the one we´d all like to belong to, or the one we fight to belong to (we´re human and usually fall to one or both of the temptations above), it´s the people who have such faith in what they defend that they think it almost defends itself. Well, of course you have to defend it, and don´t hesitate to do such, but you don´t have to do it "against" anyone. You strongly believe it´s the truth and know that, in the end, truth shall prevail. So you don´t worry if you´re attacked, discriminated, killed... And you don´t go to extreme means like those to defend it because you are sure your ideas are true and right enough not to need it. Examples? Well, everyone who ever gave their life for a cause in an innocent way, everyone who thinks it could happen and are ready, and everyone (like me) who likes to think they´d be ready.</p> <p>Wow, look what a drabble from such a small idea!</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk/2006/06/15/how_strong_are_you~883028/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk,2006-06-13:/2006/06/14/numb3rs~878152/missymml2006-06-14T00:08:17+02:002006-06-14T00:08:17+02:00 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/srv/media/media_item.php?item_ID=617475"><img src="http://data2.blog.de/media/475/617475_2bdfb754f1_m.jpg" align="" alt="Panoramic" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p>"I´ll listen to the people" must be one of the most common quotes among not-in-power politicians. Mr. Zapatero said it too, of course, while fighting to become our Prime Minister. It usually doesn´t happen, and now is no exception.</p> <p>Now it´s a little more ironical ´cause getting people on the streets was the main weapon Zapatero used against Mr. Aznar: demonstrations against Irak war, against Government´s role in the oil accident in front of the Galician cost, against the "lies" about the 11-M attacks the day before the elections...</p> <p>Well, last Saturday there was a demonstration. Yeah, I know, last one was in February, it was pouring and cold, and in this one it was around 30ºC. Shouldn´t there be a Demonstration Season b/w March and May, and September and October, or something like that?</p> <p>Anyways, it was against the Government´s negotiation with ETA. It was the FOURTH against that in less than two years. The third one in a little over a year, and also the third one allegedly attended by around a million people according to the organisation and some police sources (other police sources claim a little less than 300.000 people). I don´t know, all I can say is that it was pretty crowded. And that there may have been that "few" people in the square itself, but some streets nearby were just as crowded.</p> <p>But those four demonstrations haven´t been the only ones in Zapatero´s two years in power:</p> <p>- Juni 18th last year, another million people demonstrated in Madrid against the law calling gay couples "marriage" and giving them the right to adopt children. </p> <p>- November 12th last year, over a million people demonstrated in Madrid asking for (among others) freedom to choose any school for their children and for a treatment of Religion class equal to any of the other subjects. </p> <p>However, the streets aren´t the only way to be completely ignored by the government. Gathering signatures and presenting them to the Congress/Government has proved just as useless: </p> <p>- Three million signatures were taken to Mr. Zapatero official residence to support Religion teaching in equal conditions as other subjects. Mr. Zapatero didn´t find a minute to even go out, say hello, and get them to the trash bin himself.</p> <p>- One and a half million "special" signatures against the word "marriage" for gay couples and gay adoption were presented to the Congress. Why special? They were a so-called People´s Bill: Any group of people, if supported by 500.000 signatures of registered voters, can present a Bill and ask for it to be approved. 1,5 Million, besides being three times as much as required, is the biggest People´s Bill in the 30 years of democracy.</p> <p>- The opposition party PP presented some months ago its own bill asking for a national referendum about whether all Spaniards should keep having the same rights, duties and social assistance, all three things threatened, according to them, by the new Catalonian Autonomy Law. It wasn´t necessary, but they presented also four million signatures supporting the referendum. Only a way of advertising? Probably, but they still were backed up by four million people.</p> <p>One more thing: except this last one, all the other initiatives were organised by civil organisations and asociations, not by any political party (at the most, in some of them PP showed only its support, or offered a little last-minute help), no matter what the Government propaganda say. It´s their easy way to dismise the opinion of critical citizens.</p> <p>I´m not clear about what role should demonstrations, signatures gatherings and such play in politicians´ decisions, but what I can´t stand is hypocrisy. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk/2006/06/14/numb3rs~878152/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk,2006-04-19:/2006/04/20/one_year~740728/missymml2006-04-20T00:04:41+02:002006-04-20T00:04:41+02:00 <p>Today´s post was going to be about the Basque nationalism Anschluss attempt over neighbour region Navarra. Left some notes at the office (bad luck).</p> <p>So I´ll use my time to Benedict XVI, who celebrated today his first year at Holy See and as head of the Roman Catholic Church.</p> <p>Aside from my believes, I find him a fascinating character. Presented by sensationalist newspapers as Nazi-friendly in the first few days after his election, we´ve later known that he deserted from Nazi-army, something many didn´t have the courage to do, although they won´t want to remember it now.</p> <p>He´d been head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith for many years, and thus responsible for keeping the Church´s teachings orthodox. I think many have mixed that with his personality.</p> <p>During his first year, he has met both with lefebvrians (an ultra-conservative group separated from the Church) and people like the theologian Hans Küng, whose very progresist ideas separate them from Catholic Church. He´s trying non-stop to improve the relationship with China, and is keeping JPII´s efforts to make strong advances in ecumenism.</p> <p>When many people expected a very theoretical first encyclical, he winds up with one about love, charity, solidarity...</p> <p>As for personality, he´s been right to be himself, boring as he may look at the beginning. He couldn´t have copied JPII´s charisma. In that aspect, he is a good teacher: has a deep knowledge but conveys it in a very simple way without losing depth. He showed that in WYD in Cologne.</p> <p>A friend of mine told me something that makes all that all the more precious: he´s not used to that many people, he´s shy and quite afraid of it. As a matter of fact, she (who was quite near him a couple of weeks ago) said that he "carries popularity like a cross, but always with a smile". </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk/2006/04/20/one_year~740728/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk,2006-04-11:/2006/04/11/what_will_happen_with_eta_members~719638/missymml2006-04-11T14:49:44+02:002006-04-11T14:49:44+02:00 <p>I have been talking with an expert on Basque nationalism and terrorism who teaches at my former university. </p> <p>He told me about the very different profiles from ETA members in the beginning of democracy (when it killed someone aproximately every two or three days) and nowadays.</p> <p>- The first generations were highly specialized workers with a medium-high life standard.</p> <p>- The present generation comes from teenagers from problematic neighbourhoods, with almost no culture/preparation and very well known to the Police, since they started as teens to take part in "kale borroka", what they call street fight and is nothing more than pure vandalism. They have no real interest whatsoever in politics, their only ideology consists in a few ideas tattooed in their brains. </p> <p>The man who told that to me, also explained that old ETA members had trouble if they tried to talk some sense into them. They were accused of being fascists!!</p> <p>How is that important? </p> <p>The older generations, if/when they wanted to leave terrorism, they could find a nice job and their place into society. </p> <p>What would the newer generations do, even if they were looking forward to really leave that life behind? Underground activities, hatred and violence (at least in a social level) is all they know, they don´t know how to do anything else. They also have been getting quite a good salary from ETA and are used to it and all it gets them. </p> <p>Can they give up all that? Will they be able to quit for good, accept a job with a much lower wage than the one they have now, and don´t miss what they lost?</p> <p>How can we be sure they won´t turn to other crime branches? There are plenty blossoming in Spain in recent years.</p> <p>What is going to be done with all that people? </p> <p>Maybe we should think about that before we stop arresting them and/or start freeing them. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk/2006/04/11/what_will_happen_with_eta_members~719638/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk,2006-04-04:/2006/04/04/dear_old_friend~703133/missymml2006-04-04T23:51:41+02:002006-04-04T23:51:41+02:00 <p>Wanted to write this post on Sunday but my server didn´t agree. </p> <p>Sunday was one year since the death of my much admired John Paul II. I was at home when it happened, although the day before I had spent the night in the city with a friend, in a prayer gathering, and daydreaming about taking the first flight to Rom. </p> <p>Two days after he died I had to go back to Germany, and there I had a unique experience, ´cause my church there was run by Poles, and the people in my Bible group were all Polish. I could share with them all the memories from the times where Catholicism was persecuted; the role of the Pope, even in his days as priest and bishop, in fighting dictatorship; the depth and variety of their faith.</p> <p>The priest who ran the group told us how they made a pilgrimage to Rom when he was young, fooling the government to get a visa, hitchhiking in little groups (they were about 20 people) to get there, and how the Pope received them. </p> <p>He also told us that, since JPII had died, he needed to go walking to the forest everyday to listen to the birds, as he had done when his own father had died. Despite all that, underneath lied the stoicism, the faith and the hope that I so admire in the Polish people. They felt orphan, but knew they weren´t. Their pain was sharper, but their hope in the future of the Church was bigger. We had wonderful conversations abot pain, loss, hope, future...</p> <p>In a couple of months, the pain was eased, and sustituted by a deep gratitute for this man who kept true to his Master, for this Steward who kept true to his King. I´m sure he is close to God now, and that he intercedes for the Church he served for 26 years (and many before). When I face a particulary difficult problem, I turn to him, who went through so many difficulties, much bigger than mine.</p> <p>Dear Karol, you were like a father for many. You were like a stern but loving grandfather for my generation. Keep protecting us. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk/2006/04/04/dear_old_friend~703133/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk,2006-03-29:/2006/03/29/eta_negotiation_a_little_creative_thinki~682057/missymml2006-03-29T01:31:26+02:002006-03-29T01:31:26+02:00 <p>There´s little doubt now we´re already in the middle of a negotiation process which has been going on for some time.</p> <p>I´ve been quite confused about one question: what should we be ready to give up and what not in order to stop violence (from terrorism to blackmail to street-vandalism, all by ETA)?</p> <p>I think I found my answer. It is a matter of whether you should allow people to use violent and criminal means to get what they want. A very clever guy said once that if you are too involved in something to be objective about making up your mind about it, create an hypothetical case with similar characteristics.</p> <p>Let´s say there was a right-wing terrorist group in Spain that, since Franco´s death, had killed almost 700 people (lower than 850 killed by ETA because it´s been killing longer) in order to prevent an authonomical organisation of the State. Let´s say some region and/or the national government were preparing a law to decrease regions´ rights, and, seeing this historical opportunity, they proclaim a cease-fire and start a negotation, proclaiming beforehand they haven´t given up any of its claims, don´t regret the use of violence and don´t ask for forgiveness. </p> <p>Mr. Zapatero: give ETA no more than you would give them. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk/2006/03/29/eta_negotiation_a_little_creative_thinki~682057/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk,2006-03-24:/2006/03/24/etaas_cease_fire~670391/missymml2006-03-24T01:28:13+01:002006-03-24T01:28:13+01:00 <p>As you all probably know by now, ETA has already begun a "permanent cease-fire" scarcely half an hour ago. I thank all the people who are probably happy for Spain. I share their hope, but not their optimism. </p> <p>I´m a weird kind of optimist: I do believe everything will be all right in the end, but it needn´t be while we´re still alive to see it.</p> <p>It´s way too early to have a well formed view on all this, so take it like brain-storming, will ya?</p> <p>- The "cease-fire" choice of words is bad news:<br> a) ETA keeps using war vocabulary as if there were two sides killing each other.<br> b) How can we be sure it´s going to be permanent if they don´t give up the weapons?</p> <p>- During the last months, the Government seemed so eager and happy about the proximity of such an announcement. Yesterday though, I got the impression (and I wasn´t alone) that they weren´t as happy as I should have expected. And they seem to be walking on egg-shells this last thirty-something hours, which isn´t bad at all, only schocking <img src="/img/smilies/graybigeek.gif" alt="88|" class="middle" border="0"></p> <p>- Everybody is speaking much more openly about a possible already on-going negotiation between the socialist and ETA. It might even have been going on for up to four years. That places us in Aznar´s second government, when Zapatero signed with him the Agreement against Terrorism, Zapatero´s own idea. </p> <p>- May the text broadcasted yesterday by ETA be agreed on by both sides, as suggested by the government-friendly newspaper El País? If the negotiation has been already going on, what was the point of asking the Parliament last spring for permission to negotiate with ETA only after they stopped violence?</p> <p>- There have been more than ten cease-fires or truces before this one. There were two big ones, one during Gonzalez´s government and one during Aznar´s. I was too young during the first one, and during the second one, I had no doubt no too high a price would be paid to ETA. I´d like to be as sure now.</p> <p>- ETA doesn´t seem to be willing to give up any of its goals. Is the government in such a strong position?</p> <p>- Will ETA stop street-violence and black-mail against those busineesmen who have been lately receiving pictures of their children?</p> <p>- ETA doesn´t seem to have stopped getting the material they need:<br> a) Barely hours ago, a van was stolen in Cantal, France. ETA is a suspect because the plates of the robbers´ own van was false.<br> b) Also, the French Police have found in southern France 700 Kgs of explosives in a county were ETA is supposed to have been active lately, and French Police suspects the explosives may be from some recent explosives stealings by ETA.<br> c) ETA is also the main suspect of the robbery of 20.000 blank plates and a plate-printer less than 10 days ago.<br> What´s the point? <img src="/img/smilies/icon_crazy.gif" alt=":crazy:" class="middle" border="0"> </p> <p>- For the negotiation to be fair, victims should play a role in it too. If ETA is going to be paid back for having stopped killing, they should get something too, for NEVER having taken matters in their own hands, shouldn´t they?</p> <p>Many more ideas boiling in my head. But the rest of my body is sleepy <img src="/img/smilies/graysleep.gif" alt=":zz:" class="middle" border="0"> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk/2006/03/24/etaas_cease_fire~670391/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk,2006-03-21:/2006/03/21/al_qaedaas_links_to_march_11th_bombs_in_~664090/missymml2006-03-21T16:29:53+01:002006-03-21T16:29:53+01:00 <p>Sorry, guys. A three-day-long weekend full of family gatherings has kept me from the blog longer than I expected.</p> <p>In the days after 11-M bombs in Madrid two years ago, it was much insinuated (at the least) that there were clear connections between the bombs and Al Qaeda. Most of the time it hasn´t been said so clearly, but some people were very interested in getting us to have that impression.</p> <p>Here there are some aspects of the terrorists MO that don´t fit in that theory:</p> <p>1.- There were no kamikazes like in NYC, London, Yemen, Casablanca...</p> <p>2.- It´s not common among islamic integrist terrorist to use non-muslim people, or to work with them, during the preparation of the attacks. But here, all the people who supposedly sold them the material were Spanish.</p> <p>3.- Many suspects and people involved have no relation with muslim integrism, and/or are police informers.</p> <p>4.- It doesn´t fit Al Qaeda so well to employ other criminals (drug and stolen cars delaers), who may endanger the “mission“ or be involved in something else at the same time.</p> <p>5.- The bombs in Madrid were quite clearly intended to change the election result. If Al Qaeda hates everything related to western countries, democracy and liberalism, why would they prefer a party over other? Wouldn´t have they done the same in London, where, just by attacking a few weeks early, it would have been in the middle of the campaign? </p> <p>6.- In other attacks, like NYC and London, the terrorists have had no problem in giving away as much money as needed in order to take in risks. They buy or rent a car, not steal it. But in Madrid, some of the most important vehicles were stolen. In the same way, Al Qaeda´d rather make its own explosives with common-use stuff, than buy explosives that can be easily traced.</p> <p>7.- Last, but not least, in London for instance it´s been pretty clear shortly after the attacks what happened. Here, two years later, there are yet many unanswered questions, hidden by a desinformation campaign planned probably by the same people who prepared the bombs: what clues and evidence should be found in what order to create an official version that change the election results and which isn´t as clearly cut as it seems. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk/2006/03/21/al_qaedaas_links_to_march_11th_bombs_in_~664090/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk,2006-03-17:/2006/03/17/the_hidden_truth_about_11_m_bombs_part_v~652263/missymml2006-03-17T16:42:56+01:002006-03-17T16:42:56+01:00 <p>WE´VE BEEN TOLD...</p> <p>... that the so-called “head“ of the attack, El Chino, brought the explosives by car from Asturias, a northern region, on Februar 28th.</p> <p>BUT...</p> <p>- The man who sold them to him was a police informer, who phoned his contact officer just before and just after the bombs had been taken to Madrid.</p> <p>- During the journey, El Chino changed routes, having to climb a mountain during a snow storm, only to follow another road, parallel to the one used by ETA terrorist to send more explosives to Madrid in the same period. And, he was stopped by the Guardia Civil, a police corp, who gave him three fines but let him go in a stolen car, with a false belgian passport while speaking Spanish. In that journey, the explosives weren´t in his car, he was only the first of two cars, but it was suspicious enough.</p> <p>WE`VE BEEN TOLD...</p> <p>... that a group led by two brothers (Almallah) was behind the attack plans.</p> <p>BUT...</p> <p>- Several members of that group started to be controlled by different Police units and corps one year before the attack. In that year, they were followed a total of 81 days.</p> <p>- Their names, cars, addresses and jobs were known by their followers.</p> <p>- All the control activity stopped on February 17th, less than a month before the attack.</p> <p>WE`VE BEEN TOLD...</p> <p>... that the people responsible for the attack on 11-M got themselves killed in an explotion in an appartment in Madrid`s suburbs, after the Police had surrounded them.Before that, they had been firing rifles for hours.</p> <p>BUT...</p> <p>- There were too few bullet shells in the flat for them to have been firing for hours.</p> <p>- No one saw any terrorist alive in the flat that day. Although the media were there, and it is usual procedure for the SWATs to record their operations, there are no images either.</p> <p>- The damage to the corpses shows that they were quite far appart from each other. And one of them appeared to have been hidden behind a matress.</p> <p>- One of the corpses had his trousers put on the wrong way.</p> <p>- Two corpses had dinamite around their bodies, which hadn´t exploded (there was no detonator and they were away from the others).</p> <p>- No autopsy was performed on them.</p> <p>- Days later, somewhere else, a good-bye letter from one of the peole who died in the flat was randomly found in someone else´s bag. The writing was arabic, but it had two signatures: one, in the same arabic writing, that said “Abdullah“, and other, in latin characters, that said “Kounjaa“. This last signature was used to identify the letter as belonging to Abdenabi Kounjaa, one of the men who died in the flat. But that signature didn´t even look alike the one in Kounjaa´s passport, his signature for documents in Spanish. And why would he use his “spanish“ signature for his family, who speaks arab?</p> <p>- Not all the people dead in the flat were properly IDed. We know there were 7 people in there (´cause there are 7 different DNA sets). Four of them were IDed by their fingerprints (35 of their 40 fingers were found). From the other three people, not a single finger was found. From the stuff in the flat, there were firngerprints only in some books, but the could be from anyone who had read that book at some time (e.g. on the the prints is from a man who was in jail much before the flat was rented). There were no fingerprints in the rifles. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk/2006/03/17/the_hidden_truth_about_11_m_bombs_part_v~652263/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk,2006-03-16:/2006/03/17/the_hidden_truth_about_11_m_bombs_part_i~650331/missymml2006-03-17T00:25:04+01:002006-03-17T00:25:04+01:00 <p><u><u><strong>WE´VE BEEN TOLD...</strong></u></u></p> <p>... that the terrorists recorded a videotape that was found in a paper bin near Madrid´s biggest mosque.</p> <p><u><strong>BUT...</strong></u></p> <p>- The phone call to Madrid´s regional television led on 14-M (the day of the election) to the arrest of a spaniard.</p> <p>- The nationality of the person in the tape isn´t clear.</p> <p>- The tape was recorded on the same afternoon of 13-M, when most media were already claiming it was all integrism and the government was lying.</p> <p><u><strong>WE´VE BEEN TOLD...</strong></u></p> <p>...that the bombs on 11-M had mobile phones and cards like the ones in the bag found in the police station (see part II), and were first activated in a country house in a town near Madrid, rented by one of the leaders of the terrorist group. That means (according to the official version): 13 bombs = 13 mobiles + 13 cards.</p> <p><u><strong>BUT...</strong></u></p> <p>- In that town only 7 of the mobile phones and cards were activated, on the afternoon of 10-M.</p> <p>- Only 10 mobiles were bought in the shop of the two hindu indians the days before 11-M.</p> <p>- Those mobiles were "freed" (made to work for all companies) in the shop of a policeman of sirian origin. Why were they freed there, while the cards had been bought in a shop where it could also be made?</p> <p>- It isn´t very clever to use mobile phones in the bombs, because there are other methods that are safer AND untraceable.</p> <p><u><strong>WE´VE BEEN TOLD...</strong></u></p> <p>... that in the country house near Madrid lived one of the leaders (El Chino), and that´s where the attack were prepared.</p> <p><u><strong>BUT...</strong></u></p> <p>- They weren´t muslim integrists, but regular criminals, who stole cars and dealt with drugs.</p> <p>- El Chino´s and one of his mate´s mobiles were taped by the police before 11-M, but the tapping stopped the day after the attack.</p> <p>- El Chino carried on a normal life before and after the attack. That includes: taking his son to a catholic school and making a party on March 19th to celebrate Father´s Day, being with his partner, a non-muslim woman who smokes and wears jeans. Everything pretty uncanny for a muslim integrist.</p> <p>- It took the police too long to figure out which house it was the integrists were supposedly meeting, considering it was rented to the wife of a muslim integrist who was in jail since 2001.</p> <p><u><strong>NEXT PART (COMING HOPEFULLY TOMORROW):</strong></u> Where did the explosives come from, who were the thinking heads, why nothing was done to prevent the attack and how 7 suspects/witnesses died less than a month after the attack. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk/2006/03/17/the_hidden_truth_about_11_m_bombs_part_i~650331/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk,2006-03-15:/2006/03/16/the_hidden_truth_about_11_m_bombs_part_i~647260/missymml2006-03-16T00:01:27+01:002006-03-16T00:01:27+01:00 <p>WE´VE BEEN TOLD...</p> <p>... that the five suspects arrested the day before the elections (and whose arrestment played a very important role in changing the results), were related to the attacks, and supposedly muslim radical terrorists.</p> <p>BUT...</p> <p>- Four out of five people were free without charges a few weeks afterwards.</p> <p>- Two of them weren´t muslim, but hindus.</p> <p>- Their only "crime" had been selling mobile phones and mobile cards to the terrorists, or owning the shop where those phones and cards had been sold. What would the police had done if they had bought the phones in Harrods (no idea if they sell phones in Harrods)? Arrest Mohamed Al Fayed?</p> <p>- It´s becoming more and more doubtful that they really sold the phones and cards.</p> <p>WE´VE BEEN TOLD...</p> <p>... that Jamal Zougham, the fifth man arrested, did not only sell the cards, but place some of the bombs in the trains too.</p> <p>BUT...</p> <p>- There were no fingerprints of him in any of the different crime scenes.</p> <p>- There were also no DNA traces.</p> <p>- He didn´t phone or was phoned by anyone else involved. Analysis of phone calls has been a key in locating and IDing different suspects, but he is nowhere to be found.</p> <p>- Some of the witnesses who said they had seen him in the trains contradicted themselves, but not to the exact point to invalidate their testimony. Anyone, they identified him after the photo had been released to the media, so virtually everyone in Spain was familiar with his face.</p> <p>- The judge investigating the bombs (Judge Del Olmo, for further reference) has been given reports falsely accusing him of stuff that was done by other suspects. For instances, his name appeared in a report saying he lived and had done stuff that "belonged" to another suspects who shared the same first name. Pretty convenient to be simply a mistake, isn´t it? </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk/2006/03/16/the_hidden_truth_about_11_m_bombs_part_i~647260/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk,2006-03-14:/2006/03/14/the_hidden_truth_about_11_m_bombs_part_i~642732/missymml2006-03-14T15:57:17+01:002006-03-14T15:57:17+01:00 <p>WE´VE BEEN TOLD...</p> <p>The terrorist went from their residence in a town called Morata de Tajuña to Alcala (where supposedly they took the train) in a stolen Kangoo van, in which a cassette tape with coranic verses, a few detonators and traces from explosives were found.</p> <p>BUT...</p> <p>-There are no fingerprints or DNA traces in the van or in the tape. The only fingerprints were in the detonators. And there were many clothes with DNA. </p> <p>- Two trained dogs were unable to smell the traces of explosives.</p> <p>- The van was locked, no signs of having been forced, which means whoever used it had the keys. The owner of the van said his keys had been stolen 8 months before. If it seems clear the explosives and mobile phones were bought only a few days before 11-M, why would the steal a van 8 whole months before?</p> <p>- The van´s plate wasn´t false. The people in charge of that part of the attack were used to stealing and re-selling cars, whose plates were all false. Why didn´t they falsificate the plate of the only vehicle they couldn´t afford being found? It´s not like they had no time (8 months!)</p> <p>- There should have been at least 12 terrorists with 12 bags, so there should have been another two cars.</p> <p>WE´VE BEEN TOLD...</p> <p>Another bag was found in a police station, theoretically coming from one of the affected stations, and it contained another bomb, which, miracously, didn´t work.</p> <p>BUT...</p> <p>- Nobody remembers it being in the train station, or in the way to the police station. Not even the policeman in charge of controling all the objects taken from the train station.</p> <p>- The explosive isn´t the same type as the one found in other bags which didn´t explode.</p> <p>- Beside the explosives, the bag contained pieces of metal so the bomb would hurt more. According to the injuries in the victims, none of the other bombs had pieces of metal.</p> <p>- There were (again) no fingerprints or DNA traces in the bag.</p> <p>- All the bombs that exploded did it only with second´s difference, at 7.38 a.m. But this bomb was programmed for 7.40.</p> <p>- The bomb in the bag didn´t explode only because it was prepared not to explore: two wires weren´t connected. On the same day the bag was found, the police already knew about this because of an X-Ray they had run. But in the following four months they failed to explain it to the judge investigating the attack, inventing a whole series of absurd explanations. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk/2006/03/14/the_hidden_truth_about_11_m_bombs_part_i~642732/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk,2006-03-13:/2006/03/13/the_hidden_truth_about_11_m_bombs_part_i~639648/missymml2006-03-13T16:39:42+01:002006-03-13T16:39:42+01:00 <p>Last Saturday was two years since 10 bombs exploded in three commuter trains in Madrid, killing almost 200 people. It was three days before the elections. At the beginning everybody thought it was ETA, but in the two following days lots of information was leaked to the media (some true, some doubtful, and some false). In the end, public oppinion was pretty sure that it was all islamic integrists´doing, due to Spain´s part in Irak war. Since the government had “lied“, insisting the main suspect was ETA, the socialists came to power. A power it was very unlikely they would have won, hadn´t the bombing taken place. But that´s no the point here.</p> <p>Since then, the government, or at least some police sectors, have done everything in their power to ensure the official truth was never questioned. In the Parliament Commission about the attacks, all parties systematically rejected the previous´ government requested witnesses and documents.</p> <p>But from the beginning, a small group of journalists from the newspaper El Mundo kept investigating their own way. This newspaper uncovered many crimes and foul plays by other governments, but has now been researching what has been called The 11-M Black Holes.</p> <p>Another journalist has followed another line, comparing what has been said to the people, and what really is in the official investigation, and uncovering many things that don´t add up, or ever clearly contradict one another.</p> <p>Due to the second aniversary of the attacks, this journalist has summarized the nearly 70 pages he´s written until now in a disturbing comparison between what we have been told, and all the “but“s he´s discovered.</p> <p>Here a first part of it.</p> <p>WE´VE BEEN TOLD... that in the bombs exploded 10 bag-bombs with 10 Kg Goma 2-ECO (a type of dinamite)</p> <p>BUT...</p> <p>a) The aftereffects of the bombs are more consistent with an explosive of military kind, like C3 or C4. </p> <p>b) In two places absolutely no traces of any explosive were found.</p> <p>c) In the other 8 places only a general component of dinamite was found, thus making it impossible to identify what kind of dinamite it was.</p> <p>d) The form of the wreckage and the placing of the bombs isn´t consistent with bag-bombs.</p> <p>e) After the bombings, a van and another bag were found, leading to some of the first and most important pieces of information which we were told before the elections. The explosives found in that van and bag are different from each other: one is purely the Goma 2-ECO type of dinamite, the other one is mixed with an ingredient of military explosives. And there´s no hard evidence any of the two is the same that was in the trains. Was one of them a false lead? If it was, shouldn´t all the leads gathered from it, at least, reevaluated? </p> <p>f) Two samples of this two explosives were analized, and, being different, the chief of the explosives unit of the police wrote a report affirming they were similar because both of them had the other ingredient (metenamine) which was only found in one of the samples. Thus, he hid from the investigative judge the fact that CSU had found differences in the explosives, and made him believe that that ingredient is always part of Goma 2. Only one year later was it found, through further research on the judge´s part, that he was lying. The chief then said that his lie was only an unimportant mistake. Does it mean that it isn´t important to him to find out which explosive was used, because he had previously an answer?</p> <p>Next part... How did the terrorist go to the train stations: the hoax of the van and much more. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk/2006/03/13/the_hidden_truth_about_11_m_bombs_part_i~639648/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk,2006-02-21:/2006/02/21/giving_up_against_terrorism~580603/missymml2006-02-21T16:02:20+01:002006-02-21T16:02:20+01:00 <p>I`ve been wanting to write an interpretation post about ETA terrorism for days. But things keep happening, and it´s quite hard. And by interpretation I mean my personal conclusions, the state of mind in which the situation places me.</p> <p>The recent news about the liasion between the government and the justice system supporting a rather weak position against ETA is only a part of a bigger scheme, IMHO. One in which:</p> <p>- A new party with strong links (according to the police) to ETA was allowed to take part in the regional election in spring last year, while there´s a law to prevent it.</p> <p>- Batasuna, an illegal group within the bigger ETA trust, organizes a congress and the government justifies not trying to prevent it until the last moment. When it´s last-minute forbidden, another act is “anonimously“ organized, the speaker of Batasuna speaks openly in its (and therefore ETA´s) name and the police doesn´t do anything.</p> <p>- The Prime Minister says, about the above-mentioned congress, the law outlawing Batasuna is “too harsh“. While in the opposition, he proposed<br> this law to the government, and has been showing off ever since... ´til now, apparently.</p> <p>- In the meantime, he is invited to an International Congress of Victims of Terrorism and doesn´t attend. Reportedly, he sent a letter to excuse himself but it<br> got lost. Who trusts the post in this country?</p> <p>- Last week, he invited the organizers of the Victims´ Congress and told a woman whose dautghter lost both legs at the age of 12 that he “understands her because his granpa was killed during the war“. Thus implying that being killed in a civil war, with two sides fighting, is the same as being killed/mutilated in an unilateral act,<br> when one side kills and the other one (random victims are part of a side?) gets attacked.</p> <p>Terrorism has gone from being weaker than ever to be almost legalized “de facto“. Another terrorist group which disappeared years ago killed again last week, a sign that what´s happening is good news only (or nearly only) for them and their friends.</p> <p>And all that why? Because the government has been so stupid as to offer everything from the beginning. It´s like going to a bargaining market shouting how much you´re looking forward to spend bunches of money. No one will take you seriously. Mr. Zapatero gives, and gives, and gives, and gets nothing. </p> <p>The last few weeks have been full of hearsay about a very near truce. Last Saturday ETA made a letter public and it said nothing about it. Only asking for more.</p> <p>Even if there was a truce in the near future (better not trust a terrorist group when it says anything), I do not trust Zapatero to carry any negotiation. When the terrorists claim the only way to get “peace“ is that there aren´t winners and losers, it sounds to me as them being the real winners.</p> <p>Sure, they would stop killing for a while. Most socialists claim that having not killed in over two years is a good-will sign. I´m persuaded otherwise: they can get more, right now, not killing. If they killed, public opinion wouldn´t let the government give them everything.</p> <p>But they may start killing again whenever they want. For instance, if the government carried a stronger policy, or if there was any possibility that the opposition won the elections in two years.</p> <p>Therefore, I have the feeling that the only way to avoid that blackmail on democracy is that they stop existing: defeated by police and justice and/or as a result of a negotiation where the government, and not them, has the upper hand. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk/2006/02/21/giving_up_against_terrorism~580603/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk,2006-02-15:/2006/02/15/title~564895/missymml2006-02-15T16:56:25+01:002006-02-15T16:56:25+01:00 <p>When I was little, I found it funny (in a weird kind of way) how ETA terrorists were sentenced to thousands of years in jail. </p> <p>Later, I understood that it was the way the justice system had to make sure they were forced to stay the 30 years maximum behind bars. Then, of course, convicts could benefit from a serie of reductions (good behaviour, work, studies) and be on the streets in a much shorter period of time. All of that without having regreted their killings nor apologized.</p> <p>A few years ago, that law was changed (and probably improved, which wasn´t difficult). But of course, the old law has to be applied when the killings happened earlier.</p> <p>Another aspect of the old law is that the punishment to all the crimes commited in the same period of time or under the same circunstances can be served at the same time. Adding salt to wound, defense attorneys use that to ask for a joint punishment for all the crimes of the same type, no matter what.</p> <p>Meaning that, after you do something for 30 years in jail, you can do whatever you please, since you probably won´t stay in jail a single day more. The more you kill, the cheapest it is.</p> <p>Last year, one of the worst terrorists asked that his 4.799-year-long sentence is put all together, so he would be free in 2009, after 20 years. Considering he murdered 82 people, including 5 children, he´d had served some 3 months for each person killed. </p> <p>Not only has he not regreted it or apologized for anything. In 2002 he wrote a letter to fellow ETA members, suggesting they blew the National Bank, National Court and Madrid and Barcelona stock markets, that they steal military explosives.</p> <p>After all, it´s the defense attorneys´ job to ask for that kind of stuff. As a matter of fact, another two terrorists have asked for that in the last times. </p> <p>About the interpretation, public prosecutors are divided. Roughly said, prosecutors at the Supreme Court, the almost-last appelation court, support it, claiming it is the only one possible. On the other hand, prosecutors at the National Court want to apply it only when necessary (meaning when the crimes were really committed in the same period of time and/or under the same circunstances). </p> <p>For instance, in the above-mentioned case, they suggest that, since there are two groups of murders, with two different groups and separated by a year gap, the terrorist should serve two 30-year-long periods. Therefore we could prevent him from being on the loose until 2034.</p> <p>The boss of the prosecutors asking for that was the Chief Prosecutor of the National Court, the one “fired“ two weeks ago. </p> <p>Interesting, huh? </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk/2006/02/15/title~564895/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk,2006-02-02:/2006/02/03/a_big_worker_against_eta~529797/missymml2006-02-03T00:55:07+01:002006-02-03T00:55:07+01:00 <p>Lots and lots of years ago, but already a bunch of years into democracy, a very important socialist, who was vice prime-minister at the time, said: "Montesquieu is dead".</p> <p>Yesterday, the State General Attorney announced that Mr. Foungairiño, Chief Attorney of the National Court (a special Court for terrorism, drug, and big economic crimes) had quitted due to personal reasons. SGA is a kind of link between the Government and Attorneys.</p> <p>It was later found out that the reasons hadn´t been personal at all. The SGA had called the CA and had let him choose: he got to either sign a letter that was already written, obviously not by him (the letter that talked about "personal reasons"), or a discipline proceeding would be opened against him because of some actions of the National Court regarding Al-Qaeda prisioners.</p> <p>Today, after his earlier lie had been reported even by the Government-friendliest newspaper,the SGA answered that his patience had a limit and that there has to be a unity of action in the whole justice system.</p> <p><strong>I can see the point there.</strong> I wonder also though, where lies the limit between unity of action and justice control by the Government.</p> <p>However he may have made other mistakes, the now former Chief Attorney has always stood firm against terrorism, may it be nationalist terrorism or state terrorism. He was one of the <em>Iron Attorneys </em>who refused to give up the investigation of state crimes against ETA terrorists in the 80s (the GAL murders). So it´s understandable that neither the socialists nor ETA are so fond of him. As a matter of fact, only a few days ago, a pro-ETA newspaper strongly criticized the National Court, probably because of its role in trying to prevent ETA-Congress two weeks ago. I´d like to think the Government isn´t as weak as to obey to every tiny order from ETA.</p> <p>Strength against terrorism is so out of fashion. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk/2006/02/03/a_big_worker_against_eta~529797/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk,2006-01-31:/2006/01/31/kabhi_kushi_kabhi_gum_sometimes_laugher_~521304/missymml2006-01-31T01:08:11+01:002006-01-31T01:09:14+01:00 <p>Sorry if the spelling is wrong, I have absolutely no idea of hindi.</p> <p><img src="/img/smilies/icon_cry.gif" alt=":'(" class="middle" border="0"> Just a quick note to send my condolences to the relatives and friends of the many dead in Katowice. My love to the Polish people, whom I really admire.</p> <p><img src="/img/smilies/icon_cry.gif" alt=":'(" class="middle" border="0"> My condolences also to the relatives and friends of the five women who died on a bus accident in the East of Spain due to the bad (and by that I mean BAD) weather conditions and bus driver´s serious negligence.</p> <p><img src="/img/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif" alt=":D" class="middle" border="0"> On a brighter note, congratulations to all of the people in the warmer areas of Spain who have seen snow for the first time in who knows how many years. And yet, only half an inch in my town in the mountains <img src="/img/smilies/icon_cry.gif" alt=":'(" class="middle" border="0"></p> <p><img src="/img/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif" alt=":D" class="middle" border="0"> Congratulations too to the winners of the Goya, the Spanish Oscars. If you´re curious as to Spanish movies, this is some of the best done last year:</p> <p><em><strong>Secret life of words</strong></em>, by Isabel Coixet (Barcelona, 1960), 4 Goyas (Best film, best director, best original script, and best production)<br> <em><strong>Princesses</strong></em>, by Fernando León (Madrid, 1968), 3 Goyas (Best main and revelation actress, best original song).<br> <em><strong>Camarón</strong></em>, by Jaime Chávarri (Madrid, 1943), 3 Goyas (Best main actor and two technical awards)<br> <em><strong>Tapas</strong></em>, by José Corbacho (Barcelona, 1965) and Juan Cruz (no data on him), 2 Goyas (Best supporting actress and best novel director).<br> <em><strong>The Method</strong></em>, by Marcelo Piñeyro (Buenos Aires, 1953), 2 Goyas (Best supporting actor and best adapted script).<br> <em><strong>Ninette</strong></em>, by José Luis Garci (Madrid, 1944), 2 Goyas (Best artistic direction and some other technical stuff). But I still love him the most <img src="/img/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="middle" border="0"><br> <em><strong>Habana Blues</strong></em>, by Benito Zambrano (Sevilla, 1964), 2 Goyas (Best soundtrack).<br> <em><strong>7 virgins</strong></em>, by Alberto Rodríguez (Sevilla, 1971), 1 Goya (Best revelation actor).<br> <em><strong>Fragile</strong></em>, by Jaume Balagueró (Lleida, 1968), 1 Goya (Best special effects). This is the one starring Calista Flockhart (filmed in English).<br> <em><strong>Obaba</strong></em>, by Montxo Armendáriz (Navarra, 1949), 1 Goya (Best sound edition). This film will go to the Oscars.<br> <em><strong>Match Point</strong></em>, by... well, you know him. Best European film.<br> <em><strong>Lighted by the fire</strong></em>, by Tristan Bauer (Mar de la Plata, Argenitna, 1959), 1 Goya (Best film in Spanish). I think there´s always this difference made between Spanish films and films in Spanish to give South American movies the chance to get an award too. And in this case, the Best movie couldn´t have gotten Best film in Spanish award, since it was shot in English.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk/2006/01/31/kabhi_kushi_kabhi_gum_sometimes_laugher_~521304/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk,2006-01-27:/2006/01/27/who_says_catalonia_hasnat_bigger_problem~510907/missymml2006-01-27T15:34:07+01:002006-01-27T15:34:07+01:00 <p>Exactly one year ago, in a neighbourhood in Barcelona, a huge hole 18 meters wide and 35 meters deep appeared out of nowhere, probably due to a negligence in the underground works. </p> <p>Almost 1.300 people had to leave their homes and/or schools. One year later, 249 haven´t been able to go back home and are still living in hotels, rented appartaments and such. </p> <p>After it all happened, the regional government was quite strongly critized by the opposition, which had ruled until two years before. But the regional president mentioned that the problem the opposition had was called “3%“ und, suddenly, it all went hush-hush. During the following weeks, it seemed ones or the others would unveil a whole scheme of corruption related to payments done to the government (3% of the costs) by business wanting to be chosen to do public works. </p> <p>But the unveiling didn´t happen. And most media helped keeping it very low profile.</p> <p><tt>#</tt><tt>#</tt><tt>#</tt><tt>#</tt><tt>#</tt>####</p> <p>A little literature will help</p> <p>There is this novel in Spain, about a boy that guides a blind man and is forced to try and cheat him to survive. It´s called Lazarillo de Tormes. </p> <p>One of the short stories in the novel is when the boy and the blind guy were sharing a few grapes. They had agreed to take only one at a time, in turns. Then, the blind guy started taking two at a time, and the boy, three. </p> <p>The blind guy began to hit the boy, accusing him of stealing. The boy asked how did he know he was stealing, and he answered: </p> <p>«Because I stole too and you didn´t complain».</p> <p><tt>#</tt><tt>#</tt><tt>#</tt><tt>#</tt><tt>#</tt>####</p> <p>Those people away from their homes aren´t been given the due attention in the media. As a matter of fact, yesterday, one year before the aniversary, one Catalan newspaper had as a headline: “The underground will arrive in the Carmel –the neighbourghood–“. </p> <p>Is that the most important thing happening?</p> <p>Why are they so intent on hiding the governments failures?</p> <p>Would the same thing have happened if the inhabitants of that neighbourhood weren´t mostly people from other parts of Spain?</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk/2006/01/27/who_says_catalonia_hasnat_bigger_problem~510907/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk,2006-01-26:/2006/01/26/historical_rights~507949/missymml2006-01-26T16:45:56+01:002006-01-26T16:45:56+01:00 <p>I had forgotten to mention that on Saturday, on the demonstration, there was another very interesting guy, the leader of an organisation that tries to promote freedom in choosing a language in Catalonia (i.e. defends parents who want their children to be tought in Spanish).</p> <p>He talked about the “historical rights“ behind the claims of Catalan and Basque nationalism. He said that the leader of one of Catalonia´s most nationalist parties, parter of both regional and national government, had said that “historical rights are unquestionable“, but to what do they give right “is open to discussion“. Can`t find a link to it, sorry guys.</p> <p>That´s the quote as I remember it. Now my interpretation on its meaning:</p> <p>1) If those rights were really historical, it must be because they have existed sometime, therefore giving the Basque/Catalan people right to something concrete. We must then conclude that they haven´t existed in the past, and, as they don´t exist now as such, they have never existed</p> <p>2) Nationalists have found their golden egg hen. Everytime they want something, they claim it is their historical right. They discuss it, get the most they can, and drop it until next time they want something.</p> <p>The guy speaking gave another interesting explanation: the historical rights, according to nationalists, are a reference to the past “as it should have been“, as they want it to be now, or in the future. Therefore, what they call a return to the perfect past, the paradise lost they once had, is, as a matter of fact, a return to the future as they want it. Historical rights aren´t historical. They aren´t even rights. </p> <p>Since when does an Utopia give you right to anything? </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk/2006/01/26/historical_rights~507949/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk,2006-01-26:/2006/01/26/demonstration_last_saturday_ideas~506392/missymml2006-01-26T01:02:24+01:002006-01-26T01:02:24+01:00 <p>More info on the organization behind the demonstration last Saturday <a href="http://www.foroermua.com">here</a> (available in English and French too)</p> <p><strong>Carmen Gurruchaga </strong>(journalist who has investigated a lot on ETA terrorism and its links with Basque nationalism): "We defend the reform of the electoral law so nationalist parties aren´t overrepresented". Electoral law in Spain gives parlamentary representation to parties who get many votes in a region, even if their votes are less than 5% of the total.</p> <p><strong>Inaki Ezquerra </strong>(speaker of the organization): the reason behind doing the demonstration in this region (Navarra) is that "is a perfect example of how to combine democracy with the <em>fueros</em>, spanishness and equality with <em>navarranness</em>. Navarra and its <em>fueros</em> represent an example of loyalty to democracy, to Spain and the Spaniards". The region Navarra was the last one to rejoin Spain after the Muslim invasion. Therefore, it has a strong identity and some regional power more ("fuero") but the only nationalism there is the one coming from the Basque country, as far as I know there is no "Navarran nationalism".</p> <p><strong>Mikel Azurmendi </strong>(founder of the organization): "Nationalisms, far from accepting regional autonomy, have used the regional system unfaithfully to work on the destruction of Spain as a common political enviroment of action, law, history and life together".</p> <p><strong>Jaime Ignacio del Burgo </strong>(regional MP): "unsupportive and exclusive nationalisms" are trying "to give a definitive blow to the unity of Spain, or, at least, to give it an expiration date. Two years ago ETA was agonizing" and he wondered what has happened, since today victims feel "humilliated": "They have found a government ready to accept that Catalonia and Basque country are a nation. Acts like this are necesary to keep alive the flame of democratic resistance".</p> <p><strong>Mikel Buesa </strong>(president of the organization, son of a politican killed by ETA): "freedom, equality and solidarity are under attack. Spain isn´t only an abstraction. The Constitution isn´t obsolete. In this confusing times we are living, it is necessary a clear policy that denies that nationalist proyects are going to make our standard of life better, and that says that the socialist government has gone to far giving in in front of the nationalists. The Spanish government can´t be a doll in the hands of nationalists".</p> <p>The two <strong>speakers of the youth movement </strong>of the organization honored the victims of terrorism reading aloud the names of the 40 persons killed by ETA in Navarra. They asked to Government "not to negotiate with our future, to face ETA and that the rules of the game are imposed" (in reference to the act, behind which was ETA, called for that same evening). "To allow congresses of terrorist organisations is the biggest sign of scorn and treson". "The victims of terrorismo will keep talking about terrorism, silence is the evil that makes oblivion of the victims possible. We won´t be silent". They said that after reminding that some people don´t want that the victims of terrorism talk about terrorism. "That would mean the only ones allowed to talk about terrorism would be the terrorists themselves".</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk/2006/01/26/demonstration_last_saturday_ideas~506392/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk,2006-01-23:/2006/01/23/title~497144/missymml2006-01-23T01:17:38+01:002006-01-23T01:17:38+01:00 <p>Well, went to Pamplona, back in one piece. After all, the only real trouble were the ten hours (all togehter) in a bus (shouldn´t have been a problem, must be getting old) and the wisdom teeth fighting with the rest of my mouth <img src="/img/smilies/icon_confused.gif" alt=":-/" class="middle" border="0"></p> <p>The two buses from Madrid got there half an hour before the beginning of the demonstration. We were a little disappointed because there were very few people there at the time. By the time it all began we were around 2.500 according to the Police (obviously I didn´t have much perspective). </p> <p>Of course much smaller than the one that took place in Madrid in November, but one´s got to consider that Pamplona is a small city quite up north, whereas Madrid is really in the middle... Honestly, I also think fear had something to do with it. Basque nationalism is getting a stronger hold (can´t understand why if they want to annexionate it to Basque Country) and I guess it´s not that easy to get on the street. After all, they live there.</p> <p>I was also surprised by the different atmosphere there. Gotta admit it was funnier in Madrid (cheering, shouting, even some singing, that kind of stuff). There we only clapped whenever we liked something that was said (quite often, btw). There were very interesting people speaking. Tomorrow I´ll try and summarize the most interesting ideas.</p> <p>There were lots of flags. I love seeing Spanish flags, even if it´s frowned upon (or specially because of that). There were also flags from all the different regions of Spain, and signs like "There is only one nation" "Constitution=Equality" "Yes to Catalonia, No to its Government" "For equality and solidarity"...</p> <p>Two bad things though, from two different extremes of the political bow:</p> <p>-As usual, there was a group of falangists (not accurate, but "former Franco supporters" for those not familiar with it) using every occasion they get to play their own game, using the demonstration to their own means.</p> <p>-Afterwards, a group of three or four ETA simpatizers attacked a young man who came from the demosntration still with a small flag on his sleeve. They ripped it off and ran away, probably ´cause the police was coming. Good thing, this people aren´t known for being pacific.</p> <p>Tomorrow some more. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk/2006/01/23/title~497144/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk,2006-01-20:/2006/01/20/what_a_weekend~487899/missymml2006-01-20T01:04:01+01:002006-01-20T01:04:01+01:00 <p>Gotta admit I´m kind of nervous today. We are facing an interesting weekend. </p> <p>Personally, I´m going to Pamplona (Sanfermines? ring a bell?) to take part in a demonstration. I´m not much of a demonstration person, hate crowds, but this isn´t my first time. I´ve gone to another couple this year, but they´ve all been quite/very pacific.</p> <p>This one is my first one out of Madrid. And Pamplona is almost like Basque Country or Catalonia. Basque nationalism runs quite strong in some sectors there, since it has always wanted to make Pamplona´s region a part of the "free and great" Basque Country (it´s already taught like that in some schoolbooks, alongside a part of France). So, not much of a nice place to demonstrate for the unity and solidarity of the whole of Spain. There are usually counter-demonstrations with not so nice results.</p> <p>And I´m afraid. I´m bad at running if it gets to that. But I feel I have to go to support all the people who get up everyday, look under the car to see if there is a bomb there and go to work closely followed by their bodyguards, some times to face insults and attacks from extreme nationalists. </p> <p>They´re afraid too, because, even if terrorists ain´t killing now (trying to look nicer), they haven´t stopped spreading terror. And their victims face violence and humilliation every day to defend their ideas. And on Saturday I´m going to be there for them. It´s easy to demonstrate in Madrid. But one´s got to have guts and go where it´s more needed.</p> <p>And Saturday, the terrorists and their supporters are bound to be angry and wanting to fight. Batasuna, the party which is a part of ETA and was illegalized some years ago, had organised a congress in the Basque country (yeah, being illegal). Because of some dark reason I´d rather not know, no one did a thing in weeks to prevent it. </p> <p>As a matter of fact, members of the government said things like "It can´t be so, Batasuna was illegalised, and therefore doesn´t exist" or "The fact that the party was illegalised doesn´t take away its members´ right to gather together" or "The law that illegalised them was too harsh" (only a year ago the prime minister was showing off how that law had been his idea and the then-governing Popular Party had only agreed to it).</p> <p>Can you imagine any politician in any western country saying something like that about any group linked with Al-Qaeda, for instance?</p> <p>Finally, earlier this week, the State General Attorney wrote a paper suggesting it should get prevented, and a National Court judge prolonged an already finished two-year-long order to stop all the "party"´s activities. Their offices have been closed. However, they´re much quicker than politicians: they have already anonymously summonned demonstrations and other acts. Probably some will go to Pamplona too. I´ll tell you how the "meeting" goes.</p> <p>And... this weekend the looong negotiation of the Catalan autonomy law is supposed to come to an end. Coincidence? The opposition party has been very stronly criticized for suggesting that the government´s relationships with Catalan nationalists and Basque terrorist were linked together. </p> <p>But today, it was president of Catalonia and member of the same party as the national government, who said that the prime minister Zapatero will be the one from whom "it´ll be said that he solved the Catalan and Basque problem". Aaaall together. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk/2006/01/20/what_a_weekend~487899/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk,2006-01-11:/2006/01/11/when_the_military_talk~460036/missymml2006-01-11T01:21:52+01:002006-01-11T01:23:03+01:00 <p>... it sure can be an earthquake.</p> <p>Lieutenant General José Mena Aguado gave an speech last Friday during the celebration of a military holiday. I was waiting to see if I could get a few clear ideas about it all to present to you, but, since I don´t and it´s almost being a week, here I am.</p> <p>First of all, what did he say? Something like the following (mistakes in translation are all mine): "Luckily, the Constitution sets a group of unbreakable limits for every autonomy law (estatuto). If those limits were crossed, something that nowadays luckily seems unthinkable, article 8. of the Constitution could be applied: the Armed Forces (...) have as their mission to guarantee the souberanity and independence of Spain, to defend its integrity and the constitutional system".</p> <p>Many people are furious about those words, some of them accusing the Lt. General of promoting a coup d´etat. Many others agree with the message but frown quite a lot upon the fact that a member of the military talks politics, something forbidden in every democracy. And then some small groups (probably bigger than they ought to be) are quite content with both content and speaker. Of course, that´s not a real statistic, just the result of my trying to have open ears about the general feeling around me.</p> <p>Because of his words, Lt. General is serving a eight-day-long house arrest sentence, and the government is likely to approve his discharge next Friday, about two months before his retirement.</p> <p>I´m no expert in military protocol or law, but I can offer you my feelings on it:</p> <p>- I´m frustrated that the situation has gotten to this.</p> <p>- I´m worried about what may come of this: in only four days, fifty other military people have sent a letter to the media supporting Lt. General Mena. Two centuries of history show us that such a thing usually comes is a consequence of a previous bad situation and leads to no good.</p> <p>- I´m confused about the meaning of "talking politics". I have always understood that it meant no member of the military is allowed to support/criticize any party. I believe in any normal democratic country, the Constitution is above any political fight. Therefore, quoting the Constitution´s solution to a hypothetical problem is hardly talking politics. Some other military big fish have done it with absolutely no consequences (least of all disciplinary) for them.</p> <p>- I´m curious about the reaction gotten from the socialist party and its nationalist partners and/or friends. From my point of view, they are not only hurt by the fact that those words were spoken by a Lt. General, but also by the words themselves. Fair enough, they have every right to be. But why? If the Catalan autonomy law they are trying to get approved is as Constitution-friendly as they want to convince us, why should they worry?</p> <p>- I´m confident. In my opinion the above-mentioned law doesn´t fit within the constitutional order. But that´s not the point. I´m not confident because I think the military are going to sublevate, or attack Catalonia or any other madness. I´m confident because I think it´s not going to happen. Firstly, I really do believe the General was speaking only hypothetically. Warningly as to where the situation can go, but hypothetically. Secondly, if something really were brewing among the ranks, why risking it by warning public opinion? </p> <p>- I deeply respect men who can risk their retirement from a successful carrer to defend their ideas. </p> <p>Anyway, I love men in uniform. But, not to make things worse, they´d rather shut up and look for other less polemical ways of letting their opinions be known by those who can do something about it. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk/2006/01/11/when_the_military_talk~460036/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk,2005-12-08:/2005/12/08/i_love_catalonia~369476/missymml2005-12-08T02:25:26+01:002005-12-08T02:25:26+01:00 <p>Mr. Ian Llorens, in his two comments to this blog, seems quite worried that I intent to discredit Catalans, mislead by radical right-wing media.</p> <p>First of all, he is right in one thing: it´s been ages since I was in Catalonia. But don´t worry, I have nothing against Catalans. As a matter of fact, most of my family on my father´s side comes from Catalonia. Should I sign with my Catalan surname so you would be less worried? I know people and have friends from Catalonia, and I have no trouble at all with them. We disagree, sometimes quite strongly, when we speak politics, and that´s all. We all know the other isn´t "radical".</p> <p>One of my regrets in life is that I don´t speak Catalan, which is a really beautifully sounding language.</p> <p>Because of all of those reasons, my aim never was to discredit Catalans. I think Catalans are hard working people with much experience about citizen engagement in society. I´m really sorry if I gave you that feeling, but am completely lost about the reasons. I did criticize Catalan politicians. But if you criticized Mr. Aznar, Mr. Zapatero o Mr. Rajoy would I feel discredited only because they´re not Catalans like me and you´re criticizing them. I get sick to my stomach when, if someone attacks Catalan politicians, they´re against Catalonia. </p> <p>Didn´t we criticize Mr. Aznar when he said people who demonstrated against the Irak war were "against Spain"? Don´t we criticize Mr. Bush when he says people against that very same war are "against America"? Didn´t we criticize Mr. Franco (the dictator, not the journalist) when he said that democrats were "against Spain"? Well, I didn´t, but only because I wasn´t born back then.</p> <p>I feel not only discredited, but attacked too though, when one of the parties in the regional government organizes an act in which people are invited to tear a page of the Constitution. A Constitution, may I remind you, that was approved in a Referendum in the whole country, including Catalonia. That (the tearing-a-page thing) reminds a little too closely to burning books, don´t you think?</p> <p>I do worry when I read in an official document from the regional government that shops get fines if, among other reasons, their signs are in Spanish, which is as much a official language as Catalan in Catalonia. If you went to Sevilla, Valladolid, or Madrid, and had a shop with the sign in Catalan, do you think that would be a problem, even if Catalan isn´t a official language there? Some morons may have a problem with it, but surely you wouldn´t get investigated by the police.</p> <p>I do worry when I see statistics according to which 47% of the children spoke only Spanish in their families ten years ago, but only 1% of them got only-Spanish education, and only 18% of them got bilingual education. That means 34% of the children were forced to learn only in Catalan when they only spoke Spanish at home. Somehow, I don´t think that situation has gotten any better since then. </p> <p>You speak about defending your language and your culture. I´m sorry to tell you, there are two languages in Catalonia. And not because the Constitution says so, but because many people living in Catalonia don´t speak Catalan as their mother language. "Inmersion policy", promoting (when not forcing) that children only speak Catalan at school, is as bad as Franco´s policy of forcing kids to only speak Spanish. And when I say "as bad", I mean the totalitarian goal is as bad, not the means used (although I have my doubts about the legitimacy of the regional government´s means).</p> <p>You are right about something else though. I have to go back sometime to Catalonia. Those mountains, those beaches and Gaudi are worth it. Maybe then you can invite me to some bread, tomato and ham.</p> <p>PS.- Sorry about the mistakes today, my English dictionary is in the room where my grandma is sleeping. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk/2005/12/08/i_love_catalonia~369476/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk,2005-12-02:/2005/12/02/overview~355298/missymml2005-12-02T17:23:45+01:002005-12-02T17:23:45+01:00 <p>Oh God, has it really been so long since I last posted? I´m sorry, I had three really hectic weeks at work, including two weekends out of town. </p> <p>And have to leave town again in half an hour (luckily, this time it isn´t work-related). So today I´ll write a short summary of all that has been going on in this corner of the world. Only a sketch, of course.</p> <p>1) November the 12th there was a huge demonstration in Madrid against the government´s Education reform. Madrid´s regional government talked about 1,5 million people, the organizers, about 2 million. National government and friendly media... "some hundred thousand". Couldn´t be there (work, remember?), but my family were. They said it was wonderful to see that many people on the street in a great festive atmosphere, without any violence.<br> Why were they protesting. As a last resort. The government has been preparing a law since last July at least, and it contains aspects against which more parents are. It allowed students to pass grades with up to four failed subjects, students could decide when they don´t want to have class, it allowed that the different regions had completely different systems and contents, and it made it more difficult than ever to take your children to a private or semiprivate school.<br> A few organisations had tried to meet with the Prime Minister Zapatero since July, with no results. They had presented 3 million signatures, with no results. At last, the demonstration had some small effects: the government agreed to meet with the organisers, and promised a negotiation. A week later, the negotiation was broke again by most organisations, claiming the government only wanted some make-up and wasn´t willing to offer them anything else. A couple of organisations kept negotiating (they had been the last ones to join the demonstration) and at the end got more money for religious schools and some minor changes. But better than that nothing.</p> <p>2)Zapatero met with Mr. Barroso, from the EU. Very few days later the EU decided that they should give the government back the power to decide about the buy from an energy business by another energy business controled by the Catalan savings bank, which is very closely related to the Catalan regional government. Said government owns the bank a lot of money which the bank doesn´t seem to want bank, as long as they can get political help instead. They need it because the buy of the energy business creates a huge concentration in the sector and has to be allowed by the government. It was later discovered that the EU Comissioner in charge of the decission had written two documents, one claiming for the EU the right to decide, and one giving it to the Spanish government.</p> <p>3)Catalan regional government (with the help of the Catalan section of the opposition party PP, I must ashamedly acknowledge) wants the Catalan Audiovisual Council to decide what is true and what is false in media information, and what is and isn´t against the Constitution. This council was originally created to control stuff such as adult programms in day-time tv programming and such. There are courts (regular courts and the constitutional court) whose role is to decide about the truth, falseness, etc. Creating special, parallel "courts" which depend on the government is completely against democracy.</p> <p>4) To let it be known to the EU Institutions, 9 journalist signed earlier this week a document to be presented to the EU Parliament (one of whose functions is to listen to such queries coming from citizens), asking it to probe it and stop it. In four days, more than 200.000 people have signed it. I think any European citizen can sign it, but I am not sure. Whoever wants to only has to write an email to <a href="mailto:buzondeloyente@cope.es">buzondeloyente@cope.es</a> with name, surname, and ID number or passport number. Say you are from another country and ask if it is allowed to include you.</p> <p>5)The first day the document could be signed, five members (including two members of parliament) from the radical nationalist party which is partner of the socialist in Catalonia and national government went to the main door of the main place where the document could be signed, to insult and intimidate the qeue of people who was there waiting.</p> <p>Sorry I can´t tell you more. I have to leave now. More next week. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk/2005/12/02/overview~355298/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk,2005-12-02:/2005/12/02/i_got_this_comment_in_my_email_frome_som~355204/missymml2005-12-02T16:54:02+01:002005-12-02T16:54:02+01:00 <p>Am reading your blog for the first time properly and it strikes that people have just gone mad in Spain (I'm an Indian living in England). I can see how potentially (read: purely theoretically) the greater autonomy could be a good thing, but don't you think things have escalated so much under the banner of acquiring autonomous freedom, that people are failing to step back, be rational and analyse the situation with a clear head. If they were to do that, they would realise it was ludicrous!</p> <p>By the way, there is NOTHING on this in the english press. i would be hard pressed to find one person of 1000 who knows what is going on in Spain right now? </p> <p>A shame, isn´t it?</p> <p>Pratik</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk/2005/12/02/i_got_this_comment_in_my_email_frome_som~355204/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk,2005-11-06:/2005/11/06/the_parlament_is_open_to_discuss_a_law_a~287914/missymml2005-11-06T21:07:01+01:002005-11-06T21:07:01+01:00 <p>Hello everybody!</p> <p>Sorry for the delay. A busy schedule has kept me from updating during the week, but look! Two posts today.</p> <p>First of all, last Wednesday the National Parlament decided to accept new project for a Catalonian autonomy law. The voting was preceded by a 12-hour long discussion where the Popular Party (the main in the opposition) was the only one which was for rejecting the project without discussing it. Their reason was that a law project which contains aspects against the Constitution shouldn´t be discussed until it is reformed enough by the Catalonian Parlament which approved it.</p> <p>It is not that they are the only ones who think the project goes against the Constitution. The Socialist Party refused to ask a couple of national organisms for their opinion, and chose instead to ask a group of experts selected <em>ad hoc </em> by them, who want the law approved. And even those experts said some aspects of it were openly against the Constitution.</p> <p>Some of those aspects are:<br> - It proclaims Catalonia to be a nation, with all that implies, for instance that the power to govern doesn´t come from Spain as a whole but from Catalonia.</p> <p>- It proclaims Spain to be a "plurinational State", where the Constitution says that Spain is the "common and undividable homeland of all the Spaniards".</p> <p>- It creates new institutions, parallel to the nationwide ones, which would have no authority over them, for instance a new Catalonian Supreme Court and a Constituional Court, sort of.</p> <p>- It says that all the taxes collected in Catalonia belong to the Catalonian government, which will decide what they´ll give to the rest of Spain. Now, the regions distribute the money from some taxes, and the national government distributes other taxes so there is a national perspective of distribution where it is more needed. If that were to be approved, the social system in the poorest regions of Spain would suffer.</p> <p>- The Catalonian politicians don´t want the national government to have anything to do with their decissions, but they want to take part in the national government´s decissions, even if they don´t affect Catalonia. For instance, Catalonia can prevent a member of the Constituional Court from being elected, a water transfer being made between two rivers which don´t flow through Catalonia, or any other economical measure being taken that can help any other part of the country.</p> <p>- The new autonomy law strongly supports the use of Catalonian instead of Spanish, whereas, according to the Constitution, both languages are coofficial and equal, and everybody has the right to speak any of them.</p> <p>Bayond all that, the autonomy law shows a really strong interventionism. I haven´t been able to read the whole of it yet, but I heard a journalist say that it even says something about the use of their free time Catalonian people must do. I´ll try to check it out.</p> <p>The discussion in the Parlament was a shame. It was fourteen against one, because some parties were able to have two or three speakers. The Catalonian Parlament sent three speakers from three different parties which afterwars had another speaker speaking. All that was according to the law but I found it very unfair. </p> <p>And most of the speakers used their time to attack the Popular Party´s speaker instead of answering what he had said about the law bill. The choice of topics was so wide as: the Inquisition, the Civil War, Franco, the regional policy during the first years of Aznar´s government, Irak War and the 11-M bombings.</p> <p>Rajoy, the Popular Party speaker, pointed out to something really interesting: some months ago, the Basque Parlament sent to the Congress another autonomy law bill, some aspects of which were also clearly against the Constitution, and that was the reason this very same Congress rejected to take it into consideration. What has changed now? </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk/2005/11/06/the_parlament_is_open_to_discuss_a_law_a~287914/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk,2005-11-01:/2005/11/02/interesting_link~277070/missymml2005-11-02T00:27:48+01:002005-11-02T00:28:29+01:00 <p>My favourite Spanish online paper has an English version here: <a href="http://www.spainherald.com">www.spainherald.com</a> Enjoy! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://whats-up-in-spain.blog.co.uk/2005/11/02/interesting_link~277070/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>