Wish you a happy 2009

Happy New Year 2009: I wish you all love and freedom.

Lula contra la redistribución de pérdidas

El coste de la crisis no puede repartirse si no se repartió la ganancia.

Lula da Silva, II Encuentro Empresarial Brasil-Unión Europea (22/12/2008)

Totalmente de acuerdo con esta negación. Se llama coherencia, de la cual la mayoría de los políticos no ha oído hablar.

Sin embargo, esta negación es incompleta. Yo digo No a la redistribución de pobreza propugnada por el socialismo, sean ganancias o pérdidas. Es ineficiente, injusta, inútil e ineficaz.

Fuera el Estado entrometido, fuera los gobernantes que salvan a sus amigotes y resuelven su desastrosa gestión con dinero de los contribuyentes. Arriba el Mercado, porque el Mercado (que no el Estado) somos todos los ciudadanos.

Feliz Navidad.

ACA exam-qualified!

I am pleased to announce that I have passed all my ACA exams as of yesterday!! Hurray!!

Now I am going and find my name (in tiny font) in the FT. Hehe.

Love and freedom.

Fábula del auditor y el pastor de ovejas

Estaba un hombre dando de pastar a su rebaño de ovejas, cuando de repente aparece por el inhóspito camino una camioneta Navigator 4×4 full equip.
Se detiene frente al viejito y se baja un chaval de no más de 30 años. Traje negro “Armani”, camisa blanca “Hugo Boss” y zapatos “DKNY”; se acerca al viejo y le dice:
- Señor, si yo le adivino cuántas ovejas tiene ud. en su rebaño, ¿me regala una?
El viejo responde con algo de asombro:
- Sí, cómo no.
Entonces el joven vuelve a su 4×4 y saca una Toshiba Trío Tecra 9000 Pentium VII a 4.5Ghz con 1TB de RAM. Se conecta a la Red de Redes, baja una base de datos de 900 MB. Entra a una página de la NASA, mediante un satélite identifica la zona exacta de donde está el rebaño, calcula el promedio histórico del tamaño de una oveja tipo “Merina” mediante una tabla dinámica de Excel y, con la ejecución de algunas Macros personalizadas en Visual Basic, logra completar el diagrama de flujo. Después de tres horas le responde al viejo:
- Usted tiene 1347 ovejas, 256 machos y 1091 son hembras y 104 pueden estar embarazadas.
El viejo asintió y le dijo que efectivamente, así era, y que se podía llevar una oveja. El joven tomó una y la cargó en su 4×4. Estaba por irse, cuando el viejo lo detuvo y le preguntó:
- Disculpe, pero si yo llegase a adivinar cuál es su profesión, ¿Ud. me devuelve mi oveja?
El joven le dijo sonriente:
- Seguro, hombre - mientras abría la puerta de su 4X4 para marcharse.
El viejo entonces contestó: - Usted es Auditor.
El joven, sorprendido completamente, dijo: - ¡Exacto! ¿Cómo se dio cuenta?
El viejo le respondió: - Por 4 razones.
- Primero, por ser un chulo vacilón;
- Segundo, vino sin que yo le llamara;
- Tercero, me cobró por decirme algo que yo ya sabía;
- Y cuarto, se nota que no tiene ni idea del negocio. ¡Devuélvame a mi perro!

(via Javier Ruiz)

Spanish MPs' ignorance

Most citizens think that the government and the politicians should take care of the Nation because: a, that is why we pay them; and b, that they know more than the average citizen. Ja-ja-ja (sad laugh).

As the sarcastic interviews of TV program CQC show (surprisingly this time teasing non-PP politicians), the Spanish Members of Parliament (MPs) and many other politicians are plainly ignorants and able only to use the rethoric in their own benefit and to hide their embarrassment.

Politicians' shameless behaviour will end up converting us all to agorism. Fight the politicians. Bin them all! A la calle todos!

(via Jorge Valin)

Meeting with Albert Esplugas

Last Sunday I had the pleasure to meet Albert Esplugas, proud blogger of RedLiberal. We had an interesting conversation over a drink at an elegant pub in Bayswater, London.

Albert is a tall, slender, young professional guy with a geeky hint in his talk who tries to write an average of two posts a day in his blog. Having born in Barcelona and sharing nowadays a life in London with his girlfriend, Albert loves chatting about philosophy and tasting new cocktails: he is afraid of neither being wrong or facing a new discovery. We talked about the metaphysics of the blog-sphere and about libertarian initiatives. I must admit that those two hours flew by and I am grateful that he accepted meeting a complete stranger which happened to be one of his readers.

Albert is currently having a great discussion with Citoyen about the general idea of redistribution of resources. In this post, they argue about the re-distribution of human organs. As I comment in his post:

Absorbing, bright debate. Well-mannered, intelligent discussions like this one refresh the hopes set on the potential of the blog-sphere. As I told you verbally, chapeau and congrats for your blog. The same to Citoyen. Keep up the good word.

Love and freedom.

Muslim terrorism in India

Lots of things are going on in the world around us at the minute, but unfortunately I can't find the time to discuss all of them in writing.

On Wednesday 26th of November 2008, some gunmen have attacked several spots in Mumbay (India), including luxury hotels, in what seems an orchestrated terrorist action. The attacks have been claimed by another Muslim terrorist group.

Muslims have a problem with their religion. That is something that everyone in the world but they know. But the issue for the non-muslims is that they are taking violence against the different to extreme limits and that their madness may impact our lives badly. The same way it did with the 100 dead people in Mumbay this week, or in Madrid in 2004, or in London the 7/7, or in NY in 2001. Fatally.

However, most terrorist acts don't change History. There are some that do, such as the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, that triggered the WWI, or the murder of the Member of the Spanish Parliament José Calvo Sotelo, which triggered the Spanish Civil War. But most terrorist attacks don't change History, just their victims' history. The show must go on and for them the victims that sucks.

Aware of the slow reaction and usual opposition to violence of normal citizens, terrorists try to generate terror in their target in order to achieve their aims. But nevertheless the terrorists also foster a violent response by the attacked society which would enable them to justify their terrorism. Terrorists hate and they are good at that, so they want everyone to learn to hate and to take part in their bloody game.

I was discussing the Mumbay shootings on Wednesday evening with an Indian workmate. Our company is a multi-cultural work place where staff from very different backgrounds treat each other as equals. Staff is very respectful with the difference as long as some common professional rules are kept. Considering that work culture and the fact that Hindu people are very pacific, I was shocked to listen the excited talk of my Indian workmate. He was calling for extreme measures agains the muslims while it was possible, before they were too powerful to be beaten, before any islamic terrorist group had the atomic bomb... he was calling for the erradication of the muslims. I felt very sad as I saw that muslim terrorists were accomplishing the objective of their terrorist attacks on Indian sole: they are making the Hindu people learn to hate. To hate the muslims. And that may be the beginning of yet another religious war, the most lethal type of war because it's utterly irrational. And the jihad the muslim extremist are always looking for following their reading of the Koran.

I am profoundly concerned. All this goes against:

Love and freedom.

XKCD cartoons

- What are you doing?
- Spinning counterclockwise. Each turn robs the planet of angular momentum, slowing its spin the tiniest bit, lengthening the night, pushing back the dawn, giving me a little more time here WITH YOU.
XKCD cartoons

A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language: http://xkcd.com (Via Neeral).

Two more Spanish soldiers killed in the Afghanistan war

Este es el coste de hacer prevalecer la libertad y la seguridad en los lugares del mundo donde no la hay. Por esto mantenéis a compatriotas nuestros allí, y [por esto] estaban también en la misión de reconstrucción en Iraq, de la que los sacasteis para llevároslos a Afganistán.

M. I., Dos soldados españoles asesinados por un ataque terrorista

Error, Yennego, estos dos soldados españoles han muerto en acción de guerra, puesto que es la técnica de guerrilla que usan los enemigos de la OTAN. De hecho ambos han sido condecorados con la medalla al Mérito Militar con distintivo rojo, distinción que se otorga a "personas que, con valor, hayan realizado acciones, hechos o servicios eficaces en el transcurso de un conflicto armado o de operaciones militares que impliquen o puedan implicar el uso de fuerza armada, y que conlleven unas dotes militares o de mando significativas".

Ataques terroristas se dan en tiempo de paz. Pero Afganistán está en guerra, y el ejército español está participando en una guerra.

My heart goes to the latest two Spanish soldiers killed in the Afghanistan war and their families. Thank you for your sacrifice.

Love and freedom.

How much is enough?

Catalan and Basque nationalism are creations of the late 19th century. They stem from industrialisation, which made these the richest regions in the country, taking in migrants from elsewhere in Spain. At the time the Spanish state, unlike its French counterpart, lacked the resources to integrate the country, says Antonio Elorza, a Basque political scientist at Madrid’s Complutense University. Otherwise Catalonia and the Basque country would have been as content within Spain as Languedoc and Brittany are within France.

Mike Reid, How much is enough?, The Economist (06/11/2008)

I usually read the two main London-based financial media: Financial Times and The Economist, two of the most influential economical media in the world, together with the Wall Street Journal. I prefer The Economist because of its more "laissez-faire" opinions but I have always been somewhat sceptical with their judgement on the Spanish politics (at least it does not favour openly the Spanish Socialist Party as the FT often does). However, this Saturday's Special Report by TheEconomist gifted us with an audacious and correct analysis of Spain's economical and political situation: The party is over.

One of the articles of the report, How much is enough?, on the Spanish devolution of power to the regions, is so extremely accurate that I called my housemate so we could read it and enjoy it together. I could not believe some Britons at last were considering the Spanish regional nationalisms as they actually are: selfish, parochial and irrational. Though it stated the observable, plain truth, it made me very happy that an unbiased foreigner had been able to point the nakedness of the emperor (i.e., the non-sense of the nationalists' requests) after having observed, been informed and checked their opinions.

Of course, the nationalists yelled with rage and called for apologies: they are pissed off because truth hurts and even more when it is told in such a fair, balanced and English manner. As the report's author Mike Reid says, the Catalan government was upset by the Catalan ex-president being called "cacique" (provincial political boss, a kind of Mafia boss without the killings) because it is true.

Love and freedom.

Andalucia: cortijo del PSOE

Welcome to Andalucia: PSOE's country estate. Bienvenidos a Andalucia: el cortijo del PSOE.

La tela de araña andaluza (Andalucia's cobweb)

Caso Chiclana

Love and freedom.

Comment to A. Esplugas' post

Para que luego digan que el "consumismo" es cosa del capitalismo. Capitalismo viene de capital, y el capital solo se obtiene ahorrando. Quienes promueven el vicio del consumismo, a costa del necesario ahorro que necesita acumular la economía para financiar su reestructuración y saneamiento, son keynesianos como Krugman. Que cada palo aguante su vela.
A. Esplugas, Krugman a favor del consumismo (31/10/2008)

My comment to Albert Esplugas' Krugman a favor del consumismo:

Simply put, Keynes' economic theory is welcomed by governments and policymakers of all countries because it gives them the chance to become even mightier, to control higher amounts of money and to appear as solvers of the problems they themselves help to create.

While agreeing to your post in principle, I'd propose a slight amendment: capital is a means of measuring the wealth and wealth is generated mainly by _working_, hardly maintained by _saving_ and multiplied by _investing_ it.

Love and freedom.

Going exam-crazy

Borja is "breaking his horns" studying. Honestly, I am going crazy with these two exams and I am sick of studying. But, two years ago when I opted to take the ACA qualification, I knew what I was getting into. It was my decision and I will fulfill it as a man. Just wish me good luck and if you want pray for me.

Love and freedom.

The Fourth Power: the media or the Nation?

Deslumbrante paradoja a la española: un presidente [J.L.Rodríguez Zapatero] que a duras penas puede hacer aprobar los PGE [Presupuestos Generales del Estado] por la minoría parlamentaria de que dispone, parece gozar de un poder sin parangón –superior incluso al de Franco desde el punto de vista económico-financiero. Controla el Ejecutivo, el Legislativo y el Judicial, que ha dejado de existir como poder independiente. Con los sindicatos por guardia de corps, se encama con la banca, mientras los dueños de los media –que esperan como agua de mayo su propio Plan de Rescate a lo Paulson- comen en su mano.
El Cuarto Estado y el Madrid bancario (El Confidencial, 19/10/2008)

Today's must-read: El Cuarto Estado y el Madrid bancario. Jesús Cacho at his best.

The political class (policimakers and regulators) may control the first Three Powers. The media may be the Fourth Power. But the Spanish Nation, i.e., the Spanish people, is the source of all sovereignity, of all Power. We decided that voting our 1978 Constitution. Why don't we exercise it?? Why do we let an oligarchy to control our destiny?

Why don't Spaniards realise that Spain got rid of the Francoist regime more than 30 years ago but PSOE is making Spain head for another corrupt socialist Regime?

Love and freedom.

The capitalist way to socialism

Si el siglo XX fue el de las grandes masacres en nombre de los distintos socialismos, el XXI empieza como el siglo del socialismo por consenso global con el equívoco nombre de capitalismo. De Estado, naturalmente. De Gobierno, se entiende. Liberticida, claro está.
If the 20th century was the one of the large massacres in the name of the various socialisms, the 21st century begins as the century of the socialism by global consensus and wrongly called capitalism.
Federico Jiménez Losantos, La vía capitalista al socialismo (El blog de Federico, 18/10/2008)

I fully agree with this post by Federico Jiménez Losantos. I was drafting a post in the same direction, but I keep delaying it because I have urgent work and study to do. I'd like as well to translate FJL's post into English if I have time, though I doubt it.

Love and freedom.

Neoprogs

[Para ser "neoprog"] Basta solamente con compartir una serie de objetivos básicos-la libertad, la igualdad, la justicia, la resistencia a la opresión, el progreso, la liberación mediante el conocimiento- y estar dispuesto a usar los medios más efectivos y razonables para lograrlos.
Citoyen, Neoprogs: Armados y Peligrosos (Blog: La ley de la Gravedad, 15/10/2008)

Los objetivos que según Citoyen definen a un "neoprog" podrían ser suscritos por casi cualquier ser humano de bien, así que se pueden usar para definir un grupo ideológico. Los problemas que una ideología intenta responder van más allá: la jerarquía de valores y objetivos, la relación entre ellos y la realidad y la técnica para que valores y realidad se acoplen y se puedan conseguir los objetivos. Hasta que Citoyen no indique la respuesta "neoprog" a estos problemas seguiré sin saber qué es un "neoprog".

Como decía, la definición de "neoprog" de Citoyen es muy genérica y, si bastara ser partidario de esas ideas para ser "neoprog", muchísima gente sería "neoprog". El problema es que a la mayoría de ellos no les gustaría que ser calificados de "izquierdistas". Por contra, sucede que muchos que se dicen de "izquierdas" no soportan realmente alguno de los objetivos que menciona Citoyen.

Reconozco que me irrita el engreimiento de muchos que se dicen de "izquierda" que se sienten moralmente superiores a los demás simplemente por decir las palabras mágicas: "soy de izquierdas". La mayoría de ellos ni siquiera se han parado a pensar qué significan esas palabras, pero eso no les impide pensar que la "derecha" no quiere ni acepta alguno o todos de los objetivos humanos mencionados arriba por Citoyen. Confío por lo menos que Citoyen no sea uno de ésos que me irritan y que no piense que sólo él y los que se dicen "neoprogs", "progresistas", "de izquierdas" o "socialdemócratas" son los únicos que desean conseguir esos objetivos humanos.

Nunca me han gustado las etiquetas "izquierda" ni "derecha"; son inexactas, maleables a gusto del consumidor y fáciles de falsear. Si tengo que elegir clasificaciones de ese tipo, el Nolan Chart se adecúa mejor a la complejidad de las ideologías.

Sin embargo, prefiero que uno llame por su nombre a lo que piensa: "trotkista", "cartesiano", "objetivista" o lo que le salga. Pero por lo menos que haya pensado algo y sepa qué diantres elige.

Por lo pronto, para mí, aquí y ahora, los valores supremos y su orden están claros.

Love and freedom.

Gomorra

I just got home from the Odeon cinema in Shaftesbury Avenue. My Italian colleague L. invited us to go and watch with him: Gomorra, according to some the best Mafia film since City of God.

L. approved the film and was happy because "it was a film that portrayed the Italian mafia as what they really are: a gang of camorristas".

There are three main groups of mafia in Italy: the Sicilian Mafia, the Napolitan Camorra and the Calabresi Ndrangueta. The fist one is the most popular because it extended its influence to the US and because of the Godfather film.

Gomorra is a film about the Napolitan Camorra, based on the book by Roberto Saviano. I think that the writer may have included himself in the book through the character Roberto, a simple guy who shakes his head and decides that such harming world is not for him.

Asked how Italy can solve this problem, L. reluctantly says that the first necessary move should be to oust one specific person from power: Silvio Berlusconi. Trying to dig further I reply that Italy did it once but the following government barely lasted one year because it was unstably supported by too many different parties. He shakes his head and says that every move by that government was booed on TV by all the stations under Berlusconi's control. Our directions in the Tube diverged and we postponed the rest of the conversation for the next time.

For various personal reasons I am interested in Italy so it will feature in more of my future posts. Now it's time to go to bed.

Love and freedom.

On bank liquidity and the credit crunch

La maliciosa campaña contra el oro, y contra el concepto de liquidez, es una característica de nuestros tiempos y de la ideología colectivista que manifiesta la llamada "macroeconomía". Pero aquellos que quieran entender qué es lo hace moverse al mercado –y al oro– deben recurrir a la "microeconomía", a la idea de liquidez y a su contraria, la iliquidez.
Professor Antal Fekete, Borrowing Short and Lending Long : Illiquidity and Credit Collapse (1984)

Back in 1984 Professor Antal Fekete wrote a must-read monograph for the Committee for Monetary Research and Education which forecast the credit crunch crisis the world's banking system is currently experiencing: Borrowing Short and Lending Long : Illiquidity and Credit Collapse (in Spanish). His great article explains clearly the reasons behind the crisis and the falseness of the 20th century liquidity theories.

According to Prof. Fekete, the banks have followed a catastrophic strategy of short-term debt and long-term investments with the blessings of the State and Central Banks in their search for greater profits. In order to hide the mistakes of this strategy and maintain the level of profit growth, the gold standard was abandoned and several false calculations of banks' liquidity were developed.

Other articles by Prof. Fekete can be found at his website.

Love and freedom.

Trip to the US

I'm flying to the US tomorrow morning. I am really excited. See you on my return!

Love and freedom.

Festival at Royal Opera House

Last Sunday I attended the Deloitte Ignite festival at the Royal Opera House with some friends.

With glorious sunshine at the Covent Garden Piazza we enjoyed the Random Dance show performed by Wayne McGregor and his group of up to 50 London and South East school children. A group of special needs children took part in the show and its valuable performance received the most warming applause from the crowd.

Apparently the festival achieved its goal of attracting a diverse audience into the Opera House, many visiting for their first time. Amongst the crowds were young and old, families and even an A-list celebrity. Oscar award-winning actress Nicole Kidman was seen exploring the festival. I met her in the bar just to say "Hi Nicole, catch you later" given the number of times I have seen her recently: we are in good terms. :-)

Love and freedom.

Forthcoming trip to NY

I am extremely busy these days googling budget hotels in the cities I'll visit during my trip to North-East America. My auntie will have the pleasure of enjoying my daily complaints and my nightly snores. We will sightsee and shop around in NY, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, for sure, and maybe will pop to any other smaller towns of the Thirteen Colonies.

My workmate D. is about to jump the pond as well to meet Middle America. He will set off from Denver and reach California after having wheeled through Texas and Las Vegas. I bet that is an exhausting road trip.

Love and freedom.

Chess boy

A freckled, black-haired, 5-year-old boy had his blue eyes wide open when his father brought him to his hometown's chess club. A back room at the local sports centre sheltered about 20 silent yet alert people playing chess. The boy noticed that everyone focussed on the games and ignored the shouts and cheering of indoors football players playing at the main court. Soon the magical atmosphere muffled the outside sounds and silence sunk in his ears: the boy didn't listen to anything or anyone. All he could do was seeing the chess boards repeated in his head: the image of the real board in his eyes and an imaginary board in his mind with pieces moving steadily but without stopping. That night the boy dreamt with being a chess champion one day.

I have played chess against my father since I can remember. As expected, he always beat me, but I didn't despair or get bored. I learnt to accept reality as it is and to adapt to it quickly in order to achieve my aims. One day, however, I found the way to make my father's king bite the dust. My father decided to sign me up to the chess club the following day.

The chess club rules didn't allow in children below seven year-old, but my father insisted and they let me have a test game with the chess teacher. I must have played a relatively good game for a 5-year-old kid because they accepted me and I found myself trotting to the chess club on my own every week for the next 3 years. I felt elated and grown-up during those short walks.

I haven't played chess since, but I'm resuming this old, wonderful hobby nowadays thanks to S. and A. Cheers, mates!

Love and freedom.

Request in Crónicas Bárbaras

Written a second comment at Molares' blog Crónicas Bárbaras, again due to a comment by Mr. Francesc. I have no personal issues against Mr. Francesc; in fact, I regard him as a capable, smart person and so I read what he writes critically: the same as I do with any other commentators as long as they are educated and well-mannered. I would ignore gross or ill-mannered comments.

Here it goes.

Buenas noches:

Aún cuando debería llevar algunas horas durmiendo ya, no quería faltar a mi cita con el blog del Sr. Molares y el subsiguiente debate entre Jeremías, Nemigo, Francesc, Irómeno y algún otro atrevido comentarista ocasional.

Querría leer la opinión del Sr. Francesc respecto a las afirmaciones de Irómeno. El comentario del Sr. Francesc está escrito en catalán (igual que Nemigo a veces escribe en gallego). España en un país libre y, mientras el dueño del blog no lo prohíba, cualquier comentarista puede escribir en el idioma que le plazca (a mí me gustaría escribir aquí en inglés). Sin embargo, yo no sé catalán (ni gallego) y me cuesta un poco de trabajo leer los comentarios en catalán del Sr. Francesc (y los de Nemigo en gallego). Si tuviera tiempo podría comprenderlos más o menos bien, pero temo no hacerlo con perfección.

Por eso les pido por favor que escriban en español. Obviamente esta petición sólo intenta facilitarme a mí la función de lector y los escritores (siendo personas) tienen derecho a no hacerle caso. Pero como lo importante es comunicarse, confío en que ustedes, que tienen la dicha de manejar dos idiomas y entre ellos uno que yo conozco, tengan el buen juicio de usar el idioma común para poder transmitir lo que quieren decir.

Muchas gracias de antemano.

Love and freedom.

The Dorchester Hotel

One of the 100 things you should not miss if you are so lucky to live in London is a high tea afternoon at an elegant hotel such as The Ritz or The Landmark. Today I have had the pleasure of enjoying the Dorchester High Tea at the famous marble and gilded Promenade at the Dorchester Hotel with unbeatable company. The Dorchester's traditional afternoon tea was named the best in London by the British Tea Council in 2007 and awarded with a toptable Gold Award 2008. Casi na'!

We had been requested to arrive at the hotel at 2.30pm sharp, but due to the weather conditions I was 10 minutes late: very punctual for a Spaniard!! A pushy Russian-looking waiter advised us that a pianist would be providing entertainment and offered us exotic varieties of tea. Trying to fend off the rainy day I chose some "light but invigorating" Big Red Sun tea from Kenya which we were served on Wedgwood porcelain (I looked this up on the internet!!). Afterwards we could indulge in a series of dainty finger sandwiches, a spoonful of lemon mousse, and some scones with clotted cream and homemade strawberry and blackcurrant jam. We finished with a plate of chocolate and cream cakes whose features were unintelligibly described at a faster-than-lightning pace by the waiter (just necessary to mention that one of the cakes had been "brought directly from Switzerland" - oh!!).

To complete the delightful couple of hours at The Promenade we had the surprise to have a glimpse of... tatatchan!! NICOLE KIDMAN!!! The Australian goddess wore an amused genuine smile while walking through the Promenade; a simple, one-piece beige dress highlighted her tall, slim figure and she looked very beautiful even with the light make-up she seemed to have on. Her blond pony-tail framed a pair of refulgent, blue eyes and a glowing white skin to compete with Cate Blanchett to be the living version of the Elven Lady of Lothlórien, Galadriel.

I am really happy after today: my company at the table was as good as an A-celeb!

Love and freedom.

PS, Gosh, I can't believe it yet: I have seen Nicole Kidman!!!

Farewell dinner

Tonight I had dinner at a cozy lebanese restaurant by the Sheraton Park Hotel in Knightsbridge (London) to say farewell to my friend Álvaro, who is going on a three-month trip to the other side of the world. He will idle about in Vietnam, Australia and Latin-America before heading back to the hustle and bustle of our musty, beloved London. It seems that he needs to have time for himself and reflect about his future career choices while enjoying a walk in a faraway paradise. I think I need that too!!

Some of Álvaro's closest friend in London, 5 Italians and 3 Spaniards (Silvia, Elisabetta, Marco C, Marco M, Paolo, Rafa, Álvaro y yo) attended a dinner that turned out to be not only a farewell for Álvaro. Christian, Álvaro's German charming housemate (and soulmate), leaves London next week to work in Munich; he couldn't make the dinner but texted to present his apologies saying he was relaxing at Álvaro's brother's house, the ungrateful!! Silvia is relocating to her company's office in Kazakhstan in what looks like a hard work role but whose rewards (among others, one month of holidays every other month) are tempting. Marco C will move to Luxembourg shortly. Finally, Rafa intends to pursue his long-time professional aspiration and will cross the pond to South America in January 2009. It seems I am going to be left on my own in London!!

Álvaro and I met through our common friend Tybalt at a Madrid-Barca match in the Sports Cafe in Haymarket (London) some two years ago. We come from the two opposite bounds of Spain (Álvaro from Santander and I from Jerez) but, the world's a napkin, Álvaro's father Constantino and mine sort of know each other!! They are both bullfighting aficionados and Constantino was interviewed in a radio programme my father works at commenting the bullfights. My father was impressed with the work Constantino had done for the promotion of the "fiesta nacional" (nationalfest, the bullfighting) in Santander and he was happy to hear that I was a friend of his son's.

I visited Álvaro's hometown in Santander at the beginning of August as part of my weekend in Cantabria (region in the north of Spain) and I had the pleasure to meet his parents. Tybalt, Álvaro and I were given a feast by Álvaro's father when he invited us to a mouthwatering seafood and fish lunch in a busy restaurant in Santander. I am very thankful to Constantino for that meal and I will return the treat.

I will remember Álvaro while he is away and, though I wish him a good time, I am already looking forward to his return. We still have lots of parties to hit the floor at in London!!

Love and freedom.

Contra una barbaridad sobre "demócratas"

He comentado por primera vez en el blog Crónicas Bárbaras, de Manuel Molares. sindicado en Red Liberal. A continuación copio mi comentario a su post "Catástrofes" de 26/08/08.

Tengo su blog entre mis recomendados, Sr. Molares. Enhorabuena por él.

No se preocupe por lo que diga Nemigo, sus fantasías cansan de tanto repetirse. Ánimo que ya sólo le quedan 970 para que se conviertan en verdad.

Me he decidido a comentar aquí en respuesta a la barbaridad que ha dicho Francesc:

"Respecto a lo que usted dice "derechas" nacionalistas", esto no ocurre porque todos sus miembros provienen de la lucha antifranquista y, por lo tanto, demócratas: me refiero a Pujol o Arzalluz, por ejemplo."

Esa es una terrible necedad. Abunda todavía (entre españoles y extranjeros - vivo en Londres y doy fe de ello) la ridícula idea de que el ser antifranquista te da inmediatamente vitola de demócrata o, expresado de otro modo, el nacionalismo español es de "derechas" y, por ende, detestable, mientras que cualquier otro nacionalismo regional es de "izquierdas" y, por ende, progresista.

No haber corregido esa falacia ha sido el error más grave de la Transición y es el error más letal de la Democracia del 77.

Incluso si reducimos el franquismo a simple fascismo, el hecho de combatirlo o enfrentarse a él no es condición suficiente para considerar "demócrata" a alguien o a alguna ideología.

Usando únicamente la lógica ya se puede desmontar tal teoría, pues sólo quedarían dos opciones ideológicas: franquismo o democracia. Dónde quedan entonces los últimos 25 siglos de filosofía?

Mirando la Historia, el franquismo fue combatido entre otros por comunistas (stalinistas muchos de ellos) -que abogan por otro tipo de totalitarismo-, por anarquistas -que luchan por eliminar el Estado incluso el demócrata-, o por terroristas como los de la ETA (son ellos también demócratas?). Respecto a los gudaris vascos, tan bravos ellos, se rindieron rápidamente al ejército de Franco (añado: y se unieron a él).

Si los partidarios de cualquiera de las ideologías anteriores hubieran sido suficientemente fuertes como para derrocar a Franco, ninguno de ellos habría instaurado una democracia para la nación española pues su objetivo era obtener el poder necesario para llevar a cabo sus ideas, imponiéndolas si fuese necesario.

Me parece, don Francesc, que debería usted matizar sus palabras. No sea maniqueo en esto, porque se equivocará. Si quiere resaltar alguna distinción bipolar en el siglo XX en España y en el mundo es la diferencia entre el totalitarismo (comunista o fascista) y la libertad capitalista.

Que quede claro que no hubo buenos ni demócratas absolutos en la Guerra Civil Española del 36.

Love and freedom.

A lifetime in books

Imitating my colleague Steve's ongoing project 'A lifetime in films', I shall try and compile the list of books I have read in my life.

# A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

#
1984

A

B
The Bible
The Bonfire of the Vanities

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N
Nicholas Nickleby
The Never-Ending Story (ref.1)

O

P
The Portrait of Dorian Gray

Q

R

S

T
The Time Traveller's Wife

U

V

W
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Winter in Madrid

X

Y

Z

Winter in Madrid

I have just finished reading C.J. Sansom's Winter in Madrid(Macmillan, London, 2006). I must say that I am not impressed.

I found disappointing the author's flawed grasp of the Spanish language. The novel contains a few sentences in Spanish with the apparent purpose of showing the writer's understanding of Spain, a romantic, misterious place for an English-speaking mind. However, several of those sentences have spelling or semantic errors which made me wince. One would think that good knowledge of the language was fundamental to help someone become an expert in a country's history. Obviously Sansom is simply a writer and doesn't need to speak fluent Spanish to set one of his stories in Spain, but at least he should have tried and get a Spanish native speaker to proof-read his book.

The novel is freighted with the author's anti-Franco opinions and not even a Historical Note at the end of the novel is free from Sansom's personal ideas on the Spanish 20th century. That's fair enough, the book being his child with no intention of being an equitable encyclopedic text. However, pseudo-historic novels are very popular these days and quickly create opinions in their readers, most of which wouldn't access an academical or historic essay on the novel's background, via their emotional and seldom unbiased account of the stories.

History was reality and reality often goes beyond imagination.

Love and freedom.

Olympic basketball final

Spain played the 2008 Beijing Olympics basketball final against almighty US. US won a deserved gold medal by beating the Spanish national team 118-107. However, the game was closer that anyone might have expected. I am thrilled by the courage and self-belief of the Spanish players. It has been an amazing match that will be remembered for a long time and that will have produced lots of new basketball fans.

This US basketball team is better that any other current squad in the world, but they had to sweat their shirts to prove that they really were the Redeem Team and that they were worthy of the Dream Team II tag. Spain's Golden Basketball Generation (as they are called in Spain) have shown that they are good challengers of the US power and the second best team in the world: 2006 World Champions, 2007 Eurocup Runner-up and 2008 Olympics silver medal.

The star-studded US squad showed the following roster: Carlos Boozer, Jason Kidd, LeBron James, Deron Williams, Michael Redd, Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, Chris Paul, Tayshaun Prince and Carmelo Anthony. Surely Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan or Paul Pierce would have made the US team stronger, but no one can say the US didn't show up with a close-to-best pick.

Referees didn't apply all FIBA rules to the US players and besides the NBA players don't go through any anti-dopping tests. You should factor that in and maybe the result would have been different.

In any case, Spain are happy with this silver medal as we fought with all our heart for the gold against and all-star team and are not disappointed with ourselves. I think I have just watched one of the best basketball match by the Spanish national team ever, but I think they could have done it even better.

- Gasol brothers weren't at their maximum for this final, exhausted after a long season and great Olympics Games;
- the fact that pointguard José Calderón didn't play this final was a major setback for Spain, similar to the US missing Kevin Garnett;
- Ricky Rubio had his hand injured, but he still had to play 29' because we had no other pointguard!!
- Raúl López didn't believe in himself and shouldn't have been selected for this Olympics,
- Berni Rodriguez and Alex Mumbrú are very good, but there are a couple of better players in Spain,
- old captain Carlos Jiménez played well; pity he missed that three-point shooter after Wade's last;
- Juan Carlos Navarro redeemed himself from his awful previous performance in the Olympics with his most beautiful string of "bombas" (floaters)
- Jorge Garbajosa hasn't played during the whole season due to operations and was a shadow of the wonderful player he was in 2006 Japan World Championship.

Love and freedom.

Deadly plane crash in Madrid

I was in Madrid on Monday morning to take a flight back to the UK at 7.35am on Monday morning. Easyjet cancelled it because the plane had not passed the review prior to every flight and I had to spend the day in Madrid. At the beginning I though it was a hassle, but it didn't turn out that bad at the end, though. Now I thank God because safety is obviously the primary concern of every airline.

It was a pity that the Spanair plane that crashed was allowed to fly. I am very sorry. My heart goes out to all the victims and relatives of the plane crash in Madrid airport. RIP.

Love and freedom.

Game lost

I just came from the penultimate match of my company's internal football league. We have lost 4-1 against the second team in the standings, so they have beaten us properly. We have played without four of our first eleven team who were on holidays so we haven't played our best game. I think we have all fought like bulls. I play as left back though I finished the game as central back. There were two giant strikers I have quarrelled with and as a result I have a huge, superficial scratch in my buttock (it hurts!!). I am fed up with not being bigger (even my younger brothers are 10 cm taller than me) and not being able to win fights based on strength (I always have to do it on a cunning fashion). Anyway, I have enjoyed the exercise, though I am a bit disappointed and moody because we are going to finish second in the league.

Love and freedom.

Acabo de llegar del penúltimo partido de la liguilla interna de mi empresa. Hemos perdido 4-1 contra los que iban segundos, así que nos han ganado en buena lid. Nuestro problema ha sido que 4 de nuestros titulares estaban de vacaciones con lo que no hemos hecho nuestro mejor juego. Por lo menos hemos luchado como jabatos. Soy defensa izquierdo pero luego me puse de defensa central. Había dos delanteros gigantes con los que me he peleado y tengo un arannazo superficial pero muy grande en el glúteo (pica!!). Estoy harto de no ser grande (hasta mis hermanos pequennos me sacan 1 cabeza) y no poder ganar peleas a base de fuerza (me toca hacerlo siempre con manna). En fin, me lo he pasado bien aunque estoy un poco decepcionado y de mal humor porque vamos a quedar segundos en la liga.

De burladores y burlados

Tres cosas tienen preso
de amores mi corazón:
mi bella Inés, el jamón
y las berenjenas con queso.

Unknown (11/08/2008)

After going with my granpa to pick the eggs that our hens had just laid, my father drove us to Alcántara to attend two shows: Zarzuela and classical theatre. In the theatre we admired again the impressive background formed by the Conventual de San Benito (St Benito's Temple), main site of the Orden de Alcántara (medieval monk-knight club), and we laughed at a series of comical pieces called entremeses (from which I took the cite above).

This morning I worked with my father putting up stone walls at my granparents' country estates. They are not worth much (don't think my family are rich landowners), but they are important for my father and my grandpa, so all brothers work a bit every holiday. As my mother says, we ought to be able to do anything in this life.

It is tough to work at 35C, but I guess that (apart from the fact that millions of other people are worse off than I am) I am proud of my brew of knowledge from country and town life. Sitting next to me at my dad's village's library a kid is teaching a twenty-something pretty village gal how to use Hotmail, which would be unthinkable of a town gal. On the other hand, there are townie kids who don't know where eggs and milk come from beyond the supermarket. Proper education should bridge the country-town gap, which has a lot to do with the adequate development of a person.

Love and freedom.

Fe de errores

A mi P.: Siento haber publicado ese texto malsonante en mi blog. Ya está eliminado. Perdona, no volverá a suceder.

Love and freedom, but love comes first.

Breakfast at Tiffany's

It's a bore, but the answer is good things only happen to you if you're good. Godd? Honest is more what I mean. Not law-type honest - I'd rob a grave, I'd steal two-bits off a dead man's eyes if I though it would contribute to the day's enjoyment - but unto-thyself-type honest. Be anything but a coward, a pretender, an emotional crook, a whore: I'd rather have cancer than a dishonest heart. Which isn't being pious. Just practical. Cancer may cool you, but the other's sure to.

Truman Capote, Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958)

I just finished Capote's controversial short novel on the finest "girl-about-New York" that ever was: Holly Golightly. Now I feel ready to watch one of the best films of all times displaying Audrey Hepburn breakfasting at Tiffany's. Julie Roberts needs to learn so much from both starlets!

Holly Golightly's philosophy is strikingly pure (honest, she would say) and her stark monologue to her best friend the writer on her love for José is absolutely brilliant. Capote writes the novel in first person and the storyteller poses himself as the fallen-in-love best friend of the beautiful, wild Holly.

Love and freedom.

Gorgeous weekend in Devon

Last weekend I escaped the big smoke into the English countryside to relax after the stress of the exams. The huggable, adventurous Paddington bear (oh, where are those childhood years now!) saw me off at Paddington Station not without providing me with some marmalade sandwiches for the train journey (and some wine to down them with!). And there I was heading for Devon, in the South West of England, to spend a lovely weekend with S. in a pictoresque spot by the sea called Shaldon.

Shaldon is a quaint English fishing village, nestled on the estuary where the river Teign meets the sea. Its cosy Georgian houses with beautiful names ("Sea Peep", "Forever Cottage", "Magnolia" or "Corner Cottage"), the scent of sea in the air and the polite bonhomie of the villagers, reminded me of summer holidays in the 19th century, of those black-and-white bathing resorts where light yet careful formality allowed great films such as Monsieur Hulot's Holidays.

BBC's forecast was fortunately wrong again and a greeted us the entire weekend. After a nice cappucino in the village we walked for an hour by the cliff peeping at the sea horizon and enjoying the company of some cows. On our return, we lay down to get sunburnt at the local, "secret" beach called The Ness. I say "secret" because to access this beautiful, somewhat secluded sandy strech you have to go through a pirate-style tunnel which apparently was built in the Napoleonic years.

[I'll carry on tomorrow.]

Love and freedom.

PS. I have made mine my father's style of mentioning people in his blog by their initials.

Abrevaderos: La Nacivera

This is one the abrevaderos (troughs) that have shaped up my life and given name to this blog:



La Nacivera (name that may come to mean "The Source").

Love and freedom.

Stevie's blog

I was gladly surprised when I saw in the Technorati feeder a "blogger reaction" (someone recommending you in their blogs) to my blog that I wasn't aware of. But I should have guessed who it was. My eyes got moist as I checked that my friend Steve had a blog since 2006 and that he has been updating it all the way to date (with a far better display of English than me). I obviously have added to the recommended sites list (Steej-musings) and I'll keep an eye on it from now on.

Thanks, mate. Let's carry on with the chess game.

Love and freedom.

Sigma2 and its embarrasing level of English

SigmaDos (Sigma2) is a well-known Spanish polling company which is used by various media (eg, El Mundo) and other organisations.

Sigma 2 was commissioned by The Times to undertake an opinion poll just before the 2008 Spanish national elections. The poll results were published in both internet and paper formats of The Times two days before the elections; this generated huge expectation as the Spanish media are barred from publishing opinion polls in the five days leading up to the election.

I read the report with the results that very same day that was published and I couldn't believe the extremely poor level of English used. I couldn't help send the following email to Sigma2.

Embarrasing errors at the Sigma2 opinion poll report published in The Times (07/03/2008)

Dear Sir,

I have read the results of the opinion survey on the Spanish elections carried out by Sigma2 and published by The Times.
I have noted so many spelling mistakes and grammar errors in the English used at that report that it could be considered that the language used was Spanglish. This fact is being already mocked at in some internet blogs.

It might be that the use of Spanglish were exactly your intention in order to make the report readable by Spaniards, but I do not think this is the case as the word "majourity" (which is more similar to the French than to the Spanish) was repeatedly used.

I strongly advise you ensure that your deliverables are properly corrected for accuracy of the figures and clean writing.

I work my ass off every day to show those who know me that the Spanish are not only lazy party-goers who only think in sangria, beaches and siesta. But every day as well, I find new cases that shovel embarrasment on. Call me a pedant if you think so, but honestly their lack of professionalism and due care embarrased me as Spaniard. They are paid to be professional!!

Love and freedom.

De las verguenzas de la Alta Inspección del Estado de Espana

La Alta Inspección de Educación constituye, o, al menos, así debería ser, una de las principales herramientas para verificar que las Comunidades Autónomas cumplen la normativa estatal en materia de enseñanza. Sin embargo, hace años que este cuerpo de altos funcionarios del Estado está algo «raquítico», especialmente tras la última reforma educativa del 2006 del PSOE, que suprimió de un plumazo varias de las competencias que la anterior Ley de Calidad de la Educación atribuía a la Alta Inspección; algunas tan esenciales como «comprobar que los currículos, así como los libros de texto y demás material didáctico se adecuan a las enseñanzas comunes» (art.104.1 f) LOCE), o la de «velar por el derecho de los ciudadanos a recibir enseñanza en la lengua oficial del Estado» (art. 104.1 a) LOCE).

En este contexto, no puede extrañar que cada vez haya más casos de incumplimiento flagrante de los derechos constitucionales, y de la normativa estatal que los desarrolla, en las Comunidades gobernadas por nacionalistas, solos o en coalición con el PSOE, en particular por lo que respecta al derecho constitucional al uso de la lengua común del Estado.

[...]El Tribunal Constitucional tuvo ocasión de pronunciarse sobre las funciones de la Alta Inspección en una de sus primeras sentencias, de la que fue ponente el magistrado D. Francisco Tomás y Valiente. Dicha sentencia, (núm. 6/1982 de 22 febrero) afirma que: «las competencias de las CCAA no sustraen en ningún caso a los órganos centrales del Estado la competencia exclusiva para regular las condiciones básicas que garanticen la igualdad de todos los españoles en el ejercicio de los derechos y en el cumplimiento de los deberes constitucionales, entre los cuales se encuentra el de conocer la lengua del Estado (artículo 149.1.1ª en relación con el artículo 3.1. CE). Es forzoso, por tanto, concluir que la Alta Inspección puede ejercerse legítimamente para velar por el respeto a dichas normas estatales y, por consiguiente, también para velar por el respeto a los derechos lingüísticos (entre los cuales está, eventualmente, el derecho a conocer la lengua peculiar de la propia Comunidad Autónoma) y en particular el de recibir enseñanza en la lengua del Estado.»

Pilar López Marco, La Alta Inspección de Educación no da la talla (21/07/2008)

I am glad to know that there is someone else with voice in a political party that shares mine and my dad's views.

Love and freedom.

El Estado salvavidas

Ahora, de nuevo, se pone de manifiesto que, en periodos de crisis, recesión o depresión, el Estado es el agente económico clave. El propio The Economist se tragaba el sapo de la sacrosanta no intervención la semana pasada, y decía que los controles públicos sobre nuestra banca han puesto a mejor resguardo a nuestros bancos, mientras que en Estados Unidos y el Reino Unido están sumamente acongojados a la espera del próximo batacazo.

O sea, que mayores controles es mejor y más prudente, de repente. De pronto, todos keynesianos e intervencionistas, desde la Reserva Federal de Bernanke al oráculo de la prensa liberal anglosajona. Parafraseando al atribulado españolito que de pronto accede a la libertad política tras años de paternalismo y dictadura franquista, cabe decir que "libre mercado, sí, pero dentro de un orden".

José Ignacio Rufino, El Estado salvavidas (12/04/2008)

Mi comentario al articulo fue el siguiente:

Me parece que está usted exagerando el comentario de The Economist. Los controles públicos regulan y deben hacerlo como un árbitro controla un partido de fútbol o como la agencia anti-dopping controla a los ciclistas. Pero la "no intervención" del Estado es algo de lo que The Economist todavía no ha renegado. Igual que no se puede ser juez y parte (no se debería permitir al menos), el Estado debe regular y arbitrar, pero no intervenir en el mercado. Precisamente porque el *libre* mercado es el mecanismo social de funcionamiento más democrático y efectivo que existe y porque la división de poderes y la segregación de funciones (regulador, arbitral, ejecutor) es aconsejable en todo sistema.

El Banco de Espanna ha regulado el mercado bancario que el FSA inglés y se le reconoce lo debido (al fin y al cabo es su trabajo). Pero las intervenciones en el juego económico del mismo Banco de Espanna, Bank of England y el Banco Central Europeo deberían ser limitadas al máximo.

Por último, si quiere decir "acojonados" en la última línea del penúltimo párrafo, escríbalo así. No tiene sentido usar la palabra "acongojados" erróneamente como eufemismo. Si "acojonados" le parece demasiado grosero para escribirlo, no tiene sentido que quiera que los lectores entiendan esa imagen; utilice "aterrados" en cambio, por ejemplo.

Gracias.

Love and freedom.

Emilio Botin: master of the universe

If you don’t fully understand an instrument, don’t buy it. If you would not buy a specific product for yourself, don’t try to sell it. If you do not know your customers very well, don’t lend them any money. If you do these three things, you will be a better banker, my son.

Emilio Botin, Banco Santander's President (10/07/2008)

You may laugh at his spoken English (his pronunciation is funny and terrible indeed), but Emilio Botin, Banco Santander's President, is a true "master of the universe" as described in The Bonfire of the Vanities.



And, however poor English accent he has, he has taught a couple of lessons to the financially savvy Britons as it has been dutifully recognised by the Financial Times (FT), The Economist and others.

The ICAEW announces the names of the candidates who pass the ACA exams in the FT and for that reason my name has already appeared a couple of times. I keep a salmon-coloured FT page with my name printed in tiny font. But I still have a long, long way to go to cause as important headlines as Botin. Besides, I have no English to show off either!!

Love and freedom.

Day-dreaming with bull races

I know I should be focusing on next week's exams, but I can't help day-dreaming with my villages' bullrunning festivals and races. I shiver with cold just thinking of the possibility of being hit by a bull. The smell of wild blood and uncontrolled strength is thrilling and the feeling of danger is exciting. I can picture myself in a situation where I have put the wrong foot and just within a tenth of a second of not paying absolute atention I am at the mercy of the bull. I can feel the time stop and my own mind talking to itself amidst the silence: my friend, we're going to die...

But will I have the courage to get closer to the limit, to put myself in risk of pain, to poke the Death asking for an extreme game? Why is that rush of adrenaline so appealing to men? Why do we feel a chemical in the first instance??

Dear readers, you shouldn't worry about this blog's writer. I am neither brave or skilful enough to dodge a bull and I am not silly/mad enough to cross the line that separates safety from challenge. You'll have to bear me for a long time yet.

Love and freedom.

AP used as propaganda outlet by Taliban

Tolerance becomes a crime when applied to evil.

Thomas Mann

This cite above should be remembered by everyone living in peaceful Western countries who have forgotten already that freedom is not for free. I am sick of stories like this one:

An Associated Press (AP) photographer, Rahmatullah Naikzad, was a witness to a Taliban murder. [...] The AP was clearly used as a propaganda outlet for the Taliban Does this make him an accomplice or only a witness to the crime? When you know a crime is about to be committed, do you not have a moral and ethical obligation to try to prevent that crime? Even if you're a journalist? Even if all you do is try to call the authorities, in this case someone in the Afghani government or NATO?

Dr. Rusty Shackleford (14/07/2008)

Please read the article through first. It explains why this AP employee may be a accomplice rather than a witness.

The AP is another one of those main-stream media (MSM) that try to maintain neutrality in the presentation of the information, but that end up being manipulated by the totalitarians and showing a biased version of the facts.

Fortunately, the internet is still free and everyone (not only the evil-minded people) can make use of this network. There is a miriad of websites that have sprung to fight the battle of the ideas in this new edition of the clash of the Western and Islamic civilisations: the anti-Jihad websites.

Love and freedom.

On one Slovenian blogger

Hidden costs drive me mad, but the total is still lower than elsewhere.
[...] All hidden charges included they are still by far the cheapest. To be honest... ridiculously cheap.

Klemen Drole (10/07/2008)

One of my work mates, a bright Slovenian lad, maintains a blog as a way to keep in touch with his friends back home. He writes his posts in Slovenian as his blog's primary target are Slovenian-speakers. Unfortunately, that election of language limits his potential audience and keeps us, non-Slovenian speakers from reading what he writes. It's the same dilemma that I faced when I started this blog, though my solution was different from his as I decided to write in English (explanation and reasons deferred for a future post). In any case, I had a quick chat about this with him the other day during my company's Summer ball and it seems the the conversation has given him food for thought.

Well, he's written his second post in English, precisely about one of my favourite topics (unfair ranting against corporations) and I was finally able to comment it (comment copied below).

Thanks for switching every now and then to English, mate: lots of your non-Slovenian acquaintances will now be able to understand your crazy
thoughts.

I hear lots of people complain about the hidden charges (not hidden costs - where were they before?) of the low-cost (rather no-frills) airlines. But I get worked up with their double standards with the benefits of capitalism/globalisation, because your conclusion is right: they are still ridiculously cheap. Just try and tell any of our parents that we'd be flying to countries ever-further away at an average of 6-8 flights per year!! They'd say we were crazy. But that's what we do now. People's memory is weak.

As Adam Smith (Lord have him in His glory) wrote, it isn't thanks to benevolence of the butcher that we have our dinner on the table, but thanks to his self-interest!!
You know what: long life to the colourful, low-cost airlines that enable us live the dream and live the world!! No matter how they do it, our freedom of choice is enhanced.

Love and freedom.

Playing footy with my workmates

Just came home from playing a football match of the inter-departmental league of my company. We won 8-0 today, beating the team which is bottom of the league. It was an easy game, but we didn't sleep through it as we wanted a clean sheet and to give a boost to our goal difference. We are now second of the league with a match played less than the team at the top of the table. We can still oust them from that spot if we beat them in the second half of the league.

The venue is luckily just 5 minutes from my flat, so I can come back home walking (rather, dragging myself) and have a shower soon.

I'm shattered, so I'm going to bed in 2 seconds.

Love and freedom.

Exams coming up

I am not able to write a lot these days because I'm supposed to be studying for a couple of exams. I will sit them on the w/c July, the 21st.

I'm looking forward to holidays on August, the 1st.

Love and freedom.

Spain are the Eurocup's champions

Spain's national football team beat Germany's last night in the European Cup's final. Fernando Torres with the assistance of Xavi mastered the winning goal and Iker Casillas as captain lifted the trophy to release the ecstasis of 50 million people.

Spain are the European champions for the second time; Spain's other European title was won 1964 after defeating the Soviet Union in the final. Spain also awarded the gold medal in football in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona; Kiko, born in my hometown Jerez de la Frontera, scored the winning goal.

Spain will remember this squad for a long time:

Casillas, Ramos, Puyol, Marchena, Capdevilla, Senna, Iniesta, Xavi, Villa o Fábregas, Silva y Torres

I watched the match in the Texas Embassy, a London restaurant near Trafalgar Square, since I couldn't get into Haymarket's Sports Café due to overbooking. Afterwards I celebrated it in Piccadilly and Trafalgar Square.It was emotional to see hundreds of Spaniards hailing the Nation and the national football team. I met people from ALL regions in Spain without exception. We share a common trajectory and we all feel that. It was a great evening.

Viva España!

Love and freedom.

Un horizonte

Un horizonte
A oscuras y a lo lejos,
la recta difusa que rodea el infinito
surgido de un corte de diamante que cruza espejos;
donde convergen dos labios que murmuran agua y cielo,
la frontera perpetua, antesala de bastidores,
donde el solecito nace y la luna oculta
su alcoba coqueta;
donde los albatros callan y meditan,
y escupen el éter eterno.

Trama arriba de muros
que acaban en un suspiro
convencido y lúcido.
Bajo gritos con vida,
frente huidiza sin tomar medidas,
hay una escalera que lleva al cielo
y otra hacia el lugar donde todos mienten.
¿Subirás?¿Podrás subir?
Acepta un pitillo a mitad de camino,
nunca sobra una chupada de paz.
El mundo que nos mira desde un ojo de cristal
nos ve a través de algún cuerpo
que planea derribado entre flores de horchata.
Aquel cura comiendo solitario ante el mantel,
sé que nos criticaba.

Codiciado objetivo por piratas
de los siete mares feroces;
bisel profundo y mellado intermitentemente.
Mirilla fisgona del Dios más discreto de todos.
Aduana de almas que pagan el precio de ver la mar verde
o el cielo en celo sin motivo definido,
sin rabia concreta, hoy,
hacia Fantasía.

Sunshine in London

The sunshine came to London on Friday afternoon and has been with me all over the weekend. It came from the East and shone and faded after a cloud alternatively, but I loved it always. Someone wished me that the sun had filtered through and brightened up my day. In a way it has done. The darkness, however, smirks on sunset, when the sun leaves you and makes its way home to shine overseas. Football, booze and chocolate are the mates needed then. But as the saying goes, don’t cry when the sun sets, because the tears shall not let you see the stars.

***

"I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship", I told Reyes citing Casablanca’s memorable last line. That one from the scene where Captain Louis Renault invited Rick to a much-needed whisky shot whilst the roaring plane disappeared into the sky carrying her ... and her husband.


***

I have realised that I am a bit of a masochist.

Love and freedom.

Tiannamen's "tank-man"

Avenida de Changan de Pekín. Cinco de junio, 1989. Los tanques han aplastado la revuelta estudiantil en las últimas 48 horas y los hospitales están desbordados ante el número de heridos. Algunos han perdido las piernas, aplastadas bajo los tanques. La rebelión ha muerto para todo un pueblo, menos para él.

¿Quién es?

David Jiménez, Dónde está el "hombre-tanque" de Tiannamen? (El Mundo, 03/06/2008)

I was going to bed but this article in El Mundo deserves a mention.

Love and freedom. And thank you, my Chinese friend, wherever you are.

Carlos' wedding

I spent the whole last week relaxing in Jerez and being taken care of by my parents.

The excuse to go to Spain was to attend my friend Carlos' wedding. He is the first of my friends who is getting married. I must say that the event was quite fun: dancing, eating and drinking all along. The church celebration wasn’t as long as expected (it took about 1 hour and 15 minutes) and was amusing enough, with music, prayers and the usual anecdotes of a wedding. Carlos lost his nerve and forgot some memorised words (maybe for the first time in his life), precisely his wedding vow!! ("I, Carlos, take you, Blanca, to be my wife. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love and honor you all the days of my life."). Later, Carlos and Blanca put each other the wrong rings and had to swiftly exchange them amidst the general giggle. Lastly, one of Blanca’s sisters, Pili, as she wished the couple well, called them "Blancos" y "Carla".

This year’s first half has been very relaxed work-wise as I’ve enjoyed almost 4 weeks of holidays and I have had to sit no exams. In relation to more personal matters, this year is not being easy, though. But I’ll cope with it.

Love and freedom.

Artist in the making

I was an artist when I was a child. Then I grew up.

Blogs on Western Sahara

I have found a series of good blogs in relation to the Western Sahara's conflict.

http://w-sahara.blogspot.com
http://sahara-watch.blogspot.com

This conflict is in deadlock for the last decades and far from a fair resolution for the Sahrwis. A new UN envoy, the Dutch diplomat Peter van Walsum, was sent to make the farce (oops, I meant the negotiations) go on, but this Dutch has turned out to be outspoken and expressed clearly his frank opinion:

The moral dilemma is that Polisario is more on the right side than Morocco. But because the Security Council will never force Morocco into a referendum on independence, they actually choose for the status quo.

As Sahara-Watch blog puts it:

In the same interview, a lead UN negotiator [P.van Walsum] simultaneously acknowledges Western Sahara's right to independence and the illegality of Morocco's annexationist move. Only to conclude by suggesting that the Security Council -- in the name of realism! -- should force Western Sahara to accept, for a brief trial period, an illegal occupation. [...] It was a good 3 years, as long as you weren't a Sahrawi.

We Spaniards should work for the rights of our Sahrawi brothers. Down with the Moroccan theocracy.

Love and freedom.

My dad's visit to Jerez Alcázar

My dad visited the Jerez Alcázar (Spanish castle built by the Arabs) in the morning of May 17th, 2008. He describes his visit in his blog.

I commented his post:

Qué suerte que hayas podido entrar en el Pabellón de Donna Blanca y subir a la Torre Octógona. La vista desde la Torre es preciosa. Te imagino emocionado, sonnando que compartías las aventuras de los soldados que defendían el alcázar de Jerez en la Edad Media.
Me hubiera gustado estar ahí contigo. Otro día será.
Un beso!

(You're so lucky you have been able to access the Ms. White Pavilion and to go up to the Octogon Tower. The view from the Tower is gorgeous. I can picture you thrilled, dreaming that you shared the adventures of the soldiers who defended the alcázar of Jerez in the Medium Age. I'd have liked to be there with you. Maybe another time. Kisses.

About a month ago, on April 27th, I had the chance to show Jerez to two of my best British friends from London and we went to the Alcázar as part of our tour. We were lucky and my dad accompanied us enabling us to enjoy his knowledge. As my mate David put it in his thanking letter:

My stay with you in Jerez was so special, I didn't believe I could cram so many different things into a weekend! XY (my dad's name), your kindness in taking the time to show JJ and I your city and in having the patience to endure all those three way translations as you explained the fascinating history of your area was so generous. XX (my mum's name), your hospitality was second to none and I go away with ambitions to master your delicious Spanish tortilla.

I know Borja will have told you about the remainder of our week but all together I had a great time in Spain. I left Jerez with so many excellent memories of horses, sherry, food, ferias and an enriched knowledge of Spanish history.

Pleasure, David. I have to thank you for, among other many things, letting me know how to type tildes in a UK keyboard.

Love and freedom.

Low morale in PP's base members

The morale within Popular Party's base must be at rock-bottom. I guess that lots of PP's base members must feel disappointed with the null attention media pays to their everyday work and how much attention it pays to the party's infight. Maybe lots of them also feel disenfranchised with Rajoy's new tune. But they should carry on. Spain needs them.

I post the following comment encouraging one of these local councillors, Lidia Menacho, in her blog.

Lidia, please find the courage to go on working day a day. That is exactly what the citizens expect from their representatives. That is exactly what you are paid for. You should be proud for what you do and I wish more citizens stood up and work hard like you. I thank you for your dedication.

Nevertheless, you have to recognise that media and image are extremely important in politics. It is a shame, actually, that their influence is greater that hard work and proper reasoning. But that shows that our democracy is not perfect, and tells us that we should work towards its enhancement.

PP's relation with media, image and marketing has never been good. You, the street-dwelling councillors, PP's base members, should fight to change that from the inside and to build its reputation bottom up.

Keep up the good work!

Love and freedom.

A Spanish Libertarian Party

I was wondering what I could write. I could have talked about a few different topics and I had prepared some drafts I could have used. However, given the state of total confusion in the Spanish political arena, I think that the most important issue at the moment is the creation of a truly libertarian party in Spain.

Lots of Spaniards are truly libertarian, although, as it happens with other generic ideologies, there is a broad spectrum of political philosophies under such umbrella.

Given the anti-democratic conditions of the Spanish political system, political parties and their satellite organisations are the main tools to exercise the Power. There are hundreds of political parties registered in Spain, most of them defending much less interesting ideas than the libertarianism. In any case, Spanish libertarians can vote no Spanish political party which defends only libertarian options. Thus Spanish libertarians find themselves with no executory method to build the society they wish for.

Regarding this I have just written a comment to the last article by Daniel Rodriguez Herrera:

There is a lot of talking in redliberal about a potential Libertarian Party (Partido Liberalista?). Lots of bloggers are asking for someone to lead this initiative. Big names (Daniel, FJL, etc.) help a good cause to succeed, but lots of work needs to be previously done by anonymous citizens. This is what UPD and Ciutadans did before.

Therefore, could anyone draft a piece of paper (i.e., a blog post) detailing these clear ideas that we should all be supporting. Please mind the cite that heads liberalismo.org.

"Si pretendemos el triunfo en la gran contienda ideológica de esta época, es preciso, sobre todo, que nos percatemos exactamente de cual es nuestro credo." F.A. Hayek. ("If we intend to triumph in the great ideological battle of our times, it is necessary, above all, to exactly comprehend which is our believe." F.A. Hayek.)

I volunteer for anything I could help with.

A Libertarian Party is needed in Spain, now!

Love and freedom.

Oh dear, gotta study!

Oh dear, I gotta study. Argghhh!!

And obviously now every activity, even the most dreaded ones, looks suddenly more appealling than ever. My mind wonders why I worried about problems on the street while I scratch my head baffled by problems on paper.

Some word exchanges lately have left me gutted. Some foreign exchange accounting questions have left me stressed.

Love and freedom.

Sunny week in London

The weather in London this Spring has not been as good as it should have been. Up to the beginning of last week, every Londoner was swearing at our beloved city and its poor weather. I went to Spain the last week of April and I had such an amazing week partying and sunbathing (Feria de Jerez, 5-star hotel in Costa del Sol and stag night in Madrid) that I wondered why I was working in London.

Fortunately, the sun shone in London for the whole of the last week easing the return to college (though making harder maintain the discipline of studying). And finally the weekend has seen the warmest temperatures this year (26C). London parks got packed and most garden owners were barbecuing.

On Wednesday I celebrated the crushing of Barsa by Madrid. On Thursday I went out to share my night. I rested on Friday (chatting on messenger until 3am). Favela Chic was a lot of fun on Saturday (just mind to get there before 10pm to avoid the long queue!). Lingering in bed, F1 and BBQ-ing made my Sunday.

I am loving London today!

Love and freedom.

Me lo ha dicho un vecino

Me lo ha dicho un vecino
Gotea la vida,
Cual agua escurre entre dedos
Arena entre cristales encerrada
Un tiempo infinito.

Cosquilla que cae por la ladera,
estela de un punto en movimiento
majestuoso, atraído por la gravedad del hombre
que ya no lamenta, imagen-
y semejanza- de Dios.
Acierto que sorprende hoy.

¿Dónde estaba? Ah, más allá, lo siento, gracias.

Sonrisa siniestra de algún maquiavelo-
algún etna hecho atlántida;
juego de mesa redonda como el globo,
descubierta hace varias
décadas y ampliada a cierto mundo entero,
que se desborda placentero,
abierto en medias rodajas de naranja.

¿Quién es el siguiente? Ah, mi turno, hasta luego, gracias.



Long time ago: teenager's dash into literature.

Comments to a PP councillor

This is the reply to Prolegómenos de un Congreso, the last post written by Lidia Menacho, a PP councillor of Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, in her blog Habla Jerez.

Este post quería publicarlo en la próxima semana cuando se habran elegido los compromisarios en las Asambleas Locales al Congreso Nacional del PP en Valencia. Pero he recibido por algún que otro asiduo al blog, son pocos pero buenos, la demanda de conocer mi opinión al respecto.

That was me asking her here.

Y, una buena bloguera se debe a sus lectores y una buena concejal (político) se debe a sus representados por lo que, de forma muy escueta dejo algunas reflexiones:

Thanks for your comments: they are very interesting. Let's have a look at them.

1. He leído en blogs que desde el PP andaluz están intentando controlar que los compromisarios "sean los que tienen que ser". Imagino que se refieren a eso de que el "PP andaluz va apoyar a Rajoy", pues yo como posible compromisaria (mañana lo sabre) nadie me ha preguntado si voy o no a apoyar a Rajoy.

R1. A.Antonio Sanz prepares the list of candidates of PP in Andalucia. B.Antonio Sanz speaks up and requests explanations from Esperanza Aguirre. C. It is pretty easy to think that the establishment in the PP-A will push their people a bit. D. I'm happy to know that you haven't been approached. It isn't conclusive, but it's a good sign.

2. Se confirma en círculos muy cerrados de la política la existencia de una segunda lista al Congreso, aunque aún queda por saberse si la encabezará o no Aguirre. Son muchos los afiliados y simpatizantes del PP que están abogando por esa segunda lista más como plasmación del carácter democrático que por apoyo a una corriente concreta. Siempre antes de los congresos existen varias corrientes en pugna pero, desde la refundación del PP con Jose Mª Aznar, la tónica ha sido integradora "lista de consenso".

R2. A.Rajoy has been leader of the only possible list for 2 Spanish elections. B. After 2 weeks without showing his face after the elections he lost, he stands up again for a third opportunity. C. Gosh, that makes it difficult to disagree, but the lack of debate doesn't help PP.

3. Si bien está claro quién es la corriente ideológica o "familia" que apoya a Aguirre no está muy clara la ideología de la nueva corriente Rajoy, excepto su lealtad a él.

R3. A. There is a huge difference between ideological currents and families. B. Ideological currents are people who are linked because they share similar ideas and thus they are called in line with the main idea (say, libertarians, communists, conservatives). C. Families are precisely those ones linked only by the names and the loyalty to their leaders and that is why they are called "Leader's name+ista" (say, Guerrista, Felipista, Corleonista and, from now on, Rajoista). D. I like ideological currents, I dislike families.

4. Los barones: Camps o Arenas. Ya se han adelantado a garantizar su apoyo a Rajoy; algo lógico, razonable y esperado. Pero es curioso que Andalucía cuente tanto ahora en época de Congreso Nacional y tan poco durante el resto de la legislatura. Esta reflexión va a pasar factura.

4. A. Barons are part of families. B. They give stability, but might turn into caciquism.

5. Es increible como la Sra. Aguirre ha sido capaz en apenas tres meses pasar de ser "la mala de la película" a ser "la película más esperada". ¿Se acuerdan cuando Rajoy descartó a Gallardón de las listas?. Los medios de comunicación se echaban le encima, ahora son los mismos medios quiénes le están haciendo la campaña a Aguirre.

R5. A. What media has changed opinion? Cope/LD dislike Gallardon and supported Aguirre now and then. B. ABC/Pais/Ser prefer Gallardon and charged against Aguirre now and then. C. It should raise suspicions that your rival (Prisoe) praises someone on your team and wants to make that person powerful in your team.

6. Aún quedan muchos varones o líderes del PP por salir a la palestra, esos que ya no están en la estructura pero son referentes para los votantes: Aznar, Mayor Oreja o Rato. Cascos se ha adelantado y ha dicho eso de "los noviciados se hacen en la bancada y no en puestos de responsabilidad".

R6. A. Experience is a plus. B. PP's people and current management should pay attention to what PP's finest (and only victorius so far) people have to say.

7. La valentía en política, para mí, es una de las virtudes más importantes. Presentar una segunda candidatura en el PP es de valientes.

R7. A. Bravery is not promoted in politics. B. Submission and ass-licking is rewarded most times.

8. El espectáculo de declaraciones cruzadas en la prensa nos avergüenza a todos los miembros de base del Partido Popular.

R8. A. PP's rivals are laughing a lot. B. Just like PP's people laughed at PSOE's problems between 1996 and 2004.

9. Saldrá vencedor aquel que responda mejor al debate ideológico y respete las formas "populares". Creemos que la "gente del PP" tiene que comportarse de una determinada manera, respetuosa y siempre mirando por los intereses del Partido.

R9. A. There is no ideological debate, only a fight of wills. B. One person-one vote democratic style has one downside: That one with stronger support will win, not necessarily that one with greater worthiness. C. PP's people should behave always looking for Spaniards' interests, not for the Party's interest (what difference would there be with other parties (PSOE included) then?).

10. Aún no he decidido mi apoyo.

R10. Thank God that's personal and secret until you decide to disclose it.

Love and freedom.

Why do I write a blog?

You write your blog and continue doing it for three simple reasons: you want to do it, you can do it and you are allowed to do it.

1. You are allowed to do it: there is no "you shall not write" commandment prohibiting it.
2. You can do it: means and technic are there.
3. You want to do it: you feel that writing the blog will give you some satisfaction.

And then, there are at least two causes for your motivation:
1. People out there may read your words so you fulfill one paramount need for mankind: communication.
2. You may re-read what you wrote and may like it so you get proud of your creation.

Who is God?

Who is God?

The question on the existence of God is not useful in itself but it should be put in perspective. No matter how the world is, there is a varying degree of completion in all things and acts since things and acts are all differents; thus, if God equals to perfection and the perfection is the highest degree of realisation, then God's name must be given to that entity at the top of the scale. Whether it matches or not our personal idea of perfection, there must be something that surpasses everything else in entelechia: just that being is God. Our idea of perfection may go far beyond that deity, but we should not forget that only that God which has a reality (belongs to reality) and is besides the culmination of this world may fit the real world (double R).

On the other hand, when comparing an object and a subject, we deem the latter at a higher level than the former. Furthermore, personifying anything, dead or alive, is seen as a promotion for good or evil. That is why God must be a who and not a what. That is why we should ask (if we have any time) who is God instead of what is God?

¿Quién es Dios?

No sirve en ningún momento la cuestión acerca de la existencia de Dios, tan sólo sobre nuestra versión de Dios. Sea como fuere el mundo, ha de existir en él una gradación del acabado en las cosas o actos ya que todas las cosas y actos son distintos; de ahi que si Dios = perfección y la perfección es el grado superior de realización, entonces el nombre de Dios debe ser dado a aquella entidad que ocupe la cúspide de la escala. Corresponda o no con nuestra idea personal de perfección, por lógica ha de haber algo que supera en "entelechia" a todo lo demás: precisamente tal ser es Dios. Nuestra idea de perfección puede superar con creces a esta divinidad, pero recordemos que tan sólo cabe en el mundo real (R doble) aquel Dios que posea realidad y además sea culminación del mundo.

Por otra parte, al comparar un objeto y un sujeto normalmente elevamos éste por encima de aquél; más aún, personificar algo, vivo o inerte, es considerado una promoción para bien o para mal. Por esto Dios tiene que ser un quién, no un qué (aunque a priori no posea condición humana). Por ello hemos de preguntarnos (si tenemos tiempo) ¿quién es Dios? en lugar de ¿qué es Dios?

Love and freedom.

Extreme game

People love playing, until someone gets hurt.
Voice-over, Desperate Housewives.

Soneto de prueba

Soneto de prueba.

Unos versos me manda hacer Elena,
Que nunca vi tamaña obligación
Por probar de escritor mi vocación,
Aunque mi poesía, en verdad, dé pena.

Discerniré la ganga de la mena,
Daré norma a la rítmica acción
Y hallaré metódica inspiración
Para llevar la pasión a la vena.

Tomaré de maestros la destreza:
Del Fénix copié el metro repentino
Sin lograr todavía su fineza.

Mas hallaré en mi boca el verbo fino
Que extraerá del alma su pureza.
Sentenciad, hermosa, si fue con tino.

I wrote the poem above one sleepless night 4 years ago.

Fatherhood and Ironmanship

Rafael Cruz warns me not to miss a heartbreaking video that teaches a precious lesson
It is a very emotional story. Indeed, I have been sobbing for the whole duration of the video. Please read the text below before watching the video. Please turn on the sound of your computer.

This is the story of an Australian father who took part in the Australian Ironman race every year. His greatest dream was to compete next to his son in such competition. Unfortunately, his son suffered from cerebral paralysis. The Australian never saw his son's position as a hurdle, for he trained really hard -together with his son- for some years until the time came. The 60-year-old Aussie signed up his son and himself for the Australian Ironman.

The Ironman competition is an extremely exhausting for great people with a winning, exemplary mind, and with strong convictions. Being able to finish an Ironman race is close to the human being's physical limits. The race comprises 3 uninterrupted stages and starts at dawn;

1. Swimming 4km in the sea or lake (with the cold mist)
2. Riding 180km on a bike
3. Running a marathon (42.5km).

All this makes the Ironman race an extremely tough, both physically and mentally. World champions make it in 8h 15m.

Our Australian made it within an amazing time of 17 hours. Usually by this time the race is called to a finish and roads are open again for normal traffic. However, having seen who was running the Ironman race this time, the organisers kept the roads closed until everyone had finished, even though it was after sunset. Those participants who complete the race are usually people stronger mentally than physically. Our Australian accomplished the task with his son.

It's an example of love, life, pride, and sport. The name of the video is 'CAN'.

Howls in the post-modern night

I have listened to Fonseca's podcast Howls in the post-modern night and I left this comment.

Fonseca, it's the first "Howls in the post-modern night" that I have listened to and I must recognise that I liked it. Still a bit of way to go to perform as a proper radio presenter, but your efforts are nothing to be sneered at. You'll improve with the practice. Congratulations and "bon courage"!

Don't worry, happy butcher, I think everyone understood that your mistake was a "lapsus linguae". But I think that your obsession with the liberalisation of drugs could be a bit too much. I think that the grandfather of the "liberalismo", Adam Smith, and its father and mother, Friedmans, although would include it as a requirement for a 100% pure libertarian society, do not consider it that central or with the highest priority.

Last thing, good song.

Love and freedom.

Jihad Watch

I have dedicated the day to sweep the internet, starting at usual at Red Liberal.

Taken a cue from John's Iberian Notes, I read a comparison of Freud and Ortega in The New Criterion.. I highlight the last two paragraphs:

Although Ortega is genuinely disdainful of fascism, seeing it as the apogee of mass man, there seems to me something at least proto-fascist, and possibly more than proto-fascist, in his solution to the existential problem that he has so astutely characterized. He makes power the measure of all things, indeed he makes it the meaning of life. When he says that life is struggle, he does not mean merely that there are always obstacles to worthwhile achievement to be overcome, and that a life without such obstacles would be meaningless, but that domination of the world is the meaning of life, and all else, at least for Europe, is decadence. I don’t find this at all pleasant.

Yet, at the same time, and more memorably, Ortega points to the very danger that I see in his solution. He says that today, precisely because so much is possible, the worst is possible: regression, barbarity, decadence. Freedom and possibility necessarily include the freedom and possibility to do evil, which is something of which conservatives are aware but progressives tend to screen out of their minds. Of course, conservatives have, or tend to have, the opposite fault, to be unduly sceptical of the possibilities of doing good. But the existential limitations of human life, as sensitively described by Freud and Ortega, mean that it is far easier to do harm than good, and therefore that the faults of progressives and conservatives, while intellectually mirror images of one another, are not moral mirror images.

The fact that freedom and possibility gives people the freedom and opportunity of doing evil links directly to the apology of terror made by self-called Muslims and denounced by JihadWatch. (If the Fitna film is blocked at Google, check out the following link http://www.fok.nl/mirror/fitna.html.)

However, the solution is not less freedom for everyone (the statism offered by fascism and socialism), but directly fight the people that cause the evil and show everybody that their attitude is shameful. So please, "Muslim moderates", stand up and point to your fellows that those lines in the Quram that command to kill and terrorise are not actually Allah's word, but simply the "calls to arms" by Muhammad to gather support of the empoverish nomadic tribes to gain power in Saudi Arabia.

Love and freedom.