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.