Requiem for Baltasar Garzón

Spanish Judiciary had been leading the way in years of prosecuting those who infringe human and civil rights anywhere. One magistrate (Juez) in particular Baltasar Garzón became world famous for pursuing and demanding extradition from great Britain of General Pinochet of Chile when he was visiting a private clinic in London.

Unfortunately for Mr. Garzón and international justice in general he is now finding out that whilst it was acceptable to chase cases of genocide abroad it was not kosher to investigate Franco’s period in office. During this time hundreds of thousands of citizens were executed just for being Republicans, gays or intellectuals…like the poet Lorca, who epitomized all three things at the one time.
Mr. Garzón is about to be tried by his peers for acting outside his allocated duties and very likely will lose his job and privileges. Someone once said that it takes 100 years to forget a civil war. How right he or she was! As soon as someone started to scratch the surface of this 30 year old Spanish democracy it reveals only hatred and animosity.
I feel sorry for you Baltasar but you should have left this matter alone for another seventy years at least.

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltasar_Garz%C3%B3n

Juan Martin Seron-Mayor of Alhaurin el Grande.

I have lived, worked and done business in Alhaurin el Grande for over twenty years. During this time I have witnessed firsthand many cases of corruption amongst local politicians and civil servants. Needless to say none of these cases were ever brought in front of a judge. Eight years ago Don Juan Martin Seron came to power by ousting the then socialist mayor, via a vote of no confidence, and he went on to win two further elections. He was never forgiven by the socialists for having taken over a town which was traditionally theirs since democracy was restored to Spain.
Juan Martin Seron is a very difficult and complex person to describe. He is well educated, intelligent, pragmatic and very authoritarian. He does not suffer fools and is implacable against his enemy. He is convinced that he alone knows what is best for Alhaurin el Grande, modesty is definitely not his strong point and the word diplomacy does not appear in his dictionary.

Since coming into power he has worked incessantly to improve the infrastructure of the town which had been totally neglected by his predecessors. In order to do this badly needed work he devised a plan for raising money. The plan was simple and quasi legal. A building company would donate an amount of money to the council in exchange for increased edificablity. (Usually extra attics, on top of the ground plus two, allowed in most urban areas). Another fund raising activity was the ‘certificate of antiquity’ for a building more than four years old that originally had not been properly inscribed in the property registry, which present laws permit and admits. The problem as I see it is not whether these ‘donations’ to the council were legal or not. If we go down this road it will take lawyers and judges a hundred years to come to a decision, if ever.
The crux of the matter is whether the money paid to the council was employed in its totality to improve the town’s infrastructure or not (here one only has to look at what has been done in Alhaurin in the last eight years to realize that it has), or if the Mayor and Councilors actually pocketed these donations in part or all of it. I cannot put my hand on the fire for every member of the Council but I am convinced that Juan Martin Seron is not a crook. What he sees as his reward for having improved the infrastructure of his town beyond expectations comes in the form of street names, squares and public buildings being named after him and the thought of a nice monument at the entrance to the town is what motivates him. If he wanted money he would have stayed managing a bank and doing land deals on the side. Everyone knows he has got the brain and capabilities and ruthlessness to become the best business man this town has ever had, but instead he opted for immortality of a different kind.
For more information (in Spanish) check out these links and please don’t forget to comment and let me know your opinion too.

http://www.cope.es/hemeroteca/2010/03/29/malaga/22-03-10--martin-seron-estoy-seguro-absolutamente-mi-inocencia-porque-nunca-he-birlado-nada-151475-2
http://www.larazon.es/noticia/7796-la-fiscalia-pide-cuatro-anos-de-carcel-para-el-alcalde-de-alhaurin-el-grande
http://www.elpais.com/articulo/espana/red/alcalde/Alhaurin/recibio/642000/euros/sobornos/elpepiesp/20090115elpepinac_16/Tes/

Fruit flies Dream and much about nothing!!

I read an article in a Spanish magazine about the power of the mind. I think it was an interview with Eduardo Punset—but I cannot be sure because the paper has been recycled. In the article there was a reference about scientists being able to determine conclusively that fruit flies dream. When I told my wife about this important discovery she started laughing and has not stopped since. Can someone out there help me corroborate this and wipe the smile of her face! In the same article there was also an anecdote about a neurologist’s conference where one speaker affirmed to the audience that if ears of baby rabbits were cut off at birth in x generations all rabbits would be born with no ears. A Russian scientist in the audience queried this statement by asking the speaker to explain why in Russia all baby girls were born virgins.