Laying the Table.

by knowing which ones move which Fri May 20, 2005 15:31

José Bono is the current minister of defence of the Spanish Government, and one of the assembly members for Castilla la Mancha, (which as you know is the land of Don Quixote, this year's anniversary and one of the few governments (all be it regional) in Europe to use a unix based, free software system as opposed to exhorbitantly exploitative microsoft or other product. This saves Castilla la Mancha a lot of money which they use on hospitals, buying beds and medicines and improving their schools. Mr Bono, is sometimes seen as the odd one out in the ZP cabinet, he is a devout cathurlick - the others are not, he reaches out to the traditions of spanish unionism - the others to the republican tradition of the civil war, we remember he invited veterans of the "Blue division" of fascists who fought on the Russian front during the big war in Europe to take part in last year's military parade.
He's the man who has had to engineer relations within NATO with the USA in the post -Iraq withdrawl. As you might guess, the withdrawl of troops from Iraq got up american noses more than Mr Galloway waving his index finger saying what we all knew all along was true. José Bono accordingly sent many of those troops to Afghanistan to participate in ISAF the international contra-narcotic military presence there and now Spain stations the most troops there replacing the US as the dominant foreign power in the key valleys of the south. This causes him criticism from the left left party (the marxist IU who are the flagbearers of Spanish pacifism in the congress), and today they're wondering why he wants to send even more soldiers to Afghanistan. He also sent the guardia civil to Haiti, and has overseen an awful lot of expenditure as the Spanish armed forces consolidate their position as the third best equiped in the EU. His signature has popped up on accords with several South american states as Spain arms them, and his tenure has seen the Spanish armed forces recruit more non-nationals (mostly from South america) to the soldiers life than ever before. There are important reasons for this "replacement" of the school of the americas with an iberian officer/soldier training program which I believe I've outlined before, and will no doubt do so again...
José Bono is preparing his own reforms of the military in Spain, who under the constitution which Fraga helped write, holds a clause of "military guarantee of unity" the clause "viii" means the attitude of older mroe established soldiers are important to any constitutional reform...

Mr Bono though gets his mention today, in this comment, not because of the colour of postboxes, but rather because yesterday he said that Arnaldo Otegi, the spokesperson of Batasuna and the de facto spokesperson for the political aspirations of ETA was "a kidnapper" and "complicit in murder".

Oh well, Otegi's pals have asked that no-one insult them, and they are shocked, they've said "insults are the way to peace". Well thats a bit silly, long before you get "respect" you have "insults". Meanwhile, the PP move their attention to Galicia, where the old man himself Fraga is about hold his own regional elections and the local galizian nationalists BNG and the Spanish socialists PSOE are cuddling up together.

here is the man himself's site-
http://www.jose-bono.com/
and here is a picture of him in today's spanish right wing daily with an article on it all (for you to practise your español), using his index finger-
http://www.abc.es/abc/pg050520/prensa/noticias/Nacional/Nacional/200505/20/NAC-NAC-015.asp

by knowing when which ones move what Fri May 20, 2005 23:44

the man on the left in the photo with this comment is Josep Lluis Carod Rovira the leader of the Catalan Republican Independence party, the man on the right is Pasqual Maragall the president of Catalonia and leader of the PSC. He heads the tripartite (i'm always telling you about).
The man on the left is holding a crown of thorns.
He was given it today to pose under by his mate Pasqual (who's taking the photo) during a visit by the Catalan delegation to the levant which saw a memorial opened in Tel Aviv and the two leaders put on Kippas and visit the temple wall in Jerusalem.
* This is their way of saying something.
* its not theological.
And as is usual the right wing press and "parties of moderate nationalism" in Catalonia and Spain are blaming Josep for making a diplomatic gaffe in Israel on Spain's behalf. It wasn't the crown of thorns, this is a souvenir, and sells for a few shekels and provides a living to many Israeli street dealers, on account of its kitshcy association with the Good Friday Agreement (all repeat) to mock, degrade, strip, publically parade and crucify the man who is thought by the majority of the planet to be either the incarnation of the divine or a great prophet PBUH or at least a jolly good example to follow.
The israelis don't have a problem with that.
No Josep is in trouble for wanting the Catalan flag flown and talking about representing Catalonia and not España on his trip to the Levant which has seen discussions on implementing the Barcelona doctrine for Middle East Peace in Jordan and more specifically for a homage to Yitzak Rabin which Josep abstained from on account of him representing Catalonia not España.

If you can understand what that's all about, you must be Irish or Mediterranean or something ;-)

Keen readers will remember Josep Lluis Carod Rovira got into trouble for talking to terrorists over the new year in 2004 which led to him having to resign from the tripartite during the Aznar regime central government days, when I lived on c/Templers just down the road from where i live now, & wrote this-
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=63179
and they we were all wondering would the ceann comhairle of the Basque go down. They're still trying to elect a new ceann comhairle there.
oddly enough... still you get better with practise.

there you go josep - your GFA - two for a euro.

by Mrs Beeton Thu May 26, 2005 23:01

Another Basque squat has got evicited, the homeless people were probably wearing hoods, punkies, piercings, ordering experimental drugs off the internet, failing their exams and selling their ovaries.
http://euskalherria.indymedia.org/es/2005/05/20812.shtml

On the other side of reality, political reaction to the arrest of Arnaldo Ortegi has varied from that of Batasuna who have decided the move undermines any hope for a peace process and assert the motivation is solely potlically based and the responsibility of Zapatero and has organised a protest at the PSE's offices in Bilbao, to that of the PP who think the government ought now ban the EHAK party of communists who to them represent the political aspirations of basque armed struggle tradition independence.

The catalan party of opposition, the centre right CIU have decided the detention of Ortegi is not the way forward, their leader condemning the arrest as politically foolish, the same day that a bunch of Catalan intellectuals have decided to form an anti-nationalist platform to the left of the PP but still in the centre for people who feel discriminated against for being spanish but living in catalonia.
http://actualidad.terra.es/articulo/html/av2320642.htm
The republican party of the catalan tripartite has sort of agreed that the arrest of Ortegi complicates things.

Meanwhile in the real world, people need houses, and they don't want to sell their ovaries, but a good a deal of them would do- if you offered them the right sort of money, but sure they'd sell you anything wouldn't they? Which is why it is better not to have ovaries. If you're not sure if you have ovaries or not, you could always try selling your sperm instead, after thirty minutes in the sperm donation clinic, the nurse will tell you that you might indeed have ovaries, or offer you a tax deductable stipend not exceeding twenty pounds.
We might reflect on this, and consider the posession of ovaries to be a better insurance against impecunity, a better purse with which to stock the larder, unfortuanately i'm out of thread right now, someone else's turn at the table, and Mrs Beeton was really only meant as a general guide, not a scriptural touchstone to the concern of every sensible house keeper.

the man on the left usually wears a T-shirt and jacket, and has never really been accused of anything worse than the one on the right in the suit.

lovely poster 2 languages, breath of fresh air stuff. you see through things when you squat.

by by having once promised to be an exceedlingly wise nomadic - pirate Wed Jun 22, 2005 23:48

Tomorrow the 23rd day of the sixth month the Parliament of the Basque will re-elected the Lehendakari J. Ibarratxe.

the phrase which appeared in the debates in both houses, that of parliament of the basques and senate of the spanish which most "conjucted", was a reminder to the congress of deputies of Madrid under the Zapatero regime that they & they alone are not the only institutions of democracy in the Spanish state and the sole arbitrators of sensiblity.

There will now be negotiation on both the proper appelation and extent of equal rights and same sex civil law union & the development, aspirations and political solution to the problems of the basque/spanish relation.

http://.:. ·.· * + $ € ñ / @

{there will be an update when the table is laid and the invited and eileanna arive to parley }

clotho lachysis & atropo a.k.a. "the 3 fates" @ the table.

by iosaf Thu Feb 16, 2006 10:56

Hopefully now more than just the students of Iberian politics and history will have got the background to contemporary Spanish politics, and how it has an effect on democratic and political development not only on Europe, but also Latin America and by geographic proximity and millenial history the world of Islam to the south and east of our continent.

The terrorist group ETA are about to make their statement & thus
"arrive to parley".

Now look at the illustration which indeed is one my favourite and note the low social status of those who really sit around the table. We can imagine they have suffered. If you have experienced terror yo know what terrorism is about, and the time comes round and round to use and re-use the clichés and realise that terrorism doesn't work.

On the other themes, of course the Zapatero regime passed the gay marriage law, its still in ardous negotiations against the backdrop of daily suggested new proposals for referenda and full page newspaper adverts on the Catalan "estatut" reform. The muslim comunity of Spain hasnot for the first time thrown its weight behind the regime's "alliance of civilisation" proposals for world peace, and simultanously signed its bodies to one of those fullpage adverts calling for an end to abortion, gay marriage and the "right to die with dignity" clause of the Catalan "estatut" for facilitating euthanasia. In a way thats what democracy is about. Oh yes! If the muslims can use democracy and live in peace on the same streets with such different neighbours then - "so can we all?

For behind it all was forever the question of "(basque / spanish)(spanish/basque)" relations.

by iosaf Thu Feb 16, 2006 13:57

This morning Catalan based media organisations suggested an imminent truce / ceasefire / cessation of armed struggle / suspension of paramilitary activity / end of terrorist activity on behalf of the group ETA.
Those papers were :- La vanguardia and El Periodico based in Barcelona.
http://www.lavanguardia.es/web/20060216/51233665011.html
http://www.elperiodico.com/default.asp?idpublicacio_PK=...=4&h=

Prudence means :-

It has long been observed that when we talk about them, they don't go away.
They are a bit like pixies but obviously more murderous. When we forgot all about them
they go looking for attention. & that really upsets the people who for reasons of being victims of
terrorism can't forget them at all.

the lehandakari (= taoiseach) of the basque region. Hoping they'll go away.

by the ipsiphi .:. maybe I'm a spokesperson for a group with - secrets rather than a secret group. Wed Feb 22, 2006 21:55

The Spanish congress today saw the first official reactions to a few items of unfinished business. Amongst which were the request for an apology for the dicatatorship supported by political groups and individuals and sundry other collectives throughout Spain. & of course the basque process of conflict resolution continues @ a pace, regardless of whether or not the party of armed conflict is prepared to parley at the table (which was so beautifully laid many times in many places) wishes take representative part. Since most of them are now imprisoned or in the most enormous trial ever, and their allies seem increasingly lost in sentimentality which does not justify their prejudices and amounts to double think "day by day", it shall be the plurinational character of every day life which shapes the future's peace.

is that an update?

by iosaf mac diarmada .:. the ipsiphi - "not so secret anymore" - Tue Mar 27, 2007 18:40 barcelona catalunya EU 00 34 636 105 231

Normally I wouldn't update a name change by a Batasuna end of the spectrum group - it's quite common. But this one goes here for a very important reason -

"Socialist Abertzale Batasuna" has today confirmed that it will contest elections as a democratic party committed to non-violent means of achieving their objective. Which now that the table is laid - are not too far different from those proposed by the Lehendakari in his "estatut" which was trounced 2 years ago.

You can find links to that proposal & the latest on what went on with the Lehendakari & Otegi at court for their continuing meetings here http://72.232.163.18/article/80679&comment_limit=0&cond...87868
or http://www.indymedia.ie/article/80679&comment_limit=0&c...87868

No new charges have been filed against either the Lehendakari or Otegi after the Lehendakari informed the prosecution in the Basque yesterday that he had stuck to his word & duty & met with Batasuna in January (after of course the Barajas bombing & all that entailed). Since we are amongst friends - I will also take the time to mention that a member of the forum who have shined forth these last months as the sort of Unionist right wing opposition kernel I could do business with & wanted at the table all along - was roughed up at the court yesterday. But then again - he perhaps shouldn't have gone. Not a one of those opposed to the right have exercised their democratic and civil rights to protest against them at the same time in the same place. I'll also confirm to ye that the armed wing of Batasuna the terrorist grouping ETA are less likely than at any stage since their March 24th total cessation to make the mistakes and go pop pop bang. This is not because they are any different from who they were - but rather it reflects the fact that when the table is laid - beautifully & patiently with care and wisdom by those who you asked to do so - the rules of the game change.

We're getting there. Oh yep - as I have always linked this political and cultural problem with those of my home Catalonia - I might as well tell you that the independent republican Catalan party ERC's proposals for a coalition with the CiU (equivalent to the Basque PNV and not too different from the Eire FF) have been rejected. ERC is proposing a referendum on self-determination for the Catalans. They're not going to get it - for now. & for that litmus test - CiU are staying in opposition and our tripartite in Catalonia remains too.

Sometime in these next days I'll issue one of the Sunday Papers series which I've been sitting on for a while & link all this stuff together - do a bit of metaphysical philosophising - tell you a dirty joke - give you some tips on survival & tell you why Zimbabwe has gone from a thorn in our side to a possible tactical victory. I'm also going to do my best to see if my novel which has been withheld from the publishing press for many years now by 2 seperate interested publishers "for legal reasons" can get into print. So that you see how the Sunday Papers series linked into other stuff & of course help me put on weight & finally afford a holiday in Ireland and take up my duties in that blessed land. You won't have to buy a copy of the novel if you don't want to. Steal it instead.

.:.
The Table is as I declared in the 23rd comment to my report of the ETA ceasefire of 2006 is now laid.
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/75012 or http://72.232.163.18/article/75012 sin é.

We now require democratic participation by the enfranchised peoples of the Basque, Navarra and Euskal Herria in the Spanish state - noting their right to abstention & respecting such as a political engagement. As before we face hiccups and manipulation, lies and crimes, optimism & reslience.
The peoples of the Basque and Spain deserve the future they alone can shape. They really merit it...... so they're getting it. aint gonna be easy - but all parties have passed their first test .:.