#rajoy virtual

[mariacallous]

In a move that left political observers scratching their heads, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez recently called early elections for July 23, five months ahead of schedule. Sánchez cited his left-wing coalition’s poor performance in May 28 local and regional elections as the impetus for his decision, taking personal responsibility for defeats by the conservative opposition. “Spaniards should clarify which political forces they want to take the lead,” Sánchez said after the results were announced.

By moving up the national vote, Sánchez is sacrificing valuable campaign time that could allow him to shore up his base and attack the opposition. He also risks angering the public by dominating the summer with what is expected to be an intensely fought political campaign; Spain has never before held a general election in the middle of the season, raising concerns about low turnout.

At first glance, Sánchez’s decision to call for early elections seems baffling—and potentially self-defeating. But there is a fair bit of strategy behind his decision.

Sánchez leads the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, or PSOE, which has ruled Spain longer than any other party since the country became a democracy in 1977 following the death of its longtime dictator, Gen. Francisco Franco. The party has been the engine behind Spain’s most important political, economic, and social changes over the years. PSOE’s accomplishments include shaping key provisions in Spain’s democratic constitution that was enacted by a 1978 referendum, such as a stipulation allowing for regional self-governance; guiding the country’s 1986 accession to the European Economic Community, a precursor to the European Union; and ushering in a revolution in social rights, including legalizing divorce, abortion, gay marriage, and euthanasia.

The PSOE has kept social democracy a viable political force in Spain at a time when it has struggled for relevance elsewhere in Western Europe. While social democratic parties in Italy, France, and Germany have in recent years either collapsed or become shadows of their former selves, the PSOE has thrived by shifting right on the economy—embracing some austerity measures—while pushing hard on cultural issues like LGBTQ+ rights, social justice, and gender parity.

Sánchez has been in power since 2018, following the ouster of then-Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy—a member of the conservative People’s Party (PP)—by a no-confidence vote triggered by a party-wide corruption scandal. That year, Sánchez made history in Spain by introducing a female-dominated cabinet. He then won a general election in November 2019 and was able to form a coalition with an electoral alliance led by Podemos, a left-wing populist party. It was Spain’s first coalition government since re-democratization.

For many voters, the prime minister has lost the luster of his initial years in office. A big culprit is COVID-19. Spain was hit especially hard by the pandemic, forcing Sánchez to implement one of Europe’s strictest lockdowns. Although an economic recovery is underway—Spain’s economy is projected to grow faster this year than the Eurozone average—this statistic is of little consolation to those hit by inflation and other economic ills. Sánchez also has yet to solve the Catalonia crisis: The prime minister has been willing to engage in negotiations with the region’s separatists but has refused to offer them the official independence referendum they seek.

Now, Sánchez hopes to use early elections to stop the political bleeding from his base—and prevent an implosion of his left-wing coalition. In the May 28 local and regional elections, the PSOE and Podemos sustained losses virtually everywhere, including in traditional strongholds such as Valencia and Andalusia.

Most observers expect a tight national race between the PSOE and the PP, and some polls show the PP ahead. The PP is benefiting from new leadership in the form of Alberto Núñez Feijóo, a former president of the Galicia region. Feijóo took over the party after the scandal-prone and divisive leadership of Pablo Casado, Sánchez’s principal opponent in the 2019 general elections. But polls indicate the PP will not be able to form a government without support from the far-right Vox party, which is currently registering a little over 10 percent in national opinion surveys. By calling early elections and catching the PP off guard, Sánchez believes he can weaken his conservative opponents as they deliberate on how to approach Vox.

Vox currently controls 52 seats in the Spanish Congress of Deputies—the third-largest force in that chamber—and, like most far-right parties, is extremely controversial. The party opposes LGBTQ+ rights, gender parity, and ongoing efforts to help Spain cope with the dark legacies of the Franco period. In particular, Vox has called for revoking the Law of Historical Memory, a landmark piece of legislation the PSOE enacted in 2007 that offered reparations to the victims of the Spanish Civil War and Franco’s political repression and deemed Franco’s regime illegitimate; and the 2022 Democratic Memory Law, which voided all court rulings issued under the old dictatorship, compelled the government to exhume the remains of those killed during the Civil War and the dictatorship and buried in mass graves, and banned the Francisco Franco National Foundation, which had promoted Franco’s legacy in democratic Spain. Vox has deemed both laws divisive and an attempt to rewrite history.

Vox’s political platform also includes erecting a wall around Ceuta and Melilla, two Spanish enclaves in northern Africa that have become flashpoints in EU migration policy. Even more controversial is Vox’s proposal to hold a national referendum to ban separatist parties, such as the Republican Left of Catalonia, one of the parties responsible for the illegal 2017 referendum on Catalan independence. Banning separatist parties would likely be illegal, since Spanish law only allows for barring parties involved in criminal activity. (In the post-Franco era, only one party has been banned by the courts: Batasuna, the political wing of the Basque terrorist organization ETA, in 2003.)

There is little sign that Vox intends to moderate its stances going into the elections. “Kicking out Pedro Sánchez to repeal each and every one of his policies” will be the party’s focus, Santiago Abascal, Vox’s leader, said in reaction to the prime minister’s call for early elections. Feijóo, who hails from the moderate wing of the PP, is wary of embracing Vox. But he is also refusing to say whether he would welcome Vox as a political partner, knowing that he might need the party to form a government. As a sign that Feijóo might welcome a national coalition with Vox, he last year approved Vox’s entry into a coalition with the PP to govern the conservative region of Castilla y León in north-central Spain.

On the campaign trail, Sánchez is working overtime to tie Feijóo to Vox. Sánchez is also ramping up his rhetoric about the danger a Vox entry into national government would pose for Spain, even as a junior partner to the more moderate PP. He has warned that Vox could undo or weaken legal protections for abortion and same-sex marriage and rekindle the country’s fascist past. He has even framed the upcoming election as a choice between democracy and autocracy, referencing recent elections in the United States and Brazil. “Spaniards need to decide if they want a government on the side of Biden or Trump,” Sánchez told PSOE members when justifying his call for early elections.

Sánchez is hoping that early elections will help consolidate Spain’s left—the only way he could win reelection. His strategy is already working: Podemos and Sumar—another progressive left-wing party—announced on June 9 that they will run as a single entity along with 13 other left-wing parties. The deal was struck just hours before political parties were required to register for the July 23 elections.

Sumar is an offshoot of Podemos and is a part of Sánchez’s coalition. Its leader, Yolanda Díaz, is Sánchez’s minister of labor and Spain’s most popular politician. She is credited with negotiating a popular pandemic-era program that kept as many as 7 million Spaniards dependent on the state for their income, including furloughed workers and those on medical leave. She also spearheaded Spain’s 2022 labor reform, which cracked down on short-term contracts and secured new union protections. Díaz and other progressives in the Sánchez government are credited with securing the “Iberian exception,” which allows Spain and Portugal to cap electricity prices rather than tie them to the free market—something no other EU member states are permitted to do.

In pressuring Podemos and Sumar to run together, Sánchez hopes to overwhelm any possible coalition the PP could form after the elections. Spain’s electoral law rewards large parties and intraparty coalitions. A poll from El País found that if Sumar and Podemos ran separately, they would win 26 and 3 parliamentary seats, respectively, while a unified platform would net 41 seats—vastly improving the prospects of the left remaining in power.

Undoubtedly, winning reelection will be Sánchez’s biggest challenge to date. He is facing an emboldened right, a splintered left, and restless separatists. But he should not be underestimated. Sánchez’s political obituary has been written before, most notably in 2016, when he was removed from his position as PSOE president. He regained the position a year later and rose to power in 2018. Shortly thereafter, he survived a Catalan separatist attempt to sink his government by forcing him into new elections. It is within him to pull off another victory.

[geimaikospottingsl]

Hanami at Shobu - Kyoto Kagai Performance by Toshiha Magic Via Flickr: April in Japan is a delightfully busy time. People gather with friends and family to enjoy o-hanami, cherry blossom viewing, in various popular destinations across Japan. As part of the virtual festivities, both Hanafusa and Komayaka Okiya ('geisha house') held performances just as the blossoms began to fall from the trees. It felt very poetic! Thanks to the performance, we also were featured in a promotional video for the O-Hanami in Shobu by the Second Life team. Did I mention this is one of the most beautiful Japanese gardens I have seen in Second Life? You can see the promotional video here: www.flickr.com/photos/secondlifeofficial/52814797074/ or here: youtu.be/IgMUR-rAjoY Additionally, Kyoto Kagai is featured on the Destination Guide~! secondlife.com/destination/kyoto-kagai Please do come check out this modern-day recreation of some famous places in Kyoto, focused on the kagai--where geisha live and work in the Old Capitol! *** Above: Maiko (apprentice geisha/geiko) Toshiharu walks with me in the Shobu gardens~

[carabanchelnet]

📌Iniciativas de MásMadrid para el Pleno de la Junta Municipal del Distrito de Carabanchel del 6 de Octubre de 2022 📌Almeida en vez de mejorar la limpieza de Madrid impone multas a la ciudadanía 📌La que se avecina con el nuevo plan de Urgencias y Emergencias Extrahospitalarias de Madrid 📌El sur de Madrid se alía contra la desigualdad 📌Rajoy, el del ‘impuesto al sol’, habla ahora de la importancia de «tener independencia energética» | Vídeo 📌SALTA: Plataforma virtual de ofertas y demandas de empleo de Madrid 📌Rolex, vuittons y niñeras: así es el acoso sistemático a Irene Montero y su equipo 📌San Chin Choon, un tal Anthony y la coartada fantasma de los comisionistas de las mascarillas https://carabanchel.net

[unpensadoranonimo]

¿Quién compra este futuro?

El banco 'millennial' inglés Revolut busca un responsable de negocio para España. Los aspirantes deben conseguir, en una semana, que 2 00 personas abran una cuenta y metan diez euros. Es la prueba decisiva. Pero no les pagarán por la gestión consigan o no el puesto. Ha sido una de las noticias más vistas en este medio al inicio de la semana. Al mismo tiempo, la cadena de supermercados Dia, comercio tradicional, cae en picado. En una semana ha perdido el 55% de su valor en Bolsa. Y sigue bajando. No supone el hundimiento del sistema pero sí potentes síntomas de los cambios que se están produciendo en nuestra sociedad. Y, justo, cuando electores obnubilados se prestan a escuchar los cantos de las orcas asesinas de los fascismos.

El mundo está cambiando a una velocidad vertiginosa, sin que muchos sean conscientes de cuánto implica. Lo hace ahora mismo. Impelidos cada semana a apagar algún fuego, los periodistas terminamos dejando a un lado las grandes transformaciones que se cuecen. Un tsunami que arrasa con las formas de lo conocido, creando nuevas normas. Las preocupaciones de hoy dejarán paso a otras que se desarrollan en terreno desconocido.

Nos están marcando otra manera de vivir. Pisos nicho sin apenas espacio para moverse, escasez brutal de empleo cargado de incógnitas y formas diferentes de funcionar y relacionarse. Coexistiendo con el inmovilismo y la regresión y un frívolo desentenderse de todo. Tendiendo a la precariedad. En un campo en el que viene a pastar y cazar la ultraderecha.

Soluciones "habitacionales"

El hogar, de entrada. Vamos leyendo las ofertas de “soluciones habitacionales” -toda una declaración de intenciones- que del globo sonda pasan a la realidad. Se están alquilando ya “estudios”, cuatro paredes, de 15 metros cuadrados. "Aunque no hay cocina, la habitación viene equipada con un microondas, una placa de inducción y una nevera", recogía un reportaje de la Cadena SER. Y, todavía más espectacular, por entre 510 y 550 euros al mes. Auténticos zulos, armarios, como pude comprobar en el Manhattan de los 90 que se fue extendiendo en tendencia. Hay otros, por supuesto. Los de 120 metros cuadrados ya andan por 1.700 euros de alquiler y la derecha política afirma que cobrar 900 euros de salario mínimo es un derroche. El modelo neoliberal se impone y se acrecienta. Se reafirma en su función especulativa, no social. Y hasta Alemania que la había preservado, cae en las alzas de precios. Habría que revertir la tendencia.

La crisis del comercio

El empleo es la otra gran variable. No salen las cuentas. La burbuja que ahora mismo está explotando es la del comercio, el minorista en particular. Un sector que da trabajo a millones de personas en todo el mundo. EEUU, el paradigma del consumo, viene cerrando establecimientos desde la gran crisis de 2008. El año pasado fue una hecatombe. Ahora mismo, al gigante SEARS le quedan 900 tiendas de las 3.500 que tuvo y prevé cerrar 188 de aquí a primeros de año. Ha presentado ya su expediente de quiebra. Los centros comerciales, el gran símbolo de esta fase del capitalismo, se encuentran en un momento difícil.

Cada vez desciende más la actividad comercial en tiendas físicas. La tendencia ya ha pasado a Europa. Se escriben libros sobre el apocalipsis del retail. Artículos que, sin duda, quedarán postergados por alguno de los ataques de los políticos sedientos de poder, algún zarpazo de los medios, alguna boutade de cualquier de los actores de ese gremio. La vida real sigue su marcha entretanto.

Antonio M. Vélez contaba hace unas semanas en eldiario.es las firmas europeas que ya están sufriendo la debacle experimentada en Estados Unidos. La británica Marks and Spencer, la sueca H&M, están cerrando tiendas, como ya lo hiciera la alemana C&A. Inditex también se está viendo afectada en su comercio internacional. Pérdidas millonarias en Carrefour que atribuyen a la compra de Día en Francia. A la propia cadena Dia ya la vemos. Visibles problemas en El Corte Inglés, inconfesos. Rumores de fusiones. De todos con todos. Ya no venden lo que vendían: venden distinto, es el comercio el que ha cambiado y lleva camino de cambiar más. Se citan como causas principales, los avances tecnológicos y la demografía. La robótica. La uberización. La compañía que da nombre al movimiento planea alquilar por horas, como los coches, a camareros, azafatas o guardas de seguridad. De momento, llegarán por su propio pie, se supone. Uber ya planea repartir comida con drones para resolver el problema del tráfico, dice. Habla de "hamburguesas voladoras". Son dos noticias del día. Cambian los gustos también: clientes jóvenes que prefieren adquirir experiencias y productos menos habituales. Hubo una alocada sobreabundancia de tiendas. Algunos países todavía van en la fase de abrir sin tino.

Todas las grandes superficies se están adaptando. Los usuarios ya no acuden tanto a la tienda física como a Internet, convertida en la vía preferida para buscar antes de adquirir. El comercio electrónico está arrasando, entre los jóvenes sobre todo. En Media Markt de San Sebastián de los Reyes, Madrid, pude comprobar que el espacio para recoger pedidos está ganando terreno, enorme terreno, en la tienda. De un modo casi exponencial. Aún se recoge en las tiendas. Aún. Amazon, la gran cadena de distribución, se multiplica en los envíos. Todos quieren ser Amazon, con lo suyo y lo ajeno. Empezamos a ver un futuro de empleos de repartidores masivo… hasta que sean sustituidos por drones. Habrá empleo para constructores de drones, programadores de drones. De momento.

Los trabajadores del comercio afectados son, según los datos, 42 millones en EEUU, el 25% de la población activa. El 20% en el Reino Unido y en España entre el 16% y el 18%. Pero en el fondo afecta a muchas más profesiones alrededor, al empleo indirecto.

Otra forma de vivir

Lo estamos viendo. Los cines desaparecen de las calles que se llenan de tiendas de ropa barata. Todavía. Se mantendrán algunas solo, lo más probable es que pasemos a las plataformas de distribución que proliferan. Para ver en el metro. En el parque. En el bar. En el gimnasio. En casa. En las que merman. Según el alquiler o la compra que podamos pagar con los empleos que habrá o no habrá pero están cambiando.

Trabajando en casa también. O en el metro, el parque, el bar, la biblioteca. Con la información y hasta la educación que nos llega por los medios. En donde ya se ve a bancos aconsejando sobre la educación de los hijos en vídeos que ofrecen entre las noticias los periódicos. Vigilados, desde en las compras hasta en los pensamientos escritos. Otra forma de relacionarse. Donde lo virtual toma gran protagonismo.

Son solo apuntes del futuro que ya tenemos en la puerta, que la ha traspasado en muchos casos. La Cuarta Revolución Industrial está aquí, la Industria 4.0, I4 también la llaman. Están aquí cuando algunas cabezas no han pasado de la primera o la segunda. A todas se fue adaptando la Humanidad.

Nada previsto para los menos hábiles y competitivos

Lo que parece seguro es que no habrá empleo para todos o no el que conocemos. Ni suficiente población activa para sostener a la inactiva. No por este camino. Los afamados expertos, citados para todo, avisan sin cesar de estos cambios pero no tanto de cómo resolver la ecuación. No, por este camino. Y tampoco contemplan muchos más. Hablan de mejorar las habilidades, los talentos, de especializarse y ser competitivos. De Skills Revolution, Talent Magnet, Digital Leader. Mientras tanto se educa en el adormecimiento. Y no se prevé nada para los menos hábiles y competitivos. Hay otras vías, más sociales, más humanas de abordar el tiempo que viene.

Buena parte de los jóvenes lo tienen claro: les hemos preparado un futuro que no hay quien lo compre ni con regalos de oferta. No parece que les interese adquirirlo y menos sufragarlo con estas cargas. Buscarán sus soluciones. ¿Y los demás? ¿Todos?

España ocupa el último lugar en inversión pública en I+D de la OCDE en datos de 2015. España ha descendido con Rajoy al puesto 26 en el Índice de Desarrollo Humano desde el 13, en el que estuvo con Zapatero.

¿Usted les dejaría la gestión a los chicos de los másters fantasma y las acusaciones fraudulentas? ¿A los que enfangados en sus intereses ni se enteran de lo que realmente debería ocuparles? ¿A quienes agitan banderas por todo proyecto de país? ¿Somos conscientes del futuro que viene?

El mundo cambia, como es su obligación. Lleva haciéndolo desde el comienzo de los tiempos. La involución lleva a la barbarie que ya vemos. Y solo los peces muertos siguen la corriente, como dice un proverbio foráneo que ha terminado siendo internacional.

Fuente: Rosa María Artal

[gaymerjournal]

El beso y el machirulo: una historia del E3

Así que te molesta el besazo que Ellie y Dina se dan. Probablemente porque no te lo están dando a ti. ¡Pero tienes la razón perfecta! ¿Verdad?

Hazte así, que se te ha quedado homofobia…

Ven, arrímate al fuego, hermano hetero. Ven que tenemos que hablar.

En los últimos días hemos leído mil razones por las que el beso de Ellie de The Last of Us 2 está mal. Razones que van desde “no me gusta que politicen mis juegos” a “EL LESBIANISMO, ¿QUÉ VAN A PENSAR LOS NIÑOS?”. “No, no soy homófobo, pero si es el fin del mundo, ¿por qué en vez de repoblar se meten a bolleras?”.

Todas esas razones, absolutamente todas, denotan nada más y nada menos que hermosa homofobia. No, no me miréis así. Todas las razones que tanto gustan de esgrimir se resumen en cuatro grupos que os voy a explicar. ¡Y gratis!

No me gusta que metan política en los videojuegos

Así que crees que la política y los videojuegos deberían estar separados. Que deberían ser apolíticos. Esa frase tiene dos problemas fundamentales:

Olvidar que la política desde siempre ha estado ligada a todas las artes (ya que éstas se llevan a cabo por parte de personas que, lógicamente, tienen opiniones políticas).

Creer que la inclusión de un beso entre dos personajes ficticios responde a política alguna.

El primer problema es fácilmente explicable. Yo soy de izquierdas, luego naturalmente no voy a tender a crear un héroe conservador, ya que no voy a encontrar atributos heroicos en dicha postura. Luego ya de entrada un potencial videojuego que yo desarrolle va a tener una influencia de ideología de izquierdas.

“¡Pero yo no me refiero a eso! ¡Me refiero a que el contenido del juego no sea político!”

Una gran parte de los videojuegos tienen contenido político como fundamento. Super Mario Bros., por ejemplo, va de derrocar a un rey déspota para restaurar a la anterior monarca, la princesa Peach. Cometemos regicidio literal al mandar al grandullón a una piscina de lava convenientemente preparada para tal fin. Por qué a Bowser le gusta tanto rodearse de lava cuando es vulnerable a ella, chi lo sa…

Y sólo como nota: la bandera de final de fase es el símbolo de la paz y la que se alza en los castillos es una gran estrella roja. Dejo la interpretación a vuestro gusto.

En Civilization nosotros somos los inmortales líderes políticos. En The Witcher, una buena parte de la política del mundo recae en las acciones de Geralt. ¿A cuántos gobernantes corruptos hemos derrocado en RPG’s varios? ¿A cuántos gobernantes que prometían gobernar por y para el pueblo (lo que viene siendo socialismo) hemos ayudado a instaurar? ¿Assassin’s Creed (escoged cualquiera) y la lucha contra el totalitarismo? ¿Wolfenstein y la ideología anti-nazi?

Pretender que no haya política en el medio del videojuego equivale a pretender que todo el mundo viva en universos estáticos, lo que en un medio tan dinámico es bastante puñetero.

Si lo que te pasa es que crees que mostrar un beso no-hetero responde a un movimiento de inserción de ideología política… ¿podrías decirme cuál es dicha ideología? No, en serio. Si es verdad que un movimiento así existe, quiero ser parte de él.

Algunos equidistantes de Vandal y otros sitios dicen que eso es marxismo. Os puedo asegurar que ni en El Capital ni en el Manifiesto Comunista dice nada de “y poner a la comunidad LGBT en plena visualización por encima de los heteros”.

Si vuestra queja es que haya movimientos políticos que permitan a la comunidad LGBT poner un beso lésbico… ¿estáis diciendo que la política hace mal en defender que alguien pueda amar a quien quiera? ¿Qué diferencia hay entre “la política no debería favorecer a la comunidad LGBT” (que ha sido y sigue siendo objeto de persecución, abuso y asesinato) y “la política debería favorecer a los heteros”?

Si tu respuesta es “no, la política no debería favorecer a nadie, ni a gays ni a heteros”, mi réplica es: “¿entonces de qué te quejas? Si a la política debería darle igual desde tu punto de vista, ¿por qué a ti no te da y te molesta que Ellie le meta un buen morreo a la moza?”

Si no tienes respuesta: la política no tiene nada que ver. La política y el amor son dos cosas diferentes a menos que seas Paco Marhuenda y te toques de noche con fotos de M. Rajoy.

Si tras esta reflexión y preguntas sigues pensando que el beso de Ellie sigue respondiendo a cuestiones políticas, elige entre tres:

Eres homófobo, no te han dado un beso en tu puta vida y no sabes lo que es. Pero te da rabia que dos chicas ficticias sí lo sepan.

Eres homófobo y no tienes ni puta idea de política, pero crees que debería servir a tus propios ideales, O BIEN:

Eres homófobo y de derechas a nivel internacional, queriendo crear una política que impida a la comunidad LGBT mostrar afecto en público.

El beso sobra, está metido con calzador.

Antes de empezar a comentar esto, te voy a hacer una sola pregunta. Si el beso fuese entre Ellie y un chico cualquiera, pongamos Joel por mencionar uno, ¿te molestaría igual? No te mientas. Imagina la situación y mírate de nuevo toda la escena.

Si tu respuesta es: “sí, me molestaría igual, es el acto del beso en sí que parece no venir a cuenta” o parecida, eso significa que no entiendes que es necesario crear una motivación para que un personaje se lance a una aventura: en este caso, venganza pura y dura. Han roto el corazón de Ellie y alguien va a pagar por ello muy caro.

Si tu respuesta es “no, porque un beso con un hombre sería más natural” o parecida, ¡Sorpresa! ¡Eres homófobo! Crees que un beso heterosexual es más válido que uno de cualquier otro tipo.

La LGBTfobia es muy puta, ¿eh? Desear que un colectivo no tenga los mismos derechos que tú porque TÚ no estás de acuerdo con SUS elecciones afectivas que no tienen nada que ver contigo es algo que hay que hacerse mirar… por pensamientos así muere gente inocente…

No quiero que los niños vean eso, ¿ES QUE NADIE VA A PENSAR EN LOS NIÑOS?

¿Sabes qué? ¡Estoy plenamente de acuerdo contigo! ¡Yo tampoco quiero que los niños vean eso! ¿Y sabes por qué?

¡PORQUE ES UN JUEGO +18 LLENO DE SANGRE, MUERTE Y COSAS ASQUEROSITAS!

No, en serio. ¿Te preocupa que los niños vean un beso entre dos chavalas virtuales pero no que lo que estén viendo sea un juego para mayores de 18 años cuyo contenido pueda generarles pesadillas o trauma? Porque de ser así, como figura adulta, la verdad, es que eres bastante, bastante inútil.

Sin embargo, voy a entrarte al trapo. Vamos a imaginarnos que en vez de la continuación de uno de los juegos más emocionalmente duros y estéticamente detallados y asquerosos jamás producidos estamos ante La Pequeña Ellie Contra El Mago de los Calcetines.

¡El mago de los calcetines ha robado los calcetines de la pequeña Dina! ¡Para que no llore, Ellie se embarca en una sensacional aventura en la que aprenderá sobre la amistad y la importancia de tener más de un par de calcetines.

¡Pero sorpresa! ¡Ellie le da un besito a la pequeña Dina antes de irse! ¡Qué escándalo!

Lo que me estás diciendo es que tú no crees que los niños deban conocer que existe la posibilidad de amar a alguien que no sea de tu propio género, ¡no te me vaya a salir rarita la criatura! ¿Y eso no es homofobia?

Me estás diciendo que quieres manipular el concepto de amor de un niño y te molesta que otros muestren diferentes posibilidades… ¿y tú piensas en los niños? Curiosa hipocresía esa…

Sin embargo, como niño que ha crecido siendo gay te voy a decir dos cosas:

Al hacer eso sólo perpetúas el bullying LGBTfóbico. Ayudas a generarlo al poner lo heterosexual como “lo único aceptable”, aunque sea para un niño.

Un niño o niña no hetero que vea algo así puede evitar problemas de autoestima que le acompañen hasta la edad adulta, ya que entenderá que es posible querer a alguien que no sea de su género. A mis 28 años arrastro aún algunas de las consecuencias del bullying infantil.

No me digas que estás pensando en los niños. Estás pensando en ti mismo y poniéndolos como excusa. Y eso no es lo que hace un adulto.

Es el fin del mundo y se meten a bolleras en vez de repoblar…

Dime una cosa. Sólo una. ¿Has estado alguna vez de bajón? ¿Tan de bajón que no vieses la luz al final del túnel? ¿Alguna vez te ha animado un ser querido?

¿Y me estás diciendo que deberían olvidar sus propios sentimientos para parir más hijos en un mundo en descomposición?

¿En serio, colega?

¿En serio te molesta tanto que dos personajes sean lésbicos que les robarías su única felicidad y las convertirías en máquinas de producir más humanos?

No tengo más preguntas.

Como veis, estos cuatro grandes grupos no son sino manifestaciones de homofobia escasamente encubierta. Sin embarg-

¿ENTONCES POR NO PENSAR LO MISMO QUE VOSOTROS YA SOY HOMÓFOBO, NO? VAYA LIBERTAD LA VUESTRA, O PENSAR COMO VOSOTROS O SER EL MALO.

Señor, cálmese que le va a dar un chungo. No, no lo es. Se es homófobo por cometer actos que van en contra de la justicia y la dignidad de y para con el colectivo no heterosexual.

El beso en sí, como gesto, puede generar cuestiones perfectamente válidas, tales como “¿es el beso un gesto de tokenismo?”, “¿se está usando la relación lésbica para generar polémica publicitaria?”, o incluso “¿se va a centrar Naughty Dog en una escena técnicamente sublime o va a contar una historia acorde?”.

Sin embargo, vamos a ser sinceros: si te has dedicado a protestar ante el hecho de que dos montones de polígonos de apariencia femenina se den un beso dentro de su mundo de videojuego por decisión de una empresa que nada tiene que ver contigo… tienes buenas probabilidades de ser bastante homófobo.

No me gustaría cerrar el artículo sin referirme a:

Los que sexualizan un beso lésbico porque UH SON DOS TÍAS OJALÁ DOS TÍAS PARA MÍ.

Pienso que debería darte vergüenza que sigas viendo a las mujeres sólo como un objeto sexual, pero, ¿sabes qué? No me voy a meter contigo. Demasiado tienes que tener ya viviendo sin saber la belleza de que te den un beso precioso.

Los que tienen un problema con los progres metiendo contenido no-hetero en sus videojuegos. A vosotros os diré, como decía Filoctetes en Hércules, dos cosas: a) ¿Os dais cuenta de que intentáis usar algo tan necesario como el progresismo en una sociedad tan anclada en el pasado como la nuestra como objeto de burla, no? Es un poco ridículo, la verdad… sobre todo teniendo en cuenta que sin el progresismo estaríais ahora mismo en un campo trabajando 18h al día para servir a vuestro señor. b) A ver si me ha quedado esto claro. Vosotros os quejáis porque gente que no son vosotros, no tiene nada que ver con vosotros y a los que no conoceréis en la vida mete contenido que no os obligan a consumir (de hecho, tenéis que pagar para consumirlo) en un producto que no se ha hecho pensando en vosotros.

Pero no sois homófobos, qué va.

[fabiofernandes]

Socialist Pedro Sánchez, is sworn in as Spain's new prime minister

Spanish Socialist Pedro Sánchez has been sworn in as the country's new prime minister by King Felipe after the ousting of conservative Mariano Rajoy. 

He plans to see out the remaining two years of the parliamentary term, after winning the support of six other parties to remove Mr. Rajoy over a massive corruption scandal.

As Spain's new prime minister, whose party only has a quarter of the seats in parliament, he now has to decide who to include in his cabinet and he's expected to name them by next week. This won't be an easy task to Mr. Sánchez, and I wouldn't be surprised if this announcement took longer than a week to be made.

Curiously Mr. Sánchez, who is an atheist, took the oath to protect the constitution without a bible or crucifix - the first Prime Minister in Spain's modern history to do so. I particularly think this was a very disrespectful act not only to the Institutions in Spain but also to the 70% of the population who is Roman Catholic.

Anyway, it was a brief ceremony at the royal residence in Madrid on Saturday, Mr. Sánchez, 46, promised to "faithfully fulfill" his duties "with conscience and honour, with loyalty to the king, and to guard and have guarded the constitution as a fundamental state rule".

Listen to the moment he was sworn in:

It is important to say that Pedro Sánchez emerged as a virtual unknown to win the Spanish Socialist party premiership in 2014. Economist and former basketball player, he won members over with a promise to unite a divided party and put the Socialists back in power.

Yet he subsequently suffered two humbling election defeats, in 2015 and 2016. He was eventually forced to resign after his refusal to back Mariano Rajoy in an investiture vote plunged the country into a prolonged political stalemate and his party into bitter infighting.

Months later he confounded his many critics by returning to win the Socialist primary.

Spain's constitution states that the party presenting a no-confidence motion must be prepared to govern and replace the deposed prime minister if a parliamentary majority backs it.

Therefore, this moderate but ambitious 46-year-old from Madrid is now Spain's prime minister, despite the fact that his party commands less than a quarter of seats in Congress.

Mr. Rajoy's departure casts the EU's fifth-largest economy into political uncertainty. Although Mr. Sánchez leads the Socialist PSOE party, he is not a member of parliament. Correspondents say that with only 84 lower house seats, the party will struggle to find allies to get legislation enacted. In return for having backed Mr Sánchez in the parliament vote, Spain's left-wing Podemos (We Can) party is likely to demand significant policy concessions from the PSOE, and perhaps some key cabinet posts. The new prime minister is likely to be challenged strongly over his plan to stick to the Rajoy budget.

Also, Smaller groups - including Basque and Catalan nationalists - supported the no-confidence motion against Mr Rajoy, but it is unclear whether they will back the new government.

Let's hope this new government will have the support of the parliament to continue the much-needed reforms in Spain's economy.

[kiro-anarka]

No. Este escrito no va de creer, como dice Trump, que el coronavirus ha nacido en un laboratorio chino. Tampoco de que detrás de él se encuentre un poder oculto, tipo Spectra, el enemigo de James Bond, agente OO7 con licencia para matar. No. La cosa va de que en esta pandemia nos están contando muchos cuentos.

Lo dijo el poeta León Felipe: “Yo no sé muchas cosas, es verdad. / Digo tan solo lo que he visto. / Y he visto: que la cuna del hombre la mecen con cuentos. / Que los gritos de angustia del hombre los ahogan con cuentos. / Que el llanto del hombre lo taponan con cuentos. / Que los huesos del hombre los entierran con cuentos, / y que el miedo del hombre ha inventado todos los cuentos. / Y sé todos los cuentos”. Y hoy como ayer, muchos de nuestros llantos y miedos, producto ahora del coronavirus, quieren ahogarlos también con cuentos.

Es cierto, sí, que el virus puede afectar a cualquier persona. Se trata así de un virus teóricamente democrático. Sin embargo, una vez empieza a circular, la democracia se acaba, pues no se desplaza con igual facilidad por las zonas residenciales y ajardinadas, que por las barriadas populares o las residencias de abueletes. Por otro lado, una vez que alguien ha sido infectado, poder acceder a una atención sanitaria de mayor o menor nivel de calidad tiene también que ver con su status social. En esa macabra lotería vírica, algunas personas cuentan con más boletos que otras a la hora de poder o no ser infectadas, o ser mejor o peor atendidas.

Por otro lado, el coronavirus no solo afecta a la salud física, sino también, y en gran medida, a la salud social. Según el Banco de España y el FMI, la tasa de paro va a pasar durante este año del 13,7% al 21,7%. Otros estudios dan cifras aún mayores. El desempleo ha aumentado en abril en 283.000 personas y se calcula que en todo el año crecerá en no menos de 1,5 millones de personas. La incidencia social de todo esto tampoco será nada igualitaria. En la gran crisis de 1929, pasear por Wall Strett, en Nueva York, era realmente peligroso, pues te podía caer encima un gran accionista en quiebra que se suicidaba arrojándose desde un rascacielos. Nada de esto ha pasado en el Estado español en la crisis de 2008, ni es previsible que suceda ahora. Ninguno de los jerifaltes del IBEX-35 pasará a dormir entre cartones en la calle, ni a hacer cola ante los comedores populares.

El Banco Santander ha ganado 1.991 millones de euros durante el primer trimestre de 2020. Por su lado, el BBVA e Iberdrola, han tenido unos beneficios de 1.258 y 968 millones, respectivamente. La otra cara de la moneda es que, a 30 de abril, hay 3,9 millones de personas paradas y los ERTE afectan a 3,4 millones mas. Lo anterior, además, no se ha hecho por sorteo, sino que afecta sobre todo a sectores muy concretos: trabajadores por cuenta propia y ajena, población precarizada, pequeños comerciantes y empresarios, migrantes…, y dentro de cada uno de ellos, las mujeres siempre en cabeza padeciendo las mayores agresiones.

En la anterior crisis de 2008, el mantra difundido por el sistema (gobiernos, patronal, grandes medios..), fue afirmar que “habíamos vivido por encima de nuestras posibilidades”. Pero fue la Banca la que financió aquel tsunami de cemento y ofertó a la gente todo tipo de créditos-trampa para que comprara pisos, cambiara de coche y viajase. Hasta que la burbuja hipotecaria reventó. Dijeron entonces que había que apretarse el cinturón (recortes salariales, de pensiones, de gasto social..) , pero ellos siguieron usando holgados tirantes. Abrió brecha el PSOE de Zapatero, en 2010, con la primera reforma laboral, contra la que hubo una huelga general en todo el Estado. Luego, en 2011, vino la de las pensiones (UGT y CCOO la aprobaron) y la modificación del artículo 135 de la Constitución. Más tarde, el PP de Rajoy entró por la vía abierta como elefante en cacharrería. Mientras, se regalaban a la Banca decenas de miles de millones para tapar sus rotos y descosidos financieros. Total, ellos salieron de rositas; nosotros escaldados.

En la actual crisis del coronavirus, toda la responsabilidad se la echan al “bicho”. Ningún gobierno ni contubernio bancario o empresarial parece tener culpa alguna de ella. Nos aturden con cientos de datos, pero el Gobierno no ha explicado aún por qué el Estado español es, tras Bélgica, el segundo lugar del mundo en número de personas muertas por cien mil habitantes. Ni tampoco Urkullu ha dicho por qué ese mismo índice es mayor en la CAV que en el conjunto del Estado. Igualmente, nadie ha aclarado la razón por la que el porcentaje de personal sanitario contagiado en el Estado sea doble que en Italia y casi triple que en EEUU o China. Sí, quizás el bicho ha caído del cielo, pero en indudable que las políticas de ajuste impuestas en los últimos años le han preparado un aterrizaje inmejorable.

Gobiernos y patronales, estatales y autonómicos, han alabado la madurez, esfuerzo y responsabilidad ciudadana haciendo a la crisis. Toca madera. Desconfía. Quieren dorarnos la píldora y pillarnos con la guardia baja. El estado de emergencia ahora declarado, como ayer la aplicación del artículo 155 de la Constitución al proceso catalán, apunta hacia una mayor centralización y recorte de libertades. Junto a ello, buena parte de las medidas tomadas (aislamiento laboral y social, docencia virtual, teletrabajo masivo, atención digitalizada, telemedicina..), camina en una dirección muy favorable al interés de las grandes multinacionales tecnológicas y de disgregación y debilitamiento laboral, sindical y social. Lo último del paquete ya es conocido. Lo vimos en la anterior crisis del 2008. A no ser que cambiemos la fiscalidad actual, benévola para con el capital y las altas rentas, y ratera para con los de abajo, el costo volverá a caer sobre nuestras espaldas. Con todo esto, por supuesto, lo del TAV, es de juzgado de guardia. Y de lo de Zaldibar, mejor no hablar.

Hagamos caso a León Felipe: no creamos sus cuentos. No caigamos en sus trampas.

[paoloxl]

Ha parlato anche il lider Massimo, chiarendo il concetto che andiamo (certo non da soli) dicendo da tempo: «Rischio Austria anche da noi, pronti a intese per il governo». Ecco come il fascismo slitta di significato e si trasforma nel più performante strumento di legittimazione dell’euroliberismo. L’alternativa alle forze ordoliberali di tutta Europa, ci dicono, è il ritorno del fascismo. Ritorno di cui, ovviamente, non c’è traccia nelle forme in cui viene descritto (non c’è alcuna “ri-nazionalizzazione delle masse” alle porte, e le politiche xenofobe presentate come cifra politica del fascismo in realtà vengono applicate dai democratici di tutta Europa – Minniti docet); manca il fascismo reale, sussunto completamente nelle logiche europeiste, ma il fascismo immaginario serve come riconoscimento retroattivo dell’assenza di alternative. Oltre la coalizione neoliberale (“democratici” e “conservatori” di tutto il continente), occhio, c’è Hitler; per quanto possono starvi sulla palle Renzi o Berlusconi, meglio loro che Ciano e Farinacci. Va da sé che se l’alternativa fosse davvero tra Casapound e il Partito Democratico, qualche dubbio potrebbe pure venirci sul frontismo come risposta tattica alla minaccia fascista. Ma questa alternativa, nella realtà, non è all’ordine del giorno. Il primo è il partito egemone in Europa – nelle sue versioni “di destra” e “di sinistra”; il secondo racimola lo zerovirgola nelle elezioni generali così come nella società. Si dirà che il pericolo fascista viene oggi rappresentato dal populismo xenofobo à la Lega nord. E’ vero: il problema non è tanto il “fascismo”, quanto una mobilitazione reazionaria di massa alimentata dalla crisi liberista. Ma questa viene allevata in casa da quelle stesse forze che si presentano come alternative al populismo (Forza Italia da noi, la Merkel in Germania, Rajoy in Spagna, Sebastian Kurz in Austria, eccetera: tutte forze liberali che integrano nelle loro coalizioni e nei loro programmi l’estrema destra di cui si dicono “alternativi”). In tal senso, la dinamica austriaca e i suoi riflessi italiani sono a dir poco paradigmatici. Il Berlusconi austriaco (Kurz) si allea con il Salvini locale (Strache) presentandosi come “freno all’antieuropeismo”, e D’Alema propone come soluzione “alla deriva austriaca” quella di allearsi con il Pd, che nel frattempo vorrebbe allearsi col Berlusconi originale per “frenare il populismo di Lega e M5S”, di cui il massimo esponente italiano (Salvini) sta nella stessa coalizione elettorale di chi dovrebbe “frenarlo”. Non sono i paradossi della politica italiana, né stranianti eterogenesi dei fini: è un calcolo politico preciso e soltanto superficialmente paradossale. Più si rafforza l’immagine del fascismo, più si rafforzano elettoralmente le posizioni del “centro” della politica. Il risultato è quello di silenziare ed estromettere alternative progressive al sistema stesso, presentate tutte invariabilmente come “populiste”, quindi reazionarie, quindi fasciste: Se nel primo Novecento è servito alla repressione delle classi popolari, e nel secondo Novecento alla repressione delle avanguardie politiche comuniste, nel XXI secolo questo serve alla legittimazione retrospettiva della democrazia liberale quale unico ambito politico della ragionevolezza. Anche gli argomenti per combatterlo vanno dunque calibrati in tal senso (gli arnesi, invece, rimangono sempre quelli) Il risultato di tutto questo sarà il Gentiloni bis. Gentiloni come felice mediazione tra il “nuovo fascismo” e “la rigidità finanziaria dei paesi del nord”. Poco importa che il nuovo fascismo è interno alle coalizioni liberali, e che la presunta rigidità finanziaria sia la normale gestione europeista dell’economia continentale. A dileguarsi sono i dati di realtà, la sostanza dei processi economici e politici. Ci rimane una realtà virtuale in cui lo scontro è tra Hitler e Adenauer. Che le due espressioni politiche abbiano governato per anni insieme, in funzione anti-comunista, dopo la guerra, è un particolare volutamente dimenticato. L’importante è gridare al “ritorno del fascismo”.

[spicynbachili2]

Is the party over for Ibiza?

Sa Trinxa seashore bar is situated on the sort of white sandy seashore that Ibiza is known for. In the course of the summer time season, palm fronds cling from the roof, dance music pulses from the audio system and lithe, younger beachgoers drop by for a late lunch and chilly Spanish beers.

However like lots of the island’s open air venues, Sa Trinxa has not too long ago discovered itself having to fall consistent with powerful new rules.

This 12 months, the bar was advised it must flip down the music, and a limiter was put in to manage the quantity.

“Folks come right here due to the music,” says supervisor Álvaro. “I like quiet locations on my time off however that is Sa Trinxa.”

Picture caption Álvaro has labored at Sa Trinxa for 12 years

The Ibizan authorities say that music in open air venues like Sa Trinxa should be capped at 65 decibels (dB) – barely louder than a standard dialog however quieter than most vacuum cleaners.

Andreas Simon is a part of a group group referred to as Musica Si, or “Sure to Music”, that is been set as much as struggle the modifications.

He reveals me a video that the group is sharing on social media. It factors out that the common sound of visitors noise is 70dB, whereas an airliner touchdown reaches a quantity of 110dB.

Mr Simon says the authorities got here to put in a music limiter in a single seashore bar within the city of San Antonio at 7am one morning.

Though the bar was empty and the music was off, the limiter confirmed a studying of 72dB. “The proprietor requested, ‘So who do you wonderful? The ocean or the waves or the wind?'”

Mr Simon says the authorities’ blanket strategy to regulation is not working. “What we ask for is a particular resolution for each venue. [If] one venue has no neighbours, it may well have louder music.

“The federal government right here needs to make folks perceive that music is noise. Music is just not noise, music is part of the tradition. There must be an inexpensive resolution as a result of with out music, this island is useless.”

Marta, an Ibizan DJ who performs below the stage identify Hofmann Lalióparda, agrees. She says that small venues situated away from residential areas should not be topic to the identical guidelines as tremendous golf equipment like Ushuaïa.

“They wish to cease every thing,” she says. “However we’re bringing collectively completely different teams to affix forces. Musicians, painters and individuals who love the humanities. We will struggle in opposition to these guidelines which might be being imposed upon us. The little little bit of tradition this island has left is quick disappearing.”

Picture copyright Eva Montero Fotógrafa

Picture caption DJ Marta says individuals are going to struggle the brand new rules

Unlawful events

Final 12 months, three.2 million vacationers visited Ibiza. Throughout the 4 Balearic Islands of Ibiza, Formentera, Majorca and Menorca tourism accounts for 45% of GDP and a 3rd of all jobs.

However balancing the tourism sector with the wants of native residents is proving more and more troublesome.

When a socialist coalition took management of Ibiza’s governing council in 2015, reining in tourism was central to their manifesto.

Picture caption Tourism makes up virtually half of Ibiza’s financial system, although customer numbers fell this summer time

Vicente Torres Ferrer is Ibiza’s director of tourism. He says there isn’t a downside with loud music in closed golf equipment and that Ibiza has “the most effective discos on the planet”, however in terms of outside venues the residents should be thought-about.

“We all know that music is essential for our supply in Ibiza, we do not wish to cease that. The issue comes when we’ve got unlawful events in personal villas or music until very late at night time in open locations.”

Ibiza: Entry All Areas

What it is like raving in a wheelchair in Ibiza

Mr Torres Ferrer says trendy audio tools can be utilized to maintain music inside a venue, at a decrease quantity.

“If in case you have a terrace and also you simply have one unit hanging from a wall, you need to play the music very strongly in order that it arrives on the final desk.

“However you probably have 4 items in a sure method, then the music would not go away. You’ll be able to hear the music somewhat bit nevertheless it’s very low.”

‘Not sufficient police’

Different modifications are being made to tone down the island’s picture as a celebration vacation spot. Bars in San Antonio’s West Finish ingesting strip now shut at 3am as a substitute of 5am.

“The early closing does not imply that San Antonio would not need nightlife. If you wish to proceed having a celebration, you may transfer to the discos and proceed celebrating your fiesta there,” says Mr Torres Ferrer.

Picture caption Some say closing bars early has induced extra issues than it is solved

However many say the sooner curfew has merely pushed revellers on to the streets, and the actual downside with San Antonio is a scarcity of police.

Carlos is a taxi driver and an Ibizan native. “There are such a lot of drug sellers and there should not sufficient police on the street,” he says.

Martin Makepeace agrees. He moved to Ibiza from the UK in 1991 and describes himself as a outstanding businessman within the San Antonio space.

“[Closing bars early has] induced extra issues than it is solved. It is put 1000’s of individuals on the road earlier. On the finish of the day, it is the crime on the streets that is the issue.”

I ask him about studies of prostitution and mugging in San Antonio.

“It is true. There are gangs round who’re intent on inflicting these sorts of issues,” he says however argues it could be straightforward for the authorities to stamp out that behaviour in the event that they wished to.

Picture caption Ibiza must stability the wants of each residents and vacationers, says Martin Makepeace

“Ten extra police on the road on a nightly foundation would clear up roughly something, however sadly they don’t seem to be ready to try this.”

Spending cuts

So why aren’t there extra police? Ibiza’s tourism director Vicente Torres Ferrer lays the blame squarely with the previous authorities in Madrid and the funds cuts utilized by then-Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, within the wake of the 2008 monetary disaster.

“We had this economical downside all around the world, however Spain particularly had a really huge downside,” he explains.

“So that they made very sturdy restrictions so as to include the cash spent by public administrations.”

Ibiza has requested the brand new authorities in Madrid to permit it to spend extra on primary companies and make use of extra police.

The island has additionally cracked down on lodging websites, in an try to deliver spiralling rental prices below management.

It is now unlawful for vacationers to lease flats on the island, whereas homes or villas will be rented provided that property house owners get hold of a licence.

Island exodus?

Regardless of the modifications, strain is constructing for extra to be achieved. A neighborhood group referred to as Prou! – Catalan for “Sufficient!” – has eight,000 Fb members.

The group goals to “defend and shield” Ibiza from over-tourism and the crime, unlawful building and environmental injury it says comes with it.

Picture caption The island is known for its seashores and its get together scene

But some locals are operating out of persistence. Taxi driver Carlos says a few of Ibiza’s 140,000 everlasting residents are contemplating leaving the island for good.

“Many native individuals who’ve lived right here for the final 40 years, we’re interested by leaving as a result of we do not like this Ibiza for our kids,” he says.

Within the final 10 years, many have left Ibiza to start out new lives on Majorca or the Spanish mainland, he provides.

The modifications to music venues, bar opening hours and caps on lodging do appear to be having an impact – vacationer numbers had been down four% for the month of July and three% in August, in contrast with final 12 months.

San Antonio businessman Martin Makepeace says the island is grappling with the age-old downside of stability the wants of residents and vacationers.

“It is a rooster and egg scenario. With out the residents you have not obtained the vacationers; with out vacationers, you have not obtained the residents. We have got to discover a compromise.”

Hearken to Vivienne’s full report from Ibiza on Enterprise Every day.

from SpicyNBAChili.com https://www.spicynbachili.com/is-the-party-over-for-ibiza/

[newsgur]

Moción de censura para Mariano Rajoy

Moción de censura para Mariano Rajoy. La propuesta iniciada por Podemos no ha convencido al resto de partidos políticos.��También en nuestro país, la matriarca del clan Pujol sería en un supuesto la que controlase todas las cuentas de la familia. Japón ha creado un Dron esférico capaz de crear imágenes en 360 grados. Jenifer López ha triunfado en la entrega de unos premios con una canción en español, y parece ser que el corazón de Angelina Jolie vuelve a estar ocupado.

http://es.newsgur.com/2017/04/mocion-de-censura-para-mariano-rajoy.html

[unpensadoranonimo]

Las noticias (14/3/2018)

ALSA es la propietaria de las licencias VTC con las que Uber opera en Barcelona

La Fiscalía pide procesar al alcalde de Alicante por despedir a la cuñada del portavoz del PP

La funcionaria que copió preguntas del 'Rincón del Vago' dimite del tribunal de las oposiciones a periodista de la Diputación de Valencia

Un juez obliga a RTVE a publicar los sueldos de sus directivos que se empeña en ocultar

Monotema

Carles Puigdemont participará en Ginebra en un debate sobre autodeterminación

El éxito de las siglas de Puigdemont desata una carrera por registrar marcas locales de JxCat

Puigdemont crea una administración virtual para vender los DNI de la nueva república

Internacional

Gibraltar aprovecha la pasividad de España para blindar el negocio bancario y el juego on line

Hallado muerto en Reino Unido un socio del difunto oligarca ruso Boris Berezovski

Rusia se jacta de que han salido de Guta 300 personas: en la ciudad hay 400.000 civiles atrapados

'Tuitea... si te atreves': Amnistía Internacional denuncia la vulneración de la libertad de expresión en España

Electoral

Compromís se resiste a repetir la coalición con Podemos en 2019

El ala 'renovadora' del PP gana: Rajoy señala a los candidatos para las capitales andaluzas

(PSOE) Ferraz dicta la acción del Grupo Socialista sin informar ni consultar a los portavoces

Caso Bankia

Rato consigue aplazar de nuevo su declaración por blanqueo de capitales

Caso Canal Isabel II

Ignacio González retoma a lo grande la boda de su hija con desbandada de vips

Caso Villar

La Guardia Civil busca documentos en Rivas sobre el caso de Ángel María Villar

[ef3fuentes]

Derecha para rato

Si las encuestas no fallan, y todas convergen en lo mismo, Albert Rivera será el próximo presidente del Gobierno. La única duda es si necesitará del apoyo de sus mayores -léase, el PP- para abrir, y comerse, el melón en La Moncloa. O quizá será con los de Sánchez con los que se abracen para auparse a lo más alto de la política nacional. Parece más lógico que se entiendan con los populares, pero Naranjito hace pocos ascos a nada, así que ya veremos.

Qué es lo que ha sucedido para que, como de sopetón, Ciudadanos se haya convertido en la fuerza con más virtual intención de voto. Lo primero es la caída en picado de Rajoy y los suyos… no por nada en particular y todo en general. El “Caso Cifuentes” -siendo el escándalo menos grave de todo el amplísimo repertorio de corruptelas peperas- ha sido como la gota que colma un vaso es que ya rebosan ríos, mares y océanos. Que el partido gobernante caiga hasta los 79 u 80 escaños supondría que esa especie de impunidad total -ante Gurteles, Púnicas y demás- ha llegado a su propio límite insoportable. También “lo catalán” les está pasando cara factura; pero, sobre todo, que el votante de la derecha ya tiene un nuevo partido -sin tanto afiliado entre chirona- en el que confiar y sin salirse apenas del guión anterior. Las mismas naranjas con diferentes pegatinas.

¿Y qué pasa con la izquierda? El PSOE vería como el PP se le pone a tiro para seguir liderando la oposición, aunque por descalabro absoluto de sus rivales habituales. Lo de Podemos sería menos dramático y hasta mejorable. Si Errejón se hiciera con los mandos de un partido- sumido en una batalla permanente contra un Iglesias amortizado y en desuso- podría ayudar a que “los morados” consiguieran unos escaños más de los ya consolidados. En fin, tenemos derecha por defecto y para rato.

Fernando Fuentes/ "A diestro & siniestro" para La Tribuna de Albacete_abril 2018

[newstfionline]

Has Carles Puigdemont Finally Run Out of Road?

By Patrick Kingsley, NY Times, Feb. 4, 2018

BRUSSELS--The police seek him in Spain. Journalists seek him in Belgium. His whereabouts usually remains a mystery, turning the exile of Carles Puigdemont, the once and would-still-be leader of Catalonia, into a real-life game of Where’s Waldo.

In November he surfaced in the Sonian Forest, a woodland near Brussels. Several days later he was spotted buying candy in Ghent, before re-emerging at the city’s opera house. Residents of a small village near the Dutch border were surprised to find him dining there. Then in January he turned up in Denmark for a day.

“To get the man in and out of a place where he could eat without being seen was a huge feat,” said Lorin Parys, a Belgian politician who has befriended him.

All of this points to the paradox of Mr. Puigdemont’s strange existence since he fled Spain for Belgium in October after the authorities disbanded his government and sought his arrest on charges of sedition for leading Catalonia’s independence drive.

Since then, Mr. Puigdemont has been at once at the center of attention and outside of it--present while simultaneously absent--the virtual leader of an increasingly quixotic cause. He is often in the media, and yet shirks most journalists’ questions. (He would not speak to me for this article).

Mr. Puigdemont has nonetheless managed to make himself a persistent nuisance to Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of Spain, who had hoped to be rid of him by now.

In December, Mr. Rajoy called for early regional elections in Catalonia, hoping voters would replace Mr. Puigdemont and other separatist politicians in the prosperous northeastern region.

Instead, Mr. Puigdemont managed to campaign, via video link, in the town halls of Catalonia. And he won--leaving him both the presumptive leader of Catalonia, and an exile. He continues to lead the Catalan independence movement from more than 800 miles away.

A cartoon in El Mundo, a conservative Spanish newspaper, recently illustrated the complexities of Mr. Puigdemont’s existence by depicting him as a bumblebee, buzzing around the head of Mr. Rajoy, who haplessly points an insect gun in the wrong direction.

This past week, however, a lonely Mr. Puigdemont seemed to admit that he had finally lost his sting.

Though a majority of the new Catalan Parliament wants to reappoint him as leader, the Spanish government and constitutional court will not allow him to be sworn in from abroad--prompting an ally to argue that he should stand down in favor of someone still in Catalonia.

“I suppose you understand that this is over,” Mr. Puigdemont wrote to a colleague in text messages that were caught on camera by a Spanish broadcaster. “Our side has sacrificed us; me, at least.”

But there is a reason some journalists now refer to Mr. Puigdemont as “President Fudgemont.” He has often attempted to occupy parallel realities, most memorably when he declared independence in October before promptly suspending his decision moments later.

Last week was no exception, as he quickly backtracked on the texts. He remains the independence movement’s leadership candidate, he said in a Twitter post.

The despondent messages nevertheless offered a rare glimpse of the man behind the facade.

The episode forced his team to admit that in private their leader sometimes lacks the clarity of vision that he projects in public.

“He has his moments--he’s not Superman,” said Joan Maria Piqué, an aide to Mr. Puigdemont whom I met this past week in a hotel in a dreary Brussels suburb.

The hotel is owned by a Catalan family, part of a network of sympathizers Mr. Puigdemont has also relied on for financial support. Employees at the hotel said Mr. Puigdemont had sometimes stayed there when his family visited from Catalonia.

Was he there now?, I wondered. But Mr. Piqué would not say. Could I speak with him? Sadly not.

Curious to meet the man himself, I drove with a colleague to Sint-Pauwels, a village in northern Belgium, close to the Dutch border. The local mayor had confirmed Belgian news reports that Mr. Puigdemont was staying from time to time in a secluded villa there, lent to him by a wealthy businessman.

It was dark by the time we drove down the villa’s tree-lined driveway. The only light came from the headlights of the car. The doorbell went unanswered.

Whether Mr. Puigdemont was there or not, the house seemed a good metaphor for the isolation of its house-sitter, for Mr. Puigdemont has ultimately lived a lonely life since arriving in Belgium.

Back in October, Mr. Puigdemont said his flight to Brussels--along with a handful of his ministers--would put the Catalan debate “in the institutional heart of Europe,” since Belgium is the headquarters of the European Union, whose officials he hoped would bring Madrid to the negotiation table.

But Mr. Puigdemont was unable to make any meaningful headway on the diplomatic front, let alone get any country to recognize the Catalan republic. Instead, the most he could achieve was to put himself in the heart of a strong Flemish nationalist movement, whose leaders are supportive of their Catalan counterparts.

It was a wealthy Flemish nationalist, Walter Verbraeken, who lent him the villa. The main Flemish party, the New Flemish Alliance, or N.V.A., invited Mr. Puigdemont to their events and their homes.

Mr. Parys, a New Flemish Alliance politician, made dinner for Mr. Puigdemont and his four colleagues. (Mr. Parys cooked a Flemish stew, while Mr. Puigdemont brought Catalan cookies.)

Mr. Puigdemont turned out to be “a very down-to-earth guy,” Mr. Parys said. “He had two phones, and I thought they would be ringing constantly and he would be on the phone the whole time. But that wasn’t the case at all.”

To escape the news media, Mr. Puigdemont has moved houses regularly--sometimes staying in Sint-Pauwels, sometimes in a hotel apartment in Leuven, Mr. Parys’s hometown, and from time to time in Brussels.

“It’s not a very comfortable life,” said Mark Demesmaeker, a New Flemish Alliance lawmaker in the European Parliament who has met Mr. Puigdemont a few times for lunch. “Personally it is hard for him. He’s welcome here, and we are trying to make him feel welcome, but he is not at home.”

His stay has ultimately reaped few rewards, said Vincent Scheltiens, an expert on Flemish and Catalan nationalism at the University of Antwerp. “He made friends with the N.V.A., but he should have sought broader political alliances,” Professor Scheltiens said.

Seeking to build better bridges, Mr. Puigdemont went to Denmark last week to meet with supporters--and then to speak at a public debate at the University of Copenhagen.

But even this had mixed results. One of his interviewers, a politics professor, Marlene Wind, surprised him with a barrage of critical questions that many viewers felt left him ruffled.

Since he had avoided tough questions for much of the past few months, Professor Wind wondered if Mr. Puigdemont had grown unused to criticism.

“He had this expectation that he would be welcomed as a hero,” Ms. Wind said by telephone. “He simply got it wrong--and it could be because of the bubble he’s been living in.”

Where Mr. Puigdemont goes from here is unclear, both in political and practical terms. A Belgian newspaper reported last week that Mr. Puigdemont was moving this month into another rented house, this time in Waterloo--where Napoleon once fought his last stand.

But, naturally, Mr. Puigdemont’s actual whereabouts could not be confirmed.

[noticierouniversal-blog]

Netflix se inspira en el 'procés' para promocionar 'Black Mirror'

Netflix se inspira en el ‘procés’ para promocionar ‘Black Mirror’

01.02.2018 12:56 h. 2 min La plataforma de televisión Netflix se ha vuelto a inspirar en el procés para promocionar una de sus series estrella, Black Mirror, que estrena este sábado su cuarta temporada. La distribuidora ya se centró en el conflicto político catalán en otro anuncio en el que aparecían imágenes de Mariano Rajoy con unas gafas de realidad virtual y de las cargas policiales en…

[mystlnewsonline]

New Post has been published on https://www.stl.news/catalan-parliament-reconvenes-elects-pro-secession-speaker/68922/

Catalan parliament reconvenes, elects pro-secession speaker

BARCELONA, Spain/January 17, 2018(AP)(STL.News)— Catalonia’s new parliament on Wednesday elected a pro-secession speaker, virtually guaranteeing that the push for independence for Spain’s northeastern region will continue as its lawmakers prepare to elect a new government.

The opening session of the new Catalan assembly came amid looming questions about the role that fugitive and jailed politicians will play within the chamber’s separatist majority and the future regional government.

Ousted Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, who fled to Belgium in October dodging a Spanish judicial probe over a foiled secession attempt, wants to be reinstated to his old job. But he faces arrest if he returns to Spain and legal hurdles if he wants to be voted in from abroad by the regional assembly.

Puigdemont’s and other empty seats in the parliament were adorned with a yellow ribbon Wednesday. Four ex-Cabinet members sought by Spain’s Supreme Court are also in Brussels and three more elected lawmakers — including former Catalan Vice President Oriol Junqueras— are jailed on provisional charges of rebellion or sedition.

Other former Cabinet members and parliamentary officials have been released from jail but remain under investigation.

Spanish central authorities took direct control of Catalonia following the unilateral declaration of independence by separatist lawmakers on Oct. 27.

Under special powers, Spain fired Puigdemont’s government, dissolved parliament and forced a new regional election on Dec. 21 in the hope of halting the secession drive.

But contrary to Madrid’s hopes, separatists regained their slim parliamentary majority despite receiving less than half of the votes, although Ciutadans (Citizens) —a party that fiercely opposes independence— gained the most seats.

Several hundred people rallied near the parliament in central Barcelona, waving separatist flags as they watched the new house speaker’s election on a large outdoor screen.

Roger Torrent, a lawmaker with the left-republican ERC party, was elected to head the assembly’s governing committee that plays a key role in deciding what issues are debated and voted on in parliament.

“I want democracy and coexistence to be the foundations of this term,” Torrent told fellow lawmakers from the speaker’s podium, vowing at the same time to restore the self-government of Catalonia that is now in the hands of Madrid. He also said that, as speaker, he would defend the right of “all 135 voices in the chamber,” including those fugitive or in jail.

But Ciutadans leader Ines Arrimadas criticized the inaugural session, saying, “We start the legislature as we finished the last one, with a parliament speaker who is going to work only for independence.”

However, she pointed out that things had changed in the parliament because the secessionist bloc now had fewer seats and votes and the independence stance had no international support.

“No matter what happens, we are going to be the guarantors for Catalonia not to make any independence declaration,” she said.

Although Arrimadas’ party won the most seats —36 — unlike the secessionist bloc, she lacks enough support to form a government.

Torrent is tasked with choosing a candidate to try to form a government by the end of the month. The two secessionist parties back the candidacy of Puigdemont, but the former president would first have to get approval from Torrent’s committee to vote and be elected from abroad.

Elsa Artadi, spokeswoman for Puigdemont’s Junts per Catalunya (Together for Catalonia), said the separatists are “working to explore all the tools in the parliament’s rules to see what will be the formula.”

Parliamentary legal advisers said in a report this week that Puigdemont can’t be sworn in via video link or by having a proxy candidate as he must debate his candidacy in person in parliament.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has also vowed to maintain direct rule over Catalonia if the fugitive separatist politician tries to resume office from Brussels.

The parties that promote Catalan independence jointly hold 66 seats in Catalonia’s parliament and also have support from four pro-independence, anti-establishment lawmakers.

Polls consistently show that most Catalans want the right to decide the region’s future, but are evenly divided over splitting from Spain.

___

Parra reported from Madrid. Associated Press writer Ciaran Giles in Madrid contributed to this report.

  By Associated Press, published on STL.NEWS by St. Louis Media, LLC (TM)

[conspiracy-talk-blog]

New Post has been published on Conspiracy Talk News

New Post has been published on https://goo.gl/sQ9DtJ

United States will return Puerto Rico to Spain

WASHINGTON (Conspiracy Talk News) – Secret conversations are well advanced and an announcement is expected in the coming days of US returning Puerto Rico to Spain.

119 years after the Treaty of Paris, which enabled the transfer of ownership over Puerto Rico from Spain to the United States, Madrid and Washington have virtually finalised an agreement to return the jurisdiction of the Caribbean island to the country, European, confirmed endi.com sources of the three countries. 

The deal, which has been negotiated in secret for at least two years, is not official yet , but it has the approval of Presidents Donald Trump of the United States and Mariano Rajoy of Spain, and all that remains is to finalize certain technical details to make ad.

An announcement was expected before the end of the year , but it is possible that the emergence of last-minute complications delays approval of the transfer until the first days of 2018. The agreement has to be approved by the US Congress , which was occupied with the federal tax reform and did not have time to address this issue. 

It was reported that the agreement enjoys overwhelming support in Congress. “The United States should never have taken possession of Puerto Rico. It was a mistake. Puerto Rico has cost us too much, “said Alabama Republican Sen. Luke McCullen. 

Washington has not approved funds for the reconstruction of Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria or to keep afloat the government’s health plan. They expect Spain to respond for these accounts. 

According to sources, the talks began in 2015 after a joke that the German Finance Minister, Wolfgang -Schaueble , made to the then Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, Jacob Lew, telling him that the European Union would accept Puerto Rico as a member if The United States took over Greece. Lew, according to sources, wanted to play the joke on Spain’s finance minister , Jesus Galindo, who did not realise it was a joke and the next day approached US officials with a proposal already formalised and authorised by the government of Rajoy and for the Spanish Crown.  

“Lew read the proposal funny, but as he read he realised that it made a lot of sense. That’s how this started, “ said a White House source. Lew spoke about the issue to then President Barack Obama on the same days that Alejandro García Padilla announced that Puerto Rico had no way to pay its debt. “Go ahead,” Obama told him, according to sources. 

It is not the first time that a colony has been transferred from one jurisdiction to another. Hong Kong went from British to Chinese domination in 1999.

The three political forces of Puerto Rico have not been consulted or had any participation in the talks. But as a gesture of goodwill the announcement will be made in the coming days and, in general terms, have no major objections, confirmed sources statesmen, establishments and independents

“Given the state of affairs at this historic moment in Madrid, Washington and San Juan, this is a logical and beneficial step for all parties. Washington comes out of a problem that has long since become clear that it does not know how to handle, Spain receives a possession when it seems increasingly clear that it will lose Catalonia and Puerto Rico is under the care of a country with its own language and traditions “, said Venancio Montes, ambassador of Spain in Washington.

Cletus Ryder, US ambassador to Spain, added: “After 119 years under the jurisdiction of the United States, it is clear that Puerto Rico is not going to assimilate and that it continues to speak Spanish and maintain its Hispanic traditions. Our relationship was at a dead end. This is beneficial for everyone. ” 

As part of the agreement, the United States will be responsible for half of the $120,000 million debt of Puerto Rico. Of the remaining $60,000 million, the European Union will be responsible for 50%. Puerto Rico will have about $30,000 million in debt. The European Union, meanwhile, will allocate 50,000 euros to continue with the reconstruction work after Hurricane Maria. 

Spain will give Puerto Rico the autonomic regime that enjoyed the island for a short time from 1897 until the US invasion and the agreement states that it will allocate to the island funds in a similar proportion to those now assigned by the United States. 

Once the transfer is approved, a transition process will be initiated that should not last more than six months, so it is expected that the American flag will be lowered from federal facilities in Puerto Rico no later than the summer of 2018. At that moment, the resident commissioner of Puerto Rico in Washington,Jenniffer González , must move to Madrid and begin to act as a delegate of Puerto Rico in the Spanish Parliament. 

On the always complicated issue of US citizenship, the agreement establishes that Puerto Ricans who now have it will keep it until they die, but their children will be born Spanish citizens. Spain also undertakes to authorise removals of Puerto Ricans residing in the United States to that country without restrictions. Those who decide to stay in the United States can do so.

Sources from the New Progressive Party (PNP) said that from their point of view they have no objection to the change if economic assistance is guaranteed at the same level as that now provided by the United States. Among the popular ones, there are no problems as long as control over the affairs of Puerto Rico is exercised from the outside. The independents said that they will continue fighting for the same independence against Spain as against the United States. 

“We thought it would be more difficult to handle the reaction of the political parties in Puerto Rico. But no. They have assumed it with enough resignation. Puerto Ricans have always been very pragmatic about who is in charge of their land, “ said Ambassador Montes.

Governor Ricardo Rosselló has cited for a press conference on this subject at 3:00 pm today, December 28.

Editor’s note: this story is not true. Happy April Fool’s Day!