Category Archives: Blog

When the mob came for the priest

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It was the cat that awoke me. I started from my wicker seat, the one that my parents had bought me when I left the seminary. I was startled awake from my siesta, and my prayer book fell from my lap, and my glasses with it. I blinked at the broken spectacles. I scrabbled at the frames in fury, and only managed to cut my hand on the thick, broken glass. The welling blood on Continue reading When the mob came for the priest→

Madrid caught out lying over report into epidemiological report

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In the middle of a fuss about whether or not Spain should allow an independent report into its handling of the pandemic and lockdown (the government says now is not the time, several large independent Spanish scientific organisations say it is), Madrid region has been caught in a blatant lie over the number of asymptomatic carriers of Covid it has detected A report dated August 4th published on the official Madrid Health website has been Continue reading Madrid caught out lying over report into epidemiological report→

The bloke who killed a moonfish in Roquetas by pulling it out of the water and sitting on it will not face any worse than a small fine.

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Although fish rights organisation Equinac has filed a criminal complaint, the Guardia Civil said that it’s not illegal to kill fish by sitting on them, any more than it is illegal to kill fish by smacking them against a rock when you catch them (he gets done under a procedimiento administrativo sancionador, if you understand Spanish law). The moonfish is not endangered, and as such is not protected by law. Nor is it a domestic Continue reading The bloke who killed a moonfish in Roquetas by pulling it out of the water and sitting on it will not face any worse than a small fine.→

So just who was advising the government about the lockdown?

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There’s a rather bizarre fight going on in Spanish politics at the moment, after Salvador Illa, the health minister, admitted in a moment of absent mindlessness that a supposed committee of independent experts who were supposed to be advising the government on the lockdown – didn’t exist. Continue reading So just who was advising the government about the lockdown?→

Judge stops the quarantine of half a million people in Lleida

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The courts have this morning overturned the emergency quarantine of half a million people in Lleida. Both the public prosecutor and the magistrate asked to review the measure consider the massive scale of the lockdown to be “disproportionate” and “not based upon scientific evidence”. Judge Elena García-Muñoz Alarcos furthermore said that such a massive lockdown would only be constitutional if passed using national State of Emergency laws, a decision that could stop all regions of Continue reading Judge stops the quarantine of half a million people in Lleida→

Almería leads gender related violence stats for the last 15 years

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Here’s a fun statistic. It turns out that Almería is the province with the greatest number of reported gender related crimes, relative to head of population, in the country, over the last 15 years. And Roquetas de Mar is the hotbed of the plague – it is the large city with the greatest number of reported crimes per head of population in the country. Between 2003 and 2018, there was an average of 5.4 murders Continue reading Almería leads gender related violence stats for the last 15 years→

Hours after facing down calls in parliament to resign for firing top coppers – Marlaska goes and fires ANOTHER top copper

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So today marked one of the most tumultuous days in the Spanish parliament ever, with accusations of supporting terrorism being levied at Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias, general cries of corruption, and a unified demand from the main opposition parties for the Minister of the Interior Fernando Grande-Marlaska to either stand down or be fired. Really, it’s almost a question of what will explode first, the ruling coalition or Spain itself. Marlaska is in trouble for Continue reading Hours after facing down calls in parliament to resign for firing top coppers – Marlaska goes and fires ANOTHER top copper→

Madrid’s Guardia Civil chief fired – for investigating those he shouldn’t, it seems

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Colonel Diego Perez de los Lobos, the head of the Madrid Guardia Civil, has been fired on personal orders from the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, with immediate effect. A terse note from the Ministry of the Interior confirmed the firing, and said that the motive was down to a “loss of confidence in his ability to do his job”. The Colonel was later seen driving out of head office, in mufti and in Continue reading Madrid’s Guardia Civil chief fired – for investigating those he shouldn’t, it seems→