READ ALL ABOUT IT! WHERE?

I suspect I was always going to be a journalist because of the simple fact that from a very young age I was an avid newspaper reader.

The News Chronicle, long since departed, was the daily read at the family dining table.

By 1960 I was a commuter. I lived in South London but went to school in North London requiring me to catch the train to Charing Cross then the Northern Line tube to Archway.

On my way home if the pocket money allowed I’d buy an evening paper from one of the vendors crowding the station or the Strand outside. “Star, News and Standard” was the cry of those days.
I was a Star boy – a short lived one though because it merged with the Evening News in 1960. Come 1987 and the News was swallowed up by the Evening Standard which continues to this day. In theory at least.

Recently the Evening Standard became a free sheet – which is fine until you try to get your hands on a copy. On my recent visit to London there was not a Standard to be found nor any obvious sign of where you’d get one.

Gone are the vans that used to race round the streets competing to get their wares – the Star, News or Standard –to the vendors first especially if there was a hot story. Gone are the vendors themselves so much a part of central London life for generations. Even the newsagents have given up offering the Standard as since it went free there was no money to be made.

If there was a news story developing – such as the present coalition talks – I’d buy several newspapers a day to see what the latest edition had to say. As much of the newspaper remained the same I’d buy different titles then read each cover to cover. Last week – nothing – you can’t check the internet when you are hoofing around town. And I’m sorry – sitting in the pub or Starbucks checking the news on your Blackberry is no substitute for having inky paper in your hands.

Ironically I do have one source for the Standard close at hand. The Gibraltar daily Panorama takes the majority of its non-local news from that paper. So on the Rock I can “read all about it” – but in London itself – forget it!

WILL BROWN BE TOAST?

The British General Election is upon us and unless the opinion polls have it very wrong these are Gordon Brown’s last days in government.

I like to draw a difference between the man and the politician but in the prime minister’s case I am not so sure they aren’t the same thing.

I could say I am sure he was nice to his mother and old ladies – but after last week’s encounter when he insulted a pensioner who was going to vote for him I’m not too sure.

There are myriad stories about how unpleasant he was as Chancellor, as a Cabinet colleague, as Tony Blair’s next door neighbour, how he always went missing when there was dirty work to be done – Westminster tittle tattle or fact? I suspect the latter.

When your sole plea to the voters is – you may not like me but I’m good at my job – well, it sounds very desperate, doesn’t it? Especially with the disaster zone of the British economy that
was created under your stewardship.

The problem for the Labour Party is it has known for 18 months or so that even with the economic crisis the voters were more likely to support the party if they dumped Brown.

As we know from the various failed plots they never had the guts to finish the job – so they left Brown a wounded, angry beast.

For those acts of cowardice alone I believe Labour’s MPs deserve to be cast in to political oblivion. Nothing has ensured a Cameron or Clegg victory more than their indecision.

I now head off to London to witness their slaughter. I may even see the obnoxious Lord Mandelson humbled! Hope springs eternal. See you next week.

A LONG LIFE – IN HOSPITAL

Now here’s a sad yet curious tale. Agapito Pazos Méndez died last Saturday at the splendid age of 83 from a heart attack. Yet from the age of three years till he breathed his last he was the resident of the Hospital Provincial in Pontevedra.

He lived permanently at the hospital because when aged three years he was abandoned inside a large box at its doors. He had serious handicaps and so the hospital kept him in its care.

Medical examinations showed he had spina bifida plus other infirmities which prevented him from walking. None-the-less Agapito was integrated as one of the workers at the hospital and assumed responsibility for guarding the keys to the medicines and store room which he did with great professionalism. He also kept watch over other patients initially in groups of 20 and then just one other.

Officials at the hospital stressed that Agapito was serious ill and they frequently expected him to die.

During his 79 years at the hospital he only left it once when he went in the company of another worker to the beach at A Lanzada de O Grove. This trip to the sea took place when he was 60.

He was a popular figure at the hospital and shared the trials and tribulations of its patients and their visitors.

His only major blow in life was when a patient stole the box in which he kept his few savings. The distraught Agapito was comforted when a doctor bought him a more secure box with his own money.

He passed his entire life in a wheel chair and finally left the hospital on Monday for his funeral.

May he rest in peace.

YOUNG AND FOREIGN

One of the areas of specific interest to me and on which I blog frequently is domestic violence. Although I have expressed my concern about the small number of people – men and women – who are falsely accused as acts of revenge – make no mistake I have zero tolerance of any such acts of violence.

That out of the way I was interested to read some statistics released by Spain’s judicial authority – the Consejo General del Poder Judicial. It shows that half of the 55 women who died at the hands of their partners or former partners in 2009 were 35 years old or younger. Furthermore 38 per cent of all such deaths were amongst non-Spaniards.

Living in the southern part of Andalucía the majority of domestic violence deaths that I write about are amongst immigrants. In addition in the special courts set up in Cádiz and Málaga provinces to try cases of domestic violence the number of foreigners tried outnumbers Spaniards. In Algeciras there is a large Moroccan community who have different views on sexual equality from out own. On the Costa del Sol Northern Europeans including Britons often feature.

The study was produced by the Observatorio contra la Violencia Doméstica y de Género. The CGPJ says it is concerned that the findings show that in seven out of ten cases the victim had not reported their partners for previous acts of violence.

If there is good news in the report it is that there was a drop last year in the number of women murdered compared with 2008 when there were 75 although the percentage of foreign women remains very high.

Of the 2009 victims eight were under protection orders at the time of their deaths – obviously their protection wasn’t adequate. Seventy per cent of the slayings took place in the home of the victim or aggressor. In 24 per cent of cases the aggressors committed suicide, in 13 per cent they attempted to kill themselves and in 39 per cent of cases they were detained by the authorities.

I have always taken the view that whilst women account for the largest number of victims men are abused as well. In 2009 nine men died at the hands of women, one was murdered by another man but in two of these cases the male victim had previously been denounced for violence against the woman.

LEFT VERSUS RIGHT

Spain’s campaigning judge, Baltasar Garzón, has provoked fury amongst those on the right of the nation’s politics as well as the remaining supporters of the Franco regime. His decision to investigate the crimes committed during the dictator’s era has opened up not just one but several cans of worms as those opposing the judge have sought to have him brought before the courts.

On Saturday it was the turn of his supporters to take to the streets. In Madrid thousands marched from the Puerta de Alcalá to the Puerta del Sol. Another four thousand were reported to have gathered in the plaza de Sant Jaume in Barcelona.

In Sevilla the demonstration was attended by the mother and sisters of the judge – the family come from Jaén in Andalucía. Others gathered in various towns and cities including Málaga, Córdoba, Zaragoza, Murcia, Cáceres, Valladolid, León, Palma de Mallorca, Las Palmas, Santander, Valencia and Gijón.

It was also an international protest. Leading newspapers around the world such as the Financial Times and New York Times have questioned how a judge can face trial for essentially doing his job. So it is no surprise that the Spanish Embassy in Lisbon was the scene of a protest as were the French cities of Paris, Pau, Montpellier and Burdeos with people in Brussels, Buenos Aires and Dublin scheduled to show their support.

It is not only in the case on the crimes of the Franco regime that Garzón has gathered enemies but also in the Gürtel corruption scandal that embroils the opposition Partido Popular. To counter this demonstrators carried banners calling for “democracy” and “justice” in support of the judge as well as demanding more judges like him – plus a hearing of all the evidence in the Gürtel trial.

It is significant that in opposition dozens of people gathered at a Falange Española de las JONS demonstration held at the same time in Madrid – where amongst other claims against Garzón he was accused of being a “mason” who should be sent to prison.

The day after the demonstrations the main political parties in Spain entered the arena. The secretary general of the centre right Partido Popular, María Dolores de Cospedal, accused people who are very close to the socialist government of putting democracy at risk. The PP has again called for the resignation of the Secretary of State for territorial co-operation, Gaspar Zarrías, for supporting one of the previous meetings honouring the judge.

In response the minister of public works and vice secretary general of PSOE, José Blanco, accused the PP of giving “oxygen” to the Falange. Blanco added that whilst the PP defended the independence of the judiciary when it came to the Gürtel case “it persecutes the judges and accuses the police of falsifying evidence” in an effort to escape justice itself.

So now the Garzón case that already had worrying implications for justice and democracy has widened pitting left against right. You don’t have to have a very long memory to know that this is turf Spain had trod before with disastrous consequences.

TIME TO SUPPORT GARZÓN

I make no apology for today returning to the campaign in support of the Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzón. Below I repeat a message from Avaaz – and I urge you to sign the petition and urge your friends to do likewise. There are also numerous pages in support of Garzón on Facebook!

Thank you to my readers who have also copied me this Avaaz plea for help. At the end of the message from Avaaz are various articles in major newspapers from around the world that have spoken out in the judge’s defence. I would also urge you to click on the side bar link to the Alexander Bewick blog – where AB talks eloquently of the case facing the judge.

To sign the petition will take minutes. Inaction can affect us all.

Dear friends across Spain, The news is in -- Judge Garzón is to be tried on charges that could end his career, inflicting a fresh blow to the credibility of our justice system. A decision on whether to suspend his license is expected imminently.

The main charge, brought by extreme right lobby groups, is that he violated the 1977 Amnesty Law by investigating crimes against humanity -- including the disappearance of tens of thousands of people, during the civil war and its aftermath. But crimes against humanity cannot be amnestied under international law.

The Supreme Court now faces a historic choice: uphold the rule of law, or allow ideology and impunity to triumph over justice. They are under enormous pressure to bring Garzón down, but a massive public outcry could tip the balance. More than 70,000 of us have already raised our voices for democracy and universal human rights -- let's deliver a 100,000-strong petition to the Supreme Court and the General Council of the Judiciary this week. We have only days left -- take action below and forward this email widely now.

Whatever we think of Garzon, he has gained a reputation for his relentless efforts to seek justice, pursue brutal dictators, terrorists, drug mafias and corrupt politicians.

But the Supreme Court has admitted three complaints against him, two of which could impact on two crucial investigations for our democracy: the case of crimes against humanity, and the Gürtel case, one of the largest bribery and corruption scandals in our recent history.

The crimes against humanity case is straight forward -- these crimes are of such gravity that international law does not permit accused perpetrators to hide behind national amnesty laws, even if this law played a role at the time of our political transition.

If the court removes Garzon's license it will be undermining their commitment to universal human rights and with it our faith in the judicial system. This petition is about all of us, beyond our political or party allegiances, defending our democracy, which is already weakened by an acute economic and political crisis and a plague of corruption. Only through bold citizens' actions can we ensure that our political leaders and institutions work for the common good. This is our moment! Forward this email widely now:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_garzon/?cl=545991739&v=5945

With determination,

Luis, Alice, Benjamin, Iain, Ricken, Paul and the entire Avaaz team.

More information:

The New York Times, "An Injustice in Spain": http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/09/opinion/09fri2.html

The Financial Times, "Garzón at bay": http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e8bfb99c-4b16-11df-a7ff-00144feab49a.html

The Economist, "Judge Not: http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15875987

The Globe and Mail, "Political storm over Spain's most famous judge": http://www.theglobeandmail.com/incoming/political-storm-over-spains-most-famous-judge/article1493634/

Crimes of War Project: "Spain's Memory War: Judge Halts Attempt to Enforce Justice for Franco's Killings": http://www.crimesofwar.org/onnews/news-spain.html

TWO PER CENT IS TOO MANY

The Spanish government’s delegate for domestic violence, Miguel Lorente, has confirmed a list of those who have mistreated their partners could be published. He said the objective was to have them rejected by society but stressed that whilst the proposal was being studied it implementation would not be immediate.

Speaking to the TV channel Telecinco he said there was always a series of turns in the evolution of the crime of domestic violence. He was referring to the 36.8 per cent rise in the number of deaths so far this year compared with the same period in 2009.

Lorente also criticised the recent concentration on false reports made against people for acts of domestic violence blaming a section of society that is against social equality. He said that according to figures presented by the judicial body, CGPJ, these accounted for just two per cent of reported cases.

Readers of my blog will know that I am 100 per cent against domestic violence – no ifs, no buts. However the legislation that was passed has served a purpose but is not perfect and needs adjusting. The battle lines have been drawn – you either support the legislation and social equality – or you highlight abuses of justice which means you are a reactionary harking after the male macho society. Oh if life was so simple!

A couple of years ago I reported on a meeting held in Algeciras attended by men and women who had been unjustly accused of domestic violence largely as an act of revenge by their former partners. I have also reported on recent protests by those who have been held in jail or separated from their children after being falsely accused. Lorente says they only account for two per cent of cases as if that justified the errors. It does not.

Those two per cent are as much victims of domestic violence as the people who suffer at the hands of their partners. The law needs to be amended to protect all threatened by “violence” of this type. By his remarks Lorente shows himself to be part of the problem, not the solution.