José M. Guardia

[Actualizado] GARZÓN y el derecho de defensa: un muy buen post de Íñigo Sáenz de Ugarte, que no es precisamente un 'fachorro despendolao'.

ACTUALIZACIÓN. Otro facha: Arturo González en Público...

ONCE AÑOS de inhabilitación para Garzón por el caso de las escuchas (sentencia en pdf aquí). No tengo mucho más que añadir que los posts que he ido escribiendo sobre el tema.

PERO ¿alguien creía lo contrario? "La banca usará el dinero del BCE para arreglar sus deudas y no para dar crédito"

EL HOMBRE que negó el saludo nazi.

HALA...

Wert en @EspejoPublico califica de "ataque xenófobo" los vídeos de los guiñoles de Canal + Francia sobre el deporte español y el dopaje
— Vicente Vallés (@VicenteVallesTV) February 9, 2012

MADUREZ POLÍTICA ESPAÑOLA: la adolescencia más larga.

UNA CARTA fascinante de David Ogilvy, el mito de la publicidad, en la que (rondaba el año 1955) explica su proceso creativo. Me gusta especialmente el número 9:

9. If all else fails, I drink half a bottle of rum and play a Handel oratorio on the gramophone. This generally produces an uncontrollable gush of copy. 

ESTO ES lo que pasa cuando haces las cosas de sopetón:

En apenas cinco minutos el interés del bono español ha escalado del 5,08% al 5,20%, y la prima de riesgo de los 308 a los 320 puntos básicos, estrechando a 40 puntos su diferencial respecto a Italia. La mejora con la que arrancó la jornada se ha truncado con la noticia de la emisión sindicada de deuda a diez años que ultima el Tesoro para captar hasta 3.000 millones de euros.

¿QUEDA algún ámbito que no esté salpicado por chanchullos? Lo pregunto en serio:

La Cámara de Cuentas de Madrid ha detectado irregularidades en la gestión de la Fundación de la Universidad Complutense en los años en los que Carlos Berzosa era rector y presidente de la entidad y, en particular, sobre las actuaciones relacionadas con la construcción de una promoción de 384 viviendas en Somosaguas. En concreto, la Cámara ha detectado «una diferencia en el precio del contrato de construcción suscrito con una unión temporal de empresas en 2009 y el presupuesto del proyecto de obra que se contrata, recusado en octubre de 2008, que asciende a 11.537.000 euros, diferencia que no ha sido justificada».

33 ERRORES de casting en películas.

BUENA idea para regalo, si estás buscando algo original: todas las portadas del New York Times desde 1851 a 2009.

VEO que no soy el único a quien la reforma laboral que plantea el gobierno, según las líneas maestras que anunció ayer la ministra, le dejan más que frío, decepcionado. Lo peor es decir que el contrato único es inconstitucional; me gustaría saber el razonamiento. Por llamarlo de algún modo.

ACTUALIZACIÓN. "El problema no es la botella, sino el contenido."

POR SI os quedaban dudas: "‘Público’ echa a su corresponsal en Venezuela por criticar a Hugo Chávez"

SIRIA, la vergüenza.

MARSHALL AUERBACK: el verdadero problema de la eurozona es España, no Italia.

CÓMO esconderte de Google.

AMAZON va a abrir tiendas físicas; de momento van a probar con una en Seattle.

Mientras tanto, recordad que se acerca San Valentín y, por mucho que sea una fiesta algo artificial, si uno deja de hacer un regalo a su media naranja lo acaba pagando caro... Si vais mal de tiempo, en Amazon hay muchas ideas para regalar.

LA DISCUSIÓN del clima estalla en Alemania. Insisto: parece ser que es el sol, no el CO2, lo que cuenta.

PERO TRANQUILOS, no hay prisa para la reforma laboral: "El 45% de los contratos temporales dura ya menos de un mes".

Así que nadie lo sabía. Que la banca financia al Estado y el Estado financia a la banca parece que es algo nuevo en la historia de la humanidad. Nos miramos los unos a los otros con cierto pasmo y nos apresuramos a condenar tan malsana relación. ¿Y el contribuyente? ¿Y la sufrida clase media? Y como la Reina de Corazones del cuento de Lewis Carrol clamamos que les corten la cabeza a todos ellos. En especial a los banqueros, porque –de repente, recordamos- el Estado es la ubre de la vaca que nos nutre de subvenciones. Todos sorprendidos… menos quienes leen historia monetaria y financiera de vez en cuando.

QUE SIGA la fiesta:

Programas que no alcanzan los objetivos de audiencia pactados, películas que se financian sin criterios imparciales, capítulos de series que se graban antes de que se hayan firmado los contratos, derechos deportivos que se encarecen en más de un 50%. Estas son algunas de las anomalías que ha descubierto la Intervención General de la Administración del Estado en RTVE, según el informe provisional de 2010, año en el que la Corporación estuvo presidida por Alberto Oliart.

EL GOBIERNO VASCO no localiza a 7.000 beneficiarios de ayudas sociales; son nada menos que el 13% de las personas que perciiben la prestación.

CARME CHACÓN, sepultada por su grito.

Creo que la clase media de este país debería empezar a considerar las ya habituales manifestaciones de funcionarios por las calles de nuestras ciudades como agresiones. Cada berrido de uno de estos tipos es un “trabaja tú más por menos dinero para que yo pueda seguir disfrutando de mis privilegios”. Cada uno de sus gritos es una amenaza directa: “dame más”. Estos tipos están pidiendo guerra. En el sentido literal del término guerra. Ni siquiera las pulgas son tan tontas: parasitan al perro sarnoso del que viven, pero no lo matan. El sector público español está pidiendo que le retuerzan el cuello a la gallina de los huevos de oro para ver si produce más oro a mayor velocidad. Alguien tendrá que pararlos. Y si se desata el conflicto social, que se desate. Hay cinco millones de parados en este país dispuestos a hacer el mismo trabajo no cualificado de estos pencos por una tercera parte de su sueldo.

JUDGE GARZON has been unanimously found guilty by the Supreme Court of illegal wiretapping; he will be disbarred for 11 years, which means his career is ended. For the whole background, including the mistakes or even disinformation spread by the English-language media, see my previous posts: one, two.

ECONOMY MINISTER: Spain's economy 'to worsen in first quarter'

MARSHALL AUERBACK: Eurozone's elephant in the room is Spain, not Italy.

AMAZON to open retail stores? For now they'll be testing with one, soon to open in Seattle.

Meanwhile don't forget that Valentine's Day is around the corner; here's some ideas for your significant other...

HOW to hide from Google.

SOME RENEWAL, HUH?

THE SPANISH Socialist Party (PSOE), severely wounded after its crushing defeat by the right-wing Partido Popular (PP) in last November’s elections, chose a leader at the weekend. But the average Spanish voter could be forgiven for finding it difficult to tell that anything has changed.
 
Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba (60) beat his only rival for the leadership, Carme Chacón (41), by a mere 22 votes out of 600.
 
But Mr Rubalcaba is the same leader who presided over the party’s recent results – the worst in its history. The PSOE’s toxically unpopular outgoing Spanish prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, had controversially appointed him to lead the party into the elections from last August.
 
What is more, for many Spaniards, Mr Rubalcaba seems to have been around forever. He was a minister in the glory days of Felipe González’s huge majorities in the 1980s, and he has almost always been in cabinet since.

EXACTLY.

ARE THE positive U.S. employment numbers cooked? More at Zero Hedge.

UPDATE. Maybe not.

SOME NEEDED -though maybe insufficient- moves by the Spanish government to fix the banking mess:

Spain’s new conservative government on Friday imposed sweeping new rules it hopes will flush out bad property loans and foreclosed property from the financial system, restore confidence in banks and set the ailing economy back on track toward recovery.

The regulations approved by the Cabinet require banks to set aside an estimated €50 billion ($65 billion) more in provisions to cover toxic real estate assets by the end of the year.

Those unable to do so can present merger plans by the end of May and get government assistance from an existing bailout fund that will be strengthened with an addition €6 billion.

To avoid being forced to raise so much money for the real estate provisions, banks will face enormous pressure to sell assets like land and foreclosed or unsold homes at lower market prices.

The aim is to keep them from hoarding the loans and property on their balance sheets, a practice which has already sapped strength from the banking system and the country’s finances overall for years.

USA vs. China: a visual comparison of the two economies.

ARNOLD KLING: Why government can't create jobs.

ANOTHER GREAT Star Wars-themed Volskswagen ad:

THE BEST science pictures of 2011, at National Geographic.

SPAIN'S opposition odd concept of what 'renovation' is:

Spain's Socialists, struggling to regroup after a crushing November electoral defeat, are considering choosing a female leader for the first time in their history.

They meet this weekend to decide between ebullient 40-year-old ex-defence minister Carme Chacon and her rival, the wily, highly experienced former deputy premier, 60-year-old Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba.

If Chacon emerges victorious from the party congress being held from Friday to Sunday in the Andalusian capital of Seville, southern Spain, she will be the first woman to lead one of Spain's two main parties.

Nothing like the just-ousted deputy prime minister or the just-ousted defense minister, having both just suffered the worst electoral defeat on record, to revive a struggling party, eh?

IT'S GROUNDHOG DAY TODAY: How accurate is Punxsutawney Phil?

IT'S GROUNDHOG DAY TODAY: How accurate is Punxsutawney Phil?

IT'S GROUNDHOG DAY TODAY: How accurate is Punxsutawney Phil?

(but why I'm repeating myself?)

THE WORLD'S 20 most beautiful bookstores.

(via)

AND STAYING with historical recordings, this is the just-released tape of Air Force One's radio traffic immediately after Kennedy's assassination.
(via)

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: let me introduce you to Otto von Bismarck. It's a 1889 recording of his voice, be Edison.

UPDATE. And more: this is the voice of Helmuth von Moltke, Bismarck's Field Marshall; it's the only known recording of someone born in the 19th 18th century. Impressive.

Spain's Prado Museum says it has a copy of Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" that was painted at the same time as the original in the same studio, perhaps making it the earliest replica of the masterpiece.

A museum spokeswoman said the work was painted alongside the 16th century original that now hangs in the Louvre in Paris. It was done by one of da Vinci's key students.

THE TWELVE most debilitating phrases to use in business.

THE EUROPEAN SUPERHIGHWAY OF DEBT: an infographic showing how much banks loaned to the PIIGS that will take your breath away.

ARE STOCKS about to collapse?

SOME CONSENSUS, HUH? Sixteen prominent scientists say in an open letter that there's no need to panic over global warming:

A candidate for public office in any contemporary democracy may have to consider what, if anything, to do about "global warming." Candidates should understand that the oft-repeated claim that nearly all scientists demand that something dramatic be done to stop global warming is not true. In fact, a large and growing number of distinguished scientists and engineers do not agree that drastic actions on global warming are needed.

In September, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Ivar Giaever, a supporter of President Obama in the last election, publicly resigned from the American Physical Society (APS) with a letter that begins: "I did not renew [my membership] because I cannot live with the [APS policy] statement: 'The evidence is incontrovertible: Global warming is occurring. If no mitigating actions are taken, significant disruptions in the Earth's physical and ecological systems, social systems, security and human health are likely to occur. We must reduce emissions of greenhouse gases beginning now.' In the APS it is OK to discuss whether the mass of the proton changes over time and how a multi-universe behaves, but the evidence of global warming is incontrovertible?"

In spite of a multidecade international campaign to enforce the message that increasing amounts of the "pollutant" carbon dioxide will destroy civilization, large numbers of scientists, many very prominent, share the opinions of Dr. Giaever. And the number of scientific "heretics" is growing with each passing year. The reason is a collection of stubborn scientific facts.

Don't miss the rest.

PAIN NOT OVER:

Spain’s unemployment rate has jumped to nearly 24 percent in the fourth quarter, Finance Minister Cristobal Montoro said Thursday, confirming that the country is still in the throes of a long and painful economic crisis.

Montoro told a parliamentary commission Thursday that official figures due out Friday will show 5.4 million people were out of work at the end of December, up from 4.9 million in the third quarter, when the jobless rate was 21.5 percent.