Work, fear and the current crisis

AOG, Madrid

There is real fear in the air these days. I see it when I watch the news, both local, as well as when I watch foreign channels. And the thing about fear is that it is contagious. Unfortunately.

The other thing I’ve begun to notice is ignorance.

Perhaps that is the wrong word. Perhaps what I see is that thing we humans do so well, that “its nothing to do with me” attitude which so often infuriates others, and somehow helps us to get through the day.

My co-workers speak of the current crisis as if it had nothing to do with them. Some of them are a bit unhappy about their job.

They speak about getting a different job somewhere else. As though that were so easy. Their attitude scares me. Especially given the latest statistics.

Here, since the crisis began, 3.000 journalists have lost their jobs, and this country has the highest unemployment rate in Europe. At least this month it does.

From reading the British press you’d think the UK will overtake Spain, and every other country soon.

One of my co-workers is pregnant. She is due sometime in March. She comes to work everyday and is already quite balloon-like. She is one of the few people not to complain about getting a different job.

I too don’t complain. Maybe because I’m older? Or perhaps I too am afraid?

And then stuff came up

AOG, Madrid

On my previous post I tried to write something which I think is serious.

The Onion, on the other hand, did not. And this is what they had to say.

In some ways, I have to agree with the satirical take on the election.

Nothing is sacred.

Not even Sarah Palin's true nature as the media is intent on letting us know now.

Why did they not tell us these tidbits before?

OBAMA

AOG, Madrid

Last night I was talking to my mother in London on the phone. We discussed the election in the US and we both hoped Obama would win. We talked about the long road to the White House and all sorts of realpolitik topics, like will the US really vote for a black candidate? And also the fact that Mr. Obama lost his Grandmother the day before voting started. My mother, a true romantic at heart, said nonchalantly that “Well, now she can help him win from Heaven”.

This afternoon I walked into my office to find my colleagues excited about the night’s events. I work for a Financial paper in Madrid. My co-workers are Spanish.

“His speech was like something from a movie!”, said one.

“I loved how McCain spoke about supporting the new President”, said another.

“That would never happen here”, said a third.

I looked at her and said that it was up to us to make sure something like that did happen here.

All three looked bemusedly at me and retorted that that would never happen in Spain.

“We don’t have that kind of politician” was the general summary.

I was saddened that my co-workers, many in their late 20s or early 30s, think that they deserve, or should put up with endlessly, with bad politicians.

But then I was raised in the US, not Spain, and I was instilled with the knowledge that if you want change, you make change. Unfortunately I think most Europeans wait for change to arrive at their doorstep.

No, I don’t think the American way is better, or that the European way is worse. They are merely different and have a plus side and a minus side.

Over the course of the afternoon my sister and I emailed each other after celebrating Mr. Obama's victory on Facebook. We were happy that the Bush era is well and truly over.

I spoke with my mother this morning. She was elated. We both were. Then reality struck our conversation.

“We must hope they don’t shoot him”, she said. I had to acquiesce. This is what the Guardian has to say about it.

They said the exact same thing at work.

Troopergate

AOG, Madrid

Last weekend I was in Barcelona. I went to the Sitges Film Festival and had a swell time. On the flight back, I found, much to my chagrin, that I had to fly back to Madrid on an international flight.

This means a long boarding process, having to show ID at all points of access and again exit points (God forbid one should try to enter Spain illegally!) on what was, for me, a domestic flight.


Whilst boarding, I befriended, briefly, a lovely lady from New York City whose husband, named Richard, was a couple of decades older than herself. Given Iberia’s usual customer service, and the lack of announcements, I had to reassure them that they were on the right flight, and that in Madrid they would be redirected unto their NYC flight.

The lady’s husband went to sit down since he “really hates people making a fuss”, as she told me when I suggested they got a wheelchair and, thus, priority boarding. Good on him, but then he was a prime candidate for this, and by choosing to be independent and stalwart, his wife must bear the brunt of his care. Nonetheless, I kept that to myself.

She told me of her son's plans to be a writer. He and his newlywed wife are going to live in Italy for a year to try and kick-start him (and her) into writing. She said she hoped the money lasted. Later on I discovered she flew 1st class to Madrid, and probably to New York. I assume the money will last. He is, after all, an Attorney.

But this is nothing to do with his dream. I wish I had the possibility to live in Italy rent-free for a year and just write. Instead I work as a journalist in Madrid, pay rent, and write, albeit occasionally.

Anyway...



Soon enough, after discussing Madrid’s new airport, we got unto the subject of Sarah Palin and the elections.

How Bush got re-elected a second time was beyond her understanding (I happen to think that if enough uneducated people vote, and the chattering classes choose not to vote in protest, then people like Bush get elected, simple as that really). And she found it hard to find anything good about Mrs. Palin.

Mostly she found her scary. I had to, in a McCain-defends-Obama kind of way, tell her that Palin was not too bad a candidate because her only sin was a lack of education, not intelligence. She agreed to that point of view, but discerned that McCain-Palin was not the best ticket for America’s future.

I have to agree. Especially since news about her alleged abuse of power back in Alaska. To say nothing of Creationism....

But I digress. I was watching Fox news last night, and was appalled to see just how biased they are in favor of the Republicans.

A panel was analyzing the news, and one of the commentators (a black lady whose name I can’t recall at present) said that these days the electorate does not care about things like what’s happened in Alaska, that other issues were of more importance. So corruption is not on America's electoral agenda.

Right.

One of two things may happen if Sarah Palin is elected- 1- that that abuse of power (Troopergate) is merely anecdotal and will never happen again, or 2- that she means to go on as she started. In which case, we are all "F'd" big time.

Once bitten, twice shy, I think is the popular saying.

It's the Presidential debate, Stupid!

AOG, Madrid

So, Mr. McCain has finally acceded to debate with Mr. Obama. The suspense is over.

I'm surprised he said no in the first place.

Hesitation on such a small scale appears to be only symptomatic of hesitation and nerves to come. Like, when he sits in the White House. And there is a crisis. And he flip flops just as he has done now. This tendency to mimic Charlie Brown's wishy washyness is funny only when serious issues are not at stake.

I think now, more than ever, the US needs a leader who does not hesitate in public, especially not over something as set in stone as a presidential debate.

If his intention was to appear like a leader, he failed.

The media report that his presence in the meeting with President Bush last night was, to say the least, that of a spectator and not a leader.

Furthermore, Congressmen have asked both candidates to stay away and get on with the election and leave them to sort out the economic crisis, bailout, no bailout, rescue plan or whatever euphemism is being used.

If nothing else, it appears like the frenzy over Ms. Palin has passed and we are back on important issues. We all think it is kinda cool she can cook a moose after shooting it from a helicopter. Yes. But can she find Tashkent on a map? As VP she probably does not need to know straight away. George W. Bush has proven that as President, she better do. For all our sakes.

Tonight America will be one step closer to making its mind up in this election.

Can't wait!

This can only be good.

John McCain's speech

AOG, Madrid

Last night, here in Madrid, I stayed up until 2 AM to watch and listen to John McCain on Fox. Thank you satellites.

What a dissapointment it turnedout to be.

As he spoke long and hard about nothing, here an American, there an American, everywhere an American American, I began analysing his body language, since his verbal language bordered on the soporiphic.

For the first time since 1952, the party holding the White House has nominated someone other than the sitting president or vice president, someone without a vested interest in running on continuity, and at a moment when the party finds it difficult to defend its record from the last eight years.

Here's some of my thoughts:

1- Has he had cosmetic surgery? He does not look like any 72 year old I've ever met.

2- Why, when I look at him, do I think he moves like a hand puppet? He moves his arms with less grace than would a Muppett. Is he ill?

3- The style of his delivery was lacklustre to say the least. His message? Well, aside from the "vote for me" attitude, which is to be expected, I can't say I recall much else.

I do, however, recall his smirk at a protesting woman who was forcibly escorted off the convention.

She has a right to speak. He is not some God. I didn't like the way he laughed at her, at the situation, and at the little people. Nor did I like the way the security guards manhandled her. Was that meant to be a show of grace under pressure or a show of strength?

Either way it was neither civilised nor was it humane. The lady in question was not a criminal.

I was surprised; shocked. If that is how he behaves at a convention, and he is only a Senator, how will he laugh at the country if he becomes president?

Palin's looks

AOG, Madrid

Presence. As much an asset to have as it is a liability to lack it; in theater and film as it is in politics.

In the Republican convention it is plainly obvious, after Sarah Palin’s performance yesterday, that it is she, and not McCain who has it. Palin has a great presence. Strong. Confident. Savvy.

Her image has all the things Hillary Clinton lacked, she instils in you the strength of her personality only by standing there, doing nothing.

It might be her beauty queen background or perhaps she was wearing power heels, but when compared to an enfeebled McCain who had to hold the microphone with both hands one can’t help but think “yes, there stands the next President of the United States, and she looks great”.

Is John McCain sick? He certainly looked frail just before introducing Palin.

This is not an image which instils security in the electorate.

Perhaps this election, more so than any other ever before, when thinking of the Republican candidate, one has to consider the very real possibility that said candidate might die in office, and it will be his VP who takes charge of the Executive branch of Government.

As she stood there, next to McCain, Sarah Palin certainly looked like the next president, as much as does Barack Obama.

This is not to say that she can actually pull it off, though when placed on the spot she might surprise us all.

However, for starters, she certainly looks like America’s first Madam President. The British press is already calling her "America's Margaret Thatcher". I hope for America's sake that they are wrong in this respect. She looks nothing like her.

Looks, however, can always be deceiving.

Sarah Palin

AOG, Madrid

In the battle for the hearts and minds of Americans this coming November, both the Republicans and the Democrats are keen on finding the best candidate. It's always said that the most important decision a presidential candidate makes is their pick for Vice President. It shows their thinking and judgment.

This 2008, events in the Caucus region between Russia and Georgia have, according to some, pushed/forced/cleared up the way for Obama’s choice as a running mate in the form of Joe Biden, a man earmarked for his expertise in foreign affairs, something which the general media in the US is adamant Mr. Obama lacks. Biden, a Delaware senator, is known as a skilled and tactful debater, and is a foreign policy expert, chairing the Senate foreign relations committee.

On the other side of the spectrum, for reasons known only to himself, McCain has chosen Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska, to be his running mate. She is the first woman to do so under a Republican ticket. So that, and only that, is good news.

The rest is just abysmal, to say the least.

Flip flops over the Ketchikan bridge aside (also known as the Bridge to Nowhere), Ms. Palin is there, I would venture, to appease the party’s right, as well as its extreme right, wings.

Senator John Kerry, presidential candidate in 2004 also thinks this is the case since, according to him, the party is “suspicious” of McCain.

As if that were not bad enough, according to Senator Kerry, "He's chosen somebody who doesn't believe climate change is man-made", as he declared on ABC news.

She also does not believe in abortion, something which will make the McCain camp loose more votes, especially amongst women, but supports expanded drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. According to Wikipedia's much discussed and amended entry for her, she is said to support teaching creationism, alongside sicence.

This is what I find scariest. Whilst the rest of the worl forges forward in scientic research, blowing away the clouds of religion, the potential Vice President of the US believes in Creationism. It is one thing to be an Evangelical Christian, but to believe in Creationsim is just too much for me. But there's more.

Rush Limbaugh, whose radio show attracts millions of rightwing listeners, has enthusiastically welcomed the Governor of Alaska.

"Palin equals guns, babies, Jesus ... Obama just lost blue-collar, white Democratic voters in Pennsylvania and other states," Limbaugh said.

James Dobson, the conservative Christian leader who had been opposed to McCain, said the selection of Palin had won him over.

Amazingly, and catastrophically for the Republicans, by bringing in someone with very little experience, they have, ironically, washed over their main quip at Obama- lack of experience.

When it comes to experience, compared with Ms. Palin, Mr. Obama looks like Winston Churchill.

The Daily News-Miner, an Alaskan paper, wrote in an editorial: “Republicans rightfully have criticised the Democratic nominee, Senator Barack Obama, for his lack of experience but Palin is a neophyte in comparison. Palin is not ready for the top job. It’s clear that McCain picked Palin for reasons of image, not substance.”

A good omen?

After appearing with McCain at a rally in Dayton, Ohio, last Friday, Palin made her second campaign speech on Saturday near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Her stop there showed a vulnerability that could be a worry for McCain: some of the audience left as she was speaking and there was booing when, in an appeal to Democratic voters to switch to McCain, she mentioned Hillary Clinton, something Senator Kerry said was insulting to Hillary Clinton supporters, given her anti-abortion and other socially conservative views.

Palin, 44, is Alaska's first female governor. She was sworn in December 2006, making her one of the least experienced people to run for vice-president in recent memory - she has been governor for just a bit over 18 months. Alaska is one of the smallest states in the US, with only 670,000 residents; this would only make it the 17th most populous city in the United States. Just ahead of Fort Worth. Before becoming governor, Palin served two terms as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, a town of 9,800 people, and was on the city's council before that.

Do you know what the first two "powers and duties" are for the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska? Check their municipal code:

1. Preside at council meetings. The mayor may take part in the discussion of matters before the council, but may not vote, except that the mayor may vote in the case of a tie;

2. Act as ceremonial head of the city;

In the 2006 Alaska gubernatorial race, Palin bested the incumbent Republican governor during the primary election. As for foreign policy experience, she has none, but she was runner-up in the Miss Alaska pageant.

Nonetheless the final outcome in November will give the US one of two new paradigms, either a Black President, or a Woman Vice President for the first time ever.

Given McCain’s advanced age- he just turned 72-, and his not ironclad health, it may even give America its first-ever woman President. But for all the wrong reasons, of course.

Globalization meltdown in my living room

AOG, Madrid

I’m all for globalization, and sometimes the extent to which our World, certainly my life, are globalised, amazes me.

Today I was at home watching some television in my newly installed satellite dish. I live in a XIX century building in an XVIII century neighbourhood in Madrid, a city turned into a capital in the XVI century, of a country striding all centuries between the 500 AD and now. Hard to believe? come on over and see for yourself!

But back to today's lesson...

The furniture at home is Swedish (Ikea), my television, DVD player and mobile phone are from South Korea (Samsung). My laptop was assembled in China and it is a Toshiba- Japanese.

The clothes I wear are mostly European and American labels, sawn in Southeast Asia.

The cologne I wear is mostly French.

Bed linen is British (Laura Ashley, Habitat), Swedish (Ikea), or American (Ralph Lauren). I use an iPod, designed by an American company (Apple) and assembled in Taiwan.

My digital camera is a Canon; American, though it is probably assembled in Asia somewhere.

My life has always been like this, cosmopolitan even when I was not aware of it. Labels and international companies have always accompanied me and my friends.

But today I experienced a complete meltdown.

There I was, at home, sipping a latte from Starbucks (Seattle- though the beans were probably African, or Brazilian- the milk? local Spanish cow from the North fare) watching television through a US-designed system pegged unto a European satellite named ASTRA.

I was quite savvy with some of the television channels- Cubavision, Al Jazeera in English, France24 in both French and English, television from Ecuador, Colombia, the UK, Argentina, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Portugal, even Korean and Russian television... in English, (don't ask, I don't know).

I could cope with all this, in fact, I loved it. But then it happened.

I flipped the channel and, suddenly, I was watching a Mexican soap opera dubbed into Arabic on a Moroccan television station through a European satellite using American technology unto my XIX century building and my XXI century life.

I spat out in laughter my Kenyan-Seattle coffee brew all over Ikea's imitation English Floral (itself an imitation of Chinese XIX century florals) and all over my Bolivian red carpet.

My brain exploded. It was too much. Even as I write this I laugh. I’m still giddy.

I can’t help but wonder what might come next?

Chinese opera dubbed into Swahili with Arabic subtitles courtesy of Tanzanian television?

Slow dancing to Madonna

AOG, Madrid

The last time I was in Barcelona I was invited out to a new club near Montjuic. It was the usual people, music and drinking one would expect in any Euro club, except for one thing: demographics.

As I entered, and even more so, as we all left for home, a growing number of elderly gentlemen kept pouring in.

Madonna was playing and they danced with each other hand in hand.

I could not believe how beautiful it was. And odd too.

I just never associated the Pasodoble with the pop queen’s music, and yet, to them, it was the only way. It was one of those things which you think should happen all over the place, and yet, you only find here and there in this modern world.

I made a comment to a couple of friends and they explained.

As in London, Barcelona has, or rather, had, a bar which catered to older gentlemen. We went there once. I have to admit that I loved it. It was like a 1970s Art Deco disco with all sorts of people inside.

Not the usual fare found in London’s “City of Quebec” but rather, that, and then some.

Old, young, hustlers and disco bunnies seemed to relax in the company of elderly gay gentlemen. I remember saying to my friends that having seen that place gave me some hope for my, shall we say, Golden Years.

Well, not anymore. That club has been shut and what I saw slow dancing to Kylie, Madders and co was the overspill.

As far as I could tell, nobody was upset that they were there. They were keeping mostly to themselves, and, as far as I could tell, looked quite friendly.

Will their club reopen? I hope so.

For their sake and mine.