Tag: Spain

Ilana Mercer: Barcelona terror: How politicians play God with your life

No sooner do terrorists attack, than those who monopolize the conversation revert to abstractions: “terrorism returned,” “terror struck,” when, of course, not terrorism, but terrorists struck Barcelona, Spain, on August 17. Terrorists did the same days later, in Newcastle, England and in Turku, Finland.

The men who murdered 14 in Spain, maiming and injuring over 100, 15 of them critically, are flesh-and-blood. Young, Muslim, Moroccan men with murder on their minds. It is the duty of governments to bar such men from civilized society, or keep such barbarians at bay.

So, drop the Orwellian bafflegab when describing what elites have wrought through their policies. The Maghrebi Muhammadans—aged, 17, 18, 22 and 24—had been given free range and limitless access to their victims, in the name of those victims’ freedoms. The only lucky sorts living safely are the elites who grant the barbarians license to kill.

Thus were Theresa May, the Spanish royals and other leaders—well-protected courtesy of their taxpayers—able to flout the reality faced by the ordinary fellow and utter fatuities like, “These assassins, these criminals won’t terrorize us.” The truth is that these darling buds of May and Merkel do and will continue to terrorize ordinary men and women, but will spare invulnerable elites for reasons obvious.

Of Spain’s many millions, “only” 14 lives were lost in one day, in Barcelona. Similar numbers obtain in London, Manchester, Melbourne, Paris, Nice, Normandy, Stockholm, Saint Petersburg, Berlin, Hamburg, Columbus (Ohio): Only a few people were picked off in each attack, this year.

In the grand scheme of things, the numbers are relatively small. Or, so we’re lectured by the contemptible aggregators who decide who will reside among us.

On TV, June 1, 2017, Alex Nowrasteh, immigration expert at the libertarian Cato Institute, argued that “foreign-born terrorism is a hazard,” but a “manageable” one, “given the huge economic benefits of immigration and the small costs of terrorism.”

Spoken like a collectivist, central planner and utilitarian rolled into one.

This is the Benthamite “utilitarian calculus” at its cruelest. It requires, first, for someone to play God. Whether she sits in Downing Street, D.C., Brussels, or Barcelona; the Godhead has determined that Muslims in our midst are a must in bringing “the greatest good to the greatest number of citizens.” Along the way, a few people will die. For the greater good. In the words of “Stalin’s apologist” Walter Duranty, ”You can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs.”

However, a natural-rights libertarian values the life of the innocent individual. Only by protecting each individual’s rights—life, liberty and property—can the government legitimately enhance the wealth of the collective. Only through fulfilling its night watchman role can government legitimately safeguard the wealth of the nation. For each individual, secure in his person and property, is then free to pursue economic prosperity, which redounds to the rest.

See, statistics are silly unless given context. If you have one foot in fire, the other in ice, can we legitimately say that, on average, you’re warm? Hardly.

Probabilities, in this case the chance that any one of us will die-by-Muslim, are statistically insignificant—unless this happens to you or to yours, to me or mine.

It is this crude calculus that politicians and policy wonks like the Catoite mentioned peddle.

Were it possible to arrange for wonks, pols and their beloved to pay for the policies they promulgate—were these ugly aggregators told, “Yes, we like your idea of flooding western societies with Muslims at the price of a few lives—provided that those lives lost belong to you and yours. The John McCains and Jeff Flakes of the world would quickly retract their policy follies.

Thousands of Spaniards march against immigration

Thousands of far-right protesters marched through Madrid on Saturday, demanding “social aid” for Spaniards and holding banners and placards reading “Spaniards Welcome,” a play on the “Refugees Welcome” movement currently organising across Europe.

About 10% of Spain’s 46 million people are foreigners, according to the National Statistics Institute.

Many were drawn by opportunities during a real-estate boom that preceded the crash of 2008. The population has declined each of the past three years due to an outflow of immigrants to their home countries.

With the unemployment rate at 22.4%, many immigrants who remain have had to resort to working in the underground economy.

They are commonly seen on the streets of Spanish cities selling pirated handbags and videos.

US now has more Spanish speakers than Spain

The United States is now the world’s second largest Spanish-speaking country after Mexico, according to a new study published by the prestigious Instituto Cervantes.

The report says there are 41 million native Spanish speakers in the US plus a further 11.6 million who are bilingual, mainly the children of Spanish-speaking immigrants. This puts the US ahead of Colombia (48 million) and Spain (46 million) and second only to Mexico (121 million).

Among the sources cited in the report is the US Census Office which estimates that the US will have 138 million Spanish speakers by 2050, making it the biggest Spanish-speaking nation on Earth, with Spanish the mother tongue of almost a third of its citizens.

By state the highest concentration is in the former Spanish colonies of the south and south-west, with New Mexico top at 47%, followed by California and Texas (both 38%) and Arizona (30%). Some 18% of New Yorkers speak Spanish while only 1.3% of West Virginians do. Perhaps surprisingly, more than 6% of Alaskans are Spanish speakers.

The report, El español, una lengua viva – Spanish, a living language – estimates that there are 559 million Spanish speakers worldwide, a figure that includes 470 million native speakers and those with some command of the language.

The Index of Human Development ranks Spanish as the second most important language on earth, behind English but ahead of Mandarin. It is also the third most widely used language on the internet, although less than 8% of internet traffic is in Spanish. The report says that Spanish is the second most used language on Twitter in London and New York. It also comes second on Facebook, a long way behind English though well ahead of Portuguese, Facebook’s third language.

Source: Guardian

Spain a new link in AFRICOM

The US’ decision to beef up its military presence in southern Spain indicates that a new strategy towards Africa is well underway says Andrew Korybko.

Washington just clinched a deal with Madrid that will see it boosting its military footprint in the south of the country. According to the agreement, up to 2,200 Marines and possibly 40 military aircraft will be deployed within striking distance of all of West Africa, and this massive amount of firepower proves that the US is preparing its forces for engagement all across the continent in the years to come.

Its deployment along the African periphery in Spain complements the existing presence it has in Italy and Djibouti, to say nothing of its mobile naval capabilities, and this arrangement may actually be the most ‘efficient’ of AFRICOM’s speculated formations.

In the short term, it’s predicted that the US’ latest moves are in anticipation of an inevitable leadership transition that may soon take place in Algeria, while the constant, long-term interest is in controlling the transit of significant non-Russian gas supplies to the EU.

Spain’s leaders want US support against the Catalonian independence movement too. They fear that the independence of Catalonia could lead to a chain reaction of similar movements in Spain’s other regions.

AFRICOM is technically only a command and control center for US military operations in Africa, and due to advances in communication and transport technology, it doesn’t even have to be based in the continent itself. It’s currently headquartered in Germany.

US forces are predicted to operate as the storm troopers of unipolarity in Africa, but for prolonged occupation, the French are expected to shoulder the burden, which they’re already doing via their ground deployments in 10 African countries already (nearly a fifth of the continent’s total).

The US’ latest moves in Spain are likely aimed at ‘managing’ a forthcoming leadership transition in Algeria.

Aging President Abdelaziz Bouteflika suffered a stroke two years ago, and it’s not known who will succeed him if he dies in office. Bouteflika’s 15-year-long presidency has been a stabilizing factor in rebuilding Algeria since the decade-long Islamist-inspired civil war ended in 2002, and his death might make the country vulnerable to a Color Revolution, a jihadist uprising, and/or a destabilizing struggle between state security forces.

The chaos in Libya showed signs of seeping through to Algeria in January 2013 during the In Amenas hostage crisis. Terrorists took over a gas processing facility and killed 39 foreign hostages before being defeated by decisive government action.

Most important for the US is Algeria’s contribution to the EU’s gas supply, being the third-largest supplier to the bloc after Russia and Norway.

There’s also discussion of creating a Trans-Saharan Pipeline from gas-rich and under-processed Nigeria through Niger and Algeria to Europe, which would make the North African state the geo-energy ‘Ukraine’ of the Western EU. Because of this, the US must make sure that Algeria stays under Western influence and the pipeline routes are secured, hence the upcoming deployment of 2,200 Marines and 40 military aircraft within striking distance to ensure this.

Marine furious about Le Pen’s gas chamber remarks

France’s right-wing was plunged into disarray Wednesday as National Front leader Marine Le Pen openly split with her father and party founder after gas chamber comments she described as “political suicide”.

Jean-Marie Le Pen, the outspoken 86-year-old founder of the FN party, has dominated headlines in recent days, repeating his view that the Nazi gas chambers were a “detail of history” and defending war-time French leader Petain, who collaborated with Hitler’s regime.

In an interview with the far-Right review Rivarol, Mr Le Pen stood by his gas chamber remarks, saying: “I am not the type of man who changes his mind or crawls.”

Then, when asked to comment on the presence of Pétain supporters within the party, he replied: “I have never considered Marshal Pétain a traitor. They were very severe with him after the Liberation. I never considered as bad French people or pariahs those who still hold the Marshal in esteem.”

He then attacked Mr Valls, France’s Spanish-born prime minister, who became a French national aged 20, saying: “Valls has been French for 30 years. I’ve been French for a thousand years. What are Valls’s real ties to France? Has this immigrant changed dramatically?”

His latest sorties appear to have been the last straw for daughter Marine, who has been trying to clean up the party’s anti-Semitic and racist image since she took over in 2011, a move that has seen it soar in opinion polls as it attracts more mainstream voters.

And some analysts say that while splitting from her father will be painful, it could end up making the FN more electable.

Jean-Marie Le Pen is veering between “political suicide” and “a scorched earth strategy”, said Marine, 46.

“His status of honorary president does not allow him to take the National Front hostage, to make such crass provocations that appear aimed at harming me but which unfortunately hit the entire movement, its officials, candidates, members and voters very hard,” she added.

Political scientist and FN specialist Virginie Martin told AFP that Marine’s latest move could benefit the party’s standing in the polls.

Jean-Marie Le Pen is “a historic figure who always amuses the crowd and… appeals to the historic, hard-line wing of the FN,” she noted.

“But at the same time, they’re never going to lose that part of the electorate. What’s the risk of cutting off Le Pen? You might lose one or two percent but you might gain five or six.”

“Think of the section of the (centre-right) opposition UMP that are disenchanted by traditional political parties… for them, the barrier presented by Le Pen has disappeared.”

Russian Museum opens in Spain

In Spain’s Malaga on Wednesday a branch of the Russian Museum opened — the first in Europe and the only one to date in the world.

The opening of the museum began with a minute’s silence — in memory of the passengers who died on the flight which crashed in France on the way from Barcelona to Dusseldorf. In light of the tragedy, it was decided to cancel all the festivities associated with the opening.

The opening ceremony was attended by Director of the Russian Museum Vladimir Gusev, Mayor of Malaga Francisco de la Torre Prados, and Russian Ambassador to Spain Yuri Korchagin, as well as other representatives of the Russian Museum, City Hall and the embassy, who familiarized themselves with the exposition. The opening of the exhibition has attracted huge media interest — not only Russian and Spanish, but also European and even Latin American.

What will be displayed there?

The museum plans to hold three exhibitions each year, one permanent and two temporary, said Director of the Russian Museum Vladimir Gusev. About 100 works were included in the first permanent exhibition, entitled “Russian Art of XV–XXth Centuries”, with a wide variety of works, from icons of the XVth century to socialist realism. Among these paintings are ones from Venetsianov, Briullov, Ivanov, Levitan, Vereshchagin, Repin, Konchalovsky, Kandinsky, Tatlin, Rozanova, Chagall, Rodchenko, Altman, Filonov, Malevich, Deineki, and many other famous Russian artists.

The first temporary exhibition’s title is “Russian Art of the Diaghilev Period.” It presents works by artists who worked with Sergei Diaghilev at the time when he created the magazine “World of Art” and the creative association under the same name. The total exhibition includes 69 works — paintings , drawings, and sculptures — from Bakst, Vrubel, Golovin, Goncharova, Larionov, Somov, and Benois. In addition, the exhibition presents theatrical set designs, costumes, and photographs from those years.

In July, a temporary exhibition of avant-garde artist Pavel Filonov will be opened. “The next exhibition will be a temporary one devoted to Filonov — a page in the Russian avant-garde, which appeals to the Spaniards. I am very happy because this is my favorite artist. The French underestimated Filonov, but he appeals to the Spanish mentality. They even asked us to open the exhibition sooner, in July rather than November,” said Gusev.

Europe-wide event

“Without false modesty or false pathos, I can say that I’m simply stunned — because the level of paintings which is represented here is very high — almost all are retrospective, from icons to contemporary art. The visitors to the museum will be able to form an impression of how our great national art was developed. There are no such types of art in Malaga or in the whole of Spain. Today’s event is an event on a European scale. When we talk about Europe from Vladivostok to Lisbon, this is an event of just such a magnitude,” Ambassador Yuri Korchagin told RIA Novosti.

The Ambassador said that the idea of opening a branch of the museum came from the Mayor of Malaga. He came two and a half years ago with a request to assist in the organization of a permanent exhibition of one of the Russian museums. At the time, “The Russian Museum” was not mentioned.” This is what is intriguing — usually the Hermitage and other famous museums of Russia are what one hears about abroad.

Spain’s parliament calls for recognition of Palestine

The Spanish parliament supported Palestine’s recognition in a symbolic vote Tuesday.

Spanish Congress of Deputies (lower chamber of the parliament) has called on the government to recognize Palestine as a state in a non-binding motion.

According to a member of parliament and former Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez, the “formal and symbolic recognition” of Palestine by the parliament should spur peace talks, RIA Novosti reporter said.

In late October Britain held a similar vote that recognized the Palestinian state. France is to have symbolic voting on November 28.

Sweden officially recognized the state of Palestine on October 30, becoming the first EU country to do so.

Palestinians seek the creation of an independent state on the territories of the West Bank in East Jerusalem, partially occupied by Israel, as well as on the Gaza Strip territory controlled by Hamas militants. Palestine has designated Jerusalem as its capital and calls on Israel to withdraw from the Palestinian territories it took after the 1967 war.

Spain dispatches Civil Guard ahead of Catalan vote

The Spanish government has not specified what legal consequences Catalan leaders, poll workers or voters might face Sunday, when they go to vote. But Madrid has reportedly readied thousands of Civil Guard officers to travel to Catalonia this weekend.

Spain’s northeastern region of Catalonia vowed Tuesday to defy both the central government and the country’s highest court and proceed with a much-disputed weekend vote on whether to secede from Spain.

Hours earlier, Spain’s Constitutional Court ordered Catalonia to freeze its plans for an independence vote, scheduled for Sunday. It was the second time the court issued an order siding with Madrid, which considers any Catalan independence vote illegal.

But Catalan leaders said they would not back down.

“Everything is all set for Nov. 9,” Francesc Homs, a spokesman for the Catalan regional government, said at a news conference. “We are maintaining our participatory process. We couldn’t say this any clearer — and we’re doing so regardless of the consequences.

The presence of military convoys on the roads in Catalonia has been steady throughout the day.

Military convoys on the roads to Lleida and Zaragoza and also Panadella and Low Llobreta and Diagonal were noted, with several military helicopters flying sorties over certain Catalan regions.

 

Rwanda screens US, Spanish visitors for ebola

The East African nation of Rwanda is requiring all visitors from the United States and Spain to self-monitor, fill out an extensive questionnaire and report their medical condition for the first 21 days of their visits because of the Ebola cases that have surfaced in the two Western countries.

Coincidentally or not, the new screening follows an embarrassing uproar in a New Jersey school over the imminent enrollment of two Rwanda children that initially prompted their parents to keep them at home for 21 days.

The order by the Rwanda government to visiting Americans and Spaniards was posted Tuesday on the website of the U.S. Embassy in Rwanda:

“On October 19, the Rwandan Ministry of Health introduced new Ebola Virus Disease screening requirements. Visitors who have been in the United States or Spain during the last 22 days are now required to report their medical condition—regardless of whether they are experiencing symptoms of Ebola—by telephone by dialing 114 between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. for the duration of their visit to Rwanda (if less than 21 days), or for the first 21 days of their visit to Rwanda. Rwandan authorities continue to deny entry to visitors who traveled to Guinea, Liberia, Senegal, or Sierra Leone within the past 22 days.”

The U.S. and Spain have both recorded deaths from Ebola. In Dallas, a Liberian national died of the virus two weeks ago and two nurses who treated him tested positive for the virus. At least two Spanish missionaries died in Spain after contracting the disease in West Africa. One Spanish nurse also tested positive for the virus.

Rwanda is located in East Africa about 2,600 miles east of Liberia, the closest of the three West African countries with the Ebola outbreak. Rwanda has been unaffected by the Ebola outbreak on the other side of the continent and has reported no cases of the virus.

The dust-up in New Jersey involving two Rwanda children took a new turn Monday with an apology by the superintendent of the Maple Shade School District in Burlington County.

The children were supposed to begin classes Monday at Howard Yocum Elementary School in Maple Shade, N.J., but ran into a backlash from other parents, WTXF-TV in Philadelphia.com reports.

The uproar started after a school nurse sent a note to staff members saying that the school intended to take the temperature of the two students three times a day for the next 3 weeks, the normal incubation period for Ebola.

Source: USA Today

Following the hated white colonialists

White colonialism has spawned a stampede of black immigrants to Europe as hundreds of migrants attempted again to cross the Spanish border into the EU.

Over 200 immigrants attempted to cross the border fence between Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Melilla for the second time in 24 hours on Wednesday. Around 100 of them remained on the fence or in no-man’s land between the two fences.

The incident occurred at around 6:30am, while other small groups of immigrants attempted to cross at other points across the border.

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Catalonia calls off independence vote

The leader of Spain’s wealthy Catalonia region on Tuesday called off an independence vote but said an unofficial poll will take place next month to gauge secessionist sentiment.

Artur Mas was forced to cancel the Nov. 9 referendum and replace it with a symbolic one on the same day after Spain’s government challenged the referendum in the country’s Constitutional Court, which suspended the vote while it deliberates.

Separatists in northeastern Catalonia, which has 7.5 million people, have been trying for several years to hold a breakaway vote from Spain to carve out a new Mediterranean nation.

Secessionist sentiment surged during Spain’s economic stagnation and amid discontent at Spain’s refusal to give the region more autonomy and fiscal powers.

Polls show most Catalans support holding an independence referendum and around half favor ending centuries-old ties with Spain.
Mas insisted his regional government is not backtracking and still plans an official vote later, saying the symbolic vote will serve as a “preliminary” ballot.

“It means there will be polling stations open, with ballot boxes and ballots,” Mas said. “It will depend on the people for a strong enough participation to show that people here want to vote.”

The vote questions will be the same, asking residents if they think Catalonia should be a state, and, if so, whether it should be independent.

Madrid’s central government has said an independence vote would violate clauses in Spain’s constitution specifying that only the national government can call referendums on sovereignty and that all Spaniards must be allowed to vote.

Unlike last month’s independence referendum in Scotland, which ended with voters deciding to remain part of the United Kingdom, the vote that Catalonia separatists wanted to hold would have been nonbinding.

Source: Breitbart

Spain moves to block Catalonia independence

Spain’s Constitutional Court on Monday suspended an independence referendum called by Catalonia for November 9, although leaders of the rich northeastern region vowed to press ahead anyway with preparations for the vote.

The unanimous and expected decision by the court’s 12 judges came just hours after Spain’s central government asked it to declare the independence referendum illegal on the grounds that it breaches the country’s constitution.

The court said in a statement that it had accepted the appeal and had suspended the referendum while it considers the central government’s arguments. The court had up to five months to give its ruling although it can request an extension.

The head of the regional government of Catalonia, Artur Mas, signed a decree on Saturday calling for the referendum.

Since then a luminous clock on Barcelona’s historic Sant Jaume square has been ticking down the seconds to November 9 and television and radio stations in the region have aired ads informing the public of the vote.

Conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said he “deeply” regretted Mas’s move, saying it “divides Catalans, alienates them from Europe and the rest of Spain and seriously harms their welfare”.

Buoyed by mass street demonstrations, Mas has pushed ahead for a vote in defiance of Rajoy’s warnings.

“You cannot use the law to prevent people indefinitely from stating their opinion,” Mas said in a television interview on Sunday in anticipation of Monday’s appeal.

“Voting on November is the best thing for everyone because it will allow us and also the Spanish government to know what the Catalan people’s opinion is.”

The main opposition Socialist Party is calling for a constitutional reform instead of a vote to answer Catalan demands for greater autonomy.

The Socialists’ leader Pedro Sanchez on Monday said the referendum plan “deeply damages Spanish democracy”.

Fitch Ratings has chimed in also by placing the Autonomous Community of Catalonia’s (Catalonia) and Institut Catala de Finances’ (ICF) Long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) of ‘BBB-‘ on Rating Watch Negative (RWN).

Their Short-term foreign currency IDRs of ‘F3’ have also been placed on RWN. Catalonia’s EMTN programme and bond issues, rated ‘BBB-‘, were also placed on RWN.

The last scheduled review date for Fitch’s ratings of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia was on 25 July 2014 and the next review date for 2015 has not yet been set.

Spain is militarizing against citizens

By Martin Armstrong.

The Spanish government is militarizing gearing up for violent protests against the EU that are expected to turn up before a hot autumn. Spain is now equipping the police for about one billion euros with new combat equipment. Violent protests in Spain since the crisis began almost a daily occurrence. Movements such as 25 de Mayo or the Indignados call Spaniards of all strata of the population to protest against the government on the streets. The police will always respond violently. They cover up their brutal responses by banning any video of police beatings making it a crime in itself. This is certainly illustrating the loss of freedom and any democratic process within Europe. The police scandals have only charged the atmosphere within the population and we may see this erupt into civil war as we move forward.

Goya’s painting of the brutal treatment of citizens during the Spanish Civil War is a reminder of what we could face in the aftermath of the militarization of Spain against its own citizens. Since June, the Spanish Interior Ministry has signed four contracts for the purchase of protective vests, shields and other riot gear. These weapon purchases are causing many to relive very bad memories in Spain. Spain has also bought water canons, a weapon that by the end of the Franco dictatorship was in continuous use. Opposition leader Antonio Trevin called the purchase therefore “a return to the times we would rather forget.” The Interior Ministry has responded merely justifying their rearming as necessary “because of the current social dynamics”, necessary, reports the Guardian.

The protests are mainly directed against the always new austerity measures, tax increases, the extremely high youth unemployment, homelessness following the bursting of the housing bubble, and also against a restrictive policy such as the recent bill to ban abortions. Then there is the movement to establish a referenda for the abolition of the monarchy. Then throw in the separatist movement as we see in Scotland where the Catalans are moving for their independence. There were protests against the recent visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel that had to be violently dispersed by the government.

Spain is moving toward civil war. Even the human rights organization Amnesty International has expressed concern over the arming of the police. The police are there to protect the government – not the people. That is a dangerous position that sets the stage for civil war.

Source: armstrongeconomics.com

What happened in Argentina

Vulture funds buy insolvent debts for a song and later try to cash in on them by force. Billionaire Paul Singer has made it his specialty. Today he is intent on consolidating his fortune at the expense of the Argentinian people, while already setting his sights on Spain

By Jérome Duval, Fatima Fafatale.

The vulture fund NML Capital that, together with others, has Argentina on the edge of suspending payments, is already devouring the rotting flesh of the Spanish market. Elliott Management, the opportunistic fund of the serial U.S. speculator Paul Singer, has already pocketed a billion euros of Bankia’s failed credit and 300 million euros of Santander. It is estimated that it has paid hardly 50 million for both these portfolios, according to Auraree.com.

In March 2013, the Spanish financial press informed that Elliott had acquired from the Santander Group a portfolio of 300 million euros of defaulting credit of Santander Consumer Finance with a discount approaching 96%. The price that was paid was laughable: about 12 million euros, according to Cinco Dias.

Elliott had acquired from the Santander Group a portfolio of 300 million euros as defaulting consumer credit of Santander Consumer Finance.

In August of the same year, 2013, Bankia, the nationalised entity that most benefited from the rescue of the Spanish banks, which had considerably raised the public debt, informed that three portfolios of bad credit had been sold for a total debt volume of 1,353.9 million euros. In the relevant communication to the CNMV (National Stock Market Commission), it was not mentioned to whom the loans had been sold to or at what price. Despite the evident lack of transparency, the financial press has put names and numbers to the operation, which it is estimated “may have a discount of 95%”. The buyers of the three portfolios were the vulture fund Cerberus, which is advised by José Maria Aznar Jr, the son of the former President, Elliott and the Norwegian recovery business, Lindorff. “The portfolio was valued at 1,354 million but only forked out 68,” according to Finanzas.com. We have been in contact with Bankia for confirmation from the other side and its response has been that “for confidentiality” they never give the number and “the buyers who do not want to be identified”.

A few months later, it emerged that Elliott bought the household debt recovery firm Gesif to convert it into his operational base for the Spanish market. Its director-general was Melania Sebastián, who was in charge of information management at the Banca Comercial de Caja Madrid, who will continue with the moneylenders of Gesif. It is worth noting how a former director of Caja Madrid acts as the intermediary between the nationalised Bankia and Elliott’s vulture fund.

What happened in Argentina

The vulture funds make money taking advantage of countries in difficulties, like Argentina during the crisis of 2001, to buy debts cheap. Later they wait for an opportune moment to oblige them to buy them back at a much higher price with court orders, including deferred interests and judicial costs.

This is how they speculate on public debts, endangering the social spending that benefits the great majority of the population. These vultures went for lawsuits after having refused to form a part of the 93% of creditors who accepted the exchange with the government. Now the New York district judge, Thomas Griesa, has prioritised the payment of the vulture funds, which opens the door to an avalanche of demands that could result in the suspension of payments in Argentina on July 30. As Julio C. Gambina puts it so well, “nobody precisely knows where the demands of the creditors could reach of the unpayable debt”, but we know that the cost for the Argentinean people could be catastrophic.

Who are behind these vulture funds? NML Capital is a subsidiary of the inversion fund, Elliott Management Corporation, registered in the fiscal paradise Cayman Islands. It is the empire of Paul Singer, the multimillionaire champion of the gay rights and neo-conservative aggression.

Elliott speculates, among other things, with public debts, violating the sovereignty of the states and its peoples. But he also speculates with private debts and in 2011 came to possess two million dollars of Lehman Brothers.

Singer was the major financier of the presidential campaign of George W. Bush in 2004; he also contributed to Mitt Romney’s campaign in 2012 and to that of the New York mayor, Rudolph Giuliani. Moreover, he is the major private financier of the New York police. As one of the principal financiers of the Republican Party, he plays an important part in the U.S. politics and, therefore, also in international politics.

The foundation that bears his name, The Paul E. Singer Foundation, praises him for his philanthropy, his leadership in the expansion of free trade, his contribution to U.S. national security and the “future of Israel”. Moreover, Singer is president of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.

The frigate is not for handing over or for sale

Regarding the Argentinean case, NML is the principal financier of the organisation, American Task Force Argentina (AFTA), a lobby that influences the Congress and the U.S. justice, harming Argentina. To give ourselves an idea of the power of these vultures, NML could even embargo the Argentinean frigate, Liberty, in Ghana in October 2012, demanding the Argentinean state for about $370 million for unpaid bonds.

Enough of vultures: Argentina united for a national cause

What is happening in Argentina is emblematic of what Greece is starting to feel where vultures like Dart Management operate, with its headquarters in Cayman Island and which also operates in Latin American countries. In 1999, NML achieved, through a ruling in the United States, the payment from Peru of $58 million for a debt that the fund had bought for $11 million. It also did business with the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Source: voltairenet.org