Madrid Adventures

This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to take a weekend trip to Madrid through CEA. I had completely different expectations of what the city would be like after experiencing both Barcelona and Pamplona. I fully expected to find myself in the middle of a dirty european city just like London and Paris. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to find a large clean city with wide streets like avenues, lots of monuments and statues, a great number of public parks and trees and grass. After living in Barcelona for nearly 3 weeks, I thought I had Spain all figured out, and here comes Madrid to throw me a curve ball. While I rested after the exhausting bus ride from Barcelona, my roommate and I scoured over the city map to find the notable landmarks we wanted to visit. We saw the Goya exhibit at the Prado, which was a beautiful building on its own, not to mention all of the fabulous art housed inside. After the museum, we visited the Buen Retiro Gardens, which was a gigantic public park with statues and beautifully shaped trees and bushes and these gardens even had a huge fountain inside where people could rent boats and go boating around the park! After leaving the park and being accosted by gypsies, my roommate and I managed to navigate our way to the Puerta de Alcala (above), some sort of arc d'triumph, which was completed in 1778. This was the old gate into the city. We made our way to the Spanish capital, a very impressive building with tipped fences surrounding it and a great view of the city and wanted to take a tour of the inside of the palace, but the long line and pricey admission ticket deterred us so we explored the magnificent cathedral directly next to the palace. This was the most fantastic cathedral I have ever seen, with ornate gold and marble, fantastic paintings on the walls, several tombs inside and the largest and most impressive pipe organ possibly ever made. Visiting Madrid was a great experience, and the only way to describe it is that it isn't necessarily better or worse than Barcelona, just very different and more homey thanks to the lack of tourist mobs which I always get caught up in going to my apartment on Las Ramblas.

Pau Gasol

http://www.elperiodico.com/es/noticias/deportes/20100721/scariolo-sin-pau-gasol-todos-tendremos-que-hacerlo-poquito-mejor/398352.shtml

This article from El Periodico is about the Spanish national team players and coaches in regards to the next basketball olympics in Turkey. In the 2006 FIBA olympics in Japan, the Spanish national team were victorious, blowing out Greece in the finals 70-47 and left with a gold medal. The players feel this time around, the United States is everyones favorite and are somewhat disheartened. Obviously they would love the repeat of what happened in '06, but the players attitudes come across as discouraged and sound as if they have already lost. Pau Gasol's absence in the upcoming olympics means that each of the other Spanish players will have to 'play a little better.' Spain is disappointed because clearly Gasol has a great knowledge of the game, a high basketball I.Q. and expertise and leadership qualities that come from experience and winning two titles with the Lakers in the NBA. Scariolo, the Spanish national team coach went on to vent, exclaiming that the United States can field three or four teams capable of winning the gold this year. Gasol will not be participating at the LA Lakers request that he not play, for fear of potential injury. Scariolo goes on to say that the Spanish team will really be leaning on Rudy Fernandez, Juan Carlos Navarro, and Marc Gasol to be leaders out on the court, as they have the most experience playing at a high level. The 2010 FIBA world championship will be taking place in Turkey from August 28 through September 10, and I predict the United States to win. Spain was able to upset the US in 2006, but the US rallied back and won the gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, with Spain taking the silver. I believe Spain is the country with the most foreign players in the NBA, and I would love to see a great rivalry begin to emerge between Spanish and American basketball players.

Mandela Celebrates his 92!

This is a story I shared with the class as part of our 'international news' portion of class participation. On Sunday, July 18th, Nelson Mandela quietly celebrated his 92nd birthday surrounded by family in Johannesburg. Mandela, who is easily one of the most recognizable figures of the twentieth century, and the South African people and world leaders have agreed to devote 67 minutes of their day to community service, one minute for each year Mandela has devoted to South African politics. Last year, the world agreed to make July 18 International Nelson Mandela day, for his contribution to politics and human rights, not to mention helping to break Apartheid. Becoming president in 1994, after serving 27 years in prison, Mandela and the world shared a touching moment when Mandela gathered black popular support for the South African rugby team, the Springboks, of which only one team member was not white. This helped bring about South African unity after the country had been torn by Apartheid for 46 years. The Springboks went on to win the Rugby World Cup that year, upsetting the favored New Zealand All Blacks, and uniting the country. In the United States, President Barak Obama gave tribute to South Africa's first black president, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton voiced her opinion that no one is more deserving of this formerly unheard of international recognition. Current South African President Jacob Zuma honored Mandela by sacrificing an ox in his name. This article is amazing because it shows the unity that globalization has forced into our lives. The fact that there is an international day to honor one former president of a country, no matter how amazing his feat or story is unprecedented. Also, the World Cup was just held in South Africa and that must have done wonders for the South African economy, a country in desperate shape of jobs and tourist dollars. After retiring from politics in 2004, Mandela has made very few public appearances, and his health has become increasingly more frail. It will be a sad day when Nelson Mandela passes on and I can only hope that what he has done for South Africa and this world will not be lost on future generations.

Barcelona bans burqahs

http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief-cover/273201-barcelona-bans-burqa-public-places

Barcelona has recently banned the wearing of the Islamic headscarf, the burqah, in public places. On June 14, the mayor of Barcelona issued the ban of burqahs and niqab, a more extreme covering in public buildings. This ban was extremely abrupt and the council's reasoning behind the measure is to make Barcelonans more safe. The council had the former policy of assimilation rather than exclusion towards immigrants, so the move to ban Muslim garb seems rash. Some speculate that the move may be a political ploy for Hereu, who has a poor public image and wants to be seen as a strong leader for fear he may soon be replaced. The ban prohibits the wearing of the cover in libraries, markets and sport centers. Lleida was the first in Spain to ban the traditional Islamic cover, with Barcelona following closely behind. The official stance of El Periodico is supportive of Hereu's move, yet thinks it may be counterproductive and possibly invoke anger into the Muslim community in Barcelona. Turkey and Egypt have banned the wearing of the burqa and recently Belgium has banned it as well. I speculate that if the wearing of the burqa ever becomes an issue in the United States, a bill banning it will never pass due to the wide range of civil liberties and freedoms of religion that Americans enjoy. However, this is not taking into account the large numbers of uninformed and racially bigoted people living in America. One would think that with such a close proximity to North Africa, Spain would be more accepting to traditional Islamic dress, so maybe the ban really is a political move for Hereu. I have no problems accepting another's culture or religion, as long as it is not promoting throwing acid on the faces of girls who aspire to attend school, so when I see an article like this one I am torn. Clearly I would like to see Islamic women get more freedoms, some countries like Saudi Arabia don't let women leave the country without telling their husbands, won't let women be divorced without their husband's consent, and do not let women attain drivers licenses. The other side of the issue is respecting the religion of a culture very different from my own which I can never fully understand since I was not raised in that faith. What the future holds for the burqa and the niqab, I can only guess, but I would hate to see Muslim extremist groups committing terrorist acts in the name of keeping the burqa.

Man Seeks Right to Die

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-10689294

This article is about a man who wishes to take his own life. The man, Tony Nicklinson, has been paralyzed from the neck down after suffering a stroke in 2005. He and his wife wish to pursue a means of helping him die without having his wife run the risk of being prosecuted for his murder. Nicholson cites his reason is he does not want to be stuck in this condition for the next twenty years, and states his reasons "I have no privacy or dignity left. I am washed, dressed and put to bed by carers who are, after all, still strangers." This article is extremely interesting to me because it reminds me of the controversy in the United States a few years ago with Terri Schiavo. Is the right to die a civil liberty, or can your government tell you when you can go and under which circumstances? Personally, I am a believer in the patient having a say in the matter, especially like in Nicklinson's case, where he is not just a vegetable and expressed his will to die through blinking to his wife. The idea of waking up every day to such an awful and depressing reality would make me want to take my own life as well, it seems like there is little joy in his life as he lays in the same bed day after day, unable to speak or communicate with the people he loves other than blinking or nodding to letters posted on a board. It must be traumatizing to witness the agony in your loved ones faces when they come and see you, for obviously the man is not blind to the world, he is just immobile and mute. Nicklinson questions whether or not he is grateful to the doctors in Athens who were able to save his life, or wonders if he had died that day he and his family would be much happier. The interesting thing about this article is the legal issues behind it. I am not for what Dr. Kevorkian and his 'assisted suicide' means with his patients, and think what he did was wrong. However, one must examine Nicklinson's case in a different light. He has requested to die, and I am sure if one of his arms was able to function, he might pull the plug himself, as awful as that sounds. He and his wife are in the middle of a legal battle to be able to put him out of his misery and are still nervous about her possibly being charged with murder. If a person asks you to kill them, gives you their permission, is that still as bad as killing in cold blood? It almost seems like a favor in this situation. I am sure that Nicklinson's medical bills alone would make me want to kill him, not to mention the fact that if I can see him suffering I would want to help. The analogy that comes to mind is seeing the dog whose hind legs and back have been crushed by a car. Obviously the animal is in pain, paralyzed and possibly with damage to its internal organs, not to mention it probably will never be able to walk again. The humane thing would be to shoot it and help it find peace. Clearly I am not suggesting that Jane Nicklinson take out her gun and shoot her husband in the face, but if the court rules against her plea to help her husband end his life, she may resort to desperate means. This article intrigues me because while one hears about controversial medical situations like these in the United States, it is not often that I consider the same situation in foreign countries, this one being England. Spain, being a very Roman Catholic country is probably against abortion and assisted suicide, but if a paralyzed husband and his distressed wife walked into your courtroom and looked to you to help them with his situation, how would you rule?

Boqueria Market

From the times of the ancient Romans, outdoor markets have been the place to go to find the freshest and largest selection of goods. Many contemporary Barcelonians still prefer to purchase their groceries at markets like these instead of a local store or large supermarket. Here one can find the freshest selection of fish, fruits and vegetables and often kinds of meats, or parts of an animal, that may not be sold in a large commercial store. This was such an amazing experience for me because I was able to experience a wide range of foods and sights that would never have been available to me in the United States. I have grown to prefer the outdoor Boqueria market to my local mom and dad store, and depending on what I need to buy, have been doing much shopping there. Shopping at the Boqueria market has been enlightening and I am always excited to see what is just around the corner. When I return to the United States I am going to make a concrete effort to shop in more outdoor markets, as opposed to supermarkets. While the food may be a bit more pricey, I can develop relationships with the venders, who can always point me in the right direction in terms of what to buy, or not buy. Often the freshest fruit is in these markets, as the growers get up early to drive from the central valley to sell their goods at market. Boqueria is one of the oldest markets in Barcelona, with a rich history, and is much larger than many of the other outdoor markets in the city.

Islamophobia Sweeps Europe

http://english.pravda.ru/world/europe/18-07-2010/114266-islamophobia-0

In international news, a new Dutch political party called PVV, or Party for Freedom, is trying to eradicate Islam and Islamic influence in contemporary society. This is creating fervor because the Muslim religion is a peaceful one, and just because there is a fundamentalist sect of that religion doesn't mean that Muslims should be discriminated against, or not allowed to practice their faith. Just because a Muslim woman covers herself with a burqah for respect for her husband doesn't mean that she is hiding a bomb beneath her robe, and who is the higher authority to tell her that she shouldn't be able to wear that. Apparently European governments are the authority, as the Netherlands, France, and possibly Spain will be outlawing the wearing of the burquah in public spaces. "Islamophobia" is an unfounded and racist measure, and with the PVV chairman Geert Wilders promising to export the movement to the United States, Canada, France, Germany and the United Kingdom, Islamophobia is soon to be a topic on everyone's agenda. Personally, I think it is awful that just because some radical faction of a religion is committing terrorist acts in other countries, the entire religion is to blame. Not every single Muslim is a terrorist, yet the entire religion is receiving criticism for the actions of a very small percentage of the faith. Certainly other religions have religious fanatics who commit acts of lunacy against others, and historically religion has been the driving factor behind entire wars or conquest. Why today, when we live in such an 'accepting' society are we so unwilling to look past one religion's conservative views and accept it for what they are. Maybe we aren't ready for globalism on the scale it is on, or maybe Islam needs to undergo a reformation like the protestant reformation of Christianity, or accept differing degrees of followers, like Judaism does with reform, conservative and the orthodoxy. Either way, Muslim women will continue to suffer the 'humane' efforts that western Europe is making due to radical extremists who wish nothing else but to bring chaos into western society.