Here are just a few scandals and potential or real PR disasters that Mallorca has had to face over the past twenty years or so. One of them doesn't really belong here. Which one? You decide.
1. The Sóller Tunnel. The first great corruption scandal of modern, autonomous-government Mallorca. In 1989, the Balearic Government granted the concession for the building of the tunnel to a company owned by Antoni Cuart, a friend of the then president of the Balearics, Gabriel Cañellas. In that year, money started to be lodged in bank accounts. It came from Cuart, though he was to state in court that it was a company director, by then dead, who was responsible for administering payments. The money was used for Partido Popular electoral purposes and was channelled to the Balearic Islands Foundation, presided over by Cañellas, who was forced to resign as president. He was indicted, but the affair came to an end when the Balearics High Court closed the case in 1997. The charges were proven but those accused were acquitted because of the statute of limitations.
2. The eco-tax. Dreamt up by PSOE's Celesti Alomar, the tourism minister, and the minister for finance, Joan Mesquida, the eco-tax, officially and legally named the "tax for stays in businesses for tourist accommodation", was approved in 2001 and introduced from 1 May, 2002. The battle to prevent the tax's introduction saw the national Partido Popular government against it and the national constitutional court having to arbitrate. It decided against suspension of the tax, and so it came into being. At the time of its introduction, there was a slump in the German tourism market and, though it has been argued that the tax didn't contribute to a further slump, there were plenty who argued that it did. The PR fallout was felt in Britain, too, and when the PP came back to power in the Balearics in 2003, it scrapped the tax.
3. Jaume Matas and all that. Where does one begin with the corruption charges levelled against the former Balearics president? They all stemmed from what was known as the "caso Andratx", a series of charges brought against, among others, the former PP mayor of Andratx, Eugenio Hidalgo, in 2006. They all had to do with urban planning corruption. Hidalgo went to prison, but in the process of investigation, anti-corruption prosecutors and investigating judges began digging much deeper. One of the others who went to prison was the director-general for land planning in the Matas 2003-2007 government. The link was established. What followed were numerous separate investigations. These implicated not just members of the PP but also leading figures in the Unió Mallorquina, the PP's partner in government. These leading figures are all now in prison. Matas isn't, but he faces many charges which have yet to come to trial. And the most significant of the cases is one known as the "caso Palma Arena". It was this investigation which led to something even more scandalous.
4. Iñaki Urdangarin. He was just another member of the Spanish royal family, the husband of Princess Cristina, King Juan Carlos's younger daughter. He had been an Olympic sportsman and through marriage to Cristina, the Duchess of Palma, he became the Duke of Palma. He wasn't an obscure royal but he wasn't important either. He became very important, however, when Judge José Castro, investigating the "caso Palma Arena", unearthed some invoices which had been raised by the Instituto Noos, of which Urdangarin had been a co-founder, and sent to the Fundación Illesport, a body linked to the tourism ministry. They were for 2.3 million euros, and the final invoice was raised just before the 2007 election that Matas lost. The judge was interested in these invoices. Very interested. And he became interested as well in the role of the princess. The Mallorcan scandal became a Spanish scandal. Juan Carlos was embroiled in the scandal, and who is to say that the possibility of his daughter being placed on trial didn't contribute to his abdication?
5. The Palmanova bombing. Five years ago (the date was 30 July), two Guardia Civil officers were blown up by an ETA bomb that had been hidden on their patrol vehicle. It was Mallorca's first true atrocity by terrorists. The island went into lockdown but the terrorists were not found. The press, the British press in the form of "The Sun", did its best to turn the bombing and two subsequent minor incidents in Palma into a PR disaster. Its travel editor wrote that the bombs could spell the end of tourism in Spain and that tourists would avoid Mallorca. She was very wrong.
6. In a bar in Magalluf in 2014, an Irish girl was filmed while engaging in some action with over twenty todgers. The video went viral on the internet. No one died.
Showing posts with label Palmanova bombing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Palmanova bombing. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 09, 2014
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Amigo Vulnerable
As you might imagine, Palmanova rumbles on. The Guardia Civil's association is calling for action to tackle what it calls "grave deficiencies" in respect of security - that of its members. If nothing else the bomb brought home just how vulnerable and insecure the vehicles are as well as the personnel. To park patrol cars in the streets is hardly secure, and questions do have to be asked as to quite why security was so lax. At present, there is still no definitive answer as to the time of day that the limpet was attached. There are still various hypotheses doing the rounds, one being that the bomb could have been planted as long as a week before and set off with an electronic timing device. That would suggest that the perpetrators are no longer on the island and would have left as though they were just any tourists. There have, though, been claims that one of the six suspects whose photos were issued was seen in the vicinity around the time of the incident.
To other matters. This blog tends not to deal with individuals, but because it enables me to trot out a football analogy, then for once it will. John, he who is the Alcúdia Barfly, has moved from La Villa to Comics. It is a return to the Julio empire, or should that be management, a mid-season transfer during what might equate to the transfer window, a return akin to Robbie Keane going back to Spurs - or maybe not. And talking of Robbie Keane, who is of course Irish, the Puerto Pollensa La Villa has its own match winner, namely Sarah who is of course Irish. She once waxed lyrically about the lake back home, which did sound splendidly romantic and quite a distance from a Chinese restaurant, but don't let's be picky as Sarah was afforded something equivalent to a nine out of ten match rating in a letter to "Talk Of The North". Oh dear, could this herald a best waiters/waitresses in Pollensa dispute as a consequence of the columns of the local community organ? Name the other four. Or preferably don't. Please, whatever you do, don't.
But if there were awards for top entertainers in the local hotels, one might believe that Minty aka Grizz from Alcúdia Beach would appear on the list of nominations. Sad to report, therefore, that Grizz has had a bit of a heart scare. Nothing serious and he should be out of hospital by the weekend. All of us will of course wish him well.
Now, that paracetamol thing from yesterday. Might I remind you that the letter-writer cited the five euro price of paracetamol as an example of Mallorca being expensive. It made little sense, given the usual prices in chemists, until a mole informed me that there is a supermarket in Playa de Muro selling the pills for ... five euros. Very naughty, and if there are others doing so they are running a big risk. Need paracetamol? Do not buy it from a supermarket. Go to the chemists.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Nelly Furtado, "Powerless": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5E0Rb1y6XAY. Today's title - well, something Spanish for a change - he has a famous dad, also a singer, and what connection - indirectly - does he have with ETA?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
To other matters. This blog tends not to deal with individuals, but because it enables me to trot out a football analogy, then for once it will. John, he who is the Alcúdia Barfly, has moved from La Villa to Comics. It is a return to the Julio empire, or should that be management, a mid-season transfer during what might equate to the transfer window, a return akin to Robbie Keane going back to Spurs - or maybe not. And talking of Robbie Keane, who is of course Irish, the Puerto Pollensa La Villa has its own match winner, namely Sarah who is of course Irish. She once waxed lyrically about the lake back home, which did sound splendidly romantic and quite a distance from a Chinese restaurant, but don't let's be picky as Sarah was afforded something equivalent to a nine out of ten match rating in a letter to "Talk Of The North". Oh dear, could this herald a best waiters/waitresses in Pollensa dispute as a consequence of the columns of the local community organ? Name the other four. Or preferably don't. Please, whatever you do, don't.
But if there were awards for top entertainers in the local hotels, one might believe that Minty aka Grizz from Alcúdia Beach would appear on the list of nominations. Sad to report, therefore, that Grizz has had a bit of a heart scare. Nothing serious and he should be out of hospital by the weekend. All of us will of course wish him well.
Now, that paracetamol thing from yesterday. Might I remind you that the letter-writer cited the five euro price of paracetamol as an example of Mallorca being expensive. It made little sense, given the usual prices in chemists, until a mole informed me that there is a supermarket in Playa de Muro selling the pills for ... five euros. Very naughty, and if there are others doing so they are running a big risk. Need paracetamol? Do not buy it from a supermarket. Go to the chemists.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Nelly Furtado, "Powerless": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5E0Rb1y6XAY. Today's title - well, something Spanish for a change - he has a famous dad, also a singer, and what connection - indirectly - does he have with ETA?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Only To Distort
These are some of the things I dislike - misrepresentation, distortion, sensationalism, hyperbole, vitriol, vendettas, agendas, falsehoods, egoism, unquestioning acceptance, black and white. I may be guilty of some of them, but it still doesn't mean I like them. Some of them overlap, intertwine; they are all symptoms of a lack of balance or of proportion.
There have been examples of some of these in the reporting of Palmanova and in the ongoing Mallorca's expensive propaganda. Let us take a letter to "The Bulletin" yesterday, another letter to the paper going down the expensive route. It requires a response, and not one that kow-tows to the sentiments of the letter and calls for price controls. The writer states that paracetamol, as an example, costs almost 5 euros in Mallorca compared to 35 pence in a UK supermarket. What is wrong with this? Plenty. For starters, a pack of one brand of twenty 500 mg paracetamol tablets costs 2.30 from a chemists. It is more expensive than UK supermarkets, but not by the margin suggested (and for 35 pence, how many tablets does one get and at what strength?). Its sale is also controlled. The UK differs from Spain, and indeed other European countries, in allowing the sale of certain drugs outside the chemist channel. UK supermarket chains have enormous purchasing power that allows them to sell a small pack of paracetamol at a lower price than many UK chemists. There is also no equivalent of Boots in Mallorca. But if drugs are on prescription, some can cost a handful of centimos, such is the cheapness of many of them. You cannot compare like with like - it's a distortion of the facts to do so in order to seek to support an agenda that sets out to prove the expensive or more expensive case.
The letter goes on: vodka at the airport is similar in price to the UK. The airport shops are more expensive than ones in resorts, even for tobacco. But note that the price is "similar". The supermarkets in the UK are often criticised for their price competitiveness when it comes to alcohol and to fuelling binge drinking. The comparison has found evidence from one retail setting in order to try and prove a case; it is a further distortion, but even then an argument not well made. The letter believes that "prices in Mallorca are exceptionally higher than those in the UK". This is exaggeration, hyperbole. The truth of the statement, and it is not wholly untrue in certain instances, lies in the functioning of the market. Go back to the purchasing power of UK supermarket chains and add on the level of competition in that sector. You cannot compare it with that in Mallorca. A Wal-Mart or Tesco would shake up the Mallorcan supermarket scene, but neither would be likely to set foot on the island owing to cultural differences, logistics, labour rules and red tape. The letter also compares prices of named brands of sun lotion. They may well indeed be more expensive in Mallorca for the same reason of purchasing power. In which case, don't buy them. Recently I cited the example of the Müller store that sells spray lotions at different factors at very low cost.
Letter-writers, journalists, it does not matter which. One does not start, or should not start, from the conclusion, what one wants to prove; it is wholly the wrong approach, a top-down one that is bound to distort the true situation.
Then we come to Palmanova. "The Bulletin", through its editorial and another letter, makes a point in respect of the lack of information following the incident. The regional government president has since apologised for this lack of information. The point is well made that, without information, speculation was allowed to grow and an untrue representation as to the target of the bombers allowed to be made. There was a PR failure; the government admits this. The main concerns regarding the lack of information were to do with the lockdown of points of exit and of roads and in the immediate vicinity of the incident. There was inconvenience, annoyance and some anger, most of it the result of poor communication. But let's take a UK perspective. When the Glasgow attack occurred, what happened? Security measures were put into place in airports across the UK, immediate restrictions imposed. Much of the reporting had to do with, yes, a lack of information and poor communication and resultant annoyance and inconvenience caused to passengers.
The letter on the subject, otherwise a good analysis of the situation, concludes that Palmanova highlights a lack of political experience and a lack of fitness for office of the regional government. This is unfair and out of proportion. Take out the word political, and one has something more of the truth of the situation. Lack of experience in dealing with such an incident. The lockdown was the effecting of a plan that was already in place. The lesson of Palmanova is that experience should be gained in making communication a key element of that plan; it was this that was missing and has been acknowledged as having been missing. One also needs to consider the instructions of the police, the security forces and the interior ministry. It is they who drive events in such circumstances, not the tourism ministry. The latter should now become a firm feature of joined-up communication responses to any incident in the future, were one to ever occur. There were numerous groups that needed to be communicated with after Palmanova, not just tourists - the general public, the media, tour operators, airlines, other governments. And a final point, there is a language factor. Police not communicating with tourists in Palmanova may, as much as anything else, have been the result of their inability to speak languages. Indeed they could have made matters worse if they had expressed themselves incorrectly.
Ultimately, and despite the failures in communication and the sensationalism in the press, we learn that there are virtually no cancellations of holidays. Some will always respond in a paranoid fashion, but overwhelmingly there is an appreciation that Palmanova was not the manifestation of a threat to tourists. As with plane crashes, people move on very quickly on the principle that lightning very rarely strikes twice. Thankfully, most can see distortion and sensationalism for what they are.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Vic Reeves. One of the biggest responses ever, such as that from Dan. Maybe tells me something about future "quizzes". Today's title - we had her, as it were, only a couple of weeks ago. This comes from a terrific upbeat song.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
There have been examples of some of these in the reporting of Palmanova and in the ongoing Mallorca's expensive propaganda. Let us take a letter to "The Bulletin" yesterday, another letter to the paper going down the expensive route. It requires a response, and not one that kow-tows to the sentiments of the letter and calls for price controls. The writer states that paracetamol, as an example, costs almost 5 euros in Mallorca compared to 35 pence in a UK supermarket. What is wrong with this? Plenty. For starters, a pack of one brand of twenty 500 mg paracetamol tablets costs 2.30 from a chemists. It is more expensive than UK supermarkets, but not by the margin suggested (and for 35 pence, how many tablets does one get and at what strength?). Its sale is also controlled. The UK differs from Spain, and indeed other European countries, in allowing the sale of certain drugs outside the chemist channel. UK supermarket chains have enormous purchasing power that allows them to sell a small pack of paracetamol at a lower price than many UK chemists. There is also no equivalent of Boots in Mallorca. But if drugs are on prescription, some can cost a handful of centimos, such is the cheapness of many of them. You cannot compare like with like - it's a distortion of the facts to do so in order to seek to support an agenda that sets out to prove the expensive or more expensive case.
The letter goes on: vodka at the airport is similar in price to the UK. The airport shops are more expensive than ones in resorts, even for tobacco. But note that the price is "similar". The supermarkets in the UK are often criticised for their price competitiveness when it comes to alcohol and to fuelling binge drinking. The comparison has found evidence from one retail setting in order to try and prove a case; it is a further distortion, but even then an argument not well made. The letter believes that "prices in Mallorca are exceptionally higher than those in the UK". This is exaggeration, hyperbole. The truth of the statement, and it is not wholly untrue in certain instances, lies in the functioning of the market. Go back to the purchasing power of UK supermarket chains and add on the level of competition in that sector. You cannot compare it with that in Mallorca. A Wal-Mart or Tesco would shake up the Mallorcan supermarket scene, but neither would be likely to set foot on the island owing to cultural differences, logistics, labour rules and red tape. The letter also compares prices of named brands of sun lotion. They may well indeed be more expensive in Mallorca for the same reason of purchasing power. In which case, don't buy them. Recently I cited the example of the Müller store that sells spray lotions at different factors at very low cost.
Letter-writers, journalists, it does not matter which. One does not start, or should not start, from the conclusion, what one wants to prove; it is wholly the wrong approach, a top-down one that is bound to distort the true situation.
Then we come to Palmanova. "The Bulletin", through its editorial and another letter, makes a point in respect of the lack of information following the incident. The regional government president has since apologised for this lack of information. The point is well made that, without information, speculation was allowed to grow and an untrue representation as to the target of the bombers allowed to be made. There was a PR failure; the government admits this. The main concerns regarding the lack of information were to do with the lockdown of points of exit and of roads and in the immediate vicinity of the incident. There was inconvenience, annoyance and some anger, most of it the result of poor communication. But let's take a UK perspective. When the Glasgow attack occurred, what happened? Security measures were put into place in airports across the UK, immediate restrictions imposed. Much of the reporting had to do with, yes, a lack of information and poor communication and resultant annoyance and inconvenience caused to passengers.
The letter on the subject, otherwise a good analysis of the situation, concludes that Palmanova highlights a lack of political experience and a lack of fitness for office of the regional government. This is unfair and out of proportion. Take out the word political, and one has something more of the truth of the situation. Lack of experience in dealing with such an incident. The lockdown was the effecting of a plan that was already in place. The lesson of Palmanova is that experience should be gained in making communication a key element of that plan; it was this that was missing and has been acknowledged as having been missing. One also needs to consider the instructions of the police, the security forces and the interior ministry. It is they who drive events in such circumstances, not the tourism ministry. The latter should now become a firm feature of joined-up communication responses to any incident in the future, were one to ever occur. There were numerous groups that needed to be communicated with after Palmanova, not just tourists - the general public, the media, tour operators, airlines, other governments. And a final point, there is a language factor. Police not communicating with tourists in Palmanova may, as much as anything else, have been the result of their inability to speak languages. Indeed they could have made matters worse if they had expressed themselves incorrectly.
Ultimately, and despite the failures in communication and the sensationalism in the press, we learn that there are virtually no cancellations of holidays. Some will always respond in a paranoid fashion, but overwhelmingly there is an appreciation that Palmanova was not the manifestation of a threat to tourists. As with plane crashes, people move on very quickly on the principle that lightning very rarely strikes twice. Thankfully, most can see distortion and sensationalism for what they are.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Vic Reeves. One of the biggest responses ever, such as that from Dan. Maybe tells me something about future "quizzes". Today's title - we had her, as it were, only a couple of weeks ago. This comes from a terrific upbeat song.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Big Night Out
While much of the bad-season attention has been paid to bars, restaurants, shops and hotels, one other sector of the tourism economy has not escaped the downturn, and that is "excursions". According to "The Diario", there has been a fall of around 20% in take-up across the islands. One of the greatest falls has been registered with evening excursions - a decade ago these numbered a million and a half; now they are as low as 300,000. The one excursion type that is escaping the worst is that to the waterparks with only a moderate decline. From these numbers, one has to assume that the likes of Pirates and Son Amar are not enjoying the best of times. The cut in the number of excursions is despite the fact that there is a reduced number of rental cars available.
Excursions differ of course, but an evening out can work out as being quite pricey if the whole family goes - 200 euros for a family of four to Pirates, for instance. However, it is not unfamiliar to read on forums that, while they may forego other expenditure, tourists reserve something for excursions. Like the evidence as to only one meal out per day becoming the norm, as opposed to two or three, maybe just one excursion is being taken whereas two or three may have been in the past.
If not excursions, do the towns and resorts themselves offer an alternative in terms of entertainment? An obvious answer is that the hotels are now far more active in their entertainment offers, but during the summer there are also the fiestas and other events provided by the towns. During August, for example, Alcúdia has what at first sight seems like an impressive list of events. Apart from ball de bot in the port, they are all in the old town, the old town to which only relatively small numbers of tourists go in the evenings. This said, there is little that might qualify as fun for all the family. Jazz, theatre in Catalan, the Moscow Ballet performing Swan Lake; all worthy, but unlikely to drag Joe and Joan tourist and the kids up from Bellevue.
And while on fiestas, that of Can Picafort is now under way. It really starts to get going this coming weekend, the night party having been shifted from the football stadium to the town centre. On the 15th is what is one of the most spectacular of all the firework displays, and earlier on that day is the potty duck do, the one where they liberate not real ducks but rubber ones. Despite the animal welfare-correctness lobby having got its way and boosted the sales of rubber ducks, the publicity material for this year's event uses the image of a very real duck. Can they do that? What about the duck's welfare?
Information on Can Picafort and also the Alcúdia events is on the WHAT'S ON BLOG - http://www.wotzupnorth.blogspot.com
A reduction of a different sort. The numbers coming to Mallorca because they have cancelled as a consequence of the Palmanova bombing. Crazy, but never underestimate the power of hysteria. Or perhaps not. The number of cancellations has trebled, while there has been a fall of 15% in last-minute reservations. At least that is what the organisation of hotel chains is saying. The regional government, for its part, is insisting that there have been only 15 cancellations in Magalluf and Palmanova, while the president of the hotel association in those two resorts is saying that practically no cancellations have been made.There is to be a meeting of tourism authorities to put in place a campaign that shows security and normality and tourists enjoying beaches and hotels. It shouldn't be necessary, but the British and German press is being accused of questioning Mallorca's security, and it has been the media that has created whatever hysteria there may have been. It is reassuring that tourists see through the sensationalism, if one takes the government and the Palmanova hoteliers view of things. But everything is normal. There is no threat. Nothing. It was one unfortunate incident. I've held off saying it because it may sound disrespectful or glib, but it was no big deal. Get over it.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Elvis, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q04_ClDxRsk. Today's title - who had a big night out?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Excursions differ of course, but an evening out can work out as being quite pricey if the whole family goes - 200 euros for a family of four to Pirates, for instance. However, it is not unfamiliar to read on forums that, while they may forego other expenditure, tourists reserve something for excursions. Like the evidence as to only one meal out per day becoming the norm, as opposed to two or three, maybe just one excursion is being taken whereas two or three may have been in the past.
If not excursions, do the towns and resorts themselves offer an alternative in terms of entertainment? An obvious answer is that the hotels are now far more active in their entertainment offers, but during the summer there are also the fiestas and other events provided by the towns. During August, for example, Alcúdia has what at first sight seems like an impressive list of events. Apart from ball de bot in the port, they are all in the old town, the old town to which only relatively small numbers of tourists go in the evenings. This said, there is little that might qualify as fun for all the family. Jazz, theatre in Catalan, the Moscow Ballet performing Swan Lake; all worthy, but unlikely to drag Joe and Joan tourist and the kids up from Bellevue.
And while on fiestas, that of Can Picafort is now under way. It really starts to get going this coming weekend, the night party having been shifted from the football stadium to the town centre. On the 15th is what is one of the most spectacular of all the firework displays, and earlier on that day is the potty duck do, the one where they liberate not real ducks but rubber ones. Despite the animal welfare-correctness lobby having got its way and boosted the sales of rubber ducks, the publicity material for this year's event uses the image of a very real duck. Can they do that? What about the duck's welfare?
Information on Can Picafort and also the Alcúdia events is on the WHAT'S ON BLOG - http://www.wotzupnorth.blogspot.com
A reduction of a different sort. The numbers coming to Mallorca because they have cancelled as a consequence of the Palmanova bombing. Crazy, but never underestimate the power of hysteria. Or perhaps not. The number of cancellations has trebled, while there has been a fall of 15% in last-minute reservations. At least that is what the organisation of hotel chains is saying. The regional government, for its part, is insisting that there have been only 15 cancellations in Magalluf and Palmanova, while the president of the hotel association in those two resorts is saying that practically no cancellations have been made.There is to be a meeting of tourism authorities to put in place a campaign that shows security and normality and tourists enjoying beaches and hotels. It shouldn't be necessary, but the British and German press is being accused of questioning Mallorca's security, and it has been the media that has created whatever hysteria there may have been. It is reassuring that tourists see through the sensationalism, if one takes the government and the Palmanova hoteliers view of things. But everything is normal. There is no threat. Nothing. It was one unfortunate incident. I've held off saying it because it may sound disrespectful or glib, but it was no big deal. Get over it.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Elvis, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q04_ClDxRsk. Today's title - who had a big night out?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Monday, August 03, 2009
Suspicious Minds
Right, let's get back to something resembling normality - after a fashion. Or maybe not. The tension post-Palmanova was reflected on Saturday by the closure of roads around the Lago Menor in Puerto Alcúdia when a "suspicious package" was discovered. Nothing came of it of course. As ever after incidents anything looks like it might be packed with explosives. A problem is that there are any number of things that might qualify as suspicious - bags of rubbish discarded or all the stuff that just gets left out either for rubbish collection or for people to help themselves to. You could fill a house with what gets plonked on the street. Fridges, televisions, stereos, paintings, doors, drawers, entire patio suites of furniture (in need of restoration), old boilers in cardboard boxes. You name it, you can find it if you drive around long enough. And some of it could well fall into the "suspicious" category, especially suitcases. As for an old boiler, God knows what you could pack into that - a nuclear warhead probably. Reacting to a potentially suspicious bag or some such in the street does rather suggest too heightened a level of paranoia. If someone were of a mind to plant something, there are fairly obvious places to put them - like all the different rubbish containers.
And if not suspicious packages, then try the suspicious looking people. One review I read referred to someone that the reviewer thought he or she had seen on "Crimewatch". Let's face it, there are some on the loose who should be. Anyway, now we are being told that the ETA terrorists may have had contacts with radical, pro-Catalan youth groups on Mallorca. Indeed the police have in fact previously intercepted correspondence. There is no particular evidence that such a connection existed in respect of Palmanova, but it is one that naturally the police and Guardia are interested in examining, especially as they try to make sense of how a cell might have been able to exist on Mallorca for several weeks and to reconnoitre its targets. It might come as a surprise to learn that there are such groups. Mallorca is hardly a hotbed of revolutionary fervour, but there is a growing Catalan radicalisation. Any such association that may be proved would not help the cause of legitimate and honourable Catalan promotion.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - The Eagles, "Hotel California", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ea0CDieb4yM. Today's title - impersonator, anyone?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
And if not suspicious packages, then try the suspicious looking people. One review I read referred to someone that the reviewer thought he or she had seen on "Crimewatch". Let's face it, there are some on the loose who should be. Anyway, now we are being told that the ETA terrorists may have had contacts with radical, pro-Catalan youth groups on Mallorca. Indeed the police have in fact previously intercepted correspondence. There is no particular evidence that such a connection existed in respect of Palmanova, but it is one that naturally the police and Guardia are interested in examining, especially as they try to make sense of how a cell might have been able to exist on Mallorca for several weeks and to reconnoitre its targets. It might come as a surprise to learn that there are such groups. Mallorca is hardly a hotbed of revolutionary fervour, but there is a growing Catalan radicalisation. Any such association that may be proved would not help the cause of legitimate and honourable Catalan promotion.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - The Eagles, "Hotel California", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ea0CDieb4yM. Today's title - impersonator, anyone?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Sunday, August 02, 2009
We Haven't Had That Spirit Here ...
"Plucky." "Dunkirk spirit." "Bastards."
There is nothing like a terrorist incident to excite the juices of tabloidism. Let us for Heaven's sake get Palmanova into proportion. Horrible it may have been, but it simply does not rank in the lists of the truly dreadful. Unusual it may have been for Mallorca, but it was an isolated incident directed at a symbol of the Spanish state.
There is seemingly also nothing like a terrorist incident to excite misinformation and wild rumour. The Chinese whispers have been shouted out. The bomb was at the airport. The airport is closed for days. There are terrorists everywhere, ready to set off further bombs. What if they are about to do something here (as in around Alcúdia)? All of it rubbish. The lockdown of Mallorca for a time and the ongoing police checks are all part of a well-rehearsed contingency plan in the event of an incident. There may have been a lack of vigilance in Palmanova, but there is no lack of foresight in dealing with a terrorist incident. That in itself speaks volumes. The bombing may not have been anticipated, but it was not unexpected. Mallorca may have been spared the terrorist excesses of the peninsula, but it is still Spain; Palma was once widely thought to have been a target for Al-Qaeda, even for Saddam Hussein, which just goes to show the sort of exaggerated garbage that gets trotted out but also the fact that Mallorca has not been excluded in the past from possible attack.
The tabloid reporting has been to an extent sensationalist and out of proportion, but locally it is understandable. Nevertheless, it was "The Sun" what did it with the use of "plucky". I honestly didn't believe that the paper did actually use the adjective. I had assumed it was a parody. But no. "Plucky British holidaymakers" were defying the terrorists, blah, blah. These plucky tourists were determined to still be heading for the beaches or the bars, and the Spanish press reported that things in Palmanova were all pretty much normal, yet "The Bulletin" showed a "desolated" beach, suggesting that everyone was staying away, a report that ran counter to others. Who do you believe? 'Twas ever thus with the press.
Those plucky Brits referred to having lived with the IRA. It's a tired comparison and justification, but there is some sense to it. And you can chuck in post-9/11 as well. Quite why British tourists should feel the need to cancel holidays or to try and get on the first flight out is unfathomable. Palmanova is, I suppose, a shock for those in Mallorca who have not known terrorism at relative first-hand, such as those of us who have lived in London for example. It is why, I guess, the hyperbole works overtime. Paradise lost. Paradise shattered. All that. Perhaps Palmanova has, though, made people realise that there is such a thing as reality, one that many seem to have forgotten existed or one that they were unaware existed at all. But one keeps coming back to what actually happened. It may sound callous, heartless or as though I am wilfully seeking to understate the significance of the attack, but in the terrorist scheme of things only the location is particularly surprising, the actual attack is not. ETA have made a habit of targetting the Guardia, which is not to suggest that the dead officers should have expected to have been blown up, but there should have been an awareness that a Palmanova could happen. Mallorca had seemed immune because of terrorist logistics, but the fact that there is now talk of there being or having been (for some weeks) an ETA cell on the island and of a safe house does again bring into question the role of intelligence.
Contrary to an impression that has been conveyed, there are not people wandering around weeping, being solemn or in a state of shock. People are talking, of course they are, but often talking in order to tell others to give it all a rest and to stop making more of the incident than it merits. There is also a fair degree of annoyance with the press, not least "The Bulletin" and its ludicrous appeal for a "Dunkirk spirit". One does actually despair of some of the reaction. It needs to be measured, it needs perspective. It does not need emotional language that serves only to ratchet up feelings and to heighten fears unnecessarily.
Shit happens, even in so-called paradise. They probably called Bali a paradise, and Palmanova does not come anywhere close to that in terms of scale or horror. It can happen and does happen. Anywhere.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - REM, "Losing My Religion", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB3VTX0pxoE. Today's title - where's this from?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
There is nothing like a terrorist incident to excite the juices of tabloidism. Let us for Heaven's sake get Palmanova into proportion. Horrible it may have been, but it simply does not rank in the lists of the truly dreadful. Unusual it may have been for Mallorca, but it was an isolated incident directed at a symbol of the Spanish state.
There is seemingly also nothing like a terrorist incident to excite misinformation and wild rumour. The Chinese whispers have been shouted out. The bomb was at the airport. The airport is closed for days. There are terrorists everywhere, ready to set off further bombs. What if they are about to do something here (as in around Alcúdia)? All of it rubbish. The lockdown of Mallorca for a time and the ongoing police checks are all part of a well-rehearsed contingency plan in the event of an incident. There may have been a lack of vigilance in Palmanova, but there is no lack of foresight in dealing with a terrorist incident. That in itself speaks volumes. The bombing may not have been anticipated, but it was not unexpected. Mallorca may have been spared the terrorist excesses of the peninsula, but it is still Spain; Palma was once widely thought to have been a target for Al-Qaeda, even for Saddam Hussein, which just goes to show the sort of exaggerated garbage that gets trotted out but also the fact that Mallorca has not been excluded in the past from possible attack.
The tabloid reporting has been to an extent sensationalist and out of proportion, but locally it is understandable. Nevertheless, it was "The Sun" what did it with the use of "plucky". I honestly didn't believe that the paper did actually use the adjective. I had assumed it was a parody. But no. "Plucky British holidaymakers" were defying the terrorists, blah, blah. These plucky tourists were determined to still be heading for the beaches or the bars, and the Spanish press reported that things in Palmanova were all pretty much normal, yet "The Bulletin" showed a "desolated" beach, suggesting that everyone was staying away, a report that ran counter to others. Who do you believe? 'Twas ever thus with the press.
Those plucky Brits referred to having lived with the IRA. It's a tired comparison and justification, but there is some sense to it. And you can chuck in post-9/11 as well. Quite why British tourists should feel the need to cancel holidays or to try and get on the first flight out is unfathomable. Palmanova is, I suppose, a shock for those in Mallorca who have not known terrorism at relative first-hand, such as those of us who have lived in London for example. It is why, I guess, the hyperbole works overtime. Paradise lost. Paradise shattered. All that. Perhaps Palmanova has, though, made people realise that there is such a thing as reality, one that many seem to have forgotten existed or one that they were unaware existed at all. But one keeps coming back to what actually happened. It may sound callous, heartless or as though I am wilfully seeking to understate the significance of the attack, but in the terrorist scheme of things only the location is particularly surprising, the actual attack is not. ETA have made a habit of targetting the Guardia, which is not to suggest that the dead officers should have expected to have been blown up, but there should have been an awareness that a Palmanova could happen. Mallorca had seemed immune because of terrorist logistics, but the fact that there is now talk of there being or having been (for some weeks) an ETA cell on the island and of a safe house does again bring into question the role of intelligence.
Contrary to an impression that has been conveyed, there are not people wandering around weeping, being solemn or in a state of shock. People are talking, of course they are, but often talking in order to tell others to give it all a rest and to stop making more of the incident than it merits. There is also a fair degree of annoyance with the press, not least "The Bulletin" and its ludicrous appeal for a "Dunkirk spirit". One does actually despair of some of the reaction. It needs to be measured, it needs perspective. It does not need emotional language that serves only to ratchet up feelings and to heighten fears unnecessarily.
Shit happens, even in so-called paradise. They probably called Bali a paradise, and Palmanova does not come anywhere close to that in terms of scale or horror. It can happen and does happen. Anywhere.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - REM, "Losing My Religion", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB3VTX0pxoE. Today's title - where's this from?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Flailing Around
You have to get things into perspective. In terms of atrocity, two police officers dead is not on a grand terrorist scale; two police officers representative of the enemy where ETA is concerned. This was not an atrocity directed at others. That it took place in a tourism centre fuels publicity, which is of course the stuff of the terrorist. It could, though, have been anywhere; it just happened to be Palmanova. Cue the irrelevant and fatuous remarks along the lines of things like that don't happen there. Of course they do. Things happen, shit happens anywhere. Bombings on Mallorca are far less likely to occur than on the mainland because of the very fact of it being an island, and presenting the terrorist with logistical difficulties, not least of which is the route to escape. As a counter view to this, the "El Mundo" website has polled its visitors and asked them if ETA could count on logistical support in Mallorca - three-quarters say yes. Whatever. That the bombing did occur in Palmanova may have had something to do with the relative proximity down the road of the royal family in summer residence; the Guardia station in Palmanova was probably a soft target compared with ones in Palma.
But the very fact of a terrorist incident is bound to create a burst of discussion - in the media, across a coffee, wherever. Inevitably it does. That such incidents are played out in real time nowadays heightens the sense of shock and, among some, paranoia. But one still needs to retain that sense of perspective. One report - from "The Bulletin" - drew a comparison with the scene in Palmanova with that in New York. This is absurd. It is also dangerous as it creates the wrong sense of perspective, one of a major outrage - a Mumbai, a Madrid, a Bali or of course a World Trade Center. The same report alluded to fears that there might be further bombs. Why would there be? Well, there was one, but ETA does not go around performing mass, co-ordinated attacks in the style of Al-Qaeda. This is a terrorist group flailing around in an attempt to bolster its shot-through organisation. Publicity, concern it has caused, but let's retain that perspective. The chances of there being another bomb in Mallorca must be considered remote. This does not stop even "The Times" raising the temperature of hyperbole, referring to fears of a "summer of violence". It ought to know better.
After the event, there are questions that need to be asked. The first concerns intelligence and vigilance. Intelligence failures are not uncommon, as one knows from UK experience, but on an island the size of Mallorca one does have to wonder as to how a unit or individual can operate. It is highly unlikely that this was the work of a sleeper or sleepers. In light of the explosion at Burgos and the proximity of the 50 years of ETA's founding, what level of alert and what procedures were in place at all Guardia installations? The Guardia's vehicles are commonly parked in the open, on streets in many cases. To have planted a bomb would have meant its being attached under the noses of the Guardia, presumably at night. Where is their own security?
There have been conflicting reports as to how the bomb was detonated. By remote control seems most unlikely. Car bombs are now typically attached magnetically and respond to doors being opened, to pedals being pressed or to movement. Rarely are they triggered by the ignition being turned on. The magnetic attachment requires less time as well (and the latest is that this was indeed the style of bomb). One has to presume that the bomb in Palmanova was placed at some time during the night. A further question that arises, therefore, is the time between its being placed and its explosion. This may not be unimportant. If the bomber was looking to ensure that he or she was off the island, he or she would need a fair time frame, one during which he or she could be well away, possibly even back on the peninsula. Were certain vehicles at Palmanova known to be routinely used only at around two in the afternoon? If so, how? It is, however, speculation that the bombers are off the island. Word has it that they are not.
UPDATE (09:30, 01.08)
Well, well, forget some of the above. The vehicle had been used that day - in Palma and then in Calvia. Either the bomb was very well hidden or it was attached in broad daylight. This changes things. If it had been hidden, it would probably have had to have been detonated in a way that was not dependent upon motion or one of the other typical forms of detonation, i.e. remote or possibly with a mobile phone. If it was attached in broad daylight, then there was clearly a failure of security, a fact being accepted in any event. The likelihood is growing that the bombers are still on the island, and checks are being made on flats for rent. The hypothesis is that there was/is a "commando stable" now holed up in a flat, waiting for things to calm down.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - "Star", Primal Scream, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAANDIe4T7M. Today's title - this comes from one of the all-time great songs.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
But the very fact of a terrorist incident is bound to create a burst of discussion - in the media, across a coffee, wherever. Inevitably it does. That such incidents are played out in real time nowadays heightens the sense of shock and, among some, paranoia. But one still needs to retain that sense of perspective. One report - from "The Bulletin" - drew a comparison with the scene in Palmanova with that in New York. This is absurd. It is also dangerous as it creates the wrong sense of perspective, one of a major outrage - a Mumbai, a Madrid, a Bali or of course a World Trade Center. The same report alluded to fears that there might be further bombs. Why would there be? Well, there was one, but ETA does not go around performing mass, co-ordinated attacks in the style of Al-Qaeda. This is a terrorist group flailing around in an attempt to bolster its shot-through organisation. Publicity, concern it has caused, but let's retain that perspective. The chances of there being another bomb in Mallorca must be considered remote. This does not stop even "The Times" raising the temperature of hyperbole, referring to fears of a "summer of violence". It ought to know better.
After the event, there are questions that need to be asked. The first concerns intelligence and vigilance. Intelligence failures are not uncommon, as one knows from UK experience, but on an island the size of Mallorca one does have to wonder as to how a unit or individual can operate. It is highly unlikely that this was the work of a sleeper or sleepers. In light of the explosion at Burgos and the proximity of the 50 years of ETA's founding, what level of alert and what procedures were in place at all Guardia installations? The Guardia's vehicles are commonly parked in the open, on streets in many cases. To have planted a bomb would have meant its being attached under the noses of the Guardia, presumably at night. Where is their own security?
There have been conflicting reports as to how the bomb was detonated. By remote control seems most unlikely. Car bombs are now typically attached magnetically and respond to doors being opened, to pedals being pressed or to movement. Rarely are they triggered by the ignition being turned on. The magnetic attachment requires less time as well (and the latest is that this was indeed the style of bomb). One has to presume that the bomb in Palmanova was placed at some time during the night. A further question that arises, therefore, is the time between its being placed and its explosion. This may not be unimportant. If the bomber was looking to ensure that he or she was off the island, he or she would need a fair time frame, one during which he or she could be well away, possibly even back on the peninsula. Were certain vehicles at Palmanova known to be routinely used only at around two in the afternoon? If so, how? It is, however, speculation that the bombers are off the island. Word has it that they are not.
UPDATE (09:30, 01.08)
Well, well, forget some of the above. The vehicle had been used that day - in Palma and then in Calvia. Either the bomb was very well hidden or it was attached in broad daylight. This changes things. If it had been hidden, it would probably have had to have been detonated in a way that was not dependent upon motion or one of the other typical forms of detonation, i.e. remote or possibly with a mobile phone. If it was attached in broad daylight, then there was clearly a failure of security, a fact being accepted in any event. The likelihood is growing that the bombers are still on the island, and checks are being made on flats for rent. The hypothesis is that there was/is a "commando stable" now holed up in a flat, waiting for things to calm down.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - "Star", Primal Scream, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAANDIe4T7M. Today's title - this comes from one of the all-time great songs.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Friday, July 31, 2009
One Man's Freedom Fighter ...
And so ETA has brought its bombs to the tourist areas of Mallorca. It is not the first time that ETA has committed an outrage on the island; the bomb yesterday in Palmanova coincided with the eighteenth anniversary of two car bombings in Palma. It is also fifty years since ETA was formed, a fact that was "celebrated" by the bomb in Burgos. Some celebration.
Two Guardia Civil officers lost their lives in Palmanova; the bomb appears to have been placed under their Nissan Patrol vehicle. The Guardia acted swifty; hotels were closed, residents told not to leave their homes, the airport put on the highest level of security, closing it for a time, and helicopter and coastal patrols put into full action. While the outrage was a direct attack on the forces of law - as was the case also in Burgos - it was also in a tourist area. That is not a normal modus operandi for ETA; or it had previously had not been.
One supposes that this will all lead some to question whether it is safe to come on holiday. It might be understandable, but it would not make sense. There is no suggestion at all that tourists are targets; indeed the very notion is both extremely remote and extremely unlikely. ETA has a beef with the Spanish state, and the Guardia Civil is a personification of the state as well as being ETA's "enemy". The Guardia and the National Police are highly skilled anti-terrorist bodies. Alongside their British police counterparts, they rank as the most adept anti-terrorist forces in Europe; they, like the British security forces, have had a lot of practice.
The national president, Zapatero, sought to engage ETA. A ceasefire was formed, but ETA broke it, probably because it had regrouped, having used the ceasefire for that purpose. Why does ETA persist? It's the same question that was asked of the IRA, yet the Irish question had been posed for very much longer than the Basque one. The ETA cause is, for some, not totally dishonourable, but it is infused with a deluded romanticism - the terrorist as martyr in support of a mystical homeland - one combined with psychopathic criminality and without mass support. It is anachronistic within the context of a contemporary Spain, kicking at invisible proscription; invisible because none exists. It is a potent cause for idealists, for fanatics, but it is also totally and utterly futile.
Alcúdia train
Meanwhile, the Alcúdia train saga drags on and on. It is, or appears to be as much as anything a stand-off between two political sides - the Unió Mallorquina, of which Alcúdia's mayor is a member and the so-called Bloc of which the transport minister is a member. The UM wants the southern route, the one to terminate in Puerto Alcúdia, and the Bloc wants the northern route into the town.
The Partido Popular is getting in on the act, probably rightly so as it is expressing concern that the failure to arrive at an agreement could mean that the funds which have been promised might be made unavailable. In other words, those in central government could get hacked off and kill off the whole project, which would be very unsatisfactory to say the least. The PP is also talking of an amendment to the recent Decreto Grimalt in respect of environmental protection aspects that might currently prevent the northern route.
PALMANOVA BOMBING - UPDATES (09:00, 31.07)
Three days of mourning have been announced by the president of the Balearic Government, Francesc Antich.
Everything at the points of entry and exit is more or less normal again. The airport was closed for only two hours, pressure being applied by tourism sources to get things back to normal as soon as possible. Alcúdia port was closed for a time, as were main roads in and out of the town with vehicles being subject to police checks.
There is concern for the impact on tourism, but it is being pointed out that other destinations - Egypt and Turkey - have suffered terrorist acts and not experienced any great harm to tourism. Indeed the attack in Mallorca is far less obviously aimed at tourism than those in these other countries.
The British Foreign Office has raised its advice in respect of travel to Spain to high risk, which seems like an over-reaction. Yes there may be a risk of a further attack, but once again one stresses that tourists are not in the firing-line.
A second bomb was discovered under another Guardia vehicle. It was detonated using a controlled explosion.
UPDATE (14:00, 31.07)
Six suspects named. Photos on http://www.diariodemallorca.es
UPDATE (18:30, 31.07)
The delegate for the Balearics to the central government has said that he believes that the bomber or bombers are still on the island. The interior ministry has not confirmed this.
UPDATE (21:00, 31.07)
"Rings of steel" imposed by the Guardia at the airport and ports, including Alcúdia, to check all movement of vehicles. Checks on ID etc. Demonstration involving 6000 people in Palmanova against the terrorists.
UPDATE (23:15, 31.07)
Studies of the second bomb suggest that it, like the killing bomb, was a "limpet", i.e. magnetically attached. A conclusion is that this would have given the bombers ample chance to get away from the scene.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Godspell, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdEuwqlZdto. Today's title - "is another's terrorist"; one of the greatest songs by a group more commonly known for a more extreme rock style.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Index for July 2009
ABC1 socioeconomic groups - 15 July 2009
Alcúdia town hall history - 16 July 2009
Alcúdia's population - 9 July 2009
All-inclusives - 15 July 2009
Beata 2009 - 21 July 2009
Bellevue, tour operators pull out of - 28 July 2009
Bingo - 14 July 2009
Boat taxation - 10 July 2009
Bony - 28 July 2009
Botellón - 26 July 2009
Building laws - 5 July 2009, 8 July 2009
Can Picafort frontline upgrade - 17 July 2009
Christians and Moors, Pollensa 2009 - 20 July 2009, 23 July 2009
Don Pedro Hotel, Cala San Vicente - 24 July 2009
ESRA - 11 July 2009
ETA - 31 July 2009
Fiestas - 3 July 2009, 4 July 2009, 14 July 2009, 16 July 2009, 20 July 2009, 21 July 2009, 23 July 2009, 25 July 2009, 26 July 2009
Heatwave - 24 July 2009
Hotel low occupancy - 12 July 2009
Joan March - 19 July 2009
Ley de Costas - 5 July 2009, 8 July 2009
Mallorca expensive? - 7 July 2009, 27 July 2009, 29 July 2009
Mallorcan society - 3 July 2009, 9 July 2009, 21 July 2009, 26 July 2009
Miss Baleares - 29 July 2009
Monarch's beach in Birmingham - 25 July 2009
Muro's new mayor - 6 July 2009
Musicals - 10 July 2009
Palmanova bombing - 31 July 2009
Patrona 2009 - 20 July 2009, 23 July 2009
Playa de Muro hoteliers - 8 July 2009
Polish tourists, trouble caused by - 24 July 2009
Pollensa town hall contracts - 30 July 2009
Pollensa town hall finances - 18 July 2009, 25 July 2009
Puerto Alcúdia's commercial port - 10 July 2009, 11 July 2009
Puerto Pollensa military base Civil War memorial - 2 July 2009
Puerto Pollensa not like it was - 1 July 2009
Puerto Pollensa old school - 28 July 2009
Pumpkins - 19 July 2009
Rain - 11 July 2009
Road accidents - 14 July 2009
Road names, Franco associations - 19 July 2009
Sa Pobla-Alcúdia train - 31 July 2009
Salt lands, Puerto Alcúdia - 5 July 2009
Sant Jaume fiesta, Alcúdia - 16 July 2009, 26 July 2009
Son Bosc golf development - 17 July 2009
Souvenir shops - 27 July 2009
Swine flu - 16 July 2009, 22 July 2009
To Holiday holiday club - 18 July 2009
Tourism economy - 12 July 2009
Tourism promotion - 25 July 2009
Tourism spend - 30 July 2009
Unió Mallorquina - 13 July 2009
Youth drinking - 26 July 2009
Two Guardia Civil officers lost their lives in Palmanova; the bomb appears to have been placed under their Nissan Patrol vehicle. The Guardia acted swifty; hotels were closed, residents told not to leave their homes, the airport put on the highest level of security, closing it for a time, and helicopter and coastal patrols put into full action. While the outrage was a direct attack on the forces of law - as was the case also in Burgos - it was also in a tourist area. That is not a normal modus operandi for ETA; or it had previously had not been.
One supposes that this will all lead some to question whether it is safe to come on holiday. It might be understandable, but it would not make sense. There is no suggestion at all that tourists are targets; indeed the very notion is both extremely remote and extremely unlikely. ETA has a beef with the Spanish state, and the Guardia Civil is a personification of the state as well as being ETA's "enemy". The Guardia and the National Police are highly skilled anti-terrorist bodies. Alongside their British police counterparts, they rank as the most adept anti-terrorist forces in Europe; they, like the British security forces, have had a lot of practice.
The national president, Zapatero, sought to engage ETA. A ceasefire was formed, but ETA broke it, probably because it had regrouped, having used the ceasefire for that purpose. Why does ETA persist? It's the same question that was asked of the IRA, yet the Irish question had been posed for very much longer than the Basque one. The ETA cause is, for some, not totally dishonourable, but it is infused with a deluded romanticism - the terrorist as martyr in support of a mystical homeland - one combined with psychopathic criminality and without mass support. It is anachronistic within the context of a contemporary Spain, kicking at invisible proscription; invisible because none exists. It is a potent cause for idealists, for fanatics, but it is also totally and utterly futile.
Alcúdia train
Meanwhile, the Alcúdia train saga drags on and on. It is, or appears to be as much as anything a stand-off between two political sides - the Unió Mallorquina, of which Alcúdia's mayor is a member and the so-called Bloc of which the transport minister is a member. The UM wants the southern route, the one to terminate in Puerto Alcúdia, and the Bloc wants the northern route into the town.
The Partido Popular is getting in on the act, probably rightly so as it is expressing concern that the failure to arrive at an agreement could mean that the funds which have been promised might be made unavailable. In other words, those in central government could get hacked off and kill off the whole project, which would be very unsatisfactory to say the least. The PP is also talking of an amendment to the recent Decreto Grimalt in respect of environmental protection aspects that might currently prevent the northern route.
PALMANOVA BOMBING - UPDATES (09:00, 31.07)
Three days of mourning have been announced by the president of the Balearic Government, Francesc Antich.
Everything at the points of entry and exit is more or less normal again. The airport was closed for only two hours, pressure being applied by tourism sources to get things back to normal as soon as possible. Alcúdia port was closed for a time, as were main roads in and out of the town with vehicles being subject to police checks.
There is concern for the impact on tourism, but it is being pointed out that other destinations - Egypt and Turkey - have suffered terrorist acts and not experienced any great harm to tourism. Indeed the attack in Mallorca is far less obviously aimed at tourism than those in these other countries.
The British Foreign Office has raised its advice in respect of travel to Spain to high risk, which seems like an over-reaction. Yes there may be a risk of a further attack, but once again one stresses that tourists are not in the firing-line.
A second bomb was discovered under another Guardia vehicle. It was detonated using a controlled explosion.
UPDATE (14:00, 31.07)
Six suspects named. Photos on http://www.diariodemallorca.es
UPDATE (18:30, 31.07)
The delegate for the Balearics to the central government has said that he believes that the bomber or bombers are still on the island. The interior ministry has not confirmed this.
UPDATE (21:00, 31.07)
"Rings of steel" imposed by the Guardia at the airport and ports, including Alcúdia, to check all movement of vehicles. Checks on ID etc. Demonstration involving 6000 people in Palmanova against the terrorists.
UPDATE (23:15, 31.07)
Studies of the second bomb suggest that it, like the killing bomb, was a "limpet", i.e. magnetically attached. A conclusion is that this would have given the bombers ample chance to get away from the scene.
QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Godspell, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdEuwqlZdto. Today's title - "is another's terrorist"; one of the greatest songs by a group more commonly known for a more extreme rock style.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Index for July 2009
ABC1 socioeconomic groups - 15 July 2009
Alcúdia town hall history - 16 July 2009
Alcúdia's population - 9 July 2009
All-inclusives - 15 July 2009
Beata 2009 - 21 July 2009
Bellevue, tour operators pull out of - 28 July 2009
Bingo - 14 July 2009
Boat taxation - 10 July 2009
Bony - 28 July 2009
Botellón - 26 July 2009
Building laws - 5 July 2009, 8 July 2009
Can Picafort frontline upgrade - 17 July 2009
Christians and Moors, Pollensa 2009 - 20 July 2009, 23 July 2009
Don Pedro Hotel, Cala San Vicente - 24 July 2009
ESRA - 11 July 2009
ETA - 31 July 2009
Fiestas - 3 July 2009, 4 July 2009, 14 July 2009, 16 July 2009, 20 July 2009, 21 July 2009, 23 July 2009, 25 July 2009, 26 July 2009
Heatwave - 24 July 2009
Hotel low occupancy - 12 July 2009
Joan March - 19 July 2009
Ley de Costas - 5 July 2009, 8 July 2009
Mallorca expensive? - 7 July 2009, 27 July 2009, 29 July 2009
Mallorcan society - 3 July 2009, 9 July 2009, 21 July 2009, 26 July 2009
Miss Baleares - 29 July 2009
Monarch's beach in Birmingham - 25 July 2009
Muro's new mayor - 6 July 2009
Musicals - 10 July 2009
Palmanova bombing - 31 July 2009
Patrona 2009 - 20 July 2009, 23 July 2009
Playa de Muro hoteliers - 8 July 2009
Polish tourists, trouble caused by - 24 July 2009
Pollensa town hall contracts - 30 July 2009
Pollensa town hall finances - 18 July 2009, 25 July 2009
Puerto Alcúdia's commercial port - 10 July 2009, 11 July 2009
Puerto Pollensa military base Civil War memorial - 2 July 2009
Puerto Pollensa not like it was - 1 July 2009
Puerto Pollensa old school - 28 July 2009
Pumpkins - 19 July 2009
Rain - 11 July 2009
Road accidents - 14 July 2009
Road names, Franco associations - 19 July 2009
Sa Pobla-Alcúdia train - 31 July 2009
Salt lands, Puerto Alcúdia - 5 July 2009
Sant Jaume fiesta, Alcúdia - 16 July 2009, 26 July 2009
Son Bosc golf development - 17 July 2009
Souvenir shops - 27 July 2009
Swine flu - 16 July 2009, 22 July 2009
To Holiday holiday club - 18 July 2009
Tourism economy - 12 July 2009
Tourism promotion - 25 July 2009
Tourism spend - 30 July 2009
Unió Mallorquina - 13 July 2009
Youth drinking - 26 July 2009
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