THE SOCIAL GLITCH

THE SOCIAL Spain continue sending

May 2024
Jesús García Bueno

GLITCH
D. ALVES LEAVES
PRISON AFTER
military material to DEPOSITING
MILLION EUROS
Israel The Barcelona Court orders
that the footballer, convicted of
raping a young woman at the
Sutton nightclub, hand over
his passports and prohibits
him from approaching or
communicating with the
victim.

Javier Collado -P4

MC DONALDS
PROMOTES
HEALTH WHILE
SELLING THEIR
PRODUCTS
Despite advertising campaigns
highlighting healthier menu
options and the inclusion of
nutritional information on their
products, many of these chains

T
he Minister of Foreign
Affairs, José Manuel
Albares, was blunt on
January 23 on SER
when he was asked why a “total
embargo” of arms on the Jewish
country was not promoted. “Of
course, it is something that Spain
has done,” he said, referring to
the embargo.
ISRAEL-GAZA WAR On October 7, the Hamas
attack on Israel took place,
Spain sends arms to causing 1,200 deaths, which was
Israel followed by an Israeli offensive
on Gaza that has caused almost
P. Pareja/O. Rordríguez 28,000 deaths so far and the
–p.2 & 3
continue to offer foods and
forced displacement of two ammunition was exported beverages high in fat, sugar, and
million people. to Israel from Spain worth sodium. This huge debate has
Albares had assured the same 987,000 euros, according to led to calls for greater regulation
in parliamentary headquarters data appearing on the official and control.
on December 5. “Since October foreign trade portal Comex
7, there have been no export analyzed by Center Delàs -P5
operations of Spanish weapons researcher Alejandro Pozo and David Soler
to Israel,” he stated in plenary verified by elDiario.es.
session after EH Bildu’s claim Goods were exported
that an embargo be imposed. corresponding to a subcategory CONTROVERSIAL
“Therefore, don’t worry, that’s that includes “bombs,
not going to happen.” On grenades, torpedoes, mines,
UK LAW TO
January 29, he repeated the same missiles, cartridges and other SEND ILLEGAL
thing again in the Foreign Affairs ammunition and projectiles. IMMIGRANTS TO
Commission of Congress.
Last November, however, RWANDA
-P 2 and 3 -P7

SOCIETY OPINION: Today, I woke up feeling progress and the enduring

conflicted. Like you, I grapple association of illness with
D. Alves Leaves JAIME MERINO with life’s complexities and divine punishment further
contradictions. highlight the paradoxes
Prison In my contemplative inherent in human society.
Jesús García Bueno Revealing morning, I grapple with the
contradictions of society and
Yet, amidst these
contradictions, I find richness

Paradoxes
–p.4 life. From the disparity in wages and depth, making every day
to the concept of justice, from a journey of exploration and
the complexities of religious introspection. In the end,
In Society
OPINION beliefs to the controversies it’s the coexistence of these
surrounding abortion rights contradictions that lends
Revealing Paradoxes
and Life
and vegetarianism, I confront depth and intrigue to our
In Society and Life the inconsistencies that shape lives.
our existence. The persistence of
Jaime Merino superstition alongside scientific -P4
–p. 4
May 2024
1

Spain sends
arms to
Israel
J. Manuel Albares:
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Since October 7, 2023, there has
been no arms sales operation
to Israel.(...) Therefore, don’t
worry, that’s not going to
happen.”
Francesca Albanese:
UN rapporteur
The recognition by the
International Court of the risk
of genocide forces the EU to
suspend the trade agreement”
Alejandro Pozo:
elDiario.es.
What Nammo manufactures is
controversial to say the least,”
says Pozo. “They are not exactly
shotshells.”
Francis Boyle:
Lawyer
Countries that send weapons
to Israel can be sued for aiding
and abetting genocide against
Palestinians.”
THE SOCIAL GLITCH
P. PAREJA / O. RODRÍGUEZ
Madrid
T
he Minister of Foreign
Affairs, José Manuel
Albares, was blunt on
January 23 on SER when
he was asked why a “total embargo”
of arms on the Jewish country was
not promoted. “Of course, it is
something that Spain has done,”
he said, referring to the embargo.
On October 7, the Hamas attack
on Israel took place, causing 1,200
deaths, which was followed by an
Israeli offensive on Gaza that has
caused almost 28,000 deaths so far
and the forced displacement of two
million people.
Albares had assured the same
in parliamentary headquarters on
December 5. “Since October 7, there
have been no export operations of
Spanish weapons to Israel,” he stated
in plenary session after EH Bildu’s
claim that an embargo be imposed.
“Therefore, don’t worry, that’s not
going to happen.” On January 29,
he repeated the same thing again in
the Foreign Affairs Commission of
Congress. Last November, however,
ammunition was exported to Israel
from Spain worth 987,000 euros,
according to data appearing on the
official foreign trade portal Comex
analyzed by Center Delàs researcher
Alejandro Pozo and verified by
elDiario.es. Specifically, goods
were exported corresponding to a
subcategory that includes “bombs,
grenades, torpedoes, mines,
missiles, cartridges and other
ammunition and projectiles, and
their parts, including slugs, shot
and wads for cartridges” to be used
for “weapons of war”, according to
another of the subcategories of this
database in which the importation of
material appears.
The Secretary of State for
Commerce assures this medium that
the export “corresponds to licenses
authorized before October 7” and
maintains that it contains “material
for tests or demonstrations, in no
case for final use or capable of being
used in the conflict”. The next day
they contacted elDiario.es again
to specify that what had been sent
was “medium caliber non-explosive
ammunition.”
The fact that the export was
authorized does not prevent the
permit from being revoked, as
established by the defense material
trade control regulations . The text
indicates that authorizations can
be canceled if there are “rational
indications” that the material may
be used in actions “that disturb
the peace,” that may “exacerbate
tensions” or “that may be used in
a manner contrary to due respect
and dignity.” inherent to the human
being”, among other precepts.It is
not the only time that ammunition
has been sent to Israel during 2023.
1 3
Credit: Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images
Spain exported a total of 1.48 million
euros in war material of that category
during 2023. Two thirds of these imports
were made in November, after Spain had
allegedly frozen shipments due to the
conflict in Gaza.
“Spain exported
a total of 1.48
million euros in war
material”
All the ammunition sent last November
to Israel comes from Palencia, where there
are three arms companies but only one
that manufactures ammunition: Nammo
Palencia, a company 50% owned by the
Norwegian Government and the other
50% by a Finnish public company. No
matter how much the company’s capital
is foreign, tha shipment of ammunition
has been exported from Spain.
Although it is not possible to determine
exactly what type of ammunition was sent
in that shipment to Israel last November,
it is possible to know what type of
weapons from this company the Israeli
army has. Nammo’s US subsidiary sold
more than 5,000 M72 rocket launchers to
Israel in 2010, a weapon that has been
seen in the Gaza Strip for the last decade.
The same subsidiary sent almost 2,000
rocket launchers of another model in
October 2023, according to the Israeli
newspaper Haaretz. The conflict in
Gaza and Ukraine has triggered the
sale of material from this company
and its subsidiaries.
Various jurists who are experts
in international law indicate that
the very constitutes a war crime.
the former chief prosecutor of the
International Criminal Court pointed
out a few days ago. , Luis Moreno,
in an interview with elDiario.es. This
weekend, the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights,
Volker Türk, denounced that Israel
is destroying “all buildings in Gaza
within the one kilometer radius of the
fence” that separates this territory
from Israel, carried out illegally
and without reason, constitutes a
violation of the Geneva Convention
and a war crime”.
Within the framework of human
rights and international law, there are
numerous human rights organizations
that demand a suspension of arms
sales to Israel and recall that article 6
of the Arms Trade Treaty establishes
that transfers are not authorized
if These represent “a violation of
international obligations”. The
weapons or elements could be used
to commit genocide, crimes against
humanity, serious breaches of the
Geneva Conventions of 1949, attacks
directed against civilian objects or
civilian persons protected as such,
or other war crimes typified in the
international agreements to which it
is a party.
Awards to Israeli defense
companies continue
JAIRO VARGAS MARTÍN
Madrid
W
hat has not stopped either
has been the awarding of
defense material contracts
to Israeli companies, a commercial
flow that is difficult to track since,
unlike exports, they are not all
summarized in an official document,
as this newspaper reported. last
November .
According to the analysis of the
Center Delàs, the Public Sector
Contracting Platform shows that,
since the beginning of the conflict
on October 7, Spain has continued
purchasing material and closing
new contracts with Israeli arms
companies. The Secretary of State
for Commerce has admitted to
elDiario.es that imports have not
been suspended either.
On December 15, for example, a
contract worth more than 576 million
euros was awarded for the supply of
a rocket launcher system for a joint
project with two Spanish companies.
On November 22, another Israeli
company was awarded the supply
of 168 anti-tank missile systems for
237 million and frequency jammers
for the armed forces worth 1.4
million were purchased from Israel.
The next day, November 23,
another military technology award
was closed for 82,600 euros. After
a week, another military technolo.
Various NGOs have asked the Spanish
Executive for a “comprehensive
embargo” that includes both
exports and imports. According
to these organizations, acquiring
weapons from Israel contributes
to legitimizing companies that
advertise their products as “tested
in combat” and also allows these
companies to reduce costs and thus
be able to arm the Israeli army at a
lower price.
“The indications are that Spain
has not formalized any ban on
exporting weapons to Israel,” says
Pozo, “the tragedy in Gaza has
not been an obstacle to continuing
to acquire the same products and
services with which this barbarism
materializes.”
“The most serious
crime that Israel
commits in the
West Bank”
Jurists, genocide experts,
international humanitarian and
human rights organizations have
been asking governments for some
time to suspend the purchase and
sale of weapons to the Government
of Tel Aviv. The provisional
ruling issued two weeks ago by
the International Court of Justice,
in which it establishes that it is
plausible that Israel is committing
actions that constitute genocide, has
opened the door to considerations
about the responsibility of countries.
that provide weapons and diplomatic
cover to Israel. In this sense, the
SITUATION
EXPLAINED
United Nations rapporteur for
Palestinian refugees, Francesca
Albanese, has indicated on several
occasions that one of the ways to
help enforce the legally binding
orders issued by the International
Court of Justice is “the urgent
suspension of the purchase and
sale of weapons to Israel.”
Albanese mentions the existing
economic agreement between
the European Union and Israel,
which in its article 2 stipulates
“respect for human rights” as a
condition. “The recognition by
the International Court of Justice
of the risk of genocide forces
the European Union to suspend
the agreement,” said the UN
rapporteur. The European Union
is Israel’s largest trading partner,
accounting for 30% of its trade
in goods. The limited capacity
for consensus within it makes a
decision regarding this agreement
difficult.
“The urgent
suspension of
the purchase and
sale of weapons
to Israel”
Following the provisional
ruling by the highest UN court,
American lawyer and international
law professor Francis Boyle, who
won two protection cases for
genocide in Bosnia, has warned
that states that support Israel with
arms shipments can “be now sued
before the International Court of
Justice for aiding and abetting
genocide” against the Palestinians
“in violation of Article 3e of the
Genocide Convention, which
criminalizes complicity.”
The former founding chief
prosecutor of the International
Criminal Court, Luis Moreno
Ocampo, has expressed himself
along the same lines these days,
highlighting that the highest
UN court cites in its provisional
ruling Article III of the Genocide
Convention, relating to the concept
of complicity. There are more
than 27,000 Palestinian deaths in
the Strip, almost 70,000 injured
and more than one million seven
hundred thousand displaced.
In turn, Moreno Ocampo
warns that “the rules say things,
but the leaders believe they can
ignore them,” and gives the
example of Azerbaijan: “Israel
is the main supplier of weapons
to Azerbaijan, which committed
a genocide against the people of
Nagorno Karabakh in 2023. In
turn, the dictator of Azerbaijan
is considered by the EU to be an
energy partner that can be trusted.
Within the framework of
human rights and international
law, there are numerous human
rights organizations that demand
 THE SOCIAL GLITCH
OPINION:
JAIME MERINO
Revealing Paradoxes In
Society and Life
T
oday I woke up controversial. I
imagine that, like you, there are
things in life that shock me, for
which it is not easy for me to have
a clear idea or opinion.
With our current knowledge, we group
individuals with common traits into
kingdoms, species or families. A giraffe is
different from a lion and both are different
from a lettuce. Giraffes are different from
each other, but those differences have a
limit. No human is 6 meters tall or lives
150 years. In fact, I have never believed
that Methuselah existed. Well, if all
humans live a similar amount of time, and
for us days have the same number of hours,
and these days have the same number of
minutes, does it make sense that one hour
of work should be paid to one professional
at 6 euros and another at 1,000 euros? He
doesn’t think there should be differences,
but not that many.
It is taught by a judge, a shaman, a chief;
and is based on written or unwritten
rules. But to what extent is there
justice in society? Do you believe
that the chickens we raise to eat,
the fish we fry or the lettuce we
grow consider the world fair?
Is it for a worm that a bird eats?
Religions, for me, are a wide field
of contradictions. With so many
millions of faithful, committed
to not doing harm to others, it
is difficult to understand the
infinite wars that, with a more
or less religious influence,
have occurred and continue
to occur in the world.
In another area it is not
understood that there are
so many poor people and
at the same time religious
institutions that defend
their relief and accumulate
so much wealth.
Procreation is another
controversial topic for me.
The so-called “progressives”
defend that the body belongs
WORD SEARCH:
to the woman, and that she has the right to
decide if she becomes pregnant and if she
aborts or not. I wonder if that right did
not end at the moment she gave birth to a
new life. If she started that of a new living
human being, doesn’t he have the right to
be defended, since like children, she cannot
defend herself? Didn’t she lose her right to
decide alone about her body when she gave
birth to another being, because she wanted
to or was ignorant and didn’t avoid it?
Vegetarians; I understand that you want
to avoid suffering to animals, and that
this confronts them with traditions. But I
misunderstand its limits. I guess they don’t
accept fur coats. And the leather belts or
shoes, or their soles? What if they come
from animals that died a “natural death”?...
And would we have to walk being careful
not to step on ants or worms, so as not to be
murderers? But the most complex thing is
the decision of vegetarians. Illness as divine
punishment. As a doctor I have always
admired that more than 2,500 years ago a
Greek doctor, was able to understand
and affirm that illness is not the
result of divine punishment.
He was able to separate Medicine
from Religion or Philosophy, and he
has brought infinite benefits to the
societies that have developed it. That
happened hundreds of years
ago; and what is difficult
for me to understand is that
our societies continue to
associate both ideas: illness
and divine punishment,
and prayers, offerings to
certain virgins or saints
are still alive. Feelings,
instincts, etc. are more
important, and this
possibly explains the
media importance that
characters like Belén
Esteban or Kiko, Isabel
Pantoja’s son, have in
our society. There is no
doubt that these and other
contradictions make our
lives interesting.
GALLEGO AND REY:
To chef José Andrés, with pain: G&R 2024
CARNA
MORE NEWS
Jesús García Bueno
JUSTICE LEAVES DANI
ALVES PROVISIONALLY
RELEASED ON BAIL OF ONE
MILLION EUROS
THE BARCELONA COURT ORDEERS THAT
THE FOOTABLLER, CONVICTED OF RAPING A
YOUG WOMAN AT THE SUTTON NIGHTCLUB,
HAND OVER HIS PASSPORTS AND PROHIBITS
HIM FROM APPROACHING OR COMMUNICA-
TION TO THE VICTIM.
The order issued by Section 21 of the Barcelona
Court imposes, however, a series of conditions. To
begin with, Alves will only be able to leave the Bri-
ans 2 prison (Barcelona), where he has been held for
14 months, if he pays a bail of one million euros.
The magistrates consider that “a certain risk of flight
persists” and that is why they have also imposed
precautionary measures to prevent him from leaving
Spain while the appeals filed by all parties against
the sentence are resolved.
David Soler
THIS IS THE CONTROVERSIAL
UK LAW TO SEND ILLEGAL
IMMIGRANTS TO RWANDA
WITH THE ‘RWANDA ACT’ RECEIVING AP-
PROVAL FROM PARLIAMENT AND THE ROY-
AL SIGNATURE, THE CONTROVERSIAL LAW
SPEARHEADED BY BRITISH PRIME MINIS-
TER RISHI SUNAK HAS CLEARED ITS FINAL
HURDLES.
Under this law, British authorities gain the green
light to deport illegal immigrants to Rwanda, mark-
ing a significant shift in immigration policy. The
proposal, which faced months of parliamentary de-
bates, legal uncertainties, and public protests, has
finally gained traction after winning a battle in the
British Supreme Court and securing a treaty with
Rwanda. Sunak aims to kickstart deportations within
three months, by July 2024.
GE