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Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, the Interior Minister yesterday accused those who have come out against the recent decisions by Judge Baltasar Garzon as ‘not respecting the independence of the judiciary’. However, it was quickly pointed out that in 1996 Mr. Perez Rubalcaba started that ‘Judge Garzon is not the truly independent judge we all thought’. This was after Judge Garzon instituted hearings to investigate what had happened during the time of the Socialist-organized death squads or GAL. Mr. Perez Rubalcaba was the Official Government Spokesman at that time.
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In what has been seen by many as a golden opportunity lost, it has been revealed that Miguel Sebastian, the ‘financial adviser’ to Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, has altered the list of invitees to a lunch that took place in Madrid recently during the visit of British Prime Minister Tony Blair. None of the companies or organizations such as Iberdrola, the main business association CEOE or BSCH Bank were invited, their place being taken by Rafael del Pino, the main shareholder ion Ferrovial and the recent buyer of the British Airports Authority amongst many others in a move that is considered as breaking with tradition.
The inner sanctum of the United Nations in its efforts to maintain international peace – the Security Council chamber – will be opened to architecture buffs this weekend as part of a special guided tour of the world body’s landmark headquarters in New York. Three 45-minute tours, the first intended especially for lovers of architecture, will be available on both Saturday and Sunday (at 10:30, 11:30 and 12:30), led by an architect from the team responsible for the proposed renovation of the site. The General Assembly conference halls, which will also be shown on the tours, as well as the Security Council chamber, are considered historic spaces, noteworthy for being “mid-century interpretations of the ancient concept of a legislative-style space,” according to a statement from the UN’s guided tour unit. Besides the Visitors’ Lobby – “an exhilarating space with a real 1950’s ‘boomerang’ design and a very unusual façade” – the less often seen Delegates’ Entrance will also be on the tour route. The UN was designed by a team of 11 eminent architects – collaboration being preferred over an international competition – led by American Wallace K. Harrison that began work in early 1947. The other team members were Nikolai D. Bassov, Gaston Brunfaut, Ernest Cormier, Charles E. Le Corbusier, Liang Seu-Cheng, Sven Markelius, Oscar Niemayer, Howard Robertson, G. A. Soilleux, and Julio Vilamajo. ----
Jack Straw, the leader of the House of Commons caused considerable unease yesterday when he stated that community relations would be eased considerably in the UK if Moslem women did not wear veils. Mr. Straw added that he had felt ‘uncomfortable’ whenever a woman had worn a veil and attended meetings in his Blackburn constituency office. Sheik Ibrahim Nogra of the Moslem Council of Britain stated of Mr Straw: “On the one hand he says this is a free country and on the other he is denying a free choice to a woman who chooses to wear the veil. I have a beard and I wear the traditional long shirt, and sometimes I even wear a turban as well as a hat. Am I going to be his next subject of concern?”
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