Spain Protests: Madrid Barman Alberto Casillas Becomes National Hero for Defying Police [VIDEO]

Great story.  An ordinary man becomes extraordinary by retaining his humanity, defying the police, and protecting those in peril with whom he does not politically agree.  Viva Casillas!  My faith in humanity stands, at least for one more day..  International Business Times: 

A barman that protected demonstrators form police has become a national hero in Spain, after a video of him driving back riot police went viral on YouTube.
Alberto Casillas, 49, prevented police from entering his café in Madrid, as dozen of anti-austerity protesters had looked for shelter from a charge inside the "Bar Prado", earlier this week.

A video posted online, shows Casillas standing in front of the bar entrance, holding his arms out to protect demonstrators telling police: "On my Life, you will not enter! It will be a massacre."

As police stood back, protesters started hugging and thanking Casillias.

"You, you really deserve credit", "it is you that represent us," some demonstrator told him.

Casillias soon became the symbol of the protests against Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy austerity budget plan that is designed to rescue Spanish finances.


People commenting on YouTube appealed for him to run as President and Casillias' Twitter account, opened shortly after the fact, was flooded by messages of gratitude.

However, interviewed by Spanish newspaper El Pais, Casillas revealed to be a supporter of Rajoy's government.

"Let me be clear. I am in favor of the Partido Popular. I am a supporter and voter of Rajoy, but on Wednesday it went too far," he said.

"There were excessive police forces. I am for compliance with the law, but above the law, there is humanity. I did what I had to do, that's all."

Bless you, sir.  The world will need your courageous example in the upcoming chaotic months and years.  Thank you for providing a stellar example of a humane response to evil circumstances.  Casillas=Hero!

Guest Post: When the Weakest Critical Part Fails, the Machine Breaks Down

Zero Hedge.  Excerpts:

Consumer spending is the bedrock of the global economy, and consumer spending depends on expanding debt and leverage. Once that subsystem fails, consumerism and the global economy grind to a halt.


The failure of any critical subsystem in an organism triggers a catastrophic, fatal decline. It doesn't matter if the rest of the critical subsystems are functioning at optimum levels; the failure of even one essential "part" leads to death.

The metaphor is easily extended to machines, where a perfectly sound engine will fail once the oil pump ceases functioning.

The cliche is that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. The conventional wisdom is that the U.S. economy is so large and diverse that the failure of any one part will have only limited consequences on the economy as a whole.

But this belief was undermined by the financial crisis of 2008, in which the apparently "limited" implosion of subprime mortgage debt dominoed into a full-blown global financial crisis.
..
When financialization fails, the consumerist economy dies. This is what is happening in Greece, and is starting to happen in Spain and Italy.


The central banks and Central States are attempting resuscitation by issuing credit that is freed from the constraints of collateral. The basic idea here is that if credit based on collateral has failed, then let's replace it with credit backed by phantom assets, i.e. illusory collateral.

In essence, the financialization system has shifted to the realm of fantasy, where we (taxpayers, people who took out student loans, homeowners continuing to make payments on underwater mortgages, etc.) are paying very real interest on illusory debt backed by nothing.

Once this flimsy con unravels, the credibility of all institutions that participated in the con will be irrevocably destroyed. This includes the European Central Bank (ECB), the Federal Reserve, the E.U., "too big to fail" banks, and so on down the financialization line of dominoes.

Once credit ceases to expand, asset bubbles pop and consumerism grinds to a halt. And since ever-expanding consumption is the bedrock of the global economy, the global economy will also grind to a halt.

The "flimsy con" is almost fully exposed, and the entire process continues to accelerate.