Rich and Strange Aeons

Minor? news story: King Juan Carlos of Spain, the one who saved the fragile republic from a junta after Franco, has resigned, I'm not sure why. His son was just coronated, reportedly to a distinct lack of overwhelming crowds, and the arrest of a handful of people for shouting "Viva la Republica!" A majority of Spaniards polled want to vote on the continuation of the monarchy, though right now it seems a majority would vote to continue it. The king of Spain is constitutionally protected from criminal prosecution -- even if he rapes or murders someone? seems like it -- and the government has rushed to extend such immunity to the ex-king, despite this not being a feature of the royal family in general. Perhaps to keep him from coming up in corruption trials, there being more than a whiff of scandal around the royal family.

Oh, and the draconian abortion ban finally got pushed through, despite the opposition of most of the country. "Democracy."