Monday 31 December 2012

New Year's Eve....Noche Vieja...




 
............ Noche vieja  in Spain is a party night like everywhere else in the world, though the timing of the ‘Partying’ is a little different.
Rather than starting early and building to a crescendo at midnight, the Spanish see in the New Year sober, well relatively sober, either with friends or with family, and then go out on the town.  The partying then continues until about 6am for an early night, or much,  much later!
                                                    



    

     

 Some of these parties, Cotillónes,  last all through the night, after which everyone has a breakfast of  chocolate con churros

                       
                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                        


 It is the tradition, which dates back to 100 years or so ago after a harvest when there was a surplus of grapes, that at each strike of the midnight clock a grape, symbolizing happiness, hope, and good luck for the coming year,  must be eaten. When the clock finishes striking twelve and all the grapes have been eaten, people greet each other with a hug and a kiss and the toasting begins with sparkling Spanish cava

                                        
Eating the grapes quickly enough isn’t as easy as it seems and these days supermarkets and local shops sell small cans containing 12 small, seedless (and sometimes peeled) grapes, for easier consumption. Traditionalists still prefer the ‘old way’ of eating the grapes which is really far more fun.
In our local village square, it is the tradition to stand on one foot whilst eating the grapes and then to step forward into the New Year on the last stroke of Midnight.
Many councils in Spain greet the New Year by lighting big bonfires and then, it's time for Fireworks. It always seems to be a competition as to who can make the most noise and Spain is one of the noisiest nations on Earth.








The actual countdown to midnight is followed by millions of Spaniards gathered on Puerta Del Sol in Madrid in an event televised nationwide;  just as in each town and village square people also hold their own countdowns. 


 



 

 For the past week or so, all the lingerie shops and underwear market stalls have displayed red underwear in preparation for another Spanish New Year's Eve tradition. With supposed roots in the medieval taboo of wearing red, Spanish ladies continue to wear red underware on New Year's Eve as a symbol of life during winter.  Really,what better symbolizes life than red undies? Well, at least it may symbolize its beginnings and based upon the amount of red underwear on sale, from thongs and bikinis to granny briefs, it would seem that many Spanish women take part in this fun tradition. 





 

Saturday 29 December 2012

A third Ferry link from Motril to Morocco.....


 Good News from Motril Port.....




 The Armas shipping Company which now has two lines operating from Motril to  Morocco has grown from strength to strength over the past eighteen months.  
Who indeed could have foreseen such success?

The first line from Motril to Melilla was joined this summer by a second line from Motril to Al Hoceima in Morocco and it has just been announced that in the next few weeks there will be opening a third ferry link from Motril direct to Nador in Morocco thereby bypassing Melilla which is, of course, part of Spain.

The quickest and most direct route from Northern Europe to Morocco is now through Motril Port via Granada and the beautiful scenic route from Granada down to Motril on the Tropical Coast of Spain.
This area is relatively undiscovered, unspoiled and bypassed by most visitors to Spain but is steeped in history, friendly and welcoming and so worth a visit.

Not just that but a free tapa is traditionally given with a glass of wine or beer in this part of Spain.    
Visit 'La Nube' in Motril for the delicious, melt in the mouth, fish tapa served with your drink. This is but one of the numerous bars and cafes in this refreshingly very 'Spanish' town.

Why not stop off for a while on your way to Africa!


                                                           ...............................................



Pedro Feixas (EFE).- La naviera canaria Armas podría poner en funcionamiento en los próximos días una nueva línea marítima con base en el puerto de Motril (Granada) que la uniría con la dársena marroquí de Nador.

Ésta sería la tercera línea marítima con la que operase Armas en el puerto de la localidad granadina, después de que en julio del 2011 pusiera en funcionamiento una con Melilla y este año otra con Alhucemas, en Marruecos.

La línea entre Motril y Nador podría compaginar la que en la actualidad se realiza con Alhucemas.
Esta propuesta de la naviera Armas ha motivado que el consejo de administración de la Autoridad Portuaria de Motril le haya otorgado la concesión de la terminal de pasajeros y mercancías del muelle de Levante para uso particular por un periodo de cinco años prorrogable a dos años y medio más hasta un máximo de siete años y medio.

Se trata de una superficie de 15.934 metros cuadrados, entre lámina de agua, superficie terrestre e instalación destinada a embarque y desembarque del pasaje, ha informado el puerto.
La actividad objeto de la concesión lleva asociado el cumplimiento de un tráfico mínimo anual de 150.000 pasajeros y 50.000 vehículos.

Ahora Armas deberá realizar una serie obras de mejora en las instalaciones, para lo que deberá presentar el correspondiente proyecto ante la Autoridad Portuaria en el plazo máximo de tres meses desde que le sea comunicado el acuerdo del consejo de administración.

Según el presidente de la Autoridad Portuaria, Ángel Díaz Sol, esto supone "una apuesta firme y decidida para que Motril sea la referencia de Armas en la península y en sus proyectos comerciales de expansión por el norte de África". EFE 



Ronda valley ‘saved’ from railway freight scheme


Residents and hoteliers in one of Andalucia’s most popular tourist valleys have been visited by the Three Kings two weeks early.
 



In a perfect early Christmas present, a freight line scheme that would have ripped through the heart of Llano de la Cruz valley, in Ronda, has been derailed.

The good news comes after the Olive Press joined forces with local mayors, hotel bosses and residents to campaign against the scheme.
The new line would have formed part of the so-called Mediterranean Corridor which is to run from Algeciras to Barcelona, via Antequera and Granada.

Under the €71.1 million scheme, 700m-long freight trains would have been rattling through the valley 24 hours a day, potentially causing the closure of dozens of hotels and `turismo rurales’.
Campaigners feared the line would devastate the natural beauty of the valley, which brings in more than five million euros a year to the local economy.

It would have also led to the loss of hundreds of jobs. Celebrations are now under way after the government decided to ditch the controversial plans amid concerns it would have a negative environmental impact on the area.

Ronda’s mayor Mari Paz Fernandez said she was satisfied and described the news as ‘very positive’ for the valley.

Tina Piek, boss of Fuente de la Higuera hotel , where celebrities such as Adrian Brody and UK prime minister David Cameron have stayed, added: “We must salute our lawyers for all their help”.

Paul Whitelock, a resident of Ronda whose home would have been just metres from the new track, was also delighted with the news.
 “The line would have been right on my land and very near to my house so of course I was very concerned about it.
 “It is wonderful news they have decided to scrap the idea and I hope it has been scrapped for good.
“Ronda is a beautiful part of Spain and it would have been ruined by these plans.”


Thursday 27 December 2012

Bethlehem in Spain....





 The Belén,  nativity scene,   is a tradition throughout Andalucia during the festive season, with villages and local areas in the towns bringing a taste of Bethlehem to Spain.

The word Belén has become shortened from Bethlehem over the years.

From the large displays in  local churches and the live displays in the villages to smaller displays in the homes, people all over Spain celebrate the birth of the Christchild in one way or another.

In a large display, the whole village of Bethlehem is displayed in miniature with live plantings and people going about their daily work in their houses around the Stable scene.

In a small village in the hills not far from the Costa Tropical Los Tablones celebrates the Belén with a 'live' display both before and after Christmas up until the night of the epiphany,  the 'Three Kings' night.
All the villagers join in displaying and using the traditional skills and handicrafts handed down from generation to generation.  A way of life fast dying out in modern day Spain along with the ancient knowledge.

This is an unmissable experience; a great priviledge to be able to visit.
The next Belén scene will take place in Los Tablones on 30th December from 11.30 am.





Wednesday 26 December 2012

Eulogio, The Antipode of the Banks.....


In these times,  when we hear of banks in Spain, some even after being bailed out with taxpayers’ money,  evicting families from their homes, driving some to suicide, it is reassuring to read about the case of Eulogio Carmona.




This 64-year-old man and his wife live in Barcelona but come from Motril.
He’s retired and well off with several properties, one of which is in Vera, Almería, which he uses about ten days a year.
Well, Eulogio was moved by the news of people committing suicide as the bailiffs came to evict them from their homes, so much so, that he decided to do something about it.

He announced on his twitter account that he wanted to lend his holiday apartment in Vera to a family facing eviction… Eulogio only had 90 followers, but one them was a lawyer with over 20,000, which is how his act of generosity became known.

The conditions that he set was for the family to stay there a minimum of two years. He would pay the IBI (local council taxes) and the lucky family would only have to pay their own water and electricity bills.

Eulogio just wanted to give a struggling family a breather; two years in which to look for work, send their kids to school; two years to sort themselves out… and all completely free.

Whoever ends up with this generous offer will be met, by Eulogio and his wife in Vera, and will be handed the keys by him.

Merry Christmas, Euolgio.



Sunday 23 December 2012

Free lottery tickets for the unemployed ......



The Spanish national lottery, El Gorde, is the biggest in the world


 Unemployed and elderly people are receiving free Christmas lottery tickets on the Spanish Coast.

The Yo Producto Andaluz association has given out 1,500 tickets for the El Gordo lottery with the number 11946 to people in a number of towns, including a soup kitchen in Benalmadena and a home for the elderly in Torremolinos.

If the group’s number wins, each participant would get a €20,000 payout.

The Spanish Christmas Lottery, or Loteria de Navidad, has been run every single year since 1812 and is now the biggest in the world.



Saturday 22 December 2012

Festive herbs and spices ......






Herbs and spices have been associated with the Christmas holidays for many centuries, as well as forming the basis of many pagan midwinter ceremonies.
 
Although many of these herbs are used year round their traditional use in Christmas food and the legends attached to them, make them especially significant.

Frankincense, from the Boswellia tree, is perhaps best known as one of the gifts brought by the Three Kings to baby Jesus.
 However, the aroma of frankincense is said to represent life, with the Judaic, Christian and Islamic faiths all using Frankincense mixed with oils to anoint new born infants.

The other herb brought by the Three Kings was Myrrh, an aromatic gum from the Commiphora tree often combined with frankincense in many religious and Pagan ceremonies.
 At one time myrrh was considered so valuable it had equal weight value to gold. Today frankincense and myrrh tend to be used in aromatherapy.

Cinnamon was a prized spice given to visiting dignitaries for many centuries.
Native to south-east Asia, from the bark of the Cinnamomum verum tree, cinnamon is used as a dried stick or in powder form.
An essential ingredient in mulled wine, and spiced apple cider infusing a warming aromatic flavour.
Ground cinnamon is perhaps best known when added to apple pies and sticky buns, but is also used in teas, chocolate and savoury dishes.

Legend has it that Mary hid the baby Jesus under a Sage bush to avoid detection by King Herod’s soldiers.
Since then the sage bush has been credited with many healing powers, earning it the name ‘herb of immortality’.
Its association with Christmas cooking is of course as sage and onion stuffing for the turkey.


Mulled Wine Spice Recipe
 Combine: 2 tbsp of whole allspice
1/4 tbsp of whole cloves
1x10cm stick of cinnamon
 1x10cm strip of orange peel
 
Place on a square of double muslin and tie securely.
Place the muslin bag in a pan with red wine or apple cider and warm through.

The spice mix can also be added to infuse a wonderfully aromatic flavour to rice pudding!


Friday 21 December 2012

Spain tops olive oil list .....









Spain has kept its crown as the world’s leading exporter of olive oil, despite fears that the hottest summer in 60 years could lead to a huge fall in output.

Official government figures show exports increased by 5.4% in the year to September, but a predicted 58% drop in output blamed on the higher-than average summer temperatures could force prices to soar.

The figures come from new data published by food-industry group Cooperativas Agro-Alimentarias.




Thursday 20 December 2012

Half Sold Motril......






Almost half the new homes built in Motril are without purchasers. As far as apartments still under construction go, 87% don’t have an owner.
 
La Sociedad de Tasación has carried out a survey on real-estate on offer and future potential for housing growth within the municipality of Motril.

According to its Chairman, Juan Ferández Aceytuno, there are few municipalities in the land that have this sort of report in their hands; a useful tool to throw light onto what the exact situation of the township is concerning its real-estate potential.

What the S.C. did was to take 18 new developments; 14 completely finished and four pending termination. Of the homes included, 45% have not been sold. the Percentage rises to 87% if you take into account the homes that have still not been finished.

But Motril still has room to build more. Included within its PGOU (General Urban Development Plan) there is space for 13,072 more homes.

Finally, the report calculates that it would take 26 years to sell off all the potential and existing housing stock at an accelerated pace and 53 years at a slower, limited one.


Seaside Gazette -  December 17 2012

Wednesday 19 December 2012

Granada entrepreneurs protest against Junta's 500metre coast protection line......


Playa de Poniente de Motril



EFE. - Granada entrepreneurs today have called "hasty" and lack of consensus approval of the Andalusian Government Decree on urgent measures in coastal protection.

They have stated after a meeting Thursday in Motril with the delegate of the Environment and Spatial Planning Board in Granada, Sandra Garcia, and Secretary General of Planning, Gloria Vega.

In a statement, the Grenadine Confederation of Employers, the Association of the Costa Tropical of Granada Builders and Promoters and the Chambers of Commerce of Granada and Motril understand that approval of the decree has generated  "a completely unnecessary uncertainty".

The decree, they say, has led to a "legal uncertainty" that could have been avoided and that has been "very damaging" to the image of Andalusia.

They hoped that the decree does not affect any of the developments of the Costa Tropical


The Subregional Plan was adopted a few months ago, and they have said that they will work to get this plan adapted to the specific characteristics of both physical and economic Coast Granada.


Mi Motril 14 December, 2012




 Sorry about the translation from Spanish but...... it must seem clear to one and all that,.....

.......as usual, lining the pockets of the greedy entrepeneurs is far more important than conserving the,  relatively so far unspoilt, Granada, Costa Tropical,  coast line.



Tuesday 18 December 2012

Police protection or citizen censorship? Spain to ban photos and videos of cops......



Protesters clash with riot policemen during a demonstration in Madrid.

Spain’s government is drafting a law that bans the photographing and filming of members of the police.

The Interior Ministry assures they are not cracking down on freedom of expression, but protecting the lives of law enforcement officers.

­The draft legislation follows waves of protests throughout the country against uncompromising austerity cuts to public healthcare and education.

The new Citizen Safety Law will prohibit “the capture, reproduction and editing of images, sounds or information of members of the security or armed forces in the line of duty,” said the director general of the police, Ignacio Cosido. He added that this new bill seeks to “find a balance between the protection of citizens’ rights and those of security forces.

The dissemination of images and videos over social networks like Facebook will also be punishable under the legislation.

Despite the fact that the new law will cover all images that could pose a risk to the physical safety officers or impede them from executing their duty, the Interior Ministry maintains it will not encroach on freedom of expression.

We are trying to avoid images of police being uploaded onto social networks with threats to them and their families,” underlined Cosido.

Violation of freedom of expression?


Spain’s United Police Syndicate said it considers the implementation of the new legislation “very complicated” because it does not establish any guidelines over what kinds of images violate the rights of a police officer.
The syndicate warned that the ministry will run into “legal problems” if it does not specify the ins and outs of the law.

"We do not intend to stop the press from doing its job of taking pictures of police charges and other proceedings. But we understand that in anti-terrorist operations or against mafias you have to have a more careful approach when it comes to disseminating images," Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz said commenting on the issue.

The director of the police also argued that the measures were necessary given the “elevated levels of violence against officers” in the economic downturn that is “undermining the basis of a democratic society.”

The anti-austerity protests that have swept Spain over the past year have been punctuated by reports and footage of police brutality. The footage showed that large numbers of Spanish officers did not wear their identification badges during the protests, although the law requires it.

Spanish journalists now worry that the government's proposed measure could have a negative impact on news gathering.
"If this proposal goes ahead, it is going to be impossible to know about events as they occur on the streets just at a time when streets are at boiling point due to the dire economic situation of many families," Angel Casana, a lead writer for the national newspaper El Mundo, said in an online editorial.


  RT Question More - 9 October, 2012


Monday 17 December 2012

Police violence against the People........



Violence in Madrid as police charge protesters.



A protester is dragged away by a police officer after the police charged demonstrators outside Spanish parliament in Madrid, September 25, 2012.


4th October 2012  Madrid  

A Spanish court on Thursday threw out a police case against the organizers of a protest in Madrid last week that ended in violence and dozens of arrests, saying people had a right to express their opinion.
Hundreds of thousands of Spaniards have taken to the streets in almost daily protests against spending cuts.
Most are peaceful but last Tuesday's demonstration in Madrid, promoted through social networking sites by activist groups, turned violent with youths clashing with police after thousands of people formed a human chain around parliament.

Thirty-five people were arrested and 64 people hurt as police used rubber bullets and truncheons to clear the crowds.

Judge Santiago Pedraz dismissed the case filed by police after taking statements from seven of the eight detainees who had organized the "Surround the Congress" protest.
None had been charged.
"The defense of ideas or doctrines cannot be prohibited, no matter how far they stray from or question the constitution," the court ruling said.

About 100 people gathered near the High Court to show support for the organizers, some holding placards with slogans such as "No Repression" and "We will fight without violence for dignity".

"He asked us if our intention was to prevent parliament from working normally and if we wanted to occupy the building. We said clearly that was not the case," one of the organizers told reporters after leaving the court.

Debate about the right to protest has intensified in Spain with the centre-right ruling People's Party saying the laws on protests are too permissive.

The protesters, ranging from miners to civil servants and teachers, oppose tough spending cuts implemented by the government as it veers towards an international bailout.
The unrest is bad news for the Spanish government as it tries to convince investors that the country is stable.
The Interior Ministry has opened an investigation into police brutality in Madrid's Atocha train station during the protest last week.
The High Court is also due to question the 35 people arrested.
The government has been alarmed by the increasingly violent nature of protests and the number of people taking part.

 "It has to change. We can't have 10 protests in the same area of Madrid in one day," People's Party (PP) politician Cristina Cifuentes told national radio.

The head of the Madrid regional government, Ignacio Gonzalez, also from the PP, also said changes were necessary to stop the capital from being "in a constant state of collapse".

Opposition parties, including the Socialists who were in power until last November, opppose any changes to the law that impinge on people's rights.




Riot police struggle with protesters during demonstrations in Madrid against austerity cutbacks

The middle-aged man sitting on a railway station bench protects a younger man by wrapping his arms around him as he shouts desperately at the helmeted, baton-wielding police officers running up and down the platforms at Madrid's Atocha station.

"Shame on you! Shame on you! Shame on you!" he bellows repeatedly in a video that shows how police charged into the station during violent demonstrations that shook Madrid last week.

On the other side of the ticket barrier a younger man is whacked with truncheons by two policemen. "I don't know whether he is a passenger or a protester," one of them admits. A third man who was waiting for a train is bundled down the platform by police officers as he asks: "And what have I done?" A youth points to blood running down his face. "What the hell is this?" he asks.

On Friday, police told a judge they had needed to chase a group of violent protesters across the railway tracks and had later arrested some in a nearby bar. They, too, had suffered injuries. "People who had been hurling stones at police tried to hide in the station, passing themselves off as normal passengers," a spokesman said. "We had to go in."

As Spaniards respond with dismay to the violence shown by demonstrators, who launched attacks on police, and the response of some riot police, during scuffles in the area around Madrid's parliament building last week, the long-running drama of the country's deflating economy has lurched into a newly confrontational stage, amid fears that there will be more violence to come.

While police and the conservative government of prime minister Mariano Rajoy were accused of authoritarian behaviour, radical protesters from both the far left and the far right were putting a hard, street-fighting edge on to the once peaceful protests of the civilised but ineffectual indignados.

Cristina Cifuentes, the government delegate in Madrid, had warned before the protests that they were being infiltrated by violent members of Spain's far right and were attracting the country's most radical leftwingers. But protesters later pointed to a group of undercover policemen who, they claimed, had been at the front of the protest waving red flags and encouraging others to violence.

Other police certainly thought their undercover colleagues were troublemakers, and there is also film of one of them being dragged out of the crowd to be arrested and shouting: "I am a colleague! I am a colleague!"

On Saturday, a 72-year-old man was among some 30 demonstrators who had been accused of attacking police and given bail. "But I was sitting down when they arrested me," he said.


Sunday 16 December 2012

The streets wake up.......



The extent of the crisis has finally brought Spaniards from all walks of life out to protest in vast numbers and on a multitude of fronts.

 

July 20th 2012

The streets were a powder keg of rage, and the spark has finally gone off. The sheer duration and depth of the economic crisis has pushed thousands of citizens on to the streets -- health workers, educators, judges, anti-eviction activists and many more -- while thousands of others are now convinced protesting does make a difference after all.


In one case, the insistence of health professionals got the regional government of Madrid to rethink its plans to turn La Princesa Hospital into a center for seniors; in another, hundreds of activists managed to stop dozens of home evictions by physically preventing bank officials from entering the premises, and getting some rules changed along the way. And experts forecast that in the near future the protests will increase, not decrease.

Just a few months ago, Spaniards were angry but not quite to the point of doing something about it. But the time for action has come.

"The spark is going off sector by sector," says José Félix Tezanos, a sociology professor at distance-learning university Uned who back in April 2011 gave this newspaper an accurate prediction of things to come: there was a breeding ground of unemployment, a lack of future expectations and a series of spending cuts (which began in 2010 with the previous Socialist administration), all of which constituted a time bomb that could go off at any minute. And so it has.


"An innovative trait of these conflicts is that they cut across categories: at the doctors' protests you can also see department chiefs, interns, patients, PP voters and Socialist voters," he adds. "This is an explosive cocktail because it represents an increasingly angry social movement that is confronting an increasingly less representative political power."

The turning point was the occupation of Puerta del Sol in Madrid on May 15, 2011 -- what became known as the 15-M or Los indignados movement, which inspired similar protests such as Occupy Wall Street.
 The occupiers shared a somewhat vague, if strongly felt, sense of indignation at the economic and social deterioration of Spain, says Belén Barreiro, director of the studies department at Fundación Alternativas, a progressive think-tank.

Daniel Kaplún, a sociology professor at Carlos III University in Madrid, agrees. That original protest gave rise to other successful movements such as the anti-eviction group Platform for those Affected by Mortgages (PAH), and served "to create awareness that institutional channels were no longer useful to improve things," says Kaplún.

That grassroots movement took traditional institutions such as labor unions and left-wing parties by surprise - these did nothing more than trail behind the protestors - and the groundswell of indignation began growing in different directions, "with the kind of legitimacy that only people can give it," adds Kaplún.

One example of this is the Madrid Association of Specialist Physicians (Afem), created just a few months ago by a group of doctors who led the protests against the Madrid government's plans to bring private management in to a good number of public hospitals in the region.
 Their indefinite strike is being followed by 30 percent of physicians, according to the Madrid health department.

"It was born out of a feeling of disillusionment at the grassroots level and among professionals as well; we felt we were not being represented, either by the unions or by the associations," says Afem president Pedro González, a neurosurgeon at Madrid's 12 de Octubre hospital.
 "The 15-M movement highlighted the people's discontent, but we believe we professionals need to go a little further; we have to provide solutions and show that there are alternatives out there that we can put into practice to improve things without making it excessively taxing on society."
Belén Barreiro adds that if 15-M showed the way forward, the subsequent deterioration of Spain's social and economic fabric has opened up a growing number of fronts.
 "Society is worse off now than it was a year-and-a-half ago, and the cuts keep affecting more areas, even the untouchable pillars," she says. 
A doctor in political science and sociology, Barreiro is talking about the foundations of the welfare state - health, education and pensions, entitlements that should be defended by the left but also by broad sectors of  "a Catholic right with a strong sense of solidarity."

In any case, after five years of crisis the situation has become unbearable for growing numbers of people.
The jobless rate has jumped from 21 percent a year ago to 25 percent at the present moment, according to the National Statistics Institute (INE).
For the first time in 25 years, Spain has surpassed the record figure of two million people with no jobs and no unemployment checks.
There are nearly 1.7 million households that have all their members unemployed, 312,700 more than a year ago.
Pensioners have become the main providers of income in thousands of homes, but family support, that traditional cushion that Spaniards could always fall back on at times of need, is starting to wear out, warn the experts and retired people now have to face more expenses than ever before, such as co-payment for prescription medicines.

And those are not the only consumer goods that have gone up in price. The government has raised both income tax and value-added tax. It has increased college tuition fees and daycare center rates, reduced the number of scholarships that it grants, fired teachers, and sent home workers in the public health sector, social services and the justice system.

"We are now in phase two of the adjustment. The bulk of the necessary adjustment to reduce the deficit is now complete, but we're still pending a purge in the public sector because of its excess size," says Sara Baliña, an economist at Analistas Financieros Internacionales, a consulting firm. "These measures create a lot of unrest because they have more direct repercussions.
 [...] Is the worst over? I hope so, but we don't believe that the economic situation, both in terms of GDP and of employment, is going to be normalized until late 2013."

Amaya Egaña, a 53-year-old woman who jumped to her death just as she was going to be evicted from her home in Barakaldo in early November, has become one of the symbols of the growing sense of despair in Spanish society.
Soon after that, the government announced a two-year moratorium on evictions for a few, very specific cases in which the homeowners in default were considered to be especially vulnerable.

For now, the legality of things is being questioned but there is no violence
"The decree against the evictions is insufficient and it leaves a lot of people out, but it is a small victory and that's why people trust us," says Adrià Alemany of the PAH, who is a great defender of civil disobedience.

His association and a like-minded group called Stop Desahucios have managed to stop nearly 500 evictions. "It is these small battles that open up a different horizon of possibilities," adds Alemany.
 "In 2009, when our organization was born, we were preaching in the desert; in the last few months, we have become a popular cry. Things have been achieved, and people have realized that protesting does help effect change."

A major step forward was the recent incorporation of judges - from the most progressive to the most conservative - into the protest against the abuse of home evictions.
 In a rarely seen gesture, Spain's justices denounced the defenselessness of evictees, since the law does not allow the judge to decide whether the payment arrears have justified causes or not.
Soon after, judges, lawyers and attorneys criticized the new legal fees introduced by the government, which they said will hurt citizens. Authorities say the goal is to end the backlog created by excess litigation.
 "They cannot relieve our workload by reducing citizens' access to justice," explains Joaquim Bosch, spokesman for Judges for Democracy, a progressive judges' association. "The court fees and the evictions have shaken judges out of their world. With the crisis, we were seeing more eviction cases in court and witnessing the defenselessness of the defendants compared with the lenders."
These protests come at a very tense moment between the judicial establishment and the justice minister, Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, who has enacted more cuts and put a freeze on new court positions even though the courthouses are overflowing with cases.

Western society needs to consider that stability is not guaranteed
And so every other day a new group of people is joining the protests.

 Associations representing disabled persons have organized a big march in Madrid this Sunday to complain about the regional and local governments' failure to extend them the disability checks to which they are entitled.

Meanwhile, long-running conflicts keep flaring up now and then. One of these is in the education sector, which suffered billions of euros of cuts in 2010 and from which an April 2012 decree is set to slash another three billion euros. After many months of isolated protests over regional cuts, the movement has coalesced into a more unified group with greater visibility.

In Madrid, it has been teachers who, since mid-2011, have spearheaded protests that resulted in what later became known as "the green tide."
This led to a rainbow of "tides" in the demonstration that united thousands of people on Madrid's streets on September 15: there was a white tide for the health sector, a black one for public services, a violet one for equality, and an orange one for the social services.

The fact that the march was organized by 230 groups may be the single most illustrative example of a social mobilization that includes unions, political parties, long-standing associations and newly created ones of all shapes and sizes.

Professor Kaplún says that besides the speed and breadth of the cuts - "There is a middle class that is becoming impoverished at lightning speed, and inequalities are growing at the same rate," he notes - there is growing disgruntlement at the fact that "the losses are not being shared out: a few continue to earn more and more while the majority gets increasingly poorer." Amid all this, the political class seems to be bound to economic interests. "The contrast between the bank bailouts and the cuts is increasingly blatant," he says.


  • 15-M. A spontaneous, diffuse movement resulted in the occupation of Puerta del Sol in Madrid on May 15, 2011. For months, the general discontent over spending cuts and the mismanagement of Spain's democratic institutions took the shape of very varied public debates; the protest eventually simmered down and morphed into neighborhood projects and other initiatives.
  •  Evictions. Since 2007 there have been 350,000 foreclosures. A groundswell of protest gelled around the groups Stop Desahucios and Platform for those Affected by Mortgages, forcing the government to make a move, even if many people consider that move insufficient. Judges have also spoken out in defense of evictees.
  • Education. The education cuts are measured in billions of euros and the government is forecasting a 10 billion-euro reduction between 2010 and 2015. The last year has seen two milestones: a complete strike at all levels, from pre-school to university, on May 22, and a parent strike to support the student stoppage on October 18.
  • Health. The health cuts total upwards of 10 billion euros in three years (including the upcoming cuts of 2013). To this must be added plans to privatize health services in several regions. In recent weeks, Madrid has spearheaded the protests, with a major strike this week.
  • Social services. Social workers and the neediest people have seen the Dependents Law budget lose nearly 500 million euros in two back-to-back blows. Meanwhile, the budget for basic social services at the local level has dwindled by 65 percent in two years.
  • Equality. The outlays have been reduced by 13 million euros over the last two years, and are now down to 18.9 million euros. The fight against domestic abuse has also lost financial support.
  • Justice. The new fees for starting court proceedings have gotten judges angry. The fees range from 100 euros for claiming an outstanding debt to 1,200 euros for appealing to the Supreme Court. Penal jurisdiction and cases of abuse are exempt from paying fees.
  • Public servants. They lost their Christmas bonus and their wages will be frozen in 2013 for the third year in a row.
  • Culture. The cuts to the 2013 budget are 30 percent, putting the entire sector on the warpath. Value-added tax has ballooned from eight percent to 21 percent for movie, theater, concert and exhibition tickets.


Barreiro also talks about the frustration of many Popular Party (PP) voters who were convinced the conservative party "held the key to get out of the crisis" yet have found that "things are not better but actually worse."


All of which increases the call to action, even more so if this action is seen to bear fruit, as in the case of the eviction moratorium.

 "As the crisis starts affecting more and more sectors, people are becoming increasingly aware that they can make a difference and that resignation is no longer an option," says Jordi Mir of the Center for the Study of Social Movements at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona. "The situation is growing dire because there are no elements to indicate that things are going to improve; representative democracy is failing, and the mobilization drive is recruiting population sectors that were traditionally less active, both among the young and the old.  For now, the legality of things is being questioned, but there is no violent confrontation, the protests are peaceful."

The crisis of the political parties is one of the factors at the heart of these grassroots protests. For the PP, the loss of potential voter support is happening fast and hard, to the extent that only 56 percent of those who voted for the conservatives just a year ago continue to back them, according to figures gathered by José Félix Tezanos in the latest issue of Temas magazine. And in a further unusual development, this fall by the party in power is not resulting in a popularity rise for the main opposition party.

Tezanos says he is concerned about a situation that does not yet have a predictable end result. "We are headed toward a period of great conflict and loss of power for the political parties," he warns. "Western society needs to think about the fact that stability is not guaranteed."

The sociologist says that parties must confront this situation, or else "we are faced with non-viable societies where discontent can hardly be channeled," leaving the door open for extremist and populist movements. "And if the government were to consider the protests a public order problem and bring out the riot police, this peaceful movement could turn violent."

All the experts agree that social action will only grow.
 "This will not end with a demand for a return to the way things used to be; going back is not possible.
 This is going to result in a new model of society," says Tezanos. "I don't know what that model will be, but I think there are only two ways out: through the extreme right or through the left."


 
El País in English - 9th December 2012 




Saturday 15 December 2012

Pope reveals Three Kings were actually from Andalusia.....


The Three Kings who, according to the Pope, came from Andalusia


The Pope has caused outcry after claiming in a new book that the Three Wise Men came from Andalusia  and not the Far East as previously thought.

In his tome Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives,  Pope Benedict XVI  claims the gift-bearing trio came from Tarsis  or Tartessosa, a kingdom that historians place somewhere between the provinces of Huelva, Cadiz and Sevilla.

Using sacred texts by Matthew the Evangelist and the Prophet Isaiah to back up his statement, the Pope also said there were no donkeys, no camels used to carry the kings  nor any oxen in the manger when Jesus was born.

“In the gospels there is no mention of animals,” he writes, adding that the presence of cattle was probably invented.

Nativity-scene organisers across Spain have been left speechless by the claims, with many wondering what on earth to do with the props  and sometimes live animals, that  they use to decorate their belen displays every year.

However,  the Pope said that nativity scenes should not ‘give up’ these elements because ‘tradition is here to stay’.


Friday 14 December 2012

Keeping it sweet.....



 Sweet potatoes were introduced to Spain by Christopher Columbus in 1493


Sweet potatoes have been the focus of a new campaign to celebrate the birth of this root vegetable in Spain.

A two-day event hosted by Velez Malaga Town Hall’s culture department has celebrated the history, dietary benefits and culinary versatility of this starchier alternative to the traditional spud.

Sweet potatoes were first brought into Spain by Christopher Columbus from the island of Haiti, when he returned from his first voyage in 1493.

While originally cultivated in Sevilla, the climate there was found to be not quite right and production was soon transferred to the Axarquia.

If you are not familiar with this delicious root vegetable, high in vitamins B6, C, D and also minerals iron and magnesium, try this easy recipe to get you started.

You will be pleasantly surprised!
 



 Sweet potato shepherd's pie




  • 250g extra-lean mince
  • 2 onions , chopped
  • 3 carrots , diced
  • 2 celery sticks , diced
  • 2 garlic cloves , crushed
  • 200ml lamb stock
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp Marmite
  • 1 x 400g tin lentils , drained
  • 1kg sweet potatoes , chopped
  • 2 tbsp half fat crème fraîche
  • 1 bunch chives , snipped





  • Heat a non-stick pan and dry fry the mince until browned.
  • Add the onions, carrots, celery and garlic and fry for 5 minutes. Stir in the stock, Worcester sauce, Marmite, lentils and some seasoning.
  • Simmer for 10 minutes or until saucy.
  • Meanwhile boil or steam the sweet potato until tender.
  • Drain then mash with the crème fraîche.
  • Add the chives.
  • Heat the oven to 200C/fan oven 180C/gas 6.
  • Transfer the mince to an ovenproof dish.
  • Add the mash.
  • Cook for 30 minutes until bubbling.


 

Thursday 13 December 2012

Mayors and Greenpeace unite in Spain to fight gas drilling 9km off Mijas coast .......


Oil giant Repsol plans to drill 9km off Mijas coast   


A group of mayors have joined forces with environmentalists in a bid to halt plans to prospect for gas off the Costa del Sol.

The PSOE mayors have joined Greenpeace to publicise the risks of allowing oil giant Repsol to drill some 9km offshore from Mijas in February.

They fear a major environmental disaster similar to that of the Prestige oil tanker spill in 2002.

The town leaders fear the exploration could have a detrimental effect on the tourism industry, the main source of employment in recession-struck Andalucia.

While the government is allowing exploration to begin, in an apparent contradiction, industry minister Jose Manuel Soria last week stated he will not allow exploitation of the gas, even if the tests prove positive.


By Frances Leate for The Olive Press



Tuesday 11 December 2012

Spain's Historic Claim to Gibraltar........










Spain’s historic claim, doesn’t ring true.....
  ......an article by   DAVID EADE who has been reading an article entitled......

        “Gibraltar, una tierra disputada durante siglos” by General D.Agustín Alcázar Segura.

The article appeared in the CISDE Observatorio whose banner tells us is an Observatorio de Inteligencia, Seguridad y Defensa.

I set out reading it, presuming the General was going to argue that the present dispute between Spain, Britain and Gibraltar over the Rock is nothing new and has been going on for many centuries.
Indeed I presume that was his intention, but his argument does not ring true.

He starts off by talking about Carteia which was founded by the Phoenicians in 940 BC  and then speaks of its periods when Romans and later Barbarians ruled the roost.
 All of which I am sure is true but of course Carteia is part of modern day San Roque and has little to do with Gibraltar.

The General then moves on to the arrival of Tarik on April 29 711, how he named the Rock, Yebel Tarik, which has over the years become Gibraltar.
 It was in this period that Gibraltar became a fortress with a triple wall. It also had a port and an arsenal.

The article then arrives at the Re-conquest which largely passed Gibraltar by, but mentions the taking of Córdoba by Fernando III in 1238 and the foundation of the Kingdom of Granada which came up to Gibraltar’s gates.
We then go to 1309 when Fernando IV took Gibraltar for Spain after 598 years of Muslim rule but lost it again in 1333.

Over that century there were skirmishes between Spain and the Moors which continued into the 1400s before the Spanish retook it in 1462.
Of course during this period Andalucía was in a state of war with the battles between the Christians and Moors.
 In 1506 Gibraltar became part of the domain of the Dukes of Medina Sidonia and finally during the 16 th and 17 th centuries there was a period of relative tranquillity given the times.

The General then arrives at 1704 and the rest we know well enough.

All the above dates are the General’s and I am sure they are correct.
 However what he has described is largely the history of the Iberian Peninsula and not specifically the Rock. Indeed considering the mayhem in Al Andalus over the centuries Gibraltar got away fairly lightly.

If you look to British history you have the Romans, Vikings, Normans, various invasions over the Tudor periods and so on and so forth.
 It is a far bloodier history than that of Gibraltar.
Gibraltar has always been a fortress largely due to its strategic position commanding the Strait, which has made it an obvious target for conquest.

My point here is that Gibraltar’s history is the Iberian Peninsula’s and Spain’s history simply because the Rock is attached to it.
The Rock has been at the centre of history but not more so than other places, perhaps even less.
The idea that the present conflict over Gibraltar’s territorial waters is a continuation of over 3,000 years of war over disputed territory simply doesn’t hold true.

Over the ages every piece of our earth has been disputed by some tribe or other: and will be for aeons to come.

What history does show us though, is that Gibraltar has only for a briefest period in modern history been “Spanish”.
 Over the centuries it has been ruled by the Moors (over 700 years), then Spain (242 years), then Britain and during the latter period  Gibraltar the nation  came in to being.

The period when Gibraltar was “Spanish” was the shortest of all and that alone removes any historic claim that Spain might think it has over the Rock.



Panorama Gibraltar  05/12/12