Spanish miners went on an indefinite strike in the coalfields and in the streets, blocking roadways and forming barricades.

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May 23, 2012, Spanish miners went on an indefinite strike in the coalfields and in the streets, blocking roadways and forming barricades. The movement is protesting the government's decision to do away with 63 percent of state subsidies of coal. The cuts to the Spanish coal mining industry do not include any solutions for their consequences: the cuts are not paired with any professional retraining for the miners, and will therefore add to the already high number of unemployed in the country.

The mining protest has had a strong echo on social networking sites. The Twitter account “Mineros de León” [es] (Miners of León), which has renamed itself “Miners of Spain”, has had intense activity and almost 10,000 followers. The man behind the account, Victor Herrero, who is the son and grandson of miners, wants to disseminate the miners' struggle on the Internet. He retweets messages of support he receives, including from outside Spain, and means to prevent any incitement of violence. From that account, he has reported on the Marcha Negra (Black March), a march started last Friday which will end in Madrid on July 11. The miners have also responded via the web to criticisms and doubts making the rounds about their sector. Below is an excerpt of the “Letter from an Asturian miner” written by Juan José Fernández which is circulating around the Internet:

La lucha que están llevando los compañeros en éstos momentos, no es para pedir dinero, sino para que se respete el acuerdo firmado el año pasado entre el Ministerio de Industria y los sindicatos mineros, la firma de éste acuerdo tenía unas ayudas asignadas hasta el año 2018.

Éste dinero lo dió La Comunidad Europea y no los Gobiernos Españoles, con esto quiero decir que no lo puso ningún español para ayudarnos como piensa mucha de la gente que tanto nos critica. En cuanto a éste dinero lo que yo me pregunto, como casi todas las familias mineras, es donde está la parte de los Fondos Mineros que supuestamente iría destinada a la creación de industrias alternativas al carbón en las cuencas mineras, después del cierre de las minas. Pues bien, cómo en muchos otros sectores, el dinero lo manejaron los políticos y los sindicatos. Con parte de éste dinero, os podría decir, por ejemplo, que el Señor Gabino de Lorenzo ( ex-alcalde de Oviedo) pagó las farolas de su ciudad, el nuevo Palacio de Exposiciones y Congresos y otras muchas obras. La ex-alcaldesa de Gijón ( la Señora Felgeroso) lo invirtió en la Universidad Laboral y cómo el primero, también en otras obras.

Residents welcome the arriving miners in Ariño on their march. Photo by Democracia Real Ya.

The webpage Lanzanos.com is home to a crowdfunding campaign that has already collected more than 9,000 euros (US $11,176) to support the Marcha Negra; this has made it possible to rent an RV to attend to the protesters, in case one of them should come down with heatstroke or any other incident should happen. Here is part of the message that accompanied the petition for donations:

El movimiento Mineros de España nace como respuesta de este colectivo al silencio informativo que sufríamos al comienzo de nuestras movilizaciones por los diferentes medios de comunicación. Escogimos Twitter por ser la red social a nuestro parecer más directa de llegar a los ciudadanos y poder enseñarles de primera mano todo lo que va aconteciendo en nuestra lucha. las redes sociales nunca habían sido utilizadas en una huelga minera siendo Víctor herrero el que tras hablar con los responsables de CC.OO comienza a tuitear y a arengar a los mineros que estaban en las carreteras. El inmediato interés generado por todo el colectivo obrero de diferentes y dispares sectores y el apoyo popular en la calle nos hice crecer como la 5º cuenta de Twitter mas recomendada a nivel nacional en tiempo récord.

The web has allowed for strong social support to affirm the miners' cause. Another of the events closely followed by the Internet has been the removal of the miners' wives when they attended a budget vote in the Senate last week. Once the results of the vote were made public, the women began to sing the hymn of the miners, some in tears. They denounced the treatments that they have received and the lack of negotiations with the politicians.

In the following video, those supporting the miners sing the miner's hymn in the Senate:

British woman dies on the Playa de Muchavista, in El Capello

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British woman dies on the Playa de Muchavista, in El Capello larger | smaller By h.b. - Jun 28, 2012 - 5:12 PM The woman has not been named as yet.The Playa de Muchavista - Photo EFE A 69 year old British woman has died today, Thursday when she bathing on the Playa de Muchavista in El Campello, Alicante, opposite the ‘Tobago’ urbanisation. The Guardia Civil told the EFE news agency that it happened at about 9.45 am, 15 minutes before the lifeguard service begins on the beach. It seems that a friend of the woman had raised the alarm when the realised that her friend had not come out of the water. Then two lifeguards rescued the woman who appeared to have suffered a cardio respiratory arrest, and tried to reanimate her. An ambulance from the DyA lifeguards arrived and doctors from the SAMU Emergency Medical Attention Service, who could only certify her death. EFE says that the sources contacted so far are unaware of the cause of death.

George Washington's copy of US constitution sells for $9.8m

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Portrait of George Washington, whose personal copy of the US Constitution and Bill of Rights fetched $9.8m at auction. Photograph: Stock Montage/Getty Images

ASTON MARTIN ONE-77

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performance@holmesandco-london.com

ASTON MARTIN ONE-77

Car No.40 of 77 Made.

The Client is seeking 1.2 Million Sterling for the Car.

The Cars were originally sold by Aston Martin for 1Million, plus costs.

Equivalent cars are available for 2 Million Sterling – 2.7 Million Dollars.

We are Offering the Car at 1.4 Million, but it should be considerably more.

Our Client wishes for the Sale to be Confidential, and approaching clients will need to provide documents

Entitled "Cock and Bull," this showpiece by British artist Damien Hirst towers above diners at Tramshed, which only serves chicken and steak.

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DAMIEN HIRST

Entitled "Cock and Bull," this showpiece by British artist Damien Hirst towers above diners at Tramshed, which only serves chicken and steak.

Edward Burtynsky Photographs Farming in Monegros Spain

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Spain full-blown bailout 'all but inevitable'

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full-blown bailout for Spain is all but inevitable as it has lost control of its debt crisis, analysts say, despite Madrid's insistence that it does not need rescuing. With eurozone ministers set for the first of several key meetings over Spain Thursday, its budget minister insisted the country was stable despite soaring borrowing costs and a 100-billion-euro lifeline thrown out for its banks. "Spain has not been rescued because it does not need to be rescued," minister Cristobal Montoro told parliament Wednesday. But analysts warned Spain may not stay afloat without direct financial aid from its European neighbours. "A sovereign bail-out is all but inevitable," wrote Capital Economics chief European economist Jonathan Loynes. "The recent further rise in Spanish government bond yields underlines the fact that the banking bailout will not address the country's broader fiscal problems." Greek elections on Sunday averted the immediate threat of Athens exiting the eurozone, but concern over Spain did not ease. It paid high borrowing rates to investors in a sale of 12- and 18-month debt Tuesday. The yield on its benchmark 10-year bonds passed the 7.0-percent danger mark on Monday and on Wednesday was around 6.8 percent. "These borrowing costs are unsustainable and at this level Spain is on track to require a full bailout" unless its debts are underwritten by eurozone partners or the European Central Bank buys its debt, said Kathleen Brooks, research chief at brokerage Forex.com. Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy demanded "urgent" action by the European Union to calm market tension, in a letter to its leaders at the start of June. He insisted the European Central Bank must play a role by providing liquidity. But action by the ECB to help keep Spain's borrowing costs down "is far from certain given the ECB's reticence", Loynes warned. The onus is on political leaders ahead of a European Union summit on July 28 and 29. Marian Fernandez, financial director at investment group Inversis, added: "We do not think the ECB is going to do anything before next week's summit. They have said the ball is in the politicians' court." Spain, the eurozone's fourth-biggest economy, is expecting Thursday to receive the results of tests by two firms of private auditors to determine how much it needs to borrow under the deal to stabilise its banks. Madrid is expected to transmit an official request for that aid to its partners at a eurozone finance ministers' meeting in Luxembourg on Thursday, a European Union diplomat said in Brussels. Then on Friday leaders of Spain, Italy, France and Germany meet in Rome to thrash out a common position on the debt crisis ahead of the full summit in Brussels. Spain also faces its next debt market test on Thursday, when it will try to raise up to two billion euros in a mix of two-, three- and five-year bonds. Angel de Molina, an analyst at brokerage Tressis, said the financial markets on which Spain borrows money to finance its activities are "sensing a lack of action and political leadership" in Europe. "The European Union and the European Central Bank both have to send this message to the markets: we are here to do what we have to do," he said. As leaders debate roundabout ways of easing pressure on troubled countries by investing European aid funds without carrying out a direct rescue, time may be running out, analysts warn. "At the rate its yields are rising, Spain doesn't have enough time to wait for Europe's politicians to decide whether or not to underwrite the debts of the weakest states," said Brooks. "It needs action now."

Spaniard charged

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A SPANISH man, 23, appeared before the Magistrates Court in Gibraltar charged with the theft of tens of thousands of pounds in cash and cigarettes from La Tina retail store in Market Place. Further arrests are expected.

Wild fire rages in Sotogrande

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British girls are once again doing the nation proud after a study revealed that 40 per cent admit to having a one night stand while on holiday.

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Long regarded as the "easiest" of the nations to pull, while on alcohol fueled sun-breaks, the evidence now backs up the theory, which also stated that a third under age 30 said they romped on the beach, while one in ten classy ladies had five or more lovers during a seven day holiday. Nine out of ten also had more sex in the sun than when they're at home. The damning findings on the travel dating website, MissTravel.com, come as a second hammer blow to the UK's women after another recent study showed they were amongst the ugliest in the world. "It is sad to see the British girls at the bottom of the pile but you get what you deserve and frankly no one is surprised; as the way they carry on is nothing short of vile and would certainly leave The Queen ashamed," a travel rep source told the deeksobserver.com. "But we also have to remember these are the dregs of our society who get ratted in the sun before bonking anything they can get their hands on. They can't get any at home, so go abroad where foreigners are happy to cash in - or where they can meet like minded low class people from Britain." Greece - in particular Faliraki - and Spain are the places where most of the "trash" head to get action, bringing shame on themselves, and their proud country. Just three per cent of girls said Britain was the best place to get laid reported The Sun. The source added: "We must also remember that these figures are what the women have admitted to, so in all likelihood you can double the amount who say they've had a one night stand abroad. Also, we all know that more than one in ten sleep with five guys in a week - I know plenty who've had foursomes, with quite a few having no idea who is inside them if they're being penetrated from behind."

The dramatic landscape where Andalucía ends and la Meseta starts has long been an accident black spot on the A4 road between Andalucía and Madrid.

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 The place is called Despeñaperros and years ago there were dozens of accidents on the sharp curves and steep inclines, often lorries were involved. Slowly different sections of the road have been improved and the road in each direction takes a different course because of the landscape. Now, 11 years after the project was started the last remaining section, a four km. section direction Andalucía, came into service on Monday before the summer rush. Minister for Development, Ana Pastor, said that 20,000 vehicles use ‘the gateway to Andalucía’ every day, 6,000 of them lorries. Time would be saved but she said the most important thing was increased safety. The final cost is 245 million € and the Government still has to pay 210 million in expropriations.

Granada firemen save man's penis stuck in a tube

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One of the firemen went home to get a Do It Yourself cicular saw to carry out the proceedure. Granada fire-fighters have avoided the need for a penis to be amputated after it got stuck in a steel cylinder after a 52 year old man had placed it there in what appears to be part of a sexual act. Doctors in the emergency department of the Hospital Ruiz de Alda in Granada were unable to release the member, as it seems the penis was suffering what is described as ‘an important inflammation’. The doctors found they could not cut the tube which was some two centimetres diameter and four millimetres thick, and something over five centimetres long and which was strangling the penis, stopping the erection from going down. The fire service decided to cut the tube with a do it yourself Bremen circular saw which the sub-inspector brought from his home and the fire service did not have such a device which could be operated with the needed precision. Ideal newspaper says the procedure took two hours and was carried out in the hospital operating theatre. A spokesman from the fire-service said it was the first time they had intervened in a hospital operating theatre, although they are often called to extract organs trapped in vending machines, such as fingers or arms. The hospital has declined to comment on the case.

BEWARE Superbug gonorrhea spreading across Europe

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"Superbug" strains of gonorrhea which are becoming untreatable accounted for almost one in 10 cases of the sexually transmitted disease in Europe in 2010, more than double the rate of the year before, health officials said on Monday. The drug-resistant strains are also spreading fast across the continent, officials warned. They were found in 17 European countries in 2010, seven more than in the previous year. Gonorrhea was the second most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in Europe in 2010, with more than 32,000 infections, data from the Stockholm-based European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) showed. Even though chlamydia was the most frequently reported STI, with more than 345,000 cases, the ECDC's director singled out gonorrhea as presenting a "critical situation". Marc Sprenger said the increase in cases of superbug strains meant there was a risk gonorrhea may become an untreatable disease in the near future. The proportion of gonorrhea cases with resistance to the antibiotic recommended to treat the disease, cefixime, rose from 4 percent in 2009 to 9 percent in 2010. The ECDC report follows a warning from the World Health Organisation that virtually untreatable forms of drug-resistant gonorrhea were spreading around the world. Gonorrhea is a bacterial infection which, if left untreated, can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancies, stillbirths, severe eye infections in babies, and infertility in men and women. VIGILANT It is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases in the world and is most prevalent in South and Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. In the United States alone, the number of cases is estimated at about 700,000 a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The emergence of drug-resistant gonorrhea is caused by unregulated access to and overuse of antibiotics, which help fuel genetic mutations within the bacteria. "Public health experts and clinicians need to be aware of the current critical situation and should be vigilant for treatment failures," Sprenger said in a statement. Experts say the best way to reduce the risk of even greater resistance developing - beyond the urgent need to develop new drugs - is to rapidly and accurately diagnose the disease and then treat it with combinations of two or more types of antibiotics at the same time. This technique is used in the treatment of some other infections like tuberculosis in an attempt to make it more difficult for the bacteria to learn how to overcome the drugs. The ECDC's sexually transmitted infections report covered data and trends on five STIs - syphilis, congenital syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia and lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) - in the EU and European Economic Area from 1990 to 2010. It found diverging trends in sexually transmitted diseases across Europe, with a rapidly increasing trend for chlamydia and slightly decreasing trends for gonorrhea and syphilis. Genital chlamydia infections are caused by Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria which can irreversibly damage a woman's reproductive organs. Although the disease is easily treated with antibiotics, infections can remain undiagnosed because many patients - 70 percent of women and 50 percent of men - have no symptoms and so are unaware they are carrying and passing on the infection.

Spain is still vulnerable after its mega bank bailout.

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Madrid has finally got a credible plan for its lenders: it will receive up to 100 billion euros from its euro partners to boost their capital. But the state's debt will rise as a result, the economy is still shrinking and the government has lost a lot of credibility. Spain may yet require a full bailout. That would really test the single currency. The 100 billion euro figure is at the top end of most analyst estimates, and more than double the 40 billion euros that the International Monetary Fund had estimated the banks needed. It should go a long way towards reassuring investors that Spanish lenders are sufficiently capitalised to withstand shocks. It should also reduce the risk of a bank run if there is trouble following next Sunday's Greek elections. It may even help limit a severe credit crunch. If Mariano Rajoy's conservative government had taken this bull by the horns soon after it took office in December, that might have been the end of the matter. It could have blamed the bailout on the previous socialist administration. Unfortunately, it wasted six months dragging its feet on the problem, with two incomplete financial reforms. In the process, market confidence has been knocked. And Rajoy's own credibility both at home and abroad has suffered. Fortunately, Rajoy still has a solid majority and three and a half more years before he has to face an election. The best he can now do is take the brickbats and press ahead rapidly - both with the recapitalisation of the banks and the further economic reforms, where he has actually been quite decisive. On the former front, it is slightly worrying that the government is talking about giving lenders some more time to raise capital themselves rather than take state cash. If there is any further time, it should be very short. It would be a mistake to let this drag on any longer. The bank bailout could add up to 10 percentage points to Spain's debt ratio. Even then, it should peak at about 100 percent of GDP in 2015. That's high but a lot less than Italy, whose debt is over 120 percent of GDP. A big difference, though, is that Spain has been running a large current account deficit for years and so is heavily dependent on foreign finance, even if the gap is shrinking. Some details of the bailout are not clear. One is whether the loan would be senior to Madrid's existing debt. If so, that could make it hard for Spain to sell any new bonds. Even if that's not the case, investors will be put off by an economy that is expected to shrink this year and next - as well as possible further downgrades in its credit rating. If Greece were then to quit the euro, Madrid could be shut out of the market. The question then would be what to do. Spain would probably want the European Central Bank to buy its bonds in the market. But the central bank would be wary of doing that. The alternative would be a full bailout for the country. But it's not clear whether the euro zone funds have enough money to finance that. They certainly wouldn't if Italy also got dragged into the vortex. Any relief provided by Spain's bank bailout could be short-lived.

Multi-million fake ID gang jailed

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Members of a multi-million pound organised crime gang specialising in providing fake identities and documents to thousands of customers have been jailed. The gang ran its enterprise, Confidential Access (CA), from plush villas in Alicante, Spain, by providing bogus documents and coaching tips on how to commit fraud. Police conducted a two-and-a-half year investigation which saw four men jailed at London's Southwark Crown Court. Detectives revealed a well-practised production line of authentic-looking documents for committing fraud. Many were bundled together and sold as full credit profiles including wage slips, credit history print-outs and a postal address making it possible for customers to defraud companies of thousands of pounds. One of CA's top end products was called the Platinum Profile. It cost £5,500 and came complete with instructions on how to commit identity fraud. For £2,000, CA also sold the 100% Creditmaster profile which was exclusive to VIP members of the website. But if the customer successfully committed fraud with it, CA would ask for 50% of the customer's first fraud or threaten to wreck the credit profile. Web chat forums were a key part of the fraud providing clients with information, advice and coaching them on how to use the profiles and commit fraud, said the Metropolitan Police. Some of the forums were free but others came at a cost. A monthly subscription fee bought members access to forums where they could discuss how to use the identity documents to break the law and seek other tips and advice. Painstaking analysis of servers which had been seized from Hong Kong led to a breakthrough by officers when they cracked the highly sophisticated encryption codes opening up a treasure trove of evidence. The operation was run by Jason Place and Barry Sales from the comfort of their villas in Alicante, while employees based around the UK would monitor the CA website and work on producing various documents, including false bank statements, wage slips, driving licences and utility bills. Place, 42 of Aurora Court, Romulus Road, Gravesend, Kent, was jailed for six years and nine months for conspiracy to defraud. Sales escaped justice, with the Crown Prosecution Service deciding not to prosecute because he is terminally ill. Mark Powell-Richards, 59, a credit broker and antiques dealer of Nightingale Lane, Bickley, Kent, was sentenced to 225 months for conspiracy to defraud. Allen Stringer, 57, of Coldwell Road, Crossgates, Leeds was jailed for the same term and charge. Michael Daly, 68, a former chauffeur of Stone Court, High Street, Erith, Kent, was sentenced to 12 months suspended for two years and ordered to carry out 250 hours of unpaid community service for conspiracy to defraud. Jaipal Singh, 31, a telecoms company director, of Franchise Street, Wednesbury, West Midlands, was sentenced to 18 months for conspiracy to defraud and student Arun Thear, 22, of Walsall Road, West Bromwich, West Midlands, was sentenced to six months suspended for two years and ordered to carry out 150 hours' unpaid community service for forgery, contrary to section 1 of the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981. All six had pleaded guilty at earlier hearings.

Popular Spanish Singer, Julio Iglesias, has announced that he will be touring Spain to play concerts in various Spanish towns and cities

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Popular Spanish Singer, Julio Iglesias, has announced that he will be touring Spain to play concerts in various Spanish towns and cities, singing songs from his latest album, as well as many from his back catalogue, which will include a performance local to the Costa Blanca. As well as popular places such as Barcelona, Valencia, Bilbao and Marbella, Iglesias will perform a concert in Los Alcazares on 4th August, at the municipal sports centre, flying straight over from a performance at Maspalomas on Gran Canaria on the 2nd.

Despite the industrial action by teachers last week, the regional education ministry has announced a new draft law which will force teachers to work an extra 2 hours in class

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 Despite the industrial action by teachers last week, the regional education ministry has announced a new draft law which will force teachers to work an extra 2 hours in class, as well as teach subjects which are not their speciality. The aim is to better utilise the resources that are already on hand to schools, which frequently see replacement teachers being drafted in, whilst others are simply being paid not to work. Critics have said that it will lead to a loss of quality of education, but financial managers state that it is a better use of funds which are already being tightened.

SUPREME COURT RULES ON VISTA ALEGRE BUILDING

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The Supreme Court in Valencia has ruled that a building situated on the main road alongside the Paseo Vista Alegre in Torrevieja, the former Guardia Civil headquarters, is protected and therefore cannot be converted into flats, which a developer who bought the property intended to do after the purchase in August, 2000.  The property became available for sale and was purchased by the developer for 1.9 million euro. The town hall was also interested in purchasing the building, but for a much lower figure. Upon acquiring the property, the new owner applied for planning permission to start the work to create 14 homes and 22 garages, but found that the town hall refused building permits to allow the work to start.  The appeal was launched through the courts, but the developer has failed; now owning a property which can only be sold to the town hall, at a considerable loss both financially and in terms of development of this part of the city.