Where have all the (new) trees gone?

In my previous article 'PAU 26 has been Saved – We've Won!' I reported that Clr. Abadía on behalf of the PP controlled council confirmed that

'All refuse will be cleared from the PA 26 green zone and that the land will be restored to it's previous natural state, with the replanting of pine trees and plants.'

The Round Town News in it's 18th December 2009 issue published an article entitled 'The Illegal Tip Has Gone!' in which the editorial says;

"We have to give credit where credit is due........... the illegal rubbish tip which has been situated in PAU 26 has been removed and what’s more, last week, as promised, the Town Hall planted 300 new trees in the area,"

Reference was made to the commitment given by Clr. Abadía on behalf of the Council and the paper comments;

"And true to his word, within six weeks it has happened. Well done Orihuela Town Hall!"

Well done for what? I visited the site today (21st December 2009) and could not see any sign of these '300 new trees' The only thing the Council has done is to abandon the site!

Can anyone see any of the 300 new trees? Click on any of the photographs to enlarge it to help you find those (invisible/imaginary) Council planted trees!

Who's misleading who?

Copenhagen Climate Conference Failure

The result of this conference is a disaster. The country leaders and politicians should be ashamed of themselves, they have let the world and future generations down!

BBC - Copenhagen summit battles to save climate deal

The Mail - World leaders reach 'toothless' late Copenhagen climate change deal - but officials admit it's 'not enough'

Telegraph - Copenhagen climate summit: Barack Obama risks China's anger over satellite monitoring

Guardian - Low targets, goals dropped: Copenhagen ends in failure

Catalonia to become first Spanish region to ban 'sadistic spectacle' of bullfighting

The Catalonia Regional Parliament today took a major step towards outlawing the tradition.

It voted by 67 votes to 59 (with five abstentions) to draw up a law calling for fighting bulls to be protected in the same way as other animals.

The proposal, which will be voted on in April, is expected to be passed as a majority of deputies in the regional parliament are thought to favour a ban.

Catalonia, whose capital Barcelona has a 19,500 seat bullring, is the second most populated region of Spain with 7.5 million inhabitants.

In 2008, 12 bullfights took place in the province, all of them in Barcelona's Plaza de Toros Monumental.

The Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago off the coast of west Africa, banned bullfighting in 1991.

More details in the Mail Online

Spanish region set to ban bullfighting

Bullfighting looks set to be banned in part of Spain as the Catalan parliament prepares to vote tomorrow to prohibit one of the country's most emblematic, and bloodiest, traditions.

The Catalan parliament prepares to vote on law giving fighting bulls the same level of protection from cruelty as other animals.

Manuel Cases, of the Catalan Animals Rights Association said "Everywhere in Spain the majority of people say they do not like bullfights," he went on to say "Over time, this will have to be prohibited. Otherwise we will be back in the stone age."

guardian.co.uk

The sooner this barbaric act of 'Bull Baiting' is banned the better.

Thousands of prisoners have satellite TV in their cells

More than 4,000 prisoners have satellite television in their cells, the Government admitted.

Criminals in privately-run jails are being offered the perk as a reward for good behaviour. However, MPs described the disclosure as “absolutely revolting”.

Maria Eagle, the Justice Secretary, admitted that prisoners could watch their own satellite television service in a written Parliamentary answer released just hours before MPs left for their Christmas break.

Criminals in privately-run jails are being offered the perk as a reward for good behaviour. However, MPs described the disclosure as “absolutely revolting”. Maria Eagle, the Justice Secretary, admitted that prisoners could watch their own satellite television service in a written Parliamentary answer released just hours before MPs left for their Christmas break.
Daily Telegraph

What a convenient time to annouce this appalling fact. Society has definitely got it wrong to allow this.

Philip Davies, a Conservative MP, has certainly raised a valid crticism when he said: “No end of my constituents would love to have Sky TV but they cannot afford it, so it is a bit galling for them - through their taxes - to be paying for prisoners to be watching it in their cells.
"This isn't in communal areas, it is in their cells. It has got nothing to do with rehabilitation but is a prime example of how conditions in our prisons are far too cushy."

In the Mail Online Dominic Grieve, Tory justice spokesman, is quoted as saying: 'The public will be shocked to learn that while there aren't enough prison places and drug rehab is woefully inadequate, thousands of prisoners have Sky TV in their cells. It speaks volumes about this government's warped priorities.'

Iberdrola Chairman says Comsumers should "Pay more and consum less"

Ignacio Sanchez Galan, Chairman of the electricity production and distribution company Iberdrola when speaking to the Fiancial Times at the Climate Change conference in Copenhagan said that consumers should "pay more and consume less"

The bills that consumers pay will have to increase in order to generate the funds necessary for companies to invest into the technology that politicians want to reduce CO2 emmisions he said.

In respect of costs for consumers in Spain and the UK he said ""We are now in discussion in Spain about the prices for next year, and we are talking about one euro per month per family. What is that?" For the UK he said "In the UK it is the same thing as well: what is an increase of 3 per cent? It is a pound per month per family!"

It is his opinion that energy costs are still a small proportion of household budgets.

I wonder if the householders would agree.

More information:

El presidente de Iberdrola advierte de que las energías 'verdes' subirán las facturas - Elmundo.es
Iberdrola chief warns on cost of green power - Financial Times

British 'Expats' demonstrat in Alicante against the removal of Free Healthcare

Approximately three hundred British 'Expat' residents living in the Valencia Region marched through the streets of Alicante to protest about the recent withdrawal of free healthcare provision for early retirees.

They marched to both the British Consulate and the Valencia government offices in Alicante.

The residents believe they have been badly let down by both the British and the Valancia Regional governments.

The Valencian government withdrew a scheme offering free healthcare to those British residents who are not covered by the British government's E106 or E121 healthcare reciprocal scheme in Spain. In its place a pay for insurancce based scheme is being offered. Many of the residents claim that they cannot financially afford the 270€ per quarter payment to join the scheme because of their fixed incomes and the additional effect on their funds because of the current low £ to € exchange rate.

More details:
Healthcare demo declared a success - The Leader
Brits March on Alicante Consulat - The Coast Rider
PUMA 22 Organisation

Intoxicated by power, Blair tricked us into war

In an article in the Times today Sir Ken Macdonald, QC, Director of Public Prosecutions until last year, says:

"The degree of deceit involved in our decision to go to war on Iraq becomes steadily clearer. This was a foreign policy disgrace of epic proportions....

It is now very difficult to avoid the conclusion that Tony Blair engaged in an alarming subterfuge with his partner George Bush and went on to mislead and cajole the British people into a deadly war they had made perfectly clear they didn’t want....

Mr Blair’s fundamental flaw was his sycophancy towards power. Perhaps this seems odd in a man who drank so much of that mind-altering brew at home. But Washington turned his head and he couldn’t resist the stage or the glamour that it gave him...

Since those sorry days we have frequently heard him repeating the self-regarding mantra that “hand on heart, I only did what I thought was right”. But this is a narcissist’s defence and self-belief is no answer to misjudgment: it is certainly no answer to death".

Sir Ken Macdonald, QC, practises at Matrix Chambers,the same London Chambers as the former Prime Minister’s wife, and is a visiting professor of law at the London School of Economics. He was appointed 'Director of Public Prosecutions in 2003, under the Blair government, and served until 2008.

British involvement in Iraq war blamed on Blair’s ‘sycophancy’- Times:

Ex-DPP: Tony Blair's attitude to Iraq war 'a disgrace'- BBC

'Sycophant' Tony Blair used deceit to justify Iraq war, says former DPP - Guardian

Britain misled into Iraq war by Blair's 'sycophancy to U.S. and alarming subterfuge with Bush', says former DPP - Daily Mail

The real cost of “budget” flying

Checking a bag into the hold and using a credit card could add almost thirty per cent onto the advertised price of some “budget” airline tickets, shows new research from Which? Holiday.

The price of a flight to Paris with BMIBaby increased by around 25 per cent when one piece of hold luggage was checked in and the ticket was booked using a credit card, and the price of a flight to Malaga increased by 23 per cent.

Ryanair charges £50 extra across all its routes for checking in a hold bag and paying with a credit card; an increase of between 8 per cent and 29 per cent on the advertised cost of the fare. The cost of a ticket on a Ryanair flight between East Midlands airport and Malaga increased by 29.1 per cent when a bag was checked into the hold and the ticket was paid for using a credit card. (£121.98 to £171.98).

Although Jet2 were found to add the most to the cost of a flight for the charges - £92.16 – this was an increase of just 10 per cent on the advertised ticket price.

Easyjet consistently had the lowest luggage and card charges of the four airlines Which? Holiday looked at, ranging from £26 - £38 extra. However, in one case this still amounted to a 17 per cent increase on the advertised price. On a flight between East Midlands airport and Faro, the cost of an Easyjet ticket increased by 17.6 per cent when a bag was checked into the hold and the ticket was paid for using a credit card. (£121.96 to £147.96).

Rochelle Turner, Head of Research for Which? Holiday, says:
“It’s hard to believe that any airline could justify increasing the ticket price by almost a third just for checking a bag into the hold and paying on a credit card – two services that not too long ago were included in the headline price. Airlines argue that they are being fairer to customers who don’t use these services. But, in reality, how many people don’t use a credit or debit card to pay for their flights, or travel without luggage? These aren’t extra services. They are part and parcel of taking a flight.”

Telegraph, Guardian., ThisisMoney.co.uk

Why eco-light bulbs aren't what they seem

Save the planet, switch to eco-light bulbs. So goes the refrain. But are these as bright, long-lasting and energy efficient as is often claimed?

The traditional incandescent bulb is on the way out. European law means people will be encouraged to use longer-lasting, energy-efficient lights instead.

But many remain unconvinced that the common alternative - compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) - are up to the job.

Are these bulbs quite as good as is claimed?


Read the article by Ruth Alexander of the BBC's More or LessMagazine