The British Ambassador to Spain, Giles Paxman, has announced the appointment of the new British Consul for Alicante, Paul Rodwell, who is due to begin in August.
More details Here
Wednesday, 12 May 2010
Conservative Liberal Democrat coalition agreements.
Here is a link to the Agreements between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservative Party in forming the coalition government.
Orihuela Council leaves rubbish in street for 13 Days!
The reason is because the Council's refuse cleaning contractors have failed to carry out their task to collect it. During the period the rubbish has been dumped, several of the company's lorries have driven past, but instead of collecting it, or even part of it, they just drove past.
Having notified the Council of this problem by email last evening (11th May) I wait to see how many more days it will still be there.
This is not the first time I have had to request the Council to clear longterm dumped rubbish and I'm sure it will not be the last. It's a continual failure of the basic service of refuse collection.
Sunday, 9 May 2010
King Juan Carlos is doing well
It has been confirmed by Ramon Iribarren, spokesman for the Spanish Royal House, that King Juan Carlos has spent a very good night following his operation yesterday (Saturday 9th May, in the Clinic de Barcelona, to remove a benign nodule from the top of his left lung.
The Prime Minister, José Luis RodrÃguez Zapatero, visited the Monarch in hospital today for about an hour. Mr Zapatero said that the King has been able to get out of bed and has had a long conversation, in which they talked about the visit of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, the meeting of Eurogroup and the market system.
He announced that the King will attend the Summit of the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean heads of state on May 18 in Madrid.
King Juan Carlos is expected to leave hospital in two or three days time.
The Prime Minister, José Luis RodrÃguez Zapatero, visited the Monarch in hospital today for about an hour. Mr Zapatero said that the King has been able to get out of bed and has had a long conversation, in which they talked about the visit of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, the meeting of Eurogroup and the market system.
He announced that the King will attend the Summit of the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean heads of state on May 18 in Madrid.
King Juan Carlos is expected to leave hospital in two or three days time.
World record in current intensity achieved with distribution cables
Science Daily reports that researchers in Spain have developed the most advanced and powerful conductivity cable in the world. This prototype measures 30 metres and was made using superconducting material. The new cable surpasses the record in current intensity (3200 Ampers RMS) and can transport an electrical charge five times greater than a conventional copper cable of the same dimensions, thus reducing energy loss by half.
It is estimated that some 60% of the electricity produced is lost by the current cables used for transmission. The use of the superconductive cables would enable less energy to be used to produce the electricity needed, without a reduction in the amount available to the end user. There would be benefits to the environment because there would be a reduction in the levels of CO2 emissions.
Read the full article here
It is estimated that some 60% of the electricity produced is lost by the current cables used for transmission. The use of the superconductive cables would enable less energy to be used to produce the electricity needed, without a reduction in the amount available to the end user. There would be benefits to the environment because there would be a reduction in the levels of CO2 emissions.
Read the full article here
Saturday, 8 May 2010
Unearthing the truth about volcanic ash: Spain has been spared for 40,000 years, and other facts
Science Daily reports that research from scientists in the UK shows Spain has been spared volcanic ash falls for the past 40,000 years and so could serve as an emergency flight hub in the event of future eruptions.
Dr Simon Blockley, from the Department of Geography and Earth Science of Royal Holloway University of London, says: "One interesting point that emerges from our database is the common transport patterns of the Icelandic ash falls and, more importantly, the apparent absence of volcanic ash from sites in Spain". He went on to say "So far the number of sites investigated in Spain for these tiny volcanic glass particles is relatively low, and there is therefore urgent need for further research, but the evidence uncovered thus far lends support to the proposal to view Spain as a potential emergency international air travel hub during times of Icelandic ash dispersal over Europe."
Read the full article Here
Dr Simon Blockley, from the Department of Geography and Earth Science of Royal Holloway University of London, says: "One interesting point that emerges from our database is the common transport patterns of the Icelandic ash falls and, more importantly, the apparent absence of volcanic ash from sites in Spain". He went on to say "So far the number of sites investigated in Spain for these tiny volcanic glass particles is relatively low, and there is therefore urgent need for further research, but the evidence uncovered thus far lends support to the proposal to view Spain as a potential emergency international air travel hub during times of Icelandic ash dispersal over Europe."
Read the full article Here
Friday, 7 May 2010
Voting problems on the 6th May 2010
For anyone who experienced voting problems at the polling stations on the 6th May this is the webpage on the Electoral Commission's site for reporting details'
Voting problems - Electoral Commission
Voting problems - Electoral Commission
Monday, 3 May 2010
I'm an angry expat: where's my vote?
Having written and sent a complaint to the North Kesteven District Council, responsible for the area in which I've registered as a postal voter, they only sent the final ballot papers out on the 28th April, I was going to write a blog posting about the fiasco of postal votes.
Having read the following blog by Anna Nicholas I don't need to as her article says it all. I'm an angry expat: where's my vote? – Telegraph Blogs
Except for her last comment!
Having read the following blog by Anna Nicholas I don't need to as her article says it all. I'm an angry expat: where's my vote? – Telegraph Blogs
Except for her last comment!
Sunday, 2 May 2010
Why no Asbo for the Pope?
Anthony C Grayling is a British philosopher and author. In his article in 'The Independent on Sunday' entitled Why no Asbo for the Pope? he draws the readers attention to the situation where Joseph Ratzinger, otherwise Pope Benedict XVI,and Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sachs chairman, would seem to be above the law, unlike Harry Taylor, an unemployed 59-year-old.
The article begins:
Why is it that large, rich, influential organisations and those who run them get away with big crimes and misdemeanours, when ordinary folk are punished for their miniature versions of them? It's an old story, of course, but no more pleasant or right for being so.
Compare the circumstances of two men whose occupations and avocations have brought them to pubic notice recently. One is Harry Taylor, an unemployed 59-year-old, who was found guilty last week in a Liverpool court of putting "offensive religious images" in the prayer room of the city's John Lennon airport (which he did on the grounds that having such a room in an airport named after John Lennon would, he said, have offended John Lennon). The jury of 10 women and two men had all sworn to consider his case fairly – on the Bible.
Mr Taylor received a five-year Asbo forbidding him from carrying religiously offensive images in public, and sentencing him to six months' imprisonment suspended for two years, but with 100 hours of unpaid work and £250 costs to make him feel the sting of the judge's disapproval.
The other man is Joseph Ratzinger, otherwise Pope Benedict XVI, right, current head of the Roman Catholic church. To appreciate the contrast between the Pope and Mr Taylor, we need to remind ourselves of the following simple facts. Child sex abuse is a serious crime. Concealing crimes is a serious crime. Systematic, decades-long deliberate concealment of many thousands of crimes in many countries is a very large-scale criminal conspiracy. It is a matter of public record that the Catholic church is guilty of just such a conspiracy. The Pope, as head of the church, is accountable for the its actions. It is also on public record that he personally protected abusers and covered up cases of child abuse before becoming Pope.
Is the Pope in any danger of receiving 100 hours of community service for hiding hundreds of paedophiles from the law all round the world? Is he likely to get an Asbo? Or has he been invited to the United Kingdom as an official visitor who will meet the Queen and be feted and courted, secure in the knowledge that efforts to arrest him and put him on trial for heading a huge criminal conspiracy will fail?
The full article continues:
The article begins:
Why is it that large, rich, influential organisations and those who run them get away with big crimes and misdemeanours, when ordinary folk are punished for their miniature versions of them? It's an old story, of course, but no more pleasant or right for being so.
Compare the circumstances of two men whose occupations and avocations have brought them to pubic notice recently. One is Harry Taylor, an unemployed 59-year-old, who was found guilty last week in a Liverpool court of putting "offensive religious images" in the prayer room of the city's John Lennon airport (which he did on the grounds that having such a room in an airport named after John Lennon would, he said, have offended John Lennon). The jury of 10 women and two men had all sworn to consider his case fairly – on the Bible.
Mr Taylor received a five-year Asbo forbidding him from carrying religiously offensive images in public, and sentencing him to six months' imprisonment suspended for two years, but with 100 hours of unpaid work and £250 costs to make him feel the sting of the judge's disapproval.
The other man is Joseph Ratzinger, otherwise Pope Benedict XVI, right, current head of the Roman Catholic church. To appreciate the contrast between the Pope and Mr Taylor, we need to remind ourselves of the following simple facts. Child sex abuse is a serious crime. Concealing crimes is a serious crime. Systematic, decades-long deliberate concealment of many thousands of crimes in many countries is a very large-scale criminal conspiracy. It is a matter of public record that the Catholic church is guilty of just such a conspiracy. The Pope, as head of the church, is accountable for the its actions. It is also on public record that he personally protected abusers and covered up cases of child abuse before becoming Pope.
Is the Pope in any danger of receiving 100 hours of community service for hiding hundreds of paedophiles from the law all round the world? Is he likely to get an Asbo? Or has he been invited to the United Kingdom as an official visitor who will meet the Queen and be feted and courted, secure in the knowledge that efforts to arrest him and put him on trial for heading a huge criminal conspiracy will fail?
The full article continues:
More trouble ahead from volcanic ash?
Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano continues to be active, but the full effects of volcanic ash on the aviation industry have yet to be seen, according to an aviation expert from the UK who believes the impact of ash on airplane air-conditioning systems could be serious and will build over the next few weeks as planes begin to 'hoover up' the additional ash in the atmosphere.
The air-conditioning systems on aircraft provide fresh air to pressurise the cabin as well as the warming the internal temperature of the plane. Once clogged with dirt, they can overheat, forcing the pilot to shut the system down and make an unscheduled or emergency landing.
Those of us who have air-conditioning systems in our homes know how necessary it is to clean the filters within the units, and how much dust which we don't see in our homes is collected.
Read the article in Science Daily: More trouble ahead from volcanic ash?
Interesting newscast from the BBC: Volcanic ash fact-finding mission takes to the skies
The air-conditioning systems on aircraft provide fresh air to pressurise the cabin as well as the warming the internal temperature of the plane. Once clogged with dirt, they can overheat, forcing the pilot to shut the system down and make an unscheduled or emergency landing.
Those of us who have air-conditioning systems in our homes know how necessary it is to clean the filters within the units, and how much dust which we don't see in our homes is collected.
Read the article in Science Daily: More trouble ahead from volcanic ash?
Interesting newscast from the BBC: Volcanic ash fact-finding mission takes to the skies
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)