Nigel Farage asks Van Rompuy to apologise over Gaddafi meeting.

Nigel Farage MEP, UKIP, Co-President of the Europe of Freedom and Democracy Group in the European Parliament at the Extraordinary meeting of the Conference of Presidents with EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy asks that the EU resists the calls for military action in Lybia on the grounds that there is no legitimacy or consent for the European Union to take such action.

He then highlights the recent meeting of the EU Council President with Colonel Gaddafi, and concludes by asking Mr Van Rompuy "Do you accept that it was an error of judgement to be photographed as recently as December with Colonel Gaddafi and would you please, if you do, apologise for it".

Irrespective of whether you agree with his point of view; there is one thing that you can expect from any speech by Nigel Farage, that he says it as he sees it. 

Mayor Monica Lorente's press officer knew what she was doing,

Following on from my posting entitled CLR party accuses Orihuela Costa Town Hall press officer of Misuse of Public Administration and Trust I was interested in reading the article in today's Coastrider publication entitled 'Consternation over Conservatives Abroad' which relates to press releases issued by both the CLARO & CLR political parties about the possible role of Louise Clarke, the Partido Popular Mayor's, Monica Lorente, press officer, in promoting the setting up of a branch of 'Conservatives Abroad' in Orihuela Costa for UK Expat supporters.

Why does this matter? It matters because amongst UK Expats the Partido Popular party is seen as the Conservative party equivalent in Spain and the PP will be looking to obtain the votes of right wing voters in the May local elections. Is it a coincidence that the PP press officer in Orihuela Costa is highlighting the 'Conservatives Abroad' group?

What I found of particular interest in the Coastrider article were comments attributed to the Chairman of the group Mrs Margaret Hales MBE;

'Conservatives Abroad is a legitimate part of the British Conservative Party and it has been working for some time to prepare for setting up a branch in the Orihuela/Torrevieja area. This is planned to take place after the local elections in Spain, specifically so that we are not seen to be trying to influence the outcome of the election'.

I'm sorry but I don't believe you! The timing of the announcement of the setting up of a section of the 'Conservatives Abroad' in the run up to the May 2011 local elections is a pure coincidence is it?

Why am I so cynical? My memory goes back to last December (2010) when the PP held a Christmas party in Orihuela to thank its loyal Orihuela municipal (including Orihuela Costa) voters for their support of the PP led Town Council during the current term of office.

The event was reported in the Round Town News at the time with an article entitled 'Coastal Residents Enjoy PP 'Party' written by none other than Louise Clarke!

In the article today in the Coastrider, written by Mireille Toddington is the statement;

“Officially the British Conservative Party states that it does not back any political party in Spain and anyone claiming that the Conservative Party is supporting the Popular Party would be acting without the authorisation of the party.”

Now that's interesting because in Louise Clarke's article about the PP Christmas party for its supporters, she reported;

“Amongst the attendees were representatives from the Conservatives Abroad Association, which is based in the north of the Province. Margaret and Gerald Hales and Benitachell Councillor Stephen Kidgell had been invited to attend the ‘party’ along with Deputy Speaker of the House of Parliament and Conservative MP for the Ribble Valley, Nigel Evans. However, due to the air traffic controllers’ strike, he was unable to fly over to Spain and had to cancel his arrangements.”

At that time being sceptical I wrote to Nigel Evans MP; 'Dear Mr Evans, I understand that you were due to attend the fiesta given by the the Partido Popular party Mayor, Monica Lorente, of Orihuela, Alicante Spain. I was wondering, ..... if you could confirm it was your intention to attend'. To my pleasant surprise I received a reply from a Senior Parliamentary Researcher, Office of Nigel Evans MP, Deputy Speaker, Member of Parliament for the Ribble Valley which included the following;

“Mr Evans was indeed due to be in Spain that weekend but was unfortunately unable to fly because of the Spanish strikes..... I know that he was very disappointed not to able to make it. I have attached a link to a news article that explains the whole situation. http://www.roundtownnews.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=26510&Itemid=31

The article,once again, written by none other than Louise Clarke is entitled 'Senior British MP stranded by air controllers' strike' and in it she wrote;

“On Sunday he (referring to Nigel Evans MP) was to meet representatives of the Alicante government, including Sra. Maria Asunción Prieto, Diputada for European Residents, Monica Lorente, Mayor of Orihuela and expats from Orihuela Costa”

referring again to the attendance at the PP Christmas party for supporters, by Nigel Evans MP, Conservative, and Margaret and Gerald Hales of 'Conservatives Abroad'.

In today's Coastrider article Mrs Hales is reported as stating;

“CLARO’s statement appears to be electioneering. I can assure you that anyone seeking to join the new branch of Conservatives Abroad, when it is established, will be joining a reputable, official and active part of the Conservative Party of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.”

Of course CLARO's statement is electioneering and so is the 'Conservatives Abroad' groups announcement, via the PP Mayor's, Monica Lorente, personally appointed press officer, Louise Clarke. She (L.C.) is fully aware of the link and association of political beliefs built up in the past, and currently, between the UK Conservative party and the Partido Popular; she wrote the articles I have made reference to!

There is no doubt in my mind that Mayor Monica Lorente's press officer, Louise Clarke, knew what she was doing, with the timing of the 'Conservatives Abroad' announcement, in this period of run up to the local elections.

The 'Cheap Flight' rip off!

Once again  I received the regular weekly email from one of the well known budget airlines offfering me supposedly 'cheap flights' for less than £10. Today I was discussing these with friends who had flown from the UK to Spain, this week, on a special offer reduced price which ended up at £138 per person after all costs.

Then by coincidence today this YouTube video was brought to my attention. It is brilliantly funny!

Hard work and stress could help towards longer life!

On completion of a 20 year study by a team of researchers, into which factors may predict the health and length of life of people,  led by Howard S. Friedman, distinguished professor of psychology  and Leslie R. Martin , a 1996 UCR alumna (Ph.D.) they have published their findings in a report entitled "The Longevity Project: Surprising Discoveries for Health and Long Life from the Landmark Eight-Decade Study". Many of the conclusions in the report question conventional thoughts on longevity factors.

It would seem that the commonly given advice of not to work too hard and not to get too stressed over day to day life and it's associated problems doesn't work as advice for good health and a longer life.

Whilst we all want to  feel loved and cared for, which gives a better sense of well-being, it doesn't it seem to help us live longer.

Leslie Martin, who is  now a psychology professor said in the report "We came to a new understanding about happiness and health. One of the findings that really astounds people, including us, is that the Longevity Project participants who were the most cheerful and had the best sense of humor as kids lived shorter lives, on average, than those who were less cheerful and joking. It was the most prudent and persistent individuals who stayed healthiest and lived the longest."

In the past it has been commonly commented on that a lot of people when they retired after a life of work didn't seem to live long enough to enjoy their retirement. The study found that continually productive men and women lived much longer than their more laid-back comrades.

Read more details in ScienceDaily: Keys to long life? Not what you might expect.

CLR party accuses Orihuela Costa Town Hall press officer of Misuse of Public Administration and Trust

The Spokesman and Town Councillor of the Centro Liberal Renovador party, Pedro Mancebo has this week in a press release demanded an immediate halt to the work of the new press officer in the Orihuela Costa Town Hall, Louise Clarke, who was hired in January by the Mayoress Monica Lorente.

He makes the point that according to information published in the local English language newspapers in Orihuela Costa recently, the section of the British Conservative Party abroad (Conservatives Abroad) has obtained permission from its headquarters in the UK to establish a branch in Orihuela Costa. it was reported that anyone wishing to join this party or wanting to know more about this initiative should contact the new Partido Popular press officer Louise Clarke via her official town hall e-mail address. 

Pedro Mancebo  commented that the CLR find it unacceptable that a consultant who is paid by the citizens of Orihuela turns into a promoter and a channel for private political initiatives like this and converts our Town Hall into a recruitment office to affiliate potential members to any political party. At the same time using public resources for this purpose with the consent of the Mayoress, Monica Lorente, and Councillor for the coast, Jose Antonio Aniorte.

According to the CLR spokesman Pedro Mancebo in his press release;

the consultant hired in January, Louise Clarke, has gone even further, because as well as the press release sent to the media on the coast, a further invitation was announced "on behalf of the Town Hall of Orihuela" for volunteers to take part in two discussion groups in groups of ten people. The idea of these groups was for "the purpose of helping to shape the future of the coast”. The two discussion groups took place in Orihuela Costa on Wednesday March 2nd and Friday March 4th from 11:00 until 13:00. I would say that these groups were purely intended to help shape the dark future and perspectives for the PP party here in Orihuela Costa commented Pedro.

Being only two months in office, Louise Clarke, is already knowingly (or unknowingly) misusing her position. Invitations cannot be announced from the Town Hall to attend meetings and discussion groups and all the feedback and response from these meetings goes directly to the PP. This type of behaviour reminds us of the times when Spain was ruled by a dictator. Surely a person who is a British passport holder coming from a democratic country like Ms. Clarke should know better? A lot of Louise´s supporters were very shocked regarding her career move in early January and with this type of behaviour she loses the last piece of credibility she had.

The reality is that, despite having been announced as a municipal initiative of the Town Hall of Orihuela Costa, it was a biased and partisan initiative of the PP party of Miss Lorente.

In addition to trying to attract members of the public to the meetings an attempt was made to attract local businesses on the coast to these meetings under the motto "how can the local government support these businesses during the crisis".

As a business owner in Orihuela Costa, Pedro Mancebo stated that he asked to be included in the discussion groups, but was informed by Louise Clarke that he could not take part as the discussion group for businesses was full. He made the point that he believed Ms. Clarke unfortunately, contradicted herself by admitting in an e-mail that both the discussion groups would be for residents as not enough businesses had applied to attend the business discussion group. In reality, as manifested from a further email, the reason not to allow Pedro Mancebo to take part in the group was simply because from a higher authority she was told “not to allow him to attend”.

He went on to say

As we see, they proceed in their usual manner in this false democratic team, totally at odds with the transparency and truth.

Pedro Mancebo made a further observation that to add insult to injury we were able to read in the newspaper that the Councillor for the coast, Jose Antonio Aniorte, had actually taken part in the discussion group held on the Friday,whereas from actually being present himself, although he “was not allowed to attend”, Pedro Mancebo can definitely confirm that Jose Antonio Aniorte did not attend the meeting. He said that in his opinion that is because Clr. Aniorte is not interested in residents of Orihuela Costa and does not speak their language.

Relative gender position of Women and Men in Spain seen through EU figires.

A 'News Release' published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, on the occasion of the International Women’s Day on 8 March 2011 gives an indication of the breakdown about the make-up of the 200 million private households in the EU27. It throws some light on the questions of; what share of the households consist of single women with or without children; what proportion are couples, and how does the number of children affect the employment rate of both mothers and fathers; how do women perceive their health status different from men.

There were just over 200 million private households in the EU27 in 2009, of which 25% consisted of couples without children, 22% of couples with children2, 17% of single women without children, 13% of single men without children, 4% of single women with children, 0.5% of single men with children and 19.4% of other types of households.

The figures for Spain suggest that 21.5% of households are made up of couples without children, whilst those with children account for 25.9%. What may seem surprissing is that single women without children account for 10.5% of households, more than single men without children which comes in 2.4% less at 8.1%. When it comes to single parents, women account for 2.3% whilst for men the figure is 0.5%.

On the question of how employment is affected by the number of children in a household, the results show that the employment rate of women decreases in relation to the increase in the number of children, whilst for men the trend is opposite. The employment rates for women and men vary differently according to whether they have children or not. The employment rate for women aged 25 to 54 decreases as the number of children increases, while for men in this age group the pattern is almost the opposite.

In Spain in 2009, the employment rate for women aged 25 to 54 without children was 68.4%, while the rate for those women with one child was 63.2%, compared with 60.3% for those with two children and 49.0% for those with three children or more. These percentages range from 8.9% to 5.7% below the averages for the European Union 27 countries as a whole. For men in this age group the respective numbers are, without children 72.5%, with one child 80.2%, with two children 84.7% and 75.5% for those with three children or more.

Another question covered by the news release is the difference between how women and men perceive their state of health. In Spain in 2008, 69.0% of women and 76.9% of men aged 15 and over declared they had very good or good general health, both groups being higher than the EU average. For the other catagories of state of health, 21.4% of women and 17.1% of men said they had fair general health, while 9.6% of women and 6% of men stated they had bad or very bad health. In all EU member countries men declared a better general state of health than women.

For more detailed analysis of the European Union 27 countries as a whole, or for individual menber states, the Eurostat News Release can be read in full at: 1-04032011-AP-EN.PDF application/pdf Object

Change in PSA level does not predict prostate cancer, study finds

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among American men and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men, according to the American Cancer Society. While PSA screening is widely used for the early detection of prostate cancer, it is also associated with a high rate of overdiagnosis, which can lead to unnecessary treatment and anxiety.

Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center have found that change in PSA levels over time -- known as PSA velocity -- is a poor predictor of prostate cancer and may lead to many unnecessary biopsies.

Read more of the article 'Change in PSA level does not predict prostate cancer, study finds' on ScienceDaily

A Coal Scuttle, a Leek and a Goldfish.

I decided to join the 'Creative Writing' group of our local U3A in Torrevieja to try to improve the content of my ramblings on this blog.

It was suggested that members of the group could attempt to write a (very) short story of 100 words, which must include a coal scuttle, a leek and a goldfish, for reading and discussion at the next meeting.

I wonder what they'll think of this.

As a lad I grew a gigantic leek for the village garden show competition.

I nurtured it from seed to maturity. When large enough I transplanted it to an old coal scuttle. It protected it from crawling garden enemies like a battlement protecting the keep. I gave devoted attention to growing an unbeatable champion.

I wanted the winner and the magnificent trophy I dreamed I would receive.

Judging day arrived; the tension and excitement grew; “and the winner is”; I'd won!

I swaggered forward, hands outstretched ready, to collect my well deserved prize.

Image: luigi diamanti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A goldfish in a glass bowl !

Higher levels of social activity decrease the risk of developing disability in old age

Are you fearful of becoming disabled in old age, of not being able to dress yourself or walk up and down the stairs?

Well, according to research conducted at Rush University Medical Center, higher levels of social activity are associated with a decreased risk of becoming disabled.

Staying physically active before symptoms set in could help. But so could going out to eat, playing bingo and taking overnight trips.

Read more in Science Daily:- Higher levels of social activity decrease the risk of developing disability in old age

Unwanted Family Knowledge

Image: Idea go / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I did not need to know, or seek, that knowledge, but I do now.

As a consequence it has brought a problem that I did not previously have, and would rather not have; what to do with it.

Now I know it I cannot erase unwanted knowledge.