Network- Final Clips

Moroco on the Hush

After visiting Morocco over break and seeing africa I got very intrigued in the politics. One day when I was there I saw a student manifesration blocking the streets they leaped infront of the tour buses and started angirly chanting I even saw some pick up rocks. Our tour guide finally got them to move and said it was peaceful. I researched this subject because it seems like all of northern africa is being shooken up from the rvents in egypt an tunisia. this article explains that many in morroco demand change it is slowed down out of respect from the king. Still it is in the midst of a reform

Santa Pola Car Bombers Tried at the National Court

Two ETA members are currently being charged for a car bomb attack that occurred in 2002. It happened in Costa Blanca, killing two people (including a six year old girl) and injuring 55 others. In addition, the blast was so strong that it caused damage to the Civil Guard building, costing more than 6 million euros to rebuild.
The two men, Oscar Zelarain and Andoni Otegi, formed part of ETA's 'Argala' commando. The bomb was filled with 100 kilos of explosives and was meant to kill as many people as possible.

http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_33001.shtml

Baleares Government ıs Toughenıng up on Tourısts Concernıng Health Assıstance

The Baleares Government ıs now goıng to become much more strıct on chargıng tourısts for health assıstancee. The rule now ıs that people who do not show a Spanısh or European health card at the tıme of treatment wıll have 30 days to present theır card or else they wıl be bılled. The goal ıs to collect 8 mıllıon more euros ın order to pay for about 20% of health care costs for foreıgners.

The reason for thıs change ıs that many foreıgners have been takıng advantage of the health care system by only travelıng to Baleares to be operated on and then usıng a borrowed health card to avoıd payıng. For example, a sıngle health care has been found lısted on fıve bırths ın eıght months. The Manager of Health Servıce, Juan Jose Bestard, wants dıfferent health cards to be made so that they must ınclude a pıcture of the person.

“Estimated costs of general health services are 59 € for a consultation, 96 € when with a specialist, and 176 € when in the emergency department. A day in hospital costs 756 € while a heart operation costs an average 17,269 € and a bone marrow transplant costs 97,739 €.”

http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_32909.shtml

Falling Markets Welcome New Spanish Leader

The Popular Party of Mariano Rajoy won its biggest majority since the 1970s return to democracy in Spain. The current feeling of many people is whether or not Rajoy will be given enough time to remove the pile of economic problems that Zapatero left behind. There are rising concerns about the viability of the euro, as the main Spanish share index fell in line with other European stock markets. There is an enormous pressure on Rajoy from the financial markets, and it is said that he will "unfortunately have extremely little room to maneuver." The new government will face a recession, a labor market that is continuing to destroy jobs, missed budget deficits targets, a banking sector whose restructuring is clearly far from complete and regions whose financial difficulties are brutal - these are all problems that await Rajoy in a "very difficult European environment."
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/world/europe/falling-markets-welcome-new-spanish-leader.html?_r=1&ref=spain

Partido Popular Victory

To basically no one’s surprise the Partido Popular won this election, and they also won an overall majority. Everyone was so sure the Partido Popular was going to win that even the PSOE possible prime minister, Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba´s, campaign message was more about warning against the dangers of an all rightist government as opposed to actually campaigning for his party. Having said that, the Partido Popular basically won off the campaign slogan, ¨Vote for Change¨, a purposefully vague message since Mariano Rajoy is planning on cutting many different spending avenues such as education and health care. In fact, he is planning on cutting so many expenditures that pundits say had he actually revealed everything, he probably would not have won.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2064030/Eurozone-debt-crisis-Spanish-conservatives-declare-victory-General-Election.html

Barcelona riots -iraq war

Strong outroar caused by the relatively high islamic population in spain has lead to protests in Barcelona. USA and spain were very close togethether at the time and spain sent troops to assist USA war. After a spanish Journalist was killed many fled to the streets and demanded that the troops be removed. Also, in this article there was a survey on terrorism and thoughts about it in spain. Link

Occupy eviction

Zuccotti park was cleared out this wednesday by police in riot gear. The protestors will be able to return to the park but will not be able to camp out. The park is open to all for 24 hours but people are prohibitted from sleeping in it.Other occupy movements are also coming attack occupy Dallas is under threat of being pushed out of city hall. Seattle had a crack down on its occupy movement arresting six and pushing out others. UC berkley's demonstration had a strong police pressence as students were cleared from the main office by police . The school claims to support the protest but will not allow people to campout on campus.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELkDSwIyRFs

STOMP AROUND AND CARRY A SMALL STICK: CHINA´S NEW "GLOBAL ASSERTIVENESS" RAISES HACKLES, BUT HAS MORE FORM THAN SUBSTANCE

First off, this wikileak has a very funny title, "stomp around and carry a small stick". But anyways, This article explores the feelings that different countries have towards Chinas new aggressive approach to international relations. Many countries are saying that they are having troubles dealing with and doing business with china. The EU has voiced strong opinions about feeling that China has become increasingly more stubborn. Many countries want to work closer with the United States in order to deal with China. I wonder what affect that will really have on dealing with China. One specific example that the leak gives is Japan is having troubles dealing with china over an issue of the East China Sea, with different oil and gas fields. China has repeatedly not followed through with their actions that they agreed upon and has become more intense with their coast guard which has created dangers for the Japanese. People believe that by China taking the approach that they are, they will begin to lose their high status compared to other countries.

The link is here.

Why U.S. Companies Aren't So American Anymore

This article highlights the different effects that globalization is having on America. Many people think that globalization is bad for their country because it has taken away many jobs from americans and given them to immigrants that ask for less pay or because some companies keep all products overseas to avoid paying taxes on them. But what they dont think about is the amount of money that it has brought from the expanding different markets in large growing countries such as China and India. By having markets in different countries, America can now rely on other economies to help build them up instead of only having their own declining economy to work with. This article showed some figures that shocked me. Walmart, a company that started in Arkansas gets 26% of their revenue from overseas. Nike gets 50% of their money from other countries. and the one that shocked me the most, McDonalds, the most american food chain in my mind, gets 66% of their revenue from overseas. I agree that it is good to be able to have help from other countries and rely on their economies as well. But what happens now when all of the economies are starting to tank? Does that mean that those companies tank extra hard?

The article that I read is here .

SPAIN - 2009 COUNTRY REPORTS ON TERRORISM

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In 2009, Spain realized it was a principal target for Islamic terrorist attacks. It continued to confront and suffer from Islamic terrorist attacks and Basque terrorists. Spain maintained in close contact with the US to investigate these acts and prosecute those guilty.
In October, Al Qua'ida in the Islamic Maghreb's (AQTM) named its propaganda unit "al Andalus" which reinforced Spain's concern that the nation remained a primary target. In November, AQTM kidnapped three Spanish aid workers. Spain's geographical location and large immigrant population from North Africa and South Asia, combined with the ease of travel to other European countries, made it a strategic crossroads for international terrorist groups.

http://wikileaks.ch/cable/2009/12/09MADRID1200.html

Australia agrees to US Marine deployment plan

Prime Minister, Julia Gillard of Australia announced at a news conference with President Obama that Australia has agreed to host a full US marine force. Around 250 marines would arrive next year, bringing the total to 2,500 personnel. Obama has said reasons for this include, "stepping up its commitment to the entire Asia-Pacific." However, many see the deployment as a move to counter China's growth and influence. An editorial stated that if "Australia uses its military bases to help the US harm Chinese interests, then Australia itself will be caught in the crossfire." This has been the biggest deployment in Australia since World War II. Obama has said that the employment will permit the US, "to meet the demands of a lot of partners in the region" in terms of training exercises and "security architecture."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15739995

Rising star Kidnapped

A rising MLB star who was a rookie catcher for the Washington Nationals last season was kidnapped last week. His name is Wilson Ramos and he returned back to Venezuela for winter league to play ball. Last week in the middle of the night he was taken out of his mothers house at gun point. Security forces found him in a mountainous region and arrested all suspects. source

Four Spaniards arrested in huge Cocaine Bust

Last Friday Australia’s seized their fifth largest haul of cocaine from four Spaniards, two being residents in Australia. Three hundred kilos of cocaine were taken from a yacht in Bundaberg, Queensland. This haul has a value of about 80 million dollars. They also seized 3 million dollars in cash after searching two addresses in Australia. The next hearing will be on January 12^th and if convicted, these men will face possible life imprisonment.

http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_32678.shtml

Foreign Policy in Spain 2 Months before Madrid Bombings

This article was originally written on February 2, 2010. It’s about the meeting between Spanish Chief of Defense, General Jose Julio Rodriguez, and the United States Ambassador. In this meeting they discussed the mission in Afghanistan, U.S access to Spanish military bases, and the changing economy. There is a strong level of support for Obama in the office, to the point where Rodriguez promised additional Spanish troops in Afghanistan even before hearing of Obama’s strategy announcement. The troops were already for deployment and be on the ground by mid March. A key aspect of the strategy in this war is selling it to the people. Spain has realized in order to increase approval for the war they need to change the perception that Afghanistan is “an American war” and Spain, as well as the other 44 countries involved, are invested in the outcome. Lastly, Spain did discuss a bit about their economic troubles and the fact that this would prevent them from making any long term investments into their military future before 2011.

http://wikileaks.ch/cable/2010/02/10MADRID188.html#

Iran's 20% Enrichment Plan

This article was originally written in 2010 and it discussed the senior nuclear expert’s discomfort with Iranian President Amadinejad’s announcement to enrich uranium to 20 percent. With such an increase Carlos Torres, Counselor for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, stated that Iranian nuclear program’s capabilities will increase at an exponential rate and it’s only a matter of time before Iran is capable of making nuclear weapons. He also said that the Revolutionary Guard Corps is the real power behind Ahmadinejad and they could not be trusted to follow typical global law.

http://wikileaks.ch/cable/2010/02/10MADRID191.html#

Popular Party headed toward record victory

New polls released Monday, predict the Popular party will for the first time in 7 years, win the upcoming elections in record fashion. According to the article "A poll by Sigma for centre-right daily El Mundo gave 47.6 percent to the Popular Party and 29.8 percent to the Socialists. Such a result would deliver a historic 198 seats to the Popular Party." It would also give the Popular Party an absolute majority in congress as well as the presidency.As many Spaniards blame the current socialist government for the economic downturn and job crisis, the conservatives will undoubtedly be the winners on Sunday.
http://www.iol.co.za/dailynews/news/spain-s-right-romps-to-poll-victory-1.1177454

Spain's Immigrant Population

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The economic crisis in Spain has not only effected the native Spanish in regards to finding work, but also immigrants, many who came to Spain in hopes of finding jobs. This has lead to a decreased immigrant population, as word has gotten out job are not as easy to come by, and life not as easy in Spain. Many immigrants from North Africa and Latin America are unable to find work and thus are unable to send much money back to their home country. However despite this, many immigrants find life in Spain much better than life in their home country, and few say they want to go back. The small amount of Euros one makes, can be a significant amount of money in one's home country.

Penn State Scandal continues: Jo-Pa out

The most loved face of college football and holder of most wins was relieved of his dutyyesterday after 61 years as the universities head coach. The university is confronted with a huge cover up scandal that happened in 2002. As stories come out a former coach molested 9-10 boys through his charity program that was suppose to help children in need. As the story surfaces the school president and Paterno did not alert authorities to fullest extent. Many believe tha=ey did not want to stir up the football program. Many students are outraged at the removal of iconic coach. Link

What to do about Iran

Iran's nuclear activities have been identified as coming close to a very "dangerous turning point" according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The United States face one of two options: either take military action or diplomatic engagement. Military action is seen as being too risky and a small possibility of payoff. U.S.-Iranian diplomacy would expand the negotiating space and facilitate the reaching of agreements. However, Iran insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful civilian purposes. But regardless of that, the U.S. has to create some communication with Iran because right now, the state of the nuclear weapons is very dangerous.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/09/world/meast/iran-nuclear-analysts/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

Poverty Issues in Spain

This is an article I found interesting about poverty in Spain. It is an interview and story with a women and her family who have been effected by the economic downturn in Spain. In addition, it highlights the economic problems in Spain as well as citing statistics representing the crisis. I found it surprising that according to the article, only about a quarter of the population has been effected while the other 3/4 cite no or little change to their day to day lives.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hPmXV9CKZFsvXDnm3P43ONZ9ecHw?docId=CNG.83836e5f1645ca4f109734aee0b1e702.f1

Italy and Their Debt

This article that I found describes the debt and crisis in Italy. They are currently six times more in debt then Greece, with a 1.9 trillion debt. Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will be stepping down in the very near future. Did you know that Italy is the euros third largest economy? One of the main reasons Italy has found itself in such a huge problem is because with out a new government plan or recovery plan, Italy is having troubles borrowing money to help finance their debt. Italy is really not too sure of where to go from here. Silvio Berlusconi is pushing elections because he is certain his party can win but others are in favor of letting an interim goverment step in and take care of the necessary things that are at risk right now. My huge question is how does one country acquire a 1.9 trillion euro debt? And how in the world does a country recover from that?

The link with a video can be found here.

Italy Becomes Aware of Safe Driving

This wikileak is about Italy's attempt to help prevent reckless driving. Italy is interested in partnering with the united states in their attempts to create more laws to help insure safe driving. Italy has had laws prohibiting driving with a cell phone since 2003 but they feel as if they need to be more strict to decrease the numbers of mortalities and car accidents. The leak relates to a change in an era because they are now trying to spread the word or safe driving to not only the cities but to all of the rural towns as well. They are also trying to pass laws against distracted drivers, which a couple of decades ago would not have been a problem. They are in the process of dealing with texting and driving. They are also suggesting the placement of a "black box" in a car in order to record the events during a reckless driving incident.

This leak was created 2010-02-08

the leak can be found here.

Climate change and emissions

Spain is trying to reduce emissions in thoughts of slowing down climate change. It is trying to rally the EU to cut emissions. Anzar said in Seville convetion that he is shooting for a 20% emissions target for Spain. Spain was very dedicated in the Copenhagen conference and is looking to better society. Spain leaders expressed concerns on how to involve non EU countries into a plan. Link

Spain Supports TFG

Spain has sent out a message that it supports the TFG or the transitional force government in Somalia. While the government of Spain supports the TFG the only real help it has sent to the Tfg is through the African Union. The TFG has been loked in battle with AL Sahabaab for a long period of time and efforts to retake the south have been troubling. With the recent invasion of the Nigerian government along with other African Union troops the recapture of the south seems hopeful once.Spain has put in over 10 million dollars into the African Union and has allocated more than 9 million dollars of the funds to Somalia. Spain is also putting money AMISOM the a program whose goal is to train 8000 foot soldiers to combat the militants in the south and help retake the country. The program hopes to create a stable democracy and through aide from the African Union a resolution does seem possible.
http://wikileaks.ch/cable/2009/08/09MADRID786.html

Juan Carlos's Suspends Agenda after Achilles tendon operation

This was a pretty short article on King Juan Carlos. It just stated that he was suspending his agenda, travel to the Prado in Madrid and the opening of a show in Barcelona, in order to rest after his operation on his Achilles tendon. The official statement from the Royal Household is that there has been no change in the Monarch’s health and that this was just a measure to favor his recovery. Anyway, the main reason I’m bringing it up is because I think it would be interesting to discuss Juan Carlos’s role in Spain and what difficulties would occur when he dies and rule goes to his son.

http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_32596.shtml

Zapatero After Winning Presidency in 2004

This article was originally written in June 2004 about the Madrid Bombings and about how Zapatero was still in campaign mode even after winning his presidential elections. This is because he wanted the party to win a victory for Spanish socialists in the European Parliament elections in order to show that his presidency was not a fluke. Possibly because this wikileak is an extract from a longer article, I was unable to find out who this was from and who it was sent to but I think it’s safe to assume the United States sent it since it talks a lot about Spain and United States Relations. Anyway, the reason I’m mentioning this is because the extract when on to say that, since Zapatero really wants the Socialist party to win in the Parliament elections, foreign policy was being put on hold. In essence, Zapatero was waiting until after June 13 to talk about whether or not Spain would send more troops to Iraq or not. He also seemed too afraid to lead the Spanish people and would most likely follow.

http://wikileaks.ch/cable/2004/06/04MADRID2136.html#

Spain's "White Elephants" in Construction

This was originally written on October 5, 2011 but I thought it was quite relevant considering this past week I had just heard about Ryanair cutting flights to and from Alicante Airport. Anyway, this article was about how Spain’s newest airport, Castellon Airport, was created in March at the cost of 150 million euros and has yet to send a plane off its runway. They don’t even have an airport license, possibly due to the clash between the socialist government in power and the conservative run region. It was created during Spain’s construction boom with the promise that it would provide jobs for locals and bring in tourists. Yet in actuality not only has no one ever used that airport, it still doesn’t have an airport license with speculation being that it’s because of the clash between the socialist government and the conservative run region. The article goes on to state that this is the most recent example of infrastructure “white elephants” or huge projects paid for with taxpayer money that helped to show Spain’s economic boom and subsequent bust over wasteful spending. In fact, during the peak of the construction boom, authorities rushed to build more low cost airlines and plan new airports to increase tourism. But currently of the 48 regional commercial airports built in less than 20 years, only 11 of them are profitable.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/8807723/Spains-white-elephants-how-countrys-airports-lie-empty.html

Who is who in ETA

Before ETA was terminated last month it was still a very prominent group in the basqueland. This is an article about the power structure and the leaders of ETA in 2009.Spanish and French authorities arrested 11 of the known leaders over a 7 month span.The name of authority was called the Zuba and usually had 5-11 leaders.It simply explains the hirearchal nature of the group and the new age of leadership. It goes on to tell the history of members such as pastor, Dienteputo and many other leaders whereabouts. Link

Government fixes a "crack" in the system

In the United States a new law has gone into effect limiting the size of the sentence for the drug crack cocaine. The drug sentence has gone down from a sentence of 18 years to a sentence of one. This means that for over 12,000 prisoners currently serving time the doors may open early. All those sentenced are entitled to ask for shorter sentences and have their case heard. This controversy arose over the fact that the sentence for powder cocaine a more aristocratic drug was only one year while crack- cocaine had a sentence of about 18 years. Crack cocaine has often been seen as a lower class drug and a huge injustice in the United States. Of those sentenced the majority of prisoners are African-American and now more then 1,800 are eligible for release immediatly.
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/01/justice/crack-cocaine-sentencing/index.html?hpt=us_c2

Shepherds lead flocks though Madrid

Last Sunday, shepherds lead more than 3000 sheep though the streets of Madrid, in the defense of the free migration rights these shepherds have been guaranteed. Modern Madrid sits right in the middle of migration routes for shepherds to lead their sheep from the cold highlands to graze in warmer parts of Spain for the winter. These routes have existed for over 800 years, and now each fall farmers bring their sheep though the busy streets of Madrid as a preservation of these traditions.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/30/MNV81LO9VO.DTL

The Russian Connection

In a meeting in January 15 a prosecutor by the name of Grinda Gonzalez outlined his plan for combating the Russian mob. The plans discussed how to use foriegn aide and the spanish court system to best combat the Euraisan group that operates through multiple boarders. Gonzalez had just finished his investigation and prosecution of Zahkar Kalashov, a thief in law in the Russian Mafia and the highest ranking mafia member arrested outside of Russia.Gonzalez will also lead the charge against the organized crime syndacit arrested in operation Troika. Gonzalez even went so far as to say that Chenya and Russia were both mafia states and that Ukraine was about to become one. The reason is that the activites of the government could not be differentiated from the actions of the Organized crime syndacits.
http://wikileaks.ch/cable/2010/02/10MADRID154.html

40 Kilos of Cocaine Recovered on Ibiza

Two Spaniards and two Argentineans have been arrested on the island of Ibiza. 40 kilos of cocaine was discovered in hydraulic machinery tubes. Another arrest was made in Argentina, due to the cocaine originating there. This case has been under investigation due to police's suspicion that medium scale drug trafficking organizations were working with Argentinean residents to obtain their drugs. One of the individuals was responsible for most of the operation, including the price and amount of the sale, making regular trips to Madrid, where the head of the organization was.

http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_32542.shtml

SPAIN CONTINUES TO LEAD HAITI ASSISTANCE EFFORTS

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Spain is the third largest contributor to the Haiti relief effort. After an earthquake on January 12, Spain immediately provided generous support and aid. As of February 19, Spain had sent 26 planes full of humanitarian supplies. They also deployed 450 physicians, nurses and engineers as well as security forces aboard the ship Castilla. It is estimated that Spain's net contribution is 158.861 million Euros (215 million US dollars).
Spain's hospital equipped ship, Castilla, has been very useful in helping with medical needs. It was equipped with 68 beds, surgical equipment, two medical teams, psychological, dental, veterinary, and preventive medicinal services.
Spain has provided additional relief as well. A wide range of assistance, such as material, military, sanitary, economic, private and more was contributed.

http://wikileaks.org/cable/2010/02/10MADRID203.html

Volunteerism in Spain

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This wikileak is about the idea and practice of volunteerism and community service in Spain. Volunteerism is becoming more popular and common in Spain, however, historically very few people have participated in volunteer activities. This is mostly due to certain cultural differences and societal attitudes. The general attitude is these services should be provided by the government. According to the article "Instead of organizing discreet volunteer activities to "fill a perceived gap", many Spaniards might lobby for the government or a NGO to provide a needed social service" In addition, while the concert of volunteer work is understood and respected, very few individuals do it on a formal or regular basis. Mainly the populations who do volunteer are those interested in activism or as part of a religious organization.

Murder case in Sevilla

The murder case of Marta del Castillo now takes a new turn and the defendant has a new story. Allegedly he hit the seventeen year old in the face with and ashtray and he claims he does not know where the body is which has been missing since 2009. Originally the story was that two men were very drunk and stoned try to kiss her and than proceeded to kill and rape her. This is a very high profile murder case in spain and has been having lots of twists and turns.Link

Immigration

Due to the fact that the un-employment has shot up in 2009 to 20% immigrants are finding work sparse and low paying. In a survey done immigrants report that there are fewer jobs and they are more low paying. The high un-employment hasn't had the same effect as the United States has seen in the immigration of Latin Americans instead many immigrant would rather stay in Spain because the situation is better there.However immigration has decreased from sub-saharan Africa and Romania. The lul is due to the large number of immigrants telling friends at home that life is harder now.The spanish government has now made it harder for immigrants to get work permits they believe the immigrants are using this to gain residency in Spain. This will allow them to collect unempoyment benefits. Spain has offered a return program for all immigrants who want to go back to their country of origin. The program includes flight and financial assistance in the return voyage. However the Spainish govenment was concerned that the immigrants would show signs of radicalism but the interviews show that no such frustration exists.
1.http://wikileaks.ch/cable/2009/11/09MADRID1134.html

Joining Hands Against Forced Marriage

This wikileak is about a campaign called Joining Hands Against Forced Marriages. This is a campaign to help communication, cooperation, and general understanding of Arab countries and the Muslim Religion. Many different groups are involved in the campaign, The Autonomous Communities of Madrid and Andalucia, different spanish cities, and the ministry for foreign affairs. They are all part of the Campaign called Casa Arabe. The campaign was held in 2008 with a good number of participants. The desire of this campaign was to talk about forced marriages and to shine light on the fact that the muslim religion was not the only religion that had forced marriages. One thing I found interesting about this was that the presentation was in english with a bit here and there in español. The wikileak went onto explain that the campaign was unsuccessful because many had never heard about it 15 months later.

The Cable can be found here.

Franco's Remains may possibly be Exhumed

I thought we’d go back to Franco for a second, so it seems that his remains may be exhumed and transferred to the El Pardo cemetery in central Madrid to be buried next to his wife. His remains are currently in the Valley of the Fallen, built by political prisoners. The decision over what to do will be delivered after November 20^th, which is both the anniversary of Franco’s death and the date of the elections, so as not to influence anything. The reason this is even being discussed is because of the Law of Historic Memory created in 2007 by the Socialists which has led to the removal of symbols commemorate the regime and to a large movement to exhume the unmarked graves of Republican victims. Obviously the Franco family is unbelievably angry over this issue and depending on the decision, may enact legal action. The site still brings about different strong reactions in many members of the Spanish community. For example, some supporters still attend mass there whereas other have pleaded unsuccessfully to have their family’s remains removed since they were among those who died fighting against him.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/8820621/Francos-remains-could-be-exhumed.html

More Relations between Equatorial Guinea and Spain

I ended up finding another wikileak on Equatorial Guinea and I thought it would be interesting to talk about because they mentioned the name Severo Moto in just one sentence in the first wikileak I wrote about and I didn’t know he was very important until reading this. This wikileak was created about 2 months before the wikileak about the elections was created. It talks about how Equatorial Guinea President Obiang has demanded that Spain extradite Severo Moto, who currently lives in Madrid, since he’s accused of creating an alleged coup against Obiang. Severo Moto is the presidential opposition for Obiang. So far Spain has not turned over Moto, especially considering he probably would not have a fair trial in Equatorial Guinea. There has also been rumors that a coup was never staged and this is Obiang’s attempt to get rid of Severo Moto and discredit the opposition. The document goes on to talk about the general unrest in Equatorial Guinea with many members of even Obiang’s inner circle dying in mysterious ways. Also the territorial dispute Equatorial Guinea has with Gabon, which affects oil concessions, has added more unrest.

http://wikileaks.ch/cable/2004/03/04MADRID825.html

Immigrants in Spain: Fewer Job Opportunities

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Unemployment in Spain has almost reached 20 percent. Immigrants are having a hard time finding jobs and jobs that have a decent salary. Many of these immigrants are from Latin America or Africa and have seen unemployment rise in their home countries as well. Because of this, many aren't inclined to return home, saying that the situation there is often worse.
Around half of all immigrants who come to Spain are actively seeking work. However, less than 10 percent have a job before they arrive. For the first time in 13 years there are fewer immigrants living in Spain because of the high unemployment rate. Studies have been conducted to determine the impact of the economic crisis on the immigrant population. Over 60 percent of immigrants in Spain have been living here for over five years. Many had previously been able to work without official papers, however, now there is less "off the books" work available. They have now turned to the government for permits to work legally. The process for getting papers has become more difficult and it has been said that many immigrants who are applying for work permits are also seeking residency (as residents, they would be able to collect generous unemployment benefits).

http://wikileaks.ch/cable/2009/11/09MADRID1134.html

Spanish bank manager arrested for trying to rob his own bank

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/8820972/Spanish-bank-manager-arrested-for-trying-to-rob-his-own-bank.html

In northern Spain, a bank owner and his brother were both arrested for attempting to rob his own bank. What caused initial suspicion was the bank owner's brother parked outside the bank, putting on a disguise. He then proceeded to the Caja Vital bank in Vitoria (in the Basque country). A police officer came to the scene before any action took place and it was discovered that the van of the brother was registered to the bank manager's name. A plastic gun was found, however, the bank manager said he did not know. Later, under questioning, the bank manager admitted to being part of this attempted crime, claiming his family was "suffering economic difficulties."

Spain's Reaction to Equatorial Guinea Elections

This was just released now but it was originally created in 2004. It details Spain’s response to the Equatorial Guinea Presidential Elections where President Obiang allowed the opposition Convergence for Social Democracy (CPDS) to pick up only a handful of seats in the April 25 legislative elections when Spain had expected them to win at least 25%. Officials say it is obvious the election was rigged and that Obiang does not want to share power with anyone and Spain does not have much influence over him. Although not completely explicitly stated in the document, this loss is a blow to Spain because not only have they put money into creating democratic programs in Equatorial Guinea, the CPDS has some ties to the Sociality Party which would then have possibly made it easier for joint exploration of Mange Island. This is an island owned by Equatorial Guinea that may possibly have oil.

http://wikileaks.ch/cable/2004/05/04MADRID1831.html#par2

"Occupy" Protests in Madrid

Occupy Wall Street is a very interesting movement that I’ve been trying to follow ever since it spread from New York City overseas to affect London, Frankfurt, Madrid, Rome, Sydney, and Hong Kong. On October 15, this past Saturday, tens of thousands of people participated in the protests at Puerta del Sol Square in Madrid. The article goes on to discuss details behind the protests in the other countries listed as well. Thousands of people have participated in these protests from around the world and it seems as if these “occupy” protests have no chance of slowing down any time soon. Yet what I find most interesting is the most obvious question that has been left unanswered: What do these protests demand? I understand they’re against greed and capitalism but I have yet to hear of an actual demand or governmental suggestion over what should be done over this issue.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/16/occupy-protests-europe-london-assange

Foreign Policy Under Zapatero

This is a wikileak detailing the foreign policy under Zapatero, written 4 days after the Madrid train bombings. It has many different goals and most of them are concerning Zapatero’s slow but important separation between Spain and the United States. For example, some of Spain’s foreign policy goals were to grow more within the European Union and strengthen those ties by helping with the new European constitution. He also wants to deal with Latin American and the United States as separately as he can. The most notable separation between the United States and Spain would be when Zapatero takes the troops out of Iraq. Zapatero promised he would do this by June 30^th but has been a bit vague saying that he would do this if there were some UN control in Iraq during this period of time. The government will definitely face some public pressure if the troops are not taken out after June 30^th since many people have blamed this terrorist attack upon this war and Spanish’s involvement in what is considered American politics. Another interesting point this article brings up is although Zapatero owes his victory to public outrage over the terrorist attacks, insiders had stated that before the attacks Zapatero’s presidency was set up to be very U.S friendly. So for the short term there may be a separation but long term goals may be different.

http://wikileaks.ch/cable/2004/03/04MADRID881.html

Fidalgo Concerned About Zapatero

The Secretary General of Spain's largest trade union confederation, CCOO, Jose Maria Fidalgo, expressed his concerns about Zapatero's ability to be a strong leader. Zapatero had promised a lot of thing but Fidalgo does not believe in Zapatero's seriousness. He does not believe that things will change in españa. Fidalgo is worried that Zapatero will not be able to move from words in to action. This wikileak is interesting to me because I wonder what Fidalgo currently thinks of Zapateros term in office. And I wonder what he believes to be true about the crisis and if someone new coming into power will change the current crisis state.

The wikileak can be found here.

Spain's Banking Mess

Just as the attention started to turn to the crisis in Greece, Spain's main banks explained that their debt is increasing rapidly and that things are not looking good for the economy of Spain. They also stated that the cause of the debt is not totally due to loans in other countries, it is due to the decrease of land prices, decrease of home prices, and inflation. For awhile the banks believed that the decreased numbers were just the normal cycle of the economy and that they would rise soon, but now they are implying that they will get worse before they get better. The main source of the banks debt can be found in loans in real estate and construction loans. It is interesting that Zapatero called early elections because I wonder if a new party in power can really clean up the economy and pull Spain out of the crisis.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/23/business/spains-banking-mess.html?pagewanted=1&ref=spain

London's Effort To Control The IRA

My wikileak corresponds with the article that I found about Northern Ireland. The Wikileak talks about London's efforts to control the IRA (Irish Republican Army). This wikileak is dated from 1988. The IRA had increased its amounts of attacks on the British and on British military grounds. IRA spokesmen said that the attacks are meant to scare and discourage The British's desire to remain In Ireland. The attacks consist of bombings and deaths. The UK had planned to increase their security and had strongly persuaded Ireland to work with them to stop the violence from the IRA.

The cable can be found here.

Diastance of IU and Psoe

This is a cable before the elections of 2004. It expalins how some feel that the communist party is taking seats away from the psoe. The people of the IU or comunist party think that the socialist party is far to central and not socialist at all. The parties have not combined forces really since the civil war. Some fel that IU is just a protest vote. Although they still have some represantation in congress many people feel its a dying party. Link

Moody's response has Spain on edge

Moody's has cut Spains soveriegn credit rating moving it from Aa2 to A1. Moody's is the last of the worlds four largest credit investors to act in Spain. The lowered credit nmber means foreign confidence in Spain's rapid economic recovery policies. The lowered rating has put a negative outlook on Spain's recovery and may put an e to its ambitious recovery plans. Spanish growth shows little promise as well, Spain's economy has only grown by 1.3% this year ad nxt years projected growth is much more bleak. Spain's inability to pay is debt along with the amont of debt it is creating also mixed with the small growth percentages mean that Spain's economy is in trouble. While concern is rising a AA rating is not something to lose sleep over it only means that Spain will have to work twice as hard to secure foreign investment. The rpoblem in the spending seems tob the lack of control of spending within Spain's autonomous communities. This causes great concern for investors.Spain's intial response was a boost in state lottery and a tax plan for airports. The plan was cancelled hoever after a ajor protest by the opposition party. Hope lies in spain's PP party who have told foreign bankers that they plan to pass a constitutional movement toreform spanish spending and are working with the current government to get a the beginnings of the bill underway.
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/18/business/spain-moodys-rating/index.html?hpt=ieu_c2

More Corruption with the Partido Popular

Simon Alcaraz, the Partido Popular Mayor of Aledo for the past 20 years, was arrested in a new planning corruption investigation. He was arrested with 8 other people including his secretary, Rosario Hita, and five other suspects in Murcia and another in Alicante. So far the crimes under investigation are bribery, perversion of the course of justice, and illegal negotiations.

I’ve been trying to find more information on what the corruption scandal is about but I can’t find anything, possible because this happened only on Tuesday.

http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_32377.shtml#ixzz1bFRU2ZRE

Northern Ireland vs. The UK

When I was in Ireland, I was told about the Province of Ulster, Northern Ireland. I read an article about it to understand the problems within Northern Ireland further. The Province of Ulster is a Province of U.K. and consist of three fourths protestants and one fourth catholic. The one fourth Catholic wants independence from the british and wants to become part of the Republic of Ireland. This desire has caused violence and a huge separation between the Catholics and protestants. Sinn Fein, which in Gaelic means we ourselves, is the political group of Catholics. They have been seen as a terrorist group because they have used violence in hopes of getting their independence. In 2005 The Sinn Fein announced that they would stop the violence but many believe that the violence will continue in time. This is very interesting to me because it seems to be similar to ETA. Both groups are fighting for their independence.

I found the article in a magazine called Mental Floss. The article can be found here.

Spain's Underground Economy

04MADRID2418
A 2004 study conducted by Friedrich Schneider shows that approximately 23% of the total GDP of Spain comes from the so called "underground" or under the table economy. Most of the activity is mostly concentrated in the sectors of work that involve little education, such as service, agriculture and construction. According to the study, high labor costs and the large population of illegal immigrants from North Africa and Latin American have contributed to the rise of these economies. In addition, these economies are also losing potential tax revenue for the country and skewing unemployment statistics.

Spain's stolen babies

An article from BBC about the suspected trafficking of babies during the years of Franco's rule. In the last few years stories have been brought to the attention of the media about babies being stolen from families and sold on the black market. Many times children born to "less desirable" families were taken (many times telling the parents the child had died shortly after birth) and placed with adoptive parents. While there have been about 900 cases brought to public attention, some estimate there were over 300,000 children affected.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15335899

Shi'a Terrorists Pardoned

MADRID 08158

The GOS officially pardoned two Lebanese Shi'ia Terrorists who were orginially convicted and sentenced to 23 years in prison. In 1984, they attempted to assassin a Libyan diplomat in Madrid. Mohammad Rahal and Mustafa Ali Jalil, the terrorists, have been expelled from Spain. In order to be "eligible" for exile of Spain, Rahal and Jalil had to be pardoned. Recently, relatives of the Shi'ia terrorists held the Spanish policeman and embassy employers for several weeks while conducting negotiations for their release.

http://wikileaks.ch/cable/1986/07/86MADRID8158.html

Spain & Portugal - European Debt Crisis

It is said that the debt crisis for Spain and Portugal will be the worst next year. The market has died and banks aren't lending, which is causing major issues in Spain. Because of the high rate of unemployment, many are being hired on temporary contracts (which bring no social security or holidays.)
Many people predict that a large number of Spaniards will temporarily leave Spain in order to find jobs else where. Currently, the unemployment rate for under 25 year olds is 45%.
A major sign that Spain's in trouble is the increase in people needing assistance from Lisbon's Banco Alimentar (the largest food bank in Europe). The number of people asking for food has risen sharply over the past two years. The people who are asking for food are not the ones you'd expect - couples with good jobs and have had a high standard of living.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/oct/14/spain-portugal-worst-next-year

Chew in American Baseball

Four United State senators are trying to outlaw athletes to not chew and use smokeless tobacco for the upcoming world series. They claim that children watch and are likely to repeat their favorite athletes. This is a tradition in baseball for well over a hundred years and now is trying to get banned before the largest event in the sport. It seems ridiculous for me that the world is in a crisis and congress is worrying about baseball players rituals in sports. Find article here.

Spain a destination for Human Trafficking

The cable I selected is about Human trafficking in Spain. For the past few years Spain has been a major destination for human trafficking. Many of the victims come from Russia , Ukraine ad Romania. Much of the information deiscovered was uncoevered by the civil guard along twith the help of project hope.The Spanish police report that the women most atrisk for human trfficking are thos who are younger less educated and have fewer economic means of the 1527 vicitms recovered 70% were betwen the ages 0f 18 and 22. The human traficking is almost intirely female with there only being one case of a minor being abused. Reporst issued say that some african groups may be using Spain as a transit base for Germany and France. The only shocking statistic is that the number of Brazilians forced into the trade has doubled since the prior year. Most of the victims are forced to stay because of physical abuse or forced drug injections. The Spanish have not accepted bribes from the organizers of the human trafficking. While prositution has been decriminalized in Spain it is illegal for a pimp or a brothel to profit from the service provided by the prositute.

1.http://wikileaks.ch/cable/2004/03/04MADRID720.html

Spanish police arrest Chinese Mafia MEmeber

On October fifth Barcelonapolice arrested 39 suspected members of the Chinese mafia and freed over 30 woman who had ben forced into proatitution. In is said to be the largest strik against the Mafioso in Catalan history. The chinese mafiosos have long plagued the catalan city of Barcelona with rings in prostituion and drugs . The chinese mafiosos have taken over the prostitution market being the first group to incorporate forced prostitution and charging below market prices. The woman were forced to service as many as 8 clients a night for hour long sessions. Thirty three of the orignal thirty nine have been sentecned to remain in prison but six of the mafiosos were realeased but are currently under investigation. The chinese mafia is also involved in the human trafficking buisness as well as the sweat shop industry. Last year the Catalan police freed over 100 forced labors and seized more than 1000 forged legal documents such as passports and visas. The most recent raid before this was on a ring that tricked brazilian men into coming to Spain and then forcing them into prostitution.

Spanish

ETA called to en violence

A group of international leaders, including Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams and former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, meet yesterday to call fr a end to ETA's use of violence. The team wrote a statement read by the irish prime minister called for peaceful talks with the French and Spanish governments. Both governmentsare urged to welcome the idea of a apeacful resolution. The statement was made in San Sebastian a key basque city. Eta listed so far as a terrrist organization responsible over 800 deaths including the death fo a major spanish figure head. Last January a ceasefire was called and hopefully signaled the end of the violence. The European Union calls for reparations and reconciliation forcing Spain to officially recognize the thousands murder in the civil war. This is still an open wound for Spain and the talks this monday may achieve very little in the Bosque situation and many are skeptical if they will even help at all.

1.http://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/17/world/europe/spain-eta/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Tthe decline of Spain's United Left

04MADRID850
This cable from 2004, provides an analysis of the decline of the United Left in Spain, while the party has held on to some influence in Spanish politics its standing has declined greatly in the last 2 decades. The United Left is an electoral coalition and represents the very liberal side of Spanish politics, in a grouping of progressives and communist leaning parties. While they share some of the same beliefs with the Socialists (PSOE), they find their stance much too moderate and there have been no efforts to combine parties in order to gain more popular support.

ETA expected to issue ceasefire statement

This week the Basque separatist group ETA are expected to relase a statement to end the use of violence in their quest for independence. This will come after a calling of a cofernace for negatioations in San Sebastian and calls from former ETA memebers for an end to violence. These agreement would hopefully be a definitive end after the permanent ceasefire ETA issued in Sepember 2010.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/16/eta-end-violence-basque-spain?newsfeed=true

Response to 2004 Madrid terrorist attacks

MADRID 001180

This cable summarizes the terrorist attacks that occurred in Madrid on March 11, 2004. This event killed 191 people and injured 1,500 in a series of attacks on commuter rails. The article discusses the steps they took in order to deal with this crisis. Initially, the Consular Section's major goals were to obtain information, communicate that information and provide assistance. However, these goals were soon reevaluated and changed to provide assistance, verify information and communicate broader information. After the cable goes into detail about the specifics of thee goals, it then briefly takes about visa issues. Spanish officials began to arrest and pursue suspects, working alongside other agencies in the embassy. They were shocked to see that many of these individuals were not the principal suspects.

I did my cable on Madrid because although I did not visit there over break, I traveled around different areas of Spain and those specific cities did not have many cables to choose from.

Barcelona

I just read a very brief article about pick-pocketers in Barcelona. This got my attention because I experienced something similar while I was traveling in Barcelona. The article stated that according to a U.S. website, TripAdvisors, travelers are more likely to be pick-pocketed in Barcelona than any other city in the world. It said that Las Ramblas is the most common spot for this to happen. Las Ramblas is a long street, that attracts many tourists and is always extremely busy. I walked down it many times during my stay in Barcelona, and noticed how most people (who were carrying a bag) were clutching onto it.
My experience in Barcelona, however, was not on Las Ramblas but while riding the metro. I had accidentally gotten split up from my group of friends and while exiting the metro a man ran up and tried to steal my bag. Luckily, after seeing everyone clutching their bags while walking around the city, I was holding onto mine tight so he didn't get it and I ran away. Although I was fine and still had my bag, this incident was definitely an eye-opener for me.

http://www.wantedworldwide.net/news/6322/pickpockets_in_barcelona.html

Withdrawl of 1300 Spanish troops

After the surprising victory in 2004 Zapatero felt high pressure to withdraw the troops that the previous government put in Iraq. It was one of the main topics in in the 2004 election and one of the rreason many voted for him. At the time he was a little worried to pull the troops becuse he almost felt like it was giving in to terrorism. This article sums up what Zapatero was thing about this at the time.

Possible ETA attacks on 2004 Elections

I picked this wiki leak because I find the topic of the ETA very interesting. This wikileak was written on February 27 2004. A couple weeks before the bombings on madrid. In the leak it states that spain is concerned that the ETA is planning a attack on the day elections. They believe that The ETA wants to prove that they are still functioning after the arrest of 126 members in 2003. The police say that the ETA is weakening but they are still a large threat. Police are in constant communication with the French police about ETA. What I find interesting from this wikileak is that a couple weeks later, the subway of madrid was bombed. And this article shows that everyone would assume that it was ETA.

The link can be find here.

Corruption Allegations against Jose Blanco

I thought this would be interesting to talk about considering we just talked in class about the corruption in the government in the 90s. The article details Jorge Dorribo’s, the owner of the pharmaceutical company Nupel, allegations against Jose Blanco, the Minister for Development, and other political officials. Dorribo as accused Jose Blanco of collecting a 400,000 euro bribe in exchange for creating a grant of more than 467,000 euros from regional funds so Nupel could get more licenses from the Ministry for Health. Although Blanco has publicly denounced the accusations, Fernando Blanco and Pablo Cobian (both part of the PP) have resigned.

http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_32194.shtml

Spanish Police Need to Question Guantanamo Detainees

This short wikileak, written on 2/2/2004, is about how the Spanish National Police tried to gain access to interview to Guantanamo detainees in order to learn more about their training, recruiting, and deployment into Afghanistan. These men’s testimonies could be used in a case against Eddin Barakat Yarkas (Abu Dahdah), a Syrian born Spaniard who was detained for his involvement in the September 11 attacks. Judge Baltasar Garzon is leading the investigation against Yarkas and needs the detainees’ testimonies by April 2004.

Sidenote: When looking up more information about Yarkas, he was sent to jail in Spain for 27 years in Spain for being a member of Al-Qaeda and being involved in the September 11 attacks. His sentence was later reduced to 12 years since his involvement can’t be completely confirmed. He is also a major suspect in the Madrid bombings, having helped orchestrate the entire things during prison visits between him and Walid al-Masri

http://wikileaks.ch/cable/2004/02/04MADRID583.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Dahdah

Key Issues of 2004 elections

04MADRID764
This cable from the US embassy in Madrid summarizes the key issues that were thought to impact the 2004 elections. It is from March 5, 2004, 6 days before the terrorist attacks in Madrid, which significantly altered the election results. The war against ETA, the issues of Basque and Catalan succession and the economy were all predicted to be important issues. In addition, it discusses the predictions for the results of the elections, citing a poll which puts the Popular Party almost 6 points ahead of the Socialists. It also predicts the strong record of the PP would put them on top. I thought this was interesting, not only to see the impact the March 11 bombing had on the election, but also to contrast these key issues with the key issues in the upcoming elections.


http://wikileaks.org/cable/2004/03/04MADRID764.html

Unemployment rate in Spain grows

As the data for September was recently released, it shows an even greater increase in the unemployment rate in Spain, already Europe's worst with 21% of people out of work and 46% of those under 25 unemployed. These numbers come after many cuts to public services and jobs in the public sector: teachers, healthcare and social services workers. Many local governments are making cuts in order to close budget gaps. According to the article “Eight out of 10 Spaniards see unemployment as the country's biggest problem but only 17% believe see economy improving over the coming year”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/oct/04/spain-unemployement-jobless-4-million

A peaceful Protest in Barcelona

98,000 people joined together in the streets of barcelona for a peaceful protest. There was a lot of fear the the protest would break out into violence like it had prior to sunday, but the people were intent on a peaceful display of a protest. Those that organized the protest took all measures possible to avoid any violence. The protest was meant to show the peoples anger towards Spain's political system and the affect that it is having on all of the people in spain. Men, woman, and Families took part in the protest. It took two hours for the march to be complete. The overall goal of the protest was to bring together as many different types of people as possible from as many different classes and parties to stand together against the worsening economic status and the Socialist Government of Spain.

The link can be found here.