Spanish ship headed for Cuba sunk by CIA

CARIBBEAN SEA (Central America) – The Sierra Aránzazu, a Spanish merchant ship belonging to the Marítima del Norte company and carrying foodstuffs, cloths and a large variety of work tools, was attacked on September 13, 1964, by two launches commanded by members of the Movimiento de Recuperación Revolucionaria [MRR], one of many anti- Castro groups financed by the CIA during the Cold War, and only one year after a rigorous trade embargo was started against the island. For ten minutes that night, the Sierra Aránzazu was shelled incessantly by machine guns and small cannons fired from the launches, destroying the ship’s bridge and chimney and causing a fire that spread quickly throughout.

Why do exclamation and question marks go at the beginning and at the end in Spanish?

MADRID – We got the question in the headline some time back - our answer at the time was, "'Cos they just are!", which was neither polite nor elucidating. While our answer may be right and factual, there is a correct usage. According to the Real Academia de la Lengua Española (The Royal Academy of the Spanish language), question (¿?) and exclamation (¡!) marks represent speech expressions in writing with appropriate intonations for questions and exclamations respectively. In Spanish, they are called double marks, opening and closing a phrase and are obligatory, although there are a few exceptions. Some correct usage indications are:

There's more than a lot about Ebola

There are a whole bunch of articles on NewCampoPulse this week, and not all of them are about Ebola. We would appreciate your feedback, good or bad, for which you have several ways of communicating: as a comment below an article, as a simple e-mail to albertoadolfo561@gmail.com or even in the Contact Form on the right sidebar. We are hoping to be able to come online with a new website by the end of October, but are having some technical troubles (mainly top do with my memory gaps and my difficulties going uphill -- in this case because it's a steep learning curve.) In the meantime, we would like to announce that we have taken on a person who will be writing regularly on a variety of subjects but mainly as a music/concert critic (she would have preferred being a beer critic, but maybe not). Below find some of the headline links for today, which should give you a good weekend's reading:

Ten things about cats

EVERYWHERE – I am not a cat lover; I'm a dog person, which probably should read ‘dog’s person’, except I no longer have a dog or two. But I am left with a one-eyed, crooked-teeth black cat officially called SwchartzenKat (or similar), but whom his few friends (all of whom speak Spanish) call Piss-Piss because that's how they call their cats hereabouts: psss-psss, which would make me feel as though I need a diuretic ... Anyway, here are ten things you may be interested in knowing about these superior felines you so much appreciate:

Coalition negotiates pact on illegal homes

This will happen to some houses

SEVILLA – Sources in the Government of Andalucía say that, if two vital items in the region’s 2015 budget are settled (See this week’s article Health and Education to be saved from Budget cuts) and ‘minor issues’ are sorted, both parties (PSOE AND IU) agree that new legislation is needed to ‘legalise’ between 20,000 and 25,000 homes or houses that were built ‘illegally’ during the construction boom, and bought in good faith, most often by foreigners, at least in Andalucía. This subject is supposedly ‘close to the heart’ of Junta President Susana Díaz, which is not necessarily a guarantee of its coming to fruition. More on ‘Regularisation of Illegal Property’ by Rafael Berdaguer Abogados:

Just a thought ...

Is there any point in looking for the sun behind the clouds, when you already know it’s there? Are you the kind of person who curses the clouds, when you know the sun is behind them all the time – and it will appear sooner or later? I once was, for all I could see were black clouds - yet in my brain, but not in my heart, I knew the sun was there ...

2014’s most endangered jobs

SPAIN – Herewith is a list of the jobs that have lost their ‘appeal’ for the future, because there was a recruitment drop in them all in the course of this year. Put together by CareerCast (that’s Career Forecast), the list and its accompanying information, says that these are the jobs in most danger of extinction. However, it might be worth remembering that not so long ago, the extinction of newspapers –on paper, that is – was imminent. That hasn’t happened yet and, having worked for some of them, I’m happy to have moved across to the virtual, digital world (though I wouldn’t say the same about the social media, hating Facebook and its inevitability as I do), which is a continuing trend among journalists – even of the grumpy old ones like myself. Fact is, of course, that the diminishing use of paper also affects such employment as that of a lumberjack, or the postman. Anyway, here’s the list:

Treasury investigates Bankia for possible fiscal crime

MADRID – Yet another fraud recently risen to the surface from the muck: some 86 directors and executives of Bankia and/or Caja Madrid, to the value of some €15.5 million, all had access to individual credit cards issued by the banks themselves to its top people or to favoured customers’ executives. There was absolutely no control, no maxing out, on how or on what they were used, which accounts for items such as shopping (even for food), expensive travel and holidays, jewellery, etc. Some cards were used ‘only’ to €120,000, while others to significantly higher figures.//Without getting into too much detail (for fear of boring you, Dear Reader), the cases have now reached the desk of the judge in charge of the Bankia fraud case (yes, another one!), who the Anti-corruption Prosecutor has informed of possible tax evasion and other crimes.

(Editor’s Note: I suppose we’ll have to give some background to this case, too. Okay, we will, in due course… Maybe not: you can read all about it in El País in English.)

Congress urges Government to grant asylum to gays

MADRID – The Foreign Affairs Commission of Spain’s Congress unanimously agreed last week to urge the Government to grant asylum to homosexuals, transsexuals and bisexuals (spelt gais in Spanish) who are persecuted in their country of origin and find themselves in this country. There are over 75 countries in the world where homosexuality is forbidden; in seven of them, the penalty is death. The Law of Asylum and Refuge of 2009 already allows people who are persecuted for their sexual orientation to apply for refuge in Spain; but, as with too many sensible laws, it has never been applied, despite the fact that there are almost 300 of these applications, according to Socialist Deputy Delia Blanco.

Granada Council relates the Alhambra fraud case with the ERE cases in Seville

GRANADA – The case of fraudulent tickets to the Alhambra was first discovered last year and, in true Spanish judiciary fashion, has only recently come to court. (More on the case coming soon, but it involves alleged irregularities in the sale of tickets and access control). The case has now taken a political turn, after the city Council wrote to the judge earlier in the week, alleging that political responsibilities are ‘evidently’ of the PSOE (in opposition in Granada) and the Junta de Andalucía. The letter, by Juan García Montero, Councillor for Culture and spokesperson for the Council, also demands

Sex in 140 characters

(www.quo.es)

ANYWHERE (we’re guessing) – The world – or the sexual part of it, anyway – has been taken over by Twitter and other ‘social media’ (should that now be ‘Sexual media?). The popularity of the networks has focused the mind (the mind?!), making necessity the mother of invention (which it always was anyway). At any rate, that’s what several serious (and other) sources say, which have kindly been made into a fascinating article in Quo Magazine, and which we translate and/or interpret and/or edit below (people of a certain age should probably stop reading here, but we leave that to their parents or their children) (WARNING: this item contains adult material that some readers may find offensive. PARENTS: You are warned.):

Why do John Lennon and Paul McCartney sing different lyrics on 'I’ve got a feeling'?

EVERY/ANYWHERE -- Because, while working on their Let It Be album, they arrived with similar ideas on the accompaniment but different melodies and lyrics. They agreed to disagree and sang one over the other. (Editor's note: you should know this, it's important stuff!) (It's a good filler, too...)

Latest fashionable expression: tanks on your lawn

(domraab.blogspot.com)

OPINION – I listen to the radio a lot (in English it’s BFBS2 because there are no real alternatives – and then I only hear the Today programme or other news, because I cannot believe how that station, aimed at members of the forces, talks down to its listeners who do not deserve that kind of disrespect, but that’s another rant for another day). Anyway, I heard our friend Nigel Farage (still don’t know the origin of his very un-English surname) say something about parking his tanks on Labour’s lawn. Knowing as little as possible about our Nigel, it wouldn’t surprise me that he would actually do that, in a drunken rage, likely as not, and in any case, I doubt he’s ever lived under circumstances as told below. But I do know something about the expression itself (and prefer not to even mention Farage despite his party's victory at Clacton last night ...):

Spain fails through lack of lobbies regulation and transparency

MADRID – A report published last week by Transparency International states that Spain fails in ‘three crucial aspects’ regarding its political/business lobbies: transparency, integrity and equality of access. Lifting the Lid on Lobbying, as the project on which the report is based is called, goes on to say that this country lacks any legislation that guarantees adequate knowledge of who holds what influence in parliament, or how and on whom it is exerted, with what results and with what financial resources. Financed by the European Commission, The report considers that the Government ‘must carry out an analysis of the risks associated with lobbying, with the objective of creating legislation, thus ‘reducing the risk of corruption and improving the quality of democratic decision-making.’

Coalition negotiates pact on illegal homes

This will happen to some

SEVILLA – Sources in the Government of Andalucía say that, if two vital items in the region’s 2015 budget are settled (See this week’s article Health and Education to be saved from Budget cuts) and ‘minor issues’ are sorted, both parties (PSOE AND IU) agree that new legislation is needed to ‘legalise’ between 20,000 and 25,000 homes or houses that were built ‘illegally’ during the construction boom, and bought in good faith, most often by foreigners, at least in Andalucía. This subject is supposedly ‘close to the heart’ of Junta President Susana Díaz, which is not necessarily a guarantee of its coming to fruition. More on ‘Regularisation of Illegal Property’ by Rafael Berdaguer Abogados:

Ubrique killings: father detained

UBRIQUE (Cádiz) – The Guardia Civil this week arrested the father of the two young people he is alleged to have killed last Monday, and who had fled to the mountains around the village. Juan M.F., 53, was found after a large search had been in operation for three days, after the bodies of his two children, a woman of 20 and a 16 year old boy, were discovered at their home. According to Guardia sources, the man, who works in the local leatherworks industry for which Ubrique is famous,  had thrown the knife//with which he allegedly committed the crimes, into a local stream. Its discovery led to his hideout in the mountains where he was arrested.

Junta de Andalucía coalition is still negotiating pact on illegal homes

Illegal homes in Chiclana (Cádiz)
(elperiodistadigital.com)

SEVILLA – Sources in the Government of Andalucía say that, if two vital items in the region’s 2015 budget are settled (See this week’s article Health and Education to be saved from Budget cuts)and ‘minor issues’ are sorted, both parties (PSOE AND IU) agree that new legislation is needed to ‘legalise’ between 20,000 and 25,000 homes or houses that were built ‘illegally’ during the construction boom, and bought in good faith, most often by foreigners, at least in Andalucía. This subject is supposedly ‘close to the heart’ of Junta President Susana Díaz, which is not necessarily a guarantee of its coming to fruition (they've been at it for a while now...). More on ‘Regularisation of Illegal Property’ by Rafael Berdaguer Abogados (written and published last year -- they're still negotiating!)

Prostitution and drugs add €9 billion to Spain's 2013 GDP

(www.eurasianet.org)

MADRID – The National Institute of Statistics (Instituto Nacional de Estadística, INE) announced last week that Spain’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by €26,193 million in 2013 because new regulations from Brussels order the inclusion of illegal activities. This includes all illegal activity, including the ‘profits’ from drug trafficking (0.50% or €5,246 million, prostitution (0.35% or €) and people trafficking, illegal gambling and contraband (largely of tobacco products, according to the report). It was calculated that this added close to €9bn, yet is only 0.87% of the total, which adds up to €1,049bn. However, the inclusion of illegal activities has less of an impact on the increase than; the largest item is the inclusion of R&D (in Spanish I+D+i), which is up by 1.17% since 2010 (the base year used for calculations) and is now considered an investment expense rather than an intermediate expense as it was until last year. Military armament represents 0.17% of the total. Spain’s 2013 PNG is therefore €1,049bn. (See also Sex and Drugs to add to Europe's murky GDP figures.)

France to impose unbranded cigarette packets and forbid all advertising

PARIS – France will be the first European country to make ‘neutral’ cigarettes obligatory, as well as prohibit publicity. The French government announced last week that it will be following the example of Australia, the first nation to impose these measures. The new regulations (which can be expected to eventually become law in Europe, but it will take years) include the order that all packets must have ‘the same size and shape, colour and typography’ in order to eliminate any possibility of publicity among the young. A number of scientific studies, according to Spain’s Comité Nacional para la Prevención del Tabaquismo (CNPT, National Committee on Prevention of Tobacco Addiction), have demonstrated that removing any attraction from the packs helps the young to be less tempted to start smoking. However, Spain has already stated its position against these measures, as have also another eight EU countries: Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Italy, Portugal, Poland, Greece and Czech.

Only Health and Education to be saved from Budget cuts in 2015

'New La Línea Hospital' still 'under
construction after 5 years' hiatus

SEVILLA – The Junta de Andalucía’s governing coalition (PSOE and IU) last week gave another twist to the draft on the region’s 2015 Budget. While, yet again, the budget is surrounded by difficulties in coalition priorities, principally regarding the central government’s (PP) rule that all the regions’ deficits must decrease by 0.7% and also as the result of the resources coming from the State are down by €600mm, neither party foresees ‘great clashes’ with the accounts, though they do warn that it will be ‘the little things’ that could be the problems. In any case, the Treasury is aiming at ring fencing monies for education and health, so that when the working committees present the negotiated figures for the Junta’s approval, these two items will have the same amount of money as this year, at least. That is the objective, but neither party is willing to give assurances that it will be so. (Ed. Note: Please forgive a large measure of scepticism regarding these promises.)

Massive anti-organized crime clean up all over EU

Europol HQ, The Hague

THE HAGUE – The biggest raid against organized crime ever organized in Europe took place last week, resulting in the arrest of 1,027 people from all 28 EU countries, accused of a variety of crimes with two salient things, they were all accused of drug and/or people smuggling across EU borders. A very good result, too, was the liberation of 30 Romanian minors, victims of people smugglers and presumably to be sold into prostitution. In addition, confiscations totalled some 600kg of cocaine, 200kg of heroin, and 1.3kg of hashish. The 20,000 agents involved in Operation Archimedes, coordinated by Europol, had the

Why is it so difficult to get up in the morning?

EVERYWHERE (Probably) – It is often the case that we find it a chore to get up in the morning. Many studies on the subject say that there are about as many reasons as there are studies. Among these are: not enough sleep, going to bed late, noise before and during, medical conditions, and a long etc. Have you ever wondered how Spanish children seem never to sleep (unless they’re adolescents, in which case they do so endlessly)? They’re up until all hours, usually shocking and astounding visitors, especially those from Northern countries, who put their children to bed very early. But have you also noticed they’re very rarely about in the heat of a summer’s afternoon? That’s because they’re very likely having a siesta (in my none-too-modest opinion, Spain’s best exports, after jamón serrano). (Note: I must get an article together on the subject of siestas; only I have one myself, practically every day…) But here are some more reasons you may have trouble yourself:

More Ebola cases in quarantine in Madrid

(Date: Thursday, Oct 09) MADRID – Spanish radio, RNE, Cadena Ser, and he BBC report this morning that there is a group of some six people under observation for the Ebola virus, though none are confirmed. In the meantime the matter has taken a political turn (as usual here), with nurses unions accusing the hospital authorities and the Minister for Health, Ana Mato, whose resignation is being demanded by the opposition parties, of bad management. The unions say that Teresa, the first person in Europe to contract the virus outside Africa, is not at fault when the suit and gloves she was wearing did not meet established requirements.  Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is standing behind his minister. Others are taking the matter to court. Brussels, in the meantime, has woken up and is trying to expand its control efforts at European borders, while the US is establishing more intensive controls, including taking temperatures at their major airports, especially those with flights to and from Africa.

The possibility of Ebola in Algeciras and Tarifa

An immigration centre in the Campo
de Gibraltar (AFP)

(Date: Wednesday, Oct 08) ALGECIRAS – Last night, Wednesday, there were rumours flying about that there were several cases under suspicion of immigrants from Sub-Saharan Africa carrying the feared Ebola virus. A survey among the various places the immigrants that come over on flimsy boats are given refuge in Algeciras and Tarifa, as well as local and national media, confirmed that there had been some suspicion but no confirmed cases. It isn’t surprising that suspicion would arise in the two towns, where these centres are overwhelmed at this time of year – summer is the preferred time of year to risk your life crossing the straits in what often amounts to nothing more than

Hospital staff say ‘anti-Ebola’ suits did not meet specifications

MADRID --  Staff at the Carlos III hospital, where the only specifically Ebola unit in the country exists and where the two Spanish missionaries died, this week accused the health authorities of permitting the use of the special suits used at the unit did not meet the security specifications they need. According to staff representatives, regulations, referring to cases such as these should be at Level 4, that is, completely impermeable and autonomous breathing facilities. They say that the suits they were issued were at Level 2. In response, the hospital’s spokesperson, Yolanda Fuentes, denies that security measures were not met. “The suits meet procedural requirements perfectly, as well as the protective measures required for this illness,” she said. As can be seen in the image above, supplied by hospital staff, the suit has no independent breathing apparatus, the gloves are latex, tied on with adhesive tape

SOME OF THE HEADLINES COMING UP ON NEW CAMPOPULSE THIS FRIDAY

You have the whole weekend to read these, and more items published at different times on Friday, October 10:

• Why is it so difficult to get up in the morning?
• Massive anti-organized crime clean up all over EU
• Only Health and Education to be saved from Budget cuts in 2015
• France to impose unbranded cigarette packets and forbid all advertising
• Prostitution and drugs add €9 billion to Spain's 2013 GDP
• Junta de Andalucía coalition is still negotiating pact on illegal homes
• Spain fails through lack of lobbies regulation and transparency
• Why do John Lennon and Paul McCartney sing different lyrics on 'I’ve got a feeling'?
• Sex in 140 characters
• Ten things about cats
• Why do exclamation and question marks go at the beginning and at the end in Spanish?
• Spanish ship headed for Cuba sunk by CIA

See you on Friday with even more stuff, some serious, some funny, some not ... but we need your comments, good and bad!!

Another nurse being tested for Ebola

NEWS JUST IN

MADRID -- Another nurse working at the La Paz-Carlos III and who had direct contact with her colleague María Teresa R already confirmed as having contracted the virus and whose husband has also been isolated, was admitted at dawn this morning and is being tested for confirmation. She was immediately isolated at the local hospital on Calle Sinieso Delgado, according to official sources.

Europe’s first Ebola case transferred to specialised hospital

MADRID – The nurse who attended missionary Manuel García Viejo, who died of the Ebola virus on September 25, was last night moved to the special isolation ward at the Carlos III hospital ‘as a precaution’. It was confirmed yesterday afternoon that she had contracted the virus and has been in isolation ever since. As a nursing auxiliary, the woman, whose name hasn’t been divulged to the media, worked at the Laz – Carlos III hospital, where she now is being submitted to further tests. Spanish news reports say that she had had direct contact with García Viejo twice, which is when she reportedly contracted the viral disease. Her husband and recent contacts are being monitored, including 30 other medical staff at the hospital.