World Day for Farmed Animals in Spain: 'A plate of human flesh'

Under the slogan "How much cruelty can you swallow?", a live "performance" took place on Wednesday at the Mercat del Born in Barcelona, Spain, to make the public aware of all the suffering behind their food. 

A giant plate of human activists was posed in front of the market in honor of the World Day for Farmed Animals (WDFA) by activists from the international organization, Animanaturis (website in Spanish).

 

The director of Animanaturalis in Spain, Aïda Gascón, told the Spanish media that actions like this "invite society to reflect on where the food that is on their plates comes from."

 

The performance was held in Barcelona on Wednesday to make sure that people "are aware of all the suffering and all the cruelty that is behind a plate of steak."

 

The action on October 2nd was part of the celebration of the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, a vegetarian for ethical reasons. It is a day dedicated to remembering the suffering of billions of animals that are raised, transported and slaughtered for human consumption.

 

50 billion land animals are killed annually in the world to make food.

 

Since 1983, the NGO FARM (Farmed Animals Reform Movement) has established this day as a day to expose the plight of animals in factory farms and slaughterhouses. In several countries in the world, vigils, offers of information, events, rallies and vegetarian food tastings are held to encourage people to think about the unnecessary suffering of these billions of animals.

 

Besides factory farming and slaughterhouse abuses, the organization, AnimaNaturalis, is dedicated to denouncing animal rights abuses in all forms, including bullfighting, the sale of fur, and the use of circus animals, dolphins etc. for entertainment.

To the source, with video: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/359534

British Expats inspire new Spanish TV soapie

Apparently the new soap, which is being filmed by Antena 3 on the Costa Blanca will be featuring two characters called "Margaret" and "Susan".

The protagonist, Margaret, is a Londoner, who inherits an enormous house inland in the Alicante region.  When she decides to move to Spain, apparently a series of mysteries unravel... 

The series will be aired only in Spanish and it is not clear whether any British actors will actually be involved in the production.

Torrox beach "shell shock" (quite literally)

A lethal mortar shell, of a type used by Republican forces during the Spanish Civil War, has been discovered on a popular family beach in Torrox.

Bomb disposal experts later defused the shell without incident.

However, anyone making a similar discovery should call the Guardia Civil immediately on 062 - and do not attempt to pick up the shell!

Spanish judge: "Women drive worse than men"

Or - how not to make female friends and influence people.  Said judge is now in a little hot water after saying that a driving school was within its rights to charge higher fees to female learners than to their male counterparts.

The Judge in question is Javier Albar from Zaragoza in northern Spain.  He decided in favour of a local driving school which stated that their decision to charge women more than men wasn't discriminatory.

The Judge's reasoning arose from official data apparently from Spain’s Directorate of Traffic, which proved that "every single year, men displayed greater dexterity and better open road skills" than their female counterparts.

The case in question started in 2011, when Autoescuela Zaragoza advertised a deal where, for €665 ($900), prospective male drivers aged 18 to 22 could get as many classes as they needed to obtain their driving license.  However, they said that the price for female learners was €850.

Zaragoza's consumer rights group took the matter to court, which then fined the driving school €4,000 for sexual discrimination.

However, according to Autoescuela Zaragoza, even their own data showed male learners required five practical lessons fewer than female ones, and they took the matter to the city courts.

From there Judge Albar got involved and he agreed with their standing.

Makes one wonder if their female clientele will tend to, well, be driven away?

Romanian footballer playing for Spanish team has problems with "sissy" surname

A Romanian footballer has just signed for the Spanish side, Madrid's Getafe.  However, he is having problems with his new jersey.  The reason?  His surname means anything from "sissy" to "faggot" in Spanish.

Poor Ciprian Marica didn't realize that signing up for the Madrid football team would cause so many problems.

Marica is a Romanian striker, who also apparently plays as a winger, and just got signed by the Spanish First Division team from German club Schalke 04.

Marica will be presented in a press conference on Wednesday at Getafe's Coliseum stadium.  Apparently the Spanish club has decided to use his first name instead of his surname to avoid any possible mocking or abuse.

According to the Spanish National Language Academy, one of the definitions of the word "marica" is being a  homosexual or an effeminate man.  It can be used as an insult against a gay person, or as a joke to tease a friend.

Google translate gives the following varied meanings for the word:

marica-/ noun /
		sissy	mariquita, marica, afeminado, gallina, blandengue
		pansy	pensamiento, marica
		milksop	marica
		queen	reina, dama, marica, maricón, homosexual
		mollycoddle	niño mimado, marica

The surname Marica is apparently quite common back home in Romania.

Photo Essay: Signs of the times in Fuengirola, Spain

Around the town of Fuengirola there are several strong messages quite literally written on the wall. The following is a selection of some brand new, and some older, graffitti, all with an important meaning behind it.

Each morning the writer walks past the Plaza de Toros (bull fighting ring) in Fuengirola with her dog. Today, something had changed — messages had appeared on the main entrance doors of the recently revamped building. 

As more people in Spain protest against the brutal sport of bull fighting, there is likely to be much more graffitti of this nature ...

Read more and see more photos at: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/359188