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01 Jun 2011 11:02

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World: German E.coli outbreak making people sick, pissing off Spain

  • 1,500 people, mostly in Germany, have been sickened by E.coli — a dramatic increase
  • 16 people have died in the outbreak; 365 new cases of the disease were discovered Wednesday
  • ??? the source of the outbreak — initially thought to be Spanish cucumber source
  • » Contradictions and conflict: Despite the findings of new cases by the Robert Koch Institute, a German disease control agency, European Union Health Commissioner John Dalli was recently on record for saying this: “According to the latest information we have available from Germany, it appears that the outbreak is on the decline. Fewer people have been hospitalized over the past couple of days than before.” Uh, not so much. Also, Spain (already struggling with the highest unemployment of the European Union) is very upset that their cucumbers were slandered by Germany, and is considering legal action. Either way, if you’re in Europe — particularly Germany — you might want to be extra-careful when eating food.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Jan 2011 11:21

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World: Basque separatist group ETA asks for permanent cease-fire

If your idea of a permanent cease-fire involves a bunch of guys wearing berets and potato sacks over their heads, this may be the cease-fire for you. For Spain, it’s not enough. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Dec 2010 20:59

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U.S.: Ronald Reagan once stopped an air traffic controller crisis – with pink slips

  • 2010 In Spain, air traffic controllers forced the country’s military to get involved to stop a strike. The workers are upset because their average wages are getting cut – from roughly $463,000 per year to $263,000 per year.
  • 1981 In a similar strike involving air traffic controllers in the U.S., Ronald Reagan called a union’s bluff and fired nearly 12,000 striking air traffic controllers, which led to smaller staffs that did work that was just as good. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Dec 2010 12:49

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World: “Air-traffic controller” now a form of slave labor in Spain

  • I cannot talk to you properly now. There are civil guards here, with pistols. If we don’t start work now, we will be arrested.
  • A Spanish air-traffic controller talking to the Daily Telegraph • Describing how he’s literally been forced to go to work by the Spanish military nearly a day after an air-traffic controller walkout sent Spanish airspace into chaos. Spain’s way of dealing with this crisis-inducing problem? They handed control of controlling the airspace to the military, who forced the striking workers to go back to their jobs, by force. So technically, this air traffic controller is working slave labor right now, eh? Classy. That’s one way to solve a crisis. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Nov 2010 11:00

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World: Spanish get-out-the-vote ad features woman faking orgasm

  • Admit it. If voting had this effect, you’d be more likely to do it. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

06 Nov 2010 12:17

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World: Pope Benedict to Spain: Your secularism is bad news, guys

  • The clash between faith and modernity is happening again, and it is very strong today. … Spain saw in the 1930s the birth of a strong and aggressive anti-clericalism.
  • Pope Benedict XVI • Seeming to suggest that Spain’s growing secularism will bring rise to the kind of fascism that led to the Spanish Civil War. See, Spain (currently ruled by Socialists) has done a few things that the Catholic Church doesn’t like, including getting rid of religious education in schools and legalizing abortion. The pope suggests a “meeting between faith and secularism and not a confrontation.” Perhaps we’re cynical, but does anyone see this as the Pope’s attempt to scare people back towards religion in Spain? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Sep 2010 13:23

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World: ETA: Basque separatists in Spain claim they’re done fighting

  • These guys really wanted to break off from Spain and build their own country. They did it using violent means, and over the past 40 years, over 850 people died at their hands. But today, Basque separatists ETA have claimed to lay down their arms, weakened by a tough year full of arrests. We’ll see if this holds up, or if these pirate ghost-looking dudes are just bluffing. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

19 Aug 2010 10:58

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Politics: Obama should really think harder about where he vacations

  • People would rather see their President in Put-in-Bay, Ohio, or the Wisconsin Dells than in the Kennedy realm of Cape Cod.
  • Presidential historian Douglas Brinkley • Regarding Obama’s upcoming vacation to Cape Cod. While presidents are likely to get criticism no matter where they vacation, Obama’s is even more acute because, well, the economy’s in the crapper, and it feels a tad tone-deaf. He should really consider what Bill Clinton did, according to journalist Ken Walsh, an expert on presidential retreats: “President Clinton, for instance, took polls to figure out where he should go on vacation when he ran for re-election. He took polls to figure out where Americans want the president to go. Well [it was] national parks, so President Clinton went to national parks.” So yeah, Obama, you should head to Montana, not send Michelle to Spain. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Aug 2010 09:58

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Politics: Protip to Michelle Obama: Never go to Spain again, OK?

  • 64% the first lady’s approval rating in June 2009, when she was loved
  • 50% her approval rating this week, after her glitzy trip to Spain source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Jul 2010 09:26

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World: In Spain, Catalonia takes the lead in outlawing bullfighting

While it’s a longstanding tradition, it’s one that has drawn a lot of controversy for its animal cruelty ramifications. So Catalonia banned it. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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