# Visiting Spain



## Maddalena (Feb 6, 2010)

Hi: All the unrest in the world is surely quite unsettling. I am wondering if those of you who live there are beginning to see a normal amount of tourism starting up for the summer? When you see the riots in Greece, and hear Spain could be next...is it media hype?


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## Guest (May 18, 2010)

Maddalena said:


> Hi: All the unrest in the world is surely quite unsettling. I am wondering if those of you who live there are beginning to see a normal amount of tourism starting up for the summer? When you see the riots in Greece, and hear Spain could be next...is it media hype?


Strike on June 8th - let's see what happens!


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## Maddalena (Feb 6, 2010)

halydia said:


> Strike on June 8th - let's see what happens!


Strike scheduled for Spain?? How general?? Thanks


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## JBODEN (Jul 10, 2009)

It's getting hotter!!!!!!


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## Guest (May 18, 2010)

Maddalena said:


> Strike scheduled for Spain?? How general?? Thanks


Who knows - it was supposed to be the 2nd of June at first, now the date has been changed. 

The 20th of May two of the major unions have called for "concentraciones" in front of the regional delegations of the national government (oh shoot, I had to pass in papers that day!!!) 

And here's my translation of the general call to strike by the same unions: 

_Call a General Strike in public services and for the employees of all public administrations of the Spanish state for the 8th of June... (after, they explain why they changed the strike date.) _

I head back home to the States for a wedding on the 3rd. I'm slightly disappointed I'm going to miss seeing the strike, BUT I sure am glad I'm not supposed to be working that day! Could've been really interesting having to work in a public school on strike day.


UPDATE: Found some English language press for those interested http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE64G1HP20100517


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## Tallulah (Feb 16, 2009)

To be honest, although there's plenty of mention in the Spanish press over the planned strike by the unions/public sector - the political pundits are putting it down to the unions trying to save face a bit - as they are quite hand in hand with the government anyway. What they are saying is although there is a strike planned (although it has already been postponed once) is that it seems to have very little public support - there's not a great deal of admirers of funcionarios perhaps?? I don't think you're gonna get civil unrest as seen in Greece for example. 

And yes it's getting hotter - just spent a gorgeously relaxing 6 hours on the beach - even the kids were in swimming.


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

Touching 30º out side earlier.


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## nigele2 (Dec 25, 2009)

Tallulah said:


> To be honest, although there's plenty of mention in the Spanish press over the planned strike by the unions/public sector - the political pundits are putting it down to the unions trying to save face a bit - as they are quite hand in hand with the government anyway. What they are saying is although there is a strike planned (although it has already been postponed once) is that it seems to have very little public support - there's not a great deal of admirers of funcionarios perhaps?? I don't think you're gonna get civil unrest as seen in Greece for example.


Not on the 8th any road. Sadly most funcionarios can't afford to lose a days pay for state controlled unions to try and show they mean business when everyone knows that they don't.

It does annoy me that Franco seems to have knocked all the stuffing out of the spanish. The unemployed should block Castellana (other cities other roads) and Catalunya should declare independance. I really see 10+ years of pain and suffering if there is not a revolution. There are just to many powerful people who have much to hide :boxing:

OK back to a nice cold glass of Albarino


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Maddalena said:


> Hi: All the unrest in the world is surely quite unsettling. I am wondering if those of you who live there are beginning to see a normal amount of tourism starting up for the summer? When you see the riots in Greece, and hear Spain could be next...is it media hype?


IMO it's not hype at all. Spain is in the sh*t and is going to slip further down into the dung heap. In fact, I think the rest of the world is just waking up to the fact that others countries are on their way up and out of the aforementioned brown stuff and oh look, where's Spain? It's *still* going downhill they say to themselves.

The amazing thing is that there hasn't been a lot of reaction from the natives. General grumbling, but no big protest. Is that because a lot of the people effected are immigrants?? 

For once, I don't agree with nigele2. I don't think the Spanish have had the stuffing knocked out of them by Franco. Franco's long gone and while his shadow is undoubtedly still here, I don't think it's Franco that's making them react as they are doing. Were you here for the anti war demonstrations? Or the demonstrations when Miguel Angel Blanco was killed by ETA? Those demonstrations were HUGE and Franco wasn't to be seen.

I do agree however with Tallulah, that we won't see civil unrest like in Greece as long as the demonstrations don't get taken over by others who have some other axe to grind.

Having said that Spain's still a great place, and anybody wanting to come over will just have to give it a try to see if they can fit into Spain in the present circumstances.


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## nigele2 (Dec 25, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> For once, I don't agree with nigele2.


OMG I thought I was agreeing with you and not the other way round  Waiter more Albarino!!

My better half tells me that the Spanish are exceptionally generous when it comes to overseas charity and indeed my better half and step daughter were in the anti war demos (sadly I was in the UK). The spanish also have no trouble booing and heckling their king. But when it comes to kicking the corrupt rulers out and getting change that's when I feel the franco element comes into play.

There are still members of my spanish family who think Franco was a good fellow. There are people trying to silence a judge because he is getting uncomfortably close to the truth (perhaps). There is still corruption on a level which would make Al Capone blush. 

One day I hope to see the pheonix rise from the ashes because Spain was once a great country and could be again. But as much as I enjoy Spain I hope my step daughter goes abroad for a better life and saying that saddens me a lot.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

nigele2 said:


> OMG I thought I was agreeing with you and not the other way round  Waiter more Albarino!!
> 
> My better half tells me that the Spanish are exceptionally generous when it comes to overseas charity and indeed my better half and step daughter were in the anti war demos (sadly I was in the UK). The spanish also have no trouble booing and heckling their king. But when it comes to kicking the corrupt rulers out and getting change that's when I feel the franco element comes into play.
> 
> ...





> OMG I thought I was agreeing with you and not the other way round  Waiter more Albarino!!


I'm on the cocoa, so I think we're safe there!



> There are still members of my spanish family who think Franco was a good fellow.


My MIL for example. But she has a point. Their family home was taken from them by the other side, father went into hiding in the mountains, mother was left sleeping in barns with 7 children!! And she saw what Franco did to the republicans and what the Republicans did to Francos side each commiting atrocities... Neither one is right, is it?



> One day I hope to see the pheonix rise from the ashes because Spain was once a great country and could be again. But as much as I enjoy Spain I hope my step daughter goes abroad for a better life and saying that saddens me a lot


Really?? Well, that's given me smth to think about...

Night night


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## Xose (Dec 10, 2008)

Maddalena said:


> Hi: All the unrest in the world is surely quite unsettling. I am wondering if those of you who live there are beginning to see a normal amount of tourism starting up for the summer? When you see the riots in Greece, and hear Spain could be next...is it media hype?


It isn't media hype, but it is, as ever, the media being ahead of the truth, and this time, they can't be blamed for the reality when it comes.

Zippy has made a right pigs ear of this crisis management. People, at street level, are now starting to see the detail. Moneys used for the obviously crap ideas such as Plan E which simply gave loads of money to local governments to spend on filling pot holes etc and thus create "employment" were always going to be a temporary stop gap with crap temp jobs. People are now seeing that if this money had been used the way he now wants to go, instead of farting around for over a year, we would have over 16€B already saved!! Which is more than the amount he's looking for in 2010 and 2011.

BUT, the big one is what's just been released. The 420€ for those without PARO as it is all dried up, will stop as there are no funds left. This, to me, is the time to start worrying. The UK have it right. £50 a week is enough to stop riots. 800€ a month and then nothing after 2 years.... well, 420 for a while and then nothing, this is the time when the cac might hit the fan. So, 2011 could be the start of "social unrest".


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Xose said:


> It isn't media hype, but it is, as ever, the media being ahead of the truth, and this time, they can't be blamed for the reality when it comes.
> 
> Zippy has made a right pigs ear of this crisis management. People, at street level, are now starting to see the detail. Moneys used for the obviously crap ideas such as Plan E which simply gave loads of money to local governments to spend on filling pot holes etc and thus create "employment" were always going to be a temporary stop gap with crap temp jobs. People are now seeing that if this money had been used the way he now wants to go, instead of farting around for over a year, we would have over 16€B already saved!! Which is more than the amount he's looking for in 2010 and 2011.
> 
> BUT, the big one is what's just been released. The 420€ for those without PARO as it is all dried up, will stop as there are no funds left. This, to me, is the time to start worrying. The UK have it right. £50 a week is enough to stop riots. 800€ a month and then nothing after 2 years.... well, 420 for a while and then nothing, this is the time when the cac might hit the fan. So, 2011 could be the start of "social unrest".


Hi xose,
Totally agree about the lets-pour-money-down-the-drain Plan E. They didn't even get as far as filling holes in the roads round here, but tarmacked roads leading to nowhere and made some roundabouts look pretty... The money's spent and no one got a real job out of it.

As for the 420€ payment which has been stopped, I didn't ever think that was a good idea (what do you do with 420€???) but don't know if the UK has got it right either.

Don't know when smth's going to really hit the fan, but Spain isn't the happy sunshine state it once was at the moment, that's for sure.


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