1 2 > 
1 of 2
Absence of Zapatero during the strike
Posted: 16 June 2008 07:31 PM  
Expatriator
RankRankRankRank
Total Posts:  115
Joined  2008-04-10

Did anyone else notice that Zapatero did nothing during last week’s strike?  Only the Vice President appeared on tv.  Imagine supermarkets going bare and gas stations running out of fuel in the UK or the US for a week!  I can’t believe how the president of Spain just ignored what was going on!  Anyone have an explanation other than total incompetence?

 Signature 

A word is dead when it is said, some say.  I say it just begins to live that day.
-Emily Dickinson

Profile
 
Posted: 16 June 2008 09:10 PM   [ # 1 ]  
Administrator
Avatar
RankRankRankRank
Total Posts:  1682
Joined  2005-12-05

Incompetence? He was busy giving people a tax refund (aka buying votes) 😉

 Signature 

“Vocation is where your greatest passion and the world’s greatest need overlap.”

Now follow SpainExpat.com on Twitter for updates, advice, news, and forum highlights.

Recommended reading: working visa (non EU), other visas, jobs in Spain, teaching English (non EU), finding apartments, holidays, mobile/cell phones, NIE cards, gestors.

Profile
 
Posted: 16 June 2008 11:16 PM   [ # 2 ]  
Administrator
RankRankRankRank
Total Posts:  2855
Joined  2007-10-19

watching tv via the bbc World and one petorl station in the UK was selling 1.99 per liter early on to day , and 40 station have run out feul . the pumps are dry , al so happen in 2000 aswell
yes the cost off living is going up milk bread water feul and whats next to go up ? ” interest rates ”
i told u all the world coming to the end lol

Profile
 
Posted: 17 June 2008 12:45 PM   [ # 3 ]  
Expatriator
RankRankRankRank
Total Posts:  303
Joined  2006-03-16
jurdyr - 16 June 2008 11:16 PM

watching tv via the bbc World and one petorl station in the UK was selling 1.99 per liter early on to day , and 40 station have run out feul . the pumps are dry , al so happen in 2000 aswell
yes the cost off living is going up milk bread water feul and whats next to go up ? ” interest rates ”
i told u all the world coming to the end lol

Hi, the ?1.99/litre diesel was a bit of a stunt to make a point - the guy said that he was trying to protect his stock so it didn’t run out before the end of the four-day strike.  All forty dry stations seem to have been in the South West and have been without supply for no more than two days or so. Up here there’s no problem, although I have taken the precaution of buying a bike.

As for the cost of living it seems that a few formerly cheap basics have gone up in price and everyone is talking about it, but as the average British family throws a third of their food away anyway, everything is relative. What is perhaps more irritating and depressingly predictable is that the supermarkets have used the general expectation that prices are rising to - guess what - raise prices! 

How is supply of fuel and foodstuffs in Spain now?  Did the fishermen go back to work?  I’m coming to Granada next week - I take it I don’t need to bring emergency supplies?

 Signature 

Martin, Scotland and the Alpujarra.  http://www.casasierra.blogspot.com

Profile
 
Posted: 17 June 2008 02:41 PM   [ # 4 ]  
Tourist
Rank
Total Posts:  2
Joined  2008-06-17

Hi,

I am spanish and I found this forum by chance. There are 2 aspects about this that i would like to say:

1. There wasn?t a legal strike, just around 12% of autonomous truckers went on ‘strike’. They cut roads, crashed truck windows, etc. That was just a demonstration that had to be punished by the police.

2. “Imagine supermarkets going bare and gas stations running out of fuel in the UK or the US for a week”... where did you get that? I live in Madrid where we had the worst and we had NO problem at all to buy in supermarkets and refueling. AT ALL. Perhaps the press has it?sr own interests. There were only problems for 1 or 2 DAYS in fresh stuff and only in a few supermarkets.

3. About 400 ?... this is crap (excuse me). Makes no sense, you know about politics all over the world. What do we need the f**ing 400 ? for?

We are petroleum victims added to the bursting of the housing market bubble. We are living up of our possibilities… and now we have to pay.

Greats.

Ps. Sorry about my english.

Profile
 
Posted: 17 June 2008 06:32 PM   [ # 5 ]  
Expatriator
RankRankRankRank
Total Posts:  115
Joined  2008-04-10

Ok, so maybe Madrid didn’t get the worst of the strike, I’m from Marbella.  Mercadona had no meat or fresh fruit by Monday of last week.  Supersol ran out on Wednesday.
I had to go to 3 gas stations to find diesel.

I support the strikers and agree that prices in general should be lowered.  What I don’t agree with is the president sticking his head in the sand.

 Signature 

A word is dead when it is said, some say.  I say it just begins to live that day.
-Emily Dickinson

Profile
 
Posted: 17 June 2008 08:07 PM   [ # 6 ]  
Administrator
RankRankRankRank
Total Posts:  2855
Joined  2007-10-19

MartCross thanks for that to many in the office here and could only get bites off the story

Nio_says hi two the forum , There wasn?t a legal strike, yes you right but it went out off comtrol and was eLegal when ya blocked motor ways crashed truck windows, etc.

i saw the pictures coming back for the out side feeds from the tv station all over spain work in Media company call fmplus.es

in the uk in 2000 and again now there is petorl drivers strike wich is on and lot filling station are cloesd due to no feul

Mate off my broken in to my house to get in two the tanks off diesel wich he tock 300 litres to run few his small vans , it was easyer to brake in then me wasteing my fuel to open the house , he now got keys if this happen again but i can understand the truck drivers problem with costs

but this due to future stocks wich again brought the oil to $139 95cent USD16 juno 2008 what are this stocks , there pension funds wich are performance is keep the oil at hight price hight 134.77 12:02 PM EDT - 2008.06.17 but real price sould be around 100 - 110 $

Profile
 
Posted: 17 June 2008 09:05 PM   [ # 7 ]  
Administrator
Avatar
RankRankRankRank
Total Posts:  1682
Joined  2005-12-05

Rubi: I’m curious as to why you think that prices should be lower? Higher prices are an impetus to find better, more efficient ways of moving materials around the country. This is a good thing in the long run in my opinion.

Jurdy: I’ve heard solid rumours that prices will hit $200 by early next year if not before.

Indeed, it could be the end of the world as we know it. But hey, we’ll get through it. 😉

 Signature 

“Vocation is where your greatest passion and the world’s greatest need overlap.”

Now follow SpainExpat.com on Twitter for updates, advice, news, and forum highlights.

Recommended reading: working visa (non EU), other visas, jobs in Spain, teaching English (non EU), finding apartments, holidays, mobile/cell phones, NIE cards, gestors.

Profile
 
Posted: 17 June 2008 09:23 PM   [ # 8 ]  
Administrator
Avatar
RankRankRankRank
Total Posts:  1682
Joined  2005-12-05
Nio_says - 17 June 2008 02:41 PM

Hi,

I am spanish and I found this forum by chance. There are 2 aspects about this that i would like to say:

1. There wasn?t a legal strike, just around 12% of autonomous truckers went on ‘strike’. They cut roads, crashed truck windows, etc. That was just a demonstration that had to be punished by the police.

2. “Imagine supermarkets going bare and gas stations running out of fuel in the UK or the US for a week”... where did you get that? I live in Madrid where we had the worst and we had NO problem at all to buy in supermarkets and refueling. AT ALL. Perhaps the press has it?sr own interests. There were only problems for 1 or 2 DAYS in fresh stuff and only in a few supermarkets.

3. About 400 ?... this is crap (excuse me). Makes no sense, you know about politics all over the world. What do we need the f**ing 400 ? for?

We are petroleum victims added to the bursting of the housing market bubble. We are living up of our possibilities… and now we have to pay.

Greats.

Ps. Sorry about my english.

Glad to hear it wasn’t as bad as they reported in Madrid. Others seem to think it was pretty bad. In Barcelona last week I didn’t notice it at all, however I didn’t have to buy fuel or go to the supermarket for anything fresh either…

Yeah, the 400? is crap - couldn’t agree more. You should have seen how excited some of the workers at my client’s office were though, dreaming up all the ways they could blow through a meager 400?. I can genuinely see why some people could get excited, I mean, that’s like 50% of some people’s monthly salaries, but it’s such an unsocialist thing to do and certainly doesn’t help combat the rampant inflation going on!

Best thing the EU/Spain could do is remove tarifs on foreign food products to allow African produce to compete on the market.

Couldn’t agree more about being petroleum victims. I mean, Spain is much better off than a lot of other places (EEUU for example), but this is the where we separate the men from the boys and the women from the girls and learn how to be resourceful and independent. Time to roll up the sleeves and find new opportunities in the soon to be settling ashes.

And no need to apologize about your English - it’s better than some Brits’ on here! 😉 (Brits: just kidding, please don’t flame me for that!)

 Signature 

“Vocation is where your greatest passion and the world’s greatest need overlap.”

Now follow SpainExpat.com on Twitter for updates, advice, news, and forum highlights.

Recommended reading: working visa (non EU), other visas, jobs in Spain, teaching English (non EU), finding apartments, holidays, mobile/cell phones, NIE cards, gestors.

Profile
 
Posted: 17 June 2008 10:54 PM   [ # 9 ]  
Administrator
RankRankRankRank
Total Posts:  2855
Joined  2007-10-19

Expatriator if you remove import duttys and tarifs on foreign food products to allow African produce to compete on the market then feul price would be hit with more taxes


Ireland would be the best i know about duttys and tarifs on 20 euros off fuel , 16.38 cent gose on taxes irishs and Eu duttyies , dont know what it is in spain
the irish tax office takes more money per head off poplation
dose any one know what spain texes and duttys are please ?


oil prices from http://www.oil-price.net/
$133.46
    ?1.15       0.85%
14:01 PM EDT - 2008.06.17

$133.40
    ?1.21       0.90%
14:48 PM EDT - 2008.06.17

Profile
 
Posted: 17 June 2008 10:57 PM   [ # 10 ]  
Administrator
Avatar
RankRankRankRank
Total Posts:  1682
Joined  2005-12-05
jurdyr - 17 June 2008 10:54 PM

Expatriator if you remove import duttys and tarifs on foreign food products to allow African produce to compete on the market then feul price would be hit with more taxes

Hmm, that’s a giant leap to conclusion. I’m lost. How do you get that? Remove the tariffs and stop subsidizing farmers. Almost 50% of the ENTIRE EU budget goes to farmer subsidization!

 Signature 

“Vocation is where your greatest passion and the world’s greatest need overlap.”

Now follow SpainExpat.com on Twitter for updates, advice, news, and forum highlights.

Recommended reading: working visa (non EU), other visas, jobs in Spain, teaching English (non EU), finding apartments, holidays, mobile/cell phones, NIE cards, gestors.

Profile
 
Posted: 18 June 2008 12:32 PM   [ # 11 ]  
Expatriator
RankRankRankRank
Total Posts:  303
Joined  2006-03-16
The Expatriator - 17 June 2008 09:05 PM

Rubi: I’m curious as to why you think that prices should be lower? Higher prices are an impetus to find better, more efficient ways of moving materials around the country. This is a good thing in the long run in my opinion.

I think you’re right in principle, but sudden price hikes without help to find alternatives just breed resentment and often set the cause of change back. For example we’ve had a 20% rise in the cost of fuel in the UK in the last few months, but public transport isn’t getting any cheaper or more convenient, so people are still driving, but complaining even more than normal.  They’re buying more fuel efficient cars - but they’re still fossil-fuel driven cars, so the “improvement” is entirely relative. The big rise in the cost of food is paradoxically turning people away from what had been a growing market in organic, local, seasonal products in favour of the very cheapest crap Lidl and the like can offer, because people don’t feel like paying a small premium for quality or green credentials any more. Incidentally, people like me who bought porperty in Spain in the belief that cheap flights were here to stay - and in my case, in a fairly remote rural location where driving is essential - are over a barrel. And while my choices may not have been particularly environmentally sound, I am helping to keep a vulnerable, traditional rural economy viable in the Alpujarra. So it isn’t simple, is it?....

 Signature 

Martin, Scotland and the Alpujarra.  http://www.casasierra.blogspot.com

Profile
 
Posted: 18 June 2008 03:16 PM   [ # 12 ]  
Administrator
Avatar
RankRankRankRank
Total Posts:  1682
Joined  2005-12-05

You’re absolutely right it’s not simple.

These vulnerable rural communities are probably too vulnerable. Your lifestyle may be going the way of the dodo! And, frankly, that sucks. I feel a great sympathy for you and those in that situation.

It’s interesting that you mention “resentment” which is one of those aloof concepts that don’t enter into economic discussions normally. It’s a good point. And you’re right about the organic produce - it’s generally a good thing to have locally grown, naturally produced crops for human consumption. Then again with globalization and rampant population increases, perhaps we do need to consider the costs/benefits of bio-engineered foods and the advantages of lower cost workforces on foreign soil. Obviously standards for the safety of the people need to be taken into consideration as well, but there’s a certain inevitability to it that piques my interest.

 Signature 

“Vocation is where your greatest passion and the world’s greatest need overlap.”

Now follow SpainExpat.com on Twitter for updates, advice, news, and forum highlights.

Recommended reading: working visa (non EU), other visas, jobs in Spain, teaching English (non EU), finding apartments, holidays, mobile/cell phones, NIE cards, gestors.

Profile
 
Posted: 18 June 2008 05:02 PM   [ # 13 ]  
Administrator
RankRankRankRank
Total Posts:  2855
Joined  2007-10-19

MartCross very good points you say there , but very thinks is on it way up , but house market is still over priced in spain uk ireland hole the Eu
were put up with it and it time to say No to this
taxes for this year are going to be down and yes we get hit again with cutbacks in all area off public spending

jurdy

Profile
 
Posted: 18 June 2008 05:56 PM   [ # 14 ]  
Expatriator
RankRankRankRank
Total Posts:  115
Joined  2008-04-10

Wow!  I got lost in all that world economy… You guys should be university lecturers or something.

I’d like to comment back: 
Why do I want lower prices?  Selfish reasons:  I don’t earn much, and I’m not able to stretch the old salary as far anymore.

Cheaper transport- what kind were you thinking of?  Trains or something?  I know a few years back in Virginia they had a real problem with trucks on the roads and were planning to install a rail system on all the interstates.  Basically, when trucks hit the commonwealth of VA they get on to a carrier on the railway and ride to the other side.

Supermarkets and organic stuff.  I used to shop at Mercadona and Supersol, but with the price hike the past year, we’ve had to switch to D?a to stay in our budget.  I know it sounds silly, but there isn’t much fresh stuff there, there isn’t much selection, and there is almost no international food.

 Signature 

A word is dead when it is said, some say.  I say it just begins to live that day.
-Emily Dickinson

Profile
 
Posted: 19 June 2008 06:33 PM   [ # 15 ]  
Administrator
Avatar
RankRankRankRank
Total Posts:  1682
Joined  2005-12-05

Rubi, there was a time when I had to switch to Dia for everything too. On one hand I was amazed how much I’d be carrying home on 20?, then again the quality and freshness was definitely lacking. I hope your switch is only a temporary solution and that you’re able to get back to Mercadona (which normally is not very expensive I’ve found). Can I ask what you do for your salary?

Martcross: I think it would be a fun experiment to analyse your eco-footprint from two perspectives - your current situation where you’re flying back and forth all the time but living in a far more ecologically sustainable manner here in Spain for a significant portion of your time (big assumption, feel free to clarify) or if you took all of the money you’d spent on your place in Spain and bought up in the UK to somewhere that would satisfy enough of your lifestyle desires, then only took one or two long vacations per year. Ie. compare two potential lifestyles.

I just did mine: 2.63 earths required (if I lived in the UK)
http://footprint.wwf.org.uk/

Anyone want to share theirs?

A better footprint calculator for International users: http://www.myfootprint.org/en/

 Signature 

“Vocation is where your greatest passion and the world’s greatest need overlap.”

Now follow SpainExpat.com on Twitter for updates, advice, news, and forum highlights.

Recommended reading: working visa (non EU), other visas, jobs in Spain, teaching English (non EU), finding apartments, holidays, mobile/cell phones, NIE cards, gestors.

Profile
 
 1 2 > 
1 of 2
‹‹ Gran Canaria      LIFE IN RURAL SPAIN ››