Madrid, December 12th, 2003.
'Tele-rubbish' has once again come to the fore with the revelations of a repentant producer of such junk TV.

Three thousand copies of his book have already been sold, and his inside information reveals the poor moral taste of those who produce these so-called 'reality shows' in which they are quite happy to wreck a person's life if it provides interest for the audience.

The author admits that having produced this kind of programme, she realised that she could not continue. In the book she cites various experiences she has had in her professional career, comments from TV executives saying "they were only interested in illiterate people, and gossipy housewives." Tricks, bribes, swindles, lies, manipulation and so on were the order of the day.

"We deceive hundreds of people to get them to come on the programme. Or to get a statement out of them. We confuse them by telling them white lies and we betray their confidence. We incite our junior staff to do the same. And if they refuse, we sack them or make them look like nobodies. We put people on television knowing that their appearance on the screen could wreck their lives; we laugh at their simplicity and we enjoy ourselves with the rest of the production team at their expense. We examine minutely their problems and we use our power of persuasion."

"We design uncouth programmes knowing what they are, because we consider that many of you are, simply, ignorant spectators. We are often racist, classist, despotic, elitist and cruel. We get the weakest, the intellectually least privileged, culturally speaking, to fill up hours of viewing time."

Madrid, December 12th, 2003.
Do you work at an excessive pace? Do you begin a task before finishing the previous one because you think it will gain you more recognition? Do you forego your holidays? Do you spend your free time thinking about work? Warning: you may be a workaholic.

Experts suggest intensifying the relationship with your family and looking for new activities as the solution. Work-addiction is a behavioural upset based on a tunnel vision which only sees the benefits to be accrued from work yet which prevents paying attention to other areas of life, such as health and family. 6% of the labour force suffer from workaholicism, according to a study made by Argelia Frías, a psychologist.

Symptoms include depression, nervousness, sleeplessness and psychological problems. It affects men more than women. The addict is not conscious of the problem and is a victim of a gradual process, according to family therapist, Daya Rolsma. What starts out as dedication to work becomes an enslavement to ever grander goals. In the end, the workaholic is a spent person, physcially and emotionally.

The addiction obviously affects the family and friends of the sufferer, who makes the most of every minute, has little imagination but great anxiety to be the first in everything. To achieve this, he must implicate all those around him. As the old saying goes: 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.'

Madrid, December 12th, 2003.
Representatives of the eleven opposition parties paid homage to the victims of Franco's dictatorship and the Civil War in a parliamentary ceremony to mark their contribution to the eventual re-establishment of democracy in Spain, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution. However, the governing Popular Party was notable by its absence.

The aim of the event was to honour the memory of those forced into exile by Franco's victory, including the 'war children' who were sent abroad by their parents when the outcome of the war seemed certain. Some of their parents were shot by firing squad for being Republican militants, others took to the mountains but were caught, imprisoned and, in some cases, tortured. Relatives of those shot want their bodies exhumed from common graves, so they may be given an honourable funeral. The political move comes after a proposal was passed last year in Parliament to offer 'moral recognition' of all those who died in the Civil War, or suffered later under Franco's regime.

The government chose not to participate in the event, saying that raking over the past did no good and accusing the promoters of the event of seeking to make political gain by stirring up a sad and controversial part of Spanish history. Opposition leaders criticised the government's posture and accused them of making a grave mistake. Josep Sánchez, a Catalan MP, said there was no desire to settle any scores with anyone, only "with history and the truth." He said such homage was well overdue.

Madrid, December 12th, 2003.
The Prime Minister never ceases to amaze. His latest contribution to that unique institution 'made in Spain', is to say that the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela and associated paraphrenalia, is a "matter of state".

Next year is, apparently, a 'holy year' and, according to the government's chief representative, should be celebrated as such. He guaranteed his government's "total commitment" to the celebration, and their desire "to work together for Santiago and its thousand-year-old Way." Aznar used the Santiago route as an example of a "Europe without walls or borders", and said the opportunity it offered the process of European integration must not be wasted.

2004 is one of the so-called 'years of St. James' or 'Jacobean years' when there are special celebrations to do with the legend that the apostle's bones lie in a silver casket kept in the depths of the Cathedral. The leader of the regional assembly of Galicia, which meets in Santiago, said the agreements reached at a recent meeting of the Royal Patronage of St. James organisation meant 2004 would be "a state project". He added that the 'holy year' should be "above all, a spiritual call, one of solidarity and culture, made from Galicia to the rest of the country." It is unlikely he had Protestants in mind, though, as silver caskets have never really been our kind of thing.

The Catholic element at the meeting became all the clearer through the contribution of their Archbishop in Santiago, Julián Barrio, who said the  main aim of the 'holy year' is "the renewal of the Church (Catholic, one presumes) and of Christian life." Then he gave it a political edge by adding that Christians will feel "pilgrims by grace of the concern to rediscover European cultural identity which is the soul of our people."

Madrid, December 12th, 2003.
A leading historian, Eloy Benito, says the idea that Christians, Jews and Muslims once lived in glorious harmony in Toledo, one-time capital of Spain, is a myth.

Benito admits there were times when they lived peacefully side by side, but that at other times there was persecution among them. He said he preferred not to speak of three cultures, but of three religions, given that the cultural foundation came from a combination of the three.

There was generally tolerance between them in the Middle Ages, and each religion had their own worship infrastructure. However, the term 'tolerance' needs qualifying, as each group lived in its own district, and these were fortified. Strong walls always help neighbours get on better.

Barcelona, December 12th, 2003.
The Counsel for the Prosecution has asked the court to hand down a 3-year prison sentence and a fine of 10,800 euros to the Muslim cleric, Mohammed Kamal Mostafá, who wrote a book instructing husbands where to hit their wives so that it would not show.

Kamal is accused of inciting discrimination against women and will be sentenced at a court in Barcelona. Those bringing the case hopes the court will order all copies of the book to be removed from mosques (where it is offered free of charge), and that Kamal's influence as a spiritual leader will be taken into consideration as an aggravating factor in his crime. The private charges against Kamal, brought by a woman in representation of around 100 feminist groups, is calling for a 2-year prison sentence and a fine of 18,000 euros.

Kamal, using his position as Islamic imam at a mosque in Fuengirola in southern Spain, wrote a book in 1997 entitled 'Women and Islam'. Detailed instructions warn men not to hit their wives in a rage for fear this leads to worse consequences, nor in delicate areas such as the head or the breasts, but on their hands or feet, with a stick which is not thick enough so as to leave scars or bruises. "The blows should not be too hard because the aim is to cause psychological suffering, not to humiliate or abuse physically", says the book. Oh, really?

Madrid, December 12th, 2003.
December 1st was a historic date for evangelicalism in Spain: an evangelistic programme began on 50 secular local radio stations as the first stage of a 'Formula Hit' project which aims to reach every autonomous region in the country by July next year.

Programme content is a joint effort between Transworld Radio and Evangelism in Action. The project, which began more than 30 years ago, has produced 1,300 half-hour programmes which cover the whole Bible in the space of five years, broadcasting from Monday to Friday every week. The Spanish edition is more evangelistic than the original programmes, given the spiritual context of the country.

The scripts were written by Vernon McGee under the general title 'Through the Bible' and Transworld Radio broadcasts in more than 100 languages right across the world. It uses powerful transmitters in various parts of the world, as well as some satellites. The programmes are called 'The source of life' in Spain, and are being translated and contextualised by Virgilio Vangioni.

Madrid, December 15th, 2003.
Great Britain and Sweden are the only European Union countries to keep to the Kyoto protocol on gas emissions in the fight against global warming, and Spain is the furthest from fulfilling its commitment to the agreement.

Margot Wallström, the official responsible for environmental issues at the European Commission, issued a call to European governments to take urgent measures to ensure that the Kyoto objectives were met. Spain is the EU country which leasts adheres to them at the present time. "If we do not do more, the European Union overall and the majority of member states will not fulfil the Kyoto commitment. This is serious. Time is running out."

The Kyoto agreement says the European Union must reduce its gas emissions that affect the greenhouse effect by 8% between 2008-2012, with respect to 1990 levels. Carbon dioxide is the most significant of the gases which are blamed for causing climate change. However, projections suggest that at current rates, the EU will only have achieved a reduction of 0.5% by 2010. These figures are much more pessimistic than those of last year, mainly because Germany - which produces a quarter of these gases within the EU - has revised its commitment downwards.

Spain, meanwhile, had been asked merely to limit the increase of its emissions to 15%. Yet current policy suggests the increase is at 48%, 33% more than agreed. Denmark, Austria, Ireland and Belgium are also on the blacklist for failing to meet their commitments, while only Britain and Sweden will reach their targets in the allotted time according to current patterns. Interestingly, of the 10 new countries joining the EU, all of them except Slovenia are on target respecting keeping the Kyoto protocol.

The main cause of the sharp rise in emissions is the greater volume of road traffic, a sector responsible for a fifth of all emissions. Projections suggest carbon dioxide from this source will increase by 34% between 1990 and 2010.

Source: ABC. Editing: ACPress.net