On average, the OECD found that Americans pay $US635.85 on cell phone service, compared to $US131.44 per year in the Netherlands or $US137.94 per year in Sweden.”

As you might expect, the wireless industry issued a press release proclaiming the study was based on “flawed assumptions” that “just don’t make sense.” If you look at the data the way carriers would like, you’re getting quite the bargain. The CTIA does have a point that the OECD’s usage categories seem low — particularly when it comes to MMS use. Another reason U.S. prices seem high? Carriers charge a hell of a lot of money for service. They also spend millions on lobbyists who tirelessly work to eliminate consumer protections and price controls.

It does appear that OECD’s findings are inflated—after all, the three countries mentioned on this list have bigger appetites for wireless technologies and services. Still, I have little doubt that carriers are sticking it to customers in one form or another. [DSLReports via Consumerist]

It happened in the city of Zamora, Spain—where else—this weekend. For more than one hour, the movie played—in the words of one of the witness, Francisco Guarido, a baffled city official—”with unsuspected sharpness” to mixed reactions in a crowd that kept getting bigger and bigger by the minute.

Many people laughed, like the policewoman who came first alerted by the official. In fact, she couldn’t stop her laughter as she alerted the police station via radio. More people and police agents kept congregating, many laughing, some enjoying with eyes glued to the screen, some scandalised but also with eyes glued to the screen, others reprimanding the city official who was there. Two old women shouted at Guarido, blaming him for the indecent show.

After an hour of public moaning, jiggling, and skirting—yes, I love my country. I hate it most of the time, but others I love it—the police agents ended the show by taping two paper sheets to the screen. Later, the company responsible for the public kiosk turned off the movie. The city official said that the security of the computer system used for this task was “fragile.” He really meant “crap.” [El Mundo—In Spanish]

In a rather excited post on Vodafone Spain’s blog, the company has announced that the HTC Magic, set for a May 5th release across Europe, will be “available” today. ¿Por qué? No sé.

Of course, given the ambiguous language of the post (or my poor Spanish comprehension), they could be jerking everyone around a little bit, promoting the opening of pre-orders as actual availability. That they explicitly tout their release as earlier than the previous May 5th date, though, seems to indicate that they’ll actually start shipping today. Happy crazy Android surprise day, Spain!

Update: Our resident Spaniard has confirmed that the post implies it’ll ship today from the online store, but that brick-and-mortar stores will have to wait until next week. [Phandroid —Thanks, Rob!]

According to the Guardian and the Independent, experts are hard at work collecting over 10,000 inscriptions that nobody has translated in over 500 years since Ferdinand and Isabel evicted the Moors from their mighty fortress. Using the high-tech gear, they’ve managed to translate about half of the job so far, and have compiled over 3,000 in a DVD. The work continues, and an updated DVD, possibly complete, will come out in 2010. Too bad nobody bothered to show the 3D laser scanner itself in action, because I assume it’s a pretty cool—if painstaking—process. I’ve been all over the Alhambra myself—it’d be a pretty amazing place to “work.”

What do the inscriptions say? Mostly the Nasrid motto: “There is no victor but Allah.” But in accordance with that particularly fruitful time in Arabic culture, there are an awful lot of other things written on the walls, from poetry to aphorisms, such as “Be sparing with words and you will go in peace.” Funny since that’s one bit of advice the artists didn’t heed themselves. [Guardian; Independent - Thanks James!]

The move comes as part of a campaign that orders people to “Identify yourself!”, just like when Franco was a dictator. They want pre-paid phones to be associated with the user’s personal information, including name, address, and national ID numbers (the equivalent to the Social Security number in the US). The new law also requires operators to register every single call made and hold the information for a year.

The reasoning of the European Union and the retarded Spanish government is that, by doing this, they can avoid bomb attacks like the ones that happened in Madrid’s train stations in March 11, 2004, where terrorist triggered bombs using mobile phones, killing 191 people and wounding 1,800. As if the terrorists couldn’t forge identification data.

But does this make sense? Yes, bombs can be triggered with mobile phones, but what difference does this make? They can be triggered by suicide bombers too, clocks, radio control, and by any other method you can think about. The fact is that there were bombs in Spain—and everywhere else—being triggered by a variety of methods before mobile phones arrived. Mobile Phones are just one of them.

Do these irrational fears justify a campaign to control the communication of private citizens, especially when the bad guys can avoid the controls and use alternative methods to wreak havoc in society?

Paraphrasing Churchill: Do you want to die free and standing up, or live under fear and control, like in a fascist state? [El Mundo]

Dubbed as a mini-metropolis, the theme park is designed to be like a smaller version of an actual city, where the children must earn money in order to pay for any activities they want to participate in during their visit.

Upon arriving at the theme park, the kids must first go to the bank and wait in a line to get a tiny bit of “start-up” play money to get them going. However, if they run out or they want more cash, they have to go to the employment offices to get a job—including everything from gas station attendants to models in a fashion show—which will trade manual labour for a paycheck. With this paycheck, they are able to pay for driving lessons—through a simulated video game—their licence, their car insurance, and gas, among many other things.

No thanks, I’ll stick with Disneyland. [CNN - Thanks Helen!]

Here’s what we think. This takes place in Madrid, Spain. Jesus frequents Madrid. This person likes peeing. Jesus is known to pee from time to time. Thus, this is in fact, most definitely, Jesus Diaz. QED. I rest my case. [Google via Street View Gallery - Thanks Mark!]

Wired does not.

Like the Wizard of Oz, the workings are hidden behind a curtain. One thing we do know — there is either cheating or batteries involved. I’ve walked by a few times to see nobody on the bikes, but the lights still blazing.

Perhaps the tree is powered by Christmas spirit? [Wired]

Aside from looking like a delicious ‘nilla wafer standing upright in a field of whipped cream, or a sailboat at sea in a crazy greenhouse ocean, the BBVA building incoporates a ton of cool ideas that sound like the most perfect work environment ever.

The main buildings are long, horizontal and onlythree-stories tall, and in the alleys and other nooks and crannies surrounding, a “carpet” of plants and trees grows. This will give each workspace a garden view and create “a cool, moist, fresh microclimate analogous to an Arabian garden” in the desert-y Madrid suburbs. And from it all springs the aforementioned wafer, excised from the carpet and set vertically at a slight angle.

Hey BBVA – you hiring? [Dezeen]

With the Palabra Graciosa (Gracious Word) keyring, you will not need to learn Spanish. Capable of saying “Hijo de Puta”, “Comemierda”, “Cabrón” and “Maricón” at the push of a button, this will work to start conversations, call friends, order a beer, express your love, and even defend yourself in any civil debate. I know, because I’m from Spain and three out of every four words I say are in that list.

As a bonus, for a way to learn the multiple uses of the expression “Hijo de Puta”, check this video, which is also a homage to our beloved Mr. T.

Yes, I know, I need a vacation. [Prankplace via BBGadgets]