Forgotten yesterday, the 8th anniversary of the Madrid train bombings

Forgotten because of the events in Afghanistan and Japan was the anniversary of the 2004 Madrid Train Bombings.

191 people died and 1800 were wounded. The ringleader died in a blast after they were closing in on him.

Sadly the event was commemorated in Spain by a worker strike.

Union protesters marched across Spain Sunday as mourners marked the eighth anniversary of the Madrid train bombings.

The timing of the demonstrations prompted criticism from some conservative leaders, who accused Spain’s two main unions of disrespecting victims of the 2004 attacks.

But Pilar Manjon, a leader of the largest victims association, said she did not consider the marches disrespectful.

“They cannot use us to batter the unions, to dismiss them or to say they have no respect for the victims. … (The protest) absolutely does not bother us,” she told Spanish radio network SER.

In response to criticisms, the unions have countered that some conservatives have shown a lack of respect for the victims — which included many workers and students killed or maimed in the attacks — by fomenting unfounded conspiracy theories about the bombings.

But some still remembered.

https://twitter.com/#!/michael_d_gould/status/178803983920541696

https://twitter.com/#!/juliajoanneb/status/178748936260034561

https://twitter.com/#!/_megyoungblood/status/178960086457266176

Included is video of the blasts