It
seems that said President Rajoy confused his EU peers this week, when
he insisted – with reference to the corruption revelations – that
“They are all untrue, except for some things.” I wonder if anyone
pressed him on this, but rather doubt it. Meanwhile, he's been rather
undermined by the more than a dozen PP party officials who've admitted
they received moneys as detailed in the Bárcenas handwritten
accounts.
Rajoy
is, of course, Galician and there is a brand of humour here, called
retranca, which deals in irony and sarcasm. It's possible he was making a joke but, again, I rather
doubt it.
TVG
is Televisión de Galicia.
One way or another it gets its finance from the local government.
Which is in the hands of the PP party. This might just explain their
treatment of the corruption scandal in its news programs, where it's never been the first item. Until, that is, they could report that “The
police have entered the offices of El
País. They suspect the Bárcenas'
papers of being false.” Likewise, when reporting on the corruption
charges laid against the mayor of Carballiño, they somehow neglected to
report his affiliation to the PP party. Fearless in the pursuit of
truth.
Every Brit remembers how adept Gordon Brown was in resorting to 'stealth
taxes' to generate revenue, while not touching the income tax rate. I
thought of him last week when taking the metro from the centre of
Madrid to the airport. When you get to Barajas station, you can't
get out of it (e. g. to catch a plane) unless you shove 3 euros into
a machine at the top of the elevators. Likewise for the return journey. Doubtless this amount will
rise over time, very probably at a rate higher than that of inflation. Captive market and all that.
I
guess, in view of the employment to be created, it counts as Good
News that a decision has been taken on the location for Eurovegas.
It's to be established in Alcorcon, 15km south of Madrid. Personally, I don't
think Barcelona ever had a chance.
Our
brains, it seems, are capable of winnowing the information we receive
and deciding what to retain and what to junk. Intriguingly, this
takes place when we're asleep. Acting on what instructions, I wonder.
Finally
. . . Courtesy of The
Guardian,
here's an interactive view of London from the top of its latest
architectural feature - The Shard.
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