Hitler's Galician saga; The Gurtel corruption case; The deceptive EU; Confused canine?; &Spanish censorship.

Back in May last year, I cited this article on the allegation that Adolf and Eva fled Berlin as the Russians approached their bunker at the ned of the Second World War. And now - with HT to Dwight - here's another article on this, centring on the guy who claims to have witnessed their arrival and their life in a monastery in Samos

One of the big corruption cases going through the Spanish courts is labelled the Gurtel case. Not sure why. This has been proceeding for 5 years now and the numbers are quite astonishing - 187 people are being investigated for complicity in massive corruption, of which 74 are politicians. As happens in Spain, it's quite possible some of the latter have been voted back into power during the course of the case. But, anyway, a judgment is expected soon. And not before time. Meanwhile, click here to read more of the case and the way gifts were lavished on senior officials of the ruling PP party.

Over the years, I've mentioned more than once a book entitled "The Great Deception". Whether you agree with the authors or not, it's a must-see read if you are seriously interested in how the great EU experiment began and where it might end up. A shorter read (by far) is this article by one of the authors, around the theme that it was the First World War (not the Second) which gave rise to the dream of 2 men. One of these (Jean Monnet) is well know but the other (Arthur Salter) isn't. To say the least. It's a tad ironic that the latter was British.

So, the Taliban have got hold of one of the British Army's specialist dog. One wonders if it understands Pushtu. . . . . 

Finally . . . Media interference in Spain. The sacking of the editor of El Mundo sparked a leader in the London Times, headed:- Spain will regret the silencing of this crusading voice. This Editor believed in rooting out wrongdoing — and has the scalps to prove it. It's posted at the end of this post, just after this report:-

The Environment

January: 31 days. On which it rained: 28 - 93% (revised down)

 February: 8 days. On which it has rained: 8 - 100% 


Spain has suffered a significant blow after Pedro J. Ramírez was ousted as Editor of El Mundo, the country’s second biggest daily newspaper. Pedro Jota, as he is known, has spent 25 years at the helm of this lively conservative paper, exposing corruption on left and right, and in the financial establishment. Unidad Editorial, which owns El Mundo, says he is leaving as part of a “new stage in the newspaper’s editorial management”. The suspicion, however, is Ramírez’s exposés of alleged corruption among the ruling Popular Party upset Mariano Rajoy, the Prime Minister.

In a country where some national papers depend on grants from local governments to survive, Ramírez’s El Mundo stands as a beacon of independence. Without a journalist of his crusading zeal Spain will be a poorer place, especially when polls show that 95 per cent of Spaniards believe corruption is rife. 

 Ramírez is a little like Paul Dacre, the Daily Mail’s more populist editor, with a Spanish accent. He believes that a newspaper’s job is to root out others’ wrongdoing and he has the scalps to prove it. 

 Last year El Mundo forced Mr Rajoy to deny accepting thousands from a secret slush fund. It dug deeper and found documents allegedly proving that a series of companies paid millions to Mr Rajoy and leaders of his party. A judge is now investigating the case. 

 Ramírez has also published a series of stories about King Juan Carlos’ son-in-law, Iñaki Urdangarin, a suspect in an €6 million embezzlement investigation. Princess Cristina, Urdangarin’s wife, will appear in court on Saturday over the same case. Both deny wrongdoing. 

An impressive array of El Mundo exposés has changed how Spaniards feel about their royal family; a recent poll found nearly two thirds want the King to abdicate — two years ago 80 per cent supported the monarch. 

Ramírez’s biggest scoop, however, was almost a Spanish Watergate. The paper revealed in 1996 that the Socialist Government had paid death squads to kill members of the Basque separatist group Eta. Many who died had nothing to do with the terrorists. Felipe González, the Prime Minister at the time denied any link and refused to quit, but the mud stuck. 

A cartoon in yesterday’s El Mundo captured the irony of his departure. Carl Bernstein, the journalist who broke Watergate, says to Bob Woodward: “Good job we had Nixon to investigate and not Rajoy.”

Graham Keeley