Dawn

Dawn

Saturday, February 26, 2005

The Galician police say they carried out 30,000 checks for drivers using mobile phones last week. One wonders how, as they managed to catch only 284. Or less than 1%. I guess these are the ones who ignored the flashing lights of friendly oncoming drivers. Or didn’t see the signs saying “Police checkpoint ahead”. Or perhaps they were the ones arrested while saying "I’ll have to go now as there's a bloody traffic cop banging on my window".

Which reminds me – the chief of police in Pontevedra had roundly rejected the demand from residents that he install CCTVs where the all-night revellers cavort. His view is that this would possibly be illegal and certainly ‘illegitimate”. My suspicion is that he means that it would offend the Spanish concept of nobility and ‘fairness’, the same attitude which militates against traffic wardens and has only recently allowed random breath tests on anything other than a token scale.

El Pais today reported the resignation of a French politician whom they say ‘inhabited a landscape of avarice, megalomania and total separation from reality’. Somewhat better than your average tabloid take. Or, sadly, even your average broadsheet comment these dumbed-down days. One can see why journalism remains a respected profession in Spain.

Here’s a surprise – Telefonica have been caught over-invoicing 8 million of their customers after the latest increase in their fixed costs in early February. All an innocent accident of course. Not that they actually discovered and owned up to it.

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