A Very Spanish Tale:
Accuracy is not guaranteed . . .
1988: A guy becomes
head of a bank. Starts embezzling funds.
1993: The failing bank
is bought by the Bank of Spain.
1994: He's arrested
after a €3.6bn fraud is uncovered and a 'hole' of €3bn found in
the accounts.
1994: He's released on
a bond of €12m.
1995: A total of €23
million is found to have 'leaked out' of the bank.
2000: He runs for
President.
2000: He's sentenced to
10 years. Enters a 'luxury' jail near Madrid. More than 10 years
after the offences were committed.
2002: His sentence is
increased to 20 years.
2004: The governor of
the jail is sacked for giving him preferential treatment.
2005: He's given 'Grade
3' terms and released on probation, after only 5 years in clink. Or
maybe 11.
2008: He again runs for
political office.
2016: He's arrested
again - along with 6 members of his family - and charged with
laundering €14m into Spain from Switzerland, Luxembourg and the UK
starting in 1999. One way or another.
Somewhere along the
line he capitalised on his 'career' by publishing 2 books. As of now,
he's said to be facing another 12 years of porridge. Couldn't have
happened to a nicer guy, say some. Anyway, here's the NY Times take
on the affair.
Another Spanish Tale:
The ambassador to Belgium has been fired on the grounds he was an
intimidating boss and did little at the office, especially when he
left it every day to attend Mass. Or when – usually – he stayed
at home all day. Given that he made no contact with Madrid for 4
years, one's forced to ask why it took so long for anyone there to
notice he was an idle bastard.
The Spanish Timetable:
A whopping 75% of Spaniards are said to favour the abolition of the
3-hour lunch break and the introduction of a 9 to 6 working day. Who can the 25% be?
The Spanish Time Zone:
If we really do move back to the (more logical) UK-and-Portugal GMT
time zone, will Galicia have even more light during summer evenings?
Or less? Will we really be barbecuing by sunlight at midnight? (By
the way, who would ever think of saying 'fewer' light', even if they
say 'less hours'?).
Spanish
Fiestas: Here's a guide to the Feria de Abril down in Sevilla.
Flat Renting in
Spain: This might well become something of the past. Stimulated by
hotel owners and the like, the government has set about destroying
direct renting in the traditional way – by suffocating it with
bureaucracy. Laws have already been introduced in the South and will
shortly arrive here in Galicia. At the same time – and
legitimately, of course - the tax office is trawling the internet to
identify those who should be declaring rental income. A double whammy
then – lower (post-tax) income and massively increased costs and
hassle. Classic. The Tax Office is catching up just when the business
is about to plummet, if not collapse. As usual in Spain, it pays to
get in and out early.
Galician
Roundabouts(Circles): It's reported that drivers here are finally coming to terms with these. So much so that they're no longer
responsible for 25% of accidents. Now it's only 10%. Given that
conflicting advice is given in the media about how to approach this
challenge, I fear it's unlikely to get anywhere near zero percent.
Unless the new turbo-rotundas – with their 'helpful' lines - are as
effective as hoped.
Finally . . A British
comedian last night cited this as the funniest cartoon ever, by Bill
Tidy. I've had it in my collection for several decades, after cutting it
out of an issue of the now-defunct Punch magazine.
Needless to say,
said comedian got it wrong, twofold – saying there were 2 polar bears at the
back of the line. Idiot. But funny.
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