Until such time as the Spanish government makes a serious effort to bring its laws into line with the rest of the EU, Spain will, I'm afraid continue to be tha criminal's favourite workplace. In,fact even as I write more and more "petty" criminals are pouring through the frontiers (thanks to Schengen this is now childsplay) whether by bus from the north east or by air from other parts. Pickpockets, bagsnatchers,shoplifters, conmen and a long and large etc. are now here to make our lives a complete misery with the tacit consent of the Spanish government. And the reason? In just one word el HURTO.
According to Simon and Schuster's English- Spanish dictionary, The verb Robar means to steal or thieve and the verb Hurtar means to steal or thieve so why oh why are these two sinonimous verbs treated so diferently by the Spanish judicial system? If violence is involved or quantities of a value of more than 400 euros are taken, then that is considered as ROBO and the culprit (if caught) will be tried and, if found guilty, punished by the traditional methods,i.e. fines community service or imprisonment as the judge sees fit. In this aspect, Spanish laws are no different to the rest of Europe's.( With one important and to my mind ludicrous diference...If the guilty person is sentenced to two years or less jail and has NO PREVIOUS CONVICTIONS, he or she will NOT have to serve that sentence.although it will be taken into account in the case of re-offenders.) No room here therefore for the "short sharp shock" treatment handed out , in many cases succesfully by British judges where many an adolescent has been put back "on the rails" after a three month taste of prison porridge and slopping out.
However, if your pocket is picked as you travel to work or your bag gets stolen from the restaurant, if your money and clothes are nicked from your towel while you enjoy a dip in the warm sea or ,when you get back to your car there's a window broken, and the radio's gone. THAT'S HURTO.If your shop gets its stock reduced by shoplifters or your garden shed is relieved of you black and deckers, that's HURTO If you've just popped down the shop for a kilo of spuds and when you come back your laptop's disappeared then there's little or no point in phoning the police because that's HURTO. IN SPAIN; HURTO IS NOT A CRIME even though you, the victim, have just lost some of you most prized posessions, it is not a crime. I will try to explain.
Resorting once more to my overworked and afforementioned dictionary, the word CRIMEN translates CRIME. I bet you can't guess the meaning of the word DELITO. Yes, that's right the translation of the word DELITO is CRIME Yet, for some inexplicable reason HURTO is not a crime but a delito which means that it will NEVER come before a judge of any kind and NO PUNISHMENT will ever be given. If you are caught for having committed a delito you will be taken to the police station, identified,fingerprinted, your records will be checked to see if you are on the wanted list anywhere in the world and then, after a short time, you will be BACK ON THE STREET and that is the end of it.No fine No prison no deportation. YOU ARE SCOTT FREE TO GO AND COMMIT ANOTHER HURTO.There have been cases of pickpockets being arrested three and even four times in one day. There are people walking around free who have been pulled in hundreds of times for this kind of offence and nothing ever happens to them.Small wonder then that this country is filling up with the underworld scum of the entire world.Where would you prefer to steal a wallet; in Bucharest where you would risk a year's hard labour in an archaic unheated prison left over from the communist regime; in Islaamic countries where you could lose your hand in a public place or here in sunny Spain with its lovely climate where it doesn't matter?
From here I would like to cry out for an immediate change in the law. STEALING is STEALING and if the governing body of this country don't understand that simple fact I will lend them my dictionary.
lunes, 28 de septiembre de 2009
martes, 15 de septiembre de 2009
BENIDORM
Benidorm, for years the Brits favourite low cost holiday resort, is at the centre of the news these days not for lager louts fighting or the increase in prostitution but for the strange circumstancias surrounding the political situation within the Town Hall where history,as supposedly it has the habit of doing, is repeating itself. In1991 the socialist mayor was deposed in a motion of no confidence by Eduardo Zaplana of the conservative Popular party when PSOE councillor Maruja Sanchez deserted the socialist whip and crossed the floor to join the P.P. thus swinging the majority to the right. Zaplana later became president of the Valencian Community and will be remembered for all time as the author of the all time record taxpayers' money loser, Terra Mitica. At the time,the move was applauded by the national P.P. as being a positive move towards the governability of the city of Benidorm.
Twenty eight years on and Benidorm is ,once again on the brink of a new motion of no confidence,this time caused by another floor crossing only this time,it is a P.P. councillor who has abandoned his party whip tilting the balance of power back to the left. The Spanish saying "who robs a thief shall have 100 year pardon" could well be applied here were it not for the fact that a pact was made between the two major parties to prevent this kind of situation from repeating itself. This pact has been repeatedly ignored over the years but what is worthy of note in this case, that of Benidorm, is that the national PSOE have struck their councillors off the official party list as they have gone against the official pàrty line . This ,in itself, would not be especially newsworthy were it not for the fact that the number three of the national PSOE, Leire Pajin, is none other than the daughter of one of the now disowned Benidorm socialists. One can imagine that Sunday lunch with Mum and Dad may be a hazardous practise in the Pajin household at the present time. I would love to be a fly on the wall.
There is, however , another co-incidence, Guess who came to Benidorm to support the coup when exercised by the P.P? Thats right, Don Mariano Rajoy the then number three in the Popular Party. The same Mariano Rajoy who has been vociferously protesting at this "antidemocratic act" when put into practise by the other side. Life has a habit of playing tricks and time, the habit of putting things into their place.
Twenty eight years on and Benidorm is ,once again on the brink of a new motion of no confidence,this time caused by another floor crossing only this time,it is a P.P. councillor who has abandoned his party whip tilting the balance of power back to the left. The Spanish saying "who robs a thief shall have 100 year pardon" could well be applied here were it not for the fact that a pact was made between the two major parties to prevent this kind of situation from repeating itself. This pact has been repeatedly ignored over the years but what is worthy of note in this case, that of Benidorm, is that the national PSOE have struck their councillors off the official party list as they have gone against the official pàrty line . This ,in itself, would not be especially newsworthy were it not for the fact that the number three of the national PSOE, Leire Pajin, is none other than the daughter of one of the now disowned Benidorm socialists. One can imagine that Sunday lunch with Mum and Dad may be a hazardous practise in the Pajin household at the present time. I would love to be a fly on the wall.
There is, however , another co-incidence, Guess who came to Benidorm to support the coup when exercised by the P.P? Thats right, Don Mariano Rajoy the then number three in the Popular Party. The same Mariano Rajoy who has been vociferously protesting at this "antidemocratic act" when put into practise by the other side. Life has a habit of playing tricks and time, the habit of putting things into their place.
lunes, 14 de septiembre de 2009
Do you want to sell?
Do you really want to sell your product? Are your sales figures going down and down? Are you worried about it? Well the answer is simple. REDUCE PRICES. It's as easy as that. Let's take some examples. Houses. Houses, flats etc don't sell because they are too expensive. Add up the cost of the materials used in the construction and finish of a new house or flat and see if it exceeds20,000 €. Of course the builders have had to be paid. How many man hours? At what rate? If you are capable of working that out, ( I am not), you will almost certainly discover that there is still an enormous difference between what it cost to build and its final price. Not only are the constructors too greedy but so are local councils not to mention the contents of the brown envelopes which change hands as planning comittee palms are greased.. Result.. in times of crisis we don't buy houses.
Cars. When cars didn't have double bars of lateral protection, 6 airbags, an onbord computer with a luminous screen to point out that the handbrake was on, enormous headlights to wrap around the edges of the vehicle, not to mention those less understood ( by me )technological innovations under the bonnet and alloy wheels THEY WERE CHEAPER. You could buy them.Many of us drove perfectly safely in Morris Minors or Ford Cortinas with none of the aforementioned devices and then, as now, accidents were caused by distractions, lack of attention, tiredness,alcahol etc. the same as they are now.
This same argument could be applied to household appliances and technology. Just how much did it really cost to manufacture and import that laptop you paid 699€ for. It's my guess that the importers ,who brought them to us by the containerful, paid about the sixth part of that figure transport included. I was once offered a containerload of electric guitars which would have to be assembled here at a price which worked out at about 6€ each. I declined of course because there are already enough low quality guitars on the market but it shows just how cheaply these goods can arrive in Europe. While I'm not suggesting that cars should be produced with the poor quality of those guitars, I am suggesting that if certain people or corporate structures stopped being so damned greedy and if they eliminated the un-necessary extras, then consumer goods would become much cheaper, more would be sold and the government could STOP GIVING MY MONEY TO SUBSIDISE THEIR PURCHASE BY OTHER PEOPLE while I remain unable to afford them, for myself.
Cars. When cars didn't have double bars of lateral protection, 6 airbags, an onbord computer with a luminous screen to point out that the handbrake was on, enormous headlights to wrap around the edges of the vehicle, not to mention those less understood ( by me )technological innovations under the bonnet and alloy wheels THEY WERE CHEAPER. You could buy them.Many of us drove perfectly safely in Morris Minors or Ford Cortinas with none of the aforementioned devices and then, as now, accidents were caused by distractions, lack of attention, tiredness,alcahol etc. the same as they are now.
This same argument could be applied to household appliances and technology. Just how much did it really cost to manufacture and import that laptop you paid 699€ for. It's my guess that the importers ,who brought them to us by the containerful, paid about the sixth part of that figure transport included. I was once offered a containerload of electric guitars which would have to be assembled here at a price which worked out at about 6€ each. I declined of course because there are already enough low quality guitars on the market but it shows just how cheaply these goods can arrive in Europe. While I'm not suggesting that cars should be produced with the poor quality of those guitars, I am suggesting that if certain people or corporate structures stopped being so damned greedy and if they eliminated the un-necessary extras, then consumer goods would become much cheaper, more would be sold and the government could STOP GIVING MY MONEY TO SUBSIDISE THEIR PURCHASE BY OTHER PEOPLE while I remain unable to afford them, for myself.
sábado, 5 de septiembre de 2009
Today ve vill all change our underpants.
Due to the unfortunate death of one of the only councillors for the Valencian Generalitat who actually knew what he was doing, President Camps has been forced to change his government. Ah!, I hear you think,"he has brought in some dynamic new blood to solve the problems of unemployment and crime" Well no, not exactly. It would be very difficult today to find a bright young spark prepared to throw in his lot with the severely tainted hand of Paco free suits from Milano Camps. The reshuffle consists of moving everyone around as really there is nothing else he could have done. Reminds me of the joke about the concentration camp commander who announced over the loudspeakers," Today as it is my birthday and I am very happy, ve vill all change our underpants. A company vill change vith B company, B company vill change vith C company and C company vith A company. The smell ,I imagine, is about the same.
Why Bosses are NOT creating jobs.
The Anglo Saxon idea of the boss being just another cog in the wheel,neither more nor less important than the manual or office workers; the "we're all in this together so lets be friends and make this business work" logic DOES NOT EXIST IN Spain today. In fact it has never existed. The exact opposite is the norm here. Bosses DO NOT TRUST their workforces. They are convinced that their workers are innately lazy and untrustworthy and that the only one who worries about the future of the company is himself. They will do all that they can to avoid giving anyone a permanent contract as this could mean that one day he will have to pay compensation if he ever wishes to close or sell the business, or, have to make that worker redundant. It's the old "us and them" sindrome which was rife in British industries for so many years with disastrous results in both production and balance sheets. For this reason it is difficult to find a genuinely LOYAL worker. Why should he be loyal if the boss thinks he's a waster? this vicious circle exists in all types of businesses be they service or manufacturing and is a pattern repeated throughout the entire country.
Unfortunately, bad bosses are counterplaced by poor and in many cases useless trade union officials, too many of whom pay lip service to the principles of sindicalysed workers, while their real motivation is not to fight for the working class but to enjoy the "escape" from the daily routine to partake in "union affairs" while being paid full whack for the job that they are not doing during those hours. Don't be fooled. Spanish Trades unions defend themselves, not the workers who pay their dues.
To understand the present reluctance to create jobs, we don't need to look too far into the past. When the government of Felipe Gonzalez started to agonise on a bed of corruption charges, the bosses, scenting a change of government and knowing that the incoming Popular Party would pass legislation which would enable them to dismiss workers more cheaply and employ workers on "junk" contracts, giving workers no rights whatsoever, made the actual situation even worse by NOT employing people. ( Why employ workers today with a contract which would defend them, if ,by waiting a few months ,they would be able to employ and dismiss workers at no cost whatsoever?) The result was ,of course, Populars take office and bingo, thousands of jobs are suddenly available. What brilliant politicians these of the right wing.! ! It's a miracle!. In fact, and as they continue to prove, right wing politicians are just as ineffective and incompetent as their left wing counterparts.
At this moment in time, the "crisis" or economic recession as I prefer to call it, (see my last entry) is once more helping bosses to formulate their strategy. They are convinced that it will cause the downfall of Z,P's government and are playing the same "farole" over again. During the rule of the P.S.O.E. the workers have gained rights and lost jobs. The opposite will be true if the unscrupulous managerial class has its way once more. More jobs. Less rights, Free dismissal. No wonder neither side trusts the other.
Unfortunately, bad bosses are counterplaced by poor and in many cases useless trade union officials, too many of whom pay lip service to the principles of sindicalysed workers, while their real motivation is not to fight for the working class but to enjoy the "escape" from the daily routine to partake in "union affairs" while being paid full whack for the job that they are not doing during those hours. Don't be fooled. Spanish Trades unions defend themselves, not the workers who pay their dues.
To understand the present reluctance to create jobs, we don't need to look too far into the past. When the government of Felipe Gonzalez started to agonise on a bed of corruption charges, the bosses, scenting a change of government and knowing that the incoming Popular Party would pass legislation which would enable them to dismiss workers more cheaply and employ workers on "junk" contracts, giving workers no rights whatsoever, made the actual situation even worse by NOT employing people. ( Why employ workers today with a contract which would defend them, if ,by waiting a few months ,they would be able to employ and dismiss workers at no cost whatsoever?) The result was ,of course, Populars take office and bingo, thousands of jobs are suddenly available. What brilliant politicians these of the right wing.! ! It's a miracle!. In fact, and as they continue to prove, right wing politicians are just as ineffective and incompetent as their left wing counterparts.
At this moment in time, the "crisis" or economic recession as I prefer to call it, (see my last entry) is once more helping bosses to formulate their strategy. They are convinced that it will cause the downfall of Z,P's government and are playing the same "farole" over again. During the rule of the P.S.O.E. the workers have gained rights and lost jobs. The opposite will be true if the unscrupulous managerial class has its way once more. More jobs. Less rights, Free dismissal. No wonder neither side trusts the other.
viernes, 4 de septiembre de 2009
The crisis and the media
There are an abundant number of types of crises. Personal, academic,emotional and there are also economic recessions. As I battle through my own personal selection of crises,(aleviated now by the good news that at last my scribblings have a follower,--thanks Shaq, nice of you to drop in on me.---Ican't help wondering about the anomolies of this particular recession. It is not, apparently, like any previous recession. According to the P.P. it's all Zapatero's fault although personally I don't believe that Z.P. was involved directly with granting junk mortgages to Mexicans in the U.S,A. So, having discated that particular theory as political claptrap, let's think more deeply about it. Not everyone is in crisis. With prices lower than ever, consumers should be able to consume even more than they have been doing for the last few years of plenty.Civil servants,secretaries,lawyers ,doctors ,teachers, vets,mechanics plumbers, shoe repairers, shop assistants,butchers,bakers,ironmongers,gardeners,policemen,firemen,ambulance and bus driversand a long etc SHOULD BE BETTER OFF NOW than they have ever been and that is A LOT of people. So why are they not out there spending money and making those economic wheels go round and round? What are they afraid of? Perhaps if these good citizens were not constantly being depressed with doom and gloom forecasts from the predominately right wing media, they might just open those wallets and get it all moving again.
O.k. there are certain sectors that are plunged into the depths of despair. Notably the construction industry which was obviously going to be the fall guy due to the enormous corporate corruption which created and maintained the housing boom for six or seven long years. That had to come to an end one day with or without the economic recession. Result.. 4 million unemployed. Hoiwever ,unemployment never really dropped below the million mark even in the good years so the recession has devoured 3 million jobs and not 4. How then can 3 million jobs be created? By this I mean real jobs, not just temporary "PlanE" type of jobs. Well, I have at least a partial solution to that one.
In England the regulations governing permitted opening times in retail establishments have, to all intents and purposes, disappeared. If you want to go to the supermarket at 4am there is nothing to stop you. You want to buy some C.D s or a pair of fashion boots on a Sunday,,,no problem. Here,the archaic laws of Sunday opening are so hopelessly out of date that they should be scrapped immediately. How many PERMANENT jobs could be created by permitting 24/7 opening in all retail establishments? Of course some small businesses would protest. They could however compete by working as hard and opening as many hours as the Pakistanis do in their small businesses. I've never heard one of them complain, nor,in that respect, have I ever seen one close from 2 til half past five for the siesta. If you can't beat them, join them.I estimate that well over a million PERMANENT jobs could be created by this one measure.
This would of course change our lifestyles to a certain extent. If we could do the weekend shopping in the early hours of a friday morning for example, our Saturday mornings would be free to do other things creating more work for the service industries who offer us so many attractive leisure possibilities.
Time, unfortunately does not permit any more at this juncture but as soon as I can I will explain why another million jobs are not being created right now
O.k. there are certain sectors that are plunged into the depths of despair. Notably the construction industry which was obviously going to be the fall guy due to the enormous corporate corruption which created and maintained the housing boom for six or seven long years. That had to come to an end one day with or without the economic recession. Result.. 4 million unemployed. Hoiwever ,unemployment never really dropped below the million mark even in the good years so the recession has devoured 3 million jobs and not 4. How then can 3 million jobs be created? By this I mean real jobs, not just temporary "PlanE" type of jobs. Well, I have at least a partial solution to that one.
In England the regulations governing permitted opening times in retail establishments have, to all intents and purposes, disappeared. If you want to go to the supermarket at 4am there is nothing to stop you. You want to buy some C.D s or a pair of fashion boots on a Sunday,,,no problem. Here,the archaic laws of Sunday opening are so hopelessly out of date that they should be scrapped immediately. How many PERMANENT jobs could be created by permitting 24/7 opening in all retail establishments? Of course some small businesses would protest. They could however compete by working as hard and opening as many hours as the Pakistanis do in their small businesses. I've never heard one of them complain, nor,in that respect, have I ever seen one close from 2 til half past five for the siesta. If you can't beat them, join them.I estimate that well over a million PERMANENT jobs could be created by this one measure.
This would of course change our lifestyles to a certain extent. If we could do the weekend shopping in the early hours of a friday morning for example, our Saturday mornings would be free to do other things creating more work for the service industries who offer us so many attractive leisure possibilities.
Time, unfortunately does not permit any more at this juncture but as soon as I can I will explain why another million jobs are not being created right now
miércoles, 5 de agosto de 2009
IMMIGRATION
Twenty years ago an English friend of mine jokingly suggested that the trouble with Spain was that there were too many Spanish people in it. At that time you would probably go for weeks without seeing a coloured person; the few Arabs there were would generally keep themselves to themselves and on the street you would only ever hear Spanish being spoken. The South American community was so small that it was unnoticeable. The culture shock after living in multi-racial Britain was quite tremendous. The rapid change from those days to the new modern multi racial Spain has, unfortunately, managed to create reactions varying from fear to indignation among born and bred Spaniards which, in certain areas is creating a social unrest in which real violence could break out at any time.
One of the main factors for this social unrest is the lack of integration. Moslems, in general, will not integrate with non muslems either here or in any other part of the world. Oh yes you can work alongside them and occasionally share a joke with them but the barriers are always there.
Contrary to popular opinion they are not hard workers who are here to do the hard dirty work that the nouveau rich Spanish disdain In fact most of the ones with whom I have worked are skivers and their disdainful attitude towards western women is disgraceful.
The South American communities are generally not inclined to integrate with the Spanish people either which, if we take into account the fact that the language is shared, is surprising. Here the lack of integration is mutual as the typical Spaniard is not particularly interested in opening his heart to them and so LatinAmericans generally bunch together. They are not hard to find at weekends around a football field for example or in a particular favourite meeting place where they will congregate in large numbers( often hundreds or more) where they resemble a flock of particularly vociferous starlings. Look among them. You won't find any Spaniards. Many families have arrived with young children wh, resenting having been taken away from their homeland and friends and usually ostracised by Spanish kids, find it extremely difficult to achieve at school,
and, as school failures, organise themselves into gangs such as the well known Latin Kings...... Shades of West side story without the music and with a lot more violence.
The dark skinned African immigration is, for obvios reasons, the most notice-able of all immigrant group. Many have arrived illegallyand live in a clandestine world of their own, usually sharing a flat between about twenty in order to make survival possible and work as itinerant sellers or seasonal field workers. Unlike the previously mentioned groups most Africans are open and friendly and only too pleased to integrate with the Spanish as much as the Spanish themselves will allow.
The Chinese community, which is dedicated to doing business with their shops,restaurants and clothing businesses has to integrate superficially in order to do business with everyone else but they are still like chalk and cheese on the personal level and only befriend their own kind.
The ex communist block north europaean countries contribute greatly to Spain's immigrant community. While the majority are hard working and honest they themselves suffer from the bad press that a certain number of their countrymen cause them as there seems to be an elevated amount of crime, often violent crime, associated with these nations,which logically makes Spanish people reluctant to integrate with them. Give a dog a bad name..........
The last group of immigrants is us. The Brits, French, Deutches, Holanders etc. etc. who did not come here to escape from poverty. I often wonder why many of us are here. So now I come to the Big Prize question. Are you integrated?. Are your parties attended by your Spanish friends? Do they invite you to their parties? And do you really speak Spanish? Do you know what is being talked about? Do you know who Fraga is? or Paquirrin? Have you got any c.ds of Spanish groups in your collection? If the answer to any of these questions is NO, then it's time YOU started to INTEGRATE. The Spanish will accept you warmly if you try and understand them, This blog hopes to provide you with some insight on the topics of the day which will help you in the right direction.
BUT Remember, as my old friend Paco el fontanero once said..." You can be whatever you want in España. What you can't be is an hijo de puta.
One of the main factors for this social unrest is the lack of integration. Moslems, in general, will not integrate with non muslems either here or in any other part of the world. Oh yes you can work alongside them and occasionally share a joke with them but the barriers are always there.
Contrary to popular opinion they are not hard workers who are here to do the hard dirty work that the nouveau rich Spanish disdain In fact most of the ones with whom I have worked are skivers and their disdainful attitude towards western women is disgraceful.
The South American communities are generally not inclined to integrate with the Spanish people either which, if we take into account the fact that the language is shared, is surprising. Here the lack of integration is mutual as the typical Spaniard is not particularly interested in opening his heart to them and so LatinAmericans generally bunch together. They are not hard to find at weekends around a football field for example or in a particular favourite meeting place where they will congregate in large numbers( often hundreds or more) where they resemble a flock of particularly vociferous starlings. Look among them. You won't find any Spaniards. Many families have arrived with young children wh, resenting having been taken away from their homeland and friends and usually ostracised by Spanish kids, find it extremely difficult to achieve at school,
and, as school failures, organise themselves into gangs such as the well known Latin Kings...... Shades of West side story without the music and with a lot more violence.
The dark skinned African immigration is, for obvios reasons, the most notice-able of all immigrant group. Many have arrived illegallyand live in a clandestine world of their own, usually sharing a flat between about twenty in order to make survival possible and work as itinerant sellers or seasonal field workers. Unlike the previously mentioned groups most Africans are open and friendly and only too pleased to integrate with the Spanish as much as the Spanish themselves will allow.
The Chinese community, which is dedicated to doing business with their shops,restaurants and clothing businesses has to integrate superficially in order to do business with everyone else but they are still like chalk and cheese on the personal level and only befriend their own kind.
The ex communist block north europaean countries contribute greatly to Spain's immigrant community. While the majority are hard working and honest they themselves suffer from the bad press that a certain number of their countrymen cause them as there seems to be an elevated amount of crime, often violent crime, associated with these nations,which logically makes Spanish people reluctant to integrate with them. Give a dog a bad name..........
The last group of immigrants is us. The Brits, French, Deutches, Holanders etc. etc. who did not come here to escape from poverty. I often wonder why many of us are here. So now I come to the Big Prize question. Are you integrated?. Are your parties attended by your Spanish friends? Do they invite you to their parties? And do you really speak Spanish? Do you know what is being talked about? Do you know who Fraga is? or Paquirrin? Have you got any c.ds of Spanish groups in your collection? If the answer to any of these questions is NO, then it's time YOU started to INTEGRATE. The Spanish will accept you warmly if you try and understand them, This blog hopes to provide you with some insight on the topics of the day which will help you in the right direction.
BUT Remember, as my old friend Paco el fontanero once said..." You can be whatever you want in España. What you can't be is an hijo de puta.
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