Cheap Properties: Looking for one of these in Spain? Then, click here for the site of Sareb, a large bad bank assembled from a pile of small bad banks. Those with a lot of over-valued empty flats and houses on their books. There's even some in Poio, not far from me.
Long-Distance Travel: I can't credit this but it's reported that twice as many people prefer the plane to the AVE high-speed train for this. And for 'middle-distance' travel as well. Which all rather endorses the accusation that the AVE is a vanity project and the huge sums of money would have been better spent improving Spain's 19th century rail network, nationwide.
Water: Despite living in a hot, dry country - well, most of them - the Spanish are profligate in the use of this. Click here for a chart which demonstrates this. Next door neighbour, Portugal, appears to be even worse. As does Italy.
SPANISH POLITICS
The Nelsonian Approach: Members of the PSOE have accused the acting-leader of their own party of consciously turning a blind eye to the institutionalised corruption of the PP party, now destined to spend at least the next 4-8 years in power. One wonders why. Could it be that any real investigation would be seriously embarrassing for the PSOE as well? One thing's for sure - When push gets to shove, most Spanish voters couldn't care less about the corruption they claim to see as one of the country's main problems. They're all as bad as each other seems to be the underlying sentiment. Would you believe that El Mundo has turned up what it claims to be a PP video sent to all their mayors, giving guidance on how to set about getting illegal finance? In how many developed countries would a party risk doing this?
The Nelsonian Approach: Members of the PSOE have accused the acting-leader of their own party of consciously turning a blind eye to the institutionalised corruption of the PP party, now destined to spend at least the next 4-8 years in power. One wonders why. Could it be that any real investigation would be seriously embarrassing for the PSOE as well? One thing's for sure - When push gets to shove, most Spanish voters couldn't care less about the corruption they claim to see as one of the country's main problems. They're all as bad as each other seems to be the underlying sentiment. Would you believe that El Mundo has turned up what it claims to be a PP video sent to all their mayors, giving guidance on how to set about getting illegal finance? In how many developed countries would a party risk doing this?
THE SPANISH ECONOMY
Growth Projections: These continue to increase both for this year and next year, masking structural problems. Such as the 20% unemployment rate, for example. Meanwhile, it's reported that tourist numbers grew by 9% this year. It's an ill wind, as they say.
Growth Projections: These continue to increase both for this year and next year, masking structural problems. Such as the 20% unemployment rate, for example. Meanwhile, it's reported that tourist numbers grew by 9% this year. It's an ill wind, as they say.
LOCAL STUFF
Pontevedra and Drugs:Visitors are always surprised to hear just how much of our local wealth depends on the importation of white powder from Colombia. Possibly because there's not a lot of talk about it, either on the streets or in the local media. So, it was something of a surprise to read an article about smuggling in the Voz de Galicia a couple of days ago. See the end of this post for Google's machine translation of this.
FINALLY
Robins: Just heard the first one of the autumn/winter and have played my usual trick on it - putting on, at full volume, a snatch of robin song. So, that I can watch this most territorial of birds going mad outside the door. So far, though, I only seem to have attracted a visiting troupe of 7 greenfinches to the tree at the bottom of the garden. Perhaps the robin is deaf.
The 40kph Sign: Driving downhill last night, I noticed this had been removed from just before the 30kph sign and placed at the other end of the road works, up the hill. Where the existing limit is also 30kph. I guess this makes sense to someone, along the lines of: Ignore this sign telling you to slow down to a speed greater than you're permitted to do here and just regard it as a warning that there are some road works ahead. But that's rather a lot for the average driver to take in, I'd say.
Robins: Just heard the first one of the autumn/winter and have played my usual trick on it - putting on, at full volume, a snatch of robin song. So, that I can watch this most territorial of birds going mad outside the door. So far, though, I only seem to have attracted a visiting troupe of 7 greenfinches to the tree at the bottom of the garden. Perhaps the robin is deaf.
The 40kph Sign: Driving downhill last night, I noticed this had been removed from just before the 30kph sign and placed at the other end of the road works, up the hill. Where the existing limit is also 30kph. I guess this makes sense to someone, along the lines of: Ignore this sign telling you to slow down to a speed greater than you're permitted to do here and just regard it as a warning that there are some road works ahead. But that's rather a lot for the average driver to take in, I'd say.
THE GALLERY
ARTICLES
THE VOZ DE GALICIA
11/10/16
ONE OF EUROPE'S
ENTRY POINTS FOR DRUGS
Despite police
blows, the drugs mafia continues to use the Pontevedra coast and
ports
Periodically, the
police deal blows to drug market, some operations that in many cases
are settled with major seizures, which, however, does not seem to
have laid siege to the mafias engaged in illicit drug trafficking.
Why Pontevedra?
It is one of the most
frequent questions when it refers to the penetration of the drug in
the Rias Baixas. Experts say that when the narcotics business began
several factors came together that made the eyes of narcos networks
were set in Pontevedra. On the one hand, the orographic configuration
of the coast and, secondly, and perhaps more importantly, for
existence and a vast network of clans who were engaged in
smuggling[cigarettes]. Thus, many of these frames or clans were
converted to a much more lucrative business.
What is the current
situation?
Is paradigmatic of the
fact that the Interior Ministry, in its latest annual report, only
refers to Pontevedra, regardless of what the pure and hard figures to
show that, in the field of cocaine seizures, "the provinces
which have recorded highest amounts are Las Palmas, Valencia and
Pontevedra. " Only in the last year, the National Police and
Civil Guard practiced in the Rias Baixas a total of 309 arrests
related to drug trafficking, while 165 knowledge of facts relating to
this crime area were reported. This is somewhat higher numbers than
last year when carried out exactly counted 300 arrests and 154
'facts'. Meanwhile, in the first six months of the year, at the
provincial level there has been scarcely variation -77 criminal
offences in 2016 against 78 in the same period of 2015, while in the
vicinity of the city of Lérez [Pontevedra] the decline is more
pronounced, approximately 33%, to have gone from 9-6 crimes.
How this drug
reaches national territory?
There are two main
ways, which a third, experts say, is employed less and brings fewer
drug. The latter would be the
route via intercontinental flights that normally do not call
at Peinador[Vigo airport] but at Madrid's Barajas airport.
Thus, and saving the
case of some very sporadic and mail-piece, cocaine reaches the
Pontevedra coast via the sea. The two entryways are: the
supply boats that move caches to the vicinity of the coast to be
downloaded onto speedboats that cover the last stretch; and water
containers arriving in port on ships that perform a trade route. In
the latter modus operandi, it may be the case the charterer of the
cargo is fully aware that he is carrying drugs or, on the contrary,
has no idea of the existence of the departure of narcotics. It
is what is known as blind hook. The prominence of these two methods
explained logically that 29% of the cocaine seizures have occurred
during police operations "both in territorial waters and
international waters' says the Dept. of the Interior, while a similar percentage -
29% - has been intercepted at container ports used in commercial
shipping, try to introduce the drug between the goods or using the
method of blind hook. "
What have been the
last major anti-drug operations?
A dozen people were arrested Civil Guard last week who, according to
investigators, were engaged in drug trading from 2 substandard houses
in the barrio of O Vao in Poio. Thus, the clans of family and
Joaquina were considered dismantled, especially considering that half
of the detainees have entered the prison of A Lama. Meanwhile, late
last year, agents of the Greco National Police in Pontevedra seized
in the town of Barro three tons of cocaine that were to be delivered
to a group of British narcos settled on the Costa del Sol. More
recent is the operation that last April led the UDYCO to seize a
shipment of nearly 60 kilos of heroin in Tui. As said days ago by Commissioner Manuel Bouzas Canosa, is "This the largest drug
stash of the drug this year" in Spain and possibly in Western
Europe.
No comments:
Post a Comment