The latest corruption scandal to hit Spain.

it only takes a few voices shouting as loud as they can for more to join in.

The only reason corruption in England is not shown as bad as anywhere else is because the "What can i do about it English" do just that "What can i do about it" so it's ignored.

Why would anyone want to be an MP or in government? after all they all moan about the low wages, moan about the long hours, think it's correct and proper to have your wife take your points for speeding, etc etc. the list is endless what they can do and get away with.

We all know the reason why...the fiddles, otherwise known as "Exe's"  and corruption they can get away with, otherwise known as "Watching each others backs".

This country is more corrupt behind the scenes now then it's ever been, if that's possible

England has always been very good at telling others what to do and how it should be done...shoe on the other foot...forget it..

 If the only problem here was politicians putting their points on their wife's license, I think we would all be very satisfied!! I'm sure there are bigger things going on but I haven't heard of any serious scandals from the UK which can compare to what is going on in Spain. what sort of corruption is going on in the UK?

It turns out that Barcenas used the same "gestor" as Gao Ping to take advantage of his network to wash money and move his fortune from one bank to another according to Swiss authorities. Urdangarin has been set a bail of 8.5 million and a guy went to prison today in record time for stealing food from a fridge, he got three and half years. He stole a lobster, chorizo and sausages. The owner of the house even pardoned him and didn't press charges. Meanwhile people who have driven this country into the ground are walking free,drinking margaritas and laughing at us all! 

 Eggcup, by the way Valencia takes the biscuit on vanity projects and white elephants that have served to fill peoples' pockets with big fat brown envelopes! The list is endless and quite embarrassing! it is so blatantly obvious I do not understand how the people do not just get up and do something about it. 

people dont get up and do something about it because its not their problem.

everyone is just interested in themselves.

What a mind-blowing comparison, Mac.  The poor guy getting three and a half years for a bit of food and the scum at the top living the high life.  They're a different breed.  If I had the authorities on to me for millions I'd stolen I'd have topped myself by now; but there are so many of them with no conscience whatsoever.  It was nice that the person who was stolen from didn't want to press charges, so what a ridiculous criminal justice system (a judge's decision I presume) to send him down and with such a harsh penalty.  Apart from that, there is now the cost that the state is going to bear to house a non-violent person for the sake of a few sausages. I wouldn't even care that much if the thieves of millions didn't get years rotting in jail; I want the money.  The more we hear, the more it seems that much of Spain is in the hands of criminals.

 Mungry

Unfortunately that observation is so very true! However I also think that most people don't even know where to start with something like this. I didn't know AVAAZ before you mentioned it and it looks very interesting. 

 The latest on both cases! 

Go to EOS NEWS BLOG - URDANGARIN

Go to EOS NEWS BLOG - BARCENAS

Wow, Ian.  What big news.

Firstly, it will be great if the authorities can get all that money back from Urdangarin.  But the next question is what will happen to that money?  It seems that there is no safe pair of hands in Spain.

Secondly, with the Barcenas case, if proof were found in the UK that Cameron had received 25,000 euro top-ups over a period of nearly 10 years, coming from dodgy sources, the Government would be immediately brought down with a vote of no-confidence.  Let's see what happens to Rajoy.

Just for info.

From The Entertainer Online http://www.theentertaineronline.com 

The ex-treasurer of the Partido Popular, accused of paying 'brown envelopes' to senior party members, has apparently 'come clean' with a handwritten list of recipients. The list, revealed today by El País, includes regular payments, with receipts, to pretty much all of the PP people you've heard of.

The President, Mariano Rajoy (according to El Páis and El Mundo), for example, taking 25,200€ per year from 1997 to 2008. Three ministers, named, got even larger sums. The money appears to have come from private donors, usually nationally-known building companies.

The accounts revealed today run to 2008. Público.es (the main far-left publication), leads with 'El PP está podrido' (the Partido Popular is rotten), an opinion which may become universal in the following days.

The Partido Popular, meanwhile, says that this is all a fabrication and the politicians named in the newspapers all deny the accusations.

Alan Solomont, the American Ambassador, said today that the Government must move rapidly to resolve these questions of corruption so as not to 'destroy the confidence of the Spanish people'. Hmm, perhaps they've left it too late.

 

Points on the wife's licence IS the least of the problems in the UK, i mentioned that as a for instance, not the measure of how bad it is. Anyway the outcome of that might change your mind, i bet he gets lets of with a slap on the wrist...i bet you wouldn't.

Their is no difference in the many thousands of people taking a small favour every now and again that's been going on unchecked for the past twenty years or so then someone getting caught after ten years for 25,000€ every year.

Perhaps a good look into Peter Mandelson, or Blair or even go back many years to Jim Callahan, and the many others. How anyone can say that Spain is more corrupt then with the lot that we have in the UK beats me.

Does anyone really believe that all the government issued building programmes done in this country over the past years were  without a backhander here and their in the right quarters. And they are just a tiny piece of the big jigsaw.

Corruption takes on many guises and they are not all done with brown envelopes full of cash.

With all it's problems right now Spain is on the chopping block for any bad deed, someone who has lost hundreds on their house sale finds relief in being told Spain is corrupt, better that then themselves to blame for what ever reason.

It's how the world works, you might not like it, but it happens.

 Looks like people are starting to wake up and take a stand :  over 200,000 people have signed a petition on change.org, similar to AVAAZ, calling for the PP members who received cash-in-hand to resign....

Go to EOS NEWS BLOG for the article

 Check this out for a comparison ..... I would like to see how many years these people actually get in prison once the court cases go through..

A young  mother in Valencia has been given 2 years in prison for using a credit card she found on the ground. She was caught using it at a supermarket where she was buying nappies and food for her children for a value of 200 euros, her husband is out of work so was she and they had no food to maintain their family. As I understand it anything under €300 is considered petty crime. But she was charged with identity fraud and will be locked up for 24 months!!! Over 25,000 people in Valencia have signed a petition for her to be pardoned and they will present it at court. At the moment she will have to go to prison.

 They just said on TV that her case has been reviewed and she will not now have to go to prison

 Great news! It just goes to show that when the 'people' do make a stand it certainly  makes a difference. If the people of Requena hadn't supported her on this she would be behind bars now. 

 Hi John, from what I have been hearing on the news and the radio and TV what happended was that she found a wallet on the ground 5 1/2 years ago used it to buy nappies and food for her kids, she spend 193 euros. However she was sentanced for two crimes. The first for document fraud and  was sentanced to one year and 10 months in prison. The second sentance was for identity fraud and was sentanced to 6 months in prison. However those 6 months were converted to community services on the request of her lawyer and she has served that sentance in the community and is paying off the fine (900 euros). But the first sentance still ran it's course as they apparantly requested the change in the sentance too late. This mistake is now being considered a "technical error" by the court, hence the change in the sentance. They say she has not been pardoned but she will not have to go into prison. There has been a lot of TV press on the story and I assume it must have pressured the court to find a solution. From what I have read, she was due to go into prison in 15 days time,  but to serve a sentance of 22 months. This morning that sentance was suspended.

 Yes incredible!!  I read the story in two online papers one of them the ABC! 

But you are right legislation is very diffiucult and also the situation of Spain at the moment is putting a lot of pressure on the system to change sentances.