Opinion – Page 2 – The freelander

Spain, undisputed leader in stock opacity.

Today I receive this information from my broker:

“Presently, the settlement period of stock exchange transactions across European venues is: trade date + 3 business days (T+3), except for German, Slovenian and Bulgarian markets, where the settlement period is T+2.

Effective October 6th 2014, the following countries will change to T+2, which will have an impact on transparency and efficacy of the markets:

Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.”

Are you missing some country?

The communiqué goes on: “The Spanish authorities have announced fixed income securities will migrate to T+2 effective October 6th; however equities are not expected to migrate until the fourth quarter 2015.”

That’s my country! Always leading Europe when it comes to hindering market transparency and lending a hand to the banks at the expense of the investors. I was about to call it a banana republic, but… can’t compare! This is much worse.

The shortest full documentary about Poland ever made.

It happened by chance; I didn’t plan it.

I had just crossed the border and stopped in the first Polish village offering accomodation. After settling in at the hotel, I went for a walk and took the camera with me. I happened to take only two pictures, the only two things that caught my eye in my strolling mood; but, upong reviewing them, I realized that they summarized and comprised all about present-day Poland. Everything you might possibly want to know about this country’s society nowadays, you’ll find in those two pictures, which might not have been taken anywhere else.

That’s my Poland. That’s how it’s meant to be. That’s how I like it. Don’t ever change.

Four blokes "kurwing around" in the park. — Four blokes “kurwing around” in the park.

Krimea is not Catalonia ·

I’m very much afraid that, when seeing a correslation between Krimea and Cataluña, Spanish foreign affairs minister García-Margallo, along with many politicians and journalists, are all missing the point. Krimea’s present and past realities have nothing to do with Catalonia’s except for one thing: the referendum for independence is illegal. For the rest, Catalonia is not a region populated by a 97% of people sharing nothing with the country to which it belongs, whereas Krimea is. Equally, Catalonia is not a region artificially added to a country by political decisions totally foreign to its people’s will, while Krimea is. As a matter of fact, Krimea has never been Ukraine, whereas Catalonia has always been Spain. That’s why such presumed correlation is, to the best of my judgement, wholly mistaken: the real problem is not that Krimea wants its independence from Ukraine, but that Ukraine should have never become independent from Russia. So, we’d rather express the real correlation like this: Catalonia is not Ukraine’s Krimea, but Russia’s Ukraine.
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The Ukraine which is Russia ·

There is a part of Ukraine which loathes Russia and wants to stress their differences as much as possible. They’re not–contrary to what The West insists on believing–a majority of Ukrainians; perhaps not even half of them; but they’re sure the noisiest. However, ironically, that Ukraine which loathes Russia is driven by a typically Russian feeling: the wish and yearning for becoming Europe; such a romantic and outdated admiration for our Old Continent. How odd! Notwithstanding, suffices to live for a couple of months among Ukrainians and Russians to realize that Ukraine is Russia to the bone; same as Catalonia is Spain, leaving differences aside.
Unfortunately, from those cold regions most of us only get to know the information and opinions our European chauvinism is able to admit, instilling the picture of a brave country boldly struggling for getting far from Russia’s influence. Indeed they struggle! To the point that, in the past weeks, they’ve carried out a real and effective coup d’état for overthrowing the legitimate Government they themselves approved in the ballot boxes a few months or years earlier; a coup with the approval of the Western world. How odd! the very Civilization sanctioning coups d’état…
And while the rioters slaughter their fellow countrymen by cobblestones and cocktails, at the moment of truth Europe flirts with Ukraine like a frivolous teaser: smiles, winks and wiggles her hips, but dodges the kisses. For Europe, that Ukraine which loathes Russia is like a wooer, useful for satisfying our vanity and feed our unbearable narcissism, but whom we don’t mean to marry. Maybe this is why we choose to ignore the other Ukraine: that vast minority yearning for the language -Russian- and bonds taken away from them by the extremism that came up after gaining independence from the USSR.

The Decalogue of illegal immigration

Affricans assulting Spanish border's fence — Affricans assulting Spanish border’s fence

1. For admitting inmigrants in Spain, first we must make sure we want them. We don’t need more unemployed people. Charity, well understood, begins at home. Let kindness to the next not turn into lack of kindness to ourselves.
2. Once we’re sure we can provide for them, welcome those who come in legally. We should flexibilize these legal channels, but never reward those who want to skip them.
3. Attack a cop is considered a crime in Spain. Any alien who crosses the border assaulting our policemen becomes a criminal right away. We don’t need more criminals in Spain.
4. It’s governmental demagogy to blame human trade syndicates for the assaults to our borders. Those who destroy the fences and attack our officers are not the gangsters, but the allegedly exhausted, hungry, weakened and dying inmigrants.
5. It’s too easy to act generous with public money. Those in our society who feel more inclined to pity and charity and want to share our wealth with the aliens should take them in into their own homes, and provide for them at their own expense until the aliens could live on their own; health care and education inclusive; but such a burden should not be imposed onto the rest of tax payers. Altruism should never be a duty.
6. The problem of Spanish borders is a Spanish problem, not the EU’s. We don’t need other countries’ permission to protect our frontiers. Most illegals entering Spain remain in Spain, they don’t spread throughout Europe. Climate is better here and, besides, where else would they be more protected and spoiled?
7. If we really wanted to help those Africans, we’d start by lessening the pressure on their natural resources. Otherwise means hypocrisy. Less consumption and waste in Western countries: this is the only consistent way of helping the Third World. But then there is no economical growth! Both things cannot coexist. Let’s make up our minds and behave accordingly.
8. Philanthropy and solidarity with the agressive inmigrants assaulting our borders means severe and contradictory lack of philanthropy and solidarity with those much more numerous who, just because of they’re weaker and more needy, could never set to Spain.
9. If we have to accept inmigrants and we truly mean to be humanitarian, we should fly ourselves to their countries, pick the poorer ones, then bring them home and host them, instead of waiting here for the brutest to arrive and reward their audacity and their aggressivity.
10. Finally, let’s take off our hypocritical mask. Let’s acknowledge the truth: few among us care about those blacks who died by Ceuta, those who died when sailing dinghies, those who perish along the desert… Few among us really want those aliens here. Let’s stop acting compassionate and moved by their wretchedness. They wanted to get in illegaly; they perished; too bad.