20 Oct 2012 11:22 AM:

I think there is a huge difference between a well regulated "Club" (there is an official association of brothel owners in Spain) and the smaller, seamier and unregulated outfits.  I have seen girls in barely any clothing shivering in the snow on an industrial estate in Northern Spain and my wife and I regularly play guess "Tarts or Cops" because either the prostitutes or the Guardia Civil occupy a roundabout in Southern Spain which we frequently pass.  I have been to a brothel (Club) only once in my life out of curiosity with a friend.  He indulged, I didn't but had a long conversation with Michela from Romania at the bar.  She was saving money to return home, the environment was secure with huge bouncers in case of trouble and she was there of her own choice.

The poor girls on the street are not there through choice but through necessity.  Often they are pimped by a man dealing them drugs to satisfy a habit he himself has started.  There are trafficked "sex slaves" and recently a "Bar" in a nearby town had one of its rooms torched - I have no idea whether the man was cross with the woman or what the reason was.

In summary, prostition is fine if it is between consenting adults but if one of the pair is coerced or so desperate that she is doing it against her will then the state should crack down on the man and try and help the woman.

Thread: Spain cracking down on prostitution!

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22 Sep 2012 10:21 AM:

I agree they are cheap on the headline rate but then there is €40 each return for a 15kg suitcase or €60 for a 20kg suitcase plus on-line check-in charge and credit card charge (there is no other possible way of booking and paying unless you do it at the airport which costs much more) so it just seems to me so dishonest.  Why not offer the full fare, with suitcase or without and have all the extras included.  Added to this the aeroplanes are uncomfortable, the seats don't recline, the staff are rude at best and then there is their schedule - they deliberately overstate the transit time so that they can arrive "early" and play a horrible bugle call.  If they cancel a flight for operational reasons, they do not pay for passengers' overnight expenses and they underman the check-in desks so the queues are horrendous.  The food and drinks are foul and overpriced.  Having said that, if there is no other way of getting from point to point on an airline, and I would fly a full cost one if I could, they do operate some convenient routes. 

As a former PPL holder let's look at the fuel issue.  There is no way that Ryanair would willingly carry around an extra couple of tonnes of spare fuel, this would just increase their operating costs.  Therefore the extra fuel is a prudent safety measure enabling the aircraft to divert or return without endangering the lives of passengers or crew and is possibly a legal requirement.  At any rate, it is the one thing I would not complain about.  Far too many small aircraft have to make emergency landings in some field due to running out of fuel, indeed it is part of the training to be able to do so.  But a 737 cannot safely land in a field so I feel much happier that they are able to get me to a runway with fire trucks and a foam blanket - why should anyone complain about safety measures?

Thread: What is going on with Ryanair in Spain?

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22 Sep 2012 4:57 AM:

I booked a Ryanair flight Sevilla to Marrakech on the 14th December for my Wife's "significant" birthday on the following day.  They changed their flight schedule so now we have to travel on 15th which is going to wreck her birthday plus we have had to change hotel and car hire and parking bookings.  Not impressed!

Thread: What is going on with Ryanair in Spain?

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13 Aug 2012 3:12 PM:

Oh come on guys, Volkswagen, which owns Audi, Lamorghini and Bentley is the most successful car company in the world; BMW and Mercedes Benz are German.  These are not World-Class products?

Britan's car industry is now dominated by Tata (India); BMW (Mini), a few Japanese and Korean companies plus a few hi-tech companies that sell hundreds not thousands of cars a year.

 In addition to this the smaller German comapnies the "Mittelstand" also offer world-class products on anything from fish packing to ball bearings.

This entire post has become racist and I am ashamed that British born citizens cannot accept that their country is no longer a dominant world-power and so feel the need to trash the most successful country in Europe.

You all need to accept the reality of today and not go back to WW II.  France needs Germany to survive.  No one is expecting a Blitzkreig so forget it and concentrate on economic growth rather than negativity.

"Don't think of what your country can do for you, think of what you can do for your country"

Thread: What does Europe need to sort out this mess?

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13 Aug 2012 9:29 AM:

Oh dear, the idea of Hitler being the world's greatest man in 1938 is very strange.  You should read "The Gathering Storm" by Winston Churchill and "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" by William Shirer if you want to comment on these things. 

You also need to understand that after World War II the USA gave three times the amount of money to the UK compared to West Germany through the Marshall Plan and the UK squandered it on social programs while Germany invested it in productive companies that are now world class, which is why it is the most successful country in the EU.

Lastly, please consider the consequences of Spain leaving the Euro, which is an event that is not impossible and, without aid from Germany, inevitable.  Any Euros that you hold in the bank may be converted to Ptas which will instantly devalue by up to 50%, as will the value of your property, but if you have a mortgage in Euros this will still need to be repaid in Euros.  Spain would not leave the EU and the devaluation will eventually sort out the unemployment problem as the young leave the country and also find work in Spain on a minimum wage which is now 50% lower. 

If that is what you wish to happen, I suggest you get out now while the going is relatively good but if you forecast the impact that this will have on the UK, whose biggest trading partner is the EU, you might find that you are headed for Germany - the land of your hero!

Thread: What does Europe need to sort out this mess?

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