EU Mismanagement of funds - The Ghost Airports

One way that you can get funds from the EU is to build a huge infrastructure project that is not needed. Especially airports. One of the biggest of these cost 1.1 billion euros. These projects pass the EU annual audit so are seldom mentioned. The pointless airports are nicknamed "ghost airports" in the EU.

This vast mismanagement of funds was raised in the EU Parliament -
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/...DOC+XML+V0//EN - but no-one was blamed, even though the developer of one of the airports is currently under arrest in Spain on other charges of fraud etc.

Here is an account of two of the airports (See http://www.skyscanner.net/news/14-wo...doned-airports )

Don Quijote Airport, Spain

Cost 1.1 billion euros. Don Quijote Airport (or Ciudad Real Central, to give it its official name) was conceived in the 1990s as an alternative to Madrid-Barajas. Fifty minutes from Madrid on a high-speed rail connection with Seville, it was Spain's first private international airport, and Spain's last - it went bust and closed in April 2012.

Castellón–Costa Azahar Airport, Spain

What's Spanish for White Elephant? Officially declared 'open' in March 2011, no commercial flight has actually left from or landed at Castellón-Costa Azahar Airport. Built at a cost of 150 million euros, the enduring feature of this freshly-deceased airport near Valencia is a statue in honour of Carlos Fabra, the local politician who was the driving force behind its construction. He is under investigation for tax evasion and corruption.

Original photo by Manuel Carballo on Flickr

12/2/16

Comments

Do Muslim women want to wear the Burka (Burqua)?

Do all islamic women want to wear burka? Can a woman's freedom to wear what she wants oppress other women? Are western feminists aiding a cult that is dedicated to the destruction of feminism? I hope to answer these questions in this article. I would much appreciate any comments you might have if you disagree with the article, especially if you have a feminist viewpoint. Here is a description of the problems of wearing burka by a woman of Asian origin: "Of course, many veiled Muslim women argue that, far from being forced to wear burkas by ruthless husbands, they do so out of choice. And I have to take them at their word. But it is also very apparent that many women are forced behind the veil. A number of them have turned up at my door seeking refuge from their fathers, mothers, brothers and in-laws - men brain-washed by religious leaders who use physical and mental abuse to compel the girls to cover up. It started with the headscarf, then went to th...

The Falklands have always been Argentine - Las Malvinas son Argentinas

"The Falklands have always been Argentine" is taught to every Argentine child as a matter of faith. What was Argentina during the time when it "always" possessed Las Malvinas? In this article I will trace the history of Argentina in the context of its physical and political relationship with "Las Malvinas", the Falkland Islands. The Argentine claim to the Falkland Islands dates from a brief episode in 1831-32 so it is like Canada claiming the USA despite two centuries of separate development. This might sound like ancient history but Argentina has gone to war for this ancient claim so the following article is well worth reading. For a summary of the legal case see: Las Malvinas: The Legal Case Argentina traces its origins to Spanish South America when it was part of the Viceroyalty of the Rio del Plata. The Falklands lay off the Viceroyalty of Peru, controlled by the Captain General of Chile. In 1810 the Falklands were far from the geographical b...

The Roots of New Labour

This article was written in 2009 but is still useful to understand the motivation behind New Labour - from the global financial crisis through the over-regulated, surveillance society to the break up of the UK into nationalities. The past lives of Labour Ministers have long been sanitised and many biographies that include their shady communist and Marxist pasts are inaccessible or removed from the net. The truth about these guys is similar to discovering that leading Tories were members of the Nazi Party. If you are a British voter and do not think that this is important then I despair for British politics. Had these people taken jobs in industry their past might be forgotten and forgiven but they continued in left wing politics and even today boast of being "Stalinist" or International Socialist (or in Blair's case, Trotskyist ). Peter Mandelson (first Secretary of State and Labour Supremo): "Mr Mandelson was born into a Labour family - his grandfather wa...

Political Thoughts - the magazine

Search This Blog