SPAIN NOTES, Jan 9: Plastic pellets + Grifols + Vox + Space Command + Kosovo passports
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A Complex, Global 21st Century
1/ A frightening video of Italian fascists saluting in Rome….in 2024.
2/ Open AI replied to the New York Times, insisting it supported journalism and was already doing partnerships with the AP, Axel Springer and others. What the NYT is calling theft of copyrighted content, OpenAI is labelling “regurgitation” or “inadvertent memorization”.
3/ Boeing has ANOTHER problem with its 737-MAX aircraft, this time the 9 version, after door plug on an Alaskan Air flight blew out and United found several instances of loose door plug bolts on its 737-MAX-9s.
4/ There was also a problem with loose bolts on 737-MAX RUDDERS just before the new year, which would be instantly more dangerous.
A Changing Spain
5/ Millions of plastic pellets are turning up on the beaches of Galicia, reportedly from six containers lost by the merchantman Toconao off Portugal.
6/ The little pellets have now spread next door to Asturias, where the regional government has declared a pollution incident.
7/ The prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation.
8/ Feijóo (PP) admitted during a radio interview that they had known about the problem since two weeks before Christmas.
9/ The PSOE is blaming the PP.
10/ Beyond the environmental impact story and how long it will take someone to start cleaning up the mess, this is of course very relevant for the regional elections in Galicia in February.
11/ Remember the Prestige disaster, also in Galicia, 20 years ago.
12/ Gotham City Research, who 10 years ago unravelled the Gowex scandal, has now targeted Grifols SA, a Spanish pharmaceutical company: “GRF manipulates reported debt & EBITDA to artificially reduce reported leverage to 6x which we believe is closer to 10x-13x”.
13/ Grifols stock dumped nearly 50% on the opening in Madrid, from the €14-15 area to almost €8 (see image top).
14/ Grifols sent a statement to Spanish stock regulator CNMV saying it was all “false reports and speculation” and that what Gotham was talking about had been in the relevant, audited, reports “since 2018”.
15/ Grifols will hold an emergency board meeting on Tuesday afternoon.
16/ Spain is getting a Space Command as part of the Air Force, at Brigadier General level. Does Spain really need a Space Force? The first attempt at limited operations is due to begin in February.
17/ The left is organising a major march in cities around Spain in support of the Palestinians on January 20.
18/ Spain might be going back to masks in hospitals and health centres on Wednesday, to try to deal with the Christmas and New Year’s flu cases.
19/ Abascal has called a Vox national assembly meeting on the leadership of the party for January 27…before the regional elections in Galicia.
20/ Is he just trying to get ahead of a leadership challenge from Ortega-Smith?
21/ Spain now recognises passports from Kosovo, but still not its independence.
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