As I am away for a couple of days, I thought I would leave you with a couple of interesting links. I’ve often heard that getting divorced in Spain is not a particularly good idea for men (people complain that the women always get the kids for example, though I have no idea if that is true), but here’s an interesting quote:
“I am a divorced man and according [to] spanish laws I don’t have the right to exist”
Read the rest at Stigma Rest Room (thanks to Charles for sending in the link).
Secondly, I’m probably the last person to mention the cool new ‘A la Carte’ section of the state Televison Española website. You can watch the best (?) programming from the last seven days from TV1 and La 2, uninterupted by ads, whenever you like.
I imagine the ads will creep in later, once they get the metrics in, but in the meantime it meant that Marina got to catch up on the latest episode of 1920′s culebron La señora, and I could get a few minutes fix (all I can take) of the super OTT documentary Comando Actualidad, all whilst sitting beyond the frontiers of Spain. The service is pretty good, and increases my hopes for the future of efficient digital content delivery in Spain.
Frank
2 Jun 08 at 2:16 pm
Yes, the “a la carta” is interesting, someone gave the link a while back, but worth repeating. I’ll give the culebrones a miss though!
I also like this link, it happens to be in Andalucia, but there are some interesting documentaries, nature programmes, and even some bullfighting for those that like to watch it!
http://tinyurl.com/6esgwx
MrMark
2 Jun 08 at 7:41 pm
This feels like a Chinese curse ! Brilliant news, but since I already spend too much time already on the net….
stigma2
3 Jun 08 at 1:57 am
In 95 % of divorces in Spain, kids custody is given to the mother. (This is the percentage given by the Consejo General del Poder Judicial, the highest organ of judges)
Is Spain, regarding divorces, there are many laws but a little justice.
As I said in my blog, most divorced men in Spain don’t have the right to exist.
If I cease to pay my ex, I may go to jail. If my ex wife doesn’t allow me to see my kids, or influence them against me, judges will not even warn her.
If a woman beats her husband (not requiring surgery) it’s only misdemeanour (not prison, just a fine), If a man threatens her wife or causes her any kind of impairment of self-esteem, then it’s felony (from six months to one year prison).
My wife filed a complaint in spanish Guardia Civil. I discovered she took away all family savings from the bank, and I told her she was a thief and a bad person (I’m a very calmed person, so I said this in a normal tone according the circumstances). I was arrested and put in a cell in the Guardia Civil quarters, then I was allowed to take a suitcase with clothes from my home and given a restrain order not allowed to be closer than 500 mts of my wife (and by extension of my kids).
As sad as it may sound, this is a real story.
Ray
3 Jun 08 at 4:01 am
If I ever start earning a decent salary here in Spain, I think I’ll have to open an account in the Cayman’s after all. My suegra and both of my sister-in-laws did this to their previous husbands, so I silently keep an eye out for this type of shenanigans. Luckily, my wife doesn’t read what I post online (I assume.)
Ben
3 Jun 08 at 11:20 am
@stigma2 – thanks for the extra details, what a terrible story. I’m sorry to hear it is so tough.