Comments on: The strange case of Rafael Ramos

By: Trevor

Trevor — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 10:42:55 +0000

Dutch and Danish sound like an interesting combination. Spanish and Catalan are too close to be a huge amount of fun.

LaVa never says anything really interesting because it’s much too close to the local establishment, and I find much of its foreign coverage frankly embarrassing. There’s the occasional good local history/culture stuff from guys like Lluís Permanyer, but that’s about it for me. I’m closer to El Mundo in political terms but find it threadbare and doctrinaire, so I usually end up reading El País and avoiding most of the columnists. There’s various stuff in Catalan online – El Punt, El Periódico, Racó Català – if you’re after the voice of the people.

By: Eric Dickens

Eric Dickens — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 09:28:27 +0000

I’ts nice to get a bit of info from the horse’s mouth, so to speak. I like your messing about with language with Kalebøl. I translate from both Dutch and Danish, so I realise the puns involved with bald, executioner, and so on. Why did you abandon La Vanguardia, now that your Spanish is OK? I buy it because it’s the only newspaper I can get locally here in the Netherlands where you can read readers’ letters in Catalan (though nothing else, apart from death notices and adverts). I’ll look at some of your other blogs.

By: Trevor

Trevor — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 14:44:29 +0000

Dear Mr Dickens, I’m afraid I haven’t got an opinion – I rarely touch La Vanguardia now my Spanish is OK. I assume Raffa-boy is still nicking and faking and being tolerated by management for whatever reason. He was caught red-handed yet again a couple of months ago with something which wouldn’t normally have been available on the web but which someone posted on their blog or whatever. I suppose that’s his way of showing respect for his sources.

By: Eric Dickens

Eric Dickens — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 14:07:52 +0000

Almost three years pass. I bought La Vanguardia on 17th June 2006 and, being narcissistic, noticed my surname in a headline on page 4, this article being about Alan Johnson as an alternative to Gordon Brown.

Has, in your opinion, Mr Ramos got any more accurate?

By: Geoff

Geoff — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Trevor, you know that ‘corresponsal en Londres’ means ‘once went to London on holiday.’ (How can I get into the original articles?)

By: Plineta

Plineta — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

link

By: John Chappell

John Chappell — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Go get him. I remember a couple of terrific Ramos gaffes from when he was in the States; once he wrote a piece on how much he dug baseball and really got totally into it, in which he referred to Yankees all-Star Don Mattingly as a pitcher. He was, of course, a first baseman. This is like bragging about how much you understand soccer and then calling Zidane Real Madrid’s goalkeeper.

One when he was in England and some new Beatles book or CD or something came out, Ramos got himself an interview with Brian Epstein, whom he identified as the Beatles’ legendary manager. Mr. Epstein has, of course, been dead since 1967

By: Geoff

Geoff — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Dear people, you’re getting it all wrong. Ramos (if that is his real name) is a virtual journalist and probably makes a living in a Barcelona suburb helping old ladies compose their wills. His sister’s probably married to someone on LV’s board. The only difference between him and Jayson Blair is that Blair did actually visit some of the places and people he described and could actually write. Given the morning papers, a brain haemorrhage and a keyboard, anyone can write a Rafael Ramos article.

By: Trevor

Trevor — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Go on then, write one.

By: Geoff

Geoff — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Sorry, going to have to get really drunk first