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Comment by hummel | Hacker News Reader

Never expected to read the name "Villarejo" on HackerNews

In part thanks to BBC talking about it, I suppose.

Dude could've been taken straight out of a movie. Sometimes reality does surpass fiction.

He trademarked his image so they don't use it without permission: (in Spanish) https://www.elconfidencial.com/espana/2021-01-08/villarejo-r...

Why? Could you elaborate please. Genuinely curious.

Because it is a case of corruption that is quite irrelevant at the Spanish level, much less at the European level and totally irrelevant at the global level. Villarejo is an ex-policeman who is blackmailing public figures to avoid a long prison sentence for corruption and bribe. He is a very basic blackmailer and the article at BBC is some PR to give some air to his judicial defence. It is certainly not a relevant/interesting/cultural article for HN.

Great, thanks for the clarification, I edited my original comment because I guess it was out of place the way the question was made. Personally, I've seen way less interesting articles here on HN though...

Quite irrelevant at the Spanish level? I don't agree. He is involved in the dirtiest affairs of the Spanish society, from the political parties to the monarchy, including the police force...

But, we agree on that, absolutely irrelevant for HN.

> He is involved in the dirtiest affairs of the Spanish society

... dirtiest affairs of the Spanish _politicians_. Power wars, corruption and how the deep state works routinely under the rug, are in itself pretty interesting themes. Don't made the mistake to thing that this would never happen in your own country (or that is not happening right now).

Spanish society does not have any part to play on this power and lies game but... "Spain is evil, yadah, yadah, we want independence, yadah, yadah, etc". Yep. Obviously elections in Catalonia have started again. We had heard this before.

Irrelevant at the Spanish level? You sound like you consume too much Spanish media if you say that. Of course they don't give this much relevance, as with everything concerning the elites. In any country with decent media, this man and his scandals would make plenty of front pages.

It does very often, it used to be a common political weapon, but a blackmailer can only take that long in the news, and as pointed out it was just basic blackmailing. Politically it is interesting to keep the attention on such things for people interested on sell bad image, the same as any other country.

Me too, but come to think of it, it is such a big story that it makes sense that it makes some international noise. And HN has had already its share of spies and similar exposes discussed.

What's next? Tech news at Menéame? Wait...

It really surprised me too. But here we are.

Same here.

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