Justice finally!

I was so glad to see that narcissistic, shriveled excuse for a man, Larry Nassar, sentenced this week to 175 years for his crimes against his young victims. What brave young women they were to stand up and face that pig to demand justice. I was also glad that the judge in this case was a female judge, Judge Aquilina. I think she was eloquent and civil but she also let that POS know exactly what she thought of him. That toerag finally got his comeuppance and it was a woman that handed it to him! These narcs think they are all powerful and that the rules don't apply to them. They can turn on the tears when it suits them but in the end it really always has been and always will be "all about them" in their minds. So finally some justice. Well done Judge Aquilina and well done the US.

Compare that to the case of serial rapist John Worboys who is up for parole in the UK anytime now (if he hasn't already been released). This pervert taxi driver offered young women a drink in his cab after flashing money at them claiming he had just won the lottery. Problem was, the drinks were drugged and the young women raped. He was convicted in 2009 of the rape of 12 women I believe - who knows how many there were in reality - and was given an "indeterminate" sentence. That pervert is due to be released anytime now. I don't always agree with all things America but it seems to me they are getting an awful lot right when it comes to sentencing these sickos. Shame on the British justice system.

And finally, I have been having problems with my French bank for the last 2-3 months. Every month I transfer €2,000 to my current account with them from my Swiss, salary account, and also 2,000 Swiss francs to my Swiss account with them to cover my mortgage. In November the €2,000 took forever to be credited to my French account and when I chased it up they said there were "new regulations whereby the bank had to check the origin of my funds (or something like that) and ensure that I was legally resident in France". I have lived in this house for 28 years and they have my French tax declaration information so .... Anyway, I chased it up with my French banker and eventually it was transferred but very late. Then along comes December payroll. My bank transfer left Switzerland on 22 December and 10 days later it still had not been credited to my French account (normally this would go through on the same day). After about 11 days the transfer was refused and the money was returned to my Swiss bank account. In the meantime I'm running up overdraft fees for a transfer that has been refused by the French bank. When I asked the Swiss bank to chase this up they explained that they had been having endless problems with this bank lately with many customers for this very reason. It likely stems from new French banking regulations but I had never been informed of them and, as I said to my French banker, "what more do you want from me. I'm at a loss to know what else I can provide to prove that I am legit". I mean, it's not like as if it even looks like drugs money or anything. I'm sure the drug mafiosi are not into piddling amounts like €2,000 and this transfer has been going on for the last 28 years, for pete's sake! I think it is more a worldwide case of proving that people are really living where they claim to be living and not evading taxes (this is a big issue for US citizens in particular but I am not American). So eventually I decided to block my automatic transfer and have now moved on to the thoroughly modern means of withdrawing cash from the Swiss bank and carrying in my purse to the French bank to deposit it. As I said to the French lady "it sure ain't progress is it". I'm not sure when this will get resolved but in the meantime I shall continue to deposit cash only on pay day. The really stupid thing is, though, that the Swiss franc transfer to pay my mortgage continues to go through uninterrupted. I can't figure it out, I tell you. But I did write to the French bank and have them recredit me all charges incurred as a result of the "irregularities" (their term) on my account.

But, that brings me back to the issue of my mortgage. I pay my mortgage to the French bank but in Swiss francs every three months, and about a week before the due date of each payment I put a copy of the original loan amortization agreement in my diary to make sure that I am aware that it is about to be debited. Anyway, I happened to glance at the outstanding amount that would have been pending as at end January 2018 if I had not started to overpay three years ago. I was stunned to see that in the last three years I have overpaid my mortgage to the tune of 88,000 Swiss francs! Or almost $100,000! I knew I was doing well but really! So on that basis, by my calculations I can have the darned mortgage paid off exactly two years from now. Yippee. That being the case I will be free to retire any time I want after that. Wow - has it ever been so worth it!