Awake, for morning in the bowl of night has flung the stone that puts
the stars to flight.
And, lo, the hunter of the east has caught the sultan’s turret in a noose of light!

Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable – Christopher Howse: ‘A Pilgrim in Spain.

Cosas de España

Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminium will severely affect Spanish exports.

Another football scandal here in Spain, albeit a smaller one.

News to cheer a few of us – Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop products have reached Spain.

Cousas de Galicia

Wild boars continue to cause 10 road accidents a day, some of them fatal. More of them need to be hunted and killed, is the not very surprising response to this emergencia cinegética.

The VdG tells us today that many Galicians will struggle financially right through to mid-year, having used credit to finance Xmas and Reyes celebrations and gifts. Not compulsory, of course, but the social pressure is high in a country which holds fun in very high regard.

Flights to Galicia’s 3 airports are well below the levels projected for them in 2013 – 5.9m p.a. against 7.8m. Long term readers won’t be surprised by this news. The total for Oporto’s facility is 15.9m, against a 2013 projection of only 12m. Many of these are Galicians, of course. And foreigners living in or visiting Galicia.

The UK

Can it really be true, as reported, that an Albanian criminal couldn’t be deported because his son wouldn’t get chicken nuggets in Albania and the European Convention on Human Rights gives him a ‘right to family life’? An AI answer: This is an oversimplification of a complex case. While the chicken nuggets were mentioned, they were not the primary reason for the decision. The tribunal considered the child’s additional needs, including food sensitivities, sensory issues, and difficulties communicating emotions. The government is appealing the ruling.

Germany

Herr Merz might well have kaiboshed his – previously high – chance of becoming the Chancellor in the imminent elections.

Why more young men in Germany are turning to the far right.

The USA

Given the quantity and nature of outrages, it’s impossible to keep my promise not to write anything more about Trump. So, here’s more on Trump the Merciless, Emperor of AMGA . . .

I tried again this morning to think of the best single (negative) adjective to describe Trump but – such is the range of options – I gave this up as an impossible task. I recalled that I’d posted a schedule of all such adjectives some years ago but couldn’t find it. So, I asked an AI engine for a list. This is its response – surely not totally comprehensive:-

Common descriptors include:

• Personality Traits: narcissistic, egotistical, arrogant, selfish, manipulative, childish, thin-skinned, vengeful, shameless, and unhinged
• Behavior: dishonest, deceitful, divisive, racist, misogynist, xenophobic, authoritarian, and crude
• Leadership Style: incompetent, irresponsible, chaotic, destructive, dictatorial, and treasonous
• Public Perception: liar, bully, ignorant, dangerous, reckless, and toxic

Some of the most surprising negative adjectives used to describe Donald Trump include:

• Venereal: Critiquing his personal life and behavior
• Yellow: Referring to perceived cowardice, particularly regarding his military record
• Craven: Highlighting self-serving actions, such as attempting to secure personal benefits through his position
• Pernicious and Sinister: Describing actions seen as harmful or malevolent, like voter suppression efforts
• Revolting: Used in response to perceived self-aggrandizement, such as positioning himself alongside Mt. Rushmore

All in all, just the sort of person you want running your country . . .

To my surprise, the words ‘stupid’ and ‘corrupt’ don’t appear in this list, though ‘ignorant’ ‘dishonest’ do.

As for corrupt . . . Robert Reich asks here whether a very recent development is the biggest act of Trump corruption yet.

As for stupid/’ignorant’ . . . Trump clearly believes that Americans choosing to buy foreign products and services amounts to the USA being ‘ripped off’. And that buying stuff from Canada when it’s a US state and not another country would save money and stop an ‘abuse’. I guess none of his puppet-masters are enlightening him, as he serves their purposes as a useful idiot.

His maddest action yet? –Trump is suing CBS and its parent company, Paramount Global, for [the staggering sum of] $20 billion, alleging the network deceptively edited a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris. He claims this harmed his Truth Social platform. I guess he must pay the bills of at least some lawyers for at least one to be willing to act for him in this ludicrous and frivolous action.

Russia

Having seen the headline Putin’s most powerful nuclear missile system is an ‘absolute failure’, I searched and got this apparently good news: The RS-28 Sarmat IBM (“Satan-2”) has faced significant setbacks, with reports indicating it failed in 4 out of 5 tests. The most recent was in September 2024 and is believed to have been caused by issues with its liquid-fueled engine, which is more volatile than solid-fueled systems. The failures have political and military implications for Russia, undermining its nuclear posture amid ongoing tensions with NATO and the war in Ukraine. While Russian officials claim that the Sarmat is operational, these repeated test failures suggest otherwise and might delay further development and deployment. Russia Today(RT) might well say something different. In fact, it’s latest comment was in October 2024, when it said the system was in late development. Which I suppose is true in a way.

Quotes of the Day

• Trump is driving political debate to ever new lows. Even his most ridiculous executive orders have an ugly effect on politics around the world. . . .The problem with Trump’s America is that everything happens so fast, and across too many categories. . . . There are moves so stupid and trivial that you can lose hours wondering whether there is a long game or if it’s all just trolling. . . There are moves so inhumane, causing so much deliberate suffering, that they are hard to fathom. T he cancellation of USAid is so consequential that reaction has almost frozen in place, as the world figures out which immediate humanitarian crisis to prioritise, and waits for some grown-up, such as the Constitution, to step in.
• Everyone loves my Gaza plan. . . . .Woke has destroyed our reputation but our reputation is coming back.: Donald Trump, possibly the most unaware person the world has ever seen.

Spanish

• Anteojos: Glasses, spectacles. Surely obsolete.
• Patíbulo: Gallows, scaffold, gibbet
• Jáquer: Hacker
• Cinegético: Related to hunting, eg wild boars
• Zarpazo: Blow, swipe. Claw
• Menesteros: Deprived

Did you know?

I’ve never been clear on whether the plant commonly called catnip or catmint is good or bad for cats. I now know that to 30% of the creatures it’s neither. But it does make the rest happy/affectionate/kittenish or, if male, horny/aggressive. But only for 10-15 minutes. So, something of a mixed bag.

Finally . . .

I thought I’d figured out the best time to go supermarket shopping in Spain – 9am Saturday – but I learned a new lesson last night, a Monday. If you go at 6pm, the car park will be nearly full; if you go at 6.45, it will be at least half-empty.

Finally, Finally . . .

We have a new lady in our Pilates class. The not-so-good news is that she talks throughout the 50 minutes, by my side though not to me. The better news is that she talks in Castellano, not Gallego, so I get a chance to improve my listening skills.

My thanks to those readers who take the trouble to Like my posts.

The Usual Links . . .

• You can get my posts by email as soon as they’re published. With the added bonus that they’ll contain the typos I’ll discover later. I believe there’s a box for this at the bottom of each post. If you do this but don’t read the posts, I will delete your subscription. So perhaps don’t bother if you have other reasons for subscribing . . .
• For new readers: If you’ve landed here looking for info on Galicia or Pontevedra, try here. If you’re passing through Pontevedra on the Camino, you’ll find a guide to the city there.
• For those thinking of moving to Spain:– This is an extremely comprehensive and accurate guide to the challenge, written by a Brit who lives in both the North and the South and who’s very involved in helping Camino walkers. And this is something on the so-called Beckham Rule, which is beneficial – tax-wise – for folk who want to work here. Finally, some advice on getting a mortgage. And this article ‘debunks claims re wealth and residency taxes’. Probably only relevant if you’re a HNWI. In which case, you’ll surely know what that stands for.