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

Despite al.l the plaudits for top line economic growth, not every metric is impressive.

A Guardian columnist explains here why a lot of immigration has been very good for Spain’s economy. As I’ve said, I doubt that the UK and Spanish situations are equivalent, on the basis of my profiles of The Perfect Immigrant and the Not-So-Perfect Immigrant. See my post of 18 January.

The USA

Quite a letter from a disgruntled farmer, who’s a Republican.

The Meidas Touch network is a good source of criticism of the regime of King Donald the Tird (as the Irish say)

Trump, the Man

Not long before Trump took office, his family started to sell its own cryptocurrency token — earning along with its partners and estimated $100m in transaction fees – just as he was preparing to sign an executive order directing his administration to draft new cryptocurrency regulations easing oversight of the industry.

What the job of President is all about . . . Per the NY Times: Donald Trump held a strategy session in the Oval Office yesterday on expediting the merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf – from which his own family stands to gain substantial wealth. Once a grifter . . . It’s almost admirable that Trump is so honestly dishonest.

Can no one stop this flagrant abuse? If not, roll on his heart attack. Surely Vance won’t be as shamelessly corrupt.

The USA is now widely seen as a sick country, presided over by a blatantly crooked and populist authoritarian. A perfect negotiating partner for Russia, I guess. They will understand each other perfectly. Though one of them will be a lot smarter than the other. From the country with far more windows to fall through.

One wonders if Trump is as concerned about his legacy as Putin is said to be about his. Perhaps he – laughably – thinks a Nobel Peace prize will secure a positive assessment by History.

Is Trump really losing his mind? I’m not so sure that his off-piste ramblings prove this. But here’s someone who differs.

Ukraine and the USA

Not hard to believe . . . Trump’s confidential – not to say, utterly outrageous – plan involves putting Ukraine in a stranglehold. His demand for a $500bn ‘payback’ from Ukraine goes far beyond US control over the country’s critical minerals. It covers everything from ports and infrastructure to oil and gas, and the larger resource base of the country. Trump’s outrageous objective amounts to the US economic colonisation of Ukraine, in legal perpetuity. Zelensky is being given the choice between military violation of Ukraine by Putin and the economic violation of Ukraine by his own ally. But, doubtless. his MAGA base will think this is perfectly reasonable, as it’s all about money.

And the US is owed, bigly. As the big man keeps telling them.

Ukraine v Russia

Given the reported state of the UK, it’s a tad difficult to understand why the PM would want to give the country an (expensive) leading role in the creation of a European military force to secure Ukraine’s border. Anyway, things didn’t exactly get off to a good start. Macron supported Starmer’s proposal, in his own self-interest, but Germany and Poland didn’t. And all other states are staying in the long grass for now. As for Spain, the Foreign Minister has said “It is too early at the moment to talk about deploying troops in Ukraine. There is no peace at the moment, and the effort has to be to achieve it as soon as possible.” Perhaps they don’t believe the claim that Russia has more territorial ambitions. Or think there are better ways of dealing with these.

Meanwhile, Europe talks like Churchill but acts like Chamberlain.

Quotes of the Day

• Former federal prosecutor and Justice Department fraud adviser Hui Chen: The entire force and power of the United States government is now part of the business-support structure for the Trump family. Which has surprised no one, of course.
• It’s quite an irony seeing Trump boast of making the USA a meritocracy again while sitting in front of a foto of the father who bequeathed him a property empire.
• People like humour in authoritarian leaders. (Caligula’s was remarkably cruel but admired by a Roman population inured to blood sports. In contrast, Stalin and Hitler were not known for their ‘jokes’.

English

Thanks to reader Perry for this article on contronyms.

Spanish

• Calaña: Kind, ilk, sort, stripe
• Caer: Normally, To fall. But also, in the case of criminals, To be caught/arrested
• Menguante: Waning, declining, falling, etc.

Did you know?

Reader Alexandras has kindly provided this article on protecting your email from hackers.

And you might want to check out Proton Mail.

Finally . . .

It’s quite hard to know what US products I can boycott, apart from soft drinks. Which I don’t drink. No plans to buy a Tesla. Here’s a list of categories:-;

1. Energy products: Petroleum gas and crude petroleum. Impossible to avoid
2. Pharmaceuticals: I buy Spanish generics
3. Machinery and equipment:
4. Agricultural products: eg Soybeans
5. Chemicals, plastics, and rubber products:
6. Technology and electronics: OK, I won’t buy another HP or Apple laptop.
7. Automotive parts and accessories:
8. Raw materials: Including metals

Any suggestions? (BTW: I don’t buy any of these US brands)

1. Levi’s
2. Nike and Adidas
3. Urban Outfitters
4. Guess
5. Calvin Klein
6. Ralph Lauren
7. Tommy Hilfiger
8. Michael Kors
9. Patagonia
10. The North Face

Finally, Finally . . .

A nice Spanish concierto that came my way this morning . .

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.