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/Galiza

A dose of pessimism among the plaudits for current GDP growth . . . Spain’s booming economy relies on migrants. Now they threaten a political earthquake. As anti-immigration riots break out and the radical Right make hay, the country’s growth miracle is at risk.

I recently posted a cartoon on the level of child-poverty in Spain. This article puts flesh on the bones, as it were.

Blood and Tears as Spain’s Troubled Bullfighting Star Hangs Up His Cape. Actually, a superstar of ‘an increasingly polarising and conservative-coded pastime’.

I’m not sure why anyone would need or want to take a foto of a doctor but it’s reported in a local paper to be something that will cost you medical attention. It seems to be connected with the problem of violence directed at health service personnel. I suspect by members of one particular element of Spanish society.

The mad, bad world of MAGA

Another couple of Deluded Trumpisms . . .

• People who oppose tariffs are fools!. [That’s currently 65% of Americans]
• Americans are concerned about rising prices because of a con job by the Democrats.

A good explanation can be found here for the surprising(?) decision of 5 Democrats to do a deal to end the shutdown.

Does anyone think Scott Bessant has ever pumped gas? This video also give you a good idea of Trump’s chrysophilism. And of how ‘wildly of touch with Americans’ Trump and his Cabinet colleagues.

Bearing mind what’s happened in Iran and what’s happening off the coast of Venezuela – not to mention what isn’t happening about ‘affordability’ at home – this is another echo from 1930s Germany: The area in which Hitler took the most consistent and most detailed interest was preparation for war.

And this one that brought to mind the wild-eyed Stephen Miller and loopy Laura Loomer: The absence of routine in Hitler’s style of leadership meant that he paid little attention to detailed issues in which he was not interested, such as the management of the labour force, or the details of financial management. This also meant that those who had, or controlled, direct personal access to him could wield considerable influence.

And, finally, there’s also this echo: Rather than spend hours wading through mountains of paperwork, Hitler always preferred to talk to people, which he did at great length, and usually without interruption from his sycophantic listeners, over lunch or dinner.

BTW . . . Hitler suffered from digestive issues including indigestion and excessive flatulence. As for Trump . . . There have been some anecdotal reports and speculation about Trump experiencing digestive discomfort or gas, but there is no confirmed medical evidence or official report specifically detailing excessive indigestion or flatulence in his case. So, those videos of scrunched up face of people standing or sitting next to him might well be misleading . . .

So, while Trump is not quite Hitler, neither is he not quite not Hitler. I put it all down to his German genes . . .

Kindly supplied by a reader . . .

Quote of the Day

The US correspondent of Private Eye: Every fortnight, researching this column, I survey the news like a plumber who’s just unblocked the world’s biggest sewer. So. Much. Shit.

The Way of the World

Stephen Miller. Stephen Banner. Has a forename ever been more associated with evil? Mybe Judas or Adolf but they seem to have been singletons.

AI

If you’re not already worried, you will be after listening to this podcast . . .

We all know AI engines can be wrong, if often right and very useful. Today I asked one where George Borrow had lived in Pv city in 1838. It told me no one knows exactly where but added that he was imprisoned here in a particular hotel. In fact, this was in Finisterra, up near Santiago de Compostela, where he was taken for a spy.

Spanish

• Exrarradios: Outskirts, suburbs.
• Losa: Slab, tile, stone.
• Divisa: Currency

English

To Truth out: The terrible new verb used by Trump’s acolytes to describe his Truth Social rants and lies.

Did you know?

Among others, Joseph Conrad and Karl Marx moved to London not only because it was the wealthy centre of a large empire but because life there was free of the restrictions and surveillance common in other European cities.

You Have to Laugh

Finally . . .

I’m regularly told by readers of difficulty in registering an email subscription, or commenting or even of Liking a post. With regret, I haven’t been able to do anything about this. Indeed, in the last 10 days I’ve had my own problems, having lost access to the account I use to publish my posts on X. So, if you have suffered, at least have my sympathy. For what it’s worth.

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 . . .

I can also be read on Facebook and on X.

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.

If you´re thinking of moving to Spain, this link should be useful to you.