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

Nothing much happened in Spain or Galicia yesterday or today. Honest . . .

But the question arises – Is Rolf Harris alive and well and pretending to be a teacher in Galicia?

The USA

See my earlier post.

Republican senator Lindsey Graham – talking about Iran – casually admitted: When this regime goes down, we’re going to make a ton of money. So . . . American troops risk their lives. Families bury their sons and daughters. Entire regions are devastated. And Republican war hawks are already counting the profits. This is the real mindset driving Washington’s endless wars. Not democracy. Not freedom. Money. Toppling governments is a business opportunity.

This is a salutary read which is in line with view that Trump is a consequence not a cause . . . Americans aren’t facing a democratic collapse. We’re living in its aftermath. The USA was an oligarchy well before Trump’s first term. Recognizing this reality is essential to building a true democracy.

Meanwhile . . . The USA might be the richest country in the world but . . .

At least 20 years ago . . . An aide to George W Bush said to me that guys like me were “in what we call the reality-based community,” which he defined as people who “believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.” I nodded and murmured something about enlightenment principles and empiricism. He cut me off. “That’s not the way the world really works any more,” he continued. “We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we’ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors … and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.

Down at the coalface . . . .Trump’s Iran war is an affordability disaster.

Quotes of the Day

• You can’t say affordability is your top priority and then start a war in the Middle East.
• The man who started this war spent years arguing against the cost of Middle East wars. That argument was central to his political rise.

Russia v Ukraine

Good news? Russian rhetoric on Iran rings hollow as no weapons appear. The Kremlin’s calls for the conflict to end have yet to be matched with military aid to its ally.

Spanish

• Apear: To take down, to fell.
• Farsante: Fake, fraud, phoney
• Rabieta: Tantrum
• Tener tablas: To have experience

English

Receipt(s): A word that seems to have come to mean ‘evidence’. Maybe because it only has 2 syllables . .

Did you know?

In the book that I’ve cited on the collapse of the empires of the Late Bronze Age – 1177 – mention is frequently made of the Sea People. But they aren’t identified. But now comes DNA evidence.

Finally . . . . You Have to Laugh

Another uncomfortable Finn

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The Usual Links . . .

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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.

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