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 couple of depressing aspects of today’s Spanish society:-
- Two thirds of young folk aged 18-34 live with at least one of their parents.
- 37% of workers earned less than the minimum wage in 2024.
Lenox Napier writes here on the imminent elections in Andalucia.
A striking new map has revealed where British expats have clustered on Spain’s costas – including several towns where they make up c. 50% of the population. The map highlights locations from Almeria to Alicante where Brits account for more than 40% of residents – peaking at nearly 55% in part of one Murcia town. In Lenox’s neck of the woods, in fact.
Iran
What if everything you think you know about this country is wrong? I’m very grateful to have had the privilege to live there 3 years and to tour the country.
The Middle East War
The latest update from Naked Capitalism.
The United States of Trump America
Quotes
- Trump to Europeans: If it wasn’t for us, you’d all be speaking German.
- King Charles to Trump: If it wasn’t for us, you all be speaking French.
- The WHCD Incident: Per the executive editor of The Daily Beast, Hugh Dougherty: It wasn’t a conspiracy: it was a condemnation. The grim reality is that this country is living in a toxic present of guns, gunmen, political division and violence, set in a chaotic and often failing governing class, topped off with years of good reason to be cynical about everything the current president says. Nobody needed to ‘stage’ this. It wasn’t a stunt. It was simply one moment when that toxic combination could be seen in all its ugly colors.
- Melania Trump: Kimmel’s monologue about my family isn’t comedy — his words are corrosive and deepens[sic] the political sickness within America. [Hmm. Her husband is a lot better at that but she doesn’t seem to have noticed in 10 years].
- Trump: Kimmel’s joke was a despicable call to violence. [So unlike any of his own comments and actions, such as encouraging and then pardoning the Jan 6 criminals.]
- Trumps want to be free to say whatever he wants and wants the media to say whatever he wants.
Trump family crypto coins:-
- The Trump coin: Launched at 40 dollars, now 3 – a fall of of 93%. Or, as Trump maths would have it – a fall of 1300%.
- The Melania coin: Reached 8 dollars, but now 30 cents. A fall of 96%, etc.
One wonders if they lose sleep over the poor cult members who lost savings.
Can you believe it? Of course you can. Trump puts his (macho) foto on US passports. With his signature written in gold . . .
Good to know that Melania is a White House insider threat to Trump. Podcast Video
How the British king managed to humiliate Trump – impressing even an Irish-American.
Russia
Spanish
- Enjuagar: To rinse, wash.
- Loa: Praise
- Ficus: Rubber plant
English
Samuel Johnson’s 1755 Dictionary defines dross as “the recrement or despumation of metals.”
Did you know about?
The murder of William Desmond-Taylor.
Finally . . . You Have to Laugh
. . .
Thoughts from Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain 
Trump ya lo había dicho s ino fuera por EE.UU estarías hablando alemán y un poco de japonés… está bien lo que le dijo el rey de Inglaterra. Y si Europa no hubiera estado alli, no tendrían ni el inglés, ni el francés, ni su evolución hubiera sido, ni parecida.
Lis datos macroeconómicos de España, no lo nota alguna gente, por sus bajos salarios, por la explotación y eso es culpa de quienes no quieren que eso cambie. Las pocas atudas sociales a algunos también les parecen mal cuando en otris países, las tienen mucho mayores, los sueldos también. Aquí porque se ha subido el SMI, hablan de arruinar el país.mientras las grandes empresas duplican sus ganancias cada año. También la subida de las pensiones, laa viudas, etc…y quitar el copago sanitario. tampoco quieren que la gente pueda tener un alquiler asequible por eso muchos viven con sus padres. Siempre son los mismos lis que quitan derechos.
irlanda tenía los mismos sueldos que España hace veinte años, hoy son mucho mas altos que en España. Se le pude un poco de margen a los empresarios y no quieren, en otros países ante la situación que estamos viviendo, dicen que si. Dónde está el patriotismo? La empatía ? No es caridad porque los trabajadores son los que hacen ricos a los empresarios, con su trabajo maa las subvenciones que reciben del estado.
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Very good article about the state of America in the Guardian today, from an Ukranian correspondent. It highlights the difference in mentality between europeans and americans. And that from someone whose country is undergoing horrific punishment. The salient point being that the US has all the resources within its reach to solve all its problems – without recourse to trump’s mad methods. But americans themselves don’t seem to see that. They seem stuck with a range of believes that seem puzzling – to say the least- to average europeans. Like the comment I read the other day from an US citizen who said taking away soemone’s right to have a gun is tantamount to denying that person’s the right to live (sic, sic, sic,…..sick).
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If Russia a) has found alternative markets for its energy and b) is profiting from the current energy crisis in the Middle East, then what excactly is the point of Europe maintaining energy sanctions against Russia? As always, we should ask: cui bono?
Europe (including the UK) is just shooting itself in the foot (or rather in the head, as one German pundit has said). Instead of the cheap and reliable Russian gas that powered Europe’s industries for decades prior to 2022, expensive LNG (liquefied natural gas) purchased from the USA has become the norm, such that what is left of European industry is suffering greatly from the much increased costs. As a consequence some big German companies have even been moving production abroad. And closer to home the impact on domestic consumers is evident.
Phil
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