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

Lenox Napier writes here on the power of prayer

An interesting archaeological find with British connections.

A US comedian brilliantly ‘roasts’ Spain here. At least one Spaniard says it’s accurate and I suspect every lover of Spain and the Spanish would have no problem agreeing with all of it.

About 20 years, I heard of plans to route a variant of the AVE high-speed track down to Pv city from the Ourense-Santiago de Santiago line. Now I read that the company responsible for the network, Adif, is looking again at this (sensible) option and is is tendering a new hydrogeological study in Cerdedo. But I suspect it could well be another 20 years before it’s in place. Though there’ll surely be several earlier dates promised by local politicians in the meantime. The current availability promise is 2033 – 7 years from now. As if. A new name for Adif?

Vandalism is not common in Pv city but a new kids’ park in Poio named after its most famous son – Cristóbal Colón – has been daubed with anti-Columbus slogans. Possibly reflecting changing sentiments towards the man and those who went to South America after him.

Portugal

Says Mark Stücklin here If there’s a housing bubble in Southern Europe, it’s probably in Portugal.

The UK

This has to be true . . . The soap opera over the fate of PM Starmer is far from over but it’s certainly reached peak tedium, distracting from the pressing problems that assail us – pitiful growth, squeezed living standards, fraying social cohesion, and a culture of entitlement. None of these are going to be improved by a change of PM, or even a change of government.

Meanwhile, Starmer seems to be validating the saying that you can displease all the people all the time . . . He is in a hate-loop from which he can’t escape. Whoever succeeds him must see contemporary politics for what [thanks to modern media] it is – partisan, emotive and combative – and act accordingly. The aim of progressive politics is not to avoid stirring negative or visceral emotions – that goes with the terrain – but to forge a movement that is strong and energetic enough to survive an opponent’s scorn and bring new people into its ranks. Some challenge.

So, where lies hope? In a return to the EU, says Mr Starmer. I assume via the front door, not the back one currently being used. Others will argue that there are other options, albeit ones which a Labour government would never consider. And, if Reform dominates the next administration after the general election in 2029, renewed EU membership almost certainly won’t happen.

Returning to the question of the location of hope . . . The cited (pessimistic) columnist writes: Hope is dead. All we have is fantasy politics, where speculation over party leadership trumps policy and where “insurgent” parties such as Reform live on a wing and a prayer, offering false hope that will never deliver real solutions.

Sounds pretty bad. But maybe not as bad as the USA . . . As regards politics, anyway. Oh, and mass shootings, of course. And a race to the gerrymandering bottom.

To raise a smile . . . The face of another populist clown . . .

Europe

Do they really want the UK back in the EU? France probably doesn’t, for one reason and another.

The Middle East War

Iran rejects Trump’s peace plan and rules out a nuclear hand-over. The US president brands the Tehran counter-proposal ‘totally unacceptable’ as he prepares to meet Xi in China The usual negotiating style of a bully and a cheat.

The latest update from Naked Capitalism.

The United States of Trump America

Quote: Trump 2017: I could run on UFO. They believe that shit. Cue government reports of UFOs in space.

Why Trump thinks he can get away with his ties to Epstein. What the real nature and purpose of ‘the Epstein class’ were. Podcast or Video [Click here for Anand Giridhadaras’s insightful series of 5 chapters on the Epstein Class].

Trump blurts out his vile plot to rig the midterms. What the Democrats must do to counter this.

See below under The Usual Links for commentators I follow via podcasts or YouTube videos.

Quotes of the Day

• The iron rule of contemporary politics . . . Just when you think it’s got as bad as it can get, it gets worse.
• What happens when a country turns politics into a branch of entertainment is that someone like Trump gets elected – because we reward ignorance and give attention to those who sound confident, even if they have no knowledge or intelligence. [Farage and Reform next?]
• Trump figured out that modern politics has very little to do with governing but just about everything to do with attention. [‘Controlling the narrative’. Facilitated, of course, by the modern media of endless – often specious – information. It helps in these circumstance to have no connection with the truth and to play on dissatisfaction and fear.]
• So, Trump is a consequence, not a cause. He’s not the problem that needs to be addressed and fixed.

Spanish

• Ficha: Tab. Card/file/form/sheet. Fact/data sheet. Chip/counter/checker/piece/tile/stone/coin. Index/file/record card. Marker/token/chit/slip.
• Mover ficha para: To make a move to. To take steps to.
• Recelar: To be wary, mistrust, fear

Did you know?

MAGA folk? . . . “Ideological capture” occurs when a person’s worldview becomes so central to their identity that it overrides evidence, relationships, self-awareness, and even previously held values. 

These are the main psychological effects that typically emerge:

• Identity Fusion: The ideology merges with the person’s core sense of self. “My political beliefs” become “Who I am.”
• Motivated Reasoning & Reality Denial: The brain prioritizes protecting the belief system over seeking truth.
• Loss of Self-Awareness & Hypocrisy Blindness: The person becomes remarkably blind to their own contradictions.
• Dehumanization and Devaluation of Dissenters: People who disagree are no longer seen as reasonable individuals — they become ignorant, brainwashed, morally inferior, or enemies.
• Emotional Dysregulation & Aggression: Increased irritability, black-and-white thinking, and moral outrage.
• Compartmentalization of Values: Previously held principles (e.g., Christian grace, humility, kindness, truth-seeking) get compartmentalized or selectively applied.
• Social & Relational Damage: Gradual isolation from anyone outside the ideological bubble.
• Neurological & Cognitive Changes: Research shows heavy ideological immersion can literally strengthen neural pathways associated with the belief system while weakening flexible thinking and empathy circuits. It becomes harder and harder to update beliefs (a phenomenon called “belief perseverance”).
• Once ideological capture reaches this stage, it functions somewhat like addiction: The ideology provides certainty, belonging, status, and moral purpose. Leaving it would require admitting one has been wrong for a long time — which is psychologically painful (cognitive dissonance). Most people only break out after a major personal crisis, loss, or slow accumulation of undeniable contradictions. Deeper effect: The person becomes psychologically dependent on the ideology to maintain self-esteem. Letting go would feel like ego death.

25-35% if (US)Americans??

Finally . . .You Have to Laugh

Two uncomfortable Finns . . .

By the way, the 2nd answer should be Very well . . .

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

The Usual Links . . .

The US commentators I follow, all on Podbean and/or YouTube for free:-

• The Daily Beast Podcast/Video
• Inside Trump’s Head Podcast/Video
• The Daily Blast with Greg Sargent Podcast
• The Rest is Politics US Podcast/Video
• The DSR Network Podcast
• The Politics Girl Video. Amusing
• The Daily Show Video. Very amusing

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 X at Thoughts from Galicia. I no longer post on Facebook.

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.