Colin Davies

11 June 2026

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

Close on 50 years after it agreed they would be, the activities of the Catholic Church in Spain are still not self-financing and have to be subsidised by the state. You’d think it was an impoverished organisation. Not one which gets favourable tax treatment around all the land and properties it owns.

I realised today that, to say the least, I’m ambivalent about Caminoers. I actually have no problem at all with those wandering around the old quarter in the middle of the day in all their splendid variety. Indeed, watching them is an activity I enjoy, as I sip my wine. It’s those who flood the bars and restaurants early evening that I have truck with. These are the ones who’ve forced me to change a routine of 20+ years. And who’ve made English the main language in the centre of a Spanish city.

I’m also amused by the regular sight of cars from 2 or 3 different police forces driving very slowly around the narrow streets, causing me to wonder exactly how their responsibilities do and don’t overlap. Sometimes, of course, they all turn up for the same minor incident. For example noisy, drunken sintechos. I fancy they’re quite bored most of the time. The police, I mean.

Europe

A humongous EU Franco-German project around a new fighter jet has come to naught, raising a few key questions The bottom line: The alternatives now are joining the UK, Japan and Italy’s programme, reaching agreements with Sweden or Turkey, or acquiring aircraft such as the American F-47. Somehow, I doubt that the first of these will be taken up.

Iran

If you listened to the podcast cited yesterday on Iran, you’ll have noticed – given the mistakes – that the voice was AI-generated. So, you won’t be surprised to hear that the Farsi words were badly pronounced. As, indeed, were some of the English words.

You might also have heard mention of the mountain, Damavand, which looms above above Tehran. I climbed this once – well, walked up it with a bit of difficulty – and was thus able to find out what happens to your legs when oxygen is in short supply. In a word, nothing. They refuse to function until you’ve – perforce – rested a few minutes and filled your lungs with enough oxygen to be able to walk another 10 yards/metres, when they again go on strike.

Anyway, I’m currently reading King of Kings: The Fall of the Shah and the Revolution That Forged Modern Iran, by Scott Anderson. When I came across this early passage, I was put in mind of someone but just couldn’t recall who . . . By 1970, the culture of sycophancy had taken hold. Virtually every Iranian who came into contact with the shah bowed down to him, both literally and figuratively. They raptly listened to his every utterance, agreed with his every judgment, obeyed his every command. In the process, the monarch was coming to inhabit a make-believe world of his own construction. In this, all the Iranians were enjoying the fruits of progress as never before, the annual growth rate was astounding, and Iran’s international standing and military prowess were propelling it into the first rank of nations at a speed never equalled in human history.

The Middle East War

The latest update from Naked Capitalism.

The United States of Trump America

Quotes

  • Everything that Trump touches dies. [Even casinos . . .]
  • Most of the [NBA match] crowd were cheering for me. [All 33% of them.]

FIFA has for some time been renting an almost empty office in Trump Towers

Talking of blatant corruption . . . Podcast Video

By all accounts, Trump’s approach to the World Cup will be another massive self-inflicted wound for the USA, both to its global reputation and its future tourism revenue.

I wonder who will write the definitive book on 1. What Trump was; 2. Why he was how he was; 3. Why the US voters elected him twice; and 4. How much harm he did to the USA, specifically to those who’d supported him.

An AI answer to a question which troubled me: Yes, in the USA, employees can generally be dismissed without cause. This is due to the at-will employment doctrine, which governs worker-employer relations in every state except Montana. But employers cannot fire someone for illegal reasons, including:

  • Discrimination based on race, sex, age (40+), national origin, disability, or genetic information
  • Retaliation for reporting illegal/unsafe workplace practices
  • Refusing to conduct illegal activities
  • Protected union activity

When at-will doesn’t apply:

  • Employees with employment contracts specifying termination conditions
  • Employees under union collective bargaining agreements
  • Federal/career public sector employees – documented performance/conduct reasons are required. [DOGE?? ‘Redundancies’?]
  • Some states recognize implied contracts (via employee handbooks) guaranteeing “just cause” termination.

AI

Perplexity has given me 3 different times in Spain for tonight’s Mexico match – 4pm, 7pm and 9pm. I believe it’s the last of these. So, not always reliable. But we knew that already.

More importantly . . .Is there any way back from the extreme concentration of wealth and power in societies across the world? Less so with the latter than the former, says this columnist.

Spanish

  • Sobreseimento: Dismissal, acquittal. Stay.
  • Tambalear: To stagger
  • Trenzado Plaited:
  • En trenzas: In plaits

Did you know? You Have to Laugh

Funny medical codes . . .

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

The Usual Links . . .

USA links

Each of these US commentators issues at least one podcast a week, usually 2, sometimes 3. All available on Podbean and most on YouTube for free. So, take your pick. You should get the latest episode when you click on the link, though YouTube videos seem to come out a bit earlier:-

There are also the excellent late-night shows, of course. And SNL.

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. And on Substack here. 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.

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