Awake, for morning in the bowl of night has flung the stone that puts the stars to flight.
And, lo, 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

Amid political pressure after the Ceuta crisis, Spain will overhaul its asylum and immigration rules so that they line up with the EU’s Migration and Asylum Pact. This is a package of rules designed to make border procedures faster, tighten screening of irregular arrivals, and accelerate returns where people have no right to stay. Perplexity, or any other AI engine, will provide details of the plans. Or see this article from The Olive Press.

Ryanair’s pugnacious CEO calls Spain’s Transport Minister a liar who can’t do basic maths. pointing out what we all know, viz. that Spain’s (many) small regional airports are expensive to use and, so, uncompetitive. Well, I guess the commissions to local politicians don’t pay for themselves.

The Galician Royal Academy advises that a medieval Galician name – hitherto rare – is gaining in popularity. It’s Airas. Which used to take other forms such as Arias, Aras, and Ares.

As I was sitting on a terrace in Pv city’s old quarter last night, there was a sudden cloudburst, the strength of which took me back to monsoon rains in Indonesia. A few minutes later, there was a second one, apparently delighting some nearby Caminoers, as evidence of how it’s always raining here in Galicia. Truth to tell, it’s unusual to have 2 or 3 consecutive days of rain in August and, in fact, I don’t recall ever seeing cloudbursts before. Anyway, I left for home once the spray invaded the canopied terrace and water flooded it via nearby steps. Five minutes later, the sun came out. Let’s hope we don’t have another cloudburst during our big medieval far (Feira Franca) on Saturday 6 September.

The Middle East War

The latest update from Naked Capitalism.

The United States of Trump America

Quote: Dolly Parton wasn’t into politics but she really liked me. As if.

Surprise, surprise! Over the next 2 months, Trump will spend millions trying to change perceptions of himself, and ignoring the desperate need of the Republican party to win back voters so as to prevent a Blue Tsunami in November.

Dean Blundell – in a Substack post of August 22 – described the US’s Trumpish 12th hour attempt to shaft Canada in trade talks as a sudden “power play” that was unfair, uneconomic, and a threat to Canadian sovereignty—especially over trade policy, culture, and language. In short: An attempt at de facto annexation via contract rather than a normal trade deal. At the end of this post, there’s an AI summary of Blundell’s post.

So, Trump continues to show he’s as bad at negotiating as he is at everything other than ducking questions, insulting people, lying, posturing. and cos-playing a despot. Expect some TACO-ism.

Relevant Books

• To be published in October. Can be pre-ordered now: Wtf America?!: The Way Out of This Hell and Back to Democracy. On Amazon or here.
• The final pages of Kurt Andersen’s fascinating run through the USA’s history – Fantasyland: How America went haywire. A 500 year history.

Social Media

A step in the right direction . . . For  the first time in the US, Meta has been forced to change key features of the experience of everyday users.

The Way of the World

Impressive, frightening or both? I asked an AI engine a question about the exact Camino route between 2 villages. It replied citing the google map I had on my screen,

As with everything in this digitalised world, podcasts ain’t what they used to be. Once you’re baited to favour one, you’re blasted with so many ads that it’s tempting to switch to the premium service which, at a price, allows you to listen without irritating interruptions. Like the (interminable) ad for a sports bra on The Daily Beast podcasts this week. But I am holding out, being untempted by the thought of a vastly supported bra. Or by any other product. We boomers have survived worse . . .

Spanish

• Vejaciones: Abuse
• Señalado: Target
• Increpar: To harass

English

Aporophobia: The hatred, fear and rejection of poor people

Did you know about?

Coffin Torpedoes . . . .

You Have to Laugh

Finally . . .

Well, what a strange 10 days as regards my readership. After historically low numbers every day last week, they’ve soared to new heights over the last 2-3 days. In fact, overnight and early this morning, they were already twice the level of last week’s daily average. As of this evening, this factor has risen to more than 6. I have no idea why but I exclude the fact the word ‘sex’ appeared in yesterday’s post. Onwards and upwards. Per ardua ad astra. The RAF motto.

Blundell’s post

• The timeline
  • Trump announced a “DEAL!” on Truth Social on August 20 and pushed a 50% tariff deadline of three days pending “finalization of documents.”
  • Late 21 August, US negotiators allegedly changed the terms; Canadian PM Mark Carney said the changes were “unfair, uneconomic,” and pulled Canada’s team from Washington.
  • At 12:01 a.m. 22 August, Trump’s 50% tariffs on about $28 billion of Canadian goods took effect; Canada announced dollar‑for‑dollar retaliation starting September 8.
• The “snapback” clause
  The US had inserted a “snapback” provision allowing the White House to reimpose the full 50% tariffs at any time, without warning, if Trump felt “aggrieved” or decided Canada was short on border/immigration/drug metrics defined by Washington.
• Additional US demands (the “annexation papers”)
  In the final document tabled by the USA, these were included:-
  • A US say over who Canada can trade with (veto/restrictions on other trade deals).
  • Changes affecting French language protections, including bilingual labelling requirements.
  • Auto‑sector rules designed to favour US assembly lines over Canadian ones.
  • Provincial‑level changes: ending bans on American alcohol, scrapping “Buy Canadian” procurement rules, and altering dairy licence rules under supply management.
  • Linking critical minerals, oil exports, F‑35 purchases, and missile defence to the deal as “phase two” leverage.
• Canada’s response
  Carney refused to sign, sent negotiators home, and announced targeted retaliation (steel, dairy, appliances, farm equipment, pulp and paper, electronics) plus a strategic pivot toward the EU and other partners.

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 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. And this, on the annual costs of owning property here.