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

Ceuta:

• The PM has told MPs that, while he still rejects suggestions that the Moroccan authorities helped orchestrate the incident, Moroccan police had “allowed the border to be crossed”. He added that the government would release key reports about the border breach soon but did not say when they would be made public or what they would entail.
• In the event’s aftermath, senior officials in the government have, at times, provided conflicting information. Last week, Spain’s Defence Minister said Spanish intelligence had provided prior warning of the border rush, while the Interior Minister said it had not.
• The government has taken over control of the port and authorised the installation of tents to temporarily house more than 1,000 migrants in a dock area. This had been resisted by the local authorities. This site will have a first aid station and a dispensary, as well as areas for social care and intervention, health services, offices for the staff of the entity responsible for providing the service, and a booth for security. The Ceuta government says this is a serious mistake. taking the view that ‘The speed being shown in finding accommodation for migrants should be applied to the return of these illegal migrants because that should be the priority’.
• There’s one aspect of the imbroglio which can be confusing for Anglos. The government asserts/complains, rightly, that it was denied sight of a police report on the ‘invasion’ because a judge – legally -vetoed the passing upwards of the report and its findings on the involvement of Moroccan personnel. This happened because – thanks to Napoleon’s ‘excursions’ – in several European countries so-called ‘investigative’ judges get involved early in the process of investigating a crime and, effectively, then control it. See a note at the end of this post on the Anglo way of doing things.

In rather less momentous local news . . .

• The Diario de Pontevedra reports here – in Gallego – on 25years of the Feira Franca – ‘the best fiesta in Spain’. A rather contentious claim, of course. To say the least.
• The D deP reports that the Pv city council has detected a spike in violations related to illegal dumping of bulky waste throughout the municipality and has requested citizen collaboration to find those responsible. The main suspects are construction companies,, the scrap metal collection industry, and some residents. Strangely enough, I could swear that this foto illustrating the problem was taken at the end of my street, in Poio. Which is a different municipality . . .

The United States of Trump America

Quote: We are being run by the most powerful crime syndicate in history. Probably not hyperbole.

Says the NYT: More Americans Are Identifying as Democrats Ahead of the Midterms. Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents now have their largest advantage over Republicans since 2008. Thanks to Trump, Republican propaganda is no longer as effective as it once was.

Trump will dominate the imminent Republican National Committee, speaking on both nights, It would be surprising if at least some despairing Republicans didn’t wish him to pop his clogs before November.

We in Europe can sleep more soundly now that Putin’s best mate has assured us that Putin is “not looking to attack Nato territory”. Very possibly because Honest Vlad told him that in a phone call.

Meanwhile, Trump continues to try – one way and another – to eliminate voting by post.

Inside Trump’s head. Trump’s hair secrets etc.

BTW . . . One of he many metrics where the USA doesn’t match that of other advanced nations is that of a minimum wage. There is a national (federal) minimum wage but this stands at only $7.25 per hour and hasn’t been increased since 2009. 20 states have his as their minimum, while 30 states have higher minima, ranging up to Washington DC’s $18.40 per hour. Poorer Spain has a national rate of €8.22 per hour, or $9.52 per hour – 31% more than in 20 US states. But, then Spain is a communist country, of course.

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.

Spanish

• Prepotente: Overbearing
• Pasmo: Astonishment
• Sesgo: Bias

Did you know?

Benjamin Franklin’s rules for making yourself a disagreeable companion.

You Have to Laugh

And Vance – the Vice Liar-in-Chief – is a good Catholic convert. Not a great ad for the institution.

Finally . . .

Yesterday was very hot in Pv city. Stiflingly so in fact. This morning dawned great but cool. So, I wasn’t surprised at 9am to read that the current temperature in Poio was only 17. But my thermometer outside read 21 degrees. Then I saw a note to the 17 degrees statement – The real temperature is 22 degrees but the humidity makes it feel 5 degrees lower. Which was surprisingly drastic. To me at least.

Finally . . . Finally . . .

This is a fine female singer – ‘Laufey’ – whom I stumbled across yesterday when searching for female jazz/blues singers. I get the impression there are a lot more great female singers than male singers these days.

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

Anglo (‘adversarial/common-law’) judicial systems

These have no equivalent to investigating judges, as criminal investigations are in the hands of the police until they decide to take a case to court.

In England, for serious offences, this will only happen if the Crown Prosecution Service decides there are sufficient grounds for prosecution.

Other Anglo systems don’t have a CPS but in practice, for anything beyond minor offences, a public prosecutor’s decision to charge and proceed is normally required before a case reaches trial in a higher court. The exact point at which the prosecutor takes control varies.

While, In Anglo systems ‘there is no direct equivalent of a judge with the power to keep senior ministers in the dark, there are strong conventions, policies and some statutory rules designed to insulate investigations from political influence and to limit what ministers or senior officials are told about specific, live cases’.

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