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!

NB 1: I don’t have wifi today. And I’m having to type on my phone. So, this post will mostly comprise links. And this might continue for several days. Please bear with me.

NB 2: If there’s a RV in brackets after a (paywalled) link, you might be able to read it via a Reader View extension to your browser, avoiding the paywall. If there is no RV, it will mean that the article is free to view or listen to. If there’s RV2, it means a second click on RV might let you see the article though the first RV click didn’t work.

Cosas de España

Ahead of a general election, the government has announced a 5.3% increase in the minimum wage, taking it to 1,286 euros a month, which is above the most frequent wage in Spain.

EU prosecutors have begun investigating whether there was fraud around the contracts for maintenance of the AVE high-speed rail tracks between Madrid and Andalucía and as regards decisions taken in respect of security systems. This appears not to be a routine step and that it’s happening because the work was financed by EU funds. If there was indeed fraud, Spaniards will surely be horrified but not necessarily surprised. The EU is already making similar investigations around the accident on this line earlier this year.

An unusual castle . . .

Back home in Pv city, the police are about to have one of their much- publicised temporary campaigns – this time to check whether e-vehicle riders are flouting the new regulations. There are quite a few of these but many will be aware of the immimence of checks and will surely act accordingly, until lax vigilance returns.

The US-Iran War

The latest update from Naked Capitalism.

Trump’s America

I was going to write: Is Natalie Harp the only person whom Trump doesn’t blame for the midterms carastrophe for the Republican party? If so, is she the only holder of a White House position – whatever, in fact, hers is – not to face the chop? But that was before I read of Trump’s sacking of Suzie Wiles and her  replacement by the truly vile and unhinged Stephen Miller. It certainly seems that those of us who feared that a weakened Trump would be even crazier and more defiant have been vindicated. And now we wait to see if he will also be more dangerous. Most obviously bt attacking Iran again. Possibly even with a nuclear bomb.

And still no one can stop him.

Spanish

Fresar: To mill, machine.

Pósito: Granary. Cooperative.

Porra: Truncheon. Night/Billy-stick

Porro: Hash joint

Finally . . . Did You Know?

The meaning of the word grumbletonian

Usual comment

I can also be read on X at Thoughts from Galicia. And on Substack here. I no longer post on Facebook.