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’.
NB: 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.
Correction: When I used ‘supply’ twice in one sentence yesterday, the second one should have been ‘demand’, of course.
Cosas de España/Galiza
Spain has approved a controversial new housing decree imposing sweeping restrictions on landlords and a 10% VAT on holiday rentals from December. Here’s what it mean for property owners?
The National Nucleus, I’ve discovered, is Spain’s neo-Nazi group. It was formed in 2023 and since February this this year it’s been registered as a political party under the name National November. Fourteen of its members have just been arrested; those detained were initially accused of crimes including incitement to hatred, illicit association, and illegal possession of weapons’.
Despite its past woeful performance on this, the PP party continues to promise they’ll build a million homes quite soon. I wonder if there’s anyone who believes them.
Good to know that Pv city’s air quality ranks 5th among Spain’s 50 provincial capitals and no.1 in Galicia. Possibly because we have no heavy industry here.
This little island is for sale here in Galicia, and its USP is that it comes with the right to grown hash there for medicinal purposes.
Trump (US)America
Trump has shivved* Vance, they say . . . In a major reversal, Trump appeared to have abandoned his pursuit of a diplomatic end to his war against Iran. He has also handed Vance a new assignment. As recently as Monday, Trump had touted “positive momentum” toward a deal to end the war. However, in a post on Truth Social yesterday, he declared “We don’t need a deal with Iran any more. Those days have long since passed” .Trump said he had instructed Vance to “focus” his “complete and total attention on the Massive Corruption and Crime taking place in Democrat run Cities and States,” claiming, without providing evidence, that “Billions of Dollars is being stolen each and every month” * Knifed
The man behind Trump has long been Stephen Miller. And the man behind him (and Vance) is Peter Thiel, who believes in the Antichrist. For Thiel, the Antichrist is primarily a political archetype, representing global tyranny that arises under the guise of benevolence, universal peace, and salvation from catastrophe. He accuses those to the left of him of wanting to bring it about through such things as Agenda 2030 or the UN climate conferences, which set global standards. He frequently posits that modern political philosophy presents humanity with a false binary: Armageddon – total catastrophe via existential risks such as nuclear war, runaway AI, bioweapons, or climate collapse – or the Antichrist, a totalitarian “One-World State” or hyper-surveillance apparatus created to prevent that destruction. He argues that the public is constantly terrified of Armageddon, which blinds them to the threat of the Antichrist. In his view, the Antichrist gains power not by promising evil, but by talking about Armageddon non–stop and promising an “unjust peace” and total safety at the cost of human freedom. Just the man the world needs behind the US government.
I cited the other day the laudatory comments of the last White House spokesperson towards Trump. If you thought they were nuts, listen to her here on the BBC, claiming that the midterms were not only not a defeat for Trump but, in reality, were a resounding success that will redound to the benefit of all (US) Americans. Apparently because he has the power of veto and can continue to rule as a dictator via executive orders. Actually, so crazy is the system, she might well be right.
Relevant Books
- Betrayal: Trump, Putin and the New Age of Conquest
- Wtf America?!: The Way Out of This Hell and Back to Democracy. This is not simply a book about Trump. He is the vessel, not the disease – the product of a system decades in the making, fueled by powerful interests, weakened democratic institutions, and a media ecosystem that too often chose access and complicity over accountability. The book confronts the defining questions of our time: How did we get here? Why did so many institutions fail when they were needed most? And what must we do now to defend democracy before it is too late?
- The final pages of Kurt Andersen’s fascinating run through the USA’s history – Fantasyland: How America went haywire. A 500 year history.
- Profiles in Cowardice, by Jacob Weisberg. Cited in this podcast.
Spanish
- Proceloso: Stormy
- Arrancar: To start, eg a car engine
- Correa de alternador: Alternator belt.
Did you know?
Why British surgeons are called Mister, not Doctor.
Finally . . .
The Spanish equivalent of Friday the 13th is Tuesday the 13th .
My thanks to those readers who take the trouble to Like my posts.
The Usual Links
This – from veteran blogger Lenox Napier – is an excellent weekly newsletter (Business Over Tapas) on all matters Spanish. Indispensable for those who needs insights on how and why things happen here.
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.
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 . . .
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.
