In
a recent poll of confidence in Spanish institutions, only the Guardia
Civíl, the police and the armed forces got the vote of more than 50%
of the people. As for the others:-
The
media: 48%
The
ombudsman: 39%
The
monarchy: 37%
The
(RC) Church: 36%
The
judiciary: 35%
The
government: 24%
The
political parties: 18%
The
only one that really surprised me here was the low rating of the
judiciary. Perhaps this is explained by the writer of a letter to El
País
today who felt that the country's vast corruption problem would
not be resolved until the judiciary were truly independent. I suspect most Spaniards would agree.
Listening
to a discussion on same-sex marriage today - two Christians and a
Muslim - the latter put forward the argument that God abominated
homosexuality and that permitting gays to marry would lead to the end
of society as these marriages could not produce children, which was
the essence - indeed obligation - of Islam. I wondered how he would
go about showing me - even in theory - that allowing gays to marry
would mean one less child in the world. Perhaps he thinks all we
straights would be desperate to marry someone of our own sex once we
got the chance. Or that gays, deprived of what they really wanted,
would settle for 'normal' marriage and then - religiously - apply themselves to
breeding. As if.
Talking
of nonsense, I was reminded today that there's more than one daft
myth that supports a pilgrimage business. Back in the UK,
Glastonbury is thought, by some, to be the place where Joseph of
Arimathea set up the first Christian church. And there are those who even believe
Jesus preached there. As with the Santiago de Compostela myth,
there's not the slightest bit of evidence for either of these. But
why let truth get in the way of a good walk and an uplifting
spiritual experience. As the trinket sellers are wont to say. Especially in Lourdes. Where they have their own street.
Listening
to Google - coincidentally a little besieged at the moment - saying
they're planning to take down child abuse sites, I had the same
question as I had for France when it announced it would take action
against ETA terrorists on its territory, having done nothing for
decades - Why on earth has it taken you so long?
I
mentioned yesterday that Brazil far outclassed Spain in
showing/exploiting the female form on TV. Not only that, the
featuring of blood and gore in Brazil also puts Spain in the shade.
Ditto with groinding. I never would have believed it possible.
The
latest bit of gerund appropriation - El picking. Goods
selection in a warehouse. Also called El packing, it seems.
Finally
. . . In the 12 years I've been driving into town via Paseo Colón,
I've never seen any car be given a ticket for the illegal parking
there that turns a 3-lane road into a 1-lane slalom. In fact, I
followed a police car through this last night when nothing was done
about it. Perhaps someone could explain this to me one day. Are some
rules regarded as inconvenient not only by the punters but also by
the police? "Too much paperwork, Gov." If so, the trick is to know which these are.
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