A confession - I can't
stand the dubbing which is such a feature of Spanish TV and films.
One of the worst aspects of this is the bizarre voices of kids and
teenagers. This stems from a prohibition on children working in this
(protected) industry. So, more money for the adults, of course. My
thanks to the Spanish reader who opened my eyes on this.
I've been known to say
that - though wonderful on a one-to-one basis - the
Spanish can be rather inconsiderate of others. I've attributed this
to a lack of antennae and a malfunctioning radar system. Anyway,
there was a long article by a Spanish writer in El País today, in which
the author possibly went a tad overboard in praising English/British
impartiality and fair-mindedness, contrasting this with the
egocentricity of his compatriots. The Spanish attitude, he says, is
summed up by the common adversarial phrases "Because I say so"
and "You're not going to tell me anything". Here's the
article in Spanish. If it's published in English, I'll provide the
link.
Failing that for now,
here's something from the paper on football hooliganism in Spain -
Galicia, to be exact. And here, more generally.
I see Skype is
shortly to introduce simultaneous translation for those talking in
different languages. If Google's written efforts are anything to go by,
this is going to have some disastrous consequences. Quite a few
divorces, for example.
A new anglicism, but
this time from Argentina - un countrie. This is a gated/ walled
estate in which security measures are extreme. Hopefully this won't
come to Spain.
Talking of criminals .
. . A new description of death from the British police - The man
became unresponsive. Well, yes. After being tazered, he was dead.
When I drove through
Pontevedra last night I saw more than 10 bicycles, not one of which
had a rear light. Or a front one, for that matter. Not even a
reflector. Normally, I'm at ease with Spain's more relaxed attitude
to risk but this just seems to be asking for death.
Talking of the city . .
. I have to revise my dismissive view that most of the items in our
Sunday flea market come from the house of the latest peasant in the
campo to die. Today, many of them clearly came from his shed.
Penultimately . . . Another
foto giving the lie to the myth that it rains all the time here in
Galicia.
Finally . . .
THE 1942 GUIDE TO AMERICAN
FORCES ON THE BRITISH
Introduction
You are going to Great
Britain as part of an Allied offensive – to meet Hitler and beat
him on his own ground. For the time being you will be Britain's
guest. The purpose of this guide is to get you acquainted with the
British, their country and their ways.
America and Britain are
allies. Hitler knows that they are both powerful countries, tough and
resourceful. He knows that they, with the other United Nations, mean
his crushing defeat in the end.
So it is only common
sense to understand that the first and major duty Hitler has given
his propaganda chiefs is to separate Britain and America and spread
distrust between them. If he can do that, his chance of winning might
return.
And:
No Time To Fight Old
Wars
If you come from an
Irish-American family, you may think of the English as persecutors of
the Irish, or you may think of them as enemy Redcoats who fought
against us in the American Revolution and the War of 1812. But there
is no time today to fight old wars over again or bring up old
grievances. We don't worry about which side our grandfathers fought
on in the Civil War, because it doesn't mean anything now.
We can defeat Hitler's
propaganda with a weapon of our own. Plain, common, horse sense;
understanding of evident truths.
The most evident truth
of all is that in their major ways of life the British and American
people are much alike. They speak the same language. They both
believe in representative government, the freedom of worship, in
freedom of speech. But each country has national characteristics
which differ. It is by causing misunderstanding about these
differences that Hitler hopes to make his propaganda effective.
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