It's hard to believe
that a global leader can be so unaware of attitudes outside his own
bailiwick as to call Barack Obama 'A tropical monkey'. Especially if
he has the worst haircut on the planet. Cue Kim un-Jung. Master of
the universe. Well, a sad bit of it, anyway.
Moscow's RT's headline: "Falling
oil prices hit US industry". And the entire Russian economy?
Greece continues to be
in economic and political turmoil and things could very soon get a
hell of a lot worse. With very serious implications for the eurozone
and the EU project. I guess it's more likely that some bodge will be
concocted to kick the can down the road again. Meanwhile, here and
here are a couple of alarmist articles which may or may not be
accurate. Who can tell with these things?
Despite being
effectively banned, the Uber lift-share business will continue in
Spain while a judge's 'precautionary' verdict against the company is
being appealed. But will it be hampered by the court's injunction
to telecom companies and payment service providers to block
Uber? Ya veremos.
Which reminds me1: My
Dutch friend, Peter, has asked me to try and illuminate the byzantine
Spanish judicial system. Which I'm thinking about.
Which reminds me2:
Apart from byzantine, the system is also crumbling. Physically. One
judge has gone public with the complaint that years of neglect have
led to facilities that are, effectively, Third World. Including the
storage of files alongside urinals and on overloaded shelves that
have collapsed. Money is promised for next year. Meanwhile justice
will be even slower than usual.
After a stellar decline
up to 2012, road deaths in Spain have risen in the last 2 years. One
reason is said to be a Crisis-driven failure to maintain vehicles.
Though in the case of bicycles, the finger has been pointed at the
lack of reflectors. As if I didn't know. A lack of rear lights isn't
mentioned, raising the suspicion these are considered unnecessary.
After 4 months and
possibly 8 visits to the shop, I've finally concluded I was being told,
via the increasingly implausible excuses, that the lamps I'd ordered
were never going to arrive. And that I was being told to go
elsewhere. Rather more quickly, I've decided the same thing may be
going on in respect of the replacement keyboard for the one I dropped
beer on. This time, though, I've paid a worrying €50 deposit.
Needless to say, all explanations are delivered with great charm. Who
says the Spanish are never as indirect as the British?
A second book has been
written proving that Christopher Columbus (Cristóbal Colón) was a
native of my barrio, Poio, here in Pontevedra. Specifically, he was
the same person as the local hero, Pedro Madrúga, who disappeared
when in Alba de Torres in 1486. Pretty conclusive, I'd say.
I get the impression
the video I posted yesterday worked extremely slowly and without
sound. So, I'm trying again. If anyone gets this OK, please let me
know. If not, just enjoy the picture. As it's taken an hour to
upload, I'm not optimistic.
Penultimately . . . As
I waited to wash my car in one of Spain's many boxes, I wondered why
the previous driver had left with his car still pretty soapy. After
paying for a couple of different wash options, I realised why - the
bloody system was stuck on the initial soap wash. My car looked worse
when I left than when I'd arrived.
Finally . . . The
latest bit of the 1942 Guide for Yanks to Limeyland.
THE PEOPLE – THEIR
CUSTOMS AND MANNERS
THE BEST WAY to get on
in Britain is very much the same as the best way to get on in
America. The same sort of courtesy and decency and friendliness that
go over big in America will go over big in Britain. The British have
seen a good many Americans and they like Americans. They will like
your frankness as long as it is friendly. They will expect you to be
generous. They are not given to back-slapping and they are shy about
showing their affections. But once they get to like you they make the
best friends in the world.
In "getting
along" the first important thing to remember is that the
British are like the Americans in many ways – but not in all ways.
You will quickly discover differences that seem confusing and even
wrong. Like driving on the left side of the road, and having money
based on an "impossible" accounting system, and drinking
warm beer. But once you get used to that you will realise that they
belong to England just as baseball and jazz and coca-cola belong to
us.
The British Like
Sports. The British of all classes are enthusiastic about sports,
both as amateurs and spectators of professional sports. They love to
shoot, they love to play games, they ride horses and bet on horse
races, they fish. (But be careful where you hunt or fish. Fishing and
hunting rights are often private property.)
The great spectator
sports are football in the autumn and winter and cricket in the
spring and summer. See a "match" in either of these
sports whenever you get a chance. You will get a kick out of it –
if only for the differences from American sports.
Cricket will strike you
as slow compared to American baseball, but it isn't easy to play
well. You will probably get more fun out of "village cricket"
which corresponds to sandlot baseball than you would out of the big
three-day professional matches. The big professional matches are
often nothing but a private contest between the bowler (who
corresponds to our pitcher) and the batsman (batter) and you have to
know the fine points of the game to understand what is going on.
Football in Britain
takes two forms. They play soccer, which is known in America; and
they also play "rugger," which is a rougher game and
closer to American football, but is played without the padded suits
and headguards which we use. Rugger requires fifteen on a side, uses
a ball slightly bigger than our football, and allows lateral but not
forward passing. The English do not handle the ball as cleanly as we
do, but they are far more expert with their feet. As in all games, no
substitutes are allowed. If a man is injured, his side continues with
fourteen players and so on.
You will find that
English crowds at football or cricket matches are often more orderly
and more polite to the players than American crowds. If a fielder
misses a catch at cricket, the crowd will probably take a sympathetic
attitude. They will shout "Good try." Even if it looks to
you like a bad fumble. In America the crowd would probably shout
"Take him out." This contrast should be remembered. It
means that you must be careful in the excitement of an English game
not to shout out remarks that everyone in America would understand,
but which the British might think insulting.
In general more people
play games in Britain than in America and they play the game even if
they are not good at it. You can always find people who play no
better than you and are glad to play with you. They are good
sportsmen and are quick to recognise good sportsmanship when they
meet it.
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