Dawn

Dawn

Tuesday, January 02, 2018

Thoughts from Galicia: 2.1.18


Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable.
- Christopher Howse: A Pilgrim in Spain. 

If you've arrived here because of an interest in Galicia or Pontevedra, see my web page here.

Spain
  • The journalist Guy Hedgecoe has a go at listing Spain's top people of 2017 here.
  • Welcome to 2018, fellow consumers.
  • I got this example of Spanish humour from one of my lovely neighbours. Been around a while, it seems to me.
  • It it's not behind a paywall, you might find this article re refugees rather disturbing.
The EU
  • Surely this should be worrying someone: Despite years of promises from European politicians to diversify, Russia remains the dominant supplier of gas to Europe. Few see that changing anytime soon.  . . . Russia’s share of the European market will rise to 40% by 2035, up from 30% now, according to an estimate from BP. More here.
  • The bamboozling banks: Early this year Holland’s ING and Spain’s Santander began issuing [crap]senior non-preferred bonds even though their issuance had not yet been officially sanctioned by each bank’s respective national regulator. More here.
The USA, if not the World
  • This article on militarized corporate capitalism is also rather worrying.
Galicia
  • I guess insanity is insanity. The only suspect in the suspected murder of a young woman early last year was foiled last week in his attempt to shove another young woman into the boot of his car, in broad daylight. He confessed to strangling the first one, but only after his wife had admitted that the alibi she'd given him was false. I'm guessing the defence of insanity won't be available to her. Hope not.
Quote of the Year, so far
  • If economists were doctors, they would today be mired in malpractice suits: John Ralston.
Finally
  • I was looking on Amazon last night for a gift for my rather religious sister and started at the highest price level. Which was actually something retailing at GBP55,000, albeit reduced from 120,000. The next 2 items were in the same ballpark but the 4th one was GBP1.29. After which the prices shot up again. Then, this morning, I was looking at the paperback version of a biography of George Orwell. On Amazon UK, the prices were sensible (i. e. very low) but on Amazon Spain the prices ranged from €55 to €799. I guess it makes sense to some machine.
  • Gender switches are confusing enough but what to do when men carry monikers normally associated with women? I've always assumed Joe was masculine was male and Jo female. So what's with this guy? Is it merely that he comes from a family desperate for any publicity it can get?
  • This is a decent Persian restaurant in Madrid. I was interested to see that the dish transcribed as Juje kebab in English was given as Yuye kebab in Spanish. Presumably to stop it being pronounced Khukhe kebab. By some Spaniards anyway.

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