If you're
not a great fan of the mixture of cruelty and artistry which
comprises Spain's Fiesta Nacional, you'll enjoy this video of
a taurine event in which the bulls suffer no more than frustration
and, possibly, embarrassment. It's certainly something from the past
and may just represent the future. Incidentally, I see the bulls get
changed, just as they do in a corrida. Obviously, this is not
because they've died and I wonder whether it's because the bulls
wise up and pose increasing danger to the performers.
Corruption:
President Rajoy gave an interview to Bloomberg a couple of days ago
and said rather more than he'd previously done about the Bárcenas
illegal donations/payments case meandering through the courts.
Having quickly had second thoughts, Rajoy then asked the station not
to air several bits. Unsurprisingly, it refused. On the other hand,
the tame Spanish media complied. Which raises a few questions about
the true extent of democracy here.
In
the latest case of the Public Prosecutor acting more like the Public
Defender, the Fiscal
has told the judiciary here not to issue arrest warrants for three
Franco-era officials being pursued by Spaniards through the
Argentinean courts. More here on this.
Just
to clarify . . . It isn't the Canaries government which has
petitioned the UN for the islands to be included - alongside
Gibraltar - in the list of colonies. It's a group of 'united
residents', along with an association of 'independent residents'.
Which
reminds me . . . If you want the Spanish view of why Gibraltar is
utterly and totally different from the places which Spain controls in
North Africa and along the Moroccan coast, here it is. I'm not sure
anyone outside Spain agrees with this highly legalistic take on
things. Doubtless Morocco will seek to get an answer to this in the
event that Spain gets the UN to discuss Gibraltar. Which is about as
likely as me winning the Miss World contest.
It's
been a good year for the British actor Jim Broadbent. After getting
an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor earlier in the year, he was last
week awarded the Concha de Plata for Best Actor at the San
Sebastian Film Festival. In the film "Le Weekend".
The
fight-back has begun. Talking on TV this morning, David Cameron
correctly referred to "The number of people", not 'The
amount'. Mind you, given the phenomenal cost of his education at
Eton, I think I might have killed myself if he hadn't got it right.
Finally
. . . If you blinked, you may have missed that Monday was the
International Day of the Tapa. Or it may have been Sunday.
Finally,
finally . . . Brits in Spain worried about losing all their UK
programs need to know that the much delayed rocket
launch finally took place yesterday, meaning that the new, weaker satellite should be
operating by Christmas. Reportedly, this will hit Brits living in the
South hardest. As for us up here in Green Spain, we may fare a tad
better. But vamos a ver.
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