CATALAN
INDEPENCE: The principal driver of this - the President of the
regional government - has a couple of major problems. Firstly, he's
been blocked by one of his coalition partners from re-election as
president. Secondly, his party is shrouded in corruption allegations.
While this isn't very different from any other major party in Spain,
he's decided to go with what may well be known in future as The VW
Option - a change of name/'brand'. He's disbanding his CDC party and
forming the Democracy and Liberty party. Good luck with that.
CORRUPTION: The perfect recipe for this, says judge Baltasar Garzón,
is a combination of 'A civil servant responsible for urban
development, a businessman closely linked to a political party, a
growing town or city and a property market on the rise'. He should
know; he's presided over some major cases. Being the victim of
serious government dirty trick campaigns in the process.
BREXIT:
For the first time, surveys suggest more than 50% of Brits support
this. David Cameron continues to support staying in the EU, provided
his demands for structural reform are accepted. Given that he must
know which way the wind is blowing - in the direction of the collapse
of the institution - I've begun to wonder whether his real purpose is
to avoid the UK getting most of the blame for this, and losing out in
the new inter-state trade agreements which must follow.
HEALTH
SERVICES: There was a time when the UK national health service was
the best in the world, if only because it was unique. There are many
in Britain who think it still is and they're supported in this by
virtually all politicians, who feel obliged to repeat this
nonsensical claim whenever the elections come along. As anyone who's
experienced one of Europe's health services knows, this
belief/claim/lie is far from justified. This week, it's reported that
the UK is in the bottom of the OECD third when it comes to 5-year
survival rates in colorectal cancer, breast cancer and cervical
cancer. And survival after hospital admission for a heart attack or
stroke is also worse than in many OECD countries. Most European
health schemes are, I believe, a mix of public and insurance scheme
services, an option which is anathema in the UK, where 'insurance'
is widely interpreted as 'privatisation'. Is there a public service
anywhere in the world where discussion is as curtailed by
(self)deceit and mendacity?
HEALTHY
FOOD: " It is a fabulous racket", says the Guardian.
Click here for the details of this claim.
PONTEVEDRA'S
RETAIL SCENE: I wouldn't want to give the impression it's all
closures. Many shops are taken over by new owners. These, though, all
seem to be women who offer yet
more expensive dresses and accessories. So, we have El Armorio de
Audrey (Audrey's Wardrobe) or La Tienda de Raquél. (Raquel's Shop). One
could be forgiven for suspecting these are not genuine outlets but
fronts for drug money laundering purposes.
FINALLY .
. . FACEBOOK: Someone asked me yesterday how to get rid of the French
flag behind their foto. I said I hadn't the faintest idea, never
having succumbed to the temptation to show solidarity in this way.
But, then, I have a knee-jerk reaction to anything suggested by
Facebook. Incidentally, yesterday I saw that an English chap had been
befriended by 37 people, all of them women. So, I sent friend
requests to the 5 most attractive, to see what would happen. Four of
them immediately accepted my request. What this means, I really don't
know. Other than it's easy to ring up the thousands of friends some
pathetic folk feel the need for.
No comments:
Post a Comment