Dawn

Dawn

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

THE EU: Its compromise euro currency is failing the southern members; the Schengen Agreement is now what the Spanish call 'wet paper'; national leaders are blatantly ignoring Brussels dictates on refugees/immigrants; and now France has kicked the Stability Pact into touch, again. Has the institution much longer to go? Or will it finally see sense and drastically reform itself in order to survive as an economic, not a political, entity? Time will tell but meanwhile the idiotic EU President is telling the national prime ministers to stop being naughty and to get into line behind his injunctions on immigration. You couldn't make it up.

THE SPANISH MEDIA: It would be something of an exaggeration to say this is free. The New York Times recently ran an article on the subject by a senior editor of the liberal El Pais, who was then sacked for addressing the subject. Click here for this. And here for a comment on the article.

CORRUPTION: The Spanish President, Sr Rajoy, has made a lot of his personal whiter-than-whiteness, stressing he's much the poorer for giving up his lucrative position as the Pontevedra Registrar. It turns out that not only did he not do this but also that he took up similar positions in other towns, via a frontman. And still gets income from all of these. The guy who reported this was the same one cited above for writing about government interference in the media. Went a step too far, then. Here's the list of questions he publicly put to Rajoy, before El País spiked his tendentious article.

TELEFONICA: I went to their shop in the city centre yesterday, to ask whether I had to return the handset before they'd stop charging me, 5 weeks after I'd ended the service. Yes, said the young woman, if it was rented. And the modem, of course[!]. Can you tell me if it was rented, I asked. No, she said. You have to phone 1004. But I can give you all the reference numbers, I insisted. Surely you can get this info from your computer. No, I can't she, she said. You have to phone 1004 and they'll tell you. Thank-you, I replied - unconvinced that she detected the sarcasm in my voice. So, a phone call today and then yet another visit to one of their bloody shops. Which are actually not their shops but licensed operations. But it doesn't show.

SPICEY PONTEVEDRA: For those who can take advantage of it, I need to advise of a new shop (Grano de Oro) in the La Barca mall offering a wide range of spices. Much more impressive than the place down in the city itself. I'd advise against taking up Fernando's suggestion you try his hottest ground pepper. It's deceptive.

FINALLY . . . MISCELLANY:

  • Topical query: If the TV media can devote itself to just one subject for days on end, what does this tell us about the relevance of the items they give us every other day of the year? Has there really been no other news since last Friday?
  • The stresses of modern society are said to owe a lot to the vast number of decisions we're forced (or not) to take. The latest of these is when to remove the French flag from your Facebook page. Will an etiquette emerge?
  • The Spanish equivalent of the UK's 999 emergency number is 112. Why not 111, one is impelled to ask.

No comments: