Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable.
Christopher Howse: A Pilgrim in Spain
Spain- Spain emerges very well from a survey of 50 countries in respect of safety for women travelling alone. First place, in fact. The UK is 11th and the USA 31st. South Africa came last, ahead of Brazil.
- This is what 'internal devaluation' means . . . Young Spaniards earn less than they did 20 years ago, even before inflation is taken into account.
- A headline from a local paper this week: Galicia should take note of the lesson on innovation coming from Portugal. I'll say!
- I've long believed that, despite destroying the ships of the Spanish bullion fleet - along with their French escorts - in 1702, the British never got hold of any gold or silver from it. But this is wrong, as there were at least some coins minted from gold seized. These were 1703 Queen Anne Vigo guineas, which have the word Vigo under the queen's bust. And one of them has just turned up in the possession of a British chap who got a collection of 'worthless' coins from his grandad. Its value is reckoned to be c. €300,000. Lucky bugger.
- Déjà vu. Drug lord Pablo Escobar painted donkeys to look like zebras. Yesterday came reports of a zoo in southern Spain doing the same. Leading to accusations of animal abuse. Which rather confused real zebras around the world.
The UK
- Some university degrees, needless to say, are less valuable than others. Here's some info on this, which might surprise you.
- I note that a degree in Agricultural studies doesn't promise rich rewards in the UK but I recall recently seeing this at the head of a list of post-graduation salaries here in Galicia.
The Way of the World
- Below there's an interesting article on how our neighbour Portugal has successfully tackled its drugs problem. Well, more successfully than other countries at least.
The USA
- More honest times. Or How circumstances change principles.
- Last year I posted a list of adjectives applying to Fart. It's reproduced below. Here are a few more that spring to mind now:-
- Abuser of women
- (White) Nationalist
- Disgusting
- Repulsive
- Striving to think of one word to describe him, I've come up with scumbag but would welcome other suggestions.
Spanish
- An amusing list from The Local of 10 beastly Spanish sayings.
Finally . . .
- Zebras: Q. Are they white with black stripes or black with white stripes? A. The latter
THE ARTICLES
1. Portugal shows compassion can deliver hope over fear: Mark McLaughlin, Emma Yeomans, The Times
Drug-related deaths have been almost eradicated in Portugal since it decriminalised drugs in 2001. It also led to an 18% saving for taxpayers by reducing prison and health service costs. Drug dealers are still pursued and prosecuted but users face fines and penalties similar to a speeding ticket and guidance on recovery.
Safe injecting facilities, which allow users to take drugs under medical supervision, were pioneered in Vancouver and have now been copied in dozens of places in Europe and Australia. According to public health experts they have been successful in reducing crime and saving lives.
The Home Office has refused to grant medical staff immunity from prosecution if they help users to inject on the grounds that it would send “the wrong message”.
The doctor who drew up the policy decriminalising drugs in Portugal said last month that Scotland could reverse its record-breaking death toll if it got over its “stupid fear” of showing compassion to addicts.
João Goulão, director-general of Portugal’s Service for Intervention on Addictive Behaviours and Dependencies, said that safe injecting rooms would be a “huge success” if the Home Office lifted its threat of prosecution.
The proposal to help addicts to inject illegal heroin has exposed a split within the Catholic Church.
The Pope has described decriminalisation policies as “highly questionable” and the Catholic Church in Scotland said that “there is no such thing as a safe injecting room”. The church in Portugal backed decriminalisation and facilitates a drug testing site at the country’s Boom music festival.
Some experts have blamed decades of Conservative policies including deindustrialisation, austerity and tough justice for the rising deaths. However, some parts of England have similar levels of poverty while English judges jail twice as many drug criminals, suggesting that austerity and criminal justice are only part of the problem.
Faded seaside towns and former industrial ports in England and Wales feature alongside Scottish regions in the top 20 areas blighted by drugs. This suggests that globalisation may also be factor, with an increase in foreign holidays and the decline in seagoing freight plunging some towns into poverty, despair and addiction.
2. Adjectives applicable to Fart: 2018
A
|
Arrogant, Autocratic, Alienating, Anti-intellectual, Angry
|
B
|
Bullying, Boastful, Braggart, Belligerent, Bigoted, Blowhard, Bad-tempered
|
C
|
Chaos-creating, Clueless, Cheating, Combative, Child-like, Childish
|
D
|
Disruptive, Dishonest, Deluded, Divisive, Destructive, Disorganised, Devious
|
E
|
Exaggerator, Egotistical, Egocentric
|
F
|
Fox News-Obsessed, Follicly challenged, Fraudulent, Fantasist, Fast-food-Guzzler
|
G
|
Garrulous, Global-warming-denying, Gaffe-prone
|
H
|
Hyperbolic, Hateful, Heartless, Humourless, Hollow
|
I
|
Idiotic, Insulting, Insensitive, Irreligious, Incompetent, Inconsistent, Ignorant, Islamophobic, Inattentive, Insecure, Inimical, Incoherent, Illogical, Irrational, Intemperate, Inept, Impatient, Intimidatory, Insane?
|
J
|
Jealous
|
K
|
Kinglike, Kinky, Know-all
|
L
|
Liar, Lazy, Low esteemed,
|
M
|
Misogynistic, Media-obsessed, Menacing, Mad?
|
N
|
Nauseating, Narcissist
|
O
|
Obsessive, Orange-hued, Obnoxious
|
P
|
Paranoid, Putin-admiring, Petty, Pussy-grabbing, Populist, Posturing, Pugnacious, Poseur, Philandering, Phony, Politically inexperienced, Psychologically suspect.
|
Q
|
Quixotic, Querulous
|
R
|
Russia-dependent, Rabble-rousing, Reckless, Racist, Resentful
|
S
|
Short-attention-spanned, Self-centred, Self-obsessed, Stupid, Self-vaunting, Susceptible to flattery, Swaggering, Small-minded, Self-interested
|
T
|
Twitter-obsessed, TV-obsessed, Tyrannical, Trade-disrupting, Threatening, Triumphalist, Thin-skinned
|
U
|
Unfriendly, Unfaithful, Unintelligible, Unreliable, Unwilling to listen, Unaware, Untrustworthy, Unpredictable, Undisciplined, Un-self-aware,
|
V
|
Vocabulary-deficient, Vengeful, Victim, Vain. Vulgar, Vindictive
|
W
|
Wearisome, Weird, Whoring, Worrying, Wrathful, Wrong-headed, War-mongering
|
X
|
Xenophobic
|
Y
|
Yankee . . .
|
Z
|
Zig-zagging
|
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