π° Paid Columns
Normally on Sundays. Sometimes on other days. Here are the most recent columns and some others from past years (2012-2022) for you to read.
Latest
π°π NOV 6βSpanish politicians talk more about the Civil War in 2022 than 30 years ago: This has little to do with an authentic quest for truth and much to do with next year's elections in the 21st Century's polarised media environment.
π°π OCT 30βCould there be a Rishi Sunak in Spain? In theory, a black Muslim woman could become Prime Minister. In practice, those things haven't happened yet. The Trump-Putin-Vox political trend is pushing the West away from universal human rights.
π°π OCT 16βThe worldview of Vox and the new global radical right in their own words: Is it all a normal traditional conservative reaction to the rise of the global left or a new xenophobic authoritarian Christian movement that wants to undo the global economic order?
π°π OCT 3β10 thoughts on Catalan separatism, five years after Puigdemont's sham independence vote: Would they ever have a second go? Would they improve their strategies? 1. It was a gigantic waste of time for everybodyβ¦
Previous (2012-2022, free to read)
π° AUG 18, 2022βHow much money does Spain owe the world: β¬1.5 trillion, β¬2 trillion or β¬2.5 trillion? The Bank of Spain clarified for me this morning that Target2 balances at the ECB are not included in the national debt calculations.
π° AUG 5, 2022βAre the media in Spain scaring women? If there is as much terror against women as the government and media report, female tourists should be booking holidays to Greece and Italy.
π° JUL 31, 2022βSpain's very offensive beach poster: In theory, photoshopping hairy legs onto a woman with a prosthetic leg in real life or adding a breast back onto a woman who suffered a double mastectomy, cannot be remedied, but...
π° NOV 16, 2021βThe problem is the TV footage, not a pencil and paper: after a judge in Huelva ordered an entire murder trial, all of it, closed off to the media. Spain in not, in theory, North Korea.
π° MAY 20, 2021βSpain solves Ceuta crisis without Vox: Human values or empty rhetoric? Morocco charged on Monday but Spain has fought Rabat off with dignity, and without being fooled into a xenophobic or nationalistic military overreaction.
π° MAY 13, 2021βSpain's glorious multicolour political pluralism: The country is as politically diverse in 2021 as it was during the Transition after Franco. No politician or party owns "Spain" or "Spaniards".
π° JUN 19, 2021β13,000 dead Spaniards, "over there": How many thousands of dead citizens does it take for a government to stop counting them, or caring how many there really are?
π° AUG 06, 2019βImmigrants and rape in Spain: Immigration and sexual assault are very contentious public issues independent of each other. Mix them together and explosive rhetoric and strong emotions are guaranteed. The controversial wolf-pack gang rape case in Pamplonaβ¦
π° MAR 30, 2019βHow fed up are Spaniards in the rest of the country by Catalan separatism? There is a general election next month: what message will ordinary voters send to the elites who govern the kingdom?
π° MAR 24, 2019βThe gravity of the Catalan separatist trial from inside the Supreme Court: Broadcasting the trial live was the right decision, but the close ups on TV do not communicate the full seriousness of the affair.
π° MAR 15, 2019βPablo Iglesias needs to read some books about the Holocaust: Both he and Catalan separatist Elsa Artadi hold doctorate degrees but think it's fun to refer to Anne Frank or Adolf Eichmann.
π° FEB 28, 2019βThe Big Fat Fake Catalan Republic. Puigdemont is in fake exile, RufiΓ‘n wanted to go for lunch, Colau said the whole thing organised itself and Mas said there was no plan.
π° AUG 29, 2018βSpain must avoid polarising conflict escalation in Catalonia: Creation of βthe otherβ is one step, dehumanisation (vermin) or creation of the emotion of disgust (excrement, etc.), are others.
π° AUG 08, 2018βImmigration reality, rhetoric and policy in Spain: The port of Algeciras in southern Spain, across the bay from Gibraltar, is a big beast, filled with enormous freight cranes, dozens of large cargo ships and ferries, and thousands of containers waiting to be movedβ¦
π° DEC 12, 2018βA violent Catalan separatist breakaway? In 1991, Slovenia fought a 10-day war with Serbia over its independence, as Yugoslavia began to disintegrate. Flags were taken down, tanks were burnt, bases surrounded and helicopters shot downβ¦
π° DEC 04, 2018βAfter the elections in Andalusia, expect a lot more Vox in Spanish politics: The Socialist Party (PSOE) lost 402,000 votes on Sunday night, its worst result ever in Andalusia. The Popular Party (PP) and Podemos (Adelante AndalucΓa) were not far behind, shedding 316,000 and 283,000 votes respectively. 19% of the vote shifted. 24 seats.
π° OCT 26, 2017βDeclaration Of Independence From Spain Imminent In Catalonia: Puigdemont is about to declare independence from Spain, despite everything that has happened over the past six weeks.
π° OCT 22, 2017βCatalan separatists would be investigated for riot and false imprisonment in the UK, not "sedition": Lots of foreign media are getting over-excited by charges of "sedition" but "sedition" under Spanish law is not "sedition" in English-speaking imaginations.
π° AUG 26, 2017βA Shameful Separatist Show In Barcelona: Catalan separatists failed to keep quiet in memory of the dead when King Felipe went to Barcelona to pay his respects.
π° DEC 20, 2015βThis Is How Spain's Electoral System Works: Spain has a closed-list proportional representation electoral system that favours sucking up to party bosses instead of listening to voters.
π° APR 8, 2015βIs Spain Ready For Jihadi Terror On The Costas? From the radical Islamic terror perspective, Spain must seem like a target-rich environment. 11 jihadi suspects were arrested in Spain on Wednesday.
π° OCT 11, 2014βSpainβs Chaotic Ebola Death Watch: βBastards, useless cowardsβ, shouted the nurses watching the press conference, throwing surgical gloves at Mr. Rajoy as he was driven away.
π° JUN 22, 2014βThe Day Spain Proclaimed Felipe VI King: Half way down the Calle Arenal, the royalist crowd spied a woman wrapped in a big tricolour republican flag and immediately began booing and insulting her.
π° JUN 6, 2014βExcitement In Madrid Over The Idea Of A Third Republic After King of Spain Abdicates: King Juan Carlos will abdicate. A wave of excitement rushed through republicans in Spain after the Prime Minister made the announcement.
π° JUN 5, 2014βThe Reds And Nationalists Are Coming, Abdicate! The Spanish establishment worried the PSOE might go republican again if Medina were to win leadership race instead of SΓ‘nchez.
π° MAY 28, 2014βPodemos Are Weirdo Rancid Commiesβ¦Or Hitler Pablo Iglesias and Podemos have suddenly won five seats at the European Elections. It began on Sunday night with an editorial in right-wing online newspaper Libertad Digital titled βDisastrous Omensβ.
π° MAR 12, 2012β2015: Francoist Spain vs. Modern Spain: How will the coming of age of the fourth generation of Spaniards since the Spanish Civil War affect the general election in 2015?
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