Monthly Archives: April 2012

Welcome to the UK

‘Anything scares me, anything scares anyone but really after all nothing is really so very frightening when everything is so very dangerous,’ wrote Gertrude Stein in 1937. This isn’t a philosophy that is likely to get much purchase in the … Continue reading

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Spain as Metaphor

The Spanish  city of Ciudad Real isn’t the most obvious tourist destination.  Situated in the province of La Mancha 115 miles from Madrid, it has a population of 74,000 and few attractions beyond its associations with Spain’s most famous literary … Continue reading

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Spain : Basta ya!

The latest statistics on the Spanish economic crisis are truly devastating.  Unemployment is now at 24.44 percent, close to the record of 24.55 percent in 1994.  In Extremadura, Andalucia and the Canary Islands the figure is 30 percent.   There … Continue reading

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Rupert Murdoch’s Little Shop of Horrors

Facing commercial disaster and the prospect of a criminal investigation in the United States,  the carnivorous plant that is News International is in deep trouble, and the master florist is coming out fighting in an attempt to save his creation. … Continue reading

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