Stephenbc

US anti-Maga seems to be splitting in 3 ways. Those still hoping to vote Maga away (it's certainly a view 😬), those resigned to living in a dictatorship, and those starting to talk about armed resistance. Obviously in the US the midterms will be the turning point. Don't see any great change before.

Span achieved its greatest expansion between 1580 and 1640 under Philip II and the dynastic union with Portugal. All Portuguese and Spanish overseas possessions came under the control of the Habsburgs. HT @Alvaro_Merino_

Lately, Reform UK have claimed that their hostility to migrants stems from an overwhelming desire to keep women safe.

But have they been equally concerned when the threat to women comes from someone they see as on "their side"?

I took a quick peek at their recent record. ~AA

Why has Starmer not proscribed these guys? Vigilantes on the streets? Seems pretty easy to define as terrorism 🤷

The countries of southern Europe have been outperforming the rest of the euro area since the end of the Covid pandemic, in part because of the strength of their service industries. Spain has been a standout, distinguished by its higher value-added services sector, and it has growth momentum that is expected to last for several years, according to Goldman Sachs Research. Our economists have raised their forecasts for

"The shift toward high value-added services is the least appreciated structural change of the Spanish economy in our conversations with investors," Filippo Taddei, senior economist focusing on southern Europe and European policy within the European Economics team, writes in the team's report. The share of high value-added services in Spain's GDP is now 3 percentage points higher than it was pre-pandemic and has increased by 1 percentage point more than in the rest of the euro area. Spain's shift toward high value added services signals a structural change

What is driving Spain's economy? In fact, Spain's recovery has benefited from a rebound in both manufacturing and services. The country took the biggest growth hit among EU member states during the pandemic, but it has been leading the recovery since then. In 2024, Spain completely closed the gap in GDP per capita that opened with the rest of the euro area during the pandemic. Spain's economy is also getting a boost from immigration. The country is taking in more people relative to the size of its population than Germany, France, or Italy, and the latest influx is characterized by immigrants with higher levels of education and job skills. This distinctive demographic trend "could set Spain on a better footing" than the rest of Europe, Taddei writes.

the same time, Spain has less exposure to the potential negative impact of US tariffs. The researchers expect Europe as a whole to see little economic growth in the second half of this year because of the tariff headwind, but Spain will be less hard hit because its share of exports to the Us is markedly below the European average. The products Spain produces also are less exposed to industrial competition from China. How is political uncertainty affecting Spain's economy? This year, the Spanish government has been unable to rely on a stable parliamentary majority, but this is not hindering the fiscal outlook. The country has a structurally lower level of taxation and spending compared with peers such as Italy and the average for the eurozone. In fact, political uncertainty has slowed down the pace at which the government is spending the European Recovery fund, the main EU fiscal program designed to facilitate the post-pandemic recovery and structural change. 2025 may be the first year in which deployment of these resources does not increase on an annual basis. This backloads fiscal support for the economy, shifting more spending to 2026 and (only in small part) 2027. Our economists also expect an additional increase in Spain's defense spending, and they

From Goldman Sachs on how Spain became Europe’s fastest growing economy.
In summary: bringing in more immigrants, on average higher-educated; shift towards high value-added services; rebound in manufacturing; less exposure to U.S. tariffs; lower taxes than peers.
www.goldmansachs.com/insights/art...

Fascinating dialogue about Washington DC and crime in England. In both crime is down but populist right exploits popular fears. Most liberals seem to thing it is enough to say ‘they’ve got their facts wrong.’ I wonder if that works….

Anulado el juicio franquista que ejecutó a Xosé Humberto Baena “En septiembre voy al Santa Irene para hablar del tema, porque la gente joven no tiene ni idea de lo que pasó”, señala Flor Baena, hermana del fusilado

Anulado el juicio franquista que ejecutó a Xosé Humberto Baena

“En septiembre voy al Santa Irene para hablar del tema, porque la gente joven no tiene ni idea de lo que pasó”, señala Flor Baena, hermana del fusilado 👇 leer.atlantico.net/4ur9l3

Prediction: Americans won't get rid of Maga for decades, so this won't happen.

Be funny if he just shuts down their Congress. Can't imagine they'd do anything if he did. He's making fascism look easy 😬

Don't agree. When it started, with Asmah Mir, then Matt Chorley, then Mariela Frostrup, then John Pienaar, it was really good! Then they all left and it became the Reform fan club 🤷

Your analysis is bang on, by the way! Majority of non-Maga still think they'll vote these guys away. They're living in cloud cuckoo land. You're engaging with reality. It's going to be super grim when the midterms are rigged cancelled and everyone else wakes up 😬

True, but if you don't start fighting now, you'll end up like either Russia, where your neighbours randomly disappear, and you live every moment terrified, or at best Burma, where you have a 20-30 year insurgency. There's no peaceful way to remove these guys, right?

Maia Mindel with analysis I don't understand but find entirely credible of Milei's economy problems and a perfect definition of Niall Ferguson

substack.com/home/post/p-...

Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe has died two months after being shot in the head at a campaign event, his wife announced early Monday morning.
u.afp.com/SMK9

OMFG the BLEATING of the "victims" of VAT on private schools is one of the most insufferable lobbies in the entire social media sphere.

You're paying VAT for your little darlings. Get over it and get a life. If you can't afford it, join us, The Plebs, in the state system. 1/3

That's every right winger on the planet!

This was when I stopped listening to Times Radio. Chloe Tilley was so utterly furious every day that the children of Times readers (the good people, the true people) should have to send their kids to school with the scum (the rest of us) was just so deeply offensive, stupid and unpatriotic.

Everyone around the world is waiting for you to use those hundreds of millions of guns you've got! What's the delay for? Looks like you're all rolling over for the dictator to be honest 😬😬

Imagine thinking this is bad! The Anglo world is so fucking weird...

Lasted for 40 years under Franco 🤷

If the UK had a free press, rather than an oligarch run propaganda system, they'd know about this 🤷

I’m seeing a lot of Blueskiers nostalgic for Blue Peter and imma gonna be honest but you all struck me as the Blue Peter types, you are all nailed on Blue Peter kids. I bet you had the badge too, right?

I'd like to hear from some of the commentators shouting about revolution why they never bothered to cover the complete collapse of the processing system. Was visible from space (and before 2014 too).

Don't really understand why, in the UK, Palestine Action have been proscribed (correct decision imho), but the various organisations behind the riots last summer have not been? Any answers on that one?

The British media are obsessed with the far right, but a majority have voted centre / left for decades. Just that FPTP has generated so many minority governments which haven't really been representative.

I guess as well, for all these angry old people, there must be loads of happy modern ones. Depends a bit on your life experience too. If your childhood / early adulthood were not good, you're not prone to nostalgia and enjoy being older more 🤷

Why the Dutch took over from the Spanish 🤷

Calgie @christiancalgie · 6h If you don’t understand how close tens of millions of Britons are to wanting a full-blown revolution, let alone fail to understand why, then you have no value as a political commentator Curious Haggis 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 @curioushaggis Worst dot-to-dot I’ve ever done. Is it supposed to be a hand puppet? 11:11 PM · Aug 10, 2025 · 29 Views

I cannot stop laughing at this as a response to the oncoming revolution.

This is a pitch from Calgie - a ludicrous far-right cliche - for more TV gigs. It will probably be successful.

The schools are better, the hospitals are better, the cars are amazing, the tech is cool, the public services are better, the politicians are better, my life is better. Why would anyone want to go back to the past???