It annoys me that governments in many countries charge you an involuntary license fee for public service TV, whether you actually watch it or not. This might have been a good idea many decades ago, when the infrastructure for TV broadcasting needed to be built up. But these days, when public TV largely duplicates . . . → Read More: Keep your hands out of our pockets
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The US National Intelligence Council (NIC) published a report this week assessing how the relationship between the USA and other parts of the World will probably develop by 2025. The report is written every four years for the incoming government and is thus relatively easy non-technical reading. It predicts that US influence will . . . → Read More: The NIC report Where to get your solid-silver security camera? Louis Vuitton, of course! (Seen in Valencia) The Guardian reports that the mafia has started selling cheap bread in Naples, attracting lots of customers, but the local authorities warn that the bread could cause cancer and that it is not so easy to identify. Originally, it was sold from car boots, but now they are also supplying shops, making it difficult . . . → Read More: Risky – eating bread in Naples Inditex, based in A Coruña (N. Spain), has overtaken Gap to become the world’s number one fashion retailer. You probably know at least one of their brand names, although I admit I hadn’t realised that all the following stores are part of the Inditex Group: Zara Bershka Pull and Bear Massimo Dutti Stradivarius Not . . . → Read More: Inditex overtakes Gap to become leading fashion retailer While Germany’s government is still firmly under the control of the automobile lobby, and refuses to implement a general speed limit at all on the Autobahn, the Spanish government is introducing a speed limit of 80 km/hr on its dual carriageways and open roads (and 40 km/hr in towns). I understand that motorways, which . . . → Read More: Spain to introduce 80 km/hr speed limit Short video illustrating some of Otlet’s ideas Paul Otlet (1868 – 1944) proposed many of the ideas which have been implemented in the world wide web – including the idea of a library of information much like Wikipedia – and actually implemented his ideas in the form of the Mundaneum, back in 1910. The . . . → Read More: The Mundaneum – the forgotten precursor to the internet Valencia has some great architecture… .. even the waste bins are stylish here! The truck drivers belonging to Spain’s second largest trucker’s trade union have been on strike since the beginning of this week. So far, although 40% of the filling stations in Catalunya (the NE corner of Spain) are out of fuel, we haven’t had any difficulty getting diesel for the car, but I took . . . → Read More: The trucker’s strike in Spain is biting The UN reports that you are less likely to get murdered in Croatia than the UK. The Balkan area is, surprisingly, one of the safest in Europe. The report Crime and its Impact on the Balkans by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) belies enduring stereotypes of the region as a . . . → Read More: UN says the Balkans are safer than W. Europe |
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