Wandering Off Topic

[Vertigo Swirl]

It's still irrelevant to the discussion though.

What were we discussing again?

[The General]

It's still irrelevant to the discussion though.

As Brietta says 'a picture is worth a thousand words'. And it's true. So true, in fact, that the phrase was subsumed in to English parlance decades ago.

I know a little about the Spanish Civil War, but only really from the viewpoint of the Republican army  / Orwell - Homage to Catalonia is a modern classic, pretty bleak, but also pretty miopic. He doesn't seem fully aware of the full circumstances, but that may have been his purpose.
Down and Out in Paris and London is essential Orwell reading too.
Just saying.

[Brietta]

So what?

The McCanns should be castigated for wining and dining out each evening in Franco's far right state?

Ooops, but Franco died over 40 years ago.  He's been dug up and reburied since.  All vaguely near Madrid, the capital of Spain.

Perhaps the McCanns should have taken this fascism into account, and taken Madeleine to Center Parcs, rather than the SPAIN she was never in.

You have absolutely no idea whether or not Madeleine was taken to Spain ... Praia da Luz is very close to the Spanish border ... she could have been well on the way to being transported across it before the Policia Judiciaria had arrived to check out the reports of a missing child.

[Brietta]

As Brietta says 'a picture is worth a thousand words'. And it's true. So true, in fact, that the phrase was subsumed in to English parlance decades ago.

I know a little about the Spanish Civil War, but only really from the viewpoint of the Republican army  / Orwell - Homage to Catalonia is a modern classic, pretty bleak, but also pretty miopic. He doesn't seem fully aware of the full circumstances, but that may have been his purpose.
Down and Out in Paris and London is essential Orwell reading too.
Just saying.

Which is probably why my original post used those squiggly wee things " known as quotation marks around the quotation.

Enough of this nonsense though.


Sound and music is also evocative:  who can forget Ravel's Bolera as Grant ~ Loren ~ Sinatra dragged a huge cannon from one end of Spain to t'other in the film about the Napoleonic wars 'The Pride and the Passion'?

[Myster]

I can't remember it, because I'm not a geriatric... yet!   But who can forget Torvill & Dean skating to Ravel's Bolero?... without tugging a ginormous cannon behind 'em.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Le9OeXaN4jk

[ShiningInLuz]

You have absolutely no idea whether or not Madeleine was taken to Spain ... Praia da Luz is very close to the Spanish border ... she could have been well on the way to being transported across it before the Policia Judiciaria had arrived to check out the reports of a missing child.

You lost the fascism battle a long time ago.

Perhaps MBM is visiting Guernica even as we speak.

Or perhaps not.

 

[Mr Gray]

You lost the fascism battle a long time ago.

Perhaps MBM is visiting Guernica even as we speak.

Or perhaps not.

 

portugal has  a history of fascism however much you try and deny it

[Brietta]

I can't remember it, because I'm not a geriatric... yet!   But who can forget Torvill & Dean skating to Ravel's Bolero?... without tugging a ginormous cannon behind 'em.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Le9OeXaN4jk

They competed in the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo as part of the Great Britain team and won Gold.  I think they can be proud of that.

[Brietta]

You lost the fascism battle a long time ago.

Perhaps MBM is visiting Guernica even as we speak.

Or perhaps not.

 

Unfortunately we all appear to have 'lost' the fascism battle if the resurgence of the far right is anything to go by.

Like other well known extremists "they haven't gone away, you know" and in Portugal the old guard weren't swept away with bunches of carnations in 1974, they remained quietly as very much the Establishment maintaining their roles in for example the judiaciary and the police and getting on with the job.

[The General]

Unfortunately we all appear to have 'lost' the fascism battle if the resurgence of the far right is anything to go by.

Like other well known extremists "they haven't gone away, you know" and in Portugal the old guard weren't swept away with bunches of carnations in 1974, they remained quietly as very much the Establishment maintaining their roles in for example the judiaciary and the police and getting on with the job.

Stinking, fascist cesspit, seething with octogenarian despots maintaining positions of power:

According to the 2017 Global Peace Index, Portugal is the world’s 3rd safest country. Only Iceland and New Zealand are considered safer, and neither has the weather, beaches, or low cost of living that Portugal has. To put it in a bit more perspective, the United Kingdom sits at position 41 and the United States at 159. Basically: Portugal is an extremely safe place to visit, and unless you’re coming from either Iceland or New Zealand, it’s safer than your home country.

It’s also considerably safer than most of the other popular holiday and retirement destinations: Spain sits at position 23, Italy at position 38, and France at position 51. Greece and Turkey are even further down the list.

As with any country, there are safe bits and there are unsafe bits. There are some parts of Lisbon that I wouldn’t recommend tourists go late at night, for example, but these aren’t places that tourists ever go to.

[Mr Gray]

Stinking, fascist cesspit, seething with octogenarian despots maintaining positions of power:

According to the 2017 Global Peace Index, Portugal is the world’s 3rd safest country. Only Iceland and New Zealand are considered safer, and neither has the weather, beaches, or low cost of living that Portugal has. To put it in a bit more perspective, the United Kingdom sits at position 41 and the United States at 159. Basically: Portugal is an extremely safe place to visit, and unless you’re coming from either Iceland or New Zealand, it’s safer than your home country.

It’s also considerably safer than most of the other popular holiday and retirement destinations: Spain sits at position 23, Italy at position 38, and France at position 51. Greece and Turkey are even further down the list.

As with any country, there are safe bits and there are unsafe bits. There are some parts of Lisbon that I wouldn’t recommend tourists go late at night, for example, but these aren’t places that tourists ever go to.

Have another read... It's the third most peaceful country... Not safest... Whatever that means... Not the third safest

safearound.com/danger-rankings

Here as regards safest countries Portugal comes in at 68th

[G-Unit]

You have absolutely no idea whether or not Madeleine was taken to Spain ... Praia da Luz is very close to the Spanish border ... she could have been well on the way to being transported across it before the Policia Judiciaria had arrived to check out the reports of a missing child.

Madeleine could have been in Spain before the GNR arrived, let alone the PJ.

[Vertigo Swirl]

Stinking, fascist cesspit, seething with octogenarian despots maintaining positions of power:

According to the 2017 Global Peace Index, Portugal is the world’s 3rd safest country. Only Iceland and New Zealand are considered safer, and neither has the weather, beaches, or low cost of living that Portugal has. To put it in a bit more perspective, the United Kingdom sits at position 41 and the United States at 159. Basically: Portugal is an extremely safe place to visit, and unless you’re coming from either Iceland or New Zealand, it’s safer than your home country.

It’s also considerably safer than most of the other popular holiday and retirement destinations: Spain sits at position 23, Italy at position 38, and France at position 51. Greece and Turkey are even further down the list.

As with any country, there are safe bits and there are unsafe bits. There are some parts of Lisbon that I wouldn’t recommend tourists go late at night, for example, but these aren’t places that tourists ever go to.

New Zealand has some bostin beaches, and way more interesting scenery.  And they all speak English.  Shame about the volcanoes though.

[Vertigo Swirl]

Have another read... It's the third most peaceful country... Not safest... Whatever that means... Not the third safest

safearound.com/danger-rankings

Here as regards safest countries Portugal comes in at 68th

And the UK comes much higher up the rankings.  Rule Brittania!   Even Equitorial Guinea is safer than Portugal.  Who knew?!

[Vertigo Swirl]

Britain also beats Portugal in the list of least corrupt countries. 

https://www.ranker.com/list/the-most-corrupt-countries-in-the-world/info-lists