Spain

Point out, speak out
Our Chancellor, Alistair Darling, see right, has got himself into a spot of bother and all because of what he said in the Guardian, see HERE. Normally very generous to Nulabour heavies, the paper was rewarded with a quote or two which may in time, so we are told, come back to haunt him. But why? Was what Darling said a remark too far or is it the endorsement of what the man-in-the-street, 'our man', had known for ages? Namely that the UK economy is not in rude health now and it could get worse. If it is the latter then what we are not told, is why Darling lags behind 'our man' in terms of perception and speaking out; is Darling afraid and if so of what? If it is the former, a remark too far and so the classic gaffe, then 'our man' will wonder if Darling's honesty will cost him his job. After all 'our man' is worried about keeping his job, so why not have doubts about Darling keeping his job too? The chances are that those remarks are not one man's moment of madness and will not be forgotten. So how do other countries and their politicians square this circle, speak out or keep quiet?

A load of bull
The article in today's Telegraph HERE is one of those cringe generating gushing things. The basis of it all is the claim that the Mediterranean diet is the best in the world. So good that Spain with help from Italy, Greece and Morocco wish to have the much-lauded Mediterranean diet placed on the UNESCO world heritage list. But defining the diet - and its health benefits - is harder than one might think, writes Sarah Morris. Too right, and, after reading the article I found the whole thing hard to take seriously, a bit like spending too much time with an attention seeking child.