It’s Christmas Market time again in Germany. A list of the major Christmas Markets can be found in the AllThingsGerman.net Calender.
I hope to visit several of the markets and will report back here during December. If you can’t wait that long, why not listen to last year’s podcast?
I’ve lost 26km! At least, that is what the on-board computer is now telling me.
OK, here’s what happened: I filled up on Friday with bio-ethanol before I went away for the weekend. With a full tank, the computer calculated that I had 448km remaining, and no longer 474km.
Now, I know this is only a rough estimate and averaged over my usage, but that’s still quite a leap.
Whilst out over the weekend, I think I may have found the answer: whenever I start car, the air-conditioning automatically switches on. I compared the fuel consumption figures and turning off the air-conditioning saves about 2 litres per 100km, so if I don’t turn it off every time I start the car, I am using more fuel than necessary.
I wonder if there is a way to turn it off permanently, at least until I want it on. Or is there a reason to have it on all the time?
There were riots in Sucre last weekend with reports suggesting that at least 3 people were killed.
The UK Foreign Office had warned of disturbances, but demonstrations can easily occur in Bolivia. I’ve seen pictures of the riots in Sucre and these are on a different scale – especially when you hear that there have been fatalities.
Correo del Sur even shows pictures of riot police and tear gas today. So what’s it all about?
Well, when President Evo Morales was elected, he promised to reform the constitution to give more rights to indigenous people. As it happens, the draft of the new constitution has two points that are causing unrest in the country, and neither have anything to do with his election promise.
The first I have already written about – moving the seat of Government back to Sucre. This would make Sucre the sole capital of Bolivia.
The second, and this is what appears to have caused the riots, is that President Morales could be indefinitely re-elected.
After introducing a lot of reforms, such as reducing the President’s pay, on first glance this does look like it is going in a new direction. Even if there are other countries where the President can be re-elected as often as they care to stand for office, other limit this and whilst there is probably something to be said for both systems, I am suspicious of someone who wants to change the law in this way for their own benefit.
Bolivia has seen enough dictators in it’s past who clung on to power (only to be promptly displaced by a new regime). Even if this law is on a democratic basis, it doesn’t seem to be sending the right message to the people!
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