Latest election survey: The PP has cut back the Socialists' lead, according to the most recent poll taken by the CIS, the government polling agency, and why we need one I don't know. It's PSOE 40.2% and 155-163 seats, to PP 38.7% and 153-157 seats. Zap has lost his advantage, and the race is now too close to call. News: The Socialists in Catalonia have collapsed, from 37% of the vote to 27% in only three months. The blackout and the Great Transport Snafu have hurt them badly.

Among the smaller parties, CiU would get 10 seats, the PNV 7, ERC 6, IU 5 or 6, the BNG 2, CC 1 or 2, EA 1, and NB 1. 176 seats are needed for a majority in the Congress of Deputies. These results would leave the Socialist-Communist-ERC Catalan Tripartite with only 173 seats at the most, not enough to put them over. A PSOE-CiU-PNV coalition would have between 172 and 180 seats, and might have to sign on IU as well in an "everybody against the PP" government. Even in the best-case scenario, a (highly unlikely) PP-CiU-PNV coalition would get only 174 seats, not enough.

Official figures: Inflation between January 2007 and 2008 increased by 4.3%, the highest rate since 1995. In 1996, by the way, Socialist Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez lost the general election. Voters don't like inflation.

Tragedy in Illinois: Five killed and sixteen wounded in a shooting at Northern Illinois University near Chicago.

Of the first 43 comments on La Vanguardia's website, 32 were more or less reasonable, including of course the posts in favor of more gun control in the US. Eleven of them were not reasonable. Here they are:

How strange that all the mass killers in the USA end up committing suicide. Here in Spain we put them in jail. The Yankees are quick on the trigger.

This is no more than the dark, sinister trend that the Americans have brought with them for many years: murdering, killing, jailing, torturing, and creating and fomenting fictitious wars over the whole planet. The US must be the place with most terrorists and psychopaths per square meter, legal and illegal, from the state or the street, but in the US terror never goes out of fashion. That's the way they are!

We'll see what happens when the thousands of alienated mercenaries sent to the confines of the USA empire come home. That will be genuinely American terrorism.

The American Constitution, such an ancient document that it still includes laws in favor of slavery, should not be a reference in any society today. The love of the American constitution is part of the lie that you have sold yourselves. God Bless America!!! (sic)

Let's remember that a firearm has only one purpose...a society protected by impunity in their use is a society of terror...and though it existed before, Bush's oppressive and paranoid policies are bad for his citizens' health.

The United States is a puerile country of degenerates. I often wonder why we try to copy them. They're pathetic.

In the United States (what a decadent country!) this kind of accidents have been trendy for too long. It has become fashionable to murder in schools or universities. What is happening is proportionately caused by the industrial quantities of violent degenerates and psychopathic ex-soldiers that exist in that country. Besides, they make it easier than any other place in the world to have firearms. No comment. (sic)

The US is Paradise for violent people, and the biggest nest of psychopaths and extreme degenerates. Not surprising, since it is currently the country that uses state terrorism with the most vehemence, and in the end everyone gets what he deserves.

The Americans have a degenerate society. It is capitalism, let's see who is most powerful, let's see who can get more profits out of everyone else no matter how. The result is a broad base of a frustrated society anxious for revenge.

I've already said it many times, they're all crazy.

Money doesn't even mean that they have fewer illiterate or malnourished people than Cuba.

Thanks for the sympathy and the high regard for the lives of others!

So today TV3 kicks off its afternoon news with a story on how concerned parents and teachers are about--get this--American pro wrestling on TV. (For some reason, they call it "pressing catch" over here. I have absolutely no idea why.) Seems that some idiot kids have been imitating the pro wrestlers, so everybody panic.

Tney don't get pro wrestling over here; as a non-fan, I have to say I really don't get it myself. You have to look at it as what it is: theater. Everything happens according to a script, and the characters (the good guy, the bad guy, the bad guy's evil minions) and their motives (revenge, loyalty, determination) are archetypal. The characters are placed in a situation in which there's a winner and a loser, while actually doing complicated acrobatics, and the whole thing is played as way-over-the-top camp. You're not supposed to take it seriously, and they announce on the program that you shouldn't try this yourself at home. Anyway, it's certainly no worse than the violent Japanese TV cartoons they show in Spain.

And let's not come down too hard on the Americans here; Mexican pro wrestling is even cheesier.