To tip or not?
There is a crisis in Spain, beyond any doubt. In truth there are several, with corruption in politics continuing to grab the headlines, but there is no doubt that the economy is in a pretty ropey state. In Madrid a couple of weeks ago, I was struck by the number of beggars on the streets, and even going round the tables in some cafes, (I saw one man begging food from a couple of tourists) and by the lack of Spanish people in the restaurants and bars that we visited.
Mind you, the latter may have had something to do with the prices in most of the places in and around Plaza Major. One in particular came to mind, an outdoor evening cafe in which the bill for a gin and tonic and a couple of miserably small beers came to a teeth-sucking amount.
When I looked at it, I had a moment of revelation. Our waiter had been disinterested all night and he was being paid anyway, so when my change arrived I suddenly knew exactly what I should do. Instead of tipping the guy, I put the lot into the cup of a man who was sitting in a doorway nearby, and who looked as if he really, really needed it. I hope he felt as good about it as I did.
Quintin Jardine's blog 
Isn’t progress wonderful……..2000 years ago while the corrupt prospered and the poor starved, the unfortunates were fed to the lions……….Today while the corrupt prosper and the poor starve, the unfortunates are fed to Jeremy Kyle.
After saying that, I think old Nero as eccentric as he was, would have baulked at sending the Senate into the desert to eat insects and worms for the entertainment of the masses
President Obama is not at all eccentric, but I’m sure he’d like to do just that.