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Catalan independence: 5 important things to consider

Tony Cartalucci
Land Destroyer
Sun, 01 Oct 2017 01:59 UTC
Catalonia independence march
© Ignasi‏/Twitter
Catalan independence can be good or bad - it depends on the Catalan people to make it good, or else it likely will be bad.

Headlines and commentary across both Eastern and Western media have mainly focused on the Catalan independence referendum and the actions of Spanish police and the Spanish government's attempts to disrupt polls.

However, little is being said about what the real implications of Catalan independence may be. What do those politicians in Catalonia in favor of independence seek to do with it should they succeed? Will they create a Catalonia that serves the best interests of the people? Or serve the EU and NATO more efficiently and eagerly than a united Spain ever could?

There are 5 points those following this conflict should know and keep in mind as events unfold:

Comment: Is the Catalan referendum is a classic bait-and-switch operation by Barcelona?

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Black Cat

Is the Catalan referendum a classic bait-and-switch operation by Barcelona?

Andrew Korybko
The Duran
Sun, 01 Oct 2017 01:38 UTC
catalonia spain independence separatist movement
© Albert Gea / ReutersPeople hold Catalan separatist flags known as "Esteladas" during a gathering to mark the Calatalonia day "Diada" in central Barcelona.
The economic elite in Barcelona merely plan to swap Madrid for Brussels as their preferred patron, and are relying on demagogic distractions such as the referendum in order to mislead the Catalan public into thinking that they're voting for "independence".

Everyone gets it - the Catalan referendum has exposed the very deep hypocrisy of the Spanish and EU ruling elite, especially in regards to their support for separatist causes elsewhere in the world and the harsh criticism that they regularly dish out anytime governments in the Global South are even suspected of using force against their citizens.

These are very powerful points that are insightful for the larger audience to dwell upon, but when dealing with the specific issue of Catalan separatism, rhetorical schadenfreude isn't a solid basis for approaching the issue. While it's true that the Catalan Controversy is a long and storied one, it's also equally true that the Spanish Constitution forbids separatism, thereby making this "solution" to the problem illegal.

Comment: An interesting and little-discussed possibility.

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Question

Breaking ranks: Iraq Kurdistan Regional Government dissolves High Referendum Council

Translated by Samer Hussein
Fort Russ News
Sun, 01 Oct 2017 01:45 UTC
Kurd referendum posters
© ReutersAn old man rides a bike near banners supporting the Kurdish referendum in the capital city of Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.
Iraqi Kurds begin dialogue with Baghdad

The authorities in Iraqi autonomous province of Kurdistan have announced dissolution of the High Referendum Council, and the formation of a provincial political council that will begin dialogue with the central government in Baghdad.
Council member Khalil Ibrahim said the Council's tasks were completed and that the Council of Political Leadership of the Kurds was formed instead.

The now former High Referendum Council was set up to lobby for the Kurdistan independence vote.

Members of the newly formed Council have already expressed their appreciation of the position on reconciliation held by the newly formed initiative led by Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani, a senior religious figure who in the past often stressed the importance of dialogue between the parties, noting that the Council will begin talks with Baghdad in order to resolve the ongoing political crisis in the country.

Via Breakingnews.sy
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Snakes in Suits

Pyongyang threatens 'old psychopath' Trump with 'doomsday in the US'


RT
Sun, 01 Oct 2017 20:40 UTC
Statue of Liberty US America
© Brendan McDermid / Reuters
The Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee (KAPPC) has described US president Donald Trump as an "old psychopath of America," warning in a statement that Trump's "reckless behavior" towards Pyongyang will only precipitate the "doomsday of the US."

"We once again warn the old psychopath of America against his hysteria. His brandishing of the 'sanctions' club and muscle-flexing with tiger-moth-like bombers before the fire-ready revolutionary forces of the DPRK (North Korea) is just a suicidal act of inviting a nuclear disaster that will reduce America into a sea of flames," a statement carried by the official KCNA news said.

"The more reckless behavior of Trump ignorant of himself and the rival will only harden the retaliatory will of the army and people of the DPRK (North Korea) against the US. It will precipitate the doomsday of the US. Trump should bear this in mind," the statement, released on Sunday, noted.
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Chess

M.E. and Asia: A geopolitical shift in military alliances?

Michel Chossudovsky
Global Research
Sat, 30 Sep 2017 00:00 UTC
handshake
© Unknown
A profound shift in geopolitical alliances is occurring which tends to undermine US hegemony in the broader Middle East Central Asian region as well as in South Asia. Several of America's staunchest allies have "changed sides". Both NATO and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are in crisis.

Turkey and NATO

NATO is characterized by profound divisions, largely resulting from Ankara's confrontation with Washington. Turkey, which constitutes NATO's heavyweight, is now fighting US-supported Kurdish rebels in northern Syria, i.e the US which is member of NATO is supporting and financing Kurdish rebels who are fighting a NATO member state.

While Turkey formally remains a member of NATO, which has an integrated and coordinated air defense system, the Erdogan government has purchased Russia's S400 air defense system which is slated to be used against America's Kurdish proxies in Northern Syria. A NATO member state is now using the air defense system of an enemy of US-NATO against US-NATO supported rebels.

In turn, Turkey has dispatched troops to Northern Syria with a view to eventually annexing part of Syria's territory. In turn, Moscow and Ankara have established an alliance of convenience.

Israel is a firm supporter of the formation of a Kurdish state in Iraq and Northern Syria, which is considered as a stepping stone to the formation of Greater Israel. Tel Aviv is considering the relocation from Israel of more than 200,000 Jewish ethnic Kurds to the Kurdistan region of Iraq. In turn the bilateral military cooperation agreement between Turkey and Israel is in jeopardy. Needless to say these developments have also led to the reinforcement of US-Israeli military cooperation including the setting up of a US military base in Israel.

Meanwhile, Turkey has established closer links with Iran, which ultimately contributes to undermining US-NATO strategies in the broader Middle East.

Comment: And next week it will all change again. The new standard is 'unpredictability'. For a nation dependent upon stability and loyalty to increase its empire, this tide has turned against the USA, with tomorrow looking more uncertain than today.

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Footprints

RT editor-in-chief: If RT is forced to leave the US, Russia will reciprocate


RT
Sun, 01 Oct 2017 10:45 UTC
war on RT
© youtube.com
Owing to the US campaign to have RT registered as a foreign agent, the channel will "in the worst-case scenario" be forced to stop broadcasting in America, which will trigger reciprocal measures towards US media in Russia, RT's editor-in-chief has said.

"What they [Washington] have been doing in regard to us is tantamount to driving us out of the country. They put us in conditions in which we cannot work," Margarita Simonyan said in interview with Russia's NTV channel. "This is their renowned freedom of speech," she added, saying that RT has been under pressure for showing the American audience "a different point of view," allegedly affecting the 2016 US election.

This month, the US Department of Justice has warned the company that supplies all services for the RT America channel that it is obligated to register as a foreign agent. The demand came under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), adopted in 1938 to counter Nazi Germany's activities on US soil.

In the current situation, "if worst comes to worst" the channel "will leave the US and no longer broadcast there. In the worst-case scenario, Russia would respond in kind as to American media," Simonyan said, adding that as a journalist she would not like such a situation to occur. "We have been taught that freedom of speech is sacred," she told NTV's host Irada Zeynalova.

The channel has no choice but to comply with the demand under the FARA act, Simonyan said, citing lawyers who have warned that otherwise its "staff will be put in prison and property will be seized."

The pressure on RT has become "avalanche-like." The US Congress is currently hearing a separate bill on the channel which seeks ways for its distributors in America to stop broadcasting RT. If approved, US cable networks might refuse to provide services for the channel.

Comment: The US can't see itself for what it has become. It takes an outside observer to point out the obvious...America is in deep political crisis and likely to implode. It should be thanking independent contributors for every reality check. If they are forced to leave, all will be lost and there will be no skid marks on the downhill slide.

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USA

USS 'Ronald Reagan' conducts drills under China's watchful eye, North Korean tensions flare


RT
Sun, 01 Oct 2017 10:46 UTC
USS Ronald Reagan
© Bobby Yip / ReutersAn F/A-18 Super Hornet lands on the deck of the USS Ronald Reagan at the South China Sea September 30, 2017.
With the crisis surrounding Pyongyang escalating, Washington's only carrier based outside America, USS Ronald Reagan, conducted what have been described as "routine" military drills in the South China Sea under the vigilant eye of China.

F-18 Super Hornet jet fighters took off from the deck of the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier on Saturday as two Chinese frigates maintained a line-of-sight vigil, Reuters reported.

Officers on the Japanese-based Reagan described frequent close-quarter surveillance from the ships of the People's Liberation Army Navy in international waters, saying that at times Chinese vessels shadow the carrier en route to other destinations. Chinese frigates linger for days in the vicinity of US ships and planes that protect the Reagan.

The crew of the carrier ensure safe passage by alerting their unwanted Chinese escorts when the Reagan sharply alters course, according to officers. "We've had no issues. They've been very professional," Rear Admiral Marc Dalton, commander of the strike group assigned to the Reagan, as well as the larger battle forces of the US Seventh Fleet, told Reuters. "We see them on a regular basis," he added.

Comment: Working in diplomatic channels, have Trump and Xi come to some sort of cooperative strategy regarding Pyongyang?

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Attention

Putin: 'Close down RT and we close down CNN'

Alex Christoforou
The Duran
Fri, 29 Sep 2017 17:35 UTC
Putin at RT
© RT
Maria Zakharova said any move made against Russian media working in US "will get a tit-for-tat response".

Russia's communications regulator has responded to the US "RT witch-hunt" unfolding in Congress, after US Senator Mark Warner hinted that RT's Twitter advertising poses a threat to America's "democratic institutions".

Russia's response is firm and clear, threaten RT and we will crack down on CNN's operations in Russia...an outlet which the regulator says is "violating Russian media law."

Reuters reports...
Russia's communications regulator on Friday accused U.S. TV channel CNN International of violating Russian media law and said it had summoned the broadcaster's representatives in connection with the matter.

The Russian foreign ministry accused Washington on Thursday of putting unwarranted pressure on the U.S operations of Kremlin-backed media outlet RT, and warned that Moscow could take tit-for-tat measures.

President Vladimir Putin told a meeting of Russia's Security Council on Friday that Russian media outlets working abroad were facing growing and unacceptable pressure, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

The communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, said in a statement on its website that it would look at warning CNN about the alleged violations, which it said also breached the terms of its broadcast license.

It did not say what breaches of Russian laws the U.S. broadcaster had made, adding it would continue its "systematic monitoring" of foreign mass media outlets registered in Russia.
According to Zerohedge, Russian president Vladimir Putin also weighed in on the hysteria and mounting pressure being placed on RT saying that "such pressure on Russian media is unacceptable" and that any hostile actions taken against Russian media in the U.S. would be met with a "tit-for-tat response."

Comment: The bigger threat to America's democratic institutions is rampant paranoia infecting a dysfunctional and uninformed Congress. But blame it on RT.

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Attention

'Save your energy Rex': Trump says negotiations with 'Little Rocket Man' are a waste of time


RT
Sun, 01 Oct 2017 17:30 UTC
Rex Tillerson and Donald Trump
© Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
The US President Donald Trump apparently does not support his Secretary of State's efforts in peaceful talks with North Korea, having tweeted that Rex Tillerson should "save his energy" and Washington will "do what has to be done."

On Saturday, the US Secretary of State told the media that Washington has "lines of communications to Pyongyang," adding that the two nations are "not in a dark situation."

Tillerson, who has been on an official visit to China preparing for the arrival of president Trump in November, explained that the US is "probing" North Korea to see if it is interested in dialogue.
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SOTT Logo Radio

SOTT Focus: Behind the Headlines: Kurdistan and Catalonia: The Politics of Self-Determination


Sott.net
Sun, 01 Oct 2017 16:00 UTC
kurdistán
This week Iraqi Kurdistan voted for its independence from the state of Iraq. So far, Israel is the only country to have expressed support for their cause. Iraq called the referendum illegal and unconstitutional. Iran and Turkey are in agreement, conducting joint military drills, and implementing measures against the Kurds to thwart their attempt to form an independent nation state. Even the U.S. won't recognize the move (officially, at least). But as Erdogan put it this weekend, "What are they thinking?"

Meanwhile, today Catalonia plans to go ahead with its own independence referendum, despite strong statements and actions from Spanish authorities, including legal, police, and cyber measures taken to discourage or stop the vote.

Today on Behind the Headlines we'll be discussing these independence movements. When is it okay to secede? When is it not?

Join us live from 6-8pm CET (4-6pm UTC / 12-2pm EST), only on the SOTT Radio Network.

Running Time: 01:44:14

Download: MP3

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