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Catalonia: Change the Rules or Lose the Game

It has been ten days since the Spanish Government imposed an Article 155 sanctioned take-over of Catalonia, provoking a defiant Catalan Parliament to sign a declaration of independence. Subsequent events have been somewhat anti-climactic, even mundane: Carles Puigdemont, desposed President of the Catalan Autonomous Region and unrecognized President of the unrecognized Catalan Republic, promptly…

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Catalonia Demonstrates the Limits of European Integration

Catalonia Demonstrates the Limits of European Integration #Catalonia @eu_commission

On the 9th of May, 1950 the French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman proposed “to make war not only unthinkable but materially impossible.” His plan was to create a common market of natural resources and production between France and Germany, along with the supranational institutions to administer it. Mr. Schuman hoped that the intense economic rivalry which had characterized much of Great Power…

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Catalonia is Already Independent

Did he or didn't he? @KRLS did: "Catalonia is Already Independent" #Catalonia #Catalunya

The suspended declaration of Catalan independence on 10 October was followed by a week of uncertainty and allegations, with both Spanish and Catalan leaders engaging in a tit-for-tat series of accusations more reminiscent of a schoolyard than of two national leaders. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy insisted that Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont give a clear answer as to whether independence…

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Outside the Box: More Guns for Gun Control?

Outside the Box is a series of articles that proposes unconventional solutions to controversial topics. Their purpose is to attempt to reframe debates that have fallen into ideological ruts and dogmas.

Author’s note: I’m a gun owner, a hunter, and a firm supporter of the Second Amendment. I am also a human being, who deplores the needless death and suffering of children and their families. These…

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Catalonia Update: Political Prisoners Return to Spain

Spain now has political prisoners for the first time since the dictatorship of the fascist, Francisco Franco. Last night, a Spanish judge ordered the preventive arrest of two of Catalonia’s most outspoken supporters of independence, Jordi Sánchez and Jordi Cuixart. Another man, Josep Lluís Trapero, was sent home but obliged to turn in his passport.

These men are not ETA terrorists. They have not…

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Catalonia Update: Rajoy and Sánchez Respond

"Catalonia Update: Rajoy and Sánchez Respond" #11Oct #Congreso

More information has come in after publication of this article. After Spanish Prime Minister Rajoy had issued his clarification challenge to Catalan President Puigdemont, the Socialist Opposition Leader Pedro Sánchez held a press conference in which he confirmed his support for the course of action of the Prime Minister. He too demanded that Puigdemont state directly whether Catalonia had…

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Catalonia: Puigdemont Declares Independence…Kind of

"Puigdemont Declares Independence…Kind of" #11Oct #Catalunya

“Ladies and gentlemen, with the results of the referendum on October 1st, Catalonia has earned the right to be an independent state, and has earned the right to be heard and respected.”

– Carles Puigdemont

Catalan President Carles Puigdemont made his scheduled appearance in the regional Parliament yesterday to give a speechon the 1 October referendum results and “the political state of the…

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Catalonia Update: The King’s Speech

After "The King’s Speech" #Catalonia declaration of independence is a "when" not a "whether" #CatalanReferendum

“Many of our subjects, mislead by a desperate conspiracy of dangerous and ill-designing men have forgotten the allegiance which they owe to the power that has protected and supported them and have declared rebellion and traitorously levied war against us.

It is a better part of wisdom to put a speedy end to such disorders. We have thought fit to issue a royal proclamation that all our royal…

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Catalonia-Spain Endgame: Next Steps

What are the next steps in the "Catalonia-Spain Endgame?" #CatalanReferendum #Catalonia

“Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” – Winston Churchill, The Lord Mayor’s Luncheon, 10 November 1942

2 October. Catalonia has passed through a crucible. The previous two years have mostly been about personalities: Artur Mas, Carles Puigdemont, Mariano Rajoy. Yesterday was the day for the Catalan people, at least those…

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Catalonia Referendum 1 October: Live

Catalonia Referendum 1 October: Live

Common Sense will be following the historic events in Catalonia as people there make final preparations to hold their long announced referendum on independence from Spain. In order to provide constant coverage of the events this weekend, I’ll be working with an American colleague resident in Catalonia to transmit images and commentary as they happen from Friday to Monday. Although it may seem…

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Let Catalonia Vote

"Let Catalonia Vote"

In two days, Catalonia is scheduled to attempt to hold a binding referendum on independence from Spain. “Attempt to hold” is the operative phrase: the Spanish Government has vowed that there will be no vote and has sent at least 7,000 police to Catalonia to enforce this. A majority of Catalans are determined that a vote should go forward and there coordinated efforts underway to defy the central…

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Catalonia Update – The Endgame Begins

"Catalonia Update – The Endgame Begins" #Catalonia #Spain

Warning: In compliance with Spanish Intellectual Property law, Common Sense no longer quotes nor reproduces links to sites based in Spain. Verification of the veracity of this information is the sole responsibility of the reader.

Three years ago I published an article describing the evolution and possible outcomes of the festering crisis in Catalonia, Spain’s prickliest region, as the push for a…

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The Next Wave of Globalization Must Focus on Labor Rights

The Next Wave of Globalization Must Focus on Labor Rights

One of the defining themes of the first half of this century will be the conflict between an increasingly globalized world of multinational corporations, borderless finance, worldwide supply chains and frontier-less consumer markets versus defendants of traditional national sovereignty fighting against the erosion of state power and the control that this had afforded to ordinary citizens. The…

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The Politics of Tragedy

Common Sense explores the recent Barcelona attacks and "The Politics of Tragedy" #17Ago #BarcelonaTerrorAttack

Warning: In compliance with Spanish Intellectual Property law, Common Sense no longer quotes nor reproduces links to sites based in Spain. Verification of the veracity of this information is the sole responsibility of the reader.

On August 17th, Barcelona became the latest European city to suffer tragedyfrom the ongoing war waged by terrorists on the West. That afternoon, a young Moroccan drove…

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Outside of the Box: Israeli Options to Attack Iran

"Outside the Box: Israeli Options to Attack Iran" For full access, please visit: @fdbetancor on @medium

“Outside the Box” is a series of articles that explore hypothetical situations and solutions to seemingly intractable problems. The author does not assert that anything in these articles is planned or probable. All images are either the author’s own work or labelled for reuse.

“If you want to make peace, you don’t talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.” –  Moshe Dayan

The complex and…

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Evolution of US Operations in the War Against ISIS

Common Sense reviews the "Evolution of US Operations in the War Against ISIS" #Syria #ISIL @CJTFOIR

The war against the Islamic State has accelerated and it appears that 2017 will be the end of the self-proclaimed Caliphate: at least in terms of a proto-state exerting control over a defined territory. While the group will certainly continue as a murderous terrorist ban even after the last bastion in Iraq and Syria has fallen, the geo-strategic threat posed by ISIS will have been vanquished. Not…

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Trump’s Afghanistan Policy: More of the Same

Trump’s Afghanistan Policy: More of the Same #Afghanistan #AfghanStrategy

President Trump finally gave the American people his long promised strategy for Afghanistan in an address to a predominantly military audience in Fort Myer, Virginia. The 16-year conflict, America’s longest war, was a major focus of his criticism during the campaign. As a candidate, Mr. Trump strongly criticized the strategy and goals of his predecessor, President Obama, calling for the US to…