Spain

Spain seized control of Catalonia’s finances, confiscated ballots and campaign materials, and arrested senior officials to stop the referendum. [...]

Catalonia says it pays $19 billion more in taxes to Madrid each year than it gets back in services, but this would end if the region split from Spain. [...]

(ANTIMEDIA) — In the latest development in the global secession trend, as many as one million Catalans marched in Barcelona this week, many asserting their right to break away from Spain. Their demands come amid pushback from the Spanish government, which is attempting to block the vote as the Catalan government refuses to back down.
The Guardian reported Monday:

They say 9-11 changed everything.  Although the U.S.

By Vicent Partal | CounterPunch | September 8, 2017 Given the transcendent nature of this moment, we thought it would be a good time to summarize how we arrived at this point and to explain the special nature of the decision that Catalan Parliament took on Wednesday, September 6th. 1) Spain broke its own rules […]

21st Century Wire says…
The events of last weeks attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils continue to unravel into a myriad of complexity concerning key players and ‘whodunnit’. It is now understood that the deceased so called ‘imam’ of the cell, Albdelbaki Es Satty, was previously ruled as ‘no real threat’ as far back as 2015.

Spanish authorities say Younes Abouyaaqoub was driving the van that killed 13 people in Barcelona. (Photo: Mossos d’Esquadra/Catalan Police)
On Monday it was reported that Younes Abouyaaqoub, the terrorist suspected of driving the van that killed 13 people in Barcelona last week, was shot dead by Catalonian police.

I hadn’t initially given much thought to the vehicle/terror attack/massacre in Barcelona; aside from it basically feeling like ‘business as usual’ for Europe in this terror-dominated spell of the twenty-first century. And also aside from thinking that the attack in Barcelona happened at the right time to try to divert some of the attention from […]

MOSCOW, (Sputnik) – The recent terrorist attacks in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia will not have an impact on the regional government’s plan to hold a referendum on independence from Spain, local media reported Friday, citing Catalan President Carles Puigdemont.
On Thursday and early Friday, Barcelona and Cambrils in Catalonia were hit by two van ramming attacks, which have killed 15 people and left over 130 more injured. The Islamic State (IS, banned in Russia) terror group has claimed responsibility for Barcelona attack.

Image of alleged van driver Moussa Oukabir. (Photo: Moussa Oukabir. Source: Twitter)