Spain: Catalan Government announces results of illegal referendum: figures nebulous and not substantiated

The Catalan government said around 2.26million people voted in the banned independence referendum to leave Spain on Sunday, representing a turnout of around 42.3 percent of Catalonia's 5.34million voters.

Throughout history plebiscites have often been tools for dictators to force voters to give up their freedoms while keeping up an appearance of having the nation’s support

This one in Catalonia was not any different, but adding to the controversy was also the fact that like in previous Catalan referendums less than 50 % of the Catalan voters turned out.

As to claims of police brutality, all fingers should be pointing to the Catalan government, which despite the fact that the Supreme court of Spain and the Spanish government ruled the referendum was illegal, the local Catalan government still went ahead with the referendum.

EU-Digest   

Spain: Catalonia's fake referendum: Why an independent Catalonia would be a huge mistake - by Victor Harel

Sunday’s referendum vote merely deepened the rift within Catalonia and Spanish society as a whole.

The confrontations — some of them violent, between citizens and police officers who were brought in from outside the region (a move necessitated by what the central government’s chief representative Catalonia called the passivity shown by the Catalan regional Mossos d’Esquadra force) — were greeted with horror by Spaniards, for whom they evoked long-buried nightmares of the Franco regime. Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and his government bear most of the responsibility for this.

The heads of the European Union vehemently oppose letting a “Catalan State” join the union. Such a move not only contradicts the essence and purpose of the EU; it would also open the door to a flood of demands for independence across the continent.

Catalonia’s leaders were not deterred by the rulings of Spain’s Supreme Court, were not eager to obey the law and were not suitably impressed by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s determination to prevent Catalonia’s exit at “almost” any price. Rajoy simply can’t do otherwise, because on the sidelines of this battle, others watch and wait: the Basques, some Galicians and who knows what other part of the country might yet demand independence and separation.

Read more: Why an independent Catalonia would be a huge mistake - Europe - Haaretz.com

Spain: Hundreds protest against Catalonia independence vote in Barcelona

Hundreds of people took to the streets of the Catalan capital Barcelona on Saturday, to denounce the upcoming referendum on the region’s separation from Spain. The vote is scheduled to take place on Sunday.

Anti-independence protesters carrying Spanish flags gathered in front of the Catalan government building in Barcelona. At the same time, hundreds rallied in the Spanish capital Madrid, also to protest Sunday’s referendum.

Read more: Hundreds protest against Catalonia independence vote in Barcelona — RT Newsline

USA: Feds Demand Facebook Share Information on Anti-Trump Protesters - by Adam Edelman

The Justice Department is demanding that Facebook turn over information from three accounts that could provide access to the personal details of thousands of activists who expressed interest in anti-Trump rallies.

The department obtained search warrants targeting three Facebook accounts that were used to organize Inauguration Day protests against Donald Trump, the ACLU said late Thursday. But accessing those accounts would provide information on thousands of other users who "liked" an anti-Trump Facebook page, the group explained.

The ACLU’s Washington, D.C., office said in a statement it would fight the enforcement of the search warrants.

"Opening up the entire contents of a personal Facebook page for review by the government is a gross invasion of privacy," said Scott Michelman, a senior staff attorney at ACLU. "When law enforcement officers can comb through records concerning political organizing in opposition to the very administration for which those officers work, the result is the chilling of First Amendment-protected political activity." 

The warrants were issued as part of an ongoing case by the Justice Department against people who allegedly broke laws while protesting Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration in Washington. Prosecutors have said the website, DisruptJ20.org, was used to organize "a violent riot." 

One search warrant was issued for the DisruptJ20 Facebook page, which has since been renamed Resist This, requiring the group’s moderator, Emmelia Talarico, to hand over "nonpublic lists of people who planned to attend political organizing events and even the names of people who simply liked, followed, reacted to, commented o or otherwise engaged with the content on the Facebook page," the ACLU said in a motion filed Thursday in U.S. Superior Court in Washington.

That could include nearly 6,000 Facebook users who "liked" the page from Nov. 1, 2016, to Feb. 9, 2017.

Two other warrants obtained by the Justice Department would require Facebook to hand over "all information from the personal Facebook profiles of local DisruptJ20 activists' Lacy MacAuley and Legba Carrefour from Nov. 1, 2016, through Feb. 9, 2017.

The warrants demand "all private messages, friend lists, status updates, comments, photos, video and other private information solely intended for the users’ Facebook friends and family, even if they have nothing to do with Inauguration Day," the ACLU said.

Read more: Feds Demand Facebook Share Information on Anti-Trump Protesters - NBC News

European Wages: EU MEPs call for EU-wide minimum income

EU Parliament MEP's are calling for a standard EU-Wide minimum income and have suggested that:

• Minimum income schemes should be introduced in all member states
• They should go together with better access to housing, health care and education
• Support for children, unemployed and single-parent households

Introducing minimum schemes in all EU member states is one of the most effective ways to lift people out of poverty, Employment Committee MEPs say.

Most EU countries already have minimum income schemes, but these do not always provide adequate support for those in need. The Employment Committee therefore urges all member states to introduce a minimum income and, if necessary, upgrade existing schemes.

To improve the effectiveness of minimum income schemes, the Employment Committee proposes to:

• set minimum income using the Eurostat at-risk-of-poverty threshold and other indicators
• improve the suitability of the schemes to correspond better to the most vulnerable
• reverse the low rate of take-up among those eligible by raising awareness

Minimum income schemes should combine financial support with easier access to social and public services like housing, health care, education and training. Those that can work should get assistance in gaining access to the labour market, MEPs say.

 
Read more: MEPs call for EU-wide minimum income | News | European Parliament

The Netherlands - Wind Power: 4 TSO's join forces for North Sea Power Hub - by M. Jonk and C van der Weijden

EU: A new wind power hub in the North Sea

Dutch state owned Gasunie has joined the consortium of Danish Energinet.dk and Dutch and German TenneT to study the possible development of a wind power hub in the North Sea. The power hub will consist of one or more large-scale artificial island(s) for sustainable energy supply in the North Sea near the Doggersbank.

The island should produce 100,000 MW of wind energy. It is expected to contribute substantially to achieving the agreed European targets set out in the Paris climate agreement. If the Paris targets are to be met, it is expected that an additional 180 GW offshore wind capacity will need to be developed. According to the four TSO's these volumes will require power-to-gas solutions as energy transport in gas-form is cheaper than transportation through the electricity grid.

The island is to be situated in a location with favorable winds and the possibilities of tie-ins to offshore wind parks. Power surpluses will be converted to hydrogen for large-scale transportation to shore or for storage purposes.

Gasunie will contribute its gas transport expertise and its expertise in the field of hydrogen conversion and gas storage. Gasunie an TenneT are already combining forces to develop a factory for the conversion of solar and wind energy into hydrogen in the Dutch city of Zuidwending. The hydrogen is expected to be used for municipal busses. If the North Sea Wind Hub is deemed feasible, construction is expected by 2030-2050.

EU-Digest

Germany: AfD leader Frauke Petry stuns Germany by quitting hours after being elected - by Emma Beswick

Just one day after her party’s success in the German federal elections yesterday (September 24), Frauke Petry, co-chair of far-right party Alternative for Germany, said she would not be part of the parliamentary group.

Read more: AfD leader Frauke Petry stuns Germany by quitting hours after being elected | Euronews