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I have been writing a lot on Israel, and thought I should write about another one of my lifelong interests: Spain Spain is undergoing its greatest crisis since the death of Franco, and the struggle began to develop a parliamentary system of governance. We see the reemergence of themes from Spain's complex and endlessly fascinating past. While in theory, and mostly practice, Spain has been a unified kingdom/state for some 500 years, under the surface separatist forces continue to work. Very quickly, and others can fill in more details. This, after all, is just a humble vanity blog. In October...

Tens of thousands of Spaniards took to the streets of Madrid on Saturday to denounce a proposed amnesty law for Catalan separatists and activists, which was key for the left-wing government to retain power. Around 170,000 people, according to police, gathered in Plaza de Cibeles in the heart of the Spanish capital in response to a call by right-wing leaders opposed to the amnesty plan. Cries of "Sanchez, traitor", "Sanchez in jail" and "Catalonia is Spain" were shouted by protesters of all ages who carried Spanish and other European flags distributed by the European People's Party. "What Pedro Sanchez wants...

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz were reportedly trapped inside a Malaga hotel by anti-separatist protesters on Friday night. Sánchez, the country's acting Prime Minister, is set to remain in power after striking a deal with a Catalan separatist party. It would secure his party another four years in power. Spain's Popular Party won the July elections but were unable to successfully form a majority. The deal with separatists now means the Socialists and Sánchez would have the required numbers. It has sparked anger from the right leading to anti-separatist protests breaking out in Madrid and...

A writer hired to translate Amanda Gorman's poem "The Hill We Climb" into Catalan said he has been removed from the position by publisher Univers. Victor Obiols, whose previous work includes Catalan translations of William Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde, told CNN Thursday that the commission was initially approved by Gorman's representatives, but they later decided he wasn't right for the job.

A mysterious 600-year-old manuscript that has been deemed "unreadable" by the world's top cryptographers has finally been deciphered. That's the claim by one Bristol academic who has cracked the legendary Voynich manuscript and revealed its secrets. Dr. Gerard Cheshire believes that the document is written in a dead language called proto-Romance. By studying the letter and symbols through the manuscript, he was able to decipher the meaning of the words. According to the linguistics buff, the Voynich manuscript contains sex tips, info on parenting and psychology, and herbal remedies. "I experienced a series of 'eureka' moments whilst deciphering the code,...

A University of Bristol academic has succeeded where countless cryptographers, linguistics scholars and computer programs have failed—by cracking the code of the 'world's most mysterious text', the Voynich manuscript. Although the purpose and meaning of the manuscript had eluded scholars for over a century, it took Research Associate Dr. Gerard Cheshire two weeks, using a combination of lateral thinking and ingenuity, to identify the language and writing system of the famously inscrutable document. In his peer-reviewed paper, The Language and Writing System of MS408 (Voynich) Explained, published in the journal Romance Studies, Cheshire describes how he successfully deciphered the manuscript's...

The protests on Saturday were calm and respectable but as the day progressed things began to disintegrate as police officers began using force against the Yellow Vest protesters near the Montmartre district. Protesters gathered near Madeleine Church, as well as near the Louvre Museum and Sacre-Coeur Basilica and later in the evening tried blocking traffic on the Champs Elysées. Riot police surrounded them in an attempt to disrupt the demonstrators. Today’s demonstration yielded more than 100 being detained, according to the Paris Police Prefecture. There were an estimated 23,800 protesters throughout the country, not bad for the Saturday before Christmas,...

Exiled leader Carles Puigdemont said the Catalan people have 'sent a message to the world' as he hailed victory for separatists in regional elections on Thursday night. Pro-independence parties won an outright majority with 99 per cent of votes counted setting up a fresh showdown with Madrid and issuing a sharp rebuke to EU leaders who backed the unionist cause. Speaking from exile in Brussels, Mr Puigdemont he said he and his government must be allowed to return to Spain where there is currently a warrant out for his arrest. He also branded the result a 'slap in the face'...

Watch this video of last nights protest of around a million people calling for Spain to release Catalan political prisoners. Then follow this link to see how this vast crowd was depicted on the front pages of Spain's biggest "newspapers" https://twitter.com/JulianAssange/status/929738073457471489

Breaking with the stance of other Western countries, Israel decided on Monday not to express an official opinion on the issue of Catalan independence in the meantime, NRG reported. According to the report, Spain asked Israel over the weekend to publicly declare that it does not support Catalan independence, as part of Spain’s efforts to garner international consensus on the matter. Israel’s ambivalence is a departure from the opposition to Catalan independence declared by the EU and US. On Friday, US State Dept. spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement that “Catalonia is an integral part of Spain, and the...

The choice of Barcelona as a target for terrorists came as little surprise to security experts in Spain and elsewhere in Europe because of Catalonia’s links to jihadists and Salafism, a radical form of Islam. Catalonia has been the main hub of jihadist recruitment in Spain for more than a decade and radical Islamists consider it to be occupied land that should be part of a future Islamic caliphate. The region is home to approximately 510,000 Muslims, more than a quarter of the total number in Spain, according to a demographic study by the Union of Islamic Communities of Spain....

The Catalan regional parliament has voted to declare independence from Spain, just as the Spanish government appears set to impose direct rule. The move was backed 70-10 in a ballot boycotted by opposition MPs. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy earlier told senators direct rule was needed to return "law, democracy and stability" to Catalonia. The crisis began when Catalans backed independence in a disputed vote earlier this month. What powers does Catalonia have?The case for and against independenceReality Check: Police violence in Catalonia The Catalan government said that of the 43% of potential voters who took part in the...

SPAIN has sent two convoys of troops into Catalonia in a move that is likely to anger the regional parliament. Troops from the Logistic Support Group 41 (AALOG 41) who are based in Aragon were told of their move at about 7pm last night. The exact number of soldiers is not known but according to the newspaper El Confidencial, two contingents of troops are being sent in 20 trucks. It is understood their orders are to provide logistical support to the Guardia Civil and national police still stationed in the region. The appearance of troops is likely to be seen...

Catalonia will declare independence from Spain in a matter of days, the leader of the autonomous region has told the BBC. In his first interview since a disputed vote on Sunday, Carles Puigdemont said his government would "act at the end of this week or the beginning of next". Meanwhile, Spain's King Felipe VI said the vote's organizers had put themselves "outside the law". He said the situation in Spain was "extremely serious", calling for unity. Tensions between Spain and the north-eastern Catalonia region continue to mount, days after the vote was marred by violence involving national police. The Spanish...

Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont says the Spanish region has won the right to statehood following a contentious referendum that was marred by violence. He said the door had been opened to a unilateral declaration of independence. Catalan officials later said 90% of those who voted backed independence in Sunday's vote. The turnout was 42.3%. Spain's constitutional court had declared the poll illegal and hundreds of people were injured as police used force to try to block voting. Officers seized ballot papers and boxes at polling stations.

Catalan leader Carles Pulgdemont says the region has won the right to statehood following Sunday's referendum which was marred by violence. He said the door had been opened to a unilateral declaration of independence. Hundreds of people were injured as Spanish police used force to try to block voting. The Spanish government had pledged to stop a poll that was declared illegal by the country's constitutional court........

Catalonia's independence referendum has begun in chaotic fashion, with clashes occurring as police attempt to prevent the vote from taking place. The Spanish government has pledged to stop a poll that was declared illegal by the country's constitutional court. Police officers are preventing people from voting, and seizing ballot papers and boxes at polling stations. In the regional capital Barcelona, witnesses said police had fired rubber bullets during pro-referendum protests. Thirty-eight people have been injured, most of them lightly, say Catalan emergency services.....

Barcelona (AFP) - Spanish riot police fired rubber bullets and forced their way into activist-held polling stations in Catalonia on Sunday as thousands flooded the streets to vote in an independence referendum banned by Madrid. Scuffles broke out as police moved in to seal off polling stations and seize ballot boxes to prevent people from voting across the wealthy northeastern region where more than 5.3 million people have been called upon to have their say on independence from Spain. In central Barcelona, riot police forced their way inside a school to seize ballot boxes, charging at demonstrators who were sitting...

A potentially violent showdown looms in Spain on Sunday, where tens of thousands of Catalans intend to carry out an independence referendum deemed unconstitutional by the country’s courts. Hundreds of independence supporters slept overnight on Friday and Saturday in some 160 schools that are designated polling places, vowing to keep them open for voters. But local police planned to remove them on Sunday — by force if necessary, Spanish government sources told Reuters. Catalan officials have said polls will open at 9 a.m. The Madrid government has ordered separatists to vacate the schools by 6 a.m. And while both sides...

Google has followed the court order and blocked the app which is now inaccessible from the Spanish territory. "We remove content from our platforms when we receive a court order or when it violates our terms and conditions," the company said. The local authorities in Catalonia reiterated on Friday that the vote will go ahead as scheduled on Sunday, despite strong opposition from Madrid. Spanish authorities have been actively working to prevent the vote as thousands of additional police were deployed to the region, with orders to take control of the voting booths. Earlier this week, the organization managing the...