Hayley Geftman-Gold, Twitter

NY Post, “CBS exec fired for unsympathetic Vegas massacre post”, 2 Oct 2017:

A CBS legal executive who said she had no sympathy for the victims killed in Las Vegas because they were “country music fans” — and therefore likely Republican — has been fired.

Hayley Geftman-Gold posted the ugly comments on social media about Sunday’s massacre in a conversation over gun control.

“If they wouldn’t do anything when children were murdered I have no hope that Repugs will ever do the right thing,” she wrote on Facebook. “I’m actually not even sympathetic bc country music fans often are Republican gun toters.”

CBS promptly canned her.

“This individual, who was with us for approximately one year, violated the standards of our company and is no longer an employee of CBS,” the network told The Post in a statement.

“Her views as expressed on social media are deeply unacceptable to all of us at CBS. Our hearts go out to the victims in Las Vegas and their families.”

Middle East Eye, “Turkey threatens further sanctions, as Iraqi Kurds announce November poll”, 3 Oct 2017:

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Iraqi Kurds should ‘come to their senses’ following last week’s independence referendum.

Turkey has upped its threats against the Iraqi Kurdistan region as the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) announced parliamentary and presidential elections for 1 November.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to impose new sanctions on Iraq’s Kurdish regions if they don’t “come to their senses” following last Monday’s referendum vote to secede from Iraq.

Erdogan threatens further sanctions against Iraqi Kurds.

“We are managing with some embargoes in northern Iraq for now, but if they don’t come to their senses this will continue increasingly,” Erdogan said at a parliamentary meeting in Ankara on Tuesday.

“Any incident taking place in Syria and Iraq is not independent from us, they are linked directly to our domestic affairs.”

He added that the referendum was “a new attempt to strike the heart of our region with a dagger”.

Despite formerly good relations with the KRG, Turkey has been highly critical of the independence referendum over fears it could enflame

Iraqi Kurds gave a resounding 92.7 percent “yes” vote for independence in last Monday’s non-binding referendum, which has also sent regional tensions soaring.

KRG President Massoud Barzani originally announced the referendum in June, which provoked repeated calls from the US, EU and others for a cancellation or delay.

On Tuesday it was announced that presidential and parliamentary elections for the Kurdistan region would be held on 1 November.
Clinging to power?

The referendum in Kurdistan was seen by analysts as a means for Barzani to cling on to power by shoring up nationalist sentiment ahead of the elections.

The heir of a dynasty which has led the Kurdish struggle for independence for over a century, Barzani has held the KRG presidency since its establishment in 2005, two years after the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

His tenure was extended beyond his second term in 2013, as fresh turmoil engulfed the region and Islamic State overran about a third of Iraq in 2014, threatening the Kurdish region.

Despite this, it was unclear whether Barzani would or could stand in the November poll as Kurdish law says a president cannot stay in office for more than two terms.

Gorran, the second-largest party in the Kurdish parliament, announced it would be putting forward Mohammad Tofiq Rahim, the party’s foreign relations director, as its presidential candidate.

The party has been highly critical of the Kurdish independence referendum, which it denounced as “illegal” in June, and has accused Barzani of seeking to cling on to power and marginalise democratic opposition in the Kurdish region.

Barzani placing his vote in the independence referendum last week (AFP) further sanctions, as Iraqi Kurds announce November poll.

Barzani placing his vote in the independence referendum last week (AFP)

Neither Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) nor the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) had declared candidates by time of publication, despite the declaration period being due to expire on Tuesday.

Although Kurdistan has been largely autonomous since 2005, the prospect of full independence - and, in particular, the disuputed future of areas like Kirkuk and Sinjar - has provoked a fierce backlash in Baghdad.

There was controversy on Tuesday as Kurdish media reported that Kurdish MPs in Baghdad had been prevented from attending parliament.

According to some media reports, Arab MPs had demanded that Kurdish MPs swear an oath to support a unified Iraq in order to attend the parliamentary session, which the mostly independence-supporting Kurds refused.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered the suspension of international flights to and from Iraqi Kurdistan from Friday in retaliation for the Kurds voting for independence.

The Kurdish push for independence is meant to capitalise on their key contribution to the war on Islamic State after the group overwhelmed Iraqi forces in 2014.

The US administration, which had strengthened its alliance with Iraq’s Kurds during the anti-IS campaign, is taking the side of Baghdad in the crisis in refusing to recognise the outcome of the referendum.

“Miss Grand Myanmar”, Shwe Eain Si, has been stripped of her title just days before she was due to compete in a leading international beauty pageant by organizers Miss Grand International. The nineteen year old had released a video statement in which she basically told the truth about the cause of the crisis in Rakhine State - Mancinblack

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMF3OF7NbNk

The Local, “Marseille attacker released by police day before stabbing rampage”, 2 Oct 2017:

Tragic: The two victims of the Marseille knife attack were identified by their first names as cousins and best friends Mauranne (left) and Laura (right), both 20

The man who stabbed two young women to death in Marseille in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group used seven different identities and had been arrested just days earlier, French prosecutors said Monday.

The man who stabbed two young women to death in Marseille in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group used seven different identities and had been arrested just days earlier, French prosecutors said Monday.

Authorities said the man, who was shot dead by anti-terror troops after Sunday’s attack outside the southern city’s main train station, had previously used a Tunisian passport under the name Ahmed H., 29.

But investigators are seeking to confirm his identity as the attacker—who had a history of petty crime but was not on a jihadist watch list—used seven aliases, anti-terror prosecutor Francois Molins told reporters.

“The method of the attacker, a knife attack at a train station, responded to a permanent call from the terrorist group Daesh,” Molins said, using another name for IS.

The jihadist group’s propaganda agency Amaq claimed the killer was one of its “soldiers”, while a source close to the investigation told AFP no solid evidence linked him to IS.

The attack in France’s second biggest city followed a string of stabbings around Europe claimed by or blamed on Islamist radicals.

The man killed two 20-year-old cousins from the eastern city of Lyon. One was studying in Marseille and the other was visiting her for the weekend.

Molins confirmed that witnesses heard the attacker shout “Allahu Akbar” (God is Greatest) as he lunged at the women with a 20-centimetre (eight-inch) knife before threatening soldiers, who shot him dead.

The attacker’s fingerprints showed he had had seven brushes with the law since 2005—most recently when he was arrested last week in Lyon.

He presented the Tunisian passport to police, saying he was divorced, used “hard drugs”, and had no fixed address.

The shoplifting charges were dropped for lack of evidence, and local authorities “were not able to take a decision to deport him,” Molins added. He was released on Saturday.

‘Barbaric act’

Police evacuated Marseille’s ornate Saint Charles station after the attack, temporarily halting all train traffic on some of France’s busiest lines.

“I was on the esplanade just in front of the station,” Melanie Petit, an 18-year-old student, told AFP. “I heard someone shout ‘Allahu Akbar’ and I saw a man who seemed to be dressed all in black.”

French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted Sunday that he was “deeply angered by this barbaric act”.

The attack comes as parliament prepares Tuesday to vote on a controversial anti-terror bill that transfers some of the exceptional powers granted to police under a 22-month-old state of emergency into national law.

France has been under a state of emergency since the IS gun and bomb attacks in Paris in November 2015—part of a string of jihadist assaults that have left more than 240 people dead over the past two years.

But rights groups warn that making parts of the state of emergency permanent would give police too much free rein in handling terrorism suspects.

Knives have been the weapon of choice in a string of smaller-scale attacks, in recent months, mainly targeting troops from the 7,000-strong Sentinelle anti-terror force set up to patrol the streets and vulnerable sites such as stations and tourist attractions.

In most cases, the attackers were shot dead at the start of their rampage, before they could kill others.

The Marseille attack came only days after IS released a recording of what it said was its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi urging his followers to strike their enemies in the West.

The French government has deployed troops and its air force to the Middle East and is a leading partner in the US-led international coalition fighting IS in Iraq and Syria.

DM: The man, who was aged between 30 and 35, has not been formally identified.

On Friday the attacker – who was a North African of either Algerian or Tunisian origin – was arrested in Lyon for shoplifting.

He had no papers on him and was in ‘an irregular situation in Europe’, so giving the authorities a chance to place him under judicial control.

NBC, BREAKING: “Death toll in Las Vegas mass shooting has risen to at least 58. 515 also injured, sheriff says”, 2 Oct 2017.

Update: CNN, “Catalonia referendum result plunges Spain into political crisis”, 2 Oct 2017:

Barcelona (CNN)Spain is facing a political and constitutional crisis after Catalans voted in favor of independence in a contested referendum that descended into chaos when police launched a widespread and violent crackdown.

The Catalan government said it had earned the right to split from Spain after results showed 90% of those who voted were in favor of a split.

But amid an unexpectedly harsh response from Spanish police, turnout was only around 42%. The Catalan health ministry said 893 people were injured in the clashes Sunday as riot police raided polling stations, dragged away voters and fired rubber bullets.

The Catalan President Carles Puigdemont denounced the police crackdown as the worst violence Catalonia had seen since the military dictatorship of Francisco Franco, and demanded the withdrawal of Spanish national forces from the region.

Majority votes for split

Of 2.2 million ballots counted, about 90% were in favor of independence, Catalan government spokesman Jordi Turull told a news conference shortly after midnight. Turnout was about 42% of the 5.3 million eligible voters, authorities said later Monday.

Turull said more people would have voted had it not been for the Spanish police suppression. Up to 770,000 votes were lost as a result of the crackdowns at polling stations, the Catalan government estimated.

Spain’s national government in Madrid has ardently resisted separation. In the runup to the vote, national authorities seized ballot papers, voter lists and campaign material. Thousands of extra national police were sent to the region and high-ranking Catalan officials involved in organizing the referendum were arrested.

CNN, “Catalan referendum, explained: What’s behind the push to break from Spain?”, 27 Sept 2017:

(CNN)Catalonia’s separatist government is adamant it will go ahead with a referendum on October 1 to decide if the region should split from Spain, despite the country’s highest court banning the vote.

Spain’s Constitutional Court has outlawed the plebiscite, and the national administration in Madrid asserts that any such vote would be unconstitutional.

The dispute between the regional government in Barcelona and the Spanish government has become increasingly bitter in recent weeks, with several high-ranking Catalan officials involved in organizing the referendum arrested, and mass protests in the region’s capital of Barcelona and other towns.

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump weighed in on the debate, casting doubt on recent polling suggesting a “Yes” vote will win and saying that he is for “a united Spain.”
“I really think the people of Catalonia would stay with Spain. I think it would be foolish not to.”

The vote risks plunging the country into one of its worst political crises since the end of Gen. Francisco Franco’s dictatorship four decades ago.

Hundreds of thousands have attended rallies to demand their region break from Spain in recent weeks.

The basics…

Catalonia is a wealthy region in Spain’s northeast. One of 17 autonomous provinces, it has its own regional government—or Generalitat—which already has considerable powers over healthcare, education and tax collection.

But it pays tax to Madrid, and pro-independence politicians argue that complex mechanisms for redistributing tax revenue are unfair on wealthier areas.

Catalonia has long complained that its revenues subsidize other parts of Spain. The region hosts some 16% of the Spanish population and much of the country’s manufacturing and finance sectors.

Catalan nationalists argue that they are a separate nation with their own history, culture and language and that they should have increased fiscal independence.

How did we get here?

The long-running dispute goes back to the brutal years under Franco, whose dictatorial regime repressed Catalonia’s earlier limited autonomy. It wasn’t until four years after his death in 1979 that the region gained full autonomy.

In 2006, the Spanish government backed Catalonia’s calls for greater powers granting “nation” status and financial control to the region.

But it was one step forward and two steps back four years later, when that status was rescinded by the Constitutional Court, which ruled that while Catalan is a “nationality,” Catalonia is not a nation itself.

Separatist supporters demonstrate in front of the Catalan high court building on Thursday in Barcelona.

Catalonia’s campaign to break away has been gaining momentum since 2010, when Spain’s economy plunged during the financial crisis. It was further galvanized by the Scottish referendum for independence in 2014, which ultimately saw voters opt to remain part of the United Kingdom.

Catalonia held a symbolic poll in 2014, in which 80% of voters backed complete succession—but only 32% of the electorate turned out.

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Independent, “Evangelical leaders urge Donald Trump to condemn ‘alt-right’ as ‘racist’ and ‘evil”, 30 Sept 2017:

‘White supremacy cannot be dismissed with moral ambivalence,’ religious leaders warn

Faith leaders place their hands on the shoulders of Donald Trump as he takes part in a prayer for those affected by Hurricane Harvey earlier this month (Reuters)

Dozens of evangelical leaders have signed an open letter pressing Donald Trump to condemn the “alt-right” as “evil”.

After a car slammed into protesters decrying a white supremacist march in Charlottesville, Mr Trump faced a tsunami of criticism for repeatedly equating the counter-demonstrators with neo-Nazis. While Mr Trump did later issue a statement and sign a resolution blasting bigotry and singling out groups like the KKK, detractors said he missed an opportunity to make a clear moral distinction.

The letter, endorsed by dozens of religious figures, urges Mr Trump to take a stand by specifically repudiating the “alt-right”, a term that refers to a constellation of beliefs that assail diversity and celebrate America’s white European heritage. Emboldened champions of the white nationalist movement have become more visible and vocal since Mr Trump’s rise.
Read more

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Lamenting that “our nation remains divided racially and ideologically”, the letter rejects the “alt-right” as a “white identity movement”, noting that “the majority of its members are white nationalists or white supremacists” and cautioning that “white supremacy cannot be dismissed with moral ambivalence”.

“This movement has escaped your disapproval,” the letter warns, calling on Mr Trump to “join with many other political and religious leaders to proclaim with one voice that the ‘alt-right’ is racist, evil, and antithetical to a well-ordered, peaceful society”.

“We fear that without moral clarity and courageous leadership that consistently denounces all forms of racism, we may lose the ground that we have gained toward the racial unity for which so many of us have fought,” the letter says.

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What could possibly go wrong?

Respect the flag that so many Americans died for -

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