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Showing results for tags 'catalonia'.
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I'm writing this post in anger. It's not blind rage, it's more of a deep, bitter anger, product of the powerlessness of witnessing the demise of the system we believe in. It rises directly from the stomach. A few minutes ago, eight democratically elected Catalan officials have been held by the Spanish court [link]. Their felony? Such a grave felony that needs to be judged in only 1 day, in the Spanish Audiencia Nacional, which is still a remnant of the Francoist Spain? Allowing Catalans to vote. This is going to be a long post, and not too structured. It's the result of not wanting to be too vocal here in ST, not too controversial. The current events area can be quite a place for a small fish like me. Last time I talked about this topic here was with our missed Nonny. I've been thinking of writing about Catalonia for a couple months already, sick of some scenes I've witnessed and sick of seeing how apathic the general foreign public is. Sometimes bordering the vomit. I'm writing this to raise awareness, same as people concerned about, say, cancer research, will right posts raising awareness about cancer research. But before, just a bit about myself, so you can understand my argumentation. I'm a Catalan. I've been born and raised there, about half an hour by train from downtown Barcelona. I've lived since 4 years and a half in Germany just because I found a great job here. Never been a Catalan nationalist, I don't really feel comfortable among blind nationalism. Never been a Spanish nationalist either. My dad is from Southern Spain and my mom from Northern Catalonia, so you can be sure I'm very familiar with both cultures. I'm bilingual in Catalan and Spanish as I also learnt both languages at school no matter what Spanish propaganda says. This is quite the usual situation, most of people my generation are sons and daughters with, at least, one parent from outside of Catalonia. For those coming from nations with a very strong national feeling can understand my stance: when Spain national football team won the FIFA World Cup in 2010, I felt exactly the same as when Germany won it in 2014. Nothing too far from indifference. I was a bit happy for the Catalan players in the team, that's all. I know some cultures have problems with that. Never forget October 1st 2017. Enough with my background. I showed up to work exactly one month ago, on October 2nd, and every single one of my colleagues asked something on the likes of "What's going on there in Spain? Do you want to split or something? It is so horrible!". Well, welcome to the world dear colleague, I've been talking about that since pretty much you know me! The movement for the independence of Catalonia goes back for decades, but it only gained relevance in the last years. Media tends to set this point of no-return in year 2010, when, said shortly, the Spanish Constitutional Court overturned a reform of the Catalan bylaws, which were approved by the Catalan government, approved in referendum by the Catalan population and Spanish premier Rodríguez Zapatero promised "backing" and passing the new Catalan bylaws at the Spanish Congress of Deputies. Just to mention the bylaws were voted in 2006 and the Constitutional Court needed only three years to rule against it. Everything in order right? There must be something inconstitutional there, right? Well, let me break it down. The Spanish Consitutional Court is a puppet from the two main political parties in Spain. Its independence level is exactly zero, as judges are appointed by the government (currently the People's Party) and many judges simply carry (or carried) the PP affiliate's ID in their wallets. That was the turning point for the movement for independence. I entered in my voting age in these three years of impasse and when I could vote, the generalized movement for independence was slowly brewing already, not anymore a strange minority out in the Catalan hinterland. I took part on that mock vote when it was held in my town moved not by the will for independence, but moved for the protest against a nation, Spain, where the separation of powers was in jeopardy. If we had only known... Protest in 2010. A lot has gone on in these seven years, probably the linked BBC timeline above will describe it better. Most of the things that happened were Catalonia trying to negociate with the central government (ruled still by the PP) during many times. Many more than I can remember, at least I remember these [link], [link]. Catalan officials dared to propose a higher degree of autonomy first, and a reform in the tax redistribution system, exactly the same territories like Navarre and the Basque Country have. Seven years in which I also grew to become a pro-independence citizen, separatist if you ask to me, tired of seeing there was no way out, no negociation possible with Spain. Me, as many supporters for independence, would have probably given up this feeling if a chartered tax system had been offered, or a higher degree of autonomy, or the full protection of some sensitive issues in Catalonia such as Catalan language or education system. But no. No. No. No. No and again no. For many, the independence is the only way of going after repeatedly hitting a wall. The elected government, led by Artur Mas, tried finally to negociate a referendum with Spain. They failed, but organized a "consultation" anyways, known as the November 9th consultation. Artur Mas was convicted and barred off public office. The movement for independence reached a critical mass in the 2015 Catalan Parliament election, where two large parties went in coalition with a very clear item in their program: they would organize a referendum for independence. And they gained majority (72 out of 135 seats) despite the clear interference of Spain to avoid what the surveys were pointing at. These elected officials did in October 1st 2017 what they had promised. Organizing a referendum, which was plagued of problems because obviously it was blocked by Spain. And Spain's years long nosedive into anocracy reached its terminal velocity last September. Printing companies were raided without court orders. Plastic molding companies were threatened by high-ranking Spanish officials to be shut down if they took any order from Catalonia's government in regards to polls manfuacturing. Civil servants suspect of organizing the referendum were judged and put in prison in a matter of days. Two cruise ships, full of around 50,000 Spanish National Police and Civil Guards moored at the harbor in Barcelona, awaiting for orders. Let's remember the Civil Guard is a militarized police corps, à la French Gendarmerie or Italian Carabinieri. The State was ready to crack down. The dogs in full riot gear were unleashed to try and stop the referendum in Barcelona streets in October 1st with the images we have all seen in TV. My colleagues, and probably many Simtropolites, think the movement for independence starts here. October 1st changed many things. It was the first time I saw people taking active part in defending polling stations whom I would have never thought they would be movilized. 50-year-old friends' moms, retired teachers who are my parents' neighbors, teachers of mine... spent hours in foot, defending the polling station in case the dogs happened to be unleashed. I was at the polling station from 7 am to 12 am, waiting patiently for my chance. The elderly were let first. Many went on wheelchairs. Many could almost not walk. Some said out loud they did that "for their father, who couldn't see Franco dead". 30 km southwest, batons cracked the noses of hundreds of people. I guess I don't need to link the news here, you saw it in your local TV channel. OK, I'm getting tired of writing already. In one month, two activists, managers of cultural association Ómnium Cultural and pro-independence lobby Assamblea Nacional Catalana were incarcerated. They already spent two weeks in prison. Their felony? Organizing protests. And today, eight elected officials. Put into prison by political courts. I could be writing all night if wanted, but this post is already long enough. I still have to mention the disgusting attitude of the European Union in regards to this crisis, the disgusting attitude of Spanish "media" (I'd call it propaganda means, will elaborate if someone asks), and the falsely equidistant attitude of many governments a few months ago we thought of as progressive, democratic and liberal. But yeah, Spanish republicans thought the same in 1931 and were left hanging up and dry against the fascists. Not surprising. Now here I am. If you feel like, reply to the thread. Ask questions. Don't believe only what is up in CNN. As you can see, this is a especially sensitive topic for me and I'll not reply unless I fully feel like doing so and find myself in the appropriate state of mind to avoid saying things I don't want to.
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Camp Nou ("New Field", often referred to as the "Nou Camp" in English) is an association football stadium in Barcelona, Spain. It has been the home of Fútbol Club Barcelona since its completion in 1957. With a seating capacity of 99,354, it is the largest stadium in Spain by capacity. It is also the largest stadium in Europe and the second largest association football stadium in terms of capacity. It has hosted numerous international matches at a senior level, including several matches 1982 FIFA World Cup, two UEFA Champions League finals and the football competition at the 1992 summer olympics. In another vein, Bruce Springsteen and U2, among others, often choose this stage to offer his great concerts in Spain. -
Cap de Creus: Making trees is hard! (Entry 4)
boformer posted a topic in Cities: Skylines City Journals
Hey folks! After a long period of modeling and modding, I want to start playing the game again, and I always wanted to create my own city journal. This CJ will be from a modders perspective: I will link the mods and assets which were used in every episode, and I am planning to include a small review for every item.There will be some special mods and assets just for this CJ (of course I will publish them for you)Sometimes I will explain you how the game works internallyAlthough there are thousands of nice assets in the workshop, I will only use a few of them. Every asset increases the memory usage and load time!Visuals are quite important for me, but I also want to create a city that works. That means I will not use cheats like Unlimited Money or Unlock All. From time to time, I will share screenshots of the traffic map and the building level up progress. The map will be based on real terrain. The major roads will also follow the real street map. That will be the basis for a fictious city. Let's begin with the entry before the first entry: Entry 0: Introduction Image created by Pdg, released under CC BY-SA 3.0 My city will be built on the terrain of "Cap de Creus", a spanish peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea. From Wikipedia: I visited the area a few years ago. I took a few pictures of the monastery and the view from the mountain behind it. There are ruins on top of it: For this CJ, I selected the northern part of the peninsula: There is not much space to build, so this will be a challenge. And there only one road connection leading from from Figueres (Spain) to Port-Vendres (France). The 5x5 tiles area also contains some totally flat land in the south west: That's the end of the 0. entry. What do you think so far? Did I select the best part of the peninsula? Now we can still change it. --- Next time we will import the terrain.party height map into the game for the first time.Then I will show you how to edit 16-bit height maps correctly. And maybe we will also create some custom terrain textures.- 40 Replies
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- catalonia
- mediterranean
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Two simple questions. Spanish government declares it illegal.
