By Domen Mohoric
Three months after regional elections in Catalonia, that were originally thought to have brought a major victory for secessionist parties and was interpreted as a sort of referendum on future independence, the wealthiest province of Spain will be going to polls for the fourth time in the last five years.
Cracks in the pro-independence camp have already showed before the elections, with the anti-capitalist group Candidatura d’Unitat Popular (CUP) although being pro-independence, strongly opposes reinstatement of the acting Catalan premier Artur Mas.
Mas is the leader of the rightwing, nationalistic Democratic Convergence of Catalonia (CDC) and the nominal winner of the November elections.
Groups that make up the separatist block were able to acquire a majority in the 135 seat regional parliament but the Mas led coalition was still reliant on the CUP in order to stay in power.
Mas’ CDC will have to win a swing of 10 seats in order to make their own majority in the Catalan parliament in the fresh elections that are now expected to be held in March.
CUP rejects Mas as a premier candidate because of corruption allegations and what they feel to have been too deep cuts in social welfare, education and health services by the government in previous term.
CDC has refused to put forward a new nominee, rejecting CUP, who has proposed for a compromise on an alternative candidate.
The demands were harshly rejected, with Mas saying that CUP “didn’t understand that to turn Catalonia into an independent state it is necessary to add and not to subtract, voting rather than vetoing” and “Junts Pel Sí has moved on everything which mattered. CUP hasn’t moved on the only thing that wasn’t important: the ‘who’”.
CDC is defiantly standing behind Mas, although the current impasse will be a major roadblock on Catalonia’s planned 18 month secession process, which is already falling behind schedule and is being heavily contested by Spain’s rulers in Madrid.
Mas, who has at a time proclaimed that that he would step aside if he ever became “a problem” for the secession has announced that “On Monday I will sign the decree calling new elections.”
If the Catalan parliament doesn’t come up with some sort of 11th hour compromise, new elections will be called.
For Catalans this means that they’ll be going to the polls again sometime in March and will have to endure further months of political uncertainty.
This time however, the very future of a country may be at stake.
Cover Photo Credit: Núria/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
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South African Women Rise Up In Topless Protest To Fight Against Rape On Their College Campuses
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA- Two weeks ago, a list published on social media detailed 11 names of people accused of raping students at Rhodes University in the Eastern Cape region of South Africa.
The list was released, along with a set of demands by still unknown members of the Rhodes University student body.
Thousands of students protesting under the banner “Unashamed”, began their movement by placing posters on walls with quotes from Rhodes students, management and prosecutors.
The posters were intended to show the prevailing attitudes of those in and around Rhodes regarding rape and the rape culture that is being fostered in Rhodes and without a doubt, other South African universities.
The Unashamed movement, along with anti-rape organisation, Chapter 212 (which refers to Chapter 2(12) of the South African Constitution, which entails the freedom and security of the person,) began the anti-rape campaign in order to challenge the current systems in place for victims of rape and sexual assault in universities and the country.
Since the beginning of the campaign there have been protests on the Rhodes campus.
And while they intended to be peaceful, some students were injured after police fired stun grenades at them.
Five students were arrested for “protesting on a public road.”
WATCH: Video of three of the arrested students
Heavy police presence have been a feature of protests on South African campuses since the #FeesMustFall movement began last year.
It seems then that the #RUReferenceList was released in order to coincide with the larger student campaign for reform and in order to protect women on campus from suspected rapists.
However, the release of the list has been controversial with some people calling for justice to be served, before anyone is outed in a public way.
The implication among young people in this country is that a few members of the movement have had defamation charges brought against them; this has caused further outrage because it seems as though university management is more concerned about the identities of rapists than the safety of women on campus.
The movement prompted protests on campuses across the country, with Stellenbosch University and the University of Cape Town placing posters, such as the ones in Rhodes, on their campuses.
But the most dramatic protest was held by the women of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. Scores of students here partook in a topless protest in solidarity with the women of Rhodes.
Images of the protests at University of the Witwatersrand:
It seems as though this is just the beginning of protests on campuses across South Africa, with the intention of bringing the serious issue of rape on university campuses to the forefront of discussion.
RISE NEWS will continue to cover this story as it develops in South Africa.
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RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in public affairs. You can write for us.
Photo Credits: Lungani Gumede/ RISE NEWS.
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“China’s Warren Buffet” Has Gone Missing
Billionaire Chinese entrepreneur Guo Guangcheng, who styled himself on famous US investor Warren Buffet, has reportedly gone missing – causing his companies to halt share trading ahead of an expected announcement about his fate. The Caixin business magazine first reported Guo missing late on Thursday night, saying he had not been contacted since midday on Thursday.… Read More
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Confessions Of A Tinder Ghosting Queen
Picture two lonely twenty- somethings, 2.4 miles away from each other, both struggling through the end of tumultuous relationships.
Two lonely people seeking very different things- one of us had good intentions, and one of us had none.
I was your typical tinder troll.
I was the QUEEN of ghosting boys on Tinder, and, unfortunately, Michael was the result of one of my most crafty “drink and ditch” plans.
My life as a Tinder ghost went through many phases but it ended in an incredibly unlikely way.
The Broken Hearted
I would venture to say that this is the most popular group of people responsible for Tinder ghosting.
These are the guys/ girls that will text/ snapchat you all the time.
They’ll make plans to meet up, but chicken out at the last second.
When I matched with Michael in the summer of 2015, I had just broken up with the guy that I had been dating off and on since high school.
My best friend convinced me to download Tinder “just for fun.”
I didn’t think I needed it, but I went along with it anyway.
The night I downloaded Tinder, I got a message from Michael.
He was going out and wanted to meet up.
I was freaked out about the whole idea of it, so I thought maybe I would just take a free drink for my best friend and I and ditch.
When we met up, he was a true gentlemen, he bought us drinks and we chugged them.
We left shortly after, and about an hour later, he saw me hanging out with another guy.
Although it may not sound like a valid excuse, I can assure you that the broken- hearted do not understand the damage that they may be causing.
These people are hurting and they probably cannot yet identify what a good guy/ girl looks like.
These people are looking for love, but still need to heal.
The Attention Seeker
This one is all of us to some extent.
Tinder is a great daily ego booster.
I don’t know of any other place where you can experience a variety of cheesy pickup lines crafted just for you (or used on 10 other people), get told how pretty you are, and rummage through hundreds of messages, choosing whom to reply.
Hangout two with Michael happened about six months later.
I had deleted and re- downloaded the app more than a handful of times since we had last seen one another.
This time, I had moved on from the heart break category, into the “home alone over Christmas break” attention seeking category.
I was out with a friend one night, and he was too.
So, I went over to where he was to meet him (and get free drink number two).
We talked for a bit, but then my friend needed me, so I left to be with her.
Later on in the night I saw him walking around with his friends, and I walked the other direction.
The attention seekers like things to be on their terms.
They only want you when they’re lonely or need the ego boost.
Attention seekers can get better over time, though, so don’t write them off right away.
Get to know these people, sometimes it might take a few tries to crack their seemingly egotistical shell.
The Gold Digger
Watch out for this one.
People like to blame this one on females, but I think this can be everyone.
This is the group of people that are unwilling to meet up UNLESS there is something good in it for them ie: dinner, drinks, entertainment.
They won’t just join you at the dog park or for a movie, they need some kind of incentive, and they get a high off of using other people.
When hangout number three with Michael happened, I was going into it with the intentions of more free drinks.
By this time, it had already been a year of enduring my ghosting, and he was pretty much sick of me.
However, one night, a freshly 21 Ariel partied a little too hard, and ran into some “medical” trouble.
I remembered that Michael worked in a hospital, so I texted him asking if I was going to die.
Turns out I was just fine, and the reassurance that he had my back was really moving to me.
So, ~finally~ date number one happened, and, (gold digger that I formerly was) ended up asking to pay for the drinks.
And, the rest is history.
You see, if Michael had not contacted me the second time we matched, even though I had already ditched him, I never would be with him today.
We have been dating for almost a year now and I cannot imagine a single second without him.
If he had not pursued me or had just begun ignoring me like I did him, we would not be as happy as we are today.
Sometimes the people who are unwilling to meet up are just gun- shy from their last relationship/ experience and need a little time.
They need a little forgiveness and understanding.
Trust your gut, though, and if it feels like you are being used, you probably are.
Of course, it could end up being love at first (or second) ghost too.
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in the world. You can write for us.
Cover Photo Credit: Jordi Carrasco/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
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