It's official: Jim Cheung is my favorite comic book artist right now
Enric's Memetic Dump
Things I do with no order or sense whatsoever
New poll shows an absolute majority of Catalans prefers an independent state for Catalonia
For the first time in polls, an absolute majority of Catalans declare they would prefer for Catalonia to be a new state, independent of the Kingdom of Spain.
Comparing to previous polls, the positions of citizens of Catalonia have evolved quite fast during these last years. In 2009, the percents for and against independence were roughly equal. In 2010, a majority of citizens prefer independence but without reaching the 50% of absolute majority. The change from 2011 to 2012 involves a decrease in people declaring the option of abstention or indecision that has decreased from 28.9% to 14.4%; clearly, more people has moved towards the independence option (from 42.9% to 53.6%) than against it (from 28.2% to 32%).
With current figures the turnout is a 85.6%, closer to a real vocation turnout, and signals a turning point towards #Catalonia's #independence.
First Minister Alex Salmond delivered his statement on the Scottish independence referendum
With independence we will have a new social union with the other nations of these islands and will continue to share Her Majesty the Queen as Head of State. But we won’t have our young servicemen and women dragged into illegal wars like Iraq, and we won’t have nuclear weapons based in Scottish waters.
Independence will create a new, more modern relationship between the nations of the British Isles – a partnership of equals. I want Scotland to be independent not because I think we are better than any other country but because I know we are just as good as any other country.
Like these other nations, our future, our resources and our success should be in our own hands
The rules for independence: a simple majority
A simple majority
1.21 The referendum will not be subject to any minimum turnout requirement or approval threshold where approval is required by a minimum percentage of registered voters. It is well established in the UK[10] and across Western Europe[11] that referendums should be decided by those who choose to vote on a simple majority basis. The 1997 Scottish devolution referendum was conducted on that basis.
1.22 The Venice Commission's 2005 report Referendums in Europe - An Analysis of the Legal Rules in European States notes that most European states do not set thresholds for referendums - either in terms of participation or approval - that have to be exceeded for referendum results to be valid. In 2006 the Venice Commission published a voluntary Code of Good Practice for Referendums setting out the views of this Council of Europe Commission on best practice for referendums. Article 7 of the Code states that minimum turnout requirements and abnormal majority thresholds are not advisable. In the Scottish Government's view this is the correct approach.
Apple's universal remote concept hints at future television set
Poll boost as Salmond starts on historic path | Herald Scotland
A new opinion poll revealed support for and against full independence virtually neck and neck among Scottish voters.
Official Ballot for Scotland's Independence Referendum
via scotland.gov.uk
Ralph 124C 41+: A Romance of the Year 2660
I like the "learn while you sleep" inset, still waiting for it. It predicted Skype and the iPad, however-
"The first real invention suggested in the novel is the Telephot, which, it emerges, is basically Skype mixed with a dash of Chatroulette (the latter by accident: a crossed wire connects Ralph with his love interest, a sign of the novel's structural sagginess). And then there's the Newspaper, essentially an iPad that runs on microfilm; and one of Ralph’s inventions, Permagatol, a gas that helps retrieve people from the jaws of death."http://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2011/12/science-fiction
"The first real invention suggested in the novel is the Telephot, which, it emerges, is basically Skype mixed with a dash of Chatroulette (the latter by accident: a crossed wire connects Ralph with his love interest, a sign of the novel's structural sagginess). And then there's the Newspaper, essentially an iPad that runs on microfilm; and one of Ralph’s inventions, Permagatol, a gas that helps retrieve people from the jaws of death."http://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2011/12/science-fiction
Catalan clothing brand Desigual ends 2011 with a €560 million turnover | Catalan News Agency
Desigual, the Barcelona-based clothing multinational, closed 2011 with a sales turnover of €560 million, 27% more than in 2010. This year, the Catalan brand will invest €100 million by opening 60 new shops, among them, the first in China. 2012 is also the year in which the Catalan clothing multinational will launch the first household linen collection and a special line that is based on the famous Canadian circus, Cirque du Soleil. Desigual is also planning to begin the construction of a new logistics centre in Viladecans in Greater Barcelona at the end of this year. The new logistics centre will allow the Catalan company to multiply its current distribution capacity by five, said the brand’s CEO, Manel Adell.
La fiscalia es nega a investigar la infanta Cristina - VilaWeb
via vilaweb.cat
Pamos va sol·licitar a la seva denúncia la incoació de diligències d'investigació per part de la fiscalia anticorrupció a partir d'un correu electrònic intervingut en l'operació Babel, en el qual Urdangarín i un altre interlocutor es refereixen a unes compres particulars de la infanta Cristina i a la dificultat de poder-les justificar com a despesa d'Aizoon.
Segons l'advocat, els fets poden constituir delictes de frau, malbaratament de fons públics, contra l'Hisenda Pública, delicte societari de gestió i falsedat documental mercantil.
