Rupert Cocke @RupertCocke Twitter profile

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Rupert Cocke

1 year

PINNED TWEET: I am a Barcelona-based financial reporter who publishes news behind a paywall. All opinions are my own and do not reflect the views of ION Analytics or its subsidiaries. Personal blog: Linktree:

rupertcocke | Twitter | Linktree

Barcelona-based financial journalist who blogs about critical thinking

linktr.ee

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Last Seen Profiles

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

4 years

A Spanish politician defending the freedom of the media is as rare as hen's teeth nowadays. Congratulations to the mayor of Madrid for showing everyone exactly how it should be done, no matter where you sit on the political spectrum.

José Luis Martínez-Almeida

@AlmeidaPP_

4 years

Los ciudadanos necesitan creer en la instituciones.

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

4 years

Nissan's closure of its Barcelona plant brings failures of Spain's political class into focus. Too many are driven by dogmatic ideology, rather than creating conditions for investors & entrepreneurs to make things happen. They see themselves as designers rather than gardeners.

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

3 years

Spanish populist left celebrity Pablo Iglesias (former deputy PM) has signed on as a commentator with Basque and Catalan nationalist papers. This might seem odd outside Spain, but it makes sense when you realize the three movements are united by their anti-constitutionalism. 1/3

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

The Catalan nationalists are planning some fun and games for Friday 21st December. Please see this long THREAD for a guide for foreign media to avoid being playing for a fool.

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

I just noticed that @krls (Puigdemont) blocked me for some modest reality-based criticism of Catalan independence. I have said his movement has created an echo chamber, believes its own lies, is intolerant and cannot handle criticism. I guess I must have been right...

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

6 months

Spanish politician who defended October 7 massacre tapped to become youth minister

* * *

www.timesofisrael.com

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

4 years

An anti-lockdown protest in a posh Madrid district has had strange side effects in Spain. People on the left now sound like law-and-order conservatives talking about hippy protesters; while people on the right are up in arms about rules limiting street demonstrations.

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

2 years

Few Spanish-speaking families in Catalonia ask for extra Spanish at school. The reaction to a family that did shows why - school turning blind eye to threats in WhatsApp group; separatist politicians making excuses for bullies on social media. People are scared of nats. 1/2

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

4 years

A lot of people in Spain seem quite confused about politics nowadays. Let me spell something out: Kneeling down before your nationalist overlords is NOT left wing. Pork-barrel politics is NOT progressive. Seeking advantages for some regions over others is NOT enlightened.

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

1 year

Catalan nationalism is an ideology designed to protect the hegemony of a regional elite

What Rhymes with Catalonia?

A guest column from Peter Harvey on parallels between Catalonia, Scotland and Yorkshire

sharpenyouraxe.substack.com

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

A foreign defender of Catalan separatism said this morning that the movement has absolutely nothing to do with Brexit. I disagree. Off the top of my head, I see at least five major similarities. THREAD 1

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

Some people in Spain think it is "right-wing" to defend the right of any political party to hold an event anywhere in the country and "left-wing" to say that non-nationalist parties shouldn't offend nationalists by going into their territory and trying to win votes. Odd country.

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

If any foreign journalists are flying into Spain this weekend to cover the elections, please remember: The far right is already governing in Catalonia. Regional President Quim Torra is an ultra-nationalist fanatic who hates Spanish speakers. Vox is a far-right counter-reaction.

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

4 years

Spain has a strange system for the self-employed, where people pay a fixed sum every month no matter what they earn. The money has just disappeared from people's accounts today despite the lockdown. My newsfeed is full of tweets from some very angry people.

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

4 years

Catalan President Quim Torra has been banned from public office. Let's run through some of his greatest hits. (1) Openly defying electoral law. (2) Saying Catalan nationalists should start a small civil war. (3) Public homages to murderous Catalan fascists from the 1930s. 1/3

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

4 years

Catalan nationalists have spent years saying Spain is a fascist state; non-Catalan Spaniards are uncivilized; and migrants to the region have defective DNA. They are about to start a campaign encouraging domestic tourism. Good luck with that! (In Spanish)

Catalunya apela a un turismo doméstico de naturaleza y no masificado

El público de España es "el primero que hay que abordar" y se lanzará una campaña de "vínculos emocionales"

www.elperiodico.com

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

4 years

Catalan nationalist politician Clara Ponsati just mocked the people of Madrid, who are at the centre of Spain's COVID-19 crisis, with 213 deaths and 3,544 confirmed cases (in Spanish) 1/2

Clara Ponsatí se burla de la situación de Madrid con el coronavirus

La 'exconsellera' de Ensenyament publica y luego borra un tuit en el que ha escrito "de Madrid al cielo"

www.elperiodico.com

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

3 months

"The Catalan independence movement isn't terrorism. It just isn't. Everyone knows that." The latest statement from Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez is shocking. Twelve radical separatists were caught red-handed with illegal explosives after practicing setting off bombs in a quarry. 1/2

Pedro Sánchez

@sanchezcastejon

3 months

Los indultos han sido un paso importante. La Ley de Amnistía será el paso definitivo. El independentismo catalán no es terrorismo. No lo es. Lo sabe todo el mundo. Con este proyecto de ley todos los independentistas catalanes van a ser amnistiados, porque no son terroristas.

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

A Catalan nationalist telling me to sell my home in outskirts of Barcelona and go and live somewhere else because I dare to criticize certain politicians who claim to speak in the name of the people. We see populism here, as well entitlement and the ugly face of ethno-nationalism

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

4 years

Spain's Communist deputy PM, Pablo Iglesias, calls on civil society to join forces with government in fight against "far right" (ie, mainstream conservatives) and "far far right" (ie, populist right). What could possibly go wrong?

Pablo Iglesias 🔻{R}

@PabloIglesias

4 years

Frente a una ultraderecha y una ultra-ultraderecha irresponsables que han hecho de la mentira, el insulto y el ataque a lo público sus principales armas políticas no basta la acción institucional del Gobierno: es clave una sociedad civil movilizada para defender la democracia.

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

Rector of a Catalan university tries to explain to populist nationalist students that people who disagree with them are members of "the people" too. The kids explode in anger. When she later mentions laws, one of the kids said that laws "are useless" and need to be disobeyed.

Ràdio Ciutat Tarragona

@RCTgn

5 years

📣ÚLTIMA HORA #17ORCTGN | Així dialogaven fa una estona els centenars d'estudiants concentrats al rectorat de @universitatURV amb la rectora, exigint el tancament de la universitat demà per la vaga general. #Tarragona

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

Prediction: Catalan nationalist Twitter is going to lose its mind today. Nationalists cannot condemn their own side, no matter how awful, or applaud the away team, no matter how justified. Conspiracy theories to explain away bomb-making separatists have already started.

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

4 years

Catalan secessionists ladle a soup of fiction and paranoia [Brutal reality-based article that sees through the conspiracy theories at the heart of Catalan nationalism]

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

3 years

Expect to see a lot of nonsense about Puigdemont today. The most important thing to know is that he tweeted this photo himself. It shows him next to warnings from judges that he was threatening to break a number of important laws with stiff penalties. He did it anyway. Bad call!

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

3 years

Brutal "j'accuse" open letter from liberal economist @lugaricano to Spanish government for bailing out an obscure airline with one plane for 53m euros without providing details (in Spanish) via @voz_populi

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 months

Junts, the hard-right Catalan separatist party that supports Spain's fragile Socialist-led coalition, has identified which journalists it believes should be purged for supporting "lawfare" during its coup attempt (In Spanish)

Junts señala a jueces, periodistas y policías que deben ser “juzgados y cesados” por "atacar a...

Ante la pasividad de la presidenta del Congreso, Miriam Nogueras ha ido desgranando los objetivos de Puigdemont y los suyos en las comisiones de investigación sobre el supuesto lawfare que ha...

www.vozpopuli.com

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

3 years

Populists and nats want to completely re-write the Constitution, this time without bothering with a consensus. Going back to the drawing board is also more fun for politicians than worrying about boring things like job creation, tax rates, digitalization or climate change. 3/3

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

4 years

Just had an interesting chat with a friend, who was a passionate supporter of Catalan independence. He's in isolation by himself and has been doing a lot of thinking. The current crisis has made him appreciate moderation and unity. He has got off the train. He no longer believes.

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

Former Catalan PM Carles Puigdemont in Apr17 with 5 letters from Spain's Constitutional Court warning him that proposed self-coup is illegal and carries heavy prison sentences. He tweeted the photo with this message: "We won't stop going forward" Link:

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

2 years

Gabriel Rufían, an outspoken Catalan separatist from ERC, has put the cat amongst the pigeons by suggesting (quite correctly) that the nationalists from Junts who contacted Russia during the region's push for independence were "rich kids pretending to be James Bond." 1/2

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

2 years

The first person to write sophisticated software for a computer that didn't yet exist was a mother (A. Lovelace). The first assembly language was written by a mother (K. Booth) The sums used to get humans to the moon for the first time were calculated by a mother (K. Johnson).

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

(1) Catalonia is a deeply divided society. Any sentence that begins with the words “The Catalans…” is very likely to be misleading.

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

1 year

Catalan President Pere Aragonès defends peoples' right to speak their own language. He appears to have forgotten that his government wants to prevent the majority of region's children from receiving any education in Spanish, their mother tongue. Whoops! (Tweet below in Catalan)

Esquerra Republicana

@Esquerra_ERC

1 year

🎥[VÍDEO] #president @perearagones es dirigeix en català a l'ONU: "Cal contribuir a preservar que tothom pugui viure amb plenitud i normalitat utilitzant la seva llengua👅" @UN #UNFMI

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

4 years

Is anyone else enjoying the sight of Catalan nationalists saying that upper middle class people in posh neighbourhoods shouldn't wave flags around in the name of dogmatic ideologies?

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

4 years

Mayor of Porto proposes Benelux-style coordination between Spain and Portugal via @elEconomistaes (Article in Spanish)

¿Un Benelux a la ibérica? El alcalde de Oporto propone crear una estrategia común entre España y...

¿Sería posible que España y Portugal adoptaran un modelo similar al Benelux, integrado por Bélgica, Países Bajos y Luxemburgo? El alcalde de la ciudad lusa de Oporto, Rui Moreira, apuesta por una...

www.eleconomista.es

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

3 years

Former Catalan PM Carles Puigdemont says he might sue NYT for publishing leaks of private conversations and taking them out of context (In Catalan) [It is very interesting that he doesn't deny seeking aid from Russia]

El Punt Avui

El Punt Avui neix el 31 de juliol del 2011 de la fusió de dues capçaleres històriques: l'Avui (nascut el 1976) i El Punt (el 1979). El diari és líder de la premsa editada només en català.

www.elpuntavui.cat

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

4 years

The rector of @UofGlasgow uses a racist smear against non-Catalan Spaniards (espanyordo/a is a variant of ñordo) in the tweet below. This is a clear example of "racist jokes and ridiculing relating to cultural differences" from your diversity guide ().

Aamer Anwar✊🏾🏳️‍🌈#BlackLivesMatter

@AamerAnwar

4 years

“Todo ello, obedece a lo que considera una "persecución de carácter político" provocada por su defensa del president Carles Puigdemont y los políticos en el exilio, así como por la defensa de Quim Torra.” @boye_g ✊🏽🎗 La injustícia espanyorda!

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

4 years

I shared an article that was critical of Catalan nationalism more than 66 hours ago. I still have lots of nats spreading ad hominem attacks, propaganda and xenophobia in my notifications. None of them have refuted a single point yet. Lots of anger, not many facts, as usual.

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

2 years

Supporters of Catalan nationalist party JxCat have launched an intimidiation campaign against an Italian history professor who teaches in Barcelona. Why? He said the party "shares many characteristics with the contemporary far right" (in Catalan) 1/2

Partidaris de JxCat llencen una campanya d’insults i amenaces contra un professor d’Història de la...

El professor d’Història Contemporània de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) Steven Forti està patint una campanya d’insults i amenaces llançades

www.eltriangle.eu

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

First of all, the ideology driving both movements is populist nationalism. Populism is the idea that a collective has a will and that an individual politician is its true voice. Anyone who disagrees is automatically a traitor. For more information, see Müller's book On Populism 2

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

3 years

Left-wing populists and secessionists think that the consensus behind Spain's transition to democracy was flawed. Letting elderly war criminals die in their beds allegedly invalidates Spain's longest-ever period of stability. Nine constitutions in 119 years was much more fun! 2/3

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

Finally, both movements have a very unsophisticated and majoritarian view of democracy. Referendums are given a mythical status, despite their poor track record of finding answers to complex issues. 6/6

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

2 years

THREAD: Why is the Catalan independence movement so toxic? The first level involves unquestioning acceptance of dodgy narratives. Sorry, but having a little more Spanish at school doesn't threaten the Catalan language; and parents who ask for it aren't necessarily fascists. 1/3

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

3 years

@AmadorGuallar ¿Has probado con el IFJ (International Federation of Journalists)? Tienen un fondo para estas cosas (safety fund). Su correo es ifj @ifj .org y su números son +32 (0)2 235 22 00 y +32 (0)2 235 22 19 (ambos en Bruselas). ¡Suerte!

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

3 years

Catalan separatism and Trumpism are both insurrectional movements led by incumbents who see mass movements as a way of consolidating their grip on power (in Spanish)

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

2 years

Antonio Baños, an allegedly left-wing Catalan separatist*, swears at a liberal Belgian eurocrat and uses a racist epithet after a friendly reminder that European politicians should obey democractic laws. *Spoiler: Nationalism is right wing, particularly when it's insurrectionary.

Antonio Baños

@antoniobanos_

2 years

@dreynders @perearagones @EU_Commission @EU_Justice Tu, guiri. Quins set collons et creus que ets per demanar que complim cap puta llei espanyola? cagamandurries, pocapena, mestretites, sotacarro, tarambana, talòs!! Au, a fer la ma. Pixatinters

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

2 years

Catalan President Pere Aragonès says keeping education just in Catalan ensures schools act as "the nucleus of the Catalan nation" @cronicaglobal [A rare moment of honesty from the nationalist side - monolingual education is all about social engineering]

Aragonès reivindica la inmersión monolingüe en el discurso de Navidad

El presidente catalán abraza la defensa del catalán en su alocución desde una escuela de Santa Coloma de Gramenet donde se probó el sistema

cronicaglobal.elespanol.com

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

The idea that nationalism is progressive is deeply questionable. The movement’s slogan for a long time – “Espanya ens roba” – implies that the region wants to end solidarity with poorer parts of Spain.

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

4 years

A right-wing populist politician openly breaks the law, then says he won't accept the court ruling against him. What could possibly go wrong?

Catalan News

@catalannews

4 years

🎥 | Quim Torra dismisses the Supreme Court's ruling and affirms his position as a Catalan MP and president of the country 📝 | Read more:

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

These are big numbers, yes, but they represent a significant minority rather than a majority. The nationalists do not talk for all Catalans.

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

In fact, Spain is a full democracy. Check out the Economist Intelligence Unit: Also, Freedom House:

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

(2) Catalan nationalists have a very skewed idea of the political spectrum. They try to sell the idea that nationalism is progressive and anything or anyone that stands in their way is by definition far-right.

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

3 years

My father, Richard, has passed away peacefully in his sleep after a short illness. He was a scholarly and passionate historian of Renaissance art. Most of all, though, he was a kind and generous family man, who was happily married to my Mum, Sarah, for 55 years. Rest in peace!

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

The second major similarity is that both movements take a collective of millions of people and then speak about it as if it were an individual. Both spread the idea that this collective is oppressed by something external - the Spanish state or the EU. 3

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

The fourth similarity is a strange combination of paranoia about Madrid/Brussels (seeing the worst in the enemy) with blithe wishful thinking about how everything will be roses after breaking up the relationship (magical thinking). 5

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

3 years

Catalan elections are tomorrow. This is a friendly reminder to CAT nationalists that you don't need to take a ballot box with you. In real elections, they are provided for you. They are empty at the start of the day, transparent and people from all sides can keep an eye on them.

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

CHALLENGE: Can anyone find a supporter of Catalan independence who has condemned the radical separatists who have confessed to making bombs and planning attacks? Just one, please. I haven't seen any yet.

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

The third similarity is the utterly bewildering idea that we need to break things to make them better. Any cold-headed risk assessment is seen as boring and unnecessary at best, or as treachery at worst. 4

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

4 years

This kind of speech was notable by its absence in Catalonia between 2012 and 2017

BBC Scotland News

@BBCScotlandNews

4 years

. @NicolaSturgeon says any referendum on independence 'must be legal and legitimate'

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

(5) If any of the clashes, turn violent, expect a flood of fake news, lies and manipulations from the nationalists. This article from the late Peter Preston is worth reading:

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

4 years

Almost every resident of Corsica speaks French. It has been the official language for nearly seven generations. Only 10% speak Corsican as native language. A Catalan nationalist just told me that French should be removed - a great example of movement's authoritarian essentialism.

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

2 years

A brave NGO compiles data on political violence in Catalonia. It found 380 acts / threats in 2020 despite the pandemic and lockdown. Three quarters of the victims oppose independence, while 92% of perpetrators support it. More here: (In Spanish) 2/2

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

2 years

Why do so many people in Catalonia find it so hard to see that nationalism is a right-wing ideology? 1/2

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

That vote represented 47.5% of the votes (4.39m). It was also 37.4% of the electorate of 5.54m and 30% of the population of 7.44m (foreign residents can’t vote).

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

4 years

The expression "From Madrid to the sky" reflects the sense that anything is possible in the capital, as well as its big, open skies. In Spanish, the word sky also means "heaven." Ponsati tweeted: "From Madrid to heaven." Awful, thoughtless, sickening, disgusting, hateful... 2/2

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

(7) You might feel your heart stirring as you see protesters stand up to the police. If that happens, I strongly suggest you read Orwell’s essay on nationalism:

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

The only European parties to support the movement are from the far-right, such as Vlaams Belang from the Flemish region of Belgium.

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

1 year

When did populist politicians get so bad at coups?

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

The Catalan nationalists claim to speak for the Catalan nation, but let’s crunch some numbers. Their best-ever result was 2.08m votes across three parties a year ago ().

2017 Catalan regional election - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

(3) There is a conspiracy theory at the heart of the nationalist narrative. The nationalists will try to tell you that Spain is a fascist state.

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

The nationalists will try to tell you that Ciudadanos (a liberal centrist party that is in ALDE with the LibDems) are *really* fascists. Be skeptical!

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

Finally, if any Catalan nationalists with an allergy to criticism want to repeat slogans in the comments, please introduce yourself with your real name first.

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

If you mention the illegal pseduo-referendum in October 17, where 2.04m votes were cast for independendence, it is meaningless to mention the 97% result unless you also mention the 43% turnout.

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

4 years

Around 49% of Catalans reject independence vs 44% in favour; 50% feel equally Spanish & Catalan; 74% feel at home in Spain outside CAT. Separatist parties close to 50% of votes due to support of some voters who don't want independence. (Poll in Spanish)

Sondeo electoral: La mayoría de los catalanes rechaza la independencia

Crece el pesimismo sobre la coyuntura económica de Catalunya, aunque un 36% cree que la situación política mejorará

www.lavanguardia.com

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

3 years

Spain was still a a full democracy in 2020 in the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index, but its ranking slipped from 2019. If the slide continues at the same rate, the country will be a flawed democracy soon.

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

3 years

Does anyone else find it shocking that @guardian is running an article by a man who has been convicted of issuing death threats against women and children?

Like Pablo Hasél, I faced jail for my rap lyrics – but the worst censorship is self-censorship |...

The rapper’s arrest shows Spain has a problem with freedom of ideology. But people shouldn’t be scared to write songs that stand up to power

www.theguardian.com

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

The Mossos have a track record of acting politically, picking and choosing which laws to obey. Here is some background:

Spain warns Catalonia over region's Mossos police

Spain tells Catalonia's separatist leaders it could send in police to restore order again.

www.bbc.com

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

4 years

(4) Saying the Catalan nation is like a sugarcube and immigrants are like a glass of milk. (5) Saying it is "unnatural" to speak Spanish in Barcelona. (6) Comparing Spanish speakers to animals. (7) Sharing deep state conspiracy theories. 2/3

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

Catalan separatist parties get 1.6m votes between them, which is less than 43% of total for region (in Spanish)

Elecciones generales Catalunya: La sentencia del 'procés' tampoco da la mayoría al independentismo

Las severas condenas a prisión a los líderes del 'procés' no fueron suficiente acicate para que el independentismo catalán lograse la primera mayoría en unas elecciones generales. Los partidos...

www.elperiodico.com

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

4 years

A couple of weeks ago, I saw a lot of people complaining that @matthewbennett was being melodramatic about COVID-19. I haven't seen anything recently. Any ideas why? I'm sure his critics have lots of spare time to dissect his tweets now they are, er, (consults notes) on lockdown.

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

4 years

(8) Public homages to a racial theorist (Cardona), who thought non-Catalan Spaniards had been ruined by Afro-Semitic blood. (9) A bad fart joke. (10) Saying the national police shouldn't have the right to investigate radical Catalan nationalists accused of making explosives. 3/3

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

Stopping people crossing a border is the perfect metaphor for populist nationalism

Matthew Bennett

@matthewbennett

5 years

Catalan separatist protest group Tsunami Democratic has called on all their followers to block the border with France. They claim 1,000 cars so far, and that someone is putting up a stage in the middle of the motorway. Traffic authorities in Catalonia confirm 20km traffic jam.

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

4 years

Quick! Somebody mention Franco!

EU Social 🇪🇺

@EU_Social

4 years

EU #youth #unemployment in August 2020: 🇪🇸43.9% 🇬🇷39.3% 🇮🇹32.1% 🇸🇪28.4% 🇵🇹26.3% 🇭🇷25.4% 🇱🇹25.4% 🇪🇪23.7% 🇱🇺23.2% 🇫🇮 21.6% 🇨🇾19.8% 🇫🇷19.8% 🇸🇰19.4% 🇧🇬17.8% 🇪🇺17.6% 🇮🇪17.5% 🇷🇴16.9% 🇸🇮16.9% 🇱🇻16.3% 🇧🇪15.7% 🇭🇺14.1% 🇩🇰12.2% 🇳🇱11.3% 🇦🇹10.6% 🇲🇹9.5% 🇵🇱 9.1% 🇨🇿8.8% 🇩🇪5.8% via @EU_Eurostat

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 months

The European Parliament's mission to study the Catalan school system say that the regional government's decision not to apply court sentences calling for 25% of classes to be in Spanish would be "unthinkable" anywhere else in the EU (In Spanish)

La misión de la UE pide "cumplir las sentencias" de la inmersión ante las lágrimas del padre de...

«Si el presidente de mi país pusiera en duda una sentencia judicial, dejaría de ser presidente. Si la sentencia dice algo, debe cumplirse». Así de tajantemente...

www.elmundo.es

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

2 years

CAT nat apologist Joe asks if politicians outside Catalonia also get punished for breaking electoral law. The best example I can think of is Sarkozy getting sentenced to a year in prison for breaking campaign finance laws 1/2

Joe Brew

@joethebrew

2 years

Hi ha casos de fora de Catalunya el el qual un diputat elegit perd l'escó per haver penjat un símbol? Em refereixo al cas del Pau Juvillà (inhabilitat per un llaç groc al seu despatx en campanya electoral). La pregunta és sincera. Això ha passat a algun altre païs? On i quan?

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

4 months

Junts, a hard-right Catalan separatist party, has told Spain's Socialist-led minority coalition that it will only back incoming legislation if it gives the regional government the right to fine companies that moved their HQs outside Catalonia during the coup attempt in 2017 1/2

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

@busquetsdad I have lived here since 2005. Would you care to share any specific mistakes? Or do you just feel grumpy in a non-specific way every time someone challenges nationalist narratives with actual facts and figures?

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

4 months

Five years is a long time in Spanish politics

Pedro Sánchez

@sanchezcastejon

5 years

Hoy viajo a Barcelona para conocer la evolución de los agentes heridos en los disturbios. He recordado al Sr. Torra en una carta las obligaciones de todo responsable público: condenar rotundamente la violencia, amparar a las FCS que la combaten y evitar la discordia civil.

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

The constitutionalists defend liberal democracy as it actually is. The nationalists want to impose iliberal direct democracy, with minimal protection for dissenters.

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

Although the radical separatists will try to disrupt the meeting, it is worth remembering that the decision to hold the meeting in Barcelona was originally intended as a goodwill gesture.

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

11 months

Spain has 17 autonomous communities. Its constitution says it is indivisible. Well, obviously! Seventeen is a prime number!

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

2 years

@MissKingaS Immersion is a political project. It has nothing to do with preparing new entrants to the workforce for the 21st century...

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

Catalan separatist parties got 39.42% of the vote in the region. The movement is a significant voice in the region, but it isn't the voice of Catalonia.

Ignasi Guardans

@iguardans

5 years

El independendismo catalán representa un 39,42 % de los votos emitidos en Cataluña. 39,42 39,42 39,42 El independentismo catalan es UNA voz esencial de la realidad catalana. Pero NO es LA voz de Cataluña

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

Some of the more paranoid Catalan nationalists spread the idea that immigration to Catalonia from other parts of Spain was part of a conspiracy by Franco to dilute the culture. This outstanding article demolishes the theory (in Spanish) @CatalunyaPlural

Desmontando el mito de los "colonos franquistas" - Catalunya Plural

Lejos de ser una conspiración secreta para diluir la cultura catalana, la inmigración interior en Barcelona tiene causas políticas (huida de la represión vengativa por parte de los vencedores de la...

catalunyaplural.cat

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 years

The resignation of Albert Rivera as leader of liberal party Cs is an honourable move which should set a precedent. Pablo Iglesias, leader of populist left party Podemos, got 35 seats yesterday, down from 42 in April and 71 in 2016. He should also resign!

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

2 years

@simoninmadrid On a night out, never tell your madrileño friends that you are tired and want to go home to sleep! Make an excuse to disappear for a minute ("We need sweets!"), turn your phone off and sneak away without anyone noticing. This is called "hacer un Houdini."

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

5 months

Spain's new justice minister, Felix Bolaños, has threatened to prosecute judges who are investigated under the controversial parliamentary committees overseeing "lawfare" [Politico buried the lead - please check the final par of the article]

Catalan amnesty law ‘in line’ with EU values, Spain’s justice minister says

‘No concern’ in Brussels over controversial get-out-of-jail-free card for separatists, Félix Bolaños tells POLITICO.

www.politico.eu

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

8 months

Unrepentant Catalan nationalist and fugitive from justice Carles Puigdemont has emerged as a kingmaker in Spain. His party, Junts, has seven seats, which is just enough to keep Socialist PM Pedro Sánchez in power if both parties can cut a deal. Let's crunch some numbers! 1/4

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

6 months

The Observer view on Pedro Sánchez’s election deal to take power: it undermines democracy [Surprisngly insightful article on Spain from a British paper]

Pedro Sánchez’s election deal has too a high a price – it undermines democracy | Observer editorial

In promising an amnesty to Catalan separatists in exchange for power, the prime minister has been accused of mounting a coup

www.theguardian.com

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Rupert Cocke

@RupertCocke

3 months

This is one of the activists. It isn't Sanchez's job to decide whether this man was planning a terrorist attack. It should be the police, the prosecutors and the courts. Now the courts will no longer have a say. Sánchez has decided hoarding illegal explosives isn't terrorism. 2/2

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