Catalonia flirting with independence!

     Both the Huffington Post and PRI are reporting on the growing movement toward Catalonian independence from Spain.  The informal vote for independence taken on September 25th supports a general impression that about 60% of the Catalonians want independence for the sake of securing their own individuality as a people against the central government's declared avowal to seek assimilation among the disparate Spanish cultures.

     This movement, if successful, would probably anticipate, even encourage, the same result toward Scottish independence from the UK.  I think there what will prove convincing is when the UK central government reneges on many of its promises to the Scots for political and cultural separatism--promises that were made by Whitehall to keep Scotland in the UK framework.

     In any event, the Catalonians seem well on its way toward independence.  They would lose membership in the EU, true, but only the time it takes to re-apply to Brussels for independent recognition.  Their cultural binds are strong among them; and there is no reason why they should not re-assert their cultural heritage and traditions in this technological age, which permits cultural distinctiveness as opposed to uniformity/conformity. 

Hezbollah forces finally waning thin

     As reported in today's Huffington Post, September 6th, Hezbollah forces in Syria have been so spread out, thereby weakened, that the time is right for ridding them from the Syrian War.  And, as conjectured in the article, Israeli forces can be useful in order to strike the final death-knell to Hezbollah's role in Syrian politics.


     I've argued in the past that Israeli is needed to control both Hezbollah and Hamas.  To my mind, Israel has done a great job in Palestine to control the violence, especially in the Gaza strip.  And, before that, in taming Hezbollah so that the latter would not cross the Lebanese border into Israel again. 


     I believe Israel's military prowess could be invaluable in shortening the Syrian War by taking what it deems appropriate action at this time.  Jihadists, too, watch out, I would caution, if Israel rises to this occasion!
     Parenthetically, Iran is supplying info about Assad's forces in Syria.  Little wonder Assad has re-instituted germ warfare in such places as Alleppo, should indeed his military faction be waxing thin, too.  Russia is too late to be involved in coming to the aid of Assad, per some prior agreement.  President Putin waited too long for that rationale to bear credibility. 
   
    

Mixed Income Housing at Sacto City Council

     Tuesday night, September 1, I attended the regularly scheduled meeting of the Sacramento City Council at City Hall.  Topic I was interested in taking a stand on was Mixed Income Housing.  I understood the Council had made changes to its current plan in effect and wanted feedback.  Among these, a developer could opt out of the plan by paying a fine, as it were.


     I am familiar to some extent with the Singapore Mixed Income Model that has been discussed around the world for some years.  Two of its notable features are 1) enforcement of the provision that a developer must adhere to the plan and 2) the benefits accruing over those of other income housing models.  One benefit is housing becomes available to all peoples, including the homeless.  But the other is far more important and long range:  it virtually ends the social issue of segregation populace-wide!   This is because every culturally diverse group of the society is truly mixed in with every other within the same housing project.  It is true that government has a strong say in where people will live, but that is simply regarded as an opportunity cost in solving a social problem that  otherwise could have festered as it presently does in the US.


     I am also apprised of discussions at the federal level of the Singapore Model.  Indeed, Fareed Zakaria in his Sunday, August 31, edition of GPS on CNN made it his featured presentation.  Moreover, as I tried to point out to the Council members, I believe much money could be garnered from Federal sources for instituting this model even here in Sacramento, should the Council take interest in it.  It's that important to rid our society from the evils of segregation!


     Indeed, a program that can solve the segregation issue as well as offer badly needed housing to the community, as does the Singapore Model (their government saw the need to create an integrated society and so came up with their housing plan),.has much to recommend it at the Federal level
     I made my comments, which are housed on videotape beginning at the 7:30 PM mark, Tuesday, Sept. 1 and runs for two minutes to 7:32 P>M. 
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