Porn, Politics and Soccer
Who says you can't mix politics and pleasure? The former chairman of Barcelona's football (soccer) team has created a new Catalonian separatist party. His strategy is to use the Barcelona team's fame and the support of the area's most popular porn star to win an upcoming regional election.
Who says you can’t mix politics and pleasure? The former chairman of Barcelona’s football (soccer) team has created a new Catalonian separatist party. His strategy is to use the Barcelona team’s fame and the support of the area’s most popular porn star to win an upcoming regional election.
The ex-chairman, Joan Laporta, is not the only football figure to vie for political power. Mauricio Macri, former head of the Buenos Aires soccer legends Boca Juniors, is head of government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. Despite Macri’s right-wing agenda, many poorer Boca fans voted for him based on his club affiliation. –JCL
Wait, before you go…The Guardian:
A former chairman of Barcelona football club has launched himself on a political career as a populist Catalan separatist, whose backers include the region’s most famous porn star.
Former club chairman Joan Laporta hopes the popularity garnered by two Champions League wins and four Spanish league titles can be turned into votes when Catalans choose a new regional government on 28 November.
His aim is to break Catalonia away from the rest of Spain and create a newly independent state. “It is time to win our independence and administer our own resources,” the 48-year-old lawyer said as campaigning for the elections started last week.
If you're reading this, you probably already know that non-profit, independent journalism is under threat worldwide. Independent news sites are overshadowed by larger heavily funded mainstream media that inundate us with hype and noise that barely scratch the surface. We believe that our readers deserve to know the full story. Truthdig writers bravely dig beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that tells you what’s really happening and who’s rolling up their sleeves to do something about it.
Like you, we believe a well-informed public that doesn’t have blind faith in the status quo can help change the world. Your contribution of as little as $5 monthly or $35 annually will make you a groundbreaking member and lays the foundation of our work.
Support Truthdig
What does U.S. involvement mean for the credibility of the protest movement and the future of Hong Kong? How should Hong Kong activists respond?
New fighting erupted in Sudan’s recently declared autonomous southern half when rebel forces staged an attack on the city of Malakal. The battle comes as South Sudan counts down to its official secession on July 9.
It was just last month that Sudan’s southern half voted to secede from its northern neighbor, but bloody clashes between south Sudan’s army and fighters loyal to a renegade soldier have reportedly left almost 140 people dead, most of them civilians.
While the outcome may have been a foregone conclusion, the official results are finally in: South Sudan has voted, with 99.57 percent in favor, to secede from the north.
Iraq, or more poignantly Kurdistan, is back in the news after a prominent Iraqi Kurdish leader insisted on the Kurds’ right to self-determination, an issue that has roiled the region’s politics for the past … well, forever it seems.
Even as the Basque separatist ETA signals a willingness to move toward peace, one of its top leaders -- whom many are calling the "most senior" -- has been arrested in France before a commando operation that allegedly was to be carried out in Spain.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.