The Silentfatez Column 5th oct 2017

Welcome to the first ever Silentfatez column : An article which discusses news articles from around the world.

1. Catalonia Independence update:
   
   Amid the violence in the Catalonia as a result of their call for independence, and after the referendum,which had a 42.3% voter turnout and which just under 90% of the voters voted for independence, King Philipe VI has condemned the organisation of the vote. The Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont has in turn called him a mouthpiece for the Madrid government and has declared the region's independence in a matter of days.

Personally i feel that the violence in Catalonia is troubling because it shows how even in highly developed and democratic countries, there may be strains that cause hurt and destruction. I feel that the Spanish government has overstepped its grounds and should not have called in the police to reign in the referendum , Injuring so many people in the process. This would only create more anger towards the Spanish government causing Catalonia to want to secede even more. However it is a troubling thought allowing precedent for a region to just secede from a country just because they want to. It could have lots of implications nationally in Spain and internationally too with other regions wanting to secede from their country just because the people in the region want to. I understand that every country has their problems and we should not allow states that have become a part of a country in the past leave, because the states have enjoyed the privileges of the country they belong to in the past. Just because there is hardship in the country,which they do not suffer from at certain point in time, doesn't mean that they should have the opportunity to leave the country to not share the burdens of the hardship. This would create problems down the line too. What if the region wants to join another country , should they be allowed to? This may potentially create a lot of hostility between countries. But a region being forced to be part of a country against it's will is also highly troubling. Obviously no solution is perfect and both sides have their point of view which can be justified but i feel that violence is not the key to the solution. There needs to be more talks and discussion on this issue.

sources:https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/04/eu-executive-calls-for-spanish-catalan-talks-after-referendum-violence,http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41493014

1. Las Vegas shooting update:
   
   Marilou Danley, the Las Vegas shooter's girlfriend has been flown back into the U.S. She denies any involvement with the shooting ,declaring that she was unaware that it was even going to happen as she was made to fly to the Philippines with money wired to her to buy a house for her family two weeks ago. The motive of the killings is still unknown to the investigators as more details emerge that the killer had meticulously planned the shooting buying 33 firearms between OCT 2016 and Sept 2017, and also setting up cameras in his hotel suite and hallway while slowly stocking the room up with firearms,days before the shooting. Hopefully more details will emerge soon for the shooting.

Personally, i feel terrible about the tragedy. I feel that more efforts should be done to control the sale of firearms in the united states.My sympathy goes out to all those affected by the tragedy and i hope that more light would soon be shed on this crazy situation.

sources:http://edition.cnn.com/2017/10/04/us/las-vegas-shooting-investigation/index.html

1. Little being done for gender equality
   

A new report from the OECD reports that very little has been done to close gender gap at work since 2013,and even though 2/3 of the club countries have adopted new equal pay policies woman still make 15% less than their male counterpart, a gap unchanged since 2015. This is in spite of the fact that young woman are more likely to hold a degree to man 48% to 36%.

Personally this makes me feel that more work needs to be done and not just words but actual enforcement of the policies set into place by the governments. Gender equality needs to be a thing of the past in the 21st century and sure we are making steps towards it but it is happening too slowly. We cannot be all talk and no action.

sources:http://www.oecd.org/gender/the-pursuit-of-gender-equality-9789264281318-en.htm,https://espresso.economist.com/14c4f36143b4b09cbc320d7c95a50ee7

1. Nobel prize for chemistry

Three Chemists have won the Nobel prize for chemistry for their work in developing a new method to image biomolecules.
Jacques Dubochet of the University of Lausanne, Joachim Frank of Columbia University, and Richard Henderson of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK all shared the Nobel prize in Chemistry which helps develop a clearer image of the biomolecules which has been improved upon since 1975.

Personally i feel that any major improvements in science is a major stop forward and i am excited for new advancements in the field of chemistry.

Source:https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/4/16418246/nobel-prize-chemistry-cryo-electron-microsopy-jacques-dubochet-joachim-frank-richard-henderson

1. SEC chairman optimistic in catching ICO Fraudsters

Sec Chairman Jay clayton says that ICOs remind him of the old days of penny stocks where pump and dump schemes were abound and even though it is harder to catch the bad guys since everything is electronic and anonymous, he feels that his agency would be up to the task to regulating token sales

Personally i am not sure what to think of this news but maybe expect more regulation on ICOs in the US and possibly the world if other countries follow the US footsteps. This comes in the heel of China's ban on ICOs and hence may cause further market volatility.

sources:https://www.coindesk.com/sec-chair-optimistic-efforts-catch-ico-bad-buys/

Please follow and promote and i hope to hear your discussion on the news story in the coments down below so that we may discuss the news stories above.