Catalans are holding a massive, symbolic regional independence vote this weekend, in defiance of the Spanish government’s ban. The polls look set to draw upward of 1.5 million people, to whom the vote is now about freedom of expression. Artur Mas, the Catalan president, has remained defiant in the face of the exceedingly draconian bans by Madrid on any show of support for secession. The Catalan... 

A somber Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) report circulating in the Kremlin today is advising all diplomatic personal that due to the success of the “war party” elections held in the United States this past week, this once constitutional republic should now be viewed as having become an Oligarchy—a form of power structure in which power effectively rests with a small number of people. According... 

President Obama threatened to write his own laws through executive orders while claiming “that’s how democracy works.” Responding to the Republican takeover of Congress yesterday, Obama said he will use executive orders if Congress doesn’t pass bills he wants to sign into law. “I’m pretty sure I’ll take some actions that some in Congress will not like,” he said. “That’s natural.” “That’s... 

The top US Army official says the United States is learning from Israel’s tactics on how to limit civilian casualties in a war, despite the international outcry over the regime’s brutality in Gaza. Army General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Thursday that the Pentagon has sent a team to see what lessons could be learned from the recent Israeli invasion of Gaza on how... 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, left, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at their meeting in Budapest. 25 years ago, Hungary was being toasted in the West for opening its border with Austria to East Germans, in a move which led to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Now the Western elites are not happy with Budapest which they consider far too independent. The refusal of Prime Minister Viktor... 

The world has come ominously close to a nuclear war in the past and it could happen again as Russia and the West have slipped back into what seems like another Cold War, world-renowned scholar Noam Chomsky tells RT’s Sophie&Co. Once NATO has expanded its borders all the way to reach Russia, its mission has very much changed since it was initially established, Chomsky said. Now, its aim is to... 

Lt. Gen. Frederick ”Ben” Hodges US Army Europe’s commander Lt. Gen. Frederick “Ben” Hodges has described Russia as a very real threat, saying his country is ready to defend its allies in Europe. “So we are going to work very hard to make sure that all of our allies are confident that the rest of the alliance will be there if ever needed,” he told reporters on Wednesday. “That’s... 

Democrats blame US President Barack Obama for their losses in the Senate, saying they were beleaguered by a deeply unpopular White House. After months of bitter and costly campaigning, Republicans took the control of the Senate in Tuesday’s midterm elections. The Republican Party picked up at least seven Senate seats, securing a majority in the 100-member chamber. Republicans won races in Arkansas,... 

With just about every poll and pundit predicting Republican success in Tuesday’s elections, conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh told listeners the outcomes wouldn’t even have been close if the GOP paid more attention to its tea party base. Limbaugh was reacting to a Politico piece posted Monday, “Mainstream GOP Sees Tipping Point vs. Insurgent Candidates,” that aimed to explain Republicans... 

The Obama administration “has no foreign policy,” says Rep. Paul Ryan, the GOP’s 2012 vice-presidential candidate. While we may tune out this kind of election year rhetoric, similar complaints, no matter which president is being denounced, are common on both sides of the aisle. When the Democrats are in power we hear it from Republicans, and when the GOP is in the saddle we hear similar... 

Two Air Force nuclear commanders have been fired, with a third facing disciplinary measures, after the service cited a “loss of confidence” in their ability to lead their units, once again drawing attention to troubles within the US nuclear corps. The terminations come as the Air Force continues to reckon with leadership problems. Earlier this year, nine nuclear commanders were fired in connection... 

A voting machine in Bexar Co., Texas, shows everyone on the ballot running for governor except Republican Greg Abbott, the favorite to win the election. In place of Abbott’s name, the voting machine at the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Antonio displays outgoing Lt. Governor David Dewhurst instead, who’s not even in the race, further fueling concerns over the accuracy of electronic voting. “At... 

It’s time for the UK to have an independent foreign policy and stop being a cheerleader for Washington, says former London mayor, Ken Livingstone. But politicians know that posing a threat to US interests may end badly for you, he told RT. Livingstone, a vocal critic of Britain’s military involvement in Iraq, believes that since as far back as the First World War, the United States, with Britain’s... 

The United States refused to negotiate with Russia on the deployment of GLONASS navigation system on its territory, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said. According to him, there are no negotiations being conducted on the subject. “We made the statement in spring. I offered to initiate talks with the United States to deploy GLONASS infrastructure on their territory. For the time of the... 

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says Kiev will reconsider its commitment to a ceasefire pact with pro-Russia forces after they held their own elections in the country’s east. On Monday, Poroshenko described the recent presidential and parliamentary elections in the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk as “a gross violation” of a September truce deal between Ukraine and pro-Russians,...