A New Country Being Born

Catalonia is about to split from Spain it looks like. I have no idea what the right thing is, but it is intersting to watch from afar. Spain has done some pretty shockng things, like shooting rubber bullets at voters at the polls and pullng voters away from voting places.
And if it happens the dominoes might start to fall. I guess Spain and Catalonia would automatically get kcked out of the EU. Which might be the final death knell of the EU. Which meansthe Russkies get more influence in Europe.

Intersting times. Remember, the assassination of a little known prince in Austria caused one of the bloodiest wars in history.

BKB

I heard Ferdinand was gonna make Austria Great Again until he was gunned down. Had a hat and everything!

Attachment 9442

Why do princes only have three stars and sheriffs get to wear four?

BKB

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Originally Posted by BarryBobPosthole

Why do princes only have three stars and sheriffs get to wear four?

BKB

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Illuminati confirmed.

Seriously, I've been trying to bring myself up to speed regarding this Spanish deal. It seems (to me) that one of the biggest gripes is Spain's redistribution of wealth. The Catalonia region is one of the wealthiest in Spain and they are taxed heavily, but receive very few benefits from those taxes. Most of their tax money is "redistributed" to the remaining regions. Kind of a Robin Hood situation, Spain takes from the rich and gives to the poor. Catalonia is getting tired of carrying the burden of the rest of the country and receiving very little in return. The EU thing "could" get a bit sticky because Spain would have the power to cast a negative vote for Catalonia's entry into the EU. Catalonia exports more goods than any other region of Spain. As an example, Catalonia exports approx. 70,000-million Euros in goods and the next highest exporter in the whole country is Madrid at approx. 30,000-million Euros. One problem they'll be facing is that they NEED to be accepted into the EU, because that's where a majority of their exports are sold.

It's a mess, but an interesting mess. Their biggest hurdle will be getting Spain and her allies to grant entry into the EU ... even then, it will take quite a bit of time to work through the process. Otherwise, they'll have their hands full establishing a currency (Euro's?) and banking relations as a new country. Of course, the biggest question is whether ol' Carles ends up eating a chunk of lead or gets arrested. This may be an interesting ride. As a side note, if they pull it off .... do you think Texas and California will follow? ;)

I've always wanted to visit Spain and see the old Roman roads and (surprise surprise) dive the balearic islands.

Question, do they speak Catalan there in their homes or spanish?

BKB

I thought you said California, I was getting happy. If California does secede, can we ship snowflakes out there? Then drop a little nuke in the San Andreas fault?

California and Catalonia are actually pretty good comparisons. As much as we like to joke about it, we probably couldn't afford to have California secede and neither can Spain.

News break! I suppose since we're bashing those snowflakes out in California it might be worth mentioning that they are predicting an almost $3 billion dollar state budget surplus. Say what you will about old Jerry and their methods but they've solved a lot of state issues that the other 49 states haven't

I now return you to your regularly scheduled complaining....
BKB

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Originally Posted by BarryBobPosthole

I've always wanted to visit Spain and see the old Roman roads and (surprise surprise) dive the balearic islands. Question, do they speak Catalan there in their homes or spanish?

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That's one of the reasons I've wanted to stay on top of the progress. Lynn and I were thinking of a cruise with a stop in Barcelona, but I don't know what the political situation will be once we pull the trigger. As for the language, most (percentage in the high 90's) in Catalonia speak both, but Catalan is the preferred language outside of Barcelona. The road signs are in both languages.

Barcelona has been on our radar too for a long time.
Not on a stinkin' cruise though.

BKB

We've gone through this a number of times with Quebec. The last referendum was in 1995 and the 'No' side squeeked by with 51% or some such. Too bad in a lot of ways as many Canadians, especially western Canadians would have been overjoyed to see them go it on their own. Unlike Catalonia, which is a net provider to the country, Quebec has been and will always be a net drain on the country. Like Spain, Canada also has a system of transfer payments wherebye the 'wealthy' provinces (read Alberta) send money to the 'poor' provinces. Quebec is a big time receiver.

Not sure what will happen in Spain.

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Originally Posted by BarryBobPosthole

Barcelona has been on our radar too for a long time. Not on a stinkin' cruise though.

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Curmudgeon! I absolutely LOVE cruises. Remember, it also gives you a chance to check out many places and possibly find someplace you'd like to return to on a vacation. You may also go somewhere you had wanted to go for a vacation and discover the place sucks Bucky peckers. ;)

Same stuff everywhere. On a state level, Loudoun and Fairfax Counties pay for pretty much everything the the other 93 counties of Virginia enjoy.

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Originally Posted by Thumper

Curmudgeon! I absolutely LOVE cruises. Remember, it also gives you a chance to check out many places and possibly find someplace you'd like to return to on a vacation. You may also go somewhere you had wanted to go for a vacation and discover the place sucks Bucky peckers. ;)

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Yes, you get to spend a whole four hours or so shopping in cheap souvineer stores.

BKB

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Originally Posted by LJ3

Same stuff everywhere. On a state level, Loudoun and Fairfax Counties pay for pretty much everything the the other 93 counties of Virginia enjoy.

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And what counties consume 90% of the services provided by. the state? There's an 80/20 rule for virtually everytjng.

BKb

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Originally Posted by BarryBobPosthole

Yes, you get to spend a whole four hours or so shopping in cheap souvineer stores.

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Number 1 - The LAST thing I do is go to a port side souvenir shop! I always head inland ... and seldom on one of those ship provided tours. We usually find a local and hire him to show us the non-touristy spots or to some of the touristy spots WITHOUT stopping at every souvenir shop in town to "stretch our legs"!

Number 2 - We don't eat at Carlos 'n Charlies ... we hang with the locals and eat where they eat.

Number 3 - I don't think I've ever stopped at a port for a 4-hour stop. It's always a minimum of 1-day, sometimes 2. Heck, I was on one cruise that stopped in Cozumel for three days.

Number 4 - I stated on one of these pages that there's a difference between a tourist and a traveler. I always try to be a traveler when I vacation.

Number 5 - Did I say you're an old curmudgeon? ;)

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Originally Posted by BarryBobPosthole

Why do princes only have three stars and sheriffs get to wear four?

BKB

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Depends on the Sheriff's ego. Some only wear one, but they are usually really big ones.


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We decided to hire the local driver and have him take us to the places he thought we should see when we were in Turkey on a cruise. That is the way to go in some locations. Probably wouldn't do it in Jamaica or Mexico though.


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I wonder is this will lead to the Basques pushing for self-determination too. There has been a nationalist movement amongst them for a long time.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Thumper

Number 1 - The LAST thing I do is go to a port side souvenir shop! I always head inland ... and seldom on one of those ship provided tours. We usually find a local and hire him to show us the non-touristy spots or to some of the touristy spots WITHOUT stopping at every souvenir shop in town to "stretch our legs"!

Number 2 - We don't eat at Carlos 'n Charlies ... we hang with the locals and eat where they eat.

Number 3 - I don't think I've ever stopped at a port for a 4-hour stop. It's always a minimum of 1-day, sometimes 2. Heck, I was on one cruise that stopped in Cozumel for three days.

Number 4 - I stated on one of these pages that there's a difference between a tourist and a traveler. I always try to be a traveler when I vacation.

Number 5 - Did I say you're an old curmudgeon? ;)

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We've seen the cruise ship crowds from the other side. Usually there are one or two 'cruise ship days' a week. They swarm like locusts and the traffic is bad, the dive boats are full of wetsuit wearing divers in 85 degree temps who suck all their gas in about thirty minutes causing everyone else to have to ascend with 1200 psi left, and those are the days we hit the nearest pool bar or local hideout and drink.

And I'm betting if Carlos and Charlie had a buffet and cricket bar you'd be there in a New York minute!

(I know it sounds snooty but I'm getting to where I hate diving with idiots)

BKb

I stand by the curmudgeon statement.

Just so you know, I despise tourists. I've lived with them all my life. Hence my traveler vs. tourist statement. You can be a tourist without looking and acting like one. :)

Point taken. I know how annoying the snowbirds are. I used to swear at every Michgan license plate
i saw when I lived there.

BKB

I live in Indiana along the Michigan border, and I swear at every Michigan plate I see too. [emoji4]

No offense JB.

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lol

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Originally Posted by BarryBobPosthole

And what counties consume 90% of the services provided by. the state? There's an 80/20 rule for virtually everytjng.

BKb

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I'm not speaking from an extremely informed opinion but I would guess it's far closer to 50/50 than 80/20. And these fuckface northern virginians always vote to the left, too.

I digress.

I'm salty today. I'll see myself out.