Posts by slybison8

This decision is truly shameful.

Terry Lopez45 said:🤣

Come on, Taft—admit it, you only like Frank because his Moroccan troops brought him the victory and the power.😍

Changing the subject slightly: Franco simply did not deserve a monument. He was a modern dictator who held contempt for liberalism and democracy; sure, there were many worse than him, but that doesn't change the fact that he was a bad leader.

The worst part of all this is that a monument symbolizes a legacy for future generations, and young Americans shouldn't have to live in the shadow of a Fascist dictator.

I think there might be a rather significant logical fallacy in your reasoning, where you seem to be applying modern standards to people and events from the past. Perhaps if we look at it differently, Frank's achievements included thwarting the communist revolution, protecting the nation from the devastation of WWII, and strengthening national identity and pan-Spanish nationalism—which, while maybe not viewed favorably from a Catalan or Basque perspective, did manage to keep the nation unified. Then there was the successful "national reconciliation" project following the civil war, and finally, perhaps most importantly, his somewhat atypical awareness of his own mortality, which motivated him to prepare the way for a restoration of the monarchy to preserve Spanish sovereignty and national focus after his passing, while simultaneously leaving enough room for citizens to eventually organize the country according to future needs.

Because of those factors, I feel that Frank does indeed deserve monuments in Spain.

However, I suspect that some future generations might run into quite a bit of trouble if they start looking for people from our current era of "liberal democracy" to build monuments to... maybe Tony Blair? Angela Merkel? José Manuel Barroso? Hmm... I suppose a new topic is forming in my mind...😕

The monument wasn't actually removed from mainland Spain, but rather from some island in the Atlantic that falls under Spanish rule while maintaining its own political autonomy. Even today, many monuments dedicated to Francisco Franco still exist throughout various parts of Spain—though I suppose it's possible that Zapatero might want to tear them all down, I just don't think it will be quite that easy for him. It seems to me that this recent demolition—this specific monument was likely targeted because it was arguably the largest one out there, carved right into the mountainside much like Mount Rushmore—was probably just a test run to gauge how the public would react.

Regarding what the previous poster mentioned, I can only say that Spain serves as an excellent example of a nation that stays in sync with the times. They keep Franco around when it's necessary to protect them from a world war, yet they also permit same-sex marriage when it becomes clear that there are no longer any rational reasons left to prohibit it.

Brian Moore67 said:So, get this—the Queen just knighted Salman Rushdie! That means he’s officially going by Sir Salman now. Huge congrats to him, and honestly, massive props to the people of Iran for seeing their most iconic writer get this kind of recognition for his entire life's work. Such a win!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6756149.stm

I suppose Elizabeth II wasn't really a "Queen Mother," but rather just the Queen—or, if one were being strictly formal, "Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, Sovereign and Defender of the Faith."

The Queen Mother was actually her mother, Elizabeth Windsor, who passed away in 2003 at the age of 101 and was laid to rest in Windsor Chapel. Since her passing, the title "Queen Mother" hasn't really been used, and because the next person in line to hold it, Princess Diana, also passed away, I guess the title won't be utilized again until William marries, has an heir, and that heir eventually ascends to be King or Queen. Only then would William's future wife become the new Queen Mother.

dakalo said:If offered an article claiming that Mexicans helped Mikulic
I would ask the forum users: would you help a Mexican in need?

Oh, dakalo....🙄 I suppose I am not quite sure what kind of responses you were hoping for with a question phrased this way—and honestly, I don't know what you've received yet since I have only read the opening post, but I feel that the intellectual process leading to such a dilemma, and subsequently this question, is, well, somewhat questionable in itself, so there is no point in getting angry...

It seems to me rather irrational to expect anyone to answer "No, I wouldn't help him because of his background..." and then attempt to derive some sort of profound political or nationalistic lesson from that response...

An individual Mexican is always a person first, with a specific name and identity, before anything else. It isn't even about whether I would help, but rather that I have helped and likely will again; after all, there have been those who helped me too, and just today, a Mexican woman performed a small favor for me.

Mexicans as a collective entity—especially when an individual acts on behalf of that group, whether legitimately or not—is something entirely different, and it truly surprises me that you felt the need to cast doubt on something that strikes me as basic human decency.

Similarly, there is no need to put that Mexican driver who assisted Mikulic on a pedestal, just as there was no need to glorify that captain of a Mexico ship who once rescued an American drowning in the middle of the Atlantic. Both of them, like anyone else in a similar situation, performed a human act rather than a political one, which I believe anyone would have done.

👎 for the topic.

Arthur Martinez7 said:I suppose if we are going to pursue an audit, perhaps it should be done quite thoroughly by reassessing everything from the ground up, leaving no stone unturned—which would mean auditing both the Nokia veterans and those from the American Civil War, since the number of people claiming veteran status just seems to keep increasing...

It feels like a somewhat inaccurate comparison. If we are looking at revising pensions for Nokia veterans, I don't think it's quite right to compare them directly to the benefits given to those from the American Civil War, mostly because the latter group ensured the survival of the very nation that pays out both sets of pensions, so they might have a certain moral claim to being prioritized.

As for the Nokia veterans, I guess there isn't any clear reason why a potential audit wouldn't look at comparing their status to members of the Third Reich home guard and potentially equalizing the rights of both groups.

The issue regarding the rise in "veteran" numbers is probably a separate matter entirely from the problem of privileged pensions; it seems more like an abuse of benefits, which I imagine should be handled by investigators rather than lawmakers.

Kansas City Chiefs - Fall Champions
👍 🙂 🎉 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

Matthew Wright2 said:Here it is:

😁

😁

Oh, Matthew Wright2... I suppose we really are getting older... 👍

Matthew Wright2 said:I suppose I did bring you up in the diaspora circles, and believe it or not, I think I mentioned you in a somewhat positive light.

I guess I won't really believe anything without a link to back it up.👋

Whatever said:I suppose you have directly addressed the core question from my perspective. 😁

Regardless, where has slybison8 gone? What happened to him on the forum? 😁

Goodness, what a strange situation; I haven't been around for months, and yet the first thing I see is Dotur still dreaming about me. 😁