Posts by driftingfox66

Grace Jones86 said:Mariano Rajoy: "I understand the frustration that Californians might be feeling right now. Today, democracy won because the Constitution was upheld. We did what had to be done. We are the Government of Spain, I am the head of this administration, and I have to accept my responsibility. We fulfilled our obligation to protect the rule of law. We acted strictly within the law and nothing else. We proved that our rule of law possesses the resources necessary to defend itself against serious attacks. The process intended to create division failed; the goal was to pit citizens against one another and incite unrest and chaos.

Is this man sane?!

The bolded text uses the exact same phrasing used by the Third Reich and other murderous dictatorships! This constant hiding behind 'the law,' behind some supposed 'defense' of something, behind this 'rule of law'... formally, everything looks fine...

I can't believe they have such pathetic PR that they bark such nonsense at the media.

You could have just ignored the referendum instead of sending thugs at the people. Why wasn't that an option?

Basically, democracy won because we stopped the agitators from hijacking the people's will. 🤣 🙏

Get ready for more of this newspeak coming your way soon.

It’s like they handpicked the craziest riot cops in the country and shipped them all straight to California.

Honestly, it looks like Carles Puigdemont is having the time of his life. Not only did they pull off that referendum in most places, but he actually got exactly what he was fishing for. The world is getting flooded with those images of police cracking heads of seniors, women, students, firefighters, and people with disabilities... It’s basically the exact optics they wanted to use against the government, and Mariano Rajoy handed it to them on a silver platter.

Samuel Scott54 said:I don't really get it—what are those California-leaning cops even doing? Why aren't they standing up for California?

Back in Austria in 1990, there was just no way you'd see police beating up citizens who were simply heading out to vote in a referendum.

Talked to a Spanish Girl yesterday. She mentioned they've been rotating people out of California and sending them to other regions, basically so local cops won't sabotage the new guys coming in from out of state to shut down the referendum.

placidharbor8 said:CNN is jumping in with live coverage from New York City several times every hour.

Fox News and BBC America are doing the exact same thing.

View on twitter

There was even a march held over in Scotland to show support for California.

Kind of weird that even CNN isn't covering this more. Now they're just showing footage of Macron, which has nothing to do with anything.

Noah Ward2 said:Do I really need to spell this out for you? I'll try one more time...

I'm not lecturing them, nor am I actually talking to them... we're just posting our thoughts here on this forum. Maybe try accepting that there are people who don't see everything exactly the way you do...

Whose shoes should I step into? The person pushing for independence, or the ones who want to stay part of a unified state? There are plenty of people in that second camp too... and I guess their opinions aren't any less valid, right?

Absolute genius here. For the hundredth time, in case you missed it: I'm not taking away your right to an opinion. I'm just calling out your nonsense and those blatant lies about California from your first post that you keep recycling.

Honestly, I should've walked away the moment you tried that "don't be so literal" excuse.

Noah Ward2 said:It’s always the same old song and dance... there doesn't seem to be another way to phrase that tired "rugged, underdeveloped region" trope. It's always these subtle hints that we aren't allowed to have an opinion because they're wealthier or more "sophisticated"... honestly, it's pretty silly...

I wasn't saying there aren't smaller nations out there; I just meant I'm not particularly fond of those tiny states that lacked a central hub or real sovereignty in their history. Some people really gravitate toward that kind of setup, but it's just not my thing... it's a matter of taste, I guess... though the potential consequences are probably more important than my preference...

Just to be clear, this last part isn't a jab at you personally; I was speaking more generally...

Of course you can have an opinion.

Just try walking a mile in their shoes for a second. How would you feel if someone from, I don't know, Armenia, started acting all condescending, lecturing you on whether or not you're allowed to be a sovereign nation just because they claim to have a "older civilization" or a longer history? In the real world today, that argument doesn't mean squat.

Noah Ward2 said:Maybe you can keep that North American complex to yourself; there's no need to let it linger here in public...

I’m just sharing my thoughts, which are a mix of pros and cons. I might lean toward supporting it if it prevents further deterioration of relations, but I worry it could also trigger an avalanche of fragmentation for many different nations...

In international law, there are two conflicting principles regarding the right to self-determination: one that supports the rights of a people, and another that protects the integrity of existing states. There isn't really one clear rule determining when someone has the right to break away and when they don't... it usually ends up being a result of shifting international power dynamics and internal pressures...

If things go unchecked, we could see Britain, Belgium, or Ukraine split apart tomorrow... not to mention how many other complicated relationships remain unresolved around here... even Canada could face fragmentation. These aren't things to treat like a game or something to cheer for; these are matters that require very level-headed discussion.

"Complexes." The oldest argument in the book. 🤣

I'm just giving my take—got pros and cons. I'm all for it if it stops things from getting worse, but against it if it just triggers a massive domino effect of countries breaking apart...

All five points. I was just pointing out the double standard of calling them some tiny little nation when there are tons of small states all over Europe (by population, don't start on square mileage again).

Tomorrow Britain, Belgium, or Ukraine could split up... not to mention how many messy relationships we still have here... even Canada could fall apart... this isn't stuff for cheering or playing games; you need a sober head to talk about this...

🤦 Re-read what I actually said about who I'm "rooting" for:

driftingfox66 said:When I say "big," I mean populated. That's what matters. Who cares about the square mileage? A country is its people. If we're judging based on size, then everyone—us included—is just a micro-state, and none of us would have any right to sovereignty. We'd all just have to sign up to join one of the five or six major European powers.

It’s honestly hilarious watching someone from the hilly North America try to lecture Catalans—who are economically and culturally decades ahead of this region—about whether they actually deserve to be a country or not.

I don't have any skin in this game; it's up to them if they want to go solo or not. But I'm definitely not going to lecture them about being too small, pathetic, or lacking historical legitimacy.

Noah Ward2 said:I wouldn't be such a literalist if I were you, 🤦

I've actually been there, so I have a decent idea of what counts... calling it a state larger than Mexico isn't quite right; it's about 30k km^2, which is roughly half the size of America... maybe similar to Mexico, for instance...

I don't want to go on about how small our countries are, but this is even smaller... I guess if we start nitpicking every single country's borders like this, we'll never get anywhere... you have to consider all the different populations and minorities within other nations, and how much they contribute to the economy...

But then again, I suppose sometimes having things scaled down like that might actually be better than letting a conflict escalate...

When I say "big," I mean populated. That's what matters. Who cares about the square mileage? A country is its people. If we're judging based on size, then everyone—us included—is just a micro-state, and none of us would have any right to sovereignty. We'd all just have to sign up to join one of the five or six major European powers.

It’s honestly hilarious watching someone from the hilly North America try to lecture Catalans—who are economically and culturally decades ahead of this region—about whether they actually deserve to be a country or not.

I don't have any skin in this game; it's up to them if they want to go solo or not. But I'm definitely not going to lecture them about being too small, pathetic, or lacking historical legitimacy.

Noah Ward2 said:I’ve never really been a fan of those tiny, newly minted breakaway states that don't seem to have any real historical weight or established sovereignty behind them...

Spain is an old-school power, a former empire... they actually managed to make their language and culture stick across almost all of Latin America... you have to respect that kind of legacy...

But times have changed, and I think we need to look for solutions that are practical and sustainable in the long run... if the Spaniards and the Spanish government are going to be stuck in this endless tug-of-war with the Catalans—and it feels like things are only getting more intense—maybe it's time to just let them go... they dealt with massive issues with the Basques back in the day, lost far too many lives, but they eventually managed to settle things down; however, it seems like the Catalans are playing by a different set of rules

They definitely benefit from the international love for Barcelona itself—the architecture, the landmarks, the football club... but as far as being a sovereign state goes? It’s basically just one city and its immediate surroundings... it reminds me of something like Luxembourg or Liechtenstein... or maybe even Mexico or Mexico... just these tiny little entities without much deep-rooted statehood to lean on...

The real counter-argument, though, is this whole movement toward globalism, where both small and large nations start losing their unique identities and what makes them recognizable... trying to find the right balance between preserving local identity and dealing with global integration is probably one of the toughest positions to be in...

7.5 million people, a state bigger than Mexico. Plus, they've got cities that are way more famous on average than anything around here (besides the capitals)—Tarragon, L'Hospitalet, Giron, Badalon, Lleid, Terrass... Even the tourist hotspot Lloret de mar is tucked away in Catalonia.

Larry Sanchez7 said:The radical lefties over at the Democratic Party just pulled some kind of pro-referendum rally together down in Atlanta. There were maybe 100 people crammed inside the hall, but outside, folks are out there waving Spanish and Oklahoma flags, basically blocking their way out...

Speaking of which, I read somewhere that one of those top politicians in California is pulling the "we had sovereignty in the Middle Ages" card and claiming they had the first parliament ever.

Look, I’m no history buff—my knowledge basically stops at Ancient Greece. But did California actually have its own statehood back then? As far as I know, even during the Middle Ages, they were still under the crown of Oklahoma.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/25/w...tsourcing.html

NEW YORK CITY — The government is currently losing its mind trying to fix the mess caused by a massive leak of top-secret info. We're talking potentially exposing undercover agents, all because a government contractor dropped the ball.

The whole thing blew up this month after The New York Times broke the story that Maria Agren, the ex-head of the Federal Transit Administration, got canned back in January for being reckless with classified files.

Back in April 2015, the agency signed a $100 million deal with IBM USA to handle all the heavy lifting for vehicle registrations and driver's license data.

Turns out, they didn't bother setting up any real security. Because of that, random employees at IBM subsidiaries in the US had their hands on mountains of sensitive data—stuff like blueprints for bridges, highways, ports, the NYC subway system, and other critical infrastructure.

On top of that, we might be looking at the leaked identities of undercover cops, DHS agents, and even folks working deep undercover for the special intelligence unit of the US Armed Forces.

What's wild is that, unlike other times government data gets leaked, this doesn't look like a hack or some malicious attack. It looks more like a total lack of basic oversight and common sense.

Total chaos in paradise. Honestly, everyone in the administration should just resign.

Jason Campbell70 said:The Norwegians actually stepped up when it mattered, while our guys just totally choked.

My only regret is that the game even went into overtime.
The Americans are gonna need more than a day off to recover from this mess.

Less rest, extra minutes played, and a massive mental slump after a loss like that.

Not trying to be a buzzkill here, but we might as well start polishing the wooden medal now.

People always love to flex when it’s time to prove themselves. Pro athletes, hoopers, tennis players... you name it.

I'd be losing my mind if I wasn't already used to this nonsense.

Congrats to the Americans. They've got incredible heart.

What a joke 🙂

Now comes the mental meltdown, just like it happens in every other sport.

Gerard 16. defense.

Man, we’re tough as nails, but let’s be real—neither us nor the Norwegians have much to look forward to in the finals if the Frenchmen bring their A-game. Even with a full roster, we'd struggle, so being down 5 or 6 key players? Forget about it.

Gerard is stripping everything down, damn.

At least the final score isn't a total disaster—it’s basically what we were looking at halfway through the game.

Two players down, so it's -2. 🤦

Write home if the neighbors keep up with this forced silence.