tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5430917408212835186.post5851629340423415939..comments2023-03-26T09:32:07.414+02:00Comments on Metis Meets Mittington: Spanish Banking (3)Alfred B. Mittingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408858308842184986noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5430917408212835186.post-24395666772631233232012-06-07T11:06:42.132+02:002012-06-07T11:06:42.132+02:00Dear Ms Azra,
Well, you obviously suffer from tha...Dear Ms Azra,<br /><br />Well, you obviously suffer from that most deadly virtue of the young: optimism! Which is why you take a most rosy and logical view of things, in which neat ideas are necessarily appreciated by all reasonable human beings. Need I say it? Experience has taught me that humans do not work that way. At all.<br /><br />Your Qatar proposal is a fun plan which indeed might work if accepted. But it will not, for the simple reason that pride, patriotism and the sense of property would immediately flame up once it were proposed. I can just hear the outcry from Ceuta and Melilla residents: 'What? We either must become Moors or leave the birthplace that is ours?' And they would not be totally wrong. After all: forcing people to make a choice (even between two good things) is not completely the same as true Freedom.<br /><br />Lastly (and this one is for dear Colin as well): claims to territory by nation states are rarely - if ever - about the well-being of the local residents. That is merely the good pretext for a refusal to budge. It is about mineral resources and geo-political advantages. The Falklands sit on oil. Gibraltar controls the entrance to the Mediterranean. And so on and so forth. One does not sell such things for mere money.<br /><br />Greetings to you both, Al B.M.Alfred B. Mittingtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09408858308842184986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5430917408212835186.post-60956751231705730782012-06-06T16:56:56.623+02:002012-06-06T16:56:56.623+02:00Errr. . . While most of us would happily let them ...Errr. . . While most of us would happily let them go, the Falkland islands already belong to Britain. Treaty of Utrecht, 1813, I think. Or is that Gib? Another place most of us would happily let go of.Colin Davieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17034285745883721921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5430917408212835186.post-75640415227528466182012-06-06T13:52:49.039+02:002012-06-06T13:52:49.039+02:00Well Mr. Mittington, I credit my seemingly endless...Well Mr. Mittington, I credit my seemingly endless bouts of curiosity (and an equal amount of enthusiasm for research - the one area in my life where I don't give in to laziness) for the amount of useless information I tend to cultivate.<br /><br />Perhaps I'm an optimistic fool, which is most likely. But let me elaborate on my recommendation:<br /><br />I was thinking more along the lines of foreign investment, since the EU is in enough trouble and cannot bail itself out. Due to the complexity of the situation (and its location) Llivia could be excluded from this plan and left to be. However, in my opinion, there's no reason Ceuta and Melilla can't be sold off to one of the richest nations i.e. Qatar since the Qatari government has more money than they spend and they also have a penchant for acquiring such things (which is the reason they own a hefty chunk of the UK, London in particular)... and then let Morocco and Qatar hackle over territory...<br /><br />The Spanish residents in both Ceuta and Melilla can be given the option of returning to the Motherland where they can be assimilated into whatever region they choose - or they can become citizens of Qatar - reaping incentives akin to the people of Brunei. <br /><br />The same would go for the Balearic and Canary Islands. <br /><br />Since the British is all too keen on acquiring more land (aka the Falklands), why not use that time, money and effort into acquiring the Balearic and Canary Islands? Would it not be better to own something closer to home? And again, residents could choose to leave for the Motherland or become British Nationals.<br /><br />Anyway, as far as drastic measures go, it would seem the safest option. Or maybe not. I'm aware that there'd be quite an uproar.Azhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11274624534284532361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5430917408212835186.post-71379249645309545562012-06-06T12:56:02.817+02:002012-06-06T12:56:02.817+02:00My dear girl, where do you get it all from??? I...My dear girl, where do you get it all from??? I've been living in the Peninsula for decades, and NEVER heard of Llivia...! <br /><br />Unfortunately your proposal is doomed to failure. Granted: the Germans might just be interest in buying the Balearic islands (they already own half of it), but the native population might just not be too happy with the prospect. Ibid the Canary Islands. As for Llivia: the Catalans would balk at the idea, because this enclave is part of the Greater Catalunya, which includes the Spanish province of that name and the French province right above it, which must all be combined to form the future new nation of the Republic of Catalonia... Ceuta and Melilla? Morocco won't pay a cent for it, since they claim it is already theirs by right, even if it isn't in their possession at present. And so on...<br /><br />Lastly, the decision to sell all these territories claimed by strongly separatist peripheral nations would be taken by the central Spanish government based on Madrid, to the benefit of the State of Spain. Civil Wars have broken out over less in this country! So please do not give Mr Rajoy any ideas! The place is in enough trouble as it is!<br /><br />Yours, ABMAlfred B. Mittingtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09408858308842184986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5430917408212835186.post-72167420155164367092012-06-06T12:38:41.233+02:002012-06-06T12:38:41.233+02:00I'm no expert on the political or socio-econom...I'm no expert on the political or socio-economic situation but here's my recommendation:<br /><br />Spain should sell off the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands and Ceuta and Melilla, the two autonomous cities that border Morocco... and even the enclave of LlĂvia situated inside French territory should be up for sale - to the highest bidders. <br /><br />I wonder if that is possible and how much money they'd make.Azhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11274624534284532361noreply@blogger.com