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That's the thing about Spain.  It's sort of schizophrenic, because you have these highly industrialized, nationalist regions.  And then you have Madrid, the Castilles, and Andalucia. There's a historical basis for it, but it's strange the way these are the areas closest to France and the European core.

And I'll give my consent to any government that does not deny a man a living wage-Billy Bragg
by ManfromMiddletown (manfrommiddletown at lycos dot com) on Tue Jun 29th, 2010 at 07:13:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]
What do you think about the hihgly industrialised nationalist regions spearheading burqa bans in Spain?

By laying out pros and cons we risk inducing people to join the debate, and losing control of a process that only we fully understand. - Alan Greenspan
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Jun 30th, 2010 at 04:05:46 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Are you in favor of burquas in Spain?
Would you support the following 6 point program being adopted by the Spanish legislature and executive branches of government?

  1. Allow Spanish Muslim communities to practice Sharia if that's what works well for them.
  2. Tolerate (or even encourage) Muslim women being forbidden (by their husbands) from driving cars, or practicing certain professions (as they are in Saudi Arabia).
  3. Legalize state support (through social security funding) of Muslim families composed of 4 wives and 12 kids (like Lies Hebbadj in Nantes, France).
  4. Completely open up its southern borders in a sign of cultural tolerance.
  5. Finance 100+ mosques with public funds in 2011.
  6. And... of course, accept bourquas.
by Lynch on Wed Jun 30th, 2010 at 06:04:23 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I think the whole burqa ban thing is cheap immigrant-bashing by xenophobic parties.

A town in Spain just passed a burqa-banning ordinance. There appears to be exectly one burqa-wearing woman in the town.

Civil liberties are not advanced by that kind of immigrant-bashing.

By laying out pros and cons we risk inducing people to join the debate, and losing control of a process that only we fully understand. - Alan Greenspan

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Jun 30th, 2010 at 06:19:59 AM EST
[ Parent ]
LOL. Now that you had your slippery slippery slope argument, could you please answer me this: how does a burqua ban protect burqua-wearers actually forced by men to wear it from being forbidden leaving home on foot?

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.
by DoDo on Wed Jun 30th, 2010 at 06:28:29 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Conversely, what if it is legally permitted to wear a burqua, but nobody does because doing so would invite a stoning from the Christians?
by asdf on Wed Jun 30th, 2010 at 08:25:56 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Good point. We have witnessed many Christian stonings of Muslims over the past couple of years. The trend is clearly worrying.
by Lynch on Wed Jun 30th, 2010 at 10:19:43 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Yes, if Spain allows women to wear burqas, it's only a matter of time before they ban women from driving.  And before you know it, people are sleeping with their pets.

Or something.

Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin

by Drew J Jones (myfriends@thisispancakes.com) on Wed Jun 30th, 2010 at 06:30:38 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Mmm. Yes. And the Swiss cheese was a bit too salty, of course.
by Lynch on Wed Jun 30th, 2010 at 08:54:57 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Oh noes! The brown barbarians are taking over! He-alp! He-alp!
by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Wed Jun 30th, 2010 at 06:59:59 AM EST
[ Parent ]


Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin
by Drew J Jones (myfriends@thisispancakes.com) on Wed Jun 30th, 2010 at 07:18:08 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Is that a Spanish dog?
by Lynch on Wed Jun 30th, 2010 at 08:57:04 AM EST
[ Parent ]
What do you think about the hihgly industrialised nationalist regions spearheading burqa bans in Spain?

Mig, aren't we talking about a single town here? Plus, is this some local PP official showing off or is it something more.

My original comment was more about economic systems than anything else.  Economic institutions in the Basque Country have been more effective in resisting neoliberalism than elsewhere.  There's been more in the way of move tripartite agreements beyond simple incomes policies into things like the training programs that make German employment more stable.

Merkel and the fixation with austerity aside, there's a lot to be said for the way that the German model integrates labor into the process.

And I'll give my consent to any government that does not deny a man a living wage-Billy Bragg

by ManfromMiddletown (manfrommiddletown at lycos dot com) on Wed Jun 30th, 2010 at 05:06:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Mig, aren't we talking about a single town here?

No, actually, we're talking about a number of towns in a process spearheaded by Catalan nationalists.

By laying out pros and cons we risk inducing people to join the debate, and losing control of a process that only we fully understand. - Alan Greenspan

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Jun 30th, 2010 at 06:22:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I honestly didn't know that.  Is this CiU or ERC spearheading the effort.

The left/right divide is a lot more serious in the Catalan parties than they Basques, because the PNV has sucked up much of the space for nationalist politics there. There's not a lot left (at least legally) for left nationalist parties, although Aralar has been hanging on.

And I'll give my consent to any government that does not deny a man a living wage-Billy Bragg

by ManfromMiddletown (manfrommiddletown at lycos dot com) on Wed Jun 30th, 2010 at 06:43:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]
No, it is not actually mainstream nationalists. But now everyone is jumping on the bandwagon, from public schools in Pozuelo near Madrid to small towns in Andalusia to the right-wing (including nationalist) Spanish Senate majority passing non-binding resolutions.

By laying out pros and cons we risk inducing people to join the debate, and losing control of a process that only we fully understand. - Alan Greenspan
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Jun 30th, 2010 at 06:54:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I've said it before, but I'll beat a dead horse (me).

The problem with capitalism isn't exploitation, it's commodification. An ideology of economic growth starts to be questioned when that dissappears, and the truth of how much people and nature alike have been reduced to objects of exchange becomes clear.

They will seek to break free from that cage of being commodified, of being objects, and give their lives meaning.  That can come through a rediscovery of society in social democracy.  Or it can take the form of fascism.  The difference.  Is that the former supposes that all are equal, while the latter makes some hands to feed the head, and others simply alien to the body.

And I'll give my consent to any government that does not deny a man a living wage-Billy Bragg

by ManfromMiddletown (manfrommiddletown at lycos dot com) on Wed Jun 30th, 2010 at 07:33:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Ok, just read up some on this.

Wow.  

That said.  I think it's a bad law, but I'm not one to suggest that the community shouldn't be able to create community standards.  

If you reject that, you can't be a socialist. If your response to community standards is to shout out that this is the right of the individual, then your aren't a socialist.  

You're an anarchist.  And good luck on getting an organization for effective change together with that.

And I'll give my consent to any government that does not deny a man a living wage-Billy Bragg

by ManfromMiddletown (manfrommiddletown at lycos dot com) on Wed Jun 30th, 2010 at 06:50:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I suppose first and foremost I am a civil libertarian, even if "social liberals" tend to be too much to the economic right for my taste.

By laying out pros and cons we risk inducing people to join the debate, and losing control of a process that only we fully understand. - Alan Greenspan
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Jun 30th, 2010 at 06:56:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Sorry, I was a bit snappy there.

I guess I am just disappointed that discussions on the Left turn to these issues.  

For all the rejection of neoliberalism that you get out of many people, I think that there's a serious problem in that many of these same activists have a problem with there being such a thing as society unless they are in charge.

And I'll give my consent to any government that does not deny a man a living wage-Billy Bragg

by ManfromMiddletown (manfrommiddletown at lycos dot com) on Wed Jun 30th, 2010 at 07:29:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]
ManfromMiddletown:
disappointed that discussions on the Left turn to these issues
Letfies are people too...

By laying out pros and cons we risk inducing people to join the debate, and losing control of a process that only we fully understand. - Alan Greenspan
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jul 1st, 2010 at 04:14:09 AM EST
[ Parent ]

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