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Flags of the World

Based on what? What does Canada have to gain from unification that it could not get through close ties, free trade agreements, and other confederacies that still preserve sovereignty?

Unification is the most logical alternative.

180pxspock252cunificati.jpg
http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/8552/180pxspock252cunificati.jpg
 
I think the chances of Australia and New Zealand unifying are about the same as America and Canada. In other words, not very high.

I would suggest that the Kiwis take a look at the current and recent crop of Aussie politicians, and then consider whether they would want to be largely governed from Canberra by such corrupt and ineffectual bozos.

For Kiwis, substitute Cannucks; for Aussie, substitute US; for Canberra, substitute Washington.

Consideration of flag aesthetics is not a good basis for unifying nation states.
 
Based on what? What does Canada have to gain from unification that it could not get through close ties, free trade agreements, and other confederacies that still preserve sovereignty?

About half of the US political establishment probably is less than thrilled about the idea either. If they aren't even willing to give the tiny DC real representation why would they hand it to the Canadians who as a bloc would push politics significantly to the left?
 
I would suggest that the Kiwis take a look at the current and recent crop of Aussie politicians, and then consider whether they would want to be largely governed from Canberra by such corrupt and ineffectual bozos.

Indeed, such corrupt and ineffectual leadership as has led Australia to have the strongest economy and the brightest future prospects of any advanced nation. :lol:

The question of closer relations potentially extending to unification is entirely in New Zealand's hands. The benefits are almost entirely theirs, as are the costs. The point is that Australia has traditionally held the door open for New Zealand, and changing the flag such that the two nations no longer have similar flags is to close it, however slightly.
 
At least that’s better than the original proposal to add a star and a stripe for each state. Can you imagine a flag with 50 red-and-white stripes? It would look like an awning in front of a candy shop.

Kind of like the proposed EU 'Barcode' flag:

500pxunioneuropeasegunr.png


:ack:

Watching that fly in a stiff wind would probably give some people seizures.

There would HAVE to be controversy about the order in which countries are represented on the flag.

This must've been proposed before the influx of the Slavic/Baltic states. I like it, it's a simple west-to-east sweep of all the flags at the time.
 
I would suggest that the Kiwis take a look at the current and recent crop of Aussie politicians, and then consider whether they would want to be largely governed from Canberra by such corrupt and ineffectual bozos.

Indeed, such corrupt and ineffectual leadership as has led Australia to have the strongest economy and the brightest future prospects of any advanced nation. :lol:

It helps that Australia has a relatively small population and a country stuffed full of mineral resources that China and other rapidly expanding Asian economies need. The crap politicians got lucky.
 
Based on what? What does Canada have to gain from unification that it could not get through close ties, free trade agreements, and other confederacies that still preserve sovereignty?

I'm talking long term, not next week. LOOOOONG term, like 75, 100, or 125 years down the road.

I see more things like the European Union popping up. I can imagine the US and Canada becoming "united" in such a fashion, Australia and New Zealand too.

Let's face it, France is not a part of Germany and Germany is not a part of France, but they are still "united" in ways that would have been considered unthinkable 100 years ago.

Remember, unification does not have to mean that the US continues while Canada is absorbed or vice versa. Unification can still happen with each country remaining relatively intact, but each answering to a hierarchy that did not previously exist.
 
Based on what? What does Canada have to gain from unification that it could not get through close ties, free trade agreements, and other confederacies that still preserve sovereignty?

I'm talking long term, not next week. LOOOOONG term, like 75, 100, or 125 years down the road.

I see more things like the European Union popping up. I can imagine the US and Canada becoming "united" in such a fashion, Australia and New Zealand too.

Let's face it, France is not a part of Germany and Germany is not a part of France, but they are still "united" in ways that would have been considered unthinkable 100 years ago.

Remember, unification does not have to mean that the US continues while Canada is absorbed or vice versa. Unification can still happen with each country remaining relatively intact, but each answering to a hierarchy that did not previously exist.


Not gonna happen, I'll wager. Canada, while looking similar to the US has a much different culture, and it's the little things that make up Canada. For one thing, Canada values its cultures and doesn't seek to be a melting pot unlike the US. Canada actually likes its French connection, something which seems to be at odds in the U.S. These are just some of the things that are too different to make a "unification" viable.
 
Canada has changed flags fairly recently in the grand scheme of things. I mean, most people living today don't know of any other. So I'm all for change, but lay off the fucking kangaroos already.
Canadians fuck kangaroos?
 
Based on what? What does Canada have to gain from unification that it could not get through close ties, free trade agreements, and other confederacies that still preserve sovereignty?

I'm talking long term, not next week. LOOOOONG term, like 75, 100, or 125 years down the road.

I see more things like the European Union popping up. I can imagine the US and Canada becoming "united" in such a fashion, Australia and New Zealand too.

Let's face it, France is not a part of Germany and Germany is not a part of France, but they are still "united" in ways that would have been considered unthinkable 100 years ago.

Remember, unification does not have to mean that the US continues while Canada is absorbed or vice versa. Unification can still happen with each country remaining relatively intact, but each answering to a hierarchy that did not previously exist.

I suggested free trade agreements as certainly a possibility. I think other types of similar agreements are possible, but always between Sovereign nations. Keep in mind this line of discussion started as a discussion of national union between Australia and New Zealand. There's no need for either to unify as a single nation. France and Germany are not a single nation, for example.
 
you're living in cloud cuckoo land if you believe that. half of the EU/NATO nations didn't join in the Iraq War when the UK and Spain did and of the euro nations involved in Afghanistan, several aren't even engaged in combat ops, leaving it to the US/UK/Canadian/Australian forces to do most of the major fighting in Helmand and the other sourthern provinces.

they can't even get the frigging single currency to work properly. and when Greece's economy went tits-up, the other Euro-zone nations couldn't agree on how to solve the problems.
 
One of the arguments I've heard against - or for, depending on one's perspective - changing the Australian flag is that it further divides Australia from New Zealand, eroding solidarity between the two nations and pushing national unification just that tiny bit further out of reach.

I've never even heard of there being any kind of movement to "unify" New Zealand and Australia.

I'd never heard of this either.

Wow. Learn something new every day.
 

Note to the designer: the term is "tricolour", not "try colour". Ugh. My eyeballs are bleeding.

For something different, this page has a lot of different city flags.

It may just be me, but I find most city flags incredibly ugly. What is it that makes the designers feel that they have to write the name of the city on the flag? Baton Rouge may be the worst offender... a script font? Really?
 
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