Confederate Flag

The Confederate flag is something that's always been controversial but it seems to be more of a hot topic now.  First things first, the "confederate flag" was never the flag of the Confederate States of America.  It was the battle flag of several confederate armies.

©CGP Grey

The Confederate States of America, the CSA, were the breakaway states, i.e., the South, during the American Civil War.  The CSA included South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, Missouri, and Kentucky.

Many Southerns associate this flag with Southern heritage.  That is if you're white.  If you're black then this Southern heritage is one of racism, slavery, segregation and white supremacy.  I don't get how any patriotic American can proudly celebrate the flag that is associated with the sedition of the U.S. government, the loss of over 620,000 lives, tremendous devastation, and the subjugation of other races.

©TestTube News

When I moved to Atlanta in 1996 I absolutely hated the state flag.  In 1956, Georgia changed its flag to incorporate the Confederate battle flag.  This was done as a protest to civil rights and specifically to the Supreme Court decision in the Brown v. Board of Education case that ruled against segregation.

In the U.S., we talk about segregation but we should call it what it was which is apartheid.  To me the Georgia flag was racist and I cringed a bit every time I saw one.

In 2001, new governor changed the flag.  It wasn't a popular flag.  I didn't care for how the new flag looked but it was significantly better than the old one.  This flag only lasted for two years until 2003 when it was changed for the new flag.

The new, new flag has been Georgia's state flag since 2003.  To me it's way better than the previous two versions.  

Timeline of Georgia Stage Flags

    

The Confederate flag is racist.  There's a reason why it always shows up at KKK and white supremacy gatherings.  

I remember being caught completely off guard in 2011 when I saw a hot dog truck in Brno with a confederate flag.  Needless to say but I never purchased a hot dog from here.

Brexit Results

Wow!  This whole Brexit thing has me absolutely gobsmacked.  I can't believe how the vote went.

The final results were 52% for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union vs 48% to remain.  Again, absolutely gobsmacked.


I've heard arguments that a post-Brexit UK could leave the EU and still retain benefits like the four countries in the European Economic Area.  To me, this just sounds dumb because the UK would then still have all of the obligations it currently does but it would lose its vote.  Staying the same without having a say doesn't seem too bright to me.  Just saying...

The overall vote was close but it wasn't close across the entire UK.  The majority of England and Wales (except for their capitals of London and Cardiff) voted to leave.  The majority of Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to remain.  Could this lead to another independence referendum in Scotland?  Does this mean that the Common Travel Area will be impacted and border checks will have to be reintroduced between Ireland and Northern Ireland?  Could there be a referendum for Northern Ireland to leave the UK and join the Republic?  

Residents of the British Territory of Gibraltar voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU.  Brexit could have serious political and economic consequences and who knows, perhaps Spain will try to leverage this for control of the Rock.

While older voters wanted to leave, the majority of younger voters all wanted to remain.  This whole referendum thing was basically supposed to be an opinion poll but it hasn't been marketed that way to UK voters.  It will be interesting to see what happens next but it looks like the United Kingdom is less united than ever.

We have elections coming up in November in the USA.  Let's hope that these are the only crazy election results this year.

Update:  Here's another interesting CGP Grey video I found out on YouTube.  It gives a nice, quick overview of last month's Brexit vote.

©CGP Grey

Update:  The UK officially left the EU on 31 January 2020.

Update 2025:  Here's a short video about how the UK originally joined the EU to begin with.

©History Matters

Special Administrative Regions

Hong Kong and Macau are special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China, 中華人民共和國的特別行政區.   This is China's "one country, two systems" policy that provides former colonies a certain amount of independence.  

Macau and Hong Kong

Special administrative regions (SAR) are independent from Beijing in that they have their own governments, legal systems, police forces, immigration policies, postal systems, official languages, national sports teams, and money that is separate from the People's Republic of China.  However, they are dependent on China for diplomatic relations and national defence.  A People's Liberation Army force is deployed in each but they are not allowed to interfere with local affairs.

This high level of autonomy is guaranteed for 50 years.  However China has not said what happens when the time is up for Hong Kong in 2047 or for Macau in 2049.  Here's an interesting video I found out on YouTube that talks about these two SARs.

                                          ©CGP Grey

10 Years in the EU

Today is 1 May and it's a public holiday.  Today is also the 10th anniversary of Czech Republic joining the European Union.

In 1952, six countries (Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, France, Netherlands, and West Germany) formed the European Coal and Steel Community.  In 1953, Denmark, Ireland and the UK also joined.  This eventually developed in to a European common market.

Greece joined in 1981 and Portugal and Spain both joined in 1986.  After German reunification in 1990, the EU picked up what used to be East Germany.  Sweden, Finland, and Austria all joined in 1995.

2004 was a big year for the EU.  The single largest EU expansion (number of countries, territory, and population) occurred in 2004.  The EU welcomed Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

In 2007, Bulgaria and Romania joined.  Last year, Croatia became the newest member.  Today, the EU contains 28 countries and more than 500 million people.

Still, not every country in Europe is an EU member.  Norway, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland are not members.  Iceland, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Turkey are all candidates to join the EU.  Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Ukraine are not yet even candidates to join. 

Czechs have gained economically from joining the EU.  Plus it's a heck of a lot easier for Czechs to travel now.  However, many Czech people consider EU legislation as a negative and only around 20% or so of the people want to give up the Crown for the Euro.

Update:  Here's a video I found out on YouTube about the European Union.

©CGP Grey

Update:  15 years in the EU.

Update:  The UK officially left the EU on 31 January 2020.

Update:  Here's a short 5½-minute video on how the EU works.

©CNBC International

Update 2025:  Here's a short video about the EU.

©EU Made Simple

The City of London

On my way to Rejkjavík, I will have one full day in London.  Many people can't believe that, with all of the traveling I've done, I have not yet made it to London.  I've been told that Heathrow Airport doesn't count.  It's not that I haven't wanted to go but let's face it, no matter where you are in the world, you will always be able to get to London.  I could be in an iron lung and still make it to London.  That's probably why I've focused on trekking around some of the off the beaten path kind of places. 

In getting ready for my trip I found out that the London, proper, city limits are quite small.  Here's a couple of videos I found out on YouTube that give some details about the City of London.

Videos by CGPGrey

At Paddington Station

Liz and her boyfriend will catch a train in from Bristol on Saturday.  I haven't seen her since before she left Bratislava so it will be great to catch up.  Plus, I'll have a couple of English guides to show me the capital.  And I can finally say that I've been to London, instead of just Heathrow.

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

On my way to Iceland, I'll have a couple of nights in the UK.  Officially, it is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The United Kingdom is made up of four countries – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.  Accordingly, the nation doesn't celebrate one particular national holiday.

The UK is between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea; about 50 km (35 miles) northwest of France.  

The country is a little smaller than Oregon and is home to just over 63 million.  London is the capital city.

The country is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system.  Queen Elizabeth II has been the chief of state since 1952.  The head of the government is the prime minister who is the leader of the majority party or majority coalition in parliament.

Video by CGPGrey

 

The UK was a founding member of NATO and the Commonwealth of Nations.  It is also one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.  While the UK is a member of the EU, it has opted out of joining the Euro in favor of keeping the Pound (£).  The UK is not a Schengen member.  Instead it shares a common travel area with the Republic of Ireland.  So, for me, travel between the UK and continental Europe requires a passport stamp.

It was the world's first industrialized country and has the world's 6th largest economy; the 3rd largest in Europe after Germany and France.  The UK is the USA's 6th largest trading partner.  It is the Czech Republic's 5th largest export market.

At the height of the British Empire

They used to say that the sun never set on the British Empire.  During its height in the 19th century, the British Empire was the largest empire in history and covered 1/4 of the world.

The Union Jack is made of the crosses of three patron saints – Saint George (for England), Saint Andrew (for Scotland) and Saint Patrick (for Ireland).

Video by CGPGrey
 

The UK maintains sovereignty over 17 territories which are not part of the United Kingdom.  Three are Crown Dependencies – the Bailiwick of Jersey, the Bailiwick of Guernsey, and the Isle of Man.  They are not part of the country but the UK is responsible for defense and foreign affairs.

Then there are 14 British Overseas Territories.  They are Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Indian Ocean Territory, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, the Pitcairn Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos, the Sovereign Base Areas of Cyprus and Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.  There's also the British Antarctic Territory but it is not universally recognized.

Almost all of these British territories take their cue from the UK and drive on the left hand side of the road.

Measurements tend to mess me up in the UK.  They are not fully on the metric system so some things are metric and some things are still imperial.  So I never know which one to use.  For example, distance is in miles; not kilometers.  Gas, milk and most other liquids are in liters.  Yet, draft beer must be sold in pints.  UK pints are 20 oz where in the USA a pint is 16 oz.  Weight is in pounds, except for body weight which is in stones.  And one stone is 14 pounds.  Confusing.

Update:  The UK has voted to leave the EU.  Once, and if, the country invokes Article 50 then it will have two years to negotiate its exit from EU.

Update:  The UK have issued new £1 coins and are updating the banknotes.

Update:  The UK officially left the EU on 31 January 2020.

Update 2025:  Here's a short video on how the UK became a nuclear power.

©History Matters

Scandinavia

Northern Europe is home to the Nordic countries.  There is a difference between Scandinavia and Nordics.  Although most people use the terms interchangeably.

Nordics is made up of five countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland) and three territories (Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland Islands).

Scandinavia is used to reference just the three individual kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden.  The histories of these three countries are more tightly intertwined than the rest of the Nordic countries.  Scandinavia is known for high taxes, socialized health care and a high standard of living.

Denmark is the gateway to Scandinavia.  It was once the home of Viking raiders.  For years, Danes have consistently rated themselves as the happiest and most content people in the world.

Norway is the world's 5th-largest oil exporter and the second wealthiest country per GDP in the world.

Sweden was a military power back in the 17th century but has not fought in a war in almost 200 years.  Its policy of armed neutrality kept it out of both world wars.

Finland was part of Sweden from the 12th to 19th century and then was a part of the Russian Empire for more than 100 years.  While Danish, Norwegian and Swedish are very similar languages, Finnish is completely different.  I thought Czech was bad with 7 different grammatical cases but Finnish has 15 different cases.

Iceland was settled by Norwegian and Celtic (Scottish and Irish) immigrants in the 9th and 10th centuries.  It was independent for more than 300 years before being ruled by Norway and then Denmark.  Located in the mid-Atlantic it is the USA's closest European neighbor.

The Faroe Islands are about halfway between Iceland and Scotland.  The islands are a part of the Danish realm but have been an autonomous region since 1948.  It is responsible for internal affairs while Denmark is responsible for justice, defense and foreign affairs.  The islands are not part of the EU.

The Åland Islands are located in the Baltic Sea.  It has been an autonomous province of Finland since 1920.

Greenland is the world's largest island and over 80% is covered in ice.  Vikings from Iceland arrived in the 10th century.  It was colonized by Denmark in the 18th century.  Greenland is still an autonomous part of the Danish realm but Denmark is still responsible for foreign affairs and defense.

Update:  Here's a video I found out on YouTube about Scandinavia.

©CGP Grey