On Thu, 08 Jul 2010 21:07:15 +0100, [email protected] wrote: >[email protected] wrote: >> On Thu, 08 Jul 2010 11:42:09 +0100, >> [email protected] wrote: >> >...assuming that '...in the country' means we can exclude Northern Ireland. >> I think you can't. Do you want to exclude Wales too? > >Yes, quite possibly. I tend to take the view that England, Scotland and Wales >are three countries which happen to come under the same government for some >things.
So do you think that Catalonia, Burgundy, Saxony, Newfoundland, etc. are countries? That way madness lies IMHO. I tend to take the view that a country ceases to be a country when it merges with another country. So, at present, none of the following -- England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales -- is a country. They are all parts (i.e. regions) of a country - The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. They have regional, not national, governments. So, I think they're also not nations. If they were, they would be eligible for membership in the United Nations. But they aren't. However, the past is another country. Adrian Adrian Stott Tel. UK (0)7956-299966
