Apple to standardize iTunes music prices across Europe

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Comments

  • Reply 41 of 51
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross View Post


    You wouldn't have an integrated state either way. The EU is such a jumble of disconnected interests, I'm not sure you will ever be able to sort it out.



    The nation state has not died out.



    But we would GLADLY give you Bush. But you have to take Chaney as well.



    ROFL. I second that.
  • Reply 42 of 51
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by monstrosity View Post


    no i did not sat that did I. I know full well that scandinavia and brussels are exceptionally expensive, but they are small countries in comparison. UK is more expensive than the majority of europe/world.



    Brussels? Expensive? Haha, what a dork! Brussels is one of the cheapest European capitals I know, and I've lived there for a couple of years.



    Oh, and by the way, Brussels is a city, not a country you idiot...
  • Reply 43 of 51
    elijahgelijahg Posts: 2,753member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by camimac View Post


    Brussels? Expensive? Haha, what a dork! Brussels is one of the cheapest European capitals I know, and I've lived there for a couple of years.



    Oh, and by the way, Brussels is a city, not a country you idiot.



    Calm down... Let's keep the flaming to countries/governments and not people here shall we?
  • Reply 44 of 51
    I could have sworn it was the French who voted against the European Constitution last year.



    Oh, and they appear to be more expensive than us as a place to live in that Guardian piece too.



    And from friends that live there, the amount of bureaucracy they have to put up with makes Britain's jobsworths look positively liberal.



    But each country has it's plusses and minuses IME. My parents live in Spain, which has the most ridiculous property laws I've ever come across - downright criminal. On the other hand they get fantastic vegetables and fruit. We get uniformly round tomatoes with no taste.



    So what's 5p off an iTunes track, really.
  • Reply 45 of 51
    bsenkabsenka Posts: 799member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross View Post


    I know Canadians who say that.



    Say what? That they want to join the US, or that NAFTA just takes from us and gives nothing back?
  • Reply 46 of 51
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bsenka View Post


    Say what? That they want to join the US, or that NAFTA just takes from us and gives nothing back?



    Oh boy! You don't know!



    I've done a lot of business with Canada over the years. Whenever Quebec raises its ugly head about separation, I get this "I wish they would do it already, so the country would break up, and we'd join the US.".



    You'd be surprised at how much that happens.



    I doubt it's a majority, but it's a lot. If Quebec separated, the talk is that Canada couldn't survive as an entity. So, what would happen then?
  • Reply 47 of 51
    bsenkabsenka Posts: 799member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross View Post


    Oh boy! You don't know!



    I've done a lot of business with Canada over the years. Whenever Quebec raises its ugly head about separation, I get this "I wish they would do it already, so the country would break up, and we'd join the US.".



    You'd be surprised at how much that happens.



    I doubt it's a majority, but it's a lot. If Quebec separated, the talk is that Canada couldn't survive as an entity. So, what would happen then?





    I'd love to see a politician actually propose this idea here. It would be not only the end of his/her political career, it would probably be the end of that political party too.



    Seriously, It's a tiny, tiny minority that feels the way you describe. Doing just about anything to get Quebec to quit whining, sure, but join the US? Not a chance. Most Canadians want to have a lot less to do with the US, not more. "America=bad" is one of the few things Canadians are virtually united about. Your healthcare system alone is enough to make that idea a total non-starter here.



    Quebec is a drain on the nation as a whole. Lopping them off the map would be a very positive thing for the country. Getting rid of that one polarizing factor would also stabilize federal politics and make the country much easier to run. Quebec on THEIR own? I doubt they could survive. In fact, they know this, because when they talk about separation, they still think they'll get transfer payments from Ottawa, and want to keep using the Canadian dollar. In other words, they don't really want to ever separate, they just want to keep threatening it to get their way.
  • Reply 48 of 51
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bsenka View Post


    I'd love to see a politician actually propose this idea here. It would be not only the end of his/her political career, it would probably be the end of that political party too.



    Seriously, It's a tiny, tiny minority that feels the way you describe. Doing just about anything to get Quebec to quit whining, sure, but join the US? Not a chance. Most Canadians want to have a lot less to do with the US, not more. "America=bad" is one of the few things Canadians are virtually united about. Your healthcare system alone is enough to make that idea a total non-starter here.



    Quebec is a drain on the nation as a whole. Lopping them off the map would be a very positive thing for the country. Getting rid of that one polarizing factor would also stabilize federal politics and make the country much easier to run. Quebec on THEIR own? I doubt they could survive. In fact, they know this, because when they talk about separation, they still think they'll get transfer payments from Ottawa, and want to keep using the Canadian dollar. In other words, they don't really want to ever separate, they just want to keep threatening it to get their way.



    It's not as simple as you're saying. What I'vw read over the years is that if Qubec left, the centrifical force would push the rest of the provinces apart because of their own, sometimes fractious differences.



    It may not be so much as the desire to join, but if the country did break up, there might not be much choice.



    There have been a number of books on this over the years, as well as scads of articles.



    Healthcare is only one issue. One that may even go away over the next few years, as the US is moving to some form of universal care.
  • Reply 49 of 51
    Why doesn't the UK just join the euro already? Then it would always have the same prices (for goods) as Continental Europe which would mean the end of Ripoff Britain. As it is now, the price of a song in the UK will be constantly changing depending on the exchange rate with the euro.
  • Reply 50 of 51
    bsenkabsenka Posts: 799member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross View Post


    It's not as simple as you're saying. What I'vw read over the years is that if Qubec left, the centrifical force would push the rest of the provinces apart because of their own, sometimes fractious differences.



    It may not be so much as the desire to join, but if the country did break up, there might not be much choice.



    There have been a number of books on this over the years, as well as scads of articles.



    Healthcare is only one issue. One that may even go away over the next few years, as the US is moving to some form of universal care.



    There have been many books about alien invasions too, that doesn't mean it's impending either.



    Canadians have a much stronger sense of nationalism than you seem to think. The federation is strong, and the differences are very few. The urban vs rural differences within each province are far bigger than any differences between provinces, and even they are largely of the 'agree to disagree' variety. Even Quebec is nowhere near as volatile as the media makes it out to be. Like I said, Quebec does not want to separate. They just like to threaten separation so that they can get their way when it comes to federal programs. The US will break up long before Canada ever will.
  • Reply 51 of 51
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bsenka View Post


    There have been many books about alien invasions too, that doesn't mean it's impending either.



    Canadians have a much stronger sense of nationalism than you seem to think. The federation is strong, and the differences are very few. The urban vs rural differences within each province are far bigger than any differences between provinces, and even they are largely of the 'agree to disagree' variety. Even Quebec is nowhere near as volatile as the media makes it out to be. Like I said, Quebec does not want to separate. They just like to threaten separation so that they can get their way when it comes to federal programs. The US will break up long before Canada ever will.



    Well, I doubt that what you're saying is as fixed as you seem it to be. Books that are out on this are not SciFi. And, the differences are real.



    But, if quebec doesn't ever leave, the point is probably moot anyway.
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