We are Australasian QM. We can be British as Australia is a continent unto ourselves. One of the points you raised QM was your personal thoughts on being British only. It's a comforting thought, but because one decides to to turn their back on what seems to be a reality, it doesn't make for a solid base. We have islands further from our shores than the UK is from mainland Europe, and they are Australian. Tasmania is further from Victoria than England is from France. The UK is a stone's throw from the main land of Europe. I understand how you must feel, but the UK is a part of the Continent known as Europe and no amount of wishful thinking will change it. Sorry mate.
Clearly in the Southern Hemisphere, there appears to be a misunderstanding of how the Continents are defined. Australia is not a Continent. It is a Commonwealth country. Australasia is a Continent. It is generally defined as being Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea and lots of islands. Svalbard and Iceland are further from France than Tasmania is from Victoria but I bet they do not go around referring to themselves as European. In Svalbard they will call themselves Norwegian. Europe is just geography. Nowadays, the political concept of being European is analogous to being in the EU; otherwise, Russians are Europeans.
Weird - old form reading is now how you define a European ........Russians are from the continent of Europe , I am a human being , don't have strong nationalist allegiance to any silly tunes and flags --hate pomp and ceremony --just bull to keep you in order --divide and rule is the motto ....
I always understood that, very basically, Russia was in Europe, west of the Ural Mountains, then the rest Asia? Suggest QMII accepts job at the weather observation post on top of Mount Narodnaya; that'll give him something to talk about, and to meet one or two foreigners at the same time? Do him the world of good. Doubt very much if they've ever heard of Queen Victoria, the Duke of Wellington, Lord Nelson, or ****ing Donald Tusk and Nigel Farage up there?
QM, I think we've opened up a real can of worms here. Continental disputes are in some cases split by language. In English, both North and South America are considered separate continents, while in Spanish, both are America. In the English continental model, there are no end of problems in what defines a continent. And we have a **** load of problems down our way. How do we assess a region where shelf plates play so big a part? The most common definition of the Continent of Australia is restricted to the Australian mainland, Tasmania and New Guinea. East Timor is sometimes included, but as the boundaries between the Continents of Australia and Asia are not clearly defined, it's for the most part, considered to be in the latter. New Zealand is not a part of this continent. And what to do with the other eleven countries in the South Pacific? As the continents are drawn up by definition and in some cases, no strict set of guidelines, they have end up not belonging to any continent. With the seven continent model set as it is, the following countries, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu have all missed the boat. For some reason, the seven continent model pretty much restricts us and New Guinea to this turf, but allows other countries to step outside these guidelines, I.E. countries like Iceland, Madagascar and Seychelles etc. So what have the powers that be, done about the South Pacific? Easy, lets have an Australasia, that way we can take care of the New Zealand problem, even though it's not even part of the continental shelf. But what about the rest of the Island nations? So easy Campese, why not lump them together in different sub regions and call them Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia. Then someone suggested that Australasia had be added to the mix. "****, it's all becoming a bit too complicated." they began to cry. "What the hell are we gunna do?" After an a few days of think tanking, they came up with the idea of dumping it all under the heading of Oceania. A line from Banjo Paterson's The Man From Ironbark seems quite fitting here. "Their eyes were dull, their heads were flat, they had no brains at all." The problem then is that the term Australasia now becomes somewhat redundant. New Zealand being the problem. While Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia, all have set regions, New Zealand also falls into the Polynesia area. Thank you so very much New Zealand. Always going out of the way to **** it for the rest of us. Ya' nothing but a bunch of bastards. I was a naughty boy in leaving New Guinea off the table, and for this I most humbly apologise for the oversight QM. Different languages and institutions use all manner of criteria when it comes to lobbing things into pigeon holes. It might interest you to know that one of your favourite institutions, the United Nations, has done away with the whole mess and merely lists us all under the title of Oceania, with Australia and New Zealand bunged together as a sub region. The good people from your part of the world have it easy, no fart arseing about with where you belong. You Europeans don't realise how lucky you are.
As an individual of advancing years who keeps settled and fixed hours, except of course when on the 'continental' lash, I look forward to arising every morn to scan what my chums from both wings of the political spectrum have been discussing the previous night. The breadth and knowledge imparted keeps my self imposed good behaviour rewarding and fulfilling. So it's a 'Good Morning Mr Chips' from the Auld Reekie jury! SH; a mild improvement for about thirty minutes or so in the first half from FC Bayern last night! LATE EDIT; I suspect David Alaba has been visiting the gourmet western metropolis of Caledonia and stuffing deep fried Mars bars down his gob between Bundesliga and Champion's League games!
It is a long time since I did geography at school. Back then, there were six continents: Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, North America and South America. Curiously my dictionary (pub. 1995) defines a continent as “one of the great geographical divisions of land; e.g. the mainland of Europe”. So by that definition, Great Britain is not part of the European continent but equally Australasia would be just Australia.
Not a straightforward question, but I don't think the answer is merely geographical? For England, as an example, reference.com advises: "England is part of Europe. It is an autonomous administrative division of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which is situated in Western Europe. Conventionally known as the United Kingdom, this country is made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland."
The British Isles and Ireland are part of the continental shelf -hence they are part of Europe despite some inhabitants who are in denial ....... That's how continents are classified surely not some silly nationalist doggerel .....
I went to a Comprehensive - probably long before you - and my old World Atlas only has six continents. If Antarctica is a continent then surely the Arctic is one since they are polar opposites - hence the name.
Who reduced this to England? It is not “an autonomous administrative division of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland” because the Jocks still wield some control over English legislation that does not apply north of the border. I am figuring that reference.com is considerably younger than me and potentially not authenticated by any recognised source, so why am I going to accept their view? Undoubtedly actually the product of some juvenile of the £600 for an iPhone is money well spent, modern generation of globalised corporate sheep.
There is no “denial” or political involvement in this – it is geographical. The nonsense you suggest for Great Britain being part of the European continent would define all continents as being encapsulated within tectonic plates – so there are at least eight continents and some countries are in more than one continent.
Just out of interest Mr moon when did you go to school -you allude to being really old but I suspect that it'sjust your aattitudes ......
I've got one of those please log in to view this image Must be nice to have a cap named after a place.
