Commonwealths as members of the union: PA, VA, MA, KY. Fifth commonwealth is
not a state: PR
> ----------
> From: acroorca2002[SMTP:orc@...]
> Reply To: BoundaryPoint@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Saturday, May 10, 2003 2:08 PM
> To: BoundaryPoint@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [BoundaryPoint] Re: NYNJ - My take
>
> very tastefully done maestro
>
> i am pretty sure there are actually at least 5 commonwealths in
> the usa tho i cant name them all with confidence
>
> i think i can promise tho that the full answer is surprising
> since i am sure at least one of them is not a state
>
> moreover none of the above or below diminishes arifs point
> about exceptionalism in general
> & its neglible or void effect on the much harder realities which we
> boundarypointers have been considering boundaries &or
> multipoints
>
> the real difficulties of border shaving & shading lie primaily &
> predominantly in the sea
>
> --- In BoundaryPoint@yahoogroups.com, Kevin Meynell
> <kevin@m...> wrote:
> > Arif,
> >
> > >All dominions in british commonwealth are thought to be
> countries and not
> > >protectorates though their leader is the Queen.
> >
> > There is no question that they are different countries. This was
> > established by the 1931 convention that created the
> 'Commonwealth of
> > Nations' from the former dominions of Australia, Canada, New
> Zealand, South
> > Africa and the Irish Free State (although Ireland never ratified
> the
> > decision and became a republic in 1937). Whilst the UK still
> retained the
> > theoretical right to pass certain legislation over these
> countries, these
> > rights were gradually abrogated over the years. Indeed, the
> Canada Act of
> > 1980 and the Australia Acts of 1986 removed any remaining
> vestiges of
> > jurisdiction by the UK Parliament over these countries (I think
> this
> > happened much earlier for South Africa).
> >
> > The fact that the UK (plus overseas territories) and twenty or so
> other
> > countries have the same head of state, is irrelevant to their
> status as
> > independent countries. Whilst it's true that certain other legal
> ties still
> > exist, such as right of appeal to the Privy Council (which is
> group of
> > advisors to the monarch who are drawn from the
> Commonwealth nations), the
> > decision to maintain such ties is up to each country in the
> same way that
> > countries choose to join the EU etc..
> >
> > I would agree that some countries such as Monaco and the
> Vatican are not
> > truly independent as their continued existence depends on a
> treaty with
> > another country. In the case of Monaco, under the terms of a
> treaty signed
> > in (I believe) the 1920s, the incumbent monarch must produce
> a male heir to
> > the throne, otherwise the country will become part of France. In
> the case
> > of the Vatican, I believe that Italy is responsible for security
> (other
> > than the Papal Guard).
> >
> > >We have assumed boundaries between the Germanys
> though they were only a
> > >zone divider.
> >
> > Were West and East Germany not considered to be separate
> countries? I
> > thought this was established sometime in the early-1970s.
> >
> > >Do you ever hear anybody saying that the MANY border is not
> a state border
> > >as Massachusetts is actually a commonwealth?
> >
> > I'm not an expert on US constitutional issues, but I think this is
> more of
> > a semantic distinction rather than a legal one. The US
> constitution does
> > not mention commonwealths or republics, so presumably
> Massachusetts (and
> > Virginia for that matter) would not be part of the USA if they
> were not
> > considered to be states.
> >
> > >Even Honk Kong was generally assumed to have a boundary
> with China even
> > >though much of it was leases
> >
> > I think it actually had two boundaries. An international boundary
> > demarcated the sovereign territory (Hong Kong and Kowloon)
> that was
> > originally ceded in perpetuity, and I guess an administrative
> boundary
> > demarcated the New Territories and China proper.
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Kevin Meynell
>
>
>
>
>
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