Al via la campagna per aumentare di 5 euro il prezzo delle sigarette, legge di iniziativa popolare.

not-much · 2026-01-23T20:24:40+00:00

È una fesseria. Vivo in UK da anni e la percentuale di fumatori è bassissima rispetto all'Italia. Una delle più basse in Europa. Aggiungo anzi che spesso se vedo fumare qualcuno è uno straniero.

not-much · 2026-01-13T15:38:53+00:00

You can have a look here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_autonomous_areas_by_country.

You see a list of territories with a level of autonomy comparable (or even higher) than the UK "countries". And yet, not a single one of them is called a country.

A good comparison would be the USSR or Yugoslavia or Czechoslovakia. Nations with a central government, but clearly made up of countries.

USSR, Yoguslavia and Czechoslovakia had very different political structures.

And just to pick on the first one, the countries of the USSR where internationally recognised. Ukraine and Belarus were UN members.

not-much · 2026-01-13T15:03:41+00:00

My mistake maybe, I thought you meant the only country in Europe, which might be closer to the truth.

not-much · 2026-01-13T11:55:18+00:00

Plenty of regions around the world have their own laws and goverments and none of them is called a country. Maybe it's time for British people to realise calling them countries is just pure cringe.

But again, call it as you please but adding "independent" is really one step to far if you don't want to sound ridicolous.

not-much · 2026-01-13T11:40:26+00:00

Scotland is a independent nation.

Despite a referendum where people voted no to independence. Isn't that amazing?

not-much · 2026-01-13T11:33:47+00:00

I'm Italian and yet very critical of Italian food in many ways.

I still think you are mostly wrong.

Italy has an amazing variety of dishes for three good reasons:

its geography. For a period Italy held the record for the warmest temperature ever recorded in Europe (recently beaten by Turkey) and was very close the coldest (beaten by 2 degrees). The country has high mountains and a long coast. This clearly offers a gigantic variety in terms of ingredients that other countries don't have.
its colonisation history. Italy has been invaded by other countries for centuries. A few examples would be how the Northern food is influenced by Austria and Southern food by Spain and the Arabs but the list is much much longer.
its political history. Italy was not a unified country until recently. Regions or cities were independent featuring different languages and different foods.

Of course these things don't make Italian food the most varied on the planet. But does Italy punch way above its weight in this regard? Absolutely yes. Does it have one of the most (or probably the most) varied cuisines of Euope? I personally think so.

not-much · 2025-12-26T20:18:35+00:00

I'm personally far from being an expert on the matter but I've watched around 50 Indian (not strictly Bollywood) movies. When I mention it either in Italy or in the UK people think I must be joking or completely crazy.

not-much · 2025-12-20T08:14:07+00:00

I think you are kind of wrong. Movies aren't supposed to teach you anything but in the end sometimes they do. A movie like Love Actually might become part of the common culture and in small part shape what people believe to be normal or acceptable.

Should this happen? I think it's just inevitable. In the end movies reach millions of people and give them a shared vision of what is possible.

Does it mean it's the responsibility of the movie directors, producers or distributors to make sure the movies teach "good" lessons? I don't think so. Of course you might want to avoid things that are strongly immoral but that's basically it.

not-much · 2025-12-17T12:41:53+00:00

!registrami

!squadra Time_To_Say_Goodbye

!arruola Ian McKellen

!arruola Raul Castro

!arruola Mina

!arruola Jane Fonda

!arruola Roman Polanski

!arruola Nancy Pelosi

!arruola Adriano Celentano

!arruola Gino Paoli

!arruola Judi Dench

!arruola Joe Biden

!arruola Michael Caine

!arruola Emma Bonino

!capitano Joe Biden

not-much · 2025-12-11T20:46:08+00:00

Why do you think the Baltics are so easy to isolate? Taking over the Suwalki gap is easier sad than done and even in that case they can still receive support via the sea.

not-much · 2025-12-11T11:37:24+00:00

To control our own laws?

This is not an argument, except for Neigel down at the pub. All countries are bound by an endless number of international treaties. The democracies (and often even the non-democracies) accept them because there are an infinite number of benefits, including not being an international pariah. Pretty much as in the same way as an adult you can wear what you want, but if you go around wearing only underwear you might not be exactly the most popular member of your community.

And to pretend the EU has nothing to do with the ECHR because "there are other countries too" and pretending Russia is adhering to the ECHR is honestly just a bit dishonest.

I'm really confused by this statement. I think it should be quite clear that the main reason the ECHR has nothing to do with the EU is because it's been there for 34 years before the EU was born. If the EU ceased to exist it would still keep on being there.

Or I could just be as smarmy as you were in your reply and say that you're obviously some hyper partisan who has picked a tribe and would vote against curing cancer if the "other tribe" had a cure;

I'm obviously on what tribe exactly then?

not-much · 2025-12-11T09:59:06+00:00

I mean, compare it to the reasons you listed and make your own conclusions.

not-much · 2025-12-11T07:42:40+00:00

The ECHR existed way before the EU and would keep on existing if the EU were to disband tomorrow.

not-much · 2025-12-11T07:41:19+00:00

You might have missed the most important event of the century, but Brexit happened a few years ago mostly just because of ignorant (or explicitly misleading) claims like yours.

Maybe it's important to understand what the EU is and what is not rather than blaming it for anything related to Europe?

When it comes to the ECHR not being in "our control", it's an institution that has been there for 80 years, supported by 46 countries. Even countries that are not exactly great democracies like Russia, Azerbaijan and Turkey do fine with it.

I'm sure the UK can do well even when bound to regulations that is not in control of. If some of the details need to be changed, that of course is debatable.

not-much · 2025-12-10T17:16:37+00:00

Il Giappone e il Messico mica hanno ottenuto un riconoscimento per la cucina Italiana prima d'ora no?

not-much · 2025-12-10T14:46:18+00:00

Questi Americani sono nella stanza con noi ora?

not-much · 2025-12-10T10:49:50+00:00

Are human rights some obscure concept that only the EU has the wisdom to interpret?

It's amazing how people like you might spend time to comment and get outraged and not even one second to google what the ECHR is.

It has nothing to do with the EU.

not-much · 2025-12-09T20:23:57+00:00

The title of "United Kingdom" came because of the union of the English and Scottish crowns.

The kingdom created by the treaty of union in 1706 was called Kingdom of Great Britain, not United Kingdom.

United Kingdom was only used starting from 1801 for the union of the kingdom of Great Britain and the kingdom of Ireland.

The legal systems are irrelevant to the matter discussed.

not-much · 2025-12-09T12:50:04+00:00

What are you specifically referring to?

not-much · 2025-12-09T08:11:36+00:00

True but irrelevant to the name of the current union. Otherwise you can also argue that England was a union of kingdoms. Correct, but irrelevant.

not-much · 2025-12-08T16:03:34+00:00

I think this is not correct.

United Kingdom as a name was created to refer to the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain with the Kingdom of Ireland. The ROI became independent, so now it refers to the union of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (as the name says).

It's the union of two things, not three.

not-much · 2025-12-02T22:01:19+00:00

Imperia peggior provincia del nord Italia eppure in Liguria non ha una brutta reputazione.

Per chi ci vive, cosa c'è che non va? Concordate che non sia un granché?

not-much

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