341–350 of 693 posts
The UK media (not just the BBC) continue to profess "amazement" at the speed and efficiency of the transitioning from a dead monarch to a living one. There's been much speaking in awed tones at the pace of the various proclamations, committee meetings, document signings, etc, as if this pace tells us why we should be impressed. Personally I've found it borderline sickening. If there was a curtain that could have slip…
The UK media (not just the BBC) continue to profess "amazement" at the speed and efficiency of the transitioning from a dead monarch to a living one. There's been much speaking in awed tones at the pace of the various proclamations, committee meetings, document signings, etc, as if this pace tells us why we should be impressed. Personally I've found it borderline sickening. If there was a curtain that could have slip…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It purports to be both a non-republican democracy and a monarchy.
The king/queen can dissolve parliament: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_prerogative_in_the_Uni... It is only by convention that he doesn't, that will only last until you get a bad king/queen and thr right opportunity.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
72 people died in the Grenfell Tower tragedy. Why would you do anything apart from express sympathy to the families of the lost? Why did you post that comment?
It was a terrible tragedy, but it’s patently absurd that we should give someone a jail sentence for making a joke about it. (The jail sentence was suspended, but that’s hardly the point. Any criminal conviction, even a fine, carries the ultimate threat of jail, or, if you resist arrest, even death — all this, for a joke).
I've lived on these shores (South Somerset) for 52 years now and I have made the most awful jokes about some things as anyone probably has here. However, there is a point beyond which I won't go - causing deliberate hurt.
I don't know about the particular case that you refer to or actually skirt around - citation needed please.
A joke does not cause hurt beyond a slight nick with a possible small amount of blood loss. Beyond that it is not a joke and is an insult.
The UK media (not just the BBC) continue to profess "amazement" at the speed and efficiency of the transitioning from a dead monarch to a living one. There's been much speaking in awed tones at the pace of the various proclamations, committee meetings, document signings, etc, as if this pace tells us why we should be impressed. Personally I've found it borderline sickening. If there was a curtain that could have slip…
How much power does the British monarch still have? I'm from America so I didn't learn much in school about British history post-1776, but my understanding is that they never had an event like the French Revolution or American Revolution that suddenly ended their monarchy, just a long series of minor reductions in the royal family's power going back to the Magna Carta. From my own (admittedly uneducated on this topic…
Functionally zero. In theory, the monarch has power, but it is never exerted, because they know that if it was exerted a) it would be ignored, and b) they’d immediately be overthrown. They act as a head of state in the same way that e.g: Germany has a President. Noble ranks like Duke and Baron are also completely irrelevant to governance. Lords _are_ relevant, on the other hand. They form the House of Lords, which pl…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
>They are being arrested for being rude about it. Which is substantially worse. Rudeness is so subjective and context sensitive that it really shouldn't form the basis for arrests
As an American, it is hard for me to properly grasp the fact that the UK almost seems closer to Saudi Arabia than the US in this regard. It does not seem like having a "fuck imperialism" sign should ever get you arrested in a country that is supposedly one of the closest allies of the US.
https://www.npr.org/2022/09/06/1121322520/a-black-protester-...
They aren’t being arrested for being anti-monarchy though. They are being arrested for being rude about it. Was the fella on radio 4 who stated to the entire nation that ‘King Charles and his family should be put in a council house and that the Monarchy should be abolished’ arrested? No. If you are going to attend a funeral, any funeral, be it the Queen’s or anyone else’s and hurl abuse or hold up signs with obscenit…
I see this exact same comment did pretty well on Reddit too: https://www.reddit.com/r/unitedkingdom/comments/xckw5v/comme... 1. Not all of the arrests have been made at a "funeral" 2. It wasn't a funeral 3. If you're going to have a very public precession, parading a body through the streets with all the obedients lapping it up, surely you have to have a level of tolerance for dissenting voices? I imagine the disrupt…
“Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government” And no, I don’t mean it as a joke If Britain wants to survive the next 100 years, they need to make some brave decisions. Dissolve monarchy and the class system, get back into EU, and hope Scotland will not declare independence. Also, USA, wtf, why are you flying the flag at half staff? Did you forget what you fought about in 17…
> Did you forget what you fought about in 1776? Not having our views represented in parliament whilst having our taxes decreased to bail out the British East India Company.
The American revolution was supported by around 30% of the colonists by the time it started. And that was only after the media-owning elites spent years churning out non-stop pieces trying to promote the perspective. Of course the taxes primarily affected those wealthy elites and they knew a revolution would significantly benefit them
Do you know who John Hancock was? It's often said that this author of the largest signature on the Declaration of Independence was of little to know historical relevance. However I think he's extremely relevant. He represented what the real engine behind the revolution: Rich people that owed a lot of debts to the Brits. In fact if you look through the list you'd find that a huge number of the signers owed debt that they would be freed of, come such a revolution. Alexander Hamilton is now so celebrated precisely because he was one of the very few exceptions to this
The UK media (not just the BBC) continue to profess "amazement" at the speed and efficiency of the transitioning from a dead monarch to a living one. There's been much speaking in awed tones at the pace of the various proclamations, committee meetings, document signings, etc, as if this pace tells us why we should be impressed. Personally I've found it borderline sickening. If there was a curtain that could have slip…