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| Subject: BBC Article on the Queens Speach (UK) | |
Author: Matt | [ Next Thread |
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] Date Posted: 23:38:56 11/25/04 Thu More than 60%" of legislation in the Queen's speech was "inspired by the EU", says the UK Independence Party. It said proposals to harmonise laws on identity cards were already being discussed by the European Parliament. And it said other measures, such as the Animal Welfare Bill, had only been placed in the government's programme to fit in with European laws. The party accused Tony Blair of undermining UK democracy by allowing himself to be dictated to by Brussels. UKIP also attacked plans to "waste parliamentary time" on debating the EU constitution which it said would only be rejected by the public in a referendum. "I think they are going down the fox hunting route with this. They should have held the referendum first, before debating it in parliament," a spokesman said. But he said the party would not be joining anti-constitution Vote No campaign's legal challenge of the government's referendum rules. He said UKIP, which wants Britain to leave the EU, would concentrate on fighting the referendum campaign instead. General election On identity cards, he said there was no proof "from anywhere in the world" that they combated terrorism or fraud. And on crime and anti-social behaviour, he said the government should make its existing law and order legislation work before introducing new bills. But, he added, there was little prospect of any of the measures announced on Tuesday becoming law because the government would probably call a general election in May. "It is safe to assume most of this stuff is just designed to get headlines for the government, to make it look like it is doing something," added the spokesman. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
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Author: Ed Harris (Venezia) [ Edit | View ] |
Date Posted: 23:53:23 11/25/04 Thu Firstly, it is deplorable to use the Queen as a vehicle for party political headline-grabbing, and probably unconstitutional, since it places HM in the position of having to defend a particular government policy. Secondly, the ID cards thing is the most absurd piece of nonsense which I have ever heard. Do they make France less crime-ridden? No. Did they make Spain safer from terrorism? Evidently not. And in any case, no-one will carry one. I won't. No-one in my family will. If the state doubt that I am who I say I am, then the burden is with the State to prove me guilty of lying, not with me to prove that I am telling the truth. Let them eat ID cards. Thirdly, I wonder if the Queen - officially an EC citizen like everyone else - will be obliged to carry one... "Excuse me, ma'am, step out of the Bentley, please. May I see your Itentity Card, please? So, you say that you are 'Elizabeth, By the Grace of God, of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of Canada, of Australia, of New Zealand, and of the Territories and Dominions Overseas, Queen, Defender of the Faith, Duke of Lancaster, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Mann, and Great Chieftain of the Innuit Nation'? Of 'Windsor Castle, Berkshire'? Hm. Let's just scan your iris and see how you check out..." Nothing would surprise me... [ Post a Reply to This Message ] |
| [> [> Subject: The Queen's political speeches... | |
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Author: Dave (UK) [ Edit | View ] |
Date Posted: 10:01:12 11/26/04 Fri "Firstly, it is deplorable to use the Queen as a vehicle for party political headline-grabbing, and probably unconstitutional, since it places HM in the position of having to defend a particular government policy." Indeed, do you remember the recent Entente Cordiale anniversary in France, where the Queen made a speech, obviously written by Mr Blair, in which she extolled the virtues of European Defence? I thought this was outrageous! [ Post a Reply to This Message ] |
| [> [> [> Subject: I didn't see that... | |
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Author: Ed Harris (Venezia) [ Edit | View ] |
Date Posted: 14:30:27 11/26/04 Fri I have to say that I am glad that I didn't see it, or my television would certainly have got a well-made Italian shoe crashing through its screen at about 37 feet per second, and then the old lady downstairs would have seen a broken television fly through my window and land in her herbacious border accompanied by strange Anglo-Saxon oaths from my floor which would have shocked her pure, innocent Catholic soul to its foundations; and both of these things would have cost me dearly... Did he really make HM talk about Euro defence? I feel slightly ill. If this goes any further I'm going to move to Rockies and take up yak farming and chase anyone away from my shack who tries to tell me news from dear old Blighty. [ Post a Reply to This Message ] |
| [> [> [> [> Subject: I'm Afraid So... | |
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Author: Dave (UK) [ Edit | View ] |
Date Posted: 14:38:30 11/26/04 Fri Here is the text of the speech, if you can bear to read it: Messieurs les Presidents, Ladies and Gentlemen Thank you for your most generous speech. I am grateful to you for this opportunity in these magnificent surroundings to meet so many members of both houses of the French Parliament, as well as some of their colleagues from both houses of the British Parliament, during this visit to mark the centenary of the Entente Cordiale. This anniversary gives this, my fourth, State Visit to France particular significance. Looking back, it marks the anniversary of the far-sighted agreement which laid the foundation for the vital alliance of our two countries throughout the turbulence of the twentieth century. Looking forward, it gives us both an opportunity to put behind us our recent tensions to address some of the challenges and opportunities ahead. We have both made the choice of Europe and the European Union as a principal vehicle for our economic and political aspirations. For both of us this does not, nor should not, in any way weaken our strong ties of friendship to the United States. These are complementary relationships. More than ever we are working to make Europe's voice in the world count, and to ensure that Europe's diplomacy can be backed up by military credibility where necessary and where NATO are not engaged. In a dangerous world our two nations have so much to offer when we use our strengths together - our diplomacy, our military capability, our common permanent membership of the Security Council, our positions at the heart of La Francophonie and the Commonwealth. Let us move on from our recent differences as our forbears did a hundred years ago. As we all know governments can only do so much. This is where our parliaments and our people can also guide us. Our mutual attachment to parliamentary democracy is the foundation of our common freedom and values. Democracy is the most precious gift we have and we can never take it for granted. Links between our two parliaments have long existed but have not been as broadly based or as deep as either side would like. National parliaments continue to have a huge role to play not only within our own countries but also in the development of the European Union of the future. Our two peoples are perhaps showing the way. We know each other better and better, as we visit each other more often, work together more effectively, settle in each other's countries, and enrich our two cultures whether it be in music or art, fashion or sport. It is at this all-important popular level that so much has been going on in recent years. Parliaments can not only follow these developments more closely, but can also lead them too. I hope the Entente Cordiale centenary will contribute to this. Messieurs les Presidents, thank you again for this magnificent reception and for the warmth of your hospitality. May I conclude by asking all present to join me in a toast to the Parliaments of France and the United Kingdom, and to the Entente Cordiale. [ Post a Reply to This Message ] |
| [> [> [> [> Subject: Oh dear. | |
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Author: Ed Harris (Venezia) [ Edit | View ] |
Date Posted: 14:58:16 11/26/04 Fri Settle in each other's countries? I think not. The South of France is practically a British colony, but how many French people think, "I know, I'll retire to Scunthorpe or Bognor Regis?" Not many, I should think. It's one-way traffic, really. Their fault for having better weather. Mind you, I don't know if you've been to Leicester Square recently (for your sake I hope not!), but the last few times I've been trying to get from the club in Pall Mall to China Town to get some crispy duck (sorry, but have to justify the social faux pas of being in Leics Sq.!), I haven't been able to move in Leicester Square for French school children. Perhaps this is what they mean by cultural exchange: they give us wine, food, sunshine, and pleasant little hill towns eparpillés in the Alps Maritimes... and we give them greasy burger bars, large cinemas showing crap films for £15 per ticket, embarassing street theatre, All Bar One and mangy looking pigeons. Vive l'Entente Corliale! [ Post a Reply to This Message ] |
| [> [> [> [> [> Subject: well, in Edinburgh, the language of the old Scottish Court is quite prevelant | |
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Author: Dave (UK) [ Edit | View ] |
Date Posted: 15:11:50 11/26/04 Fri [ Post a Reply to This Message ] |
| [> [> [> [> [> [> Subject: How do you mean? | |
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Author: Ed Harris (Venezia) [ Edit | View ] |
Date Posted: 15:36:42 11/26/04 Fri [ Post a Reply to This Message ] |
| [> [> [> [> [> [> [> Subject: well... | |
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Author: Dave (UK) [ Edit | View ] |
Date Posted: 15:59:01 11/26/04 Fri Everytime I am in Edinburgh, I hear French voices. Either a lot of French people live there, or they are all tourists. It's frustrating you know - everytime French people come to visit me, they insist on visiting Edinburgh within about five minnutes of arriving. I feel it is my duty to take them their via Glasgow, if only to show that Scotland actually achieved something in the 19th Century. [ Post a Reply to This Message ] |
| [> Subject: Shouldn't that be DUCHESS of Lancaster, Normandy and Mann? | |
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Author: Jim (Canada) [ Edit | View ] |
Date Posted: 00:39:59 11/26/04 Fri [ Post a Reply to This Message ] |
| [> [> Subject: Not at all... | |
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Author: Ed Harris (Venezia) [ Edit | View ] |
Date Posted: 01:14:38 11/26/04 Fri Her official title is Duke. On the Isle of Man and in Jersey, for example, they still toast "The Queen, Our Duke". I understand that this is because a Duchess is only someone who is married to a Duke, because obviously women can not inherit Dukedoms - they go to the eldest male son, even if a daughter is older, and if there are only daughters it goes to a nephew or brother or something. HM is the only exception, because the Dukedoms of Normany, Lancaster and Mann are titles of the Head of State, and the Head of State can be a woman, whereas an ordinary Duke can't. Trust me on this! [ Post a Reply to This Message ] |
| [> [> [> Subject: And... | |
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Author: Ed Harris (Venezia) [ Edit | View ] |
Date Posted: 01:26:51 11/26/04 Fri The Dukedom of Mann is an older title than the Crown of England. It goes back to the days of the Scandinavian Empire. If you ever want a microcosm of how the English (not British) state emerged from the various kingdoms, read about the Duchy of Mann. I also recommend any Commonwealth visitor to Britain to take the time to go to the Isle of Man (not 'the Isle of "Mann"' for some reason). Because of its geographical position, it is English, Irish, Welsh and Scottish, all at the same time, without being exactly British. Weird but true; and, in my opinion, it is the perfect example of how we can all live together without losing our distinct identities. Manninish alltid! [ Post a Reply to This Message ] |
| [> [> [> Subject: Many thanks, I should do that | |
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Author: Jim (Canada) [ Edit | View ] |
Date Posted: 03:17:27 11/26/04 Fri Thanks for the info on Duke, and yes, I should get to the Isle of Man some day - I have never been there. It is a good example of distinctiveness and living together at the same time. [ Post a Reply to This Message ] |
| [> [> [> [> Subject: I.O.M. | |
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Author: Ed Harris (Venezia) [ Edit | View ] |
Date Posted: 14:23:40 11/26/04 Fri Twice daily flights from Liverpool, you know. It only takes half an hour, so by the time you've finished your G&T you're touching down on the island. But yes, the distinctiveness of the four British cultures is very evident in the Isle of Man, without any of them being mixed up together. I was there over the summer (we have a place there, my parents being evil tax-exiles!), and I remember one evening in particular. We had been watching an outdoor performance of Shakespeare, so qunitessentially English; it was done in the ruins of a Viking-Irish castle; as we left, a lone Scots bagpiper played on the ramparts in the gathering twilight; and coming down the steps we could just about make out Wales across the sea in the last of the light. Well worth a visit, that place. Oh, and there are no licensing laws, so the pubs never close! [ Post a Reply to This Message ] |