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Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2002 3:17 am
by Mr Sleep
Originally posted by Obsidian
For all their priviliges and lifestyle, they pay for it in spades for being under the constant scrutiny of the public.
I don't quite get what you mean. So they pay for all their luxury and splendour by being tanamount to Big Brother?
Pay me no heed, but there are many people who feel strongly that the monarchy is a good thing.
Just because a lot of people have an ideology doesn't necessarily mean it is beneficial for the country or the people.
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2002 3:18 am
by Tamerlane
I don't understand the point of having a royal system, when they actually don't do anything like the ones in Europe. I did get upset when I found out that the English Queen was given a free car, a person who lives off inherited wealth should not be given such gifts when so many in the world are still living in poor living standards.
Some royal families like the Jordanians are actually useful, just look at what they have done when compared to the neighbouring countries. And the sultan of Brunei (sp?), they have free medical facilities, and a world class amusement park which is also free. I guess there are many other important stuff they have done, but its a lot more then most families.
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2002 3:39 am
by Mr Sleep
Originally posted by Tamerlane
I don't understand the point of having a royal system, when they actually don't do anything like the ones in Europe. I did get upset when I found out that the English Queen was given a free car, a person who lives off inherited wealth should not be given such gifts when so many in the world are still living in poor living standards.
The most ridiculous expense i have heard of concerning the Monarchy in this country is the carriage they have for special occasions, it is fashioned out of gold and costs the tax payers and absolute fortune, and get this it has only been displayed 4 times in the history of it's life...
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2002 3:53 am
by Tamerlane
Ah, the Sleep monarchy bashing. Its refreshing to hear it once again
I'm glad that the Queen recently took the step to start paying her taxes. But the gold carriage, and the numerous castles they hold is ridiculous.
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2002 5:57 am
by frogus
I have two opinions on the monarchy...the fact is that monarchy related tourism does bring in more money than it consumes..the monarchy are good fro the economy...however, dropping ten servent off the queens payroll and reducing her income by £2000000 a year or so would not diminish this...
As far as the queen, Prince Charles, Harry, William etc go, I am for them...they are making money and keeping their mouths shut...but I think that the ammount of money we spend on them needs to be drastically decreased, as well as (my biggest complaint) getting rid of the monarchical periphery...the richest man in Britain is a member of the Royal family..do you know who he is? Probably not...there are hundreds and hundreds of Earls, Dukes, second cousins, in-laws and other hangers on who deserve nothing whatsoever, but suck up billions of pounds every year...I think that abolishing the monarchy would be a grave step indeed - it would pretty much destroy the entire British 'national identity' as well as being a great blow to cultre and history...the royal family don't have (or exert) any power anyway, they are not a political threat...all we need to do is reduce the membership of the royal family to about five or six, and reduce their running costs greatly, and that will do me fine.
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2002 6:01 am
by Mr Sleep
Originally posted by frogus
it would pretty much destroy the entire British 'national identity' as well as being a great blow to cultre and history
Why would that be such a bad thing?
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2002 6:07 am
by Kameleon
Originally posted by Dottie
Especialy since he makes stupid political statements from time to time. (wich he isnt allowed to do)
I'm surprised noone's mentioned Prince Philip yet. This guy is the sole reason for keeping the monarchy - I believe that the world would indeed be a worse place without his highly publicized, exceedingly non-PC gaffes. I'll try to find a list on the net of all (or some) of them, and post it.
Oh, and Ode and anyone else who's interested, Prince Harry wasn't just caught "experimenting" with a little pot - he was actually far more involved. There have been suspicions that he was actually dealing to some of his fellow Etonians (uuurgh) and he definitely was well on the way to becoming an alcoholic - at the tender age of 15, he was frequenting pubs and causing quite a ruckus. So he was in fact a lot more in trouble than the press seem to have widely disclosed - perhaps the Royals made it worth their while not to tell...
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2002 6:10 am
by Mr Sleep
Originally posted by Kameleon
I'm surprised noone's mentioned Prince Philip yet. This guy is the sole reason for keeping the monarchy - I believe that the world would indeed be a worse place without his highly publicized, exceedingly non-PC gaffes. I'll try to find a list on the net of all (or some) of them, and post it.
I am shamed to agree with you, Philip is a law unto himself, his gaffes fill me and everyone with endless amusement.
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2002 6:22 am
by frogus
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2002 6:27 am
by Sojourner
ROFL! One of my favorites:
"You are a woman, aren't you?" (in Kenya, in 1984, after accepting a small gift from an indigenous woman)
I can think of some good comebacks...
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2002 6:32 am
by Kameleon
Prince Philip brands teenager 'too fat' to be astronaut
Prince Philip has landed himself in hot water by telling a 13- year-old schoolboy that he is "too fat" to become an astronaut.
Andrew Adams's mother Jacqueline Booth branded the Prince an "ignorant fool" after he made the remarks during a visit to Salford University and said he should keep his mouth shut.
Andrew, who is 4ft 8in tall and weighs seven stone, met the Prince while he was inspecting the NOVA spacecraft.
The Daily Express reports that the Prince asked Andrew about the spacecraft before saying: "Well, you'll never fly in it, you're too fat to be an astronaut."
Andrew, who wants to become an actor not an astronaut, said he was surprised by Prince Philip's comments, adding: "I was bothered about what he had said. I was really cross. What gives him the right to be nasty to people just because he's married to the Queen?
"I don't think I'm fat, it's just that my dad is big and so are some of my family, but I eat well and play a lot of sport."
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said no comment could be made as he was unaware of the conversation.
Prince Philip asks Sri Lankan priests if they're militant Tigers
Prince Philip asked four Tamil high priests: "Are you Tigers?" during a visit to a temple.
The Hindu leaders said they had nothing to do with the Sri Lankan militant group, the Tamil Tigers.
Prince Philip was with the Queen during a visit to the Highgate Hill Murugan Temple in north London when he asked the question.
One of them replied: "No, we are priests. We are not associated with violence."
One of the priests is quoted by the Daily Record as saying: "He was just joking. We weren't offended. He was being friendly."
It's the first time in the Queen's 50-year reign she's visited a Hindu temple in Britain.
Prince asks Aborigines if they still throw spears
Prince Philip has surprised Aborigines by asking them if they still throw spears.
The 80-year-old Prince, on a visit to Australia with the Queen, was being introduced to Aboriginal cultural park owner William Brim when he made the quip.
The successful Aboriginal entrepreneur said it was quite funny but he was rather surprised.
"No, we don't do that any more," said Mr Brim, 42, whose Aboriginal name is Ngoo Nvi, meaning "platypus".
The Queen and the Prince watched a performance by the Tjapukai dance troop at the cultural park, near Cairns in tropical Queensland.
During the show, the performers pretended to hunt a bird with wooden spears.
Troop leader Warren Clements told his royal audience: "This opportunity to showcase our culture to the world will perhaps influence at least some people to rethink their attitude to indigenous culture."
The Queen later launched two new aircraft at the Cairns Base of the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Her speech was broadcast on high-frequency radio to the Cairns School of Distance Education whose 500 pupils are scattered throughout the Outback.
The school's band, which practises over the radio, played God Save the Queen.
The Prince asked the young band members: "You were playing those instruments, weren't you? There are no tape recorders under your seats?"
Duke of Edinburgh tells anorexia joke outside cathedral
The Duke of Edinburgh has made a joke about people with eating disorders while accompanying the Queen on her Golden Jubilee tour of Britain.
Prince Philip made the quip while talking to a blind woman with a guide dog outside Exeter Cathedral on the first day of the tour on Wednesday.
Susan Edwards says she was waiting with her dog in the crowd when the prince spotted her.
He said: "Do you know they have eating dogs for the anorexic now?"
The Queen's husband, renowned for his quips and forthright opinions, hit the headlines earlier this year on a royal tour of Australia when he asked aborigines if they still threw spears at each other.
EDIT - Nice site, frogus
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2002 8:02 am
by Ode to a Grasshopper
Originally posted by Kameleon
Oh, and Ode and anyone else who's interested, Prince Harry wasn't just caught "experimenting" with a little pot - he was actually far more involved. There have been suspicions that he was actually dealing to some of his fellow Etonians (uuurgh) and he definitely was well on the way to becoming an alcoholic - at the tender age of 15, he was frequenting pubs and causing quite a ruckus. So he was in fact a lot more in trouble than the press seem to have widely disclosed - perhaps the Royals made it worth their while not to tell...
What a little champ, corrupting the elite that way. Go Harry!
ROFL@Frogus, great site.
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2002 8:05 am
by Kameleon
Originally posted by Ode to a Grasshopper
What a little champ, corrupting the elite that way. Go Harry!
Indeed. He's well on his way to bringing down the entire Royal family...I say go for it. Should we send him care packages? "Tribute from the weed-growers of the Commonwealth"
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2002 8:13 am
by Ode to a Grasshopper
Originally posted by Kameleon
Indeed. He's well on his way to bringing down the entire Royal family...I say go for it. Should we send him care packages? "Tribute from the weed-growers of the Commonwealth"
Like a tithe or something, you mean?
Naaahh...
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2002 11:41 am
by Beowulf
Originally posted by frogus
the royal family don't have (or exert) any power anyway, they are not a political threat [/b]
Um, that's technically not true. They do have power. The Queen can veto anything that parliament passes - she just doesn't. If anyone cares, or wants to know more, [url=this site]http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Ithaca/1562/monarchy.html[/url] looks fairly accurate and unbiased.
And while the Queen is head of the Church of England, I think she can be any religion she chooses,
except Catholic . IIRC, this is due to some funny laws passed during the Glorious Revolution to secure William of Orange's position. Does anyone know for sure?
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2002 12:03 pm
by Gwalchmai
Originally posted by Mr Sleep
Charity starts at home, and revolution starts on SYM! Viva la revolution!
Seriously i agree with all that Tom says, the monarchy is at best pointless and at worst damaging to society.
Does your view echo the views of the majority of your fellow Welshmen? of other non-English Brittish? of all Brittish everywhere? I'm just wondering how much of a grass-roots sentiment is out there to depose the royalty? How do the Canadiens feel?
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2002 1:12 pm
by Mr Sleep
I think it is fairly divided at the moment, there are a few people that think like me, but if the recent jubilee celebrations are anything to go by the Monarchy will be here for a while yet.
A lot of the pro Monarchy people are very aggressive in their support of the Monarchy, it is actually quite dangerous to be an objector in some areas.
There are also people who think like me, at the moment they are probably in the minority. It is difficult to say really, most of the people i know think much the same as me, however the only basis for my other conclusions is modern media and they are hardly reliable.
I also think the majority of more centralised Welsh citizens are fully behind the Monarchy and Britain as a whole, to my knowledge the valley population and the more proactive anti-English type are more of my opinion.
I am not anti England, just i can not see the reasoning behind the monarchy *shrug*
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2002 6:01 pm
by Obsidian
I feel the tides and the logic are/is against me. I think this may be a case where logic should not apply. There is something intrinsically appealing to the masses about royalty. I'm not an expert on this subject by any means, but it seems the monarchy and the "hangers on" do a lot of good around the world. Princess Diana did great work for the treaty against landmines (which the US still hasnt signed
) For a few.... odd balls like the princes, many members of the royal family do a lot of good.
@ Sleep, big brother is a bad thing! Especially if you aren't they kind of person who likes to be spied on.... I would hate it!
Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2002 3:19 am
by Mr Sleep
Originally posted by Obsidian
I'm not an expert on this subject by any means, but it seems the monarchy and the "hangers on" do a lot of good around the world. Princess Diana did great work for the treaty against landmines (which the US still hasnt signed ) For a few.... odd balls like the princes, many members of the royal family do a lot of good.
Does Diana count one iota towards all that Mother Theresa did, in my opinion, no. It was just her over glamourised nature and that got all the stories. Diana is about the only royal who has done anything beneficial in my life time, something truly revolutionary. So we have one out of 300 odd (hangers on at a guess) and that is supposed to account for all the countless millions that are spent?
Are there any other royalty who you know of that have done a lot of good?
@ Sleep, big brother is a bad thing! Especially if you aren't they kind of person who likes to be spied on.... I would hate it!
Yes it is, however my analogy is clear, by saying they deserve to be paid stacks of money because they are in the public eye is no different to paying the contestants of Big Brother money for their "services to society".
Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2002 5:43 am
by Tamerlane
The "hangers on", do annoy me just a tad, they live in large mansions given to them by the Queen. And secondly they pay extremely cheap rates, why not issue normal rates for them to pay They surely have the financial capacity to pay for it all and if not let someone who can pay it occupy the residence. At least this way the government would get some money back. I guess I'm just annoyed at the whole nobility class in general, and of how its still around in today.