General News Thread

[Laserman]

i handled the fun part now deal with the aftermath

.

[asterism42]

Ebola's one weakness: ibuprofen

That's hysterical. Well I mean, it's more than just ibuprofen, but it's still funny.

[SeiKeo]

So here's a fun game. Say the rumor is true that the UK will not look at Article 50, IE, formal withdrawal, before the German and French elections in 2017. No general election has been held, and with even Farage refusing to own the Leave vote, nobody in Parliament is actually pushing to begin the process, including whoever the new PM is. The political uncertainty is a sea anchor on the economy. What should the Queen do?

[Bolfotha]

Brexit is a monster devouring its creators

Just like Trump and the GOP

[Seika]

So here's a fun game. Say the rumor is true that the UK will not look at Article 50, IE, formal withdrawal, before the German and French elections in 2017. No general election has been held, and with even Farage refusing to own the Leave vote, nobody in Parliament is actually pushing to begin the process, including whoever the new PM is. The political uncertainty is a sea anchor on the economy. What should the Queen do?

Nothing. That's her job.

OK, that's unfair, much as many republicans would agree with it. But she's there as part of our Civil Service apparatus, essentially: a permanent advisor to the transient representatives of democracy, and a useful civic/diplomatic ambassador. No direct action that she can take would produce anything other than more political uncertainty, which she knows quite well and seems to be wholly adapted to after decades in office.

Barring a literal coup - in which case Her Majesty is able to protect the country and herself as the country-in-person, by calling on the Royal Navy directly maintained by her prerogatives, and invoking the oaths of allegiance sworn to her by all members of the Army and Royal Air Force - Elizabeth has got to sit by and watch as we collapse the country around her ears.

(The coup scenario may be one of my deepest and darkest monarchical fantasies).

[Five_X]

(The coup scenario may be one of my deepest and darkest monarchical fantasies).

Saaaame, ever since I swore the Judicial Oath.

[aldeayeah]

(The coup scenario may be one of my deepest and darkest monarchical fantasies).

For some reason that brings to mind a vivid image of a throng of tricorn-wielding cavalrymen riding down the Parliament.

[Strife ❤️]

The Governor-General of Australia once used the powers of the crown to dismiss the Prime Minister and appoint a new one.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1975_A...utional_crisis

[Five_X]

The Governor-General of Australia once used the powers of the crown to dismiss the Prime Minister and appoint a new one.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1975_A...utional_crisis

And ours caused issue by not using those powers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King%E2%80%93Byng_Affair

[Seika]

I mean, she has done (read: said) nothing in a period, these past few days, when the British public could have definitively used some assurances. I don't know if her Leave sentiment made her feel unsuited for invoking unity, but she stayed inadequately silent in one of those few occasions where the Head of State is supposed to intervene.

The Queen speaks politically only on the "advice" of her ministers (and then essentially only in her formal Speech). And one imagines her ministers have been in no shape to advise her right now.

That aside, it's important to stress how embedded the idea of the Queen having zero initiative and no formal political stance is - and, however neutrally one tried to phrase it, I think tensions are too high presently for anything said not to be interpreted as partisan. That, in turn, would damage the monarchy, to the extent that I think she would quietly try to resist any governmental behest to speak right now, if it were being given. Much as we generally enjoy all the other institutions of royalty, anything that hints at interference and actual exercise of power starts getting people worried - not that she'll somehow take back rulership and institute a tyranny, but that we might just be a bit backwards for still liking the idea of people being born into power and all that goes with it.

In short, being beyond political accountability means staying out of politics all together: from one follows the other.

[Seika]

She replied, theoretically privately, to an individual addressing her concerning the referendum, by saying that she hoped people would think carefully about the future. That's both ostensibly neutral and very far from any kind of formal political/national address. Whether it was meant to indicate her leanings without going beyond the bounds of technical neutrality (almost certainly, at least in my opinion) and whether it was meant to be overheard and therefore reported (debatable), it avoided any overstep.

It's worth reprinting here the statement Buckingham Palace made concerning the Queen's role in the Scottish independence debate:
"The sovereign's constitutional impartiality is an established principle of our democracy and one which the Queen has demonstrated throughout her reign. As such, the monarch is above politics and those in political office have a duty to ensure this remains the case. Any suggestion that the Queen would wish to influence the outcome of the current referendum campaign is categorically wrong. Her Majesty is simply of the view this is a matter for the people of Scotland."

[asterism42]

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-36710768
Juno probe has entered into orbit around Jupiter.

[Marmadillo]

I don't think Diane counts. It was a private matter that people insisted on making public.

[asterism42]

Frankly, I still don't see why everyone wanted her to be so upset by the death of her son's ex-wife.

[Five_X]

The conspiracy theories live on to this very day, unfortunately.

[Five_X]

Literally who cares until they make a political party

In the United Kingdom, nothing can be unexpected.

[Marmadillo]

PC slogan for English hegemony over the island

[AsGryffynn]

I hope you can understand that, saying you know literally everything about a given subject can easily come off as arrogant, even if that's not precisely what you meant. To be honest, I'm not quite sure what you do mean. You know everything about the issue except all the stuff you don't know because you haven't read the relevant documents?




I hope you mean that only in the 'since everybody else is even worse' sense. Trust me when I say that, as a Canadian, Harper was pretty terrible.

I meant "everything that is common knowledge" but I can understand sounding toxic. Forgive me for that one...

Well, yeah, that way. I mean, Harper was bad in a "Jose Maria Aznar" kind of way, but not in a Rajoy way like most of the current Leave politicians are...

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Usually children at the level where they can use grammar can also tell the difference between a comma and an apostrophe, which was clearly fat-fingered at the same time as pressing return out of habit. Anyways, you have actually provided the reason why the ellipses overuse is a bad habit: writing is never going to be convincing if you yourself never sound sure of what you are going to say - which is the effect of the trailing ellipses

Whoa, forgot that. It's not that I am not sure, but like with this post, I might post something and then want to add something more. I have some dislike for the "EDIT" claim most posters use. So I'd rather trail off in case I am posting more stuff later.

And I was referring to a comma, not an apostrophe!

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Stop the...

pssst, he's making a joke about trailing off...

Stop the drama... And stop bitching about the stuff we have no control over... Unless it makes you feel better that is...

Or else...

Alright, that's enough messing with grammar purists for now...

[just Beamu]

Whoa, forgot that. It's not that I am not sure, but like with this post, I might post something and then want to add something more. I have some dislike for the "EDIT" claim most posters use. So I'd rather trail off in case I am posting more stuff later.

Pretty much everybody else that posts shortly later doesn't feel the need to leave ellipsis everywhere like a 13 year old who just found out they exist.

[Arashi_Leonhart]

Alright, that's enough messing with grammar purists for now...

I don't think admitting to messing with someone is exactly endearing.