The monarchy makes no sense even on its own logic. It is impossible that the putative William V is the most entitled direct descendant of William the Conqueror (who bumped off the one and only actually English King of all England, Harrold Godwinson). Just to mention a single example of scores, it appears that Edward IV’s father, Richard of York, was at no time in the same country as his mother during the possible conception period. And yes, the current lineage’s claim to succession would fall on that point.
Even if you accept that for the Tudors to kill off the Yorkists was a reasonable grounds of entitlement, or for the Stuarts to be excluded on grounds of religion is not a problem, the many infidelities over the centuries make the mystic idea of a bloodline absolute bollocks.
I came professionally into contact with widespread DNA testing through passport and visa applications. Throughout all cultures around the world, with remarkable consistency this kind of testing shows that around 15% of children do not belong to their apparent father, often genuinely to their surprise. While in visas and passports that figure may be a bit distorted by attempted fraud, that is balanced by the fact that mothers who are particularly worried they will get such a result have an obvious incentive not to get into that kind of test. My time as university rector enabled me to have some social conversations with senior medical professionals who indicated to me that medical tests performed for non parental identity reasons, have always frequently given results that show the apparent father is not the father surprisingly often. Such information is obviously not disclosed, rightly. DNA testing has only clarified this picture.
In truth, nobody can be certain without a test who their father is. Sorry, but it is true. You can be confident, but not certain.
William’s mother was a notorious slapper. William does look quite a lot like his official grandfather Phil the Greek, so he may be OK a couple of generations. But the royal line? Bullshit.
In Ghana they have matrilineal systems, which shows a much more sophisticated cultural understanding than the British.
“When you insist on having detailed rules for everything, the implication is that anything not covered by them is fair game.”
This was, I seem to remember, one of the reasons why the Federalists were reluctant to place a Bill of Rights in the US constitution which the Anti-Federalists had insisted on. The reason being that if you make a list of rights then it assumes that the list is exhaustive and those not mentioned are therefore not rights.
As it happens, Evgeni has risen to the challenge of providing a written constitution that may work. I’ll have to look it over. My bit of Devil’s advocacy is just aimed at the idea that the constitution MUST be written and written constitutions are necessarily better than unwritten ones. I don’t think they always are and would want to know exactly what I was getting before trying out any harebrained experiments.
Thanks for that link Evgueni, I shall peruse it after some nosh and a cuppa, just delivered a few hundred leaflets…
Tom, it’s a fair point and I am aware of it also. My answer to that is that a comparison of ‘unwritten’ constitution against a written one is enough to decide in favour of a written one. Simply on the basis of clarity being always desirable in any political debate. So both statements are true: 1) a written constitution may be re-interpreted and even re-written by ruling elites in their favour and to the detriment of the majority, and 2) a written constitution is better than an ambiguous ‘unwritten’ one.
How to address this problem? By disempowering the elites, as the Swiss have succeeded to do in their constitution (my last point to Angrysoba). This is absolutely crucial but somehow I seem to be unable to make the message resonate – the Swiss people as a whole are the ultimate authors of their constitution, not some Swiss elite. All attempts to re-write can be easily defeated by the electorate, likewise failures to interpret correctly can be swiftly rectified.
There is a wider point here about democracy, sort of along the lines of what I wrote in response to Ingo earlier. The American ‘democracy’, despite the nice words in the Preamble, was never meant to serve the American people. It was implemented by a political elite to serve that political elite – the same elite that continues today in the role of the keepers of the American constitution. And if you view things from their perspective then no regression has taken place – the system that was created to defend their interests still defends their interests (they haven’t let it slip away). The majority of the American people are outside of that, and mostly oblivious of the fact.
Good Americans – While you admire Kate Middleton’s wedding dress on the occasion of her wedding to Prince William remember these words by President George W Bush in Detroit on 29th April 2003:
You and I both know that Iraq can realize those hopes[freedom]. Iraq can be an example of peace and prosperity and freedom to the entire Middle East. (Applause.) It’ll be a hard journey, but at every step of the way, Iraq will have a steady friend in the American people. (Applause.)
May God continue to bless the United States of America, and long live a free Iraq. (Applause.)
Decades of conflict in Iraq have left an estimated 3 Millions households headed by women and 4.5 millions Orphans with 500,000 living in streets without any home or family care(Iraqi Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs).
In 2009 the UN estimated that only 17% of Iraqi women were employed.
Source:
http://mhrinet.splinder.com/post/15607775/4.5+millions+Orphans+in+Iraq,+
Well well, would it not be appropriate for our Nuclear irradiation bods to warn the bystanders at tommorrows possibly rainsoaked event, that the rain is most likely going to contain some Unwanted japanese visitors in the form of radio nuclei’s and that they should cover up, especially parents with children?
Further, does anybody know whether the Royals have been warned to stay out of the rain?
Indeed should we inform the BBC, that regardless of the global media cover up, that it might be wise to warn people, because many of us already know and Scottish measurements have shown there were some traces of radiation when the reactor was giving of less than it is now.
Thinking about it, I do not really care if the BBC gets itself into a right royal muddle and gets castigated for it afterwards.
Slightly in the style of William McGonagall this is a poem for the Royal Wedding.
http://www.counterpunch.org/dickinson04282011.html
I am getting quite excited. They are a proper lovely couple and the weather’s been fantastic! What a spring to start on, an absolute scorcher and most organised people have probably done most spring cleaning and now it’s time to party. The weather has been amazing; daffodils wilting on their stems but tulips are straight. I’m not even slightly being sentimental – if anything, sentimental about the weather and nice one, a couple of kids who seem to be in love and stuff are getting hitched on telly and it looks like they’re sorted. Assume the snooker’s gonna get put back a bit.
“In Ghana they have matrilineal systems, which shows a much more sophisticated cultural understanding than the British.”
And the Jews, Unlike the stupid Scots. LOL
But actually they’re all nuts. Heredity is determined by an essentially equal contribution from each side, unless you really think character resides in the mitachondrion.
Loved this article from The Sun, particularly this piece:
“The Queen hosted a lavish dinner at the hotel last night for foreign Royals and other dignitaries.
But Syria’s ambassador to Britain Sami Khiyami was absent.
His invitation to the wedding was withdrawn on Foreign Office advice to signal the UK’s outrage at his government’s bloody crackdown on Syrian freedom protesters.”
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/royalwedding/3554041/Prince-William-thrills-crowds-on-his-wedding-eve-with-a-surprise-walkabout.html
That Kate is exceptionally hot though. How long before The Sun is providing us with upskirts, downblouses, nip slips and I hope the occasional long range noodie…
Hmm.. I understood Craig’s argument to be that tracing ancestry through the male line can never be as reliable as doing the same through the female line. Because the sex with the ovaries cannot be cuckolded.
Pingback: Imperialism - Big Willy Style | JoeQuinn.net
Thanks for posting that Mary – I’d completely missed that. I can’t believe they’re even charging Meadows after that. I suspect their idea is throw enough mud and maybe some of it will stick, in the hope of discrediting Meadows so they can get off with both violent assault against him and trying to prevent him getting medical treatment (which could have resulted in his death if the ambulance crew hadn’t refused to be cowed).
TEST
TEST