Anyone having a street party

[PeterTurland]

I'm in a place that tomorrow, seems to be having a City party, its the Queen's official birthday and here in Amsterdam, it appears that the whole city is going to have a 'knees up'.

And I thought by taking voluntary exile I could escape Royalitus.

Don't get me wrong, there are benefits to having a royal family, a living historical tap-root for instance, which allows genetic research, the Hapsburg's lip for instance, or the knowledge that Queen Victoria carried the mutation for haemophilia. How she arrived with it, is a bit of a mystery, apparently none of her ancestors had it, so maybe it was caused by a recent female ancestor who played away, or perhaps it is caused by inbreeding.

Many people love the Royal Family and love is never a bad thing, personally I have my doubts being a bit of an iconoclast. One thing that does resonate with me though, my Dad was born on the 5th April 1926 and the Queen was born almost three weeks later on the 21st. So in a generational sense a whole era is encapsulated and as I lost my Dad last year feel a connection to time.

My only real problem is that she is termed a constitutional monarch, apparently that means parliament can vote that, she must go and take all her relatives with her, if it wants. I don't mind that, but would prefer a written constitution also. I want my rights written down, so I don't have employ a lawyer to interpret case law, so I can receive justice. I learned of this through the machinations of Robert Maxwell, he would never have got away with it in the States, because the Americans are guaranteed 'freedom of speech' in their constitution. Had an American newspaper published an article accusing Maxwell of stealing from his companies pension fund, and he tried to serve an injunction on him they would have laughed at him, ok they would have said "we will see you in court, but you must bring your books and we get to choose the accountant" the difference being, if I write something about someone and they think I'm telling lies, it is up to them to prove it. Maxwell was effectively able, to gag the rest of the press, because our constitution is interpreted by expensive lawyers, instead of being written down as far as possible in black and white. A contract of employment is similar to a constitution, it lays out your rights and your responsibilities.

[Alex Holowczak]

My only real problem is that she is termed a constitutional monarch, apparently that means parliament can vote that, she must go and take all her relatives with her, if it wants.

That's not technically true. Anything that goes through the Commons, and then Lords, has to be signed finally by the monarch. In practice, the monarch just signs everything, but the monarch would be within his or her rights not to. So if ever Commons and the Lords vote to abandon the monarchy, the monarch would have to sign the law that ends it.

[PeterTurland]

My only real problem is that she is termed a constitutional monarch, apparently that means parliament can vote that, she must go and take all her relatives with her, if it wants.

That's not technically true. Anything that goes through the Commons, and then Lords, has to be signed finally by the monarch. In practice, the monarch just signs everything, but the monarch would be within his or her rights not to. So if ever Commons and the Lords vote to abandon the monarchy, the monarch would have to sign the law that ends it.

And if she did sign, she would recursively disappear up her own back end with an audible poof!

Having said that tho' I must say I find her visit to the Island of Ireland very moving.

[George Szaszvari]

... Maxwell was effectively able, to gag the rest of the press, because our constitution is interpreted by expensive lawyers, instead of being written down as far as possible in black and white. A contract of employment is similar to a constitution, it lays out your rights and your responsibilities.

Interesting points. I'm not sure what has been happening in Britain lately, but in the USA Soros has gradually
been buying up the press. The constitution thing you brought up is less sure nowadays. The US is an incredibly
litigious society where lawyers really do thrive, win or lose. Frivolous law suits are a dime a dozen because there
is no loser pays all (so most defendants end up settling out of court, usually to their own detriment ...some are
pushing to change this obvious inequity). Lately, the US Constitution is being increasingly ignored by connected
bullies who feel they can get away with anything they want... whether from the previous administration, or in
the current one. Pushing the envelope is all the rage nowadays. The problem is that constitutional matters are
ultimately interpreted by political appointees (the Supreme Court judges) and the political divide here is increasingly
polarizing, which does not bode well for those who prefer a more stable middle of the road state of affairs. With
all the doomsday predictions imminent, keep an eye open not only for solar storms, earthquakes, tsunamis, rogue
asteroids, eruptions blotting out the sun with volcanic ash, etc, but also for the value of the US dollar, which must
inevitably, sooner or later, go into a free fall the way things are going...the effect on the global economy will be,
uh, "interesting". The survivors will most likely be those who have established local micro-economies, a return
to bartering, small family farms, town blacksmiths, etc, while dinosaur corporations fall apart and die. Of course,
groups of scavengers will roam the land, necessitating local community defenses ...Wow, did I go overboard...?
(pun intended) All this is a long way from the original street party thread!