Miss Anne Thrope

Wow, that is pretty brazen: taking a quote about democracy and twisting it to support hereditary monarchy? With the head of state (even non-executive ones like the UK has) as with governments, what really matters is not how you get them to begin with, which tends to be the process that attracts the criticism, but rather how you can get rid of the one you have. The most efficient system of government is a truly benign autocracy, as long as it remains benign. As this can never be assured indefinitely, an ejection mechanism is essential. The ability to jettison our rulers is the critical essence of democracy; compared to this, the process by which we acquire them is only incidentally significant. The current UK monarchy fails this test.

When you've got a decent head of state - and QE2 is an extremely effective one - you don't really care. But wait until her half-wit son ascends to the throne, and survives as long as his father; then let's see how popular the monarchy remains....

Meow

I am not supporting the monarchy, just pointing out that no one has really got a better system.

I think that a hereditry monarchy is an anachronism in this day and age, but anyone elected seems to be corrupt/corruptable and probably no better. No idea what the best solution is. I'd also suggest that the people of the UK are so apathetic about every issue that they'll never seek to change the current system.

NorthernLad

I cut out a lot of the Bamber Gascoigne claptrap.

The Queen has no real impact on the rule of the country. The decision makers are voted in/out.

I quite like having the Royal Family around. Before people whinge about how much they cost, they do generate tourism to offset some of that cost.
Not as much of a waste as what is pissed/smoked away on benefits.

Patsy Stoned

scrubbedexpat141

Amen.

Also, who decided her son is a half-wit?

Miss Anne Thrope

Anyone who paid attention to:
- the ridiculous things he has said over the years (e.g. complaining about people who think they are entitled to get jobs which they have not earned - hello??);
- his ardent support for ridiculous and dangerous quackery, particularly homeopathy, even to the point of making completely inappropriate comments (for the heir to a constitutional monarchy) that it should be available on the NHS;
- his championing of hideous neo-traditional pastiche architecture by the likes of Quinlan Terry;
- his various clumsy abuses of position including using his public platform to promote causes which directly support his own business interests (such as organic food) and intervention to countermand the planning process of democratic bodies (as in his devious role in the Chelsea hospital developments);
- his complete lack of empathy and self-awareness demonstrated by his many, many stupid gaffes.

And this is without even mentioning his messy personal life.

This is the man who would be king? The Queen is a class act and never puts a foot wrong but this guy never opens his mouth without immediately inserting his foot in it.

BinCat

The only thing I know Prince C has done is this: save Bastakiya in Dubai. Not much I know, but by golly he actually managed it in the mid 1980s when the bulldozers were in place to knock it down, Charlie Boy was out playing polo with Sh Mo and the residents of Bastakiya put in a petition to Prince C to hand on to Sh Mo and hey-presto on the Saturday morning (pre modern w/ends) the bulldozers bu**ered off out of it. OK, it was modernized, but not bulldozed as Shindaga was. Not much, but for those of us living out here the man 'did his bit' with his usual stiff upper lip! Noted, it was the first place he made a bee line for when he revisited - just to make sure it was still standing, don't you know!

Kix

Pity he didn't visit The Country Club a few years back then eh?

The Dean

And the Cyclone Club.............. or did he?

Kix

Couldn't have, it closed.

The Dean

Precisely...... read again........ starting with YOUR post (23)......

scrubbedexpat141

- PC Was not able to choose his job. His point is valid.
- My Mum loves homeopathy, what you or I think about it is irrelevant, the NHS have enough idiots in management to make their own decisions.
- You may not like QT's architecture, but I can guarantee that a lot of people DO. Irrelevant.
- PC owns organic food? Nobody else thinks that is a good idea? Can you not choose to buy organic food or not? Irrelevant.
- Chelsea Barracks - he said he didn't like what the Candy's had designed. Opinion.
- Your last point is again, just your opinion.

His personal life, whilst remaining in the public eye, really has very little to do with anyone else but himself and his family / friends.

I agree that the Queen provides us with a near-perfect monarch, fully aware of the role she fulfills. PC is, I think, cut from the same cloth, but only time will tell. I hope the Queen has many more years.

mikewot

Homeopathy is complete quackery. Sorry I should say that the evidence of efficacy and the scientific basis of homeopathy is highly questionable.
From the NHS website following a report from The Select Committee on Science and Technology:

What’s the major criticism of homeopathy?
The key criticism is that there is no reliable scientific evidence to suggest it is any more effective than a placebo. Normally, drugs that are no more effective than a placebo are judged ineffective and not given a licence or funded by the NHS. Prescribing placebo treatments, critics say, damages the trust that exists between doctors and their patients.

Critics of homeopathy say the reason the medicines are ineffective is because in homeopathic remedies the original substance is diluted to such an extent that no molecules of the substance remain in the remedy.

Homeopaths have argued that the critics are missing the point of the dilution process. The homeopaths claim it is not necessary for any of the original substance to remain as the dilution process somehow imprints a ‘memory’ of the substance into the water.



What did the Select Committee on Science and Technology conclude?
The Select Committee on Science and Technology concluded that:

•There is no evidence that homeopathy works beyond the placebo effect, which is a position that the Government agrees with.
•By providing homeopathy on the NHS, the Government runs the risk of appearing to endorse it as a working system of medicine. There is also the danger that when doctors prescribe placebos, they risk damaging the trust that exists between them and their patients.
•Given that the existing scientific literature shows no good evidence of efficacy, further clinical trials of homeopathy are not justified.


What was the Government’s response?
The Government has decided to continue to allow homeopathic hospitals and treatments to be received on the NHS, where local doctors recommend them.

It agrees that the efficacy of a treatment is important, but said there are many considerations when making policy decisions, and that patient choice is an important factor to consider.

“We believe that providing appropriate information for commissioners, clinicians and the public, and ensuring a strong ethical code for clinicians, remain the most effective ways to ensure quality outcomes, patient satisfaction and the appropriate use of NHS funding.

The Government also said that it noted the Committee’s view that allowing for the provision of homeopathy may risk seeming to endorse it, and that it would keep the position under review.



What does the Government Chief Scientific Adviser say?
The Government Chief Scientific Adviser has expressed his concern that the public may assume that NHS homeopathic treatments are ‘efficacious’, whereas the principal reason for their availability is to provide patient choice.

To enable the public to make informed choices, he will work with the Department of Health to ensure that the public has access to clear information on the evidence for homeopathy.

His position, as stated in the Government response, remains that “the evidence of efficacy and the scientific basis of homeopathy is highly questionable”.

scrubbedexpat141

Yeah, so in essence, what I said is completely correct...

shiva