Craig,

A couple of points:

"An accident of birth should not make you Head of State". Well what other criteria should form the basis of selection? I'm really not convinced that those Heads of State who have been selected by other means are any better - in many cases quite the reverse. You yourself will have had 'mixed' experiences of Heads of State. Frankly I'd prefer to see some sort of continuity of purpose and independence.
And as further examples, the House of Lords when it was entirely unelected and almost entirely hereditary showed considerable moral strength and intellectual rigour. It is rapidly - and regrettably - becoming a political bear garden. The Judiciary has, quite frequently, shown similar independence of thought and action. The present Lord Chief Justice should be commended for his courage and determination in dealing with inept, sometimes crass, political leadership.
Compare that, if you will, with events in America where the elected Bush has, in his wisdom, overruled the judicial system yet again in favour of one of his henchmen. This is the action of an elected President of a 'democratic' society who treats his nation as a personal fiefdom. One hesitates to give further examples but Mitterand and Mugabe immediately spring to mind.

You mention the actions of Dundee University's grandees. As you say, how surprising is this, given their track record? It's almost to be expected of such people.
My guess is that Her Majesty's private secretary really had little say in the matter, probably being faced with a fait accompli. But it is certainly shameful that those in the University who were responsible for organising this event did not even think that it might be an appropriate gesture to introduce the students.
What it has revealed is a mindset amongst the heirarchy which is that somehow the University is a separate entity from its students. That is a truly remarkable position to adopt and will lead ultimately to its demise.
A university is only as good as its student body. If they are able, talented and treated honourably and decently, the university will thrive. At present Dundee appears hell bent on self-destruction, witness closures of faculties and wholesale cuts. Still the estate portfolio may have some value for redevelopment, of course.
But the students, being the undoubtedly bright individuals they are, will have drawn their own conclusions from this...

Nice lady or not Craig, there is no compulsion to be head of state, head of a country that's helped kill 2 million Iraqi's in 16 short years.

"Have you ever thought of an all expenses paid trip the Hague Ma'am?"

Perhaps her silence upon receiving that question would be met with the same stone cold silence she's maintained over her countries atrocities and neo-imperialism.

TaK,

It's an interesting case who should stand trial for waging an illegal war of aggression. All the Cabinet who didn't resign, certainly. I wouldn't include the Queen, personally. Who else? The Heads of the Armed Forces? I would cerainly include all those involved in the collation of the "Dirty Dossier".

The 'dodgy dossier' wasn't actually used as part of Britain's legal justification (ie, Lord Goldsmith's statement) for the War in Iraq, so I don't see how it could really be seen as responsible for the consequences.

At worst, it was defrauding people. But that's no war crime.

Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)

URL:
Remember me? YesNo

Comments: