That’s just about as far they can (obliquely) go on live political issues. QE2 did something similar during debates over devolution and again over the. Scottish indyref.
Report that the King isn’t taking Harry’s calls because of the ongoing litigation over Harry’s security detail.
And as to his health:
O Canada!
I just finished watching the Throne Speech. (I DVR’ed it, as I had other things to attend to this morning.) I was impressed; he spoke of our history and heritage, and where we’re going, going forward. And I am looking forward to seeing the things that the King spoke of being implemented.
I particularly liked the pomp and ceremony that hearkens back to 900 years of parliamentary tradition. No, we’re not 900 years old, but we inherited our traditions from Britain, which is. The ceremony of Black Rod is always amusing; the people of Canada will only answer the King’s summons when they’re damn good and ready. It signifies who is really in charge.
If I had one complaint about CBC’s coverage, it would be the references its commentators made to members of the House of Commons as “commoners.” They are commoners, true, because they are not royal, but referring to them as “commoners” completely misses the mark as to the history of the House of Commons, and what it means.
But overall, a good speech. It reinforced Canadian unity, and it should show a certain American that we are a sovereign country with a rich history and tradition, and we are not for sale at any price.
Hey, guess what? He didn’t and doesn’t want to get the message. He posted this about an hour ago:
He’s like the Terminator. He will never stop trying.
I’m assuming that, as with the UK equivalent, the speech is written by the PM…?
Let’s see first if it ever exists, whether golden or merely coloured in goldish tinfoil
Yes, it is.
Although it was reported in advance that there would be scope for the King to include some personal remarks and the opening section did indeed appear to be that. Of course, that bit was utterly anodyne, so Carney was doubtless happy to include whatever the King’s Private Office wanted to be inserted. There is nothing like that in the Westminster equivalent. It may have made a difference that this was just a flying visit, without any obvious opportunity for the King to make those remarks at some other point during his time in Canada. It would have been rather odd if he never got the chance to say how pleased he was to be there.
He will also never stop not understanding physical reality.
This “golden dome” idea is already overly complicated, and there’s zero chance it will get built on the absurdly short time-line he proposes. And then, he goes and makes it even more complicated!
Let’s suppose that Canada doesn’t just pony up 61 billion for this boondoggle, so Trump decided it won’t be used to protect Canada. Okay, so now a system that will already be pushed to its limits just trying to intercept a missile coming over the north pole, will also have to determine, “Is that missile going to hit Canada, and can be ignored, or will it hit the US, and so must be intercepted?”
And let’s remember the famous statistic: 90% of Canada’s population lives with 100 miles of the US border.
Distinguishing between an attack on Windsor or Detroit is obviously insanely impossible. Distinguishing between Toronto and Buffalo is a bit less obviously impossible, but still pretty darn impossible, when you consider the distances and time involved. The distance from the north pole to Toronto is 5,151 kilometers, as compared to Buffalo, at 5,238 kilometers. a small, small fraction of a percent difference. And you have maybe 5 minutes to distinguish them, make a decision, and fire on the missile.
Good luck with that, Trump.
Good advice from Earl Spencer: Prince Harry Spoke to Princess Diana’s Brother About Changing His Family's Last Name to Spencer: Report
So Harry didn’t want to be a Battenberg-Saxe-Coburg And Gotha anymore?
I’m curious as to why you think that was good advice. Taking his mother’s relatively common surname will cause harm how, exactly? The article vaguely references “legal” issues, but the family surname has changed quite a lot over the past century. As long as the change is documented, who cares? Spencer, Sussex, Mountbatten-Windsor, Saxe etc…. Just pick one.
I realize that Saxe-Cobourg & Gotha > Winsdor was on the maternal line. Both “Mountbatten” and “Windsor” were ad hoc creations / anglicizations, though, so it’s not like he would be throwing over deep history. Call yourself Dianason if you want to.
For Harry to change his last name would serve to deepen the division between him and his father and brother. That is a shame.
Is this a division you see getting repaired otherwise?
It’s like that thing where an adolescent boy keeps on pestering a disinterested girl and the moment she moves from saying ‘No’ to ‘Look, please…’, he’s like “So you’ll think about it?”
I have no idea but given that his father may not have much time left, it would be a shame for them not to reconcile. And my impression is that William isn’t interested in reconciling. This is all based on what I have read in the press.
No great concern of mine as to who’s on no-speaks in someone else’s family, but for what it’s worth, “Mountbatten” comes from Philip’s mother’s family, so there’s a precedent. Otherwise, they could all be Glücksburg, from his father’s Danish ancestry.
I thought Mountbatten was an anglicization of Battenberg.