HARRY AND MEGHAN INTERVIEW

Posted March 8, 2021 23:08 by Josh Darvill

For this is what the LORD says: David will have a descendant sitting on the throne of Israel forever.   (Jeremiah 33:17 New Living Translation)

Three African-American women were involved in Sunday’s interview.    Oprah Winfrey, a billionaire, sat down with Meghan Markle, a millionaire, (most probably) in millionaire Gayle King’s mansion, to discuss, amongst other things, white oppression.    With Oprah, once described as “race baiter in chief,” inevitably the subject of race came up.  The accusation was made over a comment about baby Archie’s skin color.  In response Buckingham Palace observed, that “recollections may vary.”  It is possible that Meghan is particularly sensitive on this issue.

There was no suggestion that the Queen herself is a racist.    After all, she has spent decades promoting multiculturalism and the Commonwealth, whose 54 member countries include much of Africa and the Caribbean.  Meghan specifically stated that the controversial comment on baby Archie’s skin color was not made by either the Queen or her husband, Prince Philip.  It was the kind of comment that could be made in any family and, quite rightly, the Queen’s subsequent statement said it would be addressed within the family.  

Monarchy is, at its core, about identity.   For centuries the English people, along with many in western Europe, have had a monarch as the symbol of their unity.   In 1603 the Scottish king, James VI, moved to England and became King (as James I) of both countries.   Wales had already been conquered and so was Ireland.

The four kingdoms are united by the Crown.   If the monarchy were ever abolished, it is doubtful that the four nations would stay together.   Even with the monarchy, the strains of the pandemic highlighted differences between the four.   Scottish nationalism has been a threat for some time.    Scottish nationalists have been very critical of England, but never of the Queen, as this would not gain them any support.    It’s also the case that the Commonwealth would likely not survive without the Queen as its members could never agree on a new leader.

After almost 70 years on the throne, Queen Elizabeth II enjoys an 82% approval rating as Head of State.   American presidents must envy her.   Half of the people in the US do not vote and roughly half of those who do, support the president.  That’s about 25% (or less) approval, less than a third of what the Queen enjoys.   Even in Canada she enjoys 55% support.  A referendum in Australia in 1999 showed 54% support.   Another referendum in St Vincent and the Grenadines, a majority black country, gave the Queen two thirds of the vote.   No wonder Barbados is not risking a vote on the issue.  The government there is ending the Queen’s role as Head of State later this year, giving the Labor Party unprecedented power and authority.   

Nobody wants the American system of government, which is seen as a personality contest between two multi millionaires.   An alternative republican model, proposed in Australia, would simply replace the Queen with a figurehead president.   This would give the politicians greater power, as one of them would likely be president.   A big advantage of retaining the monarchy is that the monarch is a neutral figurehead.   Even in American academic circles, the present Australian model is seen as the best, combining the Crown (British) and an elected Senate (American), the best from both countries.

President Biden described Meghan after the interview, as “courageous.”  Hillary Clinton used the same word and added that the Royals were “insensitive.”   It seems unwise to comment without hearing the other side.   It may be that Meghan was lying.  Whatever the case, it’s a matter for the constitutional monarchies of the Commonwealth to address.   The US deliberately cut itself off from the institution over 200 years ago!

Perhaps this was all inevitable.   Multiculturalism, a term first coined in Canada exactly 50 years ago when it became clear that newly arrived immigrants were not going to assimilate, has been all the rage for five decades, as more and more immigrants arrived from Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.  They have not inherited the same identity as the English with the monarchy.  It was inevitable that values and priorities would eventually clash.

One grievance mentioned was the absence of a title for Archie when William’s sons have one.  But this has been the law since George V.   Only the children and grandchildren of a monarch are given titles.    As William will be king, his children got one; Harry is unlikely to be king, but his father will be one day, and then Harry’s children would qualify.  (There’s too much fretting about other titles.  Canada and Australia get by without them.  Surely only the king and queen and those most immediately in line should get a title.   All the rest can survive without.   The rest of us do.)

I just have two questions:  I know that Harry and Meghan were paid nothing for the interview, but how much did Oprah make?  

The second question:  the wedding cost the UK taxpayer almost $40 million.   Additionally, a few million was spent renovating their home.  Are Harry and Meghan going to pay all of this back?

Historical footnote: King Edward VIII abdicated the throne in 1936. He and his American divorcee wife became the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and settled in Paris. In 1970 they gave a TV interview. They made no criticism at all of the royal family!

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According to legend, British conductor Sir Thomas Beecham once saw a distinguished looking woman in a hotel foyer.  Believing he knew her but unable to remember her name, he paused to talk with her.  As the two chatted, he vaguely recollected that she had a brother.  Hoping for a clue, he asked how her brother was doing and whether he was still working at the same job.  “Oh, he’s very well,” she said, “And still king.”   (Our Daily Bread, 3/4/2021)

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The Society of Editors has denied the media is racist after Prince Harry said racism from within the tabloid press was a “large part” of why he and Meghan Markle left the UK. In the couple’s tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, broadcast on ITV last night, the Duke alleged that the tabloid media in the UK is “bigoted” and creates a “toxic environment.”  However, the media freedom organization criticized the couple for accusing the press of racism without “any supporting evidence.”   (The Week, 3/9/2021)

Biden offers Taliban power-share
Joe Biden has offered the Taliban a return to power in Afghanistan as he seeks to bring the longest war in American history to an end. The White House is ready to offer the Islamic fundamentalists a power-sharing deal with the Afghan government if they agree to lay down their arms. The offer comes almost two decades after the US invasion that “routed the Taliban regime and triggered a bloody insurgency that has killed tens of thousands of people,” The Times says.   (The Week, 3/9/2021)

UK could have fourth wave
England’s deputy chief medical adviser has warned that it is too soon to rule out a fourth wave of Covid-19. Jenny Harries told the daily press briefing that under current levels of infection, “a new wave could easily take off again.”  Her call for caution came as Boris Johnson admitted that with the re-opening of schools “there will be a risk of increased transmission” that could delay the end of lockdown. The UK yesterday reported less than 100 deaths for the second day in a row, the first time that has happened since 9 October.   (The Week, 3/9/2021)

Call for action on conversions
Campaigners have warned that ministers are not moving quickly enough to ban LGBT+ “conversion therapy.”   Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch insisted that the government is “committed” to “ending” the practice and takes the issue “very seriously.”  But equality campaigners said targeted action is required. Conversion therapy refers to any form of treatment or psychotherapy that aims to change a person’s sexual orientation, “ranging from electric shock treatment to religious teaching and discussion,” the BBC reports.  (The Week, 3/9/2021)

“We are weeks, maybe even days, away from a crisis on the southern border,” says Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democrat whose Texas district abuts Mexico. “Our country is currently unprepared to handle a surge in migrants in the middle of the pandemic.”  (Patrick Buchanan, 3/9/2021)

“Through economic bribery and military aid, the Chinese Communist Party has relentlessly manipulated African governments and opposition groups, controlling the affairs of African countries while imposing the communist Chinese model and its values on them.”  (Epoch Times, 2/24/2021)

Southwest-Based Neo-Nazi Group Outlines Replacement Of U.S. Government With Germanic Ethno-State, Hangs Posters Throughout U.S., Canada Including On College Campuses; Leader Glorifies Hitler  (MEMRI, 3/5/2021)

GERMAN GOVERNMENT TO SPY ON OPPOSITION

“Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) have placed the Alternative for Germany (AfD) under surveillance, according to local media.

“That designation gives state agents more powers for surveillance in certain circumstances, including potentially tapping the party’s communications.”  (DW 3/3/2021)

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Farming has destroyed a lot of the rich soil of America’s Midwestern prairie. A team of scientists just came up with a staggering new estimate for just how much has disappeared.  The most fertile topsoil is entirely gone from a third of all the land devoted to growing crops across the upper Midwest, the scientists say.   (NPR 2/25/2021)

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President Joe Biden will formally create a gender policy council within the White House as part of two executive orders he intends to sign Monday to mark International Women’s Day.  (https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/03/08/fact-sheet-president-biden-to-sign-executive-orders-establishing-the-white-house-gender-policy-council-and-ensuring-education-free-from-sexual-violence/ )  

The council will include a staff of four, three of whom will hold the title of special assistant to the president, according to a senior administration official who previewed the two orders.

The council’s mandate is to work across the federal government’s domestic and foreign policy to fight discrimination and bias, boost economic security, increase access to health care, and advance general equality through diplomacy, trade and defense.

The second order asks the Department of Education to re-examine the Trump administration’s policies and rule-making on Title IX, the 1972 law which governs the way sex-based discrimination in schools is handled.   (Newsmax 3/8/2021, https://www.newsmax.com/politics/biden-gender-equity-title-ix-sex-misconduct/2021/03/08/id/1012908/  )

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TO THE POINT

• Switzerland now joins Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands and Sweden, all of which currently have full or partial bans on religious and non-religious face coverings.  “In Switzerland our tradition is that you show your face. That is a sign of our basic freedoms.” — Walter Wobmann, member of the Swiss People’s Party, the biggest political party in Switzerland.   (Gatestone, 3/10/2021)

• A terrorist who claimed asylum in Britain after he was sentenced to death in Egypt for a failed assassination plot is set to win the right to stay in this country. Yasser Al-Sirri, 58, first claimed asylum in 1994 but was turned down and has taken the issue to court more than eight times at great cost to British taxpayers.  Al-Sirri, who was also charged in the US with assisting someone involved in the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing, has appeared in several tribunals since. And last week a tribunal decided he was entitled to remain in the U.K. as a refugee.  (MEF, 2/14/2021)

• German companies are increasingly dependent on business with China and are shifting their activities to the People’s Republic at a growing rate, as current economic data and a recent survey of German companies reveal. China is not only one of the very few countries, to which German companies could continue to export in 2020 as much as in the previous year, but it is also the only major economy, to which they could already export this January more than during the same month the previous year. The fact that exports to the People’s Republic are a vital support for the German economy is particularly significant, because Germany’s domestic consumption remains sluggish, due to the pandemic. Already five DAX companies, such as VW, Daimler, Infineon, are generating their largest share of sales in China, more than on their German domestic market. To protect themselves against the risks of US economic warfare, German companies doing business with China are increasingly relocating their activities to the People’s Republic. Efforts to encourage their withdrawal from China have failed.  (German Foreign Policy, 3/10/2021)

IS A LASTING PEACE POSSIBLE?

President Donald Trump walks to the Abraham Accords signing ceremony at the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, in Washington with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Bahrain Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa and United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)AP

It’s not just the giddying signs that other Arab states may now follow suit and thus transform the prospects of a durable peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors.  Even Saudi Arabia, the epicentre of the Sunni Muslim world and without whose approval the agreement would never have happened, may also openly “normalize” its relationship with Israel.

The Palestinian cause, supposedly the sticking point for the Arab rejection of Israel, is now receiving merely lip-service from Arab moderates, if that.  Saudi writers are being allowed to write openly against the Palestinians.  Hitherto suppressed truths are now being told in the Arab world in a way that was previously unthinkable.

Arab writers are saying they were wrong to believe that Israel was the aggressor in the region since it’s clearly Iran and Turkey that are guilty of aggressive expansionism.  These writers are saying that peace and co-operation with Israel will bring them great benefits in terms of modernity and development.

A Bahraini activist wrote:  “There is growing awareness among many in the Arab world that the Jewish people are not foreign colonialists in the Land of Israel, they are part of this land, and part of our region . . .”  (“Healing the ancient fracture,” Melanie Phillips, 9/18/2020)

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ISRAEL INDISPENSIBLE TO STAND AGAINST IRAN

“Recognition of Israel by the UAE and Bahrain will, it is predicted, be followed by recognition of Israel by Oman and other Gulf states, perhaps even Saudi Arabia.  But the idea that peace is at hand appears to be, as Mark Twain said of reports of his death, premature.

“Indeed, the Gulf Arabs could be signing up to recognize Israel because they see the Jewish state as an indispensable ally in the Arab Sunni clash with the larger and more powerful Shiite Iran.”   (PB, 9/18/2020)

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WHAT PUTIN FEARS

“Nothing is as inspiring as seeing people take to the streets to demand their freedoms – and nothing is as terrifying for the dictators they are defying.  In Belarus, among scenes that recall the revolts of 1989, people are turning out in their hundreds of thousands after a blatantly rigged election, heedless of the threat of state violence.  In the Russian city of Khabarovsk tens of thousands march week after week to protest against the arrest of the local governor and the imposition of Moscow’s rules.   Vladimir Putin is rattled.   Why else is Alexei Navalny, an anti-curruption crusader and Mr. Putin’s greatest popular rival for the Russian presidency, lying poisoned in a Berlin hospital bed?

“Regimes that rule by fear live in fear.    They fear that one day the people will no longer tolerate their lies, thieving and brutality.   They try to hang on with propaganda, persecution and patronage.  But it looks increasingly as if Mr. Putin is running out of tricks, and as if Alexander Lukashenko, his troublesome ally in Minsk, is running out of road.  That is why, despite the Kremlin’s denials, they are falling back on the truncheon and the syringe.   And it is why, as the protests roll on, they must be wondering whether state violence can secure their regimes.”    (“What Putin fears,” The Economist, 8/29/2020)

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AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE CONCERNS

THE head of Australia’s powerful Intelligence & Security Joint Committee has called for the reinstatement of National Service as Australia’s strategic position continues to deteriorate.  With rising concerns about a “strategic miscalculation” within the region, Committee chairman Andrew Hastie warned the risk of conflict was also increasing.   And rebuilding Australia’s Reserves was vital.  (Politico, 9/22/2020)

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DEMOCRATS ARE THE PARTY OF THE WEALTHY INTELLECTUAL ELITES

The Democrats are currently spending ten times as much money as the Republicans on advertising.  Their support comes mainly from the intellectual elite who are on high incomes, plus celebrities.  Yet many people still believe the Dems represent the common man.   Joe Biden was shaking his head at a town hall meeting when a medical worker said he is paid less than $15 an hour.   (In comparison, Mr. Biden could have reminded people that his son Hunter, was paid $50,000 a month when he sat on the board of a Ukrainian company.)   In an interview with Harvard professor Michael Sandel, Mr. Sandel explains how the Democrats lost the support of the working class. — editor

They (the Democrats) should have shown more humility.  Think of Hillary Clinton’s use of the word “deplorables.”  She used it in the last election campaign in reference to Trump voters, blue-collar workers. It showed an arrogance toward the less educated.  Obama spoke of people who “cling to guns or religion.”   The liberals emphasize rising based on merit.   But we don’t live up to the meritocratic principles we proclaim.   Of course, you have to pass difficult entrance exams to get into Harvard, but some people are groomed for it throughout their childhood and youth, with hockey lessons, piano lessons, foreign language classes, and their parents pay for it.  Other parents can’t afford it at all.   So, good performance depends heavily on family background and a good deal of luck.   By realizing this, we can develop a sense of humility and identify more easily with those less fortunate than ourselves.   (Der Spiegel interview with Harvard philosopher Michael Sandel, interviewed by Susanne Beyer, 9/18/2020)

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PELOSI AND BIDEN – NO FRIENDS OF UK

Biden warns the UK over Northern Ireland and Brexit — 
Democratic nominee Joe Biden says he will not allow peace in Northern Ireland to become a “casualty of Brexit” if he becomes US president.   He said any UK-US trade deal had to be “contingent” on respect for the Good Friday Agreement in final Brexit arrangements. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has also applied pressure on the issue, saying he trusted the UK to “get this right.”  (The Week, 9/17/2020)

Both Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi are Catholic and sympathetic to Irish republicanism.   It should be noted that they are not very good Catholics, supporting US abortion laws.   –– editor

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 ON ABORTION

It’s difficult to understand Christians saying anything positive about Ruth Bader Ginsburg (see following):

“RIP to the more than 30 million innocent babies that have been murdered during the decades that Ruth Bader Ginsburg defended pro-abortion laws,” Collins tweeted.  “With @realDonaldTrump nominating a replacement that values human life, generations of unborn children have a chance to live.”   (GOP Rep Doug Collins)

The numbers of COVID-19 related deaths are announced each day.   They are now up to 200,000 in the US alone (which is disputed).   During the same six months that people have been allegedly dying from the coronavirus, 650,000 babies in the US have been aborted.  That’s three times as many deaths, most of which were solely for convenience. — editor

BBC SHOWS CLEAR BIAS – Katty Kay, BBC’s anchor on Monday evening, wore a very formal black outfit.  I’ve never seen her in black before.  One can only assume she was mourning the death of RBG. — editor

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ARABS ARE LEARNING THEY NEED THE JEWS

Emirati writer Salam Hamid, founder and head of the Al-Mezmaah Studies and Research Center in Dubai, published an article titled “The Cost of the Expulsion of the Arab Jews” in the UAE daily Al-Ittihad, in which he lamented the expulsion of the Jews from the Arab countries following the establishment of Israel in 1948.  This expulsion, he said, was a grave mistake, since the Arab countries thereby “lost an elite population with significant wealth, property, influence, knowledge, and culture,” which could have helped them, including against Israel, and lost the potential contribution of the Jews in many spheres, especially in the financial sphere.   The Arabs, he added, should have learned a lesson from the expulsion of the Jews of Spain in 1492, and from Hitler’s expulsion of the Jews of Europe, which eventually harmed the countries that lost their Jews. He stated further that antisemitism, which is deeply entrenched in Arab societies, stems from the books that teach Islamic heritage, studied in schools throughout the Arab world, and therefore called for an overhaul of the curricula in order to strengthen tolerance and banish extremism.  (MEMRI # 8939)

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EU-CHINA TRADE TALKS

The EU and China intend to reach an accord on a bilateral investment agreement before the end of the year.   This is the main result of yesterday’s video conference between the European Union’s leaders and China’s President Xi Jinping.   The bilateral negotiations, therefore, have been making significant progress and their conclusion before the end of the year seems realistic.   German enterprises, in particular, are very interested in the treaty.   Unlike media reports to the contrary, the majority of these enterprises are not leaving the People’s Republic of China due to current political tensions, but in many cases are even “strengthening” their presence, as the European Chamber of Commerce in China notes.   Whereas EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner Josep Borrell warns against “Chinese expansionism” and demands that the EU close ranks against Beijing, the Minister of State in the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Niels Annen, pleads for “maintaining dialog” with China:  independence from the USA should be preserved in the conflict with Beijing.   (German Foreign Policy, 9/17/2020)

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US DEBT EXCEEDS GNP

The federal government is about to hit a regrettable post-World War II milestone, as government debt will meet, or exceed, the size of the entire U.S. economy.  The last time U.S. government debt was bigger than U.S. GDP was 1946, as the nation wrapped up its war-time spending surge.

This time around, the rapid debt rise is due to three main factors: a massive economic contraction resulted in falling tax receipts.  But government spending reached unprecedented levels to avoid even more economic pain.     (http://forliberty.news/2020/09/03/federal-government-reaches-ugly-post-ww2-milestone-debt-bigger-gdp-rs-nl/)

“As of July, the public debt of the United States was $26.48 trillion, up $4.45 trillion from the previous year.  Americans credit card debt is nearly $1 trillion, a record high.  Some 43 million adult Americans carry a combined student debt of $1.5 trillion.”  (“Thrift and Simplicity:  a Pathway to Happiness,” The Epoch Times, 9/9/2020).

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IMPERIAL REDUX

BEST ARTICLE ON SLAVERY – “The Real reason our statues are under attack”, by Richard Palmer.  (9/20).  “The slave trade was incredibly profitable.  A slave in the Americas would sell for about eight times the price he cost in Africa.  And in 1805, Britain became the undisputed master of the world’s oceans after winning the Battle of Trafalgar.  The stage seemed set for Britain to profit more than ever from this evil trade.

“Instead. The opposite happened.   In March 1807, Britain outlawed the slave trade.  In his book “Empire” Niall Ferguson called it an “astonishing volte-face.”    “Towards the end of the 18th century, something changed dramatically,” he writes, “it was almost as if a switch was flicked in the British psyche.”

“It is not easy to explain so profound a change in the ethics of a people,” he continues.   “It used to be argued that slavery was abolished simply because it had ceased to be profitable, but all the evidence points the other way:  In fact, it was abolished despite the fact that it was still profitable. “Instead, Britain had a “collective change of heart.”

“But Britain did more than simply stop participating in this trade. It used its diplomatic clout to ensure other nations ended slavery . . .  No other nation was going around the world cajoling other nations to end the slave trade . . .

“But abolishing the slave trade didn’t free the slaves already at work.  Thus, Britain’s anti-slavery campaigners pushed on.  In 1833, the United Kingdom passed the Slavery Abolition Act, outlawing the practice within British colonies.  When this law came into effect, 800,000 slaves were freed.

“To pass this law through Parliament, it had to be “compensated emancipation,” meaning slave owners were paid for the slaves they had to free.  Many on the left criticize this today.   But the fact is, uncompensated emancipation would have taken much longer.  The reformers chose to be pragmatic and freed the slaves as soon as they could.  Britain had to take out a loan so massive that it only finished paying it off in 2015.

“The UK, alone in all nations of the world, put forth a huge effort to shut this trade down.  In 1808, during the Napoleonic War, with the nation still fighting for survival, Britain set up the West Africa Squadron.  It patrolled the sea of Africa’s west coast looking for slave ships.

“Britain’s naval dominance was now assured, and so “for the first 30 years of Victoria’s reign, the Royal Navy’s chief task was the interception of slavers.”  (Heaven’s Command, Jan Morris)

“In theory, Britain was leading a multinational effort; but in practice, no one else made any significant contributions.”  (The Philadelphia Trumpet)

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BARBADOS TO BECOME A REPUBLIC

Not a US style republic, but an Irish one, where the Queen is simply replaced as Head of State by an appointed president.   The people will not have a say in this.  They have been talking about a republic for twenty years.   When my wife and I visited the country in the year 2000 local radio was discussing the issue.  One young, black Barbadian, told us she was very concerned about a potential loss of freedom when the Queen is removed.  The Barbadian Labour Party controls all but one seat in parliament.   A simple two thirds majority is required to approve the change.  This  makes dictatorship much easier.  A republic always gives more power to politicians.

There is also speculation that China is behind the move, as its ties to Barbados are growing.

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German Development Bank earmark R96 million for Cape Town     by Marvin Charles, Cape Town

The Republic of Germany and the German Development Bank announced they would give the City €5 million (R96 million) for relief aid, for identified communities within the metro.  The German Development Bank, KfW, has sent a written request to mayor Dan Plato, outlining the offer to support communities within the City.

The City said the funds would not be disbursed to the City, and will not be incorporated into the City’s budget, in the conditions laid out as part of the agreement signed by the City and the German ambassador.  KfW’s Silke Stadtmann and Peter Weinert said in a letter to Plato:   “Through these emergency measures, about 25000 families and pregnant women in need could be supported with a digital food voucher worth about R600 per month, for about three months.

”The focus of the aid would be families and single parents with children under the age of seven “as well as foreign families who do not qualify to receive government support grants.”

The areas that would be receiving relief include Khayelitsha, Hanover Park, Manenberg, Gugulethu and Nyanga and, if funds are still available, Bonteheuwel.  KfW said some of the money would be used to support informal businesses, such as urban vegetable gardens and early childhood development centres.  In a report that was tabled by the mayoral committee, the City said the relief was the latest development in a successful relationship with the German Development Bank, which had seen 15.5m contributed since 2007.  The money went into a programme called Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrading, which aims to prevent crime through environmental design, as well as social programmes.

Further comment was sought from the City but they were unable to respond to questions by the time of publication.

* €1 is equivalent to R19.34 as of 19 September 2020. (by Marvin Charles, IOL, Cape Town)

(https://www.iol.co.za/capeargus/news/germany-german-development-bank-earmark-r96-million-for-city-of-cape-town-f632ca19-3835-46d8-a8b6-b3cc1564bfca)

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TO THE POINT

• EU SUMMIT CANCELLED – as President Charles Michel has to self-isolate.
• Pubs in England face 10pm closing time:   Pubs, bars, restaurants and other hospitality venues in England will have to close at 10pm from Thursday, as the UK’s Covid-19 alert level moved to four.  The upgrade in severity means the risk of transmission is now “high or rising exponentially,” with Boris Johnson set to announce the new measures in the House of Commons before addressing the nation in a live broadcast at 8pm this evening.  (The Week, 9/22/2020)
• STRENGTHENING TIES BETWEEN CHINA, RUSSIA AND IRAN: China’s defense ministry announced Friday it would conduct the “Caucus 2020” military drills alongside Russia and Iran.  According to China’s state-run The Global Times, Beijing hopes to use the joint drills with Russia as a way to strengthen diplomatic and strategic co-operation between Moscow and Beijing.   The military drills that are causing anxiety in the West will run throughout next week.  (Daily Express, 9/20/2020)
• LOSS OF FREEDOM:   PETER HITCHENS:  “Most people have far too readily accepted limits to their lives which the world’s tyrannies would once have hesitated to impose on their citizens. Well, have you had enough yet? ”  (Peter Hitchens, Daily Mail, 9/20/2020)
• LANSING POLICE MORE LIKELY TO ARREST BLACK KIDS – a front page headline in the Lansing State Journal on Sunday.  ‘Blacks are about 28% of youth, but 70% of arrests.”   Not mentioned in the article is the comment made by African-American writer Shelby Steele last week, that 75% of black children do not have a father living with them.   Could that be the reason African-American teens are more likely to get into crime?   And consequently more likely to be arrested?
• TWISTED THINKING — Iranian Preacher Condemns Charlie Hebdo:  The West Spreads Islamophobia, Westerners Will Be Annihilated; Iranian Ayatollah:  Why Is Insulting The Prophet Considered Free Speech While Europe Executes People For Investigating The False Holocaust?  (Memri #8288)    It should be noted that no western country executes people for “investigating the false Holocaust.”  Except for some states in the US, the death penalty has been abolished in every western nation. — editor

 

QUEEN ELIZABETH LONGEST REIGNING MONARCH

Westminster Abbey’s bells will peal, a flotilla will sail down the River Thames and a gun salute will ring out on Wednesday as Queen Elizabeth II becomes the longest-serving monarch in British history.

Today at 5.30pm British Summer Time, Queen Elizabeth II became the longest reigning monarch in British history, overtaking the record set by her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria.

She still has some way to go to pass the longest reigning European monarchs,   Austrian Emperor Franz Josef (1848-1916) and France’s Louis XIV (1643-1715).   However, the latter doesn’t really count as he was only five when he became “king,” meaning that his mother and Cardinal Mazarin ruled in his place.

Thailand’s current king was crowned in May 1950 so he’s been around even longer than the British monarch.

A PBS documentary on the queen aired last week.   The one-hour documentary is available on DVD.   It’s part of the “In their own words” occasional series.   There was one mistake in the program when a BBC broadcast announcing that “the king’s life draws peacefully to a close” was applied to her father, King George VI, who died in 1952.   The recording dates to January 1936 when his father, George V, was dying.   The queen’s father was found dead in bed on February 6^th, 1952.   He had been out hunting the previous day. Elizabeth and her husband were in Kenya, on a tour of the empire, when he died.

The monarchy goes back over one thousand years.  It has evolved through the centuries into today’s constitutional monarchy.   The system has worked very well, giving Britain and the other Commonwealth realms (which include Canada, Australia and New Zealand) an unparalleled period of political stability, without which economic progress is difficult to achieve.

The very complimentary documentary highlighted Elizabeth’s role as constitutional monarch, using her influence rather than authority in chaperoning the country for over sixty years.   It’s been a time of unprecedented change, as was Victoria’s in the nineteenth century.

The program began with then Princess Elizabeth’s 21^st birthday broadcast from Cape Town, South Africa.   In her own words she pledged herself to serve “the great imperial family to which we all belong,” a reference to the Empire and Commonwealth, which included South Africa.

Immediately after these words were shown on the documentary, a royal expert then added a comment about her lifelong service to Britain.

There’s a blind spot here, which obscures Britain’s incredible decline during her reign.   As she is a constitutional monarch, the blame for this decline rests with the politicians, especially the twelve British prime ministers who have served under her.   Her Canadian, Australian and New Zealand prime ministers can also share some of that responsibility.

The fact is that the British Empire has gone and its successor, the Commonwealth (the “British” was dropped 50 years ago) is no more than a shadow of what it was.   It may not even survive the queen’s passing.   The queen remains Head of State of 16 countries and has 138 million subjects.   She is also titular Head of the Commonwealth, an organization of 54 former colonies.   It remains to be seen if Prince Charles will be able to hold it all together after he succeeds his mother.

Sir John Major, her ninth British prime minister, said in the documentary that throughout all the changes of the last six decades, the queen has been the one “constant” in the country, giving a sense of continuity and stability during monumental and significant changes.   This is true, but it hides some painful realities.

The loss of empire saw a rapid decline in global power.   The country’s military capability is about one-twelfth of what it was at the beginning of her reign – and continues to decline even under a Conservative administration.   The queen’s international role remains at the core of British “soft power,” along with the BBC World Service and British aid.   This soft power has replaced the strong military power it used to have.

With the empire gone, Britain entered the European Common Market (now the European Union), which has progressively taken away the UK’s independence.   Under the EU’s freedom of movement rules, millions of people from other European countries have been able to move to Britain, changing the composition of the nation’s population.

Added to this has been mass immigration from Commonwealth countries like India and Pakistan.

The changes are so significant, it’s fair to say that the Great Britain she inherited in 1952 and the Great Britain of today are two very different countries.   It’s amusing to remember that in 1949, when she was Princess Elizabeth, she spoke out against the evils of divorce.   The nation would not take kindly to such comments today and the queen would not be qualified to speak on the subject anyway as her own family has seen a few divorces.

None of this detracts from the great accomplishments of Elizabeth II.   She has set an incredible example of service.   Her sense of duty is unsurpassed by anybody in any field.   In her own personal private life she has set a fine example, never putting a foot wrong.

In many ways, the world was a better place when the Queen ascended the throne on February 6^th, 1952 (the Coronation was in June the following year).   At that time, she presided over the greatest empire in history.   As countries were given independence, all too often they were taken over by self-serving bad leaders who destroyed much of what Britain had accomplished, enriching themselves by stealing from their own people.   They were often from the lowest echelons of society, suddenly receiving absolute power, which they abused in every way.

I remember an incident 35 years ago at a time when Ghana, in West Africa, was going through a long period of political instability and economic chaos, I stopped to buy some food at the side of the road. When I opened my wallet, the lady who was selling me the items, saw a British bank note with the portrait of the queen on it.   The lady sighed and said:   “Ah, Queen Elizabeth.   She used to be our queen.   Now we have so many presidents, we cannot count them all. And we are in such a mess.   And England still has the queen.”   Stability is so important.

Two verses in the Book of Ecclesiastes illustrate this so well:

“Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child,
And your princes feast in the morning!
^“Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles,
And your princes feast at the proper time —
For strength and not for drunkenness!”   (Eccl. 10:16-17.)

Britain has been greatly blessed with Elizabeth II as Queen.

As many are saying today:    “Long may she reign!”