THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING PART II

At the end of October the Guardian broke the following story:-

‘Prince Charles has been offered a veto over 12 government bills since 2005 Ministers sought prince's consent under secretive constitutional loophole on bills covering issues from gambling to the Olympics’*

In the subsequent episode of BBC’s Question Time the panel made light of the affair, an extremely wealthy unelected individual having a veto over the legislation of a democratically elected government apparantly exiting little concern. I have heard nothing of this matter since.
Last June the Prince delivered a lecture at The Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford** on the topic of ‘Islam and the Environment.' The lecture was organised by the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, of which the Prince is patron, to celebrate its 25th anniversary. Amongst the targets of the lecture, the theme of which was ‘that the current economic and environmental crisis is the result of a deeper crisis of the soul, ** was Galileo, whom the prince blamed for the ascendancy of materialism. This he contrasted with Islam which was ‘a custodian...a priceless gift to the rest of world."# He went on to plead for “Islamic scholars, artists, teachers and engineers to fuse the spiritual and practical worlds.” The Prince whose income last year was over £19 million went on to state “we are clearly living beyond our means.”
This infantile New Age piffle would be laughable if it were not for the setting and the person spouting it. The fact that the intellectually challenged Prince, next in line as head of state, is now cosying up to a version of Islam that is antithetical to modernity and the legacy of the enlightenment is positively sinister. Though it would seem that HRH is sufficiently concerned that her eldest son might not be sufficiently hinged as it were that she is determined to keep his bum of the seat for as long as possible. As for Galileo one suspects that in the great scheme of things his contribution to human endeavour might be deemed somewhat more significant than the pathetic ramblings of an unemployed and unemployable Dauphin.

*Robert Booth guardian.co.uk, Sunday 30 October 2011 21.00 GMT

** I am grateful to Christopher Hitchens book ‘Arguably’ and the chapter ‘Prince of Piffle,’ for drawing my attention to this lecture.

*** http://www.cherwell.org/news/2010/06/10/charles-blames-galileo-for-scientific-greed.

# ibid.





Popular posts from this blog

NESRINE MALIK AND THE UNSUNG VIRTUES OF HYPOCRISY

Image
As I write this a 27 year old woman, Mariam Ibrahim, has just had a baby in a Sudanese prison, ‘the condition of the mother and baby is not known as Ibrahim's lawyer and her husband, a US citizen, had been denied access to her. Omdurman women's prison has a basic clinic, where the child is thought to have been born. Ibrahim has been shackled since being imprisoned.’ [1]   Mariam also has an 18 month old child who is also being held in prison with her. The ‘crime’ for which she is imprisoned is apostasy, for which she has received the death sentence. She has also been sentenced to 100 lashes, for the additional crime of having sex with her Christian husband. Although she has been a lifelong Christian her father was a Muslim, Sudanese sharia law forbids women to marry outside the Muslim faith, men needless to say can do as they please in these matters. Mariam Ibrahim and her husband.  Nineteen countries punish their citizens for apostasy, and in 12 of those countries...
Read more

INTERVIEW WITH TOM VAGUE

Image
Tom Vague At the top end of All Saints Road there is a refuge, an enclave in which a local Bohemian culture retains a foothold, this is the Book & kitchen , a cafĂ©/bookshop with adjoining terrace. Here the bustle of the nearby market gives way to conversation, conversation in the presence of images of the recent, and not so recent, past. The past of an area that has contributed so much to the life and culture of the city. I was there to meet local historian Mr Tom Vague a man intimately familiar with so much of this history. What Tom doesn’t know about the recent history of the area probably is not worth knowing. With Tom’s energy and effort Colville Community Forum, supported by City Living Local Life, recently held a gathering at The Book and Kitchen to celebrate this rich history. February 16 6-9 Pm, with Film Screening and Readings Exhibition February 16-26 2016. Featuring 30 Classic Westway Photographs and Posters. This represents one of a number of initiatives of t...
Read more

VOLINE AND TROTSKY

Đ’Đ¾Đ»Đ¸Đ½ и Đ¢Ñ€Đ¾Ñ†ĐºĐ¾Đ³Đ¾ A Footnote in Russian History In April 1917 the Russian anarchist revolutionary Voline* and Leon Trotsky were both stranded in New York as the Russian revolution broke out in Petrograd , inevitably coming into contact with one another. Voline stated that he felt that the Bolsheviks, given their ruthlessness and single minded determination, would ultimately come to power. They would then begin eliminating their opponents, amongst whom of course were the anarchists; this persecution would end with the Bolsheviks shooting the anarchists “like partridges.” Trotsky was dismissive, they might have their differences but they were comrades in arms, they had different interpretations of the revolutionary process but shared the same goals. It was nonsense to speak of Bolsheviks shooting revolutionary comrades, “we are socialists, comrade Voline! So we are not your enemies….” [1] In December of 1919, whilst gravely wounded Voline was captured by the Bolshe...
Read more