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Help me understand something (polotics)
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RE: Help me understand something (po... (in reply to Florian)
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hey flo as far as i can work out the governor general is appointed by the queen and can over-rule our prime minister...ie the sacking of our labor government in the 70's... as far as the rest goes it is purely symbolic... no real power [except of course for the G G ) as time goes on we have been pushing for a republic since the 80's..however the issue just keeps going away until another election...so on and on.. our troops in time of conflict always seem to be there with the brits,,, usually at the front in the firing line...anzac cove...vietnam..etc so were sort of there as an amoured shield..... alot of our resources were british owned up until the 80's..now it is primarily japanese and american...with china creeping up in third place... since the immigration explosion since the 70's our ties with the uk have eroded.. as for taxes etc...i'm sure a contribution is there..have no idea of the figure but probably a GDP of a small African nation... hope to catch you at your birthday fracas!
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Date Oct. 8 2010 5:27:45
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Ron.M
Posts: 7051
Joined: Jul. 7 2003
From: Scotland
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RE: Help me understand something (po... (in reply to Florian)
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Hi Flo, The Queen has no real political power even in the UK. The Office is as Head of State and is really just ceremonial. Governor General and all these flunky jobs are really just Ambassadorial roles. The Commonwealth now really just boils down to "special relationships" and trade agreements etc although even that is diminishing with the Global Economy. Even if any historical political power is still technically with Britain, no politician would ever dare get involved in the politics of Canada, Australia etc. Christ, they have a hard enough time just trying to run the UK. The poorer Commonwealth countries receive financial aid from the richer ones and it's interesting that Britain provides millions and millions of pounds in aid to India, yet India has Nuclear weapons and a Space program and is one of the most rapidly growing economies in the World. Yet Britain is skint. Christ we even give millions in overseas aid to CHINA! (What's that all about then?) cheers, Ron PS: The Queen and the major royals DO receive a (considerable) amount of money from the Taxpayer to fund their public duties and expenses etc. (I don't know if that comes from the Commonwealth or UK only.) However reducing that would only be a fleabite in solving the massive financial problems we face. Also, contrary to what most folk think, the Queen does not live a "luxurious" lifestyle and apparently lives fairly simply according to the various palace leaks. She is unbelievably rich, but as Richard Branson said "Yeah, I'm rich, but I can only eat one breakfast, one lunch and one dinner at a time..". The younger and minor royals are more guilty of the use of public funds for their own extravagent entertainment. I'm no "royalist", but to be fair, over the years, the Queen is the only one of that lot to take the job seriously and fulfil her public duties with dignity and and conduct herself in such a way as not to cause scandal and controversy like the rest of 'em IMO.
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Date Oct. 8 2010 8:57:01
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fevictor
Posts: 377
Joined: Nov. 22 2005
From: Quepos / Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica
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RE: Help me understand something (po... (in reply to Florian)
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Dont worry Florian, people in Canada ask the same question! Or people ask the same question about Canada and its ties to England. Canada became a sovereign nation in 1867, but still had ties to England up until the 1980's...I think it was in 1982 when Canada finally separated completely from England. But although thats the case, we still also have a governor general who oversees what the government, mainly the prime minister, does and that its in accordance to the monarchy's standards. Mainly its all about respect, or at least thats the way I perceive it. We share the same Queen, traditions, etc., with no desire to be different or to rebel...unless you're from Quebec!! But thats a whole other topic. Its an interesting question though, and I bet that you'll find a lot of people from different countries within the commonwealth that have the same doubts. I learned none of this at school. It was taught, but I was too busy doodling and sleeping! I had to learn all this stuff just so I wouldn't look like a total moron once I started traveling and people started asking me questions about my country! Vic
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Date Oct. 8 2010 20:32:41
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RE: Help me understand something (po... (in reply to Chilli Fingers)
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quote:
offer drastic soloutions like compulsory hyphenated surnames...... the middle class...elitist wanna be's...Mr and Mrs Hyphen-Smith with children Laura and Ashley Hyphen-Smith. How i love pronouncing Anglo names incorrectly...a secret source of joy for the son of an immigrant family living in Australia!...but only to those who dont try....
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Date Oct. 12 2010 9:22:31
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RE: Help me understand something (po... (in reply to Ron.M)
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quote:
Pandora and Tarquin Don't forget this the Convict/Refugee/Holiday Continent ....Pandora and Tarquin's just don't survive here!....
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Date Oct. 12 2010 11:13:38
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