Zinger

Yeah Al Jazeera is one of the stations I get on my "LiveStation" on the PC. France 24 is another. Both are kind of heavy on African news but so much better at international news in general. There are a couple of Al Jazeera features that I don't watch much. I don't dislike them but just aren't interested in them much (The Stream and South2North). I just switch to France 24 when they're on.

And yeah I'd say they aren't as biased and much more informative than US stations on Middle East issues especially. They seem to cover the angles from both sides well. I don't always need my news about the impact of the US on world affairs sugar coated and don't really care what my fellow hicks think anyway.

Jim from Boston

Hi, my name is Jim and I listen to political talk shows while I ride.

(The Royal Birth was the first item of discussion this morning here in Boston at 6AM).

GeneO 

Lets see

MTV has become ?
The network news is now Enterainment tonight
The History channel has become the Pawn Stars Channel (used to be the Area 51channel)
The History 2 channel has become the ghosts channel
The National Geographic Channel has become the outdoor reality series channel
The learning channel has become the stupidest reality show channel

There is not much good programming on any of these. And the rest is complete garbage. Can you say "Honey Boo boo "

Palladium and PBS are is the only channels that are what they purport to be. Wonder what garbage they will morph into

That was the promise of cable TV - educational programming for the masses

miss kenton

I may be the only one on this thread to feel so, but I am thrilled and excited to hear of the birth of the healthy, baby boy. I think his parents seem like a lovely couple, and with all the horrors we see and read about on a daily basis, it is nice to see something joyful celebrated. I can't wait until the next time someone I know visits Britain so that I can have them pick me up an commemorative tea-cup!

Huzzah for the new Prince of Cambridge!

-=(8)=-

I agree.
I love stuff related to the Monarchy.
In a world with so much ugliness and ME ME ME ME ME, I actually am
happy some people can take time out to celebrate this happy, harmless
little tidbit of history. Makes me want to dust off Eastenders rerun CD's
and have a spot o tea for the new princelette

Wogster

As a Canadian I am following the royal baby news, although I doubt I will live long enough to see this new born crowned, I am wishing William and Catherine well as they enjoy their new bundle of joy.

miss kenton

Hahaha! I LOVED the Eastenders--the only soap opera I ever watched!

Rowan

It's odd how people want to rip on others' interests and pleasures.

I am sure there are millions who are happy that their TV air time is no longer sullied by what they think is a three-week, grass-growing, paint-drying torture called the Tour de France.

Let others have their enjoyments in life like you want yours.

ModeratedUser150120149

[QUOTE=miss kenton;15877680 I LOVED the Eastenders--the only soap opera I ever watched![/QUOTE]


What!?!? You don't watch Downton Abby?

CraigB

There have been times and places where monarchy has been not much more than ugliness and ME ME ME ME ME.

That said, the British royal family doesn't particularly bother me, though I find the fascination with them fascinating in itself. Why the commoners are so taken with the vestiges of a system that embodies the notion of nobility and inherent worthiness/unworthiness by virtue of birth, besides costing the nation a ton and a half of money to support, is beyond me. The best I can muster for it is "quaint." But that's just curmudgeonly me.

Loose Chain

And National Lampoon is in the White House and the USA is their stage. Talk about reality TV, I would even watch that one. But, I would have to go buy a TV!

LC

t4mv

Hmmm, this works on so many levels... I nominate yours for thought of the day.

I think one of the best parts of cycling (at least for me) is being completely unplugged for however long I'm out riding.

miss kenton

Who said I don't watch Downton Abbey!?!?!?! ...and "The Midwife"...and "Rosemary and Thyme"???

Frankfast

I worked with a couple of Irishmen who claimed the royal family to be the wealthiest welfare recipients in the world. The tourists love them and for that they serve a purpose....I guess.

doctor j

OK, I'm unfamiliar with a Kardashian. I haven't seen one in this area. Are they carbon fiber, titanium, steel, or aluminum? Race or relaxed geometry?

volosong

Actually wood, and a very hollow one at that. Not very strong and they seem to swell in size as they get older.

chasm54

It's a ludicrous system, no denying it. But even a devout republican (in the non-American sense of the word) like me has to admit that there are some advantages in separating the roles of Head of State and Head of Government, and in elevating the former above party politics. Turns it into a unifying figure, to an extent.

Calling it a King or a Queen and choosing it on the hereditary principle is absurd, of course. But it seems popular, at the moment, and it isn't immediately easy to come up with an alternative system that wouldn't be divisive.

mapeiboy

Love them ? now I can see why people's IQ are so low these days .

Totoboa

I haven't seen the "Kill Your Television" bumper sticker in a while.

Wogster

Most of the Western Monarchies in existence today are a form called a Constitutional Monarchy, where the King or Queen, as head of state is not involved in the day to day running of government, which is often an elected parliamentary system. This is similar to a Parliamentary Republic where an elected head of state is basically a drop in replacement for such a monarch. Most of the power is held by the Parliament, with some reserve powers retained, the monarch (or a selected representative of the monarch) signs passed bills into law, and has the ability to dissolve Parliament forcing an election. One of the interesting points, maintaining the monarchy has a reasonable cost. It costs Britain about £90 million a year for the monarchy, contrast that to say the cost of say a US presidential election.

chasm54

Thank you for the explanation. I have been a Brit all my life, though...

The ability to dissolve Parliament is purely formal. If the Queen tried to "force" an election it would be seen as a breach of the convention that the Head of State is above politics, and the system would rapidly change to remove that power from her.

As for how much the Monarchy costs, that is a moot point. The monarch currently receives 15% of the revenues from The Crown Estate, which owns vast amounts of property in the UK and has holdings worth about £8 bn. The remaining surplus goes to the Treasury. What would be done with that estate in the event that we became a republic is unknown, but it would probably simply be sold off.

Arguably, though, the cost of the monarchy is not to be measured in financial terms. Its principal cost is probably that it is the most cherished part of a system that is inherently backward-looking, and finds it impossible to come to terms with the UKs place in the modern world. Britain has simply not got over the loss of Empire, and continues to live in a fantasy in which it really counts on the world stage and has the freedom of action, and the clout, to take an independent and effective line. The astonishing popularity of the current Queen is partly personal - she's been around a long time and conducted herself with considerable dignity - but the rest of the hype surrounding the monarchy seems to me to stem from their being a reminder of a simpler time when we ruled the world.

Plus, a Royal family is an institution absolutely made for a culture that is obsessed with celebrity, of course. It's like the Truman Show with orbs and sceptres.

bruce19

Many years ago we had a Russian school teacher come live with us while she was participating in a cultural exchange program at the Univ. of CT. While watching TV one night she remarked, "I didn't realize that you had so much propaganda on TV here." It's not simply political or left vs. right it's cultural and keeps us living in our little bubble disconnected from the reality of the rest of the planet.

Don't get me started on the stupidity of the worship of the ""Royals."

Dudelsack 

****

CraigB

HA! I love that!

John_V 

Come on guys! You mean to say you don't enjoy watching two hours of people cooking while being yelled at by some idiot who thinks his s**t doesn't stink. How can that not be exciting?