Sixty Joyless De-Britished Uncrowned Commonpoor Years (1949-2009)

Elizabeth II Vice-Regal Saint: Remembering Paul Comtois (1895–1966), Lt.-Governor of Québec
Britannic Inheritance: Britain's proud legacy. What legacy will America leave?
English Debate: Daniel Hannan revels in making mince meat of Gordon Brown
Crazy Canucks: British MP banned from Canada on national security grounds
Happy St. Patrick's: Will Ireland ever return to the Commonwealth?
Voyage Through the Commonwealth: World cruise around the faded bits of pink.
No Queen for the Green: The Green Party of Canada votes to dispense with monarchy.
"Sir Edward Kennedy": The Queen has awarded the senator an honorary Knighthood.
President Obama: Hates Britain, but is keen to meet the Queen?
The Princess Royal: Princess Anne "outstanding" in Australia.
H.M.S. Victory: In 1744, 1000 sailors went down with a cargo of gold.
Queen's Commonwealth: Britain is letting the Commonwealth die.
Justice Kirby: His support for monarchy almost lost him appointment to High Court
Royal Military Academy: Sandhurst abolishes the Apostles' Creed.
Air Marshal Alec Maisner, R.I.P. Half Polish, half German and 100% British.
Cherie Blair: Not a vain, self regarding, shallow thinking viper after all.
Harry Potter: Celebrated rich kid thinks the Royals should not be celebrated
The Royal Jelly: A new king has been coronated, and his subjects are in a merry mood
Victoria Cross: Australian TROOPER MARK DONALDSON awarded the VC
Godless Buses: Royal Navy veteran, Ron Heather, refuses to drive his bus
Labour's Class War: To expunge those with the slightest pretensions to gentility
100 Top English Novels of All Time: The Essential Fictional Library
BIG BEN: Celebrating 150 Years of the Clock Tower

Monday 4 February 2008

There never was an England

'Don't teach children patriotism'

"Patriotism should be avoided in school lessons because British history is “morally ambiguous”, a leading educational body recommends.

History and citizenship lessons should stick to the bare facts rather than encouraging loyalty to Britain when covering subjects such as the Second World War or the British Empire, the Institute of Education researchers said. Teachers should not instill pride in what they consider great moments of British history, as more shameful episodes could be downplayed or excluded.

The slave trade, imperialism and 20th century wars should be taught as controversial issues while students are deciding how they feel about their country, the report says..."


'Tony Blair's Britain': Hat tip to Small Dead Animals

Faint hope: Brown is all that stands between Blair and the EU presidency

"What started off as a joke is growing more serious by the hour. Bets are being laid on the next EU president and the favourite is one Anthony Charles Lynton Blair. Ladbrokes has cut him from 3/1 to 2/1, perhaps after the Guardian piece this morning. Put aside the (rich) comic value of all this, the appointment has its logic. If you want the EU to pack a diplomatic punch (I don't) then this depends to a huge degree on getting heavy-hitter who knows how to work the circuit. Who better than the globe-trotting Blair? Next, it will help keep Britain onside. The Tories would find it that bit harder to renegotiate EU membership if a Brit like Blair is the face of the EU banging on about making it a benign alliance of nation states..."

2 comments:

Lord Best said...

Oh yes, because stripping away the emotional bonds which can tie diverse populations spread over large areas is only going to help a society that has already lost most of its cohesion. My god, these people claim to be educated?
Patriotism and nationalism developed to help enmesh disperate communities together with common bonds, the very basis of a stable and peaceful society rely on a common love of ones country. The alternatives are feudalism or despotism.
A first year politics student would know better than this. And some people still insist on blaming outsiders for the Wests troubles...

Anonymous said...

These people would not be happier if British history was instead reduced to a retelling of only the inglorious aspects of Britain's story.

And so we would learn about slave ships plying the Atlantic in the 18th Century, but not a word on the Royal Navy suppressing slavery across the globe. And probably a lot about the rise of Mobeley's fascists in the 1930s but nothing about WW2.

These people make me physically sick.