Tag Archives: Queen Elizabeth II

International news

Trump reveals his smallness

Donald J. Trump just can’t help himself, as he takes every opportunity he can find to reveal his smallness, his pettiness and shows with graphic clarity why he is so profoundly unfit to serve as our nation’s head of state.

Consider what he said about President and Mrs. Biden’s attendance at Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. Trump just had to denigrate the current president by taking note that he didn’t have a front-row seat among the dignitaries invited to attend the service.

Trump went on social media to declare that had he been POTUS, he would’ve had a much better seat than those offered to the Bidens.

Is there anything more remarkable than this, anything that demonstrates more just how idiotic the ex-POTUS can be? Yeah, there probably are other examples. I just cannot let this demonstration of moronic self-indulgence pass without mentioning — once again! — how unfit for public office this guy has been for his entire adult life.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

International news

Queen Elizabeth: constant is gone

It seems odd for me to believe this, but as I watch this morning the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, I am struck by the realization that for my entire life she was among those world leaders who remained a constant presence in my life.

Now she’s gone … forever.

I am not a “royalist.” Nor do I fixate on the comings, goings and happenings with all the members of the British royal family. I was saddened, certainly, by Diana’s death 25 years ago, but I got over it. I have been chagrined by the Andrew’s behavior, but I’ll get over that, too. The so-called rift between Harry and the rest of the clan? Pfft! That’ll pass.

Queen Elizabeth II, though, has been front and center of all things British for almost my entire life, which means that for as long as I have been aware of anything other than my immediate needs as a toddler, she’s been well, just there.

King Charles III is now the man, the head of state. It’s going to take some time for Charles III to assume the role of ever-present figure on the world stage. He might not live long enough to achieve the status that his “mummy” assumed.

I just am filled at this moment with a strange sense of something — or someone — missing from my conscious thoughts.

It has to be Queen Elizabeth II. I’m going to miss her.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

International news

It’s just going to be President and Mrs. Biden

Well, it appears that President Biden won’t have to wring his hands over who would accompany him and his wife to Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral in a few days.

The royal family invited only the Bidens, meaning that the president and first lady will travel to the United Kingdom by themselves to attend Her Majesty’s funeral.

There had been some chatter over whether Biden would invite any or all of his presidential predecessors to the funeral. I had argued that Biden should invite Donald Trump, even though his immediate predecessor has a ton of baggage that might preclude his accepting an invitation. You know what I’m talking about.

That won’t happen. It’s just the current POTUS and the first lady. Biden has accepted the invitation formally.

That’s that. The president won’t be losing any sleep … at least not over this matter.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

environmental news, International news

Will the king follow the queen’s example?

Queen Elizabeth II established many hallmarks that set her apart during her 70-year reign as the United Kingdom’s monarch. One of them was her reticence to get involved politically.

As near as anyone could tell, Her Majesty kept every single opinion she had on pressing issues of the day to herself. She chose to keep the most private counsel possible.

She is now gone, of course. King Charles III has ascended to the throne. His Majesty has spent a good bit of his life getting involved — deeply, I should add — in matters that affect the entire world. I am thinking of this moment of climate change. He also has been outspoken about HIV/AIDS research and, while he was married to his first wife, Princess Diana, in the proliferation of land mines left behind after conflicts around the world.

These all are noble causes that deserved royal attention and his great and eternal credit, the king lent his name to those efforts.

As an outsider looking in from far away, I am left to wonder now whether King Charles III will use his even more elevated platform to continue the fight against climate change. Or will he follow his dear Mum’s example and step away, seeking to preserve the standing she enjoyed as the universally loved and admired British monarch?

On the matter involving climate change, I hope he chooses the former path and continues to lend his considerable standing to the planet’s greatest existential threat.

We only have one planet to inhabit. We need to take care of it. Your Majesty, lend your voice to that battle.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

International news, national news, political news

Go ahead, Mr. POTUS, invite Donald

Protocol at times can be cause for heartburn, perhaps even a sleepless night or two.

President Biden has been invited as our head of state to Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, set for Sept. 19. The royal family has left it up to all the invitees to determine who will accompany them to the funeral.

OK, so you might be wondering: Does the current president invite his immediate predecessor to accompany him to London to say farewell to the universally beloved queen?

My take? Sure. Why not?

You also might be wondering: Would Donald J. Trump accept such an invitation? 

My guess? Not in a zillion years.

Joe Biden is a firm believer, it appears, in presidential tradition and custom, unlike his immediate predecessor. So, it would seem only fitting for the current president to include all the living former presidents to join him. Indeed, all these men — Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Trump — met with the queen during their times in office. They all have issued gracious statements in response to the death of the UK’s longest-serving monarch.

Trump, though, presents a unique set of issues. He hasn’t yet even acknowledged publicly that he lost to Biden. He continues to foment The Big Lie about “widespread voter fraud” that did not exist during the election. He has suggested he would issue blanket pardons for the treasonous assailants who attacked the Capitol on 1/6 were he sent back to the White House.

The evidence is mounting damn near daily that an indictment or three awaits the ex-POTUS for his role in inciting the violence on 1/6, not to mention the discovery of top-secret documents in the basement of his home in Florida. Sheesh …

Does he intend to play second-fiddle to Joe Biden on Air Force One? No way, man!

I believe President Joe Biden would be smart to extend the invitation … and then let Donald Trump live with the consequences of declining it.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

International news

Astonishing display of love

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I haven’t had much exposure to monarchies over the years I have been able to travel. I’ve been to Thailand a couple of times, to Denmark, and, yes, to Great Britain.

They all share something in common, besides being ruled by royalty: One doesn’t hear public criticism of the ruling monarch.

The world is now mourning the death of someone who could be called Earth’s reigning monarch. Queen Elizabeth II is being heralded as the worldwide grandmother, a symbol of peace and stability. Indeed, I have heard some commentators refer to her as “the perfect monarch.”

She kept her opinions to herself, unlike the son who succeeds her, King Charles III, who for many decades has been a staunch advocate for measures to curb climate change.

I am continuing to relish the universal love that is pouring forth as the world mourns Her Majesty’s death. It has given me a wonderful respite from the nastiness that usually pervades the headlines and dominates our broadcast and cable news coverage.

It’s just so rare to experience the love that is being showered on the memory of a woman who stood at the center of the public’s attention for 70 years. May she continue to stand there for a while longer as we prepare to bid her farewell.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

International news, media news

Getting joy from sad news

Allow me this bit of strange candor, which is that I am deriving a bit of perverse joy in commemorating the life of someone who today left this good Earth, but whose legacy of goodness and strength will live forever.

Queen Elizabeth II died today. We heard that all four of her children many of her grandchildren had been summoned to her bedside in Balmoral Castle. When I heard that I knew immediately that the end was at hand.

Then she was gone. Prince Charles has become King Charles III.

But as I watch the news and the telling of her life story, I am filled with a sort of relief I am getting from the suspension of interest in tempest, turmoil, The Big Lie and its consequence, of insurrection and a special master, of the unsettled political climate in this country.

Instead, I am relishing the reporting of a life well-lived and of the profound difference the world’s most recognizable monarch made on her country and those she touched throughout her 70-year reign as Her Majesty the Queen of England.

We all will return in due course to the twists and turns of contemporary life. It’s a hell of a ride we’re on, right? For the moment, though, I am going to focus on the life of a monarch who — as near as I can tell — was among those rarest of public officials.

You see, Queen Elizabeth II was held in seemingly universal esteem. All this coverage of her life and the affection she earned throughout the world is giving my frayed nerves a chance to recoup and recover.

How in the world does it get better than that?

I likely won’t wait too long before wading back into the rip tide of madness that occupies so much of our attention these days. For now, though, I am going to relish the tributes pouring in to honor a truly great world figure.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

International news

There are iconic figures … and then The Queen

It sounds so strange at this moment to actually realize that the world in which we live no longer includes Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

The queen died today at 96. She had served for 70 years as head of state of the United Kingdom. Her eldest son, Charles, is now King Charles III.

It is going to require a bit of time to wrap my noodle around this news. Elizabeth served as a towering figure — despite her dimunitive stature — for as long as I can remember. I am now 72, which means that I have known this world only in the context of Queen Elizabeth II.

Now she’s gone.

What no one has said in the immediate aftermath of the queen’s death is that the UK in the span of one week has seen a change in the head of government — with Liz Truss taking over from Boris Johnson as prime minister — and now a change in the head of state.

Queen Elizabeth II enjoyed a standing few world leaders ever achieve, which appeared — at least to me — to be of universal admiration. As I look back on her many decades as the UK’s monarch, I am trying to recall a single derogatory remark uttered in public against her. I keep coming up empty.

King Charles won’t enjoy that standing, given his own personal history. But if the Brits can embrace him, who among the rest of us is qualified to pass judgment?

Talk about the end of an era.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

International news

See ya, Prince Andrew

I always have believed that when two parties settle out of court in a legal dispute in which one party accuses the other of doing something nasty or illegal, that the accused is — in a manner of speaking — acknowledging that he or she has done wrong.

So it is that Prince Andrew, son of Queen Elizabeth II, has agreed to pay a woman a hefty sum of money after she accused him of sexual misconduct with her. According to Reuters: The settlement by the 61-year-old Duke of York includes an undisclosed payment to Virginia Giuffre, a woman who had accused him of sexually abusing her when she was a teenager. The settlement, revealed on Tuesday in a Manhattan court filing, said he had never intended to malign her character.

No way back for Prince Andrew after abuse settlement, royal watchers say (msn.com)

Well, I am going out on a limb here with this observation, but it appears to me that Prince Andrew’s time as a public member of the British royal family has come to a halt. Guiffre accused Andrew of having sex with her as part of some sex orgy orchestrated by Jeffrey Epstein, the hideous sex trafficker.

Her Majesty the Queen already has stripped her son of his military rank and his standing as a spokesman for assorted charitable causes. Why did she do that? My hunch is that QEII believed the accusation leveled against Andrew. So, she acted proactively.

Now comes the settlement. Andrew must not have wanted this matter to go to trial for reasons that seem quite clear: He didn’t want any public testimony that details what he allegedly did to/with this young woman.

He denies ever meeting her. Oh, but wait! There’s that picture of the two of them; in the background is Ghislaine Maxwell, former girlfriend of the late Jeffrey Epstein, who hanged himself in a New York City jail cell in 2019.

Goodbye, Prince Andrew. Your 15 minutes of fame have expired.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

International news

Andrew gets defrocked

It looks for all the world as though we could be watching a one-time prominent member of the world’s pre-eminent royal family being excommunicated in real time, sent to the proverbial woodshed and given a public battering from his mother, her Majesty the Queen of England.

Queen Elizabeth II has stripped Prince Andrew, her second-oldest son, of his military rank and removed him from all his charitable causes. This is in reaction to the stunning news of his alleged involvement with an underage girl who claims Andrew had sex with her “multiple times” while she was being, um, “handled” by a notorious sex trafficker, the late Jeffrey Epstein.

I have no way on Earth in knowing what’s going through Her Majesty’s mind about this, but my gut and my trick knee tell me her decision to bust Andrew of his military standing and take his charitable causes away is based on her belief in the allegations that have been leveled against her son.

The end game? He’s likely done as a working member of Great Britain’s royal family. I doubt seriously at this moment that we’re going to see Prince Andrew attending any public functions involving the royals … ever again!

What lies ahead for the fallen prince? He is being sued by Epstein’s victim. He could challenge the lawsuit and possibly lose. Or he could settle out of court, which to my way of thinking is an admission of some level of guilt.

Either way, Andrew is likely finished.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com