Thread: Goofy .......... first lady has no etiquette

  1. #1
    Malum in se abachler's Avatar
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    Goofy .......... first lady has no etiquette

    Well, someone in the state department ........ed up this time, didn't they explain to this goofy .......... that you never ever ever touch the queen under any circumstances except to shake her hand and only then if she extends her hand first, wtf...
    Last edited by abachler; 04-06-2009 at 01:19 AM.

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    C++ Witch laserlight's Avatar
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    Online sources indicate that the queen initiated contact and apparently did not have a negative reaction to the reciprocated contact. Considering also that the first lady is not a subject of the queen, and that she has a status somewhat equivalent to a queen consort, this might not actually be such a breach of protocol as some people might make it out to be.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bjarne Stroustrup (2000-10-14)
    I get maybe two dozen requests for help with some sort of programming or design problem every day. Most have more sense than to send me hundreds of lines of code. If they do, I ask them to find the smallest example that exhibits the problem and send me that. Mostly, they then find the error themselves. "Finding the smallest program that demonstrates the error" is a powerful debugging tool.
    Look up a C++ Reference and learn How To Ask Questions The Smart Way

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    And I thought it funny that the DVDs they gave to the Prime Minister were in the wrong format. Whoops!

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    Malum in se abachler's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by laserlight View Post
    Online sources indicate that the queen initiated contact and apparently did not have a negative reaction to the reciprocated contact. Considering also that the first lady is not a subject of the queen, and that she has a status somewhat equivalent to a queen consort, this might not actually be such a breach of protocol as some people might make it out to be.
    I watched the video of the incident. While the official position may be that the contact was mutual, it is obvious from the video and the queens body language that it was not mutual, expected, or acceptable. I think the queen handled it very diplomatically, and isn't willing to make it a major international incident, but made her thoughts on the matter clear in the statement 'Now we have met, keep in touch'. i.e. 'this meeting was a political necessity, but in the future communications should take place through official channels'.

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    Lurking whiteflags's Avatar
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    'Now we have met, keep in touch'. i.e. 'this meeting was a political necessity, but in the future communications should take place through official channels'.
    She would have likely said this in any case.

    Rather than inflating the importance of political sponges it is time to realize that this would not be a problem except in Britain's Imperial Century.

  6. #6
    Hail to the king, baby. Akkernight's Avatar
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    Damn these posh whiners... Even if some freak touched her bewbs it shouldn't be anything more against any other female's rights! Even tho she's the Queen doesn't mean she has more human rights! She might have more political rights and whatnot, but not being touched?
    If I slapped the Queen, I would have gotten a harder sentence than if I slapped any other human? Not that you get a sentence for slapping regular peeps...
    And I don't understand why Queens and Kings still exist! We have moved from the medieval! >.>
    Currently research OpenGL

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    Well slapping the queen is definitely a stronger statement than slapping Joe the Plumber. She's a symbol, after all. However I do agree that freaking out about a hug is kinda stupid. My grandparents are very colonial-british kind of people. Very pleasant - but they saw me hug my Mom after getting back from a trip and their response was a cross between disgust and confusion.

    I get the whole "etiquette" thing for British subjects and the queen, but the first lady's etiquette is to give people a hug. Why should one have so much more importance than the other?

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    Malum in se abachler's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Akkernight View Post
    Damn these posh whiners... Even if some freak touched her bewbs it shouldn't be anything more against any other female's rights! Even tho she's the Queen doesn't mean she has more human rights! She might have more political rights and whatnot, but not being touched?
    If I slapped the Queen, I would have gotten a harder sentence than if I slapped any other human? Not that you get a sentence for slapping regular peeps...
    And I don't understand why Queens and Kings still exist! We have moved from the medieval! >.>
    American arrogance at its finest. If another country chooses to keep a queen or king it is not your place to tell them how to rule themselves. How about if the queen put american flag decorated toilet paper in the palace. Its not illegal, free speech and all, but it would be extremely rude. What the first lady did was just that, extremely rude. And if she had slapped the queen, I'm sure she would be spending a few years in Scotland yard for assault. As it is, the first lady needs to either conform to protocol or stay home.

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    C++ Witch laserlight's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by sean
    I get the whole "etiquette" thing for British subjects and the queen, but the first lady's etiquette is to give people a hug. Why should one have so much more importance than the other?
    The point is that it is an alleged breach of protocol at the highest level. The part that I am not certain about is concerning whether the queen really did initiate contact. I feel that if she did, then considering that the first lady's own status, it would be fair for the first lady to reciprocate contact even if a subject would normally be forbidden to do so.

    Quote Originally Posted by abachler
    And if she had slapped the queen, I'm sure she would be spending a few years in Scotland yard for assault.
    No, she would not, due to diplomatic immunity.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bjarne Stroustrup (2000-10-14)
    I get maybe two dozen requests for help with some sort of programming or design problem every day. Most have more sense than to send me hundreds of lines of code. If they do, I ask them to find the smallest example that exhibits the problem and send me that. Mostly, they then find the error themselves. "Finding the smallest program that demonstrates the error" is a powerful debugging tool.
    Look up a C++ Reference and learn How To Ask Questions The Smart Way

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    Lurking whiteflags's Avatar
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    Based on the complete overreaction in this thread I hope, when you rule a country, the slightest breaches in protocol are considered acts of war. You will make many friends and live in interesting times.

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    Malum in se abachler's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by laserlight View Post
    No, she would not, due to diplomatic immunity.
    Diplomatic immunity only covers misdemeanors, not felonies. And I think it would be difficult to argue it beig agaisnt protocol, when a violation fo protocol is what instigated the charges.

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    First: I find it VERY interesting that none of the UK web-news has any mention (except for a brief notice in BBC on "Paper reviews" where it reports on one of the tabloid papers) of this "breach of protocol". My synical mind says "Is it perhaps made into a story in the US for political reasons?"

    Second: It is unlikely that the first lady would spend any time at Scotland Yard - certainly not years, as Scotland Yard is the "home" of the national crime investigation unit, not a prison as such (they have holding cells for investigation purposes, but not for incarceration based on a crime).

    And slapping the Queen, slapping me or anyone else would have the same consequences from a LEGAL perspective. [Ignoring diplomatic immunity etc]. There is no special laws regarding any assault and the Queen (ok, so maybe there would be slight differences in which judge you get, and how much red-tape is being used up to perform the buerocratich process, dotting every i and crossing every t to ensure that legally it is done to perfection, but certainly the Queen or a member of the Royal family is not especially mentioned in any modern version of Criminal Law in the United Kingdom - all are equal in the eyes of the Law).

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    C++ Witch laserlight's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by abachler
    Diplomatic immunity only covers misdemeanors, not felonies.
    No, at Michelle Obama's level, it should cover everything. I suppose that the US government could waive the diplomatic immunity, but that seems rather unlikely to me. If US government wanted to convict her instead of waiving immunity, her husband could always pardon her, heh.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bjarne Stroustrup (2000-10-14)
    I get maybe two dozen requests for help with some sort of programming or design problem every day. Most have more sense than to send me hundreds of lines of code. If they do, I ask them to find the smallest example that exhibits the problem and send me that. Mostly, they then find the error themselves. "Finding the smallest program that demonstrates the error" is a powerful debugging tool.
    Look up a C++ Reference and learn How To Ask Questions The Smart Way

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    someone in the state department ........ed up this time
    Well, abachler, if you're right about the queen's reaction, maybe they didn't mess up. Maybe they did it intentionally just to mess with her. If that's what she thinks about hugging the first lady, that's what I would do!

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    >> I watched the video of the incident.

    Where did you see video? I haven't paid that much attention (this really is not a big deal), but I've only seen photos.

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