What do Americans think of Britain?

[thegamerslink]

You have to give me the Heritage/Bond point though G10 that's one of the reasons we work so well together :-)

[pgzn]

My thoughts on the UK, the only country which hasn't submitted a fraudulent order in 8 years of doing business on the Internet. UK order are like gold

As for the social system, it is no concern to me. I figure they'll learn some day.

[StrongInTheArm]

Originally Posted by pgzn

My thoughts on the UK, the only country which hasn't submitted a fraudulent order in 8 years of doing business on the Internet. UK order are like gold

As for the social system, it is no concern to me. I figure they'll learn some day.

OK, fraudulent order coming your way soon.

You Americans have much to learn from the mother of all parliaments.

[thegamerslink]

How does U.K. Parliament differ from U.S. Government? The major points

[StrongInTheArm]

Members of the House of Lords are appointed, nominally by the Queen on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, but in actuality by the Prime Minister. Peers are made up of Life Peers, appointed, and hereditary peers, given a peerage as a birth right. The Senate is elected.

Religious representatives (bishops) sit as members of the Lords.

The House of Lords prime function is as a legislative revising chamber, but it is also the highest court in the land, only judges sit to hear cases, and they are not elected.

The Lords cannot reject legislation, only revise and ask the Commons to think again. The Commons can force through legislation if they need to.

The queen asks the party leader with the most elected members of parliament, MPs, in the Commons to form the next government. The party leader becomes Prime Minister. He appoints government and cabinet ministers, usually from the Commons but can call on members of the House of Lords also.

The government is held to account by parliament, mainly the Commons which scrutinizes the government. MPs have a right to question all government ministers, including the Prime Minister, that's what Prime Minister's Question Time is about. The Commons can vote a government out of power and force a general election.

I could go on. The differences are subtle and gross. Parliament has evolved it's way of doing things over many hundreds of years. By and large it works, though in some aspect is anachronistic.

The US structure was set up to balance legislature, judiciary and executive. The British system has evolved and there is no balance. The judiciary is controlled by the government.

But the biggest difference is the Queen, she is in charge. It is her government. The Prime Minister reports to her each week. She makes all major appointments. She can dissolve parliament. Patronage is in her hands. Of course its all in name only, but it is the way the British system works.

[viswablr]

Originally Posted by G10

They're not concerned at all dude

We work well together and help each other when the need arrises...

Yeah ... Most notably during gulf wars

[viswablr]

Originally Posted by thegamerslink

The U.S. and Britain share a special bond. Kind of a family bond be it mother son, or brother sister bond it's a special bond

Does a Latino-American/French-American feel the same bond with UK? I get a feeling that while English Americans feel the bond, others may not be.

(I asked one of my colleagues whether he was a Brit. He told yes, but asked me not to call him English, but Scot. While I couldn't completely understand the story, I can derive that English Americans may feel more linked to UK than others do ...)

[thegamerslink]

That is quite possible viswablr, although I loath the terms latino-american/french-american/italian-american/englis-american/african-american etc, etc etc.....you're either American or you're not...unless you moved to America from those places or your parents did. Any further back in your lineage and you're American in my opinion. As for English and Scotts, there you have a completely different history to dwelve into I think......

[thegamerslink]

Thanks for the post SITA, I'll have to look over it a few more times and let it sink in, perhaps even study some in other places....I'm not sure if I care much for all the appointing that goes on, seems to me not enough electing by the people does, but I may have missed something....I thought U.K. had evolved further away from the anarchy, and more were elected seats by the people and not as life long .

[StrongInTheArm]

Originally Posted by thegamerslink

...I'm not sure if I care much for all the appointing that goes on, seems to me not enough electing by the people does, but I may have missed something....I thought U.K. had evolved further away from the anarchy, and more were elected seats by the people and not as life long .

Don't dismiss the House of Lords, it serves its purpose well and it works. People have been trying to reform it for over a hundred years and have not been able to come up with something better.

Note: the House of Commons is composed of 640 ish Members of Parliament, all are elected. It is the dominant of the two houses and has the most power. The government, Prime Minister, cabinet and other ministers are usually from the Commons, and so the government is overwhelmingly run by elected MPs.

As I mentioned about the Lords it is a revising chamber. I have a problem with the hereditary peers as well, but the life peers are basically the great and the good that have served their country over a long period of time. They are usually ex-politicians, lawyers and experts and distinguished people in many fields. They bring with them a life time of knowledge and experience and provide invaluable weight and gravitas to the work of the chamber. The scrutiny that they can bring to legislation is immense.

The reason the Commons has the most power of the two is because it is composed of elected members and so speaks for the people. The Lords defers to the Commons on all legislative matters involving the governing party's manifesto, (that being the political programme that the governing party was elected on).

BTW, did you really mean anarchy or monarchy? Technically both could be thought of as appropriate

[John Scott]

I like UK humour. Politics, no. They seem a bit too anti-individualist for my liking.

[thegamerslink]

I meant monarchy sorry, was still asleep when I posted...