In some cases the school may well support the stance the children are taking I was stopped by the police on an approach road to an autobahn and asked for my ID card I explained that I am British and we don't have ID cards. In his will Vicars accused Edward VII and the Irish government of shielding "the real culprit and thief Francis R Shackleton, brother of the explorer - who didn't reach the South Pole", he added cattily.ALISTAIR COOKE London SW1 Question of identity Sir: Your correspondents writing on the proposed ID card who live or used to live in Europe say they have never been stopped and asked for their ID card (letters, 13, 14 November)However, it used to happen to me regularly when I visited the German Democratic Republic, and it has also happened fairly recently in the Federal Republic of Germany. Arthur Vicars, the chosen scapegoat, in a near-contemporary letter, said that Shackleton threatened "to produce a social scandal and involve high persons" if he was accused.In a statement to the police Vicars testified that "while staying at my house Shackleton took an impression of my key while I was in my bath". An official commission in 1908 totally exonerated him, but it was an extremely hurried affair lasting only eight days whose aim seems to have been to divert attention away from the potential gay scandal. They comprised four jewelled stars and badges which had been transferred from one of George IV's mistresses to Dublin in order to provide the official insignia of the Order of St Patrick. According to the Irish Nationalist writer Bulmer Hobson, hardly anyone in Ireland knew of their existence until they were stolen They were valued at between £30,000 and £50,000 in 1900. It is widely accepted that after their theft in 1907 there were sold immediately in Amsterdam for £20,000 (not a bad price for hot property).As to the culprit, all the evidence points to Frank Shackleton, brother of the explorer. The tragedy is that those interests are increasingly defined by the greed of a few corporations and their friends in the White House, while ordinary people pay the price.So it is our duty as America's friends to exercise the freedom defended at such a price in the Second World War by protesting against this court-appointed global carpet-bagger of a president and Blair's craven complicity in his policies.CHRIS WEBSTER Abergavenny, Monmouthshire Irish crown jewels Sir: Curiously the so-called Irish "crown jewels" (report, 12 November) included no crown. When do they think the Second World War began?For Poland, it began with the German invasion on 1 September 1939. Within two days, Britain had declared war on Germany and our war - and that of our Commonwealth allies - had begun America's war began more than two years later. For two years, America watched while the Nazis slaughtered and persecuted millions of Europeans, and while British merchant ships were destroyed by the German navy within a few miles of the US coast.No, we have not forgotten America's vital role in that war, but nor have we forgotten that America wages war in its own interests at a time of its own choosing.
If the children feel strongly enough for the cause they support they will accept the consequences and continue with their action.CAROLINE ADAMS PlymouthSir: The reluctance of ordinary Britons to host a state visit by the US President has prompted Americans to write asking if we have forgotten the sacrifices made by US troops who defended our freedom in the Second World War I would like to ask them a question in return. Thus the decision to strike is not taken lightly, and as a result, takes on a greater meaning than one without consequences.In some cases the school may well support the stance the children are taking. Nevertheless, school rules for non-attendance impose punishments such as detention. When teachers strike they lose pay, and often receive hostile reactions from parents and the wider society. What she forgot to mention was the need for a child to acquire the understanding that its behaviour has consequences.When she uses teachers as a comparison - "If their teachers can threaten to strike, and indeed, in the past have, what mixed message does this send our children?" - she forgot one thing. It is the flouting of both that so many of us resent in the stance which Bush and Blair have adopted over Iraq - this iron conviction that the US and UK can for ever be acting as the world's policeman.Mr Anderson should remember that when policemen flout the law, the latter is brought into even greater disrepute than when this is done by lesser mortals.WALTER CAIRNS ManchesterSir: Petula Boddy (letter 17 November) rightly states, in her support of children striking in support of anti-war demonstrations, that "part of the process of education" is "for them to question, rationalise, become responsible citizens and to be able to express themselves". Amendments made to the Bill in the House of Lords have restored defendants' entitlement to jury trial. And some provisions of the Bill would have, in practice, led to defendants being tried on the basis of their previous record, rather than on the evidence of the case. Ministers should accept Lords proposals on criminal justice Ministers should accept Lords proposals on criminal justice Sir: The Criminal Justice Bill returns to the House of Commons today (18 November), much improved by some important changes made by the House of Lords.In its original form, the Bill would have made radical inroads into the principle that defendants facing serious criminal charges are entitled to trial by a jury of their peers. And if on the whole we can't trust people to discipline their children responsibly, according to how they see fit in whatever their circumstances, then the answer is not anti-smacking legislation, it's to sterilise all those considered likely to become unfit parents.Pending that, there has to some level of trust between state and society, even though there will be frequent betrayals on both sides, heaven (and Dr Williams) knows.b.viner independent.co.uk More from Brian Viner. I do not feel that my authority as a parent has diminished because I have stopped smacking, but, more importantly, nor do I feel that it was a decision the Government was entitled to make on my behalf A smack is not de facto abuse. |
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