h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

"Blair, don't send our young prince to your catastrophic illegal war to make it look plausible."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6387231.stm

I don't know whether a war can be 'plausible' or even 'implausible'. That aside though, why shouldn't Harry serve in Iraq? Didn't he join the army?

I think our Chris is just headline hungry.

>>>I think our Chris is just headline hungry.

I can think of a few additional adjectives to use to describe him - but the swear filter won't let them through

Suffice it to say - you're right!

Certainly Harry is in the army and should serve in wars, but this war came about due to Bliar being unable to keep his nose out of Shrub's backside. If Bliar could stop brown noseing Shrub for a second he may see that his "legacy" could end up as causing the death of a prince as well as many other soldiers. Bliar rightly looked dry lipped and uncomforable yesterday when interviewed and the subject of Prince Harry going to Iraq was raised.

I don't think his problem is with the Prince serving in the army, it's with the war itself. I can understand peopele being against that.

Trust Chris Eubank to come up with the most verbose placard I have ever seen. He also has unusual taste in causes.

Seems to me Harry is rather eager to go. Wouldn´t it be an advantage to have a king(if William dies) who has seen the horrors of war?

It all seems rather silly to me. I'm not sure why sending Harry to the war makes it any more plausible than it was before, as if the nation is still full of people who think 'Aha- the Prince has joined I, I must away to the armed forces post haste, and sign up without delay!'. On the other hand- did they really need to arrest Chris Eubank? And even if they did, if you see the news footage, it was about seven policemen bundling him into a van. What the hell was that about? It's not as if he go violent, he seemed to go with only minimal protest, police doing themselves no favours if you ask me, which you sort of did, so you've only yourself to blame.

I'm not sure what he was arrested for - anyone know? Is driving a big lorry with a political protest banner an offence?

>>At approximately 15:40 GMT on February 22, 2007, Eubank was arrested outside Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall for a suspected breach of the peace after driving his American truck through central London, emblazoned with a message condemning Tony Blair for sending Prince Harry to Iraq.[1]. The banner read "BLAIR - Don't send our young prince to your catastrophic illegal war, to make it look plausible!".<<

quote from w*k*.. oops sorry

He was arrested for breach of the peace. His reply to a caution from the arresting officer was 'but it's not after 11 o'clock' although I'm not sure what relevance that had. Wait a mo...

Here we are, try this:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/3681938.stm

Bugger. Alright, go here, there's a video in the top right corner:

http://search.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/search/results.pl?scope=all&edition=d&q=eubank

It's a non-story beyond the possibility of Eubank hunting publicity. Even if Harry is sent to Iraq (doubtful) it's extremely unlikely that he would be actively placed in any danger.

I'm sympathetic to anyone who argues that, if Harry joined the army voluntarily, then he's nothing to complain about if he's asked to serve his grandmother. However, I'm not sure if "recruits" from the House of Windsor in the armed forces have much choice in the matter given the way that family tends to behave and the internal politics it has.

I think the only legitimate reason for fearing Harry's involvement in the war is that he might be a big target, that insurgents (whoever 'insurgents' are) might try to kidnap him or whatever, like they have done with western hostages in the past. How would we react if that happened?

Shouldn't it be better if they send all of the royal family to Iraq?

Then hoping they get all attacked so the British can start over with a Republic and enter the 21the century?

Unlikely he'll be kidnapped. They are, after all, sending his bodyguards with him.

That reminds me when our crown prince in Denmark joined the military group patrolling Greenland. They then arranged for a plane to follow him around to make sure he was safe.

Unlikely he'll be kidnapped. They are, after all, sending his bodyguards with him.

Feel sorry for the bodyguards - I'd guess it ain't comfortable riding on top of a Scimitar in the middle of a war zone!


Lets face it - he's a young army officer, dressed in uniform and a hard hat, in charge of 3 light recon tanks in among thousands of other officers and hundreds of other tanks...

It'd take quite a bit of luck for anyone to actively target him.

(Although they might just try taking out anything on tracks - but that tends to be a little suicidal)

Maybe they will play the royal anthem and see who of the soldiers doesn´t stand up.

Anyone else hoping there might be a plan to expand the dynasty a bit - you know, a return to the days when a powerful monarch could install his second son on the throne of a defeated enemy state.

The current PM doesn't sound particularly settled, and King Henry I of Iraq has kind of a ring to it!

And there's plenty of palaces down there for him to move into.

Do they play polo in Iraq? (yet) I'm not sure it wasn't invented in Afghanistan... but I can't recall any mention of that kind of thing in Babylon.

...

Well, I'm quite pleased with myself - I may have come up with a solution the whole unseemly mess! Will Gee Dubya acquiesce, dya think?

I doubt he understand it. Especially if you use the word acquiesce.