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From: weemba@brahms.BERKELEY.EDU (Matthew P. Wiener)
Newsgroups: net.politics,net.legal
Subject: Re: British Institutions of Government: Powers of the Sovereign?
Message-ID: <12065@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: Wed, 26-Feb-86 22:01:19 EST
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.12065
Posted: Wed Feb 26 22:01:19 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 28-Feb-86 22:00:28 EST
References: <693@sftig.UUCP>
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Reply-To: weemba@brahms.UUCP (Matthew P. Wiener)
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In article <693@sftig.UUCP> jmg@sftig.UUCP (J.McGhee) writes:
>	A few years ago the story of Sir Anthony Blunt appeared in the New York
>Times. It turns out that Sir Anthony had acted as a spy for the U.S.S.R. over
>a period of some thirty-five years while also serving as a member of the
>British "intelligence" community. Furthermore, Sir Anthony was a personal
>friend of the "sovereign" and when the "sovereign" found out about Sir
>Anthony's long work for the Soviet Union, she moved him from his "intelligence"
>job to a job at the palace as her personal art advisor. This was all done
>without any punishment to Sir Anthony for his betrayal of the western alliance
>and no adverse publicity since it was all covered up until an inquisitive
>researcher uncovered it much later.
>	The question that naturally arises is: if the "sovereign" is supposed
>to have no power in government, how was she able to so blatantly obstruct
>justice and interfere with the British judiciary to prevent Sir Anthony from
>being prosecuted for his crimes? And how was she able to prevent the
>"intelligence" community from following its own course of action with Sir
>Anthony? And how was she allowed to endanger the defense posture of the entire
>western alliance by her cover-up of the affair?

Perhaps the queen's actions were exactly what the intelligence community
asked her to do.  Regarding spy cases, the view from outside is usually
highly uninformed as to what is going on and why.

ucbvax!brahms!weemba	Matthew P Wiener/UCB Math Dept/Berkeley CA 94720