tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7833323371429093721.post7379817410567784249..comments2023-10-10T17:07:24.466+01:00Comments on Mrs Rigby says ...: Star Chamber suspensions.Mrs Rigbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896765062231309345noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7833323371429093721.post-60276467512173915332010-02-09T01:13:19.585+00:002010-02-09T01:13:19.585+00:00That's easily fixed - paint's cheap.That's easily fixed - paint's cheap.Mrs Rigbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06389986110372627649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7833323371429093721.post-62652317231084383992010-02-09T00:55:18.004+00:002010-02-09T00:55:18.004+00:00Yes, but the stars, pleasingly, are not in a vicio...Yes, but the stars, pleasingly, are not in a vicious circle. xx418Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14862933162954938938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7833323371429093721.post-82158467736497429502010-02-09T00:51:16.468+00:002010-02-09T00:51:16.468+00:00"the ceiling inside is painted midnight blue ..."the ceiling inside is painted midnight blue with a constellation of golden stars;"<br /><br />Sounds a bit like the EU flag.Mrs Rigbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06389986110372627649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7833323371429093721.post-28722992425690011872010-02-08T23:51:15.657+00:002010-02-08T23:51:15.657+00:00"Star Chamber" = Failure, big time. &q..."Star Chamber" = Failure, big time. "Star Chamber" is a general term meaning any powerful court of special jurisdiction and I don't mean "special" in the ameliorative sense. People, like DeadheEd Balls, who resort to a "Star Chamber" want to sound tough on, say, bureaucracy and the causes of bureaucracy (or in Gay Gordon's case tough on MPs' troughing which he and B'liar encouraged over the years as a bribe for lax scrutiny of proposed legislation); what they don't seem to get, is that the need for a "Star Chamber" shows that the person setting it up has failed and needs to take remedial measures of the most drastic kind. The description in Wikipedia, for once, has some merit. In particular, I note and would give my imprimatur to: "Court sessions were held in secret, with no indictments, no right of appeal, no juries, and no witnesses. Evidence was presented in writing. Over time it evolved into a political weapon and became a symbol of the misuse and abuse of power by the English monarchy and courts." Sounds like SIAC, another brilliant example of a knee-jerk response to a complete failure of policy ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Immigration_Appeals_Commission ). What is less reliable is this: "No clear etymology can be found for the name of the chamber; the most common explanation, dating to the later sixteenth century, is 'because at the first all the roofe thereof was decked with images of starres gilted.'" I have been in the Star Chamber: there is a sign saying, "Star Chamber" on a wall in the Palace of Westminster and sure enough, the ceiling inside is painted midnight blue with a constellation of golden stars; all ersatz of course as the lot save for Westminster Hall was firebombed by the Luftwaffe but I assumed (I was young and still rather innocent) that the Star Chamber in the Palace of Westminster is a replacement for the notorious Star Chamber where Charles I got the judges to do his bidding in the matter of Ship Money and other non-consensual activities. Ersatz, a German word, is what best describes our Constitution in the UK: "we relied on being told the truth"; do not rely on any such thing.<br />8 February 2010 23:44Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14862933162954938938noreply@blogger.com