Ben Durrant

So 12 people shaped our nation, over 15 centuries? What happened during the years when none of them were alive - did we just stagnate? That's taking the great-man theory to a whole new level.

Many of the most powerfull people in the world today have gained their power solely through their election by the general public. This ability of the people to chose their own political leaders is rarely questioned, indeed, forms of government that do not advocate such principles are looked down upon as being backward and undemocratic. The ability of the people to chose their own political leaders is a cornerstone of democracy, the 'government of choice' of the modern world. But is allowing the general public to select the most powerful person in the world such a wise decision? Take the position of the President of the United States - an office commonly acknowledged to be one of, if not the most powerful position in the world. Does the average person (American, in this case) have the ability to truly differentiate between the two final candidates, whom practically none of them have ever met? Their desicion is made over issues that the vast majority of the voters have little knowledge about, and only know what two very biased sources have told them? People chose the colours of their bedroom walls with more care than they do their president. This fundamental part of democracy is critically flawed, and will bring democracy down with it when it shatters. (The American system is flawed in many other ways, but this is just a more generic example)

If it is a case of a "spamming filter" why did the pages reappear at the top of searches at Google today. It seems a very ineffective way of dealing with spammers. http://www.google.com/contact/spamreport.html Maybe somebody reported it as spam; and google's filters figured out that it actually wasn't? It's all speculation, really.

Headmaster > Airbus > EADS > Tony Blair > US Government > CIA > Google. That would have to go through some of the most powerful corporations and people in the world - all for 5 or 6 webpages protesting a teacher's dismissal? Such a conspiracy sounds extremely unlikely, to say the least. A more logical explanation would be that in some way you triggered a Google filter, that thought you were spamming or trying to rig page rankings (Which would be more likely, since multiple copies of the same text were pasted on various different websites around the world within days). Maybe they have filters for removing pages that attempt to take advantage of Google for smear campaigns. Could be one of quite a few different explanations, really. Though I think that Google being told to remove pages about a headmaster by the CIA is, well, amusing. Unless Mr. Albiston is an undercover CIA operative? Even more amusing.

I am a Year 12 student at the International School of Toulouse.