Sarah Ferguson Criminally Charged by Turkey - Britain Will Not Extradite

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/13/us-turkey-ferguson-orphanage-idUSTRE80C0PY20120113

Sarah Ferguson, who somehow carries the title of Duchess of York, will not be extradited to Turkey to face criminal charges that could lead to up to 22 years in a Turkish prison.

The charges stem from a 2008 visit to both Turkey and Romania in which conditions at orphanages were recorded. Children were reportedly documented them being tied to beds and in other conditions of neglect. Many of the children were apparently disabled.

Turkey is bristling at the fact that the process for their candidacy entry into the EU, which began in 2006, has been slowed. They likely blame, at least in part, the work of Ms. Ferguson for this situation.

Turkey, like other Islam (Yes, we can now refer to Turkey as Islamic) countries, do not take kindly to criticism or pulling down of the curtains that reveals any unsavory conditions in their nation. They opted to go with charging Ms. Ferguson with violating patient/child privacy laws. These privacy laws of course may very well exist for valid purposes but I do not believe that anyone expects them to apply when the "violation of privacy" is a part of a broader effort to expose abusive or neglectful conditions. It looks to me that Turkey got stung by this expose' and want someone to pay for their embarrassment.

Thankfully, Turkey is not a part of the EU at the moment. If they were, then they could simply swear out a European arrest warrant, and Britain would be powerless to avoid extraditing her.

As an aside, while I respect the work that Ms. Ferguson did, since I have no reason to doubt that she had the right intentions, she is an example of the decline in ethics and morals in the West.

Most are aware of Ms. Ferguson's goings-on. How could one who chooses to remain in a privileged, titled position carry on in a manner that not only brings terrible embarrassment to the Royal family, but shame to her own children? Didn't she want to avoid putting her kids in a position where they would feel horribly embarrassed when among their peers?

With the royals being a side-topic, let's not exclude Prince Edward and his unique situation - A long-time tradition for male members of Britain's royal family is to perform some sort of military service in the officer ranks. It makes sense, being that they will not generally be engaged in business, that the King/Queen has a position of honor and authority in the military, and that the traditional job of European nobility was to be among "those who fight".

Well, Prince Edward found British Royal Marine Training to be a little too hard and quit back in 1987. How could a 28 year-old man in his position show his face to his family? - And his children? How many young people in the US only persevere through US military training because they don't want to go home as failures? I knew recruits when I went through US Marine Corps recruit training in 1985 that had a terrible time dealing with the stressors, yet they pushed themselves to be successful. These are regular, non-nobility title bearing people, yet Prince Edward, who one would think would remain just to avoid the embarrassment of failure/quitting, had no problem with walking out. He could at least have relinquished his title, but of course he had no problem keeping that. I can't imagine what some 18 year-old English kid from the rural parts of East Anglia, who was at the same time dealing with the rigors, stressors, and the exposure to the elements on a daily basis in his British military training, would think that he will be sent to the front line to defend a country in which one of its own princes quit his own training. 

How could Prince Edward live with himself? I would have been so afraid of messing up and getting thrown out (And dealing with that embarrassment) that quitting would have been the last thing on my mind.

While I approve of Ms. Ferguson's work in exposing the abuse/neglect of children, I think that we need to be reminded that she exemplifies much of what has gone wrong with Western culture and ethics. The House of Windsor (Actually Hanover), aside from a few good examples, seems to make the Plantagenets look really good in comparison,