Is Tony Fit To Govern?
Tony Blair's interview with the BBC's Jon Sopel is fascinating - the mask has finally cracked and I can recommend it as essential viewing. I wonder if you'll agree with me that we can now tell exactly when Tony starts lying - there's a five second pause while his eyes blink and he attempts to find a line that doesn't admit he's done wrong and doesn't conflict too much with known facts. He's always had to do this, of course, but like a man trying to conceal an affair from a suspicious wife, the new lies have to agree with the old lies, which involves a great deal of mental contortion. He's rattled and exhausted, and I don't think he's got much left in the tank. Time to put the champagne on ice? Perhaps, perhaps not. Will the attack on Iran come before he goes and justify postponing his retirement, or will he finally lose it? Or perhaps the Inspector will call again? It's going to be an interesting few months.
My favourite quote:
.
Attlee had how long ? To
Attlee had how long ?
To create the NHS, nationalise the railways, etc,
For anyone who'd like to brush up on their history , check HIS Wiki entry. ( Margaret Thatcher ---- he was ALL substance, not style)
So TB's got stuff to do on City Academies and World trade and Global warming.
Nobody's indispensable, shag.
And at least half of what you want to do ain't worthwhile doing, and the other less than half does not need you .
You'd fuck that remainder up, too.
I saw that interview, and he
I saw that interview, and he was very uncomfortable, almost hissing at times.
Iran will come before Blair goes, and Blair will stay as usurper-in-chief, planning more bloodshed (though not his own).
Brown is not a war leader.
Blair is a proven warmongerer, and the PTB can count on Blair to pursue their war-and-police-state agenda.
The pieces of legislation for all this were put in place a few years ago, Civil Contingencies Bill etc.
Blair knows too much as well, and could easily crack up in court if this loans-for-peerages investigation goes to court before Iran.
An attack on Iran will lead to mass unrest and more (false-flag) terrorism on British soil, much worse than 7/7, and the b£st$rd knows it.
Silly Tony, he should adopt
Silly Tony, he should adopt the Bush-Cheney method: make no attempt whatsoever to match the new lies with the old ones. Much less computational overhead.
There's no doubt in my mind
There's no doubt in my mind that Blair is feeling the heat more than at any time before. This was a creditable performance by Jon Sopel in that he kept up his line of questioning refusing to be fobbed off by Blair. What was most interesting of course was not what Blair said (nothing original) but his whole demeanour during the interview - his pauses, his eye movements, his nervous laughter and his desperate attempts to deviate from Sopel's agenda.
Whilst we might enjoy the sight of him squirming let's remember that the government of our country is in complete disarray. Effectively we are going through several months of paralysis with two prime ministers, Blair and Brown. Inevitably the cabinet will be ignoring Blair and wanting to hitch themselves to the Brown bandwagon. Blair is a loose canon showing incredibly bad judgement, why did he ever announce he would go prior to the fourth election? Couldn't he foresee all the problems he was creating for himself made worse now by the loans for peerages scandal.
The teflon is starting to peel away; as happened with Margaret Thatcher after so many years at the top you convince yourself that you are invincible. Unlike most previous bad weeks for Blair the one he has just passed through is not just a blip, I think he is now mortally wounded. As things get worse one can see more and more of his cabinet and party not supporting him. I'd be totally amazed if he can go on to the summer - nothing will dent his ego more than having to resign at a time NOT of his choosing!
Quote: "On Iraq, when he was
Quote:
"On Iraq, when he was asked by Jon Sopel whether he had expected the country to be in such a state when he left office, he said: "I don't think anyone really predicted accurately what would happen in Iraq."
Aaah, right! So we invade their country for no good reason, kill 100s of thousands, wreck the infrastructure, rewrite the Iraqi constitution (turning the country into a neocon/neoliberal/bugfuk-capitalist playpen), let various Greedcorps ransack the nation's resources, and - stone me! - the Iraqis turn around and start resisting our bountiful generosity!
The man is a reeking, lying slag.
"On Iraq, when he was asked
"On Iraq, when he was asked by Jon Sopel whether he had expected the country to be in such a state when he left office, he said: "I don't think anyone really predicted accurately what would happen in Iraq."
Really ? How strange.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4894148.stm
What annoyed me about it is
What annoyed me about it is he seemed to find great levity and amusement about the whole thing.
'ho ho ho, it's no secret that the labour party isn't full of neocons'. That's alright then Tony, glad you find it so funny, why don't you try softly chuckling yourself to sleep at night as Iraq continues to implode and your buddies plan more wars, whilst you divert yet more cash away from the boys you send out there without the right equipment to die, to a bunch of consultants back home who dream up ever more fanciful schemes to 'secure your legacy' to be implemented by a bunch of blue sky incompetents.
"why did he ever announce he
"why did he ever announce he would go prior to the fourth election?"
Because he thought it would make the problem go away at the time, and that any consequences could be ignored. Blair has a habit of saying whatever needs to be said to get a short-term solution (e.g. 'get through the Labour party conference', 'enable the invasion of Iraq') in the belief he could always un-say it later. Hence (in the bits I could stand watching) his refusal to follow through on the timetable of his departure.
I caught some of this
I caught some of this yesterday, the guy clearly has nothing left. He was shrill, defensive and plainly bonkers.
If he doesn't go soon the cabinet should, for the good of the country, do the honourable thing and resign in protest of his lunacy.
Anyone remember the glowing red eyes puppet of Thatcher (in her last days) from Spitting Image?
"Iraq: no-one could
"Iraq: no-one could predict....." But what do we find if we look back into our press-cuttings, or letters from MPs/the PM/the FCO, or the notes of meetings that we went to 4 years ago, or look back in the on-line archives of the major newspapers? We find Blair making lots and lots of predictions back then in 2002 and 2003:-
- the war would be short
- WMD would be found
- Blair would get a second resolution
- Blair would get Bush to do X, Y or Z
- Iraq would become an example to the Middle East.
We also find that Blair had surrounded himself with people who never asked for the basis of these assertions or what would happen if they weren't true, and who blocked their ears to the people outside the magic circle asking these questions.
The issue is not whether anyone could predict that the US/UK would create a failed state in Iraq (which is what has happened). It is that decisions were made on the basis of predictions by Blair that have proved to be wrong, with disasterous consequences, and he should have been removed by his colleagues months ago.
I hyperventalated and nearly
I hyperventalated and nearly fell off my chair:
"I don't think anyone really predicted accurately what would happen in Iraq."
Tony, Tony, Tony. Robin Cook did, Clare Short did, Gorgeous George did, France, Germany et al did, the UN did, the Red Cross did, a couple of million people marching in London did.
But he made it alright by showing how bonkers he really is:
"I won an election in 2005"
You did? All on your own? I'm surprised he's shyed away from donning a cape and going out to fight crime every night. Mind you he spends that much time at 30,000 feet someones probably told him he just about does.
He is the Emporer and soon he's going to get some new clothes. Hopefully ones with little arrows on.
"I don't think anyone really
"I don't think anyone really predicted accurately what would happen in Iraq."
Try this dated March 19th 2003
http://canadianspectator.ca/articles/beekeepers.html
I've taken Baghdad what do I do now?
What is uncertain is the aftermath. This is the variable never publicly factored into the thinking(?) of the Tony Sopranos of Dubya's gang; their deeds plant the seeds of future, furious, frightening resistance. As many as half a million Iraqi soldiers may be intentionally killed and perhaps 100,000 civilians written off to collateral damage. Think of the grief of millions after this slaughter, the conversion of that grief into rage, combine that with the internecine struggles based on historical ethnic fault lines (that the Ba'ath Party has repressed), and we begin to appreciate the explosive complexity of post-invasion Iraq.
This invasion will also ignite the well financed fires of Arab and Muslim (of all shades, hues and fealties) humiliation and anger. Either in the sands of the desert or on city streets, far from this war, the body bags will build up.
......
Counting the cost... eventually
The course is charted, arrogant use of the military is all the US ruling class has to maintain its dominance. After Iraq, asymmetric warfare, "terrorism," will be directed at Americans, American institutions, American targets, and American allies. When the rest of the world recognizes how thinly spread the US military is, thinly spread physically, and economically, because it is not a sustainable institution in its current incarnation, rebellions will occur. Indeed they have already started. The response of the weakening US will be to lash out, often with unforeseeable consequences, just as the consequences of this impending invasion are unforeseeable, and unknown.
Sturm and Drang
Military might is a sign of strength, but the US military is not invincible worldwide. America's use of force as both first and last resort is a sign of profound systemic weakness.
I actually felt almost sad
I actually felt almost sad to see the most gifted liar I have seen in politics (anyone think there has been a better one?) twisting in the wind, faced with a fairly benign interviewer, as all controlled media people are really.
It is a sad reflection on the Labour Party and the population of the UK that this grifter was not removed from office long ago.
I think what has become
I think what has become abundantly clear to just about every sentient being on the planet is the total mendacity with in which our political structures operate, although certainly not a new phenomenon it has certainly been brought into sharp relief with the misbegotten Blair/Bush antics resulting in the deaths of many innocent people…
Not only has Blair single-handedly destroyed any sense of credibility, justice and fair play we ever had throughout the world, he has completely destroyed any illusion of democracy that we may have once fondled at home.
Tone has single-handedly broken democracy!
Well done Tone…..
"Iraq: no-one could predict
"Iraq: no-one could predict ......" Tony Blair seems to have been the model for this recent Tom Tomorrow "This modern world" cartoon.
http://www.salon.com/comics/tomo/2007/01/29/tomo/index1.html
the legacy:a comedy of
the legacy:a comedy of terrors
Great new E-novel.
The consequences of unchecked governance, when the ridiculous becomes sublime.
http://blog.myspace.com/153506273
Please use recycled paper.
the legacy: a comedy of
the legacy: a comedy of terrors
Great new E-novel.
The consequences of unchecked governance, when the ridiculous becomes sublime.
http://blog.myspace.com/153506273
the legacy: a comedy of
the legacy: a comedy of terrors
The breathtaking new novel that the whole of Westminster is waking upto.
The tale chronicles the progression of unbridled governance, its demise and inevitable descent into hubris.
The work's title, subject matter and its reasonance with the public are obvious, but it is absolutely bulging with handy quotables and chic wisdom as well.
Freeview. Please use recycled paper.
http://www.myspace.com/thelegacyacomedyofterrors
Grab your handy quotables and chic wisdom now!