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Jumping_Jack
16th Aug 2010, 12:43
BBC News - Tony Blair donates book cash to injured soldier charity (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-10988478)

Notwithstanding the guilt trip I applaud the move.....

minigundiplomat
16th Aug 2010, 12:57
I'd be happier if he was up against a wall, blindfolded, with 6 good men pointing rifles at him.

I'd be happiest if Gordon Brown was stood next to him.

Biggus
16th Aug 2010, 12:58
While also applauding the move, it has to be said that it is not much of a sacrifice from his point of view - he is making money out there hand over fist on the basis of having been a high profile "public servant"......

Time will tell as to what the book will actually be like, will it simply be a defence of his actions, or a more in depth review, both the good and bad, of his time in office.


Edited for poor spelling!

MechGov
16th Aug 2010, 13:00
4.6 million plus profits. How much blood does that wash off?

hunty
16th Aug 2010, 14:11
Can I volunteer to be one of the firing squad for Blair & Brown? :ok:

fincastle84
16th Aug 2010, 14:16
Can I volunteer to be one of the firing squad for Blair & Brown?

Yes, you may, as long as you're behind me in the queue!

bobward
16th Aug 2010, 15:28
Perhaps this isn't as generous as it appears.
Mandleson's book isn't selling that well. Perhaps the Orange One is just hedging his bets, as people might buy it if the profits go to a more worthy charity than the pension funds of those who wrote it......:=

Turning off cynic mode.....

oxenos
16th Aug 2010, 15:59
The little voices ( of his PR people ) told him to do it.

vecvechookattack
16th Aug 2010, 16:14
As a former serviceman and the father of one of the current generation of Cannon Fodder, might I suggest that Tony Blair and Gordon Broon should go to AFG instead of facing the certainty of a firing Squad.

Perhaps if their kids were going to be out in the sand instead of selling drugs at uni, the war might not have seemed quite so worthwhile.

He gets millions of pounds for saying how and why he is able to send my boy out there and keep his at home.......****ers!

As a serving serviceman and the PROUD father of one of Britain s finest I applaud Mr Blair for this generous offer. He didn't send your boy out there. Your boy volunteered to go out there. If your boy didn't want to go out there then your boy didn't have to go out there.

The £4,6000,000 he has promised to the RBL plus additional royalties will be most welcome by my comrades down at my local Leg iron.

glad rag
16th Aug 2010, 16:23
The £4,6000,000 he has promised to the RBL plus additional royalties

So just where ARE those vast sums of money coming from, Oh cantankerous old one??

Selling one of his London mansions????:hmm: Bonus guilt?????:hmm::hmm:

Pontius Navigator
16th Aug 2010, 16:26
He didn't send your boy out there. Your boy volunteered to go out there. If your boy didn't want to go out there then your boy didn't have to go out there.

I think we are being a little simplistic here Vec. It is true that anyone that volunteered after 2001, or more realistically 2006, knew what they wuld et involved in. It is equally true that the modern Serviceman can expect to e involved i something during his career. Equally they can request to be discharged.

What they did not do, as a whole,was voluntee to serve in AFG. Equaly they did not expect to have to use kit that was inaequate either in performance or quantity.

TB-GB were responsibile for over-committment and under-resourcing.

papajuliet
16th Aug 2010, 16:41
Presumably he'll set off his charity donation against tax - probably saved himself a few millions.

vecvechookattack
16th Aug 2010, 16:52
So just where ARE those vast sums of money coming from, Oh cantankerous old one??

From here Random House - Bringing you the best in fiction, nonfiction, and children's books. (http://www.randomhouse.com/)

Its a publishing company. They publish books and they give the author of those books money to write the books. They (rarely) give the author an advance of money in order for him to write the book. This company have given Mr Blair £4,600,000 as an advance of the expected sales. Mr Blair has given that money PLUS all other royalties to the RBL.

Now, you can slate him for giving that money to the RBL OR like me you can agree with Chris Simpkin who has said

"Mr Blair's generosity is much appreciated and will help us to make a real and lasting difference to the lives of hundreds of injured personnel."

Biggus
16th Aug 2010, 17:02
.....or you can be a bit more sophisticated and do both at the same time!!! :ok:

grandfer
16th Aug 2010, 17:06
Quick pass me a bucket !
I've just seen T.B.Liar on the news at 6 on the Beeb trying to explain the difficult decisions he's had to make while in office- what a 2-faced b*%$£@d !

:mad::mad:

minigundiplomat
16th Aug 2010, 18:53
Meanwhile in Random House Publishing offices......

PR Guy 1 : Hmmm, TB is a little unpopular at the moment and this Chilcott thing could crucify him

PR Guy 2 : Ya absolutely, this fiction of his may float like an anvil. Any ideas?

PR Guy 1 : Hmm, bit more assassination of GB, or even Mandy?

PR Guy 2 : No, can't see it working. We need to get the public onside.

PR Guy 1 : How about we talk him into giving the advance to a forces charity and making a speech about the military?

PR Guy 2 : Ya, may work, but suggest the donation bit when Cherie's out of the room.

PR Guy 1 : OK ya, think he'll go for it?

PR Guy 2 : Ya, if we tell him it's the only way it'll sell more than 10 copies.

PR Guy 1 : Even better, we can persuade him God thinks it's a good idea!

PR Guy 2 : Ya ideal, few pictures of him and some injured troops - it will fly off the shelves, you know what the British public are like.

Spanish Waltzer
16th Aug 2010, 20:12
Judging by other comments thus far I stand in the minority by welcoming this donation from Mr Blair.

Yes - ultimately he stands responsible for the decisions made. But he took those decisions based on the advice he was given at the time by a vast range of 'advisors' all of whom I have no doubt had their own hidden agendas. I am not a Blairite but I also will not play the hindsight game because it is so easy to take the moral high ground once facts are known after the events.

To those who have lost loved ones through the various conflicts, my heartfelt condolences and nothing I type will help, but I also believe strongly that it is naive to simply vilify one man.

Thank you Mr Blair for remembering those that your policies, rightly or wrongly, put in harms way. Every penny helps.

SW

Always a Sapper
16th Aug 2010, 20:23
Personally, I reckon it’s the only decent thing he’s done in the last 15 years (apart from resigning of course), I don't think cyclops will repeat the offer when his comic comes out mind.

Still like to see him and Brown doing 6 month tours in the sandpits and doing patrols to boot though.

endplay
16th Aug 2010, 20:35
SW

Concur completely. A question to all you cynics out there re his motives. Other than a second stab at the EU presidency (a bit of long shot) TB can have no ambitions to run for public office so why would he want to boost his popularity at a cost of £4.6m minimum? If the GBP won't buy his book you can bet that the US sales will up this figure. My family and I have been Poppy sellers for years and we will never match the financial contribution of this donation so good on him, whatever his rationale.

sitigeltfel
16th Aug 2010, 20:37
Confession to his priest...

Wodge of money to charity....

Conscience clear...

Sorted.

Ogre
17th Aug 2010, 03:12
I surprised his wife let him, it's not the genre of charitable organisation she tends to associate with.....

BEagle
17th Aug 2010, 07:06
Accepting Bliar's book profits (I imagine there will be some people who will buy the thing) is akin to accepting a donation of blood diamonds.

It's dirty money. Pure and simple.

rock34
17th Aug 2010, 07:29
Blood money, dirty money, tax avoiding money or guilt money.

I couldn't care less. At least the RBL are getting some cash. I just hope I don't need it in the near future.


Edit - I'm all for invading Sierra Leone or Liberia for some blood diamonds to pay off the national debt.

pasir
17th Aug 2010, 07:36
....
Blair took us into the war (honourably) "based on advice given to him by his vast range of advisors" - is suggested by an earlier contributor.

My understanding is that Blair gained Parliaments support by

a. The Dodgy Dossier

b. Deliberately withhholding from Parliament the latest information
from his Intelligence Services that there were 'NO WMDs' !

So far as Blairs book is concerned it seems that something like 90 percent
of those responding via various msg boards and national radio
so far will not be purchasing it.

...

spanish no fly
17th Aug 2010, 07:36
Never did like the person from the time he came into the public domain. As far as his wife is concerned, I was told "If you cannot say anything nice about a person, say nothing!"
He won't miss this amount of money as you cannot miss something you never had. However, there must be some way financially that he gains from the action, or he would not do it.
Rehabilitation in the eyes of the UK public, looking to a Knighthood, "Services to charity"? Thence to "Lord" (just call me) Tony.
Raising his profile overseas so that subtle pressure is put on the E.U. to reconsider him again for the E.U. Presidency. There are still many who see him as the Messiah, or should that be Mess Higher? Remember, the man with the "charisma of a damp dish cloth" in that position is only temporary.
Whatever is written in the book will only be a rehash of what he has previously said. A devious person, after everything he can get.

Wrathmonk
17th Aug 2010, 09:01
Nice work by the spin doctors - raises his "nice boy" image with the public prior to the release of the Iraq inquiry findings and, more immediatly, takes the media focus away from the calls for a new investigation into the death of Dr Kelly - and good to see the money going to a worthy cause.

Still, would have loved to see the colour draining out of his face when told this was the best way ahead ;)

ProM
17th Aug 2010, 09:11
I think the real reason he did it is to f**k with Brown/Mandy

a) because it highlights to El Gordo that Brown's advance is bigger
b) because if Brown doesn't now do the same he looks mean
c) Because Brown can not afford to give up the money like Blair can
d) Because it helps promote the Blair brand and he isn't giving up the money from the talk circuit
e) It will help get his book ahead of mandy in the sales

Pontius Navigator
17th Aug 2010, 09:17
Good analysis in the Torygraph today.

Advance = £4.6m - banked and no doubt spent already by her what should stay in doors.

Book sales = first £4.6M go to Random House to repay the advance.

Proceeds gift aided to RBL. Say £1m. RBL gets £1.28M but TB also gets £180K off his tax bill fo rmoney he never had in the first place.

melmothtw
17th Aug 2010, 10:25
Always a Sapper - "Personally, I reckon it’s the only decent thing he’s done in the last 15 years"

So you don't rate ending the civil war in Sierra Leone or bringing the Americans round to finally taking on the Serbs in Kosovo as decent things?

BEagle - "Accepting Bliar's book profits (I imagine there will be some people who will buy the thing) is akin to accepting a donation of blood diamonds.

It's dirty money. Pure and simple."

Given Blair's role in ending the conflict in Sierra Leone, can I assume your 'blood diamond' reference is meant to be ironic?

glad rag
17th Aug 2010, 11:53
Thank you PN, it is a pity that some can be so EASILY duped.

Isaiah 54:16. Behold, I have created the smith that blows the coals in the fire, and that brings forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. Could almost have been written for him.....if you believe in fairy tales..

Biggus
17th Aug 2010, 15:25
melmothtw,

Tony Blair is the sort of person that most people have strong views on - one way or the other. To try and persuade people in the opposite camp to see your point of view is probably pointless. Think of it as trying to persuade people that Hitler was a pretty good guy for Germany until 1938, building roads, getting the trains to run on time, etc....

By the way, I'm not a fan of Tony Blair (or Hitler for that matter!). :ok:

FantomZorbin
17th Aug 2010, 16:36
... just so long as they don't call the suggested building/centre by his name. Suggestions on a postcard ...:*

xenolith
17th Aug 2010, 17:21
Beagle,

'Blood money, pure and simple'

So you dont think that the RBL should take the money?
Whats your next step, the third degree for every one who buys a poppy?

trap one
21st Aug 2010, 12:26
Local radio station in Bristol is doing an ad. Don't buy the Tony B Lair memoir's just give £10 to the RBL :D. I just had to laugh and then I thought yes next time I see a RBL tin there will be a tenner in it from me!:ok:

ricardian
21st Aug 2010, 12:43
Local radio station in Bristol is doing an ad. Don't buy the Tony B Lair memoir's just give £10 to the RBL :D. I just had to laugh and then I thought yes next time I see a RBL tin there will be a tenner in it from me!
Better still - GiftAid your £10 (as long as you pay UK income tax) and the RBL will get more than £10.

BEagle
21st Aug 2010, 13:53
Personally, I wouldn't even use pages from Bliar's book to wipe my backside with.

I did like the suggestion made by that local radio station though.

It would be good if someone with an RBL collecting tin waited outside wherever the little $hit is due to sign his book - Bliar's security goons could hardly 'move him along'......:E

The full list of Ts&Cs for anyone stupid enough to wish to attend the erstwhile Dear Leader's signing can be viewed at: Fiction, Children's books, eBooks, Non-fiction books, textbooks and more at Waterstone's (http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/pages/tony-blair/200000430/)

I see that being in the queue doesn't even guarantee that Bliar will sign the book....:mad:

Perhaps someone should organise a ceremonial book-burning in Green Park?

Wander00
21st Aug 2010, 15:05
I like that - "Fiction....."

Pontius Navigator
21st Aug 2010, 15:38
I see that one online book retailer is selling the book at half-price. Now there's confidence for you, remainderd already.

Wander00
21st Aug 2010, 16:02
You could not make it up, could you - but then, would you want to?

glad rag
22nd Aug 2010, 23:44
Quote:
So just where ARE those vast sums of money coming from, Oh cantankerous old one??
From here Random House - Bringing you the best in fiction, nonfiction, and children's books. (http://www.randomhouse.com/)

Its a publishing company. They publish books and they give the author of those books money to write the books. They (rarely) give the author an advance of money in order for him to write the book. This company have given Mr Blair £4,600,000 as an advance of the expected sales. Mr Blair has given that money PLUS all other royalties to the RBL.

Now, you can slate him for giving that money to the RBL OR like me you can agree with Chris Simpkin who has said

Quote:
"Mr Blair's generosity is much appreciated and will help us to make a real and lasting difference to the lives of hundreds of injured personnel."


Tony Blair's memoirs: The making of a best-seller - Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/tony-blair/7958042/Tony-Blairs-memoirs-The-making-of-a-best-seller.html)

"The final amount would depend on sales"

Oh, how some are so willingly led.:ugh:

SirPeterHardingsLovechild
23rd Aug 2010, 11:50
I'm looking forward to the reaction to this book. Specifically, I think there will be a long queue of other politicians who will come out and rubbish his version of various events. Maybe even some lawsuits? It must have been a nightmare proof read for his lawyers. He's been deceitful all this time and this will be an extension of it. The gloves are off. Gordon, for one, needs to spice up his book, after all.

If he's looking for his place in history, I have some bad news. One of my workmates is called Tony Blair, and he is known as 'Lionel'

norilsk
24th Aug 2010, 06:27
I think it would be much better if he donated his body to science, NOW!

Jabba_TG12
24th Aug 2010, 06:51
Science?

Unarmed bullfighting more like :E

BEagle
6th Sep 2010, 20:13
It seems the oleaginous $hit has now bottled out of his book signing at Waterstones....

Tony Blair memoirs: former PM cancels book signing amid security fears - Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/tony-blair/7984617/Tony-Blair-memoirs-former-PM-cancels-book-signing-amid-security-fears.html)

"I have decided not to go ahead with the signing as I don't want the public to be inconvenienced by the inevitable hassle caused by protesters."

Oh dear, quelle pity....:rolleyes: