Wher's Blair Again

[R Slicker]

Come on you Crabs and Fish Heads. Surely one of you can find a way of blaming Tony Blair or his Govt for the events in Manhattan. After all he took a whole five hours to make a reasoned response!

RS

[Busta]

R S

Reasoned response! More a lip quivering, voice cracking, weasel worded, crock of new labour ballcocks. The man has no substance, all mouth and no trousers; as a retired crab I should know.

Very little matters much, most things don't matter at all.

[DESPERADO]

RS

I am sure that the people of Northern Ireland are pleased to hear that we now hold no truck with terrorists. You are obviously a fan of TB, and when it came to our reactions in Kosovo, Sierra Leone and more recently Macedonia I am behind him all the way. However, as someone once said, the irony is so thick you can choke on it. Why is it that when these events occur elsewhere we are quick to condem and react with military force. Yet in our own backyard we appear to be following a policy of appeasement (see Neville Chamberlain for explaination of the consequences) and peace at all/any cost? What about the thousands of British citizens who died over the last 30yrs from terrorist action in NI?

"If you promise not to murder and bomb again (unless you decide to, because we haven't acceded to all of your demands), then we will let you all out of prison and we will make one of you education minister (you won't need your IRA bodyguard anymore, we will give you a govt one); as an after thought we will disband the rather effective police force that locked you all up in the first place. Now please, please don't car bomb London again its not helping the economy. By they way if you could hand over a couple of guns that would be great, but if you don't want to we won't say a thing about it".
If it wasn't so heartbraking it would be comical.

I don't believe that was being a Statesman or a leader when he made his comments, just a politician. So in answer to your poser, TB is where he has always been, strong abroad because he loves the influence and profile it gives him, and weak at home because he is afraid of bombs in London and any thing that will keep the bombers and murderers quiet is fine by him.

Cynical yes, but also very sad that the world is in this state.

Despo

[Up Very Gently]

And of course, let us not forget his international fight against prejudice, discrimination and racism of ALL varieties. Oh, unless you happen to be a white farmer in Zimbabwe. Too afraid of the Guardian reading liberalites are you Bliar?

Great isn’t it – the world is changing in the most dramatic way for two generations. British Armed Forces will be involved in what might be hell on earth, and we have the Grand Hypocrite, the Cheshire cat, in control. God help Britain.

UVG

[tony draper]

Lets have a bit more respect here, gentlemen, don't you know our beloved leader can trace his ancestry back all the way to
Piltdown man.

[BEagle]

But the Great Trust-Me-Tone has been uttering magnificent words following the atrocities committed by lunatics who had the gross affrontery to pretend that their criminal actions were in some way sanctioned by their religion. He has been chatting with Very Senior Officers and Ministers about how the UK is so well defended against the chances of anything similar. Perturbed by the mumblings about 'deep blue water of defence thinking', 'staff initiatives in an age of financial restraint', 'smart procurement', 'purple jointery' being spouted by the Royal Chair Force, he has started asking deep and meaningful questions:

"So, we've got lots of fighters, crews and aerodromes to support Air defence of the UK, have we? Well - what about missiles then? Have we still got those Bloodhounds we brought back from Germany? OK then, what did we replace them with? Haven't we still got that fighter base in Suffolk? Or that RAF base in Kent? But surely we've still got some Hawks in Devon - with ready-use AIM 9 Limas? Army - have we got any triple A? What about those guns we nicked off the Argies nearly 20 years ago? Air Force, how's that nice new EuroFrightener 2000 with all those missiles and guns coming along. Sorry, I forgot, I meant to say 'with some missiles and no guns'. Have we got many squadrons of those in service yet? I mean, it's well past Jan 2000 now so you must have plenty of experience with them by now?"

"...............err, well Prime Minister, I'd need to converse with colleagues to conduct a far-reaching and meaningful threat assessment.....big picture.....global committments....diamonds....."

"So what have we got, right now, to defend London?"

"Well, Prime Minister, there are always the Beefeaters who defend the Tower of London. Put the frights right up Johnny Terrorist with those big sharp pikes of theirs, they would! Plus those jolly smart chaps of the King's Troop who rush around on horses pulling Crimean War field guns at the Royal Tournament and then fire them off in Hyde Park whenever royalty has a birthday or a baby - they might be able to fire their cannon balls in a suitably upward direction!! "

"And that's it??"

All together now..........."YES, PRIME MINISTER!!"

[ 14 September 2001: Message edited by: BEagle ]

[Perky Penguin]

If I saw TV correctly Our "Leader" went to a religious service to show his respects to those killed in USA wearing slacks, an open neck shirt and an unzipped golfing blouson of some sort. He may be busy running the country (badly) but he has no style or sense of what is appropriate (IMHO)

[Tourist]

I hate to admit it, but for once I agree wholeheartedly with your post Beagle! :rolleyes:

[lids]

Why don't we all register as Service Voters in his constituency and vote him out at the next election. That would be highly amusing...

[A and C]

A veiw from the other side of the atlantic.

At the start of this week i had a business meeting with three new yorkers one of which witnessed the first aircraft strike the tower these people expressed the opinion that tony blair was saying the right things in the right way and it was there opinion that he "came over" better than president bush.

It is a very british thing to slag off all that is british but now of ALL times the british people should support the goverment as i know the forces will.

I did not vote for tony but he has my full support in this matter.

[ 19 September 2001: Message edited by: A and C ]

[Hengist Pod]

A and C

And it's a very American thing to chant U S A like gorillas and blindly charge into an illogical, unwinnable "crusade" for all things good and righteous. The very fact that we have a leader that can make speeches without a script and not put his foot in it explains why Britain has a far better handle on this democracy thing than our slightly thicker cousins across the Atlantic - we discuss matters, think before we act and make reasoned judgements rather than wildly exacerbate a problem without looking at the root cause - that root cause being, of course, the good old U S of A.

[ 19 September 2001: Message edited by: Hengist Pod ]

[1.3VStall]

BEags, old chap, I always wanted to know who that chap was at the head of the queue when our maker was apportioning cynicism!

The sad thing is, though, you're absolutely bang on.

[Legalapproach]

Since you mention it Slicker, the timing did get him out of a potentially very rough ride at the TUC conference. Well, you know, I mean, come on guys.........

[Flatus Veteranus]

"well fellas, I mean, er ... perhaps we better have a word with Jacques. I'll speak to him, Geoff, my French is a bit better than yours. French radio says they have "deux escadrilles" of thos Mirage pointy thingies at "deux minutes". Perhaps he would lend us a few? Or would we have to hire them and pay in Euros?

[ol_benkenobi]

Maybe he could ask him to stop prodding a couple of hundred immigrants a night through the chunnel.

[PurplePitot]

But what would the leader have to say about US airstrikes on XMG? :D

[PurplePitot]

But what would the leader have to say about US airstrikes on XMG? :D

[15/15 flex]

Hengist

You really have no concept of the depth of emotion here in North America do you? Think what you will about the average Yank, but they are rallying for the good of their country, and not baying for blood, merely trying to come to terms with the huge loss. Would you be quite so quick to mock the hundreds of workers working to dig out the thousands of tons of rubble had you, or a loved one, been on a trip to NY and decided to take a trip up the WTC to see the city in its morning glory? I think not.

And you want to know where Blair is? In Congress tonight representing the UK, the country highlighted by the US as "our strongest ally", if I may quote the president.

[Samuel]

Hmm, I suspect you people better start putting a few contingencies in place.Most regimes have swiftly endorsed George Dubbya. including the UK of course, and rightly so, though not necessarily because you agree with the way he's going to go about it.

It seems unlikely that George, and by association Tony Blair, will effect a change in response from the gut reaction to hit back, to one of an intellectual response.Someone's arse is about to be kicked; hard, and you look likely to be part of it.

Wasn't it an American President who talked about "walking softly but carrying a big stick?" Can't see George taking a deep breath somehow, and raining cruise missiles on Kabul, while giving some satisfaction, will not solve the problem.

[Hengist Pod]

15/15

We'll agree to differ but that's by the by. A word of advice though. To ensure your arguments are taken seriously don't end them by quoting the President. He's a bit of a thicky isn't he? Last night on newsnight there was actually some old duffer from across the pond making excuses for the village idiot saying that if it's sensible statements you're after than you should interview Cheney or Powell whereas the President's Wild West based rhetoric shouldn't be taken too seriously! And he was on Bush's side! For f*cks sake! Help.

[15/15 flex]

I'll give you that.....tough times ahead for all.

[Roc]

Hengist Pod,

I wish we all could be as smart, sophisticated, knowledgable, and worldly as you. I wish President Bush had you on his staff, then this whole situation would be solved. Please don't preach about how much better you would handle this situation, If my history is correct, You have had a few centuries to develope this enlightened and superior awareness of diplomacy. I also remember reading about the two WORLD WARS!! the affects of colonialism,(Isn't Israel, and Palastine part of this diplomacy) as well as the Holocaust, and others too many to count. So please don't dare preach about the superiority of one's foreign policies. You have the advantage of sitting back and thinking about all your options, because in reality you lack the means to impliment or EXECUTE them anyway. Bush may seem like an uneducated cowboy to your upper class sensibilities, however, he has surrounded himself with an excellent staff who are advising him. You remind me of alot of many Liberals here in the States who ridiculed Reagan so often as a bumbling idiot who was driving the world toward WWIII, well in hindsight he was proven right. Hell, even Gorbacev admitted so. I guess if you had your way we should send a delegation over to meet with the Talibon,and OBL and try to understand them, ask them "what can we do" to help them, or better yet lets give them a few billion and hope they play nice for a few years, kind of what Neville did with Adolph. Well like Adolph, I don't think these people care about the US, or want to be our friend. Thats OK, Anyway I think Bush will surprise you, so far he has acted with wisdom, restraint, and like someone else said, he is talking softly, while assembling a very large stick indeed. I think it scares you a little, but then again you seem to be the type who sits on the sidelines while others do the dirty work. I hope the air is clean and fresh at the lofty heights where you preside, as you look down at all us worker ants below.

[Hengist Pod]

Upper Class! Laugh, I nearly choked on my caviar.

[Kiting for Boys]

From "Why do they hate America" Bryan Appleyard Sunday Times

Read the whole article at http://www.sunday-times.co.uk

But there is something more terrible, more gravely unjust here than 1960s student stupidity, more even than the dancing of the Palestinians and the Lebanese.

Let us ponder exactly what the Americans did in that most awful of all centuries, the 20th. They saved Europe from barbarism in two world wars. After the second world war they rebuilt the continent from the ashes. They confronted and peacefully defeated Soviet communism, the most murderous system ever devised by man, and thereby enforced the slow dismantling - we hope - of Chinese communism, the second most murderous. America, primarily, ejected Iraq from Kuwait and helped us to eject Argentina from the Falklands. America stopped the slaughter in the Balkans while the Europeans dithered.

Now let us ponder exactly what the Americans are. America is free, very democratic and hugely successful. Americans speak our language and a dozen or so Americans write it much, much better than any of us. Americans make extremely good films and the cultivation and style of their best television programmes expose the vulgarity of the best of ours. Almost all the best universities in the world are American and, as a result, American intellectual life is the most vibrant and cultivated in the world.

"People should think," David Halberstam, the writer, says from the blasted city of New York, "what the world would be like without the backdrop of American leadership with all its flaws over the past 60 years." Probably, I think, a bit like hell.

There is a lot wrong with America and terrible things have been done in her name. But when the chips are down all the most important things are right. On September 11 the chips went down.

The Yankophobes were too villanously stupid to get the message. Barely 48 hours after thousands of Americans are murdered, we see the BBC's Question Time with its hand-picked morons in the audience telling Philip Lader, the former US ambassador, that "the world despises America". The studio seethes with ignorance and loathing. Lader looks broken.

Or we have the metropolitan elite on Newsnight Review sneering at Dubya Bush. "So out of touch," Rosie Boycott, the journalist, hisses, "there was no sense of his feeling for people." Alkarim Jivani, the writer, wades in by trashing Bush's response when asked how he was feeling: "Well, I'm a loving guy; also I've got a job to do." Jivani thinks this isn't good enough, no emotion.

Hang on; I thought the bien- pensant left wanted restraint from Bush. And that "loving guy" quote was the most beautiful thing said since September 11. Poetically compressed, rooted in his native dialect, it evoked duty and stoicism. But these are not big values in Islington.

[paco]

On a frivolous note - has anyone else noticed the resemblance of TB to Harvey Baines in "Waiting for God?" :)

Phil