A touch of guilt?
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A touch of guilt?
BBC News - Tony Blair donates book cash to injured soldier charity
Notwithstanding the guilt trip I applaud the move.....
Notwithstanding the guilt trip I applaud the move.....
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!
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!
Mr Blair's book
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.....
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.....
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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!
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!
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.
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The £4,6000,000 he has promised to the RBL plus additional royalties
Selling one of his London mansions????
Bonus guilt?????
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
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.
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So just where ARE those vast sums of money coming from, Oh cantankerous old one??
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."
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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*%$£@d !
I've just seen T.B.Liar on the news at 6 on the Beeb trying to explain the difficult decisions he's had to make while in office- what a 2-faced b*%$£@d !
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.
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.
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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
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
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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.
Still like to see him and Brown doing 6 month tours in the sandpits and doing patrols to boot though.
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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.
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.