Tony Blair

29th October 2010

Tony Blair has been on a visit to Brazil in recent days, amongst other things advising the country on their 2016 Olympic Games (See Telegraph.)

Telegraph excerpt:

Blair, who was crucial in helping London win the bid for the 2012 Games, stressed that decision makers should make sure the Games bring benefits to the city well after 2016.

“It cannot be just about the three weeks of the games,” Blair told a seminar with business leaders and Brazilian government authorities in Sao Paulo.

“There is no point doing the games if there isn’t a sense that something is being built for the long term.

“Part of the legacy is about what sport can do to society. Sport today is far more important that just sport itself. It can be used as a great anti-crime policy, a great health policy.”

Blair said he hopes the London Games will provide youngsters the opportunity to discover sport and learn what it can do to their lives.

He was asked, but of course, about the Wikileaks documents on Iraq. News 24 reports that he said there was “nothing new in them”.

I’ll drink to that.

What else did the world statesman say about WikiLeakalot? Jump here and then jump back, jumping beans.

Now here’s a guy who knew a little about drinking.

They’ve got an awful lot of coffee & Tony in Brazil -

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THE BIG BEAN IN BRAZIL

It never ceases to amaze me how some little been nuffink/done nuffink bean sprouts in Britain, invariably of the Disappointed Left, describe our former PM as a “has-been”. Do “has-beens” command the sell-outs he does? Even in the early morning?

While some of us here, well, me for one, are prevented by brainless bean-heads from listening to Mr Blair in person in our freedom-hating country, he’s The Biz in Brazil.

Brazilian businessmen listen to the speech of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair as he appears on a TV monitor during a breakfast at a hotel in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on October 26, 2010. (Photo credit: MAURICIO LIMA/AFP/Getty Images)

Forget the full tables! That’s par for the Blair course. How many speakers at a business breakfast would get that number of cameramen out of bed early in this country?

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair delivers a speech during a seminar with businessmen and athletes in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2010. (AP Photo/Nelson Antoine)

But in case you’re leaping about complaining that he’s one of those narrowly focussed “new/old generation” types, only speaking to the high-powered winners and would-be winners, later on Tuesday Mr Blair addressed students at Anhembi Morumbi University.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair attends a meeting with Brazilian students and teachers in Sao Paulo October 26, 2010. (REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker)

No tea…

Tony Blair listens to Sao Paulo's state governor Alberto Goldman (L) and Brazilian businessmen leaders group CEO Joao Doria Jr. during breakfast. (Photo credit: MAURICIO LIMA/AFP/Getty Images)

Accused of drinking water?

Water? (Photo credit: MAURICIO LIMA/AFP/Getty Images)

All pictures above, with thanks to Day Life

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Anhembi Morumbi University part of the Laureate International Universities -

SAO PAULO, Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ — Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, addressed students, alumni, faculty members and education and business leaders on the importance of education in Brazil’s growing economy on the campus of Anhembi Morumbi University. Anhembi Morumbi is one of Brazil’s leading institutions of higher education and a member of the Laureate International Universities network. The speech took place on October 26 and was broadcast worldwide to 30 institutions of higher education in the Laureate International Universities network.

PR Newswire also reports that Colliers International, the third largest Real Estate services company in the world, with a presence in 61 countries, will host a fundraising event to raise money for Tony Blair’s Faith Foundation, TB Faith Foundation, US branch.

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Any British bean sprouts willing to fork out $10,000 for a table for the renowned world leader’s charity? Out of your class, kiddies, eh?

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Recent comments:

“All countries need a leader who isn’t afraid to fight terrorism. I believe Mr. Blair did a necessary job in helping his allies. Are we all just supposed to lie down and wait for them to come for us, I don’t think so.”

And - “Mr. Blair is one of the finest politicians to have had the privilege of serving the United Kingdom, and Britons are fortunate to have had him as their Prime Minister. Time will show that Mr. Blair’s approach to affairs in the Middle East were and remain correct. From a member of the Commonwealth, thank you, Mr. Blair, for your continued service to legitimate and lasting (and not convenient or politically expedient) freedom.”

AND – “Tony Blair was the greatest Prime Minister since Winston Churchill and the only regret I have he didn’t get my vote as I live in Canada.”

AND – “I am sick and tired of television and radio interviewers asking the same old questions over and over, regarding the decision to go to war in Iraq, presumably they hope Mr Blair will let slip some secret information which they would then use against him. History will show if the decision was the right one, (I believe it was) but people must accept that Tony Blair is a honourable man, and made his decision based on the known facts and not with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight.”

Tags:2012 Summer Olympics, 2016 Summer Olympics, a journey, Brasil, Brasil version, Brazil, London, Lost, mohammed, most popular boys name, nothing new in wikileaks, pictures, politics, prime minister, São Paulo, Tony Blair, video, WikiLeaks, youtube
Posted in 1. Tony Blair, A Journey Memoirs, Blair - "Values" - Ideology, British Prime Minister, Legacy of Tony Blair, Major Political Issues, Britain & World | 6 Comments »

Cherie’s eBay bookplate & the dimwitted, freedom-hating British

October 26, 2010

Original Home Page – And another very early post from this blog
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Comment at end

26th October 2010

Visit Cherie Blair’s website here

[My words in this post are in grey, to differentiate them from The Sun's (in black and red)]

A couple of interesting items in today’s news regarding The Man. One, that he may be recalled to the Iraq Inquiry; two, that his wife Cherie sold a bookplate on e-Bay.

In the good ol’ British way of getting things a*se backwards, I’ll start at the end. That way Sun readers will realise I know what I’m talking about.

‘TONY Blair’s wife Cherie flogged the ex-PM’s autograph for �10 on eBay, The Sun can reveal’

At the top, there’s also this -

Got a story? We pay £££ Call: 0207 782 4100 – Email: talkback@the-sun.co.uk

‘Exclusives’ don’t just fall in their laps free, y’know.

Number Tenner Downing St ... Cherie and Tony

Titled “Cheri-ebay”, the “exclusive” by Nick Parker has this subtitle:

Mega-rich barrister Cherie, 56, advertised a signed “bookplate” page which fits copies of Mr Blair’s autobiography A Journey.

I am using the Sun’s whole article here below, pasted as is. I DO hope they won’t sue me. They won’t get much – anything, if they do.

From The Sun:

It was originally offered for �25 on the web auction site but sold for a tenner on an account registered to the former first lady at the Blairs’ �3.7million London pile.

For a few quid more ... Mr Blair's distinctive signature on Cherie's ad

The SUN’s caption to the above screenshot: ‘For a few quid more … Mr Blair’s distinctive signature on Cherie’s ad’

FIRST OF ALL – WHY I CONTEND MY FELLOW BRITS ARE DIM (“freedom-hating” later)

Reading the comments at The Sun – OK, I know, it’s The Sun – one is forced to the depressing conclusion that one has to be a half-wit to be British.

The news that Cherie Blair sold a bookplate with her husband’s signature on it has the usual suspects squealing “greed” cries. Not ONE of the dullards seems to have noticed that she REFUNDED the ten pounds! Not ONE! The buyer got it FREE.

You might expect that the grateful buyer would wish to highlight this little fact OR that the press in their usual hunt-the-truth manner would be likely to look at the WHOLE picture and not just the part they have twisted into a nonsensical “greedy Blairs” story.

Not on your life.

The point of Cherie’s give-away (btw, she hardly needs a £10 sale … minus eBay’s charges) is seemingly lost on these commenters. Well, it isn’t on me.

Her point is simple.

IF ‘PEACE-LOVING’ RENT-A-MOBBERS DIDN’T THREATEN HER HUSBAND AND THOSE LAW-ABIDING PEOPLE WHO WISHED HIM TO SIGN THEIR COPIES OF HIS MEMOIR THERE WOULD BE NO CALL FOR THIS EBAY CASHING IN BY OTHERS.

There are, in case you don’t know, plenty of people right now trying to sell for a profit signed copies of Blair’s “A Journey”.

I used capitals and bolding above purposely. Otherwise the dim just won’t get it. They still probably won’t.

Police officers restrain protesters outside a bookshop in Dublin, Ireland September 4, 2010. Three people were arrested when protesters threw eggs and shoes at former British Prime Minister Tony Blair when he arrived to sign copies of his memoir at a bookshop in Dublin on Saturday, national broadcaster RTE said. REUTERS/David Moir (IRELAND - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS SOCIETY)

I wrote about Tony Blair’s cancelled Waterstone’s book-signing farrago here, and here. With reference to the latter post my observation is this:

when those who purport to uphold liberty, freedom of speech and freedom of association for ALL, and as at Open Democracy still argue with mealy mouths against both for Tony Blair and his admirers, we know this country is deep in the smelly stuff.

Alone, of authors in this country, the author of ‘A Journey’ is literally and de facto NOT FREE to sign copies of his own book without costing the taxpayer thousands to protect him and the public from rentamob.

Alone, of politicians in this country, this politician is unable to hold an open meeting without the need to fight off puerile know-all “arresters” or even the harsher threats of some so-called anti-war people intent on delivering so-called justice.

Back to The SUN. So, what’s “bizarre” about this?

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The SUN: Part-time judge Cherie last night admitted hawking her husband’s moniker – but offered a bizarre explanation about why she did it.

Her spokesman said: “Cherie Blair was cross that people were selling Tony Blair’s signature when you can get one for free.”

Except that you can’t get one free. Why? You should be able to get his signature free. He is perfectly willing to sign copies of his book with no charge for the signature, of course, but …

Tony Blair has been prevented by security and cost concerns regarding anti-war protestors, so-called civil-righters, so-called freedom-fighters, anarchists, anti-America/anti-west/anti-Israel juvenile-brained ”thinkers” from appearing ANYWHERE in public in Britain. This situation is an utter disgrace and has been largely ignored by our freedom-loving press.

Close up ... ex-PM's autograph

Back to The SUN – ‘Close up … ex-PM’s autograph’

Now, let me highlight the next sentence:

“She was trying to undermine the market and as soon as someone bought it, she refunded it straight away to make the point.”

But the strange sale looked certain to spark huge embarrassment for the Blairs – who are regularly accused of cashing in on the ex-PM’s high office. It will also further call into question Cherie’s wisdom and ability to sit in judgment at trials.

Curious eBay browsers had no idea Cherie was involved in the sale as no name was provided with her ad.

The SUN knows that names are seldom provided with eBay ads. Only signature IDs are required.

The SUN:

But regular web trader Paul Hurworth’s jaw dropped as he twigged the identity behind the account number.

He sold a silver butter knife and glass dish to the account for �24.99 a year ago. And his records showed it was registered to Cherie at the Blair family’s main London residence.

Does anyone else see any breaking of eBay’s codes of behaviour in Mr Hurworth giving out this information so freely about another eBay account holder? Selling his story to THE SUN? Of course not.

(More of the hypocrisy of the “freedom-hating” later.)

The Sun:

Antiques dealer Paul, of Pickering, North Yorks, said: “I realised who I’d been dealing with last year and kept an eye on the account out of curiosity. But I was astonished when I saw the Blair signature on Cherie’s site.

“It was first on offer for �25 but when there were no takers it was reduced to �20, then finally a tenner.”

Paul, 35, added: “The normal fear is making sure the item is genuine.

Story ... Mr Blair's book

The SUN, continued … with this caption – ‘Story … Mr Blair’s book’

“But there’s obviously no problem in this case.

“It seems odd she would do something like this to try to get some point across. Why would she keep reducing the price if she wasn’t trying to sell it? No matter how you look at it, it’s an embarrassing thing to do for a tenner when you’re worth millions.”

Quite: “Why would she etc..”? Because it was NOT about the money dumbasses!

The SUN:

Cherie’s pitch featured a photo of Mr Blair’s signature above the words: “This bookplate has been signed by the former Prime Minister.” It added: “This item fits perfectly in to Tony Blair’s new book. This is a hand-signed book plate and not a [sic] autopen or copy.”

It was unclear last night whether Mr Blair, now a Middle East peace envoy, was aware of the sale.

Since leaving No10 in 2007, he is estimated to have made �25million from lectures and consultancy deals. The Blairs have also amassed property worth �15million, including FOUR houses in London and a country estate in Buckinghamshire.

But Cherie often uses eBay. Her purchases include Lego and salt and pepper shakers.

n.parker@the-sun.co.uk

__________

So, point made by Nick Parker, the writer of this stuff: the greedy Blairs. The reality and complexity (simplicity, in actual fact) of this whole “deal” was not clearly focussed or emphasised. The return of the money did not register with the readers. Job done, Mr Parker.

This article was little more than a quick reminder that the Blairs are worth millions. The word “FOUR” was Nick Parker’s bolding, not mine. That’s the touchwire that lights the fuse of ugly envy, dislike and distrust that the name of Blair ignites. It’s beyond the average Sun reader to work out that ten pounds is worth zilch to Mr and Mrs Blair. It is beyond the senseless dimwitted that Cherie Blair did not sell the item to raise a tenner.

Even this sentence accuses Cherie, in order to further make sure that people miss HER point:

“She was trying to undermine the market and as soon as someone bought it, she refunded it straight away to make the point.”

The real point is that after more than three years out of Downing Street her husband still needs a huge security detail in order to do what most of us take for granted – go outside his own front door.

THAT is shameful. Its effects rebound on his private life and in particular on his family life. It should be stopped immediately and the law of harassment should be used against those who somehow think they are above the law.

If Cherie Blair, as an eBay user, had sent the press details of the buyer who ‘bought’ this bookplate, stating or even NOT stating that she had refunded the money to him, what do you think the press would be doing?

I’ll tell you: they’d be all over her for betraying his confidentiality. She wouldn’t have any praise for giving the bookplate away.

But for her, in the same situation thanks to Mr Paul Hurworth, no-one is questioning any abuse of HER rights as a private citizen.

Antiques dealer Paul Hurworth of Pickering, North Yorks should be thoroughly ashamed of himself. A complaint to eBay might be in the offing.

The whole article stinks.

_____

NOW, WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT ‘FREEDOM HATING’ HYPOCRITICAL BRITS?

It’s part and parcel of all the above.

FREEDOM? IT’S NOT PARTIAL

Click for the Ban Blair-Baiting petition

The literati and the liberal ‘intelligentsia’ who dominate the British press selfishly, yes SELFISHLY, don their “we care” t-shirts while snarling like bloodthirsty dogs at the throat of Tony Blair for what they consider British loss of civil rights. They throw in such unproven yet tasty and descriptive phrases as “liar”, “Yankee poodle” and “war criminal” just for the flavour. Then they stand back and watch while the gullible swallow it all, chew it over, regurgitate it and spit out the cud.

It never once crosses these little minds that only since we had Tony Blair as Prime Minister did we have Freedom of Information (and I am not at all surprised he regrets this), the Human Rights Act (if he doesn’t regret this, perhaps he should) and devolution of powers away from London to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. But, of course it DOES cross their little minds. It just doesn’t serve their purposes to remind us of them. ANY of them.

That is not freedom and it is not impartial. It is partial in the extreme and is thus a betrayal of all that these civil and human righters say they believe in.

Paul Richards at Labour List had a good old go at defending Tony Blair’s freedom of association and criticising those who attacked it after the cancelled Waterstone’s book signing. But a glance at most of his commenters shows you just what an issue understanding REAL freedom is even for many in Labour when a politician’s decisions conflict with their opinions. THEY KNOW, by instinct or by their amazing ability to get inside Mr Blair’s head exactly WHY he cancelled his London book-signing – and it had nothing to do with concern over anyone else or anything else.

Honestly, I despair. I DO. Really, I do.

In 1997 (yes, I know what you’re thinking, but you’re wrong – it was only 1997 – he wasn’t a ‘war criminal’ then) the Protection from Harassment Act became law. By rights people who constantly strive to make Tony Blair’s life hell should be arrested, charged with such harassment under this law and locked up if and when found guilty UNDER THE LAW.

They would be so arrested and charged if they were harassing you or me in this way.

But since the assumption is that it’s only Tony Blair at the receiving end of this torrent of vitriol and virtual internal exile the perpetrators are completely ignored. Their robbing of one man’s integrity and freedom (and therefore OUR freedom) to meet in a public place is by-passed by the insane and hypocritical ‘liberal’ civil/human righters. The fact that no one is ever charged with anything over what I consider unforgivable robbing of individuals’ civil and human rights lends credence to the widespread acceptance that politicians, even when retired from domestic politics, have no rights. They have no human rights afforded to the rest of us including the right to be free from harassment. Especially so if the papers say that a lot of us don’t agree with them and/or don’t happen to like them. Utterly unbelievable, hypocritical, freedom-hating nonsense.

As for those of us who do NOT pre-judge malevolently Mr Blair (on Iraq or any other issue) we can all like it or lump it.

I do realise that this attitude has gone too far for anything I say about the universality of real freedom to make a difference. Today’s zeitgeist is that politicians like Blair can escape and have escaped due process under the law because of friends in high places or a corrupt system, probably both. So, it concludes, said politicians must suffer the lack of free association in public without threat or hindrance. If this state of affairs continues to their dying day, who CARES?

DISGRACEFUL

It is disgraceful that we should swallow this situation without complaint. Especially when we Brits complain unreservedly about plenty of other things.

Open Democracy and its ilk are more concerned, FAR more concerned about the “torture” of non-British resident Binyam Mohamed than they are about the freedom of a former British prime minister to walk untrammelled in his own land. In the same untrammelled freedom that his period in office left the rest of us.

And another thing – if Cherie Blair as an eBay user had sent the press personal details of the buyer who bought this bookplate, stating or even NOT stating that she had refunded the money to him, what do you think the press would be doing?

I’ll tell you: they’d be all over her for betraying his confidentiality. But for her, in the same situation now thanks to Mr Paul Hurworth no-one is questioning any abuse of HER rights as a private citizen.

Btw, isn’t it interesting that the Latin description for ‘bookplate’ is ex-librīs [Latin, "from the books of..."]

Sounds remarkably like – ‘once free‘.

RELATED

1. Cherie’s eBay “sale” also reported here at One India. And here where this report doesn’t even realise that the buyer was NOT surprised that Cherie Blair was the seller. He admits to having kept tabs on her account for some time. Nor does this story mention that Mr Hurworth SOLD his story to The Sun. Nor that the buyer did NOT make any issue of the fact he actually got his win for FREE.

Apart from that, it’s all true.

2. The Telegraph, which not being of the LEFT, doesn’t hate the Blairs as much as do some other papers, also tells that on eBay Cherie has sold a watch given to Tony from Berlusconi. Why not? He paid for it on leaving Downing Street, as is required of all retiring PMs, even though it was given to him as a gift. What? You don’t get it? That’s British fair play for you – clean noses and all that stuff. We can’t be seen to profit from gifts. So Cherie sold it at a loss, less than a third of its value.

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AND WHAT WAS THE OTHER LITTLE THING I MENTIONED AT THE START?

Oh, yes. It seems Tony Blair may be recalled to provide evidence to the Iraq Inquiry. “May” being the operative word. The Guardian says he will and they even KNOW why! OOOOOH!!!

Of course The Guardian has been known to get one or two things wrong, from time to time. In this article the caption to their picture has the wrong month.

Tony Blair gives evidence to the Chilcot inquiry on the Iraq war in February. Photograph: PA

Mr Blair did NOT give his evidence in February, but in January, as my ticket below shows. On little details like that people’s lives and freedom depend, Guardianistos.

But, if he is recalled, and such a request has not been confirmed by the Chilcot Inquiry office, and if it’s in public, that’ll be another opportunity for the odd 100-odd to dust off their placards as they did in January when I was fortunate enough to have had a ticket to attend. My report of Mr Blair’s six hours long evidence session is here

Other posts concerning his January appearance at the Chilcot Inquiry -

Mr Blair gave a good account of himself and his decisions at the Chilcot Iraq Inquiry. For those with ears to listen.

Image via Wikipedia

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EARLIER RELEVANT POSTS AT THIS BLOG

ETCETERA

1. Saddam’s former Deputy Prime Minister – (Christian) Tariq Aziz sentenced to death in an Iraqi court today. (See video at The Telegraph.) Personally I do not agree with the death penalty, except for child rapists and murderers. I’m strange in that way. But many civil and human righters will scream that it is the west who have condemned this man to die.

2. Robert Fisk fisking it again. Here, as Muslims attack Christians and chase them out of the Middle East, guess whose fault Fisk suggests it is?

3. Great fun this. Reporting on Lauren Booth’s amazing conversion, regression, sorry, reversion to Islam Monsters and Critics, has this:

In a comment on Booth’s conversion, one entry on a Muslim internet forum, published by the Daily Mail, read: ‘Now a war criminal has an innocent sister in law! God bless her!’

Bless.

4. The Daily Mail has a very fair and balanced article by Eve Ahmed, who was brought up as Muslim, but abandoned Islam at aged 18, asking “Why are so many modern British career woman converting to Islam?”

Excerpt:

‘With a recent YouGov survey concluding that more than half the British public believe Islam to be a negative influence that encourages extremism, the repression of women and inequality, one might ask why any of them would choose such a direction for themselves.

Yet statistics suggest Islamic conversion is not a mere flash in the pan but a significant development. Islam is, after all, the world’s fastest growing religion, and white adopters are an important part of that story.[...]

Evidence suggests that the ratio of Western women converts to male could be as high as 2:1.

5. This article by male writer Peyvand Khorsandi also discussing Lauren Booth’s conversion takes a far firmer stance against this choice to convert. A commenter says, presumably correctly, as it has not been moderated out by the writer, that “Peyvand Khorsandi is the son of the exiled Iranian satirist Hadi Khorsandi. He is himself a Muslim and quite rightly directing some vitriol towards this vile Iranian regime and any sycophantic numpties that cannot see the wood for the trees. There are certain Liberal-Lefties in our society who would actually join the enemy in some perverse attempt to justify their own skewed political views. Personally I think she is a very naive and perhaps an unbalanced individual.”

6. It’ll be interesting to see how THIS turns out. A World On Trial series where the world’s big issues are debated, discussed and decided on in a court-room situation. In this pilot edition they are looking at the French ban on head-coverings in schools in France. Guess who is the presiding judge? Cherie Booth/Blair. Hmmm…

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Recent comments:

“Mr. Blair is one of the finest politicians to have had the privilege of serving the United Kingdom, and Britons are fortunate to have had him as their Prime Minister. Time will show that Mr. Blair’s approach to affairs in the Middle East were and remain correct. From a member of the Commonwealth, thank you, Mr. Blair, for your continued service to legitimate and lasting (and not convenient or politically expedient) freedom.”

AND – “Tony Blair was the greatest Prime Minister since Winston Churchill and the only regret I have he didn’t get my vote as I live in Canada.”

AND – “I am sick and tired of television and radio interviewers asking the same old questions over and over, regarding the decision to go to war in Iraq, presumably they hope Mr Blair will let slip some secret information which they would then use against him. History will show if the decision was the right one, (I believe it was) but people must accept that Tony Blair is an honourable man, and made his decision based on the known facts and not with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight.”

Tags:a journey, ban blair baiting petition, Blair recalled, book-signing, Bookplate, Cheri ebay, Cherie Blair, Cherie ebay, Chilcot Inquiry, civil unrest, death sentence, Dublin, eBay, evidence conflicting, Iraq, Iraq inquiry, lauren booth, Nick Parker, Paul Hurworth, picture, prime minister, rentamob, Sun, Tariq Aziz, The Sun, Tony Blair, war criminal, women converting to Islam, World on Trial
Posted in 1. Tony Blair, A Journey Memoirs, Cherie Booth / Blair, Cherie Booth Memoirs, Free Speech, Human Rights and HR Act, Civil Rights, Civil Liberties, Law - British Domestic & International, Legacy of Tony Blair, Major Political Issues, Britain & World, Press - Truth & Lies, Religion & Religious Issues in Politics | 10 Comments »

“Reversion” personified: “My name is Lauren Booth, and I am a Muslim”. Hardly news, but now official.

October 25, 2010

Original Home Page – And another very early post from this blog

25th October 2010

Excerpt below from Daily Mail -

Another upload of this video from Islam Channel LIVE says – “Lauren Booth reverts LIVE at the GPU”

At around 2:50 in the video on her spiritual “morphine moment” – [spiritual morphine? Doesn't morphine DULL the senses as well as the pain (the pain of being free to convert/revert)?] – at the ”Global Peace and Unity event, this once Roman Catholic woman says proudly, her young daughter by her side – “My name is Lauren Booth and I am a Muslim.”

To each his/her own. Although quite why she had to make this religious (political) statement in public is worth asking. Clearly HER religious beliefs are not private and personal, for reasons best known to herself.

In case you thought by the shots of the audience that this event was in the Middle East, it wasn’t. It took place at Excel, London, yesterday and Saturday.

Latest convert - sorry, reversionist to Islam, Lauren Booth. Refusing to discount the possibility that she might wear a burka, she said: ‘Who knows where my spiritual journey will take me?’ As far away from Britain as possible. Hopefully.

This commitment to Islam is hardly news to me anyway, if it is to her. She was clearly heading that way when she said at a Gaza protest in London - “we are all Palestinians now”. And when she started working for Iran’s Press TV some years ago, and when she wore her oh-so-suitable and requisite head-covering when broadcasting her anti-west rants in an Islamic country, as in the picture on the right.

SO WHAT’S ALL THIS ‘REVERSION’ BUSINESS?

It is worth noting the use of the word “reverts” in the title of this version of her conversion. No other religion has the bare-faced audacity to claim that we were all Christian/Jewish/Hindus/Buddhists etc at birth. But we were ALL MUSLIMS first, don’t you know? Even before we were born into our Christian/Jewish/Hindu/Buddhist families. Even before Islam itself appeared on the religious/political horizon. Even though Islam was the last of the three major “Abrahamic” religions to find itself.

What senseless processing of upside-down thinking. To describe this self-servicing nonsense as “illogical” is to be euphemistic to a dangerous degree. Apologies if you accept this innate or learned doltishness. You should understand that many millions of us don’t, can’t, and never will. So, what are you going to do about it, bully boys?

Below, in these sections on Reversion and Apostasy, it may become clearer to you just why I ask this question in what some might describe as a confrontational manner. Read on Macduff …

1. ‘REVERSION’ (‘conversion’, to non-Muslims) – explained here at Islam Online

We want to introduce you to the use of the term reverting to Islam instead of converting. This term is used among Muslims because we believe all babies are born Muslim and are socialized into different religions by their parents; so when a person enters into Islam, he or she is ‘coming back to’ or ‘reverting’ to their original religion.

And if you accept that you also worship at the altar of the consistent logic that says we were all Romans first, including those of the Egyptian Empire which preceded the Roman Empire by 4000 years.

Ms Booth in her new-found ‘enlightened’ existence promises – “I will seek to serve the Ummah as best I can”. [Ummah = Muslim peoples.] But quite why she prayed to Allah, PRIOR to converting reverting to Islam is beyond my simple understanding. As my Christian minister in Scotland used to say repeatedly, in order to quell doubters no doubt – “God is beyond our comprehension”. And so, some may say, may God remain.

Others might suggest sweet Lauren is showing the way forward for Guardianistos and even for David Cameron [of Gaza - "prison camp" infamy].

Perhaps it escapes some minds that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a Muslim to “revert” back out of Islam.

2. ‘APOSTASY’ (leaving Islam)

[Apostasy in Islam - sorry this 'explanation' is so long-winded, but Islam requires a lot of wriggle room, I have found.] It rambles about and argues this and that, against itself at times, as is often Islam’s hook-dodging habit. But perhaps this excerpts sums it up: [MY BOLDING]

‘These verses clarify the command “seize them and kill them”. The apostates who rejected Islam by failing to emigrate as commanded by God are divided into three categories:

1) Those who ally themselves with a group with whom Muslims have a peace treaty;
2) Those who want to keep neutrality, committing themselves to peace with both the Muslims and their own people who had not accepted Islam;
3) Those who provide no real guarantee of peace to Muslims and by all indications ally themselves with non-believers engaged in hostilities towards Islam.

The first two types of apostates are to be left in peace while the third one is to be treated like any non-believers in a state of war: they are to be seized and killed wherever they are found. Notice that the Qur`an uses the words “God has opened no way for you against them” in connection with the apostates of the first two types. This means that the Qur`an actually prohibits killing those apostates who want to live in peaceful terms with the Muslims.

Thus according to the Qur`an the apostates are to be treated like other kuffar: If they want to live in peace with the Muslims, they are to be left in peace and if they assume a hostile attitude, then they are to be treated accordingly.’

[Graphic, updated daily, from "Religion of Peace" here.]

So, in this world where Muslims kill in terrorists attacks almost daily, if we, non-Muslims or complaining Muslims such as former Islamist terrorist Tawfik Hamid don’t assume a non-hostile attitude(!) in response we are to be treated as apostates according to the good books of Islam. In other words if you defend freedom, freedom of religion, conversion, the rights of women, apostates, adulterers or homosexuals – loosen your shirt collar for that beheading, my ‘hostile’ friends.

“Kuffar” in case you don’t know are unbelievers. Unbelievers in (pure) Islam, that is … whatever that is.

And this information is from a site which aspires to be an authority on Islam.

Information from the YouTube site:

wais910 | 23 October 2010

Lauren Booth went to the mosque of Hazrat Ma’suma (as) – the sister of the 8th Imam of the AhlulBayt(as), Imam Redha (as) – is buried in Iran.

It is in the city of Qom, where Hazrat Ma’suma(as) died. Imam Redha(as) died in another city called Mashad.

I think when sister Lauren Booth hears the psuedo-salafis (wahabi influenced) telling her “shias and iran are kaafir and mushriks, etc” she will be very shaken from such an arrogant / unity-breaking mindset. May Allah(swt) protect her from any physical and spiritual and ideological harm.

Oh Ummah of Muhammad(sawa)! LET US UNITE!

So even this YouTube Channel highlights the differences within and throughout Islam. Facts of which the naive and gullible Ms Booth seems to be entirely unaware.

Perhaps her new friends will help Lauren, who once appeared in the reality TV show – I’m a Celebrity, Get me out of Here” – pay off her debt to her sister Cherie, recently secured. Cherie, it seems, lent her half-sister Lauren £10,000 but only after a lot of thought. Since Lauren has been and still is an outspoken critic of Mr Blair Cherie was probably half-hearted in her willingness to help the black sheep of the family. But, truly Christianly and lawyerly-like, she did in the end. Though Lauren had to sign a several-page legal document drawn up by Cherie to secure the funds. Very wise, Cherie.

Even Ms Booth’s poor brainwashed pre-teen daughter, clearly a convert too, praises Allah. Or says something earth-shatteringly well received in a language which she now contentedly considers truly hers, morphine-like in its addiction.

What about your child, our mother, your home when Palestinians bomb them, Lauren? Or when Islamist fundamentalist terrorists do? Allah’s will?

Not that her trip to that bastion of freedom, Iran, tells us anything about the poor woman’s state of mind. Doctor, doctor!

__________

Tony Blair’s sister-in-law has converted to Islam after having a ‘holy experience’ in Iran.

Broadcaster and journalist Lauren Booth, 43 – Cherie Blair’s half-sister – said she now wears a hijab head covering whenever she leaves her home, prays five times a day and visits her local mosque ‘when I can’.

She decided to become a Muslim six weeks ago after visiting the shrine of Fatima al-Masumeh in the city of Qom.

‘It was a Tuesday evening and I sat down and felt this shot of spiritual morphine, just absolute bliss and joy,’ she told The Mail on Sunday.

When she returned to Britain, she decided to convert immediately.

‘Now I don’t eat pork and I read the Koran every day. I’m on page 60.

‘I also haven’t had a drink in 45 days, the longest period in 25 years. The strange thing is that since I decided to convert I haven’t wanted to touch alcohol, and I was someone who craved a glass of wine or two at the end of a day.’

Refusing to discount the possibility that she might wear a burka, she said: ‘Who knows where my spiritual journey will take me?’

Before her awakening in Iran, she had been ‘sympathetic’ to Islam and has spent considerable time working in Palestine. ‘I was always impressed with the strength and comfort it gave,’ she said of the religion.

Miss Booth, who works for Press TV, the English-language Iranian news channel, has been a vocal opponent of the war in Iraq.

In August 2008 she travelled to Gaza by ship from Cyprus, along with 46 other activists, to highlight Israel’s blockade of the territory. She was subsequently refused entry into both Israel and Egypt.

In 2006 she was a contestant on the ITV reality show I’m A Celebrity . . . Get Me Out Of Here!, donating her fee to the Palestinian relief charity Interpal.

She said she hoped her conversion would help Mr Blair change his presumptions about Islam.

Recent comments:

AND – “Tony Blair was the greatest Prime Minister since Winston Churchill and the only regret I have he didn’t get my vote as I live in Canada.”

AND – “I am sick and tired of television and radio interviewers asking the same old questions over and over, regarding the decision to go to war in Iraq, presumably they hope Mr Blair will let slip some secret information which they would then use against him. History will show if the decision was the right one, (I believe it was) but people must accept that Tony Blair is an honourable man, and made his decision based on the known facts and not with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight.”

Tags:Ahlulbayt, allah, change, Cherie Blair, Cherie Blair sister, city of Qom, convert, Fatima, Fatima al-Masumeh, Fatima al-Masumeh Shrine, Hussain, Imam, Iran, Islam, lauren booth, light, Muhammad, muslim, Press TV, Religion and Spirituality, revert, Roman Empire, Shia, shrine, shrine of Fatima al-Masumeh, siddiqui report, Sunni, Tony Blair, Truth, كمال, كربلاء, لمذا, مسلم, ياسر .الحبيب, Zahra, الكلباني, الامام, الطف, امام, حيدري, سيد, سبب, عاجل, عرعور
Posted in 1. Tony Blair, Cherie Booth Memoirs, Gaza, Islam, Legacy of Tony Blair, Middle East Envoy Blair, from June 2007, Multiculturalism, Muslims, Palestinian Issues/ Palestine state, Press - Truth & Lies, Religion & Religious Issues in Politics, Sharia, Sharia Law/Sharia Finance, Terrorism, Tony Blair Faith Foundation | 33 Comments »

Geert Wilders trial collapses over judges’ “bias”. Re-trial ordered

October 22, 2010

Original Home Page – And another very early post from this blog

22nd October 2010

LATEST: A trove of secret field reports (400,000!) from Iraq, obtained by the group WikiLeaks, sheds new light on such issues as civilian deaths, detainee abuse and the involvement of Iran. | Overview »

From Ian Traynor at The Guardian – ‘Geert Wilders’ Trial collapses’

Dutch anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders in court

[Pic: Dutch anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders (right) in court on the final day of arguments in his trial for hate speech. Photograph: Koen Van Weel/AFP/Getty Images]

The hate speech trial of the controversial far-right[sic][he's not "far right"] Dutch leader, Geert Wilders, collapsed in disarray at the last minute today when the panel of judges in the case were deemed to be biased. A retrial was ordered.

Wilders, who is enjoying soaring support at home and propping up a new minority anti-immigration government established last week, has been in the dock since earlier this month on five charges of inciting racial and religious hatred for his robust denunciations of Islam as fascist and demanding the Qur’an be banned.During the trial he has been lionised as a modern-day Galileo as well as branded a “little Hitler”. Today was the final scheduled day of the trial, with the verdict from the panel of three judges at Amsterdam district court due next week.

But in the past 48 hours it emerged that one of the appeal court judges who ordered Wilders to stand trial had dinner in May with a potential witness, a Dutch expert on Islam, and that the judge had sought to convince the professor of Arabic studies why Wilders had to be prosecuted.

Last night, Wilders, who has remained silent throughout the trial, tweeted that Dutch justice was like the mafia.

This morning, Bram Moszkowicz, Wilders’s lawyer, asked to summon the witness and was refused. He formally protested that the judges were biased against the defendant, a complaint that was upheld by another judges’ panel, which ordered a retrial with a new bench.

The highly unusual event means that it is likely to be months before a new trial can be held.

Wilders, whose Freedom party came third in elections in June and who has deftly manoeuvred himself into the role of sleeping partner with the new minority coalition of rightwing liberals and Christian Democrats, has argued that the trial is a farce, a disgrace, and an assault on free speech.

It appeared things were going his way because in testimony last week, the Dutch prosecution service argued there was no case to answer, dismissed all five charges against Wilders, and said he should be acquitted.

The prosecution service initially declined to bring charges against Wilders related to newspaper articles he has written, likening Islam to nazism and because of his incendiary anti-Muslim film Fitna. But prosecutors were ordered by an appeal court in January last year to press charges.

It was one of the appeal judges, Tom Schalken, who had dinner with the Arabist, Hans Jansen, who told a Dutch newspaper today that the judge had tried “to convince me of the correctness of the decision to take Wilders to court”.

Moszkowicz had sought to have the trial judges removed on the opening day of hearings after one of them passed comment on Wilders’s decision to make use of his right to remain silent during the proceedings. That complaint was dismissed.

The trial has heard a series of Muslims and Dutch citizens of immigrant origin or from mixed marriages argue that Wilders is “dangerous”, “divisive”, and that he makes them fear for their futures in The Netherlands.

Moszkowicz told the court that Wilders was a straight-talking, campaigning politician seeking to prevent Qur’an-inspired violence.

“Regardless of the danger to his own life, he speaks about the dangers he sees around him that result from immigration,” the lawyer told the court. “In his eyes, Islam is a totalitarian ideology.”

Wilders hate speech trial collapses (guardian.co.uk)
Geert Wilders trial faces restart after judges dismissed (telegraph.co.uk)
BREAKING: Judges in Geert Wilders’ Free Speech Case Removed from Trial (pajamasmedia.com)
Wilders to Get New Judges (gatesofvienna.blogspot.com)
“Geert Wilders’ Trial Ends in Mistrial: Judge Tampers with Witness…….” and related posts (tundratabloid.blogspot.com)
Dutch retrial ordered for Wilders hate speech case (ctv.ca)
Dutch Court to Start Wilders Case Over Again (nytimes.com)
New judges ordered in lawmaker’s hate speech trial (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
Dutch retrial ordered for Wilders hate speech case (sfgate.com)
New judges ordered in lawmaker’s hate speech trial (sfgate.com)

_______________

Recent comments:

“Mr. Blair is one of the finest politicians to have had the priviledge of serving the United Kingdom, and Britons are fortunate to have had him as their Prime Minister. Time will show that Mr. Blair’s approach to affairs in the Middle East were and remain correct. From a member of the Commonwealth, thank you, Mr. Blair, for your continued service to legitimate and lasting (and not convenient or politically expedient) freedom.”

AND – “Tony Blair was the greatest Prime Minister since Winston Churchill and the only regret I have he didn’t get my vote as I live in Canada.”

Tags:Arabist, Bram Moszkowicz, Dutch justice like the mafia, fitna, Geert Wilders, Hans Jansen, Iraq secret files released, Islam, koran, netherlands, Qur'an inspired violence, quran, retrial ordered, Tom Schalken, trial, trial judges biased, WikiLeaks
Posted in Geert Wilders, Dutch MP, "Fitna" Video, Human Rights and HR Act, Civil Rights, Civil Liberties, Islam, Law - British Domestic & International, Major Political Issues, Britain & World, Multiculturalism, Muslims, Religion & Religious Issues in Politics, Sharia Law/Sharia Finance | 2 Comments »

David Kelly’s death: BBC newsreader, Kate Silverton’s Freudian slip

October 22, 2010

Original Home Page – And another very early post from this blog

The reports into Kelly’s death have just been published on the Ministry of Justice website.

22nd October 2010

There are two pdf files – the post mortem examination report and the toxicology report. (Thanks to The Guardian live coverage of the reports’ release)

I believe it was Kate Silverton who, reading the headlines at 1:00pm today on the BBC lunchtime news said something to the effect – “The papers released today show that David Kelly did NOT (her emphasis of voice – then her correction) … did commit suicide.”

I realise it’s possible that the newsreader was sort of pre-reading incorrectly “did not kill himself”, and got a little distracted by the facts. But since this was the first headline uttered, you’d think she might have got it right first time.

But perhaps this er … Freudian slip tells us something about BBC bias. After all, DO remember that it was a then BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan who outed David Kelly as the source of the WMD story, AND it was two senior BBC heads that rolled after the Hutton Report. The Hutton Report which today is exonerated.

[Kate Silverton - apologies if the newsreader was A N Other. I only caught some of it.]

Aftermath of publication of Hutton Report (2003)

It was because of the report’s criticism of his actions that Gavyn Davies resigned on the day of publication, 28 January. Reporters from rival news organisation ITN described the day of publication as “one of the worst in the BBC’s history”. Greg Dyke resigned two days after the publication of the report, following a meeting of BBC Governors where it is reported he only retained the support of one third of the board. However, after announcing his resignation, Dyke stated:

I do not necessarily accept the findings of Lord Hutton.^[6]

Andrew Gilligan resigned because of his part in the affair on 30 January, making three BBC resignations in three days. However, in his resignation statement he questioned the value of Hutton’s report:

This report casts a chill over all journalism, not just the BBC’s. It seeks to hold reporters, with all the difficulties they face, to a standard that it does not appear to demand of, for instance, Government dossiers.^[5]

Blair, who had been repeatedly under fire for the “sexing-up” allegations, told the House of Commons in the debate following the release of the report that he had been completely exonerated. He demanded a retraction from those who had accused him of lying to the House, particularly Michael Howard, the Leader of the Opposition:

The allegation that I or anyone else lied to this House or deliberately misled the country by falsifying intelligence on WMD is itself the real lie. And I simply ask that those that made it and those who have repeated it over all these months, now withdraw it, fully, openly and clearly.^[7]

Howard sidestepped the demand for an apology. However, immediately after the Board of Governors had accepted Dyke’s resignation Lord Ryder, as Acting Chairman of the BBC (Davies’s replacement), apologised “unreservedly” for errors made during the Dr David Kelly affair. Dyke, who has not given the conclusions of the Hutton report his full backing, said that he “could not quite work out” what the BBC was apologising for. The Independent subsequently reported that the BBC governors had ignored the advice of BBC lawyers that the Hutton report was “legally flawed”. Although this was denied by the BBC, it was confirmed in 2007 when the BBC was forced to publish minutes of a governors meeting at the BBC that took place directly after the Hutton report.^[8]

The Guardian reports today -

David Kelly postmortem reveals injuries were self-inflicted

Government releases previously secret medical files on death of weapons inspector at centre of BBC’s Iraq dossier story

The death of weapons inspector David Kelly was “typical of self-inflicted injury”, according to previously secret medical documents released today.

The postmortem report into his death found the main cause was bleeding from a wound to his wrist “entirely consistent with being inflicted with a bladed weapon”.

The scientist’s body was found in woods near his Oxfordshire home in July 2003 after he was identified as the source of a BBC story claiming the government “sexed up” its dossier on Iraq‘s supposed weapons of mass destruction.

Lord Hutton, who conducted the inquiry into Kelly’s death, found the scientist had committed suicide. However there have been numerous calls for another examination of the case amid persistent conspiracy theories about how Kelly may have died.

Today’s reports undermine those who have questioned the official version of events, as the conclusions of the postmortem examination by Dr Nicholas Hunt matched those in Hutton’s original report.

“It is my opinion that the main factor involved in bringing about the death of David Kelly is the bleeding from the incised wounds to his left wrist,” said Hunt. “Had this not occurred he may well not have died at this time. “Furthermore, on the balance of probabilities, it is likely that the ingestion of an excess number of co-proxamol tablets coupled with apparently clinically silent coronary artery disease would both have played a part in bringing about death more certainly and more rapidly than would have otherwise been the case.

“Therefore I give as the cause of death: 1a. Haemorrhage; 1b Incised wounds to the left wrist; 2. Co-proxamol ingestion and coronary artery atherosclerosis.”

The justice secretary, Kenneth Clarke, said he had decided to publish the documents “in the interests of maintaining public confidence in the inquiry into how Dr Kelly came by his death”.

“While I firmly believe that the publication of these documents is in the public interest, I am mindful that the contents may be distressing. I hope that the privacy of Dr Kelly’s family will be respected at this difficult time.”

Not that it’s finally over for Dr Kelly’s relatives, for Tony Blair and his then government, for the Doctors in pursuit of “truth”, or for the BBC and other conspiracy theorists. Dominic Grieve, the Attorney General has yet to pronounce on whether or not a full inquest should now be held.

Related Articles

Dr Kelly wounds ‘typical of self-inflicted injury’ (independent.co.uk)
Kelly death files ‘to be released’ (mirror.co.uk)
Dr Kelly files released today (thesun.co.uk)
On balance, there should be an inquest into David Kelly’s death (guardian.co.uk)
David Kelly files: Lord Hutton insists no secrecy surrounding the post mortem (telegraph.co.uk)

AND …

Grieve requests Kelly death files (mirror.co.uk)
Inquest into Dr David Kelly’s death ‘could be re-opened’ government suggest (telegraph.co.uk)
Doctors demand David Kelly inquest (telegraph.co.uk)
Kelly inquest calls under review (bbc.co.uk)

_______________

Recent comments:

AND – “Tony Blair was the greatest Prime Minister since Winston Churchill and the only regret I have he didn’t get my vote as I live in Canada.”

AND – “I am sick and tired of television and radio interviewers asking the same old questions over and over, regarding the decision to go to war in Iraq, presumably they hope Mr Blair will let slip some secret information which they would then use against him. History will show if the decision was the right one, (I believe it was) but people must accept that Tony Blair is an honourable man, and made his decision based on the known facts and not with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight.”

Tags:Andrew Gilligan, BBC, BBC bias, Brian Hutton Baron Hutton, Death of David Kelly, Gavyn Davies, Greg Dyke, Hutton Inquiry, Kate Silverton, Kenneth Clarke, Tony Blair
Posted in 1. Tony Blair, 2003 - Videos & Speeches, BBC, Broadcast Outlets & Press, David Kelly, Iraq, Iraq inquiry, Press - Truth & Lies | 1 Comment »

Ken Clarke’s diversion tactic? Papers on David Kelly’s death released

October 22, 2010

Original Home Page – And another very early post from this blog

22nd October 2010

A GOOD DAY TO BURY TONY BLAIR BAD NEWS?

Secretary of State for Justice The Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke QC arriving at a cabinet meeting, 12th October, 2010

Forgive me if I sound a little suspicious.

Just as the coalition government struggles to gain public support for their cuts, cuts and more cuts, the Justice Minister Kenneth Clarke has chosen this as just the right time to order the release of the papers on David Kelly’s death in 2003. (Daily Mail). Nice one, Ken.

Of course I may be doing Mr Clarke a disservice. I always admired Ken Clarke, and still can’t dislike the man even though I consider him wrong on Iraq. Presumably he has seen the medical reports. Perhaps he knows there is nothing in them which will fuel the hunt Blair game.

On the other hand he may also be thinking – “what could possibly get the liberal literati off our backs now the peasants voters are revolting?”

_____

The Mail says, explosively and dramatically -

“Explosive files on the death of Dr David Kelly are being released today after seven years of state secrecy.

In a dramatic intervention, Kenneth Clarke will publish medical reports on how the weapons inspector died.

The secrecy surrounding post-mortem examination and toxicology reports has fuelled countless conspiracy theories.

Lord Hutton, who conducted the inquiry into Dr Kelly’s death, attempted to hide the files from public view for 70 years.

Now the Justice Secretary has ruled that, in the interests of transparency, they should be made available for public scrutiny.

Campaigners will hope they provide the evidence needed to justify holding an inquest into Dr Kelly’s death. They will hunt for discrepancies between the files and the official verdict of the Hutton Report – derided as a ‘whitewash’ by critics – that Dr Kelly took his own life.”

Have you got blood on your hands Prime Minister? David Kelly

‘The turning point in Tony Blair’s career as Prime Minister came when he was at a press conference in Japan. A journalist asked him if he had any responsibility for the death of weapons inspector David Kelly. This video shows how Blair stood motionless, unable to answer for eight seconds. Eventually the Japanese Prime minister saved him further embarrassment by ending the news conference prematurely.’

Lord Hutton’s medical reports on Dr Kelly were to be kept secret for 70 years, “for the sake of his family”. Although the Mail did not mention this in their report, The Independent says the release of the post-mortem report is “against the wishes of his family.”

Let’s hope it is not his family that will be most affected by Ken Clarke’s decision.

Japan, 2003: Tony & Cherie Blair on the day he heard of the suicide of David Kelly. Cherie described her husband as being at his lowest ebb yet in his premiership.

Attorney General will step in to end speculation over David Kelly death (telegraph.co.uk)
Experts call for David Kelly inquest (guardian.co.uk)
Grieve requests Kelly death files (mirror.co.uk)
David Kelly death inquest may be reopened (guardian.co.uk)
Inquest into Dr David Kelly’s death ‘could be re-opened’ government suggest (telegraph.co.uk)
Doctors demand David Kelly inquest (telegraph.co.uk)
Kelly inquest calls under review (bbc.co.uk)

_______________

Recent comments:

AND – “Tony Blair was the greatest Prime Minister since Winston Churchill and the only regret I have he didn’t get my vote as I live in Canada.”

AND – “I am sick and tired of television and radio interviewers asking the same old questions over and over, regarding the decision to go to war in Iraq, presumably they hope Mr Blair will let slip some secret information which they would then use against him. History will show if the decision was the right one, (I believe it was) but people must accept that Tony Blair is an honourable man, and made his decision based on the known facts and not with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight.”

Tags:a good day to bury bad news, Brian Hutton Baron Hutton, Daily Mail, David Kelly, Dominic Grieve, have you got blood on your hands, Hutton Inquiry, japan, Justice ministry, Kenneth Clarke, Lord Hutton, Press Conference, prime minister, Tony Blair, video
Posted in 1. Tony Blair, A Journey Memoirs, BBC, Broadcast Outlets & Press, British Politics, British Prime Minister, David Kelly, Iraq, Iraq inquiry, Legacy of Tony Blair, The Independent - Daily Mail - Guardian - British "feral" Press | 3 Comments »

Psychoanalysing the Blair Derangement Syndrome

October 19, 2010

Original Home Page – And another very early post from this blog

19th October 2010

The cross-post below is a psychoanalytical attempt to understand the Hatred of Tony Blair (Online mainly, in my humble opinion. My experience is that such “hatred” doesn’t exist among normal people, i.e those offline). Perhaps the writer would like to tackle this “group think” in a follow-up post.

So how did this -

become this?

Some clues can be seen at the almost 500 suggestions for his ‘epitaph’ here at a BBC blog on the day he stood down from British politics.

The BBC Newsnight winner was –

I’ll add my own suggestion at the end, notwithstanding the fact that he is not yet buried or ready to be buried.

(In the cross-posted article below I have added a few links, by way of elucidation, I hope.)

Blair Derangement Syndrome and its deeper meaning

To those in the old Blairite camp, yes – even neoconservatives like myself, the deranged hatred that flares up at the mere mention of Tony Blair is inexplicable in the terminology of everyday politics. I believe that there is a radically different perspective unexplored in Britain but one which has been explored in the US blogosphere through sites such as Shrinkwrapped and that is to understand the psychology.

This journey of understanding began a long time but I reached a critical point when reading Aspects of the Masculine by C.S.Jung, through which various threads have come together but more importantly, I can sense the form of the deeper problem in Western culture, of which the Blair derangement displayed so frequently is but a symptom.

The central concept that must be understood here is that of psyche or mind. I will be speaking in (probably) poorly expressed metaphors as I have only really begun in this year to delve into psychology.

Firstly, there are two layers to the mind, the conscious and the unconscious. From what I have understood thus far, the unconscious is the store of all our experiences but that it is not a passive element in the mind but that there is a continuous relationship between the two psychic layers, where we might describe the conscious mind as a kite tethered by many fine threads into a chaotic field of colours and shapes in which we find the concept of archetypes.

Jung believed that the unconscious is oppositely gendered; a man’s unconsciousness is archetypally feminine; a woman’s unconscious archetype would be masculine. I will be theorising mainly through the masculine mind, so the unconscious will be the anima. In females, the unconscious is the animus.

His theory held that at developmental stages in our lives, we first break out of the unconscious in a heroic phase to define ourselves but then at a crisis point, the unconscious would call to the consciousness through archetypes, which hold a deep psychological truth and power. The more the archetypal call is resisted, the more negative the effects of the archetype will become until the mind as a whole is poisoned. This is because all aspects of the psyche have light and dark sides; each aspect is capable of healing and destruction.

These archetypes extend into a cultural consideration because Jung argued that all archetypes are universal and held in common as careful study of myth and story revealed repeated patterns that illuminated the contents of the unconscious. It is my contention that the West is in the final stages of a cultural transformation. Here we must also understand the concept of masculine and feminine energy, the former heroic in quality encompassing desire to conquer, explore and explain, the latter empathic in quality, encompassing desire to nurture, heal and understand (as opposed to explain). All men will exhibit to a certain degree the heroic aspiration and all women the empathic aspiration; these are the foremost qualities of the psyches and as such represent the conscious mind.

Not all men are absolutely heroic and not all women are absolutely empathic but rather that as we grow through the four stages of life, we learn to grow through our shadow selves in the unconscious. A man will learn value, spirituality and virtue, a woman rationale, discrimination and inquiry. What we ascribe as the masculine, we see enhanced in older women, while older men become wiser and more tolerant (at least in theory). I hold that all of these outcomes depends upon the relative strengths of the two energies in the sexes and that this is understood and reflected through the Thinking and Feeling functions.

The effect of resisting acknowledgement of the crisis (when the unconscious reaches out) is that sooner or later the unconscious will win and because we have resisted, it will be all the harder to break back out of the unconscious. The sooner we are in touch with ourselves the greater our personal growth. But failure to do so results in neurosis, infantilism and distortion in the mind. Not acknowledging the struggle within ourselves, we look naturally to outside demons to blame for our distress; this being unknown to the conscious mind, sabotaged by the unconscious, we can only learn of the cause through the means with which the unconscious manifests itself: namely dreams. Without resolution of this conflict, the feeling of suffocation or unbearable burden will grow upon us and with it, we cannot grow.

Reading mythology one comes to appreciate that each tale contains these archetypes and that the archetypes in the mind conform to a particular crisis of the soul. In understanding these on a cultural level, though prayer, meditation, reflection or ritual, humankind has taught itself to face these crises of mind and acquire wisdom or self-knowledge.

In understanding our present cultural world (in the West), we must first appreciate the idea that since the 16th century the West has culturally been possessed of a very masculine frame of mind, the old magics and superstitions slowly stripped away and philosophy and science allowed free rein. The world has been measured, explained and conquered to a very great measure but by the end of the 19th Century the approach of a crisis was felt. By the late twentieth century, this nagging doubt had turned into a strong confusion and by the present day, reached the state of a miasma of the mind. In dismantling the sacred, much was gained but we have lost touch as a culture with the means by which wisdom was gained.

The great struggle at the heart of Western civilisation today can be perceived in the desperate search for belief. Our need to believe has perverted our sciences and our politics; what else were Nazism or Communism but pseudo-religions, religious only in form being as they were utopian. Our society constantly seeks out the tranquillity of wisdom, undertaking a spiritual rape of other more traditional cultures to rob them of Buddhist meditation, prayer wheels, gods and spirits in which to believe. Standpoint magazine has a recurring theme of the loss of religion and our need for rediscovery of faith. I have constantly felt a truth in this but believed the form was wrong. For good or for ill, Christian religion is dying and cannot not be revived. We need now to arrive at some new manner of form that will encapsulate the virtues of the past and create a spiritual space in our society, whether it be prayer or meditation or contemplation. By achieving this, we will shake off the moral lethargy that has dissolved our virtues and sapped us of our courage.

How does all this relate back to the original subject of Blair Derangement Syndrome? Because in understanding Blair as a transformational figure, we must place this figure in the context of our stunted times. I believe that Blair as man and icon played the role of redemptive hero who in myth reconciles reason and wisdom, and becomes the archetype of the wise hero. Christ and Dionysos, both like Blair were sacrificed upon the resentment and envy of those lost in their own resentments. Blair transformed the Labour Party for what seemed an age, was first loved and then loathed to excess. Yet the passage of his coming and going had an profound impact on British politics which we now see in the confusion afflicting all three parties, which seek to find their feet. Blair transformed the Conservatives who have had to find their feeling once more but find much of their former principles left by the wayside. Labour find themselves the party of government, yet not in government, its new leader and his coterie having strived mightily to reject Blair’s influence, returning to the past, yet frightened of losing the future. The Liberal Democrats are at the end of their journey, the strains generated by Blair no longer present to sustain the party, the Conservatives slowly finding their feet once more, the Liberal Democrats now feel the tension inherent in an alliance between sentimental socialists and classical liberals. The party will not long survive the coalition, not least because of the dishonesty of their leaders.

British politics must now find a way forward when all its certainties have been shattered. Blair as the symbolic focus of the metamorphosis undergone by British politics attracts the ire and range of those who resent the changes in the country, resent the inner knowledge that they must now let go of their fears, let go of a previous part of their political and cultural lives and once more look to be the sage and the hero themselves. To do so is to grow up and the most fervent of the Blair-haters desire a utopian political childhood, a mythical world controlled by their whim and will and which nurtured them in their conceit.

When you see the Trotskyites waving their banners, see raging children; when you hear someone sneer “war criminal”, you see a petulant child angered at the pluckings of his own conscience.

Blair will always remain controversial but history will be kinder on him than his would-be assassins. Blair called to all of us to grow and renew ourselves. We should heed that call.

__________

Oh, almost forget this -

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Recent comments:

AND – “Tony Blair was the greatest Prime Minister since Winston Churchill and the only regret I have he didn’t get my vote as I live in Canada.”

AND – “I am sick and tired of television and radio interviewers asking the same old questions over and over, regarding the decision to go to war in Iraq, presumably they hope Mr Blair will let slip some secret information which they would then use against him. History will show if the decision was the right one, (I believe it was) but people must accept that Tony Blair is an honourable man, and made his decision based on the known facts and not with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight.”

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Former Islamist terrorist Tawfik Hamid: “We Muslims have to change”

October 19, 2010

Original Home Page – And another very early post from this blog

19th October 2010

Egyptian born Dr Tawfik Hamid was, until he realised 25 years ago that Islam itself was at fault, a member of the Islamist terrorist organisation JI. Click picture for more.

Hamid: “Then, and only then, do we have the right to ask others to respect our religion. The time has come to stop our hypocrisy and say it openly: ‘We Muslims have to Change’.”

I’ve been having a to-and-fro between my good friends Peter and Stan at another post. I challenged them to come up with an interfaith organisation set up by Muslims, equivalent to Tony Blair’s Faith Foundation. Stan suggested this: http://www.josephinterfaithfoundation.org/

Its leading membership includes Lord Ahmed. I’m sorry but a British peer who threatens “10,000 Muslims will march on Parliament” if Geert Wilders had been allowed into Britain, is automatically discounted, in my humble opinion. He is a bully and clearly does not understand democracy or freedom, not to mention freedom of speech.

Btw, in case you hoped otherwise, Gordon Brown and then Home Secretary Jacqui Smith capitulated to this threat and Wilders was shamefully, utterly disgracefully turned back from London’s Heathrow airport. He lives to fight the bigoted another day.

Back to the post by a man who DOES understand the issues, the world-encompassing issues.

At The Egypt Blog I saw this – “From the Heart of a Muslim”. It was written by Dr Tawfik Hamid whose website is here.

This is my original source for this. I expect it will be all over the Guardian before long!

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This post was taken from islamreview.com

Written by Tawfik Hamid

I was born a Muslim and lived all my life as a follower of Islam.

After the barbaric terrorist attacks done by the hands of my fellow Muslims everywhere on this globe, and after the too many violent acts by Islamists in many parts of the world, I feel responsible as a Muslim and as a human being, to speak out and tell the truth to protect the world and Muslims as well from a coming catastrophe and war of civilizations.

I have to admit that our current Islamic teaching creates violence and hatred toward Non-Muslims. We Muslims are the ones who need to change. Until now we have accepted polygamy, the beating of women by men, and killing those who convert from Islam to other religions.

We have never had a clear and strong stand against the concept of slavery or wars, to spread our religion and to subjugate others to Islam and force them to pay a humiliating tax called Jizia. We ask others to respect our religion while all the time we curse non-Muslims loudly (in Arabic) in our Friday prayers in the Mosques.

What message do we convey to our children when we call the Jews “Descendants of the pigs and monkeys”… Is this a message of love and peace, or a message of hate?

I have been into churches and synagogues where they were praying for Muslims. While all the time we curse them, and teach our generations to call them infidels, and to hate them.

We immediately jump in a ‘knee jerk reflex’ to defend Prophet Mohammed when someone accuses him of being a pedophile while, at the same time, we are proud with the story in our Islamic books, that he married a young girl seven years old (Aisha) when he was above 50 years old.

I am sad to say that many, if not most of us, rejoiced in happiness after September 11th and after many other terror attacks.

Muslims denounce these attacks to look good in front of the media, but we condone the Islamic terrorists and sympathize with their cause. Till now our ‘reputable’ top religious authorities have never issued a Fatwa or religious statement to proclaim Bin Laden as an apostate, while an author, like Rushdie, was declared an apostate who should be killed according to Islamic Shania law just for writing a book criticizing Islam.

Muslims demonstrated to get more religious rights as we did in France to stop the ban on the Hijab (Head Scarf), while we did not demonstrate with such passion and in such numbers against the terrorist murders.

It is our absolute silence against the terrorists that gives the energy to these terrorists to continue doing their evil acts. We Muslims need to stop blaming our problems on others or on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. As a matter of honesty, Israel is the only light of democracy, civilization, and human rights in the whole Middle East.

We kicked out the Jews with no compensation or mercy from most of the Arab countries to make them “Jews-Free countries” while Israel accepted more than a million Arabs to live there, have its nationality, and enjoy their rights as human beings. In Israel , women cannot be beaten legally by men, and any person can change his/her belief system with no fear of being killed by the Islamic law of ‘Apostasy,’ while in our Islamic world people do not enjoy any of these rights. I agree that the ‘Palestinians’ suffer, but they suffer because of their corrupt leaders and not because of Israel.

It is not common to see Arabs who live in Israel leaving to live in the Arab world. On the other hand, we used to see thousands of Palestinians going to work with happiness in Israel, its ‘enemy’. If Israel treats Arabs badly as some people claim, surely we would have seen the opposite happening.

We Muslims need to admit our problems and face them. Only then we can treat them and start a new era to live in harmony with human mankind. Our religious leaders have to show a clear and very strong stand against polygamy, pedophilia, slavery, killing those who convert from Islam to other religions, beating of women by men, and declaring wars on non-Muslims to spread Islam.

Then, and only then, do we have the right to ask others to respect our religion. The time has come to stop our hypocrisy and say it openly: ‘We Muslims have to Change’.

posted by the egypt guy at 10/17/2010 05:23:00 AM

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PLEASE NOTE as you read the below background information on Dr Hamid: “Some twenty-five years ago he recognised the threat from Radical Islam”. But hang on, I hear you stifle a yell! He’s not telling us that Islamists were NOT suddenly radicalised by 9/11 and America’s response to it? Surely that can’t be right!?

Tawfik Hamid’s website

Dr. Tawfik Hamid, is an Islamic thinker and reformer, and one time Islamic extremist from Egypt. He was a member of a terrorist Islamic organization JI with Dr. Ayman Al-Zawaherri who became later on the second in command of Al-Qaeda. Some twenty-five years ago, he recognized the threat of Radical Islam and the need for a reformation based upon modern peaceful interpretations of classical Islamic core texts.

Dr. Hamid provided a fresh and theologically valid interpretation for the Quran to counterbalance the radical teaching. As the Daily Express (UK) mentioned “Dr. Hamid has predicted the attacks on the twin towers, Madrid and London”. After September 11, Dr. Hamid boldly decided to speak out through western broadcast and print media. He has appeared on shows spanning the spectrum from CNN to Fox News, and his articles and op-ed pieces have appeared in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, the New York Daily News, and the Jerusalem Post. Some of Dr. Hamid’s Op-Eds were also selected at Real Clear Politics. Dr. Hamid’s exceptional knowledge of the jihadi mindset has led him to be a guest speaker at many reputable private and governmental fora – both within the US and internationally such as the US Congress, Director of National Intelligence DNI, the Pentagon, National Prayer breakfast, and the European Parliament. He also received Speaker of the Truth award of the Endowment of Middle East truth .

Currently Dr. Hamid is a Senior Fellow and Chair for the Study of Islamic Radicalism at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies.

Dr. Hamid is also the author of Inside Jihad: Understanding and Confronting Radical Islam- Purchase from Amazon Here

For more information about some of speaking engagements of Dr. Hamid please Click Here
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RELATED

Safa Sultan testifies in support of Geert Wilder, (videos)
Video – Tony Blair at the Washington Institute, on defeating the narrative of Islamist Terrorism
Islam for Peace – thanks to a link at Dr Hamid’s site.

ETCETERA

And Another Thing -

Peter Reynolds, one of my truth-seeking friends, has an excellent blog here. Today he is lambasting Chris Huhne, of the oh-so-environmentally friendly Liberal Democrats over their dumping of the cross-Severn barrage. Well he might.

Of course it’s all the fault of the previous government, according to the great leader. This included – the scrapping of the St Athan Defence College, in South Wales.

So there we have it. Under Labour the environment, jobs and defence were of paramount importance. Under this coalition things are different. Nothing so important as insisting that there is no alternative, due to the financial mess the present lot inherited etcetera…

Which, by the way, there was. An alternative, that is.

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UPDATE – reference comments at an earlier post:

Stan has sent me these links to other Muslim-backed interfaith groups:

1. The Gulen Movement founded by Fethullah Gulen in Turkey and now with branches all over the world en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulen_movement

2. The Elijah Interfaith Institute at http://www.elijah.org.il/ which has no less than ten leading Muslims on its Board of World Religious Leaders, and also includes the Dalai Lama, the UK’s Chief Rabbi, Jonathan Sacks, and several Christian leaders.

3. The Madrid Interfaith Conference hosted by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, which despite all the obvious criticisms was described by Rabbi David Rose of the American Jewish Centre as follows

“While the concluding statement was the anticipated pious declaration, it does nevertheless reflect the expressed Saudi intention to continue the process that has been embarked upon. This is something that should not be underestimated. The highest authority in the very heartland of Islam has taken a lead in interfaith outreach (whatever his motives might be) with the declared intention of addressing contemporary challenges and resolving conflict.”

Tony Blair said this about it “The fact that the conference is happening with the king and with the religious leaders of the different faiths is significant.”

Taken together with that excellent article by Hamid you posted, I think there is sufficient evidence to show that there are many Muslims in favour of interfaith co-existence and dialogue (although I agree that the moderates still have much to do in standing up to the extremists).

Thanks, Stan. Keep ‘em coming. Not moving the goalposts, am I?

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