Tony Bliar,new job ?

[Zen]

Middle east peacemaker !!!!!!!
A bit like Gary Glitter running your local Kindergarten ??

[supergran]

I know what you mean Zen, I felt sick when I read that . The trouble we have now with Iraq and terrorists , what's it gonna be like with him as a peace envoy for the rest of middle east. At least Gary Glitter went to prison for what he did.

[garner]

Zen..LOL and how right.

[Oneeyedvic]

The same thought occurred to me (though not so nicely phrased)

[smudge]

He was probably cacking himself at the thought of leaving office, so thought he'd better be seen to be doing some good!

A hypocrite if ever there was one!

[johnlambert]

Perhaps they meant that the middle east would make him into little pieces, here's hoping

[whiffey]

Ah, another loyal British traitor. Do you have a comfortable armchair Zen ? Courtesy of the umbrella of Western protection.

Bliar ? A serious accusation is lying - give me one concrete example before you move your research on to doing a hatchet job on Gordon Brown.

[THECORBYLOON]

So you have no regard for what he did in Ulster?

[johnlambert]

Ermmmmmmmm let me see now whiffey
1) ecducation education education
2) Saddam hussain has weapons of mass destruction
3) my wife was wrongly advised about the flats in Bristol
etc etc etc
good riddance to bad rubbish

[johnlambert]

THECORBYLOON
That was started by John Major
Bliar just finished what the Tories started

[whiffey]

A lie is something conceived in malice and intended to deceive. No examples have yet, nor ever will, be given.

I despair that a country's citizens can so atttack their own Prime Minister while still accepting the benefits of his protection.

As to the question, what better than a Roman Catholic to intercede between Judaism and Islam.

[johnlambert]

who asked the question?
history tells us that catholics have killed more jews+muslims than any other organisation during the crusades.
you need to look at the Nazi's for the answer, however, most of them (including Hitler) werte catholics!!

[whiffey]

Sorry john, I think you are way off target. Hitler a catholic ? Look at Nazis for an answer to the Middle East ?

We read different history books.

[johnlambert]

Yep whiffey, hitler was born into catholicism, however, his experiences in the trenches during WW1 changed his opinion on religion as it did most combatants and he turned to extreme politics to explain why Germany lost the war against all odds.
And I was using the example of the Crusaders killing innocent Jews/Muslims when they conquered the Holy Land/Judea/Acco in the Middle Ages

[Oneeyedvic]

No whiffey, a lie is "A false statement deliberately presented as being true"

It has nothing to do with malice and their is no intent in the definition of lie.

Are we now not allowed to question out leaders simply because we live in a prosperous nation? - becasue that is your implication.

So long as "I'm alright Jack" it doesn't seem to matter if they start wars, sell off our gold reserves, make bad political judgements, sell of peerages, purchase houses for their families via convicted fraudsters, enter into ridiculous amounts of private initiative deals, not launch inquiries into comapnies such as BAe systems, being responsible for huge amount of wastage in the NHS, not having a single IT project work or be on budget, etc etc etc.

Glad you are alright - personally, I think there is more to life than just thinking about yourself but thinking about how the government has helped others in this country and others in the world.

Now it would be stupid to think that TB has done nothing good in his tenure - obviously he has. but this post was actually him about him being a Middle East
Envoy (hence Zen's Gary Glitter analogy) - and on the basis he started / joined a war which was started on false pretences in the middle east (as well as not being on great terms with the Iranians) I am not sure he is the best person to be there.

[whiffey]

Oneeyedvic, for myself anyway, I regard the common usage of the word 'lie' rather than it's strict dictionary definition as implying a malice, a nastiness, a venom, not conveyed by the milder but rarer word 'fib'.

Telling a fib was a bit naughty, but telling a lie was unforgiveable.

[Reverandfunk]

Who cares? There will never be peace in the middle east, no-one is happy unless they're killing each other.

Do the easy thing take no interest whatsover in politics because its all a load of old tosh lol.

[NJOK]

Everyone - even the Tories yesterday - acknowledged that Northern Ireland has pretty much been Blair's greatest achievement.

He took a personal role in brokering an agreement in NI, and was dogged when it looked to be on the verge of collapse. Job done, and in large part to Blair's skills of diplomacy.

Started by John Major? Ask David Trimble, Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams if they agree with that.

So Blair, with these skills, with a recognised name and with time on his hands, is probably one of the best people for the Middle East job.

What would you rather he do? Book signings in Waterstones? The chat show circuit?

And this childish revision of the man is just lame. Just because he's become unpopular and made howling errors that have cost lives doesn't mean he is an evil failure in everything he has ever attempted. Life isn't a black-and-white fairy story is it?

So, in answer to the question, no. It's nothing like Gary Glitter running the local kindergarten.

[smudge]

Just a couple of snippets:

'It's a bit like appointing Count Dracula as chief of the blood transfusion service'. (By George Galloway)

'When he brought his sons out & cuddled them, it made me feel sick. My son died three years ago tomorrow & that is the man who sent him to be killed in an illegal war. (By Rose Gentle, whose son was killed in Iraq, protesting at the gates of Downing Street).

[jno]

my sympathy for soldiers and their families is slightly limited. Those who fight to defend their country are brave men and women. Those who don't like being shot at and dying are in the wrong line of business. Rose Gentle should have suggested to her son that he work in a shop. I'm not being sarcastic. When your child enlists, part of you should consider him already dead; because that's what happens in the military.

[whiffey]

It always gets me, this 'illegal war' thing. Who says it was illegal ? The Attorney-General has declared it wasn't. Who's going to arrest and arraign Bush and Blair anyway ? It's farcical, just hot air. In war, the victors law holds, as at Nuremberg, as at Guantanamo.