Sun Front Page On General Election Day

THIS HAS TAKEN ON A WHOLE NEW MEANING NOW

Blair And Dubya Kept Brown Out Of Downing Street

Senior officials in the US administration sounded the alert after a meeting between Mr Brown and Condoleezza Rice, Mr Bush’s secretary of state, in which Mr Brown “harangued” her over American policy on aid, development and Africa.

After the uncomfortable session, sources said she reported her misgivings to the White House, and they were sent on in turn to Mr Blair.

After taking the warnings on board, Mr Blair signalled his intention to stay on at No 10 until at least 2008, the year of the US election to choose a successor to Mr Bush.

However, he was forced to abandon this plan following a “coup” led by Mr Brown’s supporters. The “understanding” between Mr Bush and Mr Blair was revealed to the media by well-placed Whitehall sources. The fact that Mr Blair acted on US warnings over his likely successor will dismay many in the Labour party who were deeply unhappy about Mr Blair’s readiness to back Mr Bush at all times, particularly over the decision to wage war with Iraq in 2003. Following the meeting with Miss Rice, Mr Brown’s advisers were convinced that Mr Blair was starting to groom Mr Miliband, the then environment secretary, as his successor. They were particularly enraged when Mr Blair described Mr Miliband in an interview as “my Wayne Rooney”. However, Mr Blair also played what Brown allies now see as a “double game”, warning the then chancellor that he needed to adopt a different attitude towards senior American politicians.

From Here

Blair Donates Memoir Money - Will It Save Him From Hell?

                     NO

Tomlinson Case Stitch Up

The Director of Public Prosecutions said there was no realistic prospect of conviction because of "sharp disagreements" between pathologists.

So a jury is incapable of deciding on the balance of evidence which of the experts is an incompetent in disguise?

When did the DPP start to decide in advance what a jury would think?

This is Pathetic and disgraceful.

Just Another Day In Iraq

He says he can pinpoint the root of his problems back to an incident in Basra in the first month of the Iraq invasion, seven years ago. "We were told to hit and clear an enemy building," says Dale. "The tanks opened up on the building and we went in, firing, throwing grenades in every room. We thought there was no one firing back because of the weight of fire. But when we got in there, it wasn't an enemy building, it was just a normal family. There were about seven of them in total. Dead children lying all over the floor." It was 27 March, 2003, his 33rd birthday.

As platoon sergeant he had to clear the casualties: "I really struggled hard with it. We were always told that we had to go in gently, not to injure any civilians. Me and the corporal got together afterwards and we knew what we'd done was wrong. But you tried not to talk about it."

My conclusion is that this victim of the Iraq debacle still doesn't understand his own part in it. Full story here.

Blair 'Legacy' Crumbling By The Day

Poor old Tone. He is even execrated for winning awards as per my previous post and the chorus of derision in just about every Sunday newspaper in the UK yesterday. Now it emerges he is costing us taxpayers £250K a year for his personal security. I'll tell you what - he won't be very secure, 250K or not, if he ever comes along my street.

New Labour Let's Move On Mantra

This is worth reading just for the comments by the Guardianistas (of whom I am one). I am greatly reassured by these comments in the light of my own misgivings re Iraq which has haunted me, and I'm not exaggerating, since 2003. It bothers me that that the thought of the horrors perpetrated by the 'special relationship' should haunt me who marched against the proposed invasion and does not seem to bother the 'let's move on' brigade - Blair, Milliband, Balls, Brown, Hain, Harman....blah.. blah....bleurrrrrgh. I'll let the Guardianistas speak for me....;.

One Day To The Death of the New Labour Cult - Thanksgiving UK

Reasons to be grateful to Tony Blair and New Labour (hat-tip to William Burroughs):

Thanks for the 'special relationship'

Thanks for extraordinary rendition

Thanks for the 10p tax threshold

Thanks for the Private Finance Initiative(from an idea by M.Thatcher)

Thanks for the carnage in Iraq & Afghanistan

Thanks for the failed privatisation of the Post Office

Thanks for trying (and failing) to exclude the Gurkhas

Thanks for ID Cards by the back door

Thanks for the surveillance society

Thanks for schmoozing the bankers for years

Thanks for cash for honours

Thanks for Fred the Shred (Knighted by you)

Thanks, finally, to you and Brown for cleaning up British politics as you promised in 1997.

Four Days To The Death of The New Labour Cult

The canker that started to grow in the Labour Party since Blair tricked us into believing he was a ‘new broom’ when in fact he was a mercenary, warmongering spiv, has so devalued progressive British politics as to make it almost completely unrecognisable. Subsequently, one commentator has referred to Brown's Gollum-esque lust for power and submission to spin. Both faults have led to mistakes, deliberate deceptions, corruption, cheating and straightforward stupidity. The betrayal of Labour's founding fathers and principles (Hardie, Attlee, Foot -all totally honest men) has been so enormous, so grotesque, that it’s impossible to forgive. And how can we forgive and forget the war? Not just the sheer, repugnant scale of how wrong it was, but all the attendant lying, spinning and self-preservation that followed in its bloody wake. There can be no 'New New Labour'. We were fooled once with horrible consequences. I hope Clegg is able to revive and rebuild the left from a stronger Lib Dem position after 6th May. Goodbye New Labour and good riddance.