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 Nice bit of free advertising if you can get it...., Tony B-Liar one hour advert for his book on BBC |
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 Sep 1 2010, 09:42 AM
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#1
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 Always wear a clean pair of knickers, cos you never know when th
Joined: 12 March 2006
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Tony Blair book describes Gordon Brown as 'maddening'
Source - BBC News Gordon Brown could be "maddening" and had "zero" emotional intelligence, Tony Blair has said in his memoirs. He also told the BBC Mr Brown could also be an "immense source of strength" but that Labour lost power because it backed away from further reforms. Mr Blair also writes about his "anguish" over the Iraq War, but says he did not regret the 2003 invasion. He also says drink became a prop which helped him relax, although it was not "excessive". The book, which took three years to write, focuses on his time spent in Downing Street. It is the first time Mr Blair has revealed the inner workings of his relationship with Mr Brown while they were prime minister and chancellor and BBC political editor Nick Robinson said it showed things were much worse between them than had been reported. He said Mr Blair blamed his then-chancellor for starting the cash-for-honours row because of a disagreement over pensions policy and said he could not sack Mr Brown because he believed that "let loose" he might lead a left-wing rebellion. Mr Blair describes Mr Brown, who succeeded him in 10 Downing Street in 2007, as a "strange guy" and says his time as prime minister was "never going to work". But it would have been "well nigh impossible" to stop him taking over. In extracts released to the Guardian Mr Blair says Mr Brown lacked political instinct "at the human gut level" adding: "Political calculation, yes. Political feelings, no. Analytical intelligence, absolutely. Emotional intelligence, zero." He described Mr Brown as a man with a significant power base within the party and media, a position which would have made it difficult to sack him as chancellor. Mr Blair said: "Was he difficult, at times maddening? Yes. But he was also strong, capable and brilliant, and those were qualities for which I never lost respect. "When it's said that I should have sacked him, or demoted him, this takes no account of the fact that had I done so, the party and the government would have been severely and immediately destabilised and his ascent to the office of prime minister would probably have been even faster." During his BBC interview, Mr Blair said his relationship with Mr Brown was "frankly hard, going on impossible" but that "for large parts of the time we were in government, he was an immense source of strength". He added that, when Mr Brown was chancellor, "people maybe over-estimated his capacity to be prime minister" but then during "the last three years, when he was prime minister, people maybe underestimated his strengths". Mr Blair has previously announced he is to donate his book's advance payment - reported to be £4m - plus all royalties to the Royal British Legion. He told the BBC's Andrew Marr he had decided to make the donation to a fund connected to the armed forces before he had "written a word". "I wanted to indicate my sense of respect and the honour in which I hold these people, that I regard as out on the front line of the biggest security threat we face in the world today," he said. On Iraq, Mr Blair also insisted leaving Saddam Hussein in power would have been a "bigger risk" to security than removing him. Iraq 'anguish' He acknowledged "we did not anticipate the role of al-Qaeda or Iran" in planning for the aftermath of the conflict, which saw bloodshed continue long after the defeat of Saddam's regime. He spoke of "anguish" which "arises from a sense of sadness that goes beyond conventional description or the stab of compassion you feel on hearing tragic news". "Tears, though there have been many, do not encompass it. "I feel desperately sorry for them, sorry for the lives cut short, sorry for the families whose bereavement is made worse by the controversy over why their loved ones died, sorry for the utterly unfair selection that the loss should be theirs." Mr Blair went on to say that it was "wholly unacceptable for Iran to have nuclear weapons capability" and that military force should be used against them if necessary, to prevent their nuclear programme from creating weapons. In the book he also says he always believed he was "in control" of his alcohol intake but admitted he was at the "outer limit" of units of alcohol per week. "Stiff whisky or G&T before dinner, couple of glasses of wine or even half a bottle with it. So not excessively excessive. I had a limit. But I was aware that it had become a prop. "I thought that escaping the pressure and relaxing was a vital part of keeping the job in proportion, a function rather like my holidays," he wrote. "I was never sure. I believed I was in control of the alcohol. However, you have to be honest: it's a drug, there's no getting away from it." Mr Blair's former press chief Alastair Campbell said Mr Blair's revelations about his drinking habits had "genuinely surprised" him. He said: "I don't think I've ever seen Tony the worse for wear through drink, ever. I think what he says in the book is that there were times when he felt he was using it as something of a crutch." The former prime minister will be out of the UK on publication day, attending the opening of Middle East peace talks at the White House in Washington in his role as an envoy for the "Quartet" of the United Nations, Russia, the United States and the European Union. You can watch Tony Blair's interview with Andrew Marr on BBC Two on Wednesday 1 September at 1900 BST.---------------------------------------------------------------------- Tony didn't like Gordy and Gordy didn't like Tony, Tony still wont apologise for taking the country to war.... Well, I dont need to wade through 700-odd pages of future recycled bog roll to find out these "revelations" And I certainly dont need to sit and watch an hour-long advertisement for said bog-roll on the BBC... I usually respect Andrew Marr, but how he actually got roped into basically being a foil for B-Liar's ego-stroking tome is really beyond me... And really, should a public broadcaster be utilised in this manner by a grand-standing, arrogant, preening ex-politician who's made a fortune on the International lecture circuit and now has a book to flog as well... Oh, but it's okay, because he's donating the advance to "charidee".... He goes on at length on how he "regrets" the deaths of British troops, but I've said it before and I'll say it again - NOT ONE PENNY FROM THIS BOOK GOES TO HELPING THE VICTIMS OF THE IRAQ WAR.... At the time we invaded over 50% of Baghdad was under the age of 15, what, exactly has been done to help these kids...? B-Liar is a fukkin' disgrace, a war criminal, a liar and an absolute c'unt of the first order... I dont generally believe in the death penalty, but for him, I'm willing to make an exception to that rule because there is no "reasonable doubt" concerning his guilt, or indeed the guilt of Alistair Campbell or Geoff Hoon.... Necktie Parties for the fukkin' lot of them..... 
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Sep 1 2010, 10:32 AM
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Always wear a clean pair of knickers, cos you never know when th
Joined: 12 March 2006
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Just thinking of alternate titles for B-Liar's book...
"My Journey Selling The UK Down The River and Making a Fortune on the International Lecture Circuit" "How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Daisycutter Bomb" "Carry On Up The Khyber Pass" "Lies, Damned Lies and Economic/Crime Statistics" Anyone else think of alternate titles....? |
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Sep 1 2010, 11:09 AM
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 BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 13 April 2007
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This is hardly the first time the BBC have shown such a programme and it won't be the last. Get over it.
That dreadful woman whose name I would prefer not to have to type got three one-hour programmes to promote her self-indulgent rubbish. That said, the third programme where she described being unceremoniously dumped by her party was unintentionally hilarious. |
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Sep 1 2010, 11:14 AM
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Always wear a clean pair of knickers, cos you never know when th
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QUOTE(Suedehead2 @ Sep 1 2010, 12:09 PM)  This is hardly the first time the BBC have shown such a programme and it won't be the last. Get over it. That dreadful woman whose name I would prefer not to have to type got three one-hour programmes to promote her self-indulgent rubbish. That said, the third programme where she described being unceremoniously dumped by her party was unintentionally hilarious. Well, I didn't much like that either... But we're not talking about Thatcher, and it's very hypocritical of you to on the one hand criticise that and then just let B-Liar's self-important tosh off the hook... I've NEVER liked tossers in the public eye going on chat shows flogging books, but really this is on a different level, and Thatcher never had nearly as much blood on her hands as B-Liar does, The Falklands was really a minor skirmish compared to 7 years of Iraq and 9 years of Afghanistan.... |
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Sep 1 2010, 12:08 PM
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Everything goes numb
Joined: 16 October 2007
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Gordon Brown was "maddening" and had "zero emotional intelligence", bit rich coming from Tony Blair really isnt it.
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Sep 1 2010, 01:04 PM
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Always wear a clean pair of knickers, cos you never know when th
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QUOTE(Christopher. @ Sep 1 2010, 01:08 PM) Gordon Brown was "maddening" and had "zero emotional intelligence", bit rich coming from Tony Blair really isnt it. Fukkin' right mate.. Pot calling kettle black that is....  B-Liar certainly has no empathy for the Iraqi kids who were blown up or had to have limbs amputated because of bloody American cluster bombs that's for fukkin' sure, otherwise he'd be donating his huge advance to Iraqi war orphans and not British servicemen who really should be getting looked after by the Govt, shouldn't they.....? |
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Sep 1 2010, 01:06 PM
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 BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 28 August 2008
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The more publicity he gets the more people get pissed off and the better chance someone with a rifle is waiting outside Waterstone's next Wednesday
This post has been edited by I ❤ JustinBieber: Sep 1 2010, 01:07 PM |
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Sep 1 2010, 01:08 PM
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BuzzJack Gold Member
Joined: 11 April 2006
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He's totally out of touch with reality if he thinks "moving away from New Labour" was a bigger factor in their defeat this year than the illegal war he took us in to.
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Sep 1 2010, 01:10 PM
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 Why don’t you say so?
Joined: 11 October 2009
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I really don't the hype around Tony Blair's memoirs he just going to write what he said about the war etc. he's not going to suddenly change because it's his memoirs. His memoirs just sad attempt for him to get back in the limelight.
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Sep 1 2010, 01:10 PM
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Always wear a clean pair of knickers, cos you never know when th
Joined: 12 March 2006
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QUOTE(Danny @ Sep 1 2010, 02:08 PM) He's totally out of touch with reality if he thinks "moving away from New Labour" was a bigger factor in their defeat this year than the illegal war he took us in to. Yeah, that and the "small" matter of the bank bailout and the recession.... Really, the only reason Nu Labor were voted back in again in '05 was because most people couldn't stand the thought of Michael Howard as PM, not because they particularly liked Tony Blair....  |
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Sep 1 2010, 01:12 PM
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BuzzJack Gold Member
Joined: 11 April 2006
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QUOTE(GRIMLY FIENDISH @ Sep 1 2010, 02:10 PM) Yeah, that and the "small" matter of the bank bailout and the recession.... Really, the only reason Nu Labor were voted back in again in '05 was because most people couldn't stand the thought of Michael Howard as PM, not because they particularly liked Tony Blair.... Indeed... as much as it pains me to say it, I genuinely think the Tories could've won in 2005 had the anti-war and generally moderate Ken Clarke been the leader. |
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Sep 1 2010, 01:13 PM
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Always wear a clean pair of knickers, cos you never know when th
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QUOTE(Kieran. @ Sep 1 2010, 02:10 PM) His memoirs just sad attempt for him to get back in the limelight. And it appears to be working too... Everywhere you look today, the supercilious grinning c'unt is there, on TV, in newspapers, giving us all his "sage advice" on why Labour lost the election.... Really rather disgusting and totally unecessary.... 
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Sep 1 2010, 01:18 PM
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 28 August 2008
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QUOTE(Danny @ Sep 1 2010, 02:12 PM) Indeed... as much as it pains me to say it, I genuinely think the Tories could've won in 2005 had the anti-war and generally moderate Ken Clarke been the leader. Even if Clarke had been leader most of his MP's supported the war so he would not have got any pullout or withdrawal through parliament |
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Sep 1 2010, 01:25 PM
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Always wear a clean pair of knickers, cos you never know when th
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QUOTE(I ❤ JustinBieber @ Sep 1 2010, 02:18 PM) Even if Clarke had been leader most of his MP's supported the war so he would not have got any pullout or withdrawal through parliament I dunno though, all the Labour MPs who had been "strong-armed" by B-Liar's whips would've probably grown a pair in opposition and said "fukk you" to Blair (who more than likely would've been booted out as leader had he lost the '05 election) and voted with their consciences this time round, as they wouldn't actually be in Govt, so it's a close call tbh... Very hypothetical stuff though.... On the other hand, look at what happened in Spain when Aznar got booted out of office, Spain withdrew immediately from Iraq.... |
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Sep 1 2010, 01:59 PM
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DROTTNING!
Joined: 15 April 2006
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QUOTE(Kieran. @ Sep 1 2010, 02:10 PM) I really don't the hype around Tony Blair's memoirs he just going to write what he said about the war etc. he's not going to suddenly change because it's his memoirs. His memoirs just sad attempt for him to get back in the limelight. Well, not quite. A big load of attention's going on his statements of the Labour Party now and his regrets from his leadership. I'm really quite stunned that he thinks banning fox hunting was the wrong thing to do in retrospect, and that he shouldn't have put through the Freedom of Information Act :/ The cries of 'they're all the same' would've been even worse had Blair still been in power - he thinks Brown was wrong to pursue fiscal stimulus beyond bailing out the banks! (So, out of the entire developed world, that makes...Cameron, Blair and the Republicans the only ones who think stimulus was wrong. Riiiiight...) He said that Labour shouldn't be challenging the concept of cuts now at all, but should instead just be offering other places to cut... No wonder he thinks the terms 'left and right' are dead, given all he seems to be seeing is right. I really have no idea after this why he hasn't jumped over to the Tories. |
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Sep 1 2010, 02:05 PM
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 13 April 2007
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It's certainly true that the FoI Act made government harder but that's a reason why all voters should support it.
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Sep 1 2010, 02:07 PM
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BuzzJack Gold Member
Joined: 11 April 2006
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I hope these memoirs serve as the final nail in David Miliband's coffin... hopefully people see that they can't re-elect Blair incarnate.
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Sep 1 2010, 02:08 PM
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 27 April 2008
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He's appearing on the Late Late Show here on Friday night. I'm pretty sure his reception will be ice-cold...
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Sep 1 2010, 02:17 PM
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DROTTNING!
Joined: 15 April 2006
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QUOTE(Danny @ Sep 1 2010, 03:07 PM) I hope these memoirs serve as the final nail in David Miliband's coffin... hopefully people see that they can't re-elect Blair incarnate. Calling David Blair incarnate is just a TAD unfair - he's fairly to the left of him, and the New Labour architects could never entirely trust him because of it. He's certainly the more Blairite of the two Milibands (although not quite as bad as Burnham), but he would by no means be the 'no change' candidate entirely if elected. He just suffers a lot from being a walking soundbite and obviously so. |
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Sep 1 2010, 02:36 PM
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#20
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BuzzJack Gold Member
Joined: 11 April 2006
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QUOTE(Tyron @ Sep 1 2010, 03:17 PM) Calling David Blair incarnate is just a TAD unfair - he's fairly to the left of him, and the New Labour architects could never entirely trust him because of it. He's certainly the more Blairite of the two Milibands (although not quite as bad as Burnham), but he would by no means be the 'no change' candidate entirely if elected. He just suffers a lot from being a walking soundbite and obviously so. In fairness, I don't think he would be a neo-conservative when it comes to foreign policy in the same way Blair was - he did, after all, slam Blair for condoning Israel in the 2006 conflict with Lebanon. And I don't necessarily think he'd have the same enthusiasm for "reforming" public services. But I absolutely do think he has the same irrational Blarite/Mandelson-ite fear of increasing taxes on the wealthiest and p***ing off "Middle England" (God knows why the top 10% wealthiest counts as middle England) out of fear of going into an "electoral cul-de-sac" - which is completely at odds with the facts which show that, this year, more middle-class people voted Labour than working-class people for the first time ever. David has refused to say he'd make the 50% tax rate permanent, for instance. I've been quite impressed by Burnham actually! He's probably been the most vocal, apart from Diane Abbott, in saying that New Labour were too timid in raising taxes on the rich, and he's called for tax increases to be the dominant factor in cutting the deficit (60% tax rises, 40% spending cuts). With that said, he's New Labour to the core when it comes to crime, civil liberties and foreign policy, so he wouldn't be a good leader, but whichever Miliband does win could do a lot worse than adopting some of Burnham's suggested economic policies... |
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