Tony Blair calls for better parenting

[T_i_B]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4207050.stm

Respect for other people must be learnt within families first, said Tony Blair as he launched a new drive against bad parenting and anti-social behaviour.

In his first speech since his summer holiday, Mr Blair called for change in the UK's culture as well as new laws.

Mr Blair announced plans to extend the use of orders telling parents how to deal with their unruly children.

He said parents must realise they could not get away with letting their children cause a nuisance.

[Dissent Is Patriotic]

1. How relevant...

the *'s should be his first test group.

[wli]

2. Why hasn't Bliar gotten a vote of no confidence? n/t

[T_i_B]

3. Because he holds a majority in parliament.

Which was a landslide majority up until May of this year, but is currently a more reasonable majority of around 66 seats. Labour MP's are hardly going to vote their own party out of office.

[julianer]

5. Because it wouldn't succeed

is the short answer. It would need about 35 Labour MPs to vote against the government - throwing themselves into a new election campaign in all probability.

It would also need the main opposition party to support the motion - but they agree with Blair about the war and much else besides.

If Ken Clark wins the Tory leadership election then the day may come a bit closer.

The political configuration leaves Blair pretty untouchable. It's up to him when to go, unless there is an internal Labour party rebellion which is unlikely.

[wli]

7. That's about as sad as the rethug congress in the US. n/t

[Field Of Dreams]

4. I call for better Presidentin'

n/t

[VegasWolf]

15. Presidentin' is HARD work, HARD work, I UNDERSTAND hard work. nt

[AuntieM1957]

17. I remember that,...

he was practically sputtering.

It's Heard, heard work....

damn, what a f*ing moron!

[julianer]

6. This from the man whose son was found

face down in the gutter, dead drunk. His idea of correction is to send poor Euan to be an intern for a Republican congressman.

Better parenting begins at home.

[AspenRose]

8. What, has he been talking to Jo "Supernanny" Frost now or what?

What gives?

[daleo]

9. A liar and war criminal shouldn't lecture others.

Participating in an illegal war is about as "anti-social" as anyone can be.

[emad]

10. Poodle has corraled himself into a disastrous corner.

From January 2003:

Blackout in Britain
Alleged Pedophiles Helm Blair's War Room
by MIKE JAMES

A child-sex scandal that threatened to destroy Tony Blair's government last week has been mysteriously squashed and wiped off the front pages of British newspapers. Operation Ore, the United Kingdom's most thorough and comprehensive police investigation of crimes against children, seems to have uncovered more than is politically acceptable at the highest reaches of the British elite. In the 19th of January edition of The Sunday Herald, Neil Mackay sensationally reported that senior members of Tony Blair's government were being investigated for paedophilia and the "enjoyment" of child-sex pornography:

"The Sunday Herald has also had confirmed by a very senior source in British intelligence that at least one high-profile former Labour Cabinet minister is among Operation Ore suspects. The Sunday Herald has been given the politician's name but, for legal reasons, can not identify the person.

There are still unconfirmed rumours that another senior Labour politician is among the suspects. The intelligence officer said that a 'rolling' Cabinet committee had been set up to work out how to deal with the potentially ruinous fall-out for both Tony Blair and the government if arrests occur."

The allegations are the most serious yet levelled at an administration that prides itself on the inclusion in its ranks of a high quota of controversial and flamboyant homosexual men, and whose First Lady, Cherie Blair, has come under the spotlight for her indulgence in pagan rituals that resemble Freemasonic rites. Unconfirmed information also suggests that the term "former Labour Cabinet minister" is misleading and that the investigation has identified a surprisingly large number of alleged paedophiles at the highest level of British government, including one very senior cabinet minister

The Blair government has responded by imposing a comprehensive blackout on the story, effectively removing it from the domain of public discussion. Attempts on the part of this journalist to establish why the British media has not followed up on the revelations have met with a wall of silence. Editors and journalists of The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, The Independent, The Sunday Times, The Observer, The Sunday Telegraph, The Daily Mail, The Daily Express, The Mirror, The Sun, the BBC, Independent Television News and even The Sunday Herald have refused to discuss the matter.

Speaking from London, freelance journalist Bob Kearley told me:

"Whether or not a D-Notice has been issued is not clear. But based on some of the feedback I've been getting it's apparent that editors and media owners have voluntarily agreed not to cover the story at this time. Operation Ore is still being reported, but not in regard to government ministers, and it's taking up very few column inches on the third or fourth page. Don't forget that the intelligence services are involved here, and Blair is anxious to ensure that the scandal does not rock the boat at a time when the country is about to go to war."

"You can imagine the effect this would have on the morale of troops who are about to commit in Iraq. In fact morale is reportedly quite low anyway, with service personnel throwing their vaccines into the sea en route to the battlefront and knowing how unpopular the war is with the British people. And a lot of squaddies I've met think there's something weird going on between Bush and Blair. If you're then told that the executive responsible for the conduct of the war is staffed by child-molesters ... well, then Saddam suddenly looks like the sort of bloke with whom you can share a few tins ."

http://www.counterpunch.org/james01292003.html


A major update on this story has beee waiting to BLOW all summer.

Ever taken a GOOD look at Euan Blair:



and Ruth Kelly:




?

When this one blows Poodle and his gargoyle Missus will be in the slammer for the rest of their lives.

[I Have A Dream]

11. I don't understand the connection between Euan Blair and Ruth Kelly.

(I understand that they look alike, but what does this mean in reference to the issue that you're discussing? Also, as an American, I don't know who she is.) Also, what does the last statement mean? Is it in reference to the connection to Euan and Ruth?

Thanks!

[emad]

12. Kelly = UK Education Secretary and strident member of Opus Dei.

The whole sorry saga of Poodle's eldest son Euan has been gagged and whitewashed over: first by John Major's Tory government when his top spook Stella Rimington (head of MI5) clamped down in 1996 on any discussion about what really happened to him and the pathetic ID-theft lookalike foisted onto the public to keep up the semblance of near normality Chez Blair.

Then by Poodle's own administration. First Jack Straw as Home Secretary then Blunkett.

Ruth Kelly's meteoric rise to political stardom owes less to any actual ability than to her little out-of-wedlock secrets and illegitimate son.

UK reporters connected to the research of the background to the Scotsman article that CounterPunch published have repeatedly tried to publish the Euan Blair/Ruth Kelly story and been met with repeated gagging orders blocking any mention of any connection.

[ktowntennesseedem]

13. Too bad George Sr. and Barbara didn't hear his message sooner.

They sure did a lousy job!

[DrDan]

14. do you think he was speaking directly to Barb and Poppy?

[AuntieM1957]

16. George and Barbara certainly failed as parents n/t

[1932]

18. i once travelled from London to Stockholm (while Tories in power in UK)

In London I had noticed, unprovoked by anything but my own cultural background, that parents yelled at their kids alot and generally didn't seem happy with them. After landing in Stockholm (in the middle of the winter) I went for a walk in the park across from my hotel (the park with the King's Library in it). Everywhere there were parents who seemed like they genuinely enjoyed the company of their children. I noticed the same thing all over the city. In the middle of the workday there were parents out with their children and everyone seemed happy.

The difference? In the UK at that time, having a child brought the average person closer to poverty. In Sweden, having a child meant there would be absolutely no impact on your financial well being. In fact, it meant a 12-18 month "vacation" getting to know your child.

Which society is healthier?

Blair may not appreciate it (or maybe he does) but everything his government is doing to increase employment and wages is doing more to help families stay healthy then lectures about raising kids. And if they really want to help families raise children in happy environments, they should have paid materinity/paternity leave.

[eauclaireliberal]

19. This dickhead is sounding more like Bush every day

nt

[sweetheart]

22. That's it in a nutshell

Blair has become just another blairing klaxon on a street corner ordering
people about by his moral subjectivity.

But did the UK public elect a blatantly racist warmongering criminal to
their labour party, or was it a public school boy who could "win" for
labour. Not only has blair walked off the end of his mandate, he's
standing in thin air.

Clarke could easily be the next prime minister of britain as the
badly damaged post-blair labour party tries to find its heart again
after burying it in a crawford, texas backwater.

[Mizmoon]

20. Bad Behavior gets people ahead

The liar, the BS artist, the bully, the dishonest guy, the one who makes immoral deals, the ones who have no honor tend to win in this world. Then when children copy adults the adults get mad.

They learn by example.

[drduffy]

21. what the f does blair

know about parenting. And the comment above is right on.... Bush and his babe clearly know nothing about it.

And, of course, Blair wants new LAWS to go along with his shit. Everything. Everything is calculated by these folks to decrease individual freedom and increase the power of the state. Ain't that fascism? ..... ah shit. Who the hell cares anyway. I kinda wish the oil would stop tomorrow and let the chips fall where they may.