The Hypocrisy of Tony Blair

Remember my earlier posting on Tony Blair’s terrible relishing of sending his troops to kill or be killed? It was in What Tony Blair Relishes is Sick.

Also, do you remember how he told probably the world’s most powerful media tycoon, Rubert Murdoch (Aussie turned American) that the BBC is anti-American?

Well, there’s more. The author of the reveal-all book, Lance Price, a former spin doctor in Tony Blair's staff, disclosed Blair’s tight relationship with Murdoch. In his book, he wrote:

"Apparently we've [Blair’s government] promised [Murdoch’s] News International we won't make any changes to our Europe policy without talking to them."

[bold and underlined emphasis are mine]

This was of course embarrassing to Blair as it showed him, a PM of a sovereign nation virtually kowtowing to a media tycoon.

According to British civil service rules, as a former member of Blair's staff, Price has to submit his book for censorship. When he did, the Brit government altered the above sentence to read less embarassingly:

"Apparently, News International are under the impression we won't make any changes without asking them"

[bold and underlined emphasis are mine]

thus attempting to provide a completely different picture, one that Murdoch himself has assumed too much, and that Blair doesn’t necessarily agree with or would entertain his 'impression'.

Then Price drove the stake into Blair’s heart by showing how hypocritical Blair had been when the Brit PM sent his airmen or soldiers into bombing or shooting raids. Price wrote:

"I couldn't help but feeling that TB was relishing his first blooding as PM, sending the boys into action. Despite all the necessary stuff about taking action 'with a heavy heart', I think he feels it is part of his coming of age as a leader"

[bold and underlined highlighted emphasis are mine]

The British government panicked and censured this sentence to read:

"I couldn't help feeling that TB had mixed emotions about sending the boys into action. He said he did it with a 'heavy heart', but at the same time he must have known it would happen sometime and maybe it's part of his coming of age as a leader."

[bold and underlined emphasis are mine]

lending a kinder mixed feelings for Blair, whereas Price's original sentence showed Blair to be a bloody chickenhawk hypocrite who relishes sending his troops into what he called 'first blooding' or an initiation of the mighty warlike General (sitting in comfy Dowing Street) into real combat, but combat engaged in by others or other people's children.